One More For Good Measure

Having been informed in advance, the Fly Slave was already waiting for him at the Teleportation Array. With him was Cheong Suhyeon, who would be welcoming some new lost lambs into her gentle embrace.

"Everything is ready. We can depart immediately, if you'd like."

Reporting their current status as soon as he laid eyes upon him, Kjartan respectfully nodded at him, the Fly Slave's gaze brimming with excitement. Extremely minute ethical concerns aside, he was about to welcome an entire world's Han population worth of minions into his fold, which would allow him to make significant progress–even if he had to treat the Yulong State like a breeding pasture.

To him, his Fly Slaves weren't merely troops or tools–although they did do those jobs fantastically well. Among other things, they could also help him 'grind' Proficiencies and give his true body various enhancements if their numbers grew large enough. With the regular people removed and only the Hans remaining, he practically had free rein over an entire world, so his minions' numbers were certain to skyrocket!

"Good, then let's go. Remember, this time we'll take the stealthy approach."

Responding with a nod of his own, Theodore double-checked the coordinates that he had previously put in, then teleported them to an area somewhere outside of Yulong City in the eponymous world. This time, they weren't met with battle as soon as they appeared, as nobody had detected their arrival. Amongst the various additions to his Theodore-brand Teleportation Array was also one modification that would drastically reduce the spatiotemporal fluctuations at the place it connected to.

Hiding themselves as best as they could, even making use of an Array Disk especially created just to carry a highly advanced Compound Array focused on concealment and camouflage, the three rushed towards Yulong City. There, under the lead of Theodore, they set up yet another familiar Compound Array that would allow them to control all of the inhabitants without a sweat.

Based on the local conditions and continuous improvements over time–as well as the fact that there were no enemy Dawning Numen Stage experts present, as the Energy concentration here was a bit too low to sustain them–it soon took shape. There were absolutely no surprises of any sort, as everyone within its influence got successfully controlled the moment that it got activated.

"Fantastic. With that, almost all my work here is done."

Happily mumbling to himself, Theodore soon continued to refine the local Compound Array to the same level as those in the Qinglong and Chulong Worlds. He paid no heed to what this Han Empire's court would think about his actions, or how they would react to them. Overall, he would also have little hand in taking care of this world. Other than regularly stopping by many years later to reap a harvest, he didn't intend to come here again unless something noteworthy was found.

Infecting the local Imperial Han Family members irrespective of their strength with the already-prepared insect eggs was extremely simple now that they had all been restrained both in body and mind. Therefore, Kjartan didn't face any resistance at all as he sent out the constantly increasing number of Fly Slaves under his command to make contact with ever more of his minions-to-be.

As soon as someone fell under his control, the Compound Array would automatically exclude them from its influence, allowing them to move normally. At the same time, as long as a regular citizen had been incorporated into Cheong Suhyeon's believers, they were also freed and sent off to gather more of their fellows.

From now on, this was how everything in this place would operate. The Hans-turned-Fly Slaves would rush out to every corner of the land and infect their own, whilst the believers would spread their gospel everywhere as well. Once they had done so, they would embark on a pilgrimage to the 'Holy City'–which was simply what they had termed Yulong City, as Cheong Suhyeon would occasionally appear there.

After they had properly witnessed the grace of the goddess and become just as much of a fanatic as all those around them, batches of them would be sent back to the Qinglong and Chulong Worlds every day. This would continue until there were no regular people left in the Yulong State at all.

That point would be when the Fly Slave Breeding Project would truly begin. Naturally, even when there were still some regular folk remaining, Kjartan would already have the Hans under his control begin to multiply. However, he couldn't really do so without any regard for those who might be negatively affected by it or who could have their living space encroached upon by his minions. Only after all these hindrances were out of the way could it all shift into high gear.

None of this would have anything to do with Theodore, though. After he had ensured that everything was functioning properly, he returned to the Chulong World and went about the rest of his day as normal. Cheong Suhyeon came back soon after, making use of the chance now that Xie Mei and Han Junqiao were fully obsessed with cultivation to snuggle up to him once they had eaten dinner.

"Have a good night~"

Taking it a step further than in the months prior, she gently planted a kiss on his cheek before she rose to her feet, shooting him a playful wink. Then, she wandered off to the nearest properly set up cultivation chamber and continued sharpening her own will's tenacity.

Pleasantly surprised, he observed her via his remarkable perception for a while longer, then a slight smirk stole itself on his lips. Beginning his usual daily Energy Vein Incorporation and cultivation sessions, all returned to normal.

Well, everything other than the Yulong World and the Han Empire's court.

As to be expected, because the Compound Array around Yulong City didn't extend to the rest of the state, the Hans there had still kept their agency. Although it was almost impossible for them to notice anything amiss at first, after days and weeks had passed by, how could they not pick up on the strange happenings all around?

Not only were the undesirables organizing and moving away, but their own kind wasn't putting any obstacles in their way, astonishingly often 'donating' their own slaves to the cause! More and more cities and branches 'fell' in such a manner, terrifying the ever-shrinking number of independent survivors.

Yet, no matter what they tried to do, they couldn't find out what was wrong or escape. They couldn't even send a message to the court or get close to the state capital! In the end, just a brave few chose to take the sole way out of this whole mess and ended their own lives, but the rest were infected and turned into Fly Slaves within one month since the hostile takeover had begun.

The gathering and relocation of the believers-to-be took significantly longer, yet didn't encounter any hindrances either. Two months after Kjartan had held this entire world under his control did the last of them leave for greener pastures.

Obviously, it had merely taken a short week for this Han Empire's court to figure out what had occurred to the Yulong State. Seeing the same pattern repeated once again in such rapid succession, only a relatively short time after the Chulong State had fallen, made them extremely frantic!

They worked even more desperately on the Fire Seed Project, before allowing the Voidfaring Vessels under their control to brave the unknown around the same time as the Fly Slave Breeding Project could fully begin. With that, Salvator had truly escaped Theodore's grasp for the time being, brightening up his spirit a bit further.

This Han Empire's court, however, was anything but in a mood to celebrate. There were just a few more months until that Dragon Family descendant would knock on their doorstep, which was already annoying enough to deal with. Yet now, the unknown threat had forced them to play their most valuable and effective trump card in advance, cutting off all further routes of retreat.

There were still some worlds at hand that they had conquered more recently and not yet turned into proper states, or others which were originally completely devoid of sufficiently good living conditions. However, in an emergency, they could be repurposed and serve as some sort of doomsday shelters.

If there had been any kind of positive influence on the empire that the known and unknown dangers had had on it, then it was that a long-complacent population had been forced to groggily awaken from its hundreds of thousands of years of careless contentment. They had to actually put in work and effort into training their troops, educating their generals, reinforcing their Arrays plus cities and becoming a force to be reckoned with once more. Even those at the pinnacle of power reduced the amount of time and energy wasted on pursuits of pleasure, instead carefully refining their own cultivation again.

Unfortunately for them, this was merely a last-ditch effort. Deeply riddled with corruption, incompetence and rampant nepotism at every level, this sort of unity and singular goal to work towards could not iron out all the issues which had cropped up over the long years. At best, they could patch up some holes in their defences and make themselves a more presentable target.

But even if they could somehow pull off a miracle–which they couldn't–and return to their peak in less than a year, then that still wouldn't make any difference in the face of those who they were dealing with. Although the court was looking down upon the Dragon Family heir, that was merely their own bloodline-induced folly doing what it does best: Digging graves for them to jump into.

Was there any chance that a treasured member of a Supreme Pillar would fail to take down a minuscule Han Empire like this one? Absolutely not! But the Hans wouldn't see it that way. Someone descending from a 'lesser dragon' than their supremely revered progenitor was simply not qualified to stand on the same level as them!

Yet even if Theodore and the Dragon Family descendant had not been here, the sheer number of comparatively 'normal' Heaven's Chosen alone would have sufficed to destroy them far too many times over. Alas, they were a people apparently destined for endless repeats of such idiotically lamentable fates.

Already far removed from the situation, still tucked away in his hidden compartment, Salvator heaved a dejected sigh and shook his head. He had only just reconfirmed that the Han Empire that he had started off in would meet its end very soon.

'Despite how deplorable they are–and how much they truly deserve this downfall–I cannot help but mourn the end of such a long-standing empire. We Heaven's Chosen may be striving for the one supreme glory of all, but for those caught in our wake, our coming is the greatest tragedy. Not all are as irredeemably despicable as the Imperial Han Family, and I'm certain that the number of lives already lost to my peers' blades is incalculable.'

Sighing once more, he dispersed the depressing thoughts and regained his proper state of mind. Distractions and empathy like this had almost no place in the heart of someone of his background.

'But there is no use in hindering my own progress merely due to that. To call this a bloody path is an understatement. If I don't want to fall on it too quickly, I have to try my damnedest and exceed all of my limits countless times over!'

Finally brimming with energy and enthusiasm once more, Salvator began yet another cultivation session. Just because he was unlikely to find a place where he could break through beyond the Dawning Numen Stage's pinnacle didn't mean he would actually waste too much of his time. He could still further refine and reinforce integral parts of himself, like his Golden Cores or his Coreflame. Even his Divine Will could be improved to extreme heights within this century.

'Next time, I swear I won't be this helpless!'