A ghoul? Then I could be certain the vampire had a part in this. But why had he come here and made ghouls out of villagers? Why were his slaves fighting giant ants? Why had giant ants come out of the dungeon? And who controlled these ants? Could it be those three women I spotted in the forest? They were strong, but not this strong. It didn’t make sense.

I ran back to Forange. On my way there I spotted two giant ant corpses, one more ghoul, and a fight between two ants and a ghoul.

You killed 2 ghouls and two ants; you gained 600 Exp.

The surroundings of the city were ravaged. Trees were felled, and the corpses of ghouls, ants, and humans littered the ground.

I eventually caught sight of five guards with chipped spears and armour dirtied with blood and mud.

“Help!” I called out. Hoping my eyes looked normal. I should have checked back at the river.

Still a few dozen steps away, the guards pointed their spears at me.

“Help,” I repeated. “I managed to escape from the ants; they were chasing me but then a human with cloudy white eyes came to save me. I think he’s still there, please go save him.”

The guards lowered their spears and when I reached them, they patted my head. “It’s fine I’m sure he’ll be alright,” one of them said. He gave a look to the other guards, and one went to report the incident. They were probably concerned that more beasts may come, seeing that there were at least thirty corpses of ants and ghouls in the vicinity. “We have to protect the city so we can’t accompany you there, but do you know how to get to Forange?”

I nodded. “But are you sure it’s safe, plus shouldn’t you also come? What’s going on?”

“Don’t worry kid, we gotta protect this place so go on ahead to the city. They’ll let you through.”

I nodded again and ran off. The closer I got to the city, the more guards I encountered. They sat on rocks and logs, spears down, arms exhausted. Next to them lay more corpses of ants and ghouls. Their blood seeped into the earth and a rotten smell filled the air. A few of them tied ropes around the ants and dragged them in a large pile. A mage turned them into a large pyre.

“Stop burning the corpses!” yelled a man who was running from the eastern gate.

Just as the beasts began smelling like steaks an ant exploded. Keratin shrapnel peppered the mage and a nearby guard. Scattered around them were blue crystal shards.

“Something’s happening to Henry!” a guard yelled out in the distance. There, an unconscious guard grew until he was three heads taller than the others. He turned into a high human.

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The yell of other guards came from another part of the land near the city.

The crystals resembled what I had swallowed out of Julian’s heart. But then, if this was all orchestrated by Derick, why did the ghouls fight the ants. Then again, there were those adventurers in the sealed forest. That’s when it clicked. That woman’s silver hair reminded me of Liliana. Her sword also resembled the one in the dungeon. Well, it should have been obvious that I’d have to deal with the Lilies to accomplish my mission.

The city gates were open. People came and went with gauze, rope, food, and water. Inside the town, a great bustle raged. Kids ran around with small boxes, women and men held larger ones, and mounted knights congregated in the city square. They were arranged in neat squares when a man blew into a horn and the clitter-clatter of hooves on stone traversed through town. Since none of them noticed my eyes, I guessed they now looked normal. Or perhaps they were occupied with other thoughts.

Anyhow, if I wanted to seize the capital of Liliana, I needed help.

I entered the bar which led to the Silver Blades, scaled up the shaft, crawled along the tunnel, and descended on the other side. The bar was empty, only one remained, the old barman. Around him, a steady stream of water rinsed used cups and glasses. He nodded, acknowledging my presence, and I entered Boss’s office.

Boss tapped his finger on his oak desk. His eyes wandered from one parchment to another.

“Boss—”

His head snapped up. “What is it?”

This took me by surprise as I myself didn’t know what to say.

“Did you take care of the beasts?” he asked.

My head jerked back. Why would he care about that at a time like this? “I dealt with the orcs but there are more pressing matters.”

He gazed back down to his parchments. “What do you think?”

He had changed since I last saw him. “Think of what?” I asked.

“I’ve been getting reports that more than a dozen people have become beasts. You’re a beast too. Aren’t you…afraid?”

I shook my head in confusion. “That’s not important. Aren’t the knights leavin—”

“Yes, the Duke is the main backer of the second prince. They’re going to seize the capital. The first prince’s faction is also marching out,” he continued to ramble, “couldn’t one hide up in his walls. No, no one will leave with an army composed of High humans. We’ll be crushed—”

“No, they’ll just have become beasts. Not only that, we'll have the time to consolidate power here. I’ve seen two guards become High-humans. We can build our own force.”

Boss shook his head. “It’s too risky. It’s better we wait and see.”

How had this man become the leader of a bandit guild? Well, he was the only High-human I’d met before today. It would be enough to grant him many titles. But then how did he become one? “How did you become a high human?”

“A silver pond worm—”

Then it all made sense. That worm had really missed this one. He probably showed himself to me because I was getting chased by knights and he thought I'd be a bit more proactive than this guy.

I wouldn’t let this guy’s passivity get in the way of resurrecting Rose and reclaiming my throne.

“Then what will you do?” I asked.

“We’ll wait, but can you wait?”