Chaos' Heir

Chapter 1509: Portrait

A tournament meant to demonstrate strength and worth could sound demeaning to existences that had stayed in the evolved realm for longer than Khan had been alive.

However, Khan couldn’t really care about avoiding offending people now. He needed a quick, effective way to test everyone’s power and learn about their different abilities, and nothing worked as well as sparring.

Moreover, the allied front had time to kill. That didn’t apply to the many specialized workers and their direct leaders, or Khan for that matter, but he had to keep those further above busy.

A Thilku Emperor busy watching a tournament was better than a Thilku Emperor free to roam around Earth. Merely thinking about the accidental destruction he could cause gave Khan a headache.

"Oh, the tournament won’t start immediately," Khan made sure to mention. "We’ll wait for everyone before starting it. A day or two should be enough."

"My Prince?" Bruno called, recalling to change the way he addressed himself to Khan.

"Spare me your complaints," Khan ordered. "See this as an opportunity to understand how strong you actually are and what that means for the war."

That sudden decision didn’t exactly sit well with the ten evolved warriors, but the opportunity to meet the Thilku Emperor was appealing enough to silence them.

Besides, despite Khan not saying it, his implications were on point. Most of those evolved warriors had stayed outside the battlefield and society as a whole for years. Even they had lost touch with how strong they were. A tournament was bound to solve that.

Therefore, Khan accompanied the group to where the Royal Court was, which was nothing more than an empty stretch of the white desert no one dared to get close to.

Khan kept the introductions short to avoid getting dragged into another party or a myriad of other time-consuming tasks, leaving the newly created group to itself. Nothing really required his immediate attention, but it was better to keep himself free for now.

Garret and the other scientists were still busy gathering the equipment to calculate Khan’s attunement with mana, so he flew to someone else, knowing he would find something to do in the meantime there.

Aynor’s surviving quadrants were still a mess, and the many drunk-asleep soldiers prevented any meaningful reconstruction effort.

However, some figures in leadership positions had been responsible enough not to fall prey to the Niqols’ booze and wake up early to start working on the war effort. A lot needed their attention anyway, and only they had the authority to get things moving.

Khan’s Uncle was none other than one of those responsible leaders. Anything regarding Khan’s organization and the allied forces had to pass through him and required his approval, so he couldn’t let himself be swayed by the previous night’s celebratory mood.

Khan found his Uncle at the very center of the makeshift encampment among Aynor’s surviving blocks. A Thilku gazebo stood in a relatively intact square, along with many relocated consoles and other machines, giving Prince Thomas everything he needed to manage the situation.

"Uncle," Khan called, ignoring the many wide-eyed soldiers along the way, landing under the gazebo with Yeza still on his head and Liiza still following behind.

Prince Thomas was alone under the gazebo, handling the various consoles and holographic screens on his own. More than half of the information there was classified, but that hardly mattered when Khan’s forces occupied the area.

"My Prince," Prince Thomas exclaimed, turning to address the newcomers. "My Princess. My Princess."

"What’s the situation?" Khan asked. "Do I need to be briefed on anything?"

Khan almost sounded as if he was looking for something to do, which his Uncle didn’t miss. Yet, he had already done enough, and everything else was for mortals to handle.

"Much, my Prince," Prince Thomas responded, lowering his head at Liiza’s polite bow, "But nothing that requires your attention."

"Entertain me," Khan requested. "I don’t mind breaks, but standing still with the war looming over us isn’t something easy for me."

The experts in the allied front were sure that True Chaos’ God needed time to recover after his army’s mass invasion. However, that period didn’t have an exact number.

After all, Gods played by their own rules. It could take as long as years for the True Chaos to reappear, or as little as a few hours. That uncertainty weighed on Khan like an executioner’s axe, making him restless to prepare as much as possible.

Prince Thomas understood what Khan meant. His situation wasn’t unique to him in the end. Except that Khan had the power to affect things in a meaningful way, unlike most of the allied front’s forces.

"The Orlats have rushed to chase your bonuses, my Prince," Prince Thomas promptly said. "Facilities all over Earth and the allied front’s domains are being cleared and repurposed for experiments on the mutagen as we speak, too."

Khan pretended not to hear the slight reprimand in the first part of Prince Thomas’ announcement. Still, it was there, being so blatant that even Liiza sensed it.

"Everyone from everywhere is mobilizing," Prince Thomas continued. "We are engaged in many negotiations simultaneously, of which you can join none, my Prince."

"Am I too awesome for these negotiations?" Khan smirked, wanting to fool around, only for his Uncle to agree with him.

"Yes, my Prince," Prince Thomas confirmed. "The moment you attend one of those, everyone else would demand your presence, too, delaying reaching conclusions."

Khan almost pouted. He had wanted to tease his Uncle a little, but his words had been perfect and correct as usual. Khan’s presence was a priceless currency now, so Prince Thomas had to use it sparingly.

"My Prince," Prince Thomas continued, sighing. "If I may, I suggest spending this precious time with your family."

"[I like him more than your Aunt]," Liiza immediately commented in her native language.

"But I am," Khan claimed, ignoring his wife while pointing at the small figure on his head. "And you are family, too. There must be something I can do before going back to my crazy stuff."

Prince Thomas didn’t know whether to appreciate or be concerned about the fact that his Nephew realized how crazy his usual methods were.

However, at least politically, the allied front truly didn’t need Khan now. He had done his job. It was time for everyone else to pick up the slack now.

"I’m family," Prince Thomas muttered, repeating Khan’s words, giving him an idea. "There might be one thing, my Prince, something for the Nognes family."

"Pray tell," Khan gasped, happy to have found something.

"Your rise to the family leadership has been sudden and problematic," Prince Thomas stated, "And I accept part of the blame. You also are the Nognes Patriarch, no matter what the other factions tell themselves."

"I forgave you long ago," Khan reassured, waving his hand dismissively. "What’s a betrayal or two in this day and age anyway?"

"My point was, My Prince," Prince Thomas continued, not letting Khan’s nonsense distract him, "Noble families used to have customs for their leaders before they became too big to have any Patriarchs or Matriarchs."

"I’m not going to like it, am I?" Khan said, realizing where his Uncle was going and instantly regretting his desire to help him.

"My Prince!" Prince Thomas suddenly cried, raising his voice. "I demand you abide by some of our oldest customs and let us immortalize your image in a portrait!"