The Runic Alchemist

Chapter 199: Forest Clearance Mission 8

They were on the verge of fighting any moment now. The second-ranker, still arguing fervently with the white-furred beastman, hung in the air, lifted by the huge hands of the beast men. The beastman was furious, but whatever argument the second-ranker was making seemed to be working, darkening the expressions of the beastmen near them, their faces growing uglier by the second.

Damian's mind raced. These people didn't seem to be the enemy—at least, they didn't look like it. They had a list of where all the units in the area were supposed to be, but by now it was highly inaccurate. The camp was large, with Eldoris men outnumbering the beastmen, maybe around 400-500 in total, most of them first-rankers.

'They could help us with the monsters...' Damian thought.

Things were certainly tense between the two groups, but surely they would see the need to band together in the face of a greater threat. Did they even know about it? Then again, the scout hadn't mentioned how far beyond the valley he had traveled. If things went south, Damian figured he'd just start a fight among them, create a wormhole, and run like a pro.

Jumping down into the camp's perimeter, Damian slowly made his way toward the center. A few people noticed him, spouting all kinds of insults or questions as they pointed in his direction, but he ignored them. Most of them were too focused at the confrontation in the middle. As Damian got closer, he could hear their heated exchange.

"...Look, I get it. I know the pain. I've lost a lot of good friends too. This is the price a soldier has to pay..." the human second-ranker said hastily, as if trying to make excuses.

"They are not sacrifices for your foolish wars, idiot! You have no idea of the magnitude of the crime you've committed. The only judgment for your pompous ass is…" The gruff voice came from a tiger beastman—rare to see one of them. His voice was deep, filled with untold emotion.

'Cough.'

'Cough.'

Both men turned to look at Damian, along with everyone else who had been watching the spectacle. Suddenly, Damian felt like he was on stage in a drama. The pressure on his nerves was intense. He was wearing his Eldoris uniform, the captain's badge displayed prominently, so they could at least guess who he was. Yet, it was clear from their expressions that they looked down on him because of his age.

"I am Captain Maximus, from the Commander's Personal Unit 11. My unit is stationed nearby. May I ask what's going on here? What unit is this?" Damian asked, acting as if he dealt with this kind of situation regularly. In truth, he kind of did.

"The Commander's personal unit...? Commander Lady Vidalia's?" the man fumbled, the sneer vanishing from his face as soon as he heard his name and title. Then he shamelessly continued, "Help us! These beastmen have gone rogue! They're attacking the royal army…"

Ah, this guy was certainly a bad news.

"I don't care about your squabbles. I wouldn't have revealed myself if this weren't urgent. An army of dangerous monsters, numbering in the thousands, is being controlled and stationed just behind those mountains," Damian announced. Many of the onlookers gasped, murmuring among themselves, but he kept his focus on the two men before him. It seemed neither had known about the threat.

"They aren't alone. They've got over a thousand Ashenvale soldiers with them," Damian added, triggering an even more frantic reaction. These people were clearly used to fighting Ashenvale guys and were likely exhausted by the ongoing conflict.

The white-furred tiger beastman threw the second-ranker aside and locked eyes with Damian.

"Behind the valley? How close?" the beastman asked.

"Wait a second, Kazak! He's just a kid—probably pulling a stupid prank. This could be a scheme to distract us and catch us off guard again," a muscular beastman chimed in from the side. Damian couldn't sense mana from them, but both radiated an aura that matched or surpassed what typical second-rank pugilists emitted.

The tiger beastman, Kazak, even topped that—his resting aura was on par with Xavier, the transcendent pugilist seed. This guy was a real deal.

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"Kid, are you telling the truth?" Suddenly, Kazak's body was covered in a thick aura, and the pressure on Damian's shoulders intensified. It took all his strength just to stay upright and not buckle. The first-rankers around him immediately fell to their knees, struggling to resist the crushing force. Even the second-ranker human nearby was having trouble staying on his feet.

Damian firmed his stance and stared straight into the beastman's eyes and affirmed, "I wouldn't have jumped between two groups on the verge of tearing each other apart, if I didn't seriously need your help. I don't care what happens to this man. I'm sure mistakes were made—perhaps on both sides—but that's not why I'm here."

Damian continued, "My unit, along with eleven others, is setting up camp near that village. We plan to gather and discuss how to deal with this threat, which could wipe out everything we've fought to preserve till now. Perhaps they could even surprise the currently fighting Commander's army from behind or attack Pyron, destroying everything on the way...

You're invited to join us if you wish to protect your home, and so are you…" Damian glanced at the second-ranker, whose face brightened at the mention of reinforcements.

The tension among the beastmen near Damian only grew. He didn't blame them. They were outnumbered by humans, and no one liked having armed forces encroach on their territory. Well, he had done his part. Whether they believed him or not was up to them.

Damian began coating his body with mana, achieving the resistance against the pressure, then chanting random Japanese phrases from anime openings, he drew the wormhole runic circle opening it near his feet. The beastmen were startled, their companions ready to strike hearing him chant in unknown language, but all froze in awe when the dark purple portal opened near him.

Damian gave a slight nod to both men and stepped into the portal, emerging across the river where the people from the camp could still see him. As the onlookers erupted in a commotion over his little display, Damian turned and headed back to his horse.

The stunt had cost him half of his mana, but it was necessary to leave a lasting impression. Even if they weren't convinced by his words, they would at least come to see who he was and what they really wanted from them.