After the last dredges of locust got burned out, the Xi family and their Ardent guest had a small feast to celebrate the victory and recover, aboard Anaconda One.

Pef went to hug his uncles, glad to see them again, and patted Deng on his back. "Thanks for your fast arrival, old man. I was sure to die if that beam hit me."

Old Deng cursed something under his breath, annoyed at being treated so familiarly in public.

"Your delicate wife was about to jump in front. You'd have lived, but heartbroken and sad. Take better care of your women, damn idiot!" the Patriarch replied in fake outrage.

Jian blushed and hid behind her tea cup, but Pef suspected the sword master meant Yuan. She would have been close and fast enough to take that evil spell.

Hestia had grudgingly removed her veil to eat and drink, and also hid her scarred face behind her tea cup, a bit awed and impressed with the Xi family and their immense powers. Didn't they ever ran out of qi?

Even the Fire Tyrants kept firing their fire jets and fireballs long after she, as a Sovereign rank, had run out of qi.

The druid Tyrant stayed as close support, slashing and killing whatever higher ranked locusts got close enough to threaten their group, with a large pigeon feather forged into a polearm.

"Lady Hestia, if you were to marry someone, what kind of man would you prefer?" Pef asked in a kind tone, a bit dismayed at the loss of beauty in the world.

The woman blushed, but looked around the nacelle, her eyes flying from Saren to Ventu, then back again.

"I don't know, Lord Pef. If I was the woman from before, perhaps I'd have liked your uncle Saren. He is brave and strong and has defended the world of man for millennia. Like this, I doubt any man would ever look at me..." the Ardent disciple murmured in a sad and sobbing voice.

Saren Xi chuckled a bit honored. "Many thanks, Lady Hestia, but I doubt I'll ever try the harem route, again. I'm not young and horny like my nephews. But as it happens, my brother Ventu could use a partner, and a Fire Sovereign would have true synergy with a Wind user." the Fire Sovereign said as a jab and acknowledgment of the fine work his brother did in amplifying his fire spells.

Pef grinned and laughed amused, turning to see his old and venerable uncle Ventu choke and blush like a teenager.

"Great idea, Saren. Poor Ventu has been alone for 10 thousands years. If the white beard didn't clue us in, his sad face and lusty eyes sure did." he commented, making both of the pair to glance as each other in wonder, and then growl at the shameless intervention.

Ventu rose and walked next to the higher ranked Ardent with a dignified manner. "Lady Hestia, ignore these fools. They joke at our plight, but I have burned too many dead wives to hope for a fairy tale love story.

However, if you would agree, working together as a fireteam would indeed increase our damage, and safeguard humanity better. Saren is not completely stupid, as you have seen, when our spells combined to magnify both our strengths against this locust swarm."

The Ardent hesitated, as Ventu was as renowned and respected as his brother Saren was, and closer to her age. Though he didn't look as manly and vigorous as Saren, he was still a pleasant and powerful warrior, if not yet at Sovereign rank.

In fact his looks made it even clearer the man wasn't a playboy and a womanizer. If he had indeed been single for 10 thousands years, he wasn't after her disfigured body anyway. "Working with you would be a honor, Tyrant Ventu. But I'm afraid my looks will disgust and make you shun me sooner or later." she whispered in her tea cup.

"Nonsense, Lady Ardent. This would be a simple working deal. And when Ventu sweats and works himself for your Blue Meridian pill, your combined powers would increase even more. And in 20 years, your god will restore your looks anyway." Pef interjected with a confident tone, patting the Fire Sovereign's hand, while producing a tiny fire sprite in his other hand.

Ventu glanced at the gloved hand with wise eyes, then frowned at the fire sprite. "Is that really okay, nephew? Seems a strange alliance..."

Pef sighed and sat back down to pour more wine for himself and his wives. "As I said, uncle. Volcanis will take his due, and have his Ardent refine fire qi for 20 years. It's a test of faith and perhaps faithfulness. But in the end, humanity will have to unite anyway, and fight together. Or else, my Monarch wife wouldn't be next to me, right here and now. Remember, the General always wins. Always!" he proclaimed in a certain tone, holding a slightly orange fist up, in a salute towards the heavens.

Hestia looked at the General's prophet with doubtful eyes. But then she remembered he was also a Holy Ignited, like all his fire qi wives. And if he said that Volcanis would restore her body in 20 years...it was nothing. A blink of an eye, compared to her 23 thousand years long life.

Deng Xi observed the proceedings with calculating eyes. The boy was too rash and reckless, even though he had began learning the sword at a decent pace. But he had the bastard glove, and his own neo knife. And with all the allies he was gathering...it wasn't a bad plan.

Just really dangerous. Then again, he had restored a small part of his soul, by forcing him to admit that he cared for that fisherman elder. And now he was stuck with a female apprentice, a fragile and pretty one, much too young and smart for him.

Plus he had to deal with Wixtal, who has crossed into Tyrant rank after ingesting the White Meridian Pill.

That problem still wasn't solved, and the new Tyrant demanded his daughter Remi back.

"How is Major Remi?" he asked, just making sure the young woman was alive.

Pef scratched his cheek, thinking how to answer the obvious trapped question. "Well, my dear sister has reached Emperor rank, just like Wu, her husband. I'll have to help Remi a bit for the next rank, but she'll be a Tyrant by next year for sure."

"And the lovely wives you had with you before, Xie and Lara, and Erin and Pela?" the Patriarch asked in a mild tone.

"Oh! Xie and Lara have made Tyrant rank already. Erin and Pela are only Emperors, so they will take another year, but cultivation is quite hard...as you know..." the young Sovereign explained in a shamed voice, glancing at Lithos and Ventu who were still Tyrants after tens of thousands of years.

The Earth Tyrant poured himself a pitcher of wine and sighed sadly. "I know, young nephew. My new wife barely crossed into Sky rank. I'll give her that White pill, perhaps she'll become an Emperor rank.

Keeping her alive, through the Wall beast waves is quite annoying right now." he complained in a dejected manner.

Pef nodded wisely. He had lost a few Fire disciples at the Phobia siege, simply by being focused on different task or enemy for a second too long.

"Well then, you folks better fly away, wherever. I am kinda eager to meet my other dear wives. And you likely have things to do and monsters to kill." he explained politely, making Deng clench his teeth and curse inward.

"Give us old folks some face sometimes, will you?" he muttered and flashed away in a split-second.

Pef shrugged and glanced at his Monarch wife, who was the eldest person around.

"I should kiss you more, right?" he asked with smiling eyes, and leaned into a kiss.

In a second, the nacelle was empty, the elder Xi uncles and Hestia running away from the egregious lack of face.

Green Blossom, hugged her husband from behind, amused at his antics. His family was kinda stuffy and proper, but her Sovereign was so much fun!

Then a pair of manly hands moved around to support her plump posterior, and to measure it for elasticity and leaks. She sighed and leaned in tighter. It would take her some time to get used at being abused in front of her sisters.

After some half hour of hugs and kisses and manual measurements, Pef and his wives resumed their trek back towards the Saint continent, the Tyrant ranked wives being forced to travel as plush toys in their husband's arms, when they got tired.

Pef claimed it was to release tension and massage tired muscles, but nobody even bothered to object.

It felt good and made the long flight enjoyable.

Some time later, they arrived at Sandyport town, as Pef wanted to check the more distant parts in his Empire. And it was well they did, as Remi and Wu were fighting off an invasion of crabs from the sea, and were getting pushed back by wave after wave of crustacean beasts.