The Colony had been clever with its strategy so far, if a little naive. The inexperience in fighting sapient enemies was likely the reason for their relatively direct approach. If they were allowed to grow, that would change. Yet another reason to excise this problem before it grew too severe. Still, Titus felt compelled to keep his eyes wide open as he approached the elderly woman who stood alone in the tunnel before him.
"I am Titus," he confirmed, "commander of the Legionem Abyssi. I have to say I did not expect to find a Lirian in this place. May I know your name?"
The old soldier stood straight and tall, not bothering to try and appear unthreatening. How could he? He was wearing a full set of heavy Abyssal armour with a demonic axe on his back. In truth, he was threatening. Not that Enid seemed to mind.
"My name is Enid Ruther, commander. You might have known my husband."
Titus frowned.
"Derrion? The mercenary?"
The mayor smiled, pleased to see her dearest husband was still remembered.
"That's right," she nodded, "he spoke highly of you."
"He was one of the good ones. The dark blade of Arranyss. I seldom have respect for mercs, but your husband was very capable and stuck to the rules. I was saddened to hear of his death."
as his place of work and had no interest in
The commander grunted.
the time to pay the proper respect to your husband, Ms Ruther, I am sure you are aware of what is happening in this place and that my time is limited. I can guess why you are here, but I'm prepared
don't know what happened in the Dungeon during
line and prevented the lower monsters surging into Liria. We
shook
happened during the wave. None of us could have known that a beast like that would be able to survive on the surface. But I must inform you that the beast Garralosh you once fought, was
Titus only shrugged.
when I had the chance, but I do not intend to spare these monsters because they rid the world of an
fed us, defended us and brought us together. It is no exaggeration to say that without the support of these monsters, there likely would be no survivors of Liria or the frontier kingdoms at all. We owe the ants our lives and have lived in harmony with them for months. You seek to destroy them simply because they are monsters
defend these creatures against my Legionaries? There are many in my ranks to were born in Liria. Are you really willing to fight against
down on this Colony who has done nothing but help me and my
Rylleh?" Titus demanded. "The city was overrun weeks
amongst our ranks today," Enid returned, "it seems that many consider the arrival of the Colony a liberation, rather
the human population, but for how long would that last? If that creature born of another world were to perish, how long before the ants would revert to their true nature? For that matter, how long until the abomination itself would lose its sense of self and sink into
changed nothing in the end. The hard lines of Titus' face didn't
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
The Novel will be updated daily. Come back and continue reading tomorrow, everyone!