Chapter 260: Why is she here?
Damon snorted. "Do I look like I’m made of gold?" He glanced down at her arm wrapped around his and added, "Don’t answer that."
Ellora laughed softly, the sound sultry and dangerous all at once. "Mmm, I wasn’t going to say gold, but you definitely shine in all the right places."
Kaelthorn, standing behind them, let out a faint grunt of disapproval. "This isn’t the time for flirting."
"Oh, hush, wall-boy," Ellora shot back without looking. "If our dear Blood Lord is going to wage a war that could topple kingdoms, I think he deserves a little affection."
Riven raised a hesitant hand like a schoolboy. "Um, just to clarify... we don’t have that much money, right? Because I’ve got like... four copper and a button shaped like a chicken."
Damon exhaled through his nose in amusement. "We don’t have the gold. Yet." He looked at all three of them, his gaze turning sharper, colder. "But we will. In six days, the crusade hits. And before that timer hits zero, I intend to make everyone who owes me pay."
Damon closed his eyes and let out a deep breath. Everything he did was tiring, and every breath he took was an effort, but it was okay. Things were going according to his plan, at least so far.
While the three continued discussing the gold coins and the last time an elite army force like this had been summoned, Damon opened his system messages. Two new messages flashed, and before he could read them, the person who sent the message was already here.
Kate almost knocked him down as she ran straight into him and hugged him tightly. "What happened to you? Are you okay? You just disappeared after that battle."
Damon blinked in surprise as Kate clung to him, her voice trembling, her breath warm against his neck. Her arms wrapped around him so tightly, it felt like she was trying to pull his very soul back into her chest.
He slowly lifted one hand and placed it gently on her back. "I’m fine," he said quietly. "Just... busy."
"Busy?" Kate pulled back, just enough to look up at him. Her eyes were wet and furious. "You nearly died. Then you vanished. Do you have any idea how scared I was?"
"I’m sorry," Damon said, voice low but steady. "There were things I had to handle."
Kate didn’t say anything for a long moment. Her gaze searched his face, then flicked to the others standing nearby—Ellora watching curiously, Kaelthorn standing still like a statue, and Riven trying to pretend he wasn’t eavesdropping.
Her gaze darted between the three of them and landed on Ellora one more time before she finally looked at Damon again. "Damon, what is she doing here?" She asked with a weird smile that sent a fucking chill down Damon’s spine. "Why is she here, and why is she with you?"
Ellora was the type to flaunt it if she had it, and this was not the first time Kate was meeting her. So she was obviously aware of the woman’s antics.
Damon bitterly smiled. He wanted to leave before this happened, but guess he was not fast enough. "These three are my followers. I will fill you guys in on everything later, but for now, I need some help." He quickly changed the subject and looked at Mark.
"Buddy, can you please take a look at the various missions that Varnyx posts and finish all the important ones? We need to get shit done around here so that the territory doesn’t collapse within a single day. These quests will be worth your time. Also, talk to the guy and form a mana core. You too, Kate." Damon added.
"With your status in the clan, you will be able to get some sweet mana formation quests. Use that. I need you both powered up. We have a big fight coming in a week, and something might be coming up even sooner than that. Why don’t you both open up the blood hall panel and check it out."
"Alright, I will take care of it." Mark nodded and opened the panel. Immediately, his eyes widened in shock. Standing next to him, Kate did the same thing, and her mouth opened wide too. What the hell was this ridiculous amount staring back at them? How the hell was one supposed to get these many gold coins?
While the two were still shocked, Damon decided to quickly leave the spot before more questions about Ellora arose. He took one last look at the blood hall panel and let out a sigh. They had a long day ahead, but it was all going to be worth it.
"Let’s go. We have a lot to do, and there is one last important matter that I need to take care of." Damon grinned and opened up the system interface. He then pointed to one of the dungeons in a city two kingdoms away. "Can you get us all there, Ellora?"
The woman curiously looked at the place and nodded. She immediately got to work as a teleportation circle appeared beneath them. No more running around trying to get to the city centre’s teleportation portals, and no more travelling on foot.
It was awesome to have personal teleportation circles. Having a high-level follower was turning out to be pretty sweet, but this was just the beginning.
A crimson teleportation circle bloomed in front of them, complicated runes etched around the circle. The circle pulsed with blood magic. All four of them stepped into the teleportation circle, and just like that, they disappeared from the blood hall.
The next moment, they appeared right outside a graveyard. There weren’t any players in the vicinity, and the entire place was kind of deserted.
The dungeon portal itself was hidden, and it was present inside one of the ruined tombs in the graveyard. Damon naturally knew which tomb he had to go to exactly.
He might have forgotten a lot of details from his first life, but this was a major event that changed many lives in the game, especially the lives of his recent best friends. There was no way he would forget this.
***
Mass Release sponsored by Syphatrol