God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Chapter 343: No More Running.

Cain silently trudged his way back into Hunter's room.

He garnered strange and suspicious stares along the way, but he ignored them all...

On getting there, he found Hunter fully awake, staring at him with burning eyes. Before he could say anything, Hunter had gotten down to one knee.

Cain couldn't help but feel some type of way about this...

"What are you doing, man? Stand up..."

Hunter refused. Instead, he began speaking,

"I had fallen into the pits of despair. The ability to control my fate was stolen from me. However, you gave it back. For that, I'm infinitely grateful..."

Seeing the amused expression on Susan's face, Cain couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

'Damn! What grown man talks like this?!'

Cain sighed. Walking over, he patted Hunter on the shoulder,

"Alright. Just get up. There is no need for all this. If you want to show your gratitude, there are other ways to do so."

Hunter grunted, "Whatever you need, consider it done."

Cain nodded, a pleased expression on his face. With this, he finally had Hunter on his side. Considering Hunter's character, Cain knew his loyalty was unquestionable. Not only that, this loyalty would continue to remain strong until he decided that his debt had been paid back, which was fair...

Cain noticed a bit of hesitation on Hunter's face. Creasing his brows, he couldn't help but say something,

"Out with it. There is no need to be hesitant in speaking your mind."

Hunter nodded, "Well... Although I would like to leave this place as soon as possible, I'm afraid we can't do that..."

Cain frowned. He planned to find a way to escape from this fragmented land as soon as found Hunter. There was nothing left to do after all. However, he wasn't against hearing Hunter out,

"Why?"

"We are being pursued by Stingè and his army of {Blood Abominations}."

Cain frowned,

"What? Then why are you all sitting here?"

Hunter rolled his eyes, "I just got my legs back a few seconds ago..."

Cain scratched his chin in embarrassment,

"That's true."

Hunter continued, a determined look in his eyes,

"We already decided to make this mountain the place where we make our final stand. No more running..."

Cain understood the moment he looked into Hunter's eyes. He didn't want to run anymore. He was prepared to die here...

'Is he that strong?'

Cain's mind went back to the only clash he had with Angel... Stingè. His full-powered attack had done absolutely nothing to the malignant creature. Just thinking about it made him feel some type of way.

However, he had grown far stronger than before. He was confident...

"Hmm... So you and all the men here aren't going to leave until you defeat Stingè?"

Hunter nodded, "Correct."

"And what do you think your chances are?"

"None. Zero..."

Cain was stumped...

"Then don't you think that is a bad idea?!"

Hunter shrugged, "We don't have a choice anymore. They will soon catch up. Sven if we start running now, we will all be caught eventually. Our stamina isn't infinite."

Cain sighed, 'So it isn't a matter of principle, but a matter of necessity, huh.'

Cain had thought Hunter didn't want to run anymore because he was tired of being on the back end for so long. Now, he knew that wasn't the case. Rather, it would be fair to say that he couldn't run anymore. They had been here for some time now. This had given Stingè the time he needed to locate and catch up with them.

A heavy look appeared on Cain's face as he whispered,

"How well do these men fight?"

Hunter sighed, "They are decent. However, the main limitations are their weapons and the fact that the majority of them do not have access to the system."

'Hmm... He mentioned that only three out of the eight hundred have access to the system. That is indeed not very impressive.'

"I've tried my best and gotten weapons from the system. However, you know how terrible the weapons offered there are."

Cain nodded, "So we have eight hundred warriors who might as well be labeled burdens?"

Hunter shook his head,

"No. Far from it..."

Cain was taken aback,

"Explain..."

Hunter sucked in a huge breath,

"All these men serve the Beast god, Pluto. When Aether infiltrated the central island, it was far more concentrated and far more deadly than it is currently. What made them mutate into what they are isn't Aether, but their contract with Pluto."

Cain frowned, "So they turned into beastmen because of Pluto's god remnants, which in turn saved them from being killed by Aether?"

Hunter nodded in affirmation. Cain sighed,

"So what does that have to do with anything?"

Hunter smiled. Flexing his newly regained muscles, he continued,

"Pluto didn't just turn them into abominable mutants. Rather, each mutation gives a certain boost to a physical ability. And it is quite significant. When he was still alive, Pluto was quite a powerful Celestial Beast."

"Extremely good eyesight, Night vision, Tremendous strength, Insane agility... Just to name a few. That is the true power of the beastmen."

Cain was speechless. He had no idea the powers gained from god remnants could be so powerful.

'I guess the gains are proportional to how powerful the Celestial is. A weak celestial gives weak benefits, while a strong, more powerful one gives better benefits for serving them.'

Cain wasn't far from the truth. However, reality is all about give and take...

Caim fell into deep thought. He had to think about this carefully. He now had an army on his hands. However, that army was about to the thrust into a battle they weren't outfitted for. Although they had decent combat strength, they lacked the equipment and weapons necessary to perform well.

If he acted rashly, the lives of these men would end up being wasted. Even if they had to die, Cain didn't want their deaths to be a waste...

Hunter let out a sigh,

"Well, you are right about one thing. Most of them are now burdens. This is one of the reasons we had to run. Too many are injured... Our numbers were greater than before. Many died on the road for us to be here."

Cain paused for a second before grinning at him,

"Oh, that? You don't need to worry about it."

Hunter couldn't help but become suspicious,

"What do you mean?"

Susan, who had been quiet for a while suddenly interrupted them.

"They've all been healed by this idiot." She said, pointing at Cain.

Hunter's eyes widened, and his tail which appeared out of nowhere suddenly began wagging violently.

In a deep, husky tone, Hunter exclaimed,

"Are you serious?! This isn't a joke?!"

Susan nodded, "Yes."

Hunter looked towards Cain for confirmation. However, the latter was busy glaring at Susan for ruining the surprise. Paying no attention to the grumbling Cain, Susan began to speak,

"This is where you come in. There is a lot of pandemonium going on out there. Very soon, they will start barging in here. You will be the one to tell them what happened."

Hunter immediately understood what she was getting at,

"I understand."

Turning to Cain, he had a very serious expression on his face,

"I won't let you down."

Rolling his eyes, Cain waved his hands dismissively...

"I need to think about how we will solve the problem of weapons and armor. Don't disturb me." Cain said grumpily.

Susan nodded, then turned to Hunter,

"In the meantime, I think you should go out there and talk to your people. Work together with Jenny. I'm sure she will be willing to offer you great assistance."

Hunter nodded, then swiftly departed from the room...

Turning to Cain, who had a tumultuous crease on his forehead, she spoke with a small smile on her face,

"You did well."

Cain turned to her with a raised brow,

"Me? You must be mistaken. I was being a hundred percent selfish over there."

Susan nodded, a brighter smile surfacing on her face. Cain was a bit enchanted by seeing this beautiful smile,

"No. You've come a long way. You might be selfish, but if that selfishness is what brings the light of hope back into their eyes, then you can be selfish all you want."

Cain didn't know what to say. Despite the indifferent front she usually put, Cain knew Susan was incredibly soft. She cared about others deeply. Letting out a sigh, Cain couldn't help but feel like the scum of the earth.

However, that feeling quickly faded as Ignis entered the room...

"Are you done with your lovey-dovey talk?" She said with a disgusted expression.

Cain snorted, "Didn't I say you should stand guard outside?"

Shrugging, Ignis plopped down onto the bed of dried grass,

"I got tired."

Cain wanted to argue. However, seeing her lackluster expression, Cain knew arguing would get him nowhere. With a sigh, he turned to Susan,

"What do you think I should do about the beastmen?"

"I think we should take advantage of them as much as possible. They are fighting for their own lives, so the best we can do is make sure they use their abilities to the fullest."

Cain's eyes were filled with an ambitious light as he grinned,

"I see..."