Chapter 618 Strengthening the Legendary Gods
"Because I must have all the treasures!" Halmut shouted. "I've already told you that we plan to leave Kartonia and rule elsewhere. Taking the treasures of Glacier Keep will make that far more possible, being our final venture as gods of Kartonia."
"And what about our followers?" asked Kylon.
"What about them? They'll stay here as we move on to better lives. Given how terribly you handled that battle, we'll lose at least half of our supporters before we can enter Glacier Keep," reasoned Halmut. "And the rulers of our subordinate nations will likely investigate leaving our side as well, believing that we're incapable of facing the leisure gods."
"Your excellency…" Perchet sighed, giving everyone a moment to redirect their focus to him. The God of Sound never turned his head or looked around, only appearing to stare blankly at the table with his blindfold on tight. "By the sound of it, you seem to know more about Glacier Keep than you're letting on. Would you mind filling us in on why you're so adamant about receiving the treasures of Glacier Keep?"
"I only know of its location. No need to--"
"By the sound of your voice, I sense that you're possibly excited for one treasure in particular. And since you seem to have already known about the existence of Glacier Keep, perhaps you know of what lies inside?"
"Perchet, that's enough," Halmut replied. "I know of Glacier Keep due to Lunara. Her species originates from Glacier Reef, the area that surrounds the sealed Glacier Keep. As for treasures, I have no clue what's inside."
"But you--"
"Kylon, there's no need to say more."
"... Yes, your excellency."
Continuing, Halmut mentioned, "As for what we'll do to enter Glacier Keep, we've got one week to bolster our strength. How many divine candidates do we have left?"
"None of ours survived the battle," Torian admitted. "They were targeted heavily by that mysterious swordsman, leaving us with no one over lv. 80."
Grixor added, "The same goes for us Quake Dragons. My apprentices were also slaughtered by that swordsman."
"Hmmm… And the same goes for the Magma Dragons?" asked Halmut.
"Correct."
Looking around the table, Halmut squinted in thought as he tapped his fingers on the table. "Kylon, how many candidates do you have?"
"Given a week to grind and permission to clear out dungeons without regulation, we can six candidates at most," answered Kylon.
"Six? That many?" Halmut was surprised, as was everyone else.
"Yes, six. Since we Flood Dragons have been given the past few centuries to recuperate our losses after Skaryn's slaughter… we've managed to focus on leveling at the sacrifice of some of the countless sea life species," Kylon explained, subconsciously pausing and blinking for a half a second after mentioning Skaryn. "And since it was the strongest Flood Dragons that were away with me during the incident, it was our numbers that were hurt and not our overall strength at that time."
"Perfect!" Halmut smiled and looked to Perchet again. "How many candidates are there among the Nocturnal Dragons?"
"Your excellency, you promised not to--"
"How many, Perchet? Right now, we need all the strength we can get. The more candidates we have, the stronger you all can become and the more gods we can send into Glacier Keep," stated Halmut. "Now, how many candidates have you raised?"
Sighing, Perchet shook his head, "Zero."
"Zero?! That's impossible!"
"There are zero candidates," Perchet repeated. "We never focused on leveling. Everyone here understands that Nocturnal Dragons have always preferred to live in peace and we don't seek violence. That should be obvious, given the terms of my joining the holy gods long ago when you promised not to get my people involved in any wars."
"Perchet, we can't accept such terms during a crisis such as the one we're in now," stated Tralbok, attempting to regain some face in front of Halmut.
"Those were the terms and I wish to stand by them. I only joined to keep us from waring with the other draconic species," argued Perchet.
"Perchet…" Halmut sighed, intensifying his stare. "Right now, I must admit that Tralbok is right. We're facing a crisis we never expected and we must--"
"So are you going back on your word or not?" the God of Sound questioned outright. "You know that I can't deny your orders given the deceptive contract that I once naively signed. If you're going to change the terms we previously agreed on, then state it outright."
"Perchet, right now we must band all dragons together!" roared Halmut. "You saw what happened! They slaughtered and slew every last--"
"No, I saw nothing," refuted Perchet. "Halmut, I won't deny your orders, but no that I'm fulfilling them unwillingly. A true leader should honor his word and pride more than anything, not… well… That's enough rambling for me. I'll visit home and search for people. With a week's time, we may be able to create three candidates. But we'll also need permission to wipe out entire dungeons if you want that."
"Of course!" laughed Halmut. "We'll soon be leaving anyway, so there's no need to worry about the dungeons. If anything, I like the thought of leaving the leisure gods with fewer places to harvest EXP."
"Very well…" Perchet sighed, rolling his eyebrows and swallowing his own pride.
"This is how we should do this. You'll take your nine candidates to various dungeons, including the ones we've saved for occasions such as this, like the catacombs in Zuran. Wipeout everything you can and make sure that all nine ascend," ordered Halmut. "Tralbok, you'll be allowed to reach lv. 98, but you mustn't disappoint me again. If that happens, I'll personally wipe out your existence."
"Yes, your excellency," Tralbok agreed with the bow of his head.
"Kylon, you'll also become lv. 98. Perchet, you'll become lv. 97. And because of your low-levels, we'll allow Tyres and Alcahain to both gain two levels. That's how we'll spread the nine divine candidates, alright?"
While most everyone nodded in some form, one person raised their hand.