Jerry crossed the barren mountains left in the Rat Tide's wake, glancing back now and then, still unable to believe he had really been let go.
His sister's human friend was almost endearingly stupid...
But Jerry had no intention of betraying Annan Thing. It had nothing to do with Annan Thing being his sister's only friend, much less keeping a promise—he was simply tempted by the future Annan Thing had dangled before him.
Champion Rat Captain—a human thing, how could it do that? But what if it was true...
While the Ratfolk at the Northern Great Wall were turning into ears, Jerry ran and leaped through the mountains like a black Fox, well fed and watered.
He found the first mark hidden on a rock and followed the trail, ignoring the roaming Rat Swarms along the way. At last, he slipped into an inconspicuous cave in a hillside.
Several scarlet glows appeared in the darkness. They swept over Jerry, then let him continue down the cavern into a Dark Hall.
"You're still alive, Jerry."
He had barely arrived when a cold, grating voice spoke in the Ratfolk Language from the darkness. "But you lost the Greyfur Rat."
"We lost him." Jerry looked at the other Champion Rat emerging from the shadows. Unlike Jerry, battered and disheveled, he stood like a flawless statue. "And I'll lead a team to bring him back."
"You?"
Jealousy and greed flickered in the Champion Rat's eyes, ruining his perfection.
Jerry ignored him. He left the hall and passed Slave Rats chipping away at stone, carving tunnels in every direction, before reaching an enormous underground city that seemed built within the Abyss.
The massive Hive City Mountain rose from the cavern floor, its slopes riddled with holes like an underground beehive.
Countless Ratfolk gathered at the