Chapter 346: Cleaning the battlefield
Vlad was unaware of the changes unfolding in Xaos City, and sending a message wouldn’t have helped. Anyone attempting to communicate with someone inside the city would find their efforts thwarted.
Overlord intercepted all messages, providing nearly identical responses to those the original recipients would have given. He could do that since there was no secret for him inside the city, and he knew enough of every citizen to mimic their behavior flawlessly. The A.I. Chip Clone had anticipated every possible move, leaving no flaw in its plan. Given all that, it was no wonder the Depravita of Wrath suspected nothing and simply carried on.
With no immediate urgency, Vlad moved at a pace that allowed him to recover his energy since he was still fatigued. After roughly five hours, he finally saw clouds of smoke billowing from where a mountain range once stood.
Shock and awe surged through Vlad as he beheld the sheer level of destruction. The once-majestic mountains were now reduced to rubble, and thousands of people moved across the scarred landscape, piling hundreds of thousands of drone corpses into massive pyres of scorching fire.
As Vlad approached the Xaos forces and Turkin soldiers, they noticed his presence. Cries of recognition and relief echoed across the battlefield.
"Boss!" Jormungandr’s voice rang out.
"Vlad!" Freya shouted, her face lighting up with joy.
They dashed toward him, appearing before him in less than a minute. The small yellow cat and the viking princess wore broad smiles, their eyes shining with relief as they saw that the Depravita of Wrath had finally returned, seemingly unscathed.
Vlad returned their smiles, nodding. "I’m back."
Freya looked him up and down, her gaze assessing. "We were worried about you. It’s good to see you in one piece."
Jormungandr flicked his tail, his eyes gleaming mischievously. "We thought you might have gotten yourself into trouble you couldn’t handle."