Hector stared at Zara, not sure if this was a joke at his expense. "You're sending us to Bentley, a country ruled by an ancient non-human, to get root vegetables?"

She grinned at his confusion. "Their skill at horticulture is unmatched in the world."

"Like… potatoes?"

"Potato, yam, cassava, carrot, turnip, groundnut…."

He didn't know how he should be responding to her claim. "Not meat?"

"Meat is superior for body enhancement, of course. And alcohol is the most rapid form of energy restoration. The root vegetables of Bentley do not directly compete in either category. What they do is provide days of sustained energy release."

"Sorry. Is that really a big deal?"

"Yes, Hector. Rather than directly eat the cores of the beasts they kill, they enrich the soil with them. Some of their crops are at level eight. That is far beyond what is typically seen from plants. A single meal will passively refill reserves without any negative consequences." Zara leaned forward, eyes fixed on him. "You no doubt think you don't require additional energy. That would be naive."

Hector shrugged. "While I wouldn't mind accelerating my growth a bit, I don't know that I need to."

"When people speak of the soul's capacity doubling with every level, what form do you imagine that takes? Do you believe the soul's central cavity increases in size?"

"I assumed so. Is that wrong?"

Zara nodded. "Your soul walls grow outward with every level. The central 'space' is fixed in capacity for your entire life. What changes is the density that can be stored. You double your capacity by doubling the maximum density.

"Though – to briefly detour – density doesn't truly double until all of your apertures are up to level. They leak otherwise. It's a short-term reason why it is unwise to chase levels. That deficiency can be corrected later, unlike the more long-term problem we've already discussed.

"A major challenge cultivators have at higher levels is that the soul struggles to saturate with lower densities. The traditional method is to spend long periods of time with your reserves as full as possible. It's a lot of cultivation followed by enforced idleness. The people of Bentley have a convenient workaround for that. This will be of benefit to not only yourself, but essential for the advancement of Dorian and the Azure Spear Maidens away from Tian."

Hector pondered the request. He didn't believe that he actually needed resources from Bentley. But it seemed that Dorian, Mei, and Isabel would be impacted if he didn't join in on this mission. His refusal either lost them the chance to purchase these root vegetables or they took on the risk of banditry when forced to carry their goods out of country.

"Before I agree, I have a request."

Zara sniffed. "Of course you do. The son of Harridan may join the mission."

That had not been what he was about to say, but Hector nodded along as if she'd anticipated his area of negotiation. Perhaps a field trip to Tian would cheer his friend up. "Great. I just need to request time off from the leaders of the Reconquest."

"Return within the week. I will instruct everyone to be ready for you."

"Is there anything I should pack for the trip?"

Zara smiled. "Wayne is preparing the trade goods."

"Wayne?"

"He is a phenomenal business partner."

Hector made a vague noise that could be interpreted as agreement. Something about her tone bothered him. Was Wayne truly that impressive? The chemist came up with some good ideas working with Esther, it was true. He'd created cyanide for Hector from apple seeds. But what Hector considered the man's greatest achievement had been the creation of the acid. Which was simply following a design provided by the System – not that anyone but Hector knew the source of the instructions.

He stopped by his floor to find Darius.

"In the next few days we're going to visit Tian with Zara's retinue to pick up some resources."

Darius frowned. "We?"

"I worked hard to convince Zara to take you with us."

The eunuch sighed. "Fine. I will join you. But I'm just giving my share to Riley."

"That's very generous of you."

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"It's only practical. I have no need to grow stronger."

Though the lack of motivation concerned him, Hector chose not to comment. He cast about for something to discuss that wasn't a transparent attempt to make Darius feel better. Fortunately, there was something on his mind. "Zara seems to think quite highly of Wayne."

For the first time in a while, the eyes of Darius lit up. "Everyone worships that chubby little man these days. He isn't half so smart as they say, Hector. The oil from fish makes your belches taste terrible all day long."

"Fish oil? That is what impressed Zara? Does it even help with body enhancement?"

Darius scowled but didn't say anything. The man would not have held back valid criticism if he had any. Which meant Wayne was getting undue credit for applying his background in chemistry and all the technology of Union Central to ingredients from Tian. He hadn't done anything impressive, he'd just taken advantage of the fact that Hector placed him in contact with Zara.

When he'd stewed in silence for a time, Darius unintentionally twisted the knife. "Now you understand what it is like with Siegfried. Damn dandy prince."

Hector took a calming breath. "I can't complain about her losing interest in me after I refused to engage her romantically. It's just… Wayne?"

"Yes. Flabby and weak. It is one thing to be beaten by a man who you respect. To lose to an inferior specimen hurts, Hector."

The labels of flabby and weak definitely applied to Wayne. In those ways, the chemist was the polar opposite of Hector. What really bothered him, though, was that the man wasn't even serious about his cultivation. Why would a beautiful Lord choose a nerd more interested in his chemistry set than someone striving for the peak of human potential? Hector had trouble imagining Wayne spouting poetry or whatever it was Zara had expected from him.

"I'm tired of talking about Wayne. What is the deal with the Sandwich Technique? It caused me excruciating pain for three days!"

"It does that," Darius agreed.

"Why didn't you warn me?"

Darius shot him a serious look. "You would have held back when training it. The effectiveness of the technique drops off fast if you lower the intensity."

"I had to cancel going on patrol."

"They survived without you on patrols for half a century."

Hector had no argument to counter that point. The Reconquest would not fail because he missed a single patrol. Indeed, his role had been played by Matthias and Purification in his absence. His importance had been exaggerated in his own mind. There was no harm to him taking time off.

"Does it hurt that bad every time?"

"Only if you can force yourself to go just as hard again. Dorian says such resolve is rare."

Hector wondered if he would be able to train the technique at full intensity a second time. Having been burned once, he didn't want to touch the hot stove again. Maybe if he gave it a few more weeks he would forget how horrible the experience was and be willing to fully exert himself.

"How much does the effectiveness drop if you decrease the intensity?"

"A lot. I estimate decreasing intensity by ten percent gives only half the benefit."

"Half the benefit…. How sore do you get?"

"Ninety percent as sore for ninety percent as long."

In other words, it didn't make sense for a practitioner of the Sandwich Technique to go at any less than full intensity. Hector cursed to himself. He knew that eventually he would do a repeat of that experience. Its benefits were enough that he had to. The only question was whether or not he would flinch back from going all out when the time came.

Back on Aes, Hector scheduled some time off from patrols, then restored his energy reserves until it was time for his next patrol. At the staging area before the gate, Purification and Matthias approached to relay an order from Colonel Quinn for Hector to report to the command center. When he questioned the timing, Purification assured him that it was urgent.

Expecting push-back on his request for time off, Hector rushed over to the command center. He wanted to get the conversation over with before the patrol. Barging into the command center brought him face to face with a cluster of senior officers from the Reconquest.

The layout of the command center was a ring of offices around a central open area. That open area held computer workstations, an electronic sand table displaying the current environmental conditions, a wall mounted display showing the duty rotations, and a communications rig in one corner. The very center of the open area had a large table that usually served no greater purpose than to hold baked goods.

Currently that table hosted a number of officers wearing serious rank. There were a total of seven colonels in the room and even a general. That was a big deal. The Reconquest only had a single general, who ran everything from the military side with input from Transit – the Sage held no actual rank in the Reconquest even though his influence was immense. The handful of staff on duty looked like they were trying very hard to look busy without making any noise. That ended when Colonel Quinn noticed Hector's arrival.

"Anyone not a part of this meeting should leave the building at this time. Transfer communications to the secondary facility. Return in one hour. Not a minute before then." The colonel then watched everyone leave before closing and locking the door.

Hector looked around the room, trying to work up some moisture in his dry mouth. Seven colonels… that meant the leader of every Stronghold was here. Plus General Wilson. Were they going to come down hard on Hector for his recent problem? Were they going to announce a new offensive? Was there some disaster looming?

Transit took the lead in running the meeting. "Take a seat, Hector. Be sure to face the main display. We have something you need to see." The Sage fiddled with a control panel for a bit before the sergeant major intervened to operate the technology for the Arahant.

Then the display switched from showing scrolling duty rosters to displaying an aerial view of a Stronghold. A few seconds after the view switched, the image came to life. Figures rendered tiny by distance charged out past the perimeter and began to battle an ant easily a hundred times larger than the humans. Silver lines shot forth to chop at the ant's legs, slowly whittling them down until the immense insect crashed to the ground.

Once their opponent was immobilized, the tiny dots that were humans joined hands together and threw something too small to see towards the monster. Its head exploded. The victors rushed back towards their Stronghold and scaled the wall to safety.

Every eye in the place was fixed on Hector. As he watched the display with wide eyes, he recalled how many times he had been told that he was a terrible liar.

Transit paused the display. "These are obviously not Xian prisoners, Hector."

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