The discussions with Diana, seems to have ended well.

The Empress knew fully well that getting someone that was already in the top 500 under her was close to impossible without forcing them with her abilities as a vampire. Which is why she settled for the next best thing, partnerships. In exchange for 24 Internal energy pills, 10 mana crystals and 4 Silver-grade vampires that will serve until the contract is finished. She got hold of Gitax, the evolved flame demon. She rented him for a total of 2 weeks, with an extra line in the contract regarding her aid. Should he be invaded she will be sending Gitax back along with some reinforcements.

Diana and her floating castle left as soon as the sun began to rise for the morning. Travis was more than happy to finally get some rest. He wouldn't be expecting visitors until the afternoon. His rank inched closer and closer to the top 100, notifications coming from Vantak and Hamak came in left and right.

"It seems that they're enjoying themselves." Travis slept until noon, staying up late while negotiating with vampires was not healthy for the body.

"The four of you will be stationed by the buildings near the docks. I have heard that the sun weakens you greatly, That area has quite a bit of shade it should help." Noah was tasked with getting the vampires situated. Running on caffeine and willpower, he helped in getting the vampires situated until Mogbean could take over in the control room.

Zekna circled the territory once more. Without the constant influx of soldiers from the corrupter up north, this was the first calm day in a while. Skeletons and a few boats headed by Vantak's new "smarter" undead also patrolled the area now.

The calm day would also come with its own assortment of visitors. Expecting their Lord to be cheery, even Noah was surprised by the expression that he gave out. "Our next round of visitors will be arriving soon, A blacksmith that works under Rank 8. He's known as the Relic Maker."

"If I'm being honest, the deals that I've made so far have been decent. But interacting with these people left and right has been rather stressful. I need to finish these deals within this week, so that I can start focusing on the recapturing of Lindburg." Travis was speaking to himself, with Deltrax as his only other listener.

Deltrax yawned. "Master Travis, the matter in Lindburg will likely finish within the week. With the amount of reinforcements that we received and the mounds of Silver-grade corpses that our little necromancer collected, it's only a matter of time. Their task is to seal one portal, If they can't do it then you should be disappointed."

"The demons have a dozen Gold-grades, while the Light Fanatics have at least 20. Vantak is the only Gold-grade that's with them." Travis gave Deltrax some of the facts. "I agree on them succeeding at the portal sealing, but we have to deal with what comes next. More aggression from the demons and well, I don't think those fanatics will be retreating even after their portal closes due to how little they value their own lives."

The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

Deltrax would then go on to discuss matters with Travis, demons born from noble blood are usually far smarter than their peers. Born with intelligence comparable to humanity's best leaders, Travis and Noah found the opinions of the demon to be rather valuable.

"A large ship, no... scratch that." Noah couldn't believe his eyes, he was used to seeing large tanks and planes but a boat of that size was simply far too surprising.

It was an Aircraft carrier, the ship that the Relic Maker was riding was large enough to house multiple helicopters and small planes. There were hundreds of robots on board and a few thousand soldiers, each wearing medieval armor. Most of them carried guns that used mana as ammunition while some chose to carry assault rifles that were are still effective on Iron and Bronze-grades. Each of them were equipped with different enchanted weaponry and the main forces appear to be former soldiers of a European country.

"It is a pleasure to finally meet you!" The Relic Maker was the exact opposite of what he expected the ranker to be. He expected an old man or at least someone that was in their 30s, the person chatted with him like an old person talking to their nephew.

Instead, hugging him from the side was a woman in her early 20s. "I must apologize for the aircraft carrier, I couldn't just come in all alone now can I?"

"The robots are under my control but the boat and the soldiers are gifts from dear old, Number 8!" She was awfully touchy, something that Travis was not used to. Especially since she was someone that he had just met. "Ohh! Wait! Where are my manners?! I'm Melanie, Melanie Taylor! Our Oracle told me all about you!"

Blonde, Blue-eyed with a bit of a tan. She was cute, Travis could admit that. She had a hint of an Australian accent and her bubbly personality and friendly demeanor was a welcomed sight especially since Travis was expecting another serious talk.

"Travis Montes. It's a pleasure, you're free to bring some guards. Security is necessary even if we are on friendly terms." Travis kept a straight face, while unused to the situation he still focused on the task at hand.

"Hahahaha! It's fine you know. She told me that you wouldn't hurt anyone who was friendly...something something...yeah something about a junkyard?" Her head tilted for a moment. "Anyways! Enough about that, I have some presents!"

The visit from Melanie the Relic Maker was actually quite short. The snake that could see through lies, or was at least accurate in it's hunches never let out a single word. As far as Travis could tell she was genuine as well. It was the first fully positive interaction he's had with another individual since the new era began. The closest thing to it was his summons, but they were meant to be friendly at least most of them.

Much like the other visitors, she had her own agendas for her visit. The only difference is that there's none of the usual tension that's there. She presented gifts, shared a bit of food and was out of his territory after just a few hours. All she really did was give out the contacts of her alliance members. She even sent him a personal message after the fact.

Relic Maker "Melanie" : The food was amazing! Thanks for having me, I'll visit again soon okay? I might bring Mr. 8 and a few of our other members by then. I forgot to bring the necklace I made for you! TRUST ME you'll love it! I'll send you a message when I'm in the area.