Unaware of the danger Ashton had thrown himself into, Vulcan was busy mending and crafting weapons on the ship while playing with Aegis. Staying true to his words, he wasn't going to aid Ashton in any way.
After all, the staff was a dangerous artefact that should remain hidden, especially now when corrupted minds were abundant in the galaxy.
Vulcan wasn't judging Ashton, but there was the risk of him losing the staff of Eden to someone whose goal could be destruction on a scale unforeseen by anyone.
Not to mention, the trial to obtain the staff would take a lot of work. The precursors would have made sure of it. But then again, it wasn't the first time Ashton had defied the odds and overcome trial, which no one would dare to attempt, let alone survive.
"Am I in the wrong?"
That single thought shook his resolve. Not helping Ashton was one thing, and letting him die was another. Vulcan couldn't let Ashton die as he was the only one who could end Xyran's tyrannical rule over the galaxy.
Suddenly, Vulcan was reminded of a conversation he and Ashton shared as they made their way back to Kernel tower after defeating Phantom.
They had been discussing Xyrans and their society to understand them better. After all, outsmarting someone was impossible unless someone knew about them like the back of their hand.
"And you think you have a solution?" When Ashton mentioned defeating the Xyran council, Vulcan smirked, "You, who couldn't even take care of this Phantom person, want to take on the Xyrans by himself? Kid, defeating a battle-hardened Xyran would be much more difficult than you think."
"I did defeat one of them, though." Ashton confidently replied.
"A general, even then you almost got killed in the process." Vulcan slapped Ashton on the back of his head, "You don't plan on having near-death experiences with every Xyran you encounter, do you?"
Ashton remained quiet as Vulcan continued, "In case you're unaware, let me enlighten you. Beelzebub, the Xyran you are so proud of defeating, is the weakest member of the council.
"Under normal circumstances, someone like him wouldn't even qualify to join the council as an attendant, let alone a member. However, he did so through marriage. Apart from him, the rest of the council consists of S-grade beings, whom even I would not want to face in a fair fight."
Ashton's silence grew louder when Vulcan finished spewing facts at him. Defeating Beelzebub knocked the winds out of his lungs. Even then, Beelzebub's carelessness and arrogance were the only reason he managed to take him down.
That's why, even though Ashton had gotten a lot stronger than before, in the end, his current strength wasn't nearly enough to handle the Xyrans. His fight with Phantom only solidified his weakness.
"I admit our current situation is bad," Ashton finally replied, "But it's not like we're heading out to fight them tomorrow. The way I see it, they're the ones at a disadvantage. We know who our enemy is, but they don't, and they won't.
"We strike them first and strike them hard. So hard they'd have a hard time standing up, let alone fight back. It won't be easy, but in time we'll emerge victorious. For now, there's only one thing to do, gather resources and ensure not to arouse any unwarranted suspicion."
Ashton's words were full of confidence; even Vulcan couldn't help but imagine what it would feel like to defeat the undefeatable. However, at that moment, that's all it was... A thought, nothing more.
"Even decades' worth of preparation won't be enough to fight them."
Vulcan maintained his defeatist attitude, which was not surprising after everything he had witnessed during the Precursor-Xyran war. If the Xyrans could defeat a godlike species, then what could a band of baboons possibly do to them?
"Thanks to their superiority complex, Xyrans have wronged way too many people and civilisations. Potential allies lay in every corner of the galaxy. Once the war breaks out, we'll have an army waiting to join us." Ashton shrugged before laughing, "But if you're going to keep bitching like a baby, then it would be best for you to stay behind."
Back to the present...
Vulcan sighed as Aegis' squeaky voice pulled him out of memory lane. The little creature seemed worried about something as he snarled and ran around the room like he was intoxicated.
The next moment, there was a series of distant explosions. The shockwaves formed by the blast were enough to shake the ground violently. Something weird was happening somewhere in the forest.
"What is that brat up to now!?"
***
__
You have slain multiple enemies.
[Progress]:
Phase one:
> Undead Critters killed: 231/400. (Killing each undead weakens the boss by 0.1%)
> Undead Wraiths killed: 3/20 (Killing each undead weakens the boss by 1%)
> Undead Generals killed: 0/4. (Killing each undead weakens the boss by 10%)
Phase two: Boss killed: 0/1.
__
"This is going to take a while," Anna mumbled, her fists still ablaze from the explosion she had caused.
An undead dungeon was the best place for a pyromancer like her to show the extent of her abilities, as the undead were weak to fire. In fact, it was the only element that could fatally injure them.
Even then, she was barely able to keep the undead in check. The insect-like critters were incredibly annoying as they kept on resurrecting the undead. The only way to ensure they couldn't raise the dead again was to thoroughly burn every corpse Anna and Ashton came across. Hence, the explosion.
It had been a while since Ashton disappeared, saying he had something to take care of. While he was yet to return, it was Anna's job to ensure no critter made it past her. She didn't know why, but Ashton mentioned it was vital.
"If he doesn't return soon, I'm gonna suck a lot more than just blood from him!" Anna yelled and continued blasting the critters.
Just then, she heard footsteps behind her, the same place Ashton had disappeared. The only issue was that hundreds of them proceeded in her direction instead of one.
She turned around, only to be greeted by hundreds of skeletons who promptly rushed past her and attacked the undead.
"What is going on here?" She mumbled.
"Just one of the many tricks I have up my sleeve," Ashton replied, "A trick called [Corpse Parade] to be precise."
"I thought you couldn't summon skeletons in here?"
"I didn't. I just greeted new ones from scratch."
Anna didn't fully understand him, but as long as they had allies to depend on, she wasn't complaining.
"Let's clean this sewer of a dungeon," Ashton winked at her before jumping into battle.
***
Author's note: The following is the skill description of [Corpse Parade] skill, which Ashton earned as a reward for qualifying for the Academy.
[Corpse parade]: This skill allows the user to temporarily make a lower-level undead do their bidding. It can also be used to make skeleton soldiers to aid the user in battle temporarily.