There was always a lull when traveling within the kingdom. The smell of dirt roads dampened by morning dew, the sound of grass bending against the wind, and the morning sky hiding the sinister moon was not something she missed. They were distracting and disingenuous. She much preferred the night. The night was at least honest and did not try to hide the true nature of the world they live in. She once worried her new zombie state made her perspective different, but it was nice to know she always disliked the morning sun.

Rana and Alpheia were now travelling to the dukedom of Aodh, or that was what it was called in the past. With the kingdom now fractured and every territorial lord claiming their own domain, the geopolitical state has changed so much over the past century she was unsure of what went on in the governments of these emerging sovereigns.

She knew that in the past, Aodh was a relatively small dukedom with little political power after the fall of the Aodh bloodline. They perished when their ninth head, Jasmine Aodh, disobeyed the king and was judged with a decree. She was powerless to stop it and her bloodline perished. It was then governed by the remnant of her council, but due to her treachery, they were nothing more than glorified bookkeepers in charge of making sure the capital received their due.

How such an insignificant territory managed to break away from the Kingdom and Church would’ve been a mystery worth exploring, if she had not already known the answer. The answer was the Dungeon called Tree of Ashen Snow, and it was their destination.

The Tree of Ashen Snow was a new dungeon, formed sometime during Rana’s century slumber. Dungeons usually did not form after the One Deity left the lands, but it was not unheard of. They were one of the centerpieces of power, a huge bargaining chip on the political stage. The reason was simple. Anyone who controlled Dungeon access also controlled marked one leveling up and all the magical equipment generated inside.

Normally, such a thing would draw a swift response from the capital, but it happened during the rampage of her sister. The dukedom of Aodh managed to keep it a secret, and empowered their marked ones enough to distinguish themselves from the ensuing collapse of the kingdom.

That was also why after the fall of High Tower the army of monsters did not instantly claim the remaining territories of humanity. Her sister already ushered in the collapse of the kingdom by then, but with territorial lords using the opportunity to bolster their own strength at such a fast pace, the monster army was unable to push further than Shield City. Not to mention, with new Dungeon access opening up for claim and the geographical shifts due to the regrowth of the Boundary Forest, the leadership of the monster army was not able to design a unified plan of conquest. Even among fiends, bickering, self-interest, and corruption plagued their ranks.

Rana raised her hand as to stop Alpheia from continuing forward. The two then rushed behind a boulder and hid. The fiend did not make any objections as she knew a zombie who was in full control of its mind could sense humans better than the moon-kin could on the ground.

Soon, a group of soldiers marched up to the road. They were most likely border patrols. With the Kingdom now no longer unified, it was no surprise that soldiers would even patrol this far out. After all, they no longer only had to worry about monster attacks.

“Calm yourself, moon-kin,” said Rana. She already sensed the moon-kin generating her mana core. “There is no need to take this fight.”

“Will we lose?” the fiend asked, her voice like a humming bell did not hide her confidence. The fiend did not doubt her victory.

“It will risk exposing us. If we fight, at best we leave traces of our presence, and at worst nearby outposts are notified and they send more after us.”

“Then I smash whatever they throw at us. Why are we wasting time when we could simply slaughter all of them right here and now?”

“Then do we waste even more time fighting their reinforcements, or do we have the luxury to deal with increased vigilance from Aodh?” Rana questioned back. She knew the moon-kin was brash and confident, as being a level 12 and a veteran on the war front, it was not unexpected the fiend would be so sure of herself. However, it was no less of a hassle to reign her in. No single individual could take on the world.

“I just need to kill them fast,” the fiend continued. Rana could never get used to hearing such violent phrases from such a sing-song voice.

“Look over there,” Rana said as she gestured towards the scouting party. “It is a scouting party. Look at their formation, it is not meant to fight but to delay. Their marked one is most likely a rouge-class hiding somewhere observing. Even if you rush them like this—”

“I see,” the fiend mused. She then flapped her wings, the red lightning within her body surged and exploded into a loud screech that pierced the sky. The moon-kin darted into the sky, creating sonic booms that overwhelmed the shouting humans. The eyes behind the mask were clear, crystal, and it looked far into the distance.

Alpheia managed to spot the enemy marked one.

Rana cursed under her breath as the moon-kin made a beeline forward. Her temporary ally was chased by arrows, spears, and elemental bolts fired from scrolls, but the moon-kin was not slowed down. She sensed a rush of hostility and noticed that among the enemy party out in the open were two other marked ones. What was more surprising was that the mage-class was already readying a Spell, one she recognized.

She stepped out into the clearing and charged her staff with mana. The standard range for Mana Blast was four meters, but with her staff and along with her technique, she was able to extend the range to at least thirty. She unleashed her attack and interrupted the enemy mage-class from using Weighted Bane, a Spell that slowed a target by continuously channeling mana. It had no range requirement and only needed visual confirmation to lock-on to its target. The enemy was also skilled, as the mage-class was able to instantly pick out the moon-kin.

Unfortunately, Rana was now their target.

The enemy began to advance towards her. They split into two groups, the mage-class lead several soldiers and went after the fiend. That was the group that was destined to fail. She had no doubt they were incapable of defeating the fiend. The group she had to worry about was the one lead by a warrior-class approaching her.

With the support of a barrage of arrows and spears, the enemy marked one charged at her without fear. Was it overconfidence, or was it something more? It was overconfidence. The warrior-class stepped into close quarters and began to charge his Ground Slam. He thought he had her surprised, that someone could come into the battle with full mana. Unfortunately for him, his companion and her own experience already gave away such a possibility. She, on the other hand, did not give such an advantage away.

His Ground Slam was met with a foolish spark of fire that ignited his entire blade. It was enough to interrupt his Skill and Rana followed up her first Spell with two Mana Blasts, the second aided with Support Attack. The enemy marked one fell. His soldiers were stunned by her victory, but their inaction was short-lived when the fiend returned and laid waste to them with a bombardment of exploding plumes.

The moon-kin then landed in front of Rana. Even with the mask, she could tell that Alpheia was smirking with glee.

“Now, there will be no trouble,” Alpheia said. She then looked at the smoking scene of carnage behind her. “Did you want me to leave them alive?”

“I just wish you would leave some alive for me to question,” Rana replied, knowing that verbally complaining was the only thing she could do as a protest. “I hope the rogue-class’ body is at least not in such a pitiful state?”

“She's missing a head.”

“That is fine. Show me," Rana replied. She wanted to be done with this pointless battle that they would surely rue later, but there was definitely something more to it. The marked ones came into battle with full mana, this meant that before they met the Rana and Alpheia, they were already in a state of combat.

There was another battle waiting for them.