Chapter 371: Panic in the valley.

Inside the security room, Elfy and Hunter were trapped in front-row seats, watching Zyra pace the floor, which she had been doing since they shut the door.

Her thumb was practically stuck in her mouth as she bit her nails down to the quick. She had dragged them in here claiming she wanted to "talk," but so far, not a single word had come out of her mouth. All she did was stare at the star device and mumble incoherently.

Hunter kept his eyes glued to the security monitors to avoid going insane. The valley perimeter lands were becoming a complete mess. A big wave of refugees and their beasts were passing through and right now, a huge group was setting up makeshift tents just to survive the night. He wondered if that shouldn’t be the priority over what was bothering her right now.

Zyra had turned off all system notifications, strictly ordering no one to disturb her while she tried to get to the bottom of the "Orakun" mystery. The problem was, she didn’t even know where to start, and neither did he.

Finally, Zyra stopped pacing, whirled around, and pointed a finger. "Okay, Elfy. We start with you. And this time, I want the truth and only the truth. Why did you call Hunter an Orakuns when you first met him? Did he smell like one or did you hatch from the egg knowing what they look like?"

Elfy let out a heavy sigh and slumped back into her chair, looking like a tired old woman. "It’s...."

"Don’t lie to me, because I know ’Orakuns’ doesn’t mean idiot like you told me earlier," Zyra cut in, crossing her arms.

Elfy gave a slow, guilty nod. "Mother master, some things are best left in the dark."

The security door chimed and slid open. Zyra’s eyes flashed to the door and she bellowed, "I explicitly said NO DISTURBANCES! Unless the entire valley is currently on fire, get the_"

"It’s not on fire yet," Achilles interrupted, stepping inside out of breath. "But pretty soon, there won’t even be a valley to burn."

The room went dead silent. Hunter snapped his head up, his jaw almost hitting the desk. "Achilles, what on earth are you talking about? Is it the refugees outside?"

"The Sanctum just declared that the entire Wildlands belongs to them," Achilles panted. "It’s on every single news channel right now!"

Zyra’s heart dropped. "Beauty, turn the system notifications back on and switch Screen Three to live TV mode!"

The monitor flickered to life. A bright red banner flashed across the screen: SANCTUM CLAIMS FULL SOVEREIGNTY OVER WILDLANDS.

Zyra stared at the screen, her mind racing. This didn’t happen in my past life! What the hell is Trinity up to now? If she conquers the Wildlands, her influence will grow. We have to stop her before it’s too late.

"Everyone outside is losing their minds," Achilles added, gesturing to the hallway. "They’re terrified."

"They’re worrying over nothing," Zyra snapped, her eyes narrowing with fierce determination. "Because I’m not going to let some fake-angel princess take our home. I worked hard to build this sanctuary of peace."

[I built it.] Beauty whispered.

"With my money." She snapped at the system.

Achilles pointed toward the door. "Great speech. Now go out there and tell them that, because they think they’re about to wait around to get slaughtered. I am sure some are already packing their bags as we speak."

Zyra nodded and marched toward the door.

"Oh, by the way," Achilles called out, "grandfather has been calling every five seconds but none of you is answering. He’s worried sick."

"I need to speak with him anyway," Zyra said over her shoulder. She turned to Hunter. "Set up a secure line to grandpa. I’ll be back in ten minutes max for a full meeting."

Zyra slammed open the main doors and stepped into the central courtyard. The second she appeared, the noise died down. Hundreds of frightened faces turned toward her.

Near the front a panic-stricken rabbit-beast held up its trembling paws and squeaked, "Boss! Is it true?! Are we being kicked out of our home. Are we going to be hunted and eaten?"

The drake squawked anxiously behind it. "If they take the valley, where are we supposed to live?"

"They will kill us like Todd did" One of the bats squeaked. "I knew we couldn’t trust her."

The heavy, desperate stares felt like a huge weight tying a knot in Zyra’s stomach. To these people and beasts, she wasn’t just a leader; she was their only shield.

Zyra stepped onto the stool in the center of the courtyard. Her voice echoed clearly across the silent crowd. "Listen to me! This valley is our home. Nobody_ and I mean nobody_ is going to take it from us. I promise you on my life, I will do whatever it takes to keep every single one of you safe.

The valley is impenetrable, nobody is getting in here, not even if they can teleport. No bombs or weapons can shake our foundation. If I am not running or panicking, you have no reason to do the same. Those who don’t believe me can run. Those who do should go back to living their lives and watching the divine maiden Trinity wreck the world."

There were no wild cheers or dramatic applause. Instead, a heavy, unified nod rippled through the crowd. Silent vows were made in that moment. If the Sanctum was coming, they would fight alongside her to the bitter end.

As Zyra turned to head back inside, a frantic voice shouted, "Zyra! Wait!"

Neil sprinted up to her, his face pale and soaked in sweat. "Zyra, please! I need to evacuate my sanctuary right now, or innocent people will die! They are good, kind, humans who were persecuted. Some had their property stolen by the rich and then they were thrown into the Wildlands. They have faced injustice. What will happen to them now? They have no homes to return to. Please, you have to take them in."

As Neil pleaded, a cold system prompt flashed silently in Zyra’s vision:

[Host, please save the half-life beasts! They are innocent too!]

Zyra didn’t even blink. She responded in her mind: I’ll do it, but I want another blank cheque from you for this.

[Deal! Blank cheque granted!]

Satisfied, Zyra motioned at Gilby to come close. "Gilby, assemble a rescue team immediately. You’re going with Neil to teleport people and beasts before the Sanctum troops get to them."

Gilby’s gruff voice came through the speaker. "Understood, boss. Moving out now."

Neil’s eyes welled up with tears. He grabbed Zyra’s hand, shaking it furiously. "Thank you! I owe you my life, Zyra! I owe you big time!"

"You definitely do," Zyra smirked slightly. "And don’t worry, I will collect."

Without wasting another second, she turned on her heel and hurried back down the corridor toward the security room. Now, she knew why all those armed groups of men and women were suddenly flocking to the wild lands. Trinity had basically declared war on everything that lived here!