The Divine Dragys' suicide caused a lot more damage than expected. First, a settlement at the frontlines ceased to exist. It tore a humongous hole in the Dragys' defenses, which the Divine Alliances' members took advantage of. They charged through the massive gap with its ten-kilometer radius destruction and spread in all directions once they passed through the defensive lines.

The Dragys' defenses were the strongest in its Border Fortresses. Therefore, the sudden change in tactics and the destruction of one Border Fortress was much more problematic than it looked at first glance. Michael considered helping the Divine Alliances further but left them after reconsidering his options. He deployed some High Beast Hordes and the Quetzalcoatl to join the fights and attack everyone, leaving the secure proximity of their settlements, but that was already it. The Undead Souls had already been given orders, leaving Michael with little work in the Dragys Lordess' territory.

The only task left was to consume all harmful substances in the air, devour all 'new' corpses, and use the Nature Heart to tend to the damage his actions had caused. He didn't care much about the Dragys, but the explosion destroyed small patches of the Untamed Jungle. The Dragys had already destroyed almost everything in their territory, ensuring the Untamed Jungle around them looked more like a massive plain or clearing than a forest. But that was fine. Michael used the authority of his Nature Heart to stimulate the surrounding flora and fauna. In the following months, they would absorb more nutrients and energy to regenerate the large patches the Dragys had destroyed. Watching the burned land, Michael was suddenly happy with how little damage the miniature sun had inflicted. The Untamed Jungle was weaker and not as resilient in its territory as in the main portion of the Untamed Jungle. Still, the exploding miniature sun didn't even cause half the damage that the suicide bombing Divine Dragys had caused.

"Whatever," Michael shrugged and teleported to his territory, where more corpses awaited him. Michael used True Extraction Essence to recreate a hue of Fenrir's head after teleporting the corpses of all Dragys Awakened to him. Fenrir's golden head devoured the dead Awakened's SoulStar Fragments and Soultrait Symbols to store them in his War Rune. Michael multitasked with Insert and Death Call. He activated Death Call to summon more Undead Souls while Insert channeled a small amount of SoulStar Fragments into his soul to stabilize and nurture his soul. The consistent influx of SoulStar Fragments helped Michael a lot. He wasn't easily angered anymore and gained much better control of anything related to his soul. That included the God Curses. Their presence wasn't necessarily bad, but they influenced Michael because the God Curses were so powerful and fused into his soul through their Essences and the Soultrait Symbols. Their influence had been bothersome before, but it had never been a major problemat least, not as much of a problem as they turned out since his Divine Shell formed.

The changes he had undergone in a short frame of time overwhelmed him. His soul was strained and cracking, and his physique wasn't faring any better. His body wouldn't collapse soon since he had given his Energy Vortex more than enough energy to fill all damaged spots and refine his War Rune a little. However, his soul suffered enough for the influence of the God Curses to intensify. Their characteristics and nature affected Michael. They reached him and overwhelmed the young Lord of the Untamed Jungle with their massive presence.

Mending the cracks of his soul and nurturing it helped Michael overcome the ordeal. The God Curses still influenced him, but it wasn't as bad as he had feared. Now, their presence was like three small buckets of water in a river rather than a tidal wave swamping a river.

He took a deep breath and consumed the corpses using Swallow Domain before applying Permute to transform everything he'd devoured into highly purified energy. The energy was then channeled into the Nature Heart, stimulating the plant life around his territory even more. It was only a matter of months before most damages done to the jungle in his territory were treated. Not everything could heal that quickly, but Michael would give his utmost to mend as much as possible. He owed the Untamed Jungle that much, even if he started doubting whether the Primordial Tree Spirit owed him now or if it was the other way around.

'I can consider this a repayment for everything the Untamed Jungle gave me in the last few years,' Michael shrugged.

The Untamed Jungle did more than enough to deserve some good treatment from him. Even if the Primordial Tree Spirit was a nuisance for turning him into the Dragys Lordess's primary target, Michael also gained a lot from it. The Nature Heart was powerful and nurtured him with lifeforce and nutrients. That was enough nutrients to stimulate his mind and physique. His mind and physique could be refined much faster, solely relying on the energy, lifeforce, and nutrients provided by the Nature Heart. That would solve many future problems and save enormous amounts of time.

Either way, Michael returned to Arx, where the buildings were overflowing with residents. The biggest Pentagon Fort had been destroyed by the Dragys, forcing millions of residents to find shelter in the remaining two Pentagon Forts. There was not enough space for them, but maybe that could be solved.

He gathered his most influential subjects and greeted them with a smile.

"I apologize for returning late, but I think we can agree unanimously when I say that it was necessary for me to enter the Temple of the Forgotten. I gained a lot in the Temple of the Forgotten, and it was only possible to kill three Divine Dragys thanks to those gains," Michael cleared his throat," Since I cannot sense any dissatisfaction from anyone here and most of my subjects not related to my absence, at least let's continue with the priority work."

"The initial forces of the Dragys Lordess have been defeated, and I managed to deploy several High Beast Hordes, two Divine Beasts who'd been sleeping for decades, and the Azure Quetzalcoatl. They're going to cause chaos all over the Dragys' territory alongside the Undead Souls and Divine Alliances' members. That being said, I obliterated one of the Dragys' Border Fortresses, creating an opening for the Divine Alliances.

They will easily destroy a few more settlements before the Dragys Lordess regains control of the situation. Nonetheless, the tides of the war have changed. The Dragys Lordess might have the strongest forces even now, but she is pincered by two sides. The DIvine Alliances might not attack as vigorously as they do now for long, but that is not a problem. A few months will be enough to rebuild everything we lost and gain even more power. To be precise, I'm certain most of us will grow much stronger."

Hiraku raised his hand, and Michael stopped. He had more to say but wished to involve his subjects as well.

"Are you confident enough to defeat the Dragys Lordess?" Hiraku asked, and all heads turned to Michael in unison. Everyone was curious about this point.

"I cannot gauge the Dragys Lordess' exact strength, but given that the Dragys Lordess didn't kill the Azure Quetzalcoatl yet and vice versa, of course I think she should be at the 8th Tier. I don't think I can handle her on my own right now. My combat prowessincreased a little since we last met, but I don't think I can fight Divine Lifeforms with higher fighting power just yet. Ordinary Divine Lifeforms are something I can handle well but at the 8th Tier? I'm not sure."

Michael answered calmly and smiled.

"But who said I'm going to fight alone? I have the Untamed Awakened, the powerhouses of the Divine Alliances, a few Divine Beasts, and an Azure Quetzalcoatl to thrash the Dragys Lordess." [Don't forget us.] Fenrir growled.

'Yeah I also got three God Curses and a Divinity Fragment to deal with the Dragys Lordess.'