Chapter 875: A Planet Lord’s ‘Welcome’
"Wait a sec...isn’t he the one...?!"
"The picture in the Main Hall!"
"But his eyes are different...?"
Murmurs like that reached Arthur from the surrounding soldiers. He cast them a side glance, then released his magic, sending an immense wave rolling outward in all directions.
Instantly, bursts of magic erupted from within the twin towers in response.
Soon, several figures dashed out, and leading them as he landed right in front of Arthur was a face very familiar to both him and the soldiers.
It was a man as tall as Arthur, with tousled dirt-brown hair, a faint moustache, and short stubble of the same colour. His crimson, slit-pupiled eyes resembled those of a vampire, and he wore a black uniform with matching accents and gold linings.
All the soldiers froze at his appearance, and meeting his eyes, Arthur raised a brow and said,
"Have the education standards fallen this low while I’ve been away? Why did it take so long for this lot to recognise me?"
Hearing this, the man, Stelan, chuckled and replied,
"People tend to forget things if they’re not constantly reminded, and most of these guys are stationed outdoors and barely ever step into the Administrative Complex Buildings.
That’s why I told you the pictures in the main halls weren’t enough and we should put statues of you in front of every Administrative Complex branch in each region, so all the godslayers would know their Progenitor and Planet Lord.
But no, you said it was ’gaudy’, didn’t you?"
Arthur frowned, clicking his tongue as he said, "Fine, you win, put up the damn statues."
"I’ll see to it that it’s done within the next 24 hours," Stelan replied with a smile that quickly faded as he swept his gaze over the soldiers.
"You still dare raise your weapons before your Progenitor?"
His eyes glowed faintly, and immediately all the soldiers dropped their weapons and bowed their heads, and some of them, especially the one who had shouted for Arthur to state his name and affiliation, were terrified, dreading the consequences of their actions.
Arthur didn’t really care, though.
He waved his hand and turned his attention to the others who had followed Stelan out, members of the Ruling Council of Nienope and some of their subordinates.
They weren’t godslayers like Stelan, but individuals of other races who had been oppressed by the Divines for centuries before the first godslayers were born on this world.
They had led the Resistance Armies to victory in the World War that Arthur’s intervention had ended back in Year 1054, and now all of them had become figures of Authority on Nienope, even though godslayers currently held the highest power.
During Arthur’s decade-long absences, Stelan had acted as his Regent, managing the godslayers and coordinating their affairs with Gozon, and though he held a seat on the Ruling Council as well, his role as Regent placed him a step above the other Councilmen.
Arthur cast them only a glance, then gestured to the three women behind him, who were curiously looking around as he spoke to Stelan.
"While you’re handling the statue business, make sure everyone recognises the three of them. Anyone who disrespects them disrespects me, and trust me, the end result of that won’t be pretty."
Turning to the women, he continued, "Come on, my dears, and welcome..."
Glancing back at the towers whose main entrance doors slid open for him, he spread his arms wide and said, "To my house."
Patting Stelan on the shoulder as he stepped forward, he introduced him.
"This here is Stelan, my Regent. Treat him like the uncle next door."
Stelan shook his head silently at the introduction, bowing lightly before the three as he said, "Stelan Adrovach, at your service. Nice to meet you, Ladies."
Once the introductions were out of the way, Arthur spoke to Stelan.
"You know the drill, Stelan. Status reports, especially on that matter I told you to focus on last time. And let Gozon know I’m around so we can discuss some commissions."
"I already sent a message to Gozon before I came over," Stelan replied, falling into step beside Arthur as they walked toward the main building, ignoring the other Councilmen.
Naturally, the Councilmen didn’t like it, but Stelan only shot them a side glance that silenced them.
They might have been older and initially stronger than Stelan, but the man, now a Superior-Stage Low-Tier Deity, had stepped into nonstandard territory and could easily best them in combat.
During Arthur’s absence, thanks to both summonings and the constant commissioning of godslayers by the Gozon Interstellar Army to manage low-level planets under divine rule, the average strength of godslayers on Nienope had risen rapidly.
When Arthur first arrived 83 years ago, the godslayer population numbered only five to six thousand. Now, the planet’s native godslayers had grown to over a million, and including those from outside the planet, the total reached nearly 20 million, though only about two-thirds were combatants.
Gozon, in an era of aggressive expansion, had been taking control of more and more planets across the galaxy and the universe, and they kept finding godslayers, especially in regions with high concentrations of divine breeds.
As per their contract with Arthur, they relocated most of these godslayers to Nienope and Shoisan, and those with combat potential were trained into soldiers, making Gozon’s conquest of Low- and eventually Mid-Level god-ruled worlds in distant corners of the universe far easier.
Of course, the gods of Valmone didn’t take this kindly, and there had been repeated conflicts and incidents targeting Nienope and Shoisan, but Gozon’s Demon Kings, recognising the potential of the godslayers and how beneficial it would be to support them during their formative years, stepped in to protect them.
They also intended to put Arthur in their debt, planning to use him just as he was using them to ensure his forces weren’t crushed before they could become a force to be reckoned with.
It was a long-term game, all for mutual benefit.
◇ ◇ ◇
"Thanks for handling everything while I was away, Stelan. Circumstances kept me from Valmone for quite a long time," Arthur said, glancing around at how much the place had changed.
Stelan shrugged as they stepped into the south tower of the Nienope Administrative Complex building. "Well, I knew I’d have an absent boss when I took this job from you over 80 years ago, so I suppose it’s only natural," he said with a chuckle.
Arthur laughed, shaking his head. "Come on, Stelan, you’re making me look like a terrible employer."
At that, Stelan raised an eyebrow. "Aren’t you? You’re absent 99% of the time, and even though you’re the Planet Lord and First godslayer Lord, the percentage of the population that’s seen you is abysmal."
The words hit the mark, and Arthur could only sigh.
Despite not having seen each other for years, their interaction was casual and easy. They’d first met over 80 years ago on Aramis, and for the sake of the godslayers on Nienope as well as his own interests, Stelan had quickly agreed to work with Arthur.
That partnership eventually became some sort of master-subordinate relationship after the events of Cruotis Prime’s apocalypse, when Arthur became Planet Lord of Nienope and established the godslayer Lord Title within the Race Ruler System of the Universe.
Arthur had effectively laid the foundations of power for the godslayers across the universe, leveraging his connections with the 72 Demon Kings of Gozon, one of the most powerful planets in the universe.
Their interactions were mostly business, and they didn’t know each other much personally, but Stelan was easy to get along with, and Arthur... well, Arthur was Arthur, so nothing was ever awkward between them.
"Oh yeah, Stelan, I almost forgot. I’m expecting two other people here soon. Maybe I should give you their pictures so you can circulate them among the soldiers, so we don’t repeat the mess from just now.
If they drew weapons on those two, there’s a non-zero chance Nienope might... you know, cease to exist."
"!"
Stelan froze, his eyes snapping to Arthur at the casual mention of potential planetary destruction, but before he could ask who was coming, a familiar voice rang out, "What sort of barbarian do you take me for, Arthur?"
Arthur turned behind him, past Layla, Esna, and Nicole, to see Berlal standing in the doorway, hands in her trouser pockets, glancing at the lobby wall lined with pictures.
"Arthur!"
At the loud voice, Arthur opened his arms to catch the girl who dashed to him at full speed and hugged him.
"I missed you," she muttered.
"Come on, Elaine, I was only gone a few days," Arthur said, chuckling as he hugged her back, then lifted her onto his shoulder, much to her displeasure as she rolled her eyes immediately.
"Yeah, but it doesn’t change the fact I missed you," she replied, having given up on trying to get Arthur to put her down when he did this.
As for Stelan, he blinked at the sight, alternating his gaze between Elaine and Arthur before finally speaking.
"I see... so that’s why it took so long for you to come back. You went ahead and became a father."
"No, I didn’t." "No, he didn’t."
Arthur and Elaine’s immediate replies had Stelan raising an eyebrow in surprise.
"...her blood is the same as yours, though?"
At this, remembrance flickered in Arthur’s eyes, and he nodded.
"Ah, right. Your mother was a vampire, so you’re sensitive to things like this. But no, Elaine isn’t my kid.
While she happens to have silver blood like me, I suspect that’s a trait shared by all Ancient Breeds."
Arthur paused for a moment, then stepped closer and asked, "Also, what about the population? How much have the higher breeds increased?"
Stelan shook his head, a downcast expression on his face, and sighed. "No Elders or Ancients have surfaced. The most recent additions are Arch Breeds, and those only began appearing 10 years ago. Currently, there are barely 300 of them.
The majority of higher breeds we have are High godslayers."
At the news that no Ancient or Elder-breed godslayers had been discovered on Nienope, Shoisan, or any planets, Gozon fished godslayers from across the universe, Arthur frowned.
’So there’s no one for me to test my theory on, huh?’
Just then, Esna stepped forward, alternating her gaze between Elaine and Arthur. "Is she...?"
"Hmm? Ah, right. Introductions," Arthur said, gesturing between Elaine and Esna as he spoke.
"Elaine, meet Esna, the first other godslayer I discovered besides myself. Esna, meet Elaine, the person everyone thinks is my daughter for some reason."
Arthur’s introduction made Elaine shift her gaze from Esna back to him, eyes narrowing as she echoed his words.
"For some reason, you say?"
She glanced at how Arthur carried her on his shoulder like a father would with his little daughter, and Arthur, fully aware of what she was insinuating, nodded.
"Yeah. For some reason."
