BIOLOGICAL SUPERCOMPUTER SYSTEM C.796 Erik’s arrival (2)

"Hi," Erik said, keeping his cool. After a quick scan with the biological supercomputer, he determined these guys couldn't do much against him.

However, the clones didn't like that move at all.

"Take away those weapons if you don't want to die," June said. There was a glint in his eyes Erik had never seen.

June killed a lot of Thaids in the past, but he never showed that much bloodlust.

The guards must have not liked those words. They were getting angry as much as the clones.

"Who the fuck are you?" A guard asked.

"It's not something that a lowly guard like you should know."

The guards raised their weapons. It was clear they would not lower their weapons.

The tension was increasing visibly. A scuffle was going to break at any moment, and it would not end well for Liberty Watch's guards.

"What is happening?"

A silhouette appeared behind the guards, partially obscured by the cave's shadows.

The sun outside was unable to show his visage. However, everyone recognized that voice: Erik, the clones, the guards.

Then the silhouette became clear, the face of a young man appeared. He put his hand on one of the guards' shoulders and nodded at them to lower their weapons.

Erik had a huge grin on his face.

"Long time no see." Ethan smiled.

"Not that much," Erik said. Then the two hugged.

"How are you?"

"Eh… the travel was rough. I had to scale that damn mountain again."

Immediately, the guards and Ethan turned to look. The only mountain Erik could refer to was the Eldraith mountain range.

Their faces got ashen. If these men were able to pass safely thorough that infernal place, it meant they could have easily killed them.

Of course, if they were telling the truth, and they were inclined to believe they weren't.

Ethan was ashen for another reason, related to it, but not the same.

"You went through that wyvern infested mountain?" Shock was clear on his face. He believed him.

"What should have I done? To travel on foot was safer than traveling through the sky."

"Sky?" Ethan was confused. "Yeah. I will show you sometimes. It's not that there is a point in hiding it anymore."

Erik then went forward. The guards let him walk past them with no hindrance, but as they did, they wondered who these guys were, and why Ethan was so friendly with them.

"We know the way," June said as he and the other clones followed their creator.

The guards looked at each other with confused looks. Ethan shrugged.

***

The subterranean city was vastly different from how Erik remembered. Most of the buildings, despite being tall and huge, had been renovated.

Many of the pillars making up the buildings supporting the ceilings had been replaced with stronger materials.

The exterior of the buildings had transformed, as they had been repainted, and the cracks fixed.

The vines climbing onto them cleaned, giving the buildings a new and lustrous shine.

It gave the city a fresh look, one Erik didn't even think was possible to get given how old these buildings were.

It didn't look anymore like something that had been abandoned centuries before.

The citizens also brought personal touches to the area. Aside from the green surrounding the place, the once stark and utilitarian spaces were now vibrant with color and life, showcasing artistic murals and hanging gardens that brought a touch of the surface world below ground.

Erik also noticed how the plants spread. The place had many trees, much more than those he planted.

The air was fresh and warm despite being in a cave, and a lot of lights had been added all over the place. There wasn't a single shadowed place.

Ethan reached Erik. He noticed his friend gazing around.

"Impressive, uh? Without having to worry about constant Thaid and human attacks, we had a lot of time to spare. Lots of people started studying the city's old books and the ones you brought, and we made a ton of stuff with no one's help."

"Yea, it is. I bet it took you a lot of work."

"Yeah," he then shuddered. It was clear Samuel, Amos, and Vanessa worked him to the bone.

"I'll bring you to Amos."

"Does he know I'm here?"

"I sent one of my men to announce you. There might be a little to wait, though. Sometime ago, someone saying he works for you came, and since he and his people did, the situation here became… tense."

Erik was intrigued and a little worried about Ethan's words.

"Tense? Why?"

"Well…" Ethan paused a second to find the right words to use.

"Initially, they asked us for a place to stay, but then they explained what was happening and why they came here. They said you had been accused of killing innocents. Of course, we all knew it couldn't be true."

"It isn't true, in fact."

"So, just to understand, are you confirming they work for you?"

"Is the guy who leads them called Noah?" Erik asked.

"Yeah."

"Then they do. But all of this doesn't explain the tense situation you were referring to."

"Yeah. Well, Amos agreed cooperating with them," Ethan said.

"They started hunting Thaids and securing the area around the cave. But then they started making proposals, telling this was going to be a great way to repay the favors you did to the village and stuff like that." Ethan turned to look at some building still under construction.

"They started building stuff, collecting ores. It's not like we don't need all that stuff, but things got complicated once they brought… him… here."

"Him?" Erik now was intrigued. Who could be the person Ethan was referring to?

"Becker."

"General Becker is here?" That too shocked Erik. He talked with Noah several times during his travel back to Liberty Watch's village, but he told nothing about the man.

"Yeah. That fucker is here. He told a lot of interesting stuff, but I guess Amos will be the one to explain the situation to you. In the meantime, if you could… uh… tell your people to be more respectful toward us… it would be… good."

Erik nodded. It was clear Noah and the other clones had created a lot of trouble for the villagers.

The last thing he wanted to do was for bad blood to sprout between them.

So he planned to make a long talk with Noah.

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