Outer Ring,

Aygorzi.

Kashi, whose war with Drixlia had ended in an inconclusive draw on account of both parties' stubbornness, with Kira by his side, led the proud stallion by the reins as he made his way through camps set up by Absalon's army. The daeben was doubly impressed by the army’s discipline, even going so far as to set up their camps in tight formation, such that in the event of trouble, they could quickly rush out to confront the enemy.

Absalon’s larger tent, erected at the formation’s center, strengthened Kashi’s suspicion that Absalon was somehow related to the army in real life. That or the red mage spent a lot of time on strategy and history books.

After a solemn promise not to disappear once again, Kashi left Drixlia and entered the tent with Kira.

Absalon and four Council of Six members stood around a war table, each offering their opinions on the map placed atop it. The red mage sensed the daeben's entry and looked up from the map, a sharp glint in his eyes. "Glad you could join us."

"Apologies for the delay, General." Kashi nodded as he walked up to the table. A glance at the map revealed it to be a detailed map of Merriheim. "If you could please brief me on what you have covered so far?"

"Naturally," Absalon agreed. He pointed to the map. "Before that, I must remind you to thank a certain Muko in Meilfour. Once he heard we were Maggots, he insisted we take this map with us and provided a detailed description of the powers in Merriheim at this time. We might have arrived sooner, but I deemed it necessary to delay a few days to adequately receive as much information from him and verify as much as possible before leaving. If my judgment offends you, I offer my sincere apologies," said Absalon, placing his right arm across his chest with a short bow.

"Heh, it's fine," Kashi said with a wave of his hand. "In fact, things might have been bad if you arrived early and spooked the Order before my plan could come into effect."

Absalon raised his head, a small smile on his lips. "I see you still retain your schemes." Till the day he died, the red mage would never forget how a small party played two major armies for fools to acquire the largest profit.

"I prefer to think of them as strategies," Kashi scoffed with a slight smile of his own. Redirecting his gaze to the map, he returned to the topic. "So, what did Muko-san have to say?"

"Like we originally guessed, Merriheim is run by several independent chiefs, each leading small tribes on an average of 500-1000 men strong. Of these several clans, there are three which stand above all, led by a Lycan called Olgar Rigz, a merrite by the name of Brock, and the greatest of the three, Sheri Orthana, a halben who crossed over from Mònòch roughly fifteen years ago."

"Sheri leads an army roughly 5000-man strong," The chetah, Asha called from behind as she entered the tent with Kaga. When news reached her of an army in the outer ring belonging to the Maggots, she decided to take a look. "Thankfully, she’s based on the left claw, so we should still have a few weeks if she wishes to move an army like that size over to this side." She cast a gaze at Absalon. "Not every army has enough horses to satisfy all its members, after all."

Absalon inwardly chuckled. Who would believe him if he said there was an island filled with nothing but massive warhorses of different breeds south of Rosendun. His men’s mounts were runts compared to the rest still on the island. Although these thoughts passed his mind, his expression was as straight as ever. "That is the assumption that they travel by land. If they were to cross by boat, I wager that distance could be shortened to a few days at the most."

Asha shook her head. "That's impossible. No boat can cross that river. The monsters within would destroy it to shreds."

"That is not quite so accurate," Xafier interrupted. His eyes held a worried light as he stared at the river on the map. "During the war, the daebens had us build these ships they called Deathsworn to cross the river. Although they rarely see use on the mainland, I hear they are still heavily in use in Serisis and Elysium Cove."

Asha's brow rose in shock. "Such a thing exists?"

"I'm afraid so," Kashi confirmed with a matching frown. King's Journey had something similar, though they went by a different name. It seemed like not all technology and civilization from before the Cataclysm was lost.

"So, I take it we are going to work with the assumption that the sea is accessible?" Paaie asked.

"In my experience, it is always best to account for the worst while hoping for the best," confirmed Absalon.

"Alright. Assuming the sea is accessible, roughly how many hostiles are we estimating?" Yngvar asked.

Absalon glanced at the map. "Although Sheri leads an army of 5000 men, she cannot bring the entire army with her. She will definitely leave a bare minimum to defend their base. I would estimate three to four thousand on her end. The major problems are Olgar and Brock. Both these clans are situated on our claw and share the territory north of Second Under—" The red mage noticed the hesitation in the dwarfs' eyes. "Did I say something wrong?"

Kashi, realizing the dwarfs would feel uncomfortable answering, spoke up, "There was a name change recently. This region is called Aygorzi now."

"My apologies," Absalon apologized, to which the dwarfs each shook their heads, admitting it was no fault of his.

"We do not have to worry about Brock," Asha said as soon as the dwarfs settled down. A slightly conflicted look appeared in her eyes as she said, "My people are in his lands—"

"Asha!" Kaga shouted, eyes wide in shock.

"It is fine, Kaga-san," Asha shook her head, the struggle in her eyes apparent to all in the tent. "If our people are to find a path to survival, we need to bet everything on one side." Her eyes grew cold. "Nothing has changed. Rather than let our people dwindle into oblivion, I will choose where we battle. Bathed in the flames of battle, we will either burn to ashes or be reborn like the phoenix." She turned to the daeben. "I have watched your performance and borne witness to your integrity. As such, I have decided to place my bets on you. Whether my people live or die now depends on your ability. Are you capable of bearing this burden?"

Faced with those solemn words and gaze, Kashi suddenly felt his shoulders sink in, overwhelmed by the weight of the lives depending on him. Indeed, although they did not say anything, the eyes of the dwarfs and Absalon carried the same question, all unreservedly placing their lives in his hands.

Only at this moment did it finally sink in.

The enormity of his ambition, and the thousands of lives whose fates would be entrusted to his judgment. For Kashi, this was the very first time he had to shoulder such enormous responsibility. Razznik, as great as he was, never had to worry about the lives of others, and Suzuki was a no-brainer.

Kashi's gaze turned solemn as he regarded Asha. This was not a matter he could take lightly nor ignore. "I am capable ." Three words; so simple, yet carrying an undeniable arrogance.

That was right.

Kashi was capable and would remain so no matter what. He would overturn the skies and bury the seas to keep those words as an unshakeable fact.

Asha, moved by the daeben's answer, simply nodded. No words could express her feelings at that moment, so she chose not to cheapen the moment with fake flattery or thanks. The chetah walked to and bent over the table, placing her finger on the tip of the right claw. "Brock rules this region. He is protected on most borders by the Forever Sea, leaving Olgar as his only threat. Luckily, the lands on the claw's right side are slightly more fertile than the left, which means more monsters and food for the people and less pillaging by warring clans. Brock is satisfied with keeping his people safe and fed, and would never go to war except provoked or in the event of famine."

"Good," Absalon murmured. "That means his six thousand army is out of the equation." He pointed at the region just below Brock's, which was only a couple of kilometers from the Aygorian Citadel since its expansion. "What can you tell us about Olgar? The only thing we learned from Muko is that his whole army is somewhere between five and six thousand."

"Olgar..." Asha seethed, bloodshot eyes leaking evident killing intent. "Olgar is a monster who feeds on chaos. Without purpose or reason, he constantly attacks Brock, safe in the knowledge he won't retaliate except he is pushed too far." Asha's eyes narrowed. "Worse, despite being a beastman himself, he revels in collecting near-extinct beast races and raising them like pets in a zoo until he grows bored of them, eventually killing them off. He is greedy and mad and will definitely make a move soon."

Ulla, who had remained silent until then, asked with a troubled tone, "With Brock at his back, will Olgar dare to attack with his full army?"

Asha shook her head. "For better or worse, Brock never pre-emptively attacks. Olgar could leave his region empty and return to it a year later to find nothing has changed." At the looks of disbelief thrown her way, she bitterly smiled. "This is not conjecture. It happened a few years back. Olgar, with an army, roughly three thousand strong, marched south to crush all the clans south of his region and absorb them into his army. His mad charge was only forcibly halted by the Order which had made Second Under one of their bases."

"The Order's no longer here," Ulla muttered with a frown.

Asha nodded. "We can be certain he will be the first to attack immediately he finds out."

"This Brock guy," Absalon murmured. "I know people like him. Wishing for peace and willing to do anything to ensure as few people perish as possible. However, he must have traveled a bloody path for him to have reached and maintained his position. Which means he is willing to do what is necessary to protect his people." Absalon gazed at Asha. "Do you think he can be convinced that joining this war will be of greater benefit to his people in the long run?"

Asha's brow rose. "How do you mean?"

"In the worst-case scenario, should Olgar win, he will absorb the dwarfs into his fighting force. Do you think he won't raze Brock to the ground with his newfound strength?"

Asha's eyes grew cold. "I understand. I will set forth at once." With that, before anyone could say a word, she turned to leave the tent.

"Wait!" Absalon shouted, prompting her to pause at the tent's entrance. "Take a small force, no more than ten men. At this time, all sides will be sensitive to large numbers of people. On the flipside, because war is imminent, they would not bother too much with small pockets of travelers."

"Thank you," Asha acknowledged over her shoulder in a soft voice, then strode out of the tent with decisive, purposeful steps. Her people were still in Brock's region. She would find a way to convince the merrite for the sake of their future.

"To recap," prompted Yngvar, breaking the silence that hung in the tent. "We assume Orthana has a method to cross the sea, and Olgar will certainly attack. If these two should band together, I'd put their combined strength at an estimated eight to nine thousand strong."

"Do not forget the Order," Kashi called, his tone heavy.

"The Order," Yngvar frowned. "They would have needed something fierce to keep the entire left claw in check."

"Roughly ten thousand strong," Absalon estimated. "That, or they have men strong enough to substitute for a hundred soldiers. For now, let us go with ten thousand. Meanwhile, on our end, we have forty-five hundred from Rosen, give or take a dozen. How many battle-ready soldiers do you have on your end?"

"Not much more," Yngvar muttered. "Five thousand strong, six if we recruit some of the older young'uns."

"Let's say ten thousand on our end then," Absalon murmured. "Put together, the enemy outnumbers us two to one." A slight grin spread on his face. "The odds aren't as bad as I initially estimated."

Yngvar raised a brow. "In my experience, these odds are terrible! And that is even with ignoring the strength of their leader. He is a Primate! Aygor only knows strong those bastards are."

Absalon glanced at the daeben. "You got it?"

"Got it," Kashi confirmed with a firm nod.

Absalon nodded and turned to Yngvar. "Kashi says he's got it, so he's got it. He excels at killing bosses while everyone else works their butts off cleaning up the regular joe. That prime fart is not our concern. Our job is to figure out how we can eliminate the enemy with as little structural and collateral damage as possible."

"—All under the assumption that no reinforcements will arrive to aid us," added Paaie, eyes closed in thought.

Absalon nodded. "Exactly."

Yngvar breathed heavily. "Well, this' a right mess! Outnumbered two to one, no reinforcements, and fighting a defensive battle where we cannot afford too much damage to the gates or walls." At Absalon's raised brow, he added, "A lot of the mechanisms in the gate and walls are beyond anything we have ever seen. The Hands—our crafts clan—has requested we minimize the damage, so we do not break something important before they learn how they work and how to fix them."

"The difficulty just got raised to nightmare mode," Absalon murmured. He turned to the daeben, a glint in his eyes. "You did say I wouldn't regret following you."

Kashi grinned. "Well, are you?"

"Are you kidding?" Absalon snorted as he patted his chest. "These kinds of battles are what I live for. As long as you can provide these sorts of battles, I will never regret following you."

"Good to know," Kashi laughed. "We have a lot more in store if we are to realize our ambition. I doubt you will ever get bored.”

"Heh," Absalon smirked. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves. One battle at a time." Adopting a more serious tone, he requested, "I'll need the schematics and map of Aygorzi. Primarily everything in the outer circle and the functions of the walls. We have only a few days to come up with a strategy that won't get us killed."

Yngvar nodded. "We will see you get what you need."

"Heh," Kashi eyes shone with a strange light as he boasted, "You will be shocked when you see what this city can do."

Absalon's brow rose in question but did not pursue the matter in the end. "We will also need to repair our equipment and weapons. Naturally, we will compensate for these services."

"Repair?" Kashi's grin was so creepy, everyone in the tent felt their skins crawl. "Scrap your armor and gear. In the next three days, The Hands will outfit the entire coalition with new weapons and gear worthy of an army of Maggots."

Absalon hung his head in his hands, too ashamed to raise his face. "Boss, you're best friends with a King. Can't you pull some strings and get our guild name changed?"

"What are you talking about?" Kashi exclaimed, assuming a face of shock. "That would be an abuse of authority!"

Absalon rolled his eyes. ‘ Everything about our guild is built on abuse of authority!’

"Unfortunately, the adventure guild is independent of and older than all nations," Xafier said, explaining the situation. "As such, no nation's ruler can pressure them to do anything else they suffer the wrath of all adventurers worldwide. I am afraid you are stuck with that name for the foreseeable future. I suggest you make your peace with it."

Absalon glared at the daeben. "All future generations of Maggots will curse you for this."

Kashi wanted to scream, 'What future generations!?' but instead, just held his tongue while fuming inside. Hmph, after uniting the entire continent, these people will worship maggots as a higher existence.

Still muttering in his heart, Kashi left the tent with Kira, determined to blow Absalon's mind with the new weapons and armor he would craft. "I haven't paid as much attention to Blacksmithing recently. This will be a great chance to level it up."

By his side, Kira rolled her eyes. "While you're busy leveling your crafts, do not forget your actual level. All your friends are far ahead of you, and the gap is only increasing."

Kashi's nonchalant smile infuriated the direwolf, but she could understand his arrogance. With the daeben's current strength, he could easily hunt beasts fifty to sixty levels above him. To this freak of nature, leveling would never be a problem as he could just take advantage of the experience modifiers from hunting higher level monsters to rise through levels whenever he wanted swiftly.

Compared to that, the daeben would not have many chances to work with high-quality forges and learn from professional artisans or an immortal warrior. To Kashi, this was the opportunity of a lifetime. Since he planned on heading to the hardest battle of his life soon, Kashi wished to pound all of this knowledge into his head before he left.

Humming the soundtrack to one of Suzuki's favorite games, Kashi hopped onto Drixlia's back, the black trio soon trotting leisurely toward the central zone.