The mission of Sun Demos and his underlings was rather simple. First, they split into several groups with various tasks.
The first unit received the task to determine the location of all scouts across the border of the Zentika Empire and the Untamed Jungle, and to forward the information to their Master.
Meanwhile, the remaining groups were spread out to enrage their enemies, whose habitat was in the Untamed Jungle. They riled up their enemies and fled from the scene once they received the signal from Sun Demos.
A loud roar issued by their king was the said signal. It caused the Demon Monkeys to get moving onto their next target.
By the time the enraged Monsters were about to catch up with the Blood Oath Demon Monkeys they encountered the invaders of the Untamed Jungle.
And when the two unsuspecting groups clashed against each other, the Blood Oath Demon Monkeys changed their direction suddenly, brushing past the Adventurers and Mercenaries with much faster speed than they demonstrated before.
While pursuing the monkeys to tear them apart, the enraged Monsters sped up as well – ignoring the Adventurers and Mercenaries in their way. Blinded by rage, they tried to catch up with the Demon Monkeys, desiring to tear them apart, once and for all.
But the moment they brushed past the first few rows of Mercenaries and Adventurers, the enraged monsters realized that something was wrong. Driven by haste and fury, some of the heavier monsters squashed Mercenaries to death without realizing it, while others slashed at them, trying to remove the trash-like obstacle at once.
But that was a mistake, which the monsters learned to regret quickly.
The first wave of the Jungle Expedition’s main force might not be omnipotent, but they weren’t weak either. Most importantly, they were at a numerical advantage and ready to abuse this fact.
The Adventurers and Mercenaries had ventured inside in big groups with evenly distributed tasks. There were melee fighters, vanguards, assassins, supporters, archers, and many more combatants, which played major roles in the groups. Based on their experience and confidence, the groups ought to be able to handle Superior Existences at the same Tier, and multiple Tier-2 Monsters with ease.
Unfortunately, it was becoming increasingly difficult for the group members to execute every role perfectly in an unknown place like the densely grown Untamed Jungle. The ground was covered in thick bushes, and big trees, while the dense treetops restricted the invasion of the bright sunlight that ought to illuminate every nook and cranny around them.
Furthermore, the monsters living in the Untamed Jungle had long since adapted to the harsh living conditions — developing special traits that allowed them to overcome all kinds of ordeals in the danger-filled region. They wouldn’t go down that easily.
The Untamed Jungle was their home and they knew what to do against ignorant opponents — who didn’t know certain factors that were a necessity to survive in the Untamed Jungle –, and how to utilize their special traits to near perfection.
Thus, the first clash with the monsters of the Untamed Jungle ended up being completely different than what the participants of the Jungle Expedition had envisioned.
A large number of Adventurers and Mercenaries were slaughtered. Their bodies were reduced to ribbons of flesh, and their blood dyed the surrounding a rich shade of crimson. Their intestines and other organs were splattered all over the thicket, decorating the Untamed Jungle’s outer area in an obscure way.
Eventually, the Adventurers and Mercenaries would be able to fight back. They would regain their morale and deliver deadly blows to the monsters.
But that was something Michael sincerely hoped. He and most of his military had worked tirelessly for the last four days to ensure that they made every participant of the Jungle Expedition live their worst nightmare. His subjects were stressed out and lacked sleep.
If the Jungle Expedition failed after the first setback and retreated in fear of sustaining more casualties, Michael and his team’s effort would have been for naught. But that was not the core essence of Michael’s thoughts.
He could tell that if the Jungle Expedition failed, things would get more complicated. Senator Keltos would use the newly acquired information to adjust his plans to tackle the obstacles of the Untamed Jungle with an even more carefully curated approach.
At least, that was what Michael expected from Senator Keltos if the Jungle Expedition was to fail immediately.
Fortunately, Michael could clearly decipher the emotions of his opponents at this point.
They might have been scared and shocked at first, but they quickly adapted to the unexpected encounter with Monsters they should have encountered at the border of the middle zone rather than near the entrance of the Untamed Jungle.
The monsters couldn’t fight forever either. Most of them didn’t desire to fight to death, in the first place. Their initial plan had been to hunt down the Blood Oath Demon Monkeys, not fight some invaders of the Untamed Jungle.
Nonetheless, they couldn’t leave the invaders unharmed. The Invaders were large in number, demonstrating quite clearly that they didn’t come inside just to hunt a few Tier-1 monsters and return. This time they had come in with more preparations, and the Monsters with more intelligence realized this quickly.
Following that, it took almost half an hour before the first monster group retreated. They received their first big counterattack and moved back quickly.
However, that was not something the prideful participants of the Jungle Expedition wanted.
If these monsters had attacked them once, what was the guarantee that these monsters wouldn’t initiate a second attack in the following days – possibly late at night when the Jungle Expedition participants were tired and wanted nothing more than to sleep soundly?
They could not allow that under any circumstance. Hence, the first wave of the Jungle Expedition spread out to pursue the monsters they’d been fighting before. Michael saw this from high up in the trees above the Jungle Expedition.
He, and close to 200 Archers were spread out across the trees in the outer area. Everyone had learned how to move stealthily across the trees, using the thick branches and the densely grown leaves as a cover, and that was something they chose to make use of soon enough.
But before Michael and his patiently waiting Archers attacked, they allowed more members of the Jungle Expedition to enter the Untamed Jungle.
They watched the Adventurers and Mercenaries precisely while continuing to wait.
‘They have spread out much more than expected. If it’s like this across the border…we will be extremely lucky!’ Michael thought, the corner of his lip curling up.
They might have close to 65,000 opponents to fight, but the border between the Zentika Empire and the Untamed Jungle was also close to 20 kilometers long. If the Zentika Empire desired to clear the outer area of the Untamed Jungle alongside their border, they had to send more participants, or put in more time to conquer the outer area.
[Gather information about the remaining members of the Jungle Expedition. I don’t want to be stabbed in the back suddenly.] Michael told Sun Demos telepathically while continuing to wait.
He and his people sensed several great opportunities to strike the opponents below them, but Michael didn’t give the signal to attack.
Instead, he continued to watch as the Adventurers and Mercenaries pursued the Tier-2 Monsters and their underlings.
[Guckuck Gaagaa!!]
‘The main force stopped advancing? Why would they do that?’ Michael wondered when he heard what Sun Demos told him.
Apparently, more than 50,000 participants of the Jungle Expedition had started with the construction of a camp on the plains less than a kilometer from the Untamed Jungle.
It was always good to have a place to retreat, but Michael was pretty sure that dividing their force wasn’t an extraordinary move.
‘I will make you regret splitting your army!!’
15,000 Members of the Jungle Expedition split up into five armies. These armies entered the Untamed Jungle through five different spots. They were separated by roughly four kilometers each.
‘The two armies on the outer ring are too far away to deal with properly…but we can annihilate the rest….’
Michael adjusted his plan according to the information he’d been given. Then, he gave Sun Demos an order.
[Charge in my direction without hiding your appearance. The louder you guys are the better.] Michael said, [But don’t bring the Intel Unit with you. Let them continue to gather information.]
In the next ten minutes, the first army of 3000 Jungle Expedition members was annihilated after being lured by the monkeys.
Meanwhile, Michael’s side didn’t face a single casualty.