"Do it your way. I won't interfere," Gideon said clearly.
The old man nodded, then walked away from the area. Gideon let out a deep breath, relieved to have made it back to the village safely.
Luke turned and saw Gideon returning after six hours of recon. He decided to call off the construction work, giving the wolfkin men a chance to rest that night.
They dispersed, heading back to their homes—some of them choosing to relax and share some drinks.
Luke stepped closer to Gideon, giving his shoulder a light pat while asking about the details of his recon.
"How'd it go? Did you get anything?" Luke asked.
"Yeah. We need to discuss it with Lena and Lyra."
"And there's something I want to talk to Lady Mitsuko about," Gideon added.
"In that case, let's head to Kitsune village."
Without showing any signs of fatigue, Luke offered to go immediately. But Gideon gently refused. He had seen how hard Luke had worked in the village—both his body and mind had to be worn out.
"We'll go at dawn."
"Huh? Shouldn't we share this info right away?" Luke asked.
"There's no need to rush. What matters most is our condition," Gideon replied calmly.
"Copy."
The two of them went into the house and rested. Over in the Kitsune village, Lena and Lyra were also resting in the elder house.
Lady Mitsuko had prepared the best rooms for them so they could properly care for the villagers.
Lena and Lyra couldn't turn her down.
***
The next morning.
As the sound of crickets stirred people from sleep, Gideon was already dressed in his tactical T-shirt and cargo pants, his M17 handgun holstered at his side. Luke carried two more—one each for Lena and Lyra.
They couldn't keep going around with M4 rifles. Not only were they too obvious, they were also too heavy to carry around casually. Handguns were the better choice for the four of them.
Gideon and Luke had already left before most of the wolfkin villagers even woke up. The two of them made their way to the Kitsune village, where two guards welcomed them inside.
Gideon looked ahead and saw Lena and Lyra already woke up. They were going in and out of a temporary tent, carrying jars filled with herbal medicine for the patients.
The number of patients had dropped significantly—from 34 to just 12 still recovering.
"Here, take this," said Luke.
"M17? What's going on?" Lyra asked.
"Don't know. Captain's orders."
Lena and Lyra accepted the handguns and holstered them at their hips. The two women stood right in front of Gideon and Luke, who had just arrived.
"How's it going?" Gideon asked.
"Most of the villagers have been treated. Just twelve left," Lena answered.
"Good."
"There's something I want to discuss with you all."
Lena and Lyra exchanged a quick glance. Lena nodded. They already knew Gideon had gone out recon. Whatever he wanted to talk about now probably had to do with what he saw last night.
They went into Lady Mitsuko's residence and entered their bedroom. With the door locked, Gideon got straight to the point.
"There's a Moko army encampment out there," he began.
"A encampment? Where? How far? How many troops?" Luke asked, clearly hearing about it for the first time.
Gideon pulled out his phone and showed them UAV drone footage of the Moko military camp.
Numerous thermal body signatures clustered tightly together on the screen—more than any of them had expected.
"Northeast. About 7 kilometers away. I estimate between 1,000 and 2,500 soldiers."
"I haven't confirmed the exact number yet," Gideon added.
"Are we going to attack them?" Lyra asked.
Their team captain shook his head. Sure, they had the weapons to kill thousands—but they didn't have enough ammo. Not while they still couldn't make their own.
Attacking them now would be reckless.
"Even if we do decide to strike, we'd have to hit their commanding officer," Gideon said.
"Why? Isn't it the soldiers that outnumber us?" Luke asked.
"Medieval forces like theirs choose their commanders based on strength and power. Their leader must be someone strong, undefeated, and firm enough to lead a great army."
"The entire force puts their faith in that one leader. They believe he can't be killed."
"When that faith crumbles, then—"
"Their morale crashes, they scatter and die," Lena interrupted. Gideon turned to her and cleared his throat in agreement.
He unfolded a large map of the continent he had been carrying. Laying it across the bed, Lena and Lyra stepped aside to give him space.
He pointed to the location of the Moko camp, as well as the hill he had used as an observation point.
Based on the map, the distance from the hill to the flat camp terrain was between 500 meters to 1 kilometer.
"There's a high chance they'll keep camping there for a while. This is their war, after all," Gideon said.
"So what's your plan?" Lena asked.
Gideon smiled. He wanted to eliminate the enemy commander—hoping it would spark the unification of the mythical races.
Bringing in a new commander would take time, and until that happened, Gideon could push to unite the races so fewer lives were lost in these scattered battles.
"I'm calling it Operation Black Crown."
"Take out the queen ant, and the whole colony loses direction."
"This is all to support the unification of the mythical races," Gideon added.
"The unification of the mythical races?"
Gideon nodded. He pointed again to the seven villages of different races along the coastline.
They were all fighting separately against a human force that far outnumbered them—even though, race by race, they were stronger.
He had already explained his plan to the wolfkin elder—using the wolfkin village as the central hub.
There was plenty of empty land to build housing, and the wolfkin had strong relationships with other races, like the Kitsune.
"With all the races united in one place, we'll be able to match the strength of the human army," Gideon said.
"Hm... Everything you're saying makes sense, Captain," Luke replied.
"How did the wolfkin respond?" Lena asked. Gideon turned to her.
"They're still discussing it."
"I agree with your plan, Captain. It'll make it easier to protect everyone," Lyra added.
"That's my idea. But let's put that aside for now."
"We need to focus on this operation," Gideon said.
Gideon then asked about the estimated recovery time for the remaining patients in the Kitsune village.
Lena thought carefully. If they drank the medicine regularly, they should be fully recovered in two or three nights.
He didn't want Lena and Lyra distracted with too many responsibilities at once. Operation Black Crown could wait—so long as the enemy camp remained there. And Gideon had a gut feeling they'd stay for at least a week.
"Good. I'll draw up the preliminary plan here."
"Lyra and Luke, head back to the wolfkin village. Lyra, focus on tactical analysis and strike planning. Luke, get our team's supplies ready."
"I'll stay here to assist Lena. There's something I want to ask Lady Mitsuko too."
"We launch the mission next week—once everything's in place."
Luke and the others snapped their heels together and raised their hands in a salute. "Understood, Captain."