Chaos' Heir

Chapter 1512: Alive

The attunement with mana and Khan’s status didn’t really go well together. They didn’t even belong to the same category anymore.

Still, the experience on the Nak’s home world and the knowledge inherited from the white-azure sphere had given Khan an instinctive awareness of what he required to complete that limited power classification.

A whole planet made of mana had amounted to around fifteen points, so Khan guessed that normal celestial bodies would be close to less or slightly more than one.

In theory, that made Khan’s task easy, or relatively so. According to his calculations, he would only need to find one or two planets to fulfill his attunement and finally achieve his full power.

Planets weren’t exactly a tradeable currency, but the Thilku Empire’s vast domain could solve that aspect of the task in no time, especially since the ongoing war had altered everyone’s priorities.

However, Khan didn’t need mere fulfillment. He actually had to avoid it with a certain level of precision. His scientists required more data to find a numerical amount that could suit that task, which only multiple, shorter training sessions could solve.

Of course, Raymond had mentioned meaningful training sessions, which Khan couldn’t achieve just anywhere or with just anything. Realistically, only celestial bodies could make his attunement move at this point, putting his targets on moons.

Khan didn’t even have time to waste. The Scarlet Eyes could come back anytime. Meanwhile, his training schedule had just gotten more convoluted and time-consuming. He truly didn’t have a single second to waste, which was why he headed directly for the gathering of evolved warriors next.

The Royal Court was exactly where Khan had left it, and the same went for the ten evolved warriors from the noble families. That fearsome group occupied an empty stretch of the white desert, their auras keeping everyone away, except for the people tasked with attending to their needs.

Actually, Lord Envoy took care of that last part, too, teleporting into the area anything the Emperor might need, be it food or refills of fuming booze for the cauldron sitting among the group.

“Lord Blue Shaman!” The Emperor cried as soon as he sensed Khan’s arrival, bringing everyone’s gaze to the bright-eyed figures above them. “You have returned!”

Naturally, the Emperor’s voice kept causing catastrophes, but most of the drunken guests had woken up and gotten to work. Humankind’s forces had also placed more machines to contain that destructive influence, limiting the chaos to brief sandstorms.

“Emperor,” Khan called, landing on the sand with Liiza, but opting to get straight to the point. “Would you be up for a trip to one of your moons?”

The Emperor was aware of Khan’s tasks. The two had also agreed to remain together to keep his presence hidden from the Scarlet Eyes, meaning that neither of them could move alone.

“Moons are beneath you,” The Emperor pointed out, understanding what Khan needed without relying on enhanced scanners.

“It’s something my scientists suggested,” Khan summarized. “I’m afraid I might have to bother the Empire more than I had planned to.”

“[Ah]! Nonsense!” The Emperor cried, methodically standing up to limit the destruction he naturally unleashed. “You brought my Empire the greatest war of its time. The Thilku must pay you back!”

It was impossible to argue against that unilateral declaration, and Khan didn’t even try. Besides, something else arrived in the area, highlighting how the plan was already in motion.

Cargo ships attached to a huge oval platform that hung from their bottom flew from the quadrant’s edges, quickly entering the desert before stopping at some distance from the evolved assets’ gathering.

The vessels gradually descended, placing that unmistakable machine on the sand before landing as well. Teams of scientists also exited the ships, quickly setting up anything that massive piece of technology might need.

That trend didn’t stop there. More ships appeared in the distance, approaching the newcomers to deliver similarly huge machinery. One group carried huge horn-like pillars, while others added giant tanks of synthetic mana to the area.

Each ship that landed released teams that connected the new additions, ultimately assembling a massive teleport and turning it on before immediately departing. The machine became ready in no time, which the Royal Court used to pick and share a suitable location.

“Lord Enforcer,” The Emperor called once all the human teams left.

“Yes, my Emperor,” Lord Enforcer responded, standing up and calmly heading for the machine in the distance.

The Emperor also moved, slowly following behind his Royal Guard, and Khan didn’t let him go alone. He exchanged a quick kiss with Liiza before chasing after the two huge Thilku, ready to get what he hoped to be his final round of training sessions started as soon as possible.

Khan matched the Emperor’s pace, so Lord Enforcer was the first to arrive at the teleport. The machine had no consoles, but the Royal Guard’s mana expanded over it, seemingly altering its functioning while also implanting specific orders.

Just like that, the teleport began to suck synthetic mana from the containers attached to it, preparing itself to welcome its two guests.

“My Emperor,” Lord Enforcer said once Khan and the Emperor reached him, but the latter immediately shut him down.

“Stay here,” The Emperor ordered, methodically climbing on the teleport to avoid inadvertently breaking it apart.

Khan also jumped on the platform, and Lord Enforcer reactivated his mana, forcing the giant machine to complete his orders.

The teleport unfolded, emptying its tanks to teleport existences that couldn’t normally make use of such machines. Still, everything went well, mostly because the other side of that transfer had also helped with the task.

Khan and the Emperor reappeared on a similarly vast machine, this time circular. They were also alone, in the middle of natural darkness, only fended off by the bright red symbols under their feet.

As for the world past the circular machine, it was nothing short of an apocalyptic scene. Khan and the Emperor had teleported to a sea of debris that heavily resembled Aynor’s current state. It seemed that whatever city had once been there was no more.

The sea of debris wasn’t everything. Khan’s perception stretched far, allowing him to sense how the widespread destruction had infected the very foundation of the city, too.

The planet’s surface, hidden beneath the sea of metal debris, was broken, too. That whole quadrant had been shattered beyond recognition, and it wasn’t hard to figure out the culprit.

“[One of the invaded locations]?” Khan asked, using the Thilku language now that he was alone with the Emperor.

“[This whole sector is lost],” The Emperor explained. “[The Empire will rebuild, but only after the war is won].”

Without machines and people to contain the Emperor, his voice ended up deepening the widespread destruction, even pushing that massive sea of debris away.

Khan ignored the destruction, his mind focusing on the main topic. As the owner of the largest domain, the Thilku Empire had suffered the most from the Scarlet Eyes’ sudden invasion.

There had to be hundreds of similarly destroyed and unusable locations throughout the Empire’s domain now, places that the Thilku lacked the manpower to fix immediately. Rebuilding wasn’t the priority, either.

Of course, that played in Khan’s favor. That widespread destruction had created many places that were better off gone completely rather than left in need of fixing, and he could do just that.

“[Lekegawa has two moons],” The Emperor explained, pointing at the celestial body in the night sky. “[Lord Enforcer calculated that only removing one is an acceptable loss].”

“[The Empire has my gratitude, Emperor],” Khan thanked.

“[Will you reveal your real skills now, Lord Blue Shaman]?” The Emperor asked. “[The skills you kept hidden during your battle]?”

“[Your perception is indeed extraordinary, Emperor],” Khan praised. “[But I’m sorry to disappoint you. My element’s true face isn’t that spectacular].”

“[Why did you hide it then]?” The Emperor questioned. “[Was it a strategy against the enemy]?”

“[It was to protect Earth, actually],” Khan chuckled. “[That power isn’t something I should show unless I want to wipe out anything around me].”

The Emperor lowered his gaze, clear traces of interest behind his stern mask.

“[Again, it’s nothing spectacular],” Khan insisted. “[It’s just alive].”