One of the Rank 5 Alpha Ratman, who went by the name Badarr, glared at one of his subordinates for failing to locate the intruders who raided their camp during the night.
“Incompetent fool!” Badarr shouted. “You had one job, and you can’t even do it right!”
The Ratman didn’t dare to raise his head and quietly accepted the one-sided beating it was receiving from its Commander.
After a few punches and kicks, the other Rank 5 Alpha Ratman stepped in to stop Badarr from killing his subordinate.
“There’s no point venting your anger at him,” another Ratmen Commander, who went by the name Kesari, stated. “My men also didn’t find any trace of our enemies last night. It was as if their tracks disappeared all of a sudden.”
Badarr clicked his tongue in annoyance before shouting at his subordinate to scram, which the latter obeyed in a hurry.
“We should attack those Lizards now!” Badarr shouted. “I’m sure they are using this distraction to prevent us from finishing them off completely. The longer we delay, the more disadvantageous it will be for us.”
“I agree,” Kesari replied. “We should end this battle today before they get a breather.”
The two Ratmen Commanders weren’t stupid.
They knew the reason why they were attacked last night, and they both decided to not play into the hands of their enemies.
Unfortunately, before they could even ask their subordinates to prepare for battle, a Ratman entered their cave in a hurry.
“Sir! We have a problem!” the Ratman reported.
“What is it?” Badarr asked in annoyance. “Can’t you see we’re busy here?!”
“Sir! It’s burning!” the Ratman answered. “The forest is burning!”
“What are you talking about?” Badarr, who was about to ask further questions, suddenly smelled something burning.
The two Commander of the Ratmen Clan glanced at each other before running out of the cave.
A minute later, they immediately saw the black smoke rising into the sky.
“Have they gone mad?!” Badarr couldn’t help but exclaim when he saw the black smoke that was getting thicker with every passing second.
“This is bad,” Kesari said solemnly. “The wind is blowing in our direction, which means that the fire will spread toward us.”
With the forest in front of them and the swamp behind them, he understood that they had no choice but to retreat. Staying where they were would be suicide.
The fire was spreading at a very fast rate, and from what he could tell, it was just a matter of time before it reached their camp.
“Everyone, prepare to leave!” Kesari shouted. “We are abandoning this camp!”
As soon as the order was given, the Ratmen hurriedly went to get their belongings and prepared to leave their camp as soon as possible.
Badarr could only glare at the black smoke in the distance before he, too, returned inside the cave to get his things.
Hiding inside the cave was also not an option. If they stayed and used the cave as a shelter, not only would they be trapped, but they would also be suffocated by the smoke.
Since he didn’t want to give an enemy the chance to weaken him, he decided that leaving was the best option at this point in time.
Meanwhile, at the Lizardmen’s base…
“Madness,” Drazzat muttered as he gazed at the forest fire spreading in the direction of the Ratmen’s camp. “I’ve never seen such a crazy human in my life…”
Sharroc, who was also looking at the blazing flames, glanced at his Commander with a wry smile on his face.
“I told you not to underestimate Zion,” Sharroc commented. “He will not hesitate to use any means necessary in order to accomplish his mission. Since you said he must delay the Ratmen’s invasion for three days, he will make sure they will be occupied for the next three days.”
“No.” Drazzat shook his head. “You don’t understand. The other Ratmen Clans who border the Fangiss Swamp will see this fire and send their people to investigate. That boy may have done us more harm than good.”
“Maybe you’re right,” Sharroc replied. “But even if that is the case, I’m sure that he has something up his sleeve.”
Sharroc, who was under Gwenn’s Mind Control, had no doubt in his mind that Zion Leventis had also taken that possibility into consideration.
However, since he still went ahead with this strategy despite the danger it posed, he believed that he had a plan for that outcome as well.
***
Meanwhile, in the Rebel Camp…
“Crazy,” Erica couldn’t help but look at the forest fire in disbelief. “I better smack that brat the next time I see him.”
The other Wanderers, who were with her, fearfully looked at the fire in the distance and wondered what to do next.
Fortunately, Tiona’s Clone, who was coiled on Erica’s neck, told her that everything was going to be fine.
Their camp was in no danger of being caught up with the forest fire because Thirteen had already made preparations in advance to prevent that from happening.
***
“Do you have a hobby of watching the world burn? Literally?” Sherry asked the teenage boy who was looking at the fire with his arms crossed over his chest.
“Been there, done that,” Thirteen replied casually. “This is nothing personal. This is just the best way that I can think of to delay the Ratmen’s advance to the Lizardmen camp. The blow we dealt them last night will only make them more desperate to end the battle as fast as possible.
“But now that the path forward is set ablaze, they will have no choice but to retreat to safety. We also cut off their food supply. If they don’t want to die, they have to hunt for food.
“That will also be difficult for them. Any wild animal in the forest will flee after seeing the fire. Unless they are proficient in fishing, they have no choice but to find a place where they can hunt for food before they could continue their campaign.”
After hearing Thirteen’s explanation, Sherry, Sean, and Heidi finally understood why he chose this strategy to force the Ratmen to retreat.
Because of this, the two members of the Cygni Faction decided that they would not antagonize Zion no matter what.
Not only was he a good Commanding Officer, but he was also very ruthless to his enemies.
The two couldn’t even fathom how they would fare if someone like Zion became their enemy.
“There is nothing left to do here,” Thirteen stated. “Let’s go back to the Lizardmen Camp and get some proper rest. The Ratmen will be back after three days, so let’s rest until then.”
After spending some time with him, the small team of Wanderers knew that listening to him was for their own good.
As Sean and Heidi mounted their Avatars, they gave the burning forest behind them one last glance before following the Blade Panther that was heading back to Lizardmen Camp.
“Zion, I have a question,” Sean asked as his Wolf ran side by side with the Blade Panther. “Can the Lizardmen win this war?”
“I don’t know,” Thirteen replied. “But one thing is for certain.”
“And that is?”
“If Drazzat doesn’t cooperate with me, we will leave their camp. I don’t plan on dying because of their stupid pride.”
Thirteen understood that Lizardmen were proud creatures. However, that didn’t mean that he would let them dictate what he did with his life.
If they want to cooperate with him, then good.
If not, then they could just die for all he cared.
Although there was a tracking spell on the markings placed on the foreheads of the Wanderers, the Varesti Tribe would no longer have the manpower to hunt them down once Drazzat’s forces were annihilated.
If the other Lizardmen Tribes dared to trouble them, then Zion wouldn’t mind eating Lizard meat for a period of time.
With Gwenn, as well as his Monster Army, accompanying him on his journey, it would be easy for him to sabotage both sides if he wished for it.
The only reason he didn’t want to resort to such tactics was because he wanted to train the Wanderers who were currently on his team.
If his guess was right, he would need all of them to gain sufficient strength before they reached the Wenpolis Stronghold, which was the destination of their First Chain Quest.
After experiencing the Chain Quests during his Trial, he understood that the mission would only get progressively harder.
This was especially true for the last quest, which he believed would be the stage where he would have to face another mission with difficulty that might equal or even surpass the other missions he had in the past.