Several months later...
One of the men from the Fuller family, along with several other men from the family, was stationed on the border between Scott Province and Snow Province.
From the metal tower on which they stood, they could see several square miles in the distance on both sides of the border.
But at that moment, the man standing guard in that area had a strange look in his eyes, while a green pentagram glowed in both of his eyes.
Meanwhile, he watched a large group of monsters pass through the area toward the interior of Scott Province.
...
At the same time, in Saltstar City...
Vicente stood in his training room, his third pentagram glowing around him and a white glow coming from his eyes.
Seeing and feeling the strength of the monsters in front of the body of the man he had sent to the border, he couldn't help but make an ugly expression.
"Shit!" He commented as he returned to normal and stopped using his third ability to see through this man.
Looking at Eve and Casey, who were with him now, he couldn't help but report what he had just seen. "A large number of monsters are crossing our border right now."
"A large number?" Casey wondered.
"More than a thousand monsters."
Gulp!
"All that?" The blonde woman asked, finding it a bit much.
"We are less than six months away from The Seven-Day Tsunami. Soon, The Purification should be put into practice, so it was expected that the number of creatures coming from the north would increase.
"Sigh! Even though we expected it, it's not good to see our fears come true," he commented in a deep tone.
"Send a group to deal with those monsters before they infiltrate the province. The group that discovered them will watch them for now. But if we don't act quickly, we'll lose them, and they'll be much harder to deal with."
"Sarah is in Metal City. Should we send her?" Casey asked.
"We can also send Onyx and Layla there. With their speed, they can reach the monsters in less than four days." Eve commented.
"Do that. Send Sarah to follow them and keep their location under our radar. When Onyx and Layla arrive, they will have to deal with these monsters together.
There are some Sovereign-level monsters, but most of them are Mages and Acolytes." Vicente said as he thought about his feelings for his subordinate.
Casey and Eve quickly left with these orders while Vicente turned his attention to Torne.
'It will be difficult from now on, master. Scott Province is the northernmost place on the continent. These creatures fleeing from the north will come here to try to preserve their lives.' The ghost in Vicente's mind commented to him.
'I know. The problem is that I didn't expect things to get so bad at this point... It makes me wonder if I've really prepared well enough.'
Torne said. 'You did what you had to do. Your family has many Mages, you have outposts all along the border, and means of transportation and protection that no one else on the continent has.
But these things won't stop the monsters from coming here. At most, they will help your people grow faster and better deal with threats.'
'Sigh... Unfortunately, that's all.'
"If you want, I can help you." The voice of the lamia on Vicente's necklace rang out, drawing his attention to her.
Over the years, since Vicente had made this lamia leave his body and follow him inside a special mineral, he had obtained Lamia bodies for her.
He currently had three lamias bodies that were High-level Mages before they died. That wasn't the best for Prisiche, who was an Earth Sovereign. But with one of those bodies she could regain her powers and eventually her full strength.
Vicente looked at her silently while she tried to convince him.
"I will only be a 3rd stage lamia because of the bodies you have. That will be enough for you and me to have a master-slave relationship. There will be no way for me to betray you.
On the other hand, with me by your side, I will be able to guide your people according to my knowledge of monsters.
Although you have studied and dealt with many monsters, you don't think like one, and you don't have the experience of living among them. If I have a body, Vicente, I can help you better than anyone.
Trust me, and I will facilitate your dominion over the province, even in the midst of The Purification's consequences."
Vicente and Torne looked at the necklace containing this lamia's soul, both silent as they considered what she had to say.
'You will have to decide whether to take her with you on the hunt or leave her in the province, master. Though she's valuable either way, I can't help but admit that she'd be more useful in the province.
As much as she can help us on the journey north, she can do little to facilitate our victories in battle. She's powerful, but her powers are better against magicians. She won't be as strong against other monsters.
But in the province, she could really help the family groups fight monsters better, and the magical creatures that will come here aren't exactly the strongest. Even though she's not as powerful in the monster world, she'll be able to handle the ones that come here.
The only problem is whether she can deal with your men. A contract between you will oblige her to follow your rules, but it won't take away her personality. That could be a problem.'
'I know. There are pros and cons to leaving her here or taking her with us,' Vicente pondered while holding the necklace in his hands.
He closed his eyes and said to Prisiche. "All right, I'll give you what you want. But if you cause me trouble, you'll be in for more terror than you can imagine."
The lamia felt her soul tremble at Vicente's words, not understanding how this man could still frighten her after she had accompanied him for so long.
"You won't regret it. Even though we're different races, Vicente, you and I want the same thing—our survival. The safer Scott Province is, the better for me. I don't want monsters unrelated to me to get in my way.
As long as I had no prospects, I would ally myself with any monster to improve my chances. But since I am on your side, I have resources, people, infrastructure, and more, I don't need them. So betraying or harming you would be bad for me!"
