Even if most of these Ersatz corpses were only in the lower stages of the Body Formation realm, they were still enough to completely turn all eight of his remaining Unity Clones.
In fact, there was actually too much. He won’t be able to use most of it.
"Ascend," he said to his clones.
All eight of them stepped forward, reaching out their hands to the pile of corpses.
And immediately, the black, glossy, obsidian-like crystals shot out of the corpses’ hearts and gathered into the Unity Clones’ hands.
They gathered as much as they could handle, before they shoved it into their own hearts.
A split appeared in their bodies, prismatic light seeping out of the seams.
The Artifice entered into the Unity Clones. Black tendrils immediately spawning out of its surface to try and corrupt its new user.
However, surrounded by nothing but pure Unity, every corruption from the Artifice was quickly purged away, burned and incinerated into nothingness.
Immediately, a shockwave of power emanated out of the Unity Clones as they shed off their mortality, ascending to become a Maugnetic.
Then, they shot from the first stage, to the second, the third, all the way past the ninth stage.
They elevated above the Body Formation realm, but just a wisp away from the next realm.
Finally, all of Michael’s Unity Clones were Pseudo Nascent Spirit cultivators.
Their ascension created a shift in power. The Orcs immediately felt their immense command over Aubility Power. Yuna too felt a chill on her spine. Never before had she seen clones of this caliber.
They may not be in the Nascent Spirit realm, but their sheer quantity made them a force to be reckoned with.
Yuna had a feeling that they could contend with an actual Nascent Spirit cultivator if they cooperated with each other.
"These are your clones?!" she asked Michael.
"Yeah. It’s too bad that I can’t create more of them."
Michael was lamenting the fact that since he didn’t have any more Unity Clones to ascend, all the Artifices here would just be wasted.
He couldn’t store them in his inventory and waited until he obtained more Unity Clones. There was always a risk that someone from Ersatz would be able to track them down. It wasn’t likely, but it wasn’t worth the risk.
If he needed more Artifice, then he could simply kill more Ersatz members later.
"That’s not enough?!" Yuna asked in shock.
...
...
...
The Shadow Orcs scouted the entirety of the Stronghold, but unfortunately, there was nothing of value that Michael wanted.
Their treasure rooms contained nothing but jewelry and some weapons and armors that were rare, but way below the level that Rebornians were used to.
All in all, it was quite a disappointing haul. If it weren’t for getting the stolen Key and the Artifice, Michael would have felt that this siege was almost pointless.
They didn’t even have Sand Dollars!
Anyway, it was still a good exercise. This siege showed that the Shadow Orcs would be instrumental in his fight against the Ersatz.
Before the siege, they only had twelve Maugnetic Orcs who awakened their Divas, and three hundred more who hadn’t.
Yet, they were still able to take down a Stronghold filled with thousands of Maugnetics who were all a hundred times more powerful than them.
Sure, they had the help of the Mini Drones, but if the Orcs hadn’t survived that long and took the attention of the soldiers, then the drones wouldn’t have been able to massacre their forces in one fell swoop.
Now, thanks to that experience, the Shadows of Reborn were ready to advance.
And it just so happened that Michael got an influx of GodForge pieces...
But just then, he suddenly felt a vibration in his pocket.
Someone texted him.
He took out his phone and read out its message.
[From: Lady Farren]
[Katarina’s here. She’s looking for you.]
Those words couldn’t have come at a better time.
Michael began typing on the phone with a reply.
[Tell her I found a Stronghold. Go to this part of New Sparta...]
After putting in the correct location of the crack in the walls, he put the phone back in his pockets and didn’t put it any more thought.
It was as if what he just said in his text wasn’t a total bombshell.
After all, there was something more important that he had to deal with.
He looked at the Shadow Orcs lined up in front of him. The Orc Chieftains at the front. The ten Elite Penumbra to the side. The three hundred High Orcs behind. And the rest of the mortal Shadow Orcs at the back.
These group of Orcs were instrumental in the dismantling of the Stronghold. Without them, they wouldn’t have been able to infiltrate the crack in the first place.
Then, he looked at the Dragonborns on the other side.
Jaku, Umisu, Zion, and even Sheina were there to commemorate this monumental victory.
On his right was Yuna. And perching on top of his head was the adorable violet slime, Fudge.
He took a deep breath before starting.
"This was a victory not only for the Rebornians, but for humanity itself. There is one less Stronghold in the world, one less hideout for those Ersatz rats to hide in.
But do not get overconfident. This was just the start of our fight.
The Platinum members were just the weakest leaders in the Ersatz organization.
If we are going to continue this fight, we would eventually clash heads with the Emerald leaders and higher. Nascent Spirit cultivators. They are the real threat.
But you have no reason to fear. You are all capable of ascending to great heights. You just need the proper resources to do so."
Michael smiled before commanding his shadow to create a giant hole in the ground.
Soon, white sparkling lights began to zoom out of the hole and hover into the air.
These flaming white drops were, of course, GodForge pieces.
"You all deserve to partake in this gift. Take as much as you can muster."
With a gesture, a thousand drops of GodForge pieces began to shoot out into the Rebornians around Michael.