“So you’re telling me...” Keith leaned back on his seat and covered his eyes with his right hand. “That your drone’s been hijacked by the corrupted cloud?”

“No direct proof yet, but highly probable.” Elana said while standing with her arms folded. “Everything that happened so far starts to make sense if we assume that the drone, or whatever inside, has been working behind the scenes starting two weeks ago.”

“Alright, let’s assume that it’s true.” Keith leaned forward and rested his arms on the desk. “What are you going to do about it?”

“One option is to destroy it.” Elana said. “But I have no idea what will happen to the thing that hijacked it afterwards.”

“True.” Keith nodded. “Nobody’s studied the corrupted cloud enough so we barely have any idea about what it’s capable of. Anyway, are you still in control of the drone to some degree? Also, sit down.”

“I still have full control, but now that I know its condition, I shall refrain from issuing any command until I get more information.” Elana replied as she sat down on the seat opposing Keith’s across the desk.

“What was the last command you issued on it?”

“I had it maintain high altitude above the forest so I could continuously monitor the movement of monsters inside. It’s still there as we speak.”

“Alright, that’s convenient at least.” Keith leaned back. “Better than having it spread corruption anywhere else.”

Elana leaned forward and folded her arms resting on the desk as Keith stood up and spread a map of the kingdom on it. His finger pointed to the forest next to Krochi Village which was now a corrupted area.

“If it behaves the same way as the corrupted cloud, when it rains again the closest town or village will be in danger.” Keith said while his eyes scanned over the map around the particular area. “Krochi Village is already evacuated, so the next one on the list is probably this town.” His finger landed on a part which depicted a small town, located further north.

“Bailey.” Elana murmured as she read the text under the town icon. “Is it well-defended?”

“All towns in Arxhige Kingdom are walled like the capital city, at least.” Keith said before letting out a sigh. “But last I heard its military strength is barely passable.”

Elana’s brows furrowed. “What about the adventurers?”

“The regulars there are Gold Rank at best.” Keith said. “They’ll be in trouble against a full scale beast attack.”

“Okay, just why is a town poorly defended like that? How come?” Elana asked in a raised voice.

“Because it has natural defenses.” Keith replied. “Here, look.” He continued as his fingers crossed the entire width of the kingdom territory. “This mountain range spans the entire kingdom from west to east, practically dividing the kingdom into North Arxhige and South Arxhige. Bailey is one of the hub towns founded along the mountain range.”

“Hmm, I see.” Elana said. “Now that I take a closer look, it’s sandwiched between two mountains.”

Keith nodded. “Two steep cliffs in fact, and there’s more to that. But we don’t have much time to keep talking.” He said before looking straight at Elana in a serious facial expression. “Elana, would you go to Bailey and stand guard there?”

Elana frowned slightly before replying with a one word question. “Why?”

“With the corrupted cloud involved, the beasts are highly more unpredictable than they already are. We don’t know how many days we have until the beasts attack the town, or how many minutes.” Keith replied without changing his expression.

“So it is because I have the fastest vehicle.” Elana said with a sigh. “That’s how it is, huh?”

“And the fact that you’ve proven yourself capable of handling the beasts.” Keith added. “If you have objections, let me know. We can figure out a compromise.”

“Well, yes. I have objections.” Elana said, leaning back with her arms folded and her right leg crossing over the left. “My main objective is to survive with everyone else in hopes that someone from my homeland will eventually come for us and bring us back. Risking our lives goes against it.”

Keith sighed a bit, visibly disappointed behind the smile. “I see.”

“However, I won’t deny that this situation is partly our fault, so I shall make amends with that.” Elana said while standing up. “I shall go.”

“Wait a second!” Keith intervened. “Despite what I said, make sure to prepare everything you may need.” He said while rummaging through the drawers on his desk. He then pulled out a shiny sky-blue card and handed it to Elana. “Here.”

“What is this?” Elana asked as she received the card. It was adorned with a shiny golden symbol of the Adventurer’s Guild in the middle of one side and what looked like a carved signature on the other side. Elana could vaguely read the signature as “Jagaia” but she had no idea whose signature was that. It didn’t sound like any part of Keith’s name.

“A proof of trust.” Keith replied. “It’ll make things easier, especially once you’re in Bailey.”

“So I just need to show it like this?” Elana asked while pretending to show Keith the card.

“Yup! Just like that!” Keith nodded. “Anyway, I should go too.”

“I suppose this matter is going to make you busy?” Elana asked.

“Yes, of course! A new corrupted area appearing is a huge matter!” Keith replied as both him and Elana left the office. “Anyway, do your best. I’ll have reinforcements mobilized as soon as I can. Also mark my words; You’ll be rewarded generously once this is over.”

Elana smiled a little, but her eyes didn’t show delight. “We are not doing this for the reward.”

“Right.” Keith said as the two stepped down the stairs. “Oh! Just remembered one more thing. An important guest is on his way here, and his route is through Bailey. Make sure to inform him if you happen to meet him there.”

“Important guest? Who?” Elana asked.

While smirking, Keith replied. “The lord of Arstjipta. Duke Gentruvorst Grasmord.”

“Did you just say Grasmord?” Elana said as she squinted at Keith.

“Yea, he’s Sedhoust’s old man. I predict he’ll reach Bailey in three days, five at worst.”

“That makes this quest even more important.” Elana said.

Keith nodded. “Yes, but don’t let it put pressure on you. The last thing I want to hear is anyone dying because they didn’t prepare enough.”

“Enough is an abstract measure. Preparation is a matter of risk management.”

“Guess I can’t deny that.” Keith said before the two parted ways in the main hall of the guild.

The convoy Elana had left arrived some time later. The refugees of Krochi Village were provided temporary shelter, and the adventurers claimed their rewards since the extermination quest was considered as concluded, albeit not on a good note. Nevertheless, Elana put aside all things that were irrelevant to her. She had a new quest, and she had to make plans.

***

Morning was still young in the vicinity of Arxhige capital city. The sky was fairly clear, barring the looming, unmoving dark cloud at the horizon to the north. Most people were starting to open up their business for the day and some less diligent ones were still having sweet dreams on their bed. However, on the plains outside the city walls, along the paved road heading north, a carriage drawn by a car was speeding through at a pace comparable to a horse running in full gallop.

Elana was the one behind the wheels of the expedition buggy, and sitting on the passenger seat was Billy McKillop, one of her most trusted engineers. Inside the carriage there were two squads, namely Mountain Squad and Crisis Squad, with three and two members respectively.

“So, Billy.” Elana opened a conversation while driving the buggy.

“Yes, Captain?”

“Are you sure you didn’t detect anything strange with the drone?”

“At least this device told me that the system didn’t find any traces of external interference.” Billy said while staring at the tablet device in his hands. “Other than the orders from an unknown party at that time, that is.”

“So this cloud thing somehow managed to hack into the drone system, gave a few orders, and never made use of it again afterwards?”

Billy shrugged. “At least not something within what the system can see and put into the logs.”

“Yeah, sadly that’s not reassuring at all.” Elana sighed a bit. “This planet has something our science and technology cannot explain after all.”

“Yeah... Magic.” Billy sighed as well. “Speaking of magic, do you think it’s a good idea to try learning it, Captain?”

“No idea, Billy.” Elana shrugged. “I wanted to say that merely trying would not hurt, but magic way outside our common sense.”

“Yeah, true.”

“For all we know, the source of magic, the one revered as a god by the natives whatever it actually is, may smite outsiders like us for trying to tap into their power.”

“That’s a possibility too, yeah. Guess we can’t try it after all.”

“Until we get more information, that is. Anyway, we should be close now. Mountain Squad, on your guard.”

Elana finished her speech while looking forward with cautious eyes. The fort Keith had created with magic was within sight, and so was the forest beyond it. Just like the previous day, a massive dark cloud loomed over the forest looking like it could drop a downpour at any minute. Needless to say, the atmosphere around was gloomy.

“Mountain Squad ready for battle, Captain!” Lillie spoke from the carriage, having donned the exoskeleton suit along with Gregory and Ulysses.

Albert nervously raised his hand. “Umm, someone please remind me again. Why are we going near the dangerous area instead of... you know, take another route?”

“You really got the nerve to forget the briefing, eh?” Randy said while indifferently scratching his head. “Time is of the essence, kid. That thing can make it rain at any second, and when that happens monsters will flood towards Bailey.” He continued while pointing to the sky. “We need to save as much time as we can.”

“Oh, right.” Albert said. “Sorry for that.”

Gregory chimed in while pulling out a minigun from his suit. “Also, if it happens to rain now the monsters will go after us instead. At least we can confidently say that we’re more capable of combat than regular townspeople, right?”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. But that’s scary.” Albert said nervously while pulling out an assault rifle. “I’m just a medic.”

“Combat medic, son.” Randy said with his own rifle at the ready.

“Alright, pipe down.” Elana commanded. “Billy needs to concentrate.”

Nobody else spoke further words as Billy’s fingers danced over the tablet device in his hand. His face showed seriousness, but keen-eyed ones could notice the burden he had to bear on his mind.

Meanwhile, Albert came closer to Randy as quietly as he could and asked in a whisper. “Leader, what is Billy trying to do?”

“System purge or something like that.” Randy replied, also in a whisper. “Close enough proximity is required, so right now is his only chance.”

In almost complete silence the team passed the fort, the Krochi Village, the bridge, and the farmlands of the village. Elana kept driving while keeping an eye on the forest to the right, while Billy kept staring at the tablet device with his teeth gritting.

“Now we restart the system and hope for the best.” Billy said as his index finger met the screen of the tablet device.

Crackle! Crackle! Drrrdd!

Billy’s body twitched and his eyes went wide from the sudden sound of thunder. His head immediately turned upwards to the sky, most likely looking for the source of the sound in reflex.

“That surprised me!” Billy said in an audible panic. “And the timing, man! Right when I touched the button!”

Elana gritted her teeth and clicked her tongue. “Normally I would say coincidence, but we are dealing with a magic monster here. Squads! Keep your eyes open!”

“Roger that!” Lillie responded.

“Affirmative!” Randy responded as well.

Elana’s foot pressed a little harder against the gas pedal, speeding the buggy up a bit as they rode along the paved road. She glanced at the forest for a second, and at that moment a water drop hit her cheek.

“Tch!” Elana clicked her tongue as she looked back forward. Her foot pressed against the pedal even harder as the dreaded rainfall drenched everything around. “Billy, please tell me it’s looking good!”

“The system’s still rebooting!” Billy replied. “Can’t make it go any faster!”

Elana didn’t say any word to Billy’s response. Her full attention was directed at the road ahead and the faint rumbling sensation she felt coming from the forest. No mistake, a swarm of monsters was after her and everyone around her.

“Uly!” Gregory shouted at Ulysses, and at the same time two four-armed apes jumped from the shrubbery, pouncing at the buggy from the right side.

Bang! Bang! Blam!

Ulysses shot the pouncing apes with his semi-automatic cannons. His aim be true, the apes’ heads and limbs turned into sprays of blood and meat pieces on the ground.

“More are coming!” Lillie shouted.

“Leave them to me!” Gregory replied as he took aim and his double minigun revved up. A second later, the miniguns spewed out a barrage of bullets tearing up monsters, bushes, and trees alike.

“A-Am I really needed here?” Albert nervously asked as he took shots with his assault rifle while lying prone on the carriage. His shots hit their marks, but soon afterward the monsters were splattered by Gregory’s heavy barrage anyway. “Shouldn’t I just save ammo?”

“You never know when Mountain Squad will miss their shots, kid.” Randy said while shooting. “And we all practically have infinite ammo. Just fire at will.”

Meanwhile, Elana gradually floored the gas pedal and forced the buggy to run faster than its standard. The mountain line ahead seemed close, yet still very far. It was probably not a good idea to rush to Bailey to begin with. Who knew how many civilians would get caught up in the turmoil if she got too close to the town.

“I’m out! Reloading!” Gregory shouted the moment his miniguns stopped firing. Multiple tubes connecting the miniguns with the back part of his exoskeleton suit began shining in blue, feeding the miniguns with energy.

“Got it!” Lillie nodded and brandished her own minigun at the relentlessly pursuing monsters. She only held one minigun unlike Gregory because her other arm held a different weapon; a long-barrelled high caliber cannon.

The barrels of Lillie’s minigun hummed and revolved around for a second before spewing out a barrage of projectiles. The bullets ripped any small monsters coming into contact to shreds, and the rain washed the bloodbath away. The large ones, particularly the gorilla-like monsters, endured by bracing themselves with the rocks embedded in their body.

“Incoming!” Ulysses shouted while looking up. One of the gorillas had hurled a boulder as big as the carriage towards them. A direct hit would most definitely crush a human flat, and even an indirect hit would likely send the buggy and the carriage flying with the resulting shockwave.

“Ha!” Lillie raised the other weapon in her arm and fired at the flying boulder. The projectile pierced into the boulder and exploded. It turned the boulder into smaller pebbles and shrapnels. Less deadly but still harmful.

“Get down!” Ulysses said as he quickly replaced his guns with large shields. He covered both Albert and Randy from the rain of shrapnels with his shields and body.

“Whoa!” Billy twitched seeing a stray shrapnel striking his seat, missing his right thigh by a single centimeter. “That was close!”

“Mere rock shrapnels won’t even put a scratch on our suit.” Elana said while still focusing on driving. “Just keep your helmet on and never look up.”

“Not me, but the tablet!” Billy said while embracing the tablet device. “It’ll be a hassle to repair if it breaks!”

“More incoming!” Gregory shouted. “Those apes are stoning us! We can’t intercept this many!”

“Then hold on tight!” Elana shouted. She floored the gas pedal and the buggy accelerated through the paved road. She swayed the buggy left and right in hopes of throwing off the aim of the monsters, but her evasive maneuver was limited with the carriage tethered in the back.

A barrage of stones and boulders rained down upon the group. The gunners in the back relentlessly shot at the boulders to intercept, but Gregory was right in his remark. Some large boulders went down uninterrupted, missing the buggy but still impacting the ground with a massive force. The shockwaves made the buggy and the carriage swerve, giving Elana a hard time steering. She barely managed to maintain the balance.

“C-Captain..!” Billy called with a pale face while gagging with one hand. “The drone system is back on- ugh!”

“Sorry, but hold that in!” Elana said, knowing how Billy couldn’t stand the swaying. She then suddenly noticed that the rain stopped. “Did the rain just stop? Are the monsters still in pursuit?” She asked.

“The monsters seem to have stopped, Captain!” Lillie responded. “They are turning back!”

“Oh good.” Elana breathed a sigh of relief and raised her foot from the gas pedal. The buggy slowed down, and Billy relieved his urge to throw up out of the left window. “You alright, Billy?”

“Yeah, Captain.” Billy replied as he wiped his mouth. “I’m alright now.”

“Three o’clock! Evade! Evade!” Gregory suddenly shouted from the top of his lungs.

Elana’s instinct went into overdrive in that instant, going into action immediately without thinking and confirming. Her hands spun the steering wheel to the left, leading the buggy to make a hard left turn.

CRASH!!!

Elana felt a sudden impact from her right, and the view ahead flipped sideways. It took her only a fraction of a second to register the fact that something had impacted the ground on the right side of the buggy, and the shockwave launched it away to its left side along with the carriage.

Elana had no idea how many seconds the buggy had stayed in the air and how the carriage behind was faring. She soon only felt the impact of the buggy’s roof frame against the ground over her head. The scenery in her sight was now all upside down. The buggy had been flipped over by the sudden, unknown attack.

“You alright, Billy!?” Elana asked while still trying to collect herself. The seatbelts were still securing her on her seat.

“I-I think I’m okay!” Billy replied while being in the same position as Elana. “We should get out of here!”

“Right.” Elana said as she uncoupled the seatbelts and let her back hit the ground. Billy also did the same, and now they were lying prone under the flipped buggy.

“Captain! Do you copy!?” Lillie frantically called through the nanom link. “Captain!”

“Copy that.” Elana replied. “Give me a sitrep!”

“A ghirdys got the jump on us, Captain! Greg and Uly are fighting it now! Randy got injured but nothing serious! Albert is helping him!”

“Alright. Cover Randy and Albert! Billy and I are fine here, we will get out of this on our own.”

“Roger that, Captain!”

After hearing Lillie’s response, Elana and Billy slowly crawled out of the flipped expedition buggy. Once she was out she stood up to assess the situation with her own eyes while helping Billy stand up.

“Get down!” Elana suddenly pushed Billy back down and crouched.

Crash!

The monster had somehow sent Ulysses flying, and he almost hit both Elana and Billy with his heavily armored body. But instead he flew past them overhead and hit the ground some meters away.

“Uly! You alright!?” Billy shouted the moment he noticed what had just happened.

“Ha!” Ulysses immediately boosted himself with the help of his suit’s thrusters and went back into the battle with a huge leap.

“We need to regroup.” Elana said, standing up and helping Billy at the same time. “Let’s go.”

Elana and Billy dashed to the spot where Lillie, Albert, and Randy were. The three were near the flipped carriage, which was now wrecked from the prior attack. Elana glanced at the ongoing battle and noticed that the ghirdys, unlike rock golems, was very agile. Ulysses and Gregory were having a hard time landing any hit on it.

“Lillie!” Elana called when she and Billy got close. “How’s Randy?”

Randy himself replied immediately with a slightly pained grin. “No worries, Captain. Just some scratches and a dislocation.”

“Not a dislocation but multiple!” Lillie intervened while keeping watch on the ongoing battle. “Just stay still and let Albert fix you!”

“Yeah, I know. I know.” Randy said before turning his head to Albert. “Get to it, son!”

“Understood, Leader.” Albert said, then he took a deep breath and spoke a command to his custom gloves. “Block the pain receptors of Randy Christon for one minute.”

Soon, Albert swiftly and efficiently worked on various parts of Randy’s body and finished fixing his joints within half a minute. After he stepped back, Randy stood up and moved his limbs around one by one.

“Hmm, no problem at all.” Randy said as he did a shrugging motion a couple times. “Good work, son.”

“T-Thank you, sir!”

Meanwhile, Elana and Lillie had been observing the battle against the ghirdys. It was not as physically tough as a rock golem, but mere minigun bullets didn’t work beyond inflicting minor scratches, which it seemingly shrugged off like nothing. Higher caliber guns weren't working well either due to it being apparently agile enough to just barely dodge every shot attempted so far.

Ulysses and Gregory were now engaging the ghirdys at close quarter combat with greatswords and shields, but none of their slashes so far had managed to make contact.

“Found a weakness yet?” Elana asked.

“No, Captain.” Lillie replied. “But I’m going to try this.” She continued while pulling out a blaze gun and a fireproof shield.

“Worth a try.” Elana said while pulling out her assault rifle. “No other hostiles detected. Let’s go!”

Elana dashed and Lillie zoomed with her jet thrusters into the fray. The moment Elana felt that she had a clear shot, she stopped running, took aim with her rifle, and shouted. “Watch for the blast!”

Pssssh!

Elana fired her underslung grenade launcher, shooting out a canister which produced a thick puff of red smoke covering a wide area. Ulysses and Gregory jumped back away from the center of the smoke, while Lillie went in.

Fwoom!

All particles of the red smoke turned into raging flames which lasted for only two seconds. Afterwards, the only things on the plains which remained burning were flammable objects such as dry grass, fallen leaves, and the furs of the ghirdys.

The ghirdys danced in place frantically as Lillie kept spewing flames on it, definitely feeling the heat of the flames burning its fur off. It let out unintelligible sounds in pain, growing more intense as Gregory and Ulysses joined the fray with their own blaze guns. After ten or so seconds of burning, the ghirdys finally fell flat on the ground and remained motionless. The three soldiers ceased firing, and all that was left was the burnt corpse of a formerly three meters tall calamity beast.

“Did we get ‘em?” Gregory asked.

The three Mountain Squad operatives closely observed the charred carcass on the lookout for any movement. Lillie slowly walked closer and poked the carcass with the tip of her gun. There was no reaction other than the carcass crumbling to pieces.

“Yeah. I guess we got them.” Lillie said, and everyone else breathed a sigh of relief.

“Alright, everyone! Gather round!” Elana said while keeping watch on her surroundings. Everyone else immediately went to gather around her. “Report your conditions!”

“Affirmative!” Everybody else responded and immediately sent their respective data to Elana through the nanom link. Elana took a quick look and found no serious injuries among them.

Elana nodded seeing the good news. “Good. Now that the coast is clear we should resume our trip to Bailey. For the time being, let’s check if the expedition buggy is still operational.”

Everyone went to the flipped over car, and the Mountain Squad effortlessly put it back to upright position. It still looked fine from the outside with only the roof frames being slightly bent out of shape. Elana then sat on the driver’s seat and tried starting the engine. Thankfully, it started just fine.

“Billy, how does it look?” Elana asked Billy who was checking on the engine.

“Looks fine if you ask me, Captain. I’m sure it still can take us to Bailey without problems.” Billy replied.

“But now we have no carriage.” Gregory said with his head turned toward the wrecked carriage. “Some of us have to walk from here on.”

“Hmm...” Lillie lowered her head and put her hands over her hip briefly, then she looked straight at Elana. “Mountain Squad will continue the trip on foot, Captain.”

Elana nodded. “That is indeed the most logical solution. Randy and Albert can sit on the roof, while your squad can follow closely enough with the help of the thrusters. But is there enough energy in reserve?”

“Yes, Captain! No worries!” Lillie replied.

Elana nodded once more. “Alright. We shall go with that plan then.”

Soon, the group resumed their trip with the new plan. Elana drove the buggy with Billy sitting on the passenger seat, while Albert and Randy tried to make themselves comfortable sitting on the roof. The Mountain Squad followed behind by making large hops with the help of the jet thrusters integrated in their exoskeleton suits.

“By the way, Billy.” Elana said. “How does the drone system look from there?”

“Well,” Billy looked at the tablet device, which somehow had survived the recent ordeal. “It’s fully operational with no issues detected by the system. But that doesn’t really make it better.”

“Yeah indeed. That is basically no change, even after factory reset.”

“Still, this got me thinking and I got a theory.”

“Well, do tell us.”

“Maybe the creature isn’t actually hijacking the drone. As in, it didn’t usurp control and take over, but only hitching a ride.”

Elana squinted a bit. “Care to be more elaborate?”

“Let’s say that this tablet is the drone,” Billy replied while raising the tablet device in his hands. “And I’m the mysterious creature. I’m now looking at the data displayed by the tablet, but the tablet technically doesn’t know that I’m looking at it.”

Randy chimed in from the roof. “Oh, I got what you mean. It’s just like a TV and the audience. A full system check only makes sure everything inside the TV works properly. There’s nothing in it to count how many people are watching, or if there’s any person nearby at all. It’s simply not built for that.”

“Right.” Billy said with a nod. “It’s possible that the creature is looking at whatever the drone sees, figuratively just like a guy watching TV like Randy said.”

“Does the drone visually display plain data for anyone to simply look at like that?” Elana asked.

“Not really, all data is encrypted before being sent to corresponding devices like this one, which will decrypt the data and put it on display.” Billy replied. “But there’s an exception.”

“Camera footage, isn’t it?” Elana asked.

Billy nodded. “Exactly. Live camera footage is transferred as is, and there’s even a small screen in the drone displaying the feed from the camera.”

“Alright,” Elana said. “The theory makes sense at first, but that doesn’t explain the unknown party giving a command to relocate and perform analysis inside the corrupted cloud.”

“Yeah, that baffles me too.” Billy said with a sigh. “Well, we could say that the creature really hijacked the drone at first and then switched to only hitching a ride to avoid suspicion, but that sounds like grasping at straws. Hmm?” He looked forward upon noticing something. “Is that a roadblock?”

Elana also noticed that the road ahead was closed off with a simple barricade and some armored people guarding it while facing the other way. “We passed through one not long after leaving the capital city. This is definitely for the same purpose of preventing people from going near the corrupted area.”

When the buggy got closer, one of the people looked back and noticed. Elana slowed down and stopped a few meters away from the barricade, and the Mountain Squad stopped right behind. The guy who had previously noticed them seemed to be on alert.

“Who are you all?” The guy asked loudly from a distance.

“We are adventurers from the capital city.” Elana replied, equally loudly. “We are on a quest to help defend Bailey in the case of beast attacks, officially assigned by the guild.”

“May I see an identification in that case?” The guy asked in a more normal voice while walking to Elana.

“Here you go.” Elana replied while showing her guild card the moment the guy stood right beside the car.

The guy only glanced at Elana’s guild card briefly and then he frowned. “Only silver?”

“We just registered recently. We are more capable than you might think.” Elana said, not wanting to get hindered for too long. “Maybe this can convince you?” She continued, pulling out the shiny blue card she had gotten from Keith and showing it.

The guy’s eyes went wide and he stumbled backward with his facial expression showing fear. “I-I’m sorry! Please go ahead!” He then ran off to the simple barricade and moved it to the side in a hurry.

Elana resumed driving the buggy, and the group’s trip to Bailey continued.

“That card sure was effective.” Billy said with a chuckle. “Did you see the guy’s face?”

Elana replied with a straight face. “Too effective if you ask me. I only expected him to simply let us pass, not getting scared like that.”

“The card must’ve been a big deal, eh?” Randy chimed in. “Something very special only given to a select few.”

“Probably.” Elana said. “Keith didn’t say anything, but it is likely that he only lent this to me. I should return it after the mission is over.”

“O-Oh! Look! That must be Bailey!” Albert said while pointing forward.

As Elana had seen from the map, Bailey was a small town located between two mountains. Two steep cliffs sandwiched it just like Keith had told her, and both cliffs had a waterfall which poured water into the river encircling the city, making a natural moat right outside the city walls.

A huge gate behind a drawbridge of an equal size was the only visible entrance into the city on this side, and wide farm fields enveloped much of the land outside the walls. At this point Elana understood what Keith meant about the city’s natural defenses.

But would that be enough against a horde of monsters?

***