Chapter 95: 95 Victory Party
Mark sat in the great Hall of his Castle in Rachard where most dignitaries still go and try to curry favor to him. Mousillon was still a larger city but Mark knew that there are still ongoing renovations there where to optimize the space within the large city.
Most peasants and common folk were given other jobs that would have them leave the city for now as Mark focused them on making his plans run in smooth development.
But right now he just had cleaned himself off from the blood and gore that stuck on him thoroughly as he had faced a Greater Deamon of Nurgle so he does not know if there are Pathogens that might place the health of those near him at risk.
He had also instructed that those that fought in the battlefield also be given a thorough cleaning from head to toe including every inch of their armor. After half a day there are still people lining up to get checked by the Dhampirs which Mark had trained to become nurses and doctors.
He had also have them treat some simple illness from the other groups that came to help and gave them a share of the spoils that were gathered in the fight.
Mark rather prioritized to have all the captured enemies as well as monsters in his hands as they would be indispensable for him in the long run. The other nobles that came were touched thinking Mark to be a very good person giving up such large amounts of the spoils but they do not know his cleansing powers.
Well it is a win for both sides, Mark did lose a few hundreds of his men as well as warbeast but this event solidified his position as someone that should not be easily offended in the future.
From his spies he could already hear some rumors of his gallantry and actions spreading positive in Praag. Though some questioned how he came to be able to make such a large force for such a short time, those that were curious were not brave enough to dive deeper as they now feared his name.
Mark dines and drank in the Great Hall alongside those that fought with him closely as well as the three that came from the DC world. They to changed clothes as they were given some dresses as well as suits by Mark's tailors.
Judy was so hyped seeing a dwarf that she forgot her experience in real war with many people dying, Mark was grateful she was there. Even Bart the speedster Pug could not save as much as her if he was here or else the body count of those he lost would have been in the four digits.
Mark gave small talk as he sat in the main table with his wives on his right and the three JSA members on his left.
As the party was about to end Mark stood up and the whole Great Hall went silent, the ones in the hall stopped what they were doing and looked at Mark who seemed serious and somber.
"I thank you all for coming with me tonight here to celebrate our victorious battle against the forces of chaos…" Mark said as he looked all around the faces that was with him.
"…but tonight would not have been possible without the sacrifices our brothers and sisters in battle have made. They too were once people who have been deceived by the dark gods and was led astray from the warmth of the light…"
"… yet they fought besides us and bled the ground dry as we slashed our swords and buckled our shields. Now they will lie in the ground as they had made their stand against the chaos that seeks to corrupt our world…"
"…but that is not their end, for they have still fight within them. One day, when the clouds darken and the doom of the earth is close, they will ride again with us…" Mark said as he waved his hand and golden light spread all over his land.
Golden wisp formed in the glitters of light and their forms morphed into the faces of those that had fallen in battle. Those that were in the tables in the great hall were the captains and lieutenants in Mark's forces that gained distinguished achievements in the fields.
They looked at the faces of their fallen comrades and cried silently, they knew that this was not an illusion and that they are the souls of their friends and partners in arms.
"…they are with me, and they will rest in the halls of my kingdom and wait for the warriors that shall join them to feast on meat and mead. This is not farewell but just a small parting, for one day your steeds and your lances shall be needed once more…"
"…you will ride with me, till the end and even in death there will be glory and honor as we fight for our future!! To our Brothers and Sisters in Arms!!" Mark shouted as he raised his cup of mead and drank it all in one go.
It was then he felt the souls of those that died go towards an obscure path but ultimately it led in the backyard which Mark had designated to be his Divine Kingdom.
Underneath that large land there is now a new environment forming in the deepest caverns and there golden Halls formed and endless feast awaited the souls of the warriors as well as the steeds they rode and warbeast they charged with stayed.
Mark could see it with his eyes as this hidden dimension within his personal dimension was formed and now became some sort of underworld. It was then a message from the system that caught his attention.
[Host has formed his own underworld]
[Host has gained the minimum requirements to create a Pantheon]
[Host can now assign five minor gods to certain duties]
[Host has elevated to become a High God]
[Host Divine powers are evolving]
[Divine Authority has increased]
[Host has gained Minor divine sparks 5x]
[Minor Divine Sparks: Can be given to a subordinate with unwavering Loyalty to you to transform them into Demi-gods. They will gain one divine trait from the Host which will amplify their abilities depending on which trait you assign. Warning- receiving a spark will prevent the target to absorb similar or stronger sparks in the future.]
"I see…" Mark murmured as he gave more words of encouragement to his subjects as he used some subtle form of hypnotism to make them more patriotic and loyal to his cause.
No one was able to notice it at all as his skill became more sublimated that even demi-Gods could be slightly affected. Mark then spent a few hours giving awards like medals and even giving a few of his men some titles like baronet or baron as it is within his right as the Duke.
Hans was giving a title of Viscount but did not accept being a landed noble as he wanted to fight besides Mark more. Even the former nobles of Mousillon that lost their titles due to their last attempt of rebellion became fervent worshipper of Mark as his hypnotism was affecting them more and more.
It was then he also announced that the official formation of the Navy of the Duchy to have formed, from the first Ice breaker fleet to the Beast master fleet there are now at least a hundred frigates with a dozen battle ships and a few Ice Breaker ships.
Francine was given the command as she had shown considerable talent in Naval warfare. As the awarding was about to finish, Mark was finally able to reach the last ones that he needed to thank.
"And to the three people that helped mush in this battle of ours, I would like to thank them and give them this medal as well as a hand crafted item I personally made…" Mark said as he looked at the three within the main table.
"… Lady Judy Garrick, for your heroic actions that saved hundreds of men and women in the battle field I give you this token of gratitude. This medal indicates you are a friend of Mousillon and the Duke of Mousillon. If ever you would like to travel just show this to those in Brettonia and no one will hinder your path…" Mark smiled as he opened a box where a golden badge with the insignia of the Duke's family was carved in.
"Uhmm, Duke of Mousillon? Who's the Duke?" Judy asked innocently while Carter and Diana face palmed at how Judy had not picked up on this fact yet.
"Well that would be me, I am the Duke of Mousillon." Mark smiled and laughed lightly as he patted the hyperactive speedster.
"Whoa, so you are like those nobles in medieval like stuff?" the Boom was still a kid and she asked earnestly towards Mark.
"You know, there are still nobility on where you came from. Diana here is a princess of the Amazonians, and Hawkman could also be considered one as well…." Mark smiled as he waved his hand and a large wooden box with golden embroideries on its side appeared.
"…But first here is my gift for you, a glove made with precious metals and has enchantments on it making it a very durable weapon. It can absorb the shock that you would receive even if you punch in supersonic speeds, also it will automatically adjust for your size. Here prick your finger a bit here to claim this item as your own…" Mark showed Judy how to bind the weapon to her as soon as he opened it.
It was a red glove with golden linings made of an alloy with mithril as an ingredient. It is one of the few items he had made before but he did not use it because he forgot his XLR8 form has different fingers.
"Whoa this is cool!!" Judy put on the gloves as soon as she felt some sort of connection with it. And as soon as she had them on her hands it resized itself to better fir her smaller arms.
"Nice!!" Judy said as she made a few mock shadow boxing moves in the side.
"Well, for Carter Hall. You are given the same medal but your gift will be this." Mark said as he took out another box where a folded cloth lay along with a pair of silver colored pants.
"This is a specially forged cloth and would give you protection like any other armor that exist out there, it is lightweight and flexible like cotton yet tough and resilient like mithril. Also it is personally designed by me to be fashionable and could be worn on casual and formal occasions." Mark said as he pulled out a silver colored turtle neck shirt with gold woven on its edges for design.
"Whoa, this seems very expensive…" Carter walked forward unsure if he should really receive this but somehow the shirt was somewhat attractive to him at the very least.
"It is not as strong as your Nth metal mace or anything but it will do fine in resisting it quite a bit. You can also press this gem here to make it look different in case you are in a pinch." Mark said as he showed carter how to bond with the shirt and also how to use its other function of becoming a tight light armor which he can use in emergency cases.
Mark had made this before since he had once host a Ball to celebrate the 'birth' of Francine's 'son' which was just him suing an illusion. During the Ball some tried to assassinate him and was even nick his skin a little, the poison they used was quite potent but all he did was transform into Swampfire that somehow was able to process the poison in his system.
Mark did not fear much being assassinated but this shirt was a prototype he made just in case the women besides him will be targeted. He might not love them like a person normally do but he still shows his due responsibility in taking them in as his.
Though it did cost him much in making it but it was mostly time he had to spend as his backyard could produce mithril constantly unlike some mines that would just run out.
Even today he does not have the dwarves under him mine the backyard as it was given to the skeleton craftsmen two handle that since they were totally loyal to his cause.
"And lastly to the one that defeated a Vermin Lord, Princess Diana of Themyscira…" Mark's words made those in his Great Hall start talking in whispers realizing that Diana was a Princess.
"…for you great assistance in the battle I will give you the same award as them and will gift you this." Mark said as a larger Box appeared and was opened to show a set of white colored office lady attire as well as some glasses and a few pens.
"This…" Diana was a bit unsure as well as to receive the awards but it was mostly about the time she peeked on the events in Mark's bedroom in Bearsonling's keep. But she was able to keep a poker face as she walked forward under the eyes of the various warriors she saw fought today.
In her mind she could tell that the knights here could even battle the amazons of her homeland equally when it comes to close combat and even the elves she saw that Judy was very fond of were even better archers especially those that rode the large hawks.
"Just like the shirt of Carter Hall, this suit was made using special alloys as well as secret weaving techniques I have developed and to complete the set these are the weapons that go along with it…" Mark picked up the small purse and pinched the top where ruby gems lay and the purse turned into a silver buckler on his hands.
He then showed how the two pens transformed too, these two were rather made using some reverse engineering he has done when he received a simple baton that could transform into a bow in one of his Silver Chest openings.
The two pens transformed into a bastard sword and a short sword which amazed Diana as she fiddled with them. Then Mark showed how the glasses turned into a head band and gives a minor obscuring spell to the face of the wearer.
"Lastly you could do this with your suit as long as you will it…" Mark showed how the sleeves and the color seems to be adjustable in the suit form enabling the wearer to change the style of her suit to her liking.
"Neat…" Diana's eyes shone as she checked this function on her own after she followed Mark's instructions in bonding with the suit. "…but how do I wash this?"
"No worries, these armors have a cleaning function and self-repair functions. See that small blue gem there, Carter and Judy also has one and you can press that to clean out the dirt and debris that might dirty your clothes. But if the damage is too extensive you should let it sit in the box for some time, these were made to hasten their repair and store them." Mark said as he finished giving the rewards and now the ones in the Hall cheered as they made merry at the last hours of the evening.
Later that night, the three heroes of the JSA were in Carter Hall's room checking out the things they have received. They had waited a bit since Mark requested they have a talk, but for them they have gained a bit of an understanding on what kind of world this place is.
"Diana, what do you think of this place?" Carter asked as he looked in the mirror how he too could adjust the pants and shirt he received. He quite liked it as he too have wasted time changing when there are villains endangering the people wreaking havoc.
"Honestly, just like our Earth. But a bit darker and grittier…" Diana sat in the table by the window dazed as her mind wandered.
"It's very cool! Dwarves! Elves! And even dragons as well as lots of fantasy beings!! Eeek!! This place is so dreamy as well! Have you seen the view and the air here? So amazing!" Judy was rolling around in the bed as she was having fun wandering earlier being a social butterfly.
"A large place with larger problems yet the one with the connection to ours is very strong. Though I have to admit he needed to be as such if he has to face those things by himself…" Carter was thoughtful as he had realized how much pressure Mark is facing as he learned a bit more of this place.
They did find out that there were four dangerous gods of chaos that played with the lives of the mortals in this plane and even Diana said she never had felt such darkness before.
Maybe even Hades was not as dangerous as this feeling she felt when she fought that gigantic bipedal rat which the locals here call Skaven.
"I think that we might need his help in the future Carter, I know you care much but sometimes maybe we should not interfere in the matters of this world yet unless we are asked for assistance." Diana said as she looked at the view where she could see the renovations being done on the large city.
"Hey can we go here for vacations? I would really like to meet the lizardmen that were rumored to be some sort of ancient species here! Also Lord Mark said that they too have some sort of Amazon like civilization here too!!" Judy's words made the two others contemplating look at her.
"Amazon like civilization?" Diana perked at Judy's words.
"Yes, he told me earlier that there was a women only like place in the southern continent similar to your place and they were all warrior women. He has not been able to track down where they are right now because the forests there are so thick and dangerous that there are dinosaur like beings living there…" Judy went on and on as she kept rolling about in the bed.
"Stay still will you when you talk!" Carter felt dizzy as he tied Judy into a sheet dumpling to stop her from rolling around too much but she still kept talking about the things Mark told her.
"..and and they get pregnant when they drink some sort of herbal tea that makes the girl go into some sort of Flexitative Pizzagenosis or something…" Judy said in excitement like a golden retriever that she butchered some words in the last part.
"…"
"…"
"Fluctuative Parthenogenesis, it means that they can get pregnant with no men needed and could give birth to a genetical copy of themselves…" Mark's voice was heard behind them as he walked in from the door.
"…door was open so I helped myself in, sorry for making you all wait. Now we can have a proper discussion now, shall we?" Mark smiled towards his guest.
(A/N: Yey, I am now finished with half of the things I need to catch up on! At least I am not the clueless anymore during lectures since I was at least able to catch up on the things I missed.
Hope fully I am able to finish all of it in two weeks so I can write more but this is all my remaining braincells could push out for the moment.)
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone