Chapter 512: Regret (1/2)
Verana sat by a flowerbed in her garden, absentmindedly stroking Lulu’s soft fur as the beast slept in her lap while cradling a beast crystal. A sense of impending doom had filled her heart the entire day, and she finally knew it was time for a reckoning the moment Lys hurried into her room with worry in her eyes. Not that her maid needed to explain what was going on as she had already received the prompt.
Zachary Atwood had arrived.
The humans under her employ had already divulged his evolution and explosive gain in levels over the past days, and the fact that their surroundings weren’t drowned in Miasma was proof enough of what had transpired. The young master of the Brindevalt had sent a message as well five hours ago, confirming her hunch. The Undead Empire was thrown off from this baby world, making Zachary Atwood its de-facto leader.
This should normally have been a joyous occasion, but she had messed up. She had been frozen in hesitation about the implications of offending the undead and the Church of the Everlasting Dao, until the point that they lost connection through the teleporter. Now Zac was back, and his thoughts about their actions were known only to himself.
Why had she hesitated back then? It was not like either of those forces were on good terms with the Tal-Eladar. In fact, it was the opposite, with the higher-tiered tribes having joined more than one excursion to curtail the expansion of the Undead Kingdoms.
She finally understood the weight of command that her grandmother had tried teaching her about, but now it might be too late. Her mind ran a mile a minute as she tried to figure out the optimal path to take from here on out. There was a palpable pressure on her as the course of the meeting might decide whether she and her people would survive the day.
Because one thing was clear. If the Super Brother-Man had arrived with the intent to kill, then there was nothing she could do. He had taken out almost a dozen forces stronger than heirs, and even the undead wasn't a match to him. She still couldn't believe it as she had seen him in action on multiple occasions, but it was hard to argue with the facts placed in front of her.
She finally concluded that her best course of action was to feign ignorance; that she was preparing her forces to assist when Port Atwood was under attack, but the arrays had suddenly disappeared just when they were about to set out. So she adorned a welcoming smile when the human and his annoying companion stepped into her garden.
Verana gasped as she felt a terrifying pressure spread out through her backyard. Zachary Atwood was clearly making his stance known, and the few attendants were forced to flee from the immense pressure as the flora was pushed to the ground. Even Verana felt the strain, and Lulu whined in her lap as she was startled awake, her little muscles growing taut.
There was no longer any confusion about how Zachary Atwood had defeated the undead after feeling this terrorizing aura. It was almost incomprehensible how much he had grown since they last met. Verana already knew that he had gone off-world for some opportunity, but just what kind of encounter could utterly transform someone to this degree? She still maintained the smile though, wanting to make it feel like nothing was amiss.
However, that smile turned extremely forced when she heard Zac’s first words.
“I thought you would have left for the Brindevalt Clan by now.”
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Zac looked at the frozen smile of Verana with a snort before he sat down opposite her.
“I am not sure what you’ve heard, but I assure you that the Tir’Emarel Family has upheld their part of the agreement without any deviance,” Verana said after a second. “We have not divulged any information about you to the Brindevalt. I feared the worst had happened to you when we lost contact, and we sought out an ally.”
“You know, I wondered what made you so willing to stay behind on a planet invaded by not only the undead but also the insane cultists,” Zac said, freely speaking his thoughts. “It turns out you had an escape route from the beginning.”
“Can’t trust the pointy-ears, they are only true to their beasts,” Ogras snorted from the side, drawing an angered look from Verana.
“I can understand how it looks, but I hope that you can understand my predicament. I wanted to assist, but I also had orders from my family to not offend any powerful forces while I was cut off from the clan. By the time I found the resolve to go against my family’s wishes we had lost connection to Port Atwood,” Verana explained. “Also, I believe the Brindevalt can become a great asset as well. They are-“
“You can send a message to your friends,” Zac cut her off. “I am heading back to consolidate my gains. But I will head out and slaughter every invading force that remains on Earth the moment I’m done. They better be gone within the week unless they’re ready to face me in battle.”
Zac stood up, not caring that Verana's smiling face had turned into an emotionless mask, her eyes the only thing that betrayed the churning emotions within.
“I’ll uphold my bargain, you are welcome to stay as a trading partner. However, since you’re unwilling to fight for this planet’s survival, then you can forget about taking part in its resources. I will see any expansion from the Tal-Eladar as an act of war, and I will act swiftly in response,” Zac said as he walked out without another word.
He had said what needed to be said, and he was in no mood to stay any longer. His wholesale slaughter of the zombie horde had tired him out, and he just wanted to sleep for a few hours. Ogras stood up as well, but he didn’t immediately join Zac as he left. Instead, he turned toward Verana with a grin.
“What?” she snorted with annoyance after Zac had left the garden. “Don’t pretend a calculating coward like you would have acted any different when faced with such a situation.”
“I might be a coward, but I at least have a nose for opportunity. You’ve just pissed off the first person to reach the 9th floor of the Tower of Eternity in a million years,” Ogras said, his grin almost splitting his face apart. “You better pray that the Tribal Elders of your race doesn’t sacrifice your whole clan as a form of appeasement to the second coming of the Eveningtide Asura.”
“WHAT?!” Verana exclaimed with shock, but she quickly calmed down. “Another life from a demon’s poisonous tongue.”
However, Ogras noticed that the Beast Master was not as calm as she let on, and he decided to twist the knife a bit.
“Believe what you will. Would I bother lying about something like this? The news will sooner or later spread across the whole Sector, and the natives will bring back news over the coming years. You’ll see. Silly girl, you stayed on this little planet for its opportunities, but you let it all slip through your fingers,” Ogras laughed as he flashed away, effortlessly avoiding an infuriated swipe by Verana.
He appeared right at the exit of the garden and looked back at Verana who stood rooted in place with a stormy expression. One of them looked physically ill and the other looking like he had just won the lottery.
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“What were you doing?” Zac asked when Ogras appeared by his side again.