The group traveled for a couple of weeks, but the travel time back to the Empire wasn't as long as their travel to the invasion. A couple of level three Lords had died in the invasion, while the remainder became level four Lords due to the manta ray's corpse. Because of that, everyone could travel faster.
Surprisingly, the group didn't stop even once during the travel. The small cat had said that she would inform the Kingdoms on their path back, but apparently, it was enough to do that in passing. Kings had a far greater reach with their sense than Gravis. Even with their speed, the cat probably had enough time to inform the relevant Kings.
The fact that a lot of Kings started moving around quickly as soon as they passed a Kingdom also showed that the cat had already informed them. All those Kings were probably preparing to set off. No one knew how the sea beasts would react to one of their defensive lines collapsing. However, one thing was true: A bloody battle between the two camps was imminent.
After some weeks, the group finally arrived at the borders of the Icy Pride Empire. As soon as they arrived, the cat stopped for the first time and turned to the beasts. "Alright, we're back. Everyone, go back to your relevant commanders and tell them of your accomplishments. I will inform one of the elders about what has transpired."
The beasts released a collective sigh. They all wanted to become more powerful and had fought wildly in the invasion, but they also wanted to rest in their homes. Finally, they were back home!
All the beasts scattered in all directions while the cat shot off into the distance with much more speed than before. Now, she didn't have to throttle her speed anymore, and in nearly no time at all, she left all the beasts behind.
Gravis remained hovering at the borders of the Icy Pride Empire and narrowed his eyes. On the way back, he had had plenty of time to decide his next course of action. For that, he needed to go to the Empress. Gravis only hoped that she would agree to his offer.
After some seconds, Gravis also shot into the distance, right towards the Mountain of Pride. Of course, the Empire was still absolutely gigantic, and it took him quite some time to get to the Mountain of Pride.
Yet, even before he reached the Mountain of Pride, he received a voice transmission. "Gravis, come to the Mountain of Pride," the voice of the Grand Elder resonated inside Gravis' mind.
"I was planning on going there anyway," Gravis simply commented as he continued flying.
Some minutes later, Gravis arrived at the Mountain of Pride. The white ape was already waiting for him at its foot. "Come, the Empress wants to see you," he said, "and, by the way, you're welcome."
Gravis furrowed his brows. "What do you mean?" he asked.
The white ape smiled calmly. "I've sent the badger to the defensive line south of yours, just in case. I didn't want the possibility of a traitor to be your downfall. Yet, who would have expected that there actually was a traitor there? I sure didn't," the Grand Elder commented.
"Huh?" Gravis asked. Then he remembered the badger. "Oh, right! That badger!"
"Yes," the Grand Elder said. "I already knew that as soon as you revealed your power, you would force the sea beasts' defensive line to overextend. The commander of your defensive line is very trustworthy, but the commander of the one south to that wasn't as trustworthy."
Gravis listened to the Grand Elder as he continued explaining with a calm smile on his face. "The badger has also given instructions to your defensive line and told them about my worries and suspicions. That's why their commander has always been close to your group during the invasion."
Then, the white ape chuckled a bit. "Of course, they wouldn't have gotten involved as long as the enemies' defensive line didn't get involved themselves. After all, I don't want to stand in the way of your tempering."
Now, all that had happened made much more sense. Gravis had already been surprised when that huge pangolin had revealed himself. The enemy commander should have been just as powerful as the pangolin, and on top of that, they had made a surprise attack. By all intents and purposes, the pangolin shouldn't have been able to arrive there in such a short amount of time.
Gravis sighed. "Thank you, Grand Elder," Gravis said. He didn't like to rely on others, but the Grand Elder had helped him this time. If the old commander of the southern defensive line had still been present, Gravis would be dead right now.
This also explained why that one fire beast had shot him towards the south. That beast probably belonged to the northern defensive line but didn't know that the traitorous commander had already been replaced. As long as Gravis went there and not towards the northern defensive line, he would surely die, at least by the fire beast's estimates.
Gravis narrowed his eyes further. 'I have underestimated the beasts,' Gravis thought. 'I've trusted in their inherent directness and honesty and failed to take the outliers into account. Such schemers are many times rarer among beasts than humans, but there are still some of them. I've been careless.'
The Grand Elder and Gravis quickly reached the top of the Mountain of Pride. Gravis landed in the middle of the Mountain of Pride's peak and looked at the Empress, who was still sitting on her throne, bored as usual.
Now that Gravis had seen so many Kings unveil their bodies' true size, Gravis also wondered how big the Empress' true body was. How gigantic would she be if she unleashed all her power?
"Welcome back, Gravis," the Empress said calmly. "You've done a great service for all land beasts. Tell me, what reward do you desire?"
"I get a reward?" Gravis asked with skepticism. The tempering and food had already been reward enough, in his opinion.
The Empress chuckled a bit. Normally, she would never do that in front of another beast, but there was no sense in acting mysterious and prideful in front of Gravis. She had already shown her true self to him anyway.
"Of course there is a reward. The movement of a defensive line is a momentous occasion. Winning an invasion only gives us a temporary outpost to gather more intel about the enemy. But, if the defensive line moves, we get that territory permanently, or as close to permanently as you can get," the Empress explained.
'Well, this is quite convenient,' Gravis thought.
"Actually, I already have something in mind," Gravis said.
"Good, then tell me," the Empress answered. The white ape had walked over to her by now and stood beside her throne, also looking at Gravis.
Any Lord or King would feel incredibly nervous in Gravis' position. Two Emperors were looking at him with no one else present. Of course, Gravis didn't feel that way. The Empress and the white ape were not his enemies, after all.
"I want to stay inside the Law Comprehension Area for Punishment Lightning until I become a King," Gravis said.
The Empress and the white ape were a bit surprised when they heard that.