Sylva froze upon the mention of war against the Pixies. Her smile disappeared, and her expression changed to that of a mix with guilt and anxiety.

"D-did this happen because of–"

"No, don't think like that. I tried to kill the Pixie Lord who tried to kill me, that is all to it. He'll come even if you were not by my side."

Sylva wanted to speak more, but she felt the hands of Dhampy on her shoulders and knew that speaking anymore would be useless. Lilith turned her back against them and faced the Berserker; her mind at this moment is full of things.

'Ugh, I won't be able to the Shop anymore.'

She had completed the second mission to keep the Shop and yet in an ironic twist, she now can't use the Shop after going all the troubles of helping Sylva evolve.

[Chain Mission (2): Sylva's Determination (complete)]

The Chain Mission has been completed. The Shop is now permanent.

'Is the G.o.ddess rubbing salt to my wounds?'

Lilith is in debt, 2,000,000 SP deep;, in two months, this thing will increase five times. And once that increases further, it will become harder to pay, and in the end, she will need to pay the increased amount, which is 10,000,000 SP and if she fails to pay again, it will once again increase.

'That's a possible never-ending cycle of being buried in debt. That is no longer knee-deep, my entire body and entire being will be submerged in this debt..'

And as she thought of being buried in debt, Lilith heard a familiar sound, Ting*.

Ting*

[Mission: Empress' Kingdom (Side-Quest) #1]

[Ÿ] The Pixies have shown their fangs to you and they will try to take back Sylva at any cost. If she gets taken by the Pixie Lord, the Pixie Lord's strength will increase; therefore, you must kill him and conquer Section 4.

[Ÿ] Mission Details (Optional): Kill the Pixie Lord and claim their territory for yourself.

Requirements for Pa.s.sing:

[Ÿ] Kill the Pixie Lord.

[Ÿ] Reach Epic-Tier

Reward/s: Your debt will go poof.

Penalty: Your debt will increase ten times.

Time Limit: 60 days

Do you accept the Mission? Y/N?

'Ugh, this is shady, and the reward, it's not specific enough, it might be used against me later.'

Ting*. A letter from the G.o.ddess has arrived.

[Note: I am offended, I will not cheat you off your hard work, trust this G.o.ddess for once, my heart has been shattered because of your doubt...]

'Does G.o.ddesses even have a heart?' Lilith thought.

[...Alright, to be more precise I'll make your debt disappear if you conquer Section 4. Good?]

Lilith sighed and in the end agreed to her terms. The G.o.ddess sure knows how to throw in a reward that Lilith could not resist and indeed, she accepted the mission.

'The debt will increase either way.'

Inside the Chief's dwelling, Lilith sat right across the Chief. With Lilith facing the Chief, on each of their sides was a row, the epic-tier daemons including Killa were present in the Chief's dwelling.

The Chief looked at Killa and asked.

���You..."

"His name is Killa, honor his name, it is hard if we refer to one another as you." Lilith cut him off.

"Fine, Killa, tell me what happened, I want to know why the Pixies are going to war against us."

Killa stood up; he was nervous despite being an Ogre Champion. This was the first time he was present in a meeting of the Elders and the Chief.

The Priestess Lilith looked at him with a calm gaze that says, 'tell him' and with a deep breath he finally began speaking.

"The issue is simple; the Priestess beat the Pixie Lord to a pulp after trying take coc.o.o.n..."

"What did you just say?" The words of Killa were stopped by the Chief, whose expression darkened after mentioning the crucial part of Lilith beating the Pixie Lord to a pulp, "What do you mean she beat that Fogey to a pulp?"

Killa could see the hidden intent of the Chief and he swallowed his saliva. But as he looked at the Chief the presence of the Priestess gave him enough courage to speak, 'the Priestess is with me' he thought.

"It was the Pixie Lord who attempted to harm the Priestess but an invisible force got in the way of the Pixie Lord's hands..."

Killa recounted what happened in the mansion of the undead Dhampy and his attention to detail was superb and not a single event missed his eyes. Although he could only mention the invisible barrier and some more of her means as mysterious, his words still carried power.

As he spoke his eyes were full of reverence and that very same reverence affected those present and the Ogre Champions, Ogre Shamans, and even the Ogre Berserker was in awe of what she just did.

It was a fascinating tale and Killa's words were all true, and as the rest of the tent looked at Lilith with widened eyes, Lilith only waved her hand, commanding Killa to sit down.

The Ogre Berserker did not even mind Lilith taking command for a moment. Lilith sighed at sight of their eyes.

"Enough of those eyes, the bottom line is I attacked the Pixie Lord and took one of his possession, do you still think war is impossible?"

"No, but let me get this straight, the one he is looking for is the golden-haired woman I saw earlier, right? Also, did you know this is going to happen?"

"Indeed she is, and yes I do."

"Why did you take her then? If you knew she would be trouble why didn't you just kill her? Or give her to Lord?"

Because I will lose my Shop. But she can't say that and because of that, Lilith's eyes began to water. Starting from a single tear, the dam she manually commands broke loose and Lilith cried.

"Because she is my family, she was one of the people I had with me when I was all alone! If I couldn't protect her, then how can I help the Tribe?"

Lilith said more words that caused her to look meek.

And other than the Ogre Berserker who had seen her fierce side, everyone inside that tent was touched. The hulking body of the Ogres was trembling as Lilith's Oscar-worthy acting showed its effects.

Lilith can kill Sylva, but, she chose not to do so because if she did, the sword of the mysterious Dhampy may just be pointed at her.

'I can't have that.'

"Fine, fine, I won't ask you for it, besides, you can't exactly give it to the Lord, he'll evolve and take over our lands."

Lilith stopped crying and the meeting went underway, after her tears dried, she was asked a single question.

"That is enough Priestess Lilith. We the adults would be talking about a way to settle this thing."

"Sniff*, Actually, I have a way to help us win this war and take over the 4th Section of the Forest, sniff*."

"Really? Let us hear it then..."

"It goes like this..."

Lilith's suggestion was uttered and the Ogre Elders and Chief held different expressions while listening to her plan. But then, Lilith's plan was good enough for the others to smile widely.

Other than Killa, the others including Lilith showed a devilish smile. It was quite unsettling, but everyone accepted it as the only way. And as the meeting finished, Lilith talked to Dhampy for a bit and she went to sleep on the only dwelling she has in this place.

Night came to be and Lilith opened her eyes, she looked around and found no one was with her. She opened the minimap and confirmed there were no enemies around or at least spotted enemies.

She heads out and no one was out there moving about. Ogres are also active in the night, but right now the Village was devoid of joyous events, but there were indeed Ogres outside.

Hundreds of Ogres sprawled on the ground, it didn't matter what their gender was; all of them were hurting all over. The first phase of Dhampy training the Ogres have ended.

'Hmm, the Berserker actually got to make the others follow Dhampy, that's a good sign.'

Lilith though, she began walking and then went to leave the Village altogether. Upon coming out, Lilith stopped and looked around the area before speaking.

"Come out."

"You sensed us, boss head?"

"I didn't, I just felt like saying that and you came out."

Sylva came out a bush and five more followed shortly. Her Ogre crew and Dhampy looked at Lilith with their eyes full of expectation.

"Are you guys coming with me?"

"Yes!"

Hearing that made Lilith unable to say anything else and with a smile she led away. Her destination was simple, the Scourge Dungeons, she wishes to increase her level, as quickly as possible, and this includes her crew.

Lilith head out with her usual crew.

The night was silent as it was deadly.

The brewing storm kept on blowing as signs of Pixies approaching the Neutral areas became more frequent. The prediction of the Priestess was correct, war was coming, but the pixie Lord will not attack right away.

It will gauge the danger and will become cautious, and Lilith would use that time to prepare.

She will increase the strength of her forces and then her own strength.

'It's just a war.'

She thought to herself. That night became a b.l.o.o.d.y and productive night for the loli and her crew.