Roger sighed an audible breath. "We have. And all of them are dead."

.. .

.. .

"Dead?"

"Even the Rank-A mercs?"

"The higher beings?"

Roger cut in, "The rank-a mercs. The demons, the elves, the sprites, our soldiers. They were all dead when they faced that creature.

"It was so powerful because no physical attacks worked against it. And to make matters worst. It somehow could use magic."

.. .

.. .

Everyone hushed.

Ryu and Rosa were hit hard at their current situation. Without spells. Without magic. Then their only hope was physical attacks. But with that being useless against the Lich. .. then what were they going to do now?"

"There\'s no way we could beat that thing," someone said, and another seconded.

"It\'s best that we just find a portal and get out of here. This world is doomed."

.. .

.. .

Yes, they could still––

"If you\'re looking for a way out or a portal, then it\'s inside the Lich\'s castle." Roger pushed another button, and a throne appeared where the Leech was sitting like a dead person on a chair made of bones. Behind it was, without a doubt, a portal.

"Great."

"And to make matters worse," Roger resumed, "Our resources are also depleting. Food, water, our supply will only last us a couple of months.

"Even knowing that we still wanted to take you all."

Roger bowed his head low ad everyone was caught surprised when he begged.

"We could only rely on beings like you who came from another dimension with supernatural strength and speed to defeat that thing before we all starve to death."

The others murmured and whispered.

"Egh? What are we going to do against that thing if we can\'t access any skills and spells?"

"Physical attack doesn\'t work, and magic is canceled. That thing is practically invincible here."

"I could live without food or water. I don\'t care about you folks, but I don\'t want to die fighting that Lich."

"But what about the portal?"

"What about our world?"

Ryu didn\'t want to be held in this place for more than a month, and he certainly didn\'t want to die of starvation either. He\'d rather take his chances against the Lich.

"Stop with your wining."

Every attention flickered at the one who spoke. Someone entered the room, and Ryu was shocked because he knew who he was.

"You still have your items with you, right? I\'m sure all of you have rare items that you could throw to defeat the Lich," said the newcomer.

His wolf ears were straight and proud while his tail lay still on his side. His dark skin was eye-catching, as well as his handsome intimidating face.

Nash!

Ryu immediately thought of Cathy. If only she had come with them.

Nash looked over at everyone and was stunned when he spotted Ryu and Rosa in the group.

"You." Nash blinked before he decided to ignore them.

"Everyone, this is Nash. Our strongest fighter at the moment. I believe he is called a purebred beastfolk in some of your languages."

"A purebred?"

"It\'s rare to see them nowadays."

"Strongest?" someone sneered. "If he\'s so strong, then why is the Lich still alive?"

Nash looked at the one who spoke with his piercing cold eyes. "Simple. Because I\'m not an idiot who would rash into the Lich\'s domain without a plan.

"This Lich is already nearing god-level monster, and the only way to defeat it is if everyone in here is willing to sacrifice your rare items to bring it down.

"Or else. .. we would never leave this place."

.. .

.. .

"Use our hard-earned rare items?"

"Assuming that we did. Will that even works against the Lich?"

"Rather. Isn\'t it unfair? The value of our items is much higher than the rest. I bet some of the beings here don\'t have one with them, and yet they will still receive shelter and food?"

Some eyed the servants and slaves, and Ryu felt uncomfortable once more.

"Rather, isn\'t he just a slave?" another pointed to Nash\'s servant seal on his bare shoulder.

"Since when did the strongest fighter turn into a servant?" another sneered. "This place is pathetic if a mere servant is bossing around this place."

"No one is a boss here," Roger said, "A leader maybe but not a boss. Everyone has a role in ensuring that this base is operational. And with that being said, if you want safe passage here, you have to surrender at least five attack items, five defensive items, and ten pieces of food.

"Besides that. Everyone is designated with a role that they must follow to continue our survival."

"What?"

"No way I\'m doing that."

Roger scratched his head and briefly looked over at Nash. Nash nodded, and Roger continued.

"If you don\'t want to abide by the rules, then you\'re free to go."

A servant raised his hand. "What about if we couldn\'t afford all the items?"

".. . if you can\'t afford the number of items but still want to stay, then you\'ll do the most dangerous jobs with little food and water."

"Dangerous." A brow rose from Rosa\'s forehead. "Meaning what exactly?"

"Scavenging for food and water in the city," said Nash.

".. ."

".. ."

".. . I see." Rosa skimmed her jawline, and Ryu could sense what she was thinking.

Was she still going to prioritize her items over her life? Would she rather go out in the hordes of zombies and find food and water than surrender her items?

"What about those who could afford it? What would be in it for us?" another commented.

Roger coughed between his fists. "You\'ll be assigned less dangerous task according to your abilities with three meals and a jar of water a day."

Everyone\'s faces crumpled. The rewards weren\'t that great. They\'d rather scavenge food outside than surrender their items.

"I\'m outa here," a demon said, and half of everyone agreed.

They\'d rather take on the Lich themselves. They believe they could defeat it even without magic and physical attacks. They might use some items along the way, but they think that a single or two items were enough to defeat it. Besides, who needed food and water when they were immortal? Those mindless undead didn\'t scare them too.

Roger\'s face doubled in age, and Nash just crossed his hands.

"Men. Escort those who wanted to leave, out," said Roger.

Not before long, the only ones left were mostly the servants and slaves with some elves and humans.

Ryu was surprised that Rosa didn\'t leave. He thought that it was the right choice. Given her circumstances, staying in this protective zone was much safer than venturing outside. She had enough items to ticket her way into comfort here.

At least, for a short time until they find a way to defeat the Lich.

"I supposed that the ones who remained here have decided to give their items in exchange for protection and food. With that out of the way, we want you to see what will happen to the others as soon as they go out from this sanctuary." Roger pressed a button, and the giant screen projected multiple images with the main actors as the beings who had decided to leave.

----

A/N

Merry Christmas everyone!

Sorry for the slow updates. I\'m taking a break to enjoy the holidays ^^

We will pick up the pace and resume regular updates next month ^^