While storms gathered over Liberl Port, deep in the seemingly endless mountains, the demons were on the move as well.
In a certain village littered with corpses, Montport's hulking figure stood at the center, staring at the massive double-bladed polearm in his hands, wild madness blazing in his eyes.
Not enough. These sacrifices aren't enough...
If I want to make it stronger, if I want to make it an artifact…
I'll need the blood of a legendary powerhouse!
"Chthonian, move out!"
He suddenly roared, thunder rolling through the earth. Lowering his horns, Montport charged forward, and behind him, more than ten thousand snarling, ferocious demons sprang into action: pounding forward on two legs or unfurling their wings, following him in a furious assault.
Look a little closer, and you'd see his army now included several goristros, even balors—the top tier, absolute juggernauts among demonkind.
And with the Chthonian tunneling through the earth below, this demon host already had enough force to annihilate Liberl Port.
But even as the demon horde's numbers and raw power rose rapidly, back in the Alliance of the Mountain Purifiers, a new round of bickering was just getting started.
The very morning after Ines's execution, Charles and company had only just gotten up and washed—hadn't even started breakfast—when a weathered, dark-skinned, rough-faced middle-aged human from the Mountain People came walking their way, dressed in simple linen.
He shot Nidalee a complex look, but didn't say anything more. Head lowered, pretending to sound neutral, he addressed Charles: "The Archdruid would like everyone to head to the conference hall after you finish breakfast. The topic will be working together against the fiends."
While he was still washing up, Anno's face lit up with anticipation, but Charles grabbed her hand and shook his head, not agreeing just yet. Instead, he replied, "Could you wait a bit? We've still got wounded to tend—it's tough to spare enough hands right now."
"If possible, would you mind asking Willo to come here for some spell-healing? That way, we can get to the conference sooner."
The man shot Charles a sidelong glance but nodded anyway and left. Anno looked confused, and once he was out of earshot, she turned to Charles and asked, "What's going on? Why lie to him?"
After all, nobody was hurt last night; even if someone had been, with Anno's holy healing and Nidalee's druidic magic, they'd be fine by now. No need for Willo to come by.
Charles had his reasons: "This is their turf, after all, and even if we took down Ines last night and Willo is on our side now, the balance is still pretty fragile."
"So I want to pick Willo's brain, learn about the alliance's pain points, and get some leverage before we go in there."
Realizing how calculating that sounded, he quickly clarified, "If we don't, and we get fleeced by these Mountain People during the negotiations, then we'll be the real suckers."
Anno dropped her gaze, looking a little down. "Yeah, that's probably likely… these short-sighted folks…"
The way they went after Rockseeker's Outpost with demons still at large in the mountains—she'd long since pegged them as hopelessly narrow-minded.
Charles didn't say anything else. He finished washing up with her, and they sat down for a quick breakfast. A few minutes later, a graceful silhouette slipped in; Willo's gentle voice followed. "Who's injured? Is it serious?"
Charles stepped up, taking Willo by the wrist and, with a confused look from her, gently pulled both her and Anno into his tent before speaking. "No serious injuries. Anno can patch us up herself in a bit."
"It's just, we've got a big meeting about cooperation coming up. We'd like to ask—what issues is the alliance really facing right now?"
"That way, we can work out a plan in advance, help the alliance however we can, and save everyone a lot of pointless arguing."
Anno shot Charles a sly look—yeah right, isn't this just about getting a leg up in the negotiations?
But Willo took the bait, heart full of gratitude. "You're so thoughtful. Honestly, our main problem is that we might not finish enough construction to survive the winter."
"Even with all the minotaur, the various folks, and people of all ages pitching in, there just aren't enough metal tools. We're particularly short on axes for felling trees, and so on…"
She explained in detail, and Charles nodded along, already plotting their approach.
At last, Willo sighed with feeling. "Mr. Charles, you really are considerate. Even now, you still care about us."
"But as for the others in the alliance…" She frowned. "Everyone is too hung up on their own tribes. That's why the upcoming talks might be difficult—a real slog before we get any kind of deal both sides can accept."
She was genuinely worried. Back when the Purifiers had first come together, she'd run headfirst into countless little conflicts just like this.
Anno glanced at Charles and almost laughed out loud but kept silent.
He just sighed. "I'd love to sit down and hash it all out patiently, but unfortunately, the clock's ticking."
"All right, Matriarch, let's go. Hopefully, we'll at least reach some consensus today."
Willo got up at his cue, gathered the group—including Nidalee—and walked with them toward the main conference tent.
Meanwhile, inside, Ilarode, Torun Highmountain, Luger Stonehide, and Danche Chimera were already gathered around the huge conference table, discussing their strategies for the coming negotiations now that Willo was out.
Compared to Charles's careful, considerate approach, these talks were blunt and cutthroat, with no attempt to hide anyone's greedy intentions.
"I'll just say it," grunted the minotaur, Torun Highmountain. "Our elders think these outsiders aren't here in good faith. They claim it's about fighting demons, but really, they want us to take point and burn through our strength—wear us down so both we and the demons end up crippled."
"We can't just forget that, even if they helped root out a spy last night. We can't let ourselves be fooled by their sanctimonious act." That was his final word.
Luger chimed in, totally on board: "Exactly. If they want our muscle, they need to put some real rewards on the table, plain and simple."
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