Chapter 587 Doubts
"Fuck fuck fuck!!"
Michael had no idea what exactly happened in the Savannah Region, but he sensed that Liopham and Pheli died.
What the hell happened?!?
Their death was completely out of his expectations and too sudden to ignore.
Their Links of Loyalty shook first and then…it was all over.
Michael was bombarded with a flood of fury, despair, and sadness. The influx of information overwhelmed him, forcing Michael to sit down and close his eyes. The Cursed Seals deep inside him began to rage and threatened to explode outward, but Michael forced them into submission with a mental command.
He focused on the Links of Loyalty among the Savannah Expedition's members and noticed that everyone was overwhelmed by their own emotions.
More Links of Loyalty were severed, but no more Awakened died. This time, it was mostly Warriors, Knights, and two Archers, who died. The Summoned had been overwhelmed and struck down one at a time. All it took was one strike to kill them.
Michael prepared his heart for worse, but no more Links of Loyalty were severed.
The battle ended as suddenly as it began when eight energy influxes reached him through his War Rune. The energy influxes were highly potent. They originated from Tier-3 Adventurers, providing Michael with more information to digest.
He could piece together what must have happened, but he couldn't believe it. It didn't make any sense.
Liopham and Pheli had been killed. Just like that.
He had the Orb of Resurrection…but it was of no use if he was not next to the corpses to use it right after their death. He couldn't resurrect them…
Even if he was present…who was he supposed to resurrect? Liopham? Pheli? What about his other Summons? Who deserved to live…and who deserved to die?
Michael's mind was in a mess. He was not particularly close to Pheli and Liopham, but it was a fact that the Forest Elven Adventurers had been with him the longest. Their Link of Loyalty had been firm as well. They trusted him the most, right after Tiara. His expression turned sour
He waited impatiently until Immortal Knight called him through the communication crystal.
Michael wanted to call first, but he couldn't be certain that Immortal Knight and the others had already retreated into a more secure location. Maybe, they were still in the middle of a battle, or they retreated just now. Calling them in such a situation would put them in even more danger.
It took Immortal Knight two more hours before he called Michael. These two hours felt like an eternity. Michael felt like cursing Siegfried for taking so long to call, but he quietly listened to Siegfried's report. He had to know what happened.
"Tell me what happened!" He said, his voice cold as ice.
"..."
Ten minutes passed in the blink of an eye.
"...The Teleporters and the Adventurer with the Pull Soultrait managed to flee. The combination of their space-sealing Artifact and their Soultraits was impeccable. I'm certain that these four Adventurers are the Council of Xylon's secret weapon!" Immortal Knight revealed at the end of his report, only to break into silence.
"I apologize for reacting too slow. If I had known that Liopham and Pheli had been marked I would h–...."
Michael cleared his throat, interrupting Immortal Knight. He was a mess himself and angry. However, his anger was not directed at Immortal Knight. It was directed at himself and the Council of Xylon.
The Council had to die!
"It's not your fault. I think you know better than anyone that wars are unpredictable," He said, trying hard to stay strong and composed. He wasn't on the verge of tears, but the pang of guilt in his heart was heavy.
"How are the Forest Elves doing? What about Tiara?..."
Michael was sad about Liopham and Pheli's death, and he could only imagine how terrible Lilica, the other Forest Elves, and Tiara were feeling. The EmeraldLeaf Adventurer team had been together for years. They were close comrades, friends, and family.
"We managed to calm them a little bit. They were not doing great and were about to charge into the retreating Council of Xylon's retreating army. Fortunately, I managed to stop them with the Berserkers and Warlock Centaurs' help. I'm not sure if they can continue participating in the Savannah Expedition without endangering their lives or their allies. Not right now, at least."
Immortal Knight's words reached Michael, who fell deep into thoughts.
Due to the appearance of the Teleporters, the Regional War was bound to turn even more dangerous than before. It would be increasingly more difficult to apply their tactics, especially against the Legendary Space-Lock Artifact. The Savannah Expedition was not prepared to deal with enemies like this.
The Teleporters' presence would lead to slower fights all over the Savannah Region. Michael was certain that the Council of Xylon would turn the Regional War into a war of attrition, while also using the Teleporters and the Adventurer with the Pull Soultraits to eliminate one powerhouse after another.
Michael was just about to ask something when Immortal Knight was interrupted. Michael heard only snippets from the other side of the communication crystal, but that was enough to get to know some details about the Trilance's future actions.
"The attendant of the Trilance's military forces notified me just now that more reinforcement will arrive from the Zynur and Valyr's Clans. Their higher-ups must be annoyed that a big portion of their Super Elite Unit had been killed that easily." Immortal Knight revealed.
Michael nodded but he didn't say anything for a while. The cogs in his mind rattled wildly, trying to digest the death of the pair of Forest Elves, and attempting to figure out a cost-efficient way to deal with the Teleporters without losing anymore Awakened.
An important factor in his train of thought was that It was quite obvious that the Valyr and Zynur didn't want to lose an entire Lesser Region to rule. The regions surrounding the Savannah Region were also useful given the abundant resources and rare monsters that could be found everywhere.
If the higher-ups weren't interested in the Savannah Region, they wouldn't sent more reinforcement to aid the Valyr Lorddess and the Zynur Lord. Instead, they would tell everyone to pack up and leave the Origin Expanse before they would be killed mercilessly.
That was enough to create a decisive decision.
"The Savannah Expedition is not strong enough to deal with the Tier-3 Teleporters. They can go wherever they want before sealing the surrounding space. They will likely avoid the strongest enemies to deal with the most annoying enemies…
which is probably the Savannah Expedition in their eyes," Michael nibbled his lower lip nervously and sighed heavily. He would love to trash the Council of Xylon right this instance, but that was not possible…not without endangering everyone else…
"I cannot join the Regional War in the Savannah Region either, not with the Heart of the Blazing Lion army moving toward the Untamed Jungle," He mumbled to himself before forwarding the final order.
"Return to the Untamed Jungle. Tell the Trilance that we will come back. Don't mention the Zentika Empire's army just yet."
Everyone was tired from fighting almost daily for two months. Michael knew that the Savannah Expedition members were exhausted, not only physically but also mentally. The death of Liopham, Pheli, and the two dozen members who'd been killed by the Teleporters crossed the line. Their deaths were a clear indicator that it was time to retreat, reorganize, and rest.
The Savannah Expedition members were much stronger than before but they were dead-tired
But the biggest reason for Michael to relay the order to retreat was that he didn't rely the Trilance. Their words, promises, and actions didn't align well. The Laprix Lord's death was too easy. It didn't create sense that the Trilance's Lords survived for months, only for one of them to die like this. It was anticlimactic and didn't fit well into the big picture of the Savannah's Regional War.
Michael's bad feelings about the Trilance's actions worsened when he heard about the Valyr and the Zynur receiving more reinforcement less than two hours after the Laprix Lord died. It might have been a coincidence, but Michael didn't want to end up getting fooled.
"It would be great if you manage to collect a few corpses of Laprix, Zynur, and Valyr Adventurers on your way back. Secretly, of course." Michael ordered, continuing to nibble on his lower lip.
Everything might have been a coincidence, but it was always better to research on his own. That way, he couldn't be fooled by those he considered his allies.
It was not the first time his allies betrayed him.
Thinking about Quinn, Michael's arms twitched. Trusting Quinn had been a fatal mistake, and he didn't want to repeat the same mistake all over again… not when he was responsible for so many lives!
"As you command, my Lord! We will retreat immediately!" Immortal Knight responded, "Since we have already a few corpses collected from the battlefield, including the corpses you want, we won't have to take a detour!"
Michael was not sure why they had already Awakened corpses of the Valyr and Zynur, but he didn't ask. He told Immortal Knight to be careful and come back.
Right after he ended the call, Michael sent some scouts to the border of the Savannah Region.
"Scout the border and pry into the Savannah Region now and then. Inform me about every little detail. If you think that something is weird, but you're not sure if it's important, tell me. Even if it's not of great significance, I want to understand about it!" Michael ordered the Scouts sternly.
He then notified Sun Demos to pay attention to the monsters in the Untamed Jungle.
The Monster Horde might have retreated into the Untamed Jungle after obliterating the four camps of the Zentika Empire, but the Untamed Jungle was growing restless as time passed.
'If the Untamed Jungle turns against me suddenly, I'll have to deal with opponents from three sides. I cannot even rely the Trilance anymore…what a mess…'
Michael grit his teeth and fell deep in thought. The current situation was not easy, but one advantage was that the Untamed Jungle's monsters ignored him, his people, and his territory. That never happened, and Michael was certain that it only occurred because the High Beasts were more annoyed at the Zentika Empire's invasion than the internal struggles within the Untamed Jungle.
The High Beasts must have considered Michael as a native of the Untamed Jungle, whereas the Zentika Empire's Soldiers were invasive forces.
The Untamed Jungle dealt with invasive forces before resuming to their internal territorial fights.
At least, that was what it looked like.
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