"Fort Wildermont... is gone?" Beyoni asked with shock the next day when the reports were brought to his private study. His dark hair was in disarray, the occasional grey strand sticking out. Ever since the night before when he received word on the attack on Fort Wildermont, he had been busy, sending out messages, and receiving many more in return. He had dispatched three extremely powerful Lord Class experts to act as reinforcements for the single Lord Class expert that was already stationed there, along with the other weaker mages that were there. By the time the reinforcements got there however, the fortress was already gone, and in its place stood a mound of melted black stone and iron.
Upon searching for any remains of the people stationed there, the three Lord Class experts had eventually found the weaker mages and martial artists some distance away, in a remote village that was close enough to the Fort, but far enough to be left out of the battle.
They had no recollection of what had happened at a certain point during the fight, but one thing they remembered was the overwhelming strength of the opponent. They had recalled that the Lord Class expert that was stationed there was exclaimed that the attacker was King Class, but they weren't sure.
"And what about Quint? Where is he?" The strongest, and the leader out of the the Lord Class experts, Anthony, took it upon himself to thoroughly question the survivors.
"We... We have no idea, sir." A Grandmaster Class mage that focused on the obscure arts of Fate and Clairvoyance replied.
"Have you tried to scry for his whereabouts?"
"Yes, I have. Each time I try, it seems as though Sir Quint's Fate is being obscured by a thick curtain." The mage shook her head.
"We can only assume the worst, then. It's either Sir Quint has been killed in battle, or he has been taken captive by the enemy." A deep frown etched itself onto Anthony's face. "I will report this to Lord Beyoni at once." Anthony turned decisively, marching into the inn that had been cleared out for their services.
The other two Lord Class experts were currently seated at a table. They were a male and female, Sir Noir, a specialist in Dark Magic, and Lady Esmeralda, a specialist in Plant Magic, respectively. Of the two, Noir, was slightly stronger, followed closely by Esmeralda.
"Noir, Esmeralda. We have bad news." Anthony spoke as soon as he stepped into the inn. The two powerful beings turned to him, their eyes gazing at him. Noir resembled the typical normal man. Dark hair, brown eyes, and a simple, smooth face. The only thing that stood out about him was the writhing mass of shadowy figures that resided under him.
As for Esmeralda, she wasn't even a human. She was of the Dryad race. The Dryad race was quite special. Dryads were a race of creatures that usually kept to themselves, in touch with nature, and held extremely strong affinities towards natural energy. They were sometimes referred to as Nymphs. On a whole, the Dryad race wasn't one for socialization, but Esmeralda was different. Her forest had been burnt down when she was young, and she had lost everything she had. Ever since then, she had sworn to make sure no more forests are hurt needlessly, and that the Dryads are able to protect themselves in whatever environment they may live in.
"Bad news? Did the attacker raze a forest?" Esmeralda asked, he bright green eyes narrowing down sharply.
"No, there were no harmed trees, yet..." Anthony brushed aside her worries. Noir just looked at Esmeralda like she was amusing him, a soft smile playing on his lips.
"Sir Quint is missing." Anthony announced. Immediately, the smile on Noir's lips vanished, a sour frown marring his beautiful features.
"Even Quint was taken down? Just how strong is this attacker?" Noir had personally fought against Quint in the past. With Quint's magnificent mastery over Lightning Magic, he had been unable to get the upper hand for even a single moment during the fight, eventually losing to the Lightning Mage. At this moment, Quint should at least be in the Late stage of the Lord Class.
"Apparently, because he is currently missing in action." Anthony leaned against a table which had a bottle of liquor placed conveniently on it, along with a small glass cup. He poured himself a drink, bringing it up to his lips for a short drink.
"Lord Beyoni will definitely not take this lightly. He was already so flustered when he had sent them on this mission. Hearing they had lost an extremely powerful Lord Class expert would probably send the old but powerful mage into a fit.
"Perhaps you should get your little pets on the lookout for Quint, then." Esmeralda suggested.
"They're not pets!" A vein bulged on Anthony's forehead. He was already stressed with the disappearance of Quint, and someone calling his family pets was almost enough to set him off. "They're my family!"
"Ah, sorry, a slip of tongue." Esmeralda waved him off, turning her head to the cup of hot green tea that was seated before her. The tea was extracted from a special tree that could only be found in a prosperous Dryad territory. Before setting off on this mission, she had requested for some of the extract from a Dryad community on her home world. They had gladly given it to her, thankful for the constant protection she had provided them through their growth.
Anthony set down his cup hard, some liquor swishing and pouring over the rim of the cup with the motion. "I'll get to work." He murmured stiffly before walking out.
When he was out, he tapped the ground in a certain pattern. Not long after, a faint rumbling sound could be heard, and some small stones on the ground could be seen bouncing and shaking slightly. One wouldn't notice it unless they knew what to look for.
In a minute, the earth before him suddenly erupted, raising dust into the air. When the dust settled, what was left would have shocked anyone who had seen it, if they were just seeing it for the first time. A giant ant had poked out its head from the earth beneath Anthony. It was roughly up to an average human's waist, and roughly eight meters long, and three meters wide.
Anthony squatted low, a soft orange glow starting to shine from his forehead. Slowly, two long, brown antennae extended from his forehead, flicking against that of the giant ant. After a short minute of exchange, the and burrowed back into the ground, leaving Anthony to use magic to seal up the hole it had left. With a sigh, he set to work, hoping the ants would find something soon.