God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.
Chapter 967: Emperors of the Night (2).

Chapter 967: Emperors of the Night (2).

"This is quite the situation, isn’t it..."

Flanked on all sides, Cain didn’t imagine he would be accompanied by a pack of Mutant Direwolves to their den.

"I shames me to say that this slipped my mind. It happened quite a bit ago, and since it was a one time attack, we just made sure to steer clear of their hunting grounds. Who knew they would expand it further?"

Cain shook his head,

"No, it’s fine. In fact, this situation might be better than we think."

"Really? How do?" Steve suddenly chimed in.

Cain paused for a moment,

"I have a feeling me might have stumbled into a turf war."

"A turf war you say..." Steve could help being intrigued.

Cain nodded,

"It is still too soon to draw out conclusions, so might as well hold on to it for now. We’ll see how it goes."

They were led through the forest, moving rather quickly until they arrived in front of large body of water.

Cain was a bit surprised,

’A lake?’

He had never expected a lake to be here. But then again, with the changes he had seen happen to the world so far, there shouldn’t have been that much surprise.

The lakeside was littered with hundreds of crude tents and shanties made with Blackwood from the forest.

Even though it was dark out, the place was bustling with activity.

"This is my home..." Roc turned to face him.

Cain chuckled,

"Cain. The name is Cain."

Roc narrowed his eyes,

"I will remember that, Cain."

***

"I wasn’t expecting this much hospitality..." Steve muttered softly.

"It is strange indeed. Everything happening is just too strange." Blaze said with a sigh.

Although they appeared wild, the Direwolves acted all the way too similar to a regular community of humans.

There were hunters, people who skinned and dressed the hunts.

There were those who made use of the hide to make their tents and clothing.

The women didn’t seem as violent as the male Direwolves. From what they had seen, most of them stayed in the tents to nurse the young cubs.

Seated in one of these tents, Cain couldn’t help but notice how clean it was.

There were no strange smells coming from it, and there was a compleolack of filth.

"Let me guess; this isn’t what you expected from a den of beasts, is it?"

Cain smiled wryly,

"Sort of. But beyond that, I can say I am impressed."

"Impressed by what?" Roc said as he leaned back,

"There is nothing impressive here. Just a bunch of beasts trying to survive in this hellhole. With those other bastards always crawling around, it makes things even harder for us. We are all on edge."

Cain raised a brow,

"What others?"

Roc narrowed his eyes,

"The Ant and the Bat?"

’The ant? Is he talking about...’

"I believe you are well acquainted with that Ant Queen and her legion of pests, but I don’t think you know much of that evil bat."

Cain shook his head,

"No, I don’t."

Roc nodded,

"We are called the three Emperor’s of the Night; the {Redscale Ants}, the {Willow Direwolves}, and the {Blood-Curse Bats}. The most powerful beings that walk these woodlands once the silver moon hangs in the sky."

Cain pursed his lips and glanced up at the tent ceiling,

’But the moon is hidden behind layers upon layers of celestial dust.’

"Humans eyes cannot see the silver moon, so they do not understand itself greatness. And the grace of the great Lord, Sentry." As he spoke, Roc’s eyes flashed with a golden glow.

Cain hummed,

"I see."

’Perhaps it is a false moon only these beasts can see?’

’So I was right. This might be a turf war we just stumbled into. That is why she...’

Cain huffed,

"Tell me more about this conflict."

Roc raised folded his arms and nodded,

"The Ant Queen is only concerned about uniting the entire island under her rule and converting every being living in it to worship her own God and denounce theirs. The Bats on the other hand believe that everything in this world is theirs to consumers and drink from. Both of those ideals clash fundamentally with the natural and will of our god, Sentry."

Cain raised a brow,

"So this isn’t a battle about territory or food."

Roc shook his head,

"There is abundance within the forest. Our territories are distinct and seperate. But that damned Ant Queen wants to swallow everything up. Including the abundance of our god. I’d rather die first than left such a thing happen."

’A religious war?’

Then he thought about it for a moment.

He had met Anathe the Ant Queen many times, and he could tell that she was a rather devout believer in her god.

Their last meeting had not ended on a good note as well, and part of the reason for his journey, was to see what he could do to fix the holes in their relationship.

However, he had no idea that Anathe was so ambitious.

He could feel a storm brewing.

"What kind of god do the {Blood-Curse Bats} worship?"

Roc’s expression changed.

"Those demons worship the Bloodthirsty Night God, Bellius. A god that entrenches the land in blood and darkness. An evil god, unlike the graceful and marvelous Sentry."

’He really is a devout believer as well.’

"Then in other words, you all are fighting for the interest of your gods. Is that right?"

Roc was silent for a moment,

"There is also another reason, although this is a bit more selfish."

Cain gave him a skeptical look,

"And that would be?"

The Direwolf Lord ran a tongue across his sharp fangs,

"If we can defeat those two, I am sure my God will look kindly upon me and favor us with more blessings, allowing me to ascend to the next tier with reduced risk of death."

"That indeed does sound quite selfish." Cain said with a chuckle.

Roc paused for a moment, then finally asked,

"So? What is it you wanted to talk about?"

Cain went silent for a long time.

Then he spoke, with a dubious grin on his face,

"I want you to abandon your god."