Lux had completely destroyed another outpost within the defensive lines of the Ammar Kingdom.

This was the fifth outpost that he had destroyed, giving the defenders of the Yelan Kingdom a breather because their enemies retreated in order to deal with the hidden forces that had managed to infiltrate the territory they occupied.

Just as Lux was about to head to another outpost, a purple beam of light suddenly descended from the sky and hit his body.

At first, Lux thought that this was an offensive spell, so he immediately took a defensive stance, with Pazuzu, and Orion, shielding him from all sides.

However, nothing happened.

Lux immediately checked his Soul Book to better understand what just happened to him. After checking his status page, he read something that made him frown.

“Tracking Spell Active,” read Lux aloud. “I’m… being tracked?”

Lux was well-aware that there were many kinds of tracking spells used to locate certain targets. Just like his Nightstalker, Ishtar, who had the ability called Hunter’s Mark, there were other professions, which specialized in tracking targets, like Rangers, Hound Masters, and Druids.

After making sure that there was no harm done to his body, he immediately contacted Asmodeus and ordered him to check the Map Projector and see if any forces were headed in his direction.

‘Master, over a dozen red dots are heading straight towards you from the West,’ Asmodeus reported. ‘Based on their movement speed, they will reach your location in about half an hour if you don’t retreat now. I have reason to believe that this is the group led by Malcolm.’

The frown on Lux’s face deepened as he summoned his mount, Jed, to take him back to the main camp of the Yelan Kingdom. He could have just simply teleported to where Asmodeus was, but he didn’t do it for a simple reason.

He didn’t want his enemies to know that he could teleport anywhere on the map.

‘Monitor them for five more minutes,’ Lux ordered. ‘If they are still following me after five minutes, I will summon you to my location.’

‘Understood, Master,’ Asmodeus replied.

Since the tracker that was marked in Lux’s body was spell-based, it would only work for a short period of time and within a specific range. Right now, he wanted to know just how far their tracking ability could reach, and how long the spell would last.

If Malcolm’s group could repeatedly track his movements, then it would be hard for him to continue infiltrating the enemy’s outposts as he was doing a while ago.

‘Not even a day has passed and I am already a target,’ Lux sighed in his heart as his mount, Jed, increased its speed, wanting to take his Master to safety as soon as possible. ‘We need a change of plans.’

——–

“He is moving,” the Oracle reported. “He is retreating and seems to be heading to the Yelan Kingdom Camp.”

Malcolm raised his hand signaling that they would stop their pursuit of their target.

“I guess our enemy is not stupid,” Malcolm commented.

“What now?” the Oracle asked.

“What else?” Malcolm turned around. “Let’s go back to the Main Camp and report our findings, maybe Moriarty can help us lay a trap for this wandering Field Boss.”

———

“How can we kill their commanding general, Moriarty, in six days?” Watson laughed. “You’re such a joker, Lux. If we knew the answer to that, then we would have done it already! That person is protected by an elite team of soldiers. Why do you think our assassins failed to assassinate him?”

“His Elite Team is all composed of Initiates?” Lux answered.

“Exactly. It’s almost impossible to kill him even with sneak attacks unless we also send an elite team to handle his guards.”

“But aren’t you and Sherlock also protected by Elite Soldiers? This is why their assassination attempts have failed as well, right?”

Watson smiled and nodded his head. “In this regard, the strength of our security personnel is equal. Why do you think we recruited mercenaries to help us fight? The stronger our allies, the stronger we become. I don’t want to say this, Lux, but in the end, the outcome of this war might be decided by the quality and quantity of the mercenaries we hired in this war.”

Watson’s usually happy-go-lucky expression turned serious as he rested his hand on Lux’s shoulders.

“We’re counting on you and your comrades to break the stalemate,” Watson replied. “If there is something we can do to help, as long as it is not excessive, we are willing to do what we can. As for troops… since we are greatly at a disadvantage, the maximum number of soldiers I can assign to you is three hundred. Do you wish to become a Company Commander?”

——

< Watson has deemed that it is necessary for you to increase the number of personnel under your command in order to accomplish your mission. Will you accept his offer? >

( Yes / No )

—–

“I accept,” Lux replied in a heartbeat. “Can you make all of them Initiates?”

“Hahaha! Of course not.” Watson laughed. “But, I assure you that all of them will be Grade B Apostles. I will even allow you to choose them personally.”

“Can I choose them now?”

“Of course. Follow me.”

“Also, General, there is something that I want to talk to you about,” Lux said. “It’s about our strategy tomorrow.”

Watson smirked before using his thumb to point at Sherlock who was looking on the map of the table with a solemn gaze.

“I don’t make the strategies,” Watson stated because he already knew what Lux wanted to talk about. “I just execute them. If you want to talk about strategies, that is the person you should talk to. As long as Sherlock approves of it then I’m in.”

——-

Ammar Kingdom Main Camp…

“Malcolm, I will assign you to be a Battalion Commander in charge of a thousand men,” Moriarty stated. “I don’t care what methods you use in order to achieve your goal. What I want is results. Can you make that happen?”

“I can,” Malcolm replied and bowed his head politely. “Thank you for your trust.”

Moriarty rested the side of his face over his closed fist as he eyed the young man with dark blue hair. He was quite satisfied with Malcolm’s performance at the start of the war. Knowing that a Necromancer or a Lich was currently causing havoc on the left and right flanks of his army, he decided to take the initiative and create a task force that would get rid of it as soon as possible.

“Earlier, our opponents suddenly decided to be a turtle and focused on defending,” Moriarty commented. “Although I am confident in the might of my army, I still find their strategy quite troublesome. If you were in my place, what would you have done?”

Malcolm didn’t answer right away, and instead pondered about what was the best thing to do. His father was the Great General of the Vahan Empire and was responsible for leading his men to battle.

There had been more than one occasion when he had taken Malcolm to war to serve as his aide, so that his son would learn all about military tactics at an early age. Because of this, the young man learned a thing or two about tactics, and a few ways for how to bring down a fortress and the people that manned it, who only specialized in defending.

“I have an idea, but I don’t know if the General is willing to accept it,” Malcolm replied.

“Well, the most I can do is hear you out first,” Moriarty replied. “If it’s decent, I will consider it.”

“General, what I want the army to do tomorrow is…”

Moriarty listened to Malcolm’s explanation with a calm gaze. However, after hearing the entirety of the strategy, even the Great General of the Ammar Kingdom found it to be an ingenious move.

“Good.” Moriarty grinned. “If this strategy of yours worked, then I will reward you handsomely.”

That night, both camps made their own moves under the cover of darkness in order to gain the upper hand in the battle that would happen the next day. Both sides wanted to gain the upper hand against the other, and tilt the battle in their favor.

Just as Watson had said earlier, the outcome of the war could tilt based on the performance of each mercenary group that the two Kingdoms had hired.

The Yelan Kingdom had Lux and his comrades.

The Ammar Kingdom had Malcolm and the Elites of the Skystead Alliance.

These two teams, alongside their newly acquired troops, would determine whose side was going to win before the duration of the quest was over.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by Madara Web Novel