After securing the den's perimeter with three concentric circles of fortifications, John finally entered the main fortress to meet Luke and Elena.
The two were visibly exhausted, Elena's armour was scuffed, and their eyes rimmed with dead fatigue. It was expected; neither had enjoyed a proper sleep in days. However, the moment John briefed them on his recent exploits, their exhaustion vanished, replaced by pure adrenaline.
"Wow! You actually brought the humans to the eastern territory?!" Luke shouted, his voice a mix of surprise and pure delight.
Elena immediately joined Luke and began raining down a barrage of questions. They wanted to know everything about the survivors and what he did to them. John answered as many as he could, but eventually, his own weariness caught up to him. He cut them off with a sharp wave of his hand.
