Vlad used his blades to block and parry the strikes from the demon summon, his eyes sharp as he made sure to focus only on defense. He would not risk harming the Abyssal Demon’s soul during practice.
Unlike the time he faced the Abyssal Demon while it was alive, Vlad could now face the demon without problems and could match its strength without needing to use his energy. Still, the fact that a demon summon could unleash enough force to equal Vlad was impressive. What truly brought a smile to the Depravita of Wrath’s face was the fact that the demon summon retained its marital skills.
After ten minutes, Vlad sent a signal, and the demon summon froze its movements, adopting a standing position and not moving a single muscle.
’Great! Its battle power is roughly 60% of what it could show when alive, despite the reduction in physical stats and the lack of energy.’ Vlad was very happy with the result of the test. After taking the massive skeletal bastard sword, he sent the demon summon back to the Demon Cage Runic Formation in his chest.
Immediately, once the Abyssal Demon’s soul returned to his body, Vlad felt the force flood his flesh, blood, and spirit, making him more powerful and accelerating his already impressive cultivation speed.
After that, Vlad walked out of the rune laboratory and approached the energy pool, speaking in a solemn voice. "Overlord, how powerful is the Xaos Kingdom’s military?"
"Answering, Prime Master. The Xaos Kingdom currently has three life forms capable of High Champion Tier battle power: Vlad Xaos, Jormungandr, and Freya. It has six warriors capable of Peak Champion Tier battle power, which are the Royal Guards and Depravita of Greed. The last one is close to High Champion Tier battle power, with his body having already broken into that tier two weeks ago." Overlord immediately responded to Vlad’s question, providing a detailed and contemporary analysis of the top-tier forces.
Of course, the A.I. Chip Clone did not end there and soon continued, "We have fifty-two warriors with Middle Tier Champion Tier battle power, the strongest among them being the 19 Bloodline Soldiers. There are one hundred and eighty-eight with Low Champion Tier battle power. Finally, we have one thousand five hundred and twenty-two Mortal Tier soldiers capable of facing demonic beasts one-on-one."
Overlord did not count the soldiers who lacked the abilities to face a demonic beast alone, as those were considered recruits under the new military rules of the Xaos Kingdom. Unless a man or woman could at least fight, defeat, or safely retreat from a fight with a demonic beast, they were not considered soldiers and not allowed in any military mission.
Vlad’s eyes widened as he heard those numbers. It was more than two times the number of soldiers he had before the great deployment less than half a year ago, and they were proper soldiers. Even more amazing was the massive spike in the number of Champions, as it seemed all the forces that left for Knight City and Trigun City had managed to advance.
A sharp light appeared in Vlad’s eyes as his plan began to take shape, and soon he asked in a solemn voice, "Overlord, how long would it take to raise the number of Mortal Tier soldiers to five thousand?"
Vlad could not help but frown as he saw that Overlord did not answer his question immediately. The computational calculations should have taken no more than five seconds for the A.I. Chip Clone, yet even after a minute, it remained silent.
Just as Vlad was about to ask what was wrong, the archaic voice of the A.I. Chip Clone appeared. "There are currently enough recruits. If we are willing to use all the resources of the Kingdom without restraint, we can raise the number of Mortal Tier soldiers. However, while their Levels would rise, they would be poorly trained and lack the proper qualifications to ensure a high enough survival chance in a military campaign."
Anyone else who heard those words might think Overlord was worried about the soldiers, but Vlad knew the A.I. Chip Clone could not feel those emotions. It did not take long for him to understand the reason for the delay in the answer and the slight reluctance at the end of the message.
’Preparing a fast armada that would suffer massive casualties conflicts with its directives, which was why it had a hard time coming to an answer to my question.’ A meaningful light appeared in Vlad’s eyes as he analyzed Overlord’s reasoning, and the next second, he spoke with a smile. "What if they were not just normal Mortal Warriors and Mages? What if they were also Demon Soul Masters?"
Vlad cared deeply about the forces that fought by his side and would not use them as simple cannon fodder. The core purpose behind the Demon Soul Master Strength System was to ensure the next war showcased the glory of the Xaos Kingdom and not a pyrrhic victory.
Immediately, Overlord’s voice emerged once more. "If all Mortal Tier soldiers were Demon Soul Masters, their survival chance would be high enough for any military mission."
Vlad spoke with a voice that carried resolution and thrill as the power of the A.I. Chip flooded into the energy pool of the Xaos Tower, "Overlord, I will send you a Mortal Tier version of the demon sealing runic formation and Demon Cage Runic Formation."
"If we use the full power of the Rune Factory, can we have five thousand Demon Soul Beast Masters before the end of the year?" Vlad’s voice carried a sense of anticipation and focus.
He could not give Runic Sets to five thousand soldiers. The Rune Factory could not handle runes of such complexity, not to mention that just the materials would barely be enough for five hundred.
However, things were different with the Demon Soul Master Strength System. Vlad had specifically designed the demon soul sealing runic formation to be made with cheap materials and easy to forge, just like the Demon Cage Runic Formation that would trap the demon souls inside the Warriors’ and Mages’ bodies.