He paused. "It used to be a city before the System, a big one. It had many skyscrapers. The Church took them over immediately since they help to see around."

"They fortified the entire city," the man said. "They used mana-dampening stone for the walls. Although I don't know where they found it or how they understood how to use it. We heard the guards say: It's impregnable."

"Nothing is impregnable," Jake said.

The survivor ignored him, keeping his eyes on Reidar.

"What do they do there?" Reidar asked.

The man hesitated, his eyes darting to the other survivors as if looking for support. One of the women nodded at him, and he continued.

"It's a staging ground," the man said. "Redwater... this place was for research. For the experiments. Ashwick is for the soldiers."

He took a breath, and for a second his memory went back to the horrors he saw. "That's where the orders come from. That's where they launch the raids."

"They… they organize everything from there. All the attacks on the settlements in the region—they're planned in Ashwick. The church sends out groups from there to hit villages, towns, or anywhere they think is weak, which for them is everywhere. They take prisoners, experiment on them, and… and kill the rest."

His voice cracked. "That's what happened to my village. They came in the night. Burned everything. Took everyone they could."

The man looked down at his boots. "My village was fifty miles east of here. We had walls. We had Level 150 guards. It didn't matter. In the end, I was the only one who survived. The others…" He trailed off, his hands shaking. "The others are all dead."

"What about the skyscrapers?" he asked. "You said there are many there."

The man nodded. "There are. But the church repurposed them, as I said. I don't know what for… I guess each one has a purpose. They keep them locked up tight, and only the high-ranking members are allowed inside the tallest one. Of course, the guards here didn't have enough clearance to go there. Of one thing I'm sure, though, whatever they're doing in there, it's bad."

Reidar's eyes darkened. He didn't respond, but his mind was already working through the implications. Ashwick was a command center. If he wanted to cripple the church's operations in the region, he needed to take it out.

"The new monsters make the wilderness impossible to go through," the man said. "And the Church has the roads locked down. Going to Ashwick means walking straight into a slaughter."

Reidar didn't flinch. "I am the slaughter."

He turned away, looking toward the northwest.

<Ashwick.>

He cursed internally. He had made an error, one born of success.

During the fight with Viren, his Summon Vorathid Foragers skill had reached 100% proficiency.

The System had evolved the skill into Summon Vorathid Sky-Hunters.

It was a massive upgrade in terms of combat power. The Sky-Hunters were Tier 31, capable of flight and combat.

But the evolution had a cost: it unsummoned the creatures he had already summoned.

The thousands of tiny ants he had planted on Silas weeks ago, the spies that had been clinging to the Archdeacon's robes and hiding in his luggage, had vanished the moment the skill evolved.

He was blind to what was going on in Ashwick.

He knew where the place was, but he didn't know the layout. He didn't know where Silas was sleeping or where the traps were.

But the survivor's information helped. It confirmed that Ashwick was the central node.

If he destroyed Ashwick, he would be severing the nerve center of the Church's military operations in the region.

Outlying settlements would die if there was no central command to plan raids and allocate supplies.

Reidar turned back to the group. He opened his inventory.

He dumped sacks of dried rations and waterskins onto the ground. The pile was substantial enough to feed them for a week.

"Take this," Reidar said.

The survivors gazed at the food Reidar had just given them. Combined with what Lena and Jake had already offered, it was more sustenance than they had had in half a year.

The man took the food, his hands trembling as he held it.

"Thank you," he said. "Thank you so much."

Reidar ignored the gratitude. He looked at the survivors.

"What are you going to do now?" he asked.

The bearded man looked at the others, then back at Reidar.

"We… we don't know. We can't go back to our homes. The church destroyed them. And with all the monsters around now…" He shook his head. "We don't have anywhere to go."

Reidar considered the situation for a moment. Then he spoke.

"I can have my summons take you to Creamont."

He gestured to the Vorathid Sky-Hunters waiting on the edge of the cliff. The giant insects chittered.

"They can carry you," Reidar said as he saw their hesitation. "It's a two-week flight, but they don't need to rest, and nothing in the sky will attack them because they are frankly too strong for the average monster at this point, at least in the Velia Region."

The survivors looked at the monsters. They were terrifying creatures.

"Ride... the bugs? You mean… those things that took us out of the prison?"

"Yes."

"It's better than walking," Jake said. "And faster."

The bearded man looked at the others. They talked among themselves in low voices, their faces tense. Finally, the man turned back to Reidar and nodded.

"Okay. We'll go. We don't have much of a choice, do we?"

Reidar shook his head. "No. You don't."

He stepped back and raised his hand. The air shimmered, and the Vorathid Sky-Hunters descended from the smoke-filled sky. Their massive wings beat the air, sending gusts of wind across the clearing. The survivors flinched, their eyes wide with fear as the creatures landed.

The bearded man stared up at the Sky-Hunters, his face pale.

"This is insane."

But he didn't refuse. None of them did. The Sky-Hunters lifted the survivors one by one, their screams of terror quickly fading as the creatures carried them into the sky.

Reidar watched them go, his face expressionless. Jake stood beside him, his arms crossed.

"Think they'll make it?" Jake asked.

"They will," Reidar said. "The Sky-Hunters know the way."

Lena walked up, wiping blood from her blade.

"So, Ashwick next?"

Reidar nodded. "Yes."

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