Ball of Nothing

Truen and Bob were tasked to escort Misana back to Smargdas to reunite with King Brice. Zero decided to remain in Half Moon Village to make the final preparations. He sent word to Desert Lily, Jynx, Queen Rosalind, Fae King Vivian and Dorgon that he might require assistance in the near future. Zero didn't explain in detail what was going to happen but he dropped hints that they were arming up for a tough time ahead.

According to Mitchnew and Desert Lily's information sources, the situation in Smargdas was very tense. Grey Legion pulled out completely and the influences within the city became divided. Duke Connie started to expand his resources and influence across the city as Duke Zurich suffered heavy losses. Without Grey Legion's backing, Duke Connie easily became the greatest threat in Smagdas capital with his adventurer guild, slave guild and large private army.

They were still in the middle of setting up the Humanitarian Guild and all the unwanted slaves that Duke Connie sold to them were sent to settle down out of the capital. Dina and Old Gary made some connections in the southern part of the city with Mitchnew's help to mobilise Half Moon Trading. They bought many warehouses there to set up temporary shelters because the Black Boar Inn was simply not big enough.

On the bright side, King Brice finally gave Truen a message to let him know that he was ready. Misana returned to the palace safely and was now lying low. They were waiting for Zero to give them the sign to proceed as planned.

Zero looked at the New Moon Villagers. It has been about a week since his experiment. The Flower of Enlightenment was able to grow when it learned new things. Hence, Zero sent it to school with Seff. Ruth was playing babysitter and attended the Morning Star Academy as a guardian. Lucifer approved their application right away when he received Zero's letter.

Before Monoman left, there were only a handful of warriors in New Moon Village who were capable of combat. The gay necromancer that visited once before almost took them out. However, after the Flower of Enlightenment's tampering, even the women and children were able to carry heavy logs without feeling breathless. Lowis started coming by daily to teach them basic combat skills while Clowis held strategy meetings with the lab members.

The gnomes completed the wall ballista mounts and Zero had to thank the twin magicians for working tirelessly. Defence arrays in both villages were completed and can be activated at any moment. Cleo and Zoe made sure that there were no food shortage supplies in either village in case they were under siege. In addition, Zero visited Kerberos after getting permission from Hades and Enma to borrow him for the war in case things played out that way. The hell hound was more than happy to participate if he was summoned and Zero left the summoning seal with a clone.

Preparations were going smoothly and Zero had a backup plan to evacuate everyone from the villages if their enemies were too powerful. The portals he linked all across Endow Hill and to different planes were not for decoration. Zoe held the portal deactivation code and Zero was entrusting her that duty.

For now, the doctor was waiting for the ball to start rolling. Duke Zurich was getting pushed to a corner after Jynx refused to lend help. She cut off all connections to the rotten duke and Zero was waiting for them to fight it out internally before he attacked Duke Connie from behind.

Dorgon relayed the message to Princess Dorothy and the chancellor who agreed to cut off all contact with Smargdas after they found out that the weapons they sold were used to fund a private army. In addition, it made them madder to know that the sneaky duke had been selling their prized weapons to their enemies - the elves. The letter was sent to notify Duke Connie about the broken-down business negotiations after they were alerted of his actions. At the same time, Zero told Dorgon to make sure Duke Connie knows who the dwarves were going to sell their weapons to. Schaf and Lady Zenobia were already on the move, transporting the things they needed to help set up the Humanitarian Guild.

The trading benefits for Half Moon Trading goods were given to King Brice by Mitchnew to empower the royal guards loyal to him. Duke Connie was still unaware about the power shift in the palace but Duke Zurich was getting desperate after the nobles of his faction were arrested one by one for a multitude of reasons.

Even if things were progressing smoothly on the surface and the doctor didn't think they would lose in an all-out war, there was still something he was worried about.

The visa approval for demons to come to Earth was taking a slight bit too long. The first batch of demons should be Qin Yun's clan. Qin Yun left for the abyss to expedite the negotiations and approval but until now, the fox spirit was nowhere to be seen. Even Sekkin quickly returned from Amon's domain when he heard that war might happen and Lovina informed Merlin that she might have to assist. Yet, Zero received not a word of reply from any of the Demon Lords or Qin Yun about the visa approval process.

He waited for two more days and finally, Qin Yun appeared from the portal with thirty other fox demons who filled the air with their high-pitched squeals. They were so glad to see Zero and took turns stuffing his face into the ample c.h.e.s.ts with death-dripping hugs. Zero couldn't say he missed their enthusiasm but he was happy for the additional support.

Finally, they can make their move.

"Did you tell them what they need to do?"

Qin Yun nodded. "Only the squad leader will contact you using the party call function when we start. I will remain in the village as the coordinator. One team will head over to see Jynx the Engraver. The other team will accompany you into Smargdas to support the Humanitarian Guild. The last team will wait at the foot of Endow Hill with New Moon Village to offer assistance wherever required."

Satisfied, Zero thanked the ladies for coming and promised everyone that once this battle was over, they would be rewarded with a cultivation booster. He left the collecting of dues from the World Flower to his clone and set off with the second team of vixens.

With the letter of appointment as an envoy of Smargdas, Zero was ready to stir up trouble.