Back in Pergamon County, Alexander had organized several gatherings, inviting a few squadron leaders to eat and drink together. However, Eli had only attended once on the first day and later used the excuse of being busy with training to avoid further participation.
Wasn't this essentially saying that Alexander didn't care about training? It was a blow to his ego! He was the commander of Skylark Camp, Eli's superior. Even though Eli had come from the Falcon Corps, here, Alexander was in charge. Eli should have followed his lead instead of relying on his background and dismissing him. This attitude contributed to Alexander's unfavorable impression of Eli.
During the encounter with the red-eyed wolf pack, Eli hadn't even consulted him; he had taken his third squadron to engage in the fight without his approval. Did Eli still consider him, Alexander, as their commander? So, seeing that the third squadron wasn't faring well, Alexander didn't order the other squads to assist. Instead, he watched the situation unfold.
Alexander had made up his mind. Once the third squadron and the red-eyed wolf pack had both suffered considerable losses, he would deploy the other squads to clean up the remnants. By then, the credit for repelling the red-eyed wolf pack would be his.
Moreover, he could later use this incident to pin blame on Eli. It was Eli's reckless actions that had led to heavy casualties in the third squadron. As the leader of that squadron, he should be held accountable. Alexander could strip him of his title as squadron leader, demoting him to a company or even platoon leader.
This was also a chance for Alexander to assert his authority at Skylark Camp. As for the potential collateral damage to the third squadron, Alexander didn't care. They were just a bunch of peasants. Even if they died, he could use the pretext of the royal decree to conscript another batch of them. How many peasants like them could be found?
"Eli, blame yourself for your lack of respect," Alexander sneered inwardly.
As expected, with the battle dragging on, the number of casualties in the third squadron continued to rise, and the situation grew increasingly dire. However, under Eli's leadership, the third squadron remained united. Additionally, Jake's team moved swiftly, promptly rescuing the injured members. Consequently, despite the rising number of injuries, deaths were avoided. Yet, if the situation continued to deteriorate, deaths would inevitably occur.
Initially, Alexander planned to wait until the third squadron had incurred significant losses before ordering the other squads to attack. However, while seated on his horse, he saw a constant stream of other red-eyed wolves arriving from behind the wolf pack. Could it be that what that person said earlier was true? Was the red-eyed wolf king truly continuing to gather more red-eyed wolves?
Alexander didn't want to admit it, but he saw with his own eyes that numerous red-eyed wolves were indeed coming from the rear. The strength of the red-eyed wolf pack was steadily increasing.
In this situation, the third squadron's predicament became even more perilous. However, the members of the other squads wouldn't fare well either.
Once the members of the third squadron were wiped out, the remaining target for the red-eyed wolf pack would undoubtedly be the survivors. They wouldn't retreat on their own.
Initially, Alexander's plan was for the third squadron to eliminate a portion of the red-eyed wolf pack. That way, even if the red-eyed wolves later attacked the other squads, those squads could manage.
Yet, the situation wasn't unfolding as Alexander had expected. The third squadron had indeed suffered significant losses, but the red-eyed wolf pack's losses were minimal, and their strength seemed to be growing.
At this rate, the entire Skylark Camp might not be a match for the red-eyed wolf pack! While Alexander wanted to teach Eli a lesson, he didn't want to be an empty commander. So, upon realizing the worsening situation, he immediately issued the order to attack.
With the commander's order given, even if the members of the other squads weren't willing deep down, they had no choice but to initiate an attack at this point. With the addition of the other squads, the pressure on Jake and his team suddenly eased considerably.
Eli quickly seized this opportunity to move the injured members to the rear for basic treatment. As for Jake, he continued to engage fiercely in combat, his high agility allowing him to evade the attacks of the red-eyed wolves without getting hurt.
During this time, Jake had been constantly dashing around as the agile force, rescuing members of the third squadron from the claws of the red-eyed wolves. This earned him not only the gratitude of his comrades but also a significant amount of experience points.
In Jake's eyes, these red-eyed wolves were nothing but monsters. Killing them granted him experience points, as long as he landed the final blow. Jake's nimble movements allowed him to strike the final blow multiple times, completing quests and gaining experience. The only regret was the extremely low drop rate of equipment. Jake had become somewhat powerless to complain about it.
Jake looked up at the red-eyed alpha wolf in the wolf pack. He wondered if it would drop equipment when killed. As a level twenty boss, it should drop equipment, right?
Jake felt a surge of excitement, but there were still numerous ordinary red-eyed wolves around. Killing the red-eyed alpha wolf wasn't going to be easy.
"After you've severely injured the red-eyed wolves, don't kill them," Jake instructed his team members.
Since he only gained experience points from landing the final blow, Jake planned to have his team members help him "farm monsters."
Two members of Jake's team had been injured and taken to the rear for treatment. Brenton and a few others who were uninjured continued to fight.
Although Brenton and the others found Jake's command strange, they didn't dwell on it. They simply responded loudly and stopped killing the red-eyed wolves after inflicting severe injuries.
However, the strength of Brenton's team was limited, and they could only wound a limited number of red-eyed wolves. Consequently, Jake once again assumed the role of agile force, dashing around to assist.
Regarding Jake's behavior, the members of the other squads were puzzled but not suspicious. Being non-"players," they naturally had no idea that Jake was "kill-stealing." They assumed Jake was helping them and felt nothing but gratitude toward him.
The feeling of being thanked for "kill-stealing" was quite nice! However, the situation on the battlefield was far from optimistic. Although the members of the other squads had joined the fight, alleviating the pressure on the third squadron, they had joined the battle relatively late. The number of red-eyed wolves had already grown significantly, and the alpha red-eyed wolf was continuously summoning reinforcements. If things continued this way, there was a risk of the entire Skylark Camp being wiped out.
"Jake, follow me. Let's go kill the alpha wolf!" Eli's voice sounded in Jake's ear.