A few minutes after Sareg left the city, a dark patch appeared in the sky which turned out to be many tiny robots as they neared. The Dark Scars cleaned up the city in no time and rebuilt many of the houses. Elena and Dred stood in the middle of the city where the citizens were led to.

Seeing their fearful expressions, Elena spoke, “I’m sure you’ve heard of the devourer and the Dark Scars these days. I’ve come to your kingdom this time, but if you’re standing here, it means we aren’t going to hurt you. I’ll briefly explain what’s going to happen now.”

Pointing at the cloud of tiny robots flying over the city, she said, “These tiny critters are really useful robots. I’m sure the word ‘robot’ doesn’t tell you anything, so it’s enough if you know that they’ll upgrade the technology in your homes. There are exactly two thousand houses in the city, only a few more than the current population. I believe so many should be enough and the robots should finish renovating in two to three days.”

“If possible don’t capture or destroy them…” she pulled out a big bag from her storage ring and put it on the ground. “This here is filled with manuals on how to use the new things which will be implemented in your houses.”

“Pardon me, but who’s going to be the king? Who’s going to work?” a grey-haired man asked. “Have you never thought about the repercussions of your actions?” he shook his head.

Elena appeared in front of him and looked into his eyes. Unlike the people who stepped back as soon as she appeared, the old man stood his ground and glared back. A smile formed on Elena’s face as she turned around, “You’ve got some nerves, hehe. But you’re wrong.”

“What do you mean?” the old man asked.

“To most people, it may look as if we were attacking cities and kingdoms randomly, but that’s not the case. Of course, I won’t go into the details, but it’s enough if you know that your territory will be overtaken a few days later~”

“I’ll tell you that you won’t have to resist because it’ll be good for everyone. You’ll have a king and order will return to this place. How does that sound, Oldman?” she asked as she turned on her heels.

“It’s like bullshit.”

“My~ Not many people dare to talk to me like that nowadays,” she laughed. “Are you not afraid of the devourer people speak of?” she stepped closer.

“I’m not! I’m old and have lived enough, I have nothing to fear! But I want to know your purpose! Why are you doing all this slaughter and murder?” the old man stuck out his chest.

“Grandpa! Please come back! What if she hurts you?!” a kid around the age eight grabbed the old man’s finger and tried to pull him to the back of the crowd. Seeing Elena’s eyes wander to the kid, the old man’s face turned panicked.

“Hmm~ it seems like you still have someone to fear, not that it matters to me,” she shrugged her shoulders and went back to Dred’s side. “I was born to kill you all, that was the purpose of my life. But I decided to wipe out only the people I deem unworthy of living, so now that’s my purpose. People who betray, rape, conspire to gather more power and wealth, and I could go on with the list. Are you happy now?” she asked as she jumped onto Dred’s back, who transformed into his Wyvern form in the meantime.

“I’m not sure,” the old man replied.

“Well, I think you’ll be in the future. You won’t have to worry about offending somebody by breathing the same air anymore~ Now then, I’m leaving,” she waved her hand. Dred flapped his large wings and rose into the air and roared, shaking even the ground below them.

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“Take care!” Elena shouted while Dred made a circle in the air and then bolted off towards the forest.

---

A minute later Dred landed in their camp and transformed into his demon form.

“Took you long enough,” Audrey came out of her house eating an apple.

“There was an old man who wanted to know my reasons, so I had a short talk with him,” Elena took the apple out of Audrey’s hand and bit into it.

“Hey! Give it back!”

“No way. This is delicious~”

“You selfish bastard…”

“Hahaha.”

“Elena, do you plan to help Khax? He’s been helping us for quite a long time now,” Audrey asked.

“Hmm- I’m not sure because his life isn’t in danger. In fact, now he can lead Padinyss by the nose and make him go to different places than where we attack. I’m quite sure they aren’t going to hear about this kingdom either for a few days. All thanks to Khax who sent them to the Est Canal.”

“But what if they make him take an oath or something?” Audrey furrowed her brows.

“Ugh… you’re right, that would be really bad. He’s our only ally from the seven leading nations and I don’t wish to risk losing him. But how can I free a wraith king from Padinyss’s palace without being noticed? If it’s only Dred or me, we could get in and out without trouble at this point, but Khax?” Elena pondered.

“I believe there is a way,” Dred added as he hugged Elena from behind.

“And what is this way you speak of?” Audrey raised her brows.

“Uhm, we could sacrifice a few Dark Scars, but I’d never do something like that. The second option is that I go in alone and run away with Khax on my back, somehow…”

“What a detailed plan you have! I’m amazed!” Audrey clapped.

“...”

“I would have expected something like this from Elena,” she added.

“What?!” Elena gasped. “You little…”

“Hahaha.”

“Well, there is a third option, but you won’t be happy,” Dred lowered his voice.

Dreading the answer, Audrey asked what was the third option.

“You know, Jake has an ability to blink even if he’s under attack. If he came with me, he could enter the palace and blink out with Khax. Although the range of his ability is only two hundred meters, it’s more than enough. But if Padinyss picks up on the interrupted Mana flow, he might be found and I’m not strong enough to fight Padinyss yet.”

“You’re right, I’m not happy hearing this option,” Audrey crossed her arms in front of her chest.

“Either this or we leave Khax alone for now,” Dred shrugged his shoulders and let go of Elena. “Aww~ it was so warm!”

“We’re trying to talk about a problem here!” Audrey pinched Elena’s nose.

“Aye~ But you don’t have to because I’m not going to risk losing my lover and my friend. I’d rather have Khax die and reveal everything he knows about us. I told him this when we made the deal as well, so he knows he can’t rely on us. Whether he reveals things about us or not is up to him.”

“Then should we just ignore this matter?” Audrey tilted her head to the side.

“Mhm.”

“Okay. Now then, where do you plan to go next?”

“Ask Dred, he is the one to decide on our next targets,” Elena mused.

A smile formed on the said person’s face, “Fun fact, there is a kingdom in the Est Canal called Driven. That’s our next target, but before going there, we’ll wait for the forces of this new alliance to leave the area. I thought about visiting Dink in the meantime.”

“Did Khax know about it or what?” Elena asked surprised.

“No, he probably told them a random location,” Dred shrugged his shoulders.

“Hmm- probably. But what do you want on Dink?”

“We’ll need to talk with Hector because we’re running out of those little robots,” he answered.

“Got it~”