Alright! The massive attack—the Dungeon Break—was finally tained. A big round of appuse was deserved for the Veymar city gover, who had acted swiftly and decisively to handle such a moal disaster.

  This, by far, was the most well-coordinated disaster respos had ever witnessed firsthand.

  Sure, the Dune Bastion sustained damage in several areas, but remarkably, there were no civilian casualties. Everemors reported earlier had caused no loss of life.

  The damage withiy was visible, but it was manageable. With the siderable resources and funding of the Saharan Empire, repairs would likely be pleted in the near future.

  In the end, however, the main heroes of the day were the Lords—especially Kareem—eared to have a strong alliah the Empire.

  The Empire’s strategy of maintaining good retions with Lords had clearly paid off. The results spoke for themselves.

  Even Ats found himself impressed with the city’s handling of the crisis. It ce he felt fortable visiting, and perhaps, he thought, he would return again iure.

  “Please…” the waiter said, handing a business card to him. “Keep my tad let me know if, someday iure, you need help from a ‘washed-up awakener’ who now prefers cooking and brewing coffee.” He finished with a polite bow.

  “Thanks,” Ats replied, accepting the card. “Good luck with the business.”

  “And please, vey my apologies again to the master earlier,” the waiter added with a respectful nod.

  Ats gave a small wave before heading out. There were still a few matters to take care of before he po return to Gacha Havehat afternoon.

  **

  “Soren…” muttered a maed at a round table in a pristine room with stark white walls and rge gss windows overlooking a cityscape.

  The speaker appeared to be in his 60s, his ly tied white hair apanied by a well-groomed white beard. Despite his age, he had a strong, well-built frame, a flowing white robe with ses reinforced by armor. A hood partially covered his head, adding an air of authority to his presence.

  “Do you know who defeated him?” the man asked.

  “Lord Kareem, we are still iigating which Lord Soren lost to,” another voice replied from across the room.

  Kareem fell silent for a moment, closing his eyes briefly as if suppressing his emotions—or perhaps lost in thought.

  “Wasn’t he apanied by Takashi? And this was only in Seeker Division 1?” Kareem finally said, his tone calm but sharp.

  “Correct, My Lord,” another voice responded.

  “Soren had even secured three spirit beasts,” Kareem tinued.

  A battle between two floating isnds was an especially private affair. Information about such flicts couldn’t be accessed directly uhe Lords involved chose to share the details with others.

  Even witnessing such battles was a rare occurren observer would o float high in the sky, precisely at the locatiohe two isnds cshed.

  This secrecy made it nearly impossible to uncover who had dealt the final blow to Soren.

  “My Lord,” the subordinate added, “we are sing nearby areas. Floating isnds within Seeker Division 1 or 2 are being prioritized, especially those currently in their reinfort phase.”

  Kareem paused, his gaze distant, before speaking again. “Find out who they are.”

  “What should we do if we find them, My Lord? Should we focus our attacks on that isnd?” another voice asked.

  Kareem paused for a moment.

  “I may need some time to rest after the battle earlier today. But for now… just find out who might have defeated my son.”

  He fell silent again before adding, “Aermine whether they’ve joined an alliance… or if they remain indepe.”

  “Could this possibly be ected to opposition forces against us, My Lord?”

  “That potential exists,” Kareem admitted.

  He then stood, his imposing presence filling the room, and walked away slowly, leaving the others behind to carry out his orders.

  **

  A soft hum echoed through the air, growing louder as a sleek, futuristic aircraft approached a small floating isnd. The isnd’s protective shield covered most of its interior, leaving only a few outer ses exposed, where several workers could be seen tilling soil and pnting crops.

  The aircraft was a marvel of design—white with elegant, futuristitours. Its rear hatch opened, revealing two men standing at the edge, gazing out at the isnd below.

  The workers on the isnd noticed the approag vessel, pausing their tasks with puzzled expressions. One of them—a particurly cheerful beastkin—ran to the edge of the isnd, wavihusiastically.

  “Hi! Hello!” called out the rabbit girl, her ears twitg as she smiled warmly. “ we help you? Who are you, and who are you looking for?”

  The two men in white robes, their attire ated with light armor, seemed momentarily stuhey exged awkward gnces before stiffening in pce.

  “Damn, this bunny girl is so cute, isn’t she?” the first man said.

  “Yes…” the sean replied.

  “Hi…” the first man finally responded. “Are you the Lord of this isnd?”

  The bunny girl cupped her hands around her mouth and shouted back, “No, I'm not the Lord.”

  “And… What are you all doing?” the first man asked again.

  “We’re pnting carrots. Do you want some carrots?” the bunny girl chirped cheerfully.

  The first man turo his panion with a bewildered look. “Do you think an isnd with a bunny girl like that could have possibly defeated young master Soren?”

  “I don’t know. I’m not sure,” the sean replied hesitantly. “But the higher-ups told us to look for a Lord with great potential or an isnd with signifit strength.”

  “Well, this isnd is…” the first man trailed off, gng back at the workers. “They’re busy pnting carrots. It seems like they don’t really uand the whole cept of Lord battles. They look more like they need prote than like a threat.”

  Curious, he asked again, “Why are you pnting so many carrots?”

  The bunny girl beamed and replied, “Because we all love carrots! And carrots are good for your eyes!”

  The first man took a deep breath, trying to steady himself, and muttered under his breath, “Damn, my body’s shaking just from hearing that bunny girl shout.”

  “She’s so cute. I want a pet like her,” his panion said, half-joking.

  “She’s not a pet. Watouth,” the first man snapped.

  “Okay, fine. So, what do we do now?”

  At that moment, someone else approached the bunny girl. It was a woman with pointed ears—an elf, or maybe a spirit?

  “Damn, this isnd is full of beautiful women,” the first man murmured.

  He called out again, louder this time. “Hey, are you the Lord of this isnd?”

  The woman with pointed ears g them but shook her head slowly, her expression calm.

  “Damn, this isnd is really weird,” the first man muttered to his panion. “A bunny girl pnting carrots, and a woman who moves so slow like that.”

  “clusion?” the sean asked.

  “This is a new isnd, still small and inhabited by people who don’t seem dangerous. Let’s ig and look for something with more potential.”

  The first man waved his hand toward the workers below. “Hi! Thanks for the hospitality. We’ll e baext time. Please pass ards to your Lord, and good luck with the battle!”

  “Hey! Do you want some carrots?” the bunny girl suddenly shouted, tossing a bag of carrots toward the aircraft.

  The two men caught it, gng at each other before chug.

  “Thanks! We like carrots too! Hahaha!”

  ***

  (Author’s Note:)

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