Harbingers of Change

Chapter 9

While remotely controlling a flesh golem she had reshaped in her general image, Toltecatl enjoyed a piece of cheesecake in one of the numerous streetside cafes found in the capital of Ingrassia, this particular one popular for its dairy products.

Though the information she left behind had shaken off Tempest's pursuers by redirecting them towards another opponent of theirs, they could return to hunt her at any moment. The mere carelessness she had shown while hunting in the demon lord territories was a sign of her losing her touch. Such a blunder could have cost her her freedom and brought her into the clutches of a being more powerful than Luminous, one strong enough that merely his maids were almost as strong as the demon lord of Ruberios.

Despite not attempting to contact and confirm with Momonga directly, it seemed that he had at least agreed to her terms for the time being. The current plan was to gather more information that could be sent in Tempest's direction as amends for her accidental treading into their puppets' lands and killing a few of their weaklings, given that Tempest appeared quite protective of what it had. Additionally, she needed to expand the army of thralls to increase the buffer zone between herself and all the dangers this unreasonably unbalanced world could throw at her, from the stronger majin adventurers to the strongest Demon Lords and True Dragons.

But that posed the main dilemma Toltecatl faced right now. Where to find decently strong meals to grow in power? Even the strongest A-ranked humans didn't provide much in terms of growth, she couldn't touch Tempest's inhabitants or those of its puppet nations, and the Eastern Empire with its dragon guardian was out of the question as well due to its unknown power levels that even Tempest respected. The elven empire was a big unknown, with the possibility of finding threats she couldn't deal with given the holy tree she had only ever heard about.

'I guess I could try entering Ruberios and see how strong that barrier is. Losing a few golem bodies shouldn't be a big concern.' She decided on the next step as she ate the last piece of the delicious treat and downed it with sweetened tea, a little bit too sweet for her liking but still delicious nonetheless.

Knowing the cultural norms of this world, she fished a silver coin from her pocket to leave as a tip; she had thousands of them from her meals in the past, she could afford to tip generously here. She then quickly faded out of her chair, appearing in a small border town right outside the shield that protected Ruberios.

'Let's see how powerful you are, daughter of Twilight,' She mused, approaching the barrier. Or at least the place where the barrier should be. With genuine confusion plastered across her face, she stopped at the border post and extended her hand, magical energies at the ready.

There was nothing. No sense of burning, no resistance. The barrier simply wasn't there, only air and ambient magicules. She had heard that Ruberios had fallen as a country, but that alone shouldn't be a reason for its disappearance given Luminous' power level. A creature who was twenty-two thousand years old couldn't be so careless as to not create backups upon backups over thousands of years.

'You truly are a careless fool,' Toltecatl broke into a grin. If this area wasn't claimed by anyone, then it would be her playground. She activated the All-Seeing Eye and used the skill to ensure she didn't get in the way of other powerful beings. Luckily, the only notable presence in the entire nation was the United Trade Company, which wasn't that difficult to avoid as it mostly operated in the northern farmlands at this point. Even if it spread, she would welcome them with open arms and let them control the finances; after all, she was here for more luxurious goods.

'Maybe assisting the Tempest's Greed Baron Peroroncino by filling his coffers would paint me in a positive enough light to avoid fearing capture by them. His overindulgence in the company of women could work in my favor as well, I could perhaps make a few thralls to send his way. Not eating my bed partner for once would be a novel experience for sure, given how strong he could be.' Toltecatl made plans on how to deal with the spread of the Trade Company in case their interests started to intercept her's in the region.

Picking the nearest regional center, Toltecatl arrived in a medium-sized city with about forty thousand inhabitants. It was a spacious area that was severely unguarded compared to what she had expected for a nation under the rule of an ancient Demon Lord.

Her next course of action was to find who was in charge, but this feat proved somewhat difficult due to the fact that Ruberios was a theocracy, and the vast majority of the clergy had been eliminated by Tempest.

More reason to avoid angering the massive behemoth to the east for the time being, given the rumors she heard over the next few hours of surveillance suggested that monstrously powerful demons and majins had once rampaged through Ruberios.

The people on the streets answered all her questions without as much as suspecting her motives, but then again, humans in this nation were raised as livestock, lacking ambition and a sense of self-preservation under the guise of a utopia, when in actuality they were not much more than blood donors for vampires, who were Luminous' true people. They led contented lives, happy to regularly donate their blood in exchange for their daily needs being satisfied, their safety against other monsters and demihumans ensured and the constant mental support of the Ruberios church that handled all the problems they ever had.

They had no reason to suspect her, given that she had dressed herself similarly to them. Perhaps they thought of her as a fellow citizen, albeit a strong one, not that it was important what the flesh bags thought.

From the information she gathered, the only leadership of the city was a council of elected people tasked with overseeing day-to-day activities, and this council operated from the cathedral at the very center of the town.

No one tried to stop or question her. Anyone could just waltz into the cathedral and meet the council members since nobody would ever dare to even think of performing criminal acts upon their problem solvers, and open access ensured that solutions were dispensed with minimal interference or delay.

'These people are hopeless, it's practically a crime to leave them be without being converted with how open they are,' She walked past an older lady at the entrance who greeted her with a tranquil smile, giving the impression that there was nothing behind it, only a wish that she had her quarrels with a fellow citizen solved satisfactorily.

The cathedral was a sixty-meter-tall piece of art, adorned with arching, stained glass windows and a massive bell tower. The interior was made with the grandeur of the Goddess in mind, as it was a painting of a stylized depiction of Luminous that greeted her upon entering the massive hall with orderly rows of benches covering most of the space, various mortals praying throughout.

'Pretending to be all noble and holy? How banal. I should pull your fangs out for such a mockery of our kind.' The scenery did nothing but only increase her disdain for the daughter of her captor.

The six council members, noticing her approach, ended their conversation.

"Good day, traveler. Can we somehow help you?" One of them, an older man with graying hair, greeted her with the same tranquil smile as the lady at the entrance had. Perhaps her husband, not that it mattered all that much to Toltecatl.

"Yes, in fact you can. All of you come closer, I've come with a gift for your services." Toltecatl beckoned them to gather around her.

Like sheep, these people approached her, not sensing even a smidge of danger from the ancient vampire whose gift was quite… delicious for some.

She moved with grace and efficiency, swiftly and without notice. Each bite in the shoulder took but a moment and none resisted or tried to run. Her bite let her pour her blood into open wounds through tiny holes in her fangs. In a stunned shock, like herd animals, they allowed themselves to be turned into her thralls, to serve her forevermore.

"Now, go turn the others into my servants. You will be the first to build my empire," Toltecatl announced, blood dripping from her grinning mouth. The six figures charged towards the exit to carry out her will. Soon, the entire city would be hers as each thrall created more thralls, and within moments she heard screams throughout the church.

"Now, let's redecorate a little," She glanced up at the painting, magical circles forming in her hands. A pair of fireballs incinerated the depiction of the false Goddess in an instant. Removal of Luminous' image was only a part of the job.

With slow and methodical steps, she approached the altar booth and kicked it into splinters, shattering it in an instant. This very cathedral would serve as her first throne room over her servants. The armies of the turned would be her shield from powers she could never hope to fight, strong enough to take on the humans' elites until she gathered more power.

Her main goal was still the same; to gather enough power to tear a hole in reality itself, escape this cursed world, and hopefully return to her birthplace and restore her empire to its former glory. If she was ever to hope to rule a world, it would be a world where she was the sole ascended being walking its soil, not this crazed world of hyped-up dragons and world-destroying demons.

<X>

A ten-meter-tall building with multiple gun turrets, mounted on massive track wheels, slowly crawled forward through a forest. The fortress, being led by a group of Death Knights, tore down trees to create a makeshift road as the wood itself was stored as backup fuel.

The technological marvel of engineering was designed by the combined efforts of Pandora's Actor, Veldora, and Ramiris during one of their crazed research sessions. This nearly indestructible fortress was made to withstand attacks from S-Ranked entities and driven by three magicule engines, each powerful enough to move the massive vehicle on its own but were trio'd to supply abundant energies for unknown situations. Additionally, anti-gravity measures were taken to lessen the load on the earth, and anti-friction measures were taken to reduce its drag. Such measures were essential to ensure the mobile HQ didn't get stuck in the mud of eastern Tempest marshes.

The experimental Mobile Headquarters served as the base of operations for the Eastern Expansion Force, which was slowly moving into unaccounted parts of Jura. Cocytus, together with Aura and Mare, occupied three chairs in the planning room, looking over a map of the soon-to-be conquered area.

"So, I am taking care of the Mezu tribes, and Mare will deal with Gozu territories?" Aura spoke up while dragging her glove-clad finger over the map, pushing her figurine around.

"CORRECT. LORD MOMONGA HAS DECIDED TO LET YOU TWO SPEARHEAD THE EXPANSION WHILE I GATHER ELVEN FUGITIVES CAUGHT IN THE CROSSFIRE," Cocytus nodded.

He had gained enough personal glory in the Falmuth war to take the backseat for a while and allow his peers to shine. This gave Aura and Mare the opportunity to take the forefront, despite their relative lack of military knowledge and experience. In fact, Cocytus had been in charge of field operations for a while and relied on Demiurge for tactical data, crushing any resistance in the human lands in a landslide after a landslide.

"Great. Mare, are you ready? You don't plan to wimp out when faced with an enemy, right?" Aura teasingly asked her brother, chuckling.

"O-of course not. I won't fail!" He retorted, even raising his voice a little and earning a burst of good-hearted laughter from his sister.

"Relax, I'm just teasing you. It's not like Milim is watching you work."

"She might. She even asked Lord Momonga if she could come along with us." Mare spoke somewhat absent-mindedly, turning his attention back to the map as he pulled out some tables on troop numbers in case they needed them.

"Speaking about little old me?" Milim popped up right behind the twins, slapping Aura on the back and giving a quick peck on Mare's cheek as she took a seat.

"Milim? Nope, you aren't stealing my chance to shine!" Aura screeched right into the girl's ear.

"Relax, I'll just help a little, that's all. My fists are itching to crush some skulls." Milim pushed the elven siblings apart and stuck her nose at the map before turning away to lean on Mare.

"LADY MILIM, IT IS AN HONOR TO RECEIVE YOU," Cocytus bowed his head.

"So, is there something I can do?" Milim asked after giving Cocytus a small nod of acknowledgment with her trademark grin, the insectoid nodding in return.

"No, you can go work on Demon Lord matters or something," Aura tried to push her away.

"Hey, I'm your superior!" Milim protested. "Mare, help! Aura is being mean to me!"

"Aura, stop. She is our superior," Mare pushed the girls apart, being used as shields between the two, with Milim hiding behind his back as she stuck her tongue out at Aura and Aura staring over his shoulders.

"Yeah, Yeah. I am sorry, Lady Milim, for not appreciating your shining presence." Aura mockingly retorted. She and the Dragonoid guild member were still best friends, and playful jabs were the norm in their interactions, no matter where they were. Plus, Aura didn't want to piss off her twin's stronger girlfriend, given that she was already practically living in their house.

Even Cocytus was aware of this dynamic between the two and didn't reprimand Aura for not addressing her superior with proper respect, choosing instead to remain silent.

"You don't have to fear the display of my clear superiority, my dear subordinate. I will hold back as much as I can to ensure you can do at least something of note." Milim replied in an equally mocking tone with a boastful laugh at the end.

"Fine. But I'm not giving her my part of the work. She can deal with wyvern nests in the southern mountain area," Aura joined in with the laughter and tapped the map. "We haven't decided on who deals with them yet anyway."

"That sounds great! I'll deal with those flying beasts no problem," Milim proudly stated with a burst of boastful laughter, taking after her uncle.

"Settle in then. The base will reach the next fighting point in an hour," Aura smirked, knowing how impatient Milim could be.

Her temper had lessened a bit during the last month or so, with the Dragon Princess attending therapy and working out her issues regarding her parents and who she was made to be, but that didn't mean she wasn't impulsive and hyperactive anymore. If anything, that just meant she was more hyper and impulsive when she could be, seemingly storing up her energy for those situations where she could let loose.

"Sure." Milim pulled a stack of manga out of her inventory and patted a chair for Mare to sit down, which the boy gladly did. She then sat down in her boyfriend's lap sideways and opened the first page of the adventure series they planned to read together.

Aura, realizing that there was no winning this time, plopped down in her seat and placed her feet on the table, opening her own reading material of the various monsters in Tempest. She glanced at the pair from time to time, earning a look of pity from the mighty insectoid. Even Cocytus could see that the elven girl was made the third wheel in the relationship once again.

When it was just the two of them, Milim and Aura were a force of nature looking out for fun whenever and wherever it happened, but if Mare was added in the mix, it felt like Milim just got shot with a dragon-sized dose of tranquilizers, becoming a completely different person ready to sit in one spot for hours and just read coquettishly while being embraced by her loving boyfriend.

Cocytus, unconcerned with the relationship dynamic between the three children, left them to their own devices as he went to the command console and continued coordinating the army's movement through the uneven forest terrain, picking up mostly smaller goblin or elven settlements that were periodically found and absorbed into the Tempest Hegemony without resistance.

They had already taken in a few hundred new citizens who were ready to be named, now only waiting for supply lines to catch up and the Supreme Ruler of Nazarick to bestow names upon the new citizens.

Additionally, he was tasked with assessing the performance of the mobile HQ, as well as giving the verdict on whether more should be built as movable defensive installations. Creating such vehicles wasn't cheap, and instead of a single mobile HQ, about fifty light or twenty heavy tanks could be built instead.

For now, all high-tech armaments were under the veil of high secrecy and would only be deployed if there was an overwhelming enemy force and both guardians and guild members were busy fighting bigger threats.

Editing by aidan_lo.

Proofreading by clagan, Reta, shynavyseal, Cay, aidan_lo, NuggetLover, Gil, FantasyTroll, CakeEight and Nervy.

Link my discord server (https://discord.gg/WmGKVU3XG2)