For a moment, the smog-filled land belonging to Maxwell stayed energized, the smog crackling with energy, then it all exploded in a single blue flash of light. Then there stood the blue scroll once again, showing all the things he had gained from his experiments.

  Maxwell took a long look at the results of his recent experimentation with necromancy, finding that once again it paid off quite well. Though Maxwell knew that he was running out of things to use in his research, he had to be careful as the more he researched into necromancy, the more he risked pissing off someone he could not afford too.

  Though for now right now he would use the gains he had made first, he had his smog serpent dissipate back into regular smog as it had already built up a collection of dead flying insects. He then took those insects using hands made of smog and put them together before he began to build the very building he had gotten.

  It was interesting to see as a hive built out of the pile of dead insect bodies he had gathered began to form. It was rather amazing to see insect corpses be transformed into pale wax-like hive walls. Once the transformation was complete, Maxwell was left with a hive building that was a foot and a half tall with a four-inch-tall doorway he guessed was for the zombies that would be spawned out of it.

  The building was located near the edge southern of his territory, facing northward. "While I suppose I now have something resembling an embassy." Maxwell said then looked at his only zombie hybrid that was currently buzzing around his skies, making threats against anyone who threatened its hive. "Now I just need an embassador." Maxwell said he was hoping one of the later-spawned zombie hybrids would be more diplomatic.

  Meanwhile, back at the grass fairie clan grounds to the south of Maxwell's skull kingdom, the elders were going about their task. The elders of a fairy clan were an interesting thing, as it wasn't necessarily by age they were made elders. No, the only elder made by wisdom and age was the grand elder. No, the other two elders were made so by other metrics as they were about to demonstrate.

  The elder of the hunters, Gressel, was preparing a grand hunt, a rare magical event that could only be led by an elder of the hunters. It was us daily only called when the greater insects had grown to numerous or one had grown far to monstrous for any hunting party to face. So in such situations, a grand hunt was called where the elder led all the hunters in the clan in one massive hunt.

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  Though this is not just a mere group hunt, it is something greater now when all the hunters of a grasspixie clan are led by an elder in a grand hunt; they all become something else. That became one field of swaying grass as the magic of the hunt took over. They became best impossible to hit as they swayed around their prey like grass and became so similar to each other that it became impossible to tell them apart. The only one able to keep his individuality is the elder in such a thing.

  Those who find themselves in the other felt as if they were not fighting grasspixie hunters but felt as if the grasslands had risen up and were not trying to stab them to death for whatever reason. It was a dangerous thing to do though on the course of the grass pixies, as the elder must know all his hunters, for if he forgets one during the grand hunt, they will be turned into grass by the magic of the hunt when it ends.

  So now his hunters prepare as they practice every strike they know and polish and repair their equipment until it shines in the light for the great hunt to come while the elder of the hunt, Gressel, sits and goes over the names of every hunter in the clan as he is determined to not lose one in the grand hunt to come as all elders of the hunt should be.

  Meanwhile, Grekal, the elder of the farmers, was gathering all the grass pixie dust they had grown, slowly gathering it on a cart. That way, if they had to make the deal with that scoundrel, she already had the pixie dust set to the side to pay the degenerate. She could tell her farmers were not happy having to give up all their grass pixie dust to pay one scoundrel's services, but they would understand the necessity of the worst coming to last and the hunters grand hunt was not enough.

  As was having that thought, she heard the screams and turned around to see what had caused such horror, becoming terrified herself that the creatures the hunter Grokal had spoken of had somehow snuck up on the clan and were tearing through her surprised people.

  But no, that was not causing the screams of terror much to her relief. Though what was actually causing the screams of fear inspired a different kind of fear in her, as in the distance the wall of smog that people could see from basically anywhere in the village had grown a giant serpent that was tearing and dragging down anything that neared the same skies as it.

  To add to Grekal's fear, she could swear that at one point in the creatures endless hunt of the skies, it turned to look straight at her with eyes that weren't there as the creature was made entirely of smog, but somehow she could fill herself being gazed at by two endless pits. Eventually the creature returned back to the smog from once it came, but not before it had collected a toll in blood from the skies.

  Grekal then heard the bells of grass signifying the start of the great hunt as elder Gressel saw the threat the smog small now presented, so he was going to go and deal with it by calling the forth the great hunt. She also saw the threat that the smog wall now presented, as unlike before, they now knew the wall could create smog serpents and who knew what else.

  The problem that presented was that today you had serpents on the wall, but what about tomorrow? How long before the smog wall was sending wave after wave of smog serpents to overwhelm them? So she could see why Gressel had called the great now we'll the huntress still had a chance instead of when they could be buried under a tide of smog serpents before ever getting near the walls.

  Though she began to have her farmers gather the rest of the sacks of grass pixie dust at a double speed. As if Gressel's great hunt was successful, they would have plenty of time to put the sack of grass pixie dust back, but if he failed, they would have little time to hand over the payment to the scoundrel, who would fight the threat if Gressel failed.

  Grekal took a moment to watch the hunters as they ran towards the smog wall. Gressel stood twice as tall as he usually did, the magic of the hunt making him far stronger than usual. "May the cunning of the Fay and the power of the beast be with you." Grekal said, repeating an old fairy hunter prayer, hoping for their succuss as the first true clash between the grasspixie clan and the kingdom began.