Chapter 38

Over the next few days, Olek fashioned a short recurve bow for Rao Wu and then trained him on the Way of the Bow. Fortunately, Rao Wu proved to be a quick study. Although Rao Wu wouldn’t win any competitions soon, the child could hit the target six times out of ten. For a beginner, that was an excellent result.

Rao Wu, meanwhile, also went to Ramy to learn how to be an effective tank. Since he often joined the hunting party, Ramy found many chances to teach Rao Wu the importance of positioning. A tank’s job wasn’t only to protect their party but also to provide the best opportunity for the damage dealers to inflict the most damage.

Due to this, Ramy often attracted the monsters’ attention, not just towards her, but also in a direction that favored Olek’s arrows or Denuchi’s sword. To accomplish this task, Ramy needed to be aware of her parties’ positioning at all times, no matter how hectic the battle got.

Rao Wu did not intend to take on the tank role. Kafus, and in turn, fox-hybrids, were not suited to taking punishment. Instead, he learned the part so he could teach Ju Tu in the future. There was no such thing as a wasted lesson. Even if it didn’t apply to him, there were many others he could potentially teach one day, whether it was his soul pets, family, or maybe even friends.

Rao Wu was like a sponge, cramming decades worth of experience amongst the members in a week and a half. Denuchi, realizing there was no time to teach the child how to use a sword, instead focused on teaching Rao Wu how to judge the best chances for attacking and when to retreat.

Akeme’s lessons were scary. The wolf-hybrid focused on teaching Rao Wu the most vulnerable parts of the human anatomy. He showed Rao Wu critical arteries that guaranteed kills and ‘weak spots’ that could immobilize enemies.

Rao Wu visited each suicide squad member, happily listening to tales of their exploits and narrow escapes. Perhaps because of Rao Wu’s cheerful personality, or maybe because they were happy to have someone to speak to—the squad members eagerly told the child their stories. It soon became a regular sight to wait behind after dinner to chat and reminisce.

Rao Wu wished he could stay with the group for a few more months. There was so much he could potentially learn from them!

Unfortunately, life was not so kind. The dreaded deadline eventually came up. It was with a solemn expression that Denuchi spoke up after dinner on the eve of the operation. “Tomorrow is the day. Lekun, Depo, Raba, thanks for the tunnel. You can switch out your soul pets now.” With Denuchis’s permission, the trio revealed grateful smiles and then swapped out their mole-rats for more orthodox offensive soul monsters. “The rest of you, thank you for your patrols. Thanks to you, we did not alert any beastkin patrols. And, of course, thanks to Rao Wu for helping us get this fort in case things go south.”

The squad softly cheered as Ramy patted the embarrassed Rao Wu’s back.

“With thanks out of the way, let’s once again run through tomorrow’s operation.” The room once again went deathly silent as Denuchi knocked on the table. “According to the intel we have, Depo’s tunnel leads to an old, escape route south of Lazuli Cave. It's one of many the beastkin built to escape in the event their home was overrun.” Denuchi’s gave traveled across the room as he continued, “We’ll use this to infiltrate from the south while the main force attacks the cave from the north.”

Akeme nodded and then continued, “Even with most of the forces gone, expect heavy resistance. The shaman’s orb is located in the chieftains’ private storage room. There’ll be plenty of security around it, so be prepared to fight to the death.”

“We have roughly forty minutes from the minute the alarm is raised before reinforcements arrive,” revealed Denuchi, and then clarified when Ramy raised her hand. “Lazuli Cave’s entrance is roughly fifty minutes away from the chieftain’s home. Thirty to Forty if you sprint.”

Akeme explained further, “The beastkin made their village far from the entrance to give them the chance to deploy traps and bombs on the relatively narrow tunnels and pathways. It’s ingenious and part of the reason why Lazuli has stood for so long. However, we’ll be using it against them today.”

Denuchi’s gaze turned grave as he muttered, “The humans intend on getting the Shaman’s Orb, no matter what. If we fail, they’ll force Suicide Squad warriors to charge the pathways and trigger the traps and bombs. We have to successfully carry out this mission for their sake too.”

Rao Wu raised his hand, and then asked when Denuchi gave him permission, “How will the humans know we have the Shaman’s Orb?”

“This.” Denuchi held out his hand, and Ramy put a strange rectangular device in it. “It’s called a walkie-talkie. Once we’re in range, I can communicate with the person on the other side. The humans will pull out when they know we have the Shaman’s Orb.” Denuchi paused and then glanced at Rao Wu with a knowing look. “We’ll set Fort Drakon as the meet point.”

Rao Wu, understanding Denuchi’s gaze, nodded, and then said, “Understood.” He paused and then asked, “Would it help if many humans died in Lazuli Cave?”

Denuchi shook his head. “I don’t know what you’re thinking, but forget it. The humans aren’t stupid enough to fight head-on. More than likely, they’ll send the suicide squad first. Also, if by some hazardous miracle, the humans lose too many people, they’ll kill us in retaliation at the rendezvous point.”

“I get that, but hear me out.” Rao Wu wanted to kill three birds with one stone. First was his mission to get the Shaman’s Orb. Secondly, he wanted to free Denuchi’s group. Lastly, he needed a large kill count to accumulate Chaos Points. Rao Wu could get the first two conditions if he followed Denuchi’s mission plan, but the last one was not as certain. “How about if we grab the Shaman’s Orb, but then stall. If the beastkin retreats to track us like you said, the humans and suicide squad will most likely follow behind when they don’t receive news of our success.”

“Yes, but what good will that do?” Akeme asked, wondering where Rao Wu was going with this reasoning.

Rao Wu pointed at himself. “I want to attack the humans when they’re in the tunnels. It’s the best opportunity when they’re all bunched together like that.”

“Impossible,” refuted Denuchi immediately.

“You’ll get stuck between humans and beastkin,” added Akeme, shaking his head disapprovingly. “Both sides will slaughter you. How do you even intend to make it past the beastkin?”

Rao Wu was not put off by the older men’s rebuffs. Instead, he calmly raised his hand. “I can blend in. The beastkin won’t attack me.”

“Huh?”

Rao Wu took a breath and then activated his first ability. [Phase-Shift] transformed Rao Wu’s body, on a molecular level between his three bloodlines: human, hybrid, and yes, beastkin.

“What in the?” Akeme exclaimed in shock as he watched gray fur rapidly grow along Rao Wu’s arms and face.

Rao Wu groaned as his bones cracked and then morphed, transforming him from a hybrid to a full-blooded kafu. The fox-child looked up at the surrounding warriors and then said with a wry smile. “This is my plan. I should be able to make it in like this, right?”

Denuchi’s mouth opened, but no words came out. The wolf-hybrid considered himself an experienced adventurer, having seen most of what the world had to offer. However, nothing could have prepared him for the sight before him. “You… How did you do that?”

“It’s my cultivation technique,” answered Rao Wu. “I can’t teach you, though.”

“Can’t or won’t?” asked one of the squad warriors.

“Can’t.” Confirmed Rao Wu, unperturbed by the hints of greed in some of the members’ eyes. He only cared for Denuchi’s opinion. Fortunately, aside from shock and a little suspicion, Denuchi’s gaze remained the same. “The technique was passed on using a special method. I know how to use it but can’t teach it to others. It’ll be like asking you to teach me how to see. It's innate.”

“Mm. I’ve heard of Inherited Techniques,” murmured Denuchi. “They’re similar to soul monsters’ innate skills. They just know how to use them even without training.” He paused and then glanced at the others. “You’re better off forgetting about getting it. You could kill him, dissect his brain, and you still wouldn’t get the technique.”

Several suicide squad members revealed deflated expressions at Denuchi’s remark. Although they did not plan on harming Rao Wu, the squad members hoped to convince Rao Wu one war or another. Unfortunately, Denuchi’s revelation shut that door down.

Denuchi, having placated his squad’s greed, turned to Rao Wu. “Alright. Since you’ve shown your cards, I’ll offer you the respect of being frank. Tell me what you want, so we can make full plans right now.”

Rao Wu nodded and then raised two fingers. “I can’t tell you guys much, but let’s just say I’m on a test. To pass, I need to kill many things and steal the Shaman’s Orb.” Rao Wu paused and then added, “I was going to hang around you guys and steal it later, but I’ve decided to free you guys in return.”

“So, risking your life to attack the humans?”

“I’ll raise my kill count, and it’ll reduce the number of humans who come to the Fort for the exchange.” Rao Wu then added, “Plus, if I kill enough humans, wouldn’t that reduce the number of forcefully contracted Suicide Squad members? They could help us at the fort.”

Akeme frowned. “The humans will hide behind the Suicide Squad. You’ll need to kill them first.”

“No, actually, that part might be the easiest to fix,” replied Denuchi. The old boss’s eyes shone as he began calculating the odds of success. “The suicide squad contract is different from the regular soul contract. Ours is more like a forceful slave contract. It gives the humans unilateral power to kill us if we disobey their orders and prevents us from willfully harming them. BU, on the other hand, we don’t get brainwashed into loving our contractors and thus retain our full free will. So, taking advantage of this loophole, while we can’t harm our contractors, we can do something as simple as stepping aside if the situation calls for it—like say, fighting a horde of beastkin and letting one pass through.”

Akeme’s eyes lit up. “Oh yeah. The humans can’t give detailed orders all the way from the back. It’ll be too late by the time they realize he’s through.”

“Yeah, but what do you expect Rao Wu to do by himself?” argued Ramy. “He’s just a kid. The humans aren’t pushovers, you know?”

Rao Wu perked up and raised his hands. “I already considered that. If I can kill a couple of humans early enough, I figure the freed suicide squad members would help me kill or at least chase off the rest.” Turning to Denuchi, he added, “We can finish off the remnants here.”

“That…” Ramy opened her mouth but then shook her head in disbelief. “That could actually work. I can’t believe I just said that.”

Denuchi, quick on the uptake, quickly restrategized. “Alright, if we’re going to do this, we need to change a few things. Once we break into Lapis Lazuli, Rao Wu will immediately charge for the frontlines in his beastkin form. The rest of us will then steal the Shamans’ Orb and stall, allowing the beastkin to raise the alarm.

“The beastkin should retreat into the tunnels, and I’m certain the humans will follow until they receive our call. Rao Wu should meet with the main force somewhere in the tunnel around thirty minutes after he leaves. We’ll give Rao Wu twenty minutes to wreck as much havoc as he possibly can. Then we’ll call the main force to let them know we have the Shaman’s Orb. Rao Wu, once you notice the humans retreating, run back to the cave tunnels where we’ll be waiting.”

As the crowd went over the plan, the observant Akeme noticed a flaw. “Boss, we need a better exit strategy for Rao Wu. We’ll most likely get chased after stealing the orb. We’ll have to collapse our cave channel as planned, or they’ll chase us all the way back here.”

Lekun, one of the mole-rat soul trainers, raised her hand. “If we leave early enough, I can make a second channel that connects to a different part of the beastkin tunnel from ours. Since it’s a short distance, I can rush it. That way, Rao Wu can still connect to us after we close the first channel.”

“Ha!” Akeme clapped with relief and joy. “That’ll do it! Alright, Boss. I’m fully on board. If we pull this off, they’ll sing our legends for generations!”

Denuchi smiled and then looked at Rao Wu. “A lot’s riding on you tomorrow. I hope you can handle it.”

Rao Wu, in reply, grinned and patted his chest. “Don’t worry. I’m pretty good at killing.”