William, Lilith, and Raizel, waited for half an hour because the leaders of the different Shelters, excluding Swiper, had an impromptu meeting on the spot.
After a heated discussion, Avril stepped up to inform them of the Alliance's decision.
"Your accusation of Swiper for his planned betrayal of the Alliance is truly an eye-opener," Avril said with a smile. "However, you have no proof to back your claim, right?"
"There's no need to look for the proof," William replied indifferently. "Once your Shelter falls, you will know whether I'm telling the truth or not."
The Half-Elf then glanced at the Boarkin who was glaring at him from the side.
"You better work on your acting skills during the Haunting," William sneered. "Now that everyone has their eyes on you, I can already see that you will be giving them an award winning performance to wash away the doubts in their minds, right?"
"Filthy Half-Elf, shut your trap," Swiper shouted. "If you can't shut it, I will be more than happy to do it for you!"
William didn't reply and simply made a "come and get me'' gesture, which infuriated the Boarkin. However, after forcefully controlling his emotions, Swiper didn't move to attack William.
Deep inside, the Demonic Boar was afraid of William's strength. He had a feeling that if the two of them fought seriously, the one who would end up dying was him.
Seeing that the Boarkin didn't plan to accept his challenge, William simply shrugged and returned his attention to Avril.
"So, what did you guys decide?" William asked. He was very curious about what the leaders of the different shelters had come up with after their impromptu meeting.
Avril narrowed her eyes as she looked at William from head to foot.
"Very few people can make Swiper shut up, it seems that you're one of them," Avril replied. "However, whether what you said is true or not, you still broke the rules of the council and hurt the members of the Demonic Tribe.
"Because of this, we have all agreed that you, and the lady accompanying you, will not be allowed to participate in the United Front during the Haunting. You will not be welcome in our Shelter, and will have to fend for yourselves."
Avril then glanced in Raizel's direction.
"According to the information we received, you didn't accompany them during their infiltration to the Demonic Shelter, so the Glory Shelter will not be sanctioned," Avril stated. "All of you can still participate in the plan and are welcome in the Mimameidr Shelter."
Raizel's expression remained calm as if she was already expecting that the leaders' would give this kind of punishment to William and Lilith.
Cathy, and the other members of the Glory Shelter that had gathered behind Raizel, looked at their young leader with complicated expressions on their faces.
"Cathy, and all of you, do you want to join Wade's shelter?" Raizel asked as she turned around to face her subordinates.
"Raizel?" Cathy looked at the young beauty with confusion. "What do you mean join Wade's shelter? Are you planning to disband the Glory Shelter?"
Raizel nodded. "Yes."
"Is it because of them?"
"Right."
"But, why?" Cathy asked. "They just arrived at the shelter. Why are you siding with them?"
The other members of Raizel's shelter also voiced their thoughts on the matter. They couldn't believe that their leader would decide to choose William and Lilith over the Alliance. For them this decision was complete suicide.
"Because, I trust these two with my life," Raizel answered. "If the Alliance doesn't want them, I don't need to join such an Alliance."
Avril and the other leaders frowned when they heard Raizel's reply. The leaders that ruled over the Shelters were strong people. Each of them was a highly-prized fighter that could reverse the situation due to their strength.
Without Raizel, the alliance would lose a strong fighter.
"Don't be like this, Raizel," Wade, the leader of the Shelter whose members were mostly Humans, commented from the side. "Do you really need to go this far?"
Raizel ignored Wade's question and looked at her subordinates.
"Wade is a good leader. I'm sure that he will take care of all of you," Raizel said softly. "I know that some of you have complaints about me, so this is a perfect opportunity for you to join a stronger shelter.
"Let's face it. At the end of the day, we are the weakest shelter here in the Deadlands. Wouldn't you feel more secure if you sided with Wade? His faction has many strong fighters and you will not have to worry about getting bullied when you scavenge for resources. Also, I'm not really fit to be a leader."
Raizel looked at her members with a sad expression. She had been doing her best to keep everyone safe, but she was only one person, and her strength was limited. The young beauty knew that there would come a time when she wouldn't be able to protect them from the Haunting, so it was best for them to join a bigger Shelter to increase their survival.
The members of the Glory Shelter glanced at each other, they then looked at Wade with a hopeful expression, which made the latter sigh internally.
"Wade, will you take my members in?" Raizel asked.
"Are you sure you really want to do this?" Wade asked.
In the past, he had tried to recruit Raizel and her people to join his Shelter because their factions' members were mostly Human. However, Raizel rejected his offer due to sentimental reasons.
The previous leader of the Glory Shelter had been good to her, so she did her best to keep the Shelter running all by herself.
"Yes," Raizel nodded. "Can my people join your shelter?"
"Of course."
"Thank you."
After seeing this exchange between the two leaders, some of the members of Glory Shelter walked towards Wade to officially join his faction.
In the end, only a dozen people stayed behind, including Cathy.
"Why?" Raizel asked Cathy and the rest of the people that decided to remain. "Staying with me is akin to suicide."
Cathy stared at Raizel with a serious expression. "Although I don't speak for everyone, I believe in you, Raizel. Also, I am one of the founding members of the Glory Shelter. I don't want its Legacy to disappear from the Deadlands."
"For such a trivial thing?" Raizel replied. "You decided to throw away your life for something so trivial?"
"Trivial?" Cathy shook her head. "Didn't you do the same? For the sake of something trivial, you rejected Wade's offer in the past. You are not the only one that has an attachment to this place. Isn't that right, everyone?"
""Yes.""
Raizel sighed deeply as she looked at Cathy and the others. "I just hope that you guys won't regret this."
"Don't worry, Leader. If I die and become a zombie, I'll make sure to bite as many Demons as I can."
"That's right. They've been bullying us since long ago, even in death. I'm not going to let go."
"Let's show these other Shelters that the Glory Shelter isn't weak! We will survive!"
""Yeah!""
William and Lilith watched this scene with smiles on their faces. They could tell that Raizel managed to win the trust and respect of these few people, so they decided to remain despite that impending doom that they were bound to face.
"Avril, sorry, but the Glory Shelter will not participate in the Alliance," Raizel declared as she looked at the beautiful Elf with determination. "I pray that you will succeed in your endeavors. Also, pay close attention to Swiper. His heart is as filthy as a cesspool."
Avril nodded, but she wasn't able to keep her disappointment from showing on her face.
"Raizel, if you changed your mind, you're more than welcome to join us," Avril replied. "Our doors will remain open for the Glory Shelter."
"Thank you." Raizel smiled. "Can I ask a favor from everyone here?"
"A favor?" Wade asked back. "What is it?"
"It's nothing much. I just hope that you won't harass the members of the Glory Shelter when we are scavenging for resources," Raizel answered. "Or is that too much to ask?"
"Don't worry. We have no grudges against the members of Glory Shelter," Lindir, the Lizardfolk who ruled over the Swamptide Shelter replied. His shelter and the Glory Shelter had been neighbors for a long time, and the two had collaborated several times to get resources located at the outskirts of the city.
These two shelters had been allied for a long time even before Raizel appeared in the Deadlands.
"Our Steel Axe Shelter isn't so petty either," Eldon, the ruler of the Dwarven Shelter commented. "We won't hurt you and your people, lass."
"The same can be said for us," Avril replied. "The Elves will not harm your people."
The other leaders also said the same thing. Finally, all their gazes landed on Swiper who hadn't spoken.
"Fine," Swiper growled. "The Demons will not find trouble for you. However, if you find trouble with us, we will definitely not take it lying down."
After saying their farewells, the leaders of the different Shelters, as well as their subordinates left the Glory Shelter.
"Let's all go back inside," Raizel ordered. "There's still a few hours before sunrise, so all of you better rest up. We still need to look for resources tomorrow in preparation for the next Haunting."
"Yes, leader," Cathy replied with a smile. For some reason, she felt that the burden in her heart had disappeared after seeing Raizel's relieved expression. "We will do our best to stock up in preparation for the great battle we will face in a few days."
"Good." Raizel nodded. "Everyone, thank you for trusting me."
—-
Back at the Demonic Shelter…
"Boss, are we really going to let them go like this?" the frog-like demon asked.
"It's fine," the purple-haired demon replied. "They won't be surviving the next Haunting anyway."
The other demons nodded their heads in agreement.
Swiper, who was seated on his chair, snorted. He, too, thought that Raizel's group had no hope of surviving the next Haunting. He was only a little disappointed because he didn't manage to annex the Glory Shelter in order to have them work for him in the future.
"Listen everyone," Swiper said as he scanned his subordinates. "Now that the other leaders in the Alliance are suspecting us of a betrayal, we need to give our best performance to erase the doubts in their hearts. Fight to your fullest, and don't give them an excuse to kick us out of the Alliance. We just need to be patient."
Swiper lit his cigarette and took a long drag from it. He then blew the smoke softly as his eyes looked at the Black Tower in the distance.
'Yes. All I need is the right opportunity to turn things around,' Swiper mused.. 'When that time comes, even if all the Shelters unite against me, their resistance is futile. Isn't that right, Lord Morax?'
