Chapter 379: Survivors.

The officer glared up at Zyra, spitting blood onto her boot. "Little girl I am a commander of an army for a reason! Do you think I was recruited to work for the Divine maiden without being a hardened soldier? I have been through all kinds of torture before, so no matter what you do to me, I won’t say a single word! Just kill me! Save us both the time and trouble." He looked at her with contempt. "No matter what you do, you will never win. The Divine maiden is the only righteous true Saintess of the human race. You are a false maiden that is probably working with the Somnivores. Sooner or later, the Divine maiden will burn you and free these innocent souls that you have misled."

Zyra offered him a sweet, terrifying smile. "Yada, yada, yada....you talk too much. Who said anything about torture?"

She signaled to two of her men, who promptly slammed the commander back and forced his jaw open. Zyra tilted the bottle and poured a single, tiny drop of the sap onto his tongue.

The man’s eyes instantly went glossy and vacant.

Hunter stepped up, his expression dead serious. "Where is Julia and the rest of the army?"

The officer’s mouth opened, speaking in a flat, robot-like monotone: "Lady Julia took the main force three hours ago to clear out the desert territory."

Hunter’s lips pressed into a thin line. Worry flared in his eyes as he looked at Zyra. "Desert territory... she went to Waterhurst. Zyra, I have a friend stationed there. If Julia’s main force hits them, they won’t survive, they are trapped there because of the saw worms."

Zyra looked up at the sky. The dark clouds were slowly parting, showing the pale orange light of dawn. "Then we make a plan," Zyra said calmly "and head to Waterhurst after."

Neil frowned, looking toward the horizon where his men said they had seen a transport beast fly off. "That Candy Duggar woman must have escaped on a transport beast. She’s definitely heading straight to Julia to warn her that we wiped out the force in Twig’s Blue Crossing. They’ll be waiting for us."

"That is why we need a plan," Zyra replied coldly. She turned to Tessi. "Tessi, bring in reinforcements from the valley. We’re going to need more fighters for a desert siege."

"On it!" Tessi nodded briskly. She raised her hand, sliced her fingers through the air, and a swirling portal tore open in space. She stepped through, and the portal snapped shut behind her.

As they waited for the reinforcements to arrive, Taylor glanced down at Uncle Job’s unconscious body and turned to Zyra. "What should we do with him?"

Hunter glared at the man, cracking his knuckles with a dark expression. "I say we end him right here." But he held back_ he knew the final call wasn’t his to make, at least not right now.

Zyra sneered, barely giving her uncle a second glance as she turned toward the far broken houses. "Just leave him the way he is. He is no longer my concern."

Suddenly, she heard a noise. It was Gilby, and he was with an old woman and two young children who looked to be about seven years old. He shouted as he approached, his voice echoing through the ruined courtyard, saying that he had found survivors.

Zyra rushed forward, her eyes wide as she took in the sight of the trembling group. The children were pale, clutching the old woman’s ragged skirts with white-knuckled grips.

"Ma’am are you alright?" Zyra asked, kneeling to meet the woman’s level.

The old woman wept, her shoulders shaking with deep, agonizing sobs. It took a moment for her to find her voice, but when she did, every word cut through the air like a blade. She told Zyra everything_ that it was Lucian who had brought the army to their town. The soldiers had swept through like a plague, mercilessly killing everyone they could find and charging the entire population with blasphemy simply for setting up a shrine in honor of the true divine maiden.

They had only survived because they were new in the town. They had arrived just hours before Lucian left. Perhaps, it was why the man did not remember them when Julia asked him if that was everyone in the town, before they were all executed.

Tears welled in Zyra’s eyes as the weight of the tragedy settled over her. "I’m so sorry_ " she whispered, taking the old woman’s frail, calloused hands into her own. "It’s over now. You’re safe. I promise you, it’s over."

A small, raspy voice broke the heavy silence. "We were hungry," one of the children murmured, stomach rumbling loudly. "We stayed hidden for a long, long time."

Without hesitation, Zyra gently handed bread, and fresh water to the kids, watching with a heavy heart as they ate ravenously.

"You have to leave this place," Zyra said, standing up and turning to the others. "It isn’t safe for you but I know a place that is and there is a lot more food."

Yanxi stepped forward without a word, his expression grim and determined. Raising her hand, she traced a glowing arc in the air. Energy hummed and crackled as space tore open, revealing a shimmering portal that opened directly into the safe Beast Valley City.

Malia stepped to the front, placing a comforting hand on the old woman’s shoulder and offering a gentle smile to the two children. "Follow me," she said softly, guiding them toward the glowing threshold. "I’ll make sure you’re taken care of."

One by one, Malia led the survivors through the portal into the sanctuary of Beast valley.

As they waited for Tessi and the backup team to arrive, the group sat around on overturned crates, munching on dried meat and sharing refreshing fruit juice. Weapons were being polished, blades were being sharpened, and guns were getting reloaded.

Hunter drew a rough map of Waterhurst and spread it on a flat rock. Since he knew the desert territory best, he pointed to a narrow canyon line on the paper.

"Waterhurst is basically a giant sandbox with a big oasis," Hunter explained, chewing on a piece of jerky. He began to draw out a plan which they polished.

Zyra put an X shield over the town, completely closing it off. She even added teleportation blockers which were controlled by Beauty. There was nothing in the town to protect, but she would be damned if she allowed Trinity’s goons to return to their headquarters and set up shop.