The skies above the harbor dazzled with magical light. Any projectiles raining down to disrupt city guards from responding to their raid were nullified by said strange flashes.

Rahdr rushed to snatch a telescope out of a spotter’s hands and searched for the caster. His gaze drawn on a figure basked in daylight and could vaugely make out its silhouette.

“Shit. It’s that Turtle.” He recognized Ainig who was opposing the siege.

Despite launching dozens of heavy projectiles at the harbor, it was only one Scalemen taking the brunt of their barrage. The Silver Beast Alliance was having trouble breaching Ainig’s impenetrable barriers.

Their ammunition would deplete if their attacks continued to fail. Realizing there were no other option, he raised his blowing horn to signal other ships to change tactics. He commanded his sailors to drop the sails.

“Rahdr, what are you doing? We haven’t breached the harbor’s defenses.” Fang shouted.

“We need to break the stalemate and to do that, we’ll have to take down the Scaleman.”

“Alright. I’m with ya. The Pursuer and Silver Cry will follow yer lead.”

The vessels trailing behind the Invincible picked up strong tailwind from Pamalyra’s great sandstorm and blitzed the harbor.

“Thirty seconds!”

“Brace for impact! We will take revenge against them greedy merchants! For Silver!”

“For Silver!”

The Invincibles’ bow spirit bent and snapped. It collided against a barrier manifested of pure light, but ultimately lived up to its name as its smashed through with little damages.

Rahdr snatched his hammer and shield from the pygmy kobolds, leaping off the ship’s bow as it abruptly halted after from running aground. He found the Ainig pushing against the entire weight of the Invincible to prevent it from straying inland further.

“Get outta our way, Turtle! Why are ya helping those greedy fools?!”

“I-isn’t there a misunderstanding where we can talk about it?”

“There’s nothing to misunderstand! Those scums killed Silver’s Ma in the most brutal way. They dishonored the Liberator who protected Pamalyra after everything he did! We won’t back off until those merchants die!”

In an excess of fury, Rahdr pounded his hammer at Ainig’s shield. Unfortunately, he was met with an immovable object as Ainig defended against his bludgeoning barrage. Silver and Pilus, the two sturdiest Pamalyrians Rahdr knew had trouble keeping their posture when enduring his hammer. Meanwhile, the Scaleman hadn’t flinched the slightest.

Rahdr saw Ainig preparing a head on clash. The Lycanthrope set down his shield and braced every fiber of his body to endure a heavy blow.

Their shields collided. Rahdr expected to lose in this battle until he realized Ainig wasn’t pushing as hard as he thought. The Scaleman took an awkward stance which did not give him great pushing power, but it was enough to keep himself from toppling over.

When their eyes met, Rahdr sensed a fire in Ainig’s gaze. Despite the Tortoise’s timid nature, he was dangerous.

What’s the Scalemen planning?

“Fang! We must take this one out!”

But there wasn’t any response from Pursuer’s captain.

Rahdr disengaged from Ainig and scanned his surrounding for Fang. He located the Pursuer’s Captain stranded with his sailors on the docks from something. A member of the group suddenly vanished and then Fang.

“ARRGH!”

Rahdr spotted a nightmarish being grasping Fang and a sailor by their necks. It carried a bundle of javelins on his back and one of his four arms held a jagged edged wooden blade slathered with vile liquid. Both Pamalyrians foamed from their mouths as the insectoid’s compound eyes glowed from moonlight casting on it.

“Fang!”

[Alive. Paralyzed only.] Aten flashed a sign.

“We, we don’t want to hurt you or anyone.” Ainig peeked from behind his shield. “We just don’t want you to destroy the place where all your ships wait.”

“So, you’re telling me I could’ve docked the ship without you two interfering?”

“Y-yes.”

Rahdr sighed and moved his hammer away from Ainig.

“A-also, we can talk with the Oracle to resolve this.”

“Che. It’s pointless. Silver won’t stop.”

[We will stop him.] Aten flashed a sign.

“I meant Silver can’t be stopped. Once he sets his goal, he will go against all odds to achieve it. He’s that stubborn.”

[I know someone more stubborn.]

“Ah? Aint no way anyone in the world can be as stubborn as Silver.”

[There is.]

“There isn’t!”

[There is.]

“There isn’t! Hell, let’s bet on it!”

Watching their captain argue with their enemy, the sailors tossed a glance at each other as they were unsure what to do.

Their bickering were interrupted by a marching army rushing into the harbor. They proudly flew a flag of two Beastman crossing spears under a sun. The flag belonged to the Vilja Family and their soldiers outnumbered the attackers, quickly blocking all routes leading into the city.

Each individual was outfitted with high quality chitin armor crafted from monsters of the desert. Their weapons were also forged of said beasts, showcasing the wealth of the family supporting them.

Rahdr wondered where the army hid while the harbor was besieged. He couldn’t believe the galls the Vilja family left only Ainig and Aten to defend the docks while her soldiers waited for the storm to settle.

The Sailors redirected their hostility at the encroaching army.

“E-erm! Please don’t be too harsh on them!” Ainig pleaded.

“Don’t move!”

“M-me too?”

“Put your weapons down!” The commander continued to demand. “Any further actions will be taken as a threat. We will kill you if any of you act suspicious.”

Aten and Ainig exchanged looks. The two obediently dropped their weapons and raised up their hands but Rahdr and the sailors refused to do so.

“Steel Heart! Have you and your crew drop your weapons, now!”

“Last I checked a nobody like you ain’t part of my crew. Unless ya got me walkin a plank, you ain’t worth a silver to lend an ear, parasite!”

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Rahdr suddenly lunged forward with his shield leading the way. He broke through the wall of spears and tackled into the frontline infantry, matching the strength of ten soldiers trying to keep him a bay.

Both wings of the line formation collapsed at Rahdr. However, his crew blitzed at the army in the middle of collapsing at Rahdr.

An all out battle broke out.

“Kill them all!”

“We’ll follow Silver to the death!”

Multiple spears targeted sailors one by one while soldiers straying too far from their group were singled out and hunted down.

Rahdr held up a magic crystal, absorbing its essence into his throat. He unleashed a blood curling howl and shattered the formation in his path. The commander was alone, exposed. Rahdr bolted towards his target and swung his hammer, only to find it parried by a Bo staff.

The individual knocked aside Rahdr’s hammer and forced him to block an overhead strike.

“How tenacious. It’s no wonder you’ve rightfully earned the name ‘Steel Heart’. “

The head of the Vilja Family, Belka Vilja, boldly approached the battlefield with a party of bodyguards. Although it was difficult to verify her identity behind a wall of shields, Rahdr’s ears led him to believe Vilja was there.

“You’ve stupidly shown yourself, Dockmaster!”

“I’m merely curious. Why are two respected captains turning their blades at Navargzan?”

“I wonder why?” Rahdr spat. “Maybe if the council hadn’t pushed Silver so far, things would’ve been peaceful, murderer.”

“Silver tread on dangerous territory first.” Belka stated.

“On the contrary, you’re the ones who killed a family first! Fang, when are you going to stop pretending?!”

Aten realized the Pamalyrian he struck down was a member of Fang’s group in disguise.

Razor sharp gust of wind blew over the harbor. Everyone between a Sailor and the human shield surrounding Belka was sliced and diced. Half of Belka’s bodyguards were immediately cut down before a row of shields moved and covered her flank.

“Everyone, charge! Kill the head of the Vilja Family, now!” Fang ordered.

Fang’s sailors leaped off the back of Rahdr’s crew and beelined to their target.

“You there! Scaleman, insectoid, why have you yet dispatched those ruffians? Didn’t the Oracle order you to protect the harbor? You allowed the enemy to dock. That is unacceptable!”

“B-but…” Ainig sulked.

Aten shook his head, giving Ainig the reassurance he needn’t to interfere with the sailors attacking the Vilja family.

Kihet assigned them two orders. The first was to prevent the docks from being destroyed and thus, the two were not obligated to interfere the battle between the sailors and the Vilja faction. As the facility was no longer threatened at the current state of battle, Aten and Ainig took a step away and simply observed.

“Do your job you useless foreigners! Why aren’t you two doing anything-?!”

Frankly, Aten didn’t want to protect a bothersome VIP.

“Yer dead!”

Fang broke through the hoard of bodyguards. He thrust his sword forward and impaled his target.

“Tch. Coward! You didn’t even show up!” Fang’s sword hung a magic orb that was projecting Belka’s voice. “Rahdr, she’s not here!”

As expected, Belka never intended to expose herself to danger to begin with, so the order was nulled.

“We’ll have to fight inland and look for her.”

That was their cue. Kihet’s second request was to guard the entrance to the city from everyone no matter friend or foe.

Aten suddenly blinked ahead of the army of sailors. Behind him, a screen of impenetrable light sealed off the entrance into the city, halting Rahdr and Fang’s advance to search for the Dockmaster’s whereabouts.

“What gives?”

[Cannot leave.]

“It’s a shame we ought to fight in the end.” Rahdr raised his weapons at Aten. “Look. Silver ain’t stopping even if ya get in my way. All of us vowed to follow through with his decision till our last breath.”

Aten silently stood firm, tagging every sailor within the vast wide of view his compound eyes provided. His transparent wings flickered, prepared to fly if the Pamalyrians initiated combat.

Meanwhile, Ainig slowly stomped towards the army’s rear. Although he himself wasn’t intimidating at first, the transformation on his body made the sailors doubt themselves. Large clusters of crystals growing over his forearms were filled with light and opalescence, illuminating the Pale Dragon’s power granted onto him in the midst of night.

“So, these are the Oracle’s companions.” A weary smile flashed on Fang’s face. “I never expected to take on such monsters.”

“Be careful, Fang. I heard that bug can’t be killed.”

“And from what I heard from you, that Turtle’s almost as tough as your ship. Geez, we’re up against one invincible and one immortal monster. It shudders to think what the Oracle and his other companions are capable of.”

“It’s time for plan B.”

Rahdr whistled loudly.

The Silver Cry’s trap door from the back dropped open and inside the dark cargo hold, a whimpering creature poked its head out into the moonlight. Its body was plunged with iron stakes chaining the larva of a large creature to the ship.

It cried out into the desert as if it was calling for something as the ship slowly sailed back out to the sands.

“No hard feelings. We know we can’t win against you two, but you can bet we’ll die trying! It’s all or nothing!”

The ground quaked. The sand below the docks shifted and off in the distance, a building mound of sand was spotted travelling towards the harbor at frightening speeds. When it entered within a few hundred meters from the docks, the piling sand sunk and dissipated.

It was eerily silent. Everyone looking out towards the vast desert braced themselves.

Suddenly, a patch of sand exploded and pushed aside two vessels next to it. A huge monster jumped into the air and crashed onto the harbor. One of its hardened claws sprung up with enough force to stir up a heavy gust of wind and dented the Invincible’s armored hull.

Towering before them was as large as a ship. Although its compound eyes were similar to Aten’s and its body resembled a mantis, it wasn’t an insect monster. Its claws were large and bulbous, not sharp and long. The creature glowed ghastly green under the dark sky.

“W-what is that?!” Ainig shrieked.

In a moment of panic, Ainig lifted the barriers from the city’s entrance to protect the docks from being destroyed.

“And if you let it run loose, it’ll destroy this harbor!” Fang shouted as he lunged at Aten.

The other sailors followed to overwhelm Aten with numbers. They quickly learned no one landed a hit on the Vivirian. Their bodies felt tingly from a small cut inflicted onto them as Aten countered each of their attempts to cut him down.

Rahdr and Fang managed to protect themselves from Aten’s flurry of thrusts. Unfortunately, neither could find an opening to shift the tempo of the assault to their favor. Rahdr had no choice but to turtle behind his shield and endure a hail of heavy strikes while Fang just barely evaded each poison coated tip.

Although they were unable to read the Vivirian’s expression, the two were simply wasting Aten’s dwindling time.

Confident in their endurance, the two Lycanthropes pressured Aten’s attention onto them while the creature ran amok. Soon, the Vivirian would have to make a choice to protect the harbor and let the Sailors pass or watch as his mission to protect it fail.

“I won’t let you!”

A flash of light painted over the harbor. The dazzling light show blinded the Lycanthropes whose eyes were used to the dark. After their blurry vision recovered, everyone faced Ainig’s direction.

A visage of a dragon’s head loomed over Ainig’s back with its jaws sizzling from the aftermath of its breath. The Tortoise’s body was reinforced with dazzling white crystal emitting containing high concentration of magical energy, allowing him to launch more breaths repeatedly if needed.

What about the creature?

At first it was thought the creature had burrowed into the sand. They soon recognized a weird crescent wound on a creature without its claws and head. Its fluorescent body flickered then collapsed, vanquished by a single breath containing a fraction of an Elder Dragon’s power.

The sailors were baffled how a creature of the sandstorm was defeated with such little difficulty. After witnessing what kind of opponents they had to overcome, their morale depleted.

One by one, they dropped their weapons wearing defeated expressions as Aten did not hesitate to paralyze the rest of them.

That’s when a cry howled. When the darkest hour hit, the Liberator shall make his appearance.

“My nose led me here to find the Vilja family head. Looks like my nose ain’t as good as it used ta be.” A silvery Lycanthrope stood at the entrance into the city. “You, insectoid. I remember ya.”

Douglas stomped towards Aten.

Unlike the first time they met, the Lycanthrope’s body was enveloped by a dense coating of magical power of the mystic moon. Douglas body matched Ainig’s height but packed with muscles underneath his glowing hair. He held [Tyrant Fang] with one hand when usually he needed two.

“I’m in a bit of a bind here. Could ya tell me where the head of Vilja family is?”

[Can’t.]

In a split second, Aten exploded.

Or so he thought. The dreadful bloodlust Douglas casted onto him was suffocating, but not immobilizing. Thanks to a similar experience in the past, Aten was able to avoid [Tyrant Fang] before it hacked him into two pieces.

He leaped over the sword and slashed Douglas with his toxin coated spear. A shallow cut drew a small ribbon of blood, indicating Yizdra’s poison have entered Douglas’ bloodstream.

Aten continued to dodge Douglas’ relentless slashes. Seconds went by, then minutes until Aten realized toxins were ineffective against the Silvered Lycanthrope.

His antennas vibrated and all noise suddenly vanished. A rush of slicing wind tore off an arm, then two. Aten tucked himself into a ball to brave the maelstrom until his body was eviscerated from Douglas’ [Howling Cannon].

“Everyone, go on ahead. I’ll mop up these two.”

Aten was instantly revived by the Shadow’s curse. Once his consciousness had come to, he saw Douglas lunged at Ainig to drop the barriers. The sailors invaded the city and going about to locate the four members of the Merchant Council. They were far too scattered to quickly dispatch them, but he didn’t want to leave Ainig alone with a deadly foe.

Aten plucked scraps from the floor, anything to use as a weapon and dove towards Douglas. He was suddenly stopped by dome of light surrounding Ainig and Douglas.

“Aten, go stop the others!” Ainig screamed. “I can, I’ll hold him off!”

“Don’t get too full of yerself. I’m not in the mood fer games.”

Douglas’s attack threw Ainig off his feet and sent the Tortoise tumbling across the floor. The Pale Dragon governed over daylight and because it was night with a full moon, Ainig couldn’t harness enough magical power to match the moon’s domain.

Power was something Aten lacked. He may be fast and could endure death bringing attacks endlessly, but he would be unable to interfere in a battle between two powerhouses where power and defense were the main focus.

Aten turned away at the request of Ainig, placing all faith in the Tortoise to keep Douglas caged long enough until he could fetch Rogus.