"So, you were the Necromancer that helped General Fahad win his campaign," General Carran said coolly as he stared at the red-headed teenager, who was standing in front of him. "Your name is Lux, right?"
"Yes, General," Lux replied.
"Let me just say this. I hate Necromancers, which means I hate you as well."
"... I see."
General Carran didn't even bother to hide the displeasure on his face as he stared at the Half-Elf, making the latter wonder if the Yelan General knew any Necromancers in the past.
"Putting my dislike for Necromancers to the side, you did well in helping us achieve a victory against the Ammarian Army," General Carran stated. "The flagging morale of my army has changed overnight, and now all of them are raring to kill some of the Ammarian Bastards who have made things difficult for us for the past few days."
The Yelan General placed his hands behind his back as he looked at the map where several wooden figurines stood that represented the different units that were fighting in the Glouswell Forest.
"Our scouts have confirmed that General Phobus' remaining troops have merged with General Revon's army, boosting their numbers by a good margin," General Carran explained. "Their numbers now are almost double the size of our army. Currently, I have fifty thousand troops under my command. We were able to fight to a stalemate with the enemy, but now, the numbers are in their favor."
The General then gave Lux a side-long glance.
"I will allow you to move as you please in my Domain, but you are not allowed to use my men as cannon fodder." General Carran's voice was firm and would not take no for an answer. "If you do, I promise you that I will personally cut you down and put your head on a spike. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, General," Lux replied.
General Carran nodded. "Go, and make sure that you don't get in my way."
Lux left General Carran's tent with a helpless look on his face as he went to see his comrades, who were currently resting after traveling nearly non-stop to reach the Yelan Encampment in the Glouswell Forest as fast as they could.
General Fahad had already told Lux that General Carran didn't look at Necromancers favorably for reasons that were unknown even to him.
The only advice he gave Lux was to simply operate separately from the Yelan General's Army, and support them from the side.
As soon as they saw Lux, his team members gave him the "What happened?" gaze, which made the Half-Elf shake his head helplessly.
"General Carran said that we can do what we want as long as we don't stand in his way," Lux stated. "This means that we can move separately from the main army and chip away at the soldiers that belong to General Revon."
Cai, who was chatty most of the time, was surprisingly quiet, as it looked in the direction where the Ammarian Camp was located.
Lux, who also noticed this, approached the Boar and asked what was in its mind.
"The Enemy General this time isn't like General Phobus, and Second," Cai said as it continued to stare at the North. "I can feel my bestial instincts telling me that he is bad news. This feeling reminds me of my Grandpa whenever he gets angry, and I don't like it."
Lux frowned when he heard Cai's words.
He knew that the Boar idolized its Grandpa very much, and for it to put General Revon and the Saint of the Rowan Tribe, Maximilian, on the same page, meant that they might have a very tough battle ahead of them.
"Do you have any ideas on how we can overcome this obstacle?" Lux asked.
Cai gave the Half-Elf a side-long glance before shifting its gaze back to the North, as if lost in thought.
"What do you do when you are facing a charging boar, which is several meters taller than you?" Cai asked after two minutes had passed.
"You dodge to the side and evade it," Lux replied.
Anyone with common sense would do the same, and even Cai nodded its head to agree to Lux's words.
"That is what we need to do in this battle," Cai commented. "Wherever General Revon is, we stay away from that place. Although our mission is to kill the Generals in order to gain more rewards, this is one general that I don't want to face head-on. Also, I no longer have any of the poison with me. Our chances of winning against him is close to zero."
Lux crossed his arms over his chest and turned to look to the North where the Boar continued to look.
"You said close to zero, but not zero, right?" Lux inquired.
"Yes," Cai replied. "Certainly, the possibility exists. However, what price are you willing to pay in order to take General Revon's head? I know that you intend to pit General Carran against General Revon and look for an opportunity to go for the kill, just as we did with General Phobus and Second.
"However, there is still a high chance that we will lose several of our members in the attempt. I for one didn't want to throw my life away. I want to see this mission through to the end without dying. That is the only way I can get all the rewards, and brag about it to my Grandpa when I return to the Rowan tribe."
The corner of Lux's lips twitched after hearing Cai's words. He thought that the shameless Boar had changed a bit and became more mature after what it had experienced in the previous battle.
However, after hearing that the Boar planned to get all the rewards and brag after it returned to the Rowan Tribe made the Half-Elf chuckle internally.
Truth be told, fighting against a Ranker was a very risky thing to do.
If not for the amazing rewards that Great General Sherlock and Great General Watson were willing to exchange for them, none of them would dare to fight one again in their lives.
"Okay, we'll try your suggestion first," Lux said after a few minutes passed. "We will not confront General Revon directly, and simply decrease the number of his troops. As long as he has no soldiers to command, he will have no choice but to retreat. We'll just ask Watson and Sherlock to give us more compensation later."
Cai chuckled after hearing Lux's proposal. Although it was afraid of facing the Ammarian General head-on, it didn't shy away from bullying General Revon's soldiers, in order to gain more rewards from Great General Watson and Great General Sherlock.
"Sounds like a plan." Cai nodded. "I'm in."
"I'm also up for great rewards with half the effort," Einar commented as he stood beside Lux with his arms crossed over his chest.
One by one, Lux's team members including Henrietta, and Malcolm voiced their willingness to not confront General Revon head-on.
They had already died in the hands of a Ranker once, and they still hadn't forgotten that feeling of helplessness as they died in the hands of a person, who had treated them like they were ants that he could trample any time he wanted.
"So, you were the Necromancer that helped General Fahad win his campaign," General Carran said coolly as he stared at the red-headed teenager, who was standing in front of him. "Your name is Lux, right?"
"Yes, General," Lux replied.
"Let me just say this. I hate Necromancers, which means I hate you as well."
"... I see."
General Carran didn't even bother to hide the displeasure on his face as he stared at the Half-Elf, making the latter wonder if the Yelan General knew any Necromancers in the past.
"Putting my dislike for Necromancers to the side, you did well in helping us achieve a victory against the Ammarian Army," General Carran stated. "The flagging morale of my army has changed overnight, and now all of them are raring to kill some of the Ammarian Bastards who have made things difficult for us for the past few days."
The Yelan General placed his hands behind his back as he looked at the map where several wooden figurines stood that represented the different units that were fighting in the Glouswell Forest.
"Our scouts have confirmed that General Phobus' remaining troops have merged with General Revon's army, boosting their numbers by a good margin," General Carran explained. "Their numbers now are almost double the size of our army. Currently, I have fifty thousand troops under my command. We were able to fight to a stalemate with the enemy, but now, the numbers are in their favor."
The General then gave Lux a side-long glance.
"I will allow you to move as you please in my Domain, but you are not allowed to use my men as cannon fodder." General Carran's voice was firm and would not take no for an answer. "If you do, I promise you that I will personally cut you down and put your head on a spike. Do I make myself clear?"
"Yes, General," Lux replied.
General Carran nodded. "Go, and make sure that you don't get in my way."
Lux left General Carran's tent with a helpless look on his face as he went to see his comrades, who were currently resting after traveling nearly non-stop to reach the Yelan Encampment in the Glouswell Forest as fast as they could.
General Fahad had already told Lux that General Carran didn't look at Necromancers favorably for reasons that were unknown even to him.
The only advice he gave Lux was to simply operate separately from the Yelan General's Army, and support them from the side.
As soon as they saw Lux, his team members gave him the "What happened?" gaze, which made the Half-Elf shake his head helplessly.
"General Carran said that we can do what we want as long as we don't stand in his way," Lux stated. "This means that we can move separately from the main army and chip away at the soldiers that belong to General Revon."
Cai, who was chatty most of the time, was surprisingly quiet, as it looked in the direction where the Ammarian Camp was located.
Lux, who also noticed this, approached the Boar and asked what was in its mind.
"The Enemy General this time isn't like General Phobus, and Second," Cai said as it continued to stare at the North. "I can feel my bestial instincts telling me that he is bad news. This feeling reminds me of my Grandpa whenever he gets angry, and I don't like it."
Lux frowned when he heard Cai's words.
He knew that the Boar idolized its Grandpa very much, and for it to put General Revon and the Saint of the Rowan Tribe, Maximilian, on the same page, meant that they might have a very tough battle ahead of them.
"Do you have any ideas on how we can overcome this obstacle?" Lux asked.
Cai gave the Half-Elf a side-long glance before shifting its gaze back to the North, as if lost in thought.
"What do you do when you are facing a charging boar, which is several meters taller than you?" Cai asked after two minutes had passed.
"You dodge to the side and evade it," Lux replied.
Anyone with common sense would do the same, and even Cai nodded its head to agree to Lux's words.
"That is what we need to do in this battle," Cai commented. "Wherever General Revon is, we stay away from that place. Although our mission is to kill the Generals in order to gain more rewards, this is one general that I don't want to face head-on. Also, I no longer have any of the poison with me. Our chances of winning against him is close to zero."
Lux crossed his arms over his chest and turned to look to the North where the Boar continued to look.
"You said close to zero, but not zero, right?" Lux inquired.
"Yes," Cai replied. "Certainly, the possibility exists. However, what price are you willing to pay in order to take General Revon's head? I know that you intend to pit General Carran against General Revon and look for an opportunity to go for the kill, just as we did with General Phobus and Second.
"However, there is still a high chance that we will lose several of our members in the attempt. I for one didn't want to throw my life away. I want to see this mission through to the end without dying. That is the only way I can get all the rewards, and brag about it to my Grandpa when I return to the Rowan tribe."
The corner of Lux's lips twitched after hearing Cai's words. He thought that the shameless Boar had changed a bit and became more mature after what it had experienced in the previous battle.
However, after hearing that the Boar planned to get all the rewards and brag after it returned to the Rowan Tribe made the Half-Elf chuckle internally.
Truth be told, fighting against a Ranker was a very risky thing to do.
If not for the amazing rewards that Great General Sherlock and Great General Watson were willing to exchange for them, none of them would dare to fight one again in their lives.
"Okay, we'll try your suggestion first," Lux said after a few minutes passed. "We will not confront General Revon directly, and simply decrease the number of his troops. As long as he has no soldiers to command, he will have no choice but to retreat. We'll just ask Watson and Sherlock to give us more compensation later."
Cai chuckled after hearing Lux's proposal. Although it was afraid of facing the Ammarian General head-on, it didn't shy away from bullying General Revon's soldiers, in order to gain more rewards from Great General Watson and Great General Sherlock.
"Sounds like a plan." Cai nodded. "I'm in."
"I'm also up for great rewards with half the effort," Einar commented as he stood beside Lux with his arms crossed over his chest.
One by one, Lux's team members including Henrietta, and Malcolm voiced their willingness to not confront General Revon head-on.
They had already died in the hands of a Ranker once, and they still hadn't forgotten that feeling of helplessness as they died in the hands of a person, who had treated them like they were ants that he could trample any time he wanted.
