The Oracle Paths

"Hmm? What's happening down there?" The enemy legion's general, known as Corvac, sprang up from his seat.

He had dispatched the Mumaks to clear out the enemy units that caused the debacle of an entire regiment, but the tanks and their monstrous mounts had stopped moving. He had a bad feeling when this troop had survived their initial charge, but now he was certain something was amiss.

"Foreigners!" His pupils dilated in realization, recalling the instructions he had received that morning.

The imposing guard, who had returned to his side immediately after delivering the general's order, had come to the same conclusion. His gleaming armor, adorned in gold and silver, did little to inspire confidence.

"General," he addressed solemnly. "The Celestial has ordered us to fight defensively if a high-ranking Player, as they call themselves, appears. Ranks 17 and 16, and some Ranks 15 and 14 pose a danger even to a Saint, let alone peak Radiant Lords like us."

Far from intimidated, the graying general scoffed with disdain, crossing his arms. He wasn't about to learn how to defend his life from the likes of the Radiant Conclave. Scowling, he spat out determinedly,

"Even if it were the Celestial himself charging my hill head-on, with the measures I've prepared, I'm certain I can escape alive and unscathed. If it's my skin they're after, let them come!"

*****

"Hmm? Has the battle stopped?" Ceythie raised a skeptical eyebrow, noticing the same strangeness on the battlefield as the opposing general.

She suspected from her report that Jake was probably incredibly strong, but the Mumak battalion didn't seem eradicated.

"Send someone to check what's going on down there," she finally ordered, before turning her attention back to the rest of the battlefield.

Things were going well. The diversion provided by Jake's regiment and the early mobilization of the Mumaks had given her Ironsoul Berserkers the upper hand.

She had also discovered there must be other foreigners scattered among each regiment of her army, but the enemy seemed devoid of them. This was the main reason her troops were advancing unimpeded.

It was as if Jake's mere presence here had pushed the enemy to abandon this front to its fate. But for that... They had to be aware of his presence here.

"Arrrgh, I don't like this!" Ceythie stood up swiftly, donning her armor.

Conveniently, the soldier she had sent to check on the situation with the Mumaks was back.

"Well?"

The messenger immediately fell to his knees before her, hands clasped, and with a forehead dripping with sweat, he stammered,

"I... The Mumaks have surrendered."

"What?!" She exclaimed in astonishment before recomposing herself. "That's good news for us. Why are you so stressed, messenger?"

"Ahem... It's not because of you that they surrendered."

Ceythie suddenly had a bad feeling.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Cough... I mean they swore allegiance to the one who just defeated them."

The Great General began to sense where the nervous soldier was heading.

"Jake Wilderth?" She asked with a bitter smirk.

"The same."

"..."

The fierce officers by her side didn't know where to look, but one of them had to ask the uncomfortable question. Her right-hand man, a mountain of muscle almost as wide as tall, cleared his throat and inquired with the taciturn air of someone sent to their doom,

"So... What do we do?"

Ceythie's eyes fluttered aimlessly as she pondered at full speed before finally commanding,

"Bring me my horse. He wants Corvac's head. Let's make it easier for him."

Seeing their Great General don her helmet and gloves with a carnivorous smile, a resigned sigh passed through the officers and elite guards of her inner circle. They had known her long enough to anticipate what she would say next.

"... We're going to be the bait. Let's make a grand exit! Corvac hates me so much he'll have no choice but to take the bait."

A thrill of adrenaline coursed through the horde of veteran barbarians. When was the last time they launched a charge like this, relying on nothing but their own strength? Their warrior blood couldn't help but boil!

An instant later, the war cries of thousands of soldiers among the most formidable Underworld Barbarians of all the Duskwight Lands resounded in unison, shaking the earth. The next moment, a horde of nightmarish steeds galloped out of their HQ, cascading down their hill like an arrow released from its bow.

*****

"What's your name?" Jake asked the Radiant Mage who had just surrendered and seemed to command respect from his regiment.

"... Homer."

"Nice to meet you, Homer." Jake patted his shoulders with a smile that sent shivers down his spine. "Tell me what you know about the defenses awaiting us on that hill."

The Lifemancer was tempted to lie, but a glare from Jake stripped him of his last shreds of courage. Stiff as a board, he spilled everything he knew with fear in his belly.

In truth, he didn't know much. Nothing specific, at least. However, important generals tended to defend their HQ and their own lives in the same manner, ready to face a threat one to two realms above their own.

Since Corvac was a Radiant Lord known for being cautious and strategic, which Jake had anticipated without being able to confirm, his defenses were likely to be just as ambitious. Attacking head-on, even the Soulmancer King would lose a few feathers.

"Nothing we hadn't anticipated," Hephais remarked indifferently.

The rest of his squad and Amy's had joined him by then, and there wasn't just jubilation on their faces.

"Master, you left us nothing!!" Crunch complained with a pouting face.

"Shut up! They surrendered, I wasn't going to slaughter them for no reason." Jake snapped, grabbing his cat by the scruff of the neck before flinging it far away.

The feline never touched the ground, its body puffing up like a balloon before falling back. It drifted through the air with a grumpy expression, clearly in no hurry to come down.

"What do we do with him?" Ekho coughed awkwardly. He hadn't contributed much in this battle, but he hadn't wavered from his plan to stick close to Jake.

"Ignore him. He'll cause trouble elsewhere," Jake replied casually. "He's not as dumb as he pretends. Look where he's floating off to..."

His companions darted their eyes toward the cat, and realizing where the furball was headed, Lord Phenix let out an audible curse,

"That jerk! He didn't even clue me into his scheme!"

The orange turkey flew after his furry friend with a flap of his wings, disappearing toward the high hill where the enemy HQ was located.

"Alright, let's not give them too much of a head start." Jake clapped his hands. "We'll follow them."

"What about the other recruits and these beasts we've just captured? Do we take them with us?" Lee Yoon frowned, looking at the 700 exhausted and demoralized recruits.

Amy, usually the more sociable of the two, was strangely silent, reeling from the realization of the chasm that had formed between her and Jake. To think there was a time when they were both human...

Reacting to the taciturn Korean's words, Jake scanned the conscripts of his company, those full of expectation from his own squad, and said,

"They are free to follow us or stay here if they prefer. No one can be forced to risk their life."

With no longer any intention of keeping a low profile, patiently cultivating his own army of loyal warriors was no longer important. Now, only those who earnestly desired to become strong would be able to follow him.