A Wolf's Howl, A Fairy's Wing

Chapter 535 - Bad news

Erik turned to Naeku and looked at her calmly. "The fate of your people is at stake here, Naeku. Do you want me to mince words? Pretend that everyone's opinion matters? Should I let people disrespect me without biting back?"

Naeku glared at him for a moment, but her conviction quickly crumbled. Fact was, she had no good comeback. Finally, she sighed and looked at her grandfather. "He's right, grandpa. If you want to make any more objections, wait until after we've survived the coming storm. Just don't expect anyone to agree with you at that point." Enjoy new stories from My Virtual Library Empire

Grumbling a little, Tarek waved his hand dismissively as if he were telling them to just ignore the grumpy old man.

With that resolved, Erik glanced across the gathered crowd. All the onlookers were still in the stands, but they looked at their leaders with confusion. With the battle ending so abruptly and their leaders suddenly gathering in a huddle, the people obviously wanted to know what was happening.

So, Erik turned to Naeku and said, "You should address the crowd. Tell them the situation and get them to prepare for war. We need to start moving quickly."

Naeku raised a curious eyebrow, seemingly surprised. "You don't want to do it yourself? Getting some more exposure would help solidify your position."

Erik chuckled, glancing at her with amusement. "Have you been spending time with Elora? That sounds like excellent manipulation."

Rolling her eyes and pursing her lips, Naeku crossed her arms before her chest and glared at him.

Erik smiled at her, getting the message. "I'm just kidding, beautiful. The fact is, the current situation is a little too critical for such things. The people trust you more than me, so it's better this way for now. They'll realize my worth and position on the battlefield."

"Besides," he continued with a wink. "Even as Emperor, I still expect you to command my armies… preferably even those outside of Enkare Nkai, when the time comes."

"I—" she muttered a little unsure but then nodded gratefully. "We'll see about that last part but thank you." She turned toward the middle of the arena. Under the proud gazes of her family, she spread her arms and immediately attracted the attention of her people.

"People of Enkare Nkai!" the young werepanther roared. "The time has come to defend our kingdom! The Humanitas Sangh has overcome our delaying tactics, and they will again attempt to enforce their will on us! Tell me, do you all remember what that will is?! Do you all remember what happened to Djibouti?!"

The crowd's reaction started out a little uncomfortable, but when Naeku reminded them of the stakes, anger quickly started growing.

"We do, princess!" one cried out furiously. "My family was in Djibouti when they crossed the sea and fell on us like a cluster of devils!"

"They wish to purge us, princess!" another screamed at the top of her lungs.

Naeku immediately honed in and pointed in that woman's direction. "That's right, they do! They pretend they're here to wipe out evil Runebound, which is ridiculous enough, but the truth is far simpler! They want power! They want control! Even Arcanists aren't safe under their rule!"

Rumours and stories about the Arcanist incubator sex slaves that permeate the Humanitas Sangh had already spread far and wide. Everyone now knew that none were safe under their rule.

Addressing the entire crowd again, Naeku wanted to whip them into a frenzy even more. "Tell me, my people! Will we allow that?! Will we lie down and accept our fate like meek little children, or will we fight?! For freedom?! Fight for our very lives?!"

"Fight! Fight! Fight! Fight!" A chant rapidly intensified as adrenaline began to flow, and the crowd became filled with bloodlust.

"Then, march with me, people of Enkare Nkai! People of Africa! March with me, under the banner of our new emperor, and show these monsters that they will have no quarter here!" Naeku finished, forming the shield of roots and leaves on her left arm and sticking it in the air.

Erik panned his gaze across the crowd and couldn't help but smile a little. Naeku really was good at this. Many people here weren't even in the army, yet they seemed ready to march out there and do whatever they could.

Unfortunately, that wasn't viable. The army already consisted of about a million people, nearly a fifth of the total population, and they simply didn't have the equipment for more. Besides, most of these people were still just first-rankers, and not everyone ended up with a first ability that was actually useful in combat.

Of course, they didn't need a powerful ability to act as a battery for formations or use their brute Runebound strength in close-quarters combat, but they also simply didn't have that many formations prepared, or weapons made.

Thus, Naeku quickly started giving orders. She needed to ensure the warriors prepared to march out while everyone else fortified the city and continued making equipment and supplies.

Meanwhile, Erik turned back to Elora, who looked a little concerned. "Did you find anything?" he asked, frowning.

She didn't answer, however, which caused everyone, especially Runa, to become a little agitated. But before they could ask anything, the dark green glow around Elora's hands suddenly intensified. Her gaze hardened, and her hands snapped forward. To everyone's surprise, they disappeared straight into Runa's body.

"W— Wha—?" Runa muttered, almost taking a step back, but stopped by Erik pushing against her back. Just before sticking her hands in, Elora had actually warned Erik to keep her in place through their bond.

Fortunately, it didn't take long before she pulled her hand back again. She now held a tiny black shard between her fingers, radiating a sickening aura. Solemnly, her gaze focused on and inspected it.

Runa immediately started scowling, understandably put off by having someone pull a thing like that out of her. "What the fuck is that?!"

Pinching her fingers to destroy the shard, Elora frowned but didn't answer. Seeing her expression, Erik immediately grew alarmed. He'd only seen her so serious a few times in their time together. Whatever she just pulled out of his mother, it was bad news.

"Elora? What's going on?" he asked softly, through their bond.

"I just found the answer to a few questions we've had… and it's not good news."