The monster howled at the crimson moon and shattered stars. The night was young, but the crimson night already dyed the land below in a shade of red, inciting the start or roaming monsters and their increased thirst for blood. The lone traveler would find it a dangerous prospect to traverse the roads when the moon was at its brightest, as even the odd settlements could face ruin during these times. However, that was only if they were human.

Rana found herself in a peculiar situation. The night that was supposed to be the most dangerous was actually the safest for her. Most monsters did not aggro onto her, even if they were under the rage induced by the moon. She could waltz past most of them and none of them would harm her unless she attacked first. There were exceptions, but those monsters attacked indiscriminately and the risk of encountering them paled in comparison to the threats she faced when the sun was up.

The kingdom was brewing in a state of pre-war and it was not a war against monsters, but one among fellow humans. The invasion against Aodh might have ended in the defenders fighting off the invaders, there was no victory to be found for the victorious. In the more traditional sense, they had won the battle, but for those who knew of what actually happened, Aodh lost the war when they lost the Dungeon. Without it, they lost all of their influence within the kingdom, and their fall was only a matter of time. They would not be able to attract talent or grow their own strength, and eventually, they would either be consumed by neighboring states or by monsters.

The board that those with power and ambition danced and schemed on was now extremely volatile. With one city-state, albeit a small one, losing its influence, it created an opening for those who wished to seize opportunities, to gain them more, and a chance for them to overreach. This, in turn, created an opportunity for others to make a move as well. With every party wanting to take advantage of the situation, they needed to be wary. Alliance would be made and betrayed, mistrust would spread, and soon a small spark would be enough to plunge the land into a state of war.

This was not mentioning a piece of information that was also being spread, one that concerned humanity as a whole. When the Tree of Ashen Falls fell, there were sightings of two fiends barging into the battle in Aodh lands and entered the Dungeon before it fell soon afterward. In reality, Rana and Alpheia were not part of any grand scheme. The moon-kin simply wanted to prevent humans from acquiring the Azure Ring, and Rana simply wanted to acquire what was hers. However, the territorial lords did not know that. All they knew were that the monster army had agents deep into their lands and was planning something. They believed the monster army was about to start a large scale offensive move.

They were wrong, or at least in the short term, a large scale invasion would not be possible. From what Alpheia had told Rana, the invasion was only united because the leaders ruled with the power of their own strength. However, every tribe of fiends had their own agenda and would jump at the first chance to usurp the leadership position. That was also not to mention that once the monster made it past Shield City, it opened up conquest to many parts being defended by the choke-point. That in itself an issue since the very aspect of having many options to choose from, it also meant that disagreement and politicking would factor into the decision making process. Alpheia believed that once they made it past Shield City, the monster army would slow down and would go through some drastic changes.

However, that was not the reality that humans believed. They believed that once Shield City was breached, the monster army would spill all over the kingdom and bring swift death and conquest. So, did the territorial lords unite and bolster the defenses of Shield City to prevent monsters from pouring in? Of course not. In a moment of crisis, it seemed like most people in leadership positions chose self-preservation. Without the Church to guide their efforts and the King’s power to incite them into action, the only thing left to do was to hunker down and gain as much power as possible before the inevitable clash with their enemies. It was foolish, but not unexpected.

Shield City still stationed the most elite and experienced marked ones and soldiers, and the road to the frontline was still controlled by the kingdom itself, making reinforcement still possible. However, it would only be a matter of time before the city fell.

Now, the day was the most dangerous. The armies that marched on the roads would not see Rana as a welcoming sight. The marked ones who patrolled the borders of their state would no doubt treat her as an enemy, whether she was a zombie or not. She had a few run-ins with hostile marked ones already, and she was fortunate enough that none of them were that powerful. However, that would all change when the scheming was done and plots were put into motion.

In order to prepare herself for that time, when the kingdom was in a full-scale civil war, she needed at least one more Foundation Ring. She would’ve liked to acquire all five, but one more should be one of her more urgent goals. Just like the territorial lords consolidating their power, she needed to increase hers too. Unlike those in command of a state’s worth of resources, she only had her lonesome self. She did not have the luxury to dally.

Rana continued forward on the hillside. The pack of monsters in the distance roamed without aim and paid her no attention. They at first came to her, but once they realized she was a zombie, a monster, they lost interest and continued their hunt for prey. She had a thought of killing them for experience points, but she somehow knew it would be a poor idea. She was getting closer to the frontlines and to the pale trees, the increasingly redder nights were proof, thus if she engaged in battle she risked earning the attention of monsters that prowled with much more aggression. The pack before her was perfect bait.

Then, as if to confirm her suspicion, a loud roar pierced the sky followed by a giant shadow that leaped from the woods and crashed onto the pack of monsters in the distance. The impact tore the monsters apart, scattering their limbs and gut. The dust settled and revealed a wolf, even larger than the Fenris she fought when she first awakened from the dungeon of her century-long sleep.

It was a mutated Fenris, and it stared at her with eyes red like blood. She remembered when she faced such a beast, she was at its mercy and almost lost her life. She was saved by a group of humans, one who demonstrated kindness and then later utter disgust towards her. She was weak then, but she was not now.

Rana was a monster as well, and the mutated Fenris was not the predator that roamed the land this night.