The Oracle Paths

"I agree." Asfrid grunted in annoyance.

"In that case, I'm afraid we'll need a very large zoo..." Lucia chimed in, curling her lips in amusement.

"It can't be any worse than the field assigned to my Troll army." Drastan grinned as he looked at a patch of desolate forest several kilometers behind them.

Since he and his Trolls had arrived, the creatures had uprooted half the trees in their assigned camp space.

Meanwhile, the conflict kept escalating. The sonic blast generated by the felines had, against all odds, repelled Lysander. His ego could not endure such an affront and he pounced like a wild beast on Musafa with the firm intention to bite his head off.

Mufasa was prepared and he reared up on his hind legs before slamming his paw down violently, claws out, in a mighty downward slap. Lysander raised his arms to shield his face in time, but his entire body was smashed into the ground, forming yet another crater.

Kenway wanted to rush to his little brother's aid, but a black lightning bolt as thick as Gerulf's thigh prevented him. Dark lightning struck his body and although it did no apparent damage, the Alpha Werelion realized he was partially paralyzed.

Before the situation could get any worse, Jake teleported between Lysander and Mufasa, who was about to slice his jugular with a claw. Asfrid cast a pacifying Soul Spell with perfect timing, while Lucia appeared in front of Shere Khan to thwart the sneaky tiger's attempt at a lethal attack.

As for Drastan... He was far too slow and when he arrived the battle was already over.

"Jake?" The huge white lion held back his paw as he eyed him hesitantly.

"What? Don't you recognize me anymore?" Jake joked good-naturedly.

"You've gotten smaller."

Jake's face twitched. It was the second time he had heard that line today. It seemed that if he wasn't in his Gold Myrtharian mode, his friends weren't taking him seriously.

'High makes right...' He sighed before remembering that it wasn't the proper expression.

When he was feeling down in the dumps, a ball of black fur enveloped his field of vision. A certain cat didn't care if he shrank.

" Damn cat!" Jake barely had time to yell before he was tackled to the ground by a furry black ball weighing several dozen tons.

Blinded by the long fur almost as dense as a jungle, the Myrtharian had no choice but to do what he knew best.

He kicked.

BAM!

Crunch was catapulted into the air, lifting off the ground at least a hundred feet as a stream of slime spewed from his mouth, drenching the human below. Jake, lying on the ground, and Asfrid protected themselves in time with a telekinetic dome, but Lucia, Drastan, Lysander, and the other beasts got soaked.

"Dammit Crunch!" Shere Khan roared, his figure turning into a trail of black lightning that struck the huge cat in midair.

Crunch's long hair bristled like a hedgehog's and a burning smell hung in the air. When the cat crashed to the ground, all the other felines pounced on him, pelting him with blows...

"Meooow! You assholes!"

"Shut up, Crunch and accept this beating!"

Overhead, a certain Lord Phenix loomed high, flapping his wings lazily as he circled over them. His beak crooked with disdain, he chirped in a low voice,

"A Lord like me should consider making new friends... Their stupidity might rub off on me in the long run."

BANG!

Shere Khan's black bolt of lightning sent the bird plummeting to the ground and he crashed right next to his buddy Crunch. The nearby felines heard his slur and switched targets. Soon clumps of yellow, orange and red feathers littered the plain, as if someone had just punctured a pillow.

"All's well that ends well, I guess..." Lucia commented, holding back from bursting into laughter.

Drastan held out his hand to Jake to help him up, but Jake rose to his feet by himself, levitating in a bad mood. Leaving Asfrid and Lucia to deal with the aftermath, he flew without turning back to his own residence.

A whole valley was put at the disposal of the felines while taking care to station them as far as possible from the Trolls, but also from Lysander and Kenway. By questioning Mufasa, Lucia had already confirmed that felines and Werelions were like cats and dogs.

The reason was as follows. Just as Kevin could easily command bears, Mufasa and the other lionesses of his pride felt a compulsive need to obey Lysander and Kenway. For an Alpha at the top of the food chain like Mufasa this was just unacceptable and the only solution to this problem was to eliminate the ones responsible for these symptoms.

If it were up to him, Mufasa couldn't care less about these two Werelions. But the thing was, he felt his control over his lionesses weakening in their presence and that he could not tolerate.

In the end, it was Hade who found the solution. Lysander and Kenway having agreed to join the Myrtharian Nerds, the two parties simply signed an Oracle Contract making them promise not to seek to harm or control the opposing group. Still, even after the contract was signed, the two sides continued to avoid each other.

The rest of the night went smoothly and the next morning the last of the Myrtharian Nerds reached their campsite. The only Player missing was Will and incidentally his dragon Charizard.

This was the signal that Jake and the other officers were waiting for to take action. In the morning, each Myrtharian Nerds received a notification to prepare for war and gather at the entrance of the camp.

There, Jake, Hade, Lucia, Aisling, Kenway, Lysander, Gerulf, Rogen and Astrid were waiting for them with arms crossed and a tough look in their eyes. Jake and the other Kintharians had been working hard for the past few days and each Player was wearing a brand new Adamantium helmet on his head. Scanning the resolute crowd, the sole Myrtharian of this faction spoke only a few words,

"Laudarkvik is ours."

Less than ten minutes later, the Myrtharian Nerds marched gloriously into the city, and the inhabitants fled terrified into their homes, praying that the conquerors would not slaughter them.

With Duke Gole dead, the Dark Races stripped of their leaders, the Demons gone, the Undeads defeated, the Werebeings exterminated, and the Vampires in a bad spot, Jake's army swept through the city without any resistance.

When Gerulf arrived at the villa of Prince Edric, the temporary regent of the Human Faction, he immediately prostrated himself in terror, all his men throwing down their weapons without being asked to do so. Abbikesh had apparently left the country as soon as Lost Divinities' absence was reported to him.

The Dark Races resisted fiercely, especially the Night Elves and the dwarves, but what could they do against Rogen and the other Throsgenians. After several blocks were turned to ice, they surrendered willingly.

Lucia and the Myrmidians took care of the recalcitrant Undeads such as the Ghouls and Draughs, wreaking havoc on the city, while Drastan and his army of Trolls pretended to subdue the Dracul Clan, whose leader was merely a shapeshifting puppet in Jake's service.

Among the factions whose power was virtually intact were the Metamorphs, the Thrajah Clan and the Zangruth Clan. For these recalcitrant enemies, Jake spared no means.

The felines and their army of beasts invaded the Metamorph district, their keen senses and superhuman instincts allowing them to sniff out most Shape Shifters from miles away. The female leopard Duchess in particular had an ability to determine if someone was lying. As soon as the harsh interrogation began, the two leaders, Syn and Melion, who had been hiding in the crowd, surrendered repentantly.

Aisling, with the help of Kenway, Lysander, Asfrid and the Eltarians, took charge of arresting her mother, while Seskel Thrajah and his clan were captured by Jake effortlessly. A single ultraviolet pulse was enough to make all those unruly Vampires bend their backs.

By the time lunchtime rolled around, Laudarkvik had a new leader.