It was already afternoon when Michael returned to the territory.
The Summoning Gate in the Gogi Lord's territory had been completely dismantled, and everything had been stored inside his War Rune.
Now that he was back in his territory, Michael removed the Summoning Gate's parts and stored them in the warehouse.
Afterward, he retrieved the Summoning Core and approached his Summoning Gate.
"Can I add another Summoning Core already, or do I have to upgrade it first?" Michael mumbled to himself when he sensed something.
A suctioning force tugged at the Summoning Core in his hands. Michael's eyes widened but he kept holding the core tightly.
The suctioning force grew intense as he approached the Summoning Gate. Understanding dawned upon Michael, and he began to circle the Summoning Gate.
A few subjects stared at their Lord in wonder. They could tell that their Lord was exhausted after spending most of the day outside the territory, yet Michael seemed overjoyed and excited. Seeing the excitement on their Lord's face calmed their worried hearts.
In less than two days the protection barrier would disperse. After that, nobody would be able to protect them if a powerful monster or a horde of hundreds of monsters was to attack them. The chances were slim, but something bad could happen, and the subjects kept thinking about that.
Despite their worries, their Lord seemed quite calm. He had been the most worried of them all in the past, but somehow, he had now turned into the calmest one. This was a welcome change
There had to be a reason behind their Lord's calmness, and though they did not know the reason, it infused them with renewed confidence and hope.
Meanwhile, Michael was oblivious to the effect he had on the people around him. He was fully focused on the Summoning Gate in front of him.
At first, he thought that he would have to experiment a lot to configure the Summoning Gate and to add a new Summoning Core, but that was not the case.
A hatch on the metal foundation of the Summoning Gate opened, revealing several small sockets, and the Summoning Core of his Summoning Gate. Michael stepped closer to take a better look at the sockets and his territory's Summoning Core when he noticed two things.
First, the suctioning force had grown much stronger, pulling the Summoning Core to the socket right next to the other Summoning Core.
Second, the Summoning Core installed in the Summoning Gate was filled with impurities. It had even far more black dots than the Summoning Core of the Gogi Lord's territory.
He didn't think too long and bent down to take a better look at the Summoning Core. A second later, golden streams conjured in his palm.
Michael began to extract the impurities from the already-installed Summoning Core.
Since the Summoning Gate was going wild to pull the purified Summoning Core inside the hatch, Michael might as well purify the other Summoning Core.
He added the purified Core and put it on the socket next to his Summoning Core while continuing to extract as many impurities as possible.
Michael collected the impurities inside his War Rune to remove them later. He didn't plan to turn his Summoning Gate into a reeking piece of metal.
When he was done, Michael removed his hand. The hatch closed the next instance, leaving Michael with nothing but a black mass of impurities.
The Summoning Core he acquired in the Gogi Lord's territory was inside his Summoning Gate, but he couldn't open the hatch to look at it. It was as if the Summoning Gate didn't want him to fool around in the hatch and make a mess out of it.
He was just about to get up when he heard Tiara's excited voice.
"Master, look! Your Summoning Gate activated itself!"
'Huh?'
Michael looked up, just to see that one star lit up when two men emerged from the Summoning Gate's energy pool.
'Why did two 1-Star Summons appear?'
He was a little confused, but upon staring at the two well-trained men, who wore a full metal armor, and wielded a longsword and a metal shield, Michael could hardly complain.
Two Knights in training just appeared in front of him, just like that!
He was dumbfounded but quickly regained his senses.
"My name is Michael Fang, and it looks like I'm your new Lord…" Michael introduced himself shortly when he sensed that two new Links of Loyalty had been formed.
Their Links of Loyalty were stronger than those of the others, and they were both 1-Star Summons, which were well-equipped. Was that a gift?
"How did you come here?" Tiara asked the question Michael wished to know the answer to as well.
Tiara was excited but she was also a little suspicious. She had been eyeing Michael from a distance since he returned to his territory and knew that he had not broken the seals of some Summoning Scrolls.
"Didn't my Lord summon us?" One of the Knights asked. He seemed confused as he looked over at Michael. He kneeled in front of his Lord, put down the shield, and handed Michael his sword.
"I, Herald Levian, pledge my loyalty, bravery, and honor to defend the weak, protect the innocent, and uphold justice. I do solemnly swear to uphold the virtues of chivalry and faithfully serve my liege, my kingdom, and the code of knighthood. I shall be the sword led by my liege and master!
May all the Gods be my witness and grant me strength to fulfill this oath until I take my last breath!" Herald Levian pledged in front of everyone.
The other Knight in training followed his companion's example and knelt. He removed his shield and held his longsword out for Michael to grasp.
"I, Siegfried Sertan, pledge my loyalty, bravery, and honor to defend the weak, protect the innocent, and uphold justice. I do solemnly swear to uphold the virtues of chivalry and faithfully serve my liege, my kingdom, and the code of knighthood. I shall be the sword led by my liege and master!
May all the Gods be my witness and grant me strength to fulfill this oath until I take my last breath!" Siegfried pledged while impatiently waiting for Michael to take his sword and accept his oath.
Herald Levian seemed a bit more patient than Sertan, but even he was confused why their liege had not moved forward yet to take his sword. However, he didn't dare look up.
Michael stared blankly at the two Knights in training. He tilted his head after a while and looked over to Tiara, who merely smiled.
She motioned him to take the swords, which Michael did after a moment of hesitation.
'Did they appear because I added another Summoning Core, or because I purified them?'
He was not certain if that was the reason, but it seemed the most likely. He took a look at the Knights' longsword and thought about it for a moment before he returned them.
"As the protectors of the weak, and my swords, you shall not be unarmed. To heed my commands and protect the weak from the ferocious monsters outside my territory, you will need a weapon. Take back your weapons and prove your dedication and loyalty to me!" Michael announced and motioned them to get back on their feet.
He had never expected to start role-playing, but one look at the bright expressions on the Knights' faces told him that his words had been pleasant enough.
'I wonder if I can summon two 1-Star Summons every day now…' Michael wondered, feeling as if a ray of hope was in sight.
It might have been a coincidence that two 1-Star Summons emerged after he installed the Summoning Core, but Michael hoped for the best-case scenario.
There was nothing else he could do.
After all, he required as much support as possible to survive in the Untamed Jungle!