Rise of the Cosmic_Emperor

This was of course not Melinda's first time seeing an Array or the activation of one but this array was so thick with Astral Energy that none of the others she had seen could compare. Even if they had been of higher Ranks.

The reason was simple, thanks to Equipoise, the sheer quantity of Astral Energy imbued in this Array, should he choose to do so was not something ordinary Rune Masters could even attempt.

The two sat in silence as the Runes went about the Estate and also the steady activation of the Array. Once the Runes began to fade Melinda was the first to speak, 

"What is this Array suppose to do Exactly?" She asked.

She could already infer that it was to provide the Estate with privacy to keep the activities within secret from the view of the public, however, as the runes faded, she could also see that it was leaving no traces behind and becoming completely transparent.

"Well, I realized that surrounding this Estate with an impregnable Astral Dome would instantly raise the red flag. We might as well March up to them and inform them that we are building a force in the Estate we just purchased.

"But when I heard of the Confluence from Marlon as well as the Mirage and warding off Array, I had an idea. It took me a short while..." 

'And quite a bit of Gold' he thought

"...to get the necessary runes needed for my version of the Mirage Array. The runes I was able to acquire easily, the issue came with finding the perfect combination that would not simply render the Array useless"

He had not been able to draw such large scale times because wrong combinations could also be destructive as they can be disappointing. As such he had tried many combinations in his mind, relying on his knowledge of the runes to come up with the best scenarios and the one he had just drawn was the best he could come up with.

In a normal situation, he would only need to get a formula that would give him a mirage Array, formulas of which Grimoire was packed with but they were all much too high in grandiose for his liking, especially when he was aiming to keep a low profile.

So instead of a ready-made formula which he would simply follow, Hal purchased the full set of Runes required for a mirage Array so he could tailor-make a formula for his purposes.

He would only be required to supply Astral Energy every once in a while to keep it operational.

"This Array is designed to be invisible. From the outside, it looks completely normal. It does not matter how much this Estate fills up, no one on the outside will be able to notice anything. 

To any observer, this Estate remains the same" He explained to Melinda who furrowed her brows lightly.

"What if an observer decided to visit. Once inside the Array, it would no longer affect them" She voiced out and Hal chuckled and patted her cheek reassuringly, 

"There's a subtle warding off Array, imbued with a little something called Fear! that successfully keeps people below the Cosmic Armament Realm away. A category of which a vast majority of their forces fall under.

"As for those that do not fall under this category, other than the family heads, I have most of them under my control as well so it's of no consequence"

Melinda smiled, 

"You thought of everything," she said.

"That is almost impossible. At least for now I can not pride myself on thinking of every scenario, I have other things to think about after all..." His arms wound around her waist and the 'other things' could not have been any clearer. 

He continued, 

"I did think of the main issues though. As soon as anyone not in my service and immune to the warding off Array comes close, the inhabitants will be alerted and they'll know what to do. Call it a little something extra"

This whole Array business was of course born more from paranoia rather than genuine concern.

It was very unlikely that the Family Heads would visit the Estate personally and whoever they sent, Hal would most likely be able to keep under control thanks to the Men who were most closest to the family heads and branded with the Devil mark. But...

... you can never be too careful.

...

Once the runes had faded and the array activated, the two began their slow and steady walk to the Estate. Arm in Arm.

When they had stormed the Estate, they had not stopped to admire the environment. This time they did and both found it quite beautiful.

Within minutes they were walking through the front doors and it would not take long before the 1000 gang members Hal had contracted arrived as well. Along with the Marked Brethren. Who had now totally vacated their mansion hideout.

Hal walked past them into the Estate and then went into the largest Halls the Mansion had.

He exchanged Gold coins for Time warping Arrays and installed them inside the Halls. The time flow change was the same as the one he had installed in the mansion for his use.

He could have very well installed one large-sized Array in the Estate itself. In which case, time would be warped in every area of the establishment but in the off chance someone successfully made their way in here, that would not bode well.

It did not take him all that long to complete the installations and he activated it. Since he had gotten the ready-made Array from Grimoire, it bore the full brunt of the energy requirements and would keep it active as long as possible.

Then Hal called for them all to congregate including Castor and the other guards.

"From now onwards, this is your base. Those who work in the mansion will come here regularly to cultivate and, should you wish, spar. Castor should take charge and create a situation where it will not hinder the duties you are needed for in the mansion.

"The 1000 men will be here permanently. All those at the Energy sensing realm should aim to advance to the peak stage of the Comic Pearl Realm within a month. Those at the Cosmic Pearl realm should aim for advancement to the mid-stage of the Cosmic Armament realm at the very least."

Hal had reduced the requirement because he was well aware of how much harder it was to advance to and in the Cosmic Armament realm.

"The time flow in these Halls have been altered such that, one month cultivating outside of them will equal Ten inside. Those who work in The mansion will not have the luxury of staying inside for the whole of this month due to their responsibilities in said mansion but that does not change what I want from you. 

The Marked Brethren will be placed in charge of allocations and keeping everyone in line. Not like I expect any of you to act out of line..."

At this point, Hal paused to look them all and there was a little dissatisfaction in Scarface's scarred face, most likely due to the pressure Hal was now mounting on them, but he kept his mouth shut.

Of course, Hal had his reasons for urgency which was mainly that he estimated things would get out of hand among the top echelons in the city within the month and he needed to be ready.

The part that interested most of them was the fact that one-month Cultivation could become almost a whole year thanks to the Time warping Array.

What a wonderful sponsor! 

They had all thought until Hal told them what he expected them to achieve during those stretched out Ten months. 

Even if they were given 5 years, they were not still convinced of success. Their experience in cultivation made them well aware that it would take them so much more than that to achieve what he wanted.

The thought pulled a frown from them all but they sobered up quickly. This was a challenge, the least they could do was face it head-on.

The fair lady was the only exception. The things he had said did not cause her to frown or panic. Hal could tell she was quite confident in succeeding. Her attention was on something else or more accurately, someone else.

The day before, when she had met her Master for the first time, he had been with someone else and while the lady was young and beautiful, before this golden-eyed woman who stood a few steps behind Hal with her arms crossed, the lady from the day before fell short.

As she watched a golden-eyed lady watch them all with a calm imperious gaze, the fair lady could not help but wonder how many more beauties were with her master and...

...just how many more he would be ready to accept!

Hal had not been paying attention to her thoughts but the shift in the look in her eyes painted a clear enough picture.