Gravis looked at the gathered beasts with interest. He wanted to know what had changed during his seclusion.
After the beasts surrounded them, they didn't immediately attack, surprisingly. One would think that the sea beasts would attack a land beast immediately as soon as they saw one inside their ranks.
"What is your purpose, intruder?" the leading level three Emperor, a swordfish, said. Obviously, since the enemy didn't know about the relationship between Morus and Gravis, he targeted his question towards Morus, the seemingly more powerful one of the two.
Morus didn't react and stayed silent.
"We didn't invade your territory on purpose," Gravis said, surprising the gathered sea beast. Why was the King talking? Did the Emperor feel that they were not worthy enough for him to say something?
"We were deeply underground for over two centuries, trying to comprehend the Law of Gravity. Back then, there was no water here. We simply returned to the spot where we came from, which is here," Gravis said.
Surprisingly, none of the present Emperors rebuked Gravis, even though he was a King. Usually, if a King opened their mouth with so many Emperors present, it would be like a kid trying to partake in a solemn discussion among adults.
One of the Emperors seemed to notice something as his eyes widened. Then, he informed the level three Emperor of something.
Gravis noticed that the level three Emperor had a change in expression as he also realized something. Then, he glanced at Morus and then back at Gravis.
"What's your name?" the Emperor asked Gravis neutrally.
"I'm Gravis," Gravis said. "This is Morus, my servant," Gravis said as he gestured to Morus.
Immediately, the entire atmosphere changed. Instead of being nervous, all of the gathered beasts became shocked, except for the level three Emperor. His expression changed to a bright smile like he had found a goldmine.
"So, you are Gravis," the Emperor said. "Please ignore our earlier hostilities. After all, we have to protect our territories."
Gravis was a bit surprised at how friendly the level three Emperor suddenly became. Weren't they still at war with the land beasts?
"It's no problem," Gravis said with a dismissive wave. "I guess that Orthar has given you some orders regarding me?" he asked.
The Emperors became shocked when Gravis spoke out Orthar's name. Was Gravis suicidal!?
If fish could sweat, the swordfish would probably sweat out of nervousness right now. "As expected," he said silently.
"Yes, the Supreme Leader has ordered us that we should find you and bring you to him. The Supreme Leader has also ordered that we have to treat you with respect," the swordfish said.
Gravis nodded. "Sure, bring me to him."
The swordfish nodded with a smile and ordered the other beasts to scatter. After that, he gestured for Gravis to follow him.
Gravis and Morus followed the swordfish for a short while. The central base for the sea beasts was inside the Grand Lake, and Gravis had entered the ground from close to the Grand Lake. Because of that, the base was not far away at all.
Surprisingly, the base of the sea beasts was not in the middle of the Grand Lake but at its edges. Yet, Gravis quickly realized the reason behind the peculiar placement. The sea beasts were probably not big fans of the Striders constantly walking over their territory.
Gravis already felt Orthar before he even properly entered the humongous Abyss, which was the core of the entire sea beasts' faction. Yet, he didn't contact him until they stood right before him.
They quickly swam past several level three Emperors and two level four Emperors. After that, the three of them reached the bottom of the Abyss, where a gigantic octopus resided. Orthar took up the entire ground of the Abyss with a lot of his tentacles buried inside the ground.
The swordfish bowed before Orthar and left quickly without saying a word.
Gravis had to smirk when he saw Orthar.
"This reminds me of the time we met," Gravis said. "Back then, you were also half-buried in the ground. The only difference was that you had been hidden."
"Half-true," Orthar commented. "Only a tenth of my body is visible as the rest stretches across the entire Grand Lake."
Gravis smirked. "So, you have noticed me even before your forces?" Gravis asked.
"Correct," Orthar said, "but the loyalty of forces has to be tested regularly. Enemies from inside are a bigger threat than outside enemies."
Gravis nodded. As long as Orthar's forces didn't know that he saw everything inside the Grand Lake, they would show their true colors.
However, Gravis thought that this deception was unnecessary. Who could even pose a danger to Orthar?
After all, he was a level five Emperor right now.
Yes, in the past 650 years, Orthar had managed to become a level five Emperor, and Gravis knew that Orthar wouldn't have taken this step if he hadn't already comprehended a level three Law. Orthar could probably ascend anytime he wanted.
"I guess that you already have comprehended a level three Law and have become an Ascender?" Gravis asked.
"Obviously," Orthar answered. "I would be a fool to ascend to this level without having comprehended one."
Gravis nodded. "So, the sea beasts still have two Ultimates, or is there a new one?" Gravis asked.
"The sea beasts have no Ultimates left," Orthar answered.
Gravis' eyebrows lifted in surprise, but he quickly found out the reason. "I guess you killed the other two to become a level five Emperor?" Gravis asked.
"Correct," Orthar answered. "They have fulfilled their uses and have become my steppingstones for understanding a level three Law."
Gravis had to sigh when he heard that. The two Ultimates had helped and protected Orthar. Yet, Orthar killed and consumed them without any second thoughts. Orthar's cold, logical nature was hazardous to not only his enemies but his comrades as well. Sometimes, Gravis even doubted if Orthar actually saw him as a friend or a tool.
If someone were to offer a massive reward for Gravis' death, would Orthar try to kill him for his personal gain? Gravis didn't know.
'Well, if I don't know, let's just ask him,' Gravis thought.
"Say, Orthar," Gravis started. "I see how you have killed nearly every single companion along your journey. So, my question is, if my death would benefit you, would you kill me?" Gravis asked.
"Too risky," Orthar said immediately. "Your cultivation, powers, talent, mindset, and everything else about you is indecipherable. I have no confidence in knowing everything about your power, and I also have no confidence in scheming against you. The chance of death is too high for me to scheme against you, even now, with me being an entire Realm above you."
Gravis found that Orthar's answer made a lot of sense. "And if that were not the case?" Gravis asked.
"Then you would not be my friend," Orthar answered directly. "Someone with a weaker power or weaker mind is a tool. Only someone that can rival me in these aspects can be considered a companion."
Gravis scratched his chin. That also made sense. After all, Gravis also didn't care much about weaker beings. All his friends had proven to be outstanding, which was the reason why they were his friends in the first place.
"What if I became useless?" Gravis asked in interest.
"Nothing would change," Orthar said. "The Realm is only momentary. Going against you because of a momentary phase of weakness might become my doom in the far future. Either I would need to kill you or not offend you at all."
"If I had enough power that I would be certain of your death, I wouldn't need the reward that anyone would give out for killing someone so much weaker. Instead, I'm banking on our feeling of companionship. Killing you has no positive outcomes while remaining your companion has a lot of potential benefits."
Gravis smiled when he heard that. "Thank you for answering my questions, Orthar," Gravis said.
"Logical," Orthar said. "My logical conduct intrinsically cultivates feelings of doubt and suspicion. Eliminating these feelings is important for successful cooperation."
Gravis nodded. "So, I'm guessing you are ready to ascend now?" he asked.
Surprisingly, Orthar didn't immediately answer, which made Gravis raise an eyebrow.
"I have searched for you for over a century but couldn't find you. Therefore, I was certain of your death. I have already attempted to ascend, but something happened after I have killed my seventh Strider," Orthar said.
Gravis grew interested. "Oh?"