571 Triple Trouble
A silent week passed quickly in which no untoward incident occurred. Michael had been focused on his new techniques to gain a higher mastery, while simultaneously re-refining his Mind and Body.
Since his Mind and Body had already been refined to a higher degree, it didn't consume too much of his precious time to completely re-refine his physique and mind to the Peak of the 2nd Tier. Following that, Michael practiced Sanctum of Life to refine his Soul and Primordial Pillar to conjure supporting structures around the Pillar of Light.
Michael consumed far more Energy Stones in a single week than he'd been willing to use last year. The energy consumption of the techniques was tremendous, but the results were equally great. It was certainly worth using so many Energy Crystals and Intermediate Nutrient Pills to accelerate his progress.
After the week of silence passed, the situation all around his territory had changed considerably. The dangers posed by the Zentika Empire increased. According to the scouts sent into the Zentika Empire, the Empire's citizens were displeased with the Zentika Empire's council. Their morale was low and a civil war was not far away. The revolutionary forces hiding within the Zentika Empire spread rumors all while preparing for the final strike against the Zentika Empire's Council.
However, the rumors dispersed swiftly. The Native Empire used their connections to procure expensive materials from outside the Origin Expanse to make up for their farmers' losses. Taros and his Red Dragon disappeared after destroying most farms in the Zentika Empire. This resulted in a severe lack of food, which was resolved temporarily with goods from the outside world.
The long term solution was to reconstruct the farms and to expand the empire's range of authority into the Untamed Jungle. The monster population of the Untamed Jungle was incredibly high, and it was a high energy dense area. Reconstructing the farms near or within the Untamed Jungle would grant various benefits to their crop.
Invading the Untamed Jungle turned into one of the council's campaigns to soothe the population's anger and to show their people that their military prowess was still high and mighty.
Micheal had to control himself to avoid bursting out laughing like a crazy maniac when the first scouts returned to report their finds. They said that some of the Zentika Empire's forces had set up a camp near the Untamed Jungle's border. However, instead of choosing the direct path that led straight into the Untamed Jungle, the forces took a detour.
They set up the camp on the northernmost border to the Untamed Jungle to avoid the outer ring that had been bombarded with Chaos Pills a year ago.
[Sun Demos!] Michael reached out through his mind using the taming bond, [Come to me and pick up some Scouts and Archers to observe the Zentika Empire's camp. Allow them to enter the Untamed Jungle and hunt some monsters. Strike the monsters from behind when they expect it the least, but don't kill too many at once. Don't overdo it, otherwise, they will move out with larger groups, which will make it more difficult to hunt them down inconspicuously.]
Michael had been preparing a bunch of weapons for the Immortal Knight and his people in the Savannah Region, but Sun Demos could make use of them as well. He retrieved the Spirit Armaments ordered from the Relic of Draka to hand them over to the Savannah Region's expedition and transferred a few Overcharged Elemental Crystals into a small pouch.
The pouch had been sealed to prevent any energy fluctuations from escaping. That was necessary to prevent the Overcharged Elemental Crystals from exploding. He handed them to one of the Scouts and gave precise orders.
"Channeling a trace of vitality into the Overcharged Energy Crystals is enough to trigger the countdown. Install the crystals in the camp, whenever you can. Do it either close to the most crowded areas where all tents are located, or close to the center where most magical devices have been installed. Once you trigger one of the Overcharged Energy Crystals, you have to run away, or you will die 30 seconds later. I didn't have enough time to experiment with the explosion's radius, but since we're using low-quality Energy Crystals, it shouldn't be too big."
The Scout could only nod weakly. His hands trembled as he accepted the pouch filled with Overcharged Elemental Crystals.
It didn't take long before Sun Demos and a small unit of his Blood Oath Demon Monkeys arrived in the domain center to pick up a few dozen Archers and Scouts to carry them to the northernmost borderline between the Untamed Jungle and the Zentika Empire.
The Legendary Summon, Tatjana, decided to join Sun Demos' group as well. She was curious about Michael's tamed monster and the characteristics of the Blood Oath Demon Monkeys. They intrigued her, and it was not like she was overly busy right now. Tatjana hadn't been assigned a proper task just yet. But to keep herself occupied, she taught the other tamers about the taming techniques and principles that she had been taught in the past.
"The Zentika Empire could turn into a problem if the Savannah Region's expedition fails, My Lord!" One of the older attendants standing next to Michael mentioned.
"I know, but we will be fine," He responded while tapping one of the Spirit Armaments created by the Relic of Draka.
Michael had been preparing a few simple Spirit Weapons for a while now. His initial plan had been to sell them in the Jungle Shop, but it didn't seem like a bad plan to start loaning out weapons and armaments. The Immortal Knight and other powerful Summons would do fairly well with the external enhancements provided by Spirit Armaments. Their combat prowess would increase considerably.
Michael called for another Scout, whom he gave three pouches filled with Overcharged Emerald Crystals and a small spatial satchel filled with the Spirit Armaments and some other goods he'd created with the intention to support Immortal Knight and the Savannah Expedition.
Combining the Overcharged Elemental Crystals with Zeroa's spatial affinity and Stinger's unique perk, it should be feasible to bombard a few settlements with a lethal attack.
Michael wanted to help the Savannah Expedition further but he figured that his current position was the most helpful. If something happened to his left, he could use Icarus to help the Savannah Expedition swiftly. The same was possible if Sun Demos and his Demon Monkeys were to fail their mission. Michael could reach them in no time to help out.
That wouldn't be possible if he joined the Savannah Expedition. Last but not least, the monster population in the Untamed Jungle kept increasing. Facing enemies from three sides didn't allow Michael to make any big moves.
The only help Michael could provide to the Immortal Knight was a bunch of resources, Spirit Armaments, and as many pieces of information as possible. The information included more details about his people's personality, the Awakened's Soultraits, strengths and weak points, and the true extent of Stinger and Zeroa's power.
"My Lord!!!" A flustered voice reverberated through the domain center when Michael was just about to return to his room to continue practicing his new techniques.
He turned to the source of the voice and raised an eyebrow. A young Summon, a teenager, who had been killed too early for his own good, rushed toward him.
"We noticed something unusual on the Pillar of Territorial Awareness!" The teenager blurted out, his voice filled with confusion and a trace of fear.
"Take a few deep breaths to calm down. Tell me what you have noticed," Michael spoke calmingly to the young boy, whose chest heaved up and down heavily.
"There are…red dots…northwest of the jungle's outer ring…
dozens of them. They are heading toward the settlement of the Trilance, in the direction of the settlement that is connected to the Untamed Jungle."
Michael tensed up instantly. He stared intently at the young teenager and gave him a curt nod.
"Thanks. I will take over from here."
Michael circulated origin energy through his lower body and exerted his physical strength to the fullest to kick the ground and dash toward the Greater Nature Spirit. He saw the Pillar of Territorial Awareness from far away, including the red dots that were rapidly approaching the border settlement of the Zynur Lord.
'Sun Demos and his people are already moving to the east, and the Savannah Expedition won't be able to do anything even if I warn them now. They must be in a fight right now.'
The timing was impeccable. It was too good to be true. The appearance of the red dots was not a coincidence.
'Interesting.'
Without wasting time, Michael manifested the Legendary Ring Artifact and the Spirit Armor Set. He utilized Enhancement on his lower body and jumped on top of the Greater Nature Spirit to cross over to the nearest canopy bridge network. Once he reached the canopy bridge, Michael's movements accelerated.
He turned into a flash and disappeared. It took only a few seconds to leave the safety of his domain and only a minute before he reached the end of the canopy bridge network. He jumped across the railing and landed smoothly on the closest branch. Michael kept jumping from one branch to another whereas his eyes traveled to the faraway location of the Zynur Lord's border settlement.
He activated Spirit Eyes to see the vitality variability through other objects. It was hard to see through the high energy dense air and the energy conducive trees that were filled with lifeforce and purified origin energy, but Michael managed to make out some details.
The reinforcement of the Council of Xylon had invaded the Untamed Jungle.
