Azemar remained to be frustratingly cryptic or silent about the lessons for the rest of the journey.

No matter how much Alaster asked, or in what way, the man either didn’t respond or simply glared at Alaster for interrupting his reading, which seemed to be constant.

The journey was quite boring. The Nobles seemed to ignore Alaster, maybe hoping that if they refused to acknowledge him, that he would disappear, and Azemar would choose to teach someone of their choosing. The guards did not ignore Alaster, but they avoided him.

After the short bout two of their strongest had against Alaster, they were wary of him. They had fought enough battles to know that Alaster had not even been trying, yet he had easily torn through them.

So instead of getting to know his travel mates, he instead focused on building his army.

Despite traveling through some of the most Monster dense forests, the Delegation was never attacked. When they landed for the night, Azemar summoned his suits of armor from his Ring of Holding and sent them out. They kept the Monsters away from the Delegation to such an extent that even with his Expert hearing, Alaster only heard any conflict one, and it was distant and quickly silenced.

The only times Azemar seemed attentive was when they were flying through the air during the day. It had confused Alaster, until he thought about it.

Monsters did not just inhabit the land. There were some Monsters that could fly, just as there were that could swim. It was because some could swim that boats either never traveled more than a hundred meters away from land, or were practically floating fortresses.

There were Monsters that could fly, including some species that never touched ground once in their entire lives. The most notable of flying Monsters were of course Wyverns. Fifty foot long flying lizards with razor sharp claws like swords and teeth like daggers.

Wyverns were extremely territorial and hostile. Worse yet, they traveled in flocks of up to ten, though during migrations or Monster Waves, they could travel in groups in the hundreds.

Their scales could easily deflect glancing blows from Experts. The only weakness they had was against Magic. Had they been even slightly resistant towards it, Alaster was certain there would be more than just a few villages destroyed each year.

But then again, the same could be said about many things. If Orcs were just a little more patient. If Goblins were a little smarter. If Trolls were a little less hungry. Humanity had struggled, and struggled still, to carve out their own place in such a violent world. Despite how powerful they had become, they were still on the brink of destruction.

However, the true horrors of the world resided not on land or in the sky, but in the water. Hidden from all Humanity, untouched, unchecked. Under constant pressure and in a constant struggle to survive. The Monsters under the waves made even the Demigods shiver.

Despite their immense strength, they feared the creatures that called the cold depths their home. And for good reason.

Indescribable horrors that seemed to have no right to exist, the mere sight of which could kill the weak of will. Creatures so small they could not be seen by the naked eye, but so numerous they appeared as clouds in the water. Towering monstrosities that if it stood on one edge of the continent, they could still be seen from the other.

It was such Monsters that reminded Alaster that despite all his struggles, despite all his power and planning, it was all so small. At any moment, it could all become meaningless. At any time, a threat could come that would force Humanity to band together or become extinct.

But instead of making Alaster feel as if he shouldn’t bother, it only pushed him to struggle harder. If even the Demigods feared such power, than Alaster would simply have to become stronger than the Demigods. He did not care how much he would have to sacrifice, so long as he could protect what little he had left, he would.

On the morning of the third day since their departure, the defiant city of Galmore came into view. They had only been flying for a few short hours and Alaster had held off on his work in order to see it. Peeking through the window, Alaster caught his first sight of the city that had survived the constant attacks of Monsters.

Built just five miles away from the southernmost shore of the continent and fifteen miles from the mountain range of staggering height. It was not a sprawling city, but nor did it seem especially crowded. Similar to Onigas, it was built in a circle, but unlike Onigas, this was a city built entirely for war.

The outer wall was over a hundred meters tall. Towers reaching fifteen meters above that stood every fifty meters. Each tower was equipped with a multitude of siege weaponry, both mundane and magical, capable of targeting both ground and air targets. The tops of each tower were large enough for a large house to reside comfortably.

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The walls themselves were twice layered and reinforced both with massive steel beams within and driven deep and by magic. The bottom layer was twenty-five meters wide. The top layer stood ten meters taller than the previous, allowing the defenders on the top layer to directly assist the bottom layer while still remaining above any attackers atop the walls.

Both layers had countless sharp spikes angled downwards, threatening any who dared attempt to scale the walls. But before any would have the opportunity to do so, they would first have to cross the fifty meter wide fifteen meter deep moat.

The city was segmented into thirteen sections by the moat forming ten meter wide rivers within. Stone bridges provided access between the sections; both ends of each bridge had a gate house.

As expected, it was quite obvious which sections were better off, yet still, Alaster did not see any sprawling estates. The wealthy homes were modestly sized with only a small back lawn. The center most section, forming a small island, sat a large castle where Alaster suspected the City Lord resided and worked.

It appeared as if the city was split into quarters with the moat, then further split by two additional moats equally splitting the space until each quarter had three sections.

Each section had a five meter wide road around its edge, providing a clear line of sight. Each quarter was capable of operating independently from the others, at least for some time.

There were only two gates, North and South. Each with a twenty-meter half circle around it, followed by another five meter wide moat and a five meter tall wall.

Unknown to Alaster, a large percentage of the city was truly underground, accessible only from a single point in each quarter of the inner most ring, and the center island. Known to the citizens as the Bunker, as it is where most of the food is grown, where most of the city’s warehouses reside, and where they are supposed to escape, in case the wall is breached.

Galmore was a city not of growth and prosperity, but of grit and determination built through the blood and tears of constant threat. It was a city built firstly for defensibility and livability second. Every person over the age of fifteen was trained for combat. Even when they became adepts, with many choosing non-Combat Classes, they still trained, furthering their Abilities. If needed, only the very young or very old would not be able to rise to the city’s defense.

Even now, as the Delegation flew closer, Alaster could see that the city was under attack. He was not the only one to see it either, but the Delegates did not seem at all worried. As if they had seen such a scene countless times before. Which they had. Not only seen, but fought in.

Thousands of Orcs charged out of the thick forests, rushing through the two mile long clearing, diving into the moat, and scaling the eastern walls. The downward facing spikes slowed them, even catching several, and causing others to lose their grip on the wall and falling. All while being under the constant, steady, and practiced bombardment of the defenders.

It was the first time Alaster had ever seen an Orc in person, even from such a distance.

Orcs were large humanoid creatures standing on average seven feet tall with large muscles. Even the rare Magical Orc had rippling muscles. They were extremely strong, surprisingly fast, and just as hard to kill. Their skin ranged through all the different shades of green and was naturally tough.

They had two large tusks pointing up and out of their mouths, allowing them to rip large chunks out of even metal shields.

Their intelligence was roughly tribal. Their weapons were primarily clubs and swords, typically made out of bone or sharpened stone. They wore only loincloths with only a few deciding to wear even bones crudely tied together as a form of armor.

The only ranged weapon they used were javelins, which they could throw with mighty strength even from a hundred meters away.

They were one of the few Monsters that did not attack Humans out of simple hate or hunger. Orcs were perfectly capable of hate, but they did not hate Humans, at least not as a whole. They attacked Humans out of entertainment.

While Hobgoblins attacked Humans because they enjoyed the pain and misery. They enjoyed cruelty. Orcs loved to fight. They were territorial and liked to expand, but they did so only as a side effect of them seeking another fight.

Against such an intimidating opponent, Alaster would have expected the Galmorians to be frightened or hesitating, but he saw neither. They boldly stood against the towering Orcs, holding their ground.

But it was not just Humans Alaster saw fighting the Orcs. In fact, Humans numbered less than the others fighting the Orcs.

The Monsters fighting the Orcs, defending the city, were diverse. Alaster spotted everything from Goblins to Frost Bears, Gemlings to Golems.

In truth, the majority of the Galmorian population could summon, raise, or create some type of minion. Either their Classes allowed them to, or they learned how to do so.

The City was under constant attack from every angle. If the defenders had to use themselves against each one, they would slowly be whittled down until they could not properly defend the walls. But a Minion could be recreated much quicker and much easier. A single Human could command several Minions, expanding their defense force by several times.

The Minions were part of everyday life in the city. Helping their casters in numerous ways. Some simply hauled things, while other created. The moats of the City, both within and outside, were teeming with marine Minions. Even as the Orcs swam across the Moat, they were attacked by the Minions, dragged under, eaten, or simply cut or bitten until they bled out in the water.

The aquatic battle turned the surface of the water into a churning bloody mess, but it did not stop the Orcs. The number that failed to reach the other side was minor compared to those that did, or those that had not yet been able to attempt the crossing.

Even as the Eastern walls were under attack, the other walls continued their usual patrols and work. As their comrades fought off thousands of Orcs, they continued their shifts, talking and joking with each other while keeping a trained eye on their duties.

Alaster, whose mind had been molded by survival and combat, had always wondered what a city built for war would be like. Now, he had seen just such a city.

It made his heart race with excitement.