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Chapter 744   The Top Ten of the Conclave I

The Valthorins’ society is built around a core philosophy called "Kairos," meaning "The Eternal Flame of Pride." This belief system determines their self-worth by how well they preserve and protect their pride in every aspect of life.

As a result, Valthorins are incredibly hard-working, relentlessly striving to elevate their status within their society. Nôv(el)B\\\\jnn

Honor and reputation are their obsessions, driving them to excel in any field they enter. However, their unwavering loyalty to their empire limits the methods they can use to rise in status, forcing them to rely solely on legitimate means, which further sharpens their skills and perseverance.

When dealing with outsiders, however, the Valthorins feel no such restrictions. They employ every tactic necessary to achieve their goals, including manipulation and deception.

Their tireless work ethic is further motivated by the ultimate goal: gaining access to the prestigious "Pride Nexus." This sophisticated mental network, reserved for the Valthorin elite, enables seamless sharing of thoughts, ideas, and experiences, creating a collective memory of past successes, tactics, and even failures.

The Pride Nexus serves as a living archive of wisdom, amplifying their abilities and making their elite nearly unmatched in strategic fields.

If a Valthorin’s honor is ever challenged or insulted, they resolve it through a ceremonial combat known as the "Duel of Retribution." This formal duel continues until one combatant either concedes or dies, ensuring that honor is defended through physical strength and unwavering resolve.

However, such duels are rare, as they issue them only to the individuals they acknowledge and consider equals. For those they deem beneath them, they will use any underhanded methods available to uphold their pride, making them a difficult civilization to challenge directly.

Nova had left only the most essential details for Aron to focus on, skipping deeper insights about the Valthorin leader and their intricate system based on honor and pride. That information could wait. For now, Aron only needed what was directly relevant in case their warriors entered the fray once both sides had exhausted their weapons.

He then moved on to the next civilization in the top ten: the Shadari, or as many referred to them, the Masters of Stealth.

The most fascinating aspect of the Shadari was that, despite the intelligence gathered being from various higher-ranking races and individuals, none of them had ever laid eyes on an actual Shadari.

They only revealed their true physical appearance to those they deemed worthy of such an honor. As a result, most of the encounters with the Shadari were done while they were shrouded in their light-absorbing cloaks, leaving their true forms shrouded in mystery.

Moreover, their technology tree had evolved not from a natural progression but as a response to the harsh conditions of their star system and the predators that roamed it. This forced adaptation made them formidable in the realm of stealth, excelling in both the use of stealth and the detection of it, turning them into true monsters when the shadows became their allies.

Typically, when a species spends millennia developing and focusing on a particular technology tree, one would expect the current imperial forces to be overwhelmed by their advancements. However, the imperial forces had countered this expectation by utilizing system-bought runic knowledge, which, despite being the most basic form of technology, proved highly effective as long as sufficient mana was provided. This allowed the young empire to reach a competitive level in stealth capabilities.

Nevertheless, the Shadari remained a step ahead in nearly every other aspect of stealth. Their true potential required close proximity to be fully realized, a situation they thankfully were not in at the moment. However, their phasing missiles presented a significant challenge, remaining currently impossible to counter effectively.

As always, Nova summarized their government system for him to review in detail later. He then moved on to the next race he needed to be most cautious about in face-to-face combat: the Xor\'Vak. Known as the "Masters of Destruction," Nova had aptly dubbed them "Dragonoids" due to their resemblance to the dragons from human lore.

The Xor\'Vak were renowned as the strongest race when it came to individual strength, capable of unleashing nearly unbelievable levels of destruction once they reached a certain threshold of power. This immense strength fostered a culture that revered might above all else, with their leaders selected solely based on combat prowess.

Each of the four royal clans would choose a champion to battle among themselves, and the victor would ascend to lead the entire race. This system allowed the reigning leader to be challenged every century, ensuring that only the strongest would hold power.

Due to their unwavering focus on strength and their unique power system—one that could only be accessed racially and not through other civilizations\' systems—the Xor\'Vak relied heavily on slavery and the labor of other civilizations. They maintained a significant number of slaves and subordinate species for menial tasks.

The racial abilities of the Xor\'Vak varied significantly depending on the clan they were born into, with each clan specializing in a particular elemental force: Fire, Water, Earth, or Air. These abilities were not conventional but rather unique to their lineage.

The strength of an individual’s powers also hinged on bloodline purity, which determined their starting capabilities. Even those with less pure bloodlines still possessed strength that ranked among the top compared to other civilizations.

Their capacity for power growth did not depend on mana but rather on an exotic material unique to their race. This fact was a key motivator for their presence in the star system, as they sought to seize control and acquire the mana stones to exchange for resources to further enhance their strength.

One of the most striking features of the Xor\'Vak was their ability to metamorphose from humanoid forms into dragon-like forms of varying sizes. The strength of the individual determined the size of their dragon form—the more powerful they were, the larger their dragonic transformation. In dragon form, they could unleash devastating waves of destruction, while in humanoid form, they excelled at delivering precise and targeted damage.