GREED: ALL FOR WHAT?

Legion-5 shook his head at the absurdity of it all. Normally he doesn't like cooperating with others because others can't be trusted and because cooperation is for the weak. Cooperating with others is what someone weak would do.

If you are strong enough, you don't need to cooperate with others. He isn't weak plus if he would cooperate with others it would be with those who are equally strong not with weaklings that he can trample beneath his feet.

He said with slight amusement, "Children say the silliest things."

Then he returned to stand in front of his rapidly growing base. He is a lone defender which is a rare sight right now. Fights are happening all over the plane for who will be the first one with a base. But no one is defending a base alone.

The young Supreme beasts are forming alliances for protection. This is an alliance empowered by the rite of passage and not simple cooperation. So members of an alliance can trust each other because they will be penalized for betrayal.

He can also form an alliance but the fact that every point that an alliance gains is accessible to every member of the alliance is more than enough reason for him to refuse to form one.

The alliance system is very important for Supreme Beasts. Its function and uses go beyond this rite of passage. Even with the ability to have many divine abilities, Supreme beasts are not perfect. There are some things that they can't do on their own. After all, they are not omnipotent.

So Rather than be a Jack of all trades and master of none, the Supreme Alliance decided to encourage individual specialization and division of labor within a squad. Each supreme beast will choose a class and each class will have weaknesses. Division of labor between classes will make up for the weaknesses.

Those that form an alliance together form into a squad. The members of an alliance are supposed to fix the weaknesses of each other. They are not just here to help you set up a base. They can be your lifelong partners that follow you through thick and thin.

So an alliance is not a short-term cooperation hence why the Supreme Alliance takes it seriously. But he is not going to get one. At least he hasn't met someone good enough for him to ally with. It is not just because he is proud. He is obviously out of their league so an alliance will only drag him down and not help him.

Legion-8 was quick to agree with him. He said proudly, "An alliance is for sheep. Titans don't need to clump together for safety."

"Dragons have too much pride though. They are powerful but because they refuse to unite, they get hunted one after the other."

Legion-8 snorted. "They die because they are not strong enough. They can avoid death if they stay at the ancestral grounds but they refuse to do so. It is a matter of pride to face death in the face and overcome it."

Legion-5 shook his head. "That's just foolishness. If there is a way to avoid death, then they should take it unless there is a great benefit worthy of the risk. Dragons are just risking their lives for pride."

"You'll never understand. Only sheep unite and dragons aren't sheep. We are titans."

Legion-7 complained. "What about me? I need Legion-5 for safety?"

Legion-8 was quick to correct him, "You are still a titan. You don't need someone else for safety. You need another part of yourself. We are one and we will only become stronger by becoming one."

Legion-5 agreed. "Unity is just a step we will take to achieve perfection."

The young Supreme beasts are not his equal and so they cannot increase his strength if they ally with each other. But the same cannot be said about him and Legion-7 working together. As they say, two good heads are better than one. There is a better increase in power when quality combines than the combination of quantity. That is why two bad heads can't compare to one good head. Legion-7 is his other good head.

No one approached him to fight him so he was free to chat with Legion-7 while guarding his base. There was no fighting in his hex but the two other hexes were full of fighting. It is a fight without an end too since they can't kill each other. They are just tussling with each other and interrupting one another's attempt to build a base.

They have been fighting for 30 minutes but no one has started seeding the hex with a base yet. It made all of them frustrated with themselves. Some gave up at that point. They want to do something that isn't a waste of time. But most of them turned their attention to his hex. The sight of his progress does not encourage them or fill them with happiness.

Someone complained. "We can't go on like this while this guy is already building his base."

"What do we do other than watch him? He is too strong."

Another one sneered. "He is strong but he can't take all of us on. He certainly can't take on everyone in both of the hexes. The combined might of 10 of us might not be able to take him down but we should be able to interrupt his base."

"That's a good idea. Let's form a truce for now and join our strength to attack him from both sides."

The 6 of them that were fighting stopped fighting and decided to work together. They know that Legion-5 is strong. They have seen his power for themselves. But there are two of them in one alliance. If they combine with other alliances in this hex and cooperate with the other hex to create a combined attack from both directions, then they should be able to set back all of Legion-5's effort for the last 50 minutes.