![]() In of itself, this was not a bad idea,” the captain admitted. “It was Erebus’ idea to use the wild goblin tribes as the mainstay of the forces fortifying the valley. So when it came to the matter of how to claim and secure this sector, it was only natural the Awakened Dead were the ones appointed to head up the task.” “Needless to say,” Talon continued, “owning one of the Dark’s supply routes into the Netherworld has increased the prestige of the Awakened Dead, and in recent years, Erebus’ power has grown by leaps and bounds. If this valley really is one of the few connections between the Netherworld and Kingdoms, I see why the Awakened Dead want it so much. All along, I’d believed the same set of rules governed the Netherworld and Kingdoms, but the reality seemed more complicated than that. “Do you understand the valley’s importance now?” Only game portals provide direct access between the two, the only exception being the conduit merchants used to transport goods to and from the Nexus and its banks-and those are limited in capacity and what they may convey.” He paused. Player-made portals cannot be opened between Netherworld and Kingdom sectors. My face scrunched up in confusion, having difficulty following the captain’s explanation. While the aether and nether realms appear to be a singular whole that is the Forever Kingdom, they are in many ways two separate worlds-ones that even the Powers struggle to bridge.” “Why does the Dark need to use the Game’s portals to teleport supplies into the Netherworld anyway? Surely you can create a player portal to do that more efficiently?” I digested that, suspecting foul play as clearly Talon did. “The original faction that discovered the valley was wiped out soon thereafter-supposedly by a faction of Light, but no evidence of that was ever found, nor incidentally any record of the valley’s coordinates.” ![]() “Didn’t you say another faction found it?” “Currently, the sector’s aether co-ordinates are unknown not just to the Forces of the Light and Shadow, but also to anyone in the Dark not belonging to the Awakened Dead.” “And given how paranoid Ishita is about protecting the valley’s location, it is likely to remain hidden for much longer,” he grimaced. It can’t remain that way forever naturally, but while it is, we need not fear ambush of our supply lines,” Talon explained. Even better, the valley’s location is presently hidden. “Simply put, this valley is a closed sector, making recapturing it once it is claimed supremely difficult. “This sector has the potential to become one of the Dark’s main arteries into the Netherworld, providing as it does a safe supply route.” “I’m not sure I understand,” I said slowly. “That quickly, the importance of this valley was elevated.” Soon after gaining access to the valley, Erebus’ people discovered it held an entrance-the very same dungeon portal you emerged from-to an unexplored region of the Netherworld, one that connects with our other underground sectors.” He snapped his fingers. “The Awakened Dead requested rights to the region which, given the rumored remoteness of the valley, the other Powers in the Dark did not hesitate to agree to.” “This valley was discovered years ago by scouts of a minor Dark faction,” Talon continued. I nodded slowly, beginning to realize where he was going with this. My master, the god-emperor, leads another.” Erebus’ faction, the Awakened Dead, is one. Seeing he had my attention, the captain went on, “There are many factions within the Dark. I turned back to see that Talon had come to a halt before me, his brown eyes serious. From beyond the captain, I beheld Ultack, Cecilia, and the other players watching us avidly. From the length of his laps, I gathered the privacy ward surrounding us was less than two yards in diameter.Ĭuriously I gazed about, trying to catch a glimpse of the shield itself but failed to spot any sign of it. Placing his hands behind his back, the Dark player paced back and forth. Given all the trouble Talon had gone to, the least I could do was to hear him out.
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