As the stronghold leader of the Scarlet Blood Stronghold, Mizunochi Ayaka didn’t have the leisure to ignore the situation regarding the Ice Wing Stronghold. She barely heard Jurou mentioning its demise, and that perked her ears right up since it also pertained to an obvious threat to her stronghold.

"Yes, a gigantic Omega Zombie did them in." Jurou relayed. "Right now, that Omega Zombie is going around destroying little shelters. While these guys over at the Yamanashi Prefecture were fighting over land, the Omega Zombie was slowly getting rid of the next prefecture over. It’s like they don’t even care."

Well, apparently the East and West Yamanashi Strongholds were too busy with their conquest games that they didn’t even bother scouting their neighboring cities and locations. As such, they were conveniently oblivious to the fact that an Omega Zombie was wreaking havoc in their borders.

To a stronghold leader, such a mistake was inexcusable, but the stronghold leaders of the East and West Yamanashi Strongholds knew better. Blinded by territorial greed, the two of them developed their gluttony over their land. With such an inward mindset, they forgot about the surrounding threats that constantly surrounded them.

"The Stronghold Wars... and now an Omega Zombie running amok? Seriously, how could we deal with both." Ayaka scratched her head while thinking that she got the short end of the stick. Basically, it was her stronghold that was facing the most danger.

It would only take a small window for the Omega Zombie to alter its directions and head straight to the Scarlet Blood Stronghold. After all, her stronghold was more or less adjacent to the Ice Wing Stronghold. They were only a couple kilometers close to each other and that increased the risk of the Omega Zombie strolling towards the stronghold.

"We can’t deal with both. The best thing to do is regroup... and then we can face these threats one at a time.." Jurou was the most sensible out of everyone. After receiving two nods from both Arisu and Ayaka, the three of them continued eating while the others remained asleep.

"You’re right. But still... I have to get back to my stronghold as soon as possible. I can’t just leave all of them unattended while that threat remains a possibility." Ayaka said. "Then again... I’ll check out the Kazuichi Stronghold first before I do anything."

Arisu and Jurou nodded at her. They were already nearby, and it would take at least less than an hour before they got to the Kazuichi Stronghold. Honestly, the things that Arisu mentioned just didn’t make any sense to her. She’d never heard of a stronghold that could easily sustain itself, and now she was genuinely curious if the Kazuichi Stronghold was really that formidable or not.

Well, anyone who’d never seen the stronghold might have the same reaction. After all, the Kazuichi Stronghold sounded rich in resources as it is, but those were just rumors.

Sometimes, rumors were either hidden or highlighted. There are only two sides to the same coin, and it would be unlucky if they were to pick the disadvantageous option.

And to be fair, Kazuichi also had no idea what to expect. That’s why he didn’t have a clear picture of the stronghold in his mind.

Yawn~

Greeting the morning air with a series of stretches, Kazuichi got out of their huge tent so he could warm his hands on fire. Because he slept so well, he had no inkling regarding what they were talking about. It also took his mind a couple of minutes to register that Jurou was actually here. 𝓯𝙧𝓮𝓮𝒘𝓮𝙗𝙣𝒐𝒗𝒆𝓵.𝓬𝓸𝒎

"Ah, Jurou? Am I dreaming?" Kazuichi teased as he saw him flip his hair to the other side.

"I guess you just have to find that out." Arisu returned.

— — — — —

On a different setting any suspicious incidents would have been investigated before actions were implemented. However, sometimes the puzzle pieces just fit so well together that anyone who saw it would just accept its outcome. It is fairly easy to assume something, especially when the other party was already suspicious in the first place.

As mentioned before, the East and West Yamanashi Strongholds were at the same sensitive time at the moment. They had to increase their security in order to express that their allegiance was over.

Such was the way between two greedy people. They just can’t seem to be appeased or be content with their current situation, and it even reached the point where they gazed evilly at each other... to the point where their allegiance could easily be seen as invalid.

To the two strongholds, adding security and putting up a clear border on the new territory was the only thing to do. However! There were people who were just born with their mischievousness, and seeing these two on opposite sides were bound to give these opportunistic people some really twisted ideas.

And yes, these two individuals were both from the South Yamanashi Stronghold.

The first person managed to infiltrate the East Yamanashi Stronghold without difficulty. Because of the confusion that day, he managed to slip in between the ranks and act like a soldier. He was able to finesse his way into the East Yamanashi Stronghold without dying.

Then there was the second person who also slid his way into the West Yamanashi Stronghold. Together, they set their plan in motion.

It wasn’t the grandest of plans. But rather, it was pretty straightforward since all they did was kill people. And yes, they didn’t settle with killing an innocent civilian. Instead, they specifically targeted one of the Hybrids who contributed to destroying their stronghold.

Bang!

Bang!

From two different locations, a gunshot was heard, fired by these two identities who had one goal— to cause chaos and force the East and West Yamanashi Stronghold to fight each other.

"I’m from the West! This is just the start! We’re not going to let you take this territory without putting up a fight!"

"I’m from the East! This is just the start! We’re not going to let you take this territory without putting up a fight!"

Upon saying that, the two of them disappeared into the crowd. On their way to their meetup location, they fired their gunshots a couple more times, injuring a couple of Hybrids along the way while they eagerly waited for the two Strongholds to cause each other’s fall.