Blacksmith of the Apocalypse

While Seth was busy working on his Golems, Hoen had been hard working on making their heat coins. The demand was great. While Seth send Drosi with his numbers to Gamma, he left the distributions in Y-City to Samuel and his people of the system church.

The blacksmith did not trust the command structure of Y-City. Who knew whether some people wouldn't pinch off the cheap product here and there to sell them with a profit. Seth paid Samuel well, to make sure that the coins got into the hands of those who needed them.

He had no such worries when it came to Drosi who took it upon himself to deliver the coins to Gamma.

Seth enjoyed working on the Golems and took ample breaks to spend time with Mina and his friends. But maybe the happiest in Minas Mar was currently Monique who was relieved from her duty as substitute tower master and could concentrate on raiding dungeons and training.

Minas Mar settled in an enjoyable daily routine. People would go to the dungeons, work, rest, or train. There were no big events, or missions planned. Delta had become peaceful once all the field generators were repaired or replaced.

Maybe it was a little too much to call it peaceful. There was a heavy discourse among the people. The topic was, of course, the situation in Beta.

Minas Mar was the first to work on something akin to war relief when they used incentives to facilitate the evacuation originating from District Y. Several wealthy people, companies, and guilds joined this endeavor.

Similar to Minas Mar, they saw it as a chance to not just do something good, but also to improve their reputation.

And while some did not make a move at all other called for... more intense measures. The voices demanding to reinforce Beta and fight the invading force, instead of running away, became louder as more and more reports from the refugees came in.

The cruelty of the maritime empire was nothing new to the people of Beta or Ypsilon, but it was the first time for the citizens of Delta to be confronted with it. Almost two years after the apocalypse the world had changed.

The communication between the districts that was almost dead had recovered enough, for the latest news to travel back and forth between Delta and Y-City. The starved media gladly jumped at this rejuvenated source of news and gossip.

The tragic histories of people and districts were quickly printed, posted, or broadcasted. And suddenly everyone had an opinion.

Even though there were many voices asking for retribution, no official forces budged. Delta had a tight allegiance with the Chrona Empire and the latter had no intention of interfering in Beta.

Ypsilon on the other hand benefited a lot more from taking in the refugees, stocking up on combat-capable people, and filling the emptied cityscape left from the earlier war.

Aside from all that, all higher-ups saw beta as a minefield, thanks to the information Seth had shared. Nobody knew were exactly mega-corporations like Xen Biologies had their facilities. Neither did anyone really know what happened there.

Still, just knowing that any city could have a strong force loyal to the enemy, that would suddenly emerge from the underground when they expected it the least, was a huge deterrent for them to move.

Only a few hardliners and some Guilds set off to "fight a war". Seth doubted those people would even make it past the mountain range, much less reach Beta.

With the recovery of regular communication between the districts, the growing awareness of extra-dimensional threats beyond just random monsters was not the only topic among the people. The news of the other districts, the wonders, and the tragedies spread. It spawned curiosity and worry for the other districts.

From the very beginning, they had never managed to establish contact with districts like Lambda in the west or Omega in the north. Higher levels had given the people greater confidence in travel and wondrous fairy tales started to make the round.

Supposed travelers spoke of riches and amicable races in the west.

It was like the revival of the age of exploration, with people setting off to find their luck in the unknown. Many private expeditions set off to find out what happened in the world beyond. Guild and corporations spent huge amounts of wealth to send people away.

Minas Mar was not among them. Seth had seen the terror firsthand. He could only shake his head when someone told him that there was money and fortune to be made out there.

Few knew, what Seth knew. His conjecture was simple. Since the Chrona Empire, which had a catalog of most calamities on Urth, chose Delta as their base of operations it meant this was the inherently safest place.

He rather kept working on his golems and items.

A little more than two weeks went by after Seth succeeded in making the first Monkey Knight before things in Delta began to move again. The first batch of people from Gamma would arrive in Delta, led by Princess Leana and the forces of the Chrona Empire.

Using it to lighten the mood of the people, a huge parade was organized to welcome the people that returned and those who came to seek shelter.

In hard times like those we currently live in, solidarity was humanity's biggest strength. Or so went the advertisement.

As happy as the occasion may have sounded. A big parade to welcome the heroes that saved the people of Gamma. There was also dissent and protest from the people. The Chrona empire had moved for the people of Gamma but ignored the people of Beta.

Something like this.

On the day of the parade, a crowd assembled at one of the main streets of Delta, where the forces of Chrona and the refugees would enter from. There were primarily people cheering, but mixed in the hotpotch were also protesters, blaming the politics of Delta and the empire.

Of course, Seth and the people of Minas Mar were also present to cheer for the princess and welcome the chimeras who would arrive together with them. The tower master and the lords were even invited to the Welcome Banquet that would be held in the evening.

There were Mary and Jane. Tekar with his daughter, Ruby, riding on his shoulders. Azul, who was looking forward to reuniting with her friends. Even Link, Alison, and Evee had crawled out of their kitchen and laboratories to see the event.

Seth, who was holding Mina's hand, with Fin sitting on his shoulder. In the last weeks, Seth and the others had also spent their time bringing Pip and her friends outside to show them the city.

The girls had never known how prosperous a city could be and it was their first time in a district. It had taken weeks to get them used to the new, and lively environment. It was a nice touch, that their efforts now peaked in showing them a grand parade.

Some of the Tijaahk and their children had also come to bask in the festive mood.

Many members of Minas Mar could not resist the temptation and they were all surrounded by a ring of Oathguard in full attire. Mostly to keep the children safe in the chaos.

They waited for half an hour before the troops finally came into view. At the head of the parade was Princess Leana, riding an impressive warhorse. Directly followed by a guard of imperial knights and flag-bearers.

Seth was attentive enough to notice her face twitch a little when she noticed the protesters. Still, she smiled a beautiful, professional smile and waved at the otherwise cheering crowd.

Behind imperial knights, not looking any less impressive, were the people returning to Delta. Those whose level had been too low to use <Home Call> and had now grown to experienced combatants.

The ordinary soldiers brought up the rear. The refugees of Gamma and the chimeras were not among the parade. Had they already been brought to their accommodations?

The group of Minas Mar was hard to overlook, and the Princess smiled in their direction, specifically at Seth and Fin on his shoulder. She even waved at them.

After the parade, Azul and the rest of Team 3 went to the military accommodations to look for the chimeras, while Seth and the others returned to Minas Mar first, to prepare for the banquet later that day.