"What the hell did I just hear?!"
"You heard that too? What's going on?"
"Get to the castle now!! Sothing's happening!"
Throughout the shelter, panicked and surprised voices resounded from all corners as a myriad of slayers rushed toward Raven's Castle.
By the ti they got there, however, a crowd composed not only of slayers but also of sentinels had already gathered.
They had assembled around the city and were now bowing at the main entrance of the castle.
"What's going on here?"
"Shit, aren't these fuckers supposed to be lifeless?"
"It wasn't a dream."
The crowd expressed a range of reactions—from surprise to excitent. Although staying in the godforsaken place had beco easier, they all missed ho; conquering the castle was seen as a huge leap toward finally returning ho.
While they all mused and comnted, a pair of leather boots erged from the castle's entrance as a figure shrouded in darkness slowly stepped forward, coming to a halt at the stairs.
The figure was draped in black feathers that clung to him like a cloak. The feathers seed magical, emitting an aura of death. He also wore a strange, removable mask featuring a bird's beak and carried a giant sword nearly as tall as he was.
"That's Sir Thane?" one of the slayers raised his eyebrows as he looked at him.
Thane's usual black armor was gone—and so was his distinctive green hair. He now looked a bit pale, as if his skin lacked color. Yet they knew, instinctively, that this was him.
"Brothers and sisters, Slayers of the Raven's Keep, I bid you welco—a welco to a new age. We are all here because of duty, the duty to eradicate the enemy in the West. By that duty we are bound, and by that duty we shall succeed… For today, I bring you ans…"
Thane looked at the group below as he raised his hand.
All of a sudden, the ground beneath them rumbled at Thane's command; far away in the fog, myriad beasts began to roar.
The inheritance of the Raven's Lord granted him full control over the fog. It was what they had all hoped for… but it was also much more.
"Join , brothers and sisters—join
in taking our revenge! Our first target will be the forest before you; with the fog at our disposal, we shall clear it. The strength of thousands—we will need it to take the head of that dreadful thing in the West. Take up arms!! Ready yourselves, prepare to take what is yours!!"
The fog churned like an angry wave; the creatures within it—those that had been sleeping for a century—gradually woke up. The roars filled the hearts of the slayers with the will to fight.
Now that the fog was under their control, and with Thane by their side, they could finally face all those harrowing beasts and take their heads.
"Yeah! We can finally have our revenge!"
"Those waning moon bastards killed my little sister. I want my pound of flesh!"
The crowd went wild.
Not too far away, Victoria and the other mbers of the cohort raised their weapons in triumph, boosting morale. Even the Aaron's were excited.
Thane had received the inheritance, becoming the de facto leader of the keep. It was sothing to celebrate, especially since they were technically on the sa side.
However, as everyone bustled with joy, Guilliman couldn't help but furrow his brows as he watched the scene from a distance.
From within Thane, there pulsed an exquisite and overpowering soul energy signature; it seed to be part of the inheritance but also felt like sothing else…
"I wonder…" Guilliman said as he slowly faded into the crowd.
The following days were filled with preparations and excitent as the human slayers, the sentinels, and even the fog prepared to move out.
Thane commanded the slayers to support the fog in its escapade against the descendants of the three great abominations. These creatures had been breeding in these lands for 200 years, their roots vast and wide.
If the fog could swallow them all, turning them into fog creatures, the siege against the hallowed beast in the West would be much smoother. This was a plan jointly agreed upon by everyone in the city.
Of course, so couldn't be bothered.
"Sending more slayers to their deaths is a waste of ti and resources; we can't be reckless with this power," Freda, one of the remaining mbers of the Blacksteel family, said clearly in a rebuking tone.
The plan was that once they gained control of the fog, they would imdiately leave to attack the hallowed beast—preventing it from completing its evolution to abomination class.
But Thane didn't want to follow the plan; instead, he insisted on growing the strength of the already powerful fog first. Who knew how long that would take, in all honesty?
Ravens Wood Forest was a massive landmass, and searching for waning beasts and killing them was an arduous task. Even with the help of the fog and sentinels, it would take at least several months.
They didn't have that much ti.
"Yes, brother Thane, it's a bit much—we still have the opportunity to grow the strength of the fog while we cut our way through the mountains," Dorn spoke rather calmly.
This brother of his wasn't usually a troublemaker; he knew how to settle grudges and handle conflicts. However, he was too straightforward in his tactics and never considered the broader view.
Ti was of the essence.
"Hmm, where's Hunter?" Instead of addressing their concerns, Thane flatly asked with a look of boredom on his face as he scanned the room.
They had invited him to the grand hall—the site of the Blacksteel family's previous administration—but he was the king of this city now, so this was an obvious attempt to undermine him.
"Hunter… he's busy on a mission," ca the reply. Upon hearing Thane's question, the crowd fell silent as the mbers of the three clans, including the Blacksteels, grew tired.
It seed that Thane wasn't going to let this matter go.
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