Hero of Darkness

Following the cataclysmic battle of Kunlun, which had been brought to an end by the sheer might of Atreus, who had served as the war general, the time had come to report the details of the conflict and complete the necessary paperwork for the imperial authorities.

Unlike his usual modus operandi, this time, Kahn had no choice but to relinquish the saint cores and their corpses to the authorities.

He found himself acting like a dutiful police officer, meticulously registering each and every detail of the conflict, down to the last bullet in his metaphorical gun. It was the price he had to pay for operating under the government's jurisdiction, something that he had always sought to avoid since his arrival in Vantrea.

Despite secretly absorbing the saints' abilities, Kahn could not help but feel that it was yet another letdown.

Kahn was well aware that many of his preexisting abilities were far more unique, high-ranked, and superior to those possessed by the saints.

The majority of his skills were derived from legendary and mythical rank monsters with exceptional bloodlines and physical abilities. In stark contrast, saints primarily possessed skills that were solely oriented towards their class.

Moreover... the defensive abilities, magic spells, and combat skills that Kahn had learned from Romulus and Vildred far surpassed those of the saints. This led him to question the authenticity of these five individuals and whether they were in fact true saints or just fakes.

As for the other rebels and monsters, thanks to the Reality Separation spell, none of the soldiers and the captains had witnessed the events of the battle.

And Kahn 'Greedy' Salvatore wasn't the type to let go of profits so easily.

Given the sheer scale of the battle, which had involved millions of combatants, Kahn was not about to let such an opportunity slip away easily.

The saints, whose identities had been recorded and cataloged, possessed the most sought-after resources in the world; their cores.

Even Empires themselves needed these cores to cultivate the next generation of saints. However, once labeled as traitors, there would be a fierce struggle to obtain them.

Kahn had no desire to be a part of that struggle. The current version of himself sought to remain as far away from politics and the prying eyes of the empire's top figures as possible.

Given that rebels and monsters held no significant value as resources and were ultimately disposable, there were no questions raised about their whereabouts. Even the flying battleships possessed more worth to the empire than their corpses and gear.

Taking advantage of this fact, Kahn utilized his Dimensional Domain to pull them inside. As a 5th-stage saint, the current range of his Dimensional Domain extended up to a 25-kilometer radius from his location.

Since the battle had taken place in four different directions and the total number of monsters and rebels were divided in four different ends of Kunlun, all Kahn had to do was use Shadow Swap with his cosmic aether replicas to pull them inside in a single sweep.

Moreover, as the War General, no one dared to question the whereabouts of the enemies, allowing Kahn to complete this task without any issues.

With the rebels and monsters safely tucked away within his Dimensional Domain, the only task left for Kahn was to utilize Synthesis to create a new variant of stronger monsters. This would increase the total count of his Legion members to more than just a couple of million.

Who knew if he was lucky and ended up creating another legendary rank subordinate?

Under the veil of night, a highly important meeting took place in Tenochtitlan, the capital of the Nadur Empire. The meeting was held in the main hall of the imperial palace, a place of great significance and importance.

During the meeting, the imperial advisor, Zyatzin, who was a green-skinned crocodile-kin, reported to the empress about the outcome of the battle at Kunlun. It was a crucial report that would affect the future of the empire.

As the report was being delivered, the Empress sat on her throne, with her two large black wings spread wide open, listening intently to the details.

The Empress's authoritative tone reverberated through the vast 1-kilometer-long hall, which was capable of holding up to 10 thousand people at once. Her sharp gaze fixed on the imperial advisor, Zyatzin, as she inquired...

"Who is this Atreus Bellator?"

Zyatzin spoke in a serious tone, detailing Atreus's actions in the battle at Kunlun.

"He managed to kill the Hodag by creating an opportunity for his ally to strike a lethal blow. It was a direct descendant of the godbeast Behemoth, and a mythical rank monster at that."

The Empress's expression turned grave as she listened to the report. She knew the importance of such a feat, as killing a mythical rank monster was not an easy task. It took exceptional skill and power, and Atreus' actions could not be ignored.

As the holographic screen displayed the scene of Atreus leading the military forces of Kunlun on four different fronts simultaneously, the Empress's skepticism grew even stronger.

She remarked, her voice laced with suspicion...

"Even for a disciple of the Heavenly King, his identity is too cryptic. There were no signs of his identity as a saint within our empire. It's as if he emerged into existence just ten months ago when Romulus announced him as his Shadow Disciple."

Her doubt deepened further as she continued...

"Moreover, he is a True Descendant of the Fenrir bloodline, yet there is no record of his birth in any of the true descendant families. We will need to investigate him."

However, the imperial advisor, a 6th-stage saint himself, spoke in a stern tone, interrupting the recording on the holographic screen that became useless after Atreus used the Reality Separation spell to conceal the battle and his eradication of the rebels and monster tide.

"Your Majesty." the imperial advisor interjected, emphasizing the importance of the situation.

"What matters most is that he has thoroughly decimated the rebels and rebel saints. If you had directly intervened, the survivors would have accused you of intentionally targeting the tribe of the previous emperor.

It could have been manipulated by others for personal gain or to cause unrest among the twelve tribes."

He continued, highlighting the underlying truth of the situation.

"Our tribe has greatly benefited since the fall of the previous emperor, as you have granted many rights to our tribe and friendly clans that were previously struggling for decades."

Both the imperial advisor and the Empress belonged to the same tribe, despite their different clans.

"He has unknowingly done us a great service, and there is no point in investigating him further." the imperial advisor concluded, his words tinged with malevolent intentions.

"He is but a Shadow Disciple." the imperial advisor sneered, his voice filled with delight.

"Perhaps he will meet his demise during the Elysium Tribal Tourney in the upcoming month."

The Empress acknowledged his remark with a sense of agreement.

"You're right. For now, we shall allow him to proceed. Let us observe if he can survive the tourney." she responded, her tone carefree yet filled with confidence.

"Considering the power held by the Shadow Disciples of the other three Heavenly Kings…" she continued, alluding to the strength of the other three disciples of the Heavenly Kings.

"I doubt he has long to live."

Upon his return to Aurelius, Kahn brought Ivaar along, who was securely bound. The sight of Ivaar in such a restrained state surprised most of the council members.

Despite Ivaar's reputation as a deranged individual, he possessed formidable skills as a wood elemental assassin. Escaping by creating wooden clones was one of his specialties.

However, even Ivaar was unable to break free from the glowing lasso adorned with intricate runes that kept him tightly bound. This was a spell that Kahn had cast, a culmination of his talent as a mage and an artificer.

"I must say, your recent performance has left me impressed." Romulus acknowledged, his voice filled with admiration.

"You have proven yourself to be a formidable warrior and an insightful leader in both missions we assigned to you."

Romulus continued, his tone magnanimous...

"The tribe council wishes to reward you for your achievements. What would you like as your reward?"

Atreus paused for a moment, considering the options, and then replied without hesitation.

"Money."