Global Beast Mastery: Only I Can See the Hints

Amid the tense anticipation inside Withered Tree Fortress, Charles finally returned with his mystical beasts.

He arrived at night.

At night, Withered Tree Fortress gave off a chilling, almost eerie atmosphere. Even though countless Serpent soldiers were guarding the stronghold and torches burned everywhere, the fortress still seemed wrapped in a heavy, unsettling air.

“You’re finally back! General Sost and the others have been waiting anxiously for you!”

The first to greet Charles was Azka, who quickly urged him to meet the others.

Charles raised an eyebrow, a little confused.

“Is it really that urgent? I thought the Stellar Empire wouldn’t attack for another two days. I didn’t return late, did I?”

“With the latest intel we’ve received, the Stellar Empire could attack as early as tomorrow morning. Their vanguard troops are already very close to Withered Tree Fortress,” Azka explained in a rush.

Charles paused for a moment, then quickly understood.

“So, the Stellar Empire’s crown prince isn’t a complete fool after all. He knows better than to give us too much time to prepare.”

Without wasting another word, Charles strode deeper into the fortress.

Inside the war room at the heart of Withered Tree Fortress, he finally met with the trio—General Sost, High Priest Kent, and Zara. All three of them stood at once when he entered.

“You’re finally back! The situation is even worse than before. The Stellar Empire’s vanguard might launch their first assault tomorrow morning. I can’t guarantee we’ll hold them off perfectly. Their vanguard forces are simply too strong,” General Sost said urgently, handing Charles a map as he spoke.

The map detailed the terrain around Withered Tree Fortress. Serpent Empire forces were marked with black dots, while the Stellar Empire’s positions were shown in red. Two bright red dots already stood out at the top right corner of the map.

“I think we’ll hold just fine,” Charles said calmly. “It’s only their vanguard, after all. The defenses of Withered Tree Fortress have been reinforced multiple times. If we can’t even withstand the enemy’s front troops, then we might as well surrender.”

His voice was steady, full of confidence.

After so many preparations, Charles didn’t believe for a second that the Stellar Empire could defeat them so easily.

“Maybe so, but we still need to make our final preparations overnight,” High Priest Kent said slowly.

At first, they had thought they still had two days before the attack began, so they hadn’t rushed to finish the last details. But with the enemy moving earlier than expected, some panic naturally set in.

“What preparations aren’t finished yet? How much time have you wasted?” Charles asked with a trace of displeasure.

In his view, everything should have already been completed.

Kent quickly explained,

“It’s the reinforcement of Withered Tree Fortress’s outer wall. Strengthening it requires huge stone blocks that can only be mined from Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis. We had to wait until the quarry produced stone of the right quality before transporting it here. That cost us a great deal of time. But the good news is, we’ll finish reinforcing the wall tonight.”

Charles reluctantly accepted Kent’s explanation. He had visited the quarry at Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis himself. He knew the mines had already been dug very deep, which meant more stone couldn’t be extracted quickly. And even if it was quarried, it had to be hauled all the way to Withered Tree Fortress.

Since there were no surface rivers in the Atacama Desert, moving such massive stones was a slow, exhausting task. It was only natural that it had taken extra time.

“Any other problems? If not, I’ll go make my own final preparations,” Charles said.

He believed his mystical beasts at least needed rest. If they fought battle after battle without pause, their strength would surely drop in the real fight.

“I don’t think we should just sit here waiting for the enemy’s attack. I believe we should strike first!”

Zara suddenly stood and spoke.

“What do you mean?”

Everyone turned to her, and Charles asked with hesitation.

“My point is—we can attack tonight and wipe out the enemy’s vanguard before they even reach the fortress. The four of us are strong enough. Even without regular soldiers, we should be able to destroy their forward troops.”

Her suggestion carried some weight. For a moment, everyone fell into hesitation.

General Sost spoke up.

“I think the risk is far too great. What if, while we march out, the enemy has hidden experts waiting to strike the fortress in our absence?

The goal of this battle is simple—to hold Withered Tree Fortress. As long as the fortress stands, we’ve already won. Anything else is unnecessary.”

He had cut right to the heart of the matter.

As long as Withered Tree Fortress wasn’t destroyed, the Serpent Empire’s defensive line would remain intact. And if the Stellar Empire couldn’t break through that line, their entire attack would count as a failure.

High Priest Kent quickly added his agreement.

“I think General Sost is right. The risk of charging out is far too high. We should stay here and rely on the fortress to crush the enemy.”

With both Sost and Kent against her, Zara turned her eyes to Charles. He was her last hope.

“Do you have a detailed plan?” Charles asked—not openly supporting her, but not dismissing her either.

A smile appeared on Zara’s face. To her, his question meant he might actually back her.

“I already have one. But my plan requires your cooperation, along with General Sost’s. If the General won’t join, then Azka could take his place.”

Charles nodded, pressing her further.

“All right, then what exactly is your plan? Just don’t tell me your idea is to ‘play it by ear.'”

“Of course not! I’ve put together a proper plan. If we follow it step by step, the chance of success is high.”

Zara then laid everything out.

Her plan was complicated, but its core could be summed up simply:

A small squad of Serpent soldiers would draw the attention of the Stellar Empire’s vanguard, luring them into a prepared trap. Once the vanguard was caught, the strongest among them—including Charles—would strike and destroy the enemy’s forward troops in one swift move.

The plan would be hard to execute, and unexpected problems could arise during the process, but at least it was workable.

After hearing it, High Priest Kent closed his eyes and slowly shook his head. In his view, the plan was far too reckless. He would never support it.

General Sost didn’t shake his head like Kent, but his expression showed his disappointment all the same.

He had expected Zara to offer a safer plan.

Only Charles still hadn’t made a decision. He also thought Zara’s idea was a bit too far-fetched. But if the whole operation was carried out under his lead, maybe it could actually succeed.

Taking out the enemy’s vanguard first would lift their side’s morale and strike fear into the Stellar Empire. That might even buy them more time to prepare.

Under the watchful eyes of the others, Charles rose to his feet and paced back and forth in the meeting room. After thinking for a long while, he finally asked one last question.

“Are you willing to hand over control of this plan?”

“Of course!” Zara answered without hesitation. “If you think it’s possible, I’ll let you take full command.”

“Then we’ll prepare according to this plan!” Charles declared firmly.

His decision shocked both General Sost and High Priest Kent. Instinctively, they wanted to persuade him otherwise.

But Charles gave them no chance.

“You already agreed to let me command this battle. I’ve made my decision, so I hope you won’t oppose it.”

At those words, the two fell silent. They had already handed command to Charles, so they had no choice but to follow his orders.

General Sost let out a long sigh and stood.

“Zara said the plan requires my part as well. I’ll cooperate. That way, our chances of success will be greater.”

Charles nodded.

“In that case, Withered Tree Fortress will be left fully in High Priest Kent’s hands. We’ll return before sunrise tomorrow. If we don’t, you must take the Serpents and retreat.”

If they failed to return in time, it would mean their mission had failed. And if they couldn’t even destroy the vanguard, the larger battle would be hopeless. That was why Charles spoke so bluntly.

High Priest Kent’s face grew solemn as he nodded in agreement.