Somewhere in Kirkcour Woods.

04:23 a.m. 18th Banem 1092.

Dudududu...

A centurion of centaurs galloped out of the forest led by Kashi, Shadow, Larsial, Darian, and Agamios. The leaders pulled to a stop at a clifftop overlooking a vast encampment in the valley below.

Kashi keenly studied the kilometer-wide stronghold to devise a plan of attack. His lips curled up in a challenging smile as he realized the headquarters was much stronger than he initially suspected.

The stronghold did not appear to be a temporary investment, suggested by the 15-meters-tall circular wall that surrounded the perimeter. Intriguingly, Kashi counted five wooden pillars placed strategically around the wall. Each pillar ran alongside the internal part of the wall and had man-sized, pyramid-shaped mana crystals encased at their apex.

A final, sixth pillar was erected at the heart of the encampment, and there appeared to be a thin translucent film that originated from that pillar and spread to the others.

The valley itself was populated by tall trees which blocked off most of the compound from sight. Kashi highly doubted this was a coincidence. The boss of this place was undoubtedly brilliant. However, there were two places in the valley which could not be covered by the trees. The first was a large building which housed the sixth pillar, and the second, and most interesting was a giant pit that with a diameter of at least 200 meters.

Dark energy and aura bellowed from the pit like a sick, cursed volcano and spread to the surrounding forest. Kashi felt his skin crawl just from looking at the smoke. He instinctively knew he had found the Blight's source.

Kashi turned from the pit and once again observed the film surrounding the camp. 'It can't be.' Kashi thought to himself as he dismounted and picked up a smooth stone from the ground. He flung the stone and watched with bated breath as the projectile sailed through the air.

Clang!

"No way," Kashi muttered in shock as he watched the stone strike some invisible barrier and slide off to the ground. The daeben picked another rock and threw it at the wall. He breathed a sigh of relief when the stone crumbled against the wall. Good, so the shield only protected the skies against airborne attacks.

Kashi admired the barrier technology with the utmost respect. Say what you will about these Chaos Order's ethics, but their technology was undoubtedly leagues ahead of the continent. The daeben was grateful for their advancements in magitek (magic technology). It would certainly save the Maggots several months, or even years, worth of Research.

That's right. As far as Kashi was concerned, the technology was already his.

"Kashi-dono, over there," Darian prompted and pointed at the large building with his spear.

Kashi utilized [Keen Eyes] to zoom in on the building and spotted an aged centaur chained to the ground in front of the mansion. Judging from the slow rise and fall of the centaur's chest, he appeared to still be among the living. However, Kashi could not tell how long that would last, especially now that the final battle had commenced.

"I see him," Kashi confirmed then took stock of the security personnel. Just as they thought, most of the base had been emptied, leaving only a few hundred monsters behind for protection. But Kashi was more concerned about the dozens of humes leisurely patrolling the vicinity. Because of the trees, he could not accurately predict their exact numbers, but he estimated there should be at least a hundred or more.

Kashi turned around and looked at Agamios and the rest of the centaurs. "This is it, ladies and gentlemen. The final push." Kashi pointed at the gaping hole. "That over there is what we need to destroy. Everything we do henceforth is for that one overarching goal. The faster we complete the objective, the quicker we can save those at Lymar."

"We understand the severity of the situation," Agamios confirmed with a stiff nod. "What is your proposed course of action?"

Kahsi looked at the compound and frowned. "Initially, I intended on scaling the face while your burst through the front gate, but that does not seem to be an option this time." The daeben's frown softened into a smirk as he pointed at the wall. "So, I shall smash a hole through the side for you and your men. While you rampage from there, I, Shadow and Larsial will sneak around and head for the pit to destroy the Blight."

"What about Aethon's chief?" Darian asked.

"Remember what I said," Kashi reiterated, "Our top priority is to end the Blight. No one wants that centaur alive as much as I do, but we can't risk the lives of every centaur at Longma for his."

"I understand," Darian replied with a tight tone. The centaur's gaze filled with even more respect for Kashi. Aethon's chief was the reason Kashi had begun this entire journey, yet he was ready to throw it all away for the centaurs. Was there a more selfless man in the universe? Unwilling to let the daeben sacrifice everything for nothing, he proposed, "What if we charge toward the Aethon chief? If the enemy believes we are here to save him, they might keep him alive as a hostage. And it will serve as an added distraction for you."

'Darian, you beautiful centaur!' Kashi almost kissed the young 'prince.' Could he completely give up on fully enhancing Drixlia's bloodline after coming this far? Hell no! However, he'd noticed an opportunity to gain loyalty points with both Darian and Agamios. Those opportunities were rare to come by, and rewards gained from loyalty were exponential in nature.

Kashi had taken an enormous gamble just then. He would have suggested that plan himself if Darian nor anyone else thought about it. This was one of those occasions where the bonus was very different depending on if the proposal came from himself or the other party.

Luckily and thankfully, Darian Alshmeer had stepped up to the plate at the critical hour.

"Yes, that is a perfect plan," Agamios chimed in with an approving nod. "We will decimate everything in our way after you open the path. But what should we do if we rescue the chief before you're finished?"

Kashi's brows furrowed as he glanced at the pit. "There's a terrifyingly strong being inside that pit. I can feel its aura all the way from here. Our battle will not conclude in a short period." The daeben looked at Agamios with determined eyes. "Regardless of what happens, you must retreat once you begin to feel overwhelmed." A challenging smile curled up the daeben's lips as he looked at the pit and rapidly clenched and unclenched his right hand. "Our battle won't be something the likes of those people could interfere in."

"We'll do as you say," Agamios agreed with a firm nod. He glanced toward the north with a worried glance. "I only pray we are not too late."

"Do not worry, the enemy should just be reaching Lymar right now," Kashi consoled as he looked toward Lymar. "It's a race against time now," prompted the daeben as he climbed onto Drixlia and spurred him down the cliffside. "Let's do this!"

The strikeforce roared with excited bloodlust as they charged down the cliffside.

Lymar Village, Kirkcour Woods,

4:30 am, 18th Banem 1092.

Verlito stood at the head of a 10,000 strong monster army, a curious smile on her lips as she watched the forest around her begin to distort and vanish as the powerful illusion shielding the final village in their conquest slowly crumbled.

"So, this is where you were hiding," Verlito cooed as a broad mountain range appeared in front of her. A 50m wide ravine buried between two steep cliffs traveled up the mountainside to a distinct town situated at the mountaintop. The daeben clucked her tongue in praise as she observed the natural fortifications.

The first centaurs had picked the best location in the entire forest to set up their final defense. The mountain range ensured the ravine was the only way to attack the village, and the tall passes allowed archers to snipe any incoming enemies. Verlito looked up, and she indeed spotted bow-wielding centaurs on the cliffs.

Verlito had no doubt that the centaurs had placed traps and all sorts of fortifications on the path, but if they thought this would be enough to save them then they were in for a rude awakening.

Verlito raised her hand and pointed at the village. "Charge!"

ROAR!

The earth trembled from the monsters' battle cries as they stampeded onto the path, eyes red with frenzied fury.

Chaos Order Outpost

Dudududu!

"What's that!?" A hooded sentry shouted in panic, shocked by the sudden ground's sudden shaking. "Is there an earthquake?"

"No, it's something else," another sentry countered. She quickly cast [Levitate] which let her 'fly' upwards over the wall. She scanned the area and paled when she noticed the centaurs charging toward a section of the wall. "Sound the alarm!" she quickly ordered as she looked over her shoulder at the chained centaur chief. Had they finally come for him?

Ding! Ding! Ding!

Acolytes and priests abandoned whatever they were doing and began running toward the section of the wall prioritized by the alarm.

The levitating woman frowned as she observed the charging centaurs. How did they intend to break through the wall? The tree trunks used for the walls were around a meter or two thick. There was no way the centaurs could break through that with charging power alone.

Wiiing!

The sentry's eyes went wide in shock as several portals suddenly appeared in the sky above the centaurs. She barely had time to process her shock before the wall faced heavy bombardment. Worse yet, despite shooting thousands of arrows at the same time, they all accurately struck a small area of about 4 meters tall and 8 meters wide. The sentry's eyes twitched as a small crack formed, then spread across the wall.

"They're coming!" yelled the sentry as Agamios smashed into the wall.

Lymar Village

"Brace for impact!" roared Balasius, the Tulpar tribe general, as he eyed the approaching monster army alongside his clansmen. The centaur general couldn't be more grateful for the terrain as it meant that despite being outnumbered 2 to 1, his troops did not have to defend against the entire monster army at once. Add the cover fire from the Glashtyn tribe stationed on the clifftop, and the battle suddenly did not seem so hopeless.

Boom!

"Hold!" Balasius encouraged his soldiers as the monsters slammed against the shields. He dug his hooves into the earth and leaned into the impact, then stabbed the beasts through small gaps with his 'short' sword. The centaurs hummed and hawed as they struggled against the monster army's momentum.

"Aaah!"

Balasius gritted his teeth when a Vine Blight extended its branches through the gaps and stabbed an unsuspecting centaur in the heart. The centaur, sensing her impending death, relinquished her spot and charged into the monster army, cutting down everything she could with reckless abandon.

"Close that gap!" Balasius shouted as he made a mental note of the centaur who had smartly sacrificed herself to prevent the line from crumbling. Unfortunately, they were in the thick of battle, and there was no time to mourn the dead. Instead, he respected her passing by alerting the rest of the army to the danger, and added, "Conserve your ki! Watch out for the Blights!"

"Damn you!" A centaur roared as a Vine Blight attempted to repeat the same feat on him. This time, however, the centaur congealed a solid ki coating over his chest which the branch struck to no avail. The centaur, enraged, temporarily let go of his sword and grabbed the branch. Before the vine blight could react, he pulled hard and yanked the Vine Blight out of the army, over his head and into a pack of red-eyed centaurs on his side of the line.

The Vine Blight did not make it to the ground.

"Excellent!" Balasius roared in praise. "Hold your ground!" The stalwart general looked toward the north with a pensive expression. "Please be quick, Kashi-dono."