Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

For three days which amounted to thirty inside the Harem space, Hal and Melinda frolicked without care of what happened outside of the room they were in.

It truly was a marathon, one in which the two only indulged in each other\'s bodies with Melinda making full use of the piece of the Primal fruit Hal had ingested while the effects he felt were minimal.

He had been unable to use the energy from that piece to advance to the Cosmic Aurora realm (which, let\'s face is good to curb his unending greed as he only just advanced to the Peak stage of the Cosmic Phenomenon realm) while Melinda had advanced to the Peak stage of the Cosmic Phenomenon realm.

Now matching his cultivation.

But that was hardly the main surprise of their little time together.

You see, during the brief breaks the two took, breaks that usually stretched for hours as they refined the essence gained from their intercourse before getting back at it, Hal shared the Fire crystal with Melinda.

From the moment she saw it, Melinda\'s eyes were glued to it and she went on to devote hours to it after which she successfully comprehended the Ordinance of fire.

At the time, Hal did not know how to react..

He was frozen for a few seconds and Melinda looked over at him with an apologetic expression as he had already explained to her prior as to how he had been unable to comprehend the Ordinance of fire.

"What\'s with that face?" Hal asked her with a chuckle.

Not because the situation was particularly enjoyable to him but because her expression was funny.

She seemed worried that he would take it hard but Hal did not see it as a blow to his talent.

It wasn\'t that he had not tried his best to comprehend it because he had. There was just something preventing him from succeeding, something he had a strong feeling was related to his \'connection with Order\'.

He was sure Grimoire knew why but just did not wish to share it.

Melinda transitioned to a pout and Hal shook his head, 

"Are you expecting me to be upset at your advancement? When your success is ultimately my success? How narrow-minded did you think I am?" He said before stroking her hair.

Melinda cracked a smile, 

"You\'re right. I was being stupid." She said and with a clench of her fist, she ignited them with her newly gained insight into the Ordinance of fire.

However, unlike Red Beard whose flames had been red like his hair, Melinda\'s flames were white like her Cosmic Armament. 

Hal did not doubt that she would be more dangerous with the Ordinance than Red beard ever was.

For one thing, she actually knew what she had.

"This might actually prove helpful to you sooner than you think" Melinda said.

"In what way?" Hal asked with a raised brow.

Melinda shrugged, 

"I joined the military. Not the way I would have liked but I joined nonetheless. And with my further advancement to the Peak stage of the Cosmic Phenomenon realm, there is the possibility that I will get to join you"

"Really?"

Melinda nodded, 

"Really. If there is a need for reinforcements on the battlefield, the squads of my barrack could be deployed and I could very well be one of those picked as part of the reinforcements."

"And how is the whole military thing going?" Hal asked now tracing circles on her naked, perky breasts.

"It\'s going well." She said in a short answer which Hal knew interpreted as \'I have oppositions but I am enjoying putting them down\'

"That\'s my girl" he grinned and kissed her to announce the end of their break.

...

On the last day they spent in the Harem space, Melinda presented Hal with the Artifact she had gotten for him at the Paladin Trade union Auction.

It was an impressive broadsword with Rune markings on it. The Broadsword had a silver hilt and a gold handle.

Needless to say, Hal loved it.

What better weapon to slaughter with than such a wonderful broadsword?

"It\'s a low-tier Aurora grade Artifact. I decided to get an Aurora grade artifact cause I felt you would surpass a Phenomenon grade soon enough." She said.

Hal did not ask what her intentions for getting him the sword was, as he felt that was insulting to the gesture.

"How much did it cost?"

"250000 Blue gems" Melinda said with a grin.

Hal\'s eyes widened, 

"Wow"

That was way above what he had paid for the Phenomenon grade Fan he had gotten for her at the Auction in Black lagoon.

"It was a high profile Auction so the price shot up quickly. Seeing as it\'s a weapon type Artifact, the starting bud was 100000 Blue gems. A group from the Silva Family really fought me for it. Do you like it?"

"I love it" Hal said with a smile.

In terms of something he could use in public without raising eyebrows, this Artifact was exactly what he needed.

Melinda smiled, 

"I\'m glad. And just so you know, \'They\' paid for it" she told him and Hal knew the \'They\' she referred to was her family.

Those who must not be named as family.

"I had it listed as a personal expense which was long overdue" Melinda said.

"I assume your father would be quite upset to see me use it" Hal said with a chuckle.

Melinda nodded, 

"All the more reason for you to use it" she said as she put on her clothes in preparation for their return to the outside world.

...

Devon Dane called Hal to his study the day after Hal and Melinda exited the Harem space but the discussion itself was short. 

Devon went straight to the point by appointing Hal to the Platoon he would be going to war with.

He was instructed to follow every instruction given by his lieutenant and as Hal took this to mean he was likely not to be in the company of this father-in-law of his for long stretches of time at the battlefield, he accepted the instructions with joy.

At the end of it all, when he was turning around to walk out of the study, glad that Devon had not made mention of his parentage, the Dane called out to him in a low sneering tone of voice,

"A Doxon huh, it\'s no wonder I don\'t like you" he said before returning his attention to reports on his desk.

Hal smiled to himself but left the study without another word.

He planned to meet Lucile before he left for war but the busty head of the Paladin Trade Union was away from the Capital on business.

  "Oh well, I\'ll see her when I get back" Hal said with a shrug.

Little did he know, his return would not be as swift as he had expected...

...

Two Months Later...

Sapphire City...

As the Council had decided, so had they done.

They refused to pay tribute to the Barony and used the opportunity to announce independence.

First, the Baron attempted Diplomacy which was a fancy way of saying he sent his messengers to Sapphire city to threaten the council.

The council in turn decided to kill one messenger and have the second return with the news.

Thereby announcing that they would not take kindly to threats.

However, it was not all their decision.

They would have probably been ready to simply send the messengers back with a solid \'no\' but the Priestess of the Sapphirine Prince\'s cult took the decisions out of their hands.

Selina Krast claimed she had been communing with the Sapphirine Prince and he had proclaimed they proceed with their plans of independence from the Barony with extreme prejudice.

They were not to pull any punches.

The Prime council members were ready to dismiss this as another one of her propaganda in an attempt to further push the idea of the Cult\'s legitimacy but they could not do so when they saw she had the full support of the Emissaries and Blood Knights.

They ( the Emissaries and Blood Knights) claimed that while the Prince had not spoken to them as he had done with Selina, they knew the instructions to truly be from him.

This left the Council with no other choice as it was a well-known fact that they had no power over Hal\'s forces. Only Hal could direct them.

And it would seem, in his absence, they were now rallying behind Selina. 

Anyway,

Now, Sapphire city was at war.

At war with the Barony.

Things really got serious when the Baron requested help from all cities under his command. He had no intentions of underestimating a city that actually had the guts to challenge him.

As the Council as well as their fighting force faced the force the Baron had brought to their city grounds to force their surrender, they could not help but turn to Selina who was leading the Blood Knights along with their lieutenants, only to see her smiling.

She did not look the slightest bit worried.

Like she had a trick up the sleeves of her voluminous Priestess robes.

Then Baron Aaro said in a loud booming voice made that way due to the imbuing of cosmic energy,

"It\'s not too late. You can let go of this foolishness now and no one has to die. Because if you insist on this path, there will be many deaths... Many deaths indeed but I will still be victorious." 

\'Fuck you\' Ford thought and smiled as he made to speak but a sneering Selina beat him to it, 

"Oh, there will be many deaths all right. I can absolutely guarantee it" she said with a grin and suddenly multiple figures shrouded in dark fog emerged from either side of the Baron\'s forces and before the war could truly get started, the Emissaries were already performing multiple, successful surprise attacks.