" So what now, I'm just free to go? " Max asked with a surprised expression as he was not sure if Angakok really meant the part that he was free.
" What do you want eh boy? You want me to spoon feed you to Godhood? Go crush some levels, participate in the upcoming grand war, become a god with a SSS+ rating, be the vampire mumbo jumbo, people's champion, all that nonsense you want to do with your life " Angakok said as he dismissed Max like he did not need him anymore and this was the moment where the two would part ways.
Max frowned listening to Angakok's words, he did not understand why Angakok would make him go through all this hell if he just wanted to let him go in the end.
Angakok had not forced Max to do any dangerous projects from his end, he had not made any excessive demands, everything he had done up till this point was only for Max's development and now he was even letting him go….
This did not sit right with Max as he felt his stomach turn in fear of what Angakok's true intentions were.
Max was sure that there was nothing like a free lunch in this universe and the fact that he could not decipher Angakok's true intentions only meant that they were that much more sinister.
" Right, I'm free to go but how am I supposed to go? I can't interplanetary travel like you guys and I'm pretty sure you have not built a teleportation gate on this planet have you? " Max said as he pointed out the obvious to which Angakok responded by pointing towards Kremeth.
" Let your beloved master be your travel agent now, I think we have had our fair share of travelling together, something none of us want to repeat " Angakok said as he diverted the responsibility of taking Max back home towards Kremeth.
Max looked towards Kremeth for confirmation and the old turtle nodded, signifying his readiness to take Max back with him.
" Alright then, I'll be on my way" Max declared as he stood beside Kremeth and the two departed from Angakok's secret planet in a space bubble, starting their very long and arduous journey to the nearest teleportation gate, roughly 2 days worth of travelling away.
**********
( Meanwhile Asiva and Jathi)
" Please understand prime minister, the information society works like a barter trade.
I understand some matters are state secret, but there are some matters that we are obliged to confirm or deny to mentain solid relations in this trade.
I have an informant within the Titus clan, another inside the Caesar clan and a few more in other top 10 clans and they want answers on where exactly lord Ravan is?
I can tell them that his location is a state secret, but I need to know if he's there by his own volition, when he will be back and whether his trip was planned for so long or not?
2 months ago you suddenly tell me to look for this tier7 god named Kremeth, someone whose legend is difficult to find even in the history books and whose location is so heavily disputed.
I have deployed 70% of my free intelligence officers on this mission, yet day after day after day you ask me for the same report on this mission not even telling me what it is for.
I can accept that, it's a part of my job….
But when I ask you a single question about where my lord might be? You won't answer me…
You won't tell me when he will be back and you won't even tell me if he's alive or not.
People talk ma'am prime minister and if we don't give them an accurate response they will start assuming the worst!
Please, today, I beg you, not as a minister but as an individual who also cares about the lord, that tell me about the exact situation here so that I can minimise the damage it brings to the Bloodfall clan " Jathi pleaded as Asiva found her resolve to be shaking.
It had been 6 months since Ravan had made his last public appearance and the rumours had gone wild in this period.
Some believed he was dead, some believed he was kidnapped and being held hostage while some even believed that he went berserk and joined the dark side under Lucifer.
While there was no official movement from the Aurelius clan on this situation and no clarification demanded, if Max missed a single official summon or meeting regarding the upcoming war it would be catastrophic for the Bloodfall clan.
There was no legitimacy to the throne yet, the Bloodfall clan was new and finding it's way in the vampire society and the only legitimacy it had was the recognition of their master Ravan Bloodfall as one of the bright prospects of the vampire society.
Ravan was not yet officially married and had no offsprings to which the throne could be legally passed, which meant that in the event of his confirmed absence of death, the throne would fall under Aurelius rule until Ravan returned or was confirmed dead.
Asiva would no longer hold power and there was no guarantee as to how the Aurelius clan would choose to run this territory.
While they would not be oppressive, focus would definitely not be on developing infrastructure and development, but rather on developing military capability for the coming war.
It was not just Jathi who was begging her for answers at this moment, it was practically everyone.
Asiva was receiving unbelievable amounts of heat for not giving the people a straight answer about Ravan's location but it had now reached the boiling point.
She was at the end of her patience in hoping that Max would return naturally and everyday that Max did not return the thoughts in her mind took a darker turn.
Max had told him to start searching for Kremeth if he did not return by the 3 month mark and Asiva had did just that, but now even after the 6 month mark there was no confirmed news on Ravan's whereabouts nor was there any confirmation on Kremeth.
It was a messed up situation where Asiva was doing her best, trying to run the entire clan while also protecting Max's identity to the best of her powers.
" My answer remains the same minister Jathi, the lord is on a mission to obtain something critical for the clan. As for his date of return, yes he is a little late but that is to be expected from the kind of danger he is facing.
But if I know him well, which I assure you, I do….
He will be back very very soon " Asiva answered in a stern voice, not letting any of her insecurities show as she tackled Jathi.
The old man sighed, he did not want such a perfunctory answer today but it was all that he managed to get in the end.
Bowing politely he took his leave from the office hoping that Max did actually return soon before the rumours about his absence became wild.
Only after he was gone did Asiva close the doors to her office and break down into tears as she sobbed inconsolably.
" Ma-x….. please come back to me, I miss you- " Asiva said softly while sobbing as she understood that she had approached her breaking point.
*********
( Meanwhile Sebastian )
" Commander Coward, Will we wipe out the patrol unit of the enemy Barbarians tonight? " A soldier under Sebastian asked excitedly after being drunk on the previous days victory.
Sebastian had became somewhat of a legend in the frontier planets who now had a massive reputation.
He had managed to conquer 3 forts in 3 months and he did so while losing under 30 soldiers total.
Some people called him ' Sebastian the master of dead ' while some called him the 'Blacksmith of bones' but regardless of his informal name the Bloodfall clan soldiers very lovingly called him ' Commander Coward '
" Wiping off the advance party eh? Hmmm, no! Not tonight.
It seems like your education is lacking soldier, we have received a report stating that the enemy has deployed a tier5 protector in their next fort to stop our rapid advance.
That tier5 commander is a barbarian veteran having served on this planet for over 25 years.
He is not to be underestimated.
Turtle hermit lesson no 1 says ' When you see an opponent stronger than you - Run '
So no, tonight we observe only! " Sebastian said with righteousness as he flaunted Kremeth's teachings onto the Bloodfall clan soldiers.
" Wow, I was too short-sighted, it's only because of your cowardice and foresight that I'm alive today commander.
May the cowardice always be with you " the soldier said with gleaming eyes as he worshipped Sebastian's ideology.
" May the cowardice always be with you as well, amen " Sebastian replied as he tapped the soldier on the head.
Somehow, somewhere, in the 3 months that Sebastian was the commander of the 150,000 strong Bloodfall clan forces he had started preaching the way of the coward amongst them and had made every soldier write the 12 cowardly commandments 10 times each day.
The soldiers who were stunned at staying alive battle after battle started to become devout followers of Sebastian's way and their natural language became that of a coward.
It was uncertain if Max would laugh or cry seeing an entire legion of his clans troops becoming infected by Sebastian's ideology, but one thing was for sure.
It was the rise of the coward legion led by the coward commander.
—-----
/// A/N - This bonus sponso
red by patron Allcat_Gaming please thank him in the comments for this one.
Apologies for it being a few hours late ///