Chapter 579: Return to Monskon City

No more wasting time. With the incursion potentially imminent, Kai needed to visit Monskon City to end his tour, then he could wrap up training with the elites and his students to begin final preparations. He'd gone above and beyond what anyone had expected of him, done everything he could in defense of the continent.

Everything except going home.

He expected to have more time to watch and anticipate, but at the speed the Clanless flew, they came up on the city with troubling speed. Even though he had a speed phase, he wasn't emotionally prepared: it still seemed to be a speck one moment, then the city of his childhood the next. There were no dramatic differences that he saw, he was just back.

A part of him finished the sentence "as if he never left" but no, that wasn't true at all. Everything had changed for him, and as Zae Zin Nim had pointed out, many of his friends had left, so Monskon City was just a vestige of the past he needed to push through.

Just in case someone was going to make an issue of him being exiled, Kai leapt down outside the city gates - his wives joined him, and Ankrastor dropped unnoticed a while later. As soon as leaders began rushing from the city to greet him, Kai realized that it wouldn't go that way. This wasn't Cloudspire, but now that he had become a powerful force, everyone in Monskon City was probably eager to pretend they had always loved him.

One man stood back with a grim expression: Hannagan Lantrian, the former head of the Hunters Guild, in a way the man who had condemned Kai to his path. Even though it was certain he was no threat, Kai still examined his soul as if he was one.

<

Name: Hannagan Lantrian

Total Power: 141

Grandfist Class: 67 (77)

Physique: F-9 (48)

Soul Level: 4 (16)

>

Hannagan had 141 Power, just a little higher than before. No threat at all, yet Kai felt an old surge of anger... a dying surge that faded away. Now he could recognize a bitter old man clinging to power in the face of difficult odds. It had been fate or Kai's own bad luck that had given him a weak Class and started it all - if anything, Hannagan had done him a favor by forcing him to move on.

Not that he was going to say any of that. Kai stepped forward, ignoring the fawning leaders including the new head of the Hunters Guild, to address the old man.

"Hannagan Lantrian." Kai's voice silenced all the leaders. "We didn't part on the best of terms."

"No, we did not." Even though he knew he was outmatched, Hannagan kept his back stiff and stared back, eyes moving from Kai to Zae Zin Nim. "If that is the same woman I recall from the last incursion, she said something about killing me."

"Do I need to?" Zae Zin Nim asked.

"I believe we are all on the same side here." Hannagan smiled thinly. "Your flight from the south has caused quite the rumors, and Monskon City is eager to do what it can for its exiled son. I'm sure those currently in charge would be happy to reinstate you, of course, but I understand you intend to help us prepare for the incursion."

"Yes, that's the only goal," Kai said. "We won't be long."

The city leaders found their voices again, urging him to stay longer and offering every inducement they could, but the fact was that they had nothing that could tempt him. Honestly, the vague impulse of attachment to this city was far stronger than any minor benefits a Frontier city like this could offer.

They said a lot of words, but it all boiled down to being willing to give him basically anything, including making him head of the Hunters Guild, city defense, and maybe the city itself. As Hannagan watched in stony silence, Kai realized that was exactly what the old man expected. He'd bet wrong about Kai and lost everything, and now he expected to receive petty revenge.

And abruptly Kai knew that wasn't what he wanted.

"Let's talk business." Kai clapped his hands together to cut off the chatter. "What do you see as the primary obstacles to Monskon City's defense?"

"Well, it comes down to needing a stronger core," one of the younger hunters said. "Our last Hunter Trials went well, but the new hunters are only strong enough for average monsters. They say more big monsters might get through, requiring 100 Power or more to kill. If that happens, we don't have enough to deal with them."

"Hannagan has a plan to draw on the Lantrian clan from further east," another added. "So far it hasn't been approved, because the eastern cities have their own problems."

Kai felt like asking whether Hannagan was considering running away from the city again, but held his tongue. Instead he smiled across the leaders, looking past their toadying: whoever else they were, they were Goralian men and women facing a terrible danger who needed hope.

"Give me some personal time in the city," Kai told them. "No, nothing fancy, we'll travel on our own. But then we'll see what we can do to help you."

While the leaders didn't want to let him leave, they couldn't do much when Kai leapt into the sky. He and the others soared over the outer wall and landed lightly within the first district. That attracted some attention, but they still managed to mix into the crowds. There were more foreigners these days: Irunian merchants and soldiers, other species from the Southern Reach, even Krysali with mining scars. He might have left Monskon City, but it had continued changing in his absence.

"So?" Omilaena bumped her hip against his as they walked. "Just what are you trying to do here?"

"Hannagan expects me to throw my weight around and punish him," Kai explained, "but that would make me the petty and selfish warrior who Hannagan thought would get others killed."

"Who cares?" Zae Zin Nim asked. "Nobody will care what he thinks. Alive or dead."

"No, I want to beat him at his own game. Last incursion was a blow to him, but you can see that he's trying to worm his way back into power. I want to best him in such a way that he has to look me in the eye and admit this way is better. With all the resources available to us, we should be able to do that."

"Perhaps. You've removed many of the people with talent."

"Excuse me." The fourth voice made them turn back to Ankrastor, who had been tagging along but not drawing attention to himself. Now he stepped closer and gave a bow. "I would be happy to assist you here, as partial thanks. Let me lead the defense of your city and I promise I'll keep it safe."

"Huh." Kai turned back to Ankrastor and considered, then shook his head. "It won't work with you alone, otherwise that's the same as me dropping in to do it. But if we can build up local forces, you could keep them alive. That work for you?"

"Of course. I'll do whatever I can."

"For right now, head out of the city and go investigate... there are these communities with burning pits, barely surviving. See if you can find anyone out there who's half-decent, or deserves a second chance."

Ankrastor nodded sharply and darted away, no doubt to terrify the living daylights out of some people living on the outskirts. That was a good step forward, and Kai was also glad to be with just his wives again, for admittedly personal reasons.

As they walked through Monskon City, he pointed out places he remembered, from the Granfian complex, to the park where he trained with Inafay, to the alley where he'd won a tournament. Zae Zin Nim listened with what he thought was wifely patience, while Omilaena seemed honestly curious, in an amused sort of way. Maybe he was being silly and nostalgic, but after so long traveling the world, he thought he could indulge himself, and they seemed to find it more endearing than annoying.

Eventually they ended up in the Hunters Guild bar, atop the hill in the highest district in the city. Kai's positive experiences there had all been in the distant past, though he had first truly met the Tonjin brothers there. That little memory still had him smiling fondly in a way that he hadn't expected.

They purchased drinks and food - simple, hearty Goralian fare - and sat in a comfortable corner. It wasn't the fanciest or most prestigious corner, but it was the one where Kai remembered the veteran hunters congregating and telling their stories, the tales of defending civilization against a tide of monsters that had so captured his imagination as a child.

"You seem fond of this place," Zae Zin Nim said during a lull. "I'm not sure I understand why."

"I guess I just... love it in the abstract." Kai shrugged as he struggled to find the words. "I mean, I still grew up here. I want to... save the version of it that I used to believe in, I guess. You hated the Brightwind Sect, but you didn't want it eradicated entirely, did you?"

That seemed to actually give Zae Zin Nim pause, then she nodded slowly. "I suppose it is somewhat the opposite. The Brightwind Sect always meant negative things to me, but in the end, I wanted to... create a better form of it. That seemed a better way to spite my father's legacy."

"What does that mean for Monskon, though?" Omilaena asked. She leaned forward, practically across his chest, to examine Zae Zin Nim. "Are we going to run around picking up the dregs and boosting them up?"

Kai sighed. "Don't put it that way in public, but something like that. There are good people here... I want to make sure that they lead their city and Hannagan can't get any power back. Goralians aren't perfect, but they're fair. The only reason they're giving Hannagan the time of day is that they think they might need him to survive."

"And our superiority will be clear." Zae Zin Nim nodded with new determination. "Very well."

Next he intended to discuss exactly what assets they had, since this scenario was much weaker than the areas they usually worked in. Before he could start on that conversation, they were interrupted by a loud group barging into the room. Kai froze as he realized who it was.

Fhazi Lantrian swaggered in with a diminished entourage: beefy replacements for the Tonjin brothers, no personal assassin, fewer sycophants hanging onto his words.

<

Name: Fhazi Lantrian

Total Power: 30

Grandfist Class: 9 (19)

Physique Level: G-4 (10)

Soul Level: 1 (1)

>

In the seven years since they'd last seen one another, Fhazi had only risen to 30 Power. He wasn't wearing family armor anymore, so he was functionally weaker than the last time Kai had seen him. It was just what Hannagan had said would happen: Fhazi was given a trivial number of resources, but ultimately came to nothing.

That limited life hadn't seemed to bother him, and Fhazi looked content in his privilege... until he saw Kai sitting opposite the door. All the blood drained from his face and something died in his eyes.

"Excuse me," he said tightly, turning back. "I just remembered-"

"No, no." Kai gestured broadly toward the largest table, smiling with too many teeth. "Don't let us stop you. Enjoy your meal."

And then he didn't say anything else. A younger Kai might have wanted to mock him or show him up, or break a beer over his head - he could have killed the other man with a beer mug. But as soon as he saw Fhazi, he knew that none of that would be satisfying, not truly.

Instead he let Fhazi sit in his fancy chair, surrounded by his sycophants. Kai didn't need to take any extra steps to taunt him: Omilaena draped herself against his side, while Zae Zin Nim only sat beside them and she was stunning enough on her own. Because they weren't using shrouds, their power was blindingly obvious.

At first Kai thought that it would be awkward, trying too hard to have a good time, but as he had a lovely dinner with his wives, Kai honestly forgot about Fhazi Lantrian.