Stacks of documents filled the table before Lark as he tinkered with the crystal next to him. The sun passed through the open windows; the perfect day to use the vision crystal.

He channeled mana into the orb and images started playing inside his mind. He could see the clouds above, the trees below, the mountains beyond. He saw scenery through the eyes of the birds he had captured a week ago.

He breathed in, poured in more mana into the orb, and willed the birds to fly further west, toward the Valley of Witches.

He surveyed the countryside continuously, careful not to miss even the smallest of details.

The birds passed through the hills, then past the small forest beneath, until they arrived at a plain with a flowing river.

Found it.

Numerous camps across the plain. Beastmen, armed to the teeth, moving around. Lark willed the birds to circle the encampment as he analyzed the enemy’s vanguard.

Three hundred at most. A lot smaller than I thought.

It was exactly as the captured lizardman had said. According to him, this group was led by a member of the ogre tribe—four-armed beastmen ranking among the highest of the sixteen tribes.

Commander Azura, Captain Stone, and Vice Commander Lauro. Where are you?

As Lark watched the army using his crystal, he noticed a peculiar movement. An ogre came out of a tent and began gathering the soldiers. According to the captured lizardman, Vice Commander Lauro was practically the real commander of the vanguard. He was the one who decided the tactics, routes, and formations. Although he could not supersede the commander’s authority, his voice was enough to dictate the flow of the battlefield.

That must be him.

The four-armed beastman gathered soldiers and delegated tasks. The magic Lark used was limited only to visual surveillance. He couldn’t hear the words uttered by the beastman, but by carefully observing the movements and gestures, as well as the reactions of the soldiers, it was easy to deduce that this man was the vice commander of the vanguard.

Lark memorized the image of the ogre. He started looking for Captain Stone, the leader of the scouts, and Commander Azura himself. After several minutes, beastmen exited the same tent. One of them was a large, four-armed ogre holding an axe. Next to him, a lizardman.

In a glance, Lark knew he’d found his remaining targets.

Rage bubbled in him as he watched the lizardman. That bastard almost took Gaston’s life. He had infiltrated the town.

Although taking the lives of Commander Azura and Lauro was gravely important, Lark also vowed to kill the lizardman.

They’re moving.

Lark cut off the surveillance magic and summoned Anandra.

“You called for me, Young Lord?” said Anandra.

“Gather the soldiers and the hunters from Gahelpa,” said Lark. “The enemy’s coming. We’re moving out.”

“As you wish.” Anandra bowed his head and left the room.

“It’s your turn.” Lark looked at the stationary suits of armor next to the wall. The three Guardians had been unable to fend off the lizardmen that infiltrated the town. Since their cores were made of goblins, these living suits of armor were unable to see through concealment magic.

Light emanated through the slits of their helmets. Growls reverberated through the room. The suits of armor moved, step by step, clanking sounds echoing. In unison, the three knelt before Lark.

“Show your worth.” Lark donned his cloak and grabbed his sword. “Slaughter the enemy.”

***

Vice Commander Lauro sighed. The vanguard army was advancing through the plains, their destination, the remote town far east of this place. More than half the warriors were mounted on horses, some pulled carts, the rest on foot.

Everyone was in high spirits. Despite the fact that the scouts were almost annihilated, the warriors still believed it would be an easy feat to conquer the small town. After all, they had three times the soldiers as the town. Furthermore, they were being led by the commander himself.

An ogre beastman approached Lauro. He whispered, “Sir, we sent the message, just like you ordered.”

Lauro looked at him subtly. “Good job. Return to your position.”

“Yes, sir!”

Since Commander Azura had stubbornly refused to request reinforcements from the main army, Lauro had to do it in his stead. He discreetly sent a message to General Urkawi to send at least a thousand more warriors to aid them in conquering the town. Although humans were weaker than beastmen in general, they were shrewd and cunning. A perfect example was Alexander, the Mercenary Guild Master. That man annihilated Commander Brock’s army in a single day using unheard of tactics. The human had completely blocked the advance of the Third Legion to the Valley of Witches.

Their army soon entered a forest. Lauro frowned.

There is something eerie about this place.

The horses neighed as they passed through the sea of trees. Leaves rained from above, as though it was autumn, and the ground was blanketed by dead leaves. The trees themselves looked half-withered, as though life had been sucked from them.

Lauro summoned Stone. “Captain, this forest…”

Stone nodded. “It wasn’t like this when we first came here. It’s dying.”

Although they were certain something was wrong with the forest, they were unable to pinpoint it. Aside from the sound of hooves crunching through the leaves, the footsteps of the warriors, and the rattling carts, the forest was quiet. There were no signs of animals anywhere. Even the birds had ceased chirping.

Lauro approached Commander Azura. “Commander, there’s something wrong with this forest.”

Azura snorted. “That’s obvious, Lauro. But we’ll be leaving it soon. See those hills beyond?”

The commander was right. The forest was small, and it only took their army a couple of hours to pass through it. The end was in sight.

Nothing has happened so far. I guess everything’s alright. Lauro shook the worries from his mind.

The army reached the hills. Once at the top, they stopped for a few minutes to recuperate, then started the march again. Below the hills was another forest, a larger one. The trees were colossal, some of them spanning more than fifteen meters in height. Birds chirped and animal trails wound between trees.

Lauro breathed a sigh of relief. At least this area was normal.

They continued through the forest. Several hours after dusk, the army stopped to recuperate. “Pitch the tents!” Lauro ordered. “We are to camp here today!”

With trained movements, the warriors made camp. Lauro assigned several men to scout the surrounding areas and act as guards.

One of his men approached him and said, “Vice Commander, we’ve received a reply from the main army.”

“That was fast.” Lauro opened the letter handed to him. After reading it, he frowned. It seemed that a few days earlier, Alexander had launched a surprise attack against the main army, killing several hundred beastmen.

The human Mercenary Guild Master did it using only a handful of elite soldiers, only a few dozen.

“They saw through the decoy, huh?” Lauro was grim.

He didn’t know how Alexander did it, but he had seen through their plan to circumvent the Valley of Witches and strike directly at the Eastern Region of the Kingdom of Lukas. Now, the main army was preoccupied dealing with sneak attacks from the humans.

According to the general, it would take several days before they would be able to send out reinforcements for the vanguard.

“If only that damn Alexander was gone,” mumbled Lauro. “The Eastern Region would be as good as ours.”

“Lauro!” A shout reverberated through the forest.

He saw Commander Azura sitting next to a campfire, one of his four arms holding a half- empy bottle of wine.

“Come! Drink!” Azura called to him and hiccupped. “Let’s celebrate the upcoming victory!”

Lauro was aghast seeing the commander’s drunken face. He walked briskly to Azura and took the bottle of wine.

“What are you doing?!” snarled Azura. He glared at Lauro, but the vice commander didn’t back down.

“I’m confiscating this,” said Lauro. He glared at the adjutants next to the commander. “And the three of you. No drinking. Understood?!”

The adjutants were crestfallen by the declaration, but they conceded.

“Lauro, let me empty that bottle at least!” Azura begged. “Please!”

“No.” Lauro’s head throbbed. “What are you thinking?! We’re going to battle in the next few days!”

Sometimes he asked himself why he kept serving this drunkard. Azura was a monster in the battlefield, but his administrative and strategic skills were almost nonexistent. He was a muscle head who would charge head-on regardless of the consequences.

Well, he did save my life.

Lauro sighed. Years ago, the commander had risked his life to save his. It was a moment forever embedded in Lauro’s memories. Since then, he had decided to wholeheartedly support the commander despite his cantankerous personality.

Lauro raised his voice. “Listen, everyone! Whoever is caught drinking will be severely punished. I’ll make sure to report this personally to General Urkawi! Understood?!”

The warriors shivered at the mention of the general’s name. They replied in unison, “Yes!”

“Lauro! Just one more bottle!” Azura groaned. He stood up and wobbled. “Please!” Lauro did not reply. He held on to the bottle of wine.

It would only be a few more days until they arrived at Blackstone Town. He had to make sure to babysit these guys until then.

As he was on his way back to the tent, Lauro felt a chilly sensation as a dagger pierced through his neck. He tried screaming for help, but no words came out. Blood flowed down his neck. His vision blurred as he lost his strength.

“One down,” someone whispered. “Two to go.”

A shadow ran past him and entered the sea of trees, disappearing from sight. It happened so fast that none of the beastmen were able to react.

Lauro fell limp on the ground as his body twitched. He could no longer feel anything. “Vice Commander!” The warriors around him finally noticed what was happening.

Damn it. I can’t die here. The commander. If I die, what will happen to the commander?

“Lauro!” He heard the commander’s wail. “Damn it! Who was it?! Show yourself!” Lauro’s body twitched again, the light in his eyes vanished, and he faded.

As though on cue, arrows flew from between the trees, piercing the unsuspecting beastmen.

“We’re under attack!” shouted the adjutants. “Everyone! On your guard!” Unsheathing sounds echoed as the beastmen drew their weapons.

Everyone readied themselves for the incoming charge. But it did not come.

The barrage of arrows stopped. Several dozen bodies littered the ground. The forest was once again quiet, with only the chirping of ravens to cut the silence.

Commander Azura shouted, “What are you doing? After them! Search the area! Comb the forest! I want those bastards dead!”

He still held the dead vice commander in his arms, trembling as tears flowed. Although Lauro was stubborn, he was why Commander Azura had reached his current position. It was no exaggeration to say that he was the mind that moved the entire vanguard.

Azura’s sorrow was slowly replaced by vehement rage. He wanted to catch the culprit, hang him, tear him to shreds, and feed him to the burrcats. He wanted to personally mutilate his whole body.

Azura slowly placed the dead body on the ground. He wiped his tears and grabbed his battle-axe.

“Oborus, Lance,” he called two of his three adjutants. “Bring your nimblest men with you. We will find and chase those bastards.”

The two nodded and immediately gathered their men. “Kael,” snarled Azura.

“Sir!”

“You lead the rest of the men while we chase the enemies. Do not lower your guard!”

“Understood!” Kael saluted.

One after another, beastmen started leaving the camp, with the commander and his two adjutants at the lead. They ran through the forest, eventually disappearing through the shadows of the trees.

Kael shouted, “You heard the commander! Be on your guard! Be ready to move out at any time!”

They had several carts with them. It would be impossible for the whole army to chase the enemies. Kael knew the commander’s decision to gather the fastest men to pursue them was best choice. They could also choose not to give chase, but since they had taken the life of Vice Commander Lauro, everyone in the vanguard army wanted to rip the ambushers’ bodies into shreds. Had the commander not assigned Kael to oversee the rest of the army, he would have also loved to go after to their enemy.

Kael’s round ears twitched as he heard rustling sounds from their rear. He pulled out his scimitars, each of his four hands holding one.

“On your guard!” he snarled.

Soon, figures emerged from the shadows of the trees. Three of them, each wearing a cloak. Under the cloak shone the glint of metal armor. With every step, clanking sounds echoed.

Kael had fought with humans wearing full plate armor before, and he knew the drawbacks of wearing one. In exchange for protection and defense, they forsake much of their movement and agility. It was easier to deal with them than mercenaries wearing leather armor.

“Only three?” he smirked. He raised his voice. “Stab them through the gaps of the armor!”

The beastmen charged the intruders. Most of them carried axes, while some carried scimitars, longswords, and spears.

The suits of armor made long, wailing sounds. They started charging toward the beastmen, colliding with them violently.

To Kael’s surprise, the beastmen flew into the air. The suits of armor continued charging, unscathed by the collision, growls escaping through the helmets.

“What’s happening?!”

Beastmen had stronger physiques than humans. Even if these three were wearing full plate armor, it should have been impossible to make the beastmen warriors fly through the air.

Kael grasped his weapons tightly and readied himself for the upcoming battle. He needed to face them, or his soldiers would suffer casualties. His instinct screamed at him to jump into the fray.

But to his astonishment, the suits of armor did not engage in battle. Instead they continued running toward the carts. Upon reaching them, they each pulled a talisman from the pouch on their waists and stamped it onto the carts.

A few seconds after the talismans were stamped, the symbols engraved there glowed, and the parchment burned into white flames. The flames licked the carts, quickly spreading through their entire structures. Everything had happened so fast that Kael and his men were stunned speechless.

“They’re targeting the supplies!” shouted one of the warriors.

Kael realized it too. “Stop them!”

The beastmen tried stabbing the armor, but their attacks simply bounced off the metal plates. Some made dents, while some successfully stabbed through the gaps, only to realize they were hollow inside.

The suits of armor ignored the attacks. They were focused on the carts carrying the rations, burning each of them using the talismans.

“Damn it!” Kael used his full weight and struck the suit of armor near him. His axe pierced through the chest plate. The pair of yellow eyes behind the visor glared at him. It grabbed the axe and yanked it from his hands. With a roar, it punched Kael right at the abdomen.

Kael managed to block the punch using his four arms. But to his horror, the punch carried enough strength to make him fly toward the nearby tree. He hit the trunk and splintered wood flew. He coughed as pain coursed through his body. He looked at his arms and realized that two of them had been broken by that single strike.

These suits of armor were monsters. Each had enough strength to rival the members of the Oni Tribe. Furthermore, they did not seem to feel pain, making them a far more dangerous opponent.

Despite their overwhelming numbers, the beastmen were unable to stop the three suits of armor from burning the food supplies. Those that tried to grab them were sent flying with a single punch, while the unluckier ones had their skulls crushed.

By the time the food supplies had all been burned, the suits of armor ran into the sea of trees, disappearing under the shadow of the night.