Defiance of the Fall

Chapter 128: Excursion

“I am thinking of extending an invitation to the various people in the area after the third wave is dealt with,” Zac began. “However, are there any groups that might won’t make it until then?”

It was a fair question, as the refugees he took in last time were forced to set sail since conditions got too harsh on their island. Since then a few weeks had passed, and things were only getting worse out in the wild.

“There are 3 settlements we can bring back before the auction, and another 2 before the last wave,” Mr. Trang said after some deliberation. “All of them are teetering on the edge of destruction, and they did not seem very organized. There were no real fortifications around their settlements, and the beasts must have done a number on them. However, we can’t take too many each trip with our vessels, 15-20 people at the most per vessel.”

Zac sighed but nodded, indicating that they’d follow Sap Trang’s lead. It was pretty clear that the groups they’d pick up before battle wouldn’t be able to contribute to the war efforts.

“Is there any force that seemed strong amongt them?” Zac asked

“Both the bestman camps looked pretty strong,” Mr. Trang said. “There was also one human town that was… Odd.”

“Odd how?”

“I’m not sure, it wasn’t me who went there. It was the largest human settlement. They looked quite organized and no one seemed to be starving. However Mr. Nguyen said it was very eerie,”

“Eerie?” Zac asked doubtfully, to which Mr. Trang could only shrug his shoulders.

“Fetch those who went on that expedition,” Zac said after some deliberation.

If it was one of the small camps that was a bit off, then it was ok. But if it was the largest one he might need to intervene early.

Soon a couple of demon soldiers and a very nervous old fisherman stood in front of Zac and the others.

“Can you explain what was odd about the town?” Zac said as he looked them over.

The scouts hesitantly looked at each other, until one of the demons from the expedition spoke up.

“I can’t say for sure… It was just a feeling, like there was something wrong about the people,” he said.

“There were no children,” another demon added after some additional silence.

Zac didn’t react for a few seconds before he gave a start at that. He had not really thought about it since there naturally were no children in Port Atwood, but he realized that wasn’t really normal in a large settlement.

Children had a rough time of it in general since the integration. The system awarded them no special protections, not even those who had the potential to become cultivators, letting them fend for themselves. The only exception was that children below the age of 7 were teleported with their parents if they entered the tutorial. Of course they weren’t part of the missions but were placed safely to the side.

Otherwise the System was uncaring about the children of earth, and it was the same in the whole multi-verse. But the old factions and forces had established order long ago. Their towns weren’t on the brink of destruction from some monster hordes, and there was functioning training infrastructure within clans and at academies that would protect and prepare the young until they could gain strength. Children were seen as a resource and fiercely guarded, as it only took one genius or powerhouse to elevate a whole clan to a new level, and each child held that potential.

On Earth the adults could at least get stronger to defend themselves, but children could only hope to their parents were still around to protect them. Zac heard that the government was trying to set up something up for the young, but it was still in planning stages from what he understood. Many were already calling those below 16 when the integration came ‘The Lost Generation’, and Zac felt it fitting.

Emily was part of the lost generation, though she was a bit better off with at least being 15 when the integration happened. But her fate before meeting Zac was indicative of how powerless children were in this new world.

Zac had seen children in both New Washington and Greenworth, though they were generally accompanied by their parents. But if all children of a whole settlement were missing as the scouts indicated something nefarious was might be going on.

There was no real proof however, only some circumstantial odd facts, and since the people were both protected and looked fed he couldn’t use his limited time on that settlement. He would have to check it out after the last wave.

Everything was dealt with by now and the meeting was soon adjourned, and only an hour later four ships set sail together, with Zac standing on the fore of one of them. They were heading toward one of the islands that required immediate help, and Zac came along since he wanted to see the situation for himself. There was not much for him to do apart from pondering on the Dao at the moment in any case, and he could do that while sitting on a boat.

Zac wasn’t the only human on the vessels. He not only brought Sap Trang with him, but also a few of the stronger girls to give them some experience, and to let the refugees not only see people with horns. All of them, Mr. Trang included, were currently sitting down absorbing Nexus Crystals, not letting a second go to waste.

The island they were heading for was about three hours away, and when they arrived Zac saw that it looked about the same as any tropical island. This one was even smaller than the Zhix island, though there was no mountain taking up most of the space. They sailed around the shore for a few minutes until a run-down town came into view.

It became increasingly clear that most of the settlements were various coastal towns taken from around the world placed on their own islands. Zac could only assume that the patch of forest he was located in before the integration was added on to the main island to increase its size.

The town looked quite colonial in its architecture, and Zac guessed it was from some island in the Caribbean. The town might have been the type of idyllic place you saw on postcards back in the day, with brightly colored houses and beautiful cobblestone paths, but now it gave off a far more dour feeling.

Many buildings were marred with scratches and cracks, and some even had splotches of blood on them. It looked like only part of the town was randomized to this location, as it seemed that the part with any marina or harbor was missing. The section in front of them was mainly lined with beautiful pristine beaches, making it seem like a perfect tourist destination.

The four Creator vessels simply ran up on the beach itself, their inscribed hulls taking no damage at all from the somewhat rough landing. The eight people Zac brought for the expedition swiftly jumped off and were led by one of the demons who initially scouted out the town.

“There are a few fortified buildings in the center, we think most of the survivors are holed up there,” the demon said.

Soon they reached the buildings the demon mentioned, and Zac saw it was likely once a small hotel that was turned into a base. It was lined with a simple wall of sacks filled with sand and spikes were erected among them.

It was also clear that the place was populated since the hotel was currently under attack by gigantic rats. A quick glance at Sap Trang showed him blanching, perhaps remembering his own ordeals. Zac wondered if this kind of vermin had some sort of advantage, as overgrown rats was a problem in almost all settlements from what he heard.

Having the capability to quickly grown in numbers was a huge asset when Cosmic Energy ensured that anything would grow large. Even if a bear got stronger it might only have a few cubs in its lifetime, whereas a rat could have hundreds of kids.

Zac could see a few people desperately fending off the rat tide that pushed against the defenses, there were a few breaches where a few people desperately swung everything from clubs to frying pans in an effort to keep the monsters outside the perimeter. The rats were around level 15 to 25, and Zac felt it was a decent target practice for the girls.

“Go help them out,” Zac said as he stayed put. The monsters weren’t too numerous, and there was no point in him or the demons going out and stealing the experience.

Soon the three girls and Sap Trang were wildly swinging against the mice, quickly getting splashed in rat blood. Zac saw that Mr. Trang now was using a sword resembling a cutlass. With his old patchy cloth and leathery skin, he looked very much the part of an elderly pirate. Every now and then he also unleashed a few small water sprouts that impaled the rats, but it didn’t look very effective. Likely the skill would be stronger if he was at sea and had free water to use.

In just a few minutes most of the horde was dealt with, and Zac felt it was enough at this point. He walked up close to the battlements and simply released his aura. Pandemonium erupted among the surviving rats, and with panicked screeches they fled in all directions.

Zac quickly retracted his aura and looked over his panting soldiers.

“Good job,” he said with a small smile as he saw them looking down with disgust at their drenched bodies. “You’ll have to wipe that grime off before we return, I don’t want rat blood all over my ships.”

Afterward he turned over to the people hiding behind the battlements or were peering out from windows of the hotel.

“Hello, I’m Zac. I understand you requested some help from my scouts the other day,” he said to the people of the island.

He could hear some muted voices for a bit until a man spoke up from behind.

“Are you from some government?”

“No. They are an endless distance away on the mainland, and they’re barely able to maintain order in their own towns, let alone sending out rescue missions to our archipelago,” Zac said.

They seemed disappointed in the news, but a few people still stepped out from the barricades, warily hefting their makeshift weapons.

“What’s the catch?” one of the women suddenly asked. “We’re all fighting for our lives here, I don’t believe you’re just traveling around the sea to save people.”

“I need workers. I am building a town from scratch, and need everything from farmers to fishermen to local business owners,” Zac said. “Of course, if you want to keep fighting that is more than welcome. Warriors are always needed in this messed up world. But let me be clear; there is no social security, no freebies. There are no monsters and no risk to your lives in my town, but I have no use for freeloaders.”

They all perked up when he mentioned the safety. Zac didn’t mention anything about the third wave, feeling that it would only complicate things.

“Besides, how long can you stay like you are? You barely fended off these little guys,” he said as he waved at the rat carcasses. “The monsters will keep getting tougher, and there is safety in numbers.”

It didn’t take much more convincing than that, and soon four Creator vessels filled to the rafters with refugees were heading back to Port Atwood.