"Easy! Go easy! That actually hurts!"

Pallas exhaled a heavy sigh of relief only after Caelus withdrew his crushing grip. He hurried to ask, "What are you doing here? Don’t tell me you’re also a member of the Platinum Authority?"

Caelus flashed a toothy grin, ignoring the question entirely. He glanced at the white deer in Pallas’s arms, then at Wepwawet standing behind him.

"Wepwawet greets His Highness, the First Prince!" Unlike the bewildered white deer, the Gnoll Wepwawet—born and raised in the Stoneheart Horde—had dropped into a deep bow the split second before Caelus even looked his way.

Though Wepwawet was Pallas’s sworn guardian, his reverence for Caelus was absolute. Within the Stoneheart Horde, Caelus was an elusive legend; his very name was synonymous with mystery and overwhelming power. Seeing him here in the flesh, the Gnoll felt far more shock and awe than fear.

Caelus offered the Gnoll a faint nod but said nothing.

"I scored some good loot in the Platinum Realm. I still owe you a welcome gift, so see if you like this." With a flick of his wrist, Caelus tossed a spatial ring to Pallas.

Right at that moment, a voice boomed like a thunderclap from over the distant horizon.

"Petty thief! You dare steal my clan’s supreme treasure? Pay with your life!" The roar rolled across the sky, thick with majestic, crushing pressure.

"What an ugly, persistent old fossil." Caelus frowned, glancing over his shoulder before turning back.

"Young Brother, I’m heading out!"

"Young Brother, I’m heading out!"

Before the stereo echo of his voices faded, Caelus vanished. When he reappeared, he was already a speck on the horizon. Pallas watched until his brother completely disappeared, then turned his gaze toward the source of the thunderous voice.

That’s coming from the Withered Plains and Mount Oread. What the hell did he steal?

With a sinking feeling, Pallas sent his consciousness into the spatial ring. Three breaths later, he snapped his head up, his eyes wide with utter disbelief.

"How did he even pull this off?"

...

Seven days later. High above the Verdant Cloud Realm.

Five concealed figures stood within a colossal magic array that enveloped the entire world, looking down at the realm soon to be renamed the Platinum Realm.

"Truly pathetic."

"To think that a demigod is reduced to a mere ant in the face of the Commander’s methods."

Leonidas sighed. Once upon a time, before his own ascension, a demigod had been an omnipotent deity in his eyes. And now? The local demigods couldn’t sense a single trace of the trap laid by the Commander of their Champions Alliance. The entire world was already swallowed by his shadow.

"They’re just fish trapped in a barrel." In the face of their Commander, a demigod was no different from a mortal.

"A demigod is just a mortal with a bit more muscle," Alexander chimed in. It was clear he harbored some insecurities about his own demigod status. Yet, he was equally awestruck by their Commander’s terrifying might and the sheer chasm of power that could exist between demigods.

"Hey, your boy is quite the wild card. I like his style," Leonidas said, having watched Caelus plunder the Verdant Cloud Realm. "Want to send him my way? Let Bro whip him into shape?"

"He doesn’t have time to fool around with you."

"Until he ascends to demigod, none of you are to meddle with his training."

The sharp rebuke came from Deputy Commander Edward, who had been silent up until now. As he spoke, he shot a warning glare at both Alexander and Orion. As one of Caelus’s two primary mentors, the Deputy Commander outright refused to let a roughhead like Leonidas corrupt such raw talent.

"He’s here on a trial assigned by the Commander. Just watch." Edward turned his gaze back to Orion, the unspoken message crystal clear: Orion, don’t you dare interfere with Caelus’s trial.

Orion nodded. He had entrusted Caelus to the Commander; he wouldn’t second-guess the process now.

"Bro, what do you think of his Young Brother? Can you train him for me?" Orion pivoted smoothly.

Orion was set to initiate his world-integration plan soon. Once he became a literal manifestation of the rules in the Titanion Realm, he wouldn’t have the time or energy to tutor his own sons. Recommending Pallas to Leonidas was a calculated move.

"Pallas?" Leonidas looked down, his gaze piercing through the dense cloud cover to lock onto Pallas, who was currently traveling through the Mystic Woods.

"The kid is too lazy and lacks drive. He needs to eat some dirt," Leonidas mused. "His talent isn’t quite at his older brother’s level, but it’s not far off either. Whipping him into shape would be easy. But my teaching methods are... unorthodox. Aren’t you worried I’ll ruin your son?"

Truth be told, Pallas’s talent was exceptional enough to catch even Leonidas’s discerning eye.

"It’d be an honor for him to learn a thing or two from you, Bro," Orion replied. "Ever since Caelus and Kaelen showed up, he’s been off his game. They dealt a blow to his ego, and now he lacks confidence. When it comes to building confidence, I trust Bro’s methods implicitly."

Sometimes, arrogance and bravado were merely the outer shell of absolute self-belief—traits Leonidas possessed in spades. Orion knew that rubbing shoulders with someone like Leonidas would naturally rub off on Pallas.

"Heh heh... Well, if that’s the case, I’ll bag Pallas once we wrap things up here."

"Deal." Leonidas beamed, clearly preening at the fact that Orion respected him enough to entrust him with his own flesh and blood.

"I’ve got my eye on your fourth son," Alexander interjected. "If he needs tempering, hand him over to me."

Alexander had seen Kaelen fight. He had witnessed the boy execute the secret techniques of the Dark Butterfly Race, and recognized unparalleled assassin potential in him. Combined with the terrifying physical strength of a Stoneheart Titan, Alexander was confident he could forge Kaelen into a lethal weapon.

"Then I’ll leave him in your capable hands, Bro!" Orion’s eyes lit up. He hadn’t expected Alexander to take an interest in Kaelen. It was an opportunity most would kill for.

"I guarantee that if Arthas were here, he’d be fighting tooth and nail for your last remaining son," Leonidas joked, glancing at a motionless demigod phantom standing a short distance away. It was Arthas.

Because the vast majority of his consciousness was anchored in the Minor Hell realm, the phantom projection Arthas left behind would only awaken if a demigod-level battle erupted.

"Speaking of which, why hasn’t the Commander descended yet?" Orion asked, seamlessly bypassing Leonidas’s joke. He knew exactly what was going on with Arthas; his Bro wouldn’t be stepping out of the Minor Hell realm for a very long time.

"Don’t look at me. I have no idea." Deputy Commander Edward shrugged, meeting the expectant gazes of Orion, Leonidas, and Alexander.

"The Commander said he’s handling this personally. Our only job is to watch. On another note, the Platinum Authority is preparing to move into the Platinum Realm. If the factions under your control have any mercenary commissions, go ahead and post them."