Raising A Few Wives in a Beast Apocalypse

Sometime later...

"What's that green stuff in the air?" Audrey asked while pointing forward.

The pointing was just a reflex. Everyone had noticed the smog already. It was pretty apparent from the wall they were sitting on.

"Whatever it is, it makes my skin crawl", Jade replied while looking at the goosebumps which had formed on her hands.

Her instincts were in chaos. She felt both the urge of wanting to attack and wanting to retreat. She felt a hatred from deep within her she couldn't understand at the same time. It was even more intense than the time with Abel.

"Hey, are you okay?" Emily asked while putting her hand on Jade's shoulder. She could sense that Jade was getting worked up. Remembering what they spoke about before. She quickly acted.

"Y... Yeah. I am now. Thanks for that" Jade replied while calming down. Feeling Emily's hand on her shoulder grounded her.

"Should we pause the plan for a bit until you're good?" Muku asked with concern in his voice. He didn't know what the problem with Jade was yet. However, that didn't matter. He'd still pause everything for her.

"No, I'm fine. We can proceed. I'm just the backup anyway. My state shouldn't affect too much of the plan anyway" Jade replied while signalling the team to continue with the plan.

"Okay, it's decided then. We're taking a break before going ahead with the plan" Chloe spoke before Muku could.

The rest of the team agreed with her. Despite Jade's protests. No one budged. They just quietly looked at her protesting. She soon gave up and focused on getting into peak condition.

She had realised that they wouldn't proceed until she was completely fine. So, she decided to focus on that. Which worked, she managed to calm herself down after a little rest.

The moment she did, the group proceeded on their journey. The mansion stopped at roughly the same distance from the base as before. A distance where it would take some effort for those at the base to spot it. Especially with all the smog.

They cleared out some ground as quietly as they could. Which required killing a few weak beasts. Then the mansion landed.

Muku then took Audrey, Chloe, Layla and Emily closer to the base. He'd leave Audrey, Layla and Emily just before the base. Then he'd proceed inside with Chloe.

The initial plan was to take Audrey with him. However, Jade's situation required it to be changed a little. He had to leave Hope to watch over her. In case something happened.

Hope could use her poison element to paralyse Jade if need be. She didn't act too much or was physically outstanding. However, Hope was definitely one of the most dangerous, if not the most dangerous, members of the team.

So, leaving her with Jade was the best choice. She could neutralise a distracted Jade easily enough. The others could only use harmful methods in such a situation.

Anyway, Muku and Chloe should be enough for the mission anyway. So, it was all good.

....

"Okay, you'll hide here. If anything goes wrong. Chloe will send a signal. It will be very easy to spot, so we don't need to decide on anything specific" Muku spoke to the girls who were going to be their immediate backup.

The girls nodded in understanding. After which, Muku and Chloe headed straight for the base. They just flew forward directly since they were concealed completely under his barrier.

They soon noticed what they assumed to be the source of the explosion and green smog. Which was a hole that was being fixed by a group of Earth Elementalists.

Oddly enough, the work that should have been easy for just one of them seemed taxing to them all. Even with their combined might, they could only manage to slowly cover up the hole which had been covered up by a tarp just a few meters inside it. So, Muku and Chloe couldn't see inside it.

They could guess what could have been going on, however. It was probably something related to the Monarch. For that reason, they didn't dare get closer. Taking a look from the distance was enough.

Even if they could sense an intense and eerie energy being emitted from the hole. They still didn't go take a look. They weren't the heroes of the world who went around seeking trouble...

The duo then proceeded with their mission. The front door wasn't closed because of all the activities that were good on. So, they just walked right through.

They knew their destination, so they made their way there quickly. They only had to worry about not bumping into anyone. Sound wasn't an issue in the barrier. They could even sing at the top of their voices if they wanted to.

"So, what's our next step after getting him?" Chloe asked as they moved forward.

"Well, the world has changed way too much. For that reason, I think the best thing would be to stay close to a barrier. We can't even properly deal with LR3s, after all. So, it's safe to assume we'd be easily bodied by the newcomers. If possible, I would have liked to stay here. Unfortunately, the Monarch had to pop up. We can only go back to where we came from for now. Better the devil we know, right?" Muku told her what he was thinking.

While he had his erasing gaze. A broken ability that could instil fear into any creature's mind. However, it would be useless if he was attacked by something that could kill him before he even saw it.

He might be arrogant at times. However, he wasn't stupid. He knew that fighting even when the odds are stacked against you is only admirable in movies or other situations. When it came to dealing with beasts in the apocalypse, caution when you know you're outmatched was the way to go.

"That seems logical. Knowing you, we'll have to reach at least Rank 4 before going anywhere, right? I guess we're going to be grounded for a while then..." Chloe replied, taking a slight jab at him.

However, it was clear that she supported the plan. She was just making a joke to lighten up the mood a bit. They were in a pretty dangerous situation after all.

"You know, you didn't have to notify me of how much you can see through me" Muku replied with an eye roll.

It kinda sucked how they could all see through him. Yet, he couldn't even claim to completely understand any of them. Life was just not fair.

"Hehe... Hhm? I can't sense anyone inside the office..." Chloe laughed smugly. Then she noticed how they couldn't sense anyone in William's office.

It was only then they realised something. They didn't even know if the office was his room. There was a very distinct difference between the two after all.

If it was just his office. Then finding him there would depend on whether he had work or not. Which shouldn't have been too often in the current world. Which meant he'd probably spend a lot more time in his room.

Since they didn't find him in the office. They'd have to go around the base looking for him through his mana signature. Which they couldn't do openly for obvious reasons. If they tried searching over a larger distance. Their mana output would increase by a lot. That would pretty much be no different from announcing themselves to the base's strong members.

"Well, I guess we can only do this the slow w..." Muku was replying dejectedly when he noticed someone coming their way.

Chloe noticed the person as well, and a frown immediately appeared on her face. It was the lady Muku disliked the most in the apocalyptic world. The whom Chloe felt complicated emotions for.

That's right, it was Tilda. She seemed to be in a rush. Within a few seconds, she had already passed them by. They were so hidden that she couldn't sense anything, not to mention her rushed state.

She also wasn't like Jade who was extremely sensitive to being looked at. Being a mage type kind of made people dependent on their mana. So, their senses were usually average at best. That is when compared to those with more physical classes in the same rank.

For that reason, Tilda didn't sense the gazes focused on her. Or maybe her subconscious mind did, but it was ignored.

"Tsk, why am I the only one who gets sent on these random errands? There's like nine more people who could be here. Is this what they mean when they say I'm the right-hand woman? This is bull, I'm still just an assistant even after the apocalypse!" Tilda complained to herself while unlocking the door to the office.

Muku and Chloe just looked on unmoved. It was natural for people to complain like that after all. Especially if her situation was as she was saying. A situation where she was given an empty title.

Anyway, Tilda entered the office after unlocking it. She came out less than a minute later holding a briefcase.

It was a weird black briefcase. As for why it was weird... It wasn't because of its looks, but how the mana in the surrounding area was slowly gathering toward it...

Tilda continued with her business. She locked the office and then left at the same hurried speed as before.

Muku and Chloe looked at each other briefly. The next step was obvious to both of them. They immediately followed after Tilda.

Maybe they'll find William wherever she was rushing to. The chance of that happening was pretty high actually...