After securing the allegiance of the Bloodied Hand Clan, Erich realized he was back to square one, regarding just where the Sages might be, and because of this, he decided to take some time off from his pursuit and spend it with his loved ones.

There was the matter of Tia needing to outfit his Orc Horde with new equipment, ships, etc. Not to mention Tia and Mirage would have to work together to find their next target. Because of this, Erich returned to Germanic Space, while the rest of the Orcs began moving their fleet towards Tia's industrial world.

The moment Erich stepped foot at his doorstep, and knocked on his mansion's door it was immediately opened, revealing Erika and Ayumi who welcomed their husband home with loving smiles. Of course, that lasted for about three whole seconds, until they realized there were more women surrounding the man than normal.

Ayumi could not help but curse on her breath, as she saw the Asuran and Dark Elven beauties standing by her husband's side.

"Every fucking time...."

She thought that Erich did not notice her statement, but the man's senses were far keener than her own, and thus he smiled as he pointed towards the two newcomers and introduced them.

"What? Do you think I'm romantically involved with these two women? No, not in the slightest, they are just my crew members, and since they have nowhere to stay during this brief vacation, I thought I'd offer them the luxury of crashing in my estate...."

Ayumi's brow raised, while a skeptical look appeared on her pretty face, before she raised the question that immediately came to her mind.

"Are you sure about that?"

Erich was confused by these words, and was just about to say something when Erika hugged him and welcomed him home.

"Welcome home, Erich... Why don't you come inside and rest your weary head while I prepare a nice snack for you? Would you like a beer while you wait?"

Ayumi glared at Erika as if the woman had completely betrayed her, while Erich nodded his head with a wide smile on his face.

"Of course, that sounds wonderful, alright come on, the lot of you, make yourselves at home."

Erika then scurried off to the kitchen, where Ayumi followed by her side. The Oni beauty was quick to scold her "sister" about her shameless actions.

"How could you leave me alone like that? We promised to interrogate him if he brought another woman home, and he brought two of them!"

Erika, however, paid no mind to Ayumi's comments, and instead immediately did as she said she would. She poured a liter of beer from one of the houses several kegs before handing it off to Erich. Where she then began to prepare some freshly baked appelstruddle. All the while, she responded to Ayumi's words with a hint of trust in her voice.

"If Erich says they are not his lovers, then they are not his lovers, at least not yet... He has been nothing but honest with us so far, so all we can do is trust that he will remain that way. In the meantime, you should probably make yourself useful, so that we can remind the idiot that he has two lovely maidens waiting for him at home who are willing to do anything he asks!"

Ayumi then looked at Erika as if she were an entirely different woman, and immediately posed a question which the pink-haired bimbo found offensive.

"Since when did you grow a brain?"

Erika scoffed when she heard this before speaking her mind on the matter.

"I'm going to pretend you didn't say that...."

---

While Erika and Ayumi prepared a snack for their man, Erich himself was looking over the information in his neurolink. Tia had granted him access to the entire Alfheim database, and because of this, he was essentially able to see all the information that she could see. Including the horrific state the Ghimderi Trade Union now found itself in.

Over half of the Ghimderi Cartels had collapsed as a result of Tia's actions, thoroughly putting their plans to destroy the Germanic Star-Empire on the back foot. In the meantime, the remaining cartels to cannibalize the assets of their fallen competitors.

And while the Godlentooth Cartel came out the strongest out of these groups, the damage to their reputation was at an all-time low, with Bixel's daughter becoming pregnant with an alien child. Meanwhile, the border conflict between the Alfheim Dominion, and the Svartalfheim Federation, was still ongoing.

Neither side wished to use overt military tactics after the disaster that was the WRAITHs attempt to establish a foothold within the contested sectors. Especially since it almost ended in a galactic war. Something which was blamed upon the "conspiracy" of the Sages. Despite it being the Federation itself who plotted such a thing.

And thus the Dominion had resorted to arming and supplying terrorist groups to attack the Federation officials who resided or visited the contested systems. Something which they wholeheartedly denied.

To Erich, it appeared as if the galaxy kept on churning around him while he sought out the Sages, who had turned one of his own comrades against him in an attempt to end his life. While he should be relaxing, he was instead focused on work. Or at least observing its progress.

With this in mind, he was quick to ask Tia how long it would take to fully outfit the Orc Clans for the purpose of war.

"Tia, what's the ETA on the Horde's new gear?"

Tia sighed heavily before informing her master about the ongoing process of what she called an exhausting exercise.

"Master should be patient. Tia is creating several dreadnought class vessels from scratch, and equipping them with the latest of technology. Even with a fully automated workforce which is superior to organic life in every way, and an entire planet of industry dedicated to the construction of these vessels. We are looking at a timeframe of at least a year before the new fleet is constructed for the Horde.

Although Master should be happy to know that Tia has also designed a class of frigates and destroyers to escort these dreadnought class clan ships. Unfortunately, teaching Orcs naval tactics has proven to be more troublesome than Tia had initially expected.

Perhaps it would be best if Master recruited a bunch of Germanic men to breed with the Orcish women of your Horde. That way, your horde would have a caste of officers and NCOs who can keep the riffraff in line with their superior intelligence."

Erich scoffed at the idea before lecturing Tia about the nature of his people.

"Please, Tia, you know how my people are towards aliens. I doubt you could find a thousand of such men who would be willing to accept such a role."

However, Tia responded to Erich in a smug tone, as if she knew something the man didn't, which she was quick to elaborate on.

"Actually Master, Tia has found a million of such men, mostly former Star Marines, Storm Commandos, and WRAITHs who not only find Orcish women attractive, but would be more than willing to fulfill the role of a breeder.

You would be surprised how popular Germanic Male and Alien Female porn has become after Lunaria first began filming such videos with Tinkette. But there was indeed a noticeable increase in its popularity among citizens of the Empire after your marriage to Ayumi."

Erich looked at Tia's holographic projection with shock on his face before asking for confirmation of what she had just said.

"Hold on? Are you saying there are a million former Star Marines who want to have a harem of Orcish women?"

Tia responded to Erich's claims with a snarky tone in her voice.

"Oh, there are far more than a million master, but since we are breeding a caste of elite, and more intelligent Half-Orcs to rule over the rest, and establish a proper military structure, Tia has selected only the most genetically gifted candidates both in terms of strength, and intelligence. So yes, it is roughly one million retired officers from the Star Marines, Storm Commandos, and WRAITHs."

Erich was stunned by this information, but since Tia had confirmed it, he had no reason to not believe it. Thus, he nodded his head before confirming that Tia should begin the "breeding program" immediately.

"Alright, if you can manage to do so, fly out these men to the Horde, and settle them onboard the current vessels. They can begin their new lives as breeders if that is what they truly desire." historical

Tia nodded her head and confirmed that she had already begun the process with a wide smile on her adorable little face.

"Tia has already begun the process. In ten years, the Master will have an army greater than any other in the galaxy. Though the numbers may be significantly smaller than the galactic powers, your standard infantry unit will be the equivalent of a W-7. Although without the stealth or flight capabilities."

This news made Erich incredibly happy, after all, soon he would have to contend with Emrys and the Germanic Star-Empire if he wanted to claim his rightful place as the Supreme Leader, and to do this he would need a fleet, and an Army that was either equal in numbers, or superior in strength.

And since the Germanic Military numbered in the trillions, Erich figured overwhelming strength was the way to go.