Chapter 1044 Fruits of Labor Omega, the first ever subordinate Kahn created and also the most vocally loyal commander of Kahn's forces, suddenly revealed himself in the secret ancestral site of the Imperial Family of the Empire of Space. "It's been a while." said Kahn as he shook Omega's hand and sat on a zabuton beside the samurai subordinate. Woosh! Woosh! However, Omega didn't just come alone. Two black silhouettes appeared from his shadow and manifested into the apparition of two familiar figures. One was a white-haired and red-eyed elf in a blue longcoat while the other was a spectacle-wearing young man who had a scholarly mage appearance to him. These were none other than the two doppelgangers Kahn left in the Zivot Empire aka the Elven Empire. And these two figures were namely… Legolas Ragnarsson and Merlin. Legolas was his persona of the Guildmaster of Misthios Mercenary Guild while Merlin was his other form that he created to learn genuine Alchemist Class. And now… both of them appeared beside Omega and extended their hands. Swoom! A wave of ethereal energy passed across Kahn's body as he absorbed all the memories from both the doppelgangers. It had been 1 and a half years since he left Zivot Empire. And these two were particularly one of his biggest assets left there. Soon, Kahn was absolved and learned about the restructuring of Misthios guild. Legolas, his other doppelganger version managed to get the entire Alfheim, one of the biggest economic hubs of monster core and resource trading and the highest amount of dungeons in the entire Elven Empire, as part of the deal with the Imperial Family after they were forced to hire the Misthios guild to assist the Hero of Life in Conclave of Heroes. That was the reason why Kahn met his subordinates before entering Babylon. On the other end… Aragorn Travion Insalor Venric, the Prince of the Elven Empire has also let go of his persona as Edumund Thandruil, the Saint Rank Alchemist just a few weeks ago. He revealed himself to the Imperial Family and the whole Empire, saying that he was on his pilgrimage of sorts and only returned because he just heard about the death of his little sister, Princess Eleanor. As per the Martial Emperor… In the original timeline, Aragorn controlled Vildred but was later killed by Ervalen, the Hero of Life after the latter learned that it was him who killed Eleanor. That made the Hero of Life turn into Vildred's new master in the original timeline, unlike the present one where the Lighting Dragon Emperor was Kahn's mentor. Also, the 12 Valkyries were disbanded after the horrible expedition of the Immortal Dungeon and the surviving saint members were now part of the Misthios Mercenary Guild. Sparta, the settlement Kahn previously created, now has more than 500 thousand members, making it the biggest mercenary guild in the Elven Empire. As Merlin, he also learned proper Saint Rank alchemist abilities and skills, now possessing the knowledge to even save thousands of lives if he used skills and his potion creation abilities he got from Prithvi, the Grandmaster Alchemist back in Rukon District that once used to be his lair in Rathna, the capital of Rakos Empire. Also, Omega informed him about his other subordinates left in the Rakos Empire. Tobias, a Magician Summoner class subordinate, who was in charge of controlling the Verlassen Fiefdom after Kahn left the Rakos Empire, strengthened his grip and currently controlled it like a hidden ruler of the fiefdom as a 4th-stage saint, just like Kahn intended. The other 3 subordinates he left in Kassandra's shadow had also gone as far as 4th-stage saint rank recently. Currently, every member among his subordinates was at least a 4th-stage saint. Omega then spoke firmly… "Jugram, Armin, and Ronin have become Apostles of Deities as well." Kahn on the other side, expected this and wasn't surprised because the Martial Emperor had already told him about the task he gave to God of Darkness and Kravel. So it was apparent that at least 3 of his subordinates would become Apostles by the time he left Conclave of Heroes and met Argos Belmont. "Jugram, Blackwall, Armin, and Ronin are now 5th-stage saints with their own Domains. Unlike them, though I haven't become an apostle, my Gravity Law skills inherited from Skoll and Hati have been refined and now I have mastered them to perfection. I have received the 2nd Enlightenment in Gravity Law on my own and I can feel that I will break through to gain the 3rd Enlightenment soon enough. It also helped me become a 5th-stage saint right after we returned from the Conclave of Heroes." he revealed the pleasant news. "What about Rudra?" asked Kahn. "He has improved a lot but just like me, he wasn't chosen as an Apostle either. He is currently a 4th-stage saint similar to Ceril and Oliver." explained Omega in an obedient tone. Kahn nodded in affirmation and also felt slightly elated. Soon, he received a letter from Omega which was a report sent by Ronin. The letter contained updates on Kassandra Mikealson. The report stated that she also broke through to become a 5th-stage saint already. "Even Ronin was surprised because of her staggering growth. He said it must be because of what you did in Aesir to save her life by giving her a part of your soul." iterated Omega. Kahn nodded again. It was also expected because even the Future Kahn mentioned this to him. On top of that, he advised to meet Kassandra as soon as Kahn was done with something Argos had to do with Kahn after he was done in the Empire of Space. This made Kahn even more overjoyed. Because out of his 12 Legendary/Saint rank subordinates, 5 of them were now 5th-stage saints while the 7 were at 4th-stage saint rank. Thanks to the time he spent earning influence and various vital resources such as Monster Cores and Mana Ores in Rakos and Zivot Empire via Verlassen Fiefdom and the Misthios guild, not only him but all of his subordinates were now powerful beings. At this moment, the vast amount of wealth and resources he possessed dwarfed even many noble factions in many empires. Although it wasn't as big as the Imperial families, it was incomparable for a single chosen Hero who wasn't a king, an emperor or had any empire's backing. "Here are the resources you asked for." said Omega and handed him space rings filled with billions of SSS Rank monster cores and mana ores. "These are enough for me to become an 8th-stage saint." iterated Kahn in a relaxed voice. And now, he had enough resources to become even a 9th-stage saint if he took the Apple of Eden that Future Kahn took from Anakin Redfield, the Hero of Time. This was something even the Martial Emperor had failed to do in the original timeline until he became the Emperor of the Rakos Empire. But what he achieved in 18 years was achieved by the current Kahn in just 6 years after he arrived in Vantrea. One could even say that he was the richest Entrepreneur in the world right now. Kahn then created three new Cosmic Replicas as Legolas, Merlin, and Zeus with the memories of the old doppelgangers. Because there was a limit on doppelgangers who heavily relied on mana ores and monster cores. Cosmic Replicas on the other hand didn't need any of that and they could perfectly mimic his aura as a 6th-stage saint. This was a much-needed strategy to ensure that his identities were never judged because people wouldn't dare to raise questions against a 6th stage saint, especially one with lots of influence as the guildmaster of the biggest mercenary guild in the empire and one who is also a Saint Rank alchemist. If anything, they would try to curry favors with him. "Both of you need to return to previous posts and carry on the role. Also, start investing in weapons, and potion productions to bolster our forces. Soon, we will be forced into having an army of our own with actual living beings and fighters of different classes." he commanded his Cosmic Replicas. "I'm no longer a lonewolf and my presence as the Hero of Darkness should send fear across the adversary forces whether I'm fighting Saints or an entire Imperial Army. Use the members of Sparta and the Misthios Guild." he beckoned. He then looked at his Zeus persona. "Use the fighter class members of the Seven Deadly Sins we created in Rakos Empire and the Covenant Soldiers from Verlassen Fiefdom. Start training them for warfare and supply them with the best weapons, and armors and nurture the individuals with great potential. I want at least 10 million able-bodied soldiers from all professions, classes, and skills." he spoke in a domineering tone. "I have already established Seven Deadly Sins, an Underworld Organization. Covenant Soldiers are a Military Force; Bloodborne has Blacksmiths, and Hippocrates has Alchemists in the Rakos Empire. And then there's Misthios guild in the Zivot Empire. All of them are enough for me to raise a proper army of my own with no problems at all. The years I spent in developing my businesses, guilds, companies, and organizations are bearing fruits now." spoke Kahn, recounting his fruits of labor. "And I want all of it done within a year." he spoke as he looked at the three Cosmic Replicas. But master, isn't it too risky?" asked Omega, slightly worried. "You have just been revealed to the world and there are still people hunting you. If I'm not wrong, the empires will focus on you again once they are either done destroying the Erdve Empire to capture the Hero of Time or they will simply get bold and try to kill you for your Divine Keys again. You also have the protection of a Sovereign. So why the hurry?" he queried. To him, Kahn replied in a stern tone. "Because in just one year from now…" He remembered what the Future Kahn aka the Martial Emperor told him what would happen exactly 1 year after the Conclave of Heroes. "The Great War will begin." ---------------- [[Author's Note : Hello guys, CrimsonWolfAuthor here. Sorry for the past few months of delay in chapter updates. I have been fighting and playing hide & seek with Death again and again in the past 2 months. Got hospitalized like 7 times; 4 times in August alone. 2 of them were spent in ICU and the doctor had to put me on Morphine for straight 3 days because of the excruciating pain I was suffering from. I barely recovered in the first week of September but even then, I keep falling sick now and then. I'm looking after my health but fate doesn't want to see me live happily even for a week. That's why the gaps in chapter releases. I hope to be able to write more chapters soon but only if my health allows it. I'm grateful for the support and kind words you've offered me so far.]]