At dawn, the Iron Anvil's bow cut through the morning mist as it glided into the bay.
The familiar harbor of the Golden Lion Territory, unseen for so long, came back into view before John.
The ground paved with dark gray stone, the scattered vendors, the sailboats lined up around the harbor.
Nothing had changed since John first arrived in Faoken.
The only difference was an enormous stone bridge that had appeared in the harbor district.
On the bridge, the ground troops left behind had formed ranks to welcome him. They stood under the command of Major Duke Bidoon, formerly of the Third Infantry Regiment, 1st Division, Second Army Group.
Bang, bang, bang!
"Governor!"
Seeing John step off the warship, Duke hurriedly signaled the honor guard to fire a salute. He then approached John, brimming with excitement, and snapped off a respectful military salute. "Welcome back!"
John nodded and returned the salute. His gaze swept over the soldiers staring at him with excitement and admiration. Then, as he motioned for the troops to board the large transport trucks parked by the road and headed toward the jeep, he asked, "Thanks for the effort, Major Duke. How are the other units and the territory?"
"Governor, sir."
Duke's expression turned solemn, and he hurried to report. "As you instructed, the Ember Scale Force has settled the Fang Clan survivors in the valley east of the Golden Lion Territory and begun building Furnace Town there. Construction is only about thirty percent complete, though."
"The Goblins of the Darkmoon Clan, whom the Abyss Scale Force has been monitoring and contacting, have been quite industrious. They've doubled the size of their underground warren, but they don't trust our people. They only allow supplies to be handed over at the entrance."
"What about the Morning Star