Clearly, his promotion to archlord came with a serious gear upgrade for his captain avatar.

"You brought your true form over?" Orion asked, stepping forward to clasp Kraken's shoulder in a solid, familiar greeting. He couldn't help but stare at the massive octopus coiled around the tricorn hat. It looked unsettlingly real.

"Nah, just an avatar," Kraken said. "Couldn't find a decent vessel to host my consciousness on short notice, so I just… lopped off a few tentacles and power-leveled them. They'll do for now. Once we own these waters, I figure I'll have my pick of premium hosts."

Damn. That's both grim and kind of brilliant, Orion thought. He nodded. With the insane regenerative abilities of a massive octopus and Kraken's deep knowledge of how to cultivate them, it made a twisted sort of sense. He could definitely pull off a rush-job like that.

"Welcome to the Silverwood Realm," Orion said, gesturing to the vast ocean. "And the bad news is, we have zero intel on the marine situation. All you get is a world map. Everything else, you're on your own." He waited for Kraken to look out at the horizon before pressing a magical map into his hand.

"The immediate area is clear of any archlord signatures. Good spot for me to lay low and grind for a bit."

Orion realized his concern was unnecessary. A guy like Kraken, who had clawed his way up from nothing, knew more about surviving hostile waters than he ever would.

"Deputy Commander wanted me to pass on a message. His exact words were, 'tell him not to get too aggro.' The play is to gather intel first. Once we've locked down the continent, you can use it as a staging ground to push into the deep sea."

Orion pointed out to the endless expanse of water, then gestured south. "And dude, I'm not kidding, you need to be careful. Intel says there are at least two demigods out in the ocean. One from the Cult of Four, and one native to the Silverwood Realm."

"Also, to the south, there's some ancient dragon. No idea if it's friendly or hostile, so don't poke the bear until we know what we're dealing with."

That was the official line from Edward. For the foreseeable future, he, Arthas, Alexander, and the Bladesworn were all going into a dormant state to recover. The top brass of the Champions Alliance needed time. This wasn't the moment to kick off a world war. If it were, knowing the Deputy Commander's temper, he'd have already dragged his allies out to sea to purge the Cult of Four from this reality entirely.

"Goddammit, another one of those servers, huh? Crawling with demigods," Kraken grumbled. He'd been itching for a fight in his own realm for ages, just waiting for the call to join the main party and score some serious loot. He hadn't expected to be teleported straight into stealth mode.

"By the way," Orion said, a slow grin spreading across his face. "What do you think of this beach?"

Kraken didn't catch his meaning at first. He glanced around the Gilded Strand and nodded. "It's nice. Great view."

Orion's smile widened, and his gaze turned strange. Kraken picked up on the weird vibe instantly. Before he could ask, Orion spoke.

"Good. Because this is your new territory. That seaside city I promised you? This is it."

"This is it?"

"Yup. Problem?" Orion shrugged, his expression a perfect 'what'd you expect?' mask.

"Holy crap, dude! From what you just said, this isn't even Champions Alliance territory yet!" Kraken threw his hands up. "Look around! There isn't a single building! You call this a seaside city? What's the difference between this and me just conquering it myself?"

Orion just laughed, clapping him on the shoulder. "Relax! You need to lay low for a while anyway, right? By the time we fight our way here, it'll be ours. Then you can have whatever you want. I'm just worried you won't have built up enough of a force by then."

He wasn't wrong. The Cult of Four had no more assets on the continent. The scattered demonic monsters were just a matter of cleanup. The only real potential threat left was the old dragon to the south, and maybe a few pockets of Survivors to the east and west. But that was a job for Staghelm City. Once the demonic mobs were cleared, a decision would be made on what to do with them.

Besides, at the Coalition's current pace, there was no need to engage the dragon yet. By the time their borders expanded that far, the Deputy Commander and the others would be back to full strength. At that point, the Champions Alliance would hold all the cards. Whatever they said, that old dragon would have to listen.

"Alright, you've got a point," Kraken conceded. He needed to grind in peace for a while anyway, so waiting wasn't a problem. "Speaking of, any word from Leonidas?"

Kraken's expression was a flash of conflicting emotions—excitement warring with disappointment. Leonidas had been his mentor, the one who brought him into this whole game. Him hitting demigod status was awesome news. Having a demigod for a patron was a huge safety net; as long as Kraken didn't screw up on an epic scale, Leonidas would have his back. It gave him the confidence to face down anyone, even the demigods from his home world.

"I heard Alexander mention something before. Said the neighbors near Leonidas's boss's territory were getting restless. I wanted to go help, but Alexander said not to. Don't know the full story. Hope the boss wakes up soon."

A shadow of worry crossed Kraken's face. He couldn't help but think that if Leonidas were awake, the situation in the Silverwood Realm would be a lot smoother. He probably would've been summoned here sooner, already swimming in loot.

"Don't worry about it," Orion said, a mysterious smile playing on his lips. Being around Kraken always made him more talkative, more relaxed. It also made him want to show off. "We're friends. You need help, you can call me. Anything Leonidas can do for you, I can handle."

"You sure about that? Anything?" Kraken raised an eyebrow. He knew Orion was a beast, but there's a world of difference between an unbeatable archlord and a literal demigod.

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