Reconnaissance Mission

The following day was a busy one. The sky was overcast and heavy gray clouds covered the sun, stretching to the horizon and giving the entire city a gloomy look. Everything slowed down to a crawl in the heavy atmosphere. Well, except for the war preparations.

Gerald was keeping himself occupied by producing a multitude of spell scrolls and gear for battle. He checked his weapons and examined his armor, even though he rarely even wore it, and repaired what he could.

He wasn't planning on risking his neck in this fight, but life had a strange way of spitting on your plans. And so, he was preparing for the worst.

Thick metal plates were held together with leather straps made of Ogre's skin, and the tough hide of fallen Wargs served as padding. He was pretty sure even modern high-caliber firearms would have trouble piercing his masterpiece.

While he was having fun brainstorming for new things to make, Qiona was also busy doing her best, creating potions at double the speed she would normally make them, all so she could feel helpful.

Fighting was not her thing, so she did her best to make sure her sister and friends had all they needed to stay safe. They already had crates full of Health Potions and Stamina Potions that would serve them well, and yet she was still making more.

If the soldiers defending the city saw the quality of these concoctions they would probably burst into tears.

Half a million fighters had to be quickly equipped with potions as well, but they didn't have the luxury of having a personal Alchemist to brew first-rate elixirs for them.

While some did receive high-quality Healing Potions, most had to make do with cheaply made Healing Potions instead. There was even a ration of the new Stamina Potion handed out, one vial per soldier.

However how long has it been since the King received the recipe? No matter how many Alchemists were working on producing it, it simply wasn't enough for so many soldiers. The brew was therefore diluted and distributed out in its lesser form.

While the Stamina Potions would fill you with energy for about 30 minutes, the Lesser Stamina Potions could only do a fraction of it, 5-10 minutes at most, and the effect wasn't as strong.

However, nobody complained. It was something new on the market, given out directly by the King. In the eyes of the commoners, he immediately became a saint worthy of worship that cared about his people.

Whether he truly deserved that or not was up to debate, but not now.

***

The dining hall in the Black Onyx mansion was lively that day.

The memory of the last day's torture was a distant memory in Toby's mind as he feasted on scraps that were falling off the table. His gluttonous nature didn't allow for holding a grudge, especially if the one in question was bringing him gifts of food.

In this way he even self-domesticated, doing tricks and playing with the girls for even just the tiniest morsel of meat. Gerald already noticed a change, but he wasn't sure if it was good or bad.

Toby's aggression seemed to have all but disappeared, and his fur also became much brighter and soft. It might have been partially because of the bath the girls gave him, but the increase in size certainly wasn't a part of it.

Although the change was small, his body did indeed grow, and so did his strength, though not by much. It was in midst of a playful wrestle when Gerald became aware of the changes.

It seemed like Toby was undergoing some rapid evolutionary changes away from being a bloodthirsty and murderous Bloodhound, and instead went towards a joyous path of gluttony and cheer.

He considered stopping the madness before it got out of control, but curiosity got the better of him and so he simply silently observed, excited to see the results. And there was one more good thing that came out of it. Toby and the girls became friends! Well, sort of… As long as they had food he would do anything for them.

But that was good, it at least meant they would be protected by the fluffy guardian beside them whenever Gerald wasn't around. Not that they needed protection, but you never know…

***

In the forests to the north, a group of young men slowly made their way through the dense woods on horseback, while avoiding Orcs.

Actually, only most riders had normal horses. A few rode on bone-armored Warhorses and another person traveled on a giant Wild Boar the size of a horse.

They were Tabbris Northendark, Arron Aust, and Ron Carre, the sons of the Kingdom's Guardians. And each of them had a few trusted followers coming with them on this dangerous expedition.

The mission was simple: Observe the beasts and disrupt their plans if possible, or report back to the city if any unexpected changes occur.

They were among the top warriors of the young generation and reconnaissance missions were already a standard procedure for them. They were all well armed, with cloaks of nature's colors for camouflage and covered with the Scent-Removing powder.

"I really don't know why you two decided to follow me," Ron Carre said as he rode on his boar. "It's useless since I'll be the winner in the end, haha!"

Arron didn't feel like responding and simply observed their surroundings vigilantly. He was the oldest among the three and also extremely level-headed. The lance in his hand was held tightly and close to his mount as he held his head low to avoid tree branches.

"You'd better shut your mouth, we are in enemy territory," Tabbris replied seriously.

"Relax! My scouts will warn us if any of those ugly monkeys come anywhere near us," Ron bragged and glanced up, where a few birds could be seen flying above the forest in a spread-out formation.

"You don't even know what monkeys look like," Tabbris rolled his eyes.

"Don't need to! Haha…"

Time until the final battle: 1 Day.