Undead Beast Master: Living Solely for My Desires

Days slipped by, one after another, and it became increasingly clear that a devastating clash was inevitable. Both empires began to slow their campaigns, gathering strength for the battle ahead.

Zaroth's city used this moment to slowly increase its influence. After the infrastructure had been fixed, they began to send scout missions to inspect the enemy lines for traps and resources.

And the man himself used the time to train as much as he could.

"Try it again," Midnight spoke, her cold gaze piercing him.

With a sigh, Zaroth focused his eyesight. Slowly, inside his green pupils, a crimson ring began to appear.

"Pretty good," Midnight nodded in approval. "You really ought to thank me for how quickly you've progressed," she added with a smug grin.

Zaroth sighed but had to agree. The only reason he was able to learn her influence skill was because she was able to teach things in a proficient manner.

'So now I am able to use her influence skill to force people to do my bidding,' he thought, 'while I am not sure if it will be enough to force them to do acts they would not previously, it should be enough to make them answer questions.'

His routine was rather simple. First, he would spend time with Midnight, slowly learning more demonic skills from her.

Then he would spend time meditating with Nightshade summoned next to him. She would use her shadow travel skill, while he would try his hardest to imitate it.

The best he was able to do was to make his shadow tremble for a brief second, which was progress—just not as fast as he would have liked it to be.

"One positive thing is the attacks have pretty much stopped," he muttered.

This was probably the biggest benefit of his friends being with him. Most would be scared to attack his city, knowing that he was the one guarding it. But no one would be insane enough to attack when Roran, Zack, Lily, Grace, and Midnight were here to provide support if necessary.

He wasn't the only one that had gotten stronger, they had as well. Even if he was still the mightiest of them all, he would still benefit from the occasional sparring sessions that he would have with them.

Eldros would be the one that would take care of the city matters, making him the unofficial Governor of the city.

Surprisingly enough, the city's land and might weren't the only things that grew, as the population began to increase as well. It wasn't because the people were having children during war times—it was because there were deserters from the Crimson Sun Empire. They didn't want to live there anymore and had decided to switch sides.

Initially, Zaroth had been against the idea of taking them in, fearing there might be spies. But then Midnight reminded him that they were the perfect test subjects for his influence skill.

He would use influence to make them answer his questions truthfully. If they were spies, they would be killed and hanged. If they weren't, they were welcomed in the city.

He and his friends were doing everything in their power to strengthen themselves and the city. All that remained was for the Draconian Council to prepare, inform them that the time for retaliation had come, and give the order to attack the enemy's capital.

"Fuck!" Zaroth cursed, getting up from the bed and sitting in an upright position. "If it wasn't for these fucking nightmares, I might have even enjoyed my time here!"

The forsaken nightmares he had been assaulted with each night had only grown more vivid and clear as time passed on. Now, even drinking until blackout didn't stop them in the slightest.

"Do you want me to comfort you?" Luna, materializing herself, asked, wrapping her arms around his neck.

"No," he answered coldly.

An answer that surprised even himself, but between the constant nightmares, the hellish training he was putting himself under, and the fact that Midnight had been sucking away his energy metaphorically and literally every chance she got, it would make him not want to have any kind of intimacy with anyone.

Luna scoffed coldly, "Playing hard to get?" she teased.

Zaroth simply shook his head. "When this is over and my mind can rest easy that Solara is dead, then I will do it with you. Otherwise, the entire time I will be thinking about other matters, spoiling the fun."

Dressing himself in his usual mysterious attire—as he had grown accustomed to it by now—he went outside.

Getting a quick report from Eldros, seeing that there was no problem, he climbed upon the highest roof he could find and closed his eyes.

What he was trying to do was create another constellation from the sparks in his body, but when he wasn't inside his mana core, he didn't have a clear view, leading him to make the process hundreds of times slower.

If he had the means to enter his mana core again, he would do so in a heartbeat. Yet, considering the only time he was able to enter it was when he was almost dead, he didn't want to injure himself to that extent if he could avoid it.

There was always the chance that he wouldn't be healed from his wound, leading him to die.

"Meditating again?" Roran asked as he arrived, gliding in on one of his levitating swords.

Zaroth spared a brief glance at his friend.

"Yes, sadly, the stronger you become, the slower your progress gets," he commented.

With a sigh, Roran sat beside him. "Remember? Before the Epic Beast Master attacked us during the Hunting Competition—we were sitting just like this."

Zaroth chuckled a little, remembering the past.

"Yes, it was about a year ago, yet it feels so distant now…"

Before, it would be a struggle for one of them to defeat a single Epic Beast. Now, they would be able to take on several.

"What are you thinking of doing?" Roran suddenly asked. "Once the war is over, I mean."

This caught Zaroth by surprise. He hadn't really thought a lot about it, but he had an answer immediately.

"Go to the Elf Continent," he still had to get stronger. He couldn't slack off too much if he wanted to be able to rival the gods themselves.

Roran simply nodded in understanding. He didn't know why his friend was so focused on strengthening, but it was something he had grown used to by now.

"What about you?" Zaroth asked, "What are you going to do after the war?"

"Clan Morvain," evenly Roran answered, "I and Lily are going to restore it to its former glory. Now that Draconis is dead, the only thing stopping us from doing it is the war that is going on."

"Makes sense," Zaroth nodded. He figured Zack and Grace would focus on nurturing the White Fang clan, while Elysia would likely continue increasing her power by forming alliances with their clans to secure her high-ranking position.

And he didn't wonder about Midnight at all—she had already told him. She had managed to gain sufficient strength, so she would go back to her home, to one of the demon continents, and take back what was rightfully hers.

He figured the reason she spent as much time with him as she could was because she knew they would soon go their separate ways for a while.

Truthfully, he wanted to go with her, but it would be more beneficial for him to go to the Elf Continent instead.

"Basically, once this is all over, the only way we get back together is if another war happens," Zaroth concluded.

"I'll drink to that!" Roran chuckled, with a bottle in his hand appearing out of nowhere.

'This man,' Zaroth scoffed, getting back on his feet.

He sensed it—the message they had been waiting for had arrived.