The Transcenders

Chapter 92 - The Fifth Layer (1)

Isaac broke the last skeleton wizard's head with his spear. Only fifty reptoids remained. They dropped their weapons as the army surrounded them.

An officer, the dark-haired woman Isaac had saved when they entered Slitherland, stepped forward. "Seth Rayn isn't here. I'm the one in charge until he wakes up."

"Your orders?" asked Anne next to Isaac.

The reptoids were frightened. They knew what had happened to other reptoids that had surrendered in other battles: none were left alive.

The second-in-command frowned. "They killed many people to get here, and we lack the resources to keep them as war prisoners."

"So you want to kill them? Is that it?" Anna took a step closer to her, arriving before the reptoids.

The officer sighed. "I'll call the strategist. He'll tell us what to do."

Anna nodded, but Isaac proposed a solution. "I think we do have the means to keep them alive. I heard from a friend that there was a high-security prison close by. We could use it as it is empty now. It's the Dissension Penitentiary near Alzion City."

"Very well." The officer closed her all-purposed watch as Stephen Cure hadn't answered the call.

...

Stephen was in his office in Syphon City, the Fourth Layer's capital in the Southeast.

He called someone with his tablet. The woman answered. She had a skeptical look.

"Deputy Kray, hello."

The deputy from the Western Alliance smiled. "Good morning, Agent Cure. I see you've finally established a proper contact line."

"It was a lot of trouble, but at least we no longer have to play the telephone game. Let's take turns. What is the situation outside of the Obscure Guild?"

"We're still in a stalemate. Attacking the Obscure Guild managed to get rid of a lot of soldiers. Mainly the ones from the Obscure and Topaz guilds."

"That's good." Stephen closed his windows' curtains.

"This past week, four cities fell to the Topaz Guild, but the alliance regained territory to the North and the South. Shipments from the central continent have also been steady, though we would have appreciated more weapons."

"I see. On another note, it's been 48 hours, and we still haven't located Zephyr Dragos. It's safe to say he's escaped to the Fifth Layer."

"That's unlucky."

"At least the werewolves and the rebels took back the territory he had invaded: we have secured the entire Southeast up to the Fourth Layer. We also took over the Obscure Guild's main port. The Topaz Guild has a strong navy, but they won't be able to receive their help from now on."

Kray straightened her posture. "What's the update on the Northwest's situation?"

"Before last evening, we thought the Topaz-Obscure forces would march east. However, they seem to have abandoned that plan because of Zephyr Dragos' defeat. They're making their way into the inner layer from the West by marching to the South. That side has fewer rebels and werewolves." Stephen was tapping on his desk again.

"Won't they fully reclaim the western side of the guild then? What do you intend to do?"

"No matter what we do, most of the West will be lost, so we will only defend from the Third Layer. We'll wait until the Fifth Layer has gotten secured before fighting them. Since they are no longer coming at us directly, it's better to unite our forces."