- What did she want?” asked Ambre.

Maxia, the Kemono's girlfriend, took her in her arms and put her head on her breasts while sighing.

- It seems that a huge horde of Longers will arrive in three days, so she asked me if I could fight…” Maxia admitted.

Ambre frowned.

- Oh no, huh! You almost lost your mind last time, so—

- I said I'd help, but I couldn't fight for too long.

She opened one eye and looked at Ambre.

- You should come too, just in case...

Ambre still blamed herself for what had happened a short time ago. If it hadn't been for Kituhn, Maxia would probably have lost her mind and never been herself again... She deserved a rest.

- If I can be by her side, she'll be fine…” Ambre thought as she stroked her girlfriend's fox ears.

Holding each other, they talked about what Maxia knew. She didn't tell her much, just the date and time Salida estimated and that she shouldn't tell anyone.

- So we don't tell the members of our Faction?” asked Ambre.

Maxia thought of the other three members of the Faction and nodded.

- I don't think we should send them into battle in the desert... Even if it's a horde of thousands of Longers, it's better to have fewer but more powerful Kemonos than to invite some that aren't necessarily made for combat.

Ambre agreed with her girlfriend and nodded: she would not talk about it. She would leave them a note saying that they had left for the morning and if the news about the horde leaked into the Federation and reached their ears, then they would explain. Ambre sighed.

- Thousands of Longers...

That was everything EXCEPT reassuring. She didn't know what was going on, but if Salida was the one who warned them and Nano was the one coming for Maxia... This had to be serious.

Salida had talked it over with her team and was now looking at the ceiling as she spun around in her work chair. She had looked at the numbers again and the message she had been sent...

None of it seemed to make sense.

They had experienced large hordes of Longers in the past, but not this many at once and not to the point where they were sent a warning message. Plus, now that she thought about it, they were heading toward the Federation while the sandstorm was raging outside... Even though it could be a coincidence, she found it hard to believe.

- They must be attacking us by taking advantage of the sandstorm, nothing else,” she thought.

The Longers might be annoying, strange-talking monsters, but to mistake them for brainless animals would be completely STUPID. The Longers knew how to use their heads and fight...

That's why they were so scary.

If they didn't, then they could have won this war long ago. If they weren't so smart, powerful and numerous, it would have been so easy...

- Why would they want to attack the Federation...?

Sure, the Longers were smart, but they relied heavily on their "hunger". Their hunger for destruction, for human flesh or Kemono, or even their hunger for battle and war. Since the Longers seemed to have a very aggressive instinct, it was sometimes very easy to understand their movements and predict their actions. However, at a certain level, the Longers started to become even more intelligent and unpredictable. Even though there shouldn't be any very high level Longers in the horde, they had to be prepared for any eventuality...

- We should be enough to win... right?

She wasn't sure. Maslow wasn't even in the Federation, but that wasn't a big deal: she never took part in fights, anyway. She touched her forehead and sighed heavily. Thinking about all this made her hungry... She got up from the chair and went to get something to snack on, not wanting to take too much on.

- ... A... horde...?

Panthana had heard everything from Nano. She was still with Na next to her and nodded, crossing her arms.

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- In three days. I came to ask if you could help the fighters.

- ...

Panthana was alone in the room, but it wasn't because she never had to work: she got picked up from a patient. They still gave her time to finish her session. She scratched her cheek.

- I mean, I don't necessarily mind, but this is so sudden...

She didn't think anyone would come and talk to her about something like this at such a time. She knew they were never safe from a Longer attack, but wasn't this at a very... strange time? During the sandstorm and their Constable not being at the Federation...

- Nano, do you think the Longers know that this is the RIGHT time to attack?

The Kemono with the fox-like attributes did not answer directly and gently pushed Na towards Panthana. Panthana offered him to sit next to her and he accepted shyly. Nano stayed standing, facing Panthana.

- It's probably not a coincidence, but I don't think they planned this," Nano admitted.

- Not planned...?” asked Panthana, not sure she understood.

Nano touched his glasses, but only to remove them.

- I don't think the Longers saw that Mrs. Maslow had left the Federation for a while and went DIRECTLY to work. The timing seems too perfect... But I also don't think they did anything to get Mrs. Maslow's attention to attack. I just think they had already planned this attack before and Mrs. Maslow chose the worst time to leave... Tsk.

She clicked her tongue and squinted her eyes. While they didn't necessarily need Mrs. Maslow to fight the horde, it was always better when she was still in the Federation... Panthana stared at Nano as she thought about it, but eventually smiled.

- I'm not the most powerful, but if I can help, that's fine," she admitted.

- Thanks, Panthana.

- Hey, no worries. Are we going to have a lot of people against the horde?

- I don't know yet, but there won't be just twenty of us, that's for sure. We need as many fighters as possible to avoid deaths.

- It makes sense. I don't suppose I can tell the others?

- It's better to keep it a secret, unless you know someone who could be useful to us.

- I see, I'll look into it.

- Thank you.

Nano turned to Na.

- Na, I'll pick you up tomorrow, same time, right here.

- Okay.

She said nothing more and turned on her heels before leaving the living room. Panthana turned to the human with a smile.

- Did you have a good time?” she asked.

- It's beautiful and interesting!” he admitted.

- Our Federation is nice, isn't it?

- Yes, I can't wait to see more!

This made Panthana happy. She had already suspected that he would find the Federation interesting, but hearing it from him made her happy. They both talked about what he had seen and was surprised that he had been allowed to see the room where Izaum was. She asked him about this place and was very interested in what he was telling her. They continued to talk for a long time, until Na returned to his Faction, where Kaide had prepared him a good dish that caressed his nostrils.

This Kemono looked ahead silently, watching the storm that continued to rage. Sand was flying in all directions, obstructing their view. He had to stay on guard and could not allow himself to lose his concentration. As long as it was his turn to watch the Federation walls, he couldn't think of anything else. They had come to tell him about the horde that would be arriving in a few days, so he kept his strength up and mentally prepared himself for the fight that was to come.

I mean, did he need to prepare?

He was always ready to fight against Longers, even powerful ones. He would not let any of them defeat him or even damage the Federation's walls. His fists were ready to smash through anything. He squinted and scanned the desert in front of him; yes, the one he couldn't see because of the storm. He felt almost no Longers around, which was reassuring. They had to make sure that no attacks came before the horde that was heading their way, so the Kemono remained focused. He would not let the Longers... touch them.

The night passed without a hitch and in the sky, Arasol appeared little by little. Kin was the first to wake up from the Protection Team and went for a walk on the walls to stretch his legs. He looked at the sandstorm that continued to block their view.

- The storm is calming down, it seems…” he thought aloud.

It was reassuring. If the storm didn't stop BEFORE the horde came to attack them, then they were going to have to fight at a huge disadvantage. He continued his little stroll, humming quiet music and occasionally touching his gun that was strapped to his back. He probably wouldn't need to use it, but he had to keep it on him constantly. Sure, Maslow wasn't around, so he didn't have to fight, but he had to be prepared for any situation. He whistled his tune and hopped around the Federation walls. He had woken up with a bang today!!!

- In two days, the horde is coming, eh…” he thought.

They'd had to fend off major attacks on the Federation before, but most of the time they hadn't been able to prepare for them in advance. Here, thanks to Salida and her team, including the man who had sent that message to the Federation, they were ready. They had warned plenty of fighting Kemonos and would all be at the walls for the fight that was about to rage. Maslow was still not in the Federation, but they wouldn't need her... well, logically. She rarely took part in fights against the Longers... or ever, really. He smiled as he thought about it, but his attention was soon drawn to something... strange. He turned his gaze to the left.

The storm had just stopped.

Suddenly.

He stopped and his eyes remained wide open. He did not understand what had just happened: the storm had really... gone. It had completely disappeared without warning. Without a trace.

However, his attention was quickly drawn to something else. Even more...

Even more.............

- ... What... is... that?

For the storm was no longer obstructing life, he could see it. He could see it, in the distance, coming.

The horde of thousands of Longers coming towards them.