Vun-Shei’s face stiffened.
"..?" she asked, pointing at herself as though she found it difficult to believe he had just asked her such a question.
Although it wasn’t direct, she understood the implied aning.
Even Yruel, who had been awaiting Orion’s response, was taken aback.
"Yes," Orion nodded.
"Are you also going to offer yourself along with her? Or do you have a partner?" he asked, this ti being more direct.
Since Vun-Shei had lived for 260,000 years, Orion wanted to uncover whether she had a partner. If she did, he suspected that he would be a Prince. Then he would find out if he belonged to the Silver Tide Wolf Faction.
If not, Orion planned to rope him in. Even if she wanted to hide it, she would have no choice but to reveal the truth out of fear of the consequences they might face if it were uncovered later.
But if she didn’t have a partner and was willing, then he would gain soone knowledgeable about the Spirit Realm on their side, before deciding what to do with her, since she was unlike Yruel and Karli, who had willingly accepted to be used as bargaining chips.
Contrary to Vun-Shei’s expectations, Orion had gone as far as clarifying his words and directly asking whether she had a partner.
Even a fool could understand what he ant by now.
"I... I didn’t expect you to be interested in , Supre Leader," Vun-Shei said, quickly regaining her composure.
She shook her head. "I had a partner, but he was killed by a King we unknowingly encountered. The King claid he had taken a liking to and that I had been chosen to bear his child soday," she explained, lowering her gaze and biting her lip in frustration.
"He said that when the ti ca, he would co and find . So, he let go to handle my personal matters. That’s why I wasn’t present when my tribe and faction were attacked by enemy forces."
She locked eyes with Orion and smiled wryly. "The ti for that so-called eting is drawing near. I ca here hoping that the presence of another King might delay him or stop him altogether. As long as I could do that, I’d gain so ti to escape his grasp."
"Unfortunately, the King only passed by here because a unique Seven-Headed Hydra had caught his attention. I chose to stay and gather information about her because I assud that our situations felt eerily similar."
"I’m sorry I didn’t tell you this earlier. I considered it a personal matter and didn’t see a reason to burden you with it, or endanger your force by forcing a confrontation with a King."
Her wry smile widened. "However, if you’re interested in , then I’m also willing to offer myself as a bargaining chip. As long as you can rescue from this dilemma, and you hold no prejudice against Spirit Beasts, then you’re free to use as you wish."
She understood all too well the roles Spirit Beasts often played when engaged to gods from the Material Realm. She had witnessed such occurrences firsthand many tis.
Most often, they were treated as exotic mistresses ant to fulfil their god-partner’s debauched desires and fetishes.
And she was prepared to fulfil that role, if it ca to that.
Orion’s expression nearly turned to surprise. He hadn’t expected such a dramatic story from Vun-Shei.
Given her age, he knew she must have gone through countless extraordinary experiences. But even so, he hadn’t imagined one of them would involve a love triangle that ended in the death of her partner, and a forced, planned conception with a King.
Now, he understood why a Princess, who still had hundreds of thousands of years before ascending to beco a Queen, would show up here upon hearing about the King’s presence.
If Orion viewed Zyra’s situation from her perspective, then she was right; the parallels were there. Still, she was wrong on a crucial point.
"I can assure you," Orion responded, his tone serious, "the Seven-Headed Hydra and the King who appeared had no relationship with each other. As I showed you all through the projection, he was only lingering nearby and happened to take an interest in what was unfolding. If what you thought were true, I wouldn’t have the information you seek about her current location."
The explanation that the King might have fathered Zyra’s child and taken her away could have facilitated the current plan, but Orion wasn’t about to lie just to accommodate it.
Why should he degrade his wives in such a way? And why should he let soone else take credit for his own achievent?
There was no way he would let such a falsehood spread.
A sliver of surprise appeared on Vun-Shei’s face.
Orion’s surprised expression hadn’t escaped her eyes, so she guessed that he was telling the truth.
She couldn’t help but ask, "If the King isn’t the one responsible for the pregnancy, then who is?"
"I don’t know the answer to that," Orion replied calmly. "If you’re able to find the Seven-Headed Hydra, perhaps you should ask her yourself."
He continued, "You still haven’t explained why a King would go to such lengths to have a child with you."
With the shift in conversation, Vun-Shei quickly pushed her swirling thoughts to the back of her mind.
"You may already know the requirents spirit beasts must et to conceive a child as they beco stronger," Vun-Shei.
When Orion nodded in understanding, she sighed and continued. "For Kings, it’s different. They can impregnate anyone they choose. However, the stronger the parent, the more inheritance their offspring receive. So they usually seek those who are strong. And those chosen to bear their child aren’t limited to just one person."
She paused, then added, "So Kings, those not aligned with any established force, are known to create entire factions composed solely of their descendants. So there are likely others out there already marked to carry their children. I’m just one of many."
Once again, Orion found himself surprised by what he’d learned.
He had known that the number of Kings within the Spirit Realm was vast, thanks to their immortal lifespans, the long history of the realm, and its imnse size. But he had never expected that each King could impregnate any spirit beast to create entire forces made up of their own lineage.
If beings of such power weren’t limited in that way, didn’t that an their numbers were far greater than they had previously expected?
Still, Orion wasn’t genuinely concerned with their numbers. What concerned him more was how many of them had ascended to beco Transcendent Spirit Beasts.
"Was the Silver Tide Wolf Faction created by a King?" Orion asked, voicing the deduction he’d ford while listening to her.
"Yes," Vun-Shei replied softly. "But our Queen has been missing for a long ti. We believe she’s dead. It was her disappearance that made it so difficult for us to manage the faction. Before we eventually succumbed to the opposition’s attack."
She exhaled wearily, her expression and voice filled with sorrow.
Vun-Shei wasn’t surprised that Orion had arrived at such a conclusion. Based on what she had revealed about their origins, it was only a matter of ti.
Orion gave a nod of understanding. He had learned a great deal from his conversation with Vun-Shei.
"Alright. I’ll take you, as well as your niece. You can join her," Orion said, his expression serious.
What better way to draw out the attention of a King than by taking the woman he had already marked as his own?
It was far better than spreading rumours that one of them had fathered his unborn child.
Alongside his plans for Paradise, this was like killing three birds with one stone.
This ti, not only Vun-Shei but also Yruel, who stood beside her, were so astounded that they couldn’t utter a word for a mont.
It was the first ti they had encountered soone who had consistently subverted their worldview since their initial eting. Never had they faced such a situation before.
Despite knowing her circumstances, the fact that Orion had accepted her ant one thing: he wasn’t afraid of a King. He was even willing to seize what belonged to one.
Which god or spirit beast could boldly make such a claim?
They began to wonder: was Orion an insane god who overestimated his own strength, never having experienced the terror of the power a King wielded?
Or was the force backing him strong enough to give him the confidence to confront one?
After all, Orion, along with his companions, had survived an encounter with a King, and they far outmatched everyone present here combined in strength.
Even so, they couldn’t decide which assumption to believe.
"Supre Leader... are you certain about this? I don’t think this can be called a bargain anymore if I accept," Vun-Shei said after a brief hesitation.
"You don’t need to worry. Whether it’s one King or a thousand Kings, or Queens, if they choose to stand in my way, they’ll be eliminated. None of them is even worthy of holding the highest position within my force, so why should I fear them?" Orion replied, chuckling lightly at her question.
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