(Meanwhile, Planet Vorthas, Chaosbringer's POV)
Between finding dirt and leverage over the Cult Elders, and building the urban metropolitan that Leo wanted inside the Time-Stilled World, Chaosbringer felt like he had his work cut out for him, as he remained buried in his office all day long.
On the first front, he had managed to plant one of his men under the Third Elder's nose, a dangerous gamble that could have cost him everything, yet so far the man had not been discovered, which in itself felt like progress.
However, despite entering the Third Elder's inner circle, the spy had uncovered no solid proof that the Third Elder was in cahoots with the righteous faction, as apparently, the Third Elder carried himself with a lot more surety in private than in public.
Nonetheless, Chaosbringer urged the spy to keep digging until something tangible surfaced, no matter how long it took.
Similarly, he also faced challenges in penetrating the First Elder's circle, as no matter how many strings he tried to pull, or how much dirty politics he played behind the scenes, he still struggled to make inroads with the First Elder and his inner circle, as their defenses were ironclad, their ranks too loyal, and their dealings far too secretive.
However, while he struggled with his political goals, he made solid progress with Leo's other goal which was to develop a liveable base within the Time-Stilled World, as although only ninety days had passed in the real world, almost 25 years had already passed in the Time-Stilled World since the construction project first began.
So far, through the diligent hard work of his architects, planners, warriors and workers, two functioning metropolitan cities had finally emerged, each capable of housing five hundred million people comfortably, for a combined total of one billion residents.
Naturally, achieving this progress had taken countless sacrifices, shortages, and compromises, by his men. However, it was all compensated well, both in terms of pay and opportunity, as the individuals that went inside the Time-Stilled World and absorbed its thick rich mana, saw a remarkable increase in their breakthrough speeds and overall health.
It seemed that the device that Amanda made, held up well inside the Time-Stilled World's adverse environment, and terra-formed the space into liveable conditions that were not only conducive to life, but even enriching.
Hence, although he struggled to find workers for the first 30 days of his project, the volunteer list increased rapidly from then onwards, with him now receiving thousands of requests on the daily to be put on this project, as many wanted to shift there permanently.
"We have broken ground for five new cities, and have started to expand the capacity of the already constructed cities to house two billion people each. After another 100 days pass, I'll be able to fulfill 10% of what Lord Boss wishes, and be able to house about 10% of the total Cult population within the Time-Stilled World without problems." Chaosbringer mused, as he made a mental timeline where he thought he could complete 10% of Leo's dream in about 100 more days.... 50% of it after three years, and realize the dream in full in about 7 years from now.
---
(Meanwhile Amanda's POV, Planet Tithia)
Amanda walked alongside Argo as they passed over the hidden assembly line, their steps echoing faintly while rows of trusted workers below pieced together mana heart pendants and room-transformers with practiced rhythm.
*Whirrr*
*Click* *Click*
The hum of machinery was constant, but Amanda's mind was elsewhere, as she thought about how long it had taken to reach this point, and how fragile everything still felt even now.
"At the end of this week," she whispered to herself, glancing at the shining pendants lined on racks, "we'll finally meet Chaosbringer's quota, and for the first time, we won't just be catching up."
Argo nodded silently, his eyes fixed on the flow of production, as his own thoughts echoed hers, the sense of burden finally giving way to something that resembled relief.
With Chaosbringer's construction projects consuming their output for months, the assembly line had been stretched thin, yet once this week's orders were complete, the excess could finally be rolled out across the Cult barracks and be introduced to common citizens for the first time ever.
"This tool isn't just useful for life inside a hellish world... you can wear it on a daily basis to improve the quality of mana flowing in your body, and to improve your health and general well-being..." She mused, as she allowed herself a rare smile, the idea of common citizens wearing pendants that improved their lives making her chest tighten with quiet pride.
"They'll finally see what we've built," she thought, her hand brushing against the cold railing, "not just a tool for survival, but an invention that can change everyday life."
Argo said nothing, but the small grin on his face was answer enough, as the two of them watched the line move forward, one pendant at a time, toward a future they believed could transform the Cult into a paradise in space.
---
(Finally, Leo and Veyr's POV, Planet Batuk)
The last 90 days had proven to be extremely productive for both Dragons, whereby they learnt not just one, but two, Cult secret moves, from both the fifth and third elders, bringing their combined tally of secret moves learnt at 10/13.
This time, both the moves that they learnt were useful offensive attacks, called the [CrownFall] and [Nights Whisper] that gave the duo the ability to deliver the decisive strike in any battle they faced, no matter who their opponent was.
"Nice.... With you both mastering 10 techniques out of the Cult's secret 13, you should soon be eligible for Lord Soron to teach you how to weave them into one seamless fighting style. Unfortunately, the legendary thirteen technique is lost to enemy hands forever. So in the end, you'll only be able to master 12." The Third Elder said at the end of their training, as he expressed regret over how the legendary 13th technique scroll had been lost to the enemy, and how because of it, Leo and Veyr would never learn the Timeless Assassin's fighting style in complete.
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**66**
CrownFall is a decapitation technique, meant to end enemy lives in a single decisive slash. Night's Whisper is a skill move like Thousand Phantom ...
(More chapters in Buyers Club for TMT)