“It appears his highness is a man of far more mysteries than we suspected,” said Caine in a deep voice.

“I wonder, is this an initiative that his highness is following from the Empire or this is his personal initiative,” replied Tiffany as she glanced at Edward and Reine.

The officers behind Edward were muttering amongst themselves in pitched tones now. One officer stood out and made a chopping gesture followed by a stern glance at every single officer. As if some form of silent communication passed, each officer seemed to realize something and decided to keep their peace.

This did not go unnoticed by Edward, he thought it was a mark of Aureus’s leadership that he has won the loyalty of his followers from the top to the bottom.

The 3 spirit beasts were far more agitated as Reine returned to converse with the other two men. As the discussion was completed, Reine walked back to Edward and stated that matters have developed to a point whereby they need to hold a council with all spirit beast tribe leaders. She further requested that Edward consider the joint attack plans and gave the location of the point of attack as well as a general overview of the capabilities of the spirit beast tribes.

With a meaningful look at Edward, she turned and left with the two men stating they would make contact again in a few days' time.

—

The troops were setting up picket lines and posting watches as Edward gathered once more with the mages.

The mages appeared subdued and did not probe in any way regarding the so-called ability that Aureus was able to upgrade spirit beast cores. They discussed whether they should enter an alliance with the spirit beast tribes in order to attack the demon spiders as their objectives coincided at this point.

Tiffany was of the opinion as long as a clear line of sight and space was provided for her, she would wreak havoc on the demon spiders.

Both Edward and Caine gave the other amused glances as they evaluated the attack plan.

“Bloodless is unlikely, very low casualties would be a good result,” Edward ventured as they completed their analysis.

“The monarch class demon spider will prove to be a headache. I am sure that with sufficient preparation, the two king class demon spiders can be subdued with no great difficulty.” Caine contemplated as he turned his gaze to the skies.

“We will have to work with the spirit beast monarch class warriors. We can either take on the two monarch classes or the single king class. There is no way we can handle both at the same time with our current strength.” Edward replied.

“What are our targets while waiting for the spirit beast tribes to reply?” Tiffany asked.

“His highness told us to thin out the demon beasts as much as possible while we are out here. I intend to carry out his wishes.” Edward replied as he looked off towards the forest.

—

The next few days fell into a repetitive pattern as a scout would come thundering into the encampment and two thirds of the standing forces would then move out into the forest. It was as the sun was setting that the forces would return.

As time went by, the chests containing the spoils were being filled to the brim. It was to the point that Caine opined that they should slow down somewhat if they are going to attack the demon spider tribe- so they will have enough cart space to carry all the spoils back to Everdawn.

Edward took one glance at the space remaining and declared that there will be no hunting for the day, it will be a day of rest and maintenance. The troops all cheered following the announcement.

Many broke out their whetstones and leather oils while some headed off towards the cook fires with a gleam in their eyes as the variety of food was least amongst their concerns due to their recent hunting.

The officers huddled together with Edward and some were whetting their blades while the rest were oiling their armor. One officer strangely had an entirely polished look about him- from his armor to his boots. Edward wondered did that officer get up before dawn to do all his polishing but decided that holding his tongue would be a far better course of action.

The officers weighed in on the readiness of the troops and the chances of success on the attack on the demon spider tribes. Predictably, the concerns revolved around the monarch and king class beasts and how if they were formed into a team, the difficulty of the operation would then rise.

Edward directed the flow of conversation to holding down the rank and file of the demon spiders. The officers all assured that if all they were required to do were to hold down the grunts, there would be no issues.

Edward ordered food and drinks to be brought into the meeting tent as he asked about stories about the various officers. In particular, during their campaign to the inner realm fighting for the scattered kingdoms.

Many of the officers had enthusiastic stories to share, in particular about the final battle upon the inner plains. Some of the officers had participated in the cordon of the duel between prince Aureus and prince Rogen Gaia. Many officers agreed that prince Rogen lived up to his reputation. His command of the battlefield and his personal valor and skills was indeed that of a prodigy. It was unfortunate he met prince Aureus and decided to continue onto a duel to the death with him.

Edward asked why would Prince Rogen make such a choice as there was no death feuds between Astrea Empire and the Three Syndicates as far as he knew.

The officers said both princes used their divine gem barriers at the same time and did not choose to teleport out of the battlefield. In retrospect, it could be said that prince Aureus felt he had the advantage and it will be a win for him. For prince Rogen, it was not as if he had low chances. Were he able to slay prince Aureus then and there, it would have ensured that he would be the head of Gaia syndicate and vault the Gaia syndicate into primacy amongst the three syndicates for a substantial period of time.

One of the officer said he remembered how prince Rogen’s troops fell into a killing frenzy as prince Aureus slew prince Rogen. He had to coordinate a hard fighting retreat getting prince Aureus with no divine barrier back to friendly lines with the surrounding friendly forces.

Another officer said that it was known in the camps that prince Aureus returned prince Rogen’s body and all his equipment with a grand procession to the Gaia syndicate in the aftermath of the battle. Some of the more aggressive officers in the Triem army did not approve and wanted to exact a greater price from the syndicates but Consul Triem silenced those officers and threw his full weight behind Aureus’s gesture.

Unfortunately, High Prince Gaia still swore a blood feud with prince Aureus. It was only the interventions of the other two High Princes that prevented High Prince Gaia from indulging in further acts of war. While it did not stop High Prince Gaia from sending assassins after prince Aureus, those assassins could not even make it pass the perimeter of the right wing’s camp hence it became a running joke to keep sentries alert in the camp.

As the conversation ran around topics such as eliminating key threats before they could grow, Edward felt a sense of pity growing for prince Rogen as he learned more about this figure.

(There are many great figures in the Three Realms but how many will grow to their full potential?) Edward thought as he raised a glass in response to a toast for Aureus by the officers.

—

In an empty yard like space, nine golems were standing in attention while Caine moved amongst them with his magical tools in hand. As Caine sanded down the arm of a golem, Tiffany approached.

“Nervous?” Tiffany asked.

“Yes, and excited,” Caine replied “We will be attacking the demon spiders any time now. I may obtain a grade 5 demon spider core. Ahead by near a decade. How can I not be nervous?”

“The King class will be no easy prey,” Tiffany said as she tossed her scarlet hair.

“I will act according to Edward’s decisions on the field that day. He appears well capable of the role of Warmaster and I have no questions to his abilities to lead on the field.” Edward returned as he summoned a wrench like magic tool.

Tiffany nodded as she sat at the side and watched Edward tinker with his golems.