At the same time as Aiden was slowly but gradually progressing and gaining a firm foothold all around the main, inner city of Ugburg events have taken a nosedive for the worst for his friends as well as for the residents of Higrove back on Eora.

After the hard fought victory against Lord Bartholomeo Diaz's sinister ambush and fierce battle, Captain Don and the rest of the Silver Howl mercenaries as well as the young adventurers took almost a full day of rest to recover and somewhat heal off their wounds.

Naybeah had it the worst. Whilst during the fierce clash she had shown an almost inexhaustible stamina and vitality, however, once the heritage effects have faded she crumbled down and fainted on the spot.

For a full 24 hours after that, she laid still unconsciously, without showing any signs of waking. Even after Galina used every ability and knowledge in her arsenal she could to stabilize her condition but the fierce backlash could not be easily healed on her soul.

Jai, the big bald giant that once fought against the amazon herself and since then became her devout and smitten follower stood guard before her tent non-stop, without a wink of rest. No matter how his brethren or even Crone tried to reason with his friend, Jai refused to leave her beloved muse's sight and leave her 'unprotected'.

In the end, the group had to set up camp in the ruins for the time being and group into several smaller parties to explore and investigate their surroundings. Though the area seemed desolate and due it being an almost barren plains there weren't many places to hide in the distance, the captain didn't want to put anything to chance.

In the end, the same three teams as before were formed, with only some meager changes this time due to the evolved situation.

The first team consisted of Sara, her latest friend and once opponent, Crysta the assassin, and 8 of the previously 10 Silver Howl mercenaries that she set out with once before. As their team was the largest and presumably the strongest, they were responsible for exploring the area to the north where they originally planned to head towards anyways.

The second team was the 'Royalties', the brother and sister duo of Drake and Scarlet together with 8 Silver Howls. They were the same party as before, and have since come to work relatively well together. They were to explore the area towards the west, all the way towards the edges of the ruins of the ancient city. In the far distance, a large marshland stretched out, which was one of the options Captain Don and the team deliberated on but ultimately chose against in the past.

For the third party, it was the one that had a couple of changes in terms of members. Since Naybeah was still out of commission and though it did not require much attention, regardless Galina didn't want to leave her, and with Jai refusing to leave them unguarded, they couldn't join this time around.

As such, the third team consisted of Lily with the Silver Howl twins, Aina and Eina at the center. Crone was joined by the middle-aged unshaven, coarse man, Joe, the thin, scholar-like figure of Jareth, and the mature, curly brown-haired woman Alda. With her hourglass-shaped figure, she exuded an aura of a seductive seamstress.

p They were previously part of Sara and Crysta's team but were shifted over so that all three teams could have a relatively similar sized force.

Knowing that her beloved and well-missed brother was still somewhere towards the east and northeast, Lily was adamant to explore that area and refused to give in no matter how much the rest of the team argued. In the end, they could only sigh and acquiesce and give her the task to explore towards the eastern reaches.

For the next three days, they have spent all their daytime mapping out the areas around them. Along the way they have found several surprises, with treasures along the way, adding a bit more to their score in this god-forsaken tournament.

On the brink of dawn on the fifth day, after spending countless hours of tender care, Naybeah's closed eyelids suddenly fluttered and the big blonde amazon finally showed signs of waking up.

Her body was still weak and feeble as the brutal backlash of her fierce and crazy inborn trait, she still couldn't act alone and needed help and assistance. Not to mention walking around, even sitting up required Galina and Jai's help, she could barely move a muscle on her own.

Still, with the help of the entire team, on the sixth day, she could finally leave her bed and after some heated 'discussion' with the worried rest of the team, they have eventually decided to break camp and set out towards the east and slowly converge towards their missing Young Master's direction.

Though they had no idea how far away he was, they were aware of the vast distance. For three days, Lily's team spent all their daytime hours and never found the end of these seemingly endless plains.

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At the same time, whilst the teams were still busy exploring the dangerous realm, the situation outside in the real world has taken a turn for the worst. The Empire's war machine now in full force their invasion forces have attacked the Kingdom of Draquilea from several fronts. Whilst a large force suddenly appeared coming down from the nearby mountains that separated the Empire's vast deserts and the Kingdom and took several small to medium sized cities in quick succession, steadily marching towards the capital, another army appeared not too far away from Higrove.

Led by the tall muscular, middle-aged man, Prince Dorian as the so-called 'Warlord', his army was led by the fierce 6 Generals, his pillars of power. Lord Rillion the leader of the fierce barbaric force of Makhor, or the 'Serrated Teeth of the Godly Emperor'.

Exarch K'hlen the gray haired thin-looking sinister wihzard, a bonafide grand wizard specialized in the large area of effect blights and curses.

Syf the a tall and lanky man, the leader of Dorian's information network, the spies, scouts, sentinels.

Lorelei and Elena the two female generals. The first leading the terrifying assassin force whilst the latter was the leader of the archers and artillery battalions.historical

With his trusted right hand woman, Lieutenant Sievul standing by his side Dorian had a master strategist offering her advice. With her assistance, Dorian did not react rashly and had instead opted for a more careful approach and used his vast numbers to circle around the city and gradually start sieging it from all fronts.

With its supply lines cut off, the city of Higrove was still a fierce beast to tackle and couldn't be taken lightly. Even after a week of relentless assault, Dorian could not claim that decisive victory and set foot behind those tall walls.

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>>>Check out my latest novel: The Strongest Demon Lord in the Modern World<<

It's an urban modern-day styled story, with a reverse transmigrated ('Banished') immortal entity from the fantastical world of Nova!

Planned Tags and Genre: # CULTIVATION # R18 # BETRAYAL # TRANSMIGRATION # URBAN # ACTION # ANTIHERO # OVERPOWERED (romance maybe at some later point)

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/shaele