Sonia woke with an ear-piercing scream. She was lying in bed in a brightly lit room with two people watching her. She felt the soft fabric under her fingers and a pillow under her head. Still screaming, she touched her stomach but it was flat. Sonia started crying but this time in relief.

  "You are safe." A Nekomi wearing a neat white uniform said in a calming voice.

  "No one is safe from those monsters..." She sobbed but didn't want to close her eyes for fear of waking back in the darkness covered in Hornet's honey.

  "We are as safe as one can be." Another Nekomi chuckled. "My name is Captain Tori Maena. I'm the head of the medical staff of HMS Warrior."

  "HMS Warrior?" Sonia looked at Captain Tori in confusion.

  "You are on board an Arcadian warship. Our Marines saved you from... From that hive..." The Nekomi stuttered and her ears twitched distressingly. "From whatever hell that was."

  "You are from Arcadia?!" She looked at the two women in shock. "What were you doing in Skalga?"

  "We are at war with Vestargo of the Ancient Forest. His forces attacked our border a few months ago and it was recently revealed that he planned to invade us with significant forces. So our Lord ordered us to attack first; however, Vestargo acted faster than we anticipated. Now it's an active war and Vestargo is in full retreat." A male voice came from the doors. "I'm glad that you are awake. I'm Captain Mark Ulman, Commanding Officer of HMS Warrior."

  "My name is Sonia Illumia. I am... was the daughter of Councillor Fare Illumia. He was one of the more important nobles in Skalga."

  "Answering your question, we were sent by Emperor Theon Avalon. Our orders were to prevent Vestargo from establishing any footholds that could threaten Arcadia and investigate the fate of Navell. When we arrived at Skalga, it was already ruined." Captain Ulman explained. "I sent Marines to investigate the last life sign in the city and it turned out to be you. Miss Sonia, can you..."

  Captain Teri cleared her throat and gave her colleague Captain a disapproving gaze. Sonia, however, understood immediately and, while the memories were fresh and painful, she knew she had to tell them. She slowly sat up in the bed and the second Nekomi immediately adjusted her bed and created a backrest. Sonia took a deep breath and clenched her hands on the warm sleeping duvet.

  "The siege began two weeks ago..." She whispered. "We received reports describing the largest band of monsters seen in the last few decades a few months ago... So they attacked Arcadia. I'm so sorry we couldn't warn you."

  "Our forces routed that monster horde." Captain Mark shrugged. "We should have sent ships to investigate Navell then but we had other issues to deal with. Tell me what happened to Skalga."

  "Two weeks ago the city was attacked without any warning. Monsters were everywhere and our walls weren't even an obstacle for them. The guards couldn't stop the endless tide and when monsters started attacking us from the air… The bu... bugs-" She felt tears welling in her eyes but Captain Mark put his hand over her nervously clenched fist; a strange but pleasant and encouraging feeling spread warmly from his touch. She managed to calm down and took another deep breath. "The bugs were everywhere and, what was worse, they started coming from underground tunnels inside the city. It was a carnage. We stood no chance."

  Her tears were fully flowing on their own and she felt hopeless and emptiness in her heart. She couldn't force herself to say anything more.

  "Two weeks ago the Dungeon City of Westwood was attacked by Vestargo's army. We counted approximately thirty thousand bug monsters." Captain Ulman said and her eyes went wide in shock as she looked at him. "The monsters tried to do the same - they tried to get inside the city but Kirin, the city Core, thwarted their attempts and pushed them outside the walls. Our defensive weapons mowed them down like grass and only a few hundred managed to get inside the city. We lost two hundred people and among them were two adopted daughters of the Emperor, the Master of the Miners' Guild of Arcadia, and my brother. It's a very personal war for the Emperor and the entirety of Arcadia right now."

  "You lost that city?" She asked with a terrified voice.

  "No. During the attack on Westwood there were nearly a quarter of a million people inside. The Imperial forces managed to rout all the attacking monsters." He shook his head in denial.

  "Skalga was a big city, not nearly as large as Westwood from what you have said, but it was one of the biggest city-states of Navell. There were over sixty thousand people in the city before its fall." She said with pain in her voice. "Men and elderly were slaughtered while women and children were captured. The children were taken away, I don't know where or why, all the women and girls... They... We... Oh, Gods..."

  She trembled at the very memory of what happened to her and the others.

  "Captain, she must rest." The older Nekomi protested.

  While Sonia was thankful for her care, she knew that she needed to tell someone what happened.

  "Please... Let me finish." She whispered and Captain Tori slowly nodded. "The Hornets came after the monsters and they were brutal. They put us, all the women of Skalga, in warehouses and the Lord's mansion. They ordered us to eat constantly and, if anyone protested, they forced them and beat them for disobedience. Then..." Sonia started sobbing but held tighter the hand of the Arcadian Captain. "They raped us... One by one. I was one of the last women they violated. One of the Hornets put something in me and... and they stung me. I barely remember what happened next. I remember a strange euphoria and the Hornets raped me multiple times... Then there was darkness and my rapidly swelling belly. Then you found me."

  "That's enough, Miss Sonia." Captain Mark said softly. "You are safe now."

  "What do you have done with the... things I had in my womb?" She quietly asked.

  "We captured them alive and we are delivering them for research. Our Lord wants to know about the enemy, learn their weaknesses, and how to most effectively kill them." He instantly replied. "I know that you asked us to kill-"

  "I'm glad to be alive..." She trembled and shook her head. "When they put me into... I don't know what it was; besides that, it was dark, I barely had enough air to breathe and I was dipped in something sweet and sticky. It was Hornet's honey; once it got into my mouth, I was almost forced to eat it. I couldn't stop myself until I was full."

  "You developed a very strong addiction we managed to cure." Captain Tori slowly shook her head. "We took samples from your body but I need to add another warning that it is a highly dangerous drug."

  "It was some kind of honeycomb, Miss Sonia. We believe it was a part of their hive."

  "Of course it was..." She said bitterly with disgust. "I heard the other girls' screams and... Some of them screamed and begged for help. Someone screamed that they were being eaten alive. Those screams... It was terrifying. I just never want to see those monsters ever again."

  "Gods..." The Captain lowered his head. "I'm so sorry, Miss Sonia."

  "What are you planning to do with me now?" Sonia asked slowly.

  "Nothing. You are a free person!" Captain looked at her with surprise. "We are currently en route to Natika. If you wish to disembark there you can freely go."

  "I have no one left in this world and nothing to my name..." She slowly shook her head. "I don't think I will be welcomed there either."

  "In that case, you can return with us to Arcadia. I'm sure there are still things you can tell us." He offered. "Arcadia is a good place to start your life again."

  She trembled. "How much time do I have for the decision?"

  "We will arrive at Natika in five hours-" He answered but a low-pitched sound interrupted him.

  "Captain! Natika is under attack!"

  He stood up and dashed towards the doors but, instead of leaving the room, he lifted a strange device to his face. "Emergency speed and combat alert!"

  "Yes, Sir!"

  "Now, we will reach it in an hour..." He said calmly. "Don't worry, Miss Sonia. We will show you how Arcadia wages war..."

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  ???

  Mark was sitting on his command throne while Sonia sat in the spare chair next to Lieutenant Adams who was her escort. Sonia didn't want to hear anything from the medics about staying in bed and Mark decided that she might be useful on the bridge. The city was already visible in the distance.

  "They are still fighting..." He commented but no one said a word while he read the estimations on one of his screens. "This is bad. Engage the enemy! We are coming in hot!"

  "Yes, Sir!"

  The three ships of the Royal Fleet of Arcadia began firing with their point defence weapons. Sonia gasped in shock upon seeing the destruction unleashed on their enemies.

  "I just realised that we have no means of contacting them." Mark sighed. "Adams, you will lead the team that will establish contact with locals."

  "Yes, Sir!" The Lieutenant saluted and, moments later, another Marine entered the bridge, relieved his superior, and Sonia only caught a glimpse as he left.

  "People of Natika." Mark used the external speakers and decided to announce. "Do not fear us. Our intentions are peaceful. We are the Royal Fleet of Arcadia."

  The airships begun making circles over the besieged city centre and, very quickly, thinned the monsters’ ranks below. Meanwhile, a single CB-90 left the hangar and landed in the city square.

  "What a fucking shit show..." Mark sighed and rubbed his neck. "Can you hail Avalon?"

  "We are barely in range of Crystal Forest, Sir. We can try." The communication officer replied and immediately started speaking to his headset.

  "I would never imagine airships were so powerful..." Sonia mumbled to herself, making Mark chuckle.

  "Not all of them. But Arcadia's ships are very advanced. Easily the best ships of Aderon." He replied to her and looked toward the view screen where he watched what the ground team was doing. "What's your status, Adams?"

  "This is FUBAR, sir! No one is in charge and everyone wants to talk with us!"

  "Fuck!" The Captain smashed his fist on a massive armrest that was built exactly for that purpose. "Inform the people what we learnt about Vestargo and Hornets. And find someone in charge!"

  "Yes, Sir!"

  "Avalon on the line, Sir! One of the patrol ships is moving closer so we can have a better connection." The officer reported.

  "On speakers!" Mark decided and, after a moment of radio static, the voice of the Emperor could be understood.

  "Avalon to Warrior strike team, do you copy?" Despite heavy static, the voice was immediately recognisable.

  "HMS Warrior, Captain Ulman speaking, my Lord! Our investigation of Navell found most of the cities and villages dead. A detailed report was sent to you but we have a problem! We arrived at the city of Natika and it is under siege. They won't be able to fend off the bugs; the city is compromised and monsters are digging tunnels. Do we have any spare forces to engage the enemy and help these people?" He asked and everyone held their breath.

  "Negative, Captain." The Emperor's voice was flat and distorted by the background noise and static. "I have nothing we could use to deep strike them. However, about three hundred kilometres southeast of your current position is a subjugated Dungeon. You can try to provide cover for the refugees and take them there. That's the best offer we have."

  "That's a long trip, Sir... But, understand, my Lord! I will forward your offer to the people below. Warrior, out!"

  "Good luck, Captain. Avalon, out!" The voice blurred by static was calm but the click at the end of the call gave everyone chills.

  "A Dungeon?! That's madness!" Sonia cried in shock.

  "Things changed, Miss Sonia. We are fighting a Dungeon Empire, that's true, however, Arcadia is also one. The Emperor himself decided that keeping it a secret was going to harm Arcadia more than revealing the truth. At least during our dealings with the city-states of Navell." Mark shrugged. "The Emperor himself is a God-sent Hero and the Champion of Eriar whose duty is to protect Nilmerthis. Contrary to other Heroes, his race was predetermined by his patron and Lord Theon Avalon is a Dungeon Core. He is able to fully subjugate other enemy Dungeons and, I can assure you, most Arcadians live in Dungeons Cities."

  She looked at him in shock and couldn't find words. After a moment, Mark asked softly. "Do you know why Westwood survived?"

  "Because you are powerful."

  "Bullshit." Mark shook his head bitterly. "We are the same people as you. Yes, we are more powerful than you are but, against Dungeons, that means nothing. Westwood is a Dungeon. Kirin, that's the name of the Dungeon Core, was fighting to protect his people. Without his constant protection, the bugs would have dug tunnels and killed everyone in Westwood like they did in Skalga. But they couldn't. Kirin made it impossible for them to attack from underground. Kirin's denizens were the first to clash with Vestargo's forces. The truth is brutal, Miss Sonia. Without Dungeons on our side, we would have been a side dish for Vestargo."

  "Captain!" Adam's voice interrupted the heavy silence on the bridge. "I think I found someone with some authority."

  "Great. Because we can only help them evacuate to the nearest Dungeon." Mark said dryly.

  "I guess that's going to have to work for them." The Lieutenant said. "However, there is a problem, Sir."

  "They don't want to go to the Dungeon?" Mark made a guess.

  "As far as they are concerned, anywhere but here so, no, that shouldn't be a big problem, not now anyway. The problem is that there are nearly four thousand children, elderly, and wounded, Sir. They won't have any chance if they walk all the way."

  "Fuck..." Mark dropped heavily on his command throne. "You know what, fuck it. I think we can take about a thousand, maybe a few more, people on board. But we can take the children first and a few women to calm them down. No elderly, no wounded. We don't have the space or medics to facilitate them."

  "I was thinking about that, Sir. We can use the carriages we have in our storage. There are at least fifty of them."

  "That's a great idea but we don't have horses to pull them. Someone at the Navy Projects fucked badly." Mark sighed.

  "Not really. Fenrirs and Bears can pull the carts." Adams' voice was stoic. "I also plan to set charges around the city while we get the fuck out of here using the Shadow Realm. I plan to send this city to hell as a distraction."

  Captain fell silent, looked at his screens, and started nodding. The number of bugs was steadily rising so they had a very limited amount of time to decide what to do. "All right but, instead of charges, we are going to use artillery and missiles. I won’t risk sending Marines to set explosives."

  "One more thing, Sir." Adams hesitated. "Lord Godrick Makerman wants to speak with you."

  "Pffff... Connect him." Mark sighed.

  "Lord Makerman is one of the Heroes of Navell, Captain Ulman. Years ago, he successfully protected many cities in the South from monster raids. He is an honourable man." Sonia immediately chimed in, making Mark nod.

  "In person, Sir," Adams added.

  "And I want a world peace." The Captain huffed. "We don't have time for such things! What does he want?"

  In the distance, a large temple started trembling and very slowly collapsed. HMS Warrior was, perfectly, in position to see a huge hole in the ground from which hundreds of bugs started coming out.

  "Main battery, fire!" Captain Ulman marked the tunnel as a target and the airship started ringing with the recoil of the main guns.

  The magi-cannons began a barrage on the enemy position and the ship slowed to stay on target as long as possible. After five minutes of constant bombardment, either the bugs got the message or, simply, their tunnel collapsed since no more of them appeared. Mark looked at the screen of the view seen from Lieutenant Adams and noted a pompous old noble standing near a Mobile Infantry soldier. "Tell him that I can hear him right now. I have no time to get down there or waste bringing him up."

  After a brief moment, the Noble nodded and looked straight at Lieutenant Adams.

  "Captain Ulman, I don't know if you can hear me..." A feeble voice of a scared, old man sounded on the bridge. "...but, if you can, I wanted to hear you with my own ears and look at you with my eyes to see if you are trustworthy. But your display, right now, showed me more than I wanted to hear or see. The moment your ships arrived you had us in your power, Captain Ulman. We are going to trust you. We are going to trust that Arcadia is here to help us."

  "Lord Makerman, I'm sorry we can't meet face to face but, I assure you, Arcadia won't hurt innocent civilians and we have no hostile intentions against Navell and its people. Our common enemy is right there, besieging and ruining your beautiful city. I promise that, once we reach a safe zone, we will meet."

  "If I survive, that is, but that's not important. My grandchildren and my daughter will be coming with all the children. How fast can you begin evacuation?" The Noble nodded.

  "Immediately."

  "Let's not waste any more time. Your ships bought us a few precious moments but I doubt we will hold much longer." The man said with a trembling voice. "And... Thank you, Captain. Even if only our children survive."

  "It's all we can do for you at the moment," Captain said with a heavy voice and, with realization, he took a deep breath. Flipping a switch, his voice boomed from the external speakers, "To all Vestargo's forces attacking the city of Natika! You are in violation of the Geneva Conventions! Cease all hostility and allow us to evacuate the civilians! We, also, strongly advise you to free all captured noncombatants and we warn you that your actions will be reported to our Emperor!"

  He looked, with satisfaction, as the radar showed all the monsters in their vicinity stop in their tracks. "To all defenders of Natika! Don't attack bugs unless in self-defence!"

  "What is going on?! Why did they stop attacking?!" Sonia asked in shock.

  "Well... In retaliation for attacking Westwood, my Lord burned the territory of Ancient Forest equal to half of Navell. Then, the Emperor insisted that Vestargo abide by the Geneva Conventions..." Mark explained, making Sonia go pale.

  "Sir! You must see it!" The sensor officer shouted and opened a large screen with a view from all three airships.

  A woman holding an improvised white flag, escorted by two large Hornets, was coming slowly towards the improvised barricade where Natika's soldiers were nervously observing them.

  "Adams!?" Mark yelled at the coms.

  "On my way, Sir!" The Lieutenant's marker was quickly moving towards the group followed by two soldiers in Living Armours.

  Everyone looked at Mark, who was equally surprised as he held his increasing panic unseen. He wasn't expecting Vestargo's forces to respond to his, admittedly, desperate call. He looked at the communication officer and, after clearing his throat, he announced. "I believe we should call Avalon one more time so they know what is going on..."

  Thank you all for reading.

  I wish you all a great day and as always I wait for your comments.

  A big thanks to who edited the chapter!

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