King Of Limbo

Following Aron's instructions, a panicked T'karsent out a scout to not just inform the other southern races about Aron's message but to also warn them as to how much of a threat he was.

Because she wasn't put under any oath, Aron knew she would ask the scout she sent to say more than what he had instructed. In fact, that's what he was hoping for.

If he were to restraint her to certain rules this early on, then she wouldn't act as freely as she usually would and may even fully submit. He needed the other races to view her as a victim still, she and her people needed to be that good of an example.

Komi were prideful and strong headed, thus they rarely negotiated. Conflict among them was commonly resolved through violence so Aron expected them to react the same way towards the invasion.

He was more than sure that many Komi races would still insist on fighting the Drakarian and human threat despite the valley Rodes suffering a miserable defeat.

The most T'kar's message could do was make them cautious in their approach, unlike before where they would have just stormed the territory.

Aron didn't know how much time the message would by him, but he felt it would be enough to accomplish what he had in mind.

He currently stood at the southern wall of the city and observed the vast land beyond. It was from that direction that most of the other races would attack from.

Considering their numbers were no joke, there was no way he could achieve victory in a frontal clash without losing many of his Drakarian tools, who were already split in number with some now assisting Rose in finding humans and preparing the site for the airship construction.

Mikaa, Rorguvv, Galar and the majority of red and black scaled group of Drakarians were assigned to help Rose. While the entire gray scaled group, including Amarr and Griele were working under Aron.

From a strategic point of view, one would think Aron was at a disadvantage because the Drakar he had to use were mostly focused on speed on agility. But that was far from the case…

Aron stood at the wall with both Amarr and Greile hovering at his sides, listening carefully to his instructions before two large pieces of parchment were given to them each.

"Follow that pattern exactly how I've drawn it and have your groups execute it on the land before us. Amarr, you will do it over there while Greile will do it there." He pointed to the south east side and south west side of the land as he wrapped up his explanation.

His plan was simple, since he lacked numbers to equal the southern race, he would use the land to his advantage by preparing a massive runic formation on the land.

It spanned numerous kilometers so he couldn't finish it on his own without wasting a lot of time, thus his choice to use the gray scaled Drakar's agility and speed to his advantage.

Better yet, they were much smarter than their fellow Drakar which made explaining what they needed to do far much easier for Aron.

They didn't need to understand the complex mechanism behind runening, they only needed to understand how to project the layout Aron had drawn onto the vast land.

A tricky task still but manageable enough so long as he guided them throughout the process and pointed out any and all errors they made.

With that plan in mind, Aron now only had one thing that concerned him… time. If he couldn't finish the massive formation he was making, then he risked losing the territory he had just taken over along with many of his Drakarian tools.

A high-risk gamble, but such were becoming more familiar with Aron who no longer depended solely on full proof or low risk plans.

…

Time began to fly and both Rose and Aron began to make considerable progress in their respective duties. This was especially true for Rose who had managed to clear up a massive piece of land to use for construction.

She had also organized all usable resources that she could find within the valley Rode settlement then made a list of everything she lacked and what ideal substitute could be found in the current region they in

Because she was following a blueprint that served true in Pesia, many of the required materials needed to build an airship werelacking. To compensate for things, she needed to rack her mind for many alternatives she could use that either equaled or went above the regular material.

This led her to fully use the Drakarian tools at her disposal to the fullest. First, to find and mine minerals needed for the operation. The Drakar were able to not only mine material easily due to their superior strength but were also able to transport large amounts to and from the site.

The red scaled Drakar especially helped in the process of smelting many of the hardened raw materials and filtering them out from what was needed.

Rose achieving this was impressive on its own but she did so whilst having her scouters roam the northern lands broadcasting a message in the native Pesian language.

All who heard it were given directions to follow and promised safety, nothing more. To lure people, she needed to say as little as possible so as they could flock to the settlement.

Once there, she revealed the reality of the situation and stated that only those willing to work would be allowed entrance. It didn't matter if they weak, injured or children, she had a set goal to achieve and she had no plan of wasting space and resources on things that couldn't contribute to it.

She was seen as cruel and heartless for this. Many cursed her inwardly, while those that were denied cursed her vocally, which proved to be their last words as she had her Drakarians tools feast on any humans that arrived but weren't useful.

This was to keep them motivated to work harder while also delivering a message to the humans who were useful as to what fate awaited them if they failed in their tasks.

That level of cruelty surpassed what most had ever encountered in their lives, making some even wish they had never come to the settlement, but it was far too late for regrets.

As the humans continued to flock towards the settlement, people familiar with Rose began to emerge. Among them was Jin's group, who was beyond surprised at what he was witnessing.

Claudia, Xavier, Reginald and Aela all shared similar surprise towards what was being done at the settlement, and yet none of them condemned or protested against it.

This surprise extended even further when they realized they weren't exempted from working just because they were familiar with Rose. She gave them the same ultimatum she had given all other humans, work or die.

Aron didn't step in to intervene either as he trusted her to do whatever was necessary to get the job the done. No one was special and no one would get exempted… except Evanora, who Rose insisted to stay away.

Luckily for Jin and his group, because of their superior skillset, they weren't tasked with common jobs. Rather, to help reduce the amount of coordination she needed to do, Rose had each of them act as supervisors, whereas Claudia was given the role of being her personal assistant due to her superior intellect in comparison to the others.

Still, that assigned task proved to be far more difficult for them to bear. Why? Because their job was to oversee their fellow struggling humans work themselves to absurd levels.

Women, children, elderly or injured. These people who miraculously survived the hellish conditions and dangers of Limbo were put into such a situation. It was incredibly hard to watch and even more hard to be a part of, but Jin had already accepted to see through what he had started to the very end.

The hours of rest given were few but in that time, Jin and Claudia too, sought to meet with Aron for their own various reasons. But observed he was working just as hard as everyone, if not more.

Unlike everyone else, Aron didn't sleep and didn't eat, his unique body could survive using only mana but they didn't know this, thus thinking he was pushing himself equally hard if not harder.

…

A full Pesian week and some days passed before Aron finally received a reply from the other southern races.

T'kar had personally come to the wall that he still hadn't left to deliver the piece of news herself. "My scout has returned and informed of the other's answer to your request. They refuse to forgive the Drakar for what they have done and say they won't agree to your offer either. If you don't leave the south, the southern races will unite and fight you."

She delivered the news with gravity in her tone, hopping that perhaps Aron would be phased or show concern but neither happened. His gaze remained focused on the Drakarians carrying out work on the land despite the heavy piece of news he had just received.

Without turning to face her, he gave a slight nod and replied.

"Then let them come."