Defiance of the Fall

hain was the main town that the Council controlled.
It was an Ishiate town and was once upon a time the capital of the technology-leaning faction among the beastmen.
It was placed in the open Underworld, but it was a true stronghold even before the integration, making it a natural choice of headquarter for a faction that fought the Fire Golems.

”I was planning on heading there anyway, ” Zac nodded.
”I have some things to discuss with the Council. ”

Meeting the council was another reason he wanted to come to the underworld in his human form this time.
He needed to enlist the strongest warriors around in the fight against the Undead Empire.
Even if he managed to get stronger he was still just one man, and there were so many zombies by now.

”We should make our sortie spectacular, ” Joanna suddenly spoke up from the side.
”They need to know that the Super Brother-Man has arrived and that he will end the threat of the invaders. ”

With that she excitedly took out what initially looked like a pike, but Zac realized that it was actually a banner when she fastened a large cloth to it.
Zac shot a bemused look at Joanna before he took a gander at the banner ’s design.
It was emerald grey with black and gold details, and the motif was the four mountain peaks of his island.
Beneath the summits there was a shield with an axe as a motif, looking like a nobleman ’s family crest.
It looked quite domineering.
It almost felt like something that could have belonged to an old European family.

”What ’s this? ” Zac asked with confusion.

’

”It ’s the banner for Port Atwood, ” Joanna said with glee in her eyes.
”I learned from Ms.
Tir ’Emarel that it ’s a common practice in the Multiverse as well, and we needed something to display who we were. ”

”Please, Verana is fine, ” the Beast Master smiled.

”The black and green are representative of your two, ahem, identities, and the gold is there to make it look regal.
The mountains are the largest landmark on your island and the axe and shield represent your authority.
Do you like it? ” Verana smiled.

”It ’s pretty cool, ” Zac willingly admitted.
”But I’d feel a bit embarrassed if I would parade such a thing around. ”

”You don ’t carry this thing, leave that to us.
You only need to walk in the front, preferably releasing some of your aura, ” Joanna said.

”…
Fine, ” Zac sighed.
”If this will get people to willingly follow me into the war against the undead. ”

”One thing? ” Joanna hesitantly added.
”Do you think you could put on a pair of shoes? ”

Zac blankly looked at the Valkyrie for a few seconds before he looked down on his feet.
He never even reflected on the fact that he never wore shoes any longer while in his human form.
He had already figured out a way to passively utilize a small amount of cosmic energy to keep his feet clean and not let any grime stick.
But it would perhaps look a bit odd if he walked around barefoot.

“You can ride Grub as well,” Verana smiled.
“He liked fighting with you, he felt very mighty ramming into the enemies’ line with your shield as protection.”

The two kept coaching Zac on how to make a proper impression on the underworld as the army prepared to sortie.
Only a few of the warriors would stay in the underworld, whereas the rest would join the main army in the fight against the zombies.
It only took less than ten minutes before everything was dealt with, and the gates of the Union headquarters opened up to let out the forces of Port Atwood.

’

A few people started running for their lives as the intimidating procession made its way through New London, but even more people stayed to watch in the excitement.
Almost everyone in the area had already learned that people from the surface had arrived to New London and that they were Led by the Super Brother-Man, but only a few had seen them since they stayed holed up inside the Union headquarters most of the time.

People had been gathering outside the gates since the news spread, either hoping to see the aliens under Zac ’s command or try to buy a ticket out of the Underworld.
But now they didn ’t need to strain to see a glimpse of them as they marched through the main street full of vigor.

Zac knew of the people ’s desire to return to the surface, but Port Atwood hadn ’t let anyone leave just yet.
He wanted to finish up everything before he led an exodus out of this area.
And he couldn ’t let everyone just leave.
There was a huge amount of wealth down here that needed to be extracted to strengthen Earth ’s forces.
All these things would be needed not only in the fight against the invaders but also to turn Earth into a powerful planet before the System ’s protection ended.

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Zac rode in the front, sitting on Grub ’s head as the enormous beast trudged forward, each step causing a small earthquake.
The only people walking in front of him were two Valkyries, each one holding one of the newly created banners.
The air around him twisted and bent as he let his aura spread out to a certain degree.
Behind him his armies walked in orderly lines, each soldier radiating a tremendous pressure that made the spectators gasp in awe.

It looked like the Demons and Tal-Eladar had gotten caught up in who could shock the spectators more, and each of the demonkin soldiers radiated a massive battle intent with most of them even having released weak Dao Fields.
Zac didn ’t stop him since he knew that such weak Fields wouldn ’t be able to harm anyone in the area apart from putting people under some pressure.

But unfortunately for the demons it was hard for them to match the glory of the Tal-Eladar, who were assisted by their massive beasts.
One tremendous roar after another made the whole area shake as the Tir ’Emarel rode their battle beasts behind Zac.
Most impressive was of course Verana, who rode on Slither ’s head, the snake alone taking up the whole road due to its massive size.

The whole thing felt a bit excessive and embarrassing, but Zac followed Joanna ’s instructions and only sat unmoving with a neutral face.
Joanna, who essentially had turned into his PR Director at this point, said it was not only about prestige but also about giving the people of the Underworld hope.
They had been suppressed by the Fire Golems for almost a year, and almost everyone had lost a family member or friend to their actions.

This procession would show them that Earth hadn ’t given up, that a resurgence was coming.