Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World

Chapter 1156: High Level Thief [2]

Michael's plan was simple.

Play dumb.

His expression remained one of pure fury, but beneath that carefully maintained façade, his thoughts raced with frightening speed.

There was a possibility the old man was lying. There was also a possibility he was telling the truth. Michael couldn't afford to assume either.

The Federation.

Their relationship could hardly be called friendly.

At best, they were reluctant allies. A fragile understanding held together by mutual interests and, more importantly, by the existence of Aunt Mia and Lily.

Because of them, Michael had never truly considered tearing his relationship with the Federation apart. One reason was that he genuinely didn't want to make such a giant an enemy.

Also, the Federation had protected Aurora for generations. Even General Caelum, despite kidnapping him once, had never actually tried to harm him and had even saved his life.

Putting everything else aside, they deserved at least a measure of respect.

But there was another reason. A far more practical one.

He simply wasn't qualified.

Michael had no delusions about his current position. To everyone else, today's battle looked as though he possessed two Demigod-level undead capable of suppressing an actual Demigod.

Only Michael himself knew the truth. These two were on borrowed time. The moment the Enhancer's duration expired, both dragons would immediately fall back to their original level.

The Federation, however, possessed genuine Demigods.

There was an enormous difference between them that couldn't be crossed with thousands of Rank Four undead alone, especially when the Federation possessed the technology and accumulated resources of a high-tier civilization to match exactly that kind of force.

Until he possessed enough strength that the Federation itself would hesitate before provoking him, he could not honestly place himself on the same level as Aurora's greatest power.

Because of that, he needed to treat this old man carefully.

Yet he also couldn't let go now, not when one of the greatest opportunities of his life lay right before him.

A complete Demigod.

If she died here, her body would belong to him. If the corpse remained sufficiently intact, he could create the first true Rank Five undead of his legion.

The thought alone made his heart pound.

Could he negotiate with the Federation instead? Perhaps.

He could ask for a Rank Five corpse in exchange. But Michael trusted actions more than promises.

Over the past year, he had learned something about the Federation. They could indeed invest heavily in someone, but only in people they could control.

Michael had never truly been one of those people.

Even if they promised him a Demigod corpse today, what guarantee existed that they would actually hand one over tomorrow?

None.

Demigods were strategic assets. Their corpses were no less valuable. Why would the Federation willingly strengthen someone they couldn't completely command?

So no. Relying on promises was foolish, especially when certainty already lay before him.

Whatever problems came afterward, he would deal with them afterward. The future belonged to the future. Today's opportunity belonged to today.

As for the Federation's reaction to his attack, Michael felt his current actions were perfectly reasonable.

A demonic supernatural had just attempted to kill him, and when he was about to settle the matter, another Demigod appeared from nowhere claiming to be from the Federation without any proof whatsoever.

Who in their right mind would immediately believe him? Certainly not someone whose life had just been targeted.

If anything, attacking first was one of the most natural reactions imaginable.

Should the matter be investigated later, Michael could simply apologize.

"My emotions got the better of me."

"I genuinely believed he was another enemy."

"He appeared in the middle of a battle without identifying himself beforehand."

"My apologies, Senior."

Who could really blame him? Even Michael almost believed the excuse himself.

Also since the federation had to take parts of the blame for the demigod causing chaos, they shouldn't make things too difficult for him.

Meanwhile, high above, the old man's expression remained frozen.

His eyes shifted between the emerald dragon hurtling toward him and the Bone Dragon diving after the blood-robed woman.

Only now did he realize something.

This young man wasn't merely impulsive. He was terrifyingly decisive.

Of course, he wasn't aware of Michael's true thoughts.

Ironically, everything he was currently thinking was precisely what Michael wanted him to think.

Someone like this, a young genius with power who had just survived an assassination attempt, would be blinded by anger and likely incapable of calmly distinguishing friend from foe in the immediate aftermath.

It was a far more believable explanation than the truth.

The old man could understand the distrust. If their positions were reversed, he would likely react the same way.

A Demigod had appeared out of nowhere in the middle of a life-and-death battle, claiming to belong to the Federation with nothing more than a few words.

Expecting Michael to lower his guard immediately would have been absurd. The young man wasn't wrong to be suspicious.

However, understanding him and allowing him to continue were two completely different matters.

He absolutely could not permit the blood-robed woman to die here.

Not because he was some naive old man preaching mercy, and certainly not because he pitied her.

If anything, he personally wished to break every bone in her body for daring to launch an attack on innocents. But he was a Federation Demigod before he was anything else.

As a Federation pillar, emotions came second and the interests of Aurora came first.

Just as Michael had suspected, Demigods were indeed strategic assets, alive or dead.

The moment a civilization possessed more than a single Demigod, it stepped into the ranks of the universe's high-tier civilizations.

Every additional Demigod strengthened not only its military might but also its reputation, influence, and bargaining power throughout countless realms.

No civilization would casually discard such a resource, not even when that Demigod belonged to the enemy.

To ordinary people, that logic would sound ridiculous. Why preserve someone who wanted you dead?

The answer was simple.

Value.