[Bog Forest, Glittering Meadow]
A caravan procession consisting of ten carts and over 200 fully-armed soldiers demonstrates the seriousness of the caravan owner's preparation to face various threats in the Bog forest. The caravan is the target of the Asuras' ambush today.
In addition to being suspected of carrying essential supplies for the front-line war against demon species, this caravan also has a route that is too close to Bitter Maja. Therefore, it is crucial for the Asuras to change the caravan's route if they cannot destroy it.
Each soldier in the caravan procession is equipped with different weapons such as swords, spears, axes, and crossbows. The presence of these weapons shows the human alliance's seriousness in facing various threats in the Bog forest, whether from wild creatures or mutated animal attacks.
The carts' sturdy suspension system also indicates that this caravan is capable of moving through the Bog forest as smoothly as on a flat road. The carts are not pulled by ordinary horses, but by copper-tier danger mutated animals called Jungle Donkeys.
Unlike their cousins Jungle Horses, Jungle Donkeys have a higher lifting capacity. Their organs are focused on the ability to lift heavy objects while running at full speed. Meanwhile, Jungle Horses have organs that are more focused on running faster and more agile in the forest.
In addition to weapons, soldiers in the caravan also wear special leather armor that can absorb sweat. This shows that the caravan owner has paid attention to the humid surrounding environment and adapted to it to ensure they can move effectively and efficiently.
The complete and luxurious equipment of this cargo-carrying caravan made Moku pause their ambush for a moment. The amount of investment required by the caravan owner is too significant if it is only for delivering supplies to the front line.
Although many human alliance supply caravans have been successfully intercepted by Moku and other asuras, that number is not expected to make the human alliance suspicious and upgrade their supply caravans to this level.
If the human alliance did care about the soldiers carrying their supplies, there might be other possibilities. However, from the human prisoners they have captured, Moku has found that the human alliance is no different from a black market company in how they treat their soldiers.
The length of peace has made human leaders greedy and fond of hoarding their wealth, making heroes more selfish than even merchants.
"Did you find any family crest on the carriage walls?" Moku asked Kagan, who had just returned from reconnaissance.
"I didn't find any family crest on any of the carriages, only military academy symbols and human alliance emblems," Kagan reported.
"What about mages?"
"There were no mages guarding this caravan, only two hundred ordinary soldiers," Kagan replied.
The entire group of Asuras fell silent upon hearing Kagan's report. They all trusted Kagan's abilities, and he was one of the first five orcs to evolve into Asuras after Moku. However, the absurdity of the report left them doubtful.
"KuMoku, I feel like this caravan is a trap set by the human alliance. We better retreat and use a diversion plan to change the caravan route," Boku was the first to voice his opinion.
"I agree with Boku. Besides the soldiers' equipment being too complete, the caravan also seems to carry few goods. Even if their carts are pulled by Jungle Donkeys, it still doesn't explain their speed," Olru added.
"Did the carriage walls also use a camouflage spell?" Mige asked.
"Yes, I couldn't see through the carriage walls even with my inner eye," Kagan replied.
A camouflage spell is a spell designed to hide the existence of something from the five senses. Typically, this spell is used to coat carriage walls so that the smell of food is not detected by mutated animals outside. However, they never imagined that this spell could also avoid the inner eye abilities of the Asuras.
The inner eye, which is supposed to be able to see through anything, was blocked by a simple spell that even a Level 2 Constellation Mage can recite. This initially made Moku angry because something illogical had happened.
The inner eye is not only important for gathering information or cultivation among Asuras, but it also has a significant impact on their fighting style. With the inner eye, the Asuras can read the intentions of their enemies and seemingly predict the future.
With the inner eye, they can anticipate blind spot attacks without needing to see them directly. The Asuras also use the inner eye to connect with the Pandavas in the Mind Realm. If their enemies find a way to neutralize their inner eye ability, the Asuras will be significantly impacted.
Despite being the one who first discovered the inner eye, Moku himself did not fully understand its concept, which was the result of decades of Bulan's research on the occult. Currently, he only hoped that Luna, whom Moku was certain was a reincarnation of Bulan, could find a way to develop the inner eye abilities of the asuras so that they would not be easily neutralized like this again.
However, for Luna to start her research, she needed a mage who could dissect camouflage spells.
Unfortunately, this was highly unlikely, given the scarcity of mage prisoners they had, all of whom were adventurers and not military academy mages. As for the valkyries themselves, although they could use spells, their relationship with mana was akin to that of colonizers and the colonized.
The chances of Nevare and the others being able to dissect spells from native mages were very slim.
"KuMoku, I agree with Boku's opinion. We'd better not take the enemy's bait. Although we can win, the effects of the battle will make the human alliance more aware of our existence," Swa gave his opinion and broke the silence.
"..."
No other asura offered their opinions after that; they all turned to Moku and waited for his decision. Moku just remained silent and looked at some asuras who had grim faces and seemed to have something to say.
"Mige, Goku, what do you think?" Moku threw the question to his two generals, who had been silent all along.
Goku and Mige exchanged glances before Goku decided to give his opinion, "KuMoku, forgive me for asking this. But how important is it for us to keep the secrecy of the Wilwatikta Kingdom's existence?"
"..."
"I have explained before, the Wilwatikta Kingdom is currently unable to fight against the human alliance. Although our numbers are many, theirs are greater; although we are strong, they are currently stronger. The secrecy of our existence is of utmost importance and holds the highest priority in the kingdom's policies.
"We must take advantage of this inter-species war to reap the greatest benefits and gather strength. When the mana species are weary and tired from the war, the monster species can seize power as rulers of the Meer continent." Moku repeated his words in front of the entire monster population of the Wilwatikta Kingdom.
"So, what we should do now is to take advantage of the war while keeping our existence a secret, right?" Mige concluded.
"Yup, you're right."
"But how much profit can we gain from stealing the scraps of this war? Currently, we always ambush weakly guarded caravans. We also avoid every caravan guarded by mages with military academy symbols. Not only that, even if we are confident of winning, we always avoid battles that could give us huge profits." Goku spoke up again.
"What do you mean?"
"What Goku means is whether our ambushes are profit-oriented or risk-oriented. If we really want to profit from this war, we cannot avoid risks. According to us, risks and benefits always go hand in hand. The profit gained from a small risk is just luck. And luck does not always happen." Mige's explanation was like a sharp dagger that pierced the hearts of all the asuras.
"Wilwatikta Kingdom is not like human kingdoms that have to wait for generations to reach their peak. We monsters can grow very fast and only need a few years to become adults. In addition, our wives who have become valkyries can give birth to four babies in one year.
"I didn't even include other monster races like goblins, which have the fastest population growth rate, or sylphs, which are currently migrating to sexual reproduction. If we only count the population of orcs and asuras, the Wilwatikta Kingdom will reach its growth limit in two years. After that, we will quickly run out of food, which can lead to anarchy.
"KuMoku, I know you don't want the Wilwatikta Kingdom to experience a major war anytime soon, but we are asuras, we are monsters, and we cannot sit still for years."
"What we mean is that we should not avoid risks too much and be willing to take greater profits. The increasing number of us will eventually make our existence known to our enemies. So, wouldn't it be better for us to prepare ourselves to face that time by taking the biggest advantage possible in this war?" Goku added.
"..."
All the asuras fell silent, pondering over Mige's words that seemed to turn their thoughts upside down.
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