Eventually, the group arrived at the central tent. The pavilion had many charred markings on its surface, yet amidst the destroyed fort it was the one structure that remained standing.

The majority of the surviving soldiers gathered around it, either tending to their wounds or moving to and fro while gathering equipment or attending to other tasks. Even after such a catastrophic battle with dozens of deaths on their side, the guards still acted with the coordination befitting a proper army.

It impressed Red to a certain degree. The Baron made good work of training these men, it seemed.

As soon as Red’s group came into view of the central tent, a soldier approached them.

“Captain Orvin is waiting for you inside, if you would follow me.” The guard pointed the way.

Eiwin nodded and led the group forward. The soldier raised the flap of the tent, allowing them to enter.

Inside, they were greeted by a well-lit and organized environment. White-light lanterns lined up the tent’s wall, alongside a handful of maps of the region and written reports. In the center of the room was a large, round table, upon which a detailed map of the lands surrounding the river could be seen, as well as many markers and wooden pins displaying the location settlements and the monster horde.

The whole environment seemed untouched by the destruction from outside, which surprised Red. Already inside the tent were Captain Orvin, a few of his men, and Gustav’s two bodyguards, all standing around the table.

“You’re here.” The Captain nodded. “Then we can start our debriefing.”

Red had only met this captain a handful of times before, but the man had always given him a distinct and powerful impression. Professional, serious, and, most important of all, strong.

He wasn’t in the Lesser Ring Realm, yet still was confident enough back then to provoke Narcha and face her head-on. Few people in town below the Lesser Ring Realm could claim to be stronger than the woman, yet Red came to understand that this Captain Orvin was definitely one of them.

The man waited until Red’s group gathered around the table. The atmosphere inside the tent was tense, and no one seemed in the mood to speak up, looking over at Orvin for his commands.

The boy, on the other hand, used his crimson sense to find any invisible presences. None of these seemed to be in the tent at this moment, though.

The man continued. “First order of matters is to report casualties. We lost 98 men. That’s about a quarter of our forces gathered in this fort.”

The mood around the room got heavier.

“This is itself isn’t too much of a surprise.” Orvin said. “Of course, I don’t mean to be cold, but we were expecting to lose at least that much during our confrontation with the horde. These men were more than willing to put their lives on the line to defend their town and families, so that it came to it isn’t much of a shock to them, as you can see. However, the issue is that this is what we expected to lose in total against the hordes, and not just from a single battle.”

The middle-aged man picked up another document, reading through it.

“Our first confrontation yesterday against the horde already saw its fair share of surprises.” he said. “We didn’t expect the Skycrown wolves to be amidst the first wave, and we already lost a lot of men because of that. Overall, the casualties have already mounted to 158 deaths.”

“This…” Allen’s face paled.

Orvin looked over at everyone in the room. “Suffice it to say, with the second wave of the horde arriving soon and with the fact that we now need to worry about native monsters attacking us too, it’s entirely reasonable to expect the number of casualties to be much higher in the coming days. That is, if we survive at all. This isn’t even the last of our bad news either…” He looked over at the second-in-command at his side.

Red recognized this man as the one that came looking for them in the middle of the battle earlier, saying Orvin was asking for their help.

The man nodded at his captain before looking back at the guests. “We have lost a large amount of our supplies in the fire that consumed our fort. Right now, we have no more than a few days’ worth of food for the remaining soldiers, not to mention that our medicinal supplies were also mostly destroyed… We can’t treat our wounded soldiers properly.”

Narcha frowned at this. “How did the fire start exactly? By the time we were fighting with the horde, there was already smoke rising everywhere, but we didn’t find any fire Lesser Ring Realm monsters in combat.”

Indeed, although there were a few Fireleaf Deers amidst the horde, none of them had opened their Spiritual Sea, and thus couldn’t control any flames or cause a fire. So how exactly would such a matter come to pass?

Orvin shook his head. “It’s hard to tell. It might have been a soldier who dropped a torch during the confrontation and cause a chain reaction… Or maybe something else happened.”

There were some heavy implications behind the man’s words.

Eiwin seemed surprised at this. “Do you suspect foul play?”

“After what happened today, I wouldn’t doubt it.” The man nodded. “Still, I would rather not throw around accusations until we can be sure about what happened. I put some men to investigate this matter, but suffice it to say, I hold little hope they will find anything.”

Eiwin hesitated. “… What do you intend to do?”

Orvin smiled. “Jumping straight to the hear of the matter, are we? It’s probably for the best, though. I have decided to keep my men here and wait for the second wave of the horde to arrive.”

The younger woman frowned. “Is that wise?”

“Wise?” The captain shook his head. “Not really, but it’s the only choice we have. I’m sure you’ve arrived at the same conclusion yourselves, but it is clear that there is someone or something controlling this horde, not to mention that this control seems to extent even to native monsters. If I decided to retreat to town, it is very likely these monsters would ambush us midway through. Right now, we still have the protection of what remains of our fort and the river at our backs, and it would be remiss of me to leave them behind.”

Narcha snorted. “That isn’t any better! We are still just sitting ducks here, and they can still just continue sending monsters to attack us until we’re all dead. Even if the monsters from the mountain horde die, whoever is controlling them will still have a whole forest’s worth of native monsters to use against us.”

Orvin sighed. “What you say is true, but as long as we can hold on for long enough, then the Baron will be able to act and send someone to rescue us. It is the option with the highest chance of success?”

The warrior looked skeptical. “What do you by that? Who would the Baron even be capable of sending to turn this situation around?”

The Captain shook his head. “He didn’t say, but the answer should be self-evident.”

Red’s mind couldn’t help but wander to the invisible figure he met in the forest earlier. Was that the reinforcement the Baron had promised? Even if that was the case, the boy couldn’t shake off the feeling of danger he felt every time he thought back on it.

“Are you really planning on relying on the possibility a stranger will help us survive?” Narcha asked with a frown. “How can you be comfortable with that?”

Orvin glared at her. “I am not putting my trust in any stranger. I am putting my trust in the Baron. I believe he will come through for us when it matters… Still, as you put it, it wouldn’t behoove us to just sit by and wait for our salvation. We need to be proactive and try to find the root of our problems.”

Eiwin raised her eyebrows in curiosity. “Do you have a plan?”

“No.” Orvin shook his head. “I merely sent scouts to track the path of the retreating monsters, but I sincerely doubt whoever is controlling them would make it this easy to find them… This is why I need your help.”

Eiwin frowned. “You want us to hunt for them?”

“You’re the strongest and most specialized individuals I have in this fort. Not even those two can compare to your knowledge of this forest.” Orving looked at Gustav’s bodyguards.

Neither of them showed any reactions beneath their wooden masks, remaining completely silent as they had been for the entire meeting.

Rimold snorted. “Is this a joke? We don’t even know who is behind this whole thing, but I can tell you for certain it’s not going to be a weak cultivator! What makes you think we have any chance against them?”

Orvin frowned. “The bodyguards would accompany you and assist you in this matter. For all we know of cultivation in general, there has to be a certain limited range one can control these monsters from, so when the horde attacks again, their master will be close by.”

Once again, the two masked individuals said nothing.

These words gave Rimold and the others some pause. Perhaps if they had the help of two Lesser Ring Realm cultivators, then this could be achievable.

However, that was when Rog spoke up. “This is not a good idea.”

“Huh?” Eiwin looked at the hunter with surprise.

“You don’t understand.” Rog shook his head. “Whoever is controlling the horde is not someone anyone here can deal with.”

Orvin looked at the hunter in disbelief. “How do you know that?”

“I’ve seen it before, a long time ago.” The hunter scratched his beard. “Beast taming arts, that is. Requires a strong mind, powerful beyond normal understanding. Only Greater Ring Realm cultivators can do it, and even then, to control this many monsters… Whoever is doing it is either way stronger than that or has some special treasure. Either case means trouble for us. If we can even find them, that is.”

Narcha seemed confused. “If they are that strong, why would they need to use those monsters to attack us? Couldn’t they just walk over and kill us directly?”

Rog shrugged. “Maybe they don’t want to kill us, maybe…”

“Maybe they just want to draw someone out.” Red completed his sentence.

The atmosphere around the room changed. Their mind evidently went to a single possibility. There was one person inside that town who not only ruled over the entire region, but who also commanded the powerful formations surrounding the temple ruins where his regional capital was built.

His death would be a huge blow to both kingdom and region, and it would leave the town completely unguarded, so of course, in times like these, he should remain still within the confines of his town. Yet, would that man be able to remain sitting idly and watch all his guards die against the horde? It was hard to tell.

Before they could continue their discussion any further, a guard came barging into the tent.

“C-Captain Orvin!” The soldier greeted his superior, trying to catch his breath.

The captain frowned in annoyance. “What is it?”

“W-We… We receive a report from our scouts past the river!” The man held a scroll up towards the captain.

Orvin took the piece of paper and unfurled it, reading over its contents. A few seconds later, his expression changed, and his gaze wandered to Red and his companions.

Eiwin’s expression paled. “What is it?”

“My scouts reported your elder got wounded in his battle against the Alpha…” Orvin said. “We don’t know his current status, and now the wolf is heading straight towards the river again.”

The expression of the sect members fell.