The team gathered around a flickering campfire at the base of the mountain, its warm glow casting long shadows against the rocky landscape.
Ardyn Sylros had returned from a successful hunt, a freshly killed deer slung over his shoulder. With relative ease, he carved the meat, skewered it, and set it over the fire to roast.
The savory aroma soon filled the air, mingling with the crackling of burning wood. The team sat in a loose circle, their faces illuminated by the flames.
Elijah tore into his portion with enthusiasm but stopped mid chew, his expression twisting into one of disgust.
"Why does this tastes so awful," Elijah muttered softly, but still enough for everyone to hear.
Verayth raised an eyebrow, nibbling cautiously on her own piece. "It's not that bad. A little gamey, maybe."
Elijah shook his head, inspecting the charred meat suspiciously. "I have tasted monstrous beast raw meat and blood before, but this is supposed to be an ordinary deer, is everything on this continent contaminated".
Ardyn reached for a piece.
"Honestly, its difficult to tell after spending your whole life here, I heard meat from outside Erevos tastes so good...".
Ardyn paused, not knowing what to associate the taste of good meat with, this was when Taelia chipped in, her voice soft and somber.
"I have tasted meat from outside of Erevos before... it was really good, there isn't a single word for it, but the first bite was a revelation, it was as though the meat melted in my mouth, it was tender and rich in a way I'd never imagined food could be... It didn't fight my teeth like the tough, sinewy pieces I grew up with... The flavor was complex in a way... I felt both joyful and a little heartbreaking at the time, knowing what we were missing as a people makes you wanna fight even more, if only we could leave this continent and breath in fresh air, eat fresh food, and drink clean water, but there was no way the ancient powers will ever allow people with contaminated blood walk their soil."
The groups faces fell, it was clear they were all thinking the same, but it was at that moment, Elijah's annoyingly indifferent voice cut through the silence.
"Yeah. This place socks, but even more importantly, why do those self glorified human powers even want to conquer Erevos so badly. So far, it's clear your contaminated blood has given you an edge, although you completely lack resources to win any wars".
The group fell silent for a moment, each lost in their thoughts. Finally, Ovarth broke the tension. "We're not here to question their motives, only to win this war at all cost".
Elijah raised a brow. "Who the fuck asked you... and why doesn't this raise my stats, it tastes almost as bad as monstrous beast flesh and blood?, Demon Lord Revival System, answer that fuking question".
[NOTICE]
Monstrous beast flesh and blood contains not only miasma from the former Demon Lord's corpse, but also droplets of his blood.
Elijah's face twisted, but Ardyn ignored it and shifted the topic to their primary objective for being here.
"Let's go over the plan".
The team leaned in as First Lieutenant Verayth began to outline their strategy.
"Elijah and I will infiltrate the enemy camp and eliminate the Major, Taelia will stay behind incase any of us gets injured, she will be our emergency first aid, Felik will cover us from the high ground, his accuracy was the primary reason why I agreed to his request....
The rest of you will locate their astral core powered artillery and destroy it. That should cripple their defenses and give our main force the chance to decimate their front lines... As Elijah said, our contaminated blood still gives us an edge, so let's take full advantage of our strength."
Elijah frowned. "Astral cores? What are those?"
Verayth glanced at Elijah for a split moment.
"Astral cores are concentrated sources of astral energy. They power almost everything in the human nations from artillery to their light source. They are rare and highly sought after."
"Are you familiar with the specific type of area or region where those Astral rocks are typically found?".
Verayth answered again, but this time without lifting her head.
"Mostly in Erevos, it can also be found in the human nations, but mostly in small quantities... It's pretty important, we even make gun powder out of it".
Elijah's brow raised, he had an ambiguous expression on his face.
"Well that explains alot, the humans might detest the Umbral races, but there was no way they would keep on wasting resources on a pointless war... those human assholes want resources to power their civilization, and instead of paying for it, they will much rather kill for it".
...
The discussions eventually came to an end, and the team went to sleep one by one. First Lieutenant Verayth decided to take the first night's watch.
Elijah also stayed awake, he was a night owl in his previous life, he wasn't awake playing games or watching porn, he was usually awake studying, trying his hardest to prove to the others he was just as capable.
"Lieutenant". Elijah said softly while sitting besides her and allowing her flowery scent to waft into his greedy nostrils.
Hmm.
She expressed, her eyes exhausted from the long journey.
"My ability allows me to return to life, but only to a specific point at the beginning of each day. Once a day concludes. I'm afraid, I can never revisit or reclaim it."
Verayth pulled the fur coat closer to her body, protecting herself from the biting cold.
"That means, if we fail and allow the day to pass, we can never fix it... No more random brilliant ideas that could safe us at the last minute".
Elijah nodded softly, his bright green eyes unreadable by human standards.
The two once more went silent, the seconds became minutes, the silence remained, till Verayth broke it.
Looking to Elijah, she said curiously.
"What was that about eating raw monstrous beast flesh and blood?".
Elijah's face lit up into a brilliant smile.
"It's a long story".