28 Rolger Forests 2 (1/2)
”It appears his highness is a man of far more mysteries than we suspected,” said Caine in a deep voice.
”I wonder, is this an initiative that his highness is following from the Empire or this is his personal initiative,” replied Tiffany as she glanced at Edward and Reine.
The officers behind Edward were muttering amongst themselves in pitched tones now. One officer stood out and made a chopping gesture followed by a stern glance at every single officer. As if some form of silent communication passed, each officer seemed to realize something and decided to keep their peace.
This did not go unnoticed by Edward, he thought it was a mark of Aureus's leadership that he has won the loyalty of his followers from the top to the bottom.
The 3 spirit beasts were far more agitated as Reine returned to converse with the other two men. As the discussion was completed, Reine walked back to Edward and stated that matters have developed to a point whereby they need to hold a council with all spirit beast tribe leaders. She further requested that Edward consider the joint attack plans and gave the location of the point of attack as well as a general overview of the capabilities of the spirit beast tribes.
With a meaningful look at Edward, she turned and left with the two men stating they would make contact again in a few days' time.
—
The troops were setting up picket lines and posting watches as Edward gathered once more with the mages.
The mages appeared subdued and did not probe in any way regarding the so-called ability that Aureus was able to upgrade spirit beast cores. They discussed whether they should enter an alliance with the spirit beast tribes in order to attack the demon spiders as their objectives coincided at this point.
Tiffany was of the opinion as long as a clear line of sight and space was provided for her, she would wreak havoc on the demon spiders.
Both Edward and Caine gave the other amused glances as they evaluated the attack plan.
”Bloodless is unlikely, very low casualties would be a good result,” Edward ventured as they completed their analysis.
”The monarch class demon spider will prove to be a headache. I am sure that with sufficient preparation, the two king class demon spiders can be subdued with no great difficulty.” Caine contemplated as he turned his gaze to the skies.
”We will have to work with the spirit beast monarch class warriors. We can either take on the two monarch classes or the single king class. There is no way we can handle both at the same time with our current strength.” Edward replied.
”What are our targets while waiting for the spirit beast tribes to reply?” Tiffany asked.
”His highness told us to thin out the demon beasts as much as possible while we are out here. I intend to carry out his wishes.” Edward replied as he looked off towards the forest.
—
The next few days fell into a repetitive pattern as a scout would come thundering into the encampment and two thirds of the standing forces would then move out into the forest. It was as the sun was setting that the forces would return.
As time went by, the chests containing the spoils were being filled to the brim. It was to the point that Caine opined that they should slow down somewhat if they are going to attack the demon spider tribe- so they will have enough cart space to carry all the spoils back to Everdawn.
Edward took one glance at the space remaining and declared that there will be no hunting for the day, it will be a day of rest and maintenance. The troops all cheered following the announcement.