Talia turned around and made her way back into her tent toward the blood tub.

She wiped her hands against her dress and was just about to take it off when her eyes settled on Elda.

Elda was waiting for her beside the blood tub.

"Why?"

"I do not have Blood Storage, so I had to get creative," Talia answered.

Indeed, she did not have Blood Storage, so she had to find another way around it.

She came up with a simple solution... She had her father inscribe a preservation rune on the tub. Now all she had to do was dip her feet into it and begin refining and cultivating.

"Can I?" Elda nodded toward the blood tub.

Talia fell silent for a few seconds... Then she nodded.

"Take enough to push yourself to the peak of Level 1."

Elda did not bother questioning her. She dipped her hand into the tub and absorbed what she thought was enough. Once she was done, she nodded at Talia and left.

Once she was gone, Talia looked down at her clothes and ripped them off. She put on a night gown before returning with a stool to sit and dip her legs into the pool.

She began refining the blood and cultivating.

***

The next morning, Ardeth was woken by one of his men who he had left on lookout.

"Boss!... Boss!!... Boss!!!... Wake up!"

Ardeth’s eyes snapped open and his weapon appeared in his hands immediately.

Given the situation of the camp, he had always been on edge.

"Where is the attack?" His half-red eyes focused on the man.

"No... No attack. It is... just come and see for yourself."

Ardeth frowned. He nodded and followed his man out.

The first thing he saw was the gathered crowd of mercenaries and criminals staring toward the entrance of the main camp in silence.

He wondered what they were looking at so intensely.

With his Level 2 aura, Ardeth pushed through the crowd to finally take a look.

His eyes widened as he stared at the corpses nailed to crosses.

It would not have been so off-putting if they had been complete.

Instead of whole bodies, some were split in two with organs hanging out like coils of intestine, some were without heads, with obvious signs that they had been crushed... Partial paste where their head used to be.

Everyone had a guess at what had happened... They had most likely tried to sneak in and been caught.

One of the main reasons everyone was quiet was because even Level 2s were among the dead.

Ardeth’s face turned dark.

Usually when Level 2s were caught sneaking around, as long as they did not go too far, they were released after a massive fine.

But that did not seem to be the case here. Thoooooey had killed everyone.

Several people exchanged glances before turning around to leave. Even those who had teammates or friends nailed up there did not go closer. Instead, everyone returned to their tents.

One of Ardeth’s men had a thoughtful look as he walked away, following his boss.

***

The morning sun crept over the treetops, casting long shadows across the camp.

The air was cool and damp. A thin mist hovered just above the ground.

Talia stood on a small raised platform at the center of the camp. Behind her stood Elda, Kairi, Roden, and Aiko. They kept their distance from the crowd, maintaining a clear gap between themselves and the people gathered before them.

Even with this distance, Talia realized that Aiko and Kairi were irritating her. But she was trying to learn to control it. She had also realized that for some reason she did not feel as much irritation from the servants. She could not tell if it was because she had saved them or something else.

In front of the platform, twenty-eight mercenaries waited. They shifted on their feet. Some yawned and rubbed their eyes. They had just woken up.

Off to the side, the sixty-plus servants stood in their own group. They were quieter. That had been ingrained in them.

A few meters away, near the edge of the camp, a shallow pit held a half-buried figure. Jack. His head stuck out from the dirt. His eyes were swollen shut. He was barely breathing.

No one looked at him. No one mentioned him. Ever since Talia had returned with him, he had been half buried like that. She could not be bothered to arrange guards for him, so she just had him buried.

Talia cleared her throat. The murmuring stopped.

"You came here under a contract," she began. "One low-grade mana stone per day for searching the area and reporting your findings. It was simple."

She paused and scanned the faces in front of her.

"That contract is changing."

A few mercenaries exchanged glances. Some tensed, ready for bad news.

"Instead of one stone per day, you will receive a minimum of two. It could be more, depending on the work and the results." Talia let the words sink in. "But the work will be harder. The hours will be longer. The expectations will be higher."

Silence.

"Those who wish to leave may do so now. No punishment. No hard feelings. You will be paid for the days you have worked, and when we are free, you will be escorted back to town."

No one moved.

Talia waited. Ten seconds. Twenty. Thirty.

Still no one moved.

"Good," she said. "For those who stay, there is an opportunity here."

She took a step forward.

"Depending on your performance, you may be invited to join the Morvath family as outer members."

Whispers rippled through the crowd as the mercenaries turned to each other.

The servants, on the other hand, did not have much reaction after all they would be joining anyway.

"As for the servants, you have the option to upgrade your status." Talia continued. "Joining the family means protection and resources... It means a future beyond scraping by on whatever jobs you can find."

Her voice remained calm and only now did the servants have reactions although they maintained a certain level of decorum.

"This is not a promise... It is a possibility and a chance to change you future. What you do with it is up to you."

One of the mercenaries raised his hand. Talia nodded at him.

"What kind of work are we talking about?" he asked.

"Minor Construction but mostly guard and patrol duty for now. If you successfully join the family." Talia answered. "It will change and you will be told what to do then."

The mercenary lowered his hand. He did not look pleased at the vague answer, but he did not walk away.

Another hand went up, this time it was a servant. A woman with gray hair and tired eyes.

"If we join the family," she asked slowly, "what happens to our families that may still be alive outside?"

"You will be allowed to invite your families depending on their qualifications they might be allowed to join the family." Talia nodded at her. "However even if they do not qualify, as long as you serve well, they will want for nothing."

The woman’s eyes widened then she nodded.

Talia turned to address the whole crowd one last time.

"Work begins today. You will be assigned tasks a bit after noon." She paused. "Those who perform well will be noted and those who do not will be removed."

She stepped back.

"Any questions?"

No one spoke.

"Then get ready... You have until noon."

The crowd dispersed as the morning mist was burning off and being replaced by golden light.

Talia turned to Roden. "Try to begin assigning the tasks but start with the servants... If you are unable to assign tasks leave them till the others come."

Roden nodded and walked off.

Elda remained still, her eyes scanning the crowd. Kairi stood beside Aiko, saying nothing.

Aiko looked at Talia. "You handled that well."

Talia shrugged. "Words are alive... We will see how they perform."

She glanced toward the pit where Jack lay buried.

He had not moved not had he made a sound but he was still very much alive.

She turned around and left him there to the rising sun.