Chapter 1568 Grumpy Pregnant Wife
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After that talk about Venerables, the Ice Queen went into a bit more detail about the ones she didn't name. Those that were mostly "neutral" or "on their own" which were often called "Demonic Venerables" anyways because they didn't choose to ally with the "righteous" factions, therefore immediately being called evil and villainous.
They were the "Demonic Trio" as she calls them, the Fox Venerable, the Flame Venerable, and lastly, a guy I've only heard a bit from Henrietta, the dwarf captain who has accompanied us since we recruited her back on Heaven Port.
"The only dwarf that ever became a Venerable would be "Onyx Hammer Blacksmith Demon Venerable", he was the strongest and mightiest Blacksmith that this world has ever seen." She said. "He was the one that made most of the weapons the Venerables after his birth wielded. Me included."
"Wait, he just made them for you guys for free?" I asked.
"Of course not, we all had to contact him when we ascended. He had a price for his creations, a big one. I was about to just not commission him, but after knowing that every other Venerable already got a weapon from him, it would mean I would be in a great disadvantage…" She sighed. "So I gave up and paid."
"And… what was the price?" I felt slightly dreadful. "What could a Venerable like him even want as payment?"
"Simple, even amongst Venerables, there's slight power differences. And we all are constantly striving to become stronger… Or well, get stronger once we revive." She sighed. "Naturally, our greatest source of power, and something every God that reaches Rank 10 requires to make to continue cultivating, an Ascendancy Law. I had to give him a fragment of my Ascendancy Law."
"Wouldn't that have weakened you a lot?!" I gasped.
"Not enough, and I restored the fragment lost through natural regeneration after a few hundreds of years." She crossed her arms. "In exchange, I got a weapon forged with half of that fragment too. The strongest weapon I possess, one not even you have seen, sealed within my Tower. I will only gain access to it once I revive."
"A-And every Venerable had one? But the Vampire venerable didn't had one…" I said.
"He did, but he probably lacked the power to wield it in his non-revived state. After all we only fought his Weakened Soul. Not even his Ascendancy Laws were at full power back then. And because he was constantly trying to revive through Ruby, he was being oppressed and weakened by Fate, which controls our lifespans." She answered. "His weapon… Must still be somewhere sealed. If it isn't inside his Divine Realm, then most likely in some secret inheritance he left behind."
"So you Venerables can't wield those super overpowered weapons without your full power?" I wondered.
"We can, but we require a certain part of our strength. Because such weapons were made using the pieces of our Ascendancy Laws, our Ascendancy Laws require to be activated to a certain extent before we can wield them." She answered. "It's weird how he gave you such good weapons, wouldn't that be risking his own life?" I asked.
"Well, perhaps… But this Venerable was a recluse that lived like a hermit. He was perhaps the Venerable that got involved with the world the least." Laughed the Ice Queen. "Of course, he was still very protective of his kind, the dwarves of Svartalfheim, who are now the biggest tribe of people in that continent after the almost total extinction of the Insectoids."
"I wonder if he would make me a weapon… Well, my own weapons are already very strong, so replacing them would feel a bit bad." I sighed. "But maybe upgrade them?"
"Hmm, that's something you'll have to find yourself." She said.
"Can't you vouch for me so I can meet him?" I asked rather shamelessly.
"Sigh, I've already vouched for you plenty with Skadi! Did you know she was originally against the idea of letting a dragon inside the Titan Records?" She laughed. "If it weren't for my insistence and my great bond with her, you wouldn't have been given the opportunity to further increase your strength by awakening the Ice Titan Bloodline."
"Ugh, alright, don't get so mad…" I shrugged. "Oh, we're here…" The big ice castle was right in front of us, I could see my family and some of my friends working in the farms behind the castle. It was both a nice past time and a way to farm Lesser Divine Treasures in large quantities, to make our precious Dragon Blood Elixirs.
Such Elixirs were real life savers that always help in the terrible battles we have. Without them, most of my allies would have already died. Even the Ice Queen and the Fox woman have praised my Alchemy for having created such good Elixirs that work so well even with Gods.
Apparently, healing items that can work on the super-powered bodies of Gods are very rare. Most medicine and elixirs become useless when you have a godly body.
As I descended from the skies, someone came running towards me.
"Drake! You're finally back, honey!" Benladann was the first to run towards me once I returned, hugging me tightly even in my dragon form. She simply became gigantic herself to do so.
"Y-Yeah, sorry for being away so long. I imagine she told you I was in a Trial, right?" I wondered.
"She did! I was really angry! If she wasn't a Venerable I would have surely beaten her really good!" Benladann smiled slightly menacingly. Even the Venerable hid behind me a bit.
"A-Ahahah, honestly, same." I nodded.
"Right? She's such a sneaky little…" Benladann glared at her angrily.
"Hey, do you have to get so angry? At the end your husband got stronger! Sigh, these younglings… Anyways, I'm off. I need to continue training your little friends. They'll soon breakthrough their Divinity Manipulation Abilities." She quickly disappeared, almost as if running away.
"Oh, you're finally back! Did you had to be gone for so long?!" Miranda angrily said, her belly had become even bigger. "Look! I'm giving birth at any moment now! You almost missed it!" She pouted cutely.
"Ah, sorry! I'm really sorry." I hugged her. "I'll stay at your side until then."
"And after!" She said grumpily.
"Yes ma'am…" I nodded obediently. -----