EC Vol 3 Chapter 8

“NYAAH! NYYAAAHHHAHAHAAHA! NYAHAHAHAHAHAHA!” Bell rolls around on top of Sammy, clutching her sides as her laughter booms above the canopy. “It isn’t what it looks like!” Rick protests as he wipes fruitlessly at his trousers, a wet splotch visible on his pelvis with a water trail leading to the left leg of the pants. “Is Rick-ni afraid of heights~?” Till subtly moves away from the blond youth as she tries to suppress her giggles. “Give me a sec, Rick.” Kun cracks a knowing smile as he enjoys the casual teasing before reaching for his right ear. “Gui, ask one of the demihumans to go through the green pack with the triple b.u.t.terfly knot and get a pair of trousers for Rick.” Kun is well aware that it’s impossible for someone to urinate in the game even if they want to, since Gui tried that days earlier, so it means that the wet spot definitely isn’t a result of Rick p.i.s.sing his pants from fear. *Kero kero* A few moments later, Sammy gives off two croaks as a warning, causing everyone to move away from the edge of its body. Afterward, a hand reaches upward, shortly followed by a pair of trousers sailing through the air. *gasha* “Thanks.” Kun s.n.a.t.c.hes it from mid-air and casually holds it in front of Rick. “Change and give him your old one.” Rick quickly changes out of the trousers, causing Till to ‘Iyyyaaaaaaaa’ loudly. “… Thanks man” The youth claps Kun softly on the shoulder before quietly dangling his old trousers over the edge. It is carefully tugged at before Rick let’s go of it. “… nyahaha.. nyanyahaha.” The felinoid’s laughter eventually dies out, breathless from the sudden exertion. Till, on the other hand, is pouting with a red, blushing face, she had turned away from Rick when he suddenly started changing. “Hmm…” *shi* *shi* As the pants were a little tight at the ankles, Rick reaches down with a dagger and gives both of them a small slit to prevent it from cutting off his circulation. *keho* Kun, being the most unaffected, coughs softly to gather everyone’s attention. “Okay, let’s move onto the next phase. Going by the numbers from the time they embarked, the numbers we faced, and all the areas with people, there should be about a thousand fighters—plus an unknown amount of people underground. Considering the preparation time and logistics, at least a third of that number should be support personnel…” “Wait, Kun, from what we saw, it seems like these groups are only the vanguards. Some of the groups might be able to gather more people from the surrounding areas, especially those affiliated with the n.o.bles.” “Oh~ Rick-ni actually noticed those details~ So he isn’t just a pretty face~” *pufuu* Bell does an empty spit-take before crumbling onto Sammy’s soft surface, holding her sides. “Please… no more…” [T/N: Till used イケメン aka Ikemen, iirc its use has somewhat changed over the years in regards to its intonation, so I’m not too sure why it’s funny… maybe it was used in the context of calling Rick the male version of the bimbo? Or it can simply be the fact that Bell finds it funny that Till finds Rick to be handsome/cool in the first place. Ignoring the felinoid, the three of them ponder seriously. “Kun-ni, I don’t think we should go with the attrition strategy~” “Oh?” “Let’s say between 10-20% of the fighting force is out of commission through our actions and the inevitable battles between themselves~ That still leaves about 500 fighters plus their support~ From what we do know, there’s generally two factions in Lilyheim~ This means that one side will eventually dominate~ It would be too dangerous to send the demihumans and Dosnak down there if that’s the case~” “I agree.” Rick starts scratching the corner of his mouth. “There might be some differences within the factions, but I get the feeling that the various groups aren’t out to kill anyone, except against the Players that is. And before I got… rescued,” the blond youth squeaks out the last word as he chokes on it. “There was a group a.s.sault, but I didn’t see any deaths on the NPC side. So they are obviously holding back.” “Hmm, good point, since there are definitely some strategists here, we can’t really cause ma.s.sive confusion even if we want to. With the reinforcements that are coming, an attrition strategy would be rendered meaningless once they arrive.” Kun shifts his mouth left, then right, left again, as he ruminates on the situation. “A blitz~?” “Infiltration?” Till and Kun suggest their own ideas at the same time. The young man gives a nod to the girl, letting her go first. “I can bombard the entrance before setting it on fire, this will cause the defenders in the front to put out the flame~ Then we can drop in from above and rush in, I will take out all the torches as we advance while Bell-ne takes care of the fighting~ We get to the Princess and then use her as a hostage if we need to~” “Hostage? Aren’t we supposed to be the good guys saving her…?” Rick makes an incredulous face at Till. “Problem is… we don’t know where the Princess is, if we get trapped in there trying to find the Princess, we will just die pointlessly.” “Wait… you actually support her idea?!” Rick keeps his expression as he shifts his gaze from Till to Kun. *kon* “Then you think of something, ‘pretty boy’.” Bell finally managed to get herself together and knocks the youth in the head as she joins in the discussion. “I also had a similar idea, but instead of bombardment, we enter in the middle of the night after I blind everyone with a flash of light while Till takes out all the lighting, we use that time to get inside. Bell and I will enter while the two of you cause as much chaos as possible.” “But wouldn’t you have the same problem finding the Princess~?” Kun nods helplessly as Rick rubs his head. The group remains silent for a while. “If we need to find the Princess, can’t we just send Dosnak in first and get some information?” ““OH!”” “Huh?” * * * * * The overcast sky blocks any celestial light source, making the night seem darker than usual. A swaying shadow walks from the interior of the camp, toward the entrance. “Good work, go get some rest.” A middle-aged soldier walks up to the six soldiers guarding the entrance to the camp, leading a group of five soldiers behind him. The entire camp is surrounded by a series of ropes, attached to bells and traps, securing the perimeter. Due to the fact that most fighters can bypa.s.s low-level defenses through body enhancement «Skill»s or blast through makeshift defenses with a simple «Spell», the preferred defenses are alarm ones when they are in the field - as they tend to requires very little resources in comparison to something like a palisade or a rampart which can at most keep out the weakest of wildlife. *da da da* *dokkan* *dokkAN* The sounds of objects landing softly on the jungle floor is covered by consecutive explosions as the ground shakes. “What’s going on?!” “Attack! We are under attack!” *DOKKAN* “Mage Corp, intercept their attack while you retreat! Soldiers, grab your equipment and abandon camp! Protect the mages and form up at the other side!” A st.u.r.dy-looking warrior bellows at the panicking soldiers. “Lotus Blades and Nocturne Petals, protect the Marshall!” ““““““Yes sir!”””””” Two dozen soldiers dash toward the largest tent in a disciplined manner as the other soldiers stop panicking and attach themselves to the first mage they come across, slowly making their way toward the front of the camp, away from the explosions. The scattered soldiers organize themselves around the mages, deploying their standard tactical formation for magical combats. “North-east, incoming Water Magic.” A blonde woman in a loose, flowing red robe shouts from the middle of one of the numerous circular formations. “““Earth Pillar!””” Mages in white robes from other formations shout as one, silently raising three pillars one after another after their incantations. *dokkan* *ka* *ka* *kkkaaaaaa shan* A stream of water pierces through the canopy, heading for the middle of the camp, which got blocked by three pillars of earth. The first pillar is shattered at its top, the second’s middle portion crumbles, the third pillar finally manages to stop the attack, with a large hole visible on its lower section, on its side. The woman in the red robe frowns as they make their way from the camp. “I can not detect the enemy! I repeat, I can not detect the enemy!” The soldiers stare warily into the darkness as the Mages all turn their bodies, facing a different part of the deep, dark jungle. *sha sha* “Red is good to go!” A m.u.f.fled voice is accompanied by a pair of almond-shaped, emerald-like eyes, staring at the retreating soldiers. A heavily armoured soldier is surrounded by two rings of guards, the outer ring with their spears drawn, the inner ring with their dimly glowing staves raised. The group moves meticulously towards the outside of the camp, shortly followed by *KAAN* *KAN* *KAAAN*. Fires follow the explosions, spreading throughout the camp. [T/N: It wasn’t obviously clear, h.e.l.l, it even took me a while to figure out. The explosions are as a respond to “Red is good to go!”, if anyone recalls, this was the improvised grenade they used in vol. 1. They were thrown into the camp, covered by the a.s.sploding watergun :P (refer to the *da da da* sfx] “Blue, increase range by 30 meters. Then another at 35 meters forward with 12 meters to your left and 14 meters to the right.” *dokkan dokkan dokkan* “Focus our defense to our rear! Those off the rotation, help me focus on the sides!” The mage in red robe calmly gives out orders as she sends a fireball through the canopy. A m.u.f.fled *hishi* can be heard from above the leaves. “““““““Yes ma’am!””””””” “Make way, make way!” A man shouts from the the rear of the retreating group, as a large circle of soldiers make their way to the center. The other formations with the circle of soldiers and a mage slightly move to the side to let the group pa.s.s before moving back into their positions. “It’s good that you are safe, Marshall.” “Skip the formalities, what’s going on here, Sergeant?” “We are being attacked, but we have suffered no serious injuries. So either our a.s.sailants are unskilled, or they aren’t interested in harming us.” The Marshall of the expedition scrunches his brows, the heavy armour creaking ever so slightly as he quickly takes grasp of the situation. “Not good! Have our men split up into vanguards and rearguards!” *fiiii* *dokkan* *dokkan* *dokkan* “s.h.i.t…” The Marshall place his left hand on his face for a moment, taking a deep breath. “Ignore the rear! Prepare for battle at the front! Do not actively engage the enemy, we are retreating to the right!” * * * * * “What the h.e.l.l was that?!” A mercenary runs up the stairs from the underground dwelling and questions aloud. “We are under attack!” *gon* *gon* *gon* “We are under attack!” A dozen or so people scream while hitting their gongs with sticks to rouse everyone at the camp as they run towards the open stairs. “f.u.c.k, who the h.e.l.l has the nerve to attack in the middle of the night?! Are they insane?!” The mercenary quickly rushes down the stairs and makes his way to report to his superior. * * * * * *kan* *kan* *zarashi* “Eh… what’s that sound?” “Doesn’t that sound like… a battle?” “Quick, make a report to the Overseer!” … … … “Are you certain?” An elf in satin sleepwear asks while lighting up the lamp on the table in front of him, his hair is still in a mess as he was soundly sleeping. “We’d already sent out some scouts, they should report back shortly.” A soldier is kneeling on one knee on the floor, his right fist pressed firmly into his left, cupped hand, maintaining his salute. *Furu* A pale looking elf roughly tosses aside the hanging cloth that acts as the doorway to the large tent and rushes in. “Overseer, the battle is raging, but it’s strange. It seems to be a Republican force fighting against the defenders on-site, yet…” “Yet what?!” The elf bellows impatiently. “They are fighting a pa.s.sive battle and seem to be retreating, it’s the defenders that are actively attacking them! This strategy doesn’t make sense… Everyone knows that a night battle in the jungle means one or both sides will become totally annihilated, this is definitely not the time to do such a battle!” The strategist rushes out in one breath. “But you said the Republicans are fighting defensively. a.s.suming they aren’t insane and are just buying time, then…” “Either their reinforcements already arrived or they are planning something else!” The strategist quickly finishes off the sentence. *shi shi shi* The Overseer quickly picks up the quill, dips it into some ink before writing onto a piece of vellum. After rolling the vellum into a scroll, he grabs a candle nearly, lights it with the flame from the lamp, before dripping the wax over the opening. In a smooth motion, he takes off the ring on his middle finger and presses it down firmly onto the still soft wax, making a seal. “Messenger! Bring this back to our lord in Lilyheim!” The Overseer stands up, shifting his gaze to the strategist and the kneeling soldier. “Rouse the archers, we will be stopping the Republicans from one upping us!” [T/N: If anyone is lost from the last few scenes, it’s 1) Republican camp got attacked and forced to retreat INTO the defenders. The Marshall realized it, a bit too late and tries to GTFO. 2) Defenders go nuts trying to well, defend. 3) Another group hears the battle, going “oh s.h.i.t, I want a piece of that a.s.s” and joins in. So it’s a domino effect set off by our MCs.] * * * * * As similar scenes play out through the nearby camps, Dosnak, Gui, Kun, Rick, and the demihuman guards make their way to Bell, hiding on a particularly large tree. *kan* *kan* The battle intensifies, yet the sound seems to be moving away. Taking this chance, Bell -in her black fur mode- leaps soundlessly onto the jungle floor with Rick on her back. The felinoid makes her way to some undergrowth, lowering the blond youth onto the floor. *shin* *shin* *shin* *shin* Rick places his hands onto the damp earth, freezing the ground gradually, frost forming on the surface of the ground and vegetation. As the radius grew to about 3 meters, he retracts his hands and moves away, letting Bell take over. A burst of dull, silvery light envelopes her hands, turning it into metallic claws. *kuru* *kuru* Without hesitation, she starts tearing out the frozen earth, alternating her left and right claw, cutting into the earth with knife hands with a steep angle in a circular pattern. After completing the circle, she tears out the block of frozen earth with a *sha*, before repeating the process all over again. The sound of her digging is covered by the sounds of battle and the occasional sound of explosion, drawing no attention to herself. Although the process is slow and laborious, it’s completely safe. After a few minutes of digging, she hits the rocky layer underneath as she guessed she would. The country where she was born in is a jungle, extremely similar to this one. Jungles, despite its appearance, generally have very poor soil, which is considered common knowledge to her. They are now using this fact to their advantage. Giving her claws some rapid shakes to loosen them up, she dismisses them to reveal the paws underneath. With multiple soft *ka*s, she stretches herself out and acts as lookout, while Rick returns to the spot to take over. *subu* Rick swings his right arm with all his might, embedding a wooden dagger into the center of the hole. He brings his arm back up and places it onto his ear. “Go.” He immediately turns on a «Chatroom» and stays perfectly still. Shortly after, the dagger releases a warm light, setting itself alight. As the wisps of smoke becomes a stream, a burst of light emits from the back of the dagger -causing Rick to cover the hole with his foot-, driving itself deeper into the now damp hole. After a similar interval, the liquid in the hole creates *shin* and *kuru* as they freeze rapidly. The cycle repeats itself, with the dagger shrinking quite a bit each time, blackening into a piece of charcoal. “This one is a bust, moving onto the nEX- ouf!” Before Rick can finish his report after turning off his «Chatroom», Bell already grabbed him and hoisted him like a sack of potatoes, running into another section that’s barely within view of Kun and the others. “Starting hole number 2, leapfrog over us and set up a sentry further down in case this one is a dud as well.” The felinoid makes the report before uncorking a mana potion and drinking it as she waits for the youth to freeze the ground. … … … *kon* “Kun, stop! Send Dosnak down, this one is good!” “Till, barrage!” *DOKKAN* *DOKKAN* *DOKKAN* *DOKkan* *dokkan* *dokkan* *dok…* The group managed to dig into a room below the jungle floor after their 6th try, Till had to subtly shift the battleground ever so slightly to allow the duo to work while Gui acts as a scout, soundlessly stalking the branches as he watches the battle unfold nearby. After the report, a rain of explosions pummel the jungle floor. Unlike the previous streams of water, the strikes form into a cone shape just before hitting the floor, maximizing the sound and area of impact at the expense of power. *sha sha sha sha* The leaves rattle as the demihuman guards travel towards the felinoid alongside Dosnak, not taking any chances. The reason the guards were kept is twofold: aside from the obvious firepower, they carry a sort of prestige as only the rich or the powerful have demihuman slaves or guards, this will automatically make any opponent hesitate in the dark should they see them and would make any potential negotiations easier. “Good luck Dosnak, remember, run as soon as you are spotted, don’t take any risks.” Rick gives the humanoid a pat on the shoulder as he makes his way to the hole in the ground. Bell gives him a meaningful nod before jumping up onto a nearby branch, heading towards Kun’s position. … … … “Bring out the last of the reserves! Recall squads 1 through 7 to have them rest!” A dirt-blonde elf woman with a simple ponytail shouts while leaning onto the table with a map on it, her chiseled features showing the telltale signs of harsh battles. The dimly lit room with the wavering candles makes her shadow dance, causing her to seem especially domineering. “Ma’am! The latest report!” A soldier covered in mud runs into the room breathlessly as one of the six messengers run out of the room to relay the woman’s order, causing the barely noticeable reflection on the ceiling to retract ever so slightly. “Good, rest for now!” The woman grabs the piece of vellum presented to her quickly, unrolling it to view the details. With careful attention, she shifts the various pieces on top of the map, her brows scrunching deeply together. The breathless messenger seats himself at the end of the line, a fellow soldier handing him a gla.s.s of water. “What kind of battle is this?!” The woman shakes her head at the nonsense that’s before her eyes. With the entrance to the underground fort as the center, several pieces of wooden figures are spread out. The first group of attackers have now moved to the northeast, instead of retreating east from where they came from. A second group rained arrows continuously from the north, hitting both her defenders and the first group of attackers, before a third group attacked the second group from the rear. The first group seems to be uninterested in the battle as they continue to retreat, strangely enough, away from their supposed campsite. A 4-way battle between her secondary forces and 3 other forces shifted from the south and is heading to the northwest direction, dragging another group into the battle, leaving the southeast practically empty. There’s reports of random bombardments landing everywhere indiscriminately, some of the strikes even knocked the torches off their holders in the corridors. [T/N: And this is why you use wooden implements with fire magic, people will think it’s just burnt out torches after you are done with it. :3] “Recall mercenary squads 10 to 17 and redeploy 10 to 13 to the southeast and have the rest on standby!” The soldier nearest to the door immediately runs out of the room, down the corridor before turning left somewhere further down the path. The barely visible watery-film on the ceiling shifts hesitantly before going down the corridor in the opposite direction. * * * * * *sha sha* “Brother, a group of fighters are coming back this way.” Gui’s voice appears from within the swaying leaves from above Kun. “Good job, keep an eye out on them, don’t let them catch you.” “Okay!” The voice answers once as the natural sounds of the jungle and the raging battles takes over. “Bell, how is it going on your end?” The young man brings his right hand to his ear as he keeps kneading caltrops from one small pouch before placing them into another. “It’s all set up, how are these bits of rope and strings going to help though?” “Does your country have tales of ghostly lights in marshes leading travelers astray?” “No… we have too many creatures of the night to worry about things like ghosts… wait… you mean something like ‘will-o'-wisps’?” “Is that what they are called where you are from? Our objective is to stall for time to get to the Princess. In that case, every little bit helps, something like this would probably be more effective than a conventional fight.” “You are more devious than you look, Kun.” “Thanks for the compliment.” “Actually, do we have anymore of those oil filled blocks?” “I have about 7 left, why?” “I’m going to add to that “every little bit helps”.” … … … *doro doro* “Rick-sensei.” A translucent puddle sluggishly forms next to the blond youth’s hands, the cool sensation reaching his arm unexpectedly. “Eeeeeeee!” A shrill, m.u.f.fled scream barely escapes from Rick’s throat as he chokes on his own breath on its way out. The puddle gradually transforms into a humanoid shape, standing before him. *kiho kiho* *ba* After coughing a few times and slapping his chest, the youth stands up straight and tries to act dignified. “Good work Dosnak, did you found the Princess?” “I believe so, there seems to be a heavily guarded room at the end of a corridor, but I couldn’t get any closer. Also…” The youth holds his left hand up to stop Dosnak from completing his report. “One sec, let me get the other two here so you don’t have to repeat everything.” Turning his head, he puts his right hand on his ear. “Kun, come on over, Dosnak’s back with a report.” Turning his head once again. “Get your fat a.s.s here, Dosnak’s back.” Moments later, two shadows appear beside the group of people next to the small hole. “Woah, so nice and cool here.” “Well, I DID freeze the ground all the way through.” In the same breath, Rick ducks to the ground before popping back up again. *doro doro* “Bell-sensei, you don’t have to hit me to tell me to complete the report.” Dosnak’s head jiggles back and forth before finally settling down. “Sorry Dosnak, sorry, really, sorry! That wasn’t intended for you.” The felinoid apologizes profusely before staring daggers at Rick. “You are getting pretty p-r-e-d-i-c-t-a-b-l-e.” The youth teases before swiftly dodging a kick aimed at his shin, hiding behind Kun. “Hmm… can I have a light please?” The translucent humanoid shifts for a bit. “Let’s move over there.” The trio follows him over while Kun summons a dim light. Within moments, a jelly tendril sweeps the leaf litter away, revealing the muddy earth below. Three other tendrils join in right after, rapidly sc.r.a.ping lines onto the floor. “I didn’t find the entrance since it was on the other side, but here is the map of the place.” The map shows a series of connecting corridors that forms squares and rectangle of various sizes, within the majority of those shapes are rooms for logistics and dormitories for the mercenaries and soldiers. At the bottom right of the map is a small rectangular room. Beyond it are two forking corridors, where a tendril is pointing at it intently. “This is where I think she’s at, there’s four female guards there in heavy armour and two magic users, I nearly got detected by one of them before I rushed back out.” “Excellent work, Dosnak.” “Yeah, good work, and really sorry about that!” “Alright, let’s call down Till. So you, Rick, and Till will rush in from the front after I start a diversion with Dosnak and the demihumans here like we planned, alright?” “Actually, slight change of plans.” Bell brings out a long piece of rope with six blocks tied into a knot at fixed intervals. “Why go through the front when we can go through the back?” She flashes a big smile, obviously pleased with herself. ““Oh?”” “Charge up the blocks first, Kun.” “I’m out of mana at the moment, the mana potion is still filling it up.” “Alright, then do it later.” Bell hands the rope with wooden blocks to Kun. “Just lower it into the hole once you are done with them.” She flexes her paws as she closes her eyes for a moment, visualizing the plan. “First, we will have Till charge up her mana and then make a mess at the entrance. I’ll throw this last block of oil at the entrance and rush in. Till will rush here to provide a.s.sistance, when I get to here…” Bell reaches down and points at an intersection on the map. “I’ll tell Kun to explode those blocks, which will open a hole and drop a bunch of debris, I will use an Earth Pillar from below to direct it to block off the path. Then we can get to the Princess while Kun keeps our escape route open.” “Eh… what happens if you die at the entrance?” “Just wait til this is over…” Bell mumbles under her breath at Rick’s question. “That’s why I’m leaving my halberd here. Kun will keep an eye on my status in the party screen, if I die, just blow up the hole and hope for the best. We wouldn’t have survived anyways if I can’t get in by myself.” “If you say so.” “Alright, let me fill Till in on the new plan.” * * * * * 30 minutes later, the plan went into action. It took a little longer since they hid themselves as the group of people Gui warned Kun about appeared, forcing Gui and two of the guards to act as bait and lure them to another location. Afterward, a localized storm tore through the battlefield at the entrance of the underground staircase. During a brief lull, a fiery explosion rips through the air at the same moment the storm resumes, fanning the flames to the surrounding vegetation. A shadow bolts from the trees, right into the staircase as the combatants were blinded by the sudden flame. “Argh… Intruders! Stop that th-mmrph” A mercenary at the bottom of the stairwell yells as a furry black ma.s.s shoves him to the ground, using his head as a stepping stone to go over his comrades. “The h.e.l.l is that thing?!” “Shut up and chase it!” Sounds of warnings fill the underground corridors as the shadow flickers between dull red and black under the dim light. The mossy corridors are made out of thick, rough stones, with hints of moisture on the well-worn floor. Each time the shadow encounters a squad of soldiers, it jumps at irregular intervals, using the wall, ceiling and even the soldiers themselves as stepping stones, easily bypa.s.sing their hindrance. It didn’t take long for it to reach the designated spot, with soldiers chasing it from the rear. “Let her rip, Kun!” The shadow dives onto the stone floor while a tilted pillar of earth appears from behind it. *DOKKAN* *ssshhhhhhhhhaaaaaaa rororororo* An earth-rending explosion rocks the ceiling, large chunks of stone bounces off the pillar, leaving deep indentations on its side, a rain of gravel and dirt follows, completely blocking the corridor. *fuuuuuuuuu* A gust of wind kicks up the loose earth and gravel, creating a small dust cloud, within it appears a girl in a dress and a dust covered youth, showing a distinct contrast between the two. *piutaaaa* *pa pa pa* The youth blows a breath to clear his mouth as his proceeds to pat the dust off of himself. “Couldn’t you at least cover me as well?” “That would be a waste of mana~ Let’s go~!” The two run up to the felinoid on the ground and give her a hands up. “G.o.d d.a.m.n it, I forgot about the explosion, my ears.” Bell gives her head a shake to clear her ears as the ringing sound echoes inside. *Ta Ta Ta* “Who goes there?!” A handsome looking elf confronts the trio, leading a group of soldiers behind her, with their weapons drawn. “Wait… it’s you?!” The blond youth stares at the woman, pointing his hands at her. [T/N: In case people didn’t realize it, the factions AREN’T at war, they are just different groups within the same country. That’s why they aren’t trying to kill each other as that can easily incite a civil war, something they don’t want. Also, if anyone have any questions, ask in the comment and I will answer to the best of my ability, I know the wait has been pretty long between the chapters and this chapter is actually pretty d.a.m.n long (almost 1.5x over the more normal chapters)