We were in deep discussions when finally, the battle above the thing ended; everyone disappeared, both Grimms and humans, and a few seconds later, they appeared in central command. Not all came back with their real bodies; some had only appeared in projection, while others with their real bodies. Lady Angela, Lady Atkins, and Lord Singh have appeared back in their real bodies, while everyone else is in their projection. We need Grand Lords out; the Grimms are everywhere, and while we could travel very fast, a delay of even a few seconds could cause unimaginable destruction. With Grand Lords out, they could sense the energy with their vast soul sense and move toward it before they could cause any damage. "Now that everyone has arrived, we will discuss the most important topic," said the supreme commander, and everyone's expressions turned serious. "I think it is time that we recall our forces from the battlefields," she said, and barely anyone seemed surprised by it. From what I have been in this one and half hours, that pyramid had called back the knights, but everyone above them is still fighting across the thousands of battlefields. "It is a wise choice; there are thirty Grand Lords from both races, and it is causing huge destruction, and millions of people have already died from residual energy and shockwaves of our battle," "It is time," affirmed Lady Angela. "I am activating the harsha protocol then," she informed. If she had been a grand commander, she would have needed the permission of the Grand Lords, but with her being supreme commander, she had 99% independence on the decision; there are very few on which now needs the concess of the Grand Lords. The harsha protocol is a complex one involving the retreat of forces and sending people into safe places, places like fortified bunkers, abodes, and secret realms, which have been modified to take refugees in wartime. More than half of them have been filled; the rest half will be filled too quickly; soon, most of the cities will be deserted, and the population will be herded into the safe places till the war reach a conclusion. Not all forces would retreat; Grandmasters and High-Grandmasters will remain in the battle; their battles will also turn intense, especially of the High-Grandmasters; they are the ones below the Grand Lord class, and they will fight to the death because this is the only way they could survive and the only chance they have to reach the Grand Lord. It is common knowledge among the high-level powerhouses that only during the war time is reaching the Grand Lord class possible. So, especially those who were not able to reach the Grand Lord class, even entering that thing, will vie for it. "Be careful of the Grimms," cautioned Patriarch Bradford; there will be no resistance from the Grimms; there rarely is when it comes to this retreat, but the bastard loved to play the trick; kill the armies so that future trouble would not come to them; we have lost armies in such in every war, but this time, the number will be much smaller. We have a huge number of Grandmaster and High-Grandmaster class powerhouses, enough to deal with any trouble from Grimm. Not to mention, we will also be keeping an eye on the whole operation, stepping in immediately the moment we have sensed the interference of enemy Grand Lords. "All the Grimms have retreated, but they will come again very soon with a much better plan in mind, that we will need to be extremely cautious in dealing with it," said Matron Mavis before turning to me. "Especially you, Michael; it is you who they will all try to kill most, might even try something that is not to be expected," she warned, "I will be careful," I replied. The Grand Commander had opened her mouth to say something but closed it as if someone had appeared in central command. It was Ashlyn; she appeared and instantly went inside me without even looking at the people around me. pand(a-n0vel.c)om She is not tired, but I still asked her to come back for a little while; to take the energies I have got from harvesting the Grimm; with it, she will be stronger, and I am more relieved with her fighting on the battlefield. "I always thought that bird of yours was strange but did not expect her to be this strange," said Lady Angela; "The powers she had, the way she fights, is completely different from other monsters I have seen in my life," she added, and she is not the only ones with those thoughts, nearly everybody is. I did not say anything other than smile. "Everyone rest while you can; it won't be long before Grimms come back again," said Matron before turning to me, "Michael, I did not want to pressure you, but please quickly find a way to extend the suppression of the curse; it will be better if you find a way to cure it," she added. "I will try, Matron," I replied; she nodded and disappeared. Soon, one by one, all the Grand Lords disappeared till only I remained with Supreme Commander; there were also Lord Whitmore and Lord Hern, and seeing the way they were looking at me, they seemed to be very much part of this discussion. "Lord Zaar, I want to start by apologizing to you." "I was not properly able to handle the responsibility you have left me with," she said, looking very guilty. "My family and teacher seemed fine," I said back; I had asked Grandmistress Charline about them, whom I trust explicitly, and she said they were fine, and also, my mother hadn't returned yet. "Not fine; the condition of your teacher is sort of different," she said hesitantly, and instantly my eyes hardened. "There is no threat to the life of your teacher, and her strength has taken a huge leap, but her condition has changed," added Lord Whitmore, hastily seeing my expressions change. "I will be a judge of that after meeting the teacher," I said and got up before they could say anything. Though I am relieved knowing Angela is fine and healthy, it is clear by their words and expression of Grandmistress Charline that something had happened to Marina, and I want to know it. I walked out of the central command and saw the woman there, waiting for me; I had asked her to wait for me when the meeting ended. "Has something happened, Lord Zaar; you seemed different than you were a minute ago," she said, looking at me. "I come to know about something, but it is not serious," I replied; she looked at me but did not ask the reason. "I had asked you to wait for me to give you this; it is something that will be very useful to you," I said, and a blue orb appeared in my hand, and immediately her eyes went wide. "What is this?" she asked, barely able to control her emotions. "Orb of mor," I replied before handling her. It was from Rofta, the Frogman, the fourth-rank reward it had chosen after finishing the challenge; when I saw it the first time and immediately thought of her. So, when Ashlyn dumped the storage in the core earlier, I immediately took it out for her.