The next day.
Phyrill led his group to their position according to the military's instruction.
While walking, Phyrill asked Theo who accompanied him by his side. "What do you think about this plan?"
Theo glanced at him and remained silent.
"The military is confronting the enemy head-on, stopping them from the front," Phyrill recalled the plan. "Behind them are the magicians that will use their firepower to destroy the city.. Now that we are stationed on the left, we will make a clean sweep to the right, killing all the monsters in the process.
"The same applies to those independent groups. They're coming at us. This will clean up the monsters as soon as possible. I think the strategy is worth the shot." Phyrill explained.
"Have you been in a raid like this?" Theo asked with a calm tone.
"Yes. It was a nest containing one thousand monsters with one Elite Rank monster in charge."
"…" Theo became concerned when he heard about this.
…
Last night.
Theo rested in his tent like usual. However, he had something to ask Ava before falling asleep.
"Ava," Theo called her name while lying down.
Ava gradually sneaked out of his shirt and looked at him with her silver eyes. "Kyu?"
"You are a General Class Monster, right?" Theo asked.
Ava tilted her head in confusion as she didn't understand what Theo meant by General Class Monster.
Theo facepalmed and pinched the bridge of his nose. He explained, "There are five classes: Normal, Rare, General, King, and World Class. Normal Class is like the monster we face most of the time. Rare Class is a smarter one and can call other monsters. General Class… It's like the Unending Tree. She can talk and possess high intelligence like that of a human."
Ava thought for a moment and nodded, acknowledging she was a General Class, even though she didn't have the ability to speak yet.
"Then, you are able to think like me, right?"
Ava looked away as if she was embarrassed and made a smug smile, proclaiming she could.
"…" Theo chuckled and asked, "Then, what will you do if you know the humans are approaching you?"
"Kyu?!" Ava was taken aback by Theo's question and dropped to the ground, staring at Theo for a while. She ended up contemplating the question while wondering how to explain it.
Theo thought for a moment and opened his Skylink, opening the app to draw. He drew their formation to siege the city.
"Assuming our opponent is a General Class Monster like you, I want to know what kind of plan he may have. I'm sure they can think like that of a human, so I need to watch out for any tricks."
Ava hesitated for a few minutes before pointing at the city and the group of magicians behind the soldiers. "Kyu!"
Theo's expression became grim as if he had learned something dangerous.
Touching both Wolf City and the magician group meant Ava wanted to attack the magician group first as it was the one that destroyed this city.
This alone was enough for Theo to know the thinking capability of a General Class Monster. It was indeed terrifying.
"This is going to be a bit dangerous…" Theo's expression darkened as he spent the night contemplating his choice.
…
Recalling the information Ava gave him, Theo glanced at Phyrill, asking, "How many magicians in the central group?"
"There are around thirty. Ellen is among them since I thought it's a safe place and she doesn't need to move together with us, experiencing all this danger."
"Are you serious?" Theo clenched his fists.
"I mean, the Supreme Rank Expert from the military is in front of her. I think no wolves will be able to approach her." Phyrill explained before noticing Theo's reaction. "Theo?"
"Can I ask you to get Ellen back to our group?" Theo asked.
"What?" Phyrill couldn't understand Theo's idea of taking back Ellen, especially with their group preparing to flank the enemy. They needed speed, not firepower. "Ellen will be exposed to danger if she runs with us. She is a magician; her role isn't this."
Ellen was the most important person he wanted to keep safe after Ava. He also wanted to help Phyrill, but he had protection from his family, so he just ignored him for the time being.
That was why he decided to put his hand on this. He looked at Phyrill and said with a grim tone. "Please bring Ellen back to this group. I hope this is just me overthinking the situation, but the situation is going to be dangerous soon, especially for the central group."
"What do you mean?"
"Have you fought against a General Class Monster or raided a place with a General Class Monster in it? Or just provide me with information regarding General Class Monsters like how they behave…"
Phyrill became serious when he heard Theo's words and asked, "You must be overthinking the situation, right?"
"That's your choice. You are the boss… As for me, I still wish to have Ellen stay with our group instead of the central group." Theo shook his head helplessly. He didn't underestimate the military, but if Ava alone knew the importance of the central group, the wolf would probably know it too.
At that time, the central group would become the target. That was also why he wished he was overthinking the entire thing.
"Do you have some experience with General Class Monsters? And you're not telling me it's the Unending Tree, right?"
Theo shook his head. "No, it's not that. But you can say I know them more than you."
Phyrill never thought that Theo would be so adamant about this and wondered whether he should grab her back or not. He tried to persuade Theo for one last time. "There are five more magicians from my family there."
Theo shrugged. "It's your call."
"You're making it hard for me, Theo." Phyrill scratched the back of his head. "Okay, okay. I will call Ellen back."
"Thanks." Theo nodded and heard the command from the scouts, asking them to stay in their position until they started the operation.
Within that time, Phyrill brought Ellen back with him and handed her to Theo.