Tales of the Endless Empire
Chapter 188: Getting Everyone in Line

The meeting stretched on longer than expected, with council members raising their voices in heated debate over what should take priority.

"We need more armor and weapons. Many of our warriors are still poorly equipped," one of the guards complained after Isolde insisted that the smiths focus solely on producing ammunition.

Thalion’s thoughts drifted back to the system notification, specifically the last sentence. Something he had skimmed over the first time. The idea that they had to surrender their spatial rings and return their buildings made little sense to him. What kind of tutorial stripped them of everything rather than teaching them how to sustain it? They had relied on these walls, and only a handful of people had classes suited for construction.

Even those who did had rarely specialized construction as their primary path, which meant the buildings were of questionable quality. Furthermore, structures from the system shop were relatively cheap compared to regular items, giving little incentive to pursue craftsmanship when anyone could simply purchase a house with minimal effort.

He hoped the system shop would offer a way to take the cultivation chambers along. If they could acquire larger spatial rings, he might be able to store them permanently, which would be the ideal outcome. However, he doubted the system would confiscate their spatial rings and buildings only to turn around and sell them spatial rings large enough to hold structures.

That would contradict the entire process. Yet, if the chambers were being taken regardless, would it really matter if he could store them again? Since they were system-bought, they would be confiscated either way.

Thalion disliked where this was heading. At the very least, he should be able to keep the aquarium. Most of his other resources had already been used up, and a blood pond could be replaced easily. The darkness chamber would likely be worthless after absorbed the elemental. If necessary, he could transplant the trees he had grown. They shouldn’t count as part of a building. He would have to think about all of this in greater detail once the two special quests were over.

"Most of your guards were stationed on the walls and barely contributed to the damage output anyway," Isolde retorted sharply.

She was in a particularly foul mood today, which amused Thalion. This time, he happened to agree with her, though for different reasons. He owned the walls and fortifications, and if the system planned to take them back, they had better serve their purpose first. He hadn’t invested in so many defensive weapons just to fire them a handful of times before running out of ammunition. That was unacceptable. He quickly joined the discussion.

"We are almost guaranteed to be attacked by vampires and another undead horde. I want enough ammunition stocked so that our defensive weapons don’t run dry after only four activations."

"I think we can manage both," Lucan interjected after a moment of thought. "We have enough smiths and materials to work on both projects. We should prioritize ammunition, but we can still forge some weapons and armor for the weaker fighters."

Thalion struggled to understand how people still lacked proper equipment. What had they been doing this entire time? He could accept that not everyone had legendary weapons, but surely, by now, everyone should have at least the basics. As long as they had enough ammunition, he didn’t particularly care how the smiths divided their efforts. What he wanted to avoid at all costs was losing firepower when the undead inevitably crashed against his walls. At least the fortifications could self-repair over time.

Would the system reduce their value if they were damaged? He wasn’t sure, but it wasn’t an immediate concern. He had more pressing matters to deal with. He could bargain with the voice later and demand some answers about this entire process.

The discussion dragged on—how many fighters should remain behind while the rest left for the catacombs, how many should be allowed to leave in the first place, and various other logistical concerns that Thalion had little interest in. As long as everything functioned properly, he had no complaints. That was the council’s purpose, after all—to keep as many people alive as possible. Of course, some members clearly had their own selfish agendas, but that was to be expected.

The meeting continued until Thalion received a message: Jim had returned and was waiting outside the gate.

Time to get this over with, he thought grimly.

It was fortunate that no one could see his expression beneath the black mask. He was not looking forward to what was about to unfold. Jim was irritating on his own, but with the witches at his side, he wielded far more influence than Thalion would have preferred.

After excusing himself from the meeting, he walked slowly toward the gate, contemplating his next move if Jim had brought him nothing of value—or worse, something utterly useless. Should he kill him anyway? Jim was not necessary for activating the formations; being baptized was enough.

The issue was that baptism held great significance for many, and Thalion did not want to jeopardize their futures by killing the only one in his base with a legendary blessing, someone who handed out baptisms without a second thought. That would make a lot of people angry. On the other hand, he doubted those same people would blindly follow Jim to their deaths.

Thalion preferred to keep him alive a little longer, using him in the upcoming battle against the undead, where he would inevitably meet his end—glorified as a hero, perhaps, but dead nonetheless. His eyes sharpened as he spotted Jim standing near the gate, flanked by an entourage of twenty men. It was hardly a threat, yet something about it felt odd. Maybe it was a simple show of strength, a political move to make himself seem more important. If so, it would do him little good.

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By now, the walls were lined with onlookers, all eager to witness what would happen next. Without warning, Thalion dissolved into mist, shooting forward with blinding speed. His surroundings blurred for an instant before he reappeared right in front of Jim, releasing a sliver of killing intent. To Jim’s credit, he remained composed, quickly regaining his footing and maintaining a calm, focused expression.

Thalion gave him no time to spin some fabricated tale about how tirelessly he had hunted or any other nonsense he might concoct to paint himself in the best light.

"You had better have brought me something worthwhile, or this will be your end."

Another pulse of killing intent radiated from Thalion, amplified by the sanguine thorn. The insatiable plant thirsted for blood, and its presence manifested in the sheer intensity of his aura. This time, Jim faltered, stepping back. It was not even half of what the sanguine thorn was capable of unleashing, but Thalion kept that fact to himself.

He noticed Jim growing visibly more anxious. Perhaps the man had convinced himself that, even if Thalion attacked, he would somehow survive. Now, he was realizing that his chances were far slimmer than he had assumed.

Jim had likely purchased an escape token, but the flaw with such items was the brief activation delay. A single moment was often too long—especially when facing a stronger, more skilled opponent. Not that Thalion actually planned to kill him. He still had a role to play in the upcoming war. This was merely to remind him of his place—on the frontlines, where, with any luck, a powerful vampire would take care of the problem for him.

Jim swallowed hard, then took a hesitant step forward before beginning his speech.

"This entire punishment was unnecessary and will harm the base in the long run. Still, I did as you commanded, even though I had far more important matters to attend to. I traveled far and wide to gather these materials and items."

He finished his speech without a bow, without any sign of respect. At the same moment, he retrieved multiple items from his spatial ring, placing them before Thalion.

Thalion barely glanced at them before surging forward, grabbing the shorter man by the throat, and lifting him off his feet. The speech had been nothing but self-serving nonsense, but it also had served Thalion's purpose.

His aura flared, the air around him humming with raw energy as he roared at Jim, whose expression shifted to one of shock.

"You dare question my orders? You think I am harming the people in my base? This place has not thrived because of you or anyone else. My power gives this base stability. It allows these people to live as they choose, free from the control of power-hungry men like you. You tried to overthrow me after the battle against the vampires, and yet after all this time, you still lack even a shred of dignity?"

Thalion’s grip tightened as his voice grew even louder, infused with mana and the sanguine thorn’s oppressive presence.

"You are right about one thing. Killing you now would weaken the base slightly. So instead, I will put you at the front in the coming battles. You better prove yourself useful there, or I will finish what I started. We cannot afford to fight each other when the undead are at our gates. Now, get out of my sight."

His final words, reinforced with mana and another burst of killing intent, echoed across the walls. Jim who had stumbled backward after Thalion let go of his neck , quickly gathered himself before transforming into a streak of light, racing back toward the base with his entourage trailing closely behind.

The onlookers on the walls stared in shock at what had just happened, but Thalion could not tell whether their reaction was in his favor or not. At this point, he hardly cared. His blood was still pounding in his veins, and it took him a few steady breaths to regain his composure. This entire ordeal had angered him more than expected. At first, he had merely intended to play his role, but somewhere along the way, his frustration with Jim had turned genuine. That man was truly insufferable.

Still, this elaborate display had likely served its purpose. Thalion could only hope it had been worth the effort. With Jim stationed on the frontlines, it would be far more difficult for him to establish connections with Kael or any other powerful fighters from neighboring bases. That alone was a victory. Now, there was only one task left before the transition to the next stage. Merging the umbral predator and the darkness elemental. Once that was complete, they would be teleported to the fifth stage, where the war would likely begin in earnest.

Thalion swept up the items Jim had dropped in one motion before activating mistform, his body dissolving into shadow as he shot toward his tower. He would inspect them there. This had all been a performance, meant to convey that Jim’s offerings were unimpressive. In truth, they were valuable treasures for anyone cultivating darkness, but that was something he had no intention of revealing.

Now, it was time to finally fuse with the elemental. He still had preparations to make before the process could begin, as it would bring excruciating pain—far worse than what he had already endured. He would need to meditate for several hours to fully center himself, ensuring he was prepared for the ordeal ahead.