The emperor stepped back toward Theo, his gaze briefly eting with the baron’s. He chuckled softly, seeing the baron’s prideful grin.
He clapped once more. This ti, the robed man brought out a different kind of material.
Theo noticed it imdiately as the familiar noises of the orb cracking had finally stopped.
The mantis had its eyes locked on the object the robed man was carrying toward it.
’Mantis, DON’T ATTACK YET,’ Theo commanded quickly, peering inside the mantis’s bond only to realize that it was coiled and ready to pounce at any mont.
Theo repeated the command again and again, silently praying to any god listening that the mantis wouldn’t attack the poor robed man.
Fortunately, the robed man placed the triangular piece of material carefully on the side of the table before stepping back.
Just when the robed man was out of its range, Theo saw the mantis turn into a white blur once again, but this ti, it wasn’t silent.
A sharp, shrieking ’CLANG’ rang through the chamber.
When Theo refocused, he realized that the mantis was standing there, one of its forelegs embedded deep into the material.
"Can I go close to it, Your Majesty?" Theo asked, his eyes still fixed on the material and the mantis.
"I will join you."
They both stepped forward.
When Theo saw just how deeply and cleanly the mantis had cut into the material, his eyes flashed with satisfaction.
"A little less than half... but more than a quarter remains," the emperor said aloud.
"Young Theo," he called out, making Theo turn to him respectfully.
"Your Bloodbloom Mantis is at the level of a Level 11 aggressive attack-beast..." the emperor declared, his voice distant yet loud enough for everyone to hear.
"The evaluation has been more than fruitful." He concluded aloud, making Theo nod deeply.
On the side, the robed man carefully recorded what he had witnessed during the evaluation. Once he was done, he bowed slightly toward the emperor and then stepped away.
"Now, let’s begin with your second beast," the emperor said and clapped.
A mont later, another similarly looking robed man stepped forward, holding the sa coloured orb as the first one.
But as he approached, he glanced back, and two more robed individuals joined him.
Theo noticed them trying to take what was on the mantis’s plate, and panic surged through him.
"STOP!"
The shout echoed across the chamber.
The mont he shouted, the emperor turned toward him in surprise, and the robed n froze, their gazes snapping in Theo’s direction.
Tension instantly filled the vast chamber, but when the emperor casually lifted his hand in the air, the oppressive pressure in the air faded back to normal.
"My apologies, Your Majesty," Theo said quickly, bowing deeply. "I only shouted because I sensed danger toward these robed individuals."
"My beast isn’t completely tad yet, and since they tried to take sothing it now considers its ’food,’ it might have attacked them on instinct." Theo explained while maintaining a deep bow.
The emperor studied him for a mont before letting out a faint sigh, a small smile forming on his lips.
"Be at ease, Young Theo," the emperor said calmly. "You did nothing wrong. And didn’t I tell you?"
"A national asset doesn’t need to apologize when there is no need for it. I guess, I would prefer you learn that from your father, Young Theo," the emperor smiled.
Theo straightened his back and t his gaze, nodding with a faint smile as he took a silent, steady breath.
’I guess I will have to get used to this ’national asset’ situation... my position in the hierarchy has changed quite a lot...’ Theo thought.
Before he could sink into deeper thought like usual, he stopped himself and turned toward the mantis instead.
He moved forward and pulled the mantis away from the orbs. The creature clung stubbornly to half of it, holding onto it for dear life.
When Theo returned to the emperor’s side, the mantis was still in his hand, casually munching on the orb like it was nothing.
"Your Majesty, my second beast is an ant queen, and if I am being honest with you, they aren’t yet very strong."
"Nor do I know of a good way to use them at the mont."
"I see," the emperor murmured, thinking for a mont before shifting his gaze to the transparent glass container filled with ants.
"They are in quite the number... but given their small size, I believe they are not yet very capable."
"But your 1st beast and the lesser aura you currently possess seem enough strength for now, Young Theo. I would recomnd focusing on them rather than diversifying your strength among so many smaller ones..." he muttered, his eyes never leaving the glass container.
Theo didn’t like what he said, not even the slightest, but he had no choice but to accept.
’It’s not like he is biased against insects... he did praise the mantis. And it’s my fault that the ants are still so small. I need to start focusing on them.’
"However," the emperor continued, "we will still need to record each of the newer ants you have brought here, along with your 1st beast. If they are already registered, good. If not, we will need to do that now."
Theo had no objections. He stepped past the glass wall and to the glass container where the ants were before bringing it inside.
The emperor clapped a few tis once again, and five red-robed individuals stepped forward, stopping a few steps away with parchnt and quills in their hands.
"Make sure you record every ant properly," the emperor instructed.
The robed n bowed deeply in agreent.
"If you don’t mind, Your Majesty," Theo offered, "I can have one ant from each group step forward. That way, it would beco easier to record them."
The emperor glanced at him, then at the robed n, who nodded in approval.
"Alright, you can do that."
Theo nodded and sent a command to the ant queen.
The next mont, ants began hopping out of the container. They marched forward and arranged themselves into a perfect line, standing in formation.
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