After killing Commander Azura, Lark regrouped with the hunters from Gahelpa. The illusion magic worked easily against the beastmen. The forest was dense, and with illusion magic to misdirect the opponents, it was simple to guide them to being lost.

Lark noticed one of his hunters had a cut on his back. He was bleeding profusely, his face pallid. He had been struck by one of the beastmen during the escape, but thanks to Lark’s illusion magic, he managed to keep his life.

“Here.” Lark handed him a small vial. “Drink it. It’ll make you feel better.”

The man took the vial weakly, opened it, and drank the contents. After several seconds, the wound on his back closed on its own. His face started regaining its color.

The man looked at the potion, then the young master bewilderedly. Lark ignored him. He said to Valak, “Sound the horn.”

Valak nodded. “You heard the young master! Sound the horn!”

Several hunters withdrew small horns from their pouches. At the signal, they blew. A mellifluous sound, which reminded Lark of a growling Red Scar Bear, reverberated through the forest.

As the hunters continued blowing the horns, Lark pointed toward the sky. He channeled mana through his hand and an orb of fire, around the size of a man’s fist, manifested at the tip of his finger. He breathed in and shot the orb of fire into the sky, creating a trail of crimson through the air.

Lark looked at the suits of armor standing nearby. The two groups of beastmen, each led by an adjutant, must be trying their best to find a way out of the forest by now.

“Let’s start,” said Lark. “We’ll hunt the beastmen scattered in this forest.”

***

After receiving instructions from the young master, the soldiers from Blackstone Town hid themselves in the forest, a good distance away from the beastmen’s campsite. Everyone anxious about the upcoming battle. Although beastmen were treated as slaves in the kingdom, they had superior strength to humans.

“Captain Qarat,” whispered a soldier. “Is this really… a good idea? The beastmen have greater numbers. If we charge at them now…”

We’ll die.

The soldier did not speak the words out loud. He was afraid; he knew that the others were the same.

“We fought goblins before,” said Captain Qarat. “It’ll be just like that. Just do what you’ve been trained to do and we’ll be fine.”

Qarat knew this wasn’t true. There was a vast difference between goblins and beastmen. But keeping up the soldiers’ morale was more important right now. He looked at Anandra, who leaned calmly next to a tree. He had been looking at the sky.

The sound of a horn reverberated through the forest. In the sky, a thread of crimson light flew past.

Everyone stiffened. This was the young master’s signal.

The thread of crimson flew east, directing them where they should go. “Assemble the spears!” said Anandra.

“Yes, commander!”

With practiced movements, the soldiers assembled their spears. Each one spanned two meters in length, the edge of its blade jagged to increase the damage. On the waist of each soldier, a short sword dangled.

“Move out!”

With Anandra in the lead, the soldiers started moving through the sea of trees. They moved in the direction the crimson thread of light had pointed.

Anandra signaled his men to stop. He unsheathed his sword and ran quickly through the forest. After five minutes, he returned. The blade of his sword had blood clinging to it.

“I took care of the scouts,” said Anandra. “I’ve seen their camp. Just like the young master predicted, they are preparing to move out.”

As time went by, Anandra was in awe of the young master’s foresight. Everything until this point had been predicted by the noble beforehand. Even the route the beastmen would take had been considered, and various strategies to deal with it had been prepared. If someone had told Anandra that the young master was the second coming of Rurukashu, the God of War, he would have believed it.

With the scouts dead, the soldiers crept up to the beastmen’s camp. Now, they only had to wait for the next signal before they commenced the attack.

From their position, they heard several shouts.

“Captain Stone!” snarled Kael. “Are you out of your mind?! You’re telling us to abandon Commander Azura here? In this forest?! Is that it?!”

Kael unsheathed his scimitars. Tension filled the air as the beastmen around them watched.

“That’s right,” said Stone. “You’ve seen the corpse. It’s the body of Commander Azura. There’s no mistaking it. Kael, I’m not sure what happened to the warriors who left to chase after those humans—but it’s likely that they’re all dead by now.”

His statement made the beastmen in the camp shiver. They seemed horrified.

“You damn lizard!” roared Kael. He charged at Stone, swinging his four scimitars. Stone nimbly dodged it from every direction.

“From thy light, shadows emerge. Blend,” chanted Stone. Slowly, his figure disappeared from sight. “Listen, Kael. Think about it. If we all die here, there will be no one to notify General Urkawi. Dead men tell no tales. You’re the only officer we have left. These ogres will not listen to me, an outsider.”

Kael hesitated for a moment. Still, the rage in his eyes continued to blaze. “Is that the same reasoning you had when you abandoned your men in Blackstone Town? Out of the group of scouts, only four of you came back. Pathetic.”

Despite the ridicule, Stone remained unperturbed. He held his stance.

“Unlike the vanguard, the role of the scouts is reconnaissance. Even if we have to sacrifice several lives, we have to live, return, and report back. You should realize this by now. We’ve been far too focused on Alexander. We failed to realize that he’s not the only dangerous human in this kingdom!”

Kael looked at the beastmen in the camp. Everyone’s morale had fallen after hearing Commander Azura was dead. Although it was not yet confirmed, since the head was missing, the body they found in the forest greatly resembled the commander.

And now, this lizardman was telling everyone to regroup and return to the main army’s camp.

Everyone was torn. Silence cloaked the group.

“We’re not turning back,” said Kael, finally. “If Commander Azura is really dead, then we will all gladly follow him to the grave. Isn’t that right, everyone?!”

The beastmen around him clenched their fists and shouted. “That’s right! We’ll follow the commander until the very end!”

Stone deactivated his magic, revealing himself. He sighed. “Molith, Salith!”

Two lizardmen replied in unison, “Yes!”

“Untether the burrcats. We’re leaving!”

The lizardmen saluted. “Understood.”

Stone sighed once again. “Won’t you reconsider? There’s no point in dying here out of principle.”

Kael snorted. “Leave. We don’t need cowards like you.”

The lizardmen soon arrived with the burrcats. Stone mounted one of them. “I see. It’s regrettable.” He paused and looked straight into Kael’s eyes. “I don’t hate you, Kael. But this is where we part.”

Just as Stone and his men were about to move out, arrows flew from the sky and struck several beastmen. The burrcats recoiled.

Metallic sounds echoed as the beastmen unsheathed their weapons. “We’re under attack! Everyone! On your guard!”

Kael looked left and right. “Damn it! What were the scouts doing?!”

As arrows continued raining down, they heard the sound of a horn. The soldiers of Blackstone Town recognized their cue. They emerged from the shadows between the trees, each holding a spear.

“We’re surrounded,” Stone clicked his tongue. “Lizardmen! Follow me! We’re getting out of here!”

Stone slapped the reins and the burrcat sped up. The other lizardmen followed. They ran to the east, the only opening in the circle, before disappearing from sight.

As Stone and the lizardmen left, the battle quickly became a melee. The three powerful suits of armor appeared again and started killing beastmen left and right. As they had been instructed, three Blackstone soldiers engaged a single beastman warrior. By teaming up in this way, they were able to bridge the gap in physical strength and experience.

Lark targeted the remaining adjutant. It was a swift encounter. He did not give the remaining officer a chance to prepare and retaliate. Soon, Kael’s head flew into the air and rolled on the ground.

After seeing the adjutant die, the remaining beastmen became enraged and charged recklessly toward the Blackstone soldiers. Groans, growls, and cries of rage reverberated as metal clashed against metal. The strong scent of blood permeated the air.

With no one to lead them, the beastmen easily fell to the forces of Lark and his soldiers. It was a bloodbath.

After the last beastman had collapsed, Anandra approached Lark. “Young Master, some lizardmen managed to escape.”

Lark looked at the campsite littered with corpses. “I know. But it’s fine. I prepared a trap before coming here. We’ll be able to catch up to them in no time.”

The vanguard army had passed through the area filled with magic poison. The lush forest was now dead and filled with the fatal miasma. The army hadn’t noticed they were breathing deadly fumes, but it had weakened the beastmen enough to allow the Blackstone soldiers to defeat them.

It had taken a while before the symptoms of magic poisoning became evident, but all of these beastmen were poisoned. Each had been unable to fight to their full potential.

Those lizardmen would soon feel the effects of magic poisoning. It would be easy to catch and kill them once they had been weakened further.

“For now, focus on treating the wounded!” Lark said to the soldiers.

“Yes, sir!”

Lark said to Captain Qarat, “How many soldiers died?”

Qarat bit his lip. “Eight soldiers, Young Master.”

Despite the precautions taken beforehand, several soldiers had still died. It was a small number, taking into account who they were fighting. If not for Lark, Anandra, and the suits of armor looking out for the Blackstone soldiers, there would have been more casualties.

Some of the Blackstone soldiers knelt and cried next to the corpses. Since the population of the town was so small, everyone knew their neighbor by name or face. Their sense of loss must be substantial.

But Lark knew this was a necessary sacrifice. They needed to protect their home using their own strength.

These soldiers needed to experience what the battlefield was like. An unsheathed sword was nothing but an ornament.

“Recover the dead bodies of the Blackstone soldiers,” said Lark. “We’ll hold a burial ceremony for them once we get back.”

“Yes.” Qarat bowed his head.

“Anandra," said Lark. “I’ll chase the lizards that escaped. You shall be in charge of the army.”

“Understood!”

Lark looked at the dead bodies of the beastmen scattered on the ground. “Also, I want you to cut off the heads of all the beastmen and bring them back to the town. I have a use for them later.”

Anandra did not question Lark’s order. He simply bowed his head. “As you wish.”

Lark looked to the east, toward where the lizardmen had fled. “Now, it’s time to chase those foolish lizards.”