[United Grakas Alliance]

The United Grakas Alliance was a large country composed of seventeen major beastmen tribes.

Urkawi, a gorilla beastman and the Commander of the Third Legion, creased his brow as he read the reports from the front. His hair stood on end as he shook in anger.

“Aleeexaandeer!” he roared, making the entire hall tremble. His adjutants flinched and avoided his glare.

This was probably the fifth time Alexander, the Mercenary Guild Master, toppled the beastmen’s advance toward the Kingdom of Lukas. As the leader of the Third Legion, all blame for these defeats fell on Urkawi. He’d even received a warning from the Beast King, stating that if he failed to capture the Eastern Region of the Kingdom of Lukas, he would be stripped of his title as the Commander of the Third Legion. There were only six months left until the deadline.

Urkawi slapped the parchment on to the table, creating numerous cracks on it. “Phantomim.”

“Commander.” One of the adjutants, a leopard beastman, stepped forward.

“The assassins we sent to kill Alexander?”

Phantomim almost swallowed upon seeing the glare from Urkawi. “We-We’ve lost contact with them, sir.”

A suppressed growled escaped from Urkawi’s lips. “Why are you only reporting this now? If the assassins were discovered this fast, we can conclude that they’ve seen through our plans. No wonder our army’s unable to advance in the Valley of Witches!”

“You told us to handle the assassination by ourse—”

“Enough!” Urkawi spat. “Damn it! If only that damn Alexander didn’t exist! That shrewd human’s been winning battles left and right despite the huge difference in our numbers!”

It was well known within the Third Legion that Alexander had no more than two thousand men under his command. And using even such a small army, they were able to block the attacks from the legion, which numbered more than fifteen thousand. This was no small feat. All of the legion officials wanted the death of that Mercenary Guild Master.

Since several months ago, the Third Legion had been the laughing stock of the armies within the United Grakas Alliance. The military officials could do nothing but swallow down the ridicule thrown at them.

“Commander Urkawi.” A small voice spoke. It was a beastman from the Rabbit Tribe. “If you’ll permit this humble servant to speak.”

Urkawi furrowed his brow. It was his first time seeing this beastman. The Rabbit Tribe was the weakest among the seventeen tribes.

Seeing the scrutinizing expression of the commander, the rabbit beastman bowed his head. “Ah, I haven’t introduced myself yet. Please forgive me.” He smiled, showing two large front teeth. His large eyes glimmered. “I go by the name of Fior. I’m a member of the Rabbit Tribe. I was promoted to the position of assistant adjutant three days ago by the Beast King himself.”

By the Beast King himself? That was an outrageous claim.

“I haven’t heard about this,” said Urkawi. Seeing the expressions of the other officials, he could tell they too had never seen nor heard of this person before. “So, a greenhorn? You must find us funny and incompetent, knowing we’re unable to win against a mere human despite the huge difference in numbers.”

Urkawi was grim, taunting. Any other beastman would have trembled after hearing him. But Fior remained unaffected. He shook his head. “Not at all. I must say that the Third Legion did well during the attack on the Valley of Witches. After all, the humans used the Silver Moles to their advantage during that fight. To have come out of that battle without many deaths speaks well of your competency, Commander.”

Urkawi didn’t know if this rabbit beastman was trying to flatter him. “Silver Moles? You mean those monsters that hole themselves deep within the ground all season long?”

“Yes, exactly.” Fior bobbed his head.

Urkawi’s eyes slowly widened. Everything made sense now. The numerous pitfalls. The earth suddenly opening up and swallowing their warriors. The massive landslides. Those phenomena were on such a grand scale the legion didn’t think humans could have accomplished it. There was no magic capable of creating catastrophes at such a level. But if the Silver Moles, monsters that naturally lived in the ground, had been involved, it would be a different matter entirely. Urkawi had heard they were capable of digging through the ground as naturally as fish swimming through water.

“Silver Moles,” said one of the adjutants. “But how did they tame those monsters? And they live underground. It’s rare to even encounter them.”

Judging by Fior’s story, the humans had used several of those monsters, maybe over a hundred in total.

“They probably have a monster tamer on their side. Just like you said, encountering Silver Moles is rare, but a monster tamer needs only one of them to find more. Once he got his hands on one, it would be easy to find the rest.” Fior’s logic made sense. “I suggest that we assume that they have indeed gained control of the Silver Moles, which explains why they chose to hole themselves up in the Valley of Witches. It’s basically a fortress, after all. And if they combine that natural defense with the ability of those monsters to alter the terrain, then it will become impregnable.”

The head of Urkawi throbbed hearing this. “So, you’re saying it’ll be near impossible for the Third Legion to capture that pivotal place. Is that it?”

Fior shook his head. “No. What I’m saying is that it would be foolish to attack that fortress directly.”

One of the military officials angrily spat, “This damn rabbit! So you’re telling us we’ve been doing it wrong all this time, huh? This arrogan—”

Urkawi waved a hand, signaling the official to stop. He turned to Fior. “Since you’re telling us this, you must have an alternative. Is there a solution to this deadlock?”

“Of course.” Fior seemed confident. He walked to the map spread on the table. “Currently, this is where our army is.” He slid his fingers up and pointed at an x mark. “This is where the humans are.”

“We know that,” one of the officials remarked.

Fior brushed the ridicule aside. “Commander, forgive my insolence, but what is the true goal of this legion?”

After a pause, Urkawi spoke. “To capture the Eastern Region of the Lukas Kingdom.”

“Exactly,” said Fior. “Defeating Alexander is secondary. Although losing the Valley of Witches is a terrible blow, it’s not like there’s no other way around this. I suggest this alternative.” His finger slid toward the east and stopped near the area marked with trees. “The humans call this the Endless Forest. It’s so massive that it’s basically a natural wall that has protected the northeast part of the kingdom. Based on the information I’ve gathered, there is a small town here near the Rile River.”

The military officers still had no idea what Fior was trying to say. The rabbit beastman diligently continued explaining. “There’s a hidden path here where our army can cross. Basically, we’ll give up the Valley of Witches, make a small garrison in this area to protect our escape route, and capture this small town. It’ll take several weeks, probably even a month to cross over, but once we’ve captured this town, we can simply convert it into a stronghold without the humans knowing. It’s an isolated town, after all.”

The area the town was located was a strategic location almost comparable to the Valley of Witches. It was protected by the Endless Forest at the rear and was only a few days away from Lion City. If they managed to successfully convert it into a stronghold, they would be able to focus all of their forces to the front, with the large forest serving as shield to their backs.

“But if that damn Alexander notices our plans…” said one of the officials.

“It doesn’t matter.” Fior smiled shrewdly. He pointed on the map, at the path to the remote town. “If they try to stop our army from building the fortress, the garrison over here can simply attack the Valley of Witches. He’ll be stuck protecting it. Knowing the humans, they’ll choose the valley over the small town. It would be the obvious decision.”

Urkawi was silent for a moment, his mind filled with competing thoughts. This was an ingenious plan, the best they’d had by far. He could not believe that such a brilliant tactician had been unknown until now. He could see why the Beast King personally promoted this rabbit.

“Did the Beast King send you here for this?” Urkawi had to ask. Fior smiled and nodded. “Very well, we’ll go with this plan. How many warriors should we send to this side?”

“Four thousand warriors for the garrison, ten thousand warriors for the town,” said Fior. “Just to be safe, leave a thousand warriors near the Valley of Witches. It’ll keep those humans from poking around as we make our march.”