Memory Orbs were a mysterious thing. Some contained only a few memories, which made it feel as if pictures had been imprinted into Michael's mind, while others were overflowing with massive memory streams.
After digesting the memories contained within the 300 Memory Orbs he had extracted, Michael could tell that more than half of them were useless to him.
The rest either provided him with important pieces of information related to the Zentika Empire, martial art experience, combat techniques, or other intriguing factors.
"The 13 Paladins…So those guys are coming?" Michael mused after digesting the Memory Orbs of the Twin Lions.
He finally found the answer to why the Tier-3 Adventurers hadn't been found until now, and that the 13 Paladins were still on their way to Xiltra. The memories of the Twin Lions also showed quite clearly that Senator Keltos was a greedy man, who was unwilling to share honor and wealth with others.
Senator Keltos invested the majority of his funds to gather 65,000 Adventurers and Mercenaries, so he wanted his subordinates to be the ones leading the Jungle Expedition to victory.
'You lost because you were greedy…again,' Michael thought with a smirk. He was quite amused, wondering whether Senator Keltos was too arrogant, thinking that everything would go according to his plan, or if Michael himself had been a too big unpredictable variable until now.
'He will be more careful now that he lost his subordinates. The death of 50,000 Adventurers and Mercenaries will probably influence the course of his decisions.'
Michael had been sleeping while digesting the Memory Orbs. His mind felt refreshed, and he was ready to break his head on how to defeat the 13 Paladins – if they chose to barge into the Untamed Jungle.
The memories obtained through the Memory Orbs were quite useful. Nobody knew a lot about the 13 Paladins, but their reputation and skill set was public knowledge. That was also why Michael had a much easier time concluding how powerful they would be upon entering the Untamed Jungle.
'I hope Tiara will return soon. It will take a while to finish preparing the concoction.'
Michael got up from the bed. He took a quick bath and ran a hand through his short black hair. After several months, his hair finally started to grow properly once again. He was not bald anymore!
That was great, but it didn't change the fact that Michael was confused.
'Lord Targes…the oldest council member, one of the strongest existences in the Zentika Empire, and the leader of the Sacred Paladins…Will you send your 13 Paladins inside the Untamed Jungle to eliminate me, or will your Paladins leave after realizing that the Jungle Expedition ended?'
Michael recalled a certain conversation between the Twin Lions and Senator Keltos. The memories of the conversation were hazy and unclear in several parts, but Michael could clearly tell that Senator Keltos respected Lord Targes. In fact, there was even a tinge of fear in Senator Keltos' voice when Lord Targes was mentioned.
Michael didn't like that his enemy feared someone else. That meant Senator Keltos, one of the few Tier-5 Awakened in the Zentika Empire, was not as powerful as Lord Targes.
Michael put on some clean clothes, left the wooden manor, and arrived in front of the Summoning Gate, where two 2-Star Knights were already waiting for him.
"Esteemed Lord, we've been waiting for you!" One of the Knights said, pulling Michael back into reality.
Michael stared at the two Knights before his gaze fell on a 2-Star Forest Elf Sharpshooter, holding a longbow that was larger than his body.
"You're my new Summons,'' Michael realized, blinking his eyes in confusion. "Welcome to the territory. I'm Michael Fang, the Lord of this territory."
'I have never received three 2-Star Summons from my daily summons before. Oh, wait…I extracted a big mass of impurities out of the three Summoning Cores yesterday. Looks like the probability to summon 2-Star Summons in the daily summon increased considerably!'
2-Star Summons were pretty powerful. Their combat experience, knowledge, and potential were good enough to put them on the pedestal in most territories. After all, the easiest way to summon 2-Star summons were Mythic Summoning Scrolls – which were extremely expensive due to their rareness.
Not many were lucky to possess many 2-Star Summons.
Interestingly enough, Michael could now produce Mythic Summoning Scrolls since he found out that 10,000 Summoning Scroll Fragments could be compressed into a Mythic Summoning Scroll.
He waved his hand to retrieve the Ordinary Summoning Scrolls and the Mythic Summoning Scrolls in his possession. Simultaneously, Lilica and the other 2-Star Knights in his territory rushed over.
The Knights were overjoyed upon seeing fellow Knights and greeted them heartily. They welcomed the new Summons into the territory. Lilica did the same, calmly explaining the situation and why the Elven Sharpshooter ended up as the subject of a human Lord.
Michael stared at the three 2-Star Summons for a short while before he averted his attention back to the Summoning Gate.
Since it was too bothersome to break the seals of more than 10,000 Summoning Scrolls, Michael circulated his origin energy through his body. He pushed the origin energy out of his body explosively, releasing a small shockwave that was barely strong enough to destroy the seals of the summoning scrolls upon impact.
10,000 Ordinary Summoning Scrolls and 30 Mythic Summoning Scrolls unfurled, shot in the air before they were pulled straight into the Summoning Gate.
In the next half an hour, Michael kept himself busy by watching thousands of Summons emerge from the Summoning Gate.
"9,000 Starless Summons, 1100 1-Star Summons, 27 2-Star Summons, and three 3-Star Summons," Michael mumbled when he received the final report written by one of his Summons.
He thanked his subject for working hard before taking a look at the more detailed reports.
"641 1-Star Combat Summons, 15 2-Star Combat Summons, one 3-Star Nightwalker Panther, a 3-Star Earth Elemental Mage, and a…3-Star cook? Seems like the territory's meals will become even better!" Michael rubbed his hands together at the prospect of having delicious food.
He didn't summon a 4-Star Summon this time, but that was not something he had expected, in the first place. The Nature Spirit and Masked Saber were Summons he obtained thanks to great fortune. Michael was already happy to have them by his side.
He might be greedy, hoping to obtain more and stronger Summons, but that didn't mean he could indulge in daydreaming for the development of his territory. Instead of being unreasonable, he may as well make use of the means at his disposal.
After all a big group of new Summons had been recently added to his team, they were introduced to their new Lord and the territory. Michael and his subjects gave the new members a quick introduction and orientation of everything thoroughly while also subtly mentioning that they had just won a pretty big battle.
The subtle hints also included the possibility of a 'few' Tier-3 Adventurers charging into the Untamed Jungle.
Michael would have loved to keep his new Summons in the dark and give them time to settle down first, but that was not reasonable. Everyone had to understand the current situation, and that the territory was bound to be in constant danger. The new Summons had to comprehend that they had to work hard to support the rest of the territory to grow and expand, otherwise, they would be swallowed by the Untamed Jungle, or the Zentika Empire's forces.
Despite the bitter reality, Michael didn't want to scare his new summons too much right off the bat. They could slowly get to know everything related to the territory, and the surrounding regions.
Thus, Michael spent the rest of the day getting closer to his new Summons. Some told him about their past life, and how they died. It was an interesting experience that provided great insight.
Once the sun disappeared behind the horizon, Icarus and Iglisis returned with news.
"The 13 Paladins arrived in Xiltra just before we left. If they're going to barge into the Untamed Jungle, it will probably happen tomorrow!" Iglisis explained calmly, while Icarus screeched in approval.
Michael and the others gathered in a circle. Most of them frowned at the news, but they remained silent – with their gazes lingering on Michael's calm expression.
"Should we prepare for battle?" Lilica asked, but Michael shook his head.
"What are we supposed to do then?" Mika asked, unsure how Michael could stay so calm.
"Tiara and the others are on their way back. She should arrive in an hour or two," Michael revealed with a sly smile.
He could clearly feel his connection with Tiara through their Link of Loyalty. The Battle Maid was on her way back, and so were the 5,000 Starless Summons that had been with her.
"I don't even know where you sent Tiara…will her return really change anything?" Mika asked impatiently and sounded a bit rude, which earned him glares from everyone else.
"It will change everything. Don't worry, you'll realize soon enough," Michael responded mysteriously, "If the 13 Paladins dare to enter the Untamed Jungle tomorrow, we'll welcome them with a…firework!"
There was no need for Michael to explain the situation in detail. Mika and the others should be able to tell what he was going to do once Tiara and the others returned.
As expected, less than one hour later, Tiara, Blaire and the Starless Summons finally returned. All of them were carrying a huge leather bag filled with something.
Oddly enough, the bags weren't still. They were moving and twitching, indicating that the things inside the bag were still alive.
This earned Michael glances filled with nothing but confusion.
"Welcome back. Is everyone fine?" Michael welcomed Tiara with a smile.
She put a huge leather bag down in front of Michael and returned a smile as well.
"Your plan was perfect. We caught them alive, just like your instructions, Master!"
The next moment, something gray crawled out of Tiara's bag, causing Lilica and everyone around to step back subconsciously.
"Are you serious…is that your plan?!?"
