Chapter 602: Crowdfunding (1/2)

Zac wasn't particularly worried if the demon's fusion somehow altered his constitution. Danger was always present on the road of cultivation, and getting fused with a shadow creature couldn't be as bad as getting stuck with two remnants in his head. But the demon's reaction was a cause for concern and something that he needed to investigate.

“I need to go back anyway to prepare a few things,” Zac said after some thought. “I’ll check in on him. If everything goes according to plan we’ll set out from the glasshouse in a day or so.”

“If you’re going back you might want to speak with the Anointed as well,” Thea said. “They’re getting impatient, and they are already planning to force their way through the base. I tried to stop them but they don't listen to me.”

Zac’s eyes at the idea of thousands of war-crazy Zhix attacking the gates and the walls of the Mystic Realm. He had already seen how the base acted from small-scale infractions, and he also knew that it had far more deadly methods available after seeing how it dealt with the Collector. The Zhix might bring a calamity down on their heads if he didn't stop them.

“I’ll talk with them,” Zac said. “Can you help prepare this place for the arrival of a proper army?”

“What about the wolves?” Thea asked.

“Let’s hope they’re smart enough to stay away from the Zhix,” Zac muttered. ”Otherwise I think they'll be used as therapeutic punching bags.”

Zac's group soon rejoined Thea's squad of vanguard scouts who all seemed extremely surprised to see the group emerge from the forest. Zac moved forward alone from there on out since there were others who could help the rescued scouts get back. He just took one last look at the group with a sense of accomplishment before he disappeared among the trees.

He knew that he couldn’t save everyone and that there would inevitably be losses. But it still felt great to actually succeed in saving his people. So it was with newfound vigor he started to cover as much distance as he could with the help of [Loamwalker]. The quest told him to enter the Inner Laboratory before the Dimensional Seed matured, which was around 4 days from now. He didn’t want to cut it too close either, so there was no time to waste.

He arrived at the hidden glasshouse and only briefly greeted the researchers there before he set out again. Having been given some reassurance from his travels with Leviala he no longer felt the need to go slow in the stable section of the Outer Ring, and he kept a rapid pace as he flashed forward over and over with the help of his movement skill.

That way it only took him two hours before he stood in front of the gate leading into the inner section. This time there was actually a group waiting on the other side when he opened it, standing behind two nasty-looking cannons that could only come from the Ishiate Tinkerers. Even Zac felt some pressure staring into the two half-meter wide barrels that were no doubt loaded with some energy-dense concoction.

Most of the guards clearly recognized him and quickly moved to push the cannons out of the way, but one of them stepped forward with his sword at the ready.

“Eat this,” the guard gruffly said as he threw over a small package, drawing shocked glances from his colleagues.

“What?” Zac asked with confusion as he looked down at the bag.

“It’s policy, stupid,” the guard said as the other guards slowly started to inch away from him. “Don’t want any of those lizard bastards to sneak inside.”

“Keep up the good work,” Zac said with a small smile as he ate the minty root.

Zac looked at the other guards next as he stepped past the cannons, and left some short parting words before he disappeared.

“Learn from this guy. No one is exempt, not even me.”

A shudder in Zac's soul reminded him of a pressing issue, but he still hurried over to Biosphere 4 instead of his own compound. It was the place where most of the Zhix stayed, including the Zhix War Council. His arrival was met with bubbling excitement as the Zhix had long associated him with war. He was immediately led to a gathering hall, and one Anointed after another hurried inside.

Zac saw the eagerness in their eyes, and he didn’t waste any time with small talk when everyone was gathered.

“I think I have an idea where the Dominators are,” Zac said as he took out a crude map of the Research base.

He quickly started adding details to the mostly blank map, such as the Living Layer, the Inner Ring, and the Core. He then added the wasteland cutting through half of the base and the four major forces, completing the map.

“We are situated close to Clan Cartava, and we’re the only natives they have encountered. To the east is the wasteland, and no one can live there for weeks, let alone months. Beyond that is the Lunar tribe, beastkin warriors who have been responsible for ambushing our people. The True Sky Faction is to the northwest of Clan Cartava, and they have been in contact with the Human Government.

”That leaves this place,” Zac continued and pointed at the spot on the opposite side of the base compared with their own. “There is a golem-race living here. This should be the most likely location of the Dominators and their armies considering the werewolves have time to send scouting parties all the way here. If they're not there, they are somewhere close to the Lunar Clan.”

“How do we get to this side, Warmaster?” Rhubat rumbled with a frown. “This place is confusing. It looks like a hive at first glance, but it is built following a completely different logic and philosophy. Our instincts have been proven wrong time and time again.”

“There are two paths,” Zac said. “Either passing the wasteland and making your way through the outer rim. But I’ll tell you right now; if 100 sets out, only 5 will make it to the other side. I only reached the edge of that place when I set out to rescue our missing scouts, and I almost got killed many times over.”

“The Zhix are not afraid of death, but we cannot take such losses. We would be too weakened to complete the crusade,” another Anointed said with a shake of its head.

“The other option is to cut straight through the base,” Zac said. “But that’s currently impossible, but we might get our opportunity in four days. There will still be dangers though.”

“We are ready. What can we do now?” Rhubat said.

“You should have heard about us discovering the large forest half a day from here, right?” Zac said. “That place is our entrance to the inner sectors. From there we can take our armies past the Domestic Zone and enter the inner base.

“I think the core will be too dangerous for the general armies to enter because of the spatial rifts, but if we go along the inner band we can essentially walk a full circle around the base, visiting each faction starting with the True Sky Faction and ending with the Lunar Tribe. That way we’ll find the Dominators sooner or later.”