Defiance of the Fall

The man in front of him was Rydel Arh’Rezak , one of the heirs to the main branch just like the departed Kevoran . Different from him though , Rydel was one of the most heavily nurtured youths in the clan , and also one they had spent the most Nexus Crystals to allow to retain as much power as possible when going through the incursion .

The more power you retained in an invasion to a baby world , the better your survival rate would be , and the better your position would be when contending for resources on this new world . But The Ruthless Heavens never just gave anything for free . It charged an exorbitant amount of Nexus Crystals if one wanted to keep more of their strength when passing through . And of course there was a limit , or the purpose of the incursions would be lost .

Clan Arh’Rezak wasn’t overly wealthy , and could only pay up to a point for each daemon going through . Any more and the risk of the invasion turning unprofitable would be too big . The rest would have to come out of their own pockets .

Most of the soldiers couldn’t afford it or only got a few levels extra , but the scions of their clan of course got some special benefits under the table . Either from their elders or even from the clan itself .

Maybe not even Ogras himself was a match for Rydel , though he had a few hidden aces in case they ever came to blows . And it might actually come to that , as Ogras had a strong suspicion that Rydel had been sent through the portal to both keep an eye on things , and if possible , neutralize him . That would eliminate any threat of a branch family becoming too strong in the clan .

The crystal mine isn’t going anywhere , and it would seem a waste to attach such large manpower to quickly excavate it . Also , a large portion of our mages are occupied building your… Palace . In my opinion , it would be more pertinent to… -

It doesn’t matter what your opinion is , Rydel . The clan decided I was the most suited for this task , so my orders are what goes . Now leave my study , and remember your manners in the future or there will be repercussions! - Ogras practically screamed , looking very much the part of a fool enjoying his new found power .

Rydel only sneered and performed a barely acceptable salute , and left the study without another word .

Left silently brooding behind his desk , Ogras prayed that the natives and Rydel would find and kill each other , solving all his problems at once .

Chapter 35 - The Fourth Beast

Zac sat perched on a branch in a large tree eating an apple he had foraged earlier . The tree was one of the few in the vicinity that still stood tall and unaffected by the corrosive effect of the incursion , and its dense branches provided natural insulation from prying eyes . He had chosen this tree to be his temporary shelter to spend the night yesterday .

He had spent two nights close to the incursion now , trying to gain as much information as possible . Yesterday he had kept scouting around the demon city and up toward the mountain .

He had made some interesting discoveries . First of all , he had realized how the third skill quest progressed . It was based on time . It seemed that he had to be out in the forests fighting roughly 18 hours for the quest to progress by 1 point . That meant that he had to spend most of his time awake fighting every day . He didn’t mind though , as he was planning on doing that anyway .

But it also meant that it would be an extremely close shave to actually manage to complete it before the 2-month deadline . He had already decided he didn’t dare to wait , he’d kill at least the two remaining heralds as soon as possible . He didn’t want to repeat what happened with Vul , being incapacitated and missing his deadline due to waiting until the last moment . He needed time to recuperate in case he got hurt from the fights .

He had also found the fourth type of beasts that the demons had brought through the portal . They were magic monkeys . Or rather they were called Stone Monkeys by his Eye of Discernment] , and did not look quite as demonic as the other three animals .

They were roughly up to his chest in height but had a bulkier build . They were an anthracite grey and surprisingly no fur . Instead , it looked that they had plates of rocks covering most parts of their bodies , forming almost a natural armor . The aspect that made them look somewhat demonic was their shining red eyes .

The stone monkeys were the most well-rounded of all the demon beasts so far . The barghest was all brawn and no brain , the gwyllgi high speed but low strength , and the imps were incredibly dangerous but also incredibly frail .

The stone monkeys were strong , agile and also durable . Even more annoyingly they seldom moved alone . They seemed to be united in one large group , and Zac suspected that the fourth Herald was the pack leader . He hadn’t seen it , however , as he didn’t dare venture too far into the mountains as it was crawling with monkeys .