In the end, Count Argil departed with 48 billion soldier ants, and a couple ant warriors to lead them into battle, only on loan.

He was also much poorer now, and would have to use that army to recover his investment, by conquering a few Baronies and perhaps even another Count territory. Although mere Sovereigns soldiers would not suffice, even in the billions.

"I will listen to your advice, Lord Pef, and train the army towards the next ranks before taking on a Count. A few million Sacred realm ants would be great, if they indeed level up as fast as you promise." the Count muttered with a worried look.

"Yes. This is exactly my point, my dear friend. Test and train them with some weaker opponents before you dream of a higher station. And don't attack a devious Count like this Baron was, who might be strong but feigning weakness. Go for the most arrogant." Pef advised him as a parting gift.

Count Argil blinked in surprise, then nodded. "I think I have the exact target now. I expect you to reach a Count rank soon, my friend."

"Me? Never. Too much hassle. I'll have to mount a new expedition and acquire more ants, in case there will be more customers." Pef declined politely and flew away.

"Never say never, Lord Pef. You're too strong for a mere Baron." the Count whispered as he turned towards his jade formation controlling the warship.

With a flare of qi, his ship and the transport fleets he bought entered a spacial tunnel and vanished from Lufiel's orbit.

Consolidating and converting the conquered devils took another year, while the Barony army doubled once again, still mostly ants but also some naga and devils from the Magrave territory.

Then a large fleet filled with devil soldiers and bristling with weapons was detected at the border.

"Baron Lasciel. She's rumored to be quite a beauty..." Silentia explained while leaning in Pef's lap, and reading the holomap.

Pef nodded while groping her peaks. "I win either way, so let's meet her." he said teasingly.

"Scoundrel!" Silentia yelped and pinched his thigh.

She vanished into the inner world while Pef split apart, leaving a clone behind as he Blinked at speed towards the incoming fleet.

"Can I take a ton of Black jade?" Krissa asked the clone in a meek voice.

The clone blinked confused, then glanced towards the treasury. "What for?"

"A frieze to depict the conquest of Lufiel?" she replied airly.

The clone shrugged and nodded.

With a wide grin, the deviltress blew a kiss and ran towards her next art project.

'A ton of black jade can fuel a thousand warships.' the glove said in a sad voice.

'But there's a thousand warships right ahead?' Pef replied with a smirk, as he stopped in front of the incoming fleet.

"Lord Pef! We come in peace. I mean, to purchase soldiers for war..." Baron Lasciel said in a hurry.

Pef grinned widely and Blinked on-board her flagship.

"I'm listening, my new friend. All my buyers are my friends." he proclaimed in a grandstanding manner.

Lasciel had pink hair and eyes, and quite a curvaceous body and her shy manner was quite attractive.

Pef admired the deviltress for a minute while she blinked at him in confusion.

"Friends...I could use a friend." Lasciel murmured a bit awkwardly.

"Right! So, who are you going to war with, Lady Lasciel?" Pef asked with a curious voice.

"The Tarken brothers. They out-right demanded that I become their mistress. And be shared between them." Lasciel said in a desperate voice, and her bountiful chest shook in sobs.

'She's playing you, idiot!' the glove explained annoyed.

Pef nodded inward. 'But it's such a great play. I want to see how far she'll go.'

'Think with your other head, damn moron!' the glove muttered, then fell silent.

"And how many brothers are they?" Pef asked while sitting down next to his customer.

"Six! Even if I wanted to, it's impossible. I cannot please six devils at once!" the woman replied with a frightened voice.

Pef blinked while examining the Baron again. She had the golden aura, the hallmark of a reborn expert.

"You already lost your Barony and fled?" he asked to make sure, since the Tarken Barony was in the opposite direction.

"I have wealth and some soldiers, Lord Pef. But I would need a strong champion if I'm to uphold their challenge." Lasciel pleaded while pushing her chest up, quite appealingly.

Pef glanced around the command bridge, where a dozen tier 2 devils were straining to resist ogling their boss.

"Let's talk in private, dear customer." he proposed on a whim.

Soon enough, Pef was taken into her private chambers and showed a large amount of sincerity.

Her pink twin peaks were especially convincing. After a few hours of hard and long negotiations, they came to an agreement.

"My dear Lasciel. Once I restore your Barony, we'll have to return the favor and conquer the Tarkens. My wife Strella needs her own Barony, and you'll be positioned right between her and Silentia." Pef whispered into her warm and sweaty neck.

"Oh, I don't mind being sandwiched between them. Not at all." Lasciel murmured lasciviously.

"And being my wife." Pef added in a wry voice.

"Yes! I mean... Of course, my lord husband. How soon can we reconquer my worlds?" Lasciel wondered in a throaty voice.

Pef drew her into a long kiss while his Avatar began consulting with Reason, and his wives.

"The Tarken Barony is much stronger than Lufiel was. Then again, we have Lasciel's forces and our own." Reason mused while observing the galactic sector map.

The Avatar glanced at the newest slaves, the two tier 3 devils converted from Lufiel's disciples.

"Strella and these two can handle 2 Barons, I think. Lasciel herself at least one. Okay." Pef decided as he returned to kiss Lasciel's pink lips.

"We'll need a week to gather some forces. And you need to train a bit as well. Luckily, I have the exact training ground for you, my dear." Pef explained wryly as he drew Lasciel into his inner world.

Silentia smiled at her new sister wife warmly. "Lasciel my dear! Training in the sword by myself was so boring. So good of you to come." she greeted her while offering a warm embrace.

"Baron Silentia...you're so nice. We'll be good friends, right?" Lasciel murmured while pressing her chest into Silentia's.

"Training for now, Lasciel." Aria demanded while morphing her black puppy into a black sword.

"Oh my. Green hair, so pretty!" Lasciel exclaimed as she parried the sword strike effortlessly.

"One with the Heaven!" Aria exclaimed while flaring her own sword qi to the maximum.

The Avatar poured himself some green tea and sat down to watch the catfight. This Lasciel deviltress would need lots of work to tame, as under her sensual outward appearance she was a rather skilled fighter. Aria could barely keep up.

Silentia sat down beside him and sipped some tea deep in thought. "I need much more training." she admitted in low voice.

"Lufiel and Lasciel have both reach One with the Heavens stage. Keeping a Barony is much harder than it looks." Pef replied via his Avatar.

Silentia nodded, eyes glued to the sword fight. After a minute, Aria's head was sliced off and fell.

Pef sighed and revived his green-haired wife. "Reason, you're next." he said in a somber voice.

Aria came to sit beside him as Reason began playing with Lasciel, gently.

"I take back my objection. She is quite useful." the nature goddess murmured as Reason kept poking at Lasciel's ribs with light finger taps.

"How can you be so good?" Lasciel asked in despair, as she couldn't even touch Reason, while getting trashed effortlessly.

Reason glanced at Pef then sighed.

"You're on par with your husband, Lasciel. Perhaps a bit better in speed." Reason said without opening her mouth.

"I'm that good?" Lasciel asked in surprise.

Pef burst in laughter. "I'm probably the trash of the Legion. My wife Lia is at least a thousand times better than me." he admitted shamelessly.

Lasciel's high spirit fell to the ground. "Oh. I'm barely better than trash."

Reason glared at Pef then turned towards Lasciel. "Forget the idiot, my dear. This is your merely starting point and you'll get much better. The moron started with a stick. Now he can fly, but he still wields a stick." The armored woman explained as she led Lasciel away for private training and cultivation.

"Another golden find, hubby?" Aria asked with a mild voice.

"She came to me!" Pef defended himself logically.

"The gold is special then?" Silentia concluded wisely.

"If you reach tier 7 and die, your soul gets reborn in a new body. Some memories also filter through, though you need to reach tier 7 again to achieve complete rebirth." Pef explained softly, while hugging Silentia and Aria to his sides.

"But...Archdevil Yamon has a gold aura!" Strella said in surprise, sitting down at the table.

Pef blinked. Another golden aura?

"Huh? Seems I need to change my plans a bit. It would be a pity to kill this Archdevil then." he mused a bit too loud.

Silentia blinked in surprise, then turned towards Reason as she was sitting on the warm sand beside Lasciel and imparted knowledge and cultivation via a soft lullaby.

"I see. You're actually much stronger than you appear, my lord husband." the new Baron realized with surprise.

"Not really. But my weapons are too strong, indeed." he said in a more level voice.

He hoped they'll be strong enough.