Caren Augusta cast a quick glance toward the rear. The adventurers had suffered heavy casualties, yet they still managed to climb the walls. Her heart tightened. She should be returning immediately to take command.
But she couldn't move.
Oras stood firmly before her, fists clenched, adopting a boxer's stance.
"I won't take advantage of you being unarmed. Come at me. Now."
Caren almost laughed from sheer anger. "And your armor? Take it off and fight me properly if you have any honor!"
Oras's voice remained calm. "If this were ordinary sparring or a friendly bout, I would remove my armor and face you as a fellow warrior."
"But this is a battlefield. This armor is a symbol of honor, a gift from my lord. How could I possibly take it off?"
"Enough nonsense. Take my fist!"
Caren spat twice and charged. As a half-blood Wendigo, her strength and defense were exceptional. Even cornered as she was, she still had fight left in her.
Oras didn't dare be careless. Frost gathered around his fists as he met hers head-on.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
Every strike sent out a blast of icy wind. Each impact cracked the air like a sonic burst.
Oras moved with steady rhythm, his motions slow but relentless. The style came from an old master he once trained with at a martial hall in Lungmen, a form rooted in Tai Chi. Even under Caren's ferocious storm of blows, he remained unmoving, absorbing her force rather than meeting it.
With his body, he communicated one thing to her: you cannot defeat me.
A final impact sounded.
Oras caught Caren's last punch. She was panting heavily, drained of stamina, yet her eyes still burned with stubbornness.
"Surrender, and you will live."
"An occupying rebel who seized the Kazdel mobile city dares call himself legitimate?"
Caren scoffed. Oras punched her across the face without hesitation.
He had no intention of showing mercy.
"If that's truly what you believe, then explain this. Why have so many Sarkaz mercenaries chosen to stand with us?"
Oras sneered. "Don't pretend you can't see it. Among our forces, aside from the adventurers, there are plenty of Sarkaz mercenaries."
"If your words were true, they should be fighting for you. Are they?"
He looked down at her calmly as she collapsed onto the ground.
"The number of residents inside the Kazdel mobile city grows by the day. Not once has it decreased. Those mercenaries you claim fled because they 'couldn't bear our rule'—did they come from thin air?"
Caren clenched her teeth and said nothing.
Oras grabbed her and hauled her to her feet. "There is no time for hesitation on the battlefield. My lord views you favorably. He is willing to spare your life. Whether you spend your future in a cell or fighting for the future of the Sarkaz depends entirely on your choice."
"Right now, you've lost. Surrender."
Caren took a deep breath. She looked toward the fortress wall. The banner of Tomorrow's Development was already flying high.
Her lips trembled.
"…I surrender."
———
Tomorrow's Development mercenaries marched into the Western Legion fortress. The outpost was small, with only a handful of buildings—more a military stronghold than a proper settlement. A few Sarkaz civilians lived there, unaware of Tomorrow's Development's existence or that the Kazdel mobile city had already changed rulers.
In the cheers of adventurers, the Lightbearers, and the Sarkaz mercenaries, Felix stepped into the fortress. Beyond the crowd, he saw the prisoners gathered in the distance.
The battle finally concluded at the cost of hundreds of player lives. The Western Legion's mercenaries suffered over a thousand casualties. As for the half-blood Wendigos who had faced the Lightbearers head-on, all of them survived, though quite a few were beaten so badly they would be bedridden for days.
After taking over the command center, Felix assigned Ines, W, and the other senior officers to handle post-war administration: compiling merit lists, recording casualties, distributing compensation, and the rest of the essential procedures.
Once those routine tasks were settled, Oras requested an audience.
Behind him stood a young woman in a tattered combat uniform. She had a pair of sharp, antler-like horns and eyes filled with unwilling resignation. Lifting her head, she looked straight at Felix.
She froze for a moment. Clearly, she had not expected the leader of Tomorrow's Development, the uncrowned king of Kazdel, to be… such a strikingly handsome Sankta.
She had to admit, good looks did help in making a first impression. Caren felt the hostility she'd been holding onto soften just a little.
Looking at him now, he truly did have the presence of a city-lord from Kazdel's mobile cities. Had she simply fallen for rumors? Or had her bias against Sankta been too deep?
"So you are Caren Augusta."
Felix skimmed through her file. Honestly, he was surprised. Her background was almost identical to the one players from his previous life had uncovered for Ulšulah—teacher, experiences, nearly everything matched as if carved from the same mold.
"And you are the Pioneer."
Caren refused to back down as she replied. But when she noticed the Pioneer's golden eyes fall onto her, for some reason her heart tightened. Was her tone a little too sharp just now?
"That's right. I'm the Pioneer. You may call me Felix."
He gave the usual stiff introduction, then smiled. "You may have misunderstandings about me and about Tomorrow's Development. I have quite a few former subordinates of the Military Commission here. If you're interested, you can ask them."
"Those who walk the same path can be friends. I believe our misunderstanding comes from a difference in information. Of course, we can agree to disagree. You don't have to accept me or my views. But one of my goals is the liberation of all Kazdel, so that every Sarkaz may live well."
Caren pressed her lips together.
"Oras, let her go."
"Yes, sir."
Oras had no objections. Earlier, he had brought the Lightbearers to meet the half-blood Wendigos; there were barely a hundred of the latter, simple in nature and far from loyal to the Military Commission. After being defeated by Tomorrow's Development through overwhelming strength and superior equipment, many of them had accepted the result. Some even expressed interest in joining, while others chose to wait and observe.
If Caren Augusta chose to leave now, she would likely end up a commander with no troops left at all.
"My lord, is it really fine to let her walk away?"
"When have I ever forced anyone to stay? Oras, broaden your view. The world won't crumble just because one Caren leaves."
Oras bowed his head. "But if the world lost you, my lord, it could drown in endless war."
Ah, Oras—your loyalty truly runs deep.
Felix was quite pleased. After sending Oras to reorganize the troops, the system finally calculated the rewards for the players, tied to the successful capture of the Western Legion's fortress. Although the Lightbearers had defeated the half-blood Wendigos and taken part of the credit, the Wendigos were absolutely not an enemy the players could defeat at this stage.
So, really, it might as well have been a cutscene. Besides, the Lightbearers' uniforms did look great on the ladies… ahem.
Under Yangyan XF's arrangements, the professional teams received the highest experience and rewards, followed by large guilds and raid groups. The rest was divided among the mid-sized guilds and solo players. Everyone was more or less satisfied. Yangyan XF's hair had noticeably whitened these past days, and seeing the final results, he finally let out a long breath. At last, he could lie down and rest.
The next moment, the notification that popped up in his quest log made him jump straight out of bed.
[Mystery of the Wendigos]
[Quest Details: As a member of the Sarkaz race, you have discovered the existence of the Wendigos, a special people on the verge of fading into history. You sense something unusual about their power, stirring your curiosity.]
[Quest Requirements: ?]
[Reward: ?]
What the—!
What was this? What was this?!
Yangyan XF's expression twisted. This was an ultra-rare hidden quest. And the objective was to explore the secrets of an entire race. What did that mean?
What did it… mean? Yangyan XF scratched his head. Actually, what did it mean?
Thinking he should ask the raid team, he stepped out of the tent, only to run straight into two Sarkaz players from the strategy group who were approaching in a hurry.
The three compared their notifications and discovered that all of them had triggered the quest. And it wasn't just them—every Sarkaz player who took part in the battle, numbering in the thousands, had received this racial exploration quest.
Yet the quest listed no requirements or rewards. What was going on?
Yangyan XF scratched his head. Part of him wanted to ask the Pioneer directly, since he felt the Pioneer could answer all his questions, but that seemed inappropriate.
"Yangyan, since only Sarkaz players got the quest, could this be a racial storyline?"
"Makes sense."
Another player added, "I heard someone triggered a Lupo racial quest too."
"How does a Lupo even have another race to branch into?"
"Seems to be the northern Lupo. They have higher resistance to the cold."
Yangyan XF cleared his throat. "Well, at least the Terra Times has something interesting to discuss this week. Let's keep gathering information. There's probably something we overlooked."
The players got moving. Besides sorting their loot, they worked on expanding the captured Western Legion fortress. Though it was a military zone, there were still plenty of hidden quests waiting to be discovered. They also noticed their map position was at the far west of Kazdel's territory; beyond this point lay the uninhabited zones between Kazdel and Leithanien.
Ah yes—the Austrian and German lads. Time to turn back!
For the Kazdel players, Leithanien's only impression was that everyone there could sing, dance, and play instruments. A land of performers, more or less (or so they joked). Dozens of players stood proudly atop the ramparts, pointing toward the distant horizon. This was where they would begin conquering every region of Terra, bringing it all under the banner of their Supreme Commander and the glorious Tomorrow's Development.
It was true—the Lightbearers needed more recruits.
Felix had been thinking about that. The Lightbearers were his first official legion, and he envisioned a cap of one thousand members. They were still a few hundred short, but he planned to let Degenbrecher handle the selection when the time came. As for the second and third legions, he had begun deciding their direction.
The second would be the Sarkaz Special Forces.
This unit would gather powerful Sarkaz and those with rare bloodlines, each possessing some unique skill. Felix was particularly tempted by the half-blood Wendigos—they would fit perfectly in this second legion.
For the third legion, he intended to create a player unit with its own selection process. The pay and benefits alone would probably make players fight each other for a spot.
While Felix planned the integration of the half-blood Wendigos, Caren Augusta, commander of the Western Legion, leaned blankly against a corner of the wall.
She had failed. A trueborn Sarkaz, defeated by a foreign mixed-force army. For the Military Commission, it was a heavy blow. She had once believed she could hold Kazdel and make it better, but last year she clearly saw the Sarkaz people flee north toward the mobile city, as though they knew that was the only safe place left.
She glanced down at the cheerful adventurers running around below and let out a quiet sigh. From the start, they had been wrong. Kazdel had been wrong. They had treated the undead adventurers as expendable tools, thrown into battles with broken gear and forced to fight until they fell.
But look at them now—well-armed, spirited, stronger than before, and with their immortal Arts…
A shiver ran down her spine. She dared not imagine what the adventurers would become in a few years, or what Tomorrow's Development would grow into.
The Pioneer's ambition was vast. And from the very beginning, he had already begun winning hearts.
"…Why do those half-blood Wendigos look so deflated? They were acting all high and mighty a moment ago."
"Probably had their confidence shattered. Our gear is miles ahead of theirs."
A pair of Sarkaz siblings in Lightbearer mech-uniforms walked up the wall. Noticing Caren sitting there, they simply nodded politely, showing no particular interest.
No mockery, no gloating. Only calm.
Caren waited for some reaction, but all she received was that brief nod before they turned to leave. It puzzled her—and bothered her more than she expected. Clearly, she had misjudged them.
"Wait."
Nightfall and Dawn turned back as Caren approached from behind.
"I want to ask you… about everything related to Tomorrow's Development, and about what Kazdel looks like now."
Nightfall's lips curled in a knowing smile. She understood—this was her chance to report a good deed to the Pioneer later.