Chapter Twenty-Eight

[United Grakas Alliance]

The United Grakas Alliance was a large country composed of seventeen major beastmen tribe.

Urkawi, a gorilla beastman and the Commander of the Third Legion, creased his brows as he read the reports sent from the front. His hairs stood on their edges as he shook in anger.

"Aleeexaandeer!" he roared, making the entire hall tremble. His adjutants flinched and avoided his glare.

This was probably the fifth time Alexander, the Mercenary Guild Master, toppled the beastmen's advance towards the Kingdom of Lukas. As the leader of the Third Legion, all blame towards these defeats fell on Urkawi. He even received a warning from the Beast King, stating that if he failed to capture the Eastern Region of the Kingdom of Lukas, he would be stripped off his title as the Commander of the Third Legion. There were only six months left until the deadline.

Urkawi slapped the parchment on to the table, creating numerous cracks on it. "Phantomim."

"Commander." One of the adjutants, a leopard beastman, stepped forward.

"The assassins we sent to kill Alexander?"

Phantomim almost swallowed upon seeing the glare from Urkawi. "W-We've lost contact with them, Sir."

A suppressed growled escaped out of Urkawi's lips. "Why are you reporting this only now? If the assassins were discovered this fast, then it'll be easy to conclude that they've seen through our plans. No wonder our army's unable to advance in the Valley of Witches!"

"Because you've told us to handle the assassination by ourse—"

"—Enough!" Urkawi spat. "Damn it! If only that damn Alexander didn't exist! That shrewd human's been winning battles left and right despite the huge difference in our numbers!"

It was a well-known fact within the Third Legion that Alexander have no more than two thousand men under his command right now. And using such a small army, they were able to block the attacks from the Legion which numbered more than fifteen thousand. This was clearly no small feat. All of the officials of the Legion wanted nothing but the death of that Mercenary Guild Master.

Since several months ago, the Third Legion have been the laughing stock of the armies within the United Grakas alliance, and the military officials could do nothing but swallow down the ridicules thrown at them left and right.

"Commander Urkawi." A small voice spoke. It was a beastman from the rabbit tribe. "If you'll permit this humble servant to speak."

Urkawi furrowed his brows. This was his first time seeing this beastman. The Rabbit Tribe was known to be the weakest among the seventeen tribes.

Seeing the scrutinizing expression of the commander, the rabbit beastman bowed his head. "Ah, I haven't introduced myself yet. Please do forgive me." He smiled, showing two large teeth. His large eyes glimmered. "I go by the name of Fior, a member of the Rabbit Tribe. I was promoted to the position of assistant adjutant three days ago by the Beast King himself."

By the Beast King himself? That was an outrageous claim.

"I've never heard of this," said Urkawi. Seeing the expressions of the other officials, they too have never seen nor heard of this person before. "So, a greenhorn? You must be finding us funny and incompetent, knowing that we're unable to win against a mere human despite the huge difference in numbers."

The voice of Urkawi was grim, taunting. Any other beastman would have trembled by now after hearing it. But surprisingly, Fior remained unbaffled. He shook his head. "Not at all. I must say that the Third Legion did well during the attack on the Valley of Witches. After all, the humans used the Silver Moles to their advantage during that fight. To have come out of that battle without so much deaths speaks loads of your competency, Commander."

Urkawi did not know if this rabbit beastman was simply flattering him. "Silver Moles? You mean those monsters that hole themselves deep within the ground all seasons long?"

"Yes, exactly." Fior bobbed his head.

Urkawi's eyes slowly widened. Everything made sense now. The numerous pitfalls. The earth suddenly opening up and swallowing their warriors. The massive landslides. Those phenomenon were on a grand scale that they've never thought that it was done by the humans. After all, there was no magic capable of creating catastrophes of such level. But if the Silver Moles, monsters that naturally lived in the ground, became involved, it would be a different matter entirely. Urkawi heard that those monsters were capable of digging through the ground as though swimming through water.

"Silver Moles," said one of the adjutants. "But how did they tame those monsters? And those things live underground. It's really rare to even encounter them."

Judging by the story of Fior, the humans have used several of those monsters, probably over a hundred in total.

"They probably have a monster tamer on their side. Just like you've said, encountering the silver moles are rare, but a monster tamer needs only one of them to get several others. Once he got his hands on a single one, it'll be easy to find the rest." The conjecture of Fior made sense. "I suggest that we assume that they have indeed gained control of the silver moles, which explains the reason why they chose to hole themselves up in the Valley of Witches. It's basically a fortress, after all. And if they are to combine the ability of those monsters to alter the terrain, then that place will become impregnable."

The head of Urkawi throbbed upon hearing this. "So, you're saying that it'll be near impossible for the Third Legion to capture that pivotal place – is that it?"

Fior shook his head. "No. What I'm saying is that it'll be foolish to directly attack that fortress."

One of the military officials angrily spat out, "This damn rabbit! So you're telling us that we've been doing it wrong all this time, huh? This arrogan—"

Urkawi waved a hand, signaling the official to stop. He turned to Fior. "Since you're telling us this, surely, you have an alternative? A solution to this deadlock."

"Of course." Fior's voice was filled with confidence. He walked towards the map spread out on the table. "Currently, this is where our army is." He slid his fingers up and pointed at an x mark. "This is where the humans are."

"We know that." One of the officials remarked.

Fior brushed the ridicule aside. "Commander, forgive my insolence, but what is the true goal of this Legion?"

There was silence. Urkawi eventually spoke. "To capture the Eastern Region of the Lukas Kingdom."

"Exactly," said Fior. "Defeating Alexander is secondary. Although losing the Valley of Witches is a terrible blow, it's not like there's no other way around this. I suggest this alternative." His finger slid towards the east and stopped near the area marked with numerous trees. "The humans call this place the Endless Forest. It's so massive that it's basically a natural wall that protected the north-east part of the entire Kingdom. Based on the information I've gathered, there is a small town here situated near the Rile River."

The military officers still have no idea what Fior was trying to say. The rabbit beastman diligently continued explaining to them. "There's a hidden path here where our army can cross through. Basically, we'll be giving up the Valley of Witches, make a small garrison over here in this area to protect our escape route, and capture this small town. It'll take several weeks, probably even a month to cross over, but once we've captured this town, we can simply convert it into a stronghold without the humans knowing. It's an isolated town, after all."

Looking at the map, the area where the town was located was a strategic location almost comparable to the Valley of Witches. It was protected by the Endless Forest at the rear and was only several days away from the Lion City. If they managed to successfully convert it into a stronghold, they would be able to focus all of their forces towards the front, with such a large forest serving as shield in their backs.

"But if that damn Alexander notices our plans…" said one of the officials.

"It doesn't matter." Fior smiled shrewdly. He pointed at an area in the map, specifically at the path towards the town. "If they choose to stop our army from building the fortress, the garrison over here can simply attack the Valley of Witches. He'll be stuck in protecting it. Knowing the humans, they'll definitely choose the Valley over the small town. It's an obvious decision, after all."

Urwaki was silent for a moment, his mind filled with various thoughts. By far, this was an ingenious plan. He could not believe that such a brilliant tactician was unknown until now. He could see why the Beast King personally promoted this rabbit.

"Did the Beast King send you to this camp for this?" Urkawi had to ask.

Fior smiled and nodded.

"Very well, we will go with this plan." He turned to Fior. "How much warriors should we send to this side?"

"Four thousand warriors for the garrison, ten thousand warriors for the town," said Fior. "Just to be safe, leave a thousand warriors near the Valley of Witches. It'll keep those humans from poking around as we make our march."