“Are you sure that Kaldrek, Lucan, and Maike have betrayed us?” Kael asked Sylas after hearing his report, both standing on the top of the highest tower overseeing their base.

“Yes, I’m sure they planned to escape in case we forced them to teleport with us to the fourth stage,” Sylas stated, looking at the hard working citizens who got ready to fight the undead.

“Let’s see what their explanation will be when we meet again,” Kael muttered with anger boiling under the surface. “Everything is prepared. We’re just waiting for everyone to get ready, then I’ll initiate the teleportation.”

“What do you think the undead will have prepared for us?” Kai wondered out loud, leaning on the battlements.

“I don’t know. If we’re lucky, it will take them some time to find us. The fourth stage is even bigger than this one,” Kael explained, “and we haven’t even come close to mapping out the third stage.”

“That’s very unlikely, and you know it,” Kai commented, worried. They must have prepared a lot for us.

“Sure… Ah, Liara, good to see you. Is everyone ready?” Kael asked as Liara as she joined them on the tower.

“Yes, everything’s set. Why are we waiting for the system shop to teleport? Why not do it now?” Liara asked a bit confused.

“We want to be able to respond instantly to whatever circumstances we face in the fourth stage,” Kael explained deep in thought as multiple system notifications appeared on his status screen.

Special quest updated: Three months until Ankhet pillars can be seized.

System shop available.

“What just happened?” Sylas exclaimed in shock.

“Looks like we have more time until we can interrupt the rebirth of Ankhet,” Kai said, deep in thought.

“This is great news. Now get ready,” Kael said, pulling out a communication crystal. These were essentially similar to the tokens he had, just more powerful. “Hello everyone, we will begin the ascension in 30 seconds. You’ll receive a notification to teleport with us. Don’t worry if you miss it.

Teleporting within the base’s area in the next hour will bring you to the same location on the fourth stage as us. For those staying behind, I wish you luck—hopefully, we’ll meet in the next stage.” Kael announced, then triggered the process, initiating the teleportation.

The teleportation took a bit longer this time, as everyone had joined the group teleport, but soon Kael received the notification.

2,807 survivors ready for teleportation

It was fewer than he’d expected, but it was still more than enough. With a thought, the base disappeared from the third stage. Kael looked over the landscape where they had spawned. This time, it looked completely different.

Instead of a lively jungle, they had appeared on a rocky formation. The land beneath them looked more like a desert or the savanna, with giant herbivores roaming the plains. Hunting here would be much harder with everyone having such a clear view over the whole area, Kael thought. One thing was amiss—he didn’t see any sign of the undead faction.

Could they really be this lucky and have spawned far from any other survivors? The cost of teleporting to the next stage had been steep: 150,000 credits. They’d need to work hard to ensure his people reached the fifth stage.

<–

Lucan, Maike, and a now-sober Kaldrek were slowly walking back toward the center, where Kael’s base had stood only moments ago. Close to 2,000 survivors remained in the middle, with only a few buildings left behind. No towers, no walls, no defenses at all. As they drew nearer, they saw two figures in the center shouting at each other.

“Those are Michael and Garrick,” Kaldrek sighed, wondering if Kael and the others left them behind to get rid of them.

“I’m best suited to be the leader! You lost your base to Steven before!” Garrick shouted at Michael.

“You were just lucky he didn’t attack you,” Michael countered while both men’s auras began to flare.

Most people distanced themselves from the two as the argument grew more heated. It soon became clear that both had over 200 followers behind them, radiating killing intent. This was a battle that would determine the next leader of this base.

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“Why don’t you show me what you’ve got?” Michael sneered while a fireball appeared in his hand. “No need to risk our men’s lives.”

“I accept, and your death will be quick,” Garrick replied, his body starting to burn with power.

Moments later, a giant fireball shot toward Garrick, who blocked it with his massiv shield, the explosion driving him back a few feet.

“If Thalion doesn’t arrive soon, we’ll end up as subordinates to those two,” Kaldrek muttered. He should be strong enough to defeat them in a duel, but without any followers, Michael and Garrick won’t agree to one. This situation was bad. Maybe it was best to go back in the jungle and travel alone for a while, but he couldn’t leave Maike and Lucan alone.

Meanwhile, Garrick threw his shield at Michael, who was hovering in the sky. The impact sent Michael back to the ground, though it didn’t seem to injure him. Garrick’s glove glowed with white light, and the shield he had just thrown appeared in his hand again.

The lower-level survivors began stepping back, creating distance as the fight intensified. Then, everything halted as a storm approached in the distance. Dark clouds gathered and started spinning around a tiny object moving at high speed towards them.

“We’re under attack already!” one of Michael’s men screamed in fear.

He didn’t have much time to say more before the storm was upon them. A green eagle dove from the sky, and the lower-level survivors had to lie on the ground to avoid being flung away by the strong winds.

Mid-dive, the eagle transformed into a man in black clothing and a mask with crimson runes all over his equipment. He hovered in the air like an emperor, effortlessly dominating the scene.

“ON YOUR KNEES,” Thalion shouted at the people still standing, his voice amplified with mana and the desire of the sanguine thorn to kill everyone and drink their blood.

All the survivors, as well as most of Garrick’s and Michael’s followers, bowed before him after a short time.

“I AM THALION AND I WILL BE YOUR LEADER,” Thalion declared from his position above, his voice booming over the remaining survivors.

“You can’t just fly in here and take what’s ours!” Michael tried to object while the fireball he had been holding in his left hand flickered out.

“ANYONE WHO DOESN’T SUBMIT WILL DIE,” Thalion announced, his voice and aura now burning with the desire to kill and consume. He was lucky that the sanguine thorn aided him that much, infusing his voice and aura with a thirst for blood that made the people shiver below. He’d thought long and hard during his flight back on how to approach them, but he simply didn’t have the time to convince anyone—domination was his best option.

It didn’t take long until even Garrick and Michael kneeled, though he still had to decide if he’d let them live. For now, he needed them, though probably not for long.

“What are you all doing lying on the ground? Strength is the only thing that matters here. Form hunting parties and slay some beasts,” Thalion commanded, even though he had just ordered them to kneel. “I want everyone out there leveling except for the craftsmen while we build this new base. Also, I want the strong to power-level the weaker ones until they at least reach level 40.” This was critical for the weak to survive and would significantly delay those close to level 60 and make it easier for him to hold his current position.

“You two, go to the system shop and buy me a suitable base,” Thalion commanded Garrick and Michael with steel in his voice, landing besides them while all the other people started to move for the jungle.

“What do you mean? We can’t see each other in the system shop. What if we each buy a base?” Michael interjected clearly not a fan of using his credits for the base.

“Then make plans on who buys what. It’s not my problem,” Thalion replied as the others slowly began forming their hunting parties in the distance.

“This will drain all of our credits. What do we get in return?” Garrick hissed close to start a fight with Thalion.

“You’re allowed to live, and if you don’t disappoint me, you’ll earn benefits I think you’ll enjoy,” Thalion said, not taking a step back while his aura of bloodlust spiked a bit more. He had no clear idea what he’d offer but didn’t care too much.

After some discussion, they gave him building crystals purchased from the system shop. Since no time passed within the system shop, everything happened rather quickly and it just looked like their form flickered for a second.

“This crystal will grow the base center and surrounding walls. You need to link Michael’s crystals to your main crystal to place them within the base,” Garrick explained, looking very unhappy. Both had bought a lot for him with credits, but he was sure that they hadn’t wasted all their credits on the base.

“Thanks. Now help the others hunt. I can place them here myself. There better be no casualties or deserters today. If that happens, I’ll hunt you down—there’s nowhere you can hide now that I have your scent.” Thalion threatened both of them. It was a bluff, but he hoped it would work. He’d observed Kael in countless meetings talking about him, displaying him as a ruthless, powerful killer, so why not use that reputation to his advantage?

Strolling to the open space, Thalion activated the crystal, and slowly, a large building rose in the center, followed by a thirty-meter-high wall surrounding the camp. He watched the survivors as they organized their hunting parties, seemingly accepting him as their leader.

His status screen flooded with notifications that more survivors had joined him. Time to build some houses. He assimilated the leftover buildings Kael had left behind, now his property like the rest of the base.

There were two inns and some shops for craftsmen, which made sense. Next, he placed additional houses in the open area and watched them rise from the ground. If building on Earth were this easy. He remembered how long it took him and a friend to build a tiled stove—this kind of crystal would have been very appreciated.

As he finished, he noticed three figures approaching: Kaldrek, Lucan, and Maike.

“I want to see your sword now,” Lucan shouted as they got closer.

“Yeah, I will come by later and have some things to do first,” Thalion said, turning around and entering his new building. He had to shoot them down for now. Michael and Garrick were planning something for sure. Thalion just hoped that today’s show of force would give him enough time. From the outside, it looked like a twenty-meter-thick tower and stood nearly sixty meters high. This had to be very expensive for Garrick and Michael.

Fascinating what fear could accomplish. He hadn’t even needed to fight for the position of leader. The stories and his little show were enough not only to claim the position but also to send them shopping for him. Thalion entered the tower, which, like most buildings in this world, was larger on the inside than the outside.

The ceiling soared over four hundred meters high, with spiral staircases winding their way to the top. His room was more of a vast hall than a living room. It was large enough to place the pillar here, though for now, he decided to wait with that and entered the system shop to find out what the outsiders truly were.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep