God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.-Chapter 874: Mutual Benefit (2).

After getting dressed, Cain followed Julio as they walked down a hallway.

Currently, they were in a large apartment building that was currently being used to house a large number of people.

Since they couldn't get rid of the Dome, to conserve energy, Mira had chosen to decreased the area it covered, making it many times smaller than in initially was.

"Getting in here was rather difficult. This weirdo had to throw us both above the horde of zombies and Devils and through the Dome. It was incredible!"

As Julio chattered off, Cain contemplated how much to reveal. On one hand, he could be blunt and list off his demands. Should they refuse, he could just leave and doom them to their fates.

On the other hand, he could wait untill he had saved them before revealing his intentions.

Both were slimy moves.

But they were the only ones he had, regardless of how they made him look.

Together with Julio and the Steel Herald trailing behind, they walked into a small room with a semi-large wooden table in the middle.

Mira and Legarde were already seated.

They both seated quickly, disregarding any politeness.

Mira cleared her throat,

"So, Cain... What exactly do you need us to do?"

Cain let his head drop and was silent for a moment.

Then he looked up,

"The preparations I need to make will likely take more than twenty-four hours to make."

Legarde grimaced,

"That is too long. We don't have that much time to give. Is there any way to speed things up?"

Cain shook his head,

"Not only that, but but we will also need a rather decent amount of mana shards, preferably mana cores to power the teleportation magic circle."

Mira and Legarde exchanged glances.

Then Mira asked,

"Will you need anything else?"

Cain nodded, "A lot of Devil's blood."

Legarde raised a brow,

"Devil's Blood?"

Cain nodded, "It serves as a great conduit for mana and will be used to draw the magic circle."

Miss went silent for a moment.

Then she turned to Julio,

"How many system points are in your possession, Julio?"

Julio went silent for a moment then answered a bit hesitantly,

"Close to a hundred thousand, I think..."

Mira sighed, "Not nearly enough then. Besides I don't know how we can get our hands on Devil's blood. We harvest the exoskeletons and claws off the Devils, but not their blood, I am afraid."

Cain nodded,

"Then we might be in a bit of a situation."

He paused for a moment,

"Of course, to every problem, there must be a solution..."

Legarde's eyes narrowed as he sneered,

"Ah... I see where this is going."

He turned to Mira,

"This sleazeball is just trying to use this as an opportunity to take advantage, Mira. Doifold to his demands!"

Mira's face turned a shade of pink,

"You are embarrassing me!"

Cain smiled wryly as he waved his hand,

"I can assure you. It's nothing like that."

Legarde frowned,

"Then..."

Cain nodded, "Yes, I do have all these resources, but they didn't come cheap. But I cannot give them away for free."

Julio clenched his fists.

Mira nodded calmly,

"That is understandable."

Her gaze was oddly serene,

"Then, what is it you want?"

Sensing the atmosphere shift uncomfortably again, Cain quickly cleared the air,

"Just to be clear, I have no desire for anything inappropriate or unsavory. Instead, I want something from you."

He stared right at Mira.

Legarde slammed his hand into the table,

"What do you want? Mana shards? Weapons? We'll give them to you once you get us out of this mess. However, don't even think for a moment you can—"

"Legarde! That is enough!" Mira said, raising her voice.

Legarde fell silent, his face grim,

"But..."

She shot him an angry glare. She truly seemed enraged this time,

"We are not in any position to be making demands, so compose yourself."

Legarde's face fell. Gritting his teeth, he settled back down to his seat and dropped his head.

Cain found this sight amusing.

Although he seems like a fearsome warrior with his spear and armor, this middle aged man was more like a concerned father than anything else.

Mira sighed tiredly. Then she turned back to Cain,

"Forgive his rudeness..."

Cain shook his head,

"I can understand his concerns, but I can assure you. Something like that is the last thing on my mind."

Mira's expression changed a bit.

Then she cleared her throat,

"In that case, what exactly do you want?"

Cain hesitated for a moment.

Then he sighed,

"I want a fighting force."

Legarde chuckled wryly,

"I am sorry to announce this to you, but we do not have much of a fighting force left. There aren't a lot of mages amongst us. A lot of our warriors, archers and marksmen died in the last push against the Devils. Quite frankly, we have little to no fighting power left."

Cain felt the urge to groan.

Still, he couldn't give up yet. He had to focus on the positives,

"Still, you do have something, right?"

Legarde tapped the edge of the table thoughtfully,

"Sure. Maybe a thousand fighters? No, a bit more than that..."

Cain grimaced,

"It's not enough."

Mira suddenly added,

"We have a decent stash of weapons, armor and magic firearms. High quality ones too."

Cain raised a brow, "Can I see a sample?"

Although he didn't have a lot of faith right now, he was still willing to hold on to a bit of hope.

Mira hesitated for a moment. Just the briefest of moments.

Then she steeled her mind.

With firm hands, she retrieved a magic firearm that resembled a flintlock out of her inventory and placed it into Cain's hands.

Cain quickly looked over it.

Then his eyes widened.

As a craftsman himself, he was able to recognize quality when he saw it.

And this...

This wasn't just quality.

He glanced back at Mira.

Under the fervor and intensity of his gaze, she averted her eyes, a shade of pink creeping onto her lightly freckled cheeks.

Cain inadvertently muttered,

"Unbelievable..."

Mira looked up,

"I-is it any good?"

Cain nodded, "I have to say that my ego has been bruised a bit. This is far better than anything I have made myself."

Mira's expression lit up,

"Really?"

Cain's expression was a mix between amazement and a hint of jealousy,

"Yeah. It's incredible."

He glanced at her curiously,

"Did you make this?"

Mira blushed as she nodded.

"Of course she did! Do you know who you are speaking to?!" Legarde declared proudly.

Cain ignored him. He stared deeply at Mira.

"Are you willing to bet on me?"

Mira blinked, a confused look in her eyes.

Cain grinned,

"I will save you all. I guarantee it."

His grin turned a little predatory. Almost like a Hunter eyeing succulent prey.

"I can save you. But you have to give me all you are..."