For weeks now, the fairies had been keeping a low profile. There had not been much movement the fairies apart from the usual hunting runs. Other than that, the fairies had been simply training and bidding their time.
Some of the older birds of prey captured had already shown signs of maturing. The immediate use of these birds had become very visible.
More than just the birds, the mother tree had continued its growth rate, and thus increasing the rate of production of new fairies. Already, they had long crossed the one hundred total, almost a hundred and fifty now.
However, the tension was still there, and occasionally, the fairies would spot some golems, mostly the mud golems, loitering around the mother tree environ. Usually, they would immediately attack but remaining careful not to be embroiled in a tough fight.
In this way, a relative peace had developed in the forest. However, everyone understood that this peace was not fooling anyone. Sooner or later, the two sides would have to go at each other once more.
While the facade remained, neither side was idle. Both had been making various preparations, since they knew the enemy was preparing. The inactivity on both sides was a course of concern, with either side wondering what their foe was up to. Nevertheless, the deadlock still remained.
The fairies had been covertly distributing armor among their brethren. Since they had gotten an advantage over their enemy, there was no way they were not going to utilize it. However, armor served as their hidden trump card, so they could not allow the enemy to know about it. Hence, they had been giving it out, just a few numbers at a time, and mostly to the hunters.
The seniors were in charge of coordinating this distribution stream. As such, they had managed to keep things under wraps, even from Mistress Kering.
Not every armor was given out, and not every fairy had a suit of armor. Some had multiple weapons, while others only had a few. Distribution was mainly based on ability, with the elder fairies getting the lion's share.
Furthermore, the fairies were waiting on something. Their elder brother, Kigen, had set in motion these affairs, claiming to be waiting for something.
On the other side, Mongik had finally regained his body. For a moment there, he had been caught in an existential crisis, where the fairy had almost killed him. Just like Dianah, he had reservations about meeting the fairies, especially the guardian, once more.
As a former commander, Mongik understood that he was one of the weakest vassals under the master, with barely a handful subordinates. His element, mud, was an amalgamation of water and earth, but not the best qualities. Hence, he had always won by outliving the enemy.
Previously, none of his enemies could even threaten him. He could throw his weight about, feeling invincible. However, the fairies had taken down several of his officers and even came very close to taking him. He was not taking them lightly.
While they had been licking their wounds and trying to figure out their next move, they received a communication. It was from the master. The overlord was awakening soon, and the commander of the armies would be up.
Once this happened, this would no longer be a simple skirmish with some fairies. The commander rarely awakened, but when they did, they would bring about death and destruction.
Due to the number of golems that had been lost, the master was getting impatient. He still wanted to capture the fairies, and perform his crazy experiments on them, but he came to understand that they needed to be properly handled.
Gone were the soft approaches. They had cost them too much already. Most importantly, the fairies had proven themselves to be formidable opponents. They were now being taken with as much seriousness as a small kingdom. If Kigen knew this, he would be shocked. Were they already that powerful?
The fairy himself was seated deep in the foliage of the mother tree, cultivating his power. He still remembered to cycle that mysterious power through his body several times a day, growing his innate power steadily.
On this day, he was seated in the bosom of the mother tree, doing his tree, when a fairy suddenly intruded. Kigen was shocked since hardly any fairy dared intrude his private training time, unless calling him for dinner.
Seeing the panic on the fairy's face, he was suddenly worried.
"Senior, on a hunt, we encountered certain creatures. They claimed to be druids, and they said they had a message for you," the fairy added.
"What's the message," Kigen demanded.
"They said that there is a lot of movement around the enemy's castle. Plenty of enemies have been awakened," the fairy said. Kigen's look was pensive as he understood the fairy's words. He had been anticipating something like this.
"Quickly, call the seniors of the various factions here," Kigen instructed the fairy. A few minutes later, the group was gathered around Kigen.
"That thing I asked for, how goes the progress?" Kigen asked.
"Brother, we are confident that we have identified all the enemies, and where they are hiding from, except one," Luita said.
"Which one?" Kigen's look was sharp.
"The water golem," Luita remarked. "The problem is, she is too unpredictable, and underwater, she is impossible to keep track of."
Kigen could sympathize with this. So far, he had not found a good way to end her or even contain her.
"It doesn't matter now," he said, "we will proceed without her location. She does not pose much threat, other than passing information." Kigen rationalized. Of course, he knew better than that, but all he had to do now was to be better prepared.
"Tonight, we move," Kigen said, and all the rest nodded grimly. "Time to take the fight to them!" This was going to be the first time Kigen, and his family had made a move against the enemy.
Miles away, Mongik remained unaware of the threat, as he continued hibernating. His core had faced significant damage, not to mention the erosion from the river currents. He would need several more days to regain a semblance of his power, but for now he was able to reconstruct.
So far, he still had a few golems all over the forest, acting as lookouts and sentries. He also needed to keep a close eye on the fairies.
As the night slowly approached, like clockwork, most fairies plugged into their mother tree to get some rest. All this information was being relayed to Mongik on a real time basis. There were a few that remained, patrolling, making sure everything was alright.
The golems couldn't see all that well in the dark, but luckily, neither could the fairies. This meant that both sides called it a night after dusk, kickstarting the following day. Nevertheless, both sides set up sentries to keep watch, just in case.
On this day, the sentries were out as usual. The golems were well organized, and they had engaged with the fairies plenty of times to know what to expect. None of them moved about often, especially at night.
After several hours had gone by into what was proving to be a normal night, something strange happened. Mongik suddenly lost contact with a team of golems keeping watch over the mother tree.
The connection between them had simply dropped. No warning, no preparation, no reason. One minute the golems were aware, sending back feedback, the next, nada. Nothing!
Just as he was contemplating this, another team of golems also dropped out of existence. Suddenly, his well laid net was being torn apart, one team of surveillance after another.
Mongik thought fast. The fairies must have made a move. A horrifying realization dawned on him: the fairies knew where the 'hidden' sentries were. If that was the case, then none of his people were safe. He quickly summoned all the golems who were out on patrol, yelling at them through their connection to come back as quickly as possible.
It was a nightmare how eerily the teams were dropping out of existence. It was as if there was a hidden monster coming at them, devouring them one at a time. Any that dared look back, or stumble, would be long gone.
Kigen watched as multiple golems shot out of their hidden spaces. Some were so well hidden that the fairies hadn't identified them. Now, as they scurried out of their hidey holes, the fairies were unrelenting as they shot, stabbed, sliced, and took down the enemy.
With the armor, the fairies moved like bullets, barely unseen in the night sky. They'd picked a moonless night, and with the heavy cloud cover of the forest, the night was truly murky. Now, they were raining terror over the golems from the skies.
He didn't even need to personally take part in all this, as he was saving his strength for the much scarier foes. Meanwhile, the fairies were having a field day. For several weeks now, a cloud had hung over their shelter because of these golems. Now, they were unleashing their fear and frustrations on these enemies who had chosen to interrupt their tranquil life.
"First phase, initiated!" Nina said jubilantly as she stared at the onslaught.