A sigh escaped from his lips, feeling frustrated, very frustrated in fact. Add to it the irritation he felt in the foolishness of what his subordinates did, resulting in their disappearance. No, perhaps it was more accurate to say they were dead already — worse, they were captured.

Upon realizing that a group of his team has disappeared, they had to move to another safehouse, although still in the capital city Serene. He looked up at the wooden ceiling while leaning back, his brown dog-like ears drooped down.

He had lost a lot of men.

First, there was a time when a team was sent to retrieve Oryn. However, they never returned. Yes, they have indeed considered that it could be a trap. But the voice was Oryn’s, and they wouldn’t believe an elf like Oryn would ever betray them.

Furthermore, there were those here that was concerned for Oryn and wanted to get him back if he was in danger. Oryn was a brave elf, one who was willing to cut off his ears for the cause. And that garnered the respect of everyone.

That team was so adamant about saving them, and he as the leader was hesitant at first. However, he couldn’t abandon an ally to his fate. So, he agreed and allowed those who were the most eager to extract Oryn.

But the next day, that team never returned. Realizing that, the entire force needed to move to another safehouse.

Needless to say, it was a great loss on their part. They lost a good amount of power, and they lost their friends. And it was heartbreaking.

And now so recently, they lost another group. All they knew was that they suddenly disappeared from their post. Where could have they gone? No one knows. It broke his heart once more, realizing that they could be captured or dead.

Furthermore, it was hard to send for reinforcements, most that their homeland had a plan in mind. With their meager forces remaining, how can they hope to even push back the Cursed Children when the time comes?

No, there should be no need to be so worried. Trust only the plan.

Even so, for him, it was heartbreaking to lose this many allies.

He was concerned about one person as well. A girl. A human. She was a human who was sent to cooperate with Oryn. They once discovered her in the middle of nowhere and discovered that she lost her home and family because of monsters.

The others did not care. However, it was a different case for him. He saw potential, she could be used in some ways. But that was only a small thought. In truth, he took pity on that child.

The other mystic race doesn’t take kindly to humans, but despite that, he still took care of the girl. And as time passed, a few also began to care for that girl, even for just a little. Although it was hard to see what the elves were feeling.

That being said, she couldn’t be taken care of without return. With the pressure from other members of the team, he had no choice but to send her into the enemy’s nest. How he missed her cooking when she left.

Thankfully, she often leaves the palace to give her reports, and he would mostly meet with her. He would always ask how she was. If not given the opportunity, other beastmen would meet with her. The elves, on the other hand, didn’t like the idea of meeting that human girl, so they never did.

But then, after the failed extraction of Oryn, that human girl no longer came out. Even in the months that passed by, she was never seen again.

And it concerned him greatly.

Was she still alive? Or was she dead? Was she imprisoned? Interrogated? And worse of all, tortured?

She was an ambitious girl, warm and somewhat charming. He dreaded to think if she suffered in the hands of the humans. He wanted to save her, or just know what happened. But there was no information, and he couldn’t infiltrate the palace either.

He couldn’t jeopardize the mission, and he was the leader. He shouldn’t be selfish.

He couldn’t do anything.

Allie…

Her name echoed in his mind. It upset him greatly that he couldn’t do anything. Perhaps it may have been best that she died, might save her from a much harsher fate. However, it pained his heart to think if she was already dead.

When the time comes, he would definitely check her fate.

He was the odd one in the group, as the first to care for that human girl. One would think it was strange for him to be assigned as the leader. But it was because of that kind heart that he was selected as his team should easily like him if he was being kind and thus obey his orders heartily. Not only that, but he was also an experienced high ranking officer in their homeland.

Not all beastmen had a heart of stone, as others of the beastmen began to care a little for the girl. But it was a different case for the elves. That was why any of them couldn’t be the leader, they wouldn’t coordinate well with the other beastmen. Charming they may seem, they have a much harder heart than the beastmen.

His ears twitched as he heard footsteps coming up, familiar footsteps. The footsteps stopped at his door.

“Arnaut, a bird arrived at our old safehouse.”

Their abandonment of the old safehouse was sudden, and a Puppet Courier occasionally comes to give orders or ask for reports, coming from a faraway place. Thus, he had sent someone to scope out the old safehouse to wait for the next bird to arrive.

They will have to wait until they get the bird. Otherwise, the bird will stay there until someone interacts with it, it wouldn’t do well if the courier ended up in a stranger’s hand. Once they have their hands on the bird, they will reactivate it in the new safe house, thus saving a new point of destination.

“Come in,” Arnaut said.

An elf entered inside and walked over towards Arnaut, placing the dark bird on the table. There were two small pouches, tied on both its legs. Arnaut removed them and took a look inside. There was glittering blue dust in the pouches.

Arnaut tapped the bird’s head two times, then a man’s voice spoke.

“Make the circle somewhere hidden, mix it with the empty dust that you have. Already have prepared and laid out the circle with the same dust on my end, only need yours now. After that, we wait for the opportune time. Spend all the dust.”

Arnaut deeply exhaled.

“So this is the plan they have come up with…” the elf said.

“It appears so… and this amount to mix… it will be one big circle.”

“Your orders?”

“Call everyone, I want to look at all of us. Things have gotten harder.”

“Understood.”

If this was the order that was given, given the importance, they must carry this task out immediately. Their numbers were thinning, he couldn’t risk all of this to fail now.

***

In the lobby, Arnaut stood in front of his team. Or what remained of it. There were only merely ten that stood in front of him. Five being elves, and the other five being beastmen. Counting himself as well, there were only eleven of them in total left active in their mission.

He had asked for additional forces but was rejected. The response was that there would be no need once the plan has begun. However, that was when they only lost one team. But now they lost another. Losing even one team leaves a huge blow in their ranks.

He had finished reporting the situation and will need to wait for the response for reinforcements. But given that they will spend their Dust, receiving backup from their own people would be doubtful.

“How our number has been reduced to this, very concerning…” he muttered but deliberately made his men hear it, which prompted them to frown. “We have received a new instruction. However, before that, there are matters that need to be settled.”

He looked at one of the beastmen.

“Did you find out something about what happened to Henfred’s group?”

“Remember when a noble was killed, and a huge bag was brought by the human knights?”

“Yes, what of it?”

“Turns out there were several bags pulled out of the forest, away from the eyes of the normal citizens. But a few of course had a glimpse.”

“Do you think it’s them?”

“It’s more than three, so yes, I think it is them.”

Arnaut shook his head in exasperation. “What the hell were they thinking…? Do you think they killed that noble?”

“I’m not sure.”

If they were the ones behind the death of that noble, that was a nonsensical action. There was no reason to do that at all. But they were close proximity to the area where the noble was killed. Even so, it was hard to think that they were the ones who killed that noble.

There must be something that has happened.

Even if the mystic race was not behind their murder, the humans would think they did. It would only make things difficult to keep hiding at this rate.

“This situation is not making sense.”

“Do you think the other team from the empire was behind it?”

“If they did, they would have told us. In any case, let’s set this aside for now. Listen,” he paused and stared at his team one by one. “Don’t do anything reckless, don’t just go around places without telling me first. Do you understand?”

The team responded in the affirmative.

“Our numbers have dwindled, we would no longer stand a chance against the Cursed Children. And a confrontation with the human knights will prove to be more dangerous and more difficult. I want you to be extra careful, and follow the plan.”

He continued after his team understood his words.

“Now then, for the next instructions,” Arnaut pointed at two elves, one being the elf that brought him the bird from earlier. “I will assign this task to you. Come with me in my private quarters.”

Arnaut found a need for utter secrecy, just to be safe. The two elves followed him to his quarters and gave them an order for only their ears to hear.