Chapter 1368 Mercenary [1]
The deal was simple.
Damien Void would be an exclusive mercenary for Yulia Veritas for 5 years and follow her command. In return, she would guarantee the Veritas Clan's support in Void Palace's endeavors.
It was an odd deal on paper.
What Damien suggested was a deal that would result in the Veritas Clan's support, but he didn't know what they wanted, since he didn't have any sort of deep relationship with Yulia or anyone else from their influence.
Yulia herself was the one who suggested the five-year mercenary side of the deal.
She didn't specify exactly what she wanted him to do in that time, but because it was a negligible condition for the rewards it would beget, Damien was clear on the fact that he would be worked like a slave for 5 years doing things he couldn't even imagine.
Still, he signed off on the deal, and with the Heavenly Order as witness, it became something inviolable.
Through this, Damien also managed to learn that Yulia was someone with enough say in the clan to guarantee support with her promise.
The two of them parted ways after making their agreement and exchanging information so they could contact each other.
Damien had one month before he would be given his first task.
That was one month he could use to set up a foundation for himself.
'It's time to visit the Sapientia Clan.'
They were another important step in his plan.
No matter how strong or influential the Veritas Clan was, and no matter how loyal the Sapientia Clan was to them, he couldn't guarantee their support just because he had a deal with Yulia.
He needed to form a separate relationship with the Sapientia Clan. Why? Because they were people who controlled information better than most other forces in the entire Heavenly World.
Only the Kyushu Federation had an information network better than theirs, and since they didn't move for anything other than profit, Damien wasn't interested in working with them quite yet.
He didn't have enough to bring to the table, after all.
What did he have to bring to the Sapientia Clan, then?
The answer was still nothing.
Damien was just a baby in the Heavenly World. Unlike the lower universe where he had plenty of time to become something before he got involved in the larger scheme of things, he immediately jumped into muddy waters the second he arrived here.
When facing influences large enough to control billions, trillions, or even more existences with a single word, he couldn't just say "I'm strong, so form a relationship with me," and get it over with.
Not yet, at least.
But at least he had a point of connection with the Sapientia Clan.
He had a relationship with Yulia Veritas. Even if that was something they formed outside the public eye, there was no way the Sapientia Clan didn't know of it.
Yulia already raised his value, and the Norn Family did the same. His power was mysterious enough to outstrip everyone on the expedition party that went to save Asher Norn, and he had the ability to travel faster than any single practitioner anywhere near his power level.
These facts gave the Sapientia Clan a reason to pay attention to him, so when he arrived on their doorstep for the meeting they'd arranged beforehand, they welcomed him with open arms.
He was taken into a small eastern-style abode and served tea as he waited for a representative to meet him.
When they finally came, the conversation started easily.
The goal was another deal.
Damien wanted the Sapientia Clan's information network for himself. He wanted access to what they knew, and he wanted the privilege of moving their forces to find out things he wanted to know, both within the Eastern Region and without.
As for what they asked from him in return..?
"Information."
The representative was a woman with strange cloud-like eyebrows and eyes that remained closed regardless of anything else. She was mysterious and dressed like an ancient scholar, but spoke in an approachable tone that was off-putting considering everything else about her.
What she requested was information Damien had that the Sapientia Clan didn't.
It wasn't what he expected.
'The Sapientia Clan is tied to the concept of "wisdom." They don't just gather information, but have an obsession with it, because they believe information is the foundation of wisdom. Even if said information is useless to them, they still want to possess it to deepen their foundation. It was this belief that allowed them to become what they are today.'
To gain knowledge from them, one had to give knowledge to them. It was a completely equivalent exchange.
And if it was information they didn't know, Damien had plenty of it.
After all, there was no way for a Heavenly World clan to spread their influence into the lower universe.
Damien had a wealth of knowledge they couldn't fathom, and thus, no matter what he wanted from them, he could get it.
'This is more convenient than I could've hoped for.'
Ascension was a rare phenomenon.
People didn't just reach the Demigod rank willy-nilly. There were definitely people who came to the Heavenly World and used this same method to gain standing in the past, but none of them knew what he did.
Because Damien possessed all the knowledge of the lower universe.
In totality.
"How much do you know about the lower universe?"
He asked so he could gauge what to share and what could be avoided. He could also use this to learn how much different pieces of information about the lower universe were worth.
The Sapientia Clan knew about the Nox, the different sectors and their dominant races, the power structure and clans, and a lot more general information.
However, aside from facts about specific sects and races that were gathered from other Ascenders, they didn't have much detailed knowledge.
Damien could provide them exactly that, and more than anything else, he could tell them the secrets of the Nox and the Abyss that nobody else knew.
Especially information about the Nox Race's connection with the Foreign Races.
'That's probably worth more than everything else combined since it actually has a place in the Heavenly World. I could tell them now, but I should save that for later.'
There was a part of him that wanted to make it public knowledge for the sake of the greater good, but he couldn't be so kind right now.
Cooperation was more important. He could personally spread that news when the time came:
To gain what he needed, Damien started with Grand Heavens Boundary itself.
The Dimensional Leaderboard, the war that collapsed sector after sector, and a few tidbits about the Nox that heavily implied the wealth of knowledge Damien was withholding.
The Sapientia Clan representative noted down everything he said on a jade slip as he spoke, her expression remaining still as always.
But the wiggling of her eyelids as she tried to keep them closed made it obvious she was surprised.
"I will consult with the council, but this exchange should grant you high clearance," she said when he finished.
It was a short business interaction, and they only said what needed to be said, but it was enough.
The representative left and Damien waited for her return. historical
'Okay.'
He was calm.
He was calm.
He was remaining calm.
But it was difficult.
He wanted to be done with all of this. He wanted to move, get stronger, and reach a point where none of this was necessary anymore.
He missed it a lot.
He didn't realize how much he'd miss it until it was gone.
But he understood them now.
Standing at the peak was amazing. The convenience was hard to let go of once it was experienced, so even if it came at the cost of wasted talent and potential, he understood why those lower universe Demigods refused ascension.
However, he was already here.
He had to go through this.
Because only after going through these steps could he get back to that place where he wanted to stand.
'It's annoying.'
It was incredibly annoying.
Still, he did it without fail.
And as his cooperation with the Sapientia Clan was eventually established, he left them with a task and went on his own way to train.
29 more days passed after that.
And finally, Damien's communication device rang.
The person who called?
Naturally, it was Yulia Veritas.