Starting With an SSS-Rank Goddess Summon!

Silas didn’t even hesitate.

"Because I won’t charge you an extortionate medical fee for fixing your massive leadership blunder today," Silas replied coldly.

Evelyn frowned. "What blunder?"

"You literally let your First Hero burn her own soul to ashes in a suicide spell just to fuel your blind guy," Silas pointed out. "I had to step in, pull Elm back from the brink of core-death, and let my girls not execute Hiro... I cleaned up your entire mess."

Evelyn’s pale cheeks flushed a deep embarrassed crimson.

"I was stressed!" Evelyn argued defensively.

"I will also pay you exactly two million Spirit Credits for the introduction," Silas added smoothly, completely ignoring her excuse.

Evelyn’s eyes lit up instantly.

"Deal," Evelyn agreed immediately, completely selling out her underground contact without a second thought. "I will send you Jax’s encrypted comm-link frequency later or I’ll take you there rather."

Silas smirked in satisfaction.

’Business is business.’

"Pleasure doing business with you, Evelyn," Silas said calmly.

He leaned back in his chair, taking a moment to actually study the stressed black-haired girl sitting across from him.

He looked at her messy hair, her oversized hoodie, and the heavy, exhausted bags under her dark eyes.

"You know," Silas said casually. "For an incredibly ruthless and successful classic Lord, you look surprisingly young. How old are you actually?"

Evelyn exhaled a long stream of smoke.

"I’m twenty-two," Evelyn answered bluntly.

Silas blinked in genuine surprise.

"Twenty-two?" Silas repeated, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Evelyn nodded. "Why? How old are you?"

"I’m eighteen," Silas replied.

Evelyn froze.

The glowing tip of her cigarette literally trembled between her fingers.

She stared at the Lord sitting across from her in disbelief.

"You’re... you’re eighteen?" Evelyn stammered. "You built this entire insane territory, you conquered our army, and you mentally broke my entire command structure... and you’re barely legally allowed to buy a drink?!"

It made her head hurt.

"Pretty much," Silas shrugged casually.

He offered her a mocking grin.

"So, you’re twenty-two," Silas continued, deciding to ruthlessly press his advantage. "That is basically a fossil in this realm. Tell me, Evelyn... at your incredibly advanced age, why don’t you have a husband yet?"

Evelyn’s jaw dropped open.

Her dark eyes flared with rage.

"Excuse me?!" Evelyn shrieked, slamming her hands violently against the mahogany table.

"I mean, you’re wearing an oversized hoodie and smoking cheap cigarettes while running a mobile fortress," Silas roasted her flawlessly. "It just seems like you’ve completely given up on the Valoria dating market..."

"I WILL FUCKING KILL YOU!" Evelyn screamed, lunging forward aggressively across the table.

She completely tried to grab Silas by the collar of his black tunic.

Elm panicked instantly.

The white-haired Hero desperately grabbed Evelyn by the back of her gray hoodie, physically hauling her Lord back into her wooden chair with surprising strength.

"My Lord, please calm down!" Elm begged, completely mortified by the sudden outburst.

"He called me a fossil!" Evelyn yelled, pointing a shaking, furious finger at the highly amused Warlord. "I am in the prime of my youth! I have flawless skin!"

"Sure," Silas mocked her gently.

"I am a responsible adult!" Evelyn argued defensively, aggressively smoothing down her wrinkled hoodie. "I don’t have time for a stupid husband! I am actively providing for my little brother back on Earth! I send almost all of my clean profits back home to pay for his tuition!"

Silas’s smirk faded slightly.

He looked at Evelyn with a sudden new level of genuine respect.

’She’s funding her brother’s education?’

Beneath the arrogant Lord persona, the smoking habit, and the massive mobile fortress, she was just an older sister trying to keep her family afloat in a brutal unforgiving universe.

"That’s actually commendable, Evelyn," Silas told her honestly.

Evelyn crossed her arms tightly over her chest, aggressively looking away from him.

"Shut up," Evelyn mumbled, her cheeks burning bright red. "Don’t act nice now after you called me a spinster."

KNOCK! KNOCK!

The heavy sound of metal gauntlets striking the oak doors echoed through the dining room.

The massive double doors were slowly pushed open.

Gunnhild stepped heavily into the room.

The woman was flanked by two new faces.

Walking nervously behind the towering blonde warrior were Lupina and Morrighan.

The wolf-girl and the demoness had been stripped of their heavy combat armor.

They were currently wearing simple clean gray tunics and dark trousers provided by the girls that were free.

Lupina was still aggressively chewing on a massive piece of baked bread with her furry ears twitching nervously as she scanned the luxurious dining room.

Morrighan walked calmly, her dark demonic eyes sweeping across the room with a cautious gaze.

Gunnhild marched them directly up to the edge of the mahogany table.

"My Lord," Gunnhild announced loudly, saluting Silas by slamming her fist over her heart. "I have brought the newly acquired women as you requested."

Lupina and Morrighan immediately stopped walking.

They both stared in complete utter confusion at the young muscular golden-eyed man sitting confidently at the head of the table.

"Wait," Lupina mumbled around her mouthful of bread.

The wolf-girl pointed a furry finger directly at Silas.

"Who is this guy?" Lupina asked, her tail drooping in confusion. "Where is the crazy one-armed woman who kicked our asses?"

Silas let out a soft sigh.

He slowly stood up from his heavy wooden chair.

He looked directly at the two defeated Heroes of The Unmovable Wall.

"I am Silas Graves," Silas introduced himself, his deep voice carrying the undeniable authority of the Blessed Land. "I am the Lord of this territory."

Lupina’s jaw dropped entirely open with a piece of half-chewed bread falling directly out of her mouth onto the carpet.

"You’re a man?!" Lupina shrieked in absolute shock.

"The Vespera persona was a highly advanced combat disguise," Silas explained bluntly. "It was entirely necessary for misdirection during the broadcast."

Morrighan, the demonic Hero, didn’t look surprised at all. She stood perfectly still with her arms crossed casually over her gray tunic.

"I already knew you were a man," Morrighan stated smoothly.

Silas raised a skeptical eyebrow.

"Oh?" Silas asked. "And how exactly did you figure that out? My disguise ring is a Tier-4 artifact forged by a dwarf master according to what Thora said... It flawlessly masks my vocal chords, my physical mass, and my entire mana signature."

Morrighan offered an amused smirk.

"Your artifact might be flawless," Morrighan replied dryly. "But your acting is absolutely terrible."

Silas frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Your voice and mana were perfectly masked," Morrighan pointed out bluntly, roasting his performance. "But your idle body language is quite male though only for eyes that pay attention. You walk like an aggressive warrior who is used to carrying weapons."

Morrighan casually leaned against the back of an empty wooden chair.

"Furthermore," Morrighan continued mercilessly. "When you were standing next to the dragon and talking..."

Morrighan offered a deadpan brutal stare.

"...you casually reached down and adjusted a package that wasn’t even there."

Evelyn choked on her cigarette smoke.

She burst into a fit of aggressive hacking laughter, covering her mouth with her hands.

"He adjusted his phantom balls!" Evelyn cackled loudly, completely losing her composure.

Elm giggled softly beside her, desperately trying to hide her smile behind her hands.

Even Eluned and Morwenna couldn’t hold it in, completely breaking their pristine composure as they burst into a chorus of snorts and loud laughter from across the table.

Silas stood at the head of the table.

’Oh...’

His usually stoic face flushed a deep uncharacteristically bright shade of red.

’Fucking hell...’

He had completely forgotten to suppress his subconscious male habits while wearing the female armor.

"And finally," Morrighan finished her brutal critique. "Your silver breastplate was flat... There was zero extra room in that chest piece as no self-respecting female warrior with that much power would wear armor that restrictive without custom padding."

Silas gritted his teeth, a bit humiliated by the demoness’s flawless logic.

"Noted," Silas replied stiffly, aggressively clearing his throat to regain his composure. "I will work on my physical acting."

He stepped out from behind the table as he walked slowly and deliberately toward the two newly acquired Heroes.

"You were defeated on the battlefield," Silas declared with his voice dropping all traces of humor. "Your previous Lord has officially surrendered the Lord War. By the ancient laws of the Sovereign Realm, your contracts have been permanently severed."

Lupina swallowed hard with her furry ears folding completely flat against her head in terror.

Morrighan stood perfectly still, meeting his golden gaze without flinching.

"You now belong to the Blessed Land," Silas stated. "I am offering you a singular choice. You can swear unbreakable loyalty to my banner right here and now, or you can walk out those gates and take your chances as rogue units in the Unknown Zone as of right now."

The choice was completely obvious.

Rogue units without a Lord’s mana tether usually died within a week in the wild.

Morrighan didn’t hesitate for a single second.

The demoness dropped gracefully to one knee on the thick carpet. She bowed her head deeply, pressing her right hand firmly over her heart.

"I, Morrighan," she swore formally, her voice echoing with dark mana. "Pledge my loyalty and my blade to you. Your enemies are my enemies and your will is my command."

Lupina quickly scrambled to her knees right beside her partner.

"I-I swear too!" Lupina stammered nervously with her tail tucked firmly between her legs. "I pledge my loyalty to you, Lord Silas! Please just don’t let that crazy blonde woman shove any more bread in my mouth!"

Gunnhild snorted loudly from the doorway, crossing her armored arms over her chest.

"Welcome to the Vanguard, fresh meat," Gunnhild laughed as she left immediately after.

Silas watched the two units formally bind their souls to his territory. He could instantly feel the surge of raw mana flowing seamlessly into his Gold Core as their contracts finalized.

It was an incredibly lucrative acquisition.

Silas nodded in satisfaction.

"Stand up," Silas ordered them. "Once we’re out, Gunnhild will show you to your new quarters in the barracks but stay outside for now."

Morrighan and Lupina stood up respectfully.

They quickly followed the towering Berserker out of the dining room with the heavy oak doors closing firmly behind them.

Silas turned slowly around.

He looked directly across the mahogany table at Evelyn.

The black-haired Lord was leaning back in her chair, watching him with a complicated and respectful expression.

Silas offered her a sharp grin.

"Now," Silas said smoothly with his golden eyes flashing. "According to our official broadcast wager..."

Evelyn groaned, completely burying her face in her hands.

"You owe me exactly seventy female combatants from your remaining army roster," Silas reminded her flawlessly.

He walked back toward the table, adjusting the sleeves of his black tunic.

"Let’s go pick them up."

...

The heavy polished oak doors of the Keep swung open, letting a rush of crisp morning air into the foyer.

Silas stepped out onto the paved stone pathway.

He took a deep breath, letting the clean untainted mana of the Blessed Land fill his lungs. Behind him, the sound of dragging exhausted combat boots echoed against the stone.

Evelyn walked out directly behind him.

She was still swimming in her oversized gray hoodie, the fabric heavily stained with soot, ash, and dried mud from the ruined battlefield.

Her long black hair was a tangled mess, and her shoulders were slumped under the crushing weight of her territorial defeat.

Elm followed closely beside her Lord.

The white-haired Hero looked infinitely better than she had an hour ago.

The healthy color had completely returned to her pale cheeks, but her crystalline silver eyes still darted nervously around the unfamiliar territory, taking in the massive stone walls and the towering architecture.

Out in the wide central courtyard, several of the girls were lounging on the lush green grass.

Gunnhild was sitting heavily on a wooden supply crate.

The woman had her sword resting across her lap, and she was aggressively polishing the curved mythril edge with a thick leather cloth.

A few of the other women who had helped distribute the hot food to the prisoners were resting nearby, passing around wooden canteens of water and chatting quietly as Morrighan and Lupina joined them.

Silas raised his hand.

"Gunnhild," Silas called out with his deep voice carrying easily across the courtyard.

The woman instantly snapped to attention. She dropped her polishing cloth, grabbed her weapon, and stood up straight.

"Yes, My Lord!" Gunnhild responded loudly.

"Go out to the main gates," Silas ordered. "Gather the Unmovable Wall women who are still lounging outside on the grass. Bring them all into the main courtyard."

Gunnhild offered a sharp grin.

"Right away, Boss," Gunnhild said. She whistled loudly, signaling the other Vanguard women to get on their feet.

The group quickly fell into line and jogged off toward the massive steel-weave gates to round up the other people.

Silas turned around on the stone path as he looked down at the exhausted black-haired girl standing next to him.

"So, Evelyn," Silas started smoothly, shifting right back into business. "About the wager. Like I said, you owe me seventy women. Do you want to select them from your ranks, or can I handpick the recruits myself?"