Set Sail to Everflow City

Spat arrived at the Zackons tribe village with the Legions and the map of the city. Korge also arrived with the message to Sun from Cossack and Shuja. The two went to the dining hall to learn about the plan. There, the brothers were gathered around the long table with Horder, reviewing the maps they had. Sun was happy to see the two, and he was surprised to see Korge's new form. Korge evolved during their time apart. He was now a red conqueror, and he was beaming with pride from achieving this form. "Korge!" Sun embraced him, "You've grown stronger."

"Yes, I did, and just in time too. When we received your letter, Cossack and Orgut tribe were more than willing to help."

"Thank you, my friend. It means a lot for everyone here that you can join us today."

"Here," Korge handed the letter, "Cossack and Shuja are in position and are waiting for your orders."

Sun opened the letter and read it to everyone. Shuja will be attacking through the tunnel system and will use the map Spat provided to sneak in the city and flank the goblins attacking them on the shore. While Cossack will take his cavalry through the city streets, trampling those in their way. "How many horses does Cossack have?" Stick asked.

"We have ten horses. And with the exception of Cossack's horse, one horse will carry two goblins. An archer and a rider." Korge puffed his chest out, "And they are highly skilled too. No longer will they be running away from the danger. They are, in fact, the first to run to it."

"That's what I like to hear!" Rock cheered by raising a cup of warm milk.

"Hahaha!" Sun laughed, "Perfect, and how about you, Spat? How was the scouting?"

"We had no problems, but we did run into something troubling. There were chambers underground that were making cannons like that of our swivel guns, but smaller and can fire multiple times."

"What?" Sun and Smoke's eyes widened.

"They looked very complex in design. But it seems like only those that are red conquerors are permitted to use them. I was going to send a letter to Shuja as well, asking if she could destroy any workshop chambers she comes across with, but I think you might want to know about them first."

Sun sat down and contemplated the potential dangers presented by these weapons. The problems don't change for their attack. It only makes the problems more difficult to solve with the presence of these rifles. The city goblins will still bombard their ships with arrows and mortar without these guns. Sun clapped his hands, which garnered everyone's attention. "These guns are dangerous, more so than the five swivel cannon we brought and mounted on the Zackons' ships. But that doesn't change our plans."

Stick stepped forward and added his opinion, "I agree. We've done exercises revolving around cannons during our training. We're not exactly new to this. We just have to move faster than we initially planned." Then Stick took a small figurine of a green goblin and placed it on the center of the underground map Spat brought in, "The only problem that we have yet to fully solve is the machine they use to keep the water flowing. Pagasa already told us that it takes a fairly large amount of energy to start the machine, but as long as two or three mana users are present, it can be done in a short amount of time. In comparison, it takes a longer time to shut down the machine. About three days."

"That means it's faster to start up the machine and flood the city." Sun said, "So there's a chance they will try to flood the river as their final resort to push us out of the city."

"So we need to secure the machine before we reach the center of the city. Shuja's warriors should be fast enough to reach the machine before we reach the center, but just in case, we're going to have Olhos carry Spat to our target Once we breach the city dam."

"Olhos? He's here!" Spat said.

"Yeah, and he's a beast." Sun said, "In a good way."

"And with that being said, we need to start moving. We'll attack tomorrow morning. In the meantime, we need to hide the ship near the city and set up our camp."

"And I'll be heading north," Sun told them. "With our little hostage to draw out the King outside his castle." Korge raised his hand. "You got a question, Korge."

"How'd you get their chief to leave the city? And why is the machine difficult to turn off?"

"To answer your second question, to shut down the machine, you have to absorb and dispel the mana running the machine. And with how much mana the machine uses, one needs to take his time to take the energy out without accidentally overfilling their body with mana. And explode!" Sun yelled, " And for the first question, let's just say we know a little a secret about him."

"What's the secret?" Rock asked. Sun, Smoke, and Stick looked at Rock in dismay. "Was I supposed to know?"

Meanwhile, at Everflow City, the King stepped out from his castle covered, hidden underneath a thick heavy red coat. The castle stood on top of a hill on an island in the middle of a small lake that is forever filled with water. The King walked down the stairs slowly and at the bottom of the stairs was Queen waiting for him.

Her hands were pale and purple, and they were colder than winter night. Behind her was a large block of ice floating on the dark, murky waters. The King took Queen's hand and kissed it before stepping on the ice she created for him. She gave him a long paddle and kicked the ice off the docks. She gave the King her goodbye kisses until he turned his ride around the corner disappeared from her sight.

The King paddle around the island until he found the creek leaking out from the lake, and he continued down the creek until it poured into the underground sewers. Around him were watermills that produced the power the city uses in its factories. And large pipes stuck out from the adjacent buildings dumping their waste on the waterways that travel through the city like blood vessels in a living body. The water smell of rotten flesh burned charcoal, and excrement and flies made the dirty water their home.

The King's cloak was drenched in detergent that smells of sweet honey. The smell kept the disgusting air coming from the river off his body while his nose was covered by a thin, metal mask in the shape of a green goblin face.

Eventually, the creek reached the sewer's entrance, and the water rushed down the oversized sewer tunnel. The icy ride took the King down to the sewers safely. He paddled the ice block near the docking area and stepped out of the ice. He produced a thick rope out of mana and tied the ice block to the side, preventing it from floating away.

The King took out the letter Sun sent to him and read it one last time. "I think I still have time." He whispered to himself. The King walked down a long corridor until he reached a large room with multiple entrances, from the walls to the ceiling. And in the middle of the room was a large spherical machine. The machine had a soft white metal cover with an opening on its top.

He walked closer to the machine and stretched out his hands to touch its surface. The machine made a humming noise when touched, and the closer the King got, the louder the sound of turning cogs gets. The machine felt alive. "I still have time."

The King dropped Sun's letter and placed both of his hands on the machine. "But we don't have enough time. Pagasa, you fool. Before he washes us away, I'll wash him out of existence first." The ball began to light up, and its luminescent light shined on the letter, revealing the words on the paper.

The final line of the letter was incoherent. It looked like a pattern of random letters, but when viewed by the King, it revealed a hidden message. The message read, 'I know you are Andrew Prince.'