God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Alvi was stumped. Rendered completely speechless...

Indeed, the threat this young man had just made was a rather unique one.

Instead of threatening to drench Valestorm in blood with his power, he instead had said he would use the superiority of his own crafts to render them obsolete.

Alvi shook his head,

"I don't understand. You don't need my help to sell armor and equipment."

Cain nodded, "That is correct. However, I won't be as effective as someone who has been here for a long time. Valestorm is getting bigger everyday. There's more than ten thousand people here, with a little less than half of that constantly needing better weaponry and items. I'd rather rely on something that works already, than start from the ground up."

Cain snapped his fingers and all the swords he had summoned turned into streaks of light that swam back into his inventory.

Alvi pursed his lips, his eyes swimming as he thought about Cain's words deeply.

When he looked back to Cain, something had changed. His gaze was no longer as hostile, and his hard expression had softened a bit.

He rubbed his beard,

"Quite frankly, what you ask of me is rather steep. I and my son were almost killed back when all this started."

His face turned grim as he recalled the past,

"He saved me. I can't just betray him like that, even if your offer is quite tempting."

He hesitated for a moment, then clenched his hands together,

"Unless..."

Cain grinned.

That was exactly what he had been waiting to hear.

"Go on. I'm listening..." Cain said.

Alvi paused for a moment, contemplating his words for a moment before letting it out,

"Unless you give me your word that you will take our homeland back from the Devils in less than a year."

Cain frowned. That was not what he had been expecting.

Seeing the surprise on Cain's face, Alvi chuckled,

"What? You don't think you can do that?"

Cain shook his head,

"No, it was just a bit unexpected. May I ask why?"

Alvi's expression turned sinister,

"Because those wicked monsters took everything from me."

Kaius' expression turned bleak and dark as well, but he remained silent.

Cain's frown deepened and his expression turned serious.

Because there was not much time to swallow in sorrow, it was easy to forget that a large majority of people currently living had gone through absolutely horrendous things to survive until now.

They had lost their lives, their loved ones.

Their identity, everything that made them...

It had either been torn to pieces, burned away, or buried under rubble...

Either way, Cain could tell that delving into that topic at the moment was not a good idea.

Instead, he shook his head,

"I don't need a year. Give me six months."

His eyes narrowed,

"Six months is all I need."

***

Once they had walked a bit far from Death's Jackal, Cain turned to Blaze who still had a semi confused expression on his face.

Sensing Cain's gaze, Blaze turned to face him.

Cain couldn't help but chuckle,

"You should see your face right now."

Blaze frowned, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Then he sighed and shook his head, eventually raising it to stare at the mostly empty night sky.

A stream of foggy breath flowed out of his mouth.

Because of the Evernight, the temperatures in Valestorm were always low.

"It's cold." Blaze said after a moment of silence.

Cain nodded, "Indeed it is."

Taking a moment to enjoy the cool breeze, he addressed Blaze a moment later,

"Let's head back."

Placing a hand on his shoulder, the space around them distorted briefly, and in a split second, they were gone...

Reappearing right in Gilead's office.

Gilead was still seated there, his nose buried in a pile of documents, but Abigail was nowhere to be seen.

Gilead briefly looked up then returned to his business,

"A knock or a heads up would have been nice."

Cain shrugged as he and Blaze took a seat,

"I've sorted it out."

Gilead frowned, "Did you kill anyone?"

Cain smirked, "Did you want anyone dead?"

Gilead fell silent.

Then he shook his head,

"Alright, I'll hear you out. What do you want?"

Cain spoke calmly, his words measured and precise,

"My plan is simple. I want to take the City back from the Devils as soon as possible."

Gilead raised a brow, but didn't say anything.

Cain continued,

"Frankly, we might be able to keep the barrier going for as long as a few years even, but to what end? We will only be wasting resources. So, instead of waiting for our stack of mana cores and shards to run out, why don't we launch the first strike?"

"Launch the first strike sounds awfully optimistic." Gilead said.

Cain nodded, "It does. But it might work. That's if... We hit them from an angle they might not see coming."

Gilead's eyes widened,

Cain explained, "The shores. There's danger on the shores. It's littered with countless nests of mutant beasts, each more danger than the last. However, with danger comes opportunity."

"Most of the Hunters and Pilgrims here despite being high leveled, just hunt Aether Beasts. The experience again is roughly the same, but they don't have the advantage of gathering the meat and parts of the beasts they kill. But most importantly, mana shards."

Cain took a moment to catch his breath,

"In other words, all the Pilgrims you are willing to spare, I'll provide them with weapons and armor. In return, they'll help me clear the path from the shore to the fringes of the City."

Gilead was silent. He carefully analysed all Cain had said in his head.

And he concluded,

'It isn't a bad offer.'

He frowned, 'The mana shards and resources gained enter Valestorm, there will be more to work around with. Right now hunting in the City is still too dangerous, and the missions into the Otherworld haven't been going well...'

He paused then asked Cain,

"This might work out. However, that is under the condition that the Devils don't realize what you are planning."

Cain chuckled, "Of course they will realize. However, even if they do, they won't do anything about it. And if they do, it will be paltry attempts at best."

Gilead seemed surprised,

"And why are you so sure?"n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Cain smiled, "Because most likely than not, they are going to be too focused trying to bring this place down."

Gilead's eyes widened, and his hands trembled lightly.

"What do you mean?"

Cain shrugged, "The Devils are going to strike soon. Don't ask me how I know this. And they won't be attacking just the Dome of Sands. They will attempt to take down the other two places as well all at once."

Gilead's mind raced. How could he be so certain?

However, with just a single look, he could tell Cain had reason to suspect such.

As such, he could only accept such a possibility, even if it wasn't a hundred percent certain.

Besides, he already had his suspicions. Cain's confirmation only served to strengthen it.

There was a moment of silence between the two, no three of them...

Blaze had been silent since they arrived. Cain glanced at him, and say that his face was a bit sickly and his expression looked like he was trying his hardest to hold something in.

Cain wanted to laugh, but couldn't,

'Did he really drink that much?'

Gilead suddenly spoke,

"How many Pilgrims can you outfit as of right now?"

Cain took a moment to digest the question before replying,

"Right now? None."

Before Gilead could respond, he continued,

"But by the end of the week, I'll have enough quality equipment for a thousand Pilgrims."

Gilead pondered for a few seconds before nodding,

"Alright."

Cain smiled and stretched his hand out, Enjoy exclusive chapters from empire

"Then let's shake on it."

***

Stepping outside the temple, Cain couldn't help but give Blaze a concerned look,

"Are you really okay?"

By now, he was already partially green in the face.

Blaze nodded, although it didn't seem very convincing,

"I'm fine. Let's just get this over with."

With those words, he closed his eyes and clenched his fists, waiting for the inevitable.

Smiling wryly, Cain linked himself to the spatial anchor aboard Gwendolyn and with a thought, the space around them distorted once again.

In a split second, their bodies traveled through the gap in the compressed space, activated arriving where the anchor was placed.

Once they arrived, Blaze darted out of the room like someone had lit a fire on his behind.

He raced to the deck and leaned over.

The sound of his emptying out his bowels into the ocean could be heard all around the ship.

Cain could only feel sorry for him.

After some time, Blaze returned, his complexion slightly better.

He glanced at Cain, then looked away,

"Look..."

Cain raised his hands in mock surrender,

"I won't tell another soul."

Blaze, who prided himself in his upstanding character and valiant qualities wouldn't want to be seen in that light after all.

Blaze sighed.

Cain chuckled then waved his hand dismissively,

"Alright, you can go. I have no need for you anymore."

Blaze raised a brow. He paused for a moment, then said,

"Do you really think we can take the City back in half a year?"

Cain was silent for a moment.

Then he nodded, "I am sure."

With that, Blaze saw no more reason to over stay. He also had things to keep him busy. And with Cain's words, he had all the more reason to go the extra mile. He gave Cain a nod, then exited the room.

Meanwhile, Cain began preparing himself mentally...

Because for the next week, he was going to be very, very busy...