The Evolution Paths chosen for the Blood Oath Demon Monkeys were a little bit different from Sun Demos' Evolution Path.
Some Demon Monkeys grew in size as they evolved. They lost their Blood Oath powers and transformed into Herculean Demon Monkeys. Their firm muscles allowed them to dash through the Untamed Jungle and tear their opponents apart with brute force.
Other Blood Oath Demon Monkeys evolved into Nightshade Monkeys. They didn't change much in size, but their physique was altered. Their bodies and muscles were more flexible than before. Their perception and agility increased the most. However, the most apparent change was the ability to move through shadows.
The Nightshade Monkeys acquired the Racial Ability to move through shadows. The distance they could travel was not huge, but it was more than enough for them to transform into mighty assassins. As long as they fought in the shade of the Untamed Jungle, they would be near-invincible.
Interestingly enough, the Herculean Demon Monkeys and the Nightshade Monkeys were the most 'ordinary' Evolution Paths discovered by Tatjana. She found several Blood Oath Demon Monkeys with Rare Evolution Paths.
One of those Rare Evolution Paths was the Alpha Blood Monkey Evolution Path. The Blood Oath Demon Monkeys' physical strength increased a little bit upon evolving into Alpha Blood Monkeys, but that was not the important point. The Alpha Blood Monkeys' most interesting factor was the evolution of the Blood Oath's power. Alpha Blood Monkeys had incredibly strong regenerative powers. They could regrow limbs and regenerate lethal wounds within seconds until their accumulated nutrition and energy were sucked dry.
The Alpha Blood Monkeys could transform into the Monkey Unit's vanguards. They could suffer most injuries and continue fighting as if nothing happened, which was something Michael needed in the Monkey Unit. Combining the combat prowess of the Nightshade Monkeys with the Alpha Blood Monkeys created a near-perfect duo.
It was similar to the Herculean Demon Monkey and the Demonic Seal Monkeys, the most unique Rare Evolution Path Tatjana had ever seen. The Demonic Seal Monkeys could cast a Demonic Seal on themselves or someone else. Once unleashed, the Demonic Seal shrouded the target in a dark hue. A considerable percentage would amplify their physical traits, and they would go berserk, unraveling their hidden potential. The Demonic Seal Monkeys had different types of Seals that cost a different amount of energy to perform.
Herculean Demon Monkeys were the perfect target for the Demonic Seals. The Demonic Seal's efficiency was the highest when applied to the Herculean Demon Monkeys. That created a second pairing for future battles.
Michael's heart beat wildly as he imagined Sun Demos leading the Monkey Unit into battle. The Blood Oath Demon Monkeys suffered a lot in the last few battles. They had long since reached their racial limit and had been unable to break past it. At last, they evolved and became stronger than they could fathom. Instinctively, they knew they could grow stronger if they stayed by Michael's side. He would help them grow stronger and evolve as long as they protected Michael and his territory.
It hadn't been long since Michael performed the Links of Loyalty with the Blood Oath Demon Monkeys because they were Sun Demos' subordinates. Michael didn't wish to remove Sun Demos' subordinates with the Link of Loyalty. However, Sun Demos didn't care. He was fine as long as only Michael controlled his Monkey Unit.
Michael sensed the changes in the Blood Oath Demon Monkeys as they consumed the liquid prepared by Tatjana and the Master Alchemist. The different liquids prepared for every Evolution Path didn't immediately trigger the evolution. However, the cells in their bodies were stimulated right away.
Their evolutions would commence in no time.
The Blood Oath Demon Monkeys were given a small storage device with Nutrition Solutions and Energy Stones before disappearing into the Untamed Jungle. Michael watched them disappear and excitedly caressed Stinger as the Golden Stinger Bee moved around.
"It's not your turn yet. The Heavy Armored Elephants and the Greater Eagles arrived before you," Michael said lightly, but Stinger didn't want that. Stinger was done waiting.
"Okay, okay. We can squeeze your evolution in between," He chuckled as Stinger lost his cool.
Michael glanced at Tatjana and gestured to Stinger, who had teleported before Tatjana and had taken her by surprise. Tatjana understood immediately. She prepared the materials for Stinger's evolution with the Master Alchemist's aid and fed the Golden Stinger Bee a small pill with a honey texture. It looked just like honey as well.
Stinger consumed the pill. However, contrary to previous evolutions, a sudden change occurred immediately. Stinger issued a pained hum suddenly before honey burst out all over its body. The surrounding energy, along with the energy accumulated within 1,000 Inferior Energy Stones, was drained instantaneously. The energy merged with the coat of honey as it expanded, forming a cocoon around the Golden Stinger Bee.
Michael's eyes narrowed as he worried about Stinger's well-being. However, Stinger was fine. Their Link of Loyalty didn't indicate any issues. Stinger was just a little bit startled.
He sighed in relief and was about to approach the levitating honey cocoon when he noticed a small flock of Forest Pixies shot through the forest. They brushed past Michael and circled the honey cocoon. The Forest Pixies laughed happily and released a strand of green mist from their fingers. The green mist formed into tendrils that coiled around the honey cocoon.
Their attention was briefly pulled to Michael, but they didn't pay much attention to him. They happily left the small clearing with the honey cocoon in their grasp.
"I didn't take that into consideration. That might be useful," Tatjana murmured, glued on the Forest Pixies.
"What do you mean?" Michael asked.
Tatjana grinned at Michael, "You're fortunate."
Michael wasn't sure about that, but he figured Tatjana was unwilling to say anything else. Fortunately, he had Spirit Eyes to reveal some of the information Tatjana hid.
'The Forest Pixies drag Stinger to the Greater Nature Spirit. Will that influence his evolution? Maybe. Otherwise, Tatjana wouldn't act like this.'
Michael smiled lightly, diverted his attention to the remaining monsters, and observed them as their evolutions began.
The Heavy Armored Elephant and the Greater Eagles were the next ones to receive an evolution. They followed that, and the last two groups of monsters were also granted the opportunity to evolve. The Lesser Elementals craved to develop into ordinary Elementals, whereas the Bilrox hoped to grow into stronger beings. The Bilrox Queen's presence had already stimulated specific mutations within the Bilrox, but that was not enough for them.
The Bilrox wanted more, just like the Lesser Elementals and the other monsters in Michael's territory.
Initiating their evolution was not that difficult. Thanks to the Bilrox Queen, they met most conditions to evolve, and it didn't require many materials to initiate one of their few Evolution Paths.
Michael was curious about their evolution paths. He asked Tatjana various questions, but even the young Forest Elf couldn't answer everything. That was a little disappointing, but it wasn't the first time Michael's queries had remained unanswered. He was known for his bombardment of questions.
"Most evolutions will be completed in a few days. You don't have to be anxious about their well-being either. Except for Sun Demos' evolution, everyone else will survive with a 99% probability." Tatjana explained, easing Michael's worries.
He nodded his head subtly and decided to move onward. Since he couldn't alter anything first, Michael might as well distract himself with work, work, and even more work.
Michael went to the Underground Forging Hall, where he retrieved a small fortune of high-quality blueprints, materials with which they could upgrade their Grandmaster Smithies, and a wide variety of Tool Artifacts – specific Artifacts that could be soulbound to Summons. The Tool Artifacts were expensive, but their utility was enormous. As long as they were bound to suitable Summons, Tool Artifacts would develop Innate Abilities that were highly compatible with the Summon's nature.
Michael had some Summons in mind when he purchased the Tool Artifacts. He was fully aware of the abilities that could form from some Tool Artifacts, which is why he made sure that the right owner would obtain them.
The Blacksmith Summons thanked him from the bottom of their hearts for the Tool Artifacts. Some were so thankful that they embraced Michael, tight and warm. Of course, the Blacksmiths weren't the cleanest after working several hours in the Underground Forging Hall in front of their Grandmaster Smithy, but Michael didn't mind that. It wasn't the first time that he was dirty.
Michael ignored the dirt all over his clothes and inspected the Blacksmiths instead. Compared to a year ago, the Blacksmiths had improved a lot. They used Fire Elemental Crystals to purify the metal ingots and received constant help from Fire Elementals and some Pyro Bilrox who could regulate the fires' temperature perfectly. Their combined effort and the high-
quality forge and tools were more than enough to create high-quality weapons and armor.
The Weaponsmiths managed to create weapons that rivaled the quality of Rare Artifacts. They only missed special engravings, turning ordinary weapons into Artificial Artifacts. However, instead of creating Artifacts, Michael hoped that the blacksmiths would focus on the quality of their work. Artifacts might be worth a lot, but Summons couldn't use them…yet.
The Blacksmiths' research with the Relic of Draka underwent massive changes. They had a breakthrough and retrieved some of the Relic's methods to create Spirit Armaments. The portion was not enough to recreate the whole technique, but it was a good start to experiment with creating Spirit Armaments.
Once Michael's Blacksmiths created their own Spirit Armor, it would be possible to equip the Untamed Army with Armor that boosted the Summons' properties like Artifacts.
Michael glanced forward to their research. He was curious enough to deploy Rebecca Zauber to accelerate their research.
The Spirit Armament creation method was worth it, after all.
