Chapter 600: One, Two, and... Three?!

"Three?"

The rough voice of the Dreadmaw Sovereign echoed through the mountain ruins.

The three-meter-tall monster was still on one knee, its red skin was split in several places, dark blood was flowing from its shoulder and side, and its heavy breathing showed that even though the battle was over, its physical condition was still far from good.

But at this moment, the pain from its wounds seemed to be the least of its concerns, all its attention was focused on what it had heard.

[ Name: Three ]

[ Special Colony Member: 3/5 ]

The Sovereign blinked several times.

Then it slowly raised its head and looked at the young man standing a short distance away.

"My name... is Three now?"

Lian, who was checking the status of the newly formed bond, answered without raising his head.

"Yeah."

"Three?!"

"I heard you."

The Sovereign kept its mouth open for a moment, then struggled to get up from the ground, although the severe pain in its side forced it to place a hand against one of the broken rocks.

"I am the Dreadmaw Sovereign! An Unholy creature that has ruled these mountains for thirty years! Even the powerful monsters in this region didn’t dare to enter my territory without permission!"

The young Vorhelm finally raised his gaze.

For a few seconds, he looked at the mountains, almost half of which had been destroyed by the Sovereign itself, collapsed rocks, destroyed trees, and the remains of the old cave were scattered across the slopes for a long distance.

Then he looked at the monster again.

"Well, there aren’t many creatures left around here now."

The corners of Seris’s lips, as she stood beside him, lifted slightly for a moment.

The Dreadmaw Sovereign gritted its teeth.

"I mean, I deserve a better name!"

The young Vorhelm calmly nodded.

"Maybe, but the two previous members have similar names, if I make an exception for you, the others might get jealous."

The monster fell silent for a moment.

"The two previous members?"

"One and Two."

"What?"

"One and Two, I don’t think they’re that hard to remember."

The Sovereign stared at him in disbelief for several seconds.

It had expected that after accepting the bond, it might receive a title that matched its rank and greatness.

At the very least, it expected a name that reminded it of its former rule.

But this man hadn’t even bothered to come up with a proper name for it!

"So I’m an Unholy monster, and I come after two other creatures?"

Lian shrugged.

"In terms of membership order, yeah."

The Sovereign was about to make another complaint, but just as it opened its mouth, a brief pressure passed through its existence from the Colony Bond.

It wasn’t strong enough to cause pain, it was simply a clear reminder of its new position, it was no longer the independent ruler of these mountains.

And that truth bothered it even more than its new name.

After making sure the bond was stable, Lian lowered his hand.

"Well, now that we’ve finished talking about names, let’s make a few things clear."

The Sovereign looked at him with displeasure.

"I still—"

"First, you’re no longer allowed to hunt innocent humans, second, experimenting on the bodies and hearts of living creatures is forbidden."

His voice was still calm, but there was no sign of humor in it this time.

The Dreadmaw Sovereign gritted its teeth for a moment, it was clearly unhappy with these restrictions, but the bond it had accepted itself would not allow it to ignore the Colony Master’s direct commands.

"And what if I want to evolve?" The monster raised its head.

"I still need resources for my first evolution."

"Hunt monsters, find other ways to grow stronger, you have plenty of options."

"Is it that simple?"

Lian gave a faint smile.

"After spending thirty years trying to create a human body, I expect you to be able to find other ways too."

The Sovereign said nothing.

Seris also looked at the wounded creature from beside him. She still hated it, but at least now she knew that the former ruler of the mountains no longer had the freedom it once enjoyed.

Lian’s gaze moved over the monster’s deep wounds.

"For now, you should rest too." He looked at the Sovereign’s deep wounds. "You still haven’t recovered a large part of your life force, and in this condition, you can’t fight properly even if you want to."

The monster raised its head with displeasure.

"Where?"

"The Colony House."

The Dreadmaw Sovereign wanted to ask about this place, but before it could say anything, Lian activated the [Hive Dominion] skill.

At that moment, a faint light came out of the monster’s body.

The Sovereign looked at its hands in disbelief. Its red skin was slowly breaking down into thousands of tiny particles of light.

The process caused no pain, but the feeling of its body slowly disappearing was not pleasant for a creature that had spent its entire life taking pride in its physical strength.

A few moments later, thousands of glowing points gathered together and all disappeared at once.

The Dreadmaw Sovereign vanished from the ruined mountain slope.

But Lian and Seris were still standing in the same place.

Inside the Colony House, thousands of particles of light appeared in an empty spot.

The particles slowly joined together, and after a few seconds, the Dreadmaw Sovereign’s huge, three-meter-tall body took shape again.

The monster cautiously took a step, first looking at its hands and then at the surroundings.

The cold mountain wind and broken rocks were gone, a wide and quiet space lay before it, with gentle energy flowing through it and areas set aside for the Colony members to rest and recover.

The Sovereign frowned.

So this was its new home?

Before it could take a closer look, a deep growl came from its right.

It turned its head, and a huge creature was not far away.

A giant ant with a hard, dark shell, old scars could be seen on parts of its body, and its large size and strong body structure immediately caught the eye.

One.

The ant had raised its head after sensing the arrival of a new member, its antennae moved slowly, and its gaze remained fixed on the Dreadmaw Sovereign.

Then another short growl came from its throat, this time, the sound was not entirely friendly.

For a few moments, the two monsters looked at each other.

Then the Dreadmaw Sovereign asked mockingly.

"What kind of creature are you?"

One only moved its antennae.

Then it shifted its huge body slightly and settled back into its resting place, although it still hadn’t completely taken its eyes off the new member.

Dreadmaw remained silent for several seconds.

An ant?

It had expected that after entering the Colony of a being who possessed the power of two Demons, it would encounter terrifying and strange monsters.

Of course, this ant was neither small nor weak.

But still, the first special member of the Colony was an ant?

The Dreadmaw Sovereign had not yet managed to accept this when another presence caught its attention.

A heavy pressure reached it from a more distant part of the Colony House, and the monster turned its head.

There, a huge wolf with a bony body was resting.

Two.

The Wolf of Eight Disasters opened its eyes after sensing the arrival of the new creature.

It gave the Sovereign a brief look, neither growling nor getting up, and it did not even show any interest in making contact.

But that brief look was enough for the Dreadmaw Sovereign to notice something unusual.

The dense energy inside the wolf’s body, the pressure of its presence, and the calmness that could only be seen in creatures that had survived many deadly battles.

This wolf...

The Sovereign narrowed its eyes.

Although it was an Unholy monster itself, it could clearly tell that the creature before it was no ordinary monster.

The wolf’s power was far beyond what its calm appearance suggested, and more importantly, it didn’t seem interested in showing off its strength.

After that brief look, Two placed its head back on its legs and closed its eyes.

Apparently, the new Colony member was not important enough to disturb its rest.

The Dreadmaw Sovereign remained motionless for several seconds, then shifted its gaze between the giant ant and the wolf.

So these two were really One and Two?

For a moment, it thought about the fact that it, an Unholy creature, had now become the third special member of a Colony whose two previous members were an ant and a wolf.

Of course, after sensing Two’s presence, it was no longer so sure that it should feel humiliated by this.

Even so, one thing still bothered it.

Three...

It gritted its teeth.

"I really hate this name."

One let out another short growl after hearing its voice.

The Sovereign looked at the ant.

"What? Do you have a problem?"

One moved its antennae and turned its huge body slightly toward it.

Dreadmaw only growled and ignored it, then walked toward an empty spot suitable for resting with a displeased look.

It had not even taken more than a few steps when Lian’s brief voice sounded in its mind through the Colony Bond.

"Rest for now, Three, I have a lot of work for you later."

The Sovereign immediately raised its head.

"Wait! We still haven’t settled the matter of my name—"

But it received no answer, the monster stared into empty space for a moment, then let out an unhappy growl and sat down on the ground.

It had considered itself the god of the mountains for thirty years, and now it wasn’t even allowed to decide its own name.

At the same time, on the ruined mountain slope, Lian lowered his hand.

The transfer of the third special member had been completed successfully, and through the Colony Bond, he could confirm that the Sovereign was now inside the Colony House.

Seris was standing beside him.

"Did it leave?"

He nodded.

"Yeah. It’ll rest there for now."

The girl glanced at the place where the Dreadmaw Sovereign had disappeared a few moments earlier.

"What about One and Two?"

"They’re inside too, they’re still recovering from their previous injuries."

She nodded.

"Good."

Lian gave a small smile.

"Though I don’t think Three is very happy about meeting its new housemates."

The young Pendragon looked at him.

"Why?"

"Apparently, it still hasn’t accepted the fact that it joined the Colony after an ant and a wolf."

The corner of the girl’s mouth lifted slightly.

"It’ll get used to it."

"I think so too."

Then he looked toward the ruined peak, the same place where he had once nearly lost his life.

Now, not only had he survived that old battle and returned, but the creature he once couldn’t even resist had become the third special member of his Colony.

A faint smile appeared on his face.

"Well, I think this one’s over too."

She nodded.

"Yeah."

Lian looked at the sky, then turned back to the girl beside him.

"I’m going back to the academy."

"The academy?"

"I have some unfinished business there, and I also need to prepare for a trip."

The girl remained silent for a few seconds.

"Where?"

Lian raised an eyebrow for a moment, only then realizing that he hadn’t told her about his plans for the trip.

"I’m going to the Land of First Dawn."