The Hell Realm and the Homeland of the Mercenaries had been at war behind closed doors for many years, but for the last five years, they didn't hold back from clashing openly at every point of the border. After what went down in the courtyard of the Hell Palace, which was vast enough to fit a small city inside, secret plans had been exposed, and neither side had any secrets left to hide.
Even though they didn't lose a massive number of troops, the deaths of some of the Representatives and Generals who made up their main forces caused the delicate balances among the Trade Guilds to shake, while paving the way for changes in the lifestyle of the entire continent.
The two Trade Guilds that had taken over the administration of the Northern borders continued to fight with the help of the Lands of Light, the eternal and sworn enemy of the Hell Realm, while the other two Trade Guilds were scrambling to generate funds for the supply of weapons provided by the Empire of Machines.
Businesses built through years of struggle and fortunes mostly acquired through bloodshed were forced to change hands rapidly. The rich of yesterday became poor overnight, and those who struck fear with their power joined the ones they had sent under the earth.
The continent might have been in the middle of an all-out war, but for people corrupted enough to sell their souls for the yellow of gold, which was more important? The greater good or their own interests?
The answer was simple, and the name of the outcome brought by the answer was civil war. Bookworm, thanks to the spies he sent into the lands of the Homeland of the Mercenaries, knew what was happening day by day, and sometimes the forces stoking the civil war consisted of people with green skin.
This situation showed its impact the most on the southern border; those who had been dragged here, leaving behind their loved ones, their money, their titles, or their comfort, saw the people of the Hell Realm as the culprits of everything.
Even though Nafız and the Raider Unit were a small team, if they chose the plains to cross the border, all the Trade Guilds would be clued in before an hour was up. The Lands of Light and the Empire of Machines might find out a day later, but it wasn't hard to guess how they would react. With the orcs occupying half the world they lived in, it was obvious they would do everything in their power to defend themselves.
"As I said, my goal is not to waste your time, but to make your passage into enemy lands comfortable. I offer to your service the path I prepared for the attack I was going to launch on the Homeland of the Mercenaries, which I worked on for many years!"
The young man, the Leader of the Holy Bone Sect, who possessed a face that couldn't possibly be this white even if all the powders in the world were used, slithered like a snake past Nafız, who was walking a step ahead of him, and struck the corner of the massive pile of bones.
First, fine cracks appeared on the dirty gray surface of the Great Fishbone Mountain Range. Starting as tiny spots, they gradually grew until they reached a width wide enough for two people to pass through side by side comfortably.
The spot Hueso struck was above his head, and when the cracks began to break, they crumbled at his feet. When the gray bones hit the ground, they dug a few centimeters in, but then their advance stopped. Every new broken piece stacked on top of the old one; they fused as if they had never been broken and started forming a completely different shape.
Right after rising perfectly straight up to knee height, they moved horizontally, then straight up again, repeating this cycle ten times. While the Leader of the Holy Bone Sect was as chill as someone doing their routine chores, most of the orcs behind him looked mind-blown by what was happening.
"Who would've thought that an old geezer who couldn't even fix the teeth in his mouth would one day lay out a staircase of bone on our path. The past five years have really done you good, Hueso!"
In such an environment, there was perhaps only one person who would have the guts to speak up and, as if that weren't enough, say these words to the Leader of the Holy Bone Sect on his own turf.
When Nafız, her blood-red hair scorching like a whip, took a step, a gut-wrenching sound rose from the first step of the bone staircase. The Blood God wasn't just talking; she was sending a message to the man attempting to put on a personal show under the guise of helping.
"I hope the mighty warrior of the orcs will allow the others to use the stairs!"
"Look at you! I guess you've been spending too much time lately with that old hound Atractivo."
The Leader of the Holy Bone Sect delivered his reply with a sly grin. Indeed, he and the former Sheikh of the Holy Blood Sect, who was now just a freewheeling man, were practically joined at the hip these days.
"Speaking of hounds, how's our boy doing?"
Hueso, who hadn't dropped his cool demeanor until then, suddenly had a change of expression; worried shadows appeared on his face, which was whiter than any white. It wasn't that he didn't want to speak, but he had a stance like he would hold out until the last second not to speak.
"I guess you didn't catch my drift; I'm asking how Alis and your grandson are doing?"
When Nafız emphasized and repeated herself, the handsome man, left with nowhere to run, released the breath he had been holding for a while with a small sigh.
"Your comrade Alis and my grandson are getting along splendidly. Whenever I see them together, I can practically see the attraction and love between them with my naked eye, but…"
When Hueso paused his speech with a conjunction that rendered everything said before it meaningless compared to what was to come, Nafız's eyebrow slowly began to rise. She was considered a guest in these lands, the history of her making an appearance with her own look was a mere five years, but even in this short time, there was no one who didn't know what her raising a single eyebrow would lead to.
"But what?"
The first step of the stairs, created with great fanfare, shattered into dust; Hueso had zero chance of answering this question by using facial expressions.
"The problem is with her master. I'm not talking about you, of course; I can't get that creature on the other side, who lives without leaving his cave, out of my head!"
Nafız pulled back the blood-red aura she had uncontrollably released. Judging by her softening gaze and slightly curled lips, she hadn't expected to hear the answer she got at all.
"Good lord, Hueso, what business would you have with that man?"
The Leader of the Holy Bone Sect, who had previously waited for at least five breaths, jumped in the moment Nafız's lips closed.
"Ah, so you're out of the loop on recent events. I was assuming Alis would have filled you in!"
Nafız first looked up at the sky for a while, then lowered her head and watched the broken bone fragments on the ground. No one could make sense of her state until she let out a scream that would cause temporary hearing loss in those who heard it.
"Either you spit out what happened without beating around the bush, or else!"
She didn't finish her sentence, nor did she need to; the young man, who had closed the holes in his body with the bones he created, was this time doing what he was supposed to do.
"Alis and my grandson came to me a while ago. They asked if they had my blessing to get married. I was thrilled, I said we should throw a massive ceremony. I said let's invite every friend we have living in the Hell Realm, the Savage Swamp, and the Orc Steppes.
In fact, I was just about to send a messenger to arrange a meeting with Hell King Jashua to set the date for the wedding ceremony when Alis gave me the grim news. However that weirdo managed to get wind of this marriage situation, he made a demand of Alis and said he wouldn't give his blessing if it wasn't accepted!"
When Hueso, who had spoken more in one breath than he had all day, paused his words, Nafız asked the question on the mind of everyone who heard the conversation with a sly grin.
"Tell me, Leader of the Holy Bone Sect, what is the demand of the Third Sheikh of the Holy Blood Sect, Corte de Viento, that has you squirming like this?"