Two hours after the bathroom incident, the three people finally finished eating breakfast together.
Since the Haunting had just ended Raizel proposed that they scavenge for food, water, and other resources that they could find from the ruined city.
William and Lilith didn't have any objections, and decided to accompany Raizel on her expedition.
However, just as they were about to head out from the shelter, two trucks stopped at the main entrance of the stadium, blocking their way.
Raizel raised her hand to stop William and Lilith from doing anything reckless because she saw a few familiar faces that disembarked from the trucks.
"Lindir, Eldon, Wade, Avril, and… Swiper." Raizel raised an eyebrow when she saw the leaders of the five out of twenty shelters in the Deadlands. "To what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?"
An Elven beauty stepped forward and smiled at Raizel. She had long green hair, and eyes as red as rubies. Just like all Elves, she was beautiful and radiated a sort of elegance that was second nature to their race.
"It's good to see that the Glory Shelter has survived the Haunting," Avril said with a hint of appreciation.
"Hmp! They're just lucky." Swiper snorted. "Maybe only a few undead were sent to this place due to their low population. I think that is the main reason that they survived."
"Don't be like that swiper," a burly dwarf said as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Luck is also part of strength. Since Raizel got lucky this time, it just means that Fate was standing on her side last night."
"I didn't know that you believe in luck, Eldon," Raizel commented as she stared at the dwarf who led the shelter that was exclusive to their race. "You always struck me as someone that only believes in the strength of his hammer."
"Aye, girl," Eldon nodded his head in agreement. "Without my Hammer, our shelter might not have lasted through the night."
A Lizardfolk who stood two-meters away clicked its tongue in annoyance. His name was Lindir, the leader of the Swamptide Shelter.
"Raizel, we just came here to inform you of two things," Linder stated. "The first one is that Mythos, Spirit, and Hidden Grove were over-run last night.
"A few of their members managed to escape and informed us of what happened last night. Among those three shelters, less than thirty people combined survived."
Raizel frowned. Compared to those three shelters, the Glory Shelter was nothing. All of them had over two hundred members each, and there were many fighters among their ranks. It just showed how dire the situation was for less than thirty people to survive the Haunting that had plagued the city last night.
"And your second reason for coming?" Raizel crossed her arms over her chest.
She knew that the leaders of the five shelters wouldn't come to see her just to inform her about the three shelters' demise.
"The Haunting is getting more troublesome with each cycle," Wade, the leader of one of the strongest Human Shelters replied. "Judging by what happened last night, we believe that the next wave will be more deadly. There is a very high possibility that more than three shelters will fall this time.
"Maybe after the next Haunting comes to pass, only half of the Shelters will remain standing. This is why we decided to have a meeting with all the leaders of the surviving shelters. All of us will go to the Plaza to discuss possible collaboration between all of us. We are here to invite you to that gathering."
Raizel nodded. "Understood. When will it be held?"
Swiper snorted as he glared at Raizel. "Now."
The Boarkin still hadn't forgotten his defeat after trying to annex the Glory Shelter. When the other leaders had arrived at the Beastkins' shelter, he didn't want to go and see her. However, due to the importance of this meeting, he had no choice but to accompany the other leaders to show that he agreed to participate in the discussion.
"Very well," Raizel replied. "However, I will be taking them with me."
The young lady pointed at William and Lilith who were standing beside her. The two were like overprotective parents that wouldn't allow their daughter to party with strangers.
"No problem," Avril commented with a smile. "Each leader is allowed to bring at least four members. The two of them coming will not be an issue."
After finalizing their talks, Raizel drove her own truck, alongside the others.
Inside the Deadlands, trucks were the ideal mode of transport because they could carry many people, as well as resources that they could find within the city.
Surprisingly, some resource stations replenished their stock on a weekly basis. Unfortunately, the top shelters had already claimed these places, and the only way to snatch it from their hands was to have a war between shelters.
This was something that they tried to avoid at all cost. Only during desperate times would a war of that scale come to pass.
When the three trucks arrived at the plaza, they saw that all the other leaders were already there.
This was the first time that all the leaders of the shelters had gathered to discuss something. At most, only groups of three or four would talk about collaborating with each other. This just showed how serious they were in this meeting that would decide the fate of everyone living inside the Deadlands.
After everyone had gathered, Avril decided to lead the discussion. As an Elf, and the leader of one of the strongest factions in the Deadlands, no one made a comment about her taking the initiative.
In fact, they were even thankful for it. As people who had lived in the Deadlands, conflicts were unavoidable. They would often fight for resources on a day to day basis.
Although there was an unwritten rule that killing was prohibited, some of them ignored it and would resort to murder to get what they wanted.
"The Haunting last night was very different from the previous ones we've encountered," Avril said. "Not only were the undead numerous, their quality has also increased. Over fifty High-Level Undead attacked our shelter yesterday, and we suffered many losses while resisting them.
"I believe that the same thing happened to all of you as well. This is why we decided to hold this meeting in order to find a way to have a united front, against a possible undead outbreak that we will not be able to resist if we remain divided."
Swiper stood up and voiced out his agreement.
"Indeed. After living in this sh*thole for many months, I believe that right now we are going to face the greatest challenge of our lives," Swiper stated. "Those who think that they can survive the next Haunting alone are delusional."
The Boarkin made sure to glance in Raizel's direction before scanning the faces of everyone in the plaza.
"I vote that we all unite under one banner and create a Super Shelter that can resist any further undead invasion," Swiper declared. "Anyone who has a better idea, step forward and make your voice heard."
The leaders glanced at each other, but no one stepped up to say anything.
Wade stood up and gave Swiper a brief nod of appreciation.
"Since no one has an objection in making a super shelter, there is only one question I have in mind," Wade said. "Who will lead us? Do we select a leader who will call the shots, or should we continue to command our shelters and just defend an area that the alliance had tasked us to do?
"We need to come up with an agreement today. Delaying this matter will only be counterproductive, so I suggest we take a ten minute break so we can discuss with our comrades what the best course of action to take is."
Everyone voiced their agreement to Wade's words.
None of them wanted to relinquish the power they had over their subordinates. If they were to choose only one leader, that person would have absolute control over everything, including their manpower and resources.
Raizel was in favor of having a united front, but she wasn't too keen in following the orders of any of the leaders present in the plaza.. The only time she would agree to such a condition was if William or Lilith was named Commander of the alliance.
