Conquest

"How?"

Xasha turned to look at him. "I understand how it works now. I will teach you later."

With that, he turned around and continued reading memories without skipping a beat. Mulindo stood there with his heart in turmoil, but Xasha's words reassured him some. If he could do what he saw, Xasha just did, he would be unstoppable. Their rise in power was secure. He wondered if that this was what the All-seeing elders saw in him.

An hour later, he saw Xasha coming back towards him with a calm expression.

"Did you read everything?" He asked with curiosity.

Xasha nodded. "let's go. It's dinnertime." Xasha left the room with Mulindo trailing behind him. Back in the throne room, Xasha walked up to the throne and once again bowed. "Thank you, elders, for this opportunity. I have benefited greatly from this and have decided to teach your people a method to strengthen their aura. With this, they will be able to access all the memories of their ancestors and use that knowledge to grow. I will also teach them a few techniques of my own to further improve their understanding of cultivation and the true potential of a cultivator."

Saying that he straightened his back and left the room. Mulindo stood in a daze. "Lindo, that child, he's something special. Serve him well."

Mulindo immediately half knelt. "Yes, elder." He then glanced at the direction Xasha had left in. He wondered just who Xasha was and how he was so amazing at his age and cultivation.

Xasha and his raid team leaders sat in a dining hall with the leaders of the Mu people. Mulindo sat at the head of the table with a sexy little thing on his left. She smiled brightly and looked at him with loving eyes. He also glanced at her affectionately. To his right, in the guest seat, was Xasha, casually dressed in a white shirt and a loose green coat. His short green hair was in a ponytail, and his face was shaved clean.

Everyone ate and drank with indistinct conversations and laughter in the background. Everyone was having the time of their lives. Xasha noticed that the food here was mainly plant-based, and the meat was from Fantasma with no cultivation. It was almost impossible to call these creatures Fantasma as their make up was completely different. The Imperium inside their bodies was faint if felt like it would if the creature had no Valdis and only got Imperium from the food it ate.

He spent too much time thinking about it as the conversations got to a much more interesting topic. He took a sip of his fruit juice, then turned to Mulou. "Lou, or maybe I should ask Lindo. Why is it that it is only those of the younger generation in your organization? Where are all the older folks?"

When he mentioned this, the Mu people who were within earshot of his words paused for a second, then continued eating as if it was none of their business.

Xasha frowned. "I didn't realize this was a sore topic. We can pretend I didn't ask."

"No, no, it's fine. This will affect you too. The leader of Estia the Kou Collective is rather tyrannical. Every one hundred years they come to all their vassals and recruit fifth flame cultivators or higher under a thousand years old," Mulou explained.

"As I said, there are endless perks to being having vassals. We are a force to defend your territory and free labor to mine and nurture your resources. All you give up in return is a portion that you could not hold on to without us." Mulindo interjected. "All of our seniors are in Kyro, unable to be with their family. When we get powerful enough, our dream is to liberate them."

Xasha sighed. "The only way to stop that is to overthrow these Kou people. Oh, when was the last time this recruitment happen?"

"It was ten years ago. That time they took even those at the second and third flame. Because of the crescent war. They were losing to Lumis and needed anyone they could get. Usually, they would take a few thousand or so practitioners from us and our vassals, but that time, they took everyone," Muroe, Mulou's father spoke.

"So there is another ninety years before they return for another recruitment. We will simply have to surpass them between now and then. Just how powerful are these Kou people these days?" Xasha said casually while eating.

"Well, Quaker is the supreme elder of the Kou collective. He was a fifth flame Earth Sage several thousand years ago. There is a possibility that he has already become a Sky Sage," Mulindo informed. "He's the most powerful cultivator I've ever seen. I met him only once, ten years ago, but he was so powerful that I couldn't tell his cultivation. All I felt when I looked at him was pressure. I felt like my body was going to explode from inside out," Mulindo spoke in a bewildered tone.

Xasha scrunched his eyebrow. He had little context, but he knew how powerful a Sky Sage was. His confidence in taking on that rank was dwindling by the second. His face turned serious as he took a mother sip of his drink, his brain working in full force. "We don't have a moment to waste. Without more information, I can't think of anything. For now, our plan is to train. For that, we need resources, and for that, I have a plan."

He glanced at Felix, who flashed him a brilliant grin. Everyone saw the exchange and understood what was going on. Xasha was planning to do what Xasha did best.

Mulindo and the others saw the exchange between Xasha and company. They had a million questions but withheld them. Whatever Xasha had planned would be revealed in due time.

Xasha looked up and said, "so tell me how this works. Am I not a vassal of the Kou Collective? How does that work? If Estia is under attack, I'm obligated to help protect it. And of the resources me and my vassals gain, I have over thirty percent annually?"

"Yes, but it's every third year. We hand over to the Kou Collective every three years. But we collect from our vassals every year because the Kou collective likes to collect large parcels at once. They don't like to waste their time coming here for a small portion every year," explained Mulou.

"I see, so the seventy percent of the resources I keep, I can do as I please with it?" Xasha asked a loaded question.

"Yes, you are free to do as you please with it. You can even sell it to them for profit. Whenever we find something of value we don't really need, we usually exchange it for crystals," Mulindo stated, understanding Xasha's meaning.

"How about the strength of our neighbors? Are we of equal standing with them?"