by John Nest
Smoke and his Maneators got down from the war elephants. Igniz happily orbited around the core private army members and expressed how he had missed them.
However, the core members couldn't give the flying dark ember sprite the proper attention, as they stared in awe at the golden Maneator.
"I'm sure all of you would like to know who she is," said Smoke proudly. "Allow me to introduce, Adelige Mitleid, scion of König Mitleid."
Adelige made a dainty bow before them. "I am pleased to meet all of you," she said shyly. "King Smoke and my brothers have told me of your adventures and of your kindness."
Immediately, all of the present core members went to Adelige and welcomed her with either a hug or a handshake. Rasant, Stark and Weise started bragging on about their sister's prowess inside the Labyrinth. About how she never got damaged despite of being mobbed inside one of its great halls.
While his core members were exchanging war stories, Smoke spoke with Ledur.
"So, what have you been up to while I was away?" he asked innocently.
Ledur passively pointed to the forty-meter tall dam protruding above Verbrannt's wall.
"You made your own Gitna Dam?!" exclaimed an astonished Smoke. "That must have taken you ages."
"No, just seven days," replied Ledur passively.
"Right," said Smoke with a smirk. "I would love to take a closer look at it, but I'll have to do it later. Sierra said that she's going to arrive soon."
"Sierra's also returning today?" asked a surprised Ledur.
"Yeah. I spoke with her in our world, and agreed to return to Verbrannt at this time today," explained Smoke. "I guess she must be late."
Before their conversation could go any further, a dust cloud appeared from the opposite clearing.
Smoke used his Telefax Vision and whistled loudly when he saw what caused the dust cloud. "And here I thought I'd impress her with Adelige," he said out loud and shook his head in disbelief. "She said she would surprise me, but this is ridiculous."
As she rode in Gandiva's war carriage, Sierra led an army behind her. There were two Werebears he had never seen before riding in Laernea's war carriage. A pack of sixty-two Werewolves followed them on the right and a mounted regiment of over sixty Elemental Knights on the left. Mamelon's aqua armor shone brightly above the rest of the Knights as she rode in front of them.
As impressive as those two divisions already were, they were not the reason why Smoke stood awestruck at Sierra's arrival.
Rather, it was because of over four-thousand Lioumereans who followed after them. All four sub-races of the Lioumereans were present.
From their appearance, he surmised that they were the wandering tribes that Laernea had told him about before. They also brought their livestock, a creature called mouflon, which were similar to sheep, but had red and brown wool and the horns of a ram.
After a few more minutes, Sierra and her group finally arrived in front of Smoke. At the sight of the cuddly red Werebear, he remembered how he searched for her when he returned with Guro and the other refugees.
Suddenly, a strong urge to hug Sierra overcame him. This feeling was so strong that he failed to notice the smug look on her face as she was walking towards him.
"So, what do you think of the wandering Lioumereans?" she gloated. "It was a bit difficult convincing them to join. We had to travel to a lot of places to get to all of them, but we—"
Smoke didn't answer. Instead, he ran to her and pulled her in for a tight hug.
"Welcome home," he said in a whisper as he rested his head against her soft red fur.
Sierra was taken by surprise, but hugged him back with the same intensity. "I missed you too," she bent her head down and spoke softly in his ear.
They ended their embrace and held each other's hand. Sierra then looked at him curiously. "Not that I'm complaining, but what was that for?"
A smiling Smoke shrugged. "I don't know. Just felt like hugging you, I guess."
Abruptly, Sharur walked over to them and forcibly coughed. "Welcome back, Sierra. I have... I mean we have successfully cleared up Anbau forest and it is now ready for residency."
As the rest of the core members walked over to them, Thyrsus interjected. "I'm sorry, Sharur, but it's not yet finished. We still have to put up new walls, clear up the trees, build their houses—"
"Yeah, yeah, we get it. We still have plenty of work to do before it's usable," grumbled Sharur and stopped Thyrsus from talking any further.
Smoke stepped in between them and shifted the conversation. "Let's talk about that later. For now, let's welcome our new arrivals."
"Right!" quickly added Sierra and faced the Lioumereans. "I'd like you all to meet our newest residents of Verbrannt. The Lioumereans from the wandering tribes of Lenord, Lesud, Levant and Louest."
Smoke and the core members clapped loudly as they smiled at the Lioumereans.
"Due to their large numbers, they were often shunned in villages or cities. So, they had to travel all over Wysteria to allow their mouflons to graze."
Four Lioumereans of each sub-race stepped forward to meet with Smoke.
A panther Lioumerean bowed first. "I am Curieux Rosse. Leader of the Lenord Tribe."
Next, was a cheetah Lioumerean who bowed down before Smoke. "The people of Lesud call me, Larron Rosse."
"Badin Rosse's the name. From the Levant Tribe," said a tiger Lioumerean who followed afterwards.
Finally, it was the turn of the lion Lioumerean. "And I am Imiter Rosse from the Louest Tribe."
"Nice to meet you all," greeted Smoke with a smile and lowered his head before the four leaders of the Lioumerean tribes.
Smoke scratched his head and had to ask the question he had been wondering right after they introduced themselves. "I hope this isn't offensive, but why do all of you have Rosse in your names?"
Imiter answered on behalf of the other Lioumerean tribe heads. "It is a leader's duty to add Rosse to their name. This to remind all the Lioumereans that we are of one kind, even if our appearance may slightly differ."
Smoke smiled after he heard Imiter's answer. "That's very nice, but I think all of us belong to one family. Elves, Maneators, Tikbalangs or Lioumereans, all of us are alive and share the same world."
"Such wise words," said Imiter with admiration. "I think, Sierra, was right. We will be welcomed here in Verbrannt."
Then, all four Lioumerean leaders spoke in unison. "We and our tribesmen offer our fealty to you and Verbrannt."
"Thank you, but I think you should offer it to Sierra," said Smoke and pulled her beside him.
The Lioumereans did not question him, but told him that they already offered her the same respect and loyalty.
"Now, let's all go inside the village and feast!" cried out Smoke for everyone to hear.
* * * * * *
Under the heat of the scorching midday sun, loud drums echoed throughout Verbrannt as all of its residents celebrated in the village square to share in a communal lunch.
The wandering Lioumereans immediately showcased their strength as they set up tents over the square which covered more than four hundred tables filled with delectable dishes. These were spread all around the square to accommodate Verbrannt's current population of over sixteen thousand people.
It was a perfect setup for everyone to raise their Intimacy with each other. The newcomers mingled with those who had stayed longer and swapped stories and opened business opportunities.
In the midst of the celebration, Smoke wanted to go to a more intimate location with Sierra, but his mind dwelled on the fact that his core members from Nanahuatl felt estranged with one another.
So, instead of a romantic boat ride for two, Smoke and Sierra broke bread with his core members. They sat in a table filled with scrumptious food, but it was dulled by surrounding heavy air of awkwardness.
To break the silence, Smoke began to tell them of his return to the labyrinth and how he created Adelige. This sparked an interest in his core members
as they asked question after question.
After Smoke shared his latest exploits in Zuchthaus, he asked the Hunters on their subjugation quest of Anbau forest.
As soon as they started sharing what happened in Anbau, squabbles of each other's actions erupted. Smoke raised his hand and asked each one of them to tell their side of the story.
Ichaival went first. "When I was assigned to take the northern part of the forest, I wasn't trying to show off when I asked to only have the Banalite Archers. I did that because I knew we would only be facing a few mandrills."
"How did you figure that?" asked Smoke curiously.
"Well, Sharanga had the western side while Sharur and Jinggu had the eastern. I knew that their forces would expand more to the north and cover most of my area. So, I just had the Archers station on top of the trees and finish off the mandrills who tried to escape by the treetops."
The rest of the Nanahuatlanos quieted down and looked shamefully at their food. They knew that each of them had their own reasons for acting out on their own, but at the end of the day they knew that they always had each other's back.
After Ichaival's explanation, the mood of their table grew lighter and merrier. Now, that they've cleared out the air, Smoke asked them to mingle with the other residents.
As Sierra started walking towards the orphans from Mount Foudre, Smoke grabbed her hand and pulled her into an alleyway.
In a deep voice and a forced accent, Smoke told her. "Come with me if you want to live."
He then took her to the boats stationed on the canals and rowed away with her to the Murray river. He had to take her away from everyone else in order to avoid any further distractions. There was always someone wanting to talk to them.
While rowing out of Verbrannt, Smoke started explaining why he only managed to make one Maneator, Adelige. Also, Darius' explanation on how to make the blood crystals working.
"...Darius told me that the Tenebris sacrificed a thousand Zectians to make one blood crystal, and the one in the Tenebris Laboratory needs five blood crystals. So, it looks like I won't be making any new Maneators anytime soon," said Smoke. He shook his head, disgusted at the idea of killing thousands of people to gain power.
"I think four Maneators is already plenty," replied Sierra who sat across him. "And I'm sure the ones who were sacrificed to make them will be proud of the great work they are doing and are about to do."
Smoke fully agreed as he was already very proud of them.
"But there is one other thing that I gained from my time in the labyrinth," he said proudly. "I finally reached Master Level for my Agility of the Horned Rabbit. I'll show it to you one time, but there's something else I'd like to show you first."
Now, that they were farther out, he placed the oars in the boat and took out a small earth statue from his backpack.
"It's not much, but I made it specially for you," he explained nervously.
It was a small statue of HighElf dressed in a Battle Priestess's armor.
"I was planning on giving you a useful item from the Labyrinth, but there were none useable for Acolyte variations," said Smoke and gave her the HighElf statue.
Sierra carefully took the statue with both her paws and examined it. She couldn't believe the intricate detail done on the armor, but what touched her even more was how Smoke captured her face. It was if she was looking into a more beautiful version of herself.
"I...don't know what to say," said a teary eyed Sierra. "Thank you. I'll treasure this forev—"
Suddenly, they reached a portion of the river that had some rapids, and her Werebear claws accidentally dropped the statue into the water.
Smoke dove in and caught the statue before it sunk to the bottom of the river. He quickly climbed back on board the rowboat.
"I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to drop it. It just slipped out of my hands," explained Sierra somberly as she stared at her claws.
"Don't worry about it," said Smoke. He stowed it back in his backpack and held her claws.
However, Sierra instantly pulled them away. "Apart from fighting, it's awkward to do anything else in this cursed form," she said as she stared at herself.
She sat farther down the rowboat.
"Do you know how long I've wanted to try cooking here in Zectas, use the amazing items that we loot, use abilities other than Double Slash...and do other things as well," she said with a hurt voice while staring deeply into his eyes.
Smoke knew that her Werebear form was a nuisance, but he didn't realize just how much it had bothered her. He then forcibly grabbed her claws. "I swear. You won't stay in your cursed form for much longer."
He then pulled her in for a hug. The two of them sat silently in the rowboat, allowing the river to take them wherever its current carried them.
After a few minutes of tranquility, Smoke received an emergency call from his Spy.
"I'm really sorry, but I have to take this," he apologized profusely and answered. "Espion, what's wrong?"
"The Duke is finally well enough to see people, but he won't see me without you," explained Espion.
"But why would he want to personally talk to me?" asked a puzzled Smoke.
"Why won't he talk to you? Tell him that you're my direct representative. Talking to you is just like talking to me," he replied quickly as he wanted to get back to his personal time with Sierra.
Espion's voice cracked. "His adviser told me that if you won't come, then their city will surely be destroyed. At the moment, they Brandals have us surrounded and even I have difficulty leaving the city now. Also, he told me that they have a plan, but it needs your participation."
A concern look appeared on Smoke's face. "Centzo's survival depends on it, huh?"
He caught Sierra's gaze as she smiled at him faintly.
"You have to go. Otherwise, we would have spent the last few months for nothing," spoke Sierra in a hushed voice.
Smoke grabbed her hand and squeezed it tightly. "Alright, I'll be there as soon as I can."
* * * * * *
An hour passed before he received Espion's call. Smoke was now gliding at his top speed towards Centzo. Always vigilant, Smoke considered the possibility that this was a trap which was why he decided to go there by himself.
Before he left, Smoke, Sierra and the rest of the strategists held a brief meeting. They decided that it was best for their main strike force to leave for Mount Vorteil, a mountain five kilometers away from Braucht Hilfe village.
In this manner, they could see everything clearly from on top of the mountain and react in time. They could escape from other directions or commence a full out assault.
With the recent addition of villagers, Verbrannt's population bolstered to over sixteen thousand people. Proportionally, the Vigilantez strike force had greatly increased.
However, the recently added wandering Lioumerean leaders asked that they would be exempted from this battle. As they had only recently joined and his Intimacy with them was still in their low 50's, Smoke could not deny their request.
On the other hand, two thousand of the Ranseurs from Pinagsama, Tatlong and Lugar were willing to volunteer to fight for Centzo's freedom. With this, they now had over four thousand members of their strike force.
Traveling with such a large force would normally delay their arrival. However, Sharanga, Laernea and Gandiva already considered such a scenario, which was why they designed carriage transports to be pulled off by four aardwolves. With the help of Verbrannt's craftsmen, they assembled a hundred of these transports that could carry thirty people.
Their caravan had two-hundred-forty war chariots, a hundred carriage transports, sixty-one mounted Elemental Knights, three war elephants and two war carriages.
Due to this, Sierra and Smoke's core members would make the journey in three days time.
Their forces may have increased in numbers, but Horrabelle and the Brandals still greatly outnumbered them. To compensate for this, they relied on the improved quality of their members and
their ability to think on their feet.
On the way to Centzo, Smoke stopped to take a short nap in the real world. He logged out of Zectas and returned four hours laters.
The orange rays of the morning sun greeted him as he glided straight from midnight to dawn. Eighteen hours had passed since his call with Espion, and he hoped that he arrived in a favorable time. He flew above the clouds in order to remain hidden from the stationed Brandals encircling the city.