Arrangement

A faint birdcall came from the distance, a shrill, piercing trill. The orcs who had grown up in the Wilds used it to pass messages, and after staying with the Stone Crow Clan for so long, Caesar had long since become familiar with it.

"They found them."

A young, agile female orc appeared before Caesar and reported to the dragon concealed in the darkness. "The humans are making quite a stir. Nearly a thousand have entered the Wilds. Leading them is that little man who traded with the tribe before."

"We didn't dare get too close, but from the looks of it, there are at least thirty or so knights and an equal number of squires among them. Around three hundred cavalrymen and free riders carrying lances or swords, while the rest are ordinary soldiers equipped with spears and tridents."

"Any spellcasters?"

Caesar asked directly. That was the key question. In Eladia, every spellcaster was a strategic weapon, sometimes even capable of deciding the course of a war.

The female orc shook her head, indicating that she did not know.

Successfully counting the army's numbers had already been no easy feat for them. Asking these nonprofessional scouts to locate spellcasters hidden under layer upon layer of protection was asking too much.

Fortunately, the black dragon had not held much hope for that either. The huge creature in the darkness nodded to show that he understood, encouraged the orc for a moment, then let her leave.

"Tsk, tsk, a thousand men..."

Only after the orc's figure vanished from sight did Caesar stroke his chin and let out an unreadable sigh.

He truly had not expected Roy to stake so much on nothing more than an unsupported guess. To deal with the Stone Crow Clan, he had actually brought in such a massive army.

"Sure enough, brain-dead villains who keep sending their underlings to die and hand over experience only exist in stories fabricated by bards."

The brawny black dragon clutched his head in resentment. He had originally wanted to hide behind the scenes and act as an achievement-harvesting machine, but the moment he learned the enemy's strength, he immediately abandoned that plan.

What did a thousand professional soldiers mean?

One had to know that even when the Northern Kingdoms had gone to war with Green City, the Northern Alliance had only scraped together a legion of thirty thousand to deal with that elderly green dragon and the many evil races under her command.

And that number included logistical personnel who could not take part in combat. The actual professional soldiers likely numbered fewer than twenty-five thousand.

"The Stone Crow Clan can't fight them alone at all."

Caesar shook his head. He had long seen that the young man's identity was anything but ordinary, yet he had never expected him to be so ruthless, bringing in a thousand-man army without a word.

In Eladia, without taking legendary powers into account, this was already an extremely formidable force. Setting aside everything else, those thirty knights alone were enough to give the Stone Crow Clan more than it could swallow.

Fighting an army like this would absolutely be no easier than taking on an adult dragon.

Soon afterward, another piece of news drifted into his lair. The orcs had discovered that several other native clans in the Wilds were also stirring and beginning to gather.

With trouble arising at such a critical juncture, Caesar did not dare hope that those natives would become his allies and unite against the human invasion. On the contrary, it was far more likely that those clans were Roy's lackeys, now moving after receiving the man's orders.

To add frost to snow.

Avoid them?

The thought inevitably flashed through the black dragon's mind, but he quickly rejected it. What kind of joke is that? He had put so much effort into training the orc clan and had only just built a foundation for his start. Now that things had finally begun to get on track, how could he simply let it all go?

Since he had no intention of abandoning the Stone Crow Clan, he had to act personally. Otherwise, this orc tribe would inevitably be crushed to ashes beneath the army's iron hooves.

"Fine. I'll do it myself."

The enormous black dragon crawled out of his lair and stared at the busy orcs below. "I wanted to develop quietly, but you won't let me."

Still, even if he intended to act in person, Caesar needed to make some plans and arrangements. These enemies were no insignificant riffraff. If he simply charged in headlong and fought them face-to-face, even he would probably end up sliced into fish fillets because his head was not hard enough.

Only hotheaded red dragons and dim-witted white dragons would do something like that.

Thus, the black dragon narrowed his eyes and carefully studied the map drawn by Luna, child of the forest. He summoned the old shaman Sifu and High Commander Gar, then began making preparations for battle.

"You must secretly relocate the wounded and the children immediately. They are the tribe's weak point. This area will soon become a battlefield, and we absolutely cannot leave ourselves with worries behind us or hidden dangers."

The stern expression Caesar wore now was finally no longer as ugly-cute as it had been in his childhood. It carried a certain majesty.

"But..."

Gar asked hesitantly, "Where should we hide them?"

The Stone Crow Clan had only this one home. With everything in chaos now, they truly could not think of anywhere safe for the orcs to hide.

"Here."

Caesar circled a spot on the map he had drawn on the ground. "The Duru Basin."

With Summergrass, the orcs no longer needed to fear the Flame Demon Curse. Caesar ordered them to transport all the wounded and children, along with their stored food and resources, into the Duru Basin.

This place, with its narrow entrance and terrain easy to defend but difficult to attack, would become the Stone Crow Clan's final line of defense.

"If we don't want to sit still and wait for death, we must launch an attack ourselves."

Caesar said, "When the long night is about to end, I'll strike that army, then retreat. You will ambush them here." He pointed to a spot on the map.

"Listen carefully."

Caesar stressed his words. "Bring only thirty or forty people, no more. While they are pursuing me, the army's formation will definitely be stretched out. Hold yourselves back at first and let the knights pass, then attack the ordinary riders. Kill as many as you can. Do not get entangled. You must withdraw before the human infantry arrives."

"At that point, they will definitely send some men to hunt you down, while the remaining warriors—"

The black dragon's shining claw moved an inch to the left. "Meet up with them here, then lie in ambush."

"If they are clever enough, those knights should give up pursuit at that point and prioritize gathering together to kill the orcs. By then, even if I return as quickly as possible, I won't be able to reach them in time."

Caesar smacked his lips, moved his finger to a new location, and looked at Sifu. "That is why I need you to intercept and kill them here. Cast area-of-effect destructive spells. If the orcs engage those knights in close combat, the tribe's losses will be severe. Thirty knights can only be dealt with by you."

"When I return, they should give up, withdraw first, and regroup. But if those bastards still don't know when to quit and keep chasing..."

"We'll strike back here again."

The night was silent. Moonlight spilled down amid layers of shadow. Thick fallen leaves carpeted the ground, dense forests covered the ridges, and the hills sloped gently downward until they reached a dry riverbed.

"Here."

The orcs ate their fill, then dropped straight into sleep. Once dawn came, there would be a long, grueling battle. It demanded the utmost from their stamina, and they had to adjust themselves to their best condition.

"And here."

The black dragon lay prone upon a hill, blending into the night. His amber vertical eyes blinked from time to time as he watched the ground below.