"Follow my lead," Shadow is the one guiding us through the dark forest, with Imra following us behind. We rely on his keen sense of smell and hearing to track down the monsters lurking in the area.
I preemptively cast my [scan] to widen our range upon setting foot on the mushy cold dirt. While gazing down, we notice an army of footprints-with different size and designs scattered in diverged directions, showing that we are already within reach of their camp.
"We need to move silently from here on out," The grey wolf confesses while letting me slide off from its back. "Ready your spells, Master. I sense a battle just about the trees."
Imra does the same and allows Natalia to get off from the ground. If we want to infiltrate their domain, then we need to trek the woods on foot.
"It reeks of corpses here," Imra abruptly scowls at her surroundings while wagging her head from side to side, hoping that the smell would disappear.
My mind seconds her statement as I pinch my nose from the foul odour coming on the soil. Looking closely at the trees, we detect a couple of humans and monsters lying across the barks, with their eyes peeled and chest sliced open.
"One is even losing an arm," I commented while holding my breath, trying not to inhale anything that stinks out of the cadavers.
"What an awful sight to behold," Natalia covers her mouth as she feels nauseous from the scene. We became obvious from the skirmishes that happened here and got too focused on our problems alone.
"Try not to puke, Natalia," I warned her about the consequences if she excretes her dinner out from her stomach.
"I know," She retorted. "You don't have to be rude."
"This way, master," Shadow interjects our discord and signals us to go closer between the shrubs as we travel through the inside of the jungle.
Everything around us feels ominous, as if there would be some creature pouncing on us from behind and ultimately eating us alive. Fortunately, there was not a thing that stands in our way.
"How much farther, Shadow?"
"We are already here, my liege."
As the wolf answered my question, the margin from the saplings revealed a campfire from afar. The mixture of monstrosity circles in the hellfire while feasting on the limbs of the human. I recognize a few of them, as their numbers consist mostly of hobgoblins and ogres. They are all equipped with stone clubs, dressed with the crimson blood of their victims.
They even have these make-shift beds made of banana leaves and logs stationed for them to rest. Some of them also have tamed animals as their mounts when they wage war, while others have their beasts as their pet that follows them from the side.
"That's an overwhelming amount of monsters," I involuntarily gulped, frightened about the dangers that we have placed ourselves in right now.
"This is just a sample of their frontline forces that will eventually get sacrificed by the monarch," Shadow explains while browsing the spirited bivouac. Suddenly, something catches his eye at a mammoth-sized orc wearing a queer hat and ragged plate armour.
"Master, I believe that's the general of the encampment," The silvery dog points his paws directly at the dark-hued giant. I can feel his anxiousness oozing from his body, afraid of being standing at the centre.
The colossal fiend only has its fist as a weapon, with its bulky muscle outgrowing any creatures present in the pack. It was twenty feet tall, loftier than my stature, slightly reaching the mountain's peak. With one glance of its body, the life forms nearby scatter away in terror, not wanting to get crushed by its massive feet.
"Oh, that's him, alright!" Imra confirms the mighty being in front of us, with her tail pointed upwards like a stick. However, instead of her usual giddy characteristics, Imra gradually backs away, with her body shivering and afraid.
This occurrence was the very first time that I have seen her alarmed and perturbed. I cannot blame Imra for her actions, as both Natalia and I step back, chickening out from our task.
"We just have to lessen their numbers and be on our way, right?" I affirm to my group while faintly laughing out of the living demon below us.
"And what if we failed and got ourselves caught?" Natalia's pessimistic approach yet realistic approach made our confidence shatter on the ground, as we concluded that this was an arduous goal for us to achieve.
"We won't," I break the tension, hoping for a positive outlook rather than a bleak one.
"So, here are our choices. We take down some of that ugly bastard's men or, we kill the general itself with our combination of spells?"
I let my party members decide to establish unity in our morale. Democracy during these times is what a leader should do, just like hunting down a high-level boss while marshalling a high-rank party.
"I'd say we need to take out that ogre before it could cause more trouble," Shadow voices his opinion while leering at the monster's back. "They have an ability to eat any creature and use that power for its own."
"Is that true?" It was burdensome for me to conceal my amazed face as I heard such a cheat within the monster's ability.
"If my memory serves me right, I saw him once eating one of our kind and got our [Piercing Slash] skill," The wolf ponders and nods to himself as he recalls the events that had happened before. He then reveals the exact skill and takes its form in his hand, flaunting the dire wolf's unique skill.
"The orc copied this, leaving us with no other choice but to listen to his desires with nothing in return," Shadow grunts to himself while gnashing his teeth in anger.
"They killed our brothers," Imra added while furrowing her, maddened about the bitter happenings they have been through in their life.
"We have two votes for killing the guy," I announced while shifting my head over to Natalia, thinking to herself the answer that she wants. "What would you choose, Natalia?"
"Well, logically, we need to reduce their quantity and escape back to our village," The elf flashes me an indistinct smile while telling me her answer. "I am really sorry, but if I have to choose between the two, I will go for the latter."
"And that leaves us waiting for my opinion. Whatever happens, will depend solely on my notion."
All their eyes glued onto mine, waiting for the next few words I am about to say. Whatever side that I would take will affect the course of our plan.
The pair of wolves wanted to eliminate the sizable orc-the fundamental problem of the entire barracks of monsters. In contrast, Natalia desires we take the more facile route. To do that, we need to instil chaos in their encampment and afterwards flee from the scene.
"Unfortunately, Shadow and Imra, I have to decline your offer," I apologetically yet duly told the wolves while caressing both of their heads. "I don't want to risk our lives and fight them head-on in their territory. I am not confident in taking him directly, especially with all the creatures that can simply join the clash. However, if we can dwindle their numbers when the time comes, we can eradicate the monster together."
The two of them exchange looks, contemplating to themselves about their wants coming to waste. But, upon arriving at a judgement, the pair nods their head in acknowledgement, accepting our scheme.
"We believe in your judgment, master," the dyad concurrently pronounced and was ready to listen to the orders that I would give to them.
"Shadow, are there any means for these monsters to escape once a fire would appear in the camp?"
"Right next to the sea of trees, there's a river up ahead. That is where they get their marine friends and fishes to sustain their supplements."
"Good. I want you to go to this lake and apply this herb for me and rinse it in the river," I hand the bouquet of poisonous hemlock that I gathered earlier over to Shadow. Before giving the plants to him, I applied a translucent coat that will protect Shadow from digesting the toxins inside his body.
"Your wish is my command, my liege."
"Natalia, can you go to the side and rain them with hardened arrows as a means for a decoy?"
"How hard are we talking about here?"
"Dense enough that it can impale the orcs and ogre's skin," I uttered. "And wait for my signal before firing the shafts at them."
"I'm on it, chief," Natalia replied and hastily dashed off from the other side, ready to discharge the arrows for my sign.
"And you, Imra."
"Yes!" Imra replied with enthusiasm, with her tail feverishly waving in all directions.
"I want you to observe every monster in our vicinity. Don't let the horde pass that line of trees. Howl as loud as you can if you see a group charging right at us in that direction, especially for that orc, got it?"
"Yes, sir!" She answered firmly while patrolling our side of the forest, counting all the creatures trekking in the campground.
"About a thousand, Lake!" She exclaimed.