Lord of Myriad Flesh, Cut Off from the Network

After stepping down from the Pumpkin Carriage, Isaac adjusted Little Mouse on his shoulder and strode toward the Council Hall.

Before long, Isaac entered the Council Hall. At a glance, aside from his father and eldest brother, there were three men and one woman seated opposite his second brother.

These were the four barons under Solomon.

They were Mad Sword Aleitos Hall, Demonic Wolf James Allen, the strongest Grand Knight, Black Snake Barry Edward, and Witch Snake Princess Barbara Cook!

There was not much to say about the first two. Both possessed knight-level strength, and their baronial titles had been inherited from ancestors who had followed Solomon's forebears and achieved great deeds.

Black Snake Barry Edward was different. He had fought his way to a baronial title, sword stroke by sword stroke, right here in Solomon Fortress!

His own strength had reached the peak of Grand Knight. As long as he obtained the cultivation method and resources for a High Knight, he could begin his breakthrough at any time!

Of course, it was not the orthodox path of Faith Power that led to a High Knight, but another path for High Knights—transforming into a magical creature!

It involved fusing a magical creature's bloodline into one's body, then using a specialized Bloodline Fusion Method to completely merge it with oneself, shedding one's human identity and evolving toward a higher form of existence!

It was a path no weaker than the orthodox High Knight path, and its threshold was lower. One could cultivate it even without Faith Power.

However, this so-called lower threshold was only relative. For everyone else, Bloodline Fusion Methods and the matching cultivation resources were extremely rare!

Naturally, the Solomon Family had made preparations for this. After all, their territory was only so large, and the number of High Knights it could support was limited. It would be a waste if the remaining people had talent but no opportunity to use it.

Still, even the Solomon Family had only managed to gather one complete set of cultivation resources. If Barry wanted to break through to High Knight, he would have to find them himself.

Of course, that had been the situation before...

Isaac glanced at the somewhat excited Barry and his dejected second brother, Remington, and immediately understood that his second brother's punishment had not officially concluded yet.

That made sense. After giving it some thought, Isaac understood. Setting aside the fact that Remington had neglected Isaac's safety and failed as an older brother, simply colluding with the enemy was enough to ruin him.

The reason he was still alive was, first, because the war with the Black Orcs was about to begin. If news spread at such a time that the second young master of the Solomon Family had colluded with the Black Orcs, the blow to morale would be unprecedented!

Second, Remington was, after all, born a noble. No matter how much Gaia loved his people as his children, they were merely like children, not truly his sons. But Remington really was his son, so he would not be killed.

Of course, while he could escape death, he could not escape punishment!

It was foreseeable that once the war against the Black Orcs ended, he would certainly be held accountable. The severity might depend on his performance in this war, or it might not be affected at all.

After all, the one truly making the decision was Gaia, not Isaac and the others.

Still, it surely would not be light. He definitely had no hope of obtaining the resources to break through to High Knight. Judging by Barry's expression, he had clearly been fed quite a bit of encouragement.

Of course, it might not actually have been empty encouragement.

Barry was a retainer of the Solomon Family, and there was no need to worry about his loyalty. To put it bluntly, he might even be more loyal to Caesar than Remington was...

So unless something unexpected happened, it was basically certain that the resources would be given to him.

Unless Barry performed disastrously in this battle or simply got killed.

But that was unlikely. A Grand Knight's vitality was incredibly powerful, and his recovery rate far surpassed that of some modern-day strongest being. Even if he were cut in half at the waist, he could still survive!

Isaac's gaze lingered on Barry for only a moment. What interested him most was Witch Snake Princess Barbara Cook, seated at the very end.

Barbara wore a loose black wizard's robe. At a glance, there was no visible curve to her figure. She wore a witch's hat with a brim even larger than Isaac's, and from Isaac's position, only a pale, delicate chin could be seen.

Witches were people naturally endowed with powerful spellcasting abilities!

Their childhoods were usually accompanied by fear and loneliness.

The vast majority of witches were feared and cursed by ordinary people around them from a young age. Their childhoods were extremely miserable, and they often lost everything while still very young.

But...

This did not stem from ordinary people's fear of the unknown.

In fact, in a world with supernatural power, if one was born with extraordinary abilities, one would not be despised. Instead, one would become the treasure of a family, a village, or even a city!

Because as long as such a person did not die young, they would certainly become a major figure one day!

But witches were the exception. This was not because their powers were as evil as the legends claimed. On the contrary, many witches' powers had nothing to do with evil at all. So why did they suffer such tragic fates?

Because their powers were too strong, too easy to control, and awakened too early...

In Isaac's previous life, many people were tired of hearing one phrase: "He's still just a child."

But the phrase itself was not wrong. A child's worldview had not yet taken shape. In their world, there could be many thoughts that adults found utterly terrifying, and children would recreate them.

For example, many children would point toy guns at people and giggle as they shouted things like, "I'll kill you." In their minds, they were simply imitating this unknown world.

That was why, in the country across the ocean in his previous life, absurd incidents could occur where one-year-olds or four-year-olds accidentally shot themselves to death or even shot their parents.

But witches were more terrifying than those children holding guns!

The moment a witch was born, before she could even speak, she could already use magic...

That was far easier than firing a gun. Often, all it took was a chaotic thought for their magic to destroy everything around them in accordance with their will...

So it was actually difficult to say whether their miserable childhoods were truly their own fault...

And witches who grew up in such circumstances were bound to have abnormal ways of thinking. Every one of them was crazy, even crazier than Mad Witches.

Barbara's situation was slightly better than that of ordinary witches. Her ability was relatively weak. It was said that she could only summon snakes and possessed no great destructive power.

Unfortunately, she had been born into a noble family, and one particularly vicious in its power struggles. Her mother had been killed by the first wife when she was six, and Barbara herself had nearly been murdered as well. Fortunately, at the critical moment, she underwent a sudden surge and summoned an extremely powerful magic snake, which swallowed the assassin in a single bite and allowed her to escape!

After that, she wandered alone outside. By the time she was sixteen, she had grown into a qualified Witch and was about to break through to Grand Witch.

So, she returned for revenge...

Isaac did not know exactly what she had done after returning. He only knew that Barbara Cook had replaced her father and become a baron under the Solomon Family!

Caesar had told Isaac about her experiences.

A Witch suspected to be a Grand Witch...

"Hiss~"

Sensing Isaac's gaze, a Green Snake suddenly emerged from Barbara's shoulder. Its vertical pupils stared coldly at Isaac as its tongue flickered.

"Riiip~"

Perhaps sensing the Green Snake's provocative aura, Hamon, who had been sleeping inside Isaac for three days, instantly awoke. Amid everyone's stunned gazes, it crawled out from the back of Isaac's neck and stretched its five sharp claws in a vicious posture!

However, Hamon had not forgotten why it had awakened. After stretching, its five claws spread open, its palm aimed at the Green Snake, and a scarlet eye suddenly opened!

The sight instantly put everyone on guard!

There was no helping it. The scene looked far too bizarre. It was a completely instinctive reaction, and even Gaia, seated at the head of the table, could not help reaching for the longsword at his side.

"Hamon, don't be nervous. They're allies." Although Isaac was also extremely curious about the eye on Hamon's hand, he knew this was not the time to examine it, so he merely gave a calm order.

Hamon moved the eye from its palm all the way onto the arm facing Isaac's face. The bloodshot scarlet eye was filled with confusion.

In Hamon's limited understanding, the Green Snake's behavior was a provocation. It meant war!

It did not understand why its master said they were not enemies.

But although it did not understand its master's thoughts, that did not stop it from obeying Isaac's command. It closed its eye and returned to Isaac's body.

Only then did everyone let out a slight sigh of relief, though the way they looked at Isaac had already changed somewhat.

Whether their strength surpassed Isaac's or fell short of his, there was now a trace of wariness in their gazes.

It was humanity's reverence for the mysterious!

After Hamon returned to Isaac's body, Barbara also extended her fair little hand and lightly tapped the Green Snake on her shoulder, making it retreat as well.

Only then did she look at Isaac and say apologetically, "My apologies, Young Master Isaac. Ruiwen is a little too sensitive to danger. It startled you."

Isaac casually pulled over a chair and sat down. "It's fine. I understand. Hamon is the same way."

It was a common problem among highly intelligent Magic Pets. They were very alert when it came to danger, but they were rather troublesome in daily life.

Isaac, whose Magic Pet had an especially bizarre appearance, understood this deeply.

After all, unlike the Green Snake's silent appearance, Hamon's entrance usually came with extremely shocking sound effects and a terrifying presence!

And those two aspects seemed to have grown a little stronger due to the enhancement of its mysterious attribute...

What a... headache~

Thinking of this, Isaac shook his head. Still, he had no good solution. Even Hamon itself did not know how to control it.

"Thud~"

Once everyone had taken their seats, Gaia gripped his sheathed longsword with both hands and struck it against the floor, drawing everyone's attention.

"Alright, enough idle chatter. Let's discuss business, Caesar," Gaia said calmly.

As soon as Gaia finished speaking, Caesar distributed documents to everyone while saying, "These are all the intelligence reports we have gathered about the Black Orcs during this period. According to the information, the Black Orcs have assembled approximately fifteen thousand troops this time!"

Caesar's expression was somewhat grave, because that was nearly three times their own force!

Solomon's knight order had around three thousand men. The forces brought by the four barons totaled roughly fifteen hundred, and with those of the lesser lords added in, the fortress currently had only around five thousand troops.

Moreover, they could not create a gap in troop quality against the enemy, so he had no choice but to take the matter seriously!

Compared to the other three, Barry, who had the most experience fighting the Black Orcs, immediately frowned and asked the same question Gaia had asked before. "Have they produced a king?"

Black Orcs with a king were completely different from Black Orcs without one. It was not merely that a king could gather more Black Orcs. More importantly, the king's existence would strengthen ordinary Black Orcs, giving them combat power far beyond normal Black Orcs and a much tougher fighting spirit.

In short, they were extremely difficult to deal with!

"No." Caesar shook his head, but his expression did not ease in the slightest. Instead, he said gravely, "They have produced a High Priest!"

At those words, everyone frowned.

Even Isaac, who did not know much about the Black Orcs, understood the importance of a High Priest to them...

In one sentence, a High Priest was equivalent to a Legendary Wizard on the human side—and a Mad Witch at that!

And a Mad Witch completely controlled by an Outer God!

With a High Priest's aid, the power the Black Orcs could unleash was no less than that of Black Orcs ruled by a king!

More importantly, a High Priest was an extremely powerful spellcaster. His appearance would narrow, or even erase, Solomon Fortress's magical advantage!

"Hiss... exhale!" In the end, the experienced Barry was the first to recover. He quickly looked over the intelligence in his hand, then asked, "Have the Truth Association and the Church of Light been notified?"

The Truth Association and the Church of Light were the organizations on the continent most hostile toward the lackeys of Outer Gods. Once they learned of such news, they would rush over like mad dogs!

So although the current situation was terrible, it would still be manageable if they received aid from those two organizations.

However, Caesar's response disappointed Barry. He shook his head...

"Unfortunately, we informed them, but they cannot come. It is not only our area where High Priests have appeared. High Priests have emerged along nearly every border adjacent to human nations!"

Caesar's words were like a heavy hammer striking everyone's hearts directly. They could not say a word, merely sitting silently in their chairs as the atmosphere gradually sank...

"Hmm? That doesn't sound right." Isaac, however, was not greatly affected. He frowned slightly and said, "From what I know, the Outer Gods served by Black Orc High Priests number three."

As he spoke, Isaac tugged down the brim of his hat.

"They are the Lord of Myriad Flesh, the Lord of Thousand Stars, and the God of Black Orcs. As far as I know, the Lord of Myriad Flesh has already fallen asleep and refuses all contact with the outside world. Can the Lord of Thousand Stars and the God of Black Orcs alone support so many High Priests?"

Isaac's question stunned Caesar. How was he supposed to know?

Of the three, he only knew the God of Black Orcs...

So he decisively looked toward his eldest sister. Sure enough, she was as reliable as ever in such matters.

"Those two alone indeed cannot support so many High Priests. Otherwise, they would be located by the powerful beings of our world, and their losses would be even greater. But how can you be sure... that one cannot be contacted?"

Sheryl was not Isaac. She did not dare directly speak the Divine Name of the Lord of Myriad Flesh.

"It's simple. I contacted Him before coming here, and He didn't respond."