Deadmeat Saga

"Master, are you here to accompany me again? You are so kind." Laverne said with a flattering look.

Gerhart, who saw this, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. "Well, that's new."

He suspected she was faking it, so after entering her cell, he tried checking her progression rate with the relic. He didn't try it before, but when he tried, it worked.

 

Target Influencing Rate: 81%
Target willingness to follow orders: High
Risk of harming Host: Minimal.
Risk of escape: Very Low.
Resistance to Host Influencing: Low.
Warning: The Influence Rate will deteriorate over time due to malicious energy. Reaching above 90% influence would make the target more resistant to deterioration.

Advice: Due to malicious energy, the target is unusually more resistant. Keep influencing to above 90%.

 

"Hm. Laverne isn't faking it exactly, but it isn't wholehearted. I should follow the advice." Gerhart thought as he undid his belt.

When Laverne saw this, she flinched but accepted it. There was even a hint of excitement in her eyes.

This time, there were no curses. Only submissive moans and flattery filled the room as Gerhart continued plowing away the remainder of her resistance, continuing until he reached 100%.

As a result:

 

Target Influencing Rate: 100%
Target willingness to follow orders: Absolute.
Risk of harming Host: None.
Risk of escape: None.
Resistance to Host Influencing: Minimal.
Warning: The presence of Malicious Energy causes the Influencing Rate to deteriorate over time. But due to the Influencing Rate surpassing 90%, it would slow down considerably.

Advice: Although the influence rate reached 100% and the target is fully loyal, don't allow it full autonomy due to Malicious Energy. Occasionally reinforce Influence to prevent it from falling below 90%.

 

"That should do it," Gerhart muttered as he healed the euphoric woman and unshackled her. "Laverne, get up. From now on, you have work to do."

"Yesh, mashter..." Laverne said with a dazed but genuine voice.

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An hour later-

Now clean and dressed, Laverne sat before Gerhart and Hope like a loyal slave girl.

"Laverne, we want to ask you some questions," Gerhart said.

"Yes, master. Please, ask anything. I will try my best to answer." Laverne smiled, eager to please.

"Good. My first question is, what is your real name?" Gerhart asked.

"Laverne, master. I have other public identities, but this was my original name." Laverne truthfully answered.

Gerhart glanced at Hope, who nodded.

"Okay, second question. Are all the questions I asked before accurate?" Gerhart asked.

"Yes, master. I did not misinform you of anything." Laverne replied.

Gerhart turned to Hope, who nodded again.

"Third question. Would holding you here cause trouble?" Gerhart asked.

"For the moment, no. But if I were to stop contact for over a week, the other Echos would likely suspect something. Us Echos are sensitive to each other's location, and I am a veteran Echo, so they would likely send an Ancient Echo to investigate and try and rescue me if possible. However, they would target master without fail." Laverne explained.

"So you know the location of every Echo?" Gerhart was now interested.

"Yes, master. There are precisely 181 Echos, 88 on the Griqix Mega Continent, of which the oldest is over 20,000 years old." Laverne said.

"... How strong is he?" Gerhart tentatively asked.

"He is in the Divine Rank, and I suspect he can single-handedly fight three Gods Chosen, but I am unsure. However, I do know he has many SSS-rank fighters, at least a dozen, but he likely keeps two dozen in reserve. Each of them can likely fight or even defeat master." Laverne honestly answered.

"..." Gerhart remained silent and turned to look at Hope, who gravely nodded.

"Fuck." Gerhart's eyes twitched.

"If you happen to die somehow, do they have a method to track me?" Gerhart asked.

"Yes. I am merely an initial observer. They have tier 10 divine relics of the old era that they prefer not to use due to wear and tear, but they can reveal even Divine Experts, mark them, and hunt them down to the ends of the earth." She explained.

"Okay, good call on not killing her." Gerhart thought.

"Regarding the Kerus Dynasty, how did they kill so many of my kin?" Gerhart curiously asked.

"Due to the gradual weakening of the Tyrant Bloodline and their failing detection artifacts, three of the four generals became Dark Servants before their enlistment. Also, four of the seven remaining wives of the Emperor are dark servants. It allowed for smooth infiltration into the Kerus Dynasty, allowing the corruption of many Tyrant Bloodline seeds and servants, assassinating the vulnerable talents. I strongly advise the master to avoid going to the Kerus Empire before evolving again." Laverne said.

"Wow. It is truly a rotting empire. What about the Atasheborg Magocracy and Drolum Theocracy?" Gerhart asked.

"The White Tower Master of the Atasheborg Magocracy is an Echo who lived for over 7,000 years. Every successive White Tower Master for the last 7,000 years was him, constantly replaced by himself. He also brought down the Pale Tower Master, his only rival, through denouncement and later assassination, harming the Magocracy. Every other disciple of the White Tower is a dark servant and many young Echos study under him. Of course, the situation might be worse.

The Drolum Theocracy, on the other hand, is relatively safer due to the protection of their gods. The core power remains unbreached in the hands of the Gods Chosen, but we infiltrated their lower and mid ranks. To us, the Drolum Theocracy is the biggest threat for now." Laverne explained.

"Well, at least there is some silver lining," Gerhart muttered.

If even the Drolum Theocracy's God's Chosen were tainted, he would consider labeling the world as LOST. He would then try and make a deal with Demon Lord Xenova and try moving to some other world.

"Though, now that I think about it, perhaps sending my remaining Split Soul away to the Demonic Realm isn't such a bad idea." Gerhart thought.

"What about the Summoned Otherworlders?" Gerhart asked.

"They are the only potential threat due to the Universe Protection. One of the truly Ancient Echos tried killing them while they were weak. Although he only used dark servants, not only did he fail, but he suffered a streak of bad luck before dying. Since then, we have maintained neutrality, trying to avoid them. However, we can target fallen Otherworlders who lost the world's favor, such as Ma Yang. If we move quickly enough, they can be saved and recruited as powerful and growing champions." Laverne explained.

"Aren't you afraid they would grow strong enough to threaten you?" Gerhart curiously asked.

"We are, but we also found that their protection weakens over time. Also, when they take the initiative to attack us, they are more vulnerable to counterattacks. And we can also plant spies to divert their attention from us. As long as they don't target us, we can outlast them until they die of old age or they run out of protection." Laverne explained.

"Solid tactic." Gerhart thought.

"What is the strength distribution of the Echos?" Gerhart asked.

"The fledglings below 100 years number seven now that Ianuarius is dead. Young Echos above 100 years old are slightly less, numbering six. Above this are the seniors above 200 years old. There are five of them. From there, anyone above 300 to 500 years is a veteran. There are nine, including myself. Those above the veterans are the Venerables, up to 1,000 years old. There are 15. Those above 1,000 but below 5,000 are the Ancients, numbering 42. And those above 5,000 are the Truly Ancients. Only four exist on this continent, and only one is active on the surface. The three others are hibernating to gather energy and preserve their remaining lifespan. Generally, our strength is measured by how old we are.

Fledglings are, at most, the initial SS rank. They usually have few to no dark servants, with the strongest champions being S-rank. We treat them with disdain.

Young Echos are all SS-rank and have one to several S-rank servants and a dozen A-rank servants but no SS-rank servants.

Senior Echos are intermediate SS-rank experts, usually already after evolving through a Perfect or Golden evolution. Some have SS-rank servants. I did the Golden Evolution, by the way.

Veteran Echos can reach the advanced to peak SS rank, and I am an Advanced one, albeit not proficient in combat. We all have one to five SS-rank champions and dozens of S-rank Enforcers.

Venerable Echos usually reach the SSS rank before hitting 1,000 years old, some having evolved twice. They can command a dozen SS-rank powerhouses and perhaps an SSS-rank Champion.

Ancient Echos are all SSS rank, evolving at least twice. However, they are scared of death and rarely make a move, preferring to send their servants. They usually have one to several SSS-rank champions and dozens of SS-rank elites.

As for the Truly Ancient, they are all of Divine rank. I am unsure of their forces' composition, but if I can make a bold guess, they might have Divine rank dark servants and dozens of SSS-rank powerhouses.

Overall, although we might not win in a straight-up battle, we are slowly whittling at the power of the major powers due to the initiative being in our hands. If we wanted to, we could plunge the world into chaos, and no one could stop us." Laverne said.

"Why don't you do it, then?" Gerhart curiously asked.

"We are waiting. We only need to continue to gnaw at the roots, so why should we risk ourselves?" Laverne asked back.

"Makes sense," Gerhart muttered. "How strong is your control over your dark servants?"

"Absolute. With a word, I can make my servants commit any act I please, including suicide." Laverne proudly said.

"How do you contact them?" Gerhart asked.

"I can send simple messages through my emotions. I am akin to a hive queen to them." Laverne explained.

"Good. Call all of your servants over." Gerhart ordered.

"Yes, master." Laverne readily nodded, not asking why.

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Twenty minutes later-

In the mansion's hall-

Sixteen men and women stood, their eyes giving hateful stares at Gerhart.

"What did you do to our mistress!?" One of the two leaders, a muscular and bald warrior, snarled.

"You will pay for this!" The other leader, a blond beauty, barred her pearly teeth at Gerhart.

The other dark servants also stared at him with visible hostility.

"Silence! You shall not address my master that way!" Laverne ordered.

The dark servants turned quiet, only defiantly glaring at Gerhart as if to bore holes in him.

Ignoring their looks, Gerhart asked Laverne, "Would losing them raise any questions?"

"The other Echos don't care who my subordinates are, but lacking them is another question. As a Veteran, I should at least have this number of subordinates with me." Laverne explained.

"Hm. Can you extract the Corrupted Energy now?" Gerhart asked.

"Yes, but the process would kill them," Laverne explained.

"I see. Then I can only Convert these servants for now. Make them accept the conversion." Gerhart ordered.

"Of course, master." Laverne smiled before turning to her dark servants. "Kneel and accept master's grace. It is your honor to be blessed by him."

The dark servants could only kneel and accept as Gerhart started converting them. After Stage 2 Ascension, Gerhart already had the power to transform the dark servants into his thralls.

 

Converting- Warning: Detected Malicious Energy.
Hacking Malicious Energy- Success.
Porthos has Successfully Converted.

 

Gerhart could control the Malicious Energy, making it an integral part of the converted's strength.

The moment Gerhart converted him, he also received feedback from the universe!

 

Ancient Earth Dragon Power(26.02 -> 28.02%)

 

2%! It was like conquering a tier 5 dungeon!

Without hesitation, Gerhart continued converting them.

Like this, Gerhart obtained over a dozen top fighters for less than a million points and even received points. He was more than happy for it! However, it was apparent that only the two leaders gave 100 million points. The soldiers only gave 10 million, but it was still no insignificant amount. He earned 340 million points for free!

 

Ancient Earth Dragon Power(28.02 -> 32.82%)

 

"I guess I didn't get points for Laverne since she is still technically unsolved." Gerhart thought.

Satisfied with the unexpected haul, Gerhart analyzed the first leader, Porthos.

 

Name: Albie

 

He knew he was looking at a fake status. The name was wrong, and he lacked the Corrupted status.

"Porthos, show me your real status," Gerhart ordered.

"Yes, master." Porthos, the muscular man, said without a hint of rebellious thoughts.

Gerhart then checked again-

 

Name: Porthos
Race: Superior Noble Human(Corrupted)
Age: 38
Sex: Male
Level: 70

Skills: (+)

Base Stats:

Secondary Stats: (+)

Talents:

 

"Strong..." Gerhart muttered.

Porthos was by no means a weak fighter. He was a bonafide SS-rank powerhouse. Although weaker than Gerhart, he could still hold his own in a fight. He might even win against the fake status Gerhart showed!

He also checked the other leader, Marine. She was no less mighty than Porthos, albeit a rogue.

The S-rank soldiers were also strong but not as the two champions, being Elite Nobles.

Overall, they showed mighty combat prowess!

"Master, are you satisfied?" Laverne smiled.

"Yes, I am. And I am also afraid of the power your elders have." Gerhart warily said.

He didn't have a problem to make such powerhouses. He could even mass-produce them with enough energy. With less than a billion points, he can transform an untalented bloke into such a warrior. The problem was that those Echos had thousands of these SS-rank powerhouses! And they were not even the limit!

Gerhart would require dozens or even hundreds of trillions of points to match them!

"I must conquer more dungeons." Gerhart thought.

And then, Gerhart shifted his attention to another issue.

"Laverne, to avoid the hunt of the Echos, you said I can become a Corrupted, right? Can you lie about it?" Gerhart inquired.

"I can lie, but once they run into you again, they would realize you are not Corrupted, master. We have a sense for it." Laverne explained.

"And if you lie about you killing me?" Gerhart continued asking.

"They would want your corpse for necromancy. Knowing my style, they would be certain you have a relatively intact corpse. I can't fake a corpse." Laverne said.

"And if I go into hiding and change identity?" Gerhart continued asking.

"Then they will have no choice but to use their relics to find you, albeit reluctantly," Laverne said.

"Wow. These guys are- wow." Gerhart pinched his nose bridge, feeling a headache.

"No wonder they gave such a generous bounty. Anyone who dared claim it would die!" Gerhart felt exasperatted.

Those ancient bastards would haunt him to the ends of the earth. As for sparing him if he became a Corrupted? Why not? He was already part of their assets, so why harm him? They can even use his identity as an Echo Slayer to further their goals.

While thinking about it, he suddenly had an insane eureka moment.

"Wait... I can do that, can't I? What if I DO become a Corrupted?" Gerhart had a twisted grin.