"Who was that?" Shadow eyes asked, turning to face Xanor, her gaze searching for answers.
"God Wolf," Xanor muttered, the words laced with a potent, chilling rage.
’I don’t know that child with him... could it be Josephine’s? No... that’s impossible.’ Xanor thought, and His gaze eting Shadow eyes’s gaze.
"We need to execute our plan imdiately. He knows I’m here; he’ll attack." He glanced over his shoulder at the lead Wendigo.
"Prepare for war. Send so of our elite to handle the threat you ntioned."
The Wendigo nodded, his hulking form disappearing back into the city. Xanor turned back to Shadow eyes, a question hanging in the air. "Do you think you can defeat him?"
Shadoweyes didn’t answer directly. Her crimson eyes scanned the ground, noting the additional footprints:
"Defeating him isn’t the right question," she said, her voice a low, thoughtful hum.
"The real question is: who was the person I fought? Was that his true strength, or was he just testing the waters?"
"That was Leonardo, the strongest in the lower world," Xanor replied, a hint of disdain in his tone.
"The strongest in the lower world?" Shadow eyes absorbed this information, then turned to face him fully. "Then we’re leaving this stronghold."
"Leaving? Why?" Xanor’s confusion was evident in his frown.
"Your mission is to conquer the lower world," she said, walking toward him until she was inches away, her presence overwhelming.
"You can’t do that if your headquarters is a known target. If we stay, we’ll be under constant attack from all nine nations. We’re strong, but continuous assaults are not sothing I wish to face." She walked past him, heading toward the gate.
Xanor considered her words. She was right. The long ga required a different strategy. He nodded, raising his voice to carry the distance:
"We’ll leave tomorrow, after the shipnt!"
Shadow eyes didn’t turn or respond. She simply continued walking.
___
[Back to Casey’s Camp.]
"Get the vehicles and dynamite ready! We have to be on schedule for the attack!" Casey yelled, her voice full of fierce determination.
"We’re going to wipe out those Wendigos!"
Her team moved worked around her, loading crates into their vans.
"That won’t be happening."
Casey and her team froze, their heads snapping toward the entrance of their camp, watching as a man appeared out of thin air..
"Who the hell are you?!" one of the team mbers yelled, dropping a crate with a loud thud.
’A god-rank warrior? Why are we eting so many powerful people today?’ Casey’s mind raced, a knot of unease tightening in her stomach.
"No need to be nervous," Leonardo said calmly, his gaze sweeping over the group of twelve. "God Wolf sent ."
’God Wolf? He has a god-rank ssenger?’ Arthur’s mind reeled.
"Who is Casey?" Leonardo asked.
The team remained silent until Casey stepped forward, her gaze fixed on him.
"I am."
"God Wolf told about your mission," Leonardo began, his tone serious.
"We scouted ahead and found two god-rank warriors at the base, along with countless flying Wendigos. They’re waiting for you." He continued:
"God Wolf sent to take you off this planet."
Casey’s body went rigid with anger. "We told him we’re not leaving without freeing the captives and killing every one of those insects!"
"I know. I hate them too," Leonardo said, his voice softening with empathy.
"But will you sacrifice your lives for this mission? Your friends and families are waiting. And as for the captives, God Wolf will free them all." He paused, letting his words sink in.
"You don’t look like a stupid child. Surviving this long in Wendigo territory proves it. So tell , will you risk the lives of everyone here just for this?"
Casey fell silent, turning to look at her team. She saw fear in their eyes, a mirror of her own unspoken doubts. ’If he’s telling the truth, we don’t stand a chance. But can I trust him?’
Leonardo snapped his fingers, and a golden chest appeared before her. "He also asked to give you this."
Casey hesitated, then walked toward the chest and opened it. Inside, celestial energy stones and rcenary chips glowed with imnse power.
"What is all this?" she whispered, her team gasping behind her.
’There must be hundreds of stones here, not to ntion the chips,’ she thought.
Casey used her cosmic brain to scan one of the chips:
[Unlinked.]
’No master... these rcenaries are unassigned.’ She looked up at Leonardo.
’He’s giving over a hundred new rcenaries, just like that? I’d just have to link with the chips to control them... but why? I barely know him.’
"I’m sorry," she said, a sense of deep distrust settling in her gut.
"But I can’t accept this."
"What?!" Arthur’s shock was palpable.
"These are celestial stones! They could increase all our strength! And these chips—we could each have a rcenary to protect us!"
So of the other team mbers nodded in agreent.
"Shut up!" Casey snapped, her frustration boiling over. "We don’t know him! Why would he give us so much without a hidden agenda? I know these things can help us, but we can’t just—"
"We must take it," Arthur interrupted, his voice uncharacteristically firm. He sighed, looking at her with a mix of fear and desperation.
"I know I’m a coward. I always run from a fight. But this... this could change our lives. If he’s telling the truth, we’ll all die if we continue. I don’t want to die."
"I hate to admit it, but Arthur’s right," the oldest mber of the group said, his gaze fixed on Casey’s back.
"Casey," Leonardo said, his voice calm and persuasive.
"God Wolf is not a bad person. He always has his reasons. Giving you this is his way of apologizing for asking you to live."
His words caused a flicker of emotion to cross the team’s faces.
"Boss, what are those?!" a young woman suddenly yelled, pointing a trembling finger at the thousands of tiny dots streaking toward them.
"What are they?" Arthur asked, his voice shaking.
"Wendigos," Leonardo said, his voice sending a chill down all their spines.
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