Mulou's face turned ugly with fear.
"I was going to do just that, but you have changed my mind," Xasha stated.
"Me?" Mulou said in surprise.
"Yes, your sacrifice and your loyalty moved me. I can't bring myself to wipe out such strong-willed people from this world. So I decided to take your clan under my wing and protect you all until you are strong enough to manage your territory with your own strength. What do you think?"
Xasha's words brought an unrelenting smile to Mulou's face. His grin showed his bad and yellowing teeth. In his gruff voice, he stated, "I cannot thank you enough benefactor, for your benevolence."
"Oy oy oy... I'm not such a good person. In exchange, you will join under my service," Xasha stated his condition.
Mulou did not hesitate before he kneeled to the ground and said solemnly, "You will have my loyalty, eternally lord benefactor. Say the word and I will even forfeit my life."
Xasha smiled and helped him up. "Don't worry too much. I never order my men to die." He had more to say, but he noticed a few auras flitting over.
"Ah, they're finally here," Xasha said lightly. To his surprise, the crowd did not stop, but all shot towards the island instead.
Xasha chuckled shook his head, "let's go," he said to Ari. A second later, he, Mulou, and Ari were back inside the torture room.
"Take Mulou and his brother to the healing bay. Also, prepare a place for them to stay. They will join me for dinner." Xasha listed off instructions.
Ari simply nodded and went to carry them out.
Xasha stripped his bloody clothes, cleaned himself, then dawned fresh chops. He elected for shorts and a loose shirt, which seemed to be the fashion around these parts. He gave the room a once-over, cleaning away all the blood, then left in steady steps.
When he entered the tower again, he saw Mylyn and the others looking at him with piacular expressions. He flashed them a polite smile and approached. He was just about to speak when he paused, and his head spun in the direction of his house.
He disappeared from the sight of his Remnant spirits, but they knew where he was. They all turned and headed in the direction he left in. They left the headquarters and saw the sky covered in a green hue as the village was engulfed in green flames. The practitioners were all in the air above the headquarters, watching the fire raging.
Mylyn looked at the flames and knew what occurred. A smile crept upon her face, "this kid."
Xasha created a forcefield around the flames to keep them contained. The flames were raging, melting through his Imperium, like paper. He only gritted his teeth and doubled the Imperium he outputted.
Nine hours later, the flames died down, and Xasha disregarded the forcefield and charged into what used to be the village. Everyone went after him and found him Xasha wrapped Tulip in a large healing blanket and hugged her in her embrace. Everyone stopped a distance away and watched the heartwarming scene. The other 30 raid teams had shown up while Tulip was having her breakthrough.
Tulip blinked open her blue eyes and saw several thousand pairs of eyes looking back at her. She squealed in fright and embarrassment.
Xasha squeezed her tightly. "You're okay, Tulip. I'm here, I'm here."
The voice caused her to calm down. She immediately broke down and started crying. After venting, she collected herself and began telling Xasha everything that happened to her group.
Six hours later, the Island had a Small City between the beach and two mountains. With several thousand homes, and more being built in anticipation of the incoming main army, several dozen million strong.
The Sky habitat had descended into the basin and was floating above the island. The once dark basin was now completely Lit up with light everyone could see appreciate the mountainous island of Jacana. The mood was good, and everyone was celebrating the completion of the mission. They found and built an outpost now they just needed to defend this place and wait for the main army.
Xasha, however, was not a part of the celebration. He and a small group of three thousand practitioners were heading southeast at full speed. With him were Mulou and his two brothers; Mulie, who was his actual brother, and Muroe, who was his father and the one Xasha had roasted.
Mulou had told them everything that had happened, and they believed him with no hesitation. This threw Xasha off, but he could tell they were sincere when they told him they would help in whatever they could.
Axia was also with the crew. She clung to Xasha, like a babe to her mother. Everyone thought the sight was piacular, but no one spoke to address it. Like this, the teams cut across the land unobstructed.
Xasha found this strange, so he asked, "are there no Fantasma in these woods?"
Muroe looked up at him, "Fantasma? Those creatures only run around in the Abandoned Region. I've never seen one myself."
Xasha's eyes went wide, but he only nodded and did not comment. Everyone's eyes lit up down the line. Xasha knew they were all communicating through their Eckos.
On the horizon, he could see a wall of excessively tall trees. Each tree was a thousand meters tall. Xasha had never seen such a thing before.
"This is the Greenwall Forest. We're almost there," Mulou declared. "I will speak with Mulieigh and the others. There's nothing to worry about."
Xasha nodded as he paid close attention to these three. He also had his perception fully activated around him, waiting for something to happen.
"Wait," Xasha said, stopping everyone. "Something is strange about this place."
"So you can sense it?" Muroe said with a strange look on his face