Chapter 452: [Bonus ] Extracting the Living I

Even if the Supreme Human Alliance had yet to reach mankind with their disturbing view of other races, Michael could imagine various Supreme Families, Great Clans, and High Nobles joining their mission. Maybe, they would do so secretly once Hyumans found a way to travel to the solar system, or the Lumina Stellar System, but their mindset would change quickly once they realized how wealthy Hyumans and the Supreme Human Alliance were.

Michael didn't hear a lot but reading Mihal's mind was enough to understand that the Supreme Human Alliance was currently solely dependent on their small amount of money to support Dark Heavens and other shady organizations. Yet, this pocket change was more than most Supreme Families and High Nobles earned in decades.

It was enough to sustain hundreds of Higher Lifeforms and to use them as sacrificial lambs whenever the need arose.

No matter how much Michael disliked the idea of forming a alliance with Hyumans, he could see the greed of humankind throw the Tritan Alliance aside in exchange for the Hyuman's financial support, their knowledge, and their strength.

It was the first time Michael heard of the race 'Hyumans', but that didn't mean they were weak. Countless races lived all over the vast expanse of the seemingly infinite universe. Of course, Michael didn't know all of them. Unfortunately, that meant he had no idea how old Hyumans were and how technologically advanced they were either.

'How long will it take them to reach the solar system? Will mankind split up and turn against each other once they arrive? No...that already happened. It's just that the scale is quite small for the time being.'

Michael told Palika, Silvana and Kraft Viton everything he'd gotten to know. From the location of Tritaenus to their next steps and movements, Michael didn't leave out anything. He repeated his worries again, but the War Priestess didn't seem to take him seriously. She was fueled with fury and hellbent to obliterate Dark Heavens. They dared to attack her people and kill the innocent. Therefore, Dark Heavens chose death as the only option according to her.

Michael pressed his lips together. He knew that he couldn't convince the War Priestess. Palika Mavenham was also beyond enraged and ready to kill the members of the suicide squad at once before proceeding to join hands with the War Priestess to skin every single member of the Dark Heavens alive. Fortunately, Michael could restrain the Berserker Chieftain.

"If you want me to continue to collect information and forward everything new I'll get to know, you should leave all of them alive. Break their bones and examine their brains for self-destruction mechanisms and we'll be fine. That way, I can collect more information while you guys move out, if you really need to rush it."

Michael didn't desire to be a Samaritan who spent his days doing something that didn't help him improve and grow stronger. However, spending the days with the traitorous pigs of mankind was something Michael was actually willing to do.

And that was not because he was happy to see them in pain - he was not a sadist, after all. Instead, Michael desired to be alone with the members of Dark Heavens' suicide squad to use Extraction on them. The first thing he wanted to do was extract Memory Orbs to validate some information. After that, Michael had a lot to experiment with. Michael wanted to see if he could procure both, a pile of SoulStar Fragments and Soultrait Symbols, from living Awakened. He desired to find out whether he could gain more by using Extraction on the living, or if it would be much harder and not as rewarding.

The desire to use Extraction in the underground prison of the Berserker race didn't come from nowhere. Michael found out that Mihal, the prisoner, possessed two Soultraits. One of the Soultraits was called Second Skin. It was a 4-Star Soultrait that allowed Mihal to transform into someone else and create a second identity. Even Higher Lifeforms would struggle to tell the doppelganger apart from the real person and Mihal once he used Second Identity. The only thing that could expose Mihal was the difference in their intrinsic personalities and body language. He would have to study his targets to impersonate them accurately.

But while Second Skin sounded like an interesting Soultrait, Michael was more interested in Mihal's second Soultrait. It was a 1-Star Soultrait called Insert. Michael was so interested in Insert because it was the exact opposite of Extraction - quite literally. Mihal could insert objects into others. Unfortunately, since Insert was only a 1-Star Soultrait, Mihal rarely used it. And if he used it, Insert was mostly applied to channel poison into his enemies' bloodstream through a simple touch. The effectiveness was negligible but Michael could see tremendous potential in Insert - especially when combined with Extraction.

Michael wanted this Soultrait. He needed it!

"You want me to keep them alive and leave you alone with them? Remember, no one else is allowed to enter this underground prison. You won't be allowed to leave on your own as well. Are you sure that you're willing to stay here alone? It's your decision because I would much rather crush some bastards of Dark Heavens than stay here to protect you!" Palika Mavenham uttered in a serious tone.

Kraft Viton was about to mention something when Michael nodded.

"In case anything goes wrong, I will kill the members of the suicide squad before they escape their confinement. I can protect myself quite well, don't worry. As long as you guys make sure that some droplets of Psyche Obliteration are inside them to break their mental defense, I shouldn't have an issue. Ensure that their limbs are broken and that the chains restrict them completely and I will procure all the information I can get out of them. Though I cannot promise you that I can hold back my emotions. It all depends on what I am going to find out... If they did something to children or tortured—..." Michael didn't have to speak any further. The three powerhouses understood what he was talking about.

"I am proud of you. You truly are a brave Warrior. Thaor and Lokai didn't lie when they praised you a lot. You are a good kid!" Palika Mavenham applauded him, only for the War Priestess to agree more or less willingly.

She had seen and heard enough about Michael to understand that he was a good kid. His heart was in the right place. Michael was genuinely hoping to strengthen his relationship with the Tritan Alliance. He wanted the Tritan Alliance to not just survive but thrive rather than collapse.

"I will allow you to stay here. If you're bored, use the prison's access to the library's network to read a bit. I'll allow you to read whatever you want. Consider it as a part of the reward for rescuing the Warlock Centaurs in the Colosseum and for offering your help to interrogate the traitors. You will be rewarded generously once we return. The pieces of information you provided were very helpful. Good job!" The War Priestess was not good at dishing out compliments. However, she knew that she had to say something good about Michael.

He deserved it.

Kraft Viton cleared his throat and pulled Michael next to him, "Of course, Michael will be rewarded generously by us as well. Not only did he procure so many useful pieces of information, but he also even provided us with the names of the spies in the Sacred Desert and the Barren Lands. His quick thinking and the fact that he offered help despite knowing that everyone would frown upon him as a rather young Lord ensured that the main regions of mankind wouldn't face an economic disaster. The Bartholomew Corporation will definitely reward him for his selfless actions as well."

"Of course, our reward will be an addition to the reward the Tritan Alliance ought to give him if-.. No. Once we get back Tritaenus. I will make sure of that," Kraft Viton added proudly, staring at Michael with glimmering eyes.

Somehow, it felt like an old, faintly flickering flame deep inside Kraft Viton's heart had been fanned to burn brightly. From remnants of a tiny wisp, Kraft Viton's passion returned in the form of a blazing inferno.

'If you want to give me something...how about all the resources I need to build the Sacred Knight Temple, a bunch of Beast Ranches, a bunch of high-quality tools, and everything else I need to construct both a Teleportation Array and the Intermediate Summoning Gate?' Michael thought of a better reward for himself, but he didn't speak his mind aloud.

He needed too much, and he didn't want to come off as greedy in a situation like this. If anything, what Michael desired the most was to procure the bodies of all criminals in the underground prison. Unfortunately, that was something he could hardly ask for without looking like an idiot.

"If it's possible and the Tritaenus is not used as a trap, how about you try to kill as few enemies as possible? I should be able to procure a lot more information from higher-ranked authorities of Dark Heavens," Michael asked instead of demanding anything openly. But secretly he hoped that he could use Extraction on as many criminals as possible. After all, he had numerous things he wanted to know about Extraction, and experiments were the easiest way to find out new things.

"I am not sure if we can overwhelm their higher-ups and retrieve everything they stole without killing them. Not without sustaining heavy injuries at least. But I will try. I want to destroy Dark Heavens as much as you, so we should try our best to keep them alive and interrogate as many of them as possible if it means that we get a opportunity to find out more about Dark Heavens and the possible location of their headquarters," Palika opined, burning fury gleaming in his eyes.

The Berserker Chieftain was ready to obliterate Dark Heavens in one go.

Meanwhile, all Michael could think about was his experiments, and the fact that he could use Extraction to extract the SoulStar Fragments and Soultraits of a bunch of Higher Lifeforms.

'How hard can it be?'