Starting With an SSS-Rank Goddess Summon!

Morwenna raised her right hand casually with a sphere of swirling sea-water materializing over her palm.

The floating water expanded outward, catching a deep blue Ocean-Sapphire cleanly out of the sky before condensing back into a floating orb of clear liquid.

”Hah mine!”

SPLASH!

And right beside her, Aeli gently extended her long slender fingers.

A tiny silver spatial rift opened right in front of a floating Violet-Amethyst, swallowing the gem instantly before depositing it smoothly into her waiting hand.

ZIP!

The remaining seven jewels were caught in wild, laughing scrambles by the surrounding Archers, Shieldmaidens, and even the tailor.

Loud cheers and bright, genuine laughter echoed across the entire wooden stadium as the women showed off their new treasures to one another.

”THANK YOU, MY LORD!” all the women women shouted in a booming synchronized chorus that shook the trees.

Silas smiled, turning his back to the cheering stadium.

He walked up the wooden steps toward the Lord’s viewing box where Rowena was standing quietly near the edge, holding her leather administration ledger against her chest.

Silas reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a sleek beautifully carved blue pendant... a high-tier sapphire amulet infused with compressed runes that he had set aside specifically for her.

He stepped up close and held the sparkling artifact out to her.

Rowena blinked her clear blue eyes in utter surprise, looking from the glowing blue stone up to Silas’s sharp face.

”My Lord...?” Rowena asked softly, her voice wavering slightly with emotion. ”What is this for?”

”I told you I had something special prepared for you,” Silas said warmly, taking her small hand and placing the sapphire amulet directly into her palm. ”This sapphire amulet is carved with dual-conduit runes... It will permanently reduce your spell casting time and increase the raw force of your mana output by two times as well as give a special effect... You’ll see what I mean when you try it.”

Rowena stared down at the glowing blue artifact resting in her hands.

A two-times multiplier on her gravity spells was an astronomical game-changing upgrade alongside everything else!

Tears of deep overwhelming gratitude welled in her blue eyes.

Without thinking or holding back her emotions, the usually calm and composed mage threw her arms around Silas’s neck, hugging him tightly against her chest.

”Thank you, Lord Silas!” Rowena whispered happily, her flushed face buried against his broad shoulder. ”Thank you so much! I will use this strength to serve you perfectly!”

Silas chuckled softly, wrapping one arm around her waist to give her a reassuring squeeze before stepping back.

He looked around at the bright sun-drenched sky and the newly expanded horizon stretching out past the stadium walls.

”Alright, girls,” Silas announced, his deep voice carrying over the crowd. ”Why don’t we go check out the new distance?”

The entire population set off from the stadium, walking in a wide cheerful procession toward the outer perimeter of the domain.

The physical distance from the newly constructed stadium to the outer boundary gates used to be a relatively short five-minute walk.

But now, after the Realm Seed’s integration, the spatial landmass had stretched dramatically in every direction.

What surprised everyone most as they walked was the density of nature that now covered the newly annexed land.

Previously, the territory had been relatively barren near the outer edges... mostly open dirt paths, flat stone plains, and sparse patches of wild grass with a lot of trees.

Now, the newly added mile was overflowing with thousands of towering healthy trees.

Vast groves of dark-barked trees stretched out as far as the eye could see beneath the bright morning sun.

The leaves rustled softly in the warm breeze, and hanging thick from the heavy wooden branches were endless clusters of wild, ripe fruits... mainly crisp red apples, sweet star-plums, and plump wild berries.

Morwenna walked near the front of the group right beside Silas, looking up at the heavy fruit-laden branches with an amused smirk.

”Fresh fruit in the middle of a border expansion? I’ll take it...” Morwenna chuckled with her hand resting on the hilt of her sword.

She casually raised her left hand, engaging a subtle weave of her high-tier Tidal-Blade Arts.

SPLASH!

A gentle swirling stream of clear water shot out from her fingertips, wrapping smoothly around a cluster of the highest, ripest red apples near the top canopy of a thirty-foot tree.

The liquid stream plucked six heavy apples cleanly off their stems and reeled them back down to her waiting hand.

Morwenna grabbed one of the crisp red apples, taking a loud, crunchy bite.

”Mmm... Sweet and crisp.”

She turned to Silas, holding a second fresh, dripping apple directly up to his mouth.

”Here, Captain. Taste this one.”

Silas didn’t hesitate for a single second.

He leaned down and took a large healthy bite right out of the apple held in her pale hand, chewing thoughtfully as the sweet juice filled his mouth.

”Not bad at all,” Silas nodded in genuine approval. ”Thora and Kaelia can definitely harvest these for brewing, baking, and daily rations.”

Morwenna smiled with deep satisfaction, then turned to her right where Eluned was walking with a slight defensive pout.

Without even asking or giving warning, Morwenna casually stuffed a third fresh apple right into the Nature Goddess’s open mouth.

”Mmmph?!” Eluned squeaked in surprise, her eyes going wide as her cheeks puffed out with her teeth instinctively sinking into the crisp fruit.

”Eat up, weed-girl,” Morwenna teased dryly while smirking. ”It came directly from tree branches, so it’s basically your long-lost family.”

Eluned glaring angrily at the pirate queen, chewing rapidly and swallowing the sweet apple pulp.

But after tasting the rich natural sweetness of the fruit, her annoyed scowl slowly melted away.

She looked around at the towering purple-tinged canopy surrounding them, letting out a soft sigh of genuine heartfelt awe.

”It really is beautiful...” Eluned admitted softly, her silver-green eyes reflecting the golden sunlight filtering through the dense leaves. ”The land feels so vibrant and alive now.”

After a short, enjoyable walk through the lush new woodland, Silas and all the other women finally arrived at the outer perimeter boundary.

Standing tall, imposing, and majestic at the very edge of the newly annexed mile were the massive Steel Weave Gates, perfectly anchored into the earth, marking the new boundary line between the Blessed Land and the untamed wilderness of the Umbral Basin beyond.

Silas turned around, stepping onto a small stone ridge to face his entire population.

The seventy-four women gathered before him in a tight attentive formation with their eyes fixed on their Lord.

”Look at this place,” Silas began, gesturing wide with his arm toward the sprawling, tree-filled landscape stretching out behind them. ”The growth our territory has experienced today isn’t just because of a seed or a system reward. It’s because of all of you. Your hard work, your unshakeable loyalty, and your strength are what keep this Territory alive and I hope we can continue growing like this together.”

”WOOOOH!”

”FOR THE BLESSED LAND!”

”FOR LORD SILAS!”

”WE FOLLOW YOU TO THE END!”

The women cheered wildly in unison, their passionate voices echoing through the thick forest canopy.

Silas raised his hands, smiling as he waited for the ecstatic cheers to slowly die down.

”And as of right now,” Silas added, his voice changing into a serious rock-solid rhythm that commanded absolute attention, ”I have even better news to tell all of you.”

The crowd quieted down instantly, every single girl leaning forward with eager, breathless curiosity.

”There’s no need for any of you to ever be worried about your starting classes,” Silas announced clearly, his gravelly voice carrying to every ear. ”Whether you currently have an E-Rank, a D-Rank, or a C-Rank class... it doesn’t matter.”

A collective gasp rippled through the ranks.

Several of the lower-ranked girls went completely silent, their eyes widening in utter shock.

”I have the ability to upgrade your classes directly,” Silas declared, his golden-ringed eyes glowing as he said so. ”Every single woman in this territory will eventually be elevated to high-tier forms.”

The crowd stood completely stunned, paralyzed by the impossibility of what he was saying.

Class upgrades were legendary in the Sovereign Realm... things that required ancient, unobtainable shrines, divine trials, or legendary elixirs.

Tasmin stepped forward from the front line, taking the floor to stand right beside her Lord.

Her dark eyes burned with intense fierce pride as she looked at her comrades.

”Our Lord speaks the absolute truth,” Tasmin announced firmly with her voice ringing across the clearing.

She held up her hands, and deep writhing shadow mana flared violently around her arms.

The black-and-silver strands of her hair fluttered in the wind as dark shadow cables coiled like living serpents around her boots.

”I was once a simple C-Rank, stuck at a hopeless plateau with zero chance of advancement,” Tasmin explained clearly. ”My Lord unlocked my core, elevated my potential, and made me vastly stronger. And even now... I command the shadows themselves.”

Beside her, Brida folded her massive, armored arms over her broad chest. She didn’t deliver a long speech as she simply flexed her titan muscles.

BOOM!

A shockwave of physical pressure erupted from Brida’s boots, instantly shattering the solid earth beneath her feet into a crater of cracked stone.

”Me too,” Brida grunted with a confident fierce smirk. ”Lord Silas raised my core directly to Grand Titan Bastion status... He can do it for every single one of you.”

The lower-ranked women in the crowd stared in utter awe, their hearts pounding against their ribs with wild hope and devotion.

”As long as we gather enough Upgrade Points through combat,” Silas explained clearly to the crowd, ”every single girl in Blessed Land will grow. But to gather UP, we need to hunt. We need to go out into the Umbral Basin and slay the beast packs roaming outside our gates.”

”YEAHHHHH!”

”LET’S HUNT!”

”FOR THE UPGRADE POINTS!”

”LEAD US TO WAR, MY LORD!”

The entire assembly cheered in a loud bloodthirsty roar of pure martial excitement!

Silas immediately began organizing them into specialized field deployment teams for major hunting operations outside the walls.

”Fenna,” Silas commanded, looking over at the sharp ranger chief. ”You and two archers, including Elara, are scheduled to stay atop the Keep’s main Watchtower. Keep the heavy mana cannons manned and oversee perimeter defense at all times.”

”Understood, My Lord!” Fenna answered with a crisp, precise salute.

”Next, Team Alpha,” Silas ordered. ”Tasmin, you take point... Take Elara and a squad of girls for high-speed scouting, quick-strike ambushes, and tracking.”

”As you command, Lord Silas,” Tasmin bowed deeply with her shadow weapons clinking at her waist.

”Team Bravo will be led by Brida,” Silas continued. ”Focus on heavy armor defense, frontline tanking, and clearing large dense beast nests.”

”Leave it to me, Captain!” Brida grinned broadly, slapping her heavy metal gauntlets together with a loud sound.

Before Silas could announce the leadership for the third team, Morwenna stepped forward from his side with her cutlass clinking against her dark leather belt.

”Let me lead Team 3, Captain,” Morwenna volunteered, a sharp eager glint in her stormy gray eyes. ”It’ll be a perfect opportunity to educate the newer girls on how to properly weave Tidal-Blade Arts in actual field combat.”

Silas smiled, nodding in instant agreement. ”Alright. Morwenna, you lead Team 3... we’ll call it The Abyss Corsairs.”

Morwenna smirked broadly, resting her hand on her hip. ”I like the sound of that name, Captain.”

Just as the three field teams were finalizing their squad rosters, a rhythmic thumping echoed from the forest path behind them.

Reina, the territory’s Beast Tamer, walked up leading the domain’s tamed mounts... the Blessed Wolves!

The majestic massive direwolves stepped forward into the clearing, their thick lustrous fur gleaming under the bright sunlight.

The large Alpha male Blessed Wolf known as Titan strode up to the front rank.

The scarred, imposing wolf looked over at Morwenna and lowered his massive, muscular shoulders, allowing the Pirate Queen to easily swing her leg over and mount his back with natural grace.

”Oh, Titan! You’re such a good boy... Yes you...”

Beside Titan stood his brother, Scout.

The sleek extraordinarily fast direwolf looked over at Reina, who patted his head affectionately before guiding him over to Brida.

It seemed they had bonded since the time Silas was not around.

”Alright, big guy!” Brida cheered happily, slapping Scout’s broad furry flank with a loud laugh. ”Thanks for the lift!”

She mounted Scout with the massive wolf easily supporting her heavy S-Rank Titan weight without flinching.

The remaining female wolves... Luna, Nova, and Ember approached the other teams.

Luna bonded directly with Tasmin’s squad, Ember trotted over to one of the leaders in Team Bravo, and Nova stepped up beside Reina to serve as her personal combat mount in Team Abyss Corsairs.

With all three field teams fully mounted, armed, and ready for war, Silas turned toward the massive iron mechanisms of the outer perimeter.

”OPEN THE GATES!” Silas commanded, his deep voice ringing out.

HEAVE! RUMBLE!

The massive Steel Weave Gates slowly ground open, revealing the dark, untamed wilderness of the Umbral Basin stretching out beyond the territory borders.

”MOVE OUT!” Morwenna roared, drawing her silver Corsair and pointing it toward the wild trees!

The three field teams surged forward through the opening.

The Blessed Wolves sprinted across the threshold in broad, powerful leaps with their heavy paws kicking up dirt as the girls cheered and waved back at Silas.

”See you later, My Lord!”

”We’ll bring back mountain loads of UP!”

”Watch over the territory, Lord Silas!”

Morwenna turned back on Titan’s shoulders, blowing Silas a playful lingering kiss over her shoulder with a wink as her squad disappeared into the dense forest depth.

Silas stood at the open gate, waving them off with a proud, satisfied smile.

Remaining behind with him at the gate were Eluned and Aeli, who immediately attached themselves to his left and right arms like affectionate anchors.

Standing beside his right leg was Valkyrie, the Alpha’s mate, who gently nudged her large, soft head against his thigh.

Silas smiled, reaching down with his broad hand and gently patting Valkyrie behind her ears.

”You’re a really good girl...” The female wolf let out a satisfied huff, leaning into his warm touch.

Silas looked out at the peaceful, sunlit forest surrounding the Keep, turning his head toward Aeli and Eluned with a relaxed, cheerful grin.

”Well,” Silas chuckled softly, ”Who wants to explore the trees some mo—”

PING!

Before he could even finish his sentence, an urgent blood-red notification violently materialized right in front of his eyes.

The crimson screen flashed.

[A Rival Lord of the Territory known as ’The Unmovable Wall’ has entered your area of the Umbral Basin!]

Silas froze.

His relaxed smile completely vanished, his golden-ringed eyes narrowing into sharp slits as he stared at the warning text.

’Fuck.’