Chapter 2863: Wretched Land (part 1)

"Also, it's not only the mons- the people of Zelex who need fresh troops." Ilthin said while pointing at the still-open Gate.

"I know that Malyshka is a good person but she's no saint. Staying at all times in Zelex means halting her research and travels." Solus said. "What's the catch?"

"Well, let's say that Mother is still very intrigued by hybrid children. In a way, the people of Zelex are hybrids as well since they are stuck between a reverted and a fallen state." Ilthin replied.

"We undead also have a flawed mana core and Mother is checking if the same principle that temporarily fixes a monster core while on a geyser can work on us too."

"That's the Malyshka I know." Solus chuckled, knowing that Baba Yaga couldn't be too far away. nOIn

"I resent that!" The Red Mother said but she didn't dare show her face due to the truth of those words flushing her cheeks.

"Come on, Mother. I too would be afraid you were suffering from the onset of white- core dementia if you suddenly got all gooey. We worry because we care about you." Ilthin offered Elysia a slender finger that the baby sniffed for a while before grabbing it.

"Ba." Elysia said while looking at Valeron the second. "Baba."

"How cute!" The Firstborn Banshee squealed in misunderstanding and peppered Elysia's small face with kisses. "No, sweety, I'm not Baba Yaga. We just smell similar because I carry a spark of her life force within me. My name is Ilthin."

"Baba." Elysia confirmed.

"Mom, you have to hear this. Lith and Kami are so kind that they have taught their daughter your name as one of her first words."

A sound similar to a raspy cough came from the other side of the Gate as the Red Mother tried to suppress a peal of laughter.

Elisya remembered how angry her mother would get whenever the First Banshee approached them and the baby girl could also feel Kamila's growing annoyance. It was the reason Elysia was referring to Ilthin as "very bad".

"That's not-" Lith was about to explain the truth when a nudge to his ribs told him otherwise. "I mean, how are things around here?"

"Things are exactly as you can imagine." Ilthin turned serious while letting Valeron the Second sniff her hand as well and mark her as a bad guy. "Those lowlifes of Jiera's Council put us right in the path of a monster tide.

"When we first arrived here, there was not a single blade of grass left and the food provisions we received from the nearby Awakened cities were barely enough to keep the people of Zelex from starving.

"If you ask me, the goal of the Awakened was to limit the reproduction rate of us 'invaders'. That or they just wanted to use us as cannon fodder against the tide, with mutual destruction as their best-case scenario.

"Too bad for them that plant folk are great at growing stuff and with the energy coming from the mana geyser, the fertility of the soil here is outstanding. In two weeks, we had enough grass to lure wildlife.

"We needed only a few months to get to the point where we are now." She waved at the few tall trees laden with fruits and the many more short ones that the ogres were growing at an accelerated rate with the help of the trolls.

The plant folk's connection with the green allowed them to find and revitalize even dried seeds while the evolved Odi used their mastery over light magic to speed up the plants' metabolism while also taking care of not depleting the soil.

"That and keeping those damned monsters away, of course." She then gave them a short recap of the events since their arrival in Jiera.

At first, the fights to drive away monsters that comprised the edge of the tide had been so brutal that they had caused many casualties amongst the people of Zelex until the sun had set and the undead risen.

It was a war of attrition that the forces from Garlen had won only because most monsters were incapable of using magic and killing an undead with physical attacks was nigh impossible.

On top of that, the monsters were always hungry and the barren land offered no food. Each conflict lasted only until the tide migrated toward a much juicer prey and involved solely the dregs of the hungry swarm.

Those too weak to be part of the main attack force and living off the scraps left by the other monsters.

Despite all of that, there were thousands of them whereas the allied forces from Garlen. amounted to a few hundred. Ogres exploited their plant nature to recover from most wounds while the trolls were forced to keep themselves at the borders of the geyser.

This way, they needed but a few steps to revert to their fallen state and gain unparalleled regenerating abilities in exchange for their lifespan. Little by little the alliance between reverted monsters and undead had whittled the tide's numbers until their ranks didn't reach the geyser anymore.

After that, at each passage of the tide the undead took care of luring single tribes of monsters with food, leading them into traps where they were slaughtered. Then, multiple tribes were baited to the pile of corpses, sending them into a feeding frenzy.

Away from their leaders and aroused by the smell of blood, the monsters would fight among themselves, leaving to the people of Zelex to deal with the winners. The final result was a literal hill of dead bodies that the reverted monsters refused to eat but they had no qualms using their lost kin as fertilizer.

"We keep killing more of them than they can spawn and with every victory we gain more raw materials to feed the animals and enrich the soil. It's a win-win." Ilthin sighed deeply, showing no enthusiasm.

"Then why do you say it like it's a bad thing?" Kamila asked.

"Because it is." The Firstborn Banshee shook her head. "At some point, we'll have to stop the expansion of our settlement or risk to draw the attention of the monster tide. Remember that so far, we have only fought the weakest and dumbest among them yet we still suffered losses.

"If the main bulk of the tide attacks us, no one but me or Vladion is going to survive. Maybe. This land would go back to being barren and everything we have worked so hard for until now would feed the monster tide enough to swell its ranks to its full force again.

"If we want a shot at winning this, we need Forgemasters to establish permanent arrays and a decent defensive system. We also need enough materials to build Gates and ensure both reinforcements and a way out in case we get overrun.

"Most of all, we need a way to break into the heart of the tide and kill the leaders. They are the thin thread that holds the different tribes together and keeps them from tearing each other apart.

"The bad news is that as long as they stand, we have no chance of victory.

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