For a moment, Michael felt helpless.
Seeing the progress of his territory and imagining all of it getting destroyed by tens of thousands of enemies made him stare blankly ahead.
Fortunately, his helplessness subsided quickly. If he wanted to survive and ensure that his people wouldn't succumb to a miserable fate, they could not afford to sit idle.
The first thing he did was also the most difficult; he informed his people about the upcoming war. Michael revealed as many details as possible while trying to make the worst information sound nonchalant and less troublesome than other details.
Unfortunately, his subjects weren't stupid.
"What should we do?" Liopham asked when Michael finished his explanation.
The Forest Elf didn't sound desperate. He didn't even think about running away either. On the contrary, Liopham stared at Michael with determination.
Lilica, the other Forest Elves, and everyone else present turned to Michael as well.
"We expected something big to happen because it was silent for too long," Tiara revealed to which the majority responded with an affirmative nod.
"Oh really?" Michael asked in surprise.
He then changed his approach, thankful that everyone seemed to take in the news much better than expected. Given their reaction, Michael had been hit the worst by the news. That was a good thing though. It made the following steps much easier.
"We have seven days to install more traps and expand the canopy bridge. We'll halt all projects that can be postponed for a while and will focus on the transformation of the territory. We should start creating a Jungle fortress," Michael said before he added a few more points.
"We have a bunch of ballista blueprints, large-scale catapult blueprints, and I can procure a few more poison potion recipes. As long as we render most of our opponents incapable of continuing the fight, they're dead. Let's use the Untamed Jungle's environment to use poison to the extreme."
The Untamed Jungle was the perfect environment to fight a large number of opponents. The densely grown flora and fauna made it increasingly more difficult to fight in big numbers. Large groups found it harder to move through the Untamed Jungle, which provided a major advantage to Michael and his people.
But there was more they could do. Michael sent Blaire Tracer and the other future Trackers out to scan the surroundings. Many Adventurers and Mercenaries were bored after staying in Xiltra too long. They started going on missions to ease their boredom.
These missions were inevitably related to the plains around Xiltra, or the Untamed Jungle. The plains didn't have too many monsters because they were easier to hunt, yet the Untamed Jungle had a large population of monsters that could be found at the borders to the plains every now and then.
That meant many Adventurers and Mercenaries would be completing their missions near the border, and Michael intended to hunt them down.
Decreasing the number of their opponents was a good way to start the battle against the Jungle Expedition.
First, Michael separated the Forest Elves to have one Tier-2 Adventurer as the leader of every group. Then, he distributed missions according to the specialty of every unit. Some would turn into the Bloodhounds, while others would focus on the protection of the workers, who would have to pay their full attention to the installment of traps and obstacles.
Michael then picked Icarus, Masked Saber, Tiara, and Lilica to create a powerful assault team.
After Icarus advanced to Mid Tier-1, the Greater Eagle grew in size and strength. He could now carry a total of four people on his back without a great negative impact.
Their group of five was strong enough to deal with a Tier-2 Adventurer team – which was exactly the kind of team Michael targeted.
Even if Michael had yet to come up with a perfect plan to obliterate the Jungle Expedition, he was doing everything possible to ensure his territory's safety.
Attaining unfathomable strength in seven days was not possible, but Michael could hunt Adventurers, and extract their Soultraits and SoulStar Fragments to increase his strength rapidly.
It was an opportunity and the most efficient way to become stronger in no time. Furthermore, the fewer Tier-2 Adventurers they had to deal with later, the better!
Blaire and her Tracker Unit returned less than an hour later with their reports. More than ten groups of Mercenaries and Adventurers had been found at the border of the Untamed Jungle, or near the Untamed Jungle.
Blaire showed them their location on the map, and the Hunters started moving.
Icarus shot in the air with Masked Saber, Tiara, Lilica, and Michael on his back.
They burst through the open area in the clearing and flew through the air with great speed. Less than half an hour later, they reached the border to the plains.
"The expedition will probably move through the Untamed Jungle in batches along the border. I should have a few days before they reach the territory," Lilica pointed out while tightly gripping Icarus' plumage.
She was scared witless to be flying at such a great height but tried to sound casual. Unfortunately, her trembling voice exposed Lilica.
Funnily enough, Tiara wasn't doing much better. Her hair stood up on its end, and her tail was fully tensed. Only Michael and Masked Saber were doing fine.
Icarus flew at a low altitude. The past trauma prevented him from flying too high above the Untamed Jungle, in fear that the mythical serpent would return to burn them alive. But luckily, no such thing happened.
They reached the plains where Michael exerted both Eagle Eyes and Lesser Enhancement to search the groups of Adventurers.
It didn't take long before they found a group of Adventurers making a campfire a little bit farther away. No group was close to them, which gave Michael and the others the perfect opportunity to strike.
As Icarus flew closer, Michael and Lilica prepared their bows. Lilica retrieved a Piecker and the Woodwoven Bow Artifact, while Michael manifested the Siltang Bow. He condensed the strongest energy arrow before utilizing Lesser Enhancement on the Siltang Bow and the energy arrow. Afterward, he pulled the bowstring back.
Lilica followed suit, ready to release the arrow at any moment.
Icarus observed the Adventurer team vigilantly. They didn't seem to notice Icarus flying above them until Icarus was less than 200 meters away from them. By then, Michael and Lilica were at a shooting range. Michael gave a subtle sign and both him and Lilica released their arrows simultaneously.
Afterward, they returned their Artifacts back into the War Rune before crouching down. Icarus shot downward the next moment, diving toward the startled Adventurers.
Once they were close enough to the ground, Lilica, Masked Saber, and Tiara jumped down from Icarus' back.
Michael waited a moment longer. He manifested the Onyx Dragon Armor Set and used Lesser Enhancement on his whole body before he jumped down as well.
He smashed into the ground which caved in from the heavy impact. The next moment, Seron Voulge manifested in his hands, and he charged forward in a flash.
The immense physical power of a highly refined physique was clearly demonstrated as he reached top speed in the blink of an eye. Lesser Enhancement's increase in strength boosted his physical strength by another 35%, giving him an additional boost in speed. Michael appeared in front of the closest Adventurer in the blink of an eye and slashed out mercilessly.
Simultaneously, he manifested a Spirit Whip, which he also enhanced with Lesser Enhancement before he lashed out.
The Adventurer jumped up and manifested his Artifacts to prepare for battle when the enhanced Spirit Whip hit him just as the Destor was about to unleash his own Soultrait.
His Soultrait was forcefully terminated, and his mind was hit hard, preventing the Adventurer from reacting in time. By the time he regained his composure, blood began gushing out of his throat. Seron Voulge had cut deep into his opponent's neck, lethally injuring him.
Michael further twisted the blade in his opponent's neck before he continued to move.
However, instead of mindlessly attacking. Michael exerted Spirit Whip a few more times. He was in range to strike all enemies with Spirit Whip, which was exactly what Michael did.
He whipped all of them twice, without another backward glance, and continued to move ahead.
A few arrows shot past his torso and head, but they didn't hit him. On the contrary, they drilled deep into their enemies' knees and mouths, killing one of their own.
By the time all Adventurers reacted, Masked Saber and Tiara had already appeared in front of them as well.
Icarus continued his rampage simultaneously. He'd smashed heavily on the weakest Adventurers before his talons did the rest, gouging out the opponent's eyes.
Less than two minutes after the start of the battle, Michael and the others departed once again.
The Adventurers' corpses were tightly secured in Michael's War Rune.
"One down, nine to go!"
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