The Ghost Bull Tribe was situated between two mountain walls, accessible only by a front and a rear path.
The tribe's environment was gloomy, with thick fog that never dispersed and a severe lack of sunlight. The people there had pale skin, and even their bull horns lacked color. Only their eyes were pitch-black and profound, with black pupils that resembled the eyes of evil ghosts.
The Alliance Army had traveled thousands of miles to provide support, coincidentally encountering a Demon squad attacking the Ghost Bull Tribe. After a fierce battle, they annihilated the enemy.
With this immediate victory, the Alliance Army's morale soared, and they received a warm welcome upon arriving at the Ghost Bull Tribe.
For a time, there was singing and dancing, an atmosphere full of joy.
However, during their rest, they did not neglect to assess the situation. They immediately united with the Ghost Bull Tribe's militia to establish sentry posts and increase fortifications.
Ryan Hacks, who served as the deputy commander of the human faction of the Alliance Army at the time, was considered a figure of real power.
Thereafter, the Demon Army attacked repeatedly. Although powerful, they were repelled by the Alliance Army each time. Cooperation between the various parties gradually became smoother, demonstrating the effectiveness of the joint effort.
This continued until the night of the full moon, half a month later, when the accident occurred.
Because cooperation had been effective during the battles of the past half-month, and the local warriors of the Ghost Bull Tribe had shown a brave and fearless side, the Alliance Army's internal vigilance gradually relaxed.
Unexpectedly, when the Demons attacked that night, all four Great Commanders of the Alliance Army were poisoned. None were spared!
At that time, the Alliance had just been formed, and strength was revered; the four Great Commanders were powerful generals within the army.
With them deeply poisoned and unable to fight, the Alliance Army's strength was drastically reduced.
Internally, this led to mutual suspicion and intense arguments, with everyone looking at each other as potential traitors.
Let alone any cooperation.
A bloody battle thus kicked off under extremely unfavorable circumstances.
...
That night, the mountain walls on both sides were smashed, and the perennial thick fog of the Ghost Bull Tribe was completely dispelled. The entire tribe was almost dyed red with blood.
The Demon Army gained the upper hand, slaughtering madly until they retreated at dawn.
Both the Ghost Bull Tribe and the Alliance Army suffered heavy casualties, with skeletons piled up like mountains.
Among the four poisoned commanders, the Dwarf Commander and the Orc Commander forcibly joined the battle to protect their subordinates and died with grief and indignation.
The Human Commander and the Elf Commander survived under the desperate protection of their subordinates.
The entire canyon was filled with the aura of death.
The Chief of the Ghost Bull Tribe suddenly let out a mournful wail.
The entire Ghost Bull Tribe had been decimated in that night's bloody battle. Not even the old, the weak, women, or children were spared. Only a dozen or so people remained; his title as Tribal Chief existed in name only.
The Ghost Bull Tribe Defense Battle had clearly failed.
However, the Alliance Army, having suffered equally heavy casualties, had no heart to care for others. The remnants of the four major races scattered to four corners, licking their wounds in grief.
After a brief rest, emotions of anger floated to the surface of their hearts.
The four Great Commanders being poisoned simultaneously could absolutely not have been the work of an outsider.
They quickly recalled the high-level meeting from the previous night.
It was only at that time that the four commanders would appear together.
The attendees also included the Chief of the Ghost Bull Tribe and the four deputy commanders.
But the four deputy commanders stood behind their respective commanders and had no seats.
The only person sitting at the same table as the four commanders was the Ghost Bull Chief.
The only one who could have poisoned the drinks...
Thinking of this, the Orc Deputy Commander rose abruptly. But seeing the Ghost Bull Chief holding his head and weeping bitterly, he hesitated again.
Most of the others felt the same.
They truly couldn't think of a reason for the Ghost Bull Chief to administer poison, as his clansmen had been almost completely slaughtered in last night's bloody battle.
...
Since the traitor couldn't be found, there was no meaning in staying there any longer.
They didn't dare to rest for too long. When the sun rose overhead, they dragged their broken bodies and fled the Ghost Bull Tribe.
To avoid being tracked, they adopted many measures.
However, when the next darkness arrived...
The Ghost Bull Chief appeared before everyone, holding the head of the Elf Commander.
Countless Demons appeared from behind him, launching a fatal attack on the remnants of the Alliance Army.
...
In that battle, fewer than ten people escaped.
Professor Ryan Hacks was one of the survivors, but he also lost an eye in that campaign!
...
He reached out and touched his right eye, which was covered by a black eyepatch, feeling a faint ache in the eye that had healed years ago.
The failure of the Ghost Bull Tribe Defense Battle was a major blow to the newly established Alliance.
Especially the Orc side, which faced skepticism from the Hundred Races.
"Omondo Zakanias. I wish I could strip his bones and peel his tendons, swallow him alive and skin him whole!"
Professor Hacks spat out a breath of malice fiercely.
At this moment, a student from the Noble House suddenly raised his hand and asked, "Professor, since that Ghost Bull Chief was the traitor, has he not been caught yet?"
Professor Hacks said with a gloomy face, "I can only say that he was caught once. Alright, today's class ends here. When you go back, choose a historically famous traitor and write a short evaluative paper. Submit it before the next class."
The classroom atmosphere, which had just become serious due to Professor Hacks' recounting, became serious again in a different sense.
...
"Ding-ling-ling."
The dismissal bell rang on time.
Professor Hacks dragged his slightly heavy steps and limped out of the classroom.
The students instantly burst into a commotion.
Rose turned around and asked, "Dark, what did the Professor mean by 'caught once'?"
Dark lowered his eyelashes slightly and spoke, "It probably means that he has escaped from prison by now."
He couldn't help but think of the war criminal mentioned in the Great Sage Daily who had taken the opportunity to escape from Bastia Prison.
It couldn't be that coincidental, right?
Diana asked in surprise, "Did such a bad guy really escape?"
Dark then said airily, "I don't know. But according to Professor Hacks, even if Omondo Zakanias really lived until now, he would already be an old man with missing teeth. There's no need to be too afraid."
Diana replied, "I'm not afraid!"
Dark smiled and picked up his schoolbag. "Let's go, to the library."
He already had an idea for today's History of Magic assignment.
In the weekend edition of the Great Sage Daily, that escaped war criminal who occupied the entire page happened to be a traitor as well!
He planned to look up relevant newspapers and magazines, research that traitor's information, and write a relevant evaluation.
Olivia Copernicus—that was her name.
It was said that she was a mixed-blood of the Demon race born in human society.
Compared to the Ghost Bull Chief, Omondo Zakanias, who betrayed the Alliance inexplicably by offering his entire tribe as a blood sacrifice, Olivia Copernicus appeared to have sufficient reasons on the surface. After all, her bloodline contained a small portion of Demon blood.
And among the elements about her that could attract Dark, there was also the part belonging to her surname.
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