Marvel: A New God's Reign

Chapter 58: Oaths & Cultural Divides

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"Women need a reason to have sex. Men just need a place."

–– Billy Crystal

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<Atem POV>

"Caiera Oldstrong! At last, you care to visit your Emperor. I thought that the Shadow People had forgotten about me after you guys got back the true might of your magic from this planet." I spoke out, breaking the silence of the throne room while sitting on a recently made crystal throne.

In the newly constructed throne room of the castle, before Caiera had arrived, I was silently grappling with the weight of my next move in my quest to survive and conquer this world. And, the allure of returning to Earth was tugging at my thoughts with tremendous might—an escape from the sluggish pace of my current Galactic invasion plan. Who would have imagined that conquering a star system could be so painstakingly slow?

The initial hurdle of my amazing plan lay in the breeding process of the formidable spike soldiers. Conversations with some seasoned red skinned Sakaaran war veterans who had taken part in some interplanetary battles before revealed the daunting requirements of taking over Morag: hundreds of thousands of ordinary soldiers and thousands of ships. These forces were the minimum necessity to breach the Kree's formidable military checkpoints encircling Morag's star system—a territory fiercely guarded by the Kree within this galaxy since they considered the sector a sacred place for their species. And we needed at least that many bug soldiers to defeat the Kree forces there if none of the heavyweights in my army like Karnilla or Brunhilde helped that is.

The Sakaaran engineers adeptly handled ship construction, leveraging my new planet's matter-generation capabilities. But the soldier-breeding process hit a roadblock. Karnilla, our magical master geneticist, had meticulously engineered a dozen specialized Spike Queens. Their sole purpose: birthing the genetically modified Spikes we desperately needed. Even though these queens lacked the defensive prowess of their original natural counterparts like their psionic might to command millions of spike children at once; their abilities were confined to the more delicate art of soldier production. In essence, Karnilla was orchestrating an intricate avian ballet, turning her queens into specialized hens on her private farm.

Yet, the queen's output remained frustratingly finite. Each could produce approximately a thousand spikes per week—a commendable feat, but insufficient for our grand ambitions. Even at full production, we still faced a ten-week wait to amass the requisite numbers. And so, we embarked on a parallel endeavor: breeding more queens which would still take weeks. But my patience wore thin as the days stretched into weeks. I yearned to see the Spike army conquer... something, yet the monotony of patiently waiting on my throne with nothing truly important to do gnawed at my resolve.

"Of course not, Emperor. I was simply waiting for things to become stable in my clan before visiting you. I wanted myself and my people to be at our peak so that we could be of some actual service to you." Caiera spoke with a respectful but not overly servile tone of voice. She was a warrior through and through. As the leader of her people, she understood the intricacies of politics and power but she couldn't bring herself to lick someone else's shoes just for some favor. She had served someone else as a slave for too long and she had no intention to to return to that role again.

"I see. And how strong do you feel?" I asked curiously. "Do you think these lands emit enough of your magic as your old planet?"

"No, not yet," she confided. "The magic on this planet is burgeoning, growing with each passing day. While it still pales in comparison to the ancient power of our former home, it inches closer. I can sense it—the very pulse of this world resonating through those crystals." I can access the entirety of the old power present on this planet, so I think I can even rival Karnilla in a few days when it comes to mystic forces." She revealed, not knowing that Karnilla had never used her full power in front of her. All the magic that the Norn goddess has used in her presence was her own. Caiera had no idea that Karnilla was vastly more powerful than the divine sorceress let on because of the powerful Nornstones that she possessed.