God Ash: Remnants of the fallen.

Noticing Cain\'s gaze, Steve grinned,

"These are the materials we\'ve managed to collect. There\'s a ton of them, but the facilities in this place only allow us to create a limited option."

"I see..."

"Where the hell have you idiots been?!"

Suddenly, a booming voice came from the depths of the buildings.

Cain recognized it immediately. He turned around, only to come face to face with a tall, slightly muscular woman with greyish skin.

Well, calling her a woman was a bit of a stretch, as she wasn\'t even human...

Ignis was also taken by surprise,

"You... How did you get here?!"

Because of the [Body and Soul] contract between the both of them, they were able to faintly sense one another\'s presence. However, this sixth sense was incredibly faint and it became quite hard to distinguish over large distances.

Even then, most of the time, one had to actively try to feel this connection to be able to sense it.

Cain stared at Ignis at Ignis for a while. Her ashen skin immediately blackened,

"W-what are you staring at?! You don\'t like your eyes, or what?!" She said through gritted teeth.

Cain chuckled, "Well, it\'s been a while since we last saw each other. Plus, shouldn\'t you be talking to me with more respect?"

The darker shade on her skin vanished. She snorted coldly,

"It\'s just a contract. Once it\'s been broken, I\'ll be free from your tyranny!"

"See? I told you he\'s a tyrant..." Vincent said to the man who had followed them inside.

Steve rolled his eyes, "Alright, that\'s enough."

Then he turned to Cain, "So, that\'s mainly everything. We currently lack ways to find a steady water supply. Using magic to create water is good and all, but if consumes too much resources. We need something better. By the way, Ignis is in charge of the base\'s security personnel, so feel free to ask her anything."

Cain was silent for a while. Then he turned to Ignis,

"How many fighters do we have here?"

Ignis thought about it, "Three hundred. Two hundred of which are Beastmen. The rest are those from the Western Island and a few of those from the Eastern island also volunteered to stay and help out."

Cain nodded, "How many archers, gunslingers, and mages?"

"Considering that it\'s almost impossible for Beastmen to learn magic, we\'re a bit on the low side when it comes to mages. Excluding Steve, I think there are about three other mages..."

"As for archers and gunslingers, most of the Beastmen use both long range and melee weapons, so it\'s hard to tell. They can switch depending on the circumstances. However, if we\'re counting those that are actually good enough, then I\'d say... roughly fourty. If I\'m being generous..."

Cain frowned, "I\'ll need more details. Can you get that?"

Ignis nodded. In her mind, she thought,

\'Hmph! I guess he isn\'t so bad when he gets serious.\'

Her skin turned a bit darker...

Cain smiled at he then turned to Vincent,

"How\'s a map of the island looking?"

Vincent quickly pulled out a piece of worn paper from his inventory,

"See? I haven\'t been loafing around!"

Cain snatched it from him and rolled it open,

\'Let\'s see...\'

The island was a bit different from what he could remember...

For one, the forest that previously scanned half of it was now covering the entire place, excluding the site of the final battle between the Devils that had populated the island.

Cain frowned, but didn\'t say anything. They had more pressing things to attend to.

From the look of things, their situation wasn\'t that bad. While it wasn\'t sustainable, they could definitely make due.

The major concern was finding a way to create better infrastructure if they wanted to remain here long term.

Cain had thought about this for a while. His main goal wasn\'t to simply go on a constant killing spree. Rather, he wanted to raise an army. And an army couldn\'t survive of morale and false hope...

\'We can definitely turn this place into a fort. All we need is someone experienced in earth magic and architecture. Then we\'ll need to worry about so many other things like plumbing, power, waste disposal, and all that.

To truly embark on something like this, they had to clear the surrounding forest.

\'Hmm... Earth magic... Architecture... Suki can definitely come in handy. No... That\'s too much for one person.

Unfortunately, I don\'t have a lot of affinity for the earth element.\'

To be more accurate, he had absolutely no affinity for the earth element...

***

Name: Cain Lenosi.

Fire attribute: 100%.

Lightening attribute: 100%.

Metal attribute: 100%.

Earth attribute: 0%.

Wind attribute: 100%.

Spatial attribute: 100%.

Darkness attribute: 90%.

Nature attribute: 0%.

Blood attribute: 100%.

Water attribute: 70%.

Poison attribute: 100%.

Light attribute: 0%.

Time attribute: Invalid...

ELEMENTAL BODY PROGRESS

Spatial: 50%

Darkness: 69%

Wind: 64%

Fire: 88%

Lightning: 75%

Poison: 79%

Metal: 80%

Water: 45%

***

When it came down to increasing the power of {Elemental Body}, he had made steady progress. However, the more he got proficient in each element, the more he realized that there was more to {Elemental Body} that what he had discovered so far.

He felt that this wasn\'t the peak. There was definitely a point beyond the hundredth percentile. But that was something he wasn\'t ready for yet...

\'Perhaps if I make a trip through the {Gate of Stars} and absorb mana from an earth spirit, perhaps I might be able to help someway.\'

Rather than waste time excavating materials from the ground, things could be made many times easier with magic. With magic, conjuring up a mountain from thin air wasn\'t a pipe dream at all.

Of course, one would have to look at the cost versus effect ratio before actually pulling off something like that.

"I believe I can get something done. However, we need to clear out the surrounding forest, establish a rough outline of a territory." Cain said.

Ignis nodded, "That much is possible. However, it will take some time. Rushing things might lead to needless loss of life."

Cain shook his head, "What we don\'t have is a lot of time."

For all he knew, once they stepped back onto the continent, things were going to be a whole lot different.

For one, the unknown was very scary. For months now, they had lost contact. Who knew what had changed so far?

Perhaps there were still people alive, perhaps society hadn\'t fallen completely... Who could tell. For now, one thing was certain. They had to do their best to establish a territory. One that wasn\'t going to be easily influenced by any changes.

"Then what are you suggesting?" Steve finally asked.

Cain pointed at a part of the island rather close to where they currently were,

"There... Territory of the {Redscale Soldiers}?" He said, reading a footnote attached to that area.

Vincent nodded, his expression a bit grim,

"Yeah... Absolutely obnoxious bastards too. That\'s the only place we can\'t freely move around on the island."

Cain was intrigued, "Explain..."

Vincent grinned, "They are humanoid monsters covered in a red chitinaceous material. Hard as steel, and even tougher than the Steelheads. Not only that, but they also have the ability to use magic. What makes them really scary though... is their intelligence."

Cain frowned, "How smart?"

"Smart enough to be able to build infrastructure, it seems... They have some sort of castle vibes going on over there."

Ignis took over, "They are very good at building things. Apart from the Steelheads, we also clash with them every once in a while. Most of the casualties we suffer are at their hands."

Cain nodded, "Them the first thing we need to do is take them out. Once we do that, we\'ll eliminate the Steelheads and begin setting up a base perimeter."

Steve fought back the urge to grin,

"What are you trying to do, build a fort?"

Cain looked right back at him,

"That\'s exactly what I plan on doing. For all we know, there might be Tier 1 creatures already lurking in this place. The smartest thing to do now would be to create an easily defendable position."

"Not only that, but we seem to be approaching the City. However,the entire continent, from what I know, might very well be surrounded by a giant Dead Spot."

Although they had been here for a long time, Dead Spots weren\'t something new to them.

Steve frowned, "That doesn\'t sound good at all."

Cain nodded, "I\'ll be needing all the help I can get on the ship very soon, so I might have to depend on you all."

Steve frowned, "Then what about the island?"

Cain shook his head, "We\'ll leave it guarded. Getting to the City is far more important."

Letting out a sigh, Cain turned around. Then he steeled his resolve,

"Get ready for anything. We are about to do some pest control..."