บท 98: Pangea's Core
"Unless?" Ines' eyes regained some hope.
Vizicsacsi's eyes widened as he figured out what Luna's intentions were. He opened his mouth to warn the Princess, but...
*CHOMP*
Angry Bakunawa's huge maw covered him and the ground underneath him entirely as he swallowed him whole.
"Old General!" Shock apparent in her eyes, Ines extended her hand forward as if trying to grab Vizicsacsi away from the Moon swallower's jaw.
"Don't panic. He was merely sent into the pocket dimension within the Serpent. He will remain our hostage, as well as alive, depending on your cooperation," Luna snapped his fingers as Angry Bakunawa opened his mouth, revealing a screaming Vizicsacsi inside. Unfortunately for the Old Donkey, nothing he said could be heard and Ines was no lip-reader either.
"What would it take for you not to kill him?" She nervously asked.
Luna gave her a gentle smile as he said, "Let's talk about that later. So, I've received reports that you were actually seen within the <Sovereign Nation>. Yet you didn't cause Chaos when you could have. Granted, you would have died, but still. What do you think so far?"
The rather straightforward Sura was confused at this point, but she knew that her husband knew what he was doing.
"You all have such good food. What you eat and what we eat in my homeworld, they can't even be compared," Ines recanted her adventure as Luna listened intently.
"Oh? How can royalty like you not taste the finest of cuisines?" Luna inquired.
Ines recanted the tales of her adventures back in her homeland and her short trip within the <Sovereign Nation>. This triggered Luna to have additional security measures. Had it been somebody else with ill intentions, they could have caused chaos while the war was ongoing. Although he was confident that his citizens would quickly eliminate anything not too out of the ordinary, he still wasn't willing to let such an event happen.
Ines looked towards the battlefield as the Smiling Immortals who had not only gained EXP, but further developed their confidence in front-to-back fighting.
Elder Aran observed Luna's approach with much curiosity with a slight smile on his face. Maxene noticed this and sent a message to the Elder telepathically, "Elder Aran, you look like you know something I don't?"
Amused, he replied back, "We both know from your Uncle Boni that Lord Luna hasn't had the most peaceful of childhoods, that, to be honest, no regular child would have survived."
"Mhm! Father sure is quite something. But why are you saying that now?" She asked.
"Lord Luna's approach was quite fascinating to me, is all," the Elder replied back.
"Oh? How so?"
"It's quite clear now that the reason he spared that old Water Donkey was that he wanted to extract information from the young Princess. Lord Luna's approach is interesting to me because instead of holding the old donkey's life as a means of extracting information, he's instead talking to the young Princess in a relatable way, making her feel as if giving out information to your father is a natural thing to do. Like a friend sharing their deepest secrets to a friend," Elder Aran answered.
"But he can still use the old donkey's life to extract more information, right?"
"Indeed he can, but probably as a last resort. It's quite cruel to do to such a naive little girl, but your father knows that we need every advantage we can get."
"Mn. I once heard him say that he's 'prepared to look like an evil tyrant to the world if it meant the survival of my people.' What does that mean?" Maxene genuinely asked. She was aware of the responsibilities of her father but wasn't quite experienced with what really comes with it.
"The burdens of leadership, young one," Elder Aran patted her head. Maxene seemed to have an even more confused look on her face which slowly faded as she pieced it all together. Observing this, he couldn't help but be impressed at how fast this little girl could catch on.
"I won't let father shoulder everything by himself. I, Maxene, will be sure to make myself strong enough to hold up whatever mother and father can," The ever so filial young girl silently vowed to herself.
Elder Aran recalled his past memories as well and what decisions the Elven leaders had to make in order to try to make sure their people survived, "Alas," he sighed, "I hope Lord Luna's life will be more than just making impossible decisions and a tragic end like it was for my race. This old man can only hope," he thought to himself.
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Meanwhile...
"Odin, we need to fall back!"
The various celestials were still holding the Void army with all their might.
Odin looked back at the vast, resource-rich continent behind him as he sighed, "We held this place for as long as we could. This will trigger the unification of the continents. I hope the people of Earth are ready for this."
Yahweh and Allah both looked towards Odin as they said, "Preparations are complete. Pangea's core is ready to go back to Earth."
Some of the Gods still had a displeased look on their faces. Seeing this Odin barked at them, "What's with the displeased look on your faces!? This never would have happened if we had given Earth the opportunity to strengthen themselves from the beginning!"
Siddhartha Gautama stepped in the middle to calm the others down, "Friends, now is not the time for strife. This was a core continent that originally belonged to Earth as per the Supreme one's instructions. For years we convinced ourselves that it was of much better use to us, but we know now that, that was a lie. When we fall back, this entire area will be exposed and the natural resources in it, becoming easy pickings for the Void army."
"Will the people of Earth be even strong enough to take what is in it? With their hands full from the invasion? We should have just salvaged whatever we can and set it to detonate instead of sending it back to those ants," complained one.
Gautama Buddha simply replied, "We should not worry about things we have no control over. We can only hope for the best."
Seeing the displeased faces on the rest Odin could only sigh in disappointment.
These third-generation Gods had lived a carefree life. He was happy that he at least educated his sons well. Even his trickster of a Son knew was more useful than these other brats.
A younger-looking man in white robes approached Yahweh and said, "Father, forgive them. If they had not looked down on Earth so much and actually experienced it as I did, they wouldn't be so prejudiced against them."
Yahweh smiled at this son, "You are indeed right, my son. I see that now. The very same people I had almost annihilated in my anger turned out to be our final hope. Unfortunate that the other 'keys' couldn't win against the Void army and had to be destroyed. Earth is now our last bastion of hope."
Allah nodded in agreement as he commanded, "Commence transportation of Pangea's Core!"
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