They would only be called out in special cases since each second they spent outside of that deep sleep meant a step closer to death. In fact, often if they were in this sleep for long enough, they wouldn’t wake up at all.
This aside, Dyon couldn’t help but think that all these moves by the Ragnor God Clan were odd. With his understanding of the martial world, cutting off problems at the root was a common practice. But, it seemed like the Ragnor God Clan was intent on maintaining its power, only choosing to kill off the main culprits.
‘What are they playing at…’ Dyon could only ponder.
In fact, it was odd to the point where the Ragnor God Clan was apparently intent on killing Dyon for having killed Baal, even though he technically didn’t do it. Dyon was happy that Ava had decided to protect Venus and Eli for him, he’d have to thank that girl later.
On top of all of this, it went without saying that the Kami clan and big sects wanted nothing more than to see him dead. To Dyon, their punishment was too light, but to these sects, there could be nothing worse. If Dyon were to know that, his level of disgust would reach new levels.
After their talk, Madeleine said she was off to practice with her master. Dyon finally set the device down to meditate. He steeled his will and decided to practice and fortify his wills for half a year before going deeper into the Elvin forest to train.
Suddenly, Dyon remembered something. Jumping up, he headed to the area he had placed the unconscious victims of the demon sage. But, he was disappointed that they were all still unconscious. Dyon had formed a massive array under the thousands of them so it could slowly purify them with celestial will and keep them nourished. It would be a shame if after all these years they died because of lack of food and water.
Sighing, he sealed the area again. Although he wanted to help these people, he also wasn’t willing to put his life in danger by allowing them to wake up whenever they wanted and wander around. He couldn’t be certain of how powerful they were or what the state of their minds were in.
All he knew was that their bodies were incomparably powerful. To the point he was absolutely certain that, even without essence energy, they could attack with the power of someone at the peak of the meridian formation stage.
They were all clearly talented youths, it’s a shame they had been imprisoned for so long. Dyon could only hope they maintained their sanity with the help of his celestial will. If it came to it, he could repair their minds with his aurora as well.
Walking away, Dyon headed towards the training rooms of the Celestial Deer Clan. He had decided to immerse himself in the understanding of wills. He had noticed something during his fight that made him even more angry with himself.
When his power had increased with the use of Demon Emperor’s Will, his sword had gotten stronger too. He had come to the realization that his sword was severely limiting itself in order to follow him. He knew very well how prideful the sword was, and he wasn’t willing to have it shackle itself for so long.
‘I’ll get stronger. By the end of this period, I want my understanding of these wills to increase many times over. I don’t need to reach higher levels, but, if I don’t truly understand them, even if they reached the peak of the ninth level, would it really make much of a difference?’
Thinking to this point, Dyon hesitated no longer, immediately entering the sword cultivation room, happy to learn his profound stones worked well with them. He wanted all of his other wills to revolve around his understanding of the sword, so it only made sense to start here.
Dyon was excited to get stronger so he could stand in the skies with Madeleine by his side. Strong to the point where no one would ever think to act against him anymore. Strong to the point where his parents would smile down at him proudly.
**
Many miles away from Dyon and the blue haired girl, a large ship filled with warriors and the corpses of their fallen comrades was approaching the Elvin Forest.
“These campaigns is just getting worse and worse,” sighed a green haired man with long and sharp ears.
“Ai, I’ve long since forgotten what we fight them for… but, it isn’t normal for us to come back so soon during a campaign, do you know what’s going on?” Spoke his subordinate.
The green haired man sighed, “The situation in the kingdom is reaching toxic levels… When we left, it hadn’t yet been time for the crown to be passed, but…”
The subordinate gave his captain a confused look, “It should still be many years before the king passes away…”
“It’s not that. It seems like the king hasn’t appeared before the court in almost a decade. Also, without a proper successor, the larger families are clamouring for a better seat…”
The subordinate remained silent. The air was heavy and there wasn’t the normal happiness that came with coming home from the bloody fields.
It felt like they were stepping out from one hell, just to enter another. A hell where not only their lives were at stake, but the lives of all those they loved and cherished.
The Elvin Kingdom had been rotting from the inside out for a long time already, all fueled by the unexplained absence of their King. What was a Kingdom to do when surrounded by ravenous wolves from all sides?
“If the Elvin Kingdom falls because of ourselves instead of our enemies… that would surely be the stuff of legends,” the captain chuckled bitterly as he looked towards the massive lush green island and the calm ocean waters as though nature itself was oblivious to the coming storm.