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A part of Raul was hoping to venture over to Czacoa and see the truth of things for himself, but that didn’t seem likely to happen. He knew how antsy his brethren were to return to Sair and take the fight to the Abolish bastards occupying their land. That mission had been delayed for so long already.

Indeed, he felt that same yearning himself. Of course he did. As a unified people, they were at their strongest again. In fact, the Rainlords of Sair might have been stronger than they had been in quite a long time, since House Blackburn was no longer being reclusive.

But the Sandlords were still scattered. And they were half of Sair’s strength, historically speaking. Raul could understand why the elders had been hesitant.

Not that it was his place to question their decisions, of course.

His brothers, Adan and Esai, had already arrived at the rally point and were waiting for him. They didn’t have any survivors in tow this time, which further reinforced the notion that their work in this region was largely complete.

From the looks on their faces, however, they had been expecting him to return empty-handed also.

“Bro!” said Esai with wide eyes. “What the heck is all this?!”

Raul let Arumoro be the one to explain as they began the long trek back to the main camp.

Which was an impressive structure, not unlike a fortress, floating atop the flooded lowlands of the Vantalayan coastline.

The majority of the Rainlord party had decided to move up from Ridgemark, with only a small contingent staying behind as operational support for the Ridgemark Private Military Police--and for Ridgemark as a whole.

The RPMP had since undertaken the colossal task of gathering and protecting as many survivors of the floods as they possibly could. Ridgemark had become stuffed with evacuees from all over the region--including other countries.

And even before departing, Raul could feel the sense of uncertainty that had gripped the city. With so much of the countryside destroyed--to the point where even maps might soon need to be redrawn--many people were no doubt questioning what was to become of their lives.

If they were unable to return home and rebuild due to the altered landscape, then where were they to go?

Perhaps Ridgemark’s population was about to skyrocket permanently.