The Villain's Story

Chapter 972: Army.

“This far should be good enough…”

Alan muttered to himself, kicking the sand below his feet. Looking up, he cursed at the sun for a while before turning to look at the city far away. He was currently a little distance away from the area the termites occupied underground; far away in the distance was the city, covered in moss and mold. It was a disgusting sight to behold.

The camp was even further away, and Alan was certain that everyone had already begun the mission and he was the only one who was late. A sigh escaped his mouth as he kicked the sand underneath him once more.

Using Dragon Eyes, he peered through the ground and saw the nest of the bugs he would soon eradicate and smirked.

“Good, even though they are insects, the tunnels are wide enough for my soldiers.”

He deactivated dragon eyes and stretched his body as the mana in his body began to awaken. However, before summoning the Jade Palace, he had other things to take care of.

Just because he wished to get familiar with his domain… didn’t mean he was ready for others to do the same. Alan took a deep breath and spread out his arms as the mana within his body responded to the affinities of shadow, space, and most importantly, darkness.

“Veil.”

He spoke in Dragon Tongue, where words themselves carried powers beyond anyone’s imagination. A tide of shadow mana escaped from the Mantle of Shadows and submerged the land beneath in a tsunami of black.

Shadows leapt from the world of the mantle and the surroundings as they merged into a dome-shaped barrier around the area. The barrier was immense, almost reaching the city. Those in the city could see a blanket of black seemingly appear and block all their senses.

It affected everyone, even the monsters in the city, who turned their heads after seeing it wasn’t of harm. Some of the humans clicked their tongues, while everyone else had expressions of shock plastered to their face.

Sadly, this was Alan’s limit for ‘concealment.’ He wasn’t at the level where he could alter reality to such an extent or create a living illusion that would hide the Jade Palace. Not only would the mana cost be exorbitant, but it would also take all of his focus. He judged it would be better to simply erect a veil of shadows, one of the simpler types of concealment barriers.

It would make others know that something was going on inside, but that would be it, and honestly, it was enough. But then again, some extra precautions were necessary.

“Valus.”

He declared in Dragon Tongue once more, invoking the power of darkness using the name of the being directly tied to it. This time, a dome of darkness mana, as thick as steel, emerged from his body and expanded continuously, pushing anything ‘alive’ still within the barrier of shadows away. It stopped a few dozen meters away from the barrier of shadows, and once Alan confirmed no one was left inside, he invoked another power with Dragon Tongue.

“Astra!”

This time, no tide of energy was released from his body; rather, the space between the barrier of darkness and the barrier of shadows quivered, becoming increasingly ‘volatile’ and expanding beyond its limits. It was a buffer zone Alan created to inform him if anyone managed to pass through the shadow barrier.

The Shadow Barrier was merely made to conceal whatever was inside; it wasn’t great at blocking someone from entering if they wished to do so, although it would still take a great deal of power.

The Barrier of Darkness was the barrier meant to stop anyone from actually coming in; the space between was… a present for anyone bold enough to try. An active minefield where spatial mana was in an extremely fragile state, one where even the slightest bit of foreign mana would trigger a simple spell.

Big Boom. Yes, that was the name Alan decided to give it after testing it before, and he was sorry for anyone who decided to take a look. Space itself imploding and exploding around their vicinity was not a pleasant experience, even from Alan’s perspective.

If they somehow managed to get through that, then they would have to get through the wall of darkness, inspired by the Obsidian Sanctum. It was purely defensive, and if someone managed to get through it as well… Alan would simply concede.

They honestly deserved to see whatever they wanted to see if they managed to get through all three barriers. Matter of fact, Alan would praise the living hell out of them and even offer to recruit them for twilight.

He would sponsor them the entire way, but that is only if they managed to get through. With a sigh, Alan sat down in a lotus position and recovered some of his mana.

The barriers of shadow and darkness extended beneath the ground as well, making a complete sphere. The spatial zone was only present above ground, however. If someone wanted to avoid it, they would have to deal with the termites.

“They’re moving… are they aware of it already? No, only a few workers… most of the nest is still unaware… though that is going to change soon.”

He could already see it, hundreds of workers passing the news to each other, which would eventually reach the queen of the colony soon enough. Alan hoped she would choose to stay and fight, as while his barrier covered most of the nest, she could always choose to retreat into the city, where he would be forced to cancel his experiment and eradicate it himself.

The Termites were unusual beings according to the association; they appeared to be capable of leaving the area around Phoenix City whenever they wished but had yet to do so. A peculiar sort of behavior, considering the knowledge available about insect monsters…

Regardless, he had analyzed enough for now and needed to get to work. As Alan recovered some of his mana, he opened his eyes, and all of a sudden, the temperature of the surrounding area decreased significantly.

“Haa…”

He exhaled a mist of frost, immediately freezing up the area around him as Alan felt something awaken deep within his being. He reached out to the connection and summoned it on Earth.

“The Jade Palace is me…”

The world quivered for a single second before ‘freezing’ completely as Alan finished the incantation.

“And I am the Jade Palace.”

From his body, a colossal tide of mana unlike any other unleashed itself, carrying with it not a barrier or spell, but an entire city. A Fortress of Frost and a Bastion of Ice unveiled themselves as the domain known as the Jade Palace was brought onto Earth, summoned directly from Lanekia itself.

The area within the barriers froze instantly, and for a fleeting moment, Alan was reminded of the cold on Lanekia. He smiled faintly and stood up, now present in the Throne Room of the Jade Palace.

The two crystal serpents appeared by his side, awaiting orders as Alan was carried to the throne by the domain itself. Once he sat upon it, he smiled.

“Now… let’s see what we have to offer…”

He rested his chin on his hand as he summoned the interface of the Jade Palace, enjoying the comfort of his cold throne.

[Jade Serpent Beast King: 2.]

[Jade Serpent Beast: 100]

[Jade Knights: 200.]

[Jade Mages (Ice): 100.]

[Jade Soldiers (Infantry (Spear)): 2000.]

[Jade Soldiers (Archery):800]

[Jade Soldiers (Swordsman): 200]

[Jade Workers: 1000.]

[Jade Serpents: 5000.]

[Jade Serpent Commander: 5.]

It had been a while since he took a look at the interface of his domain. Alan had replaced the troops he lost from the invasion of the Labyrinth of Minotaurs long ago and repaired some of the damage done to the city, along with improving certain features, but he was still a long way from completing the city.

Alan inspected the numerous features from the throne and spread out his fingers, taking out a multitude of treasures he gained during the time after the invasion. Treasures from his adventures, spoils of war, and treasures given to him by the House of Death after he made a simple request.

He couldn’t help it; if he was going to be a prince, the heir to his house, he was using that damn position for his own benefit. Though Alan guessed that they would have given him many treasures even if he didn’t ask them.

The races underneath the House of Death had a weird relationship with wealth. They didn’t care for it much due to the teaching of the Church of Darkness and the House of Death… but god forbid they ever be seen as poor by the races that ostracized them before.

The Dark Elves, Duergar, Tribes of Black Orcs, and many, many other races under the House of Death would rather die in gruesome pain than be forced to witness the prince of their house as inferior to the royalty of the races of Elves, Dwarves, and other main species of the Alliance. Even royalty from other houses of dragons or clans of god beasts… They had a lot of pride, a lot of it.

In gruesome pain because many saw honor in peaceful death after a successful life.

But thanks to that… if Alan ever made a public announcement of his position or a ceremony was held, he was certain he wouldn’t have to worry about money no matter where he was. It was still the same right now, considering the amount stored in his medallion, but that was for Earth.

Who knows? The universe was vast, and no amount of wealth could ever be considered enough… Maybe he could buy a planet or two…

[Supreme Dragon of Darkness, Valus, threatens to take away your wealth.]

Which was never yours to begin with.

He added later in Alan’s mind.

“Sheesh… it was just a joke.”

Alan rolled his eyes, focusing on the interface once more as he began sacrificing the treasures to acquire points.