Speculation

The blaze raged through the entire night. After weighing it over and over, Caesar ultimately chose not to act. Instead, he lay quietly in the lair, waiting for news.

He had reason to suspect that those scouts had come for him.

The Stone Crow Clan's combat strength was no secret at all. Whether it was Archmage Sifu or the hundred warriors, they had already been openly exposed before outsiders.

If the other side truly intended to swallow the tribe in one bite, there was no need to send scouts to investigate. They could simply dispatch soldiers to silently encircle the area, then launch an assault at the fastest possible speed.

That meant there was only one reason they had sent scouts: they had guessed that someone else stood behind the Stone Crow Clan and wanted to see through the truth before committing their full strength.

"It's that guy."

Caesar suddenly thought of the caravan leader whose status had been anything but ordinary—the young man, Roy Brando.

Among the humans, only he had ever had deep contact with the Stone Crow Clan. He was the only one likely to harbor such suspicions.

So, under these circumstances, Caesar chose to hold his position that night, lest the other side discover him with reconnaissance spells like Wizard's Eye.

Sometimes, the unknown was more terrifying than a sharp blade. Before figuring out the Stone Crow Clan's true depth, Roy was unlikely to launch a massive attack and charge in headlong. Instead, he would keep sending small forces to harass them, probing without end.

And Caesar could use that to gradually gnaw away at Roy's living strength.

At dawn, when the orcs dragged their exhausted bodies together, Caesar discovered that quite a few warriors bore wounds, some of them serious.

"We killed a total of one hundred and forty-four humans."

Gar bared his teeth as he spoke. His right cheek was badly swollen, as though it had been struck hard by a hammer. "Eighty of them carried hand crossbows and used the standardized weapons you mentioned."

"These bastards were stronger than those adventurers. Even when we caught them off guard, they held their ground and launched an effective counterattack. Twelve of our brothers were focused down by blades, arrows, and swords. They died." By the end, Gar's voice had grown slightly choked.

With such an exchange rate, their gains were already considerable. But those who had died were tribesmen who had lived alongside them day and night. The orcs could not help but feel low-spirited.

"Go back to your own dens. Sleep if you need sleep, tend your wounds if you need tending."

Caesar gave the orc warriors their orders. At some point, he had smoothly taken control of the situation. After settling the warriors and sending them away, the black dragon turned to the old wizard. "If I'm not mistaken, the tribe's women aren't as frail as human women. When necessary, they can take up weapons too."

"Yes."

The old wizard answered. His main task last night had been using spells to monitor the borders of the entire territory and ensure no fish slipped through the net. Such a massive workload over a single night was difficult to endure even for an Archmage. He looked exhausted and haggard. "...It's just that they can hardly match the men in combat strength."

There was some hesitation in his words. Sifu was mainly worried that Caesar would send the women on dangerous missions.

After all, even elite warriors had suffered casualties in last night's battle. If it had been female orcs, who were a notch weaker in combat, that number might have multiplied several times over.

"Don't worry."

Caesar heard the implication in Sifu's words, and his voice remained calm. "The women won't need to fight for now. Have them handle reconnaissance. If they encounter the enemy, their first priority is their own safety. Avoid contact whenever possible."

When neither side knew the other's true strength, the contest for intelligence became an extremely important link. If Roy learned of Caesar's existence and strength first, he could swiftly assess the situation and launch an attack.

Conversely, if Caesar discovered the human army's camp and commander first, he could formulate a decapitation plan and kill the enemy with a single strike.

War was no child's game. This was also the black dragon's first time encountering such a situation. Lacking experience, he could only apply his knowledge to practical action as best he could, supplementing it with extreme caution and proceeding carefully, striving to do everything within his power as well as possible.

Soft rustling sounds drifted through the forest, lingering by the ear.

At the bottom of the valley, a stream rushed onward, winding through a riverbed of stone slabs. Sunlight shimmered over the water. Beneath the trees, warhorses neighed softly and pawed at the firm earth covered in fallen leaves, while soldiers kept their voices low as they traded subdued jokes.

From time to time, Roy heard the faint clatter of spears striking together and the sliding rustle of chainmail. This time, he had brought a full thousand soldiers. They had just passed through the Mostel Grand Canyon.

But his expression was not good, because the scouts he had sent out earlier had vanished without a trace. Roy had a feeling that those soldiers had already died in the Wilds. They had been discovered by the other side, then swallowed whole in one gulp.

As time passed, the facts gradually confirmed his guess.

"Interesting."

Roy toyed with the family crest in his hand. As a member of the Brando Family, he was not so bothered by the deaths of eighty soldiers. What truly chilled him was the decisiveness and brutality the other side had displayed in this clash.

He had ordered the soldiers sent to scout to avoid conflict with the Stone Crow Clan whenever possible, even allowing them to retreat if necessary. Their mission was to observe whether any unusual creatures entered or left the orc tribe.

Without drawing blades, those stupid, clumsy orcs would never realize danger was approaching.

There was only one possible reason why the Stone Crow Clan had acted first and brutally slaughtered every one of them—that another person or intelligent creature existed among them. He, or it, controlled the Stone Crow Clan, then acted ruthlessly and decisively based solely on its own analysis and guesses, intending to strangle any possible threat in the cradle while displaying its strength to potential enemies.

Roy had imagined that creature's existence more than once. At times, he had even wondered whether he was trying to outwit thin air. But now, the truth had become clear.

That creature definitely existed.

"Interesting fellow. What are you? A human? A fairy? A monster? Or... a dragon?"

Roy smiled. The other side was clever. It had wiped out all his scouts in one stroke and left not a single survivor, ensuring that he knew nothing about it.

If he continued sending people to probe, he would be walking right into that fellow's trap. His strength would be gradually eroded away, bite by bite.

But—

Roy narrowed his eyes. What the other side did not know was that this was precisely proof of its guilty conscience. If it truly were some overwhelmingly powerful existence with nothing to fear, it would not care about the scouts he sent. It would simply allow the human soldiers to wander around the Stone Crow Clan, then bare its fangs and swallow them all in one bite once his main force arrived.

"That fellow definitely isn't so powerful that he can't be dealt with."

Having reached that conclusion, Roy acted with decisive efficiency and immediately began issuing orders. "Katus!"

"Here!"

The trusted knight who had appeared before stepped forward two paces.

"Take ten men and ride fast to the Gnoll Clan and the Kobold Clan. Order them to prepare for battle and await news in the third forest district of the Wilds."

"Yes!"

The knight pressed a hand to his chest in acknowledgment, then dug his heels into his horse's flanks and selected ten men to accompany him.

"No one else is to leave the unit. Rest in place, then set out again in half an hour." Roy took a drink of water and swung down from his horse. "By dawn two days from now, we must reach the Wilds."