CHAPTER 200: HOME SWEET HOME

Lukas glanced out of the cockpit’s window as the airplane slowly descended.

The sight of the woods outside the walls strangely brought him some comfort in his heart.

Riley, Rex, Emma, Harianto and Margaret were also all smiles when the airplane touched down onto the airfield.

When they got off from the back of the airplane, they let out a huge sigh at the familiar sight.

Everything seemed so distant yet comfortable at the same time.

"Welcome back."

The soldiers at the checkpoint gave them no trouble and greeted them with smiles.

Lukas was glad that the soldiers at the checkpoint weren’t shocked anymore by the status on his ID.

They knew who he was and what he had done to protect the South Battle Administration Area.

If they could, they would be pestering him for an autograph.

But they couldn’t as they were on duty.

After they left the airbase, they hopped onto an armored car arranged by Rodney, the Director of the Awakened Center.

Soon, they were making their way back to their home.

Lukas saw that the reconstruction of the damaged buildings, roads and other facilities was going smoothly.

The new Governor appointed by the Leader was hardworking as promised by the Leader.

Things were indeed looking bright for the future.

"You guys haven’t been back for some time?"

The driver asked when he saw Lukas and others looking out of the window curiously.

"Yeah, it’s been a while." Riley replied.

"You will be surprised how much has changed." The driver steered the car into a bend and said, "We are now reclaiming areas outside the wall from the demonic beasts.

"Without the Apex demonic beast around, they are not as aggressive and organized as before.

"It’s great to be able to venture out of the wall again."

"That’s great." Riley replied with joy and so did the others.

Lukas figured the same thing must also be happening at the West Battle Administration Area and East Battle Administration Area soon.

Mankind might have finally turned the tide over.

Finally, they arrived at their lair, and they stood outside marveling at the building with its pristine white wall behind the huge fences.

"Damn it, we need to clean the pool again." Emma exclaimed when she saw the pool was now filled with algae.

"Don’t tell me you are planning to do it with your own hands." Rex said with a smirk.

"What? Isn’t that what we usually do?"

"We are rich now. Just get someone to do it and get it over and done with." Rex said with a grin.

"Sure, how about you find someone to make your dinner later." Emma said and stormed into the building.

Rex quickly chased after her and said, "What? No..."

...

Lukas had forgotten how soft the bed was in his room.

He unpacked his luggage and lay down onto the bed.

As he looked at the ceiling, he tried to contact Shiba in his summon space.

However, there was still no response from Shiba.

It was still in a deep sleep after absorbing much of the lightning and dark glow from Ashen.

Some thoughts went through his mind as he rested on the bed waiting for dinner time.

The words spoken by the Apex demonic beast in the West Battle Administration Area still lingered in his mind.

What did it mean by the Elders?

Will they attack soon?

Things were going great now, and he felt that it would be better for him to be cautious and get prepared.

Secondly, what would the Dark Lord plan to do now?

Since Ashen, Leeroy and Risa were now dead.

It was also something he had to be prepared for.

As he pondered, he slowly drifted into sleep.

And for a very long time, one that was relaxing for him in a safe environment with trusted companions.

...

Lukas woke up to the aroma of steak and spaghetti.

He had slept for a few hours, and he was already starving.

After changing into new clothes, he went downstairs to the dining room.

Rex was busy making phone calls with Harianto scribbling on a notepad beside him.

"Wait, Cindy baby, trust me. I can buy you anything you want now." He said but the person on the other end of the call disconnected.

"Cindy, failed. That’s nine out of nine times failure."

Harianto tried very hard not to laugh and said as he wrote down the result.

"It’s their loss." Rex said with agitation, and he dialed the next victim.

Riley was catching up on what had happened in the South Battle Administration Area after they had left.

Beside him, Margaret was pacing around on a call.

Her face beamed with happiness as she spoke.

Lukas knew it must have been Dr. Uwe on the other end of the call.

And speaking of Dr. Uwe, he might be able to help with his question about ’the Elders’ or even the background of the Leader.

"Stop whatever you are doing and come have dinner." Emma appeared from the kitchen with plates in her hands.

Harianto and Lukas quickly offered their help.

With their help, it didn’t take long for the dishes to be on the dining table.

They started to eat and savored Emma’s culinary skills.

The steaks were well done, keeping the tenderness and juiciness of the meat while having it covered in a coat of aromatic slightly charred layer.

The sauce of the spaghetti was also flavorful, being sweet and sour made it appetizing for the tender meatballs.

"So, what’s the plan next?" Emma asked as she munched on a meatball.

Riley finished the piece of steak in his mouth and said, "We need to get more demonic beast cores."

The others nodded.

They would have to get to Master Level of Mastery as soon as possible to catch up with Lukas.

Lukas nodded his head and said, "I would need to upgrade whatever equipment I can."

His Darkmatter Vault Armor had served him well so far and it was long overdue for an upgrade.

Money wasn’t an issue for him anymore.

And if it was possible he would want to try and find something like Lin’s claymore sword.

"Guess it’s time for us to pay Director Rodney a visit tomorrow." Riley said in agreement with Lukas.