Chapter 1230 The special deal

The questions from Nathan didn't stop there, as there was still plenty more that he needed to find out. First of all, just what type of deal had this Arthur person struck with the Dalki to make it so that they would protect humans?

It didn't really make any sense for those bloodthirsty creatures to suddenly change their nature. What reason could the Dalki possibly have to listen to his request, especially if Ruby and the others didn't lie about the part of him being stronger than them?

Unfortunately, Ruby and the others seemed to know next to nothing about this Arthur, apart that he had chosen to act as their benefactor. After some more questioning, Nathan finally stumbled upon something they could tell them and that was in regards to the powers Arthur had displayed.

Apart from Ruby the others had also confirmed that this Arthur person had used powers that sounded similar to the red aura used by the V, yet he seemed to have another power on top of that.

The shadow power he was apparently capable of using sounded awfully close to what he had seen some of the Cursed group use.

However, from the description it sounded as if Arthur had been an older gentleman, and the timeline of when he had first arrived at the Shelter didn't quite add up to the Cursed faction's founding.

'Is there a relation between Arthur and Quinn? I should ask him about it. Perhaps there is a traitor in the Cursed faction that Quinn doesn't know about?' Nathan thought.

"Do you think Arthur is a V then?" Nathan asked. Ruby gave him a look of utter confusion. When the others from the Shelter were asked the same thing, they reacted in the same way. It was clear they had no clue what a V was supposed to be.

'Don't tell me…'

As it turned out, this Shelter had been cut off from the outside world for far longer than Nathan and the others had realised. They had next to no electronics that would allow them to see, or know about current or past events.

"The Demon tier weapon, where did you get it from?" Nathan asked Ruby eventually.

"One Horn gave it to me after the battle. As for why he did that, your guess is as good as mine. I doubt he just did it because we helped the Dalki fight back against the military. I can only assume that he didn't consider me much of a threat, after all if even the Supreme Commander had been powerless against him, what chance would someone like me stand?" Ruby explained.

Nevertheless, the General thought there was more to it than that. One Horn must have known that given their plans of simultaneously attacking the planets he couldn't stay on this one forever. As such, Nathan assumed that he had done so to make sure they would keep their end of the deal with this mysterious Arthur. Dalki couldn't use beast gear, so leaving it to one of the people in the Shelter would boost their fighting power. Additionally, it had been a good way to sway those in the Shelter over to their side, building their trust.

It was scary to consider that the Dalki were capable of more than mere violence and the efficiency of his actions was apparent. Even amongst the five they had 'rescued', there were those that seemed to be still untrusting of the military, only complying reluctantly, seemingly grateful to the Dalki that had helped them previously.

'It's hard to blame them when the Earthborn group attacked them without giving it a second thought. In a way the Dalki are their saviours, but I still don't know what this Arthur could have given the Dalki to make them protect this Shelter...'

Moving away from the others, Nathan decided to take Ruby to the side. He had noticed that during his questioning, she kept looking over at the others and even they seemed to be a bit nervous as if they were being careful with the way they answered certain questions.

"I think you know what I'm going to ask you." Nathan began, looking at the face she was pulling once more. "I want to save the rest at your Shelter and bring them back to us. With your help, we can take down the Dalki. We know how strong their forces are."

"While it would have been risky before, now that we have recovered the Demon tier weapon, even the three spike Dalki will be easy to deal with. We have a great chance to do so with minimal lives lost." Nathan paused waiting for her to say something, but Ruby still remained silent.

"Look, Ruby, you have already given us all the information we could get from this place. You should understand that there is no logical reason for us to go and save the rest of your Shelter. It's been impossible to gather any information from the Dalki and I doubt that those left behind would know much anyway. I'm only doing this to try and right the wrong the military did to you all."

"We can't just leave this place, knowing that they have captured normal humans."

Nathan was actually exaggerating here. Even with the Demon tier sword back in their possession, it might be hard to fight off the three spiked Dalki, at least in a frontal confrontation. On the other hand, if the five of them were to return, Ruby could use the weapon to strike him from behind. With him out of the equation, they would have the manpower to defeat the others with minimal losses.

Of course, handing back the Demon tier weapon to Ruby was a risk. There was a chance she was still fighting for the other side so he needed to confirm her feelings, or what had been holding her back so far.

"I know, I know what you want me to do as well, but I can't." Ruby answered. "Because, I don't know where my daughter is…"

This was something that Nathan hadn't expected. This girl who he had come to learn was named Ruby, telling him they were using her daughter as a hostage. If the whole camp was being contained and protected, it would make no difference to put her daughter aside.

After all, fighting against the Dalki, or trying to rebel wouldn't make a difference since the Dalki could just defeat them with ease, so why take a hostage? Trying to put himself in the shoes of the others, Nathan could only think of one thing. It was to make sure that the special deal they had made would still go through, in case he changed his mind.

There had to be an external worry, and that couldn't be anyone in the camp, but must have had something to do with the initial goal of having those in the Shelter protected. They must have really wished for this Arthur person to be on their side no matter what.

'The second Arthur made the request for the Dalki to protect this place, they knew they could use something to barter with him, yet what is it that he has that they want?'

"Maybe I will be speaking from a military point of view, but we are taught to not think on an individual basis. I know it might be wrong for me to say this because I am not in your position and not taking your feelings into account, but right now you are being quite selfish.

"Are your views the same as everyone else's? If everyone in your Shelter learned that there was a chance for all of their lives to be saved and for their life to return to normal, do you think they would dislike that? From what we've seen, it's clear that the Dalki don't treat you like equals. If you carry on the way you are now, soon you will be nothing but slaves."

Nathan had said what he wanted to say, and now it was left up to Ruby to decide. He was sure there was a reason everyone looked up to her, and he was gambling that it was because she cared about the Shelter and their feelings.

Ruby had gone off with the others, they were all allowed to converse as they naturally did, but time was running out. If they wanted the element of surprise to be on their side against the Dalki then they needed to do so now.

It didn't take long, but Ruby had finally returned. "Tell me what I need to do."

——

A short while later, and the group of three hundred were put into action. They attacked the Shelter from multiple points in groups all at the same time. Due to the information they had received they were able to fare even better than they had originally believed.

Once she had chosen to cooperate fully, Ruby had been able to give them information on the Dalki's patrol paths, and even tell them the times when they would be further split apart.

Once their plan went into action Ruby had managed to play her part in everything splendidly. Rallying up those in the Shelter, and when coming out to 'help' The Dalki, she was able to use the Demon tier weapon to greatly injure the three spiked Dalki, albeit with tears in her eyes.

——

While everything was going on, even higher in the trees, sitting on a branch out of sight from nearly everyone, was a person.

"Sir, it looks like the military have returned to this place once again. Those in the Shelter have seemingly betrayed the Dalki. Without One Horn present it looks like the humans will be able to achieve a victory this time. Would you like me to help out the Dalki side?"

"No. Stay put. The outcome won't matter. He will be far too busy dealing with his own troubles, before he gets a chance to hear of this."

*****

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