Far to the southeast, two figures were standing atop the best vantage point the high-threat biome had to offer.

  While one was staring down at the ruins of the Gilded Heights and the other was peering into the distance while facing Puppet Town, both were contemplating the events that had taken place over the past few days.

  The man known as Shield swore as the surface beneath him shifted, then turned to look at the girl standing next to him. He repressed the urge to shudder, although he found Corpse to be deeply disturbing. Showing any sign of weakness would be a fatal mistake.

  The white rabbit cradled in her arms could have been the pet of any child her age… until you noticed that while its gaze followed you everywhere, it wasn’t breathing and its eyes never blinked.

  Behind her mask of innocence was a sociopath who held no regard for the value of human life. Shield had done more than his fair share of killing, but to him, it was simply part of the job. Most of the time, at any rate.

  Corpse killed because, unlike the living, she found the unliving to be endlessly fascinating. In the short time they had been working together, he’d learned that she had a bad habit of breaking things just so she could put them back together—only to tire of her latest toy and move onto destroying another life.

  Following that train of thought, Shield turned his gaze to the army of undead beasts two hundred feet below his boots. They were standing still as statues after stripping the region of life to create the stampede that had attacked Puppet Town.

  They wouldn’t be motionless much longer.

  If he was being honest with himself, Shield found this situation to be distressing and distasteful in equal measures.

  He woke up every day regretting that he’d agreed to act as this psychopath’s handler. He wouldn’t do it again, no matter how many Credits King transferred into his account. Once we make it back to the free city, I’ll wash my hands of her and never look back.

  Shield growled in exasperation as the tentacle he was standing on shifted, nearly knocking him to the black sand below.

  “Can you please hurry? This little diversion of yours is a complete waste of time. Our orders were to determine if any scions of the twenty-one were residing in Puppet Town, then ensure they arrive at the free city for King’s recruitment pitch—not demolish the settlement with one of your ‘pets.’”

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  The girl glared at Shield, causing him to take a reflexive step back that almost made him fall a second time. Corpse replied like she was speaking to an idiot who she was willing to humor one final time.

  “We left a message on Mr. Wriggles that any scion can read. Any of them should be able to handle my cute, tragically failed experiment. While his physical attributes are impressive, and I was successful in implanting a mid-rank version of Reanimate, I killed over half his skills in the process and damaged his brain. If that wasn’t enough of a handicap, every beast he raises shares the same defect.

  “If there is a scion in Puppet Town, they’ll kill my pet, find our note, and we’ll have completed our mission. Now stop bothering me, or you will be my next project.”

  Shield sighed and backed down. He knew that was no idle threat, and while he would never admit it to another living soul, Corpse scared the hell out of him in a way nothing else on Ord did. He had no doubt she would try to kill him if he annoyed her further. He wasn’t sure he would survive the attempt, and he could endure practically anything.

  “You know, there’s a chance we were wrong and there isn’t a Unique core-bearer living in Puppet Town after all. In which case, they’re all going to die, and we’ll gain nothing.”

  “Stop being dramatic, Shield. A bit of wasted time is worth the risk, and I’ll obtain some useful data either way.” The thought of slaughtering everyone in the settlement doesn’t bother her at all.

  He looked down at the great tentacled kaiju squirming below his boots, sighed, and then turned his thoughts to other matters. Issues with his partner aside, King’s recruitment drive was vitally important. The twenty-one were living weapons, and he needed to make sure the other factions didn’t get their hands on them first.

  One way or another, war was coming. Though this conflict had been brewing for ages, the disaster had rewritten the rules of the game and offered the Coalition a chance to assume control of the planet a hundred years ahead of schedule.

  While the Wardens were powerful, much of their strength resided off world. With the planet on lockdown for the foreseeable future, only the troops on the ground mattered now, decimating the old guard’s power in the blink of an eye.

  The old order had been erased with the anomaly and whoever was in control when the Red Shield came down would acquire power beyond their wildest dreams.

  In light of this unprecedented situation, the Coalition was making its move, and the Natives were certain to be doing the same. Shield had even heard rumors of a fourth faction lurking in the shadows, although he had no way to confirm the truth of their existence.

  While the planet’s past was a mystery and its future uncertain, Shield could tell which way the wind was blowing. With the fate of Ord and its untold riches hanging in the balance, only one faction would be standing when the dust settled.

  It was time for the unaffiliated scions to pick a side, and if they chose poorly, his face would be the last they ever saw.

  End of Volume 3