Rushing up the stairs to see what is happening, I find Strauvana and Muiress by one of the busted-through windows.
"Take a look, Drake," Strauvana offers her space by the window.
When I look out into the wrecked settlement, I see that there hasn't been much change in the monsters flooding into the area. There hasn't even been a dent in the monsters. It looks the same as when we initially looked out.
Thinking about how much fighting we have already done and all the fighting we will probably have to do if we continue to help, I sigh in resignation.
"You agree then. We need to pull out and head back home. There is no way we can take on this quantity of monsters with what few people we have." Muiress grasps my shoulder, blood covering his hand as he had been holding a bandage on his side.
Taking a closer look, I can see Strauvana is just as wounded, black ichor dripping from wounds that haven't been covered or healed yet. "We need to leave. From what I can see, there is no helping them. They don't have any options left to them; we have only delayed the inevitable," I can't help but state in defeat.
Turning back to head downstairs to get Gibnic and Xelyphe, I start walking. On my way down, I pass by Koto. I can tell that she has been appraised of the situation, and her face only shows sadness, knowing there isn't anything we can do.
"Thank you," she says while holding her hand out to me. "I know we didn't start on the friendliest of terms, but still, thank you for coming and giving what little hope you could to me and my own."
I grasp her hand and shake it, "I just wished we could do more."
"While there isn't anything you can do to help us further, there is one thing you could do to help yourself. I know you will get a small reward for at least retreating from this lost battle, but I want to give you something you can only have once you meet other settlements."
Curious about what she wants to give, she takes a token that seems to materialize from her chest. "What are you doing?" I asked.
"When you meet other settlements on your planet, there are two options you can choose. One is to work together through alliances, non-aggression pacts, or trade agreements. The second is to go to war, and once either side wins said war, you will either get resources from that settlement, you can conquer that settlement, or you can completely raze the settlement and take everything. Each of those three options varies depending on how the war ends."
That is when a notification appears.
- The settlement of Starbreak has declared war on your settlement, Caelnova. -
Another message appears, wanting to become angry with Koto. I will take a look at the new notification before I burst.
- Starbreak has surrendered to Caelnova, and the leader, Koto, has offered Starbreak to Drake. You may take this settlement as your own, or you can raze the settlement to the ground and take what resources are available in the settlement's coffers.
Conqueror or Raze the settlement? -
"Why?" is all I can ask her.
"Because you helped when you could have retreated. No one here isn't grateful for what you have done. Please take it, " she says, holding the token out for me to grab.
Grabbing the token, I am again prompted to conquer or raze the settlement. I become indecisive, not wanting to raze it but not knowing what conquering a settlement might do. Looking around for someone to help me with the decision, I don't get much time before I hear cries of pain coming from the lobby. I can see that Xelyphe is now facing off against a giant wolf. Several settlers are lying sprawled on the ground with grievous wounds.
"What does razing the settlement do?" I ask quickly while heading to the doors.
"Like I said, you get all the resources."
"What is classified as a resource? Are the manor's dead beasts classified or just in the inventory?" I cast shields on Xelyphe while Strauvana and Muiress joined her to contain the beasts trying to squeeze past the enormous wolf.
"I don't know the exact details. My father never told me what it means to raze a settlement. I know there are a lot of resources you can get from razing one."
Taking the briefest moments, I try to consider whether what I was thinking was possible. I would never know unless I tried, but my concern was if it would immediately teleport us out of this situation. If it did, we didn't need to worry about what happens now and would be safe-ish. But if it doesn't let us leave immediately, then we could be royally screwed with how my mana reserves are panning out.
The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.
"Ok. One last question: how are people who previously inhabited a settlement classified under the laws of razing a settlement?"
Seeing a look of shock in her eyes and a flicker of hope for survival, she says confidently. "I don't know, but I do know that there were several groups of marauders that would always have similar numbers every time my father faced them. It was to the point they seemed like an infestation that would keep growing if not checked regularly. I can only think that maybe it had something to do with razing settlements since they never left anything behind."
There is a cry as one more of the settlers is clawed through his mid-section. Trying to think if my idea would work, I can only hope. I select to raze the settlement and then quickly shout. "Everyone, to me, we are leaving!" It doesn't take more than a moment for Strauvana, Muiress, and Gibnic to appear by my side; they are still doing what they can. Soon to follow are those who are not in the battle directly. Seeing that Xelyphe isn't leaving the doorway, I shout at her. "Xelyphe, get over here. I think I figured it out. We can save them, but we need to leave now!"
Seeing everyone else has gathered at the bottom of the steps, she slowly backs towards us, all the while trying to keep from being overwhelmed by the wolf in front of her. It works as she enters the two-meter mark for gathering so I can activate the retreat function. A timer starts to count down. We need to hold off the beasties for ten more seconds. Once we do that, we are home free.
As the clock ticks down, we keep pushing the enemies as much as possible while getting as close together to get as many people near me as possible. Casting the last of my spells, I got a shield off on Xelyphe before she took a massive swipe from the wolf's claws. The force of the blow knocks her into everyone behind her, who helps to steady her on the stairs. As the last couple of seconds pass, there is a bright light and a look in the wolf's eyes. They gleam before they leap up and enter the same light we are all in.
As the light dims around us, we appear back at the edge of the settlement like we would with any other exploration. The only difference is those around us. Hearing a massive thud from one of the sides, I see the wolf standing in front of us, ready for another pounce, but this time, there isn't anyone who can stand in front of it to protect those behind me.
Seeing that it is in a different environment throws the wolf off for a second, but it takes a look at us and starts to lick its lips. I quickly analyze the monster and am terrified of what I see.
- Alpha Dire Wolf Level 11 (Boss)
HP: 2358/2400 -
The scariest thing about this wolf isn't the health pool but the intelligence behind its eyes. It isn't looking at our group but the fog wall behind us. Not knowing what it is thinking, I see it leap once more and directly enter the fog, disappearing from our sight.
"That can't be good," Gibnic says.
"No, it can't at all," I agree.
Looking behind me, I can see that everyone who could surround me had successfully teleported to our settlement. That is the moment a slew of notifications hits me. Not knowing what to do for a second, I can only imagine what everyone would be concerned with. Is everyone here okay with being moved back to the settlement? I need to go through these notifications, but I want to do so with Laxreal nearby so he can help me where I might stumble. I should also get Ritotorous back around. He should have been with me since he is familiar, but I haven't seen a beak or feather of him for over a week. It makes me curious what he is up to.
Looking around, I can see several people on the ground holding wounds that are bleeding profusely. Xelyphe isn't doing well, but she is in a far better condition than those people. When she sees what is happening, she immediately goes into doctor mode and works on the wounds. I look at Muiress and Strauvana, "We need one of you two to head back to the settlement at the fastest speed. We need to bring these people back, but the only way is if we have some of the supplies back there. Get as many people that are willing to help as you can."
Hearing the urgency in my voice, Strauvana quickly runs off, still holding her side. I quickly get to help as best as I can. After a few seconds, there is a nudge on my shoulder, and Koto stands there. And there now seems to be some connection between the two of us. I can feel it tickling my mind, along with the other 12 people we brought with us. I can see the concern in her eyes, but I can't think of what could be concerning her other than the state of her people.
After several minutes of Xelyphe and I administering what healing we can to those in front of us, Strauvana returns with a group of people and some supplies that will allow us to move those who aren't in any state yet. When we get them situated to be pushed back to the settlement, a large group of people surrounds us. I can see that Laxreal, Rognar, and Sylvasti have arrived. It was weird not to see my mother join the group, but I figured I would understand when we returned.
"What is going on, Laxreal? Why are there so many people here?" I asked.
"Isn't it obvious? We wanted to make sure that if that beast came back, we would at least be able to put up a fight or at least help support your group, but seeing that there isn't any beast around, the extra hands won't hurt to escort everyone back to the settlement. I am curious why there are more people here than when you left. But I presume you will tell us about your brief adventure that has put all of you into such a ragged state. I am also curious about the notifications on our side about a war. I am quite perplexed as to how you resolved it so quickly." He continues that thought process for a second before rubbing his chin and leading us back to the settlement with our honor guards keeping an eye on monsters that might come near.
It took longer to return to the settlement because of the injuries we were carrying, but once we got there, I could see that several more buildings had been built for those who had arrived. Or it might be in preparation for us to tier the settlement up to the next tier. As we move through the settlement those injured are placed in the houses provided, and then those that aren't as wounded continue to follow up until the manor. When we are about to enter the manor, Koto and her group stop shot. They don't enter, but an itch tells me they are there for a reason.
"Please come in, but give me a couple of minutes so I can talk with my council. We need to figure out what happened exactly, and then we can work on solving some other issues that might have come with you surrendering and us razing your settlement."
They nod and enter the manor but don't do much other than find a spot to sit. Some of them finally start to break down after walking back. I can't help them at this moment, but I will find out what happened and then work with Koto to work something out.