The Empyreal Gem Master

Past the walls of the City of Anan.

The sheer aura of power radiating from Beast, Lord Vishpala was pressing down on all of the Beasts of Corruption within her army as every single one bent their head in terror

Alongside this show of power, the golden light radiating from Alexander had gone ahead to bind two Peacock Beast Commanders and another Orc Commander.

After the terrifying boons of the Gem Constellation, Endless Glacial Dream- the number of minions under Alexander had been raised to fourteen.

The induction of Azazel and Claire took two spots, with the first dominated Orc Minion taking the third as Beast Lord Vishpala was the fourth!

Now, adding two Tier 6 Peacocks and another Tier 6 Orc made it so that all 7 slots were taken!

"OOOH!"

A roar came from the second Orc Commander to be made a Minion as the same profound changes occurred within him and the Peacocks, their power stretching upwards and approaching the level of a Beast Lord with surety.

Their Vigor and Energeia Values would even come to exceed Beast Lords as they were much higher than the values that Beast Lord Vishpala had before her transformation!

But where was she now?

As many thoughts and calculations flashed in his mind, Alexander glanced at Beast Lord Vishpala- his Enneagram spinning calmly as her life force was analyzed.

[Tier 7 Peacock Beast Lord- Vishpala]:: 7 Gem Sockets with a Main Ability relating to the rare element of Space.

[Vigor]:: 38,581/38,581 > 179,652 (+898,260 Glacial Armor of the Deep)

[Energeia]:: 38,333/38,339 > 178,991

"..."

The values of Vishpala alone were utterly unreal.

They were over ten times greater than even Alexander's own values of Vigor and Energeia as of course, his already rapidly rising Values were no match for entities who had been alive for much longer than him and enjoyed the boons of their Gems much more.

But observing her values and the values of the Tier 6 Minions he was currently gaining made him look at two things.

One was the fact that for his next Gem Recipe, he had to find one that bolstered his own levels of Vigor and Energeia as if he wasn't under the protection of Vishpala or any of the other Minions, a Beast of the same caliber as them could theoretically smash him to pulp with a single slap.

Emptying out his few thousand Values in Vigor and even the Armor of the Deep that granted a bit less than 20,000 values of defense to him currently could be done with but a single attack from a powerful Tier 7 or Tier 7 Beast!

He, as the master of terrifying Minions with life force values exceeding the 100,000 mark could not be so flimsy himself.

Of course, the fact that he could move as fast as a millionth of the speed of light due to the second Gem Constellation, the Light of the Void, meant that his reactions should greatly exceed the enemies who came after him.

But why not be even more careful to preserve his life?

The other point he had arrived at as he looked at the values of Beast Lord Vishpala and others…was his old Minions.

They were Tier 4 Beasts when he bound them.

Their values were in the few thousand as even though the multiplier from his Minion King Gem Recipe was terrifying, what they could bring from it was limited.

For the strongest Minions, Alexander would have to replace these initial Beasts that actually paved his path forward!

An action that could be considered cruel.

But under the now analytical mind brought forth due to Meta Comprehension, following this path was only natural to further increase his strength.

The Flame Crows, Lightning Sparrow, Golden Flame Lion…they would likely have to be replaced as his Minions in the coming future to make way for even stronger Beasts that had a high initial start point of Vigor and Energeia values.

Only then would terrifying minions continue to be born.

Even now, he had four Beast Minions equivalent to powerful Beast Lords and Vishpala, who should be more than powerful enough to rival a Tier 8 Beast King!

This wasn't to mention Azazel and Claire who could both fight against a Beast Lord.

Gradually, a small army of Beast Lords was forming around Alexander.

As their Master, he naturally could not be the weakest one as at this moment, he looked down at the army of Beasts below who were suppressed by the sheer pressure of Vishpala alone.

They didn't have too much time as they had to move fast.

So…

"Take down all Tier 4 and Tier 5 Elven Beasts and bring me their Ascendant Life Gems."

…!

Beginning Tier 4 and higher, one would have Ascendant Life Gems that accumulate life force.

One could use these to raise their Vigor and Energeia ever higher, and Alexander could even use them to complete the assimilation of Gem Recipes within his Enneagram!

Naturally, they had to be obtained en masse as this was another path to elevating his own values.

The hearts of his Beast Minions clenched at the command, but the Orc Minions moved the fastest as the crimson wings behind them flapped, their hands clenched as the blue and red tendrils of lightning formed into chains that they grasped and flung towards the subdued Elven Armies!

The chains were like scorching beams from hell that scorched anything they touched, Elven Beasts beginning to be razed down en masse as roars and agonizing yells boomed out.

Azazel and Claire moved to do the same as well- Azazel especially as he had been a Gem Master for decades.

He had seen friends die to Beasts again and again.

He knew how entire City Fortresses were overrun and millions killed over the years.

He held absolutely no sympathy for them as he crackled with lightning and used his own body to fly across the battlefield like a bomb that pulverized the Elven Beasts he came across!

It was bloody.

It was devastating.

It was….

"War…"

Alexander said this single word as he didn't turn his eyes away from it.

He commanded it. He would not turn away from it!