Free Web NovelChapter 109: “It’s going to be a menace.”
Hana turned her attention to the excavation trenches where the Fox Tribe was currently collapsed in the dirt.
They were wretched, their rags caked in grey rock dust, their seven tails and four tails flat in the mire.
Over the last week, the intense kinetic output she had demanded had broken their spirit entirely. They were beginning to openly wonder if throwing themselves off the ledge into the jaws of the mountain monsters would have been a more efficient end.
They bitterly regretted ever leaving the Whispering Ravine; even if their ancestral land was slowly rotting and drying up, it was their sanctuary.
Now, they were trapped here. If they tried to run back to their valley, they knew Caspian’s flames would track them down and reduce their entire history to ash.
They were depressed.
Hana strode down the concrete ramp. She stopped at the edge of the pit, looking down at the trembling Chief.
"Your slave labor sentence is officially terminated," Hana announced, her voice amplified by the terminal field. "The infrastructure is set. You have paid for your kin’s transgression against me."
The Fox Chief looked up, his wide, hollow eyes blinking in utter disbelief.
"Like I promised, New Eden will shelter those who work, and to you, who have labored as slaves, you are free to use its medical units," Hana continued, gesturing toward a crate of basic, low-tier chemical salves and nutrient bars her drones had deposited nearby. "You will be provided with basic rations and stabilization packs. You will not starve on my mountain. But the labor laws remain active—you will register as low-tier construction units, or you will leave the perimeter. You are free to choose now that you are no longer slaves. But I repeat, no one sits idle under my layout."
The entire tribe let out a collective, shuddering gasp, many of the elder females weeping as they dragged themselves toward the food crates.
They did not leave and chose to stay despite the harsh conditions.
Truth be told, they had expected execution, or lifelong chains; to be handed Hana’s advanced medicine and safety was a benevolence they couldn’t even compute.
Chime.
> [QUEST STATUS: BALANCE RESTORATION]
> Objective: Suppress a hostile faction through tactical labor and complete integration.
> Reward: +10,000 Karmic Points.
> Current Balance: -642,880 Karmic Points.
Still a drop of water compared to the half-million, Hana thought, swiping the notification away with an unfeeling flick. But the build-up is correct. Even a dozen ten-thousand points will go a long way.
And staring at the negative six hundred thousand was proof of that. If she got a few more thousand and then got the quest reward for this current quest, she would finally be free from her debt.
What would await her at the end of the debt?
She looked up at the sky. The wind picked up at that moment and rustled her hair.
She would be free from debt and could access the systems store, that was for sure.
A hand came out of nowhere and swiped her hair out of her face, behind her ear. She blinked, tracing the hand she knew too well. Caspian was smiling at her, having this soft look in his golden eyes, and then he reached his hand towards her belly.
"Little guy’s growing so well," he muttered, and she watched him as he squatted down to place his head over her belly. She didn’t move back. It felt... strange, but the excitement in his eyes as he tittered, talking about the baby, made her heart feel... light?
She could not fully explain it, but her heart gave a light thump, and she gulped.
"It’s eating a lot," she said. "So, of course it’ll grow well."
Caspian raised his head and grinned, displaying his full set of razor-sharp teeth. freewēbnoveℓ.com
"It’s going to be a menace."
Hana felt a little flush on her face, and she turned away. Well, a little peace like this, talking about the baby, was fine.
Someone in the back, Raiden sat with his knees hugged to his chest. He was worried. So worried that he wanted to stop Hana, but he couldn’t bring himself to.
Not when she’s made up her mind. Not when she has that look in her eyes. He could only hope that nothing unexpected happened.
The seventh afternoon arrived with a heavy, stifling stillness that hung over the Peak.
Having finalized the fourth and final triple-mating sequence, Hana walked out into the mid-afternoon sun, her belly going before her.
It was pushed noticeably against the fabric of her white dress, her body carrying the full, radiating heat of a fifteen-day dragon pregnancy.
But she hadn’t softened her defense layout. Over the dress, she wore her black tactical harness, its metal D-rings and carbon-fiber plates securely bracketed around her breasts and ribs.
She stood at the ledge, checking her equipment. Her fingers flipped the safety toggle on her high-voltage stun gun, the prongs letting out a violent, blue-white ZAP that hissed against the mountain air.
Behind her, her mates stood in a silent, disciplined line. She had personally overseen their appearance, putting them into high-tier tactical gear from the bunker’s secondary storage.
Caspian looked massive, his broad chest encased in thick, dark ballistic plating that matched the jagged line of his black dragon horns, his golden eyes completely cold and focused.
Kulu stood with his crimson wings tucked tightly against a sleek, lightweight combat vest, his fingers resting casually on the reinforced shaft of a metal spear.
And then there was Raiden.
He wore a high-collared, dark tactical coat that tapered elegantly over his hips, his nine pink tails sweeping behind him in a low, tense fan.
The lazy, aristocratic smirk was completely absent from his features; his emerald eyes were deadly serious, fixed entirely on the path leading down toward the southern valley network.
Hana clipped the stun gun securely into her side holster, her dark eyes narrowing as she looked over her three heavily armed, peak-tier vanguards.
"Time to go meet the in-laws," she muttered, the clinical chill in her voice perfectly matching the mechanical hum of her ready tablet.
Raiden let out a dry, slightly strained chuckle, his pink ears twitching as he looked at the high-voltage weapon on her hip.
"My love... I do not think that is standard protocol for a familial introduction."
"In my world, you always bring a counter-instrument to a negotiation," Hana said, turning her back on the humming walls of New Eden as she stepped onto the southern trail.
