"Right, I don't want to spoil the mood after the battle, but I believe there is one thing we need to quickly do,

" Markus suddenly said, breaking Layn free from the world of his thoughts.

"We need to decide the status and the future of this place, I know,

" Layn shook his head as he replied. Standing up, he threw one last look at the scribbles he did on the ground.

The monster's blood didn't make for good ink. Its dark intensity quickly faded away, making it hardly distinguishable from the earth itself. And even those slight stains quickly disappeared, sinking deeply into the ground.

"I guess we will need to invite both Al and Sitra to the talks,

" Layn said, raising his eyes at his old friend.

"The girl that warned us about the attack?

" Markus asked, moving his eyes towards the girl. Given her injures, everyone simply assumed she would be out of commission. But there she was, behind the middle line, still pulling and loosening the string of her bow.

'Just look at her hands,' Layn thought, noticing how their once delicate fingers turned into a bloody mess. With each shot, she would die her string red with her own blood all over again. 'She is really desperate to kill those... Huh?' Layn suddenly shrugged, looking back in the direction where Sitra came from. 'Who did kill Castor? Slavians or?' he asked himself, puzzled by the possibility.

As sad as it was to lose a man like him, that was how life always was and always would be. No matter the age and the development of the world, people would randomly die on occasions, be it because of their line of work or in a simple accident.

The duty of living wasn't to despair and waste their own lives over it but to remember those who died with the grace they had while they were alive.

"That will do,

" Markus nodded his head after glancing over at Sitra for a short moment. He then moved his head around towards his wife, silently standing in the middle of the battlefield. From the looks of things, she was still trying to prevent any further casualties.

"Yelna!

" Markus shouted, attracting the woman's sight.

"We will leave this place to you,

" Markus announced, not even asking her for her opinion.

During peaceful times, Markus would never dare to act like that towards his wife. But in the times they were currently in, there was no time to waste for pointless arguing.

Yelna nodded her head and turned her eyes back to the few ongoing fights. Just like Layn and Markus, she held herself back from interfering with the fights that looked good. Her body would move into action only when one of their people would be in real danger.

No matter what kind of future Layn, Markus, Al, and Sitra would decide on, they would need hardened people to push it forward. Killing all the monsters just for the sake of ending the battle would be counterproductive in every possible scenario.

"Where shall we sit?

" Markus asked, stretching his back. Being the brightest star on the battlefield tired him out immensely. Right now, he was holding on with the power of his sheer will alone.

"Let's go to the kitchen,

" Layn proposed, catching up with his friend. As the two of them passed through their men, Layn tapped Sitra's shoulder.

"You did enough. For now, come with us,

" he said.

It wasn't an order. The girl didn't belong to their group at all. But she was currently the only link between Layn's group and the faction of Slavians that were interested in peacefully migrating to Layn's controlled lands.

"I... Okay...

" Sitra said, lowering her weapon. Hate burned vividly in her eyes as she looked towards the battlefield.

At the current moment, only a few monsters remained. Nevertheless, even now that the odds turned against them, those beasts continued to charge at humans. As if they didn't value their own life.

"Markus!

" Before the three of them could walk any distance away from the field of battle, one of the burly men from Markus' group approached them.

"Ation,

" Layn's friend lowered his head in the greeting.

"We finished up our part, now, what are we to do with the corpses?

" the massive man asked.

'Did they meet before?' Layn thought, watching at the interaction between the two. 'Right, he was the one to lead Al here in the first place. It's only given they already know each other,' Layn analyzed the situation, silently waiting for it to end.

"Is this the man?

" Ation asked, suddenly moving his eyes on the archmage.

"This isn't the right time,

" Markus said, his voice lowered.

"No, this is the perfect time for it,

" Layn countered, entering the conversation.

"We are going to discuss the future of this place now. I don't know where Al is, but tell him to go to the kitchen,

" Layn said, looking at the burly man without even a hint of fear or intimidation in his eyes.

"If he has any questions, he can ask those then,

" Layn said, cutting the discussion and moving ahead.

"Sorry for that. He is a cranky little today,

" Markus said while lowering his head and clasping his hands together. Then, he followed after the archmage.

Soon, their trio reached the kitchen. Even though it was slightly bigger than all the other buildings in the camp, it could only fit one or two more people before the insides would get cramped. Especially given how a lot of maps would likely be used during this meeting.

"Shall we wait for Al or start already?

" Markus asked after a moment of silence, raising his eyes at Layn.

"I think it will be better if we wait,

" Layn replied, shaking his head. While they had no idea how much time they had before another attack would come, there was no point in listening to Sitra's report if they would have to repeat it all to Al later.

"I'm here,

" Al said, entering the kitchen a mere moment later. Following him was the same man that they had met before.

"I hope you don't mind Ation's presence. I don't have great brains, so he will fill for me in that regard,

" the leader of the ancestor's group said, sitting down at the last remaining chair.

"That's not a problem,

" Layn said, standing up and offering his chair to Al's companion.

"Right now, there is a lot to discuss, so I will start with what I consider the most important bits,

" he added, turning his eyes to Sitra.

"A few days away from our camp, there are lands filled with people and various nations. Sitra represents the group called Slavians. I met them by chance after my fight with the Overlord of this area,

" Layn said, instantly waving his hand away to skip all the questions for later.

"Sitra, what's going on?

" Layn asked, putting all the pressure of the meeting on the girl.

"The situation on the border is getting desperate. While my and Carter's highest superior arrived and saved us from political death, with the entire country collapsing, he can hardly do anything anymore,

" Sitra announced, taking up a piece of coal from the kitchen before drawing directly on the table.

"This is the border fortress that separates Slavian hinterlands from the steppe,

" she said, drawing a thick barrier between the two with only one place where one could cross.

"Those mountains are impassable, not unless you travel hundreds of miles away,

" she added, pointing her hand at the thick barrier.

"What does that mean for us?

" Markus asked, holding back all his questions regarding the details of the entire Slavian nation thing.

"I mean, with all due respect, but as you could see a moment ago, we have enough problems on our hands already, even without taking the potential civil war of yours into account,

" he said.

While this kind of approach appeared to be senselessly brutal, it was also pragmatic. While Layn was open to cooperation with those people, mostly for the sake of learning their magic, it didn't mean he could risk the lives of those already following him to help Sitra.

"So far, it's not a civil war. One of the generals that took over the fortress with what seems like the last order from our King limited our moves. In the end, we had no other choice but to send a two-fold scouting party. Our path went from the fortress all the way to roughly this area,

" Sitra continued her report as if nothing had happened at all.

"In this place, we encountered monsters,

" she pulled her coal away, pointing her finger at the parts of the map she drew.

"Our unit wanted to go back, but the soldiers that this bastard sent forced the fight. As he was holding the ground in desperation, Carter ordered me to bring the message to you. But as I rushed here, I noticed another horde heading this camp's way,

" Sitra said before raising her eyes at Layn.

"Listen, right now, you do not need to worry about the monsters alone,

" she said, as a grim look appeared on her face.

"If that bastard ends up claiming all the remaining forces of Slavia, then this land will be all conquered within a week!

"