Chapter 263 – Confidence

After Aegis left, he instantly appeared above the Hall of Elders within the Red Eye clan. Releasing some of his sense, he easily found not just one, but three class 6's gathered in a room. Taking a step, Aegis opened the void and teleported. 

The next instant, he appeared within the room. Of course, his arrival didn't go unnoticed. The three class 6's in the room immediately stood from their seats. Seeing the void fissure, they thought that it was Dream. However, they instead saw a faceless butler walk out. This was both confusing and shocking. 

"I come at the behest of my lord Dream."

Aegis spoke these words, causing the class 6's to perk up. One of the class 6's was Patriarch Thousand Sword, while the other was a handsome man with golden hair. This golden haired man was Patriarch Star. As for the third, it was another really old man who looked even more ancient than Thousand Sword. 

Aegis got straight to the point, speaking in a slightly robotic and deep tone. 

"My lord says that he is prepared to battle and will arrive not long from now. He also says that he is not willing to wait long before leaving to fight. He is prepared to fight with or without your assistance. However, from my own observations, I recommend that the class 6's of the Red Eye clan do not tarry so as to ensure the upcoming battles are victorious. Additionally, should you withhold your assistance, My lord will not be pleased. For the sake of your potential harvests, do be diligent."

"Now hang on a second."

Suddenly, one of the men spoke up. It was the ancient looking man with wrinkles all over his face. He had a mean frown, facing Aegis with an outstretched finger. He spoke with a raspy voice.

"We don't need your threats, whatever the hell you are. This is our war, and the spoils already belong to us! Threaten our benefits, and you'll make an enemy of both sides!"

"Now, now. Let's not get hostile. There's no reason for us to create a divide between ourselves when things are going so well."

After the ancient man lashed out, Patriarch Star stood between the two, mediating with a calm tone. Aegis was silent for a second before facing the ancient man. 

"My lord doesn't wish to create a divide. However, if your greed prevents you from being of assistance, then I will personally ensure that your spoils are reduced, if not outright destroyed. There will be no treasures, no knowledge, and no resources for you to plunder if your lack of help disadvantages my lord. And if you seek to create an enemy of him, then know this: He requires the souls of class 6's. Go against him, and there will merely be more souls for him to harvest. Choose wisely, your actions from here on out. And again, do be diligent."

"You-!"

"That is all I have to say. My lord awaits your arrival on the battlefield."

Saying that, Aegis turned, opening the void. The ancient man trembled in anger as Aegis disappeared from view.

"...Well he's certainly brash."

Patriarch star smiled wryly, not taking much offense. It was true that in this world, greed could get the best of people. Aegis just wanted to lay things out clearly for them. 

But there was a more important detail that he focused on. Patriarch Thousand Sword watched the area Aegis disappeared from, seeing the lingering spatial ripples. He wasn't angry like the ancient man, instead thinking the same thing Patriarch Star was. 

"So even his butler can rip open the void. This man... he's absolutely a profound individual."

Thousand Sword mumbled, and Patriarch Star nodded. At the same time, the ancient man calmed down, though he still sported a nasty frown. 

"He needs to teach that butler of his some manners."

"It's unlikely that the butler holds different intentions than the lord, Ancestor. Still, he's right. We need to pool our strength in these battles. If we can wipe out those class 6's, then we'll ensure our future for thousands of years, possibly even gaining a chance to become one of the dominant clans of this world! We absolutely cannot leave this all to one man. We must step up!"

Patriarch Star spoke with burning ambition. This was a once in a lifetime chance for their clan. If he passed this up or turned against the man who brought about this chance, he would be the greatest fool! Besides, could they turn against Dream anyway? He couldn't even be held down when in the heart of the Blue Blood clan and faced with two patriarchs. How could they do any better?

It was obvious what they had to do. Patriarch Star turned to the two others, his eyes burning. 

"Prepare the others. Gather our armies. We're launching an assault! This is do or die!"

..........

......

After Aegis left those class 6's, he went straight to Melody. He found her on a battlefield. 

At the moment, she was in an intense struggle with a class 5 who wished for nothing more than to take her head. But even after 10 minutes, she was able to hold out. Compared to when she first started fighting class 5's, she was much stronger. 

And during her entire fight, her face was somber, her eyes dark and focused. It was like she wasn't fighting a class 5, but searching for something in her battle. 

Not only that, it seemed like her attacks were uncoordinated. Compared to her elegant and flowing attacks that she was known for, the attacks she released now were crude. It was almost brutish how she would occasionally swing her sword like an axe or how it would strike at odd angles. 

But despite this crude form of hers, the power she put out was much greater. The class 5 couldn't seem to wound her or force her back either. Each attack of theirs was met with perfect defense, canceling them out. Every movement of Melody's sword seemed to contain an indomitable power. 

Aegis stood to the side, watching her battle. Finally, after almost half an hour, the class 5 began to overwhelm Melody who had expended most of her energy. It was at this time that Durack, the main person in charge of watching Melody, flew over to help. However, before he could reach her, he saw a figure appear next to her. It was Aegis.

Suddenly, as the class 5 swung his sword at Melody's neck, a hand appeared in its path. The sword hit this hand, directly shattering into thousands of pieces. Melody was shocked before turning her head, looking at Aegis.

"Aegis?"

"Hello, my lady."

Aegis nodded. Then, his hand shot out, burying itself into the class 5's chest. The next moment, spatial fissures erupted, and the class 5 was obliterated. His body exploded into pieces before disintegrating. 

Melody watched with wide eyes as blue blood created a mist in the air. She looked Aegis up and down.

"You really have gotten stronger. Those upgrades were no joke."

"My lord has blessed me with strength and the ability to be of service."

"Right. So is my brother finally coming out?"

"Precisely."

Aegis nodded. Melody sighed at this and relaxed her body. Meanwhile, Durack who saw this from the side could only shake his head. It seemed there was another freak added to Dream's group of monsters. 

Aegis's appearance caused a bit of a startle, but when he didn't go wiping out all his enemies, the battle continued on. However, it wasn't long before the situation rapidly changed. 

Suddenly from the horizon, everyone was able to see a huge black cloud. At first it wasn't anything special, but as it got closer, the cloud grew, and everyone was able to make out what this cloud actually was. 

"Oh my god..."

A Blue Blood asura looked in the direction of the cloud. He could see that the cloud was composed entirely of ships. These were the ships of the Red Eye clan. 

It seemed as if every single soldier and army of the clan was approaching, and that wasn't a false assumption. The sun was blotted out as this swarm of ships approached the battlefield. One of these ships especially was eye catching. It was easily five miles long, and on it were docks holding a few hundred other large ships. 

This was the largest flagship of the clan, the greatest weapon the clan could muster. Around this flagship were 6 other ships that were each a mile long. This armada was the greatest gathering of strength this clan could display. 

Then, from this flagship, two people descended. They were the two patriarchs of the Red Eye clan. 

The battlefield seemed to come to a standstill when these two appeared. Then, without words, Patriarch Thousand Sword took out a weapon. It was a sword 6 feet in length, and it glowed with power. 

Silently, he brought this sword down. Throughout the entire battlefield, thousands of ethereal swords appeared. These swords shot out toward all Blue Blood asuras, class 5's included. 

Toward this attack, the class 4's didn't even have the chance to resist. The remaining few tens of thousands were directly annihilated. As for the class 5's, they roared with their greatest attacks. However, the ethereal swords came down upon them all the same. They were all either instantly killed or put on the edge of death. And those who barely survived were killed seconds after by the lingering power in the attack. 

Melody's eyes were wide as she watched. Truly, the name Thousand Sword was appropriate. With a single stroke, the patriarch had cleaned an entire battlefield, and it looked like it was a casual attack of his. 

After that, the two patriarchs looked at Melody and Aegis who stood beside her. Patriarch Star spoke. 

"Melody. I'm not sure if you're able, but do tell Dream that we're ready to fight."

"...I can see that."

Melody mumbled as she looked at the flagships. It wasn't that she was impressed, just that she was surprised the clan had such weapons. 

Just as she was about to respond to the patriarch though, a spatial tear suddenly opened in the sky. The patriarchs immediately looked at this tear, and they saw a figure come out. 

Clad in an old school suit with two pistols holstered under his arms, Dream came drifting out with a neutral face. He looked around, seeing the huge armada floating on all sides along with the flagship. He rubbed his chin. 

"If you told me you had this, I could've made a better one for you."

"Dream! I am Patriarch Star! I look forward to the upcoming battle with you."

Patriarch Star stepped forward. The two had never actually met, which was an odd thing considering the stakes of this cooperation. Unfortunately, Dream could be an isolated individual when he was focused on something. 

Dream nodded at Patriarch Star.

"So you're the second one, huh? I see six more of you in that flagship as well. To think your clan had 8 class 6's behind it."

"Not all class 6's are leaders of the clan. Three of them are our ancestors while the other three don't seek such a position. Normally they are in isolation or traveling about the world, but for this grand conquest, we've gathered together. Come, I'll introduce you."

Patriarch star explained before motioning to the ship. With that, Dream followed, Melody and Aegis behind him. The asuras around the battlefield also went back to their fleets. 

Dream and the patriarch boarded the flagship, entering the command room. It was here that Dream was faced with the six other class 6's of the clan. There were three men and three women. 

Two of the men and one of the women had old bodies riddled with wrinkles. They were obviously the so called ancestors of the clan. As for the other three, there were two women and one man. That one man was actually standing with one of the women in his arms, the two obviously intimate. As for the other woman, she sat to the side by herself. 

Dream looked toward the couple first, and they back at him. The couple quickly noticed Dream's ring as he sighed, shaking his head. 

"You two remind me of my own wives."

"You have wives? I see that ring. Has something happened to them?"

The woman in the man's arms asked, her tone a little empathetic. Dream was obviously married and yet his wives weren't with him. That could only mean something had happened. 

At the same time though, the two patriarchs were shocked. They hadn't realized Dream was married. Neither of them had gotten good looks at him and actually paid attention to his ring, so they missed this detail. Beyond that though, who were the women that could actually marry this man? Everyone suddenly became extremely curious. 

Dream let out a small breath. 

"Eh, nothing bad happened. Hopefully. I've just lost them. They're galavanting somewhere in the universe. They're strong and we have a soul bond, but I still worry sometimes."

Dream spoke as he stroked his ring. He knew that Luna, Iris, and Alice all had amazing powers that had limitless potential. The universe they were in now would only make them grow. But he wasn't there with them, a fact he didn't like. He would occasionally think about them and worry about what could happen. In this universe filled with people powerful beyond comprehension, it wasn't certain that they could handle everything that came their way. 

Dream didn't like when things were out of his control like that, but there wasn't much he could do right now. 

"I'm sorry. It must be difficult being separated from them."

The woman spoke again. It was a sorry situation he was in, and she could understand his plight. 

Dream just shrugged though. 

"Well, I can only do what I can. And this operation is one step forward in finding them, so I hope it goes as planned. You are?"

"I'm Anna. This is my husband, Hunt."

"I see. Do be careful during our battles. I would feel bad if something happened to one of you."

"Either both of us fall, or neither of us does."

Hunt suddenly spoke from behind his wife, his voice full of conviction. Dream smiled a bit at that, just nodding and turning to the patriarchs. 

"Alright, I've seen enough. Let's head out. Head straight for the heart of the clan. We can be there in no more than 40 hours."

"Actually, we planned on jumping between citi-"

"I can't say that I'm interested in your battle plan, patriarch. Let's keep it simple. You fly every ship in this fleet straight to the heart of the Blue Blood clan, maybe leaving certain armies behind to start conquering cities. 40 hours from now, we start battling their class 6's, and possibly a day later, you could have your enemy totally defeated. After that you guys can personally go around and complete your conquest with absolute power and certainty."

"..."

"None of these small battles matter, patriarch. Only our fight matters. Everything else is just symbolic, time consuming, and a waste of resources. I mean, why go around killing your future populations? How about you kill less and then gain more when you have total control."

Dream spoke while taking a seat. Patriarch Star couldn't really respond for a bit. He had a whole plan that involved conquering city after city, draining his enemy's strength before going in for the kill. But Dream just wanted to jump straight into the deep end. 

At the same time though, there was truth to his words. And Dream's absolute confidence was a bit motivating. Thinking about it, with Dream here, there wasn't any way they could lose. He couldn't be pinned down. Even if it took time, he could keep coming back again and again, slowly breaking his enemy until he killed them. With such an ally, as long as they didn't get themselves killed, they would see the day of victory. 

Such reassurance was highly motivating. Patriarch Star eventually nodded. 

"Very well. We'll do it that way. Set a course for Blue Blood City."

The patriarch announced, causing Dream to smile. With that, the entire fleet started to move, shooting off into the distance.