"What?!" Ikaris, Ellie and Malia exclaimed at the same time.
"MOO?!" (What the fuck?!)
"Can you tell us more about the circumstances?" Malia inquired anxiously. "A-and do you know if there are any survivors?"
Anaphiel's face clouded over and she slowly removed her foot from the wormhole to stare them straight in the eye. A shadow of anguish flashed fleetingly across her pupils.
"The Kingdom of Hadrakin was defending itself just fine until last night." She revealed what little she knew, "It is a Rank 3 Kingdom after all and their army has over 8 million soldiers and close to 100,000 Sorcerers. They may have been betrayed and lost their wall, but that's not enough to defeat them. After Gaelin Torfiel's betrayal, his brother Orym took control of the front army and held back the Glenring horde until a squad of Earth Sorcerers closed the breach. The war seemed destined to last, until last night."
Anaphiel took a deep breath, she too finding it hard to believe what she was going to tell them next. Once the emotion had subsided, she narrated factually,
"Around midnight, a colossal 6000 to 7000-year-old Narvath destroyed their wall again where Orym was not, flanked by a horde of 7 to 10 billion Glenrings. By now the entire kingdom is overrun with Crawlings and the entire population and most of their army have been slaughtered. The loyal Sorcerers who survived have taken refuge in Anor, the capital, and with the help of the king the city is still standing, but it is only a matter of hours before it falls."
Ikaris and the two girls turned livid upon hearing this absurd number. It was more than the population of Earth! Not to mention Hadrakin, all the neighboring kingdoms would also be run over without a chance.
Sensing their trepidation, Anaphiel continued,
"The Confederation has interceded. They will stop them at the Styr Empire border, the Empire through which you joined Tartarus Shade."
"That means..." Ellie realized with an aghast expression.
" Right... They're forsaking all the other kingdoms between Hadrakin and the Styr Empire. That's the Confederation for you. Efficient, but devoid of empathy."
"How many nations is that?" Ikaris asked just to find out.
"I don't know, I'm not an expert in geography." The young woman rolled her eyes. "There are several dozen kingdoms in this region, so if you include all the duchies, marquisates, counties and baronies... Probably several hundred or thousands. They have the option of retreating to the Styr Empire but their nations are pretty much doomed."
Seeing her brows furrowed in concern, Ikaris and Ellie sensed that there was something she wasn't telling them.
"Is there anything else we need to know?" The boy inquired cautiously.
Noting their concerned looks as they eyed her, Anaphiel realized that she had accidentally let her emotions slip through, and she immediately recomposed her cold, aloof demeanor.
"Nothing that concerns you. Just... you're not our last Lords anymore. Owen Gemini recruited seven Lords last night after we left and this morning House Maplemoon recruited five more. Because of recent events, this trend is likely to increase."
She reactivated the Transportation Portal and as she entered it she sinisterly reminded them,
" Grow as fast as you can. The peace in the Forsaken Lands won't last much longer. Nor will it here... And don't forget the Academies start in eight days. I'm afraid we'll have to hire extra teachers this time... See you soon."
Anaphiel's perfect hourglass figure merged with the vortex, leaving them with her foreboding words. Silence returned to Last Saint Village and Ikaris quickly snapped out of his daze.
"The boar!"
'Ah I can talk again!' Magnus chortled in his head. "Keeping quiet for too long is making me claustrophobic from staying in this ring."
'Did you hear everything that was said?' Ikaris raised an eyebrow.
'Of course I did! Let's go butcher that boar while your villagers get to work.'
Ikaris picked up the knife that Anaphiel had thrown at him and inspected the weapon. The blade was cold to the touch, but as soon as he brushed its edge a thin line of blood ran down his finger.
"Terrifying." He drew a cold breath as he pictured the damage this weapon would do if used against a human.
Once again aware of the 12 villagers gathered around him, Ikaris turned to them and said very solemnly,
"As you can see, this world is dangerous and uncertain times lie ahead. If we are to survive, we must make Last Saint Village an impregnable fortress, a kingdom so powerful that no enemy will dare to mess with us.
"To do this, we'll have to work hard to build the country of our dreams, but the most important thing is you, my subjects. In the Forsaken Lands, millions of ordinary humans are worth less than a handful of Sorcerers. Whatever your plans and ambitions, and however limited your talent, you cannot neglect magic.
"If we had more time, I would patiently let you choose your own path, but due to our unfavorable circumstances I do not have the luxury. For this reason, I hope you will decide early on what kind of Sorcerers you want to become, so that I can quickly assign you a role that suits you. Please think carefully. Although I can't force you, try to think about what would be useful to Last Saint Village and make life better for all of us."
Ikaris then gave them a crash course on everything he had learned about magic and Sorcerers since he arrived in this world. Even Horny listened attentively. Who knew what this narrow-minded bison understood?
Malia and Ellie listened sensibly from the side and their shocked expressions spoke volumes about the storm of emotions raging in their minds.
Ellie had to admit that she greatly admired the boy who looked several years younger than her. But on the other hand, she couldn't help but feel an immense sense of inferiority. He had understood all these things in such a short time? What the hell had she been doing since she stepped foot in this world?
Malia was beset by similar conflicting emotions. Although she knew as much as Ikaris did, the way he explained them was so straightforward and clear that she felt like she had learned something. She wondered where he had learned all those things about magic. Was it from granny Grallu? When had she taught him all this?
However, as she listened to him, she also realized that he didn't know everything. He lacked the basic knowledge that any self-respecting Sorcerer should have mastered. Wanting to prove that she could be helpful, she stepped forward and said in a sweet voice,
"Ikaris, let me fill them in on the rest. I may have been an incompetent village leader, but Grallu always said I was her best student when it came to magic."
The boy wasn't sure if this was good news but being almost done he let her take his place. He did, though, give her a number of instructions,
"While I'm dealing with the boar, I want the villagers to dig a separate communal toilet for the men and women before nightfall. I also want you to start building a wooden fence around the village. Twenty meters per side will do for a start. If you run out of wood, I want you and Horny to escort them to the edge of the forest to cut wood, but don't go any further. Cut down whatever trees you want, but please no fruit trees. Avoid the maples too. Also, go to the lake for water. I don't know how long our supplies will last. We also need to take care of setting up the tents, so let someone take c-"
"I get it, Ikaris!" Malia cut him off with ears ringing. "I have Ellie with me and with the other villagers I'm sure we'll manage."
She turned to the other villagers and blurted out,
"Right?"
They all nodded hesitantly, but Kellam and Ezrog gave a firm answer,
" Count on us. "
