Chapter 118: The Apostate’s gambit

More than a week passed, the enclave growing stronger. At night, when the civilians slept and patrols were silent, Clayton walked alone beneath the starlit ruins. Hive-Sight stretched far, his dominion pulsing against Korrath’s distant borders. He knew this wasn’t peace. This was the breath before a storm. Korrath was watching, waiting for a slip. But Clayton had no intention of slipping. Not this time. He looked out over the glowing expanse of his Rootsite, roots pulsing like veins of emerald fire through the ruins. "We’re coming for you," he whispered into the night. "But not as prey". His Heartseed Core flared, and the ground answered, roots spreading wider, deeper, until even the wind seemed to carry his silent vow. This war had only just begun. ... Two weeks passed since the first Ironshade strike. Clayton’s Rootsite had grown like wildfire, roots spreading through fractured highways and strangling broken overpasses in emerald light. But just as the domain expanded outward, people began flowing inward. It started as whispers, scavengers and dying wanderers speaking of an upstart Verdant Lord in Atlanta who offered shelter instead of slaughter. Soon those whispers became desperate migrations. That morning, Hive-Sight trembled at the edges of Clayton’s awareness. Not eight stragglers this time. Fifty two souls staggered through the wastelands, heading for his Rootsite. Clayton, Torren, and Veyra moved out to meet them. The group was a ragged column of broken humanity; gaunt faces, tattered clothing, eyes dulled by hunger and years of running from Behemorphs and Apostates. Unlike the last group, this one had no strength left for pretense. They carried no weapons, no hope; only children, cracked water flasks, and scars of survival carved deep into their skin. The moment they saw Clayton, some collapsed to their knees, sobbing. To them, his green-skinned humanoid figure looked more like a myth than a man. "We... we followed the Nexus call," a middle-aged woman stammered, clutching two small children. "It said... safe roots. We thought it was a trap but..." Tears welled. "We have nowhere else". Clayton knelt in front of her, voice calm but firm. "It’s no trap," he said. "From today, you’re under my protection. No Behemorph or scavenger will touch you here". Torren stepped forward, his voice a booming reassurance. "Food, water, medicine, we’ll get you settled". Veyra scanned the group, eyes sharp. "No Awakened among them," she murmured to Clayton. Clayton nodded silently. Awakened warriors still weren’t interested. To them, he lacked feats worthy of attention. Defeating a biomechanical avatar in an unclaimed ruin wasn’t enough to draw ambitious fighters or opportunists. And that was fine. Let the strong ignore him for now. The weak would build his foundation. ... Back in the Rootsite, civilians worked tirelessly to expand shelters. Verdant biomass wove into new homes overnight. The twins, Kael and Mira, taught the newcomers how to grow food with healing flora. Mara organized kitchens. Trist expanded his perimeter sensing grid, preventing surprise attacks. System notifications pulsed like rain: DING! ~----~ [Population of Verdant Domain: 62 ~ 114 ~ 167 ~ 219] [Domain Influence Increased: +25%] [New Trait Unlocked: Verdant Pulse] >Passive: Civilians within domain heal 30% faster, and are immune to low rank toxins< ~----~ The city breathed differently now, a living, fortified sanctuary glowing brighter with every new arrival. But with every heartbeat of growth came another pulse of danger. It came on the third week, as twilight draped the city in gold and shadow. Hive-Sight detected something moving; not Ironshades, not Behemorphs. This was heavier. Stronger. Clayton strode to the northern edge of the Rootsite with Torren, Veyra, and Soren flanking him. Kaelin scouted ahead, cloaked in Ashveil, before reappearing with a rare look of unease. "It’s human," he said carefully. "Or was". Through the shifting mist, a figure emerged; a towering, grotesque silhouette wrapped in vines of black steel. Crimson eyes burned beneath a twisted helmet of organic plating fused with flesh. Clawed hands dragged spiked chains that screamed against the ground. It looked entirely alien, but this presence, this energy... "A Verdant Apostate". Clayton muttered, voice grave, because he could tell that this one was far different than normal. The thing stopped just outside Clayton’s territory, exhaling a guttural, metallic rasp. When it spoke, its voice was fractured, like human words strangled by machine. "Clayton Hunt... seedling Verdant Lord... pretender..." Torren’s Pyreaxe flared. "Korrath’s dog," he muttered. The Apostate tilted its head unnaturally, chains coiling around its limbs. "Korrath... sends message," it hissed. "You... have grown fate on land not yours. He says... leave your root behind... crawl to New Chicago... beg... or your little garden burns". Behind Clayton, civilians whispered in fear. Clayton stepped forward slowly, calm but radiating silent power. "Tell Korrath this," he said evenly. "I’m not crawling anywhere. This domain isn’t stolen, it’s earned. Every root here is watered in blood... mine and his". The Apostate’s laugh was a warped, choking sound. "Then... he will cut deeper. He will... make you hunt him. He says... ’Revenge is weakness’." Clayton’s jaw tightened. This wasn’t just a threat, it was psychological warfare. Korrath knew Clayton’s street-born nature, his instinct to settle scores fast. And though staying alongside friends for the first time in forever slowly eroded these instincts, they stayed at the deepest parts of his being. Every Ironshade, every attack, every insult was bait, meant to drag him from his growing strength and into Korrath’s mechanical jaws. Clayton tilted his head slightly, green eyes cold. "You’re trying so hard to make me move first. But you forgot something..." With a thought, roots surged from the ground, coiling around the Apostate before it could react. The chains snapped taut, but Clayton’s Verdant power crushed them like brittle twigs. The Apostate thrashed, roaring, but Clayton’s voice cut through the chaos like a blade. "I survived Echoterra," he said softly, every word dripping with restrained fury. "I learned patience where men like Korrath only learned arrogance". "You think I’ll dance to his tune?" He leaned closer, thorns brushing the Apostate’s helm. "Tell him this storm is coming, but on my terms". With a flick, the roots hurled the Apostate beyond the boundary. It crashed into rubble, groaning, before slinking back into the mist. Torren broke the silence with a low whistle. "You know he’s going to send more after that, right?" Clayton watched the mist where the Apostate vanished. "Good," he said, voice sharp as a thorn. "Let him keep throwing his pawns. We’ll break every one of them while this city grows. And when the time’s right..." He looked at Torren, eyes hard as iron. "...we won’t march to New Chicago as prey. We’ll go as predators. And we’ll burn his biomechanical empire to the ground". That night, from the top of a crumbling skyscraper, Clayton surveyed his glowing domain. Every vine, every ember-lit root pulsed like veins through the city. More civilians were coming. More chains of power would soon weave into his dominion. Korrath wanted impatience. Instead, Clayton would give him inevitability. And inevitability was the one thing even Verdant Lords couldn’t escape. ... Two weeks had passed since Korrath’s first Apostate emissary slithered back to New Chicago, carrying Clayton’s defiance like a thorn in its chest. Since then, the Rootsite had only grown stronger. Every day, new civilians stumbled into the verdant sanctuary; half-starved wanderers, forgotten enclaves fleeing Behemorph packs, even scavengers beaten down by Apostates. By now, over three hundred souls called Clayton’s dominion home. System notifications pulsed each evening as Clayton stood beneath the Heartroot tree. DING! ~----~ [Population: 312] [Domain Influence: +43%] [Verdant Network Evolution Triggered] [Trait Gained: Rootlink Convergence – Civilians instinctively link to domain’s regenerative field; basic plant constructs now obey their simple commands under Verdant Lord supervision.] [Aphid Network Capacity Expanded: 200 Behemorphs] ~----~ The Rootsite wasn’t just a camp anymore. It was a proto-city. Living walls rose high, capped with spined thorns. Watchtowers of hardened biomass overlooked the streets. Glowroots illuminated pathways where children now ran, laughing for the first time in years. The sight of them gave Clayton assurance, assurance that fortifying and populating his Rootsite was not a bad thing. Assurance that all the effort he put in was worth it. And yet, in the nights beneath the stars, Clayton’s instincts warned him this calm was only the eye of the storm. Korrath would not stop. He was that type of man. ... In New Chicago, Korrath seethed. The Apostate emissary knelt in his Nexus chamber, body still cracked from Clayton’s thorns. "He... will not leave his roots," the creature rasped. Korrath’s biomechanical frame shuddered with restrained rage. "He defies me. He grows stronger while I wait. I will not wait". Around him, constructs stirred like an iron hive. This time, Korrath would not send weaklings or saboteurs. He would send elite Apostates, warriors twisted into biomechanical horrors, stronger than Null Crown Behemorphs, each carrying fragments of Korrath’s Nexus power. "Deploy the Iron Choir," Korrath commanded, voice echoing through molten steel halls. "Level this sanctuary. Make the civilians bleed. Break his will until nothing remains but fury".