Tales of the Endless Empire

Chapter 481: Chelturien Empire

In the coming weeks much changed. The major factions of New Earth installed a teleportation network between their camps which allowed them to quickly transfer armies. This already led to a few key figures abandoning their homes simply by getting overrun. So far the orcs eliminated the most.Yet most of the time it was impossible to kill the Chosen who fled the moment they saw that the battle couldn’t be won. It was just the first strikes and the war between factions had yet to fully erupt. None of the Chosen had managed to hit D grade so far, which was mostly due to the last levels taking as much experience as the whole E grade. Nonetheless many were damn close and it was only a question of days until it was time.

Then something happened that changed everything for the Chosen. They were able to activate the portal that led to their gods' domain a month before the anticipated timeline. It was heavily restricted and only allowed a sacred few to enter the new universe. At the moment it was a one way ticket and no one was able to go from the new universe to integrated space.

The gods weren’t stupid and quickly found a way to get the best out of this new situation. People with high body tempering or too high of a level weren’t able to go through the portal but these restrictions didn’t count for knowledge and skill. They sent builders and alchemists through the portal to support their Chosen, equipped with spatial rings that allowed them to transport vast quantities of construction materials.

The stones weren’t enchanted or of any special nature but that could be changed with a few runes in the new universe relatively quickly. In no time did the mostly wood built cities disappear and turn into massive strongholds. Enchanted stone walls rose over thirty meters high while a powerful dome protected everyone in the city.

Multiple watchtowers rose up to over sixty meters, equipped with ballistas, magic circles, and so on. The cities became bastions that were far from easily conquered. Combined with the teleportation circles attacking such a capital was a dead end even if a Chosen managed to reach D grade. The fortifications were just too powerful.

In Old Earth the defenders were often starved by the armies who set camp around them but here due to the teleportation network that was impossible. Additionally one only had to eat once in a week depending on the class and body tempering.

To besiege a faction wouldn’t work either. They could still bring in the army of the whole alliance in no time and then the attackers could be the ones who were in trouble. The go to strategy was to dominate the area around the target to kill hunting parties or fight for big natural treasures that would catapult one forward.

Another tactic was to simply ignore the other Chosen and instead go for the incursions and factions without divine protection. Those groups all of a sudden were in a very bad position. They mostly lacked the fortifications to do anything against the Chosen and they didn’t have enough fighters when the Chosen began to gather for big attacks via teleportation circles.

Yet this was all just the beginning and while those fast empires began their first steps, Thalion had something else in mind. Oblivious to it all he was currently soaring through the sky as Heavenrend wyvern far above the surface of the ocean. Thalion was itching for a battle with a Chosen just to see if he could do it.

The problem was that Chosen never moved out on their own and that he had no idea where they were. There were two Chosen he knew of and that was Eric and the elf. Neither of them Thalion could fight right now. The ocean was also a good failsafe since none of the Chosen should be able to fight his water form.

He also knew that with the teleportation network already intact, recklessly attacking a whole city was now also out of the question. So besides that the ocean meant safety against other Chosen who weren’t some kind of water mage Thalion also hoped to find big natural treasures in its depths or on the scarce islands that popped up from time to time.

The oceans were teeming with life, which is why he figured they were the best place to gain some levels, even though the experience gain had slowed down drastically. The loss of experience when killing a beast that was forty levels above you compared to one that was sixty levels ahead was almost seventy percent.

On the other side the experience gain skyrocketed should the beast have more than a sixty level advantage. Those beasts were rare and often far from weaklings and even Thalion with his new forms had a tough fight ahead when trying to take one down. In the end he was still the apex predator but against some sort of crocodile it had taken over two hours until it died.

With every fight Thalion grew more adept to his form which was far more important for him than gaining levels even when that wasn’t bad either.

He was currently at level 103 which was fine at the moment. He was slowed down by gaining less experience while at the same time needing much more with every level. As wyvern he hunted the large birds above the surface which once had been some sort of seagull.

The wyvern form was the hardest one to acclimatise with. The difference in size from Eagly to right now was just gigantic. It didn’t mean that he didn’t feel comfortable as wyvern, just that he simply couldn’t do those sharp turns anymore which had led to one or another unfortunate situation. Simply flying a bit calmer when chasing prey wasn’t Thalion’s style either. He wanted to go to the limit of what was possible and then push further.

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At the moment he enjoyed the cold air brushing by as he zoomed through the sky in search for a big island he could fight something on. It wasn’t that much longer until the next system event would begin so he had to be prepared. Every island he had encountered so far was completely different. One was a giant nesting place for birds while the next was a tall forest with all kinds of creatures living in it.

The variety was nice but Thalion was beginning to itch for a real battle. Massacring creatures twenty to thirty levels above him wasn’t really worth it. Targets closer to D-grade were far more desirable. Maybe he would even be able to fight an early D grade but that would depend on the rarity of that creature.

The next big island was interesting though. There was a whole city with stone walls built on it and four harbours. That they made this all from stone meant that they were either diving something up or this was an incursion. Thalion searched for some hostility of the faction living in it so that he had a good excuse to kill every single one in it but it seemed that there were multiple races living quietly there and besides a few soldiers on the wall it all seemed very peaceful.

The city was also quite big with multiple thousands living in it. This made Thalion curious and he shifted into his human form to check it out further. For races he had seen humans from Earth and those blue robes, some humanoid figures with fish scales on them and some four-footed, humanoid, crabs. The latter were likely the incursion owners.

So far all incursions hadn’t been that nice. Even that merchant he had saved had been a blight to deal with. He wondered what this incursion’s motto was. It had to be related to trade—otherwise, they would never be so peaceful.

Thalion used telekinetic dash in a combination with blood manipulation to dive downward in his human form while keeping his aura contained and reining in all his passive skills that could cause a ruckus. He decided to not just jump inside the city even when it wasn’t protected by a dome and introduce himself the nice way by going through what looked like the front gate.

It was built right next to one of the harbours which were all outside the tall walls. The weapons on top of the wall were some sort of long harpoons. Probably because if they got attacked it would come from the water and their harpoons should be the most efficient weapon.

Getting closer he also got a closer look at the crabfolk.

Chel'Kari - Level 148

The mixture between the four crab legs, the human body and then the four arms with two big claws and two small ones plus those stalk eyes made them look very extraordinary in Thalion’s opinion. Thalion had been only sixty meters above the harbour when he had used identify mainly to not surprise them too much when he was landing on the harbour.

In return Thalion got hit by multiple identifies over and over while he continued to sink towards the harbour. Twenty meters above the ground he simply let go and dropped down making sure to get the cool superman landing he had practised in the treasure hunt just without the explosive part. A bit sad that he didn’t have tectonic slam any longer.

A few of the Chel'Kari drew their weapons but it was very clear that they weren’t hostile and didn’t consider Thalion a real threat. His level was low and the aura was fully concealed. The only thing that could give it away were his clothes and the hilt of Saryana but they didn’t seem to notice those minor details.

“Welcome to the Chelturien empire. How can we help you?” The taller of the guards with a light orange chitin colour said in a friendly tone.

This was an interesting way to frame the question which didn’t give much away. Since Thalion was just curious and if possible wanted some information before leaving again he would never tell them that directly or the price would go up.

Thalion also didn’t have any money which besides the two silver crowns from being a dungeon boss for a day and there he wasn’t even sure if he could exchange them not that he even wanted. Being put in stronger dungeons would give a lot more than exchanging it here for information.

“I am running from the war in search of a new home or at least a place where I can stay and level up.” The conflict between the factions should be well known here too.

The light orange Chel'Kari nodded which looked a bit like slightly bowing forward since he didn’t have a neck.

“Ah yes that is understandable. Many here were running from elves but if you want to stay here there are a few rules to follow. No killing and robbing of course but those are self-explanatory. In general you are free to come and go as you wish but staying is only possible if you pay for it. You can pay for it by doing missions on the quest board or selling the dead bodies of marine life you killed. That’s already it. We figured that keeping it simple is the best especially in the new universe. Everything clear?”

So far the fellow seemed quite nice but Thalion wasn’t fully buying it. There was a very big question mark on what those missions were and how much you would get for bringing back the slain bodies.

On the other side Thalion figured that checking out this incursion was only to his benefit. Here he might learn how a city worked in integrated space and maybe some of the quests were for very strong monsters, which would be perfect for satiating his bloodlust.

“Yes they are clear but I have a few questions. How do I find the shops which are taking the bodies of the dead creatures I bring back? Also you said I can only stay when I contribute so when do people get kicked out?”

The light orange fellow nodded with every sentence as if it was natural.

“Oh yes good questions. You follow this street to the main plaza and the big building on it is for the exchange. Should your catch be so big then you can leave it in the harbour and just inform the authority that that is your kill. It will cost you a bit but better than getting nothing. The nights tend to get quite dangerous which is why we start to close the gates when the sun is getting low. We throw everyone out who hasn’t earned a ticket or has paid for a place to stay. They are of course free to try the next day so no worries.”

Yeah this all sounded far more like the annoying merchant from last time. Maybe Thalion could even do something good for the people here who were struggling to pay for safety. He didn’t need the corpses of the beasts he killed.

If those crabs were too annoying who said that he couldn’t eat their incursion pillar? An incursion pillar completely converted to darkness, could even increase his body tempering. Thalion was curious if he could absorb it faster now being at E grade. Yeah this little stay was bound to be very interesting.

“Thanks that sounds more than fair. I will be off checking out the city and quest board then.” Thalion smiled.

The guards were pointing with their claws to the side which was probably something similar to waving a hand. As Thalion walked by he grabbed his red mask that was still in his robe and put it on just in case someone would recognize him.