162 Over the Hedge (1/2)

\”Looks like you're having a much harder time than I thought, General,\” I deduced.

It was the night after our toast in the command tent. After I, Ty, Azuma, and other viseres clocked out for the day, the remaining Foolhardies under Aura's leadership marched the rest of the way to the oasis in the southwest that I'd designated as our first target. Their pace allowed them to arrive at the location just before dusk.

So tonight, I found myself staring down into a desert valley where a fierce battle was being waged between the forces of General Red Bull and a much larger enemy army than previously reported.

\”Well, I didn't really expect that bastard to get in my way, you know,\” Red Bull answered as he sent me a sidelong glance. \”So you're the commander who beat Azuma and Jimmy Jonas, huh… thought you'd be taller.\”

I frowned. There was one thing I hated about meeting new people and it was always this unfair comment on my height. After all, height had nothing to do with talent in battle strategy.

\”Don't sweat it, Commander Dapper,\” he said reassuringly. \”I measure a human's worth by their ability to be useful in battle.\”

Red Bull playfully smacked the shoulder of his lieutenant, the one-thousand-man commander, April Valentine.

\”Look at April here,\” he pointed a thumb at her. \”She looks like a gust of wind would blow her away but you won't find a sharper mind anywhere else in Garm's army.\”

I glanced over at the pair of them and couldn't help but notice how opposite they looked from each other.

While April seemed like a frail, short-haired, fair-faced angel, her general with his two large horns and muscular physique wrapped in sun-kissed flesh was almost like a demon. Both of them wore similar style scale mail armor, the kind that hugged one's figure like a superhero's outfit.

\”I'm surprised Great General Garm even has human officers,\” I admitted. \”He didn't strike me as the type who associated with us Mudgardians.\”

Red Bull guffawed loudly, drawing attention from the people around us.

\”Old Garm's a purist, but he's not a great general for nothing,\” Red Bull said. \”He'll recognize talent and reward those who prove valuable.\”

He sent me another sidelong glance.

\”The big boss hates your guts though,\” Red Bull smirked. \”Something about you not having the proper sense to die when he hit you.\”

The sound of explosions rocked our ears and turned our attentions back to the battle below.

The oasis, an extra-large watering hole surrounded by desert firs and shrubs, sat cozily in the center of this small desert valley. It had been heavily barricaded by the enemy with what I assumed was a magically formed fifteen-foot hedge formed around the oasis like a maze.

A black plume rose up from the front of the maze. Flames licked the corners of the hedge that hadn't been blown away. It worked. Or so we all thought.

But, as if time was being reversed, the hedge rapidly grew itself back in a matter of seconds, thereby closing the hole that had been created. Unfortunately, some of Red Bull's men had already crossed into the other side and were stuck over there.

Pretty soon we heard the war cries and death rattles that told us our soldiers had been slain.

The satyr crossed his arms

\”Well, shit,\” he scowled. \”That was a muddaming disaster…\”

He turned his piercing gaze on me, the guy who'd suggested the failed tactic.

\”What else you got?\” he asked.

There was no accusation in his tone, and I could tell he was giving me another chance to prove myself. In fact, I guessed that he and his lieutenant already had a plan on standby but they were waiting to see if I could deliver first.

I sighed inwardly and wondered why everything in the universe seemed to be one big fat test.

My gaze moved down to the maze once more.

On first inspection, the maze itself seemed harmless apart from the myriad of directions one could get lost in. It wasn't tall enough to impede a pixie's flight either, but strangely enough, not even the birds that passed into this valley would fly over the hedge maze.

Within the hedge maze, the glint of metal revealed several large units patrolling inside it, ready to take out any unsuspecting intruders who stumbled inside. By the maze's size alone, I suspected there were thousands of soldiers hiding within, way more than one could see even from our vantage point above.

At the center of this artificial maze, an army that seemed equal to the size of its attackers was waiting. However, a mist covered this central space, making visibility of what lay inside extremely difficult.

\”This is definitely magic,\” I reasoned.

\”Nature magic,\” Aura explained.

She'd been kneeling on the ground in front of us with a crystal in her outstretched hands. The crystal, which was initially as clear as glass, was now glowing a verdant green.