{Mercenary Storage: 1/5,000,000.}
{Capacity is calculated by Master's bloodlines.}
"You're saying all my strength relies on my bloodlines? Then what's the fastest way to unlock them?" Sunny pressed, a hint of impatience in his voice.
{Get stronger, Master... I already said this.}
"....?!"
Sunny's eye twitched. He chuckled, a low, rumbling sound, and with a flick of his wrist, The-changer materialized in his grasp.
"...?!"
Nicolas, Blood Eye, and Nioh stared, their gazes locked on the long, red sword that had appeared out of thin air.
Nioh gasped, "Is that?!"
"Wow... A max-starred equipment!" Nicolas exclaimed, his eyes wide.
Blood Eye nodded sagely. "The King is indeed wealthy!"
Sunny regarded the trio for a moment before lowering his gaze to the sword.
"All-changer was given to me by the system... I didn't even know it was fully starred... Impressive." He muttered to himself, raising the sword and placing the blade flat against his palm.
{What are you doing, Master?}
The golden lion appeared beside him, hovering on his shoulder, its luminous gaze fixed on the blade.
"I'm planning on marking all the Mercenaries, and I need my blood for that," Sunny explained, a slight frown creasing his brow.
{Won't work, Master.}
"....Huh?" Sunny was stunned. "Why is that?"
{Master is bonded to me. I am your cosmic brain, so I can control anything Master links with me.}
"So you can link with these Mercenaries?" He asked, still reeling from the revelation.
The lion nodded. The next moment, all the Mercenaries' chips in the bag began to glow with an ethereal light before dimming back to their normal color.
{Done.}
{Temporary Mercenaries Storage created.}
{Storage: 164,999,999 Mercenaries.}
{100,000,000 Common Class Mercenaries. 50,000,000 Rare class mercenaries. 10,000,000 Elite class mercenaries. 4,999,999 Grand Class Mercenaries.}
Sunny nodded, sheathed his sword, and turned to the three, who were still gawking at him. "What?!" He asked, a slight frown on his face.
The trio blinked. Blood Eye, recovering first, stammered, "My King, your sword---"
"---Oh... Forget about that," Sunny cut her off. "After we deal with the Wendigos, you five will be starring all your equipment... You must max them to 10 stars, then we will be ready to deal with the Three Eyes Nation."
He turned and began walking back towards the city. "Get yourselves something to eat... Tomorrow, we will be celebrating on Wendigos' corpses."
The three nodded in unison. Nicolas, still dazed, turned to the Warship. "Are we going to leave it here?" he asked.
"I don't think there's room for it... Even the Starship isn't placed inside," Nioh answered.
"I say we move it and place it beside the Starship..." Blood Eye suggested, and the other two nodded in agreement.
"Oh! I've been meaning to ask!" Blood Eye suddenly exclaimed, rushing forward, her single eye glowing with anticipation.
Nioh and Nicolas raised an eyebrow as she stopped abruptly before Nioh. "Your third eye, what advantage does it give? Or is it completely useless?" she asked, her curiosity palpable.
"Yeah... I'm also wondering the same thing. We'll be facing your race soon; we need to know," Nicolas added.
"Well..." Nioh began, walking towards the Warship, the other two trailing behind him. "This eye here has helped with a lot of things..."
"Things? Like what?" Blood Eye pressed.
"Slow down, let me explain," Nioh said, continuing his stride. "This eye helps us perceive things ordinary eyes can't... For example; Celestial energy, deception, bloodlines, and even night vision... Not only that, but when we activate its main skill, we can locate anything around us, even if it's 10 miles away... The distance is measured by strength and mastery."
"Night vision... That means we can't easily defeat the Three Eye Nation at night... Wait! Did you just say you can see bloodlines?!" Blood Eye asked in shock, her voice rising. Nioh nodded, climbing the stairs of the Warship.
"Then what's the King's bloodline?!" Nicolas and Blood Eye asked in unison, staring at Nioh's back.
"I don't know... Whenever I try, it seems like there's a wall stopping me... An impenetrable wall around him which no one can destroy... The King is completely hidden from all eyes."
The two looked at one another, a satisfied smile spreading across their faces.
___
Sunny entered the City gate and paused, seeing the old woman walking towards him with her walking stick—something she actually didn't need.
"Elder Mila, shouldn't you be getting ready for bed?" Sunny asked with a warm smile.
"Bed? I should be the one asking that... Don't forget I'm 300 years old," she retorted, resting her hands on her walking stick.
Sunny could only nod his head. "Why are you here?" he asked.
"What is your plan? The Wendigos will arrive tomorrow. I'm not seeing any troops preparing for battle, or even some defensive measures. Are we going to sit here and wait for them?"
"Yes."
"....?!"
Mila was stunned by his direct response.
"We'll sit and wait for them?" she asked, making sure she hadn't misheard.
"Yes... The Wendigos think we're weak, an easy target... So let them think that... Just watch, Elder Mila... Watch as I wipe out the Wendigos' army tomorrow." He said, and walked past her, heading to the castle.
'Isn't this kid too overconfident?' Mila thought, looking at him over her shoulder.
DING! DING!
She turned her head to the wall, seeing the construction robots busily repairing it.
'We might have a chance... Maybe we can rise again.' She thought, a flicker of hope in her eyes, before turning around and walking away.
____
Sunny slowly opened the door to his bedroom, peeking inside.
".....?!"
He was surprised to see Josephine on his bed, fast asleep.
'Huh? Has she forgiven me? If not, why would she be in my bed?' He thought, quietly entering his room and closing the door behind him.
Sunny walked towards the bed, staring at Josephine, who was facing the opposite direction, and sighed softly.
He turned around and walked towards the wardrobe... Took off his coat, and slowly got on the bed, shirtless.
Josephine opened one of her eyes, feeling his weight on the bed. She held her breath as Sunny moved closer to her.
"I'm sorry. I promise, I won't keep anything from you again."
'He's still apologizing... Why am I even angry? Star already explained everything to me... And I can't stay mad at him,' Josephine thought, completely oblivious that Sunny could hear her thoughts.
'Wow! Thank you, Bella!' He thought inwardly, a wide smile spreading across his face.
"I know you aren't sleeping. Won't you say anything?" Sunny asked in a worried tone.
Josephine turned her body and rested her head on his chest... She moved closer, hugging his waist.
"Hold me for the night," she whispered, inhaling his scent, and closing her eyes.
Sunny smiled and planted a kiss on her hair, hugging her tightly. "I will never leave you, love," he muttered.
'From nothing... No family, no money, no friends, not even a girlfriend... But now; I have all, and I promise to protect them to the very end.' He thought, tightening the hug, scared she would disappear, and he'd wake up from this dream.