My Wife is a Dead Villainess, and I'm Her Living Weapon
Chapter 178: Grow

Chapter 178: Grow

"Let’s take a break for now; I want Bianca to be at full health before we engage the enemy Tyrant."

"Yes, Tyrant!" exclaimed the tribe leaders.

Bianca pulled on Elian’s coat as she tried to change his mind. "Darling, you are being too fussy! I am fine."

Elian frowned and poked Bianca gently on the shoulder. The soft touch caused her to trip and almost fall. The Tyrant immediately caught her in a bridal carry and reprimanded her in a stern voice.

"You have been pushing yourself too much, Bianca. You hardly even have the strength to stand. Although your mana is fine, using soul bind without rest is taking its toll. We will rest until you recover. The tyrant and this entire dungeon can wait."

"But we have been here for over a week now! We left Crestfall almost a month ago; we have to hurry back!" she replied in a ragged tone.

Rather than getting angry, Elian pressed his forehead to hers and remained silent.

When one was anxious, battering them with logic or ordering them did not really help. What did help was simply reminding them that they were safe.

I am here. We are fine. They will be okay.

With the simple forehead-to-forehead gesture, Elian wanted to reassure her. The effect of the silence and the human contact was immediate. His metallic skin could feel Bianca’s heartbeat slow down, and her breathing returned to normal.

Despite not saying anything, Elian felt Bianca’s body relax. She made a deep sigh and caressed his face lovingly, "What am I doing? I should be the older one, yet I always cause problems. I’m sorry; I was being silly, wasn’t I?"

Seeing her act unreservedly made Elian happy. Unlike before, it was clear for all to see how much she trusted him. It was only in the presence of those whom we trusted that people acted like their real selves.

If it were before, Bianca would just have kept silent and fought more aggressively. Now she allows herself to worry, complain, and rely on Elian. Compared to how Bianca originally was, the difference was like night and day.

With love for her overwhelming his heart, Elian smiled in happiness, "No, you weren’t. It’s normal to be worried about your family. But don’t worry. They have Father-in-law, Aunt-in-law, Ned, and Charlotte along with her army, Silas, and a lot of Weapons."

"Yeah, you’re right," Bianca said with a yawn. "I guess I really am a bit tired."

Like a child, she turned her body toward Elian’s chest. Making herself comfortable, she gave him a swift peck on the cheek and requested in a faint voice, "Please, wake me up in a few hours. I should be fine by then."

Elian kissed Bianca’s forehead as he replied, "Okay, leave it to me. I will guard you."

At his declaration, the witch giggled in a drowsy voice, "Thank you, my love. It’s so nice to not have to worry about yawn... going to sleep—Zzzz."

Before she could even finish her sentence, Bianca fell into slumber. Enamored with the woman in his arms, Elian created a lounge chair and carefully sat on it. Making sure not to disturb Bianca, he plopped down on it and began to brush her hair absentmindedly.

He could have just as easily created a bed for her. But, like most men, he wanted to savor the feeling of his woman clinging to him for safety. Silently watching her rest gave him an unexplainable joy and peace.

***

As the hours passed in silence, a voice broke the stillness.

"The Anchor seems content."

Elian looked up and saw the five tribe leaders all kneeling in front of him. He noticed that although their group was huge, every Naga had kept noise to an absolute minimum for hours.

Till just a moment ago, only the faint howl of the wind echoed in the sky.

He didn’t expect them to be so thoughtful, but he appreciated it nonetheless. "Indeed, she is. Thank you for giving her some peace and quiet."

Wordlessly, the five tribe leaders bowed their heads and placed their right hands over their left shoulders. It appeared to be some sort of salute.

Compared to the things Katri told him about the Naga, the ones before him were polite, intelligent, and knew how to be considerate. He grew curious and turned off his voice box and spoke to them using mana.

"You lot are quieter and more docile than I expected. According to my associates, Naga of Ysh-Natul are incapable of following someone else’s lead. Plus, you lot are quite aggressive, so they normally cull your numbers every few weeks."

At his words, the five leaders looked at each other. One of the Ocean Pythons scratched his head with a finger as he tried his best to answer.

"Your words are all true, Tyrant. Normally, we would not have followed anyone else in fear of being taken advantage of."

"Oh? Then why do you do so now? You are named Alpha, right?" Elian tried to confirm.

When Elian killed and brought back the Naga, among the golden-colored souls, five of them were special. Bianca marked them and gave them full support, allowing them to retain their egos.

These five were named Alpha, Beta, Gamma, Epsilon, and Zeta by Elian.

Alpha lowered his head and nodded, "Yes, Tyrant. I was given the name Alpha upon being reborn. As for your question, it is most probably due to the memories of your metal."

"Memories of my metal?" Elian repeated in confusion, "you mean when you were reborn?"

Fluffy, Bastion, and even Woody mentioned that being reborn as Weapons allowed them to access a part of Elian’s memories.

It was how they knew of terms and knowledge that only Elian knew. When Fluffy was first reborn, she even copied Elian’s tactics in combat to use against him.

"Then you listened because of what you saw?"

"If you would please allow this Zeta to answer my Tyrant," requested one of the Sea Sirens. Although Zeta looked prettier than most humans, the hair of snakes and serpentine lower half was definitely that of a Naga.

"Sure, go ahead and speak, Zeta."

"Thank you, my Tyrant," raising her upper body, she explained in a respectful voice, "Tyrant, your metal sings of your exploits. Your victories, your hardships, they are all made known to us by those that tie us to you."

Elian furrowed his eyebrows, trying to decipher what Zeta was saying, "You mean you saw what I experienced because of our links through my metal?"

"Yes. We saw other races and other worlds, yet you triumphed over all of them. This strength is something we long for. Even species we could not defeat in the past, like Fralhame, grew stronger by submitting to you."

Surprised by the words of the Naga, Elian turned to the other leaders and asked, "Is it the same for the rest of you? Beta, Gamma, Epsilon?"

The three of them expressed agreement with a simple "Yes."

"I see. So since you knew that I made those under me stronger, you all decided to serve me?"

"Yes, Tyrant!" all five answered in fervor.

"Okay, is there a chance that the other Naga and your tyrant will comply?"

Alpha raised his head and smashed his right fist into his left palm.

"It would be impossible, my Tyrant. Ysh-Natul has been unofficially subjugated. Our planet is being used as an Axis world by a Silver-ranked planet. Our Primary Tyrant cannot disobey his commands."

Elian couldn’t help but clench his jaw. This was the path of the weak in the Crucible. To be trampled upon and enslaved. As the Naga were weaker than others, they had to either listen to their demands or risk being eradicated.

"I see. Then do you wish to be freed?"

The other Sea Siren, Epsilon, timidly raised her hand before adding, "We do, but unless it is by our own hand, it means nothing."

"By your own hand? But how will you grow? Pardon me for saying, but compared to the other dungeons, yours is the weakest I have encountered."

The Naga clenched their jaws and balled their fists. However, as they knew of the battles Elian had fought, they could not deny his words.

Gamma, the largest of the Ocean Pythons, struck his chest as he cried out, "It is as you say, Tyrant. We are weak. Even after years of fighting each other to gain experience compared to those of other races, we are lacking."

At his words, Elian caught a particular phrase, "Fighting each other... Wait, are you saying you intentionally fight not because of conflict but as a means of learning?"

It was a grim realization.

Wars truly did advance technology and a nation’s power, but often at the cost of its people.

To do that with the sole intent of getting stronger was putting the cart before the horse. It was suicidal and had little to no benefit other than eliminating the weak and raising the strong.

Those who emerged from such a process were worthy of praise.

Yet till now, with over 80% of the dungeon conquered, Elian had yet to meet anyone strong. Even with all their sacrifices, their efforts led to mediocre warriors who died without much result. It was both pitiful and disheartening.

"A mentality only the truly desperate would know," he couldn’t help lamenting in a weak voice.

As he was in a similar position in the beginning, he felt a kinship with the Naga. It was easy to plan and join a war when you had both resources and strength. But for those who were weak, it was nothing but hell.

He looked at Bianca and wondered where they would be if they lacked strength.

With compassion for the Naga in his heart, Elian made a decision that would alter the fate of Ysh-Natul forever.

"As your father, I cannot allow my sons and daughters to be bullied, now, can I?"