Later that day, after giving final instructions to Ezekiel regarding the new recruits and ensuring Seraphina was prepared to start the complex alchemical refinement, Vahn and Lilith left for the Barbarian domain.

​Vahn flew through the sky riding the Nuclear Dragon Sword, carrying Lilith on his back. Under his insistence, Lilith had agreed to ride on his Sword. Vahn did this with an Energy Conservation Plan in mind: he could regenerate spiritual energy far faster than Lilith, especially now with his Nascent Soul. Lilith's energy would be needed for their mission's infiltration phase.

​Lilith, however, knew nothing of the energy calculation. She simply assumed he was caring for her, which made her secretly happy, softening her usual defenses.

​While soaring above the hills and mountains, the duo occasionally engaged in conversation to learn more about each other's past.

​Vahn turned the subject to her family. "Lilith, what was your father like? You've only ever mentioned your mother and the rivalry."

​Lilith's expression turned melancholic as she replied, "He was the best. Always caring for his daughter and wife, always prioritizing family above factional politics."

​She paused, looking down at the blur of the ground below.

"But in the end, he was met with a tragic betrayal. He was sacrificed by those he trusted most. And that's why I hated my mother so much. For taking away the most precious person from my life, for choosing to follow the sect leaders over protecting him when it mattered most."

​The conversation revealed their deepest pains: Vahn's exploitation after stealing from his birth parents, and Lilith's mother cruel emotionless treatment.

It was a commonality that deepened the unspoken bond of vengeance between them.

​As they continued toward the unknown Barbarian territory, Vahn felt a vibration that had nothing to do with the wind currents. He felt it deep in the earth below.

​"Hold fast," Vahn instructed, directing the sword downward slightly.

​The sound became a rhythmic, heavy pounding; like a ground-shaking sound that was clearly intentional and massive.

​They dropped to a lower, stealthier altitude, peering through a break in the clouds.

Below them, a truly intimidating sight unfolded. They noticed several Legions of hulking humanoid figures with thick hides and big, floppy ears.

​Vahn and Lilith instantly recognized them from Ezekiel's intel as the Barbarians.

​

The hulking figures were moving with surprising military order, carrying enormous, crudely fashioned weapons. They were all heading in the same direction: toward the Misty Valley they had just come from.

​Vahn's grin was predatory. A cruel light sparked in his eyes.

​"Looks like our neighbors already came to greet us first, Lilith."

Lilith was also genuinely surprised. She didn't expect the local powers to move so fast to seize the nascent Necrotic Dynasty before they could even consolidate their resources.

​"This changes everything, Vahn. What are you going to do now?" she asked, the urgency clear in her tone.

​Vahn's eyes, still gleaming with that cold, ambitious light, did not waver.

​"The plan has changed. We will take control of these Barbarians before they can seize our home. But we cannot commit a slaughter, as that would only be reducing our future warriors. We need to be creative. And I already have a plan for that."

Vahn understood the economic reality of empire-building: a dead foe is a wasted resource.

Lilith nodded, eager to see what he had in store in his mind.

Meanwhile, the thousands of barbarians suddenly paused their advance. They began to set up camp as night was quickly approaching. The terrain was high and dangerous. They couldn't risk getting hunted by wild beasts while marching in the darkness.

​One of their commanders, wielding a massive, crudely forged axe, bellowed instructions to his subordinates in the harsh Barbarian language.

​"Tonight, we rest, my men! But tomorrow we will seize the magical Castle in the Misty Valley!"

​The two thousand warriors roared their assent, a sound like a single, colossal beast: "YEAHHH!"

Their shouts and the ground-shaking thud of their melee weapons hitting the ground reverberated across the plains.

​The night deepened, and a full moon hung low over the foggy plains. Soon, each of the barbarians drifted into a deep, muscle-fatigued sleep.

​Only then did Vahn make his move.

​He stood beside Lilith, his eyes closed. A faint, complex rune glowed briefly on his forehead, radiating a spiritual energy that was faint, yet overwhelmingly potent.

​He invoked the forbidden Dream Manipulation Art, and then, right before Lilith's stunned eyes, his physical form dissolved. He simply disappeared into the dream realm.

​Lilith froze in shock. When Vahn first claimed he could travel the dream realm, she had dismissed it as a mere boast. But now, she had no choice but to believe it.

​And that made him infinitely scarier.

​In the dream realm, every individual's mind manifests their deepest fears and most fervent desires. The Barbarians' potent anti-spirit domains offered no defense against an attack directed at their very psyche. Vahn could use their superstitions, their weaknesses, and their ambitions to brainwash these two thousand powerful warriors, instantly turning them into the most loyal soldiers of the Necrotic Dynasty.

​Vahn's moved with physical body, traversing the colourful dream realm with wonder and intention to dominate the dream realm. He needed to find the Barbarian Chieftain's mind and project his will onto the entire sleeping legion.

​Inside the shared dreamscape, the Barbarians' minds manifested as a chaotic landscape of jagged mountains, monstrous ancestral beasts, and dark caves where their fears dwelled.

​Vahn located the Chieftain's dominant dream, finding the hulking commander standing before a colossal, enraged Ancestral Spirit: the chief Barbarian deity of power and war.

The spirit was accusing the chieftain of weakness and failure.

​Vahn, using the Dream Manipulation Art, seamlessly merged his consciousness with the Ancestral Spirit's form, augmenting its terror with his own Imperial Aura.

​"CHIEFTAIN!" Vahn boomed within the dream, his voice shaking the dream mountains. "YOUR LINEAGE IS CURSED! YOUR ATTACK ON THE NECROTIC DYNASTY IS AN ACT OF PROFANE TREASON!"

​Vahn focused on the Chieftain's deepest desire: unimagined strength and power.

​"ONLY THE NEW KING, RESIDING IN THE PALACE, CAN BREAK THE CURSE! SUBMIT TO VAHN NECROTIS! HE WILL PURIFY YOUR BLOODLINE AND GRANT YOU STRENGTH BEYOND THE ANCESTORS!"

​The Chieftain fell to his knees in the dream, his will shattered by the overwhelming divine terror.

Not just him, Vahn's message was transmitted to the minds of all two thousand sleeping barbarians: Subordination means salvation and unparalleled power.

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