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nWaking in ANW, Eldrian took a moment to gather his thoughts and think through the plan he had come up with while meditating.

nIt was quite simple, but strange. It might also fall apart as soon as he left the camp. The first thing though was talking with Vivian.

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"Morning,

" Eldrian said to the already training Vivian.

n

"Morning,

" She replied with a downward slash shifting into a spinning slash which ended with two rapid thrusts. One low and the other high.

n

"About what we talked about...

"

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"I know,

" Vivian stopped and sheathed Nelida's Flame.

"I realized after a bit of thinking that my wanting to go with you was really dumb.

"

nAfter their talk and returning to camp Vivian had dived into getting back to top shape. Not because she wanted to rush out to be a hero, but rather because she wanted to be able to survive if something should happen. Allowing her injury to make her lazy and her muscles stiff was not a good thing, she had rested for long enough.

nIn her training, she had let her mind go through everything she had come to learn and what she had experienced. Realizing that it had been her naivety speaking when she had denied Eldrian's request for her to stay behind.

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"I will stay here and if anything happens I will prioritize my life. You better do the same.

"

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"Promise,

" Eldrian said pulling her in for a farewell hug and then heading for the command tent. Hoping someone was there so he could at least get an update of what was going on regarding the war.

nThe guards stopped Eldrian before the tent and even after he allowed them to confirm that he was a Chosen they still did not let him inside. With a growing headache, Eldrian asked them to just ask those inside about who he was. One of them did just that and soon after Katania popped outside.

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"Haru!

" She shouted and indicated for him to come inside, the guards finally relenting.

n

"Where have you been all this time?

" She asked as Eldrian entered the tent. Evale and Evules were the only others inside the tent at the moment. They had all been stationed to keep watch of the main camp, and ensure that everything was running smoothly.

nThey had not gotten this job randomly, instead, it was their rotation. Every three days someone at Tier 7 will step down from the fighting to rest. Taking control of the main camp while they did so.

nEvale seemed much like Eldrian recalled, Evules however was now riddled with wounds. Particularly on his horse half, some of the wounds stretching farther than Eldrian's arm were long.

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"I've been recovering,

" Eldrian replied, this was actually an honest answer and no one doubted his words. They had read the report of the battle. He certainly hadn't been the main character, however, many soldiers who had survived had shared stories about his slaughter.

nThere was even a rumor of him killing some people on their side, however, this was unconfirmed as the fight had truly been chaotic. Plus, a clean kill might not be the undead's specialty, but that didn't mean that the deaths must be due to Eldrian.

nNaturally, those in the tent had no wish to confirm what had happened. It was just one or two people who might have ended on the wrong side of Eldrian's spear. And while it was terrible, in comparison to the amount of undead he had killed. It was clear that he had likely saved far more lives.

nBesides all that, Pelaros had shared his suspicions that Eldrain was a fledgling Berserker. They truly couldn't blame him for his actions if this was the case, especially since no one actually saw him do anything wrong.

n

"Then...

" Evale slightly paused as she decided how to ask,

"You coming here. Are you ready to join the fighting again, there are many places that urgently need help.

"

n

"Yes, but no.

" Eldrian outrightly refused to join another guard position.

"I came here for the main goal of our mission. But first, can you fill me in now what is going on.

"

nWhile confused by Eldrain's refusal, Evale was not one to jump to a decision and she also always tried to take in what others said. It is a large part of why their village had been so prosperous before they had been forced to evacuate.

n

"After the battle, the defeat had hurt the undead and demons a great deal. It had allowed us to push them back into solely the corrupted areas and repair our lines and actually finish making basic walls.

"

n

"They still won't stand up against even a simple charge, but they allow us to easily repel weaker attacks such as those the undead had tried to use to deplete our energy and morale.

"

n

"So instead they have started trying to go around, however, without the cover of the trees and the boost that the corruption gives them, we can easily kill them when they try to leave the forest. The same holds for their reinforcements.

"

n

"For the most part, we can whittle them down until we can outright annihilate them. However, we are constantly losing soldiers, and with the West now also under attack from the beasts and also a full army of orcs, we are close to falling apart.

"

n

"I fear that we will soon have to stop our harassment of their reinforcements, which means the pressure we will be under will greatly increase. Yet, the thunder legion is required at the West more than here in the East.

"

n

"And what about finding the cause and destroying it?

" Eldrian asked before Evale could continue her explanation.

n

"We have tried to search for it, however, we can't get more than 3 kilometers in the corrupted area. The energy drain grows stronger the further we go. This means finding the source should be easy, unfortunately, the undead also grow stronger the close we get.

"

n

"At 2 kilometers in it feels like they all forcibly gain a few levels. This doesn't mean much, but for a horde, it makes the danger they present far greater. We believe that at the source they might even possibly forcibly gain an entire Tier. The thought is chilling.

"

n

"How is that possible? Is it possibly something like a magic tower perhaps? A revenant's aura, along with a lich's enhanced through some array?

" Eldrian proposed, getting a shrug in response.

n

"Possibly, we assume. But we don't know how they could enhance it. We have never heard of an aura being enhanced before.

"

n

"How many undead are inside the forest?

" Eldrian asked next, getting a sigh and a reply of too many as an answer.

n

"Then, is there anything else you guys have managed to learn about the corruptions? Something I don't already know?

"

n

"No, we are still where we always were. It increases the undead's strength while draining the living's. It is also slowly expanding, luckily our arrays have managed to slow this down, but... We are still losing ground, literally.

"

nNodding, Eldrian tried to think of everything he knew and then thanked them and turned around to leave.

n

"Wait! That's it? What's your plan.

"

n

"I am going alone,

" Eldrian replied and tried to leave but was stopped as Evules grabbed his shoulder.

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"What do you mean alone. You will die before even managing to cover a kilometer.

" He said and Eldrian turned around to look at the near three meter (9.8ft) centaur.

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"Maybe, but if I am alone dying does not matter. I will just lose a few levels and resurrect in a temple. I already activated Pyknos fort as my resurrection area.

"

n

"Still, what is that going to help? It is just a waste of time.

"

nShrugging Eldrian turned around and looked them all in the eyes for a moment to make sure they were paying attention.

"Maybe... Maybe I will just die for nothing. But at least my death is not permanent. I do not want anyone following me! It will just complicate things.

"

nWith that he turned and left, leaving the group stunned for a while as they tried to accept what Eldrian had said. Even knowing how the other Chosen had resurrected, they still struggled to accept it.

n'Alright... Let's see if the dwarves are going to actually do something.' Eldrian had a stone in the pit of his stomach as he left the gates and walked towards the withering trees. He knew he was still being targeted.

nHe knew that at the minimum those targeting him could cause him to lose his avatar. Forcing him to restart from scratch.

nMore than that, he knew he could be crippled. Heck, death was even a possibility. Still, with determination Eldrian put one foot ahead of the other.

n'Every second means more death, means more loss and more danger for everyone else. Failure means the entire city might fall and might even lead to the entire kingdom falling.'

nEldrian thought of the update he had gotten and wondered just how serious the situation was at the West. He also smiled for a moment as he wondered what Elizabeth and the rest of Phoenix were thinking now that the area they had left also had some action.

n'Doesn't matter. What matters is ensuring that we can safely secure Kynigo. That the million or so people living in the city and the nearby villages are safe.'

nWith this thought in mind, Eldrian's steps became stronger as he continued forward. He did not waver as he entered the area of wilted trees. As he felt his energy suddenly being pulled out of him.

nAll it took to stop this was a little bit of active mana circulation. Still, even requiring just a bit of focus, having that need every second of the day. It was no wonder no one wanted to enter The Encroaching Border or the Vrikolas Drylands.

nThe feeling though was not new to Eldrian, it felt very similar to the revenant's aura. Activating Mana Sense, Eldrian hoped to find something substantial. So he let the ability fully activate, his eyes lighting up in with stars the colors of a rainbow whilst a massive headache quickly assaulted him.

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