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~~~(POV: Saintess Lucy)~~~

~~~(Location: The Lost Kingdom of Feradia, Capital City Feradia)~~~

~~~(Time: 10:16 PM)~~~

The stench from rotting corpses whiffs through the air, and even on this massive balcony, I can smell it above the city. My view of The City of Feradia from here shows how massive it is and how much damage it's sustained. "My lady, the bodies have been tallied." A priestess enters onto the royal balcony and informs me of some news.

We're using the abandoned and partly destroyed palace as a base of operations here in Feradia. This massive Capital City was lost in the war against The Monster Horde, but when we arrived here two days ago, there was no occupation of monster forces. A dead city filled with corpses is what greeted us, and now we're tallying the dead.

My body is ridge as I turn, and I try to steel myself. It's been so much work, and I feel like I'm burning out. I wish I could retire like Alex is doing... "Gather the officers and commanders in the main hall. We'll need to discuss our next move there." She bows her head slightly and walks through the door and back into the room. Leaving me on the balcony alone.

Why didn't they occupy Feradia? This is a strategically valuable kingdom and has many routes and rivers leading into other lands for future invasions. The entire Kingdom of Feradia has been empty... It's like The Monster Horde came through, killed everyone, and left... They didn't even take the women... That's out of character for the monsters...

The signs obviously point to monster forces and the way the people were killed match the same type of wounds inflicted by The Monster Hordes weapons and attacks... "What the hell is going on..." When an enemy does something that breaks their current pattern, it should bring you concern. It's a great indicator that things are changing on the opposition's side.

There are times to think about this in the meeting. I leave the balcony edge and the view of the ruined city. Taking the same path, the priestess too. We've brought them along to bless the dead and try to help any survivors with injuries, along with our forces sustained injuries. They've been a great help. The halls and carpets are stained in crimson, and the smell permeates my senses.

I've grown sick and tired of war... Fighting endlessly... All of this started with the arrival of players and Slayer Zern's actions against The Orc Army. Getting to the main hall takes no time at all, and once there, I look out towards the massive makeshift table, and all my forces officers and commanders are silently waiting for me as I approach my spot.

There are papers in front of every seat. Waiting to reveal how many have died in total in the Kingdom of Feradia. "Let us see how great of a loss the human race has suffered in this assault against Feradia..." Everyone steps forwards at my words and takes a seat in the rough and raggedy chairs, and I do the same. The wood is quite uncomfortable, but this is war, not tea time.

We take the reports, and I see the faces fall on everyone, and as I read the number, I grit my teeth in anger. "Over 260 million have been slaughtered... I've never seen such high losses on our side before... Why would they kill everyone? Taking the women would've helped them in the end, right?" An officer I don't know the name of speaks what everyone is thinking.

There are collective sighs and groans from around the room, everyone is scanning the more in-depth data, and I see the amount of death for the children and elderly... Not a single life was spared, and the few survivors we have found are too traumatized to talk. "This is unacceptable!! We need to retaliate again!!" That won't work... The Monster Hordes territory has been abandoned.

It's the reason we're here and searching for them. When my forces invaded The Monster Horde Territory, there was nothing left. All monsters and enemy forces were nowhere to be found. "We can't retaliate against an enemy we can't find. They've switched tactics for this war." The discussion continues, but I'm too consumed by the amount of dead.

There are too many possibilities to know what happened to them, or what this means for our war... We've been tracking the movement of their armies, and this is where we've been led. "What is their goal..." The conversations and debates all halt at my words... I'm honestly surprised that anyone heard me... I bring up the most important point to talk about.

Everyone is silently waiting for a deeper explanation and a new avenue of discussion. "If we can find out their goals, we can find out where they're going... They didn't take the women, meaning they no longer need them... They've abandoned their territory and are moving in massive numbers... Attacking Kingdoms wherever they can find them..." It's almost like they're searching for something.

historical

What they're searching for is beyond me at this point, but I can only guess that it's hidden from them. Everyone in the room is thinking deeply about my words, and we all hear a voice that isn't a part of the table. "When we bless the bodies, the souls of the dead are sometimes left behind in pieces, which is strange." The priestess drops a huge piece of information.

When mortals die, you go to either The Underworld or you go to The Overworld. The blessing of the bodies is a church's tradition more than a ritual to help move others on. If there are pieces of souls left behind, then they're being taken. When a mortal dies, their soul arrives at either destination in one piece. Only someone capturing and locking souls would leave this behind.

Realization falls on everyone, and I jolt up from my seat and slam the table with my fist. Breaking the long and rickety monstrosity. "They're collecting souls!! THEY PLAN TO RESURRECT A POWERFUL ENTITY FROM THE UNDERWORLD!!!" They need sacrifices to do that, and the easiest ones to get are mortal souls. You can trap them and take them anywhere.

~~~(POV: Cera Adamo)~~~

~~~(Location: Staying at an Inn in Wessixs, Elven Kingdom)~~~

~~~(Time: 10:55 PM)~~~

Sally snuggles up against my body, and we both smell good for a change. After all three of them were done in the bathroom, I took a turn and soaked my body in magically enhanced water. I haven't been this clean since the time I visited Amelia in Zenith. "You smell wonderful..." Her head is buried in my neck, and she's warming me up for a change.

Having a girl tell me that I smell good... It gives me a funny feeling in my stomach... Perhaps it's because Sally is the one saying such a sweet thing. "Mmm... You don't smell half bad yourself... Be a shame to ruin it by getting sweaty..." She chuckles at the mention of laborious physical activities. She glides her hand up and down my chiseled stomach.

The feeling of her fingernails give me goosebumps, and they cause my heart rate to rise. Luckily, that's the only thing that's rising right now. "Yeah... Ruining it by getting sweaty would suck... But if we both get back in the bath right after, then we won't stink..." Her voice is ridden with temptation, and I'm hardly able to resist. My body betrays my mind in the end.

The new tent in the blanket makes Sally raise her head and smile at me. Right before sinking under the covers and heading towards my lower half. I close my eyes to enjoy this...

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A/N: Below this line, I'll be keeping Cera's player information. That way, I won't have to place it into the story above anymore. It takes about 180 words up.

[Slayer (Zern) Lvl.196]

[Exp: 40/100%]

[Title: The Son of Arch-Angel Michael (Hidden)]

[Stats] [Strength - 7095][Endurance - 7045][Dexterity - 7215][Speed - 8240][Focus - 19,660]

[Mana aura control: 6/100%]

[Health: 76,560,000,000/76,560,000,000] [Mana: 216,600,000,000/216,600,000,000]

[Stat Points: 50] [Armor rating: 500]

[Inventory] [Dice of Wayland (Divine)] [Hardened Tree sap Armor (Very Rare)] [The Witness (Legendary Sword)] [Fenrir's Whistle (Divine)] [Sally's Dresses 5x] [Camping gear] [Food Rations 3x] [Dried meat 4x] [Fishing poles 2x] [Fish 8x] [Festival Garbs 2x]

[Passive Perks]

[Inheritor of the Sword] [Son of Heaven] [Slayer of Evil] [Holy Willow Trees Savior] [Finder of Legends] [The Divine who has Legend] [Destined for Greatness] [Dungeon Diver] [An Overachiever]

[Active Skills]

[Heavens light Lvl.59 325/5900] [Protected by Heaven Lvl.59 225/5900] [Slash Lvl..77 4600/130000] [Parry Lvl.53 80/5300] [Double Strike N/A] [Kingslayer N/A] [Raging Machine N/A] [Winged Glory] [Angelic Flight] [Divine Pressure Exertion] [Divinity Pulse] [Controled Fun]