Despite protests from others, Qalea knew better than to argue with Ashton. The reinforcements they had called from the capital would take a couple of days to arrive there, as Kass had shut down the teleportationwork a while back.


    Those reinforcements were the only chance they had to reestablish order in the city. But till then, they''d have to entertain whatever Ashton deemed fit for them.


    "Don''t worry. Unlike what you know about mutants, we too, have hearts." Ashton yed a sympathy card on her, "I''ll ensure the safety of your people till you get back on your feet."


    "How very generous of you," Qalea sarcastically replied.


    "Sarcasm is not going to help your case in the slightest." Ashton sighed before stopping at the main square, "These are for you."


    Qalea looked up and couldn''t believe her eyes. Hundreds of rtively intact monster corpses had been neatly arranged in stacks. A few human scientists were already fawning over them like flies. Their excited squeaky voice was all she needed to know the value of the corpses.


    She stared at the mound, then at Ashton and then back at the scientists. Dozens of thoughts rushed into Qalea''s head at once. Why was Ashton showing her this?


    Well, the answer to that was quite obvious. Ashton was dangling a bone in front of the dogs to get something from them. The question was, what could he possibly want from them?


    After all, Ashton had already taken control of the city. Anything he wanted from them, he could have taken without any resistance from their side. Apart from that, there was no reason for him to be ''kind'' to them all of a sudden.


    "Keep at it, and you''ll overthink yourself to death." Ashton scoffed, "Sometimes the reason can be much simpler than the absurd theories the braines up with."


    "You can''t expect me to believe you suddenly became our benefactor, can you?" Qalea replied once she got her head back in ce, "Especially after what we nned to do to you..."


    Ashton sensed a bit of regret in Qalea''s voice. Unlike the rest of them, she was genuinely worried about the people and wanted to do anything to help them. Her sensitivity and loyalty were why he chose to strike a deal with her instead of anyone else.


    "It is as you said. I shouldn''t be generous to you or anyone who decided to mess with us," Ashton calmly said, "that said, I''m not petty enough to punish innocent civilians for the mistakes of a few. Especially since I once was a human too."


    "Bullshit." Qalea called him out, "You''re no human. Anyone with half a brain cell can determine that much."


    "And anyone with a quarter of a brain cell would know the difference between past and present tense. Well, it doesn''t matter. I want to enter the archives, and in exchange, you can have these corpses your scientists have been drooling over."


    Qalea was taken aback. The existence of the Archive was a well-guarded secret even amongst the unians. As the name suggested, the Archive was a record of everything the humans had ever encountered on the strange. They started centuries ago and have been maintaining the record ever since.


    What worried her the most wasn''t how Ashton got to know about the Archive but why he wanted to ess it. An outsider like him had no reason to enter a sacred ce important to humans.


    "I''m afraid no such thing or ce exists. I don''t know how you got that information, but-"


    "Vimur, has everyone received their share?" Ashton unhesitatingly interrupted Qalea.


    "Yup. All of it locked and loaded." Vimur replied with a thumbs-up.


    "A shame... But I guess there''s nothing else to do." Ashton shook his head as he pointed at the corpses in front, "Get someone to burn them all. Since we can''t take them with us, we might as well get rid of excess luggage."


    "Alright, I''m going to call Be for help," Vimur mumbled and was about to leave when Qalea jumped to stop him.


    The corpses were vital for their survival, and she couldn''t allow them to be taken away or, worse, destroyed.


    "So much for doing a humane thing!" She blurted out, her eyes red and ring up from a mixture of emotions.


    "That''s the problem of showing pity to fools like you," Ashton said while gesturing for Vimur to stop, "you see kindness as weakness and strictness as tyranny. You should be well aware of the situation you are in right now."


    Ashton got awkwardly close to Qalea''s face before continuing, "This city of yours is nothing more than a whorehouse for the mercenaries. The only reason they have been holding back is me.


    ? "The moment I let go of those sickening bastards, the things they''ll do to you people... Even satan would have a hard time keeping a straight face. Yourpliance is the only thing that can save your people now.


    "So either you do as I say, or this city of yours will be left in dust before the reinforcements you are so depended on ever get a chance to fire a bullet at us."


    Ashton''s warning rang inside Qalea''s head for a long time. She didn''t know how, but she could tell Ashton wasn''t joking. If she failed to appease him, everything Nico had worked for would be useless.


    There was hope before. Just a tiny flicker against the wind. But not anymore. If Ashton was already aware of the reinforcementsing, there were of no use anymore.


    A surprise attack was the only thing that could have stopped Ashton, but with the element of surprise lost, there was nothing they could do to defeat the mercenaries.


    "I can''t decide by myself." Qalea''s hostile tone was nowhere to be heard now, "The rest of the council has to agree to it as well."


    "Then I believe you''ll do a great job convincing them." Ashton smiled reassuringly, "Off you go now, and remember, time is ticking."