𝐎𝓥𝑳𝒩xt.𝑪𝑜𝓂

pαndα—noνɐ1,сoМ

Two groups, Emery’s Twilight Fang and the Blue Moon pack led by Ashi, could be seen racing alongside each other across the landscape toward their designated location for the mission.

It was located one and a half days away to the south, just near the border, still within the vagrant forest area of the planet.

Along the way, Emery had discreetly sent instructions through their connection of [One Mind] to his three pack members, mostly telling them to remain patient no matter how annoying and infuriating the group of seven accompanying them was.

He even made sure his pack ran at a much lower speed to hide their true strength. Because of that, his group fell behind and was half an hour late to the schedule, which only further boosted the Blue Moon’s pride. The display of ‘weakness’ convinced them they are the superior pack.

The sun was setting on the horizon by the time they arrived and, because of that, Ashi said, “Twilight, we are setting camp here.”

Even though the Blue Moon chief’s words were respectful towards Emery, the tone he was using was definitely not, especially the particular intent they exuded.

“We have secured the area, so it’s only fair that your pack prepares dinner…” Throwing a brief glance towards certain two people’s direction, he added, “With two ladies on the team, you must be great at it.”

Emery was able to keep his cool in the face of apparent ridicule. However, Andrei, unfortunately, could not, especially when it came to Tatyana.

Looking at the tall wolf’s facial expression, Ashi turned to Emery again and said, “Chief Evan, do we have a problem here?”

There was a moment of silence, before Emery finally opened his mouth.

“No. There’s no problem. You and your pack can just relax here. Me and my boy here will go hunt, while the girls will stay to prepare the fire.”

A clap, and Ashi cheerfully said, “That’s indeed an excellent proposition, Chief!”

Without further ado, Emery took the emotional Andrei away with him before he could do anything detrimental. When the two of them were far enough away from the camp, the latter finally couldn’t hold back his thoughts and immediately questioned Emery’s decision, but he interrupted him right away.

“Calm down, will you?!” Staring at the tall wolf’s eyes, he said, “Morgana is still there. They won’t dare mess with her!”

Surprised by the sudden outburst, Andrei fell silent and a few seconds later, he heaved a sigh.

“You’re right, Chief. I am sorry. I’m too emotional.”

The truth was, Emery was feeling somewhat worried as well. But not at the thought that the girls would be in trouble. In fact, if the Blue Moon bunch was stupid enough to make a move in his absence, Morgana could probably finish them all and ruin whatever their plan was by herself.

Sighing, Emery patted the tall wolf and said, “I understand how you feel, so let’s hurry up.”

A few minutes later, Emery and Andrei returned to the camp bringing back what they had hunted. The former had hunted a magical beast – a boar type of creature, which he skinned and prepared before cooking it for the others. 

All the time Emery had spent concocting various apothecary recipes unexpectedly helped improve his cooking skill as well. 

The delicious food managed to tone down the awkward atmosphere between the two groups. But then, something happened.

After tasting the food Emery cooked, Ashi’s face quickly became suspicious, attracting everyone’s attention. Before everyone could ask anything, the man suddenly stood up and clapped his hands.

“I know it! I know what you’re trying to do here, Evan!” he said as he looked at Emery, who had a confused look on his face.

He then glanced at Morgana and Tatyana before saying, “Beautiful members… tasty food… alas, you are not going to fool me!”

Those words were enough to make Emery startled and secretly tense even though his face and behavior did not show the slightest hint. At this moment, he thought the magus was indeed not that simple or easily fooled

However, his next words immediately wiped his fears away.

“You want to curry favor with me so you can join the Corvin clan, don’t you?! I must say that this is a great start, Chief!

“…”

“Yes… Chief Ashi, you are very wise indeed.”

*

When the morning light passed through the leaves of the dense forest, there was no longer any trace of yesterday’s dinner and both groups were ready to start their mission. They were all already geared up, their equipment and weapons by their side.

“We have a 200 miles radius to cover,” Ashi said, showing the map in his hand to the others. Circling a specific part, he then said, “Twilight, you are taking this part of the area and we will cover the other.”

Once again, the Blue Moon chief made things difficult for Emery’s group. The other party gave an unfair allocation of tasks, with Emery’s group having to explore areas with much denser forest and farther away from the camp despite the fact they had fewer members.

Even so, Emery did not complain. Instead, he scrutinized the map carefully and asked for more details about the mission, things he should pay attention to, so as not to look bad and be suspected by the Corvin wolf pack.

“I have heard this particular bunch of bandits have many members, so I’m just trying to stay on the safe side and not mess up this task,” Emery said, explaining the reason for his series of questions.

Thanks to those words, the Blue Moon chief, who was also pleased by Emery’s attitude so far, was willing to share more details about the mission, such as the number of people the Corvin had deployed, their locations, and even the fact they had a group from another clan numbering over fifty ready to reinforce at any moment. 

Upon hearing the last part, Emery’s mind immediately went to the Ironcrest clan. Corvin faction ally who was in charge of the area.

“Alright we better start working.”

When they finally split up, Emery and his pack didn’t actually go looking for the hideout. Instead, they made their way toward a different destination an hour away. He sent all three in the vicinity to make sure he was not followed ,while he himself went to the place where someone else had waited.

Yoro, Beowulf, Annara along with a familiar face, Frostmind, the bandit he had captured before, and two of his men. This could only mean they successfully gained contact with the rebels.

Emery quickly shared the information he managed to fish out of Ashi, all of them from the number of people joining the mission and their approximate locations. Frostmind was completely silent throughout the explanation.

“I hope this further proof how we can be allies.”

When Emery finished speaking, he finally spoke up.

“Thank you for the information. Unfortunately, it’s a little bit too late.”

“What? Why?” Emery asked, confusion marred his face.

“We have slave refugees, hundreds of them. Some are too sick to move, some are too young. We won’t be able to transport them fast enough without being detected.”

With not much option, Frostmind agreed to reveal their hideout location, which turned out to be in the sector next to the one he was assigned to. The area was deep in the center of the operation. Frostmind believed the information of their hideout had been spilled, even the fact they were housing the slave refugees in their place, hence the timing of their arrival.

“So what is the plan? What is Senior Tidus trying to do?” Emery asked.

With a gloomy face, Frostmind said, “If you want to help, please make sure the hideout is not discovered, or help us take them out safely. Otherwise, those people will be caught and forced to become slaves again.”

“Don’t you have many people that could fight?” Emery asked

“Several are currently in the Desert Watch city, as for the one in the hideout they are not enough to protect the refugees.”

He then added his words while Emery tried to process the situation, “The leader was ready to give himself up if it would bring safety to the refugees.”

The reason the rebel leader chose such an option was because he believed the search for the hideout in the area would continue unless he himself got captured.

It was such a shitty solution, one that really pissed Emery off. Alas, with the limited time and considering they could be found out at any time, there really weren’t many options for them to lead to an ideal result.

Unwilling to let things end that way, Emery quickly tried to think of a way. After a little discussion with Annara, master of scheme, he looked at Frostmind and said, “We have a plan, but I need you to surrender and let me take you captive.”

With a frown, Frostmind said, “Seriously… captive? Again?”