CHAPTER 210: ORDERS

"Now, hold the hands of a weapon and trigger the skill. Ah, Ned doesn’t count, so for now, Charlotte make do with Alpha."

Charlotte made a troubled look before Alpha approached her. Katri, on the other hand, already seemed at ease with her bodyguard.

Both Psychomancers unleashed their mana and chanted, "Awaken."

From Alpha’s legs, a black shadow covered the ground. It quickly devoured the wild animals even with their cages in mere seconds. Galaxies spread out with Katri and Charlotte at the center. Unlike the normal gold and silver lights, the ones flying were blue and green.

Bianca, the most knowledgeable about the matter, shared her thoughts.

"Any soul touched by a Psychomancer is bound with a powerful suggestion. Those you bring back cannot harm you. And they will be inclined to like and protect you. However, do know that the smarter and more powerful the soul is, the less likely they are to follow the suggestions."

The two Psychomancers in training looked up and saw the huge number of blue and green stars floating around them. Much like Bianca’s, the souls appeared like fireflies dancing in the wind.

"Gold and Silver represent intelligent beings with ego; golds are naturally those that have stronger attributes. Blues and Greens are souls without senses of self that like you; Red and Yellow are those that want to kill and harm you respectively."

Her words caused everyone to stiffen. Elian, in particular, felt a bit worried that Bianca could see souls that could harm her. Up till now, he had always seen Gold and Silver lights.

Katri, whose eyes were glowing, turned to Bianca and asked, "Then what color would intelligent beings who wish to kill us appear as?"

"They will still appear as Gold and Silver. Due to their intelligence, they can mask their intent. The system adjusts the colors based on bloodlust. So far, I have yet to see a soul hostile even as it died. Most of those would just choose to not answer your summon to begin with."

At Bianca’s explanation, Elian couldn’t help but nod. As it took mana, concentration, and effort to bring back a soul, naturally hostile ones wouldn’t even think about working with an Psychomancer.

"Anyway, once the Weapons recreate the bodies, you will have a small window to choose which souls you will bring back. The normal standard for Golem Lake is one original soul per corpse found. But not everybody will have a soul. And not every soul has a body."

"Eh? What are we supposed to do with them? Why aren’t the bodies all recreated? I thought the Weapons took the time to eat everything?" Charlotte asked in a fluster.

Elian shrugged his shoulders as he replied, "Golem Lake tries to recreate the body. If the corpse is destroyed prior to us getting it, we cannot recreate it. We try to use similar body types, but not everything is perfect."

While the group was discussing, the wild animals emerged from Golem Lake under Alpha’s hooves. There were lions, bears, elephants, buffalo, and the like all made of metal. None of them were moving and were, in essence, golem statues.

"AH!" "Uh!"

Charlotte and Katri both let out a yelp and broke out in a cold sweat. The man around them began to swirl, and the blue and green souls all spun around them. Then the souls raced toward the metal bodies prepared for them.

When the skill finally ended, both Psychomancers crumpled to the ground. Ned and Alpha supported them and quickly fed them mana potions at Bianca’s instruction.

"Lottie? Are you alright now? What about you, Katri?"

"I’m okay now, Neddy. Don’t worry."

"Stop being so damn loud, Patel! I feel hung over."

Bianca came closer, checked the two women, and smiled. "Good. You both have successfully completed your first Awaken. Note that this skill is not something Psychomancers normally have. Originally, I started out reviving mice and working my way up."

She gestured to the large group of animals behind her. There were over fifty.

"See, the fruits of your labor. What happens to these children moving forward will not be your responsibility. They will be loyal warriors and can grow stronger. Right now, the two of you are the weakest in the faction. You need to increase your mana by any means necessary."

At that point, Elian pulled out a pair of super-sized duffel bags. They were so large they could probably fit human bodies in them. The moment Bianca saw the bags, she turned pale and held her hand to her mouth as if trying to stop herself from vomiting.

"Ned, Alpha. The fastest way to increase their mana is to feed them monster cores. Until both of them reach at least 200,000 MP. The legion will not use its cores for any other purpose. Here are a few A-ranked ones to start you off."

While Elian was smiling, the entire group grew concerned about Bianca’s reaction. But the pressure from the Tyrant left no room for disagreement. Ned and Alpha took the bags as their Psychomancers began to eat a few cores.

"Blegh! What is this taste? It’s like eating excrement! It’s foul, disgusting and vile! Elian, did you really make Bianca eat these?" Charlotte snapped.

Katri was more tolerant but looked like she swallowed crap. She pinched her nose and gagged horribly.

"Ugh. No wonder she ran away. And I have to eat an entire duffel bag of these things?"

"Yes, you do. Yes, I did. Don’t worry, I am sure you will find specific monster cores that taste better. Bianca did. But they were rare. The Weapons will handle the fighting. You both just need to work on your stats."

The two women groaned in displeasure as their eyes turned to the large bags of monster cores. Meanwhile, Bianca regained her composure and berated them.

"Look you two, it’s not like I don’t know how disgusting they can get, trust me I know. But compared to when I became a Psychomancer, Elian is already spoiling you all a lot."

Bianca’s rebuke caused everyone to focus on the gloves and necklace Charlotte and Katri wore. They were quite eye-catching and showed immense craftsmanship.

"Without those gloves, you wouldn’t be able to lift a monster core with your hands. And without the necklace, you would be stuck fifty meters from where your soulgem is. Be grateful that you don’t need to prepare bodies anymore."

"But didn’t our original bodies get stored? I saw Ned put them into his Living Metal storage."

"You may use a puppet to interact with the world, but it will rot unless you protect it with mana. Besides, your bodies are incredibly weak compared to your soul bodies. You can use them for sex and food, I guess, but that’s about it. For now, get used to your soul bodies."

Both Katri and Charlotte blushed scarlet at Bianca’s no-nonsense explanation. Elian didn’t miss the lewd glances between Ned and his lover. Considering they have been left alone unsupervised, they probably already did the deed.

Good for you, brother.

Sensing that Bianca’s lecture was over, Elian stepped forward and placed his hand on Ned’s shoulder.

"Brother, you have until tomorrow morning. I will wait till then. As we are fighting against time, I need all four invasions to move at once. Become a golem by then; if you cannot, just catch up. But Charlotte will have to move alongside Katri."

"Yeah, I understand. Anything I should be worried about?"

Bianca joined them and took Elian’s hand in hers.

"It will depend on your determination. Your body will be melted down and remade from scratch. It will hurt, but the danger is from your mind breaking. Just focus on why you want power. So long as you endure, you will succeed. The process will take 10 hours."

Ned nodded and sneaked a glance at his lover. "Then there is nothing to worry about; I will be ready by tomorrow."

"Good. Then we’ll leave you two here and check on the others."

"Got it. Thanks, Elian. Thank you, Bianca," Ned said in gratitude.

With that, the pair left Katri and Charlotte to their ordeal. They visited the other legions and found that Burny, Blooms, and Yearns successfully brought back the majority of the fallen. The Knights, Anchors, and Tyrants, however, ignored their summons.

At the news, Bianca frowned and whispered, "Elian, would it have been better if we weren’t hasty and just did it ourselves?"

"Nah, it’s fine, darling. There will be more to come. They need the experience."

"Guess it can’t be helped."

Night arrived. The whole city celebrated. Elian and Bianca ate with their parents at a family dinner. There were awkward moments, but it still worked out.

When the sun rose, the entire faction assembled outside the city.

The Barebones of four legions with 10,000 Weapons each were formed. Fluffy, Woody, Epsilon, and Ned, together with their second-in-commands and Psychomancers, stood ready.

Seeing the massive force before them, Elian couldn’t help getting emotional. A dainty hand slipped into his hand and gave it a light squeeze.

"We have come quite far, haven’t we?"

"We have."

"And it will only get better, no?"

"Yeah."

Elian then looked at his sons and daughters one final time before commanding.

"You all know why we fight; you all carry Bianca and my hope in your bodies. Stand strong and stand together. I expect good results."

"YES, TYRANT!" they shouted in unison.

Bianca raised her fist as she added, "I forbid any of you to die! You must come back in one piece! You hear me!"

"YES, ANCHOR!"

With a powerful voice, Elian roared to the skies.

"Weapons! You have your orders! Now, carry them out!"