Chapter 314: Ashwick (5)

The Vorathid Sky-Hunter crawled through the ventilation shaft of the central skyscraper. Reidar watched through its eyes. The vision was weird, but it still gave him a comprehensive view of the interior.This place wasn’t a church. It wasn’t a factory either.

The insect dropped from the vent, landing on a support beam high above a massive atrium. The space was open, stripped of the cubicles and drywall that must have filled it before the apocalypse. Now, it was a cavern of steel and concrete, lit by torches.

Corridors branched off the main hall, leading to secluded areas shielded by heavy doors. It looked like a corporate headquarters redesigned for war. There were no altars, no religious iconography as in other church places. Just maps, logistical charts, boxes, crates, and other materials that were likely going to be stored.

Reidar guided the insect along the ceiling. It moved past open doorways, peering into rooms.

In one, a group of Church Zealots were stripping monster meat and collecting the bones. In another, scribes of the sort were hunched over desks, copying reports onto parchment.

"What do you see?" Lena asked.

Reidar kept his eyes closed, leaning back against the tree trunk. "It’s a sort of administrative place," he said. "There are offices, briefing rooms, and archives. It’s too clean for a barracks and too quiet for a workshop."

He pushed the insect deeper. It flew down a long corridor, avoiding the patrols that marched around.

"I don’t see any crafting stations," Reidar said. "No forges. No alchemy labs. This place isn’t where they make their gear. This is where they decide where to use it. It also looks like a sort of logistical place."

"So it’s the brain," Jake said.

"Yeah," Reidar said. "At least based on what I’m seeing, but I will need to give a better check if I want to be certain. Though if this is really the place, then it’s almost guaranteed we will find Silas and the other people in charge here."

The Vorathid Sky Hunter checked every place until it reached the last floor. Reidar then sent the creature toward a set of double doors at the end of the hall. Unlike the others, these guys were guarded by two Elite Zealots standing to attention.

The insect crawled along the molding, slipping through the gap between the door and the frame.

The room beyond was a war room. A massive table dominated the area, and even the walls were covered in maps of the region.

But Reidar didn’t look at the maps. He looked at the two people standing over them.

—[Battle Priestess Isadora Thane—Level 340]—

—[Captain Lucius Grey—Level 355]—

Reidar’s breath hitched.

The woman, Isadora, was tall and severe, wearing plate armor that looked more functional than ceremonial. Her hair was cropped short, and a scar ran from her jawline to her ear. She radiated a kind of sharp danger that reminded him of Lena.

The man, Lucius, was massive. He wasn’t wearing a helmet, revealing a face that looked like it had been carved from granite. He wore heavy armor—the kind designed to tank hits from siege weapons—and a great sword was strapped to his back that was nearly as tall as he was.

"I found them," Reidar said. The ones in charge could only be them. They were too strong to be otherwise.

"Silas?" Lena asked.

"No," Reidar said. "But close. Two high-level people. A Battle Priestess at level 340 and a Captain at 355."

He looked at them through the Vorathid Sky-Hunter’s eyes. They were strong. Lucius was only three levels below Reidar, which meant the attribute difference was negligible. But he was a captain, so Reidar was sure his attributes mostly fell on S.H.I.E.L.D.

In a straight fight, without his summons, Lucius would surely break him in half. Isadora was lower level, but she didn’t look weak at all.

They were dangerous. Deadly dangerous. But they weren’t Silas.

"They’re talking," Reidar said. "Be silent."

He pushed the insect closer, landing it on a chandelier above the table. The voices drifted up.

"The preparations are behind schedule," Isadora said. "The logistic lines from Redwater have gone silent. We haven’t received the shipment of monsters."

Lucius grunted. "It doesn’t matter. We are strong enough for the initial push. The Archdeacon wants Highmont taken within two months."

Reidar froze.

Highmont.

He knew the name. It was a city to the northwest, about eighty kilometers away. Before the system, it had been a mid-sized urban center. The survivors Reidar and the others saved said it was a fortress now, holding over fifty thousand survivors.

"Fifty thousand souls," Lucius said, tapping a location on the map. "Think of the mana, Isadora. Think of the materials we will get from there. Think about the number of working people. If we take Highmont, we will be able to speed up our progress far quicker."

He paused.

"The Aegis Phalanx is starting to get annoying, and hiding is becoming far more difficult. We need to take care of them."

"Taking them will not be easy," Isadora said. "They have high-level survivors. Some are pushing Level 250, and I heard there is a guy with a trait that reached level 300."

Lucius laughed. "Level 250? We have Paladins at Level 330. We have the Progenitor’s blessing. They are children playing with sticks."

He placed his finger on the map and traced a straight line from Ashwick to Highmont. The line cut through eighty kilometers of territory, passing through abandoned towns, monster-infested forests, and ruined highways.

"They have the vendors and their damn barriers."

Reidar opened his eyes. The connection to the Sky-Hunter remained, but he needed to tell the others.

"They’re going to attack Highmont," Reidar said.

"The city to the northwest?" Jake asked.

"Yes," Reidar said.

He looked at the map in his mind, seeing the red line Lucius had drawn.

"If they take Highmont, the region will turn unstable, far more than it already is," Reidar said.