Chapter 453 - 337: It’s All Weakness’s Fault

Chapter 453: Chapter 337: It’s All Weakness’s Fault

After a sweeping glance, Isaac nodded. Upon closer observation, he was quite satisfied with everyone’s current state.

Starting with Smith and Lorna, both had successfully advanced to Tier Four through the Endless Tower with solid foundations. Smith, who was a little behind, just lacked a bit of combat experience, but that wasn’t a major issue.

This was because he was no longer a Knight; in essence, he was a Giant Dragon in human form. As a High-level Magical Species, Giant Dragons were quite similar to Witches in that they awakened corresponding abilities upon advancement.

Isaac was pleasantly surprised by Liu Li and the other Servant Demons who had stayed behind in the Real World.

Although they were all still at Tier Three, the changes they had undergone were visible at a glance. Their auras had grown much stronger. The Saint Master’s aura was the most powerful, followed by Demon Eye Soron (the Three-eyed Goblin), then Liu Li, and finally Shushu.

That’s right, both the Saint Master and Demon Eye Soron had come from behind to surpass Liu Li and Shushu.

There was a simple explanation for these two. One relied on plundering the power of a Dimensional Demon God; after advancing to Tier Three, the power he obtained from it had taken a leap in both quality and quantity. The other was a Wizard who had advanced through an astonishing intellect that transcended his species, so his combat strength was naturally formidable.

In contrast, Liu Li’s power was something Isaac had stolen from the Master of Billions of Flesh. But even though both involved stealing Divine Power, her situation was far more complicated than the Saint Master’s. The Saint Master only needed Isaac’s help at the very end to set up a ritual to seize the power completely—in other words, to renege on his debt. Until then, he could acquire the Dimensional Demon God’s power in the form of a loan.

But Liu Li was different. She could only rely on Isaac’s [God-Usurper] to steal Divine Power and had no way to improve on her own.

And while Shushu could increase its power on its own, and its upper limit as a Divine Species was quite high...

Under normal circumstances, the growth rate of a Divine Species was extremely slow. Even with the right to freely preach in Isaac’s territory, the resulting Power of Faith was still just a drop in the bucket.

After all, the vast majority of the population in Isaac’s domain were Demonic Puppets he had created. To them, Shushu was merely Isaac’s pet. A symbolic show of faith was one thing, but as for genuine piety...

...that was asking too much.

Thus, ten years had passed with little increase in Shushu’s power. It had likely just delved deeper into its research of the Necromancy Domain, expanding its range of combat techniques. ℯℯ𝑙.

But now that he had returned, that situation was about to change. For both Liu Li and Shushu, the rate of their power growth would increase by several orders of magnitude!

They weren’t the only ones in Isaac’s domain who had grown stronger, but his relationships with the others weren’t as close. For instance, two new Tier Three Mages had emerged from Mad Heart, but they had joined within the last ten years. Isaac had never even heard their names, and there was no need to meet them—for now.

’I still need to prepare a bit more before I can officially begin the Bloodline Mage experiments.’

As for those he wasn’t close with...

The improvement of others was extremely limited, even more so than Liu Li’s and Shushu’s. For example, the first Activated Demonic Puppet, the Silver Knight, had extremely limited potential for power growth due to his nature. And since things like combat skills could be directly uploaded to him, he hadn’t improved much and thus hadn’t come to the castle to report for duty.

"Let me introduce you all." With a wave of his hand, Isaac summoned Maxu Kant from the Void. A long purple gown had replaced the white silk, clinging to her still-enchanting figure.

"This is the God of Imaginary Numbers, Maxu Kant, our new companion. She will be responsible for commanding all the Dimension Apostles, and from now on, all intelligence-related work will be under her full authority." After finishing, Isaac introduced Liu Li and the others to Maxu Kant one by one, then paused and added, "Oh, right. From now on, don’t suppress your human nature so much. I have a greater need for the side of you that is full of ’Human Nature’ than the one full of ’Divinity’."

"Yes, Divine Master," Maxu Kant replied, nodding joyfully.

Smith and the others glanced at Maxu Kant in surprise. ’That title is quite something!’

However, they had at least some understanding of both Isaac’s Virtual Divinity Magic and his powerful research abilities, so they weren’t overly shocked. After all, Isaac’s talent as a Wizard was plain for all to see. It would have been strange if he had nothing to show after ten years.

For the rest of the time, everyone gathered and made small talk. Isaac had already gathered all the intelligence he needed. The situation in the Real World was still in flux, with many powerful individuals returning and falling, so the best strategy for now was to wait and see. There was no need to rush.

With nothing pressing to do, it was a good opportunity to make small talk and reconnect.

But even though it was called "making small talk," it was mostly just Isaac, Smith, and Lorna talking while the others listened, occasionally chiming in or whispering a few words among themselves.

...

Night fell. Isaac sat alone at his desk, looking over the intelligence report Liu Li had compiled and quietly contemplating his future plans. Although he had set his sights on the New World, that didn’t mean he could ignore the Real World.

No matter what, he shared a direct blood tie to the Solomon Kingdom, a bond that could not be severed. Even if he were to publicly deny it, others would still view him from the standpoint of the Solomon Kingdom.

The reason was simple: if the current King Solomon, Caesar Solomon—his older brother—and his father, Gaia Solomon, were to both kick the bucket, then Isaac would become the first in line for the throne of the Solomon Kingdom!

His claim would even have priority over his older brother’s son!

The reason was simple: this wasn’t his past life. In this Extraordinary World, strength was the foundation of everything!

Even though his nephew was nearly twenty years old, if his older brother and father were to die, the very Concept of "King Solomon" would shift and converge upon him. He would, as a matter of course, become the next King Solomon.

Isaac could only escape this situation if the title of King Solomon was passed down through his older brother’s line for three or four generations.

So, for the time being, he needed to maintain closer contact with his family. At the very least, he had to be careful not to let someone plot against him, kill his brother and father, and then dump the resulting mess in his lap.

Moreover, his domain was still part of the Terra Empire—no, it should be the Terra Kingdom now. This domain was also an exclave of the Terra Kingdom, so whether to declare independence or remain under the Kingdom’s rule...

...was a question worth pondering.

Originally, Isaac’s plan was to declare independence immediately. Developing the domain wasn’t his main focus anyway, and it was entirely self-sufficient. The greatest significance of its existence was to strengthen his [Anchor Point].

But now, it seemed the Emperor hadn’t died as completely as he’d thought. Many things had to be reconsidered, especially since the Emperor had repeatedly shown him goodwill...

Regardless of how dazzling his own future might be, right now, to the Emperor, Isaac was nothing more than an ant. This goodwill from the Emperor had brought him benefits, whether he accepted it or not.

’And if I don’t handle this well, these are debts that will have to be repaid...’

’Sigh... I’m still too weak...’ As these chaotic thoughts ran through his mind, Isaac let out a long, helpless sigh.

’If only I were a little stronger...’