336. Clouds at the Horizon

~ You have finally left come out! Rebels! System Dogs! Unruly Scum! I have given you the freedom of obedience and you chose to throw it away! Now, you shall be punished! ~

Just a day after the caravan finally left the woods they ran into complications.

~Resistance is futile! ~

Big complications.

A cloud of terrifying messengers of the Theocracy of Chains and their much more talkative leader had surrounded the group of escapees.

Whereas the former servants and workers flocked together, trembling in fear of their previous masters. The Chimeras, Warriors, and Adventurers on the other hand were ready to fight but their chances seemed slim.

After many of the strong adventurers had teleported back to Delta a big part of their fighting force was gone. They knew how strong these angels were, even with the chimeras now on their side, it was unclear whether they could withstand them.

"To be honest, I think we are dead." Marcel moaned.

"You are probably right," Elza answered him displeased.

~The Master is a gracious God. He will take you in as lambs once again, as long as you bow your heads! Bow and he will welcome you back in his arms! ~

A bright light was emanating from the leader and the angels chanted in a choir.

Facing the terror and overwhelming pressure the divine beings radiated many swayed. It was the servants that fell to their knees first. Some of them withstood, but not many. Second were the workers. Many of them withstood, but more than half kneeled.

"Don't do this! Stay strong!"

"He's lying, don't believe his word!"

"No!" "Stop!" "Don't"

The leaders talked to them. Their people talked to them, but it did not help. Those with a weak mind kneeled. Even some among the warriors and some among the mages fell. Only the adventurers and chimeras were unaffected by the divine voodoo.

Anyone that kneeled had a thick, copper-colored collar form around their neck.

~ I see that some of you had the wisdom to realize your mistake. And now...~

He made a theatrical pause.

~...Fight. ~

Grabbing their makeshift weapon, the servants and workers jumped up with screams and roars of anguish and war. Unprepared to the attack from those they planned to protect many fell right in the beginning.

Friends that had tried to talk their brethren out of it. People that desperately tried because they cared. The workers and servants that had not bowed were mowed down by their own.

It became harder from there, as the Warriors, Adventurers, and Chimeras were a lot tougher. Attacking them was like a snowball attacking the sun. The problem was that they did not have to overcome the much stronger and better-equipped forces.

In the moment of chaos, the angels struck and started reaping lives. Their harvest just increased the chaos among the defending forces. Their only saving grace was that Angels were purely physical in their attacks.

They still had the upper hand in numbers, as long as they managed to regroup, they could still put up a fight. Maybe even win. The problem was that they usually took the noncombatants in the middle of their formation. Now they were attacked from the inside.

"Everyone, break the formation and make smaller groups among those still sane around you! Defend yourself and try to focus your attack on a single angel at a time. We have to cut down their numbers!" Marcel's war cry rang across the battlefield.

It was the only idea he came up with in a hurry. Break the ring and form smaller groups among parties close to each other. This way they could defend themself from the crazy slaves and the angels more effectively.

Pip and what was left of the disciples of Karina had already acted on preserving their lives. They had used seed from the forest and urged them to grow, to create a protective dome where the children effectively hid from the terrifying angels.

There was only one problem everyone overlooked in the chaos. The bishop-like angels, their leader, had not interfered in the fight even once. He was strenuously chanting in the sky.

---------------------------

~Can I eat those? ~

The Imugi suddenly asked. It had come out from the mount space and was looking at the burned monkey corpses with hungry eyes.

It was the first time since their contract that it had left the space. It had stayed silent and also didn't react to their tries to speak with it. Looking at the cute, chubby snake, Seth felt reminded of Puffles, when he was still a caterpillar.

"Would you like me to properly cook them for you?"

~ As your magnificent Senior, I recommend you to have them cook. They taste a lot better! ~

~ Then I will have them cooked. Mom, please cook them for me. ~

"M-Mom?"

~Yes. Although I mentioned it when we first met, I used the last few days to observe you and came to the decision to accept you. Mom. ~

"I-I see. Your decision is firm. But can't I be your dad?"

~What is a... dad? ~

"... Oh lord," Seth remembered the mating ritual he saw and understood why there was no concept of a dad. He didn't feel like explaining an orgy to a snake less than a week old.

"No, nothing. I will be you, Mom. Let's just go with that."

~ Okay? So, can you make me food, Mom? ~

"Sure, wait a moment."

Seth cut the dead monsters apart, seasoned them, and thoroughly roasted them with <Pyrokinesis>

~ Big Brother Puffles was right, this is delicious! ~ its voice got a lot more energetic.

A big smile grew on Seth's face. See, who needed to be a villain with a net of lies? Just be able to cook a little. All lies fall short before the desire of the stomach. And if there was something Seth knew, it was how to eat.

It took a while to cook thirty monkeys, but the concerning part was that the Imugi ate several times its own by weight without any signs of bloating. A true glutton. Maybe Seth had to get a few more cooks besides Link.

He was finally able to strike a rather merry conversation with the small quasi-dragon when Lynris suddenly spoke up.

"Hey, what is that?" she asked and pointed to the distant horizon where a giant smoke cloud was rising high into the sky. Just moments later it was followed by the tremendous thunder of an explosion and a strong gust of wind.

"Shit," Wedan mumbled when he stumbled from the surprise.

"Are we thinking the same?" Evan asked.

"You think it's either Duhu or the caravan?"

"It has to be, right?" the young man insisted.

"You know, the world is big. It is not always about us and the people we know. But we should go and take a look, just in case. Are you ready puff?"

~ The great me is always ready. ~

~B-But what about my food? ~the teary-eyed snakelet whined. There were still over 10 monkeys left.

"Don't worry, I will pack them up and you can eat them later." Seth appeased the child's crying.

They broke off the camp, packed everything away, and mounted Puffles.

"What about Duhu?" Wedan asked concerned.

"He's a big, strong Tiger. He can look after himself." Seth appeased the Dwarf's concerns.

The question answered itself once they set off on the flying nightmare centipede. After just 30 minutes of travel, they found a giant tiger sprinting across the plains. It was on running in the direction of their camp. The Ivicer lowered its altitude until the tiger noticed them and came to a halt.

"You saw the explosion? It had to be the caravan." the Tigerman stated after transforming back.

"Why?"

"I found their trails and was on my way back when it happened. It's the direction the caravan had traveled. It coincides too perfectly to be a coincidence."

"Alright, get on Puff! We go and take a look." Seth decided. Duhu joined them on the Ivicer's back, but when the centipede wanted to get back in the air, but Seth stopped him.

"let's travel by ground for now. If that is really the location of the caravan, it's better you have some Mana left."