"Ha! Ha! Ha!"
"Did you hear? The Mercenaries lost fifty thousand soldiers along with all support headquarters to two bare-legged orcs!"
In the middle of a colorful garden visible between large white columns, a man cheerfully waving the sleeve of his snow-white robe was calling out to another person standing right across from him, whose appearance was almost identical to his.
"The whole continent is buzzing with this news; the funnier part is that the fact the shield could collapse at any moment has tied their hands!"
Taking the teacup from the table, which pleased the eye in harmony with its elegant legs carved from a massive marble block and the slab remaining on top, and bringing it to his mouth, this other man also answered his friend conveying the latest events excitedly with pleasure.
"I say let's leave them to eat each other; one side is the loser mercenaries, the other side is the barbarian orcs. Even the thought of our name being mentioned together with these types makes my skin crawl."
The only feeling the changes experienced on the continent lately created on the Lands of Light front was arrogance, whereas in the eternal enemies, a completely different feeling, anger, prevailed.
How interesting it was that an event found resonance with brotherly feelings in completely opposite communities.
The main headquarters of the Hell Realm forces was hosting a council established to understand the importance of the unexpected situation developing in their neighboring regions.
"I think you all know very well why you are here; let's start laying all the information we have on the table!"
Although it was midday, imprisoned in darkness by thick velvet curtains, large candles were burning on all three arms of the candelabras on the walls of the wide hall, whose walls supporting its high ceilings were decorated with large paintings.
The tension reflected on the faces of the people sitting on two sides of the large table was shouting as if waging war against the dimness of the environment; with the words of the man leaning back in his imposing armchair, a noise would start coming from every head.
"Silence!"
The magnitude of the chaos experienced right next to their borders had reflected on the table as well; the bushy-haired man, whose robe's stiff collars came almost up to his ears, practically had to roar to calm the environment down.
"We are listening to you, Adriano!"
The person taking the first word was someone sitting in a relatively distant part of the table, blending into the shadows almost invisibly in an outfit befitting his name.
"Lord Galeno, we have identified the identities of the two orcs. The duo causing problems on the Wild Swamp continent are the same people who had a share in the death of Astute, the lord of the Parthenia Trade City!"
"These are Alyon, who lit the first fire of rebellion on the Orc Steppes, and the orc named Nafız, who is called Blood God!"
As soon as the man clad in black finished his words, the armrest of the chair of the person sitting on Galeno's right broke with a loud noise.
"Gregoria!"
The eyes of the stern-looking man sitting at the head of the table were now fixed on the striking-looking woman right next to him.
This woman, dressed in pitch black from head to toe, had squeezed the armrest of the chair she was sitting on so hard that the poor piece of wood finally couldn't endure and mixed into nothingness.
"Uncle, what are we waiting for? I want permission from you to avenge my brother!"
In contrast to her outfit, the parts of her white skin visible from her décolleté were rising and falling with excitement. While her exposed long, slender neck caused the hearts of those who saw it to beat faster, a tattoo exactly matching the Black Lily patterns on her garment crowned her beauty here like an elegant necklace on her neck, which was delicate enough to make swans jealous.
Although a reflection of despair appeared in Galeno's eyes for a moment, the middle-aged man would know how to pull himself together immediately; after taking a deep breath and checking out the young girl for the last time, he turned his gaze to someone standing on the other side of the table.
"Natal, how do the Grey Hyenas plan to handle this matter!"
The question might sound strange to someone who didn't know the depth of the relations between the two civilizations, but everyone around the table was aware that the Hell Realm and the Mercenaries had actually been in close contact for the last fifty years.
After experiencing a great disaster a hundred years ago, the Hell Realm could only withstand the pressures of its eternal enemy, the Lands of Light, for fifty years using its own means.
The Hell Queen, entering a search for an ally as a result of the situation formed, would be able to convince the Mercenaries, always seen as the weakest civilization.
The upper echelons of other communities knew about this event that took place behind dark doors, but no matter what, neither side of the agreement admitted this truth.
"Sir, on behalf of the Grey Hyenas Organization, Commander Sırrı, leading the siege forces, demands help from us!"
Although the bushy-haired man expected this, he soured his face once more against the mercenaries' brazenness; unlike him, the eyes of the beauty standing on his right were shining.
"They expect us to attack the group calling themselves the Druid Liberation Army with our support units waiting in reserve."
"What kind of incompetents are these, relying on us to clean up the mess they made!"
The environment had tensed up as a result of the most authorized person in the setting getting enraged. While those other than Gregoria were declaring their opinions, the young woman would lean back with the comfort of knowing the result.
Their clan had one last step left on the way to becoming a sect; it was considered certain that this event would take place in the meeting to be held two years later.
Such being the case, how could her uncle Galeno ignore the unconditional cooperation with the Mercenaries, which was the strict order of the Hell Realm Royal Family?
"Degenerate bandits are using our situation as leverage against us. Gregoria, here is the opportunity you wanted; take all the warriors in the support unit and put an end to this trouble!"
"Yes, sir!"
The striking-looking woman, reaching her greatest desire, would toss her hair extending to her waist and walk out the large door of the room where the meeting was held.
Galeno had perhaps made his most difficult decision as the commander of the siege armies; having taken two orphans under his wing after losing his brother in a war and practically raising them like his own children, the man, having lost one, was sending the other, burning with the fire of revenge, to kill her brother's murderer.
"Naldo, I assign the duty of deputy commander of the attack to you; your most important task is to ensure my niece returns safe and sound!"
The imposing warrior who had been standing behind the bushy-haired man since the beginning of the meeting, upon hearing the order given to him, merely bowed his head forward indicating he understood what was said.
In the following hours, with the relief brought by taking the most important decision, less important topics such as the conditions of the units to be dispatched and the timing of the reinforcements to take their places were discussed.
As for the engineers, perhaps the most interesting force among the invaders present in the Wild Swamp, profit and loss calculations had long been made.
Due to a rival weakening and themselves not bordering the newly emerged danger, they were continuing their lives almost as if such an event had not occurred.
On the night of the day all this happened, active hours were experienced in the castle-like headquarters captured by trickery as well. Thanks to the wide espionage network Jurij established by struggling for years, whatever decisions were taken in the other three regions were all in front of Nafız.
"Just as I guessed; if you're itching for a fight, bring it on. Let's see what kind of war it will be when I turn this place into a fortress!"