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With the extra damage and control ability granted by army wide use of Ice Drake Breath, the Echoes manage to hold on for almost two more hours before finally needing to flee from the city, which has received continual high level reinforcements.

Unable to escape on foot, they end up Summoning Dark Phoenix to escape through the void where they’re harder to track, coming out a half-hour later with full mana and plans to attack outlying villages instead of big cities. As much fun as it was, it did not succeed in obtaining their primary objective. 

Even with the two of them, they were brutally outmatched by that army of Second Advancement transfers. The Area Fire Abilities and turning the very stone of the buildings against them were a nightmare to fight against.

The worst part is that a only one hundred kills separate them in their personal challenge. That’s way too close to call a definitive winner. 

Attacking in broad daylight seems too risky now that they’ve seen what the Niman cities can muster for defenses. Instead, they’ll wait for the dark and find more slave caravans and transfer stations to attack, working together to follow Cain’s instructions to eliminate slavery in the Niman Territory by virtue of mass slaughter.

Well, at least that’s how they interpreted his instructions. 

In the city of Hannaford, still reeling from the vicious attack of what they assume to be Demonic Mercenaries, the council has gathered to assess their losses and the damage to the city. 

“Do we have a solid lead on who hired them? I want him found and killed. Tonight, no later.” The Mayor demands, slamming his meaty fists on his desk, making the fat on his arms ripple. 

“There are no definitive leads, but they first appeared inside Skyview and attacked our slave convoys during today’s raids. It’s safe to assume that one of their Oligarchs hired the Mercenaries as a warning, but even with the payment from the Rebels, I directed them not to touch any properties owned by an Upper Noble.” A stout Beastkin with only a pair of longhorns on his head breaking the illusion of humanity informs him, seated at a desk marked Acquisitions Manager. 

“Did they reassign properties without us knowing? If they now have some of the border territories being managed by the Dukes and Earls, it will be a disaster. They are the biggest nation, but their Beastkin population is also in high demand with our northern customers. We need them to overlook our activities.” The mayor moves past confusion into full-blown anger that their informants didn’t catch something that might be vitally important. 

“News from Skyview, My Lord. The last of the Raiding Parties has fallen, and none of the convoys made the border, except the one that the Demonic Mercenaries wiped out just inside our Territory.” A young soldier who is taking notes from a conversation with an informant he is grouped with calls to the assembled council members. 

“Well, that’s that then. Do you think they’ll continue to attack? With that large of a hired force, they could well decide to invade before their mercenary contracts expire.” One of the Councilors asks. 

“I don’t think so. After tonight they’ll likely call back their troops. Skyview is hardly stable; they nearly lost their King again yesterday to a coup attempt. They’ll have to regroup, and then we can move in. Give it a couple of days to bring over another raiding party, and we will get our prizes.” The Mayor sneers confidently.

The others don’t have much optimism, but they’ve made big promises to their clients and taken extensive deposits to match. If they don’t deliver, there might not be a Niman Territory next year. 

To the west of the Niman Territory is the Nyanko Confederacy, a loose organization of villages populated mainly by Felians. Though they have a strong army, their citizens too are frequent victims of the raiders, and their spies are most intrigued by the recent developments in Skyview. 

“Chief, have you heard the proclamation of the new King of Skyview? He will be taking Beastkin into his harem. My uncle is a Knight of Skyview, and he said the proclamation declared any Noble’s daughters had a chance. A niece is close enough, right? Do you think I could land a king? I’ve heard he’s a big lover of soft things and even keeps a pet Kitsune.” A young girl named Giselle rambles on to the Chief of her village, an old Felian woman called Finder. 

“First off, you’re three whole years from marriage age. Secondly, Kings look for power and alliances for their harem; it will be hard for a Knight’s children to get anywhere in the selection process. You’re beautiful and very cuddly, but don’t lose sight of reality.” Chief Finder admonishes. 

“What about Khali? She’s a Chief’s daughter. Could she get a King?”

Finder considers that for a moment. Khali is the daughter of the only human Chief in the Nyanko Confederacy. As such, she might be open to a political marriage. An alliance with Skyview would be an excellent benefit for their small Confederacy, should the new King’s rule survive this test.

“We shall see, little one. We shall see.”

To their north sits an extensive open grassland. Nearly a desert with a harsh dry climate, very few would freely choose to live there. Was it organized as a country, the steppes would be the largest on the continent, rivaling the Great Desert in sheer size, though also sharing its low population.

With hundreds of small kingdoms and city-states on the continent to its west and the Demon Kingdom to the north, the steppes provide a comfortable buffer to Demon King Aggramor, separating his nation from much of the volatility that the region is known for. 

One of the many nomadic groups upon the Steppes is known as the Tungsten Nomads, a hard-living group of barbarians and exiled criminals from an assortment of races. Fate has been particularly unkind for them lately, and they’ve lost most of their women and children to battle and a harsh winter hiding in the mountains to escape their enemies. 

So, they gathered what resources they had and placed a large order with the Niman Territory to procure them new families to keep their band going. But news from the city of Hannaford in Niman Territory is not good. It says that they have utterly failed to fill the order and lost most of their raiding team.

Niman isn’t a large country; they only have a few cities but numerous small outposts that serve as transfer stations, if one of their major cities can’t even organize a raid, it’s not a good sign for the future. 

The Chief of the Tungsten Nomads is in mental turmoil; they need those enslaved Beastkin to have hope for a future. But Skyview has become fearsome. If they dare to attack entire cities of slavers in broad daylight, very little must be able to scare them.

But for now, he will hold off on taking action. He will give the Nimans a chance to fill his order, and if they fail, he will take his Tungsten Nomads into Niman Territory and fill the order himself from their women.

That night brings chaos to the Niman Territory. The attack on Hannaford wasn’t the last of their troubles for the day; the Mayor had just received an emergency call from a fort fifty Kilometers away, near the border with the Nyanko Confederacy. They’ve been besieged by Demons just as the sun fell, the Mercenaries taking advantage of the twilight to invade their camp. 

To the Echoes, this camp is even better than the first one the Obsession Demons found, holding nearly two thousand defenders. Unfortunately, it’s also crawling with enslaved Nyanko Confederacy Beastkin after a recent raid. So many that it is hard to fight properly without risking injuring them. But to the Echoes, that’s just another difficulty level in their challenge.

Now that Cain has activated Ancient Wisdom, they can use it too, and they’ve put it to good use. One has given his Demons the teleportation ability of the Oath Breakers; the other chose the flaming Axe of Carnage. Their only complaint is that the multiple uses don’t stack.

Scaled down for the lesser Demons, the axe looks a bit less terrifying, but the effect it has is no less deadly. The Axe of Carnage leaves a blazing trail in its wake and causes the ground to shudder if it strikes a solid object, creating an earthquake that can topple most buildings that somehow survive the brute force of the blow.

Giving them to everyone in his force made the interior of the fortress ripple like the ocean’s surface during a storm; dirt went flying everywhere creating a hazy cloud as buildings toppled, and living beings were thrown around like rag dolls. 

The current phase of the competition is in who can swat more of the flying humans to death, the brute force of the Wrath Demons, or the speed of the Obsession Demons. The tactic favors the Obsession Demons in actual kills, but the hysterical giggles of the Wrath Demons let everyone know that they don’t particularly care. 

The Echo who chose Wrath Demons turns to his clone with a smile. “I think you’ve won this location, but that has got to be the funniest thing I’ve ever seen. Did you see the air time that guy with the whip got when he mistimed his jump?”

“That was way better than expected. Be sure to inform Cain. With a third player, this could be even better.” The other Echo agrees. 

[The Axes of Carnage cause Hang Time if everyone uses them. You must try it out later.]

What in the world are they even talking about?” Cain mutters when the message arrives, distracting him from petting Misha’s new wings as they lay in bed.