The trip to the Chieftain and the War Priestess wasn't too tricky. Michael anchored his Runic Gate to the spaceship that brought him to his destination while he stayed inside the Origin Expanse to get used to Sacred Constitution's changes.
At this point, Michael wasn't sure how strong he was. His physical strength easily exceeded the limits of a Lesser Lifeform without using Heavenly Beast Physique. Michael was fairly sure that his physical strength was close to the Mid-rank of Tier-4.
'Once I ascend, my physical strength should be close to Tier-5. If I upgrade Heavenly Beast Physique to the Elite Class, it shouldn't be a problem to hold my forte against Oliver.'
Oliver Zeus was the only Tier-5 powerhouse he'd fought seriously until now. Of course, some desperate powerhouses'd attempted to attack him when Extraction had been revealed to the public, but his condition was different at that time. Furthermore, Alice was present long before he could go all-out.
'It's not like I would have been able to do anything against them at that time, either. I'm a lot stronger now, though.'
The Flag War and upgrading the Soul Grimoire to 7-Star were his last goals before he would put his mind and body into the ascension to a Higher Lifeform. The resources for his ascension were already prepared. It was only a matter of time before he could go all out.
Once Michael got used to Sacred Constitution's reinforcement, he left the Origin Expanse to spend some more time with Alice. Alice Zenovia had been announced as the official mediator between the Berserkers, Warlock Centaurs, and Humans. Michael was not sure how she managed to do that while being busy repairing the border cities in her territory after some of them had been crushed in the last Regional War, but she did it.
Alice's time management was impeccable. She planned her move perfectly and had more than enough time to take care of everything that came her way.
Alice and Michael's time together was cut short when they arrived near the humongous dimensional portal only a few hours after Michael returned from the Origin Expanse. They were forced to disembark the spaceship and meet with the War Priestess and the Chieftain. The leaders greeted Michael and Alice politely.
Something about their demeanor had changed. Michael noticed faint changes in their expressions as their eyes fell upon him. Their gazes weren't hostile. It was just that the two leaders of the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs were shocked to perceive how strong Michael had grown.
It was hard for humans to appraise the physical level of other beings. They could sense the energy level of other beings relatively easily with their high energy control – as long as the target couldn't conceal their energy perfectly –, but the physical level of other beings was something humans could only gauge.
Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs were slightly more perceptive about the physical strength of other beings. They couldn't sense the energy level of other beings well, but it was easy for them to tell that Michael's physical strength exceeded the limits of a Lesser Lifeform.
"I'm not sure if you can still participate in the Interdimensional Flag War," The Chieftain murmured, surprising Alice.
"What are you talking about, Chieftain? We didn't bring anyone else. If you don't allow Michael to participate…how else will we end the Flag War before the Tekur transforms the dimensional portal into a permanent bridge?"
The War Priestess smiled lightly at Alice's question, "I don't think that's what Palika means. He's saying that the interdimensional portal might repulse him due to his extraordinary physical level."
Alice glanced at Michael, who smiled lightly.
"The dimensional portal cares only about the War Rune. I'm not a Higher Lifeform yet, so my physique won't cause any issues," He said nonchalantly, his words overflowing with confidence.
The War Priestess and the Chieftain glanced at him for a while.
"That's true. I was thinking that the dimensional portal might reject you because your physical strength isn't something a Lesser Lifeform should be able to attain. Even our Warlords and War Monarchs can barely attain the standards of the Lowest Tier-4 Awakened at the Late-rank or Peak of the 3rd Tier."
The leaders of the Tritan Alliance praised Michael slightly more with indirect comments. Alice was stupefied and stared at them for a while before she gestured to the vibrating purple portal that towered near the horizon.
"I think it's time to go. The portal is active," She commented before gently pushing Michael to the side, "What did you do?"
It felt like Alice was about to accuse him of something, but her lips were sealed tightly when she saw that her boyfriend smiled at her from one ear to another.
"How about you spent the rest of the day with Palika Mavenham and Silvana Zentur? You came here to converse to them about some business, didn't you? Finish that deal before I'm back, and I will tell you some of my secrets," Michael teased, only for Alice's frown to deepen.
"You still have secrets from me? I didn't think you could have anymore secrets. Just how many secrets did you have before?" Alice asked out of genuine curiosity.
"They're not really secrets. It's just that I didn't tell you everything about some things yet. I didn't plan to throw everything at you at once," Michael responded lightly.
"So it's about your family and the tattoo on your back?" She asked, only for Michael to act like he was shocked.
"How do you know what my back looks like? Did you watch me when–...." He acted bewildered and talked loud enough for Palika and Silvana to hear.
Heat rose up to Alice's cheeks. She pushed forward and covered his lips with her hands, only for Michael to wink at her.
Michael's attention pulled to the Chieftain and the War Priestess momentarily.
[I will leave now. Please don't mind the portal when it shatters later. Finish your business with the Frozen Duchess first.]
Michael said before he poked Alice into the sides one last time. Alice had to suppress a sequel and was about to take revenge when Michael disappeared. He used Cosmic Stride to appear before the massive dimensional portal that towered tens of meters before him.
The dimensional portal was a massive, purple Runic Gate. It was open and awaited the entrance of 1000 participants. However, this year, only one member would enter the Flag War from the Tritan Alliance's side. That was more than enough. It was all they needed.
A few powerhouses awaited Michael before the portal, but he ignored them. He teleported right before the portal and stepped inside.
'Let's see.'
Michael emerged somewhere inside the vast, isolated dimension like last year. However, this year, his life was not in danger. If anything, he was the biggest threat to all living in the Flag War. The Tekur didn't even know what awaited them.
Knowing he was likely the strongest being in the Flag War felt good. It was satisfying.
However, he secretly hoped that the 1,000 Tekur wouldn't go down so easily. It would be boring if he couldn't even go all-out against his enemies. Slaughtering them ruthlessly was fine for he had to destroy the Dimensional Pillars to prevent the Tekur's invasion, but he wanted a challenge as well.
"Don't die too rapidly on me!"
