Divine Beast Ascension

626 Enter Prodson City

Khas led the way, blitzing across the Prodson landscape with Lambier only a few steps behind.

They maintained the breakneck pace for over half an hour. By then, city walls appeared in the distance. And they only somewhat slowed down.

The duo came to a complete stop when they reached the city gate, manned by three guards.

“Open the gate, I, Captain Khas, have an urgent report to make and must grab necessary supplies!”

All three guards stood in awe and surprise as Khas pointed at the captain emblem on his uniform and pulled out his official badge at the same time.

“R-right away!” one guard yelled back.

The other two guards rushed to open the gate as quickly as possible. And the moment there was enough space to run through the gap in the doors, both Khas and Lambier bolted into the city.

“You know what to do!” Khas stated to Lambier with a subtle nod. “Hurry and gather our supplies! I’ve got a report to make!”

“Yes, sir!” Lambier replied before they split up.

.....

Both men ran, but neither of them used wind essence anymore to keep the decorum of the city.

While Khas ran to the palace near the city center, Lambier ran in the direction of the nearest barracks. However, Lambier took a detour.

As a former citizen of Prodson City, Lambier knew the city well.

He rushed through a section of slums as a shortcut. But, with a flash stop in a shady alley, Lambier quickly changed his clothes and donned a raggedy cloak. Lambier also wiped some of the grime of the unclean alley over his clothes and face.

After being in the city for less than five minutes, Lambier was already hobbling through the streets with the finesse and stench of a bum.

‘How long until I find a new hiding place?’ Oli telepathically asked from Lambier’s shadow.

In reply, Lambier coughed and passed through another alley, “Wait… Till after nightfall.”

Oli was taken aback by that reply. But Oli didn’t complain or talk back. It was too late for that since they were already inside a massively populated human city. Oli could only wait until Lambier had prepared a proper hiding place before exiting in his eye-catching drake form.

‘... Are we really going to gather supplies?’ Oli asked.

Lambier shook his head with a crazed laugh, sticking to his role as a half-crazy homeless man, “Nahh… I just want to get me some food… Sorry, but we’ll have to be patient now… Can’t take unneeded risks.”

Silent, Oli wanted to shake his head in disappointment. Had he known the wait would’ve been that long, Oli would’ve at least scarfed down some food before entering Lambier’s shadow.

At the city’s center, Khas was approaching the palace gates. His badge was held out and Khas’s voice was booming, “Urgent report for Leader Prodson! Regarding the Forell-Iron invasion!”

The palace guards began to clear a path. But they moved slower than the guards at the city gate. It took more than a minute for the palace guards to fully open the palace gate before allowing Khas to rush past them.

Along the path, Khas was stopped again. This time, Khas sighed and bowed to the person in front of him out of decorum.

“Captain Khas, what brings you here?”

Looking at the man in noble garb, Khas raised his head and said, “I bring urgent news for Leader Prodson, regarding the imminent Forell-Iron invasion.”

“Then you can share it with me. My father isn’t feeling too well at the moment,” replied the man.

Khas showed even more urgency and worry in his expression, asking, “Leader Prodson has fallen ill? Now?”

The man shrugged, offering a half-nod. “In a way, yes. He’s going through one of his… well-hidden outbursts.”

Easing up slightly, Khas offered the man a quick bow. “Then, shall I share the report with you here? Or in a more secure setting?”

“Follow me. We’ll speak inside for a moment,” the man stated, catching onto the captain’s hint for privacy.

They walked with a brisk pace until Khas was pulled into an empty waiting room just past the palace entrance. The man immediately closed the door and motioned for Khas to take a seat.

Once both men were seated, Khas bowed his head again. “Master Rofar, please allow me to speak plainly given our privacy. A mixed army of both beasts from Iron and humans from Forell is marching on Prodson City. And it’s led by at least five mid-perennials, including Hurman Practor as the acting commander.”

Rofar’s eyes twitched at the news. “You said five mid-perennials?”

“At least.”

“Then, why was my brother not the one sent back to dispatch this information?” Rofar immediately questioned.

With another head bow, Khas reported, “Because Master Rakan never returned from his last shift of guard duty. He was held up by the beasts of Iron Territory while a half-dead scout lived long enough to return with intel. General Ocker immediately sent me to relay this information, before our armies were run over by Iron’s and Forell’s march.”

“Both armies will be run over… And Rakan is dead…” Rofar sighed.

The man’s eyes didn’t seem to be depressed or sad in any way. There was worry in Rofar’s gaze, but not for his brother. Rofar was too busy pondering the potential might of the Iron-Forell army. “... What are their forces like? And how were our armies faring before you left?”

Khas stated, “Upon leaving, I noticed that the cliffside camp was already under attack. It seems that with Lambier Fenzar and Marsel Neelon guiding our enemy’s forces, they’ve seen through our trap along the road. And if the dying scout’s report was correct, Master Rakan fell while facing more than a dozen Iron-body Gorillas, who are more than capable of sensing our underground camp with ease.”

“Put another way,” Rofar interjected and deduced with a dragged-out sigh, “Iron has duped up us by sending their strongest army through Forell, while the bands of troops under Iron’s strongest two cultivators were likely a facade… All so they could make a full attack on Prodson City directly?”