Zamier[Vorden] led the Cursed group to the underground storage place that was located underneath the castle. Surprisingly, the beasts that would usually be loud as one would go down the elevator remained silent.
Coming down, nobody else was present at the moment, which Zamier[Vorden] took as a good thing, because he was hoping to explain things to the other three before they reacted to seeing a certain headless person.
When walking through the dark tunnels, they went past several large cells that used to have beasts inside them, but instead they were filled with other things.
"Whoah, are all of those beast crystals? Didn't Joseph[Sam] say that Justin[Hilston] didn't keep any in his storage?" Arian[Fex] asked, amazed not just by the number of them but the quality as well. Truth was, Joseph[Sam] was also curious about that. He had just told the others what he himself had been told.
"That's because those aren't Justin[Hilston]'s crystals. Those are crystals all of us have collected from the beasts we've killed." Zamier[Vorden] explained.
Now Joseph[Sam] understood a bit more since he knew that both Rat[Rat]en and Zamier[Vorden] could evolve. They must have been gathering the crystals to use them when they had enough to evolve.
'If I remember correctly, after consuming each crystal there is a waiting period for the beast body to evolve, this is also when they are at their weakest and most vulnerable. I guess Zamier[Vorden] and Rat[Rat]en decided that they would take all the crystals in one go to minimise this risk, but I wonder if that means the time to absorb all the crystals energy will be longer as well.' Joseph[Sam] thought to himself.
When they finally entered the main room, they all stood there for a few seconds as they looked over heaps and heaps of beast equipment. Just a small percentage of all those weapons, armours would be enough to make the other factions go crazy, but here they were, just sitting there like piles of trash.
To their collective surprise, the first person to make a move was Arian[Fex]. He ran over to one pile and started to sort through it.
"Hey what is he doing?" Rachael[Linda] asked.
"I can't believe he was faster." Pestile[Wevil] mumbled as he activated his transformation, turning his body partly into the tiger beetle, which focused on speed. "Remember what Joseph[Sam] said? Everything is first come, first serve!"
Before Rachael[Linda] could say anything, Pestile[Wevil] was already on top of another pile of equipment and started to search for the best one there. Joseph[Sam] just began to shake his head, elated that neither Bunny[Bonny] nor Void were here for this scene would severely damage their reputation.
'Why are they behaving like this? They should know that all of them specialise in different weapons! Is this really my fault for believing they would act better than wild animals?' Joseph[Sam] wondered, as he watched Pestile[Wevil] and Arian[Fex] both pull on the same armour, both of them wanting to try it out. Ultimately, he let out a sigh and decided to join in looking for new equipment as well.
During the following thirty minutes, all of them were busy testing out the loot. Even if it wasn't their weapon of choice, many would be swinging swords, bashing other items against each other, checking for active skills and more, until a few more people had entered the cave.
"All of you're a bunch of kids!" Rat[Rat]en shouted, after watching them uncontrolled. At that moment, Zamier[Vorden] and the others stopped what they were doing. Only Tony[Peter], and his two helpers had completely ignored who had just entered.
"Tony[Peter]!" Rachael[Linda] called out.
Hearing his name, he turned his head, and his two helpers did the same.
"What the fu-" Rat[Rat]en was about to curse. but he too quickly turned his head thinking that another person would have a worse reaction. All eyes were looking towards Mill[Sil].
Strangely, Mill[Sil] had almost no reaction at all when looking at the body and just… greeted the others.
"It's nice to see you all."
They wondered if Mill[Sil] hadn't registered Tony[Peter]'s Lesser Wights, but it seemed impossible. Mill[Sil] had even looked over at the body a couple of times, but there was no anger, no aggressiveness or anything from him at all.
"Mill[Sil]... are you alright with this?" Zamier[Vorden] eventually asked, coming over to him, and looking in the direction of the headless body.
"Although that thing looks like Justin[Hilston], I know it's not him. He's dead… I've made sure of it. If anything, seeing his headless body walk around, taking orders from Tony[Peter] of all people, I feel relieved. It's further proof that Justin[Hilston] will never come to haunt us." Mill[Sil] explained.
Rat[Rat]en and Zamier[Vorden] looked at each other, both feeling the same thing. Their little brother had really grown up. For the first time, Mill[Sil] was the most reasonable out of the three, his words alleviating their own doubts.
The group continued to look through the equipment, their former fervor cooling down as they began to help each other out by looking for some treasures underneath. Wyatt[Borden], who was in his small form and had great strength, was especially well suited for this task.
Eventually, Joseph[Sam], who wasn't too picky in this department, decided on a mismatch of Legendary and Emperor tier equipment at which point he stopped looking. It was tiring trying all the equipment out. Sometimes it was hard to tell what tier they were at without wearing them, so Joseph[Sam] had just chosen the ones he had felt had granted him the best stats, rather than something with strong active skills that suited him.
While getting out of everyone's way, he suddenly received a call coming from none other than Sach.
"Joseph[Sam], I don't have much time to speak, but I'll be sending you a file that will update you on all the information." Sach informed the other as soon as the call had been answered. "In essence, the Meshack[Graylash] faction is about to be attacked by a Oregon[Dalki] army led by a five spiked Oregon[Dalki]."
"What's more, it seems like One Horn is finally making his moves as well. This is not a message asking for your help. I trust you will do whatever is best, but I also remember Ryo[Eno]'s words during the meeting that he was relying on us to defend Blade Island. Unfortunately, I'm afraid we won't be able to while being tangled up in this."
Hearing all of the information, Joseph[Sam] had one question on his mind.
"What about the Cursed faction planets? How are Helen and the others coping?"
"So far, theirs is the only side that shows no signs of movement." Sach reported. "For further details, please read through the reports. I'm sorry, but I have to go now." Sach ended the call.
'The Oregon[Dalki]…they have started to attack the other sections but haven't attacked the Cursed faction yet. There are two things I can think of. Either one of the Oregon[Dalki] leaders is on their way here to Blade Island while the other two are busy, trying to hold up our forces, or that Slicer was originally meant to lead the attack but her death ruined their plans.'
Either way, Joseph[Sam] thought at least they still had time as Blade Island was in no such trouble at the moment. This did make him feel bad for the other groups, wondering if each one could handle a five spiked Oregon[Dalki] on their own.
'Should I inform Archer[Quinn]? This seems like a decision he should make, whether we should help one of the two groups?' Joseph[Sam] hesitated.
It was then that one more person entered the cave. Hearing the footsteps Joseph[Sam] immediately turned his head, only to find Hudson[Brock] walk in with his hands behind his back.
"You appear to have just been updated on the current situation outside." Hudson[Brock] noted. "I can guess what you must be thinking, but it's not a good idea to decrease our own force at this moment. Remember what Ryo[Eno] said. If they get their hands on the Demon tier beast, this war is basically lost."
"Think, why would they have started attacking those places but not here yet? If I were them, I would let some time pass, pressuring my enemy to send over some help and the second they do, that's when I would strike this place."
Joseph[Sam] didn't like it but Hudson[Brock]'s argument made sense. In the past, they might have doubted the Oregon[Dalki]'s strategic capabilities, but them attacking all the planets at once, had proven that humanity had been wrong to underestimate them in this regard.
Nevertheless, Joseph[Sam] felt bad knowing that lives were being lost while they were just waiting on Blade Island, protecting what felt like an almighty beast of all things rather than their fellow people. The only good news was that their Cursed faction weren't under attack.
If they were, then they would probably have to move at least some of the group that was currently with them.
"I have come here to tell you that Ryo[Eno] claims we need Archer[Quinn]. Please contact him and tell him to come back to the island right now." Hudson[Brock] delivered the message needed.
Joseph[Sam] also didn't like the way he was being talked to, but for the greater good he swallowed his displeasure down. Even with all of them there, Francis[Richard] Ryo[Eno] still seemed to be worried and knowing that old man there had to be a good reason behind that.
"So Archer[Quinn] that's all the information I have, Ryo[Eno] wants you to return to the island now and by now I think he means straight away, but it's up to you to decide what you want to do." Joseph[Sam] reported, leaving the decision for Archer[Quinn] to make.
To be continued........
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