Chapter 268: Finishing Touches

Telling the residents of the first valley about the dam will have to wait for at least a little; showing up before dawn isn't likely to win you any friends, at least not in Cain's opinion. He does take a slow flight over the valley, though, checking if anyone's awake, but the place looks deserted. The lights that were on earlier are all out now, and nobody is outside yet.

The river's flow is a little down from where it was yesterday, no longer threatening to breach the banks, instead safely within their confines, but still moving quickly and most of the way up the riverbanks. The administrator is up already when they return to the Inn, and Cain can see him working in the office. 

"Administrator Damien, I managed to complete the tasks you set me last night. The dam was placed one valley further away since the one closest to us is occupied," Cain explains, and the man looks shocked. 

"No, the first valley has been empty for centuries. The next one has a large village, and it's part of the Arch Duke Ferdinand's holdings. You didn't flood a village on his land, did you?"

"No, the second valley was destroyed, not a tree left standing. We removed the bodies from the battleground to higher places to avoid fouling the water. If there was a village, you couldn't even tell now, but the valley closest to us had lights through windows visible when we flew over. Is it possible the villagers moved to avoid the battle? These were the pennants of the forces involved." Cain sets the banners out on the desk between them. 

Damien thinks a while, then nods. "If those were the armies, then the Archduke is likely dead and not still in hiding. Goddess only knows what inspired him to come out and fight. If that's the case, nobody will know the difference if that valley floods, except anyone who moved closer to us.

I'll send some locals out to meet them since they're now living in the lands allotted to the Manor here in Long Fang City. I'll need to have them check the dam to verify that it meets the standard. What was the other project?"

"We put a hard surface on the road to the next village. I think the Dragons scared them a little, but it should be a smooth and solid surface all year round now. Easy to drive a wagon down and free of muddy ruts."

If Damien is startled, his face doesn't show it; he only makes a note in his logbook. "I had reports of that already. Not the road, but Dragon Fire and unnatural rain. The farmers from the next village should be here today on their way to the Capital market, and they can tell us how the road was when they arrived. When might you be able to get guards brought in to protect the region?"

That's a question that requires actual thought. Cain wants to put a Commander here since he would be in charge of a whole river valley full of people. One Lieutenant seems like it wouldn't be enough.

But the Commander can call a Sub Lieutenant, which will get cloned by his skill. Three of them, with their summons, should be more than enough to take care of the Long Fang Valley. As long as what Cain gets for a Commander is Suitable to the task, since he doesn't get to choose them or their personality. 

It's still relatively early, so Cain and Laura duck back into the hotel for a bit of sleep, checking in on the team as they go. James has changed back into himself and is securely cuddled by Nemu while Vala reads in the corner.

Nila and Mythryll have their door locked, but Evangeline and Misha are tangled up together. Cain picks an empty room for a couple of hours of sleep, joined by Laura, who makes herself comfortable with a blanket from her inventory and one of the pillows shared between her and her clone.

Needing only a few hours of sleep a night is working out well for Cain; he got everything that urgently needed to be done finished and still made it back in time to sleep all he wanted. Nobody else wanted to get up before mid-morning, so Cain got four hours in and woke fully refreshed to see what the Inn had for breakfast. 

Oatmeal with toast and slabs of roast meat is the breakfast, but most of what they're serving today is gossip. The merchants from the next village arrived a few hours ago with a tale of a magical obsidian road that appeared overnight between the villages.

They left before dawn and insisted it was still warm, creating a light fog in the early morning air. 

The farmers from the outlying properties back them up, telling tales of Dragons building the obsidian road last night, the retelling getting more embellished with every repetition. The proof they say is in the merchants. They usually wouldn't be here until almost dark, needing all day to make the distance between villages with heavy carts. But today, they're here only a few hours after dawn. 

The next village specializes in woodcarving, creating elaborate wooden dishes, utensils, etc. Long Fang is just a stop on their way to the Capital, usually arriving in the evening and setting up for a few hours before leaving in the morning. If they've got extra wagon space, they'll pick up produce from the valley to sell as well, but this trip, they're almost completely full. Despite all the horrors to the succession war, it was a bumper crop. 

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The lone Beastkin merchant that Cain donated a wagon to will also be leaving with them to travel in the safety of their guards back to the capital. Once they're gone, Cain and company will be the last outsiders in the valley, and they might not even count as outsiders for long. The thought is relaxing to those locals who know about Cain's plans; they don't particularly care to get visitors, preferring to be left alone. 

King James will need to be brought back to the Castle tonight, so Cain intends to get everything finalized here as soon as possible. Returning to the capital with a good home in the country, plus a travel circle linked to the Demon Capital and through that to the rest of his Guild Houses and the Castle, would feel more like a victory than just bringing the King back home. 

King James hasn't forgotten his mission though; he's spent his time back in the form of Gerald the Beastkin, eagerly sharing gossip and drinks with those gathered by the market, guarded by Nemu and Vala. He's learning all sorts of things about his country today from a viewpoint that isn't usually allowed in his presence. 

It's after lunch, and the merchants have left already, hoping to get to the capital before midnight, when an alarm bell is sounded from the outskirts of the Valley. This time Cain has Laura transform to give everyone a lift to the attack scene, as the area is too crowded for his gigantic Dragon form. 

Surprisingly, not only Evangeline but also Vala chooses to transform back to her natural winged form and fly over on her own. She's always been able to, sort of. But at Epic, her flying speed and maneuverability weren't great, so she preferred to walk. She's still not as agile as the Seraphim, but she's much faster than Cain had expected. 

A second Gnoll Commander has come to avenge his fallen friend today. Only, this one isn't nearly as impressive. At level 230, with a force of Gnolls numbering two hundred but mostly all under level 190, they shouldn't be a problem. Cain calls all Seraphim, with Initiates, short sword wielding unarmored Seraphim with a single set of wings as his Lesser Golems, the Tank Type Crusaders as his Greater Golems, and Inquisitors to finish out the numbers. 

His belt doubled their numbers beyond the already impressive baseline, giving him 72 Lesser and 48 Greater Golems without activating Ancient Resistance. Along with the Eight Inquisitors, or six after Cain merged with two for the battle, they've got more than enough numbers for the fight even before the Companions call their Bonded Forces.

The flying forces throw themselves directly into the Gnolls, not fearing death or injury, and Cain jumps down from Laura to face the Commander before ordering her to take King James back up out of arrow range. 

The Commander narrowly dodges Cain's downward thrust as the Puppet Master falls from the sky, the spear grazing the tarnished Pauldron of the cobbled together set of plate armor it has amassed. With the Merger in effect, the Gnoll Commander is hopelessly outmatched, both in speed and strength.

That's not going to make it give up, though. The Gnoll combat style is all heavy, brutal slashes, and the Commander is willing to take a few hits to land a blow. It throws chop after chop at Cain, who parries most with his Scimitar before a low strike digs deep into his side but leaves the Commander open for his spear. 

The gleaming tip of the Five Tiger Spear goes effortlessly through the thick metal of the Gnolls armor, punching a hole in its chest and leaving behind a slowly closing fountain of blood as Cain retracts the weapon. 

Two-thirds of the Commander's health was depleted in that strike, and now the panic is beginning to show in the monster's eyes. It becomes desperate, attacking with all its might and shouting in the Gnoll language, trying to take Cain down. 

The shouts were for assistance, which isn't coming, as the Darklight Host has fully engaged his forces. The wild looking strikes are more effective than the previous attempts at a human combat style and the Commander manages to land a few more glancing blows on Cain, which Misha is healing as they fight, bringing him almost back to full health while the Commander's life slowly drains away.

A desperate flurry of attacks pushes Cain back as the Commander yells something that signals a full retreat, turning to run before Cain can recover his footing. 

Cain sees the Gnolls are about to get away and orders the Seraphim to pursue the fleeing monsters. Unable to catch up on his own, Cain opts for using [Judgement], the Holy attack skill gained from his Merger with the Seraphim Inquisitors. 

A mighty bolt of holy light streaks down from the sky, causing the fleeing Commander to glow a bright white before turning to ashes. The Seraphim are much faster than the Gnolls are, blocking their escape and eliminating them before landing and waiting on new orders. 

Silence falls over the battlefield and Cain looks around to make sure nothing was missed, finding only his own forces and the valley residents left standing. 

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