Chapter 159: Infiltrators

Chapter 159: Infiltrators

The pain in Zacs side kept burning as he sat down and meditated. No pill he owned worked on the wound, as the miasma in his body was stubbornly refusing to dissipate. The demon physician had examined the wound after the battle calmed down, and he was sure that it wasnt the miasma itself that was the problem, but rather that the miasma contained some Dao.

It reminded Zac of the fight earlier, where the hand from [Natures Punishment] rotted into nothingness in less than a second from the so-called World Rot the Corpse Lord summoned. Zac believed there was a good chance that the undead leader possessed a high tier, or even peak tier Dao in something related to death or rot, which was why his wound refused to get better and instead kept trying to spread through his body.

His only solace was that the vibrant energy generated from the Dao of Trees somewhat alleviated his problems. It wasnt to the point that he actually healed, but it managed to stop the spread of miasma and contained it in his wound. However, that meant he was forced to use the Dao almost constantly, and that he still needed to walk around with an open wound.

He currently sat in one of the secluded courtyards in his mansion, slowly going through the events. He was in no mood to look over the restoration of the wall or calm down irate citizens. After he killed the last leader yesterday, there was not much of a battle. He realized after a while that the arrays were once again active, and he activated the town protection array without hesitation.

It ensured the safety of the town, and also allowed the tired out Valkyries to gain some Cosmic Energy by killing zombies with bow and arrows from the safety within the shield. It might also have been him erecting the defensive array that ensured that a final attack never arrived from the proper forces.

Still, before it got to that point the losses werent insignificant. Theyd lost Janos, 7 demon warriors, and 9 Valkyries. A few Zhix had died as well, but Zac didnt worry as much about them since they werent formally his people yet. Most of the losses occurred from the Rockman leaders area attack, though some of the Valkyries died from making mistakes.

Alyn had said the losses were acceptable, as most untested squads had large losses in their first battle. Their deaths would be the foundations for the survivors to keep each other safe. Still, Zac felt bad about so many of them already having died since he took them under his wing just a little while ago. He had already told them as much when they signed on, but talking about it and seeing it actually happen were two different things.

Instead of helping with the restoration work Zac instead focused on his wound. He kept trying to utilize his Dao in various ways in order to heal himself. He was also waiting on news from Calrin, but he didnt hold much hope. Other than that he was simply waiting for the timer for the quest to reach zero. He still hadnt received his rewards yet, and he assumed he would get them as soon as the timer ended.

His wound could be considered to be afflicted with poison, though it was a combination of Dao and transformed miasma. He would need a specialized type of potion to heal his particular wound, very much the same way a specific poison required a specific antidote. There were also higher grade panaceas that would heal most types of wounds like this, but those were extremely expensive and hard to get.

Another alternative was to find a proper healer who specialized in purifying Misma. There was no such person on the island at the moment, but perhaps people like that could be found on the border towns close to the undead incursion. But there was still a few days before the appointed time where Mr. Bernard would open the teleporter, so that option was still not available. And it wasnt like hed pin his hopes here being some healers waiting where he was going.

That left the Dao of Trees. He kept circulating the warm energy the Tree Fractal in his chest generated while thinking back to the vision he had. He was actually having decent gains, but his meditations were interrupted as he sensed the shadows congeal in the building, which caused Zac to furrow his eyebrows.

So, do you want to talk about it? the familiar voice said.

Talk about what? Zac asked without opening his eyes.

The fact that you immediately assumed that I ordered Janos to attack you, Ogras answered.

I didnt know what was going on, so I wouldnt take any chances. It was you who taught me to be careful with friends and foe alike, Zac said with an even voice. I still dont know what youre planning in that scheming head of yours.

Dont worry, I am quite happy with our current arrangement. I can move freely in the shadows while you stand in the light, drawing all the attention away from me, Ogras said with a light voice. And I even lost an arm for this town, you should know where my allegiances are by now.

I know, and thank you, Zac answered as he opened his eyes and stared down at his own hands.

None of the two said anything for a while as the silence stretched on in the small courtyard, and Zac once again slowly closed his eyes.

We found him, you know. Janos. Well, the real Janos, Ogras said after a while.

That actually made Zac open his eyes and look over at the demon. Ogras looked a lot better compared to before, but his left sleeve was still conspicuously empty. There was also a burn on his throat that still hadnt fully healed.

Really, hes alive? That wasnt a corpse puppet earlier? How could a Zealot replace him? Zac asked with a frown.

When Ogras talked about it, it truly sounded like a pain in the ass. Even worse, there might be Zealots hidden in the human ranks who subtly pushed the government toward a path of no return so that The Church of Everlasting Dao later could gobble them up without any organized response.

So what do you propose? Zac asked.

We wait for the quote from the blue bastard. We need to know more, both for Port Atwood and how we relate to the rest of the world. If the infiltration skills the Zealots showed on our island are common, then we cant trust anyone, Ogras said with a sigh, but soon perked up. Besides, its time to drag some dividends out of Calrin.

Zac could only agree and got to his feet with a grunt. The pain erupted in his side, but he could only bear with it, though a sheen of perspiration covered his forehead. At least he had learned to use the Dao of Trees while walking, so he was able to keep the wound in check as he traveled.

Ogras was quite correct about the dividends. He had owned a stake in the consortia for a while now, but the gnome hadnt coughed up a single Nexus Coin so far. The only thing hed gotten transferred was 6 million right before the wave hit. That wasnt profit though, but part of the money the gnome owed him.

As the two slowly walked through the town a lot of people threw surreptitious glances at them.

Why are people staring? Zac asked in a low voice to ogras who walked by his side.

Things are a bit tense. You werent the only one who thought a coup was taking place during the wave. It's a bit tense between the races at the moment, Ogras said with a shrug. Hopefully seeing us together will alleviate the rumors.

The visit at Calrins took over an hour, but at least they left satisfied. Zacs private reserves had swelled with an astounding 48 million Nexus Coins, and that was after paying 15 million for an information missive. It could have been way more, but Zac chose to keep all Aetherbloom in order to train himself and his forces.

The bundles of the magical stalks that Calrin and Ogras procured in New Washington were worth roughly 30 million nexus coins. However, Zac didnt have much to spend his coins on at the moment and felt it was better to use the herbs to create body refining paste for his people.

The missive from the Pagoda of Myriad Eyes was a personalized query, where Calrin had asked two specific questions. One was how common it was for the priests of The Church of Everlasting Dao to have the shape-shifting capabilities. The other asked for an identifying method.

The first answer cost 5 million nexus coins, and the second 10 million. Zac wondered just how much money the information network made, if two simple answers cost that much. The Church was a huge organization, and the information they asked for shouldn't be some big secret in the multi-verse, yet they made money so easily.

It turned out that while it wasnt a main heritage of the church, there were quite a few infiltrators in their ranks. One could expect there to be well over a thousand of them in a standard incursion. They were mainly used when the natives were strong and organized, and some planning was required to purify the planet.

The second answer was quite simple. It told them to feed everyone a certain root. It was harmless to most people, but to the lizardmen it was like cyanide, even if they were E-ranked powerhouses. Zac didnt possess any of the root at the moment, but it was quite common so Calrin was already working on procuring a bunch of it.

The only downside was that Zac didnt know whether there were only lizardmen in the ranks of the church. There had only been that species on the island apparently, though he hadnt really seen the Zealots. They never made an actual attack on the town after Ogras successful attack killed a good portion of them, including their high priest, and they instead returned in defeat through the incursion.

Actually, the reason Ogras had been absent after resting up for a bit was that he once again set out to the incursions as soon as he could. Instead of killing a throng of Zombies for little Contribution he opted to go for the stronger warriors that each gave a great amount of points.

The warriors of the church and the rockmen were just like the demon soldiers, giving huge amounts of energy and coins since they were actually level 75. That bonus apparently transferred over to the Contribution points as well.

The only reason Ogras didnt pass him in total contribution was that the third wave actually only took around 4 hours in total. It took a few hours more apart from that to clear out the unrelenting Zombies, but when the third leader was dead the quest was considered finished.

The third wave was a test of raw power in a sense. The system sent over three powerhouses with their personal armies, while it blocked any defensive or offensive arrays. There was no way to turn it into a defensive siege since a wall couldnt block the attackers, and if Zac ran he would fail the mission.

The only real way to finish it was to possess superior raw power. And the result was clear. Two of the leaders were killed, and the third one was forced to flee while barely alive.

The wound in Zacs side however reminded him that the victory wasnt as clear as it might have seemed.