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Chapter 99: Home, One Last Time

"Son, do you realize that everything is about to become fractured?" Aeglien of Torleen gestured toward the Frontier. "Usually we can thin out the horde within the walls, then target the strongest so that only some make it to the cities. The invaders completely ruined the usual filtering strategies. Some cities might pass without harm while others will be leveled by monsters that should never have gotten out. No one will be safe, this incursion."

"We should send some people deeper," Handelrey said. "With this many, there are bound to be a few that bypass all the ring cities to hit the softer targets."

"That\'s assuming we can pull anyone from the Frontier. But that\'s our problem, son. We don\'t want to send young hunters who have just been through such a harrowing experience into what could be an equally painful one."

"We are ready." Zae Zin Nim surprised them all by standing up and speaking. Despite her earlier vulnerability, her face was a mask as if she had been unaffected. "Send us somewhere appropriate for our stage and we will deal with what fate sends our way."

"Well, you certainly look determined. Very well. Where would you like to go?"

"Monskon City," Kai said. There was no real question in his mind that it had to end there.

Crystals began forming around him, somewhat similar to those he\'d seen the elite mercenary use but far more powerful. This time he wasn\'t so shocked, so he had a few breaths to look at them more carefully. Each facet seemed to itself contain another crystal, with its own interlocking pattern...

Then the crystals around him shattered into a fine mist and he was standing back outside Monskon City. Kai quickly looked around in case the monsters had already arrived, then realized just how much his sense of time had been skewed. All of his experiences during the battle had been forced into a small period of time, then he had been thrown across the nation by special techniques. He had a moment to catch his breath.

Beside him, Zae Zin Nim looked like she really was prepared to take on the horde. By contrast, the other three were a mess. One was still unconscious, one wept, and Yangil sat shivering and staring at nothing. Kai didn\'t know how much of the chaos he had perceived, but it had clearly scarred him.

"Alright, let\'s get you some help." Kai pulled the weeping man to his feet. "You\'re alive, it\'s over. Just hold on a little longer..."

Guards emerged from the city to help the civilians, who seemed to recover a little when surrounded by normal people. Yangil sat numbly, and when Kai approached him the other hunter slapped away his offers to help.

"Are you insane?" Yangil looked in his direction, but his gaze seemed to pass directly through him. "You saw them... we\'re nothing compared to that... insects... specks of dust..."

"No one is asking you to fight the entire world," Kai said gently. "But there are people in Monskon City who need your help. Even small monsters can be as overwhelming for them as those masters were for us."

"It doesn\'t matter... we might as well already be dead..."

After staring down at the broken man a while longer, Kai let him be. There was no sense trying to force him when there were so many other people who might accept his help.

Even though he wouldn\'t shut down like Yangil had, Kai had to admit that he felt scraped raw. Aquagorgon\'s Health was taking time to restore all the damage to his body, and some unquantifiable part of his soul felt drained. Even the brief glimpse had left his spiritual sight imagining afterimages. He needed to prepare for the upcoming battle, but he also needed to recover himself mentally.

"You seem to be taking this well," he said to Zae Zin Nim. She had been following like a ghost, apparently as indifferent as before. "But you can\'t convince me that you\'ve seen battles like that before."

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"No, not like that." She took a deep, controlled breath. "I was a member of an important sect, but we were a large public organization. I had always been told that the secret organizations of the world had even more powerful cultivation techniques, but I hadn\'t believed it."

"There were more than just cultivators there, you know."

"Yes, I know. I can admit that Rosemount might have hidden grandmasters as well."

He might not have enough information to theorize, but Kai was beginning to think he understood why Deadwaste was weaker than the other continents. The hole in the world didn\'t just emit monsters, it felt like it also drained the vital energy from its environment. Not obviously in a minute or a day, but over time he suspected it was the reason the center of the continent was a lifeless wasteland, and why their mana and qi were relatively weak.

Most likely the first people to settle on Deadwaste had built the Frontier wall, then established the system to keep the pit and its incursions in check. They might even have founded all the nations ringing it, for all he knew. What bothered him was wondering if they did it for the good of the world, or to contain the energy for some reason related to all the foreign masters. Yet they had all arrived at once, as if the event had been a surprise, and he didn\'t know how to interpret that.

So many secrets, so far out of his reach...

"I want to fight the incursion." Zae Zin Nim surprised him by speaking again. "I\'ve changed my opinion about many things here, but before today I still believed the monster problem was simply local pests getting out of hand. Now I understand. I feel like if I can\'t fight even the remnants of that horde, I\'ll never be able to understand the powers we saw today."

"I feel exactly the same way." Kai couldn\'t help but grin. Just having her look determined again did wonders for his spirit. "If the monsters will be coming so randomly, we won\'t be cleaning up minor threats. You\'ll be able to find a real challenge anywhere."

"Of course, I understand it\'s your home. I will do my best to protect it."

"Was my home." Kai stared over Monskon City\'s rising houses and realized how far he\'d gone. He still cared about the place in an abstract sense, but he knew he would never be settling down there and retiring as an old hunter. "I\'m going to protect it with everything I have, one last time. But if we survive the incursion, I think I need to look for some answers."

She nodded somberly, then they went to join the main defense forces. No guards challenged them this time. Even if the average citizen didn\'t know what had happened, they could feel that the incursion was getting closer. Banishment was a petty concern when the survival of civilization was at stake.

Inside the main street of the city, Kai saw that the armored wagons from Rayakan sat all in a row, their supplies being distributed. He noted a significant number of healing potions being taken to defensive positions, but Razz hadn\'t left it at that. There were all manner of mana-bearing fruit, enhancement items, and other support options. Hunters throughout the city were arguing over exactly who could use them best, but at least they were focused on the upcoming battle.

Most likely they had several hours until the first monsters started to arrive, which meant one of his top priorities needed to be breaking through to E-0. But his mind was still swimming with everything he\'d seen, so he didn\'t exactly feel capable of centering himself. Instead he looked through the city a little longer, hoping...

"Kai!" Juray dropped what she was doing and rushed to embrace him. She pulled back and stared into his face, and he almost thought she might kiss him, but then she just squeezed him as hard as she could. "I heard you were here, but I almost didn\'t believe it."

"I\'m sorry I missed you earlier." He finally set her down, though he couldn\'t stop smiling. "There\'s not enough time to really talk. The monsters will be here soon."

"So they keep telling me. But if you give me a few resources now, I could try to create something for you."

"Are you sure? I assume the Hunters Guild has you working as hard as you can."

Juray waved off the objection. "My goal is to help protect the city, not obey them. As far as I\'m concerned, you\'re one of the best defenders. And..." Her gaze slid over to Zae Zin Nim. "I don\'t know who your companion is, but she seems strong as well. If you tell me what you need, I might be able to whip up something."

"That is unlikely," Zae Zin Nim said.

"This is an opportunity." Kai cut her off before she could be too dismissive. "Juray is one of the best apothecaries in the city when it comes to flexible work. She might not use qi, but she could still help. Take a look at her essence."

Kai hadn\'t actually looked himself yet, but Juray didn\'t disappoint him.

Name: Juray Phrissan

Total Power: 55

Herbalist Class: 33 (43)

Physique Level: G-3 (8)

Soul Level: 2 (4)

>

She had improved more than most of the hunters in the city, taking great strides in her Herbalist Class. For that matter, she\'d made more progress on her Physique than any civilian and even some hunters. But he couldn\'t help but feel a sense of anxiety, because a rank of G-3 wouldn\'t protect her if the monsters broke through.

After some pressure, he managed to convince Zae Zin Nim. They both gave Juray some blood, a drop of mana, and in Zae Zin Nim\'s case even a stored bit of qi. She promised that she would do the best she could given the time and rushed off to her house. Kai wanted to hug her one more time, but she was already gone.

Instead he stared after her. Even if he left afterwards, he absolutely had to protect Monskon City. And that meant advancing while there was still time left.