Book 5: Chapter 36: Cripple (2)

Dravil grit his teeth, calming his breathing. “What do you want?”In the end, he could only hope that Dyon understood not to take things too far. This was the only special gate, so maybe this tactic only worked here. If that was the case, then even if Dyon could stop them from here, what would stop them from attacking from another gate?“Nope.” Dyon spoke as though he could hear Dravil’s thoughts. “I can do this at any gate.”Dyon didn’t bother letting Dravil deciding whether he believed him or not. In the blink of an eye, a key of brilliant gold and intricate patterns appeared. It hovered in the air before rotating until horizontal. Then, it seemingly turned like it was opening an invisible door.Just like that, a portal to Planet Deimos’ gate opened. How could Dravil not recognize Deimos Tower?With a simple step through the portal, Thadius proved Dyon’s point without ever removing his halberd from Dravil’s throat.Silence reigned. It was clear to everyone by this point that Dyon wasn’t bluffing. If the Uidah attacked from any gate, they would suffer horribly…After a moment, Dravil finally collected himself enough to speak. “I don’t have much power.” Dravil wanted to say that he didn’t have as much power as Dyon thought he did, but he decided to choose his words more carefully. He was done with underestimating this opponent.What he really wanted to know was what Dyon’s plan from here on was. After all, this meeting was secret by any stretch. There were millions of Uidah and Uidah affiliated clans behind them. And, even though the army Dyon brought could be considered to be made of his allies, how could you possibly trust every one of them to not say a thing?  The reality of the matter was that if the Uidah were angered enough, they may decide to retaliate in other ways. Just a few dao formation elders is all it would take…As a first son, Dravil knew more than most what the current situation of the Uidah was. Couple that with his cautious nature, and he might be among the most informed.There was growing frustration with the stalled improvement of the clan. Because of the Pakals and Ragnors, the Uidah weren’t able to expand in other directions because all of their other gates were being strategically defended.One might think there was no difference between owning 24 universes and 25. It may almost seem like a petty wish. However there was a big difference between a King God Clan that owned 24 universes, and an Emperor God Clan that owned 25. And that difference was in will suppression.Why was Dyon so fond of his energy cultivation technique? It was because of regardless of the universe he was in, he would never feel like his power was stifled. Whereas others would need a period to adapt and understand the new flow of energies in that universe, he wouldn’t have to waste his time at all.However, Dyon was an anomaly. Almost every other martial warrior would feel suppressed when entering a new territory. And that suppression was like night and day when a King God Clan was compared to an Emperor God Clan. Those ranks weren’t chosen arbitrarily, they really meant something!This was why when Dyon first asked Ri why campaigns were fought, her first response was to spread influence and what she called ‘religion’. In the martial world, it was this exact suppression and spreading of will that that word referred to!So, one can understand how anxious the Uidah were. As long as they remained a King God Clan, they would always be vulnerable to the spread of influence by Emperor God Clans.Dravil understood this very well. Whereas before the Uidah looked down on this universe because since it was so weak, it would thereby also weaken its step into Emperor God Clan status, right now they couldn’t afford to be picky anymore. They had already wasted centuries!With all of this weighing on Dravil’s shoulders now, if Dyon asked him to not attack the gates, it would be impossible for him to convince the Uidah of such a thing. Or, more accurately, they wouldn’t attack the gates, but instead attack via another method!“It’s simple.” Dyon finally spoke. “You just have to stall for 20 years.”Dravil paled. There was a very clear underlying meaning in Dyon’s words. For him to control the situation in this gate for so long, he would have to stay an essence gatherer for that long as well. That might completely destroy his future as a cultivator. But, if he refused, wouldn’t he die right here and now?“I have quite a solid understanding of the structure of your Uidah Clan.“You own 24 universes, and across them, there are thousands of gates. However, in terms of gates you truly have to defend, those are at the edge of your territory and there are about 150 of those.”Dyon spoke of confidential information as though he had personally been there and seen it himself so nonchalantly that Dravil felt a cold sweat spreading across his back.“This is the very edge of the quadrant and aside from this universe –“ Dyon cut himself off, “You don’t need to know anything about that. What you do need to know is that this universe has no other enemies to worry about but you.”Dyon’s warning was clear.They had many enemies, but he only had one. No matter how you looked at it, the Uidah were at a disadvantage. Dravil had no right to consider what might leverage himself out of this situation.