"S… sir Dustin, what are we going to do?"

"T… this…"

​​

The captain of the Pit Guard, could not help but stutter as more and more people were rushing out of the Pit in a seemingly organized formation. According to the information they got from their surveillance inside a year ago, there shouldn't be more than 100 of them inside.

Was… was the report from their inside man a lie?

No, seeing as their inside man did not report any of this activity happening, he was probably already dead. Realizing this, Dustin once again took a nervous gulp as his eyes did not leave the army in front of him.

"Should… should we attack?" One of his men asked.

"Hold… hold your position for now," Captain Dustin quickly shook his head. The people coming out of the Portal seemed to have no plans in attacking just yet, and Dustin had no plan of changing that anytime soon.

Seeing as there were already more than 500 of them now, and still more people were coming out of the Portal, this was not something for them to take lightly. Even if Dustin was sure that he was at a higher level than most of them, they still outnumber them 5 to 1, and there were more coming.

The ones in front were also wearing some sort of uniformed armor. This wasn't just the Prisoners anymore, the natives of the Pit have joined forces with them; attacking them now would surely be a foolish move.

Finally, after a few more minutes, the barrage of people coming out of the Portal has stopped; but even then, the army in front of him had no signs of attacking. Perhaps there is a more diplomatic way of doing this?

"Sir… What are we going to do?" One of his men repeated his question, his words shivering.

"Do you even need to ask me?" Captain Dustin said quietly as soon as his thoughts were disrupted, "We need to call for reinforcements… light up the signal fire for the highest emergency."

"S… shit."

Dustin's men started whispering with each other as they heard their Captain's words. In truth, most of them were already shivering in their boots, their breaths faltered as they stare at the colossal number of enemies in front of them.

"I will try to talk to them…" Captain Dustin said as he slightly took a step forward, "Once they're distracted, try slipping outside."

"O… okay," the guard beside him could only nod as he slowly and quietly backed away, swiftly blocked from the enemy's sight by his comrades.

"..."

"Please return inside!" Captain Dustin waved his hand, and as soon as he did so, a pair of wings protruded from his back. Scales also started crawling out of his skin, creating an armor that looked like the blue midnight sky that was hidden from them by the confines of the Dome.

"More guards will be coming soon, as well as reinforcements from the Circle!" Dustin continued, "I am level 84. The men behind me are all above level 60. But the ones that will be coming from the Circle will be even stronger. We've already lost enough people on both sides, go back inside the Pit or we will be forced to kill all of you!"

Dustin made sure that his voice was as loud as possible, and as soon as he was sure that he got the attention of most of the enemy, he slowly placed his hand behind him, signaling for the man he ordered to call for reinforcements to go now.

The guard swiftly moved away, but before he could even take 3 steps, one of the people that came from the Pit spoke, completely stopping him in his tracks. No, it wasn't only him. Some of the guards also froze as they all looked at the man that just spoke.

"Gil Hopkins, reporting for duty!"

Gil hollered, saluting with finesse as he stepped forward from the crowd.

"G… Gil? You're--"

"Very much alive, sir!"

"That's… that's good!" Captain Dustin could not help but stutter, but still, a light hope appeared in his eyes. If Gil was still alive, then there truly was a chance to settle this peacefully. And so, with that in mind, Dustin let out a sigh of relief before looking Gil straight in the eyes, "Have the Prisoners hurt you in an--"

"This is our demand, sir!"

Before Dustin could even finish his words, Gil dropped his salute, "We are hereby claiming the Pit, the Dome, and the surrounding area within 3 kilometers as our domain!"

"...Demand?" Captain Dustin squinted his eyes, "What are you going on about?"

"If you do not surrender, you will be treated as an illegal entity and will be dealt accordingly!" Gil continued, "Please, I advise you to surrender and I promise that no harm will come to you and your men!"

"What nonsense are you speaking!? You know very well that--"

"G… Gil!? Is that really you!?"

Once again, Captain Dustin was interrupted. This time, by one of his men-- the one who he ordered to slip out and call for reinforcements.

"...Jack," seeing the one who stepped forward from the Guards, Gil's tone could not help but turn solemn.

"Gil… it's you. It's really you!" Jack rushed towards Gil. Some of the people from the Pit were about to attack, but Latanya stopped them before they could do so.

"Sorry… I am so sorry!" Jack quickly kneeled on the ground as soon as he got in front of Gil, his tears whispering throughout the Dome, "When… when that man from the Association kicked you inside, I wanted to follow you but… but…

...I got scared."

Hearing Jack's words, Gil could only shake his head. He then looked at the City's old female general, Sasha, who was leading their soldiers and asked her to take Jack away.

"W… what? Wait!"

"Where are you taking him!?" Captain Dustin howled as soon as he saw Jack being taken away by the enemy's uniformed soldiers.

"Don't struggle, Jack," Gil whispered in Jack's ears, "These people will kill you without a thought."

And with those words, Jack instantly stopped resisting.

"Stop this at once!" Captain Dustin once again howled, he wanted to rush forward. But alas, his feet were tied, "Where are you taking him!?"

He could only watch as the uniformed soldiers from the Pit escorted and threw Jack inside the Portal.

"Did you betray the City Guards!?" Dustin said as he looked Gil straight in the eyes.

"Me?" As soon as Gil heard Dustin's words, he could not help but grit his teeth, "I… betrayed you?"

Gil slightly stepped forward, his voice, jaw, and hands were trembling, "I betrayed you!? You were the ones who did nothing when I was thrown to the Pit!"

"That's enough, Gil."

Before Gil could continue his words of rage and resentment, Latanya grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, "I'll take it from here."

"..." Gil continued to stare at Dustin, but finally, after a few seconds, he calmed down and willingly backed down.

"You have heard our demand!" Latanya then waved her hand as she stepped forward, "Whether you surrender or not will be up to you!"

"Are you the Leader of these people?"

At last, with another face stepping out, Dustin could finally have an idea who they were truly facing. However, the dark-skinned woman that just stepped forward did not answer his question.

"We… will let go of the fact that you took one of us," Dustin let out a long and deep breath, "So please, just leave where you came from and we can all live on with our lives."

As soon as Dustin's words reached Latanya's ears, a menacing burst of laughter reverberated throughout the Dome.

"Abandoning one of your men again?" Latanya then stopped laughing as she looked Dustin straight in the eyes, "It seems you still do not understand the situation…

...We will kill all of you if you do not willingly surrender."

Dusting once again took in a deep breath. Should they actually just surrender? In any case, if they do not come out in an hour, the guards outside the Dome would start getting suspicious and check on them.

Captain Dustin looked behind him, silently consulting his men. After a few seconds, they all nodded at each other.

"..."

Van, who had been keeping quiet the whole time, could not help but squint his eyes as he looked at the City Guards which numbered almost a hundred.

Level 84… That was probably the highest level he has seen so far. Except of course Victoria's grandmother and probably Ms. Elton, but Van had no idea what their levels truly were. Charlotte could very well be at level 200 or something.

If what the Captain of the City Guards said was true, then every one of his men was of a higher level than him as he was only at level 54.

However, spending a few months in the Pit made him realize something-- levels meant nothing to him. According to his earlier talks with Gil and Nisha, the Status Points he was getting from each level up are double the number of other System Holders.

And it wasn't only him, there were other System Holders with Skills stronger than most; Latanya being one of them with her seemingly overpowered healing skills.

Van then looked around, even with most of the Prisoners dead from their first wave, there should still be around 700 of them. Even if most of them were of a lower level than the City Guards and have never seen a real fight in their lives, their numbers would surely be enough to make up the difference…

...Maybe he could even kill all of the Guards by himself. He is a lot stronger than before he entered the Pit, after all.

"We grow tired of waiting!" Van's thoughts were disrupted by Latanya's shouts, "We need your answer now or we will attack!"

Hearing the growing impatience in the dark-skinned woman's voice, Captain Dustin could only grit his teeth. It would seem they really have no choice.

"Fine," he nodded, "We surren--"

"!!!"

Before Dustin could finish his words, he noticed a golden blur moving in front of his eyes. He quickly jumped up, the dust around him rippling as the sound of his wings snapping filled the air.

Dustin then slowly looked to where he was previously at, only to see the guard behind him now missing a huge chunk of flesh around his stomach; and in front of him, was a small boy, calmly looking at him even though he was surrounded by his men.

"..."

The boy then let out a sigh as his eyes trailed towards the people from the Pit. "Sorry, mister Gil," the boy said, "I changed my mind…

...Surrendering is no longer an option."