Akira sat at the head of the large whaleboat and stared at the shoreline of the green jungle on the most southern tip of Halrverold’s swampy jungles.
“We have truly returned,” said Akira as he scanned the shoreline for any hidden hostile enemies, whether they be human, monster, or demigod.
This landing zone had been picked partly for how close it was to their ultimate destination, the ancestral caverns, but mostly for the fact that the shoreline had a deep drop-off that was excellent for deep water warships.
“We’ll have to build a harbor here to support our mission of exterminating the enemy forces plaguing this land,” said Akira as he scratched his chin deep in thought.
“Yap!” said Fluffball excitedly, sniffing the moist, warm air. This was the first place he had been to that was so warm and wet. It was far different from Kodria or IsKald’s warm months.
“This place looks like there will be adventures around every corner!” said Captain Pegleg, his jaw clacking as he looked at the deep green jungle that hid almost everything behind its green vines and leaves.
The skeleton pirates continued rowing tirelessly until the whaleboat beached itself on the sandy shore, forcing the passengers, including Akira, to hop out into the ankle-deep water, splashing about as they explored the shoreline.
Sploosh!
Fluffball jumped out of the whaleboat and sent water flying everywhere, drenching anyone who was nearby.
“Yap!”
Akira ignored Fluffball, who was running back and forth along the sandy beach, splashing everyone. He felt a nostalgic wave of emotions flooding through his body as he finally stepped onto the sandy beach.
A lot of bittersweet memories flooded through his mind, reminding him how far he had come from his past. The last time he was on this continent, he and the rest of the Earth tribe were being hunted down by a human army.
The last memories for both Varbu and Prince Gobbers were also unpleasant and rough, with the demigods hunting and chasing them down.
“I’m back!”
Ding!
-
In 6 months, the ultimate main quest [King of the Hill] challenge will begin!
Anyone may join!
King of the hill: Conquer the land of Halrverold. In the fierce battles to come, many will fall! Conquer and Survive at all costs!
Ding!
-
Update to secret mission:
The names of the surviving leaders of the cult of science are: Number 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
Use this information to help hunt them down and destroy the cult and their minions.
Ding!
-
All sentient living beings have received a buff to their power growth rate!
Akira frowned as he read and reread the messages several times.
Was the system messing with him? Six months was not a long time in the grand scheme of their plans. They had to find and fortify a place for the Allied army. At the same time, he had to convince and gather the other demon races to join the alliance, while also setting up a plan of attack and making sure that the army had enough resources for the planned actions they would be taking in the future.
With this new event being broadcast to the demigods, there was no hope that they could rely on easy surprise attacks to take down their targets. Now, all the guilds with power would be preparing for the coming future battles with other guilds. Some with plans to take over every country and kingdom near them, while others only wanted to hunker down inside the territory they already own.
It was going to be hell to take down even the smallest guilds since they could just continuously reappear and use their prepared war materials.
And what the heck was with the second message only giving numbers? That was not helpful at all!
Akira looked away from the system messages and saw that the few Full-moon guild-members that were with him all had a similar grave look on their face as well.
“What’s the matter?” asked Akira.
“We have all just learned of something that will cause massive changes to our plans. A massive war will start in 6 months. I believe it will be even worse than the battles that Kodria and its allies fought so far,” said Sweety.
“…and there is something we have been meaning to tell you…” said Beater nervously, looking around to make sure no one else was in earshot.
“We can walk over here if you need some privacy,” said Akira, pointing to some trees well away from the sandy beach where there were many Minos, Oni, Werewolves, and skeletons disembarking from the whaleboats.
With Akira and the Full-moon guild members now hidden behind the green foliage of the jungle, Beater spilled the beans on an important change that would affect the allied forces’ plans even more.
“We have learned through special means of communications with other friends that… we ‘demigods’ have lost our immortality…”
“What? … wait, you mean?” asked Akira, not registering what Beater was saying for several seconds.
“Yes, if we die, that is the end. Just like you and any other warrior of Kodria,” said Sweety.
“This…” was horrible news for Akira’s plans for the allied forces.
“Its not all bad news. The other demigods are just like us. If they die, they will also disappear.”
Akira’s mind raced as he tried to comprehend all the new possibilities and troubles this would cause them. The Full Moon guild members would no longer be able to be used as shock forces at major battles for fear of losing them.
In a way, this could be seen as beneficial to the humans and demon forces, as the demigods would no longer be able to keep reappearing and continuing a fight for years, thus wearing down the opposing forces.
There were also disadvantages. The enemy would definitely not stay in small groups if they were smart. There was also the fact that a cornered animal would fight even harder when faced with death. The simple threat of death would surely make the demigods more careful and brutal with their actions.
“We will have to talk more about this later. Right now, we must set up camp here and fortify the place. This beachhead will become our main hub for transporting goods and warriors to keep our future army running.”
Akira left the cover of the jungle trees and flagged down Captain Pegleg, who was hopping around mad about some pointless problem he had made up.
“What do you need?” asked Captain Pegleg, frozen in his half hop posture as he looked over at the approaching Akira.
“We’ll be spending a few days here setting up the fortifications. I need the help of all your sailors to clear out and set up everything here.”
“Leave it to us! Just show me where and what you want done, and I will be sure to get it done! My sailors will not complain about a little work since they never get tired!”
Akira led Captain Pegleg along the shoreline, pointing out areas and drawing a map for him as they walked, making sure to add notes on what and where everything was to be built.
While they planned out the fortifications and other buildings, more and more whaleboats were depositing the first wave of the allied forces along with the goods that the expedition forces needed to survive and thrive on this deadly continent.
With both Akira and Captain Pegleg taking charge, some semblance of a beachhead camp could be seen taking shape, followed by the start of the fortifications and important structures that were built on both the ground and in the trees for lookout towers.
“Be sure to start clearing a road to the north, starting here to somewhere around here where the main allied base will be,” ordered Akira one morning, pointing to positions on a map as they were organizing the day’s activities.
“Why start now? We don’t even know if it is still a habitable place or if the demigods have taken control of it!” said Captain Pegleg.
“I was just about to get to that point. With how things look around here, I think you can take command of the work forces at the beach while I take a group of warriors to the Ancient clan meeting caves and scout them out. We will go and meet with those who stayed behind. If there are no survivors, then we will make sure to clear the area so that it is ready for everyone.”
“If that’s what you want, then I have nothing to say against it,” said Captain Pegleg.
“You lot will be joining me on this adventure,” said Akira, pointing to Fluffball, Zundar, and Delgar. Of course, his royal guards would be following him as they could not leave him alone to travel through such a dangerous jungle.
***
The travel to the ancient clan meeting caves was less hectic and far faster than he remembered it from the past. But that may be because they were not being hounded by an enemy army, and there were no monsters or wild animals that wanted to mess with their deadly force.
They were forced to chop their way through the jungle, making a rough path for those who would come behind them later as they worked on making a true road from the beachhead to the caves.
Stepping out of the wild cluster of jungle trees, a long mountain chain revealed itself to Akira and the rest of the party that accompanied him.
“We’re here,” said Akira when his eyes scanned the mountain and found the familiar rock structures of the ancient clan caves.
“Hmmm… I think we can work with this,” said Delgar as he rubbed his beard and looked at the mountain with a discerning eye.
“We can’t just stand here! We have to go in and check things out,” said Zundar.
“Allow us to enter first,” said one of the royal guards as he led the others into the only visible entrance, followed by Akira, Fluffball, Delgar, and Zundar.
Swish! Thunk!
Immediately after entering the cavern entrance, a rock wall slid down, blocking the exit, while several sharp spears were pointed at them.
“We do not allow thieves to roam around in our territory. If you wish to leave with your head intact, explain why you have chosen to invade the territory of the Earth tribe!” said an elderly voice that was firm as steel.
“Grandelder Rusty of the Rustfangs, we are not thieves. It is I, Akira of the Darkmoon clan,” said Akira in an unworried voice.
“Darkmoon? I know of no clan with that name…”
“That is because the Blue moon and Red moon clans combined our forces, creating this clan. I am the leader of the clan and also the King of the medium-sized kingdom Kodria, which has many allied demon races living inside its borders.”
“Red moon, Blue moon… Akira… Ah! I remember you now. How is your grandfather?”
Hearing this question, some pain appeared on Akira’s face as he remembered the painful past. “My grandfather was killed by a demigod… this is the main reason I have the role as the clan leader for the Darkmoon clan.”
A sigh was heard from the old man in the shadows before he struck a match and lit a hanging hand lamp, revealing himself and several other weary warriors all transformed in their werewolf forms that had varying shades of red in their fur.
“I am sorry to hear that. He was a good and honorable warrior. It seems we were hasty in judging who you were. Sorry about that, but with the current situation, one can never be too careful. If you would follow me, we can talk more at ease and catch up on everything in a nicer setting in one of the meeting rooms that are still presentable,” said the elderly Rusty.
***
“… so it’s like this. How many have died?” asked Akira after hearing many details of the past years.
“Nearly half of those who stayed behind. We have been doing all we can to protect our lands, but with our numbers dwindling due to the attacks by demigods, we have been forced to only be able to protect the ancient caves and not be able to do much else about the surrounding territory for fear of being hunted down by the feral demigods,” said Grand Elder Rusty.
“You all have shown great courage and loyalty to the Earth tribe! You and all those who perished at the hands of the demigods have won great honor with your deeds,” said Zundar, looking at grand elder Rusty with approval.
“It was not just my Rustfangs that stood against them. Many small hermit clans and nomadic clansmen were forced out of their territory and fled here to join us in defending ourselves against the rabid enemy. Only with their numbers filling our ranks were we able to hold out for so long…”
“When was the last sighting of a demigod in our territory?” asked Akira.
“Over a year ago. From the rumors I have managed to glean during my secret information gathering missions, they seem to be more occupied with taking over human territories and founding their own towns or dukedoms to lord over those underneath them.”
“The humans just allowed them to do that?” asked Zundar.
“There are rumors that some tried to resist and pushed back against several small demigod guilds. But they were wiped out by the combined forces of several large demigod guilds,” said Rusty.
“Hmmm… are there any major guilds we should be wary of more than others?” asked Akira.
“Most of them are all the same, brutal and barbaric towards anyone that is not a member of their guild. But there is one large guild that rumors have been going around about. It’s about a guild whose leader wears white armor that has a holy light shining from it. He is supposed to be a friendly person and not like the other guilds. But since it’s just rumors in troublesome times, they are definitely overblown and are just being spread to give hope to those under the control of the brutal tyrants.”
“Where is the closest enemy territory to ours? Should we be worried?” asked Akira.
“If you remember, there were several small villages, if you could call them that, near the edge of the swamps. They are no longer in existence after being destroyed in battles between the demigod guilds. All the former residents of those towns were gathered and put into a new city that was formed by the victorious demigod guild. They are not overly strong compared to the large guilds in the north, but they are also not weak to the point that we could defeat them with our diminished force. The reason they still hold power is that they are supposed to be backed by one of the larger guilds.”
Akira nodded his head, hearing this.
“Your words have cleared up many things for us. The situation is far more serious than I had thought. With the enemy so close to our territories, we can not rest until we have taken them out.”
“What? We don’t even have the forces to protect our land, let alone the forces to think of launching an attack! Even with your help, we would be unable to do anything,” said Grandelder Rusty.
“That is no problem! We are not the only ones who have arrived here! A full allied demon race army has sailed here with us. They are currently working on building a harbor and defensive fortifications on the shores to the south, while we came to check out the situation here,” said Zundar.
“Well, technically, we are just the vanguard, and the main army will be here in a few months or more,” said Akira.
“This is wonderful news!” said grand elder Rusty.
“So, will you agree to join us in our operations to build up the defenses of ancient caves, take back our territories, and exterminate the demigod threat to our earth tribe?”
“I have no reason to decline your offer, but I can only speak for the Rustfangs and will have to talk with the other fellows who have been staying here with us.”
