Kane sealed the exits from the central district and herded the residents into the square outside the Guild.
Subjugated flying beasts hovered above them. Any attempt to storm the square would turn the people into shields.
The city screens showed Kane on the tower roof.
"Rex Wang wants to destroy the bond system. Without it, the beasts will turn wild. We are preserving order while he spreads the infection."
Then he brought captured swarm captains and several fighters from the dye works into the square.
The prisoners were kept apart. The captains were held in glass cylinders at the foot of the tower, while the people stood between the columns. If the swarm attacked the cages, the guards would have time to take cover behind the hostages. If the people began a rescue, the flying beasts would smash the cylinders with the mosquitoes still inside.
Kane was using what he had learnt from us: several independent points instead of a single target.
Lily searched for a blind spot in the broadcast. Cole calculated the distance between positions of cover. Mira warned us that the suppression crystals in the cages were linked to the prisoners' pulses. A sudden breach could stop the hearts of both groups.
We had enough strength. The problem was different: Kane had stopped underestimating a free network.
The System returned with a brief warning.
"Large number of hostile human targets detected. Potential energy sufficient for accelerated swarm recovery."
Kane knew that killing humans yielded points.
If the swarm attacked the guards and absorbed their energy, I could tear control away from the Crown by force. The hostages would die alongside the fighters, and someone else's imprints would enter Styx and me.
Lily said, "Kane wants you to become the same kind of master."
In the square, one of the guards struck a prisoner.
Styx felt my anger.
"Not food," she said.
The third pulse was almost ready.
We advanced on the square without accepting the price he had set.
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