"Shortly after we left the den, our team was attacked by those creatures. Five warriors were slaughtered before we even had the chance to react, and even then only the fastest of us were able to escape," the chief began after some time.
"Those of us that escaped decided to flee to the Immaculate Forest. Returning meant putting the location of the den at risk, so we decided to take our chances with the Council," he continued, his face scrunching up into a sort of sad anger as he said this.
"When we finally got to the Immaculate Forest, we found a wall of trees awaiting us. The guards stationed there told us that a new law had been passed," he added, his sad anger now changing to one of defeat.
"They have banned all lower forest dwellers from crossing the wall. When we tried to request a talk with the council members, they attacked us. They've trapped us in here with these monsters. They act as if we are no different from those mindless creatures," the chief continued, a tinge of anger in his tone.
~All lower forest dwellers?~ Lucius thought to himself. He pondered what that would mean for his children. With this new law, there was a good chance that they would be kicked out.
However, there was also a chance that they were still there. Pagan and the others could use magic, if need be they could've shown their abilities to survive.
~But knowing those idiots...~ he thought, realizing that none of them would show the gifts he had given them. Perhaps Hannibal would push for such an event as it would ensure the highest chance of survival, but Lucius doubted that Pagan would allow him. And as for Ghost, he just couldn't see her staying still while he was still missing, so he doubted that she was even with them.
Still, the uncertainty caused by this new law angered him. It was almost as if they were doing all this to purposefully cripple this side of the forest.
There was no reason for them to prolong this war. If they had a large number of higher-tier creatures, they could've easily ended this war when the necromancer had first shown to be an aggressive threat. Or at least that was Lucius's line of thinking.
~Are they underestimating the heights that the necromancer could reach?~ he thought to himself whilst the chief continued giving his report.
~No, even they should be able to tell that he'll eventually become too powerful to stop. So then why is the largest organization of forest creatures passing a law that would effectively mean the execution of all lower forest dwellers...~ he thought to himself in slow realization.
Now that he laid it all bare, their intentions were beginning to seem more clear; The denial of lower-tier creatures from the council, their not sending help when the initial war began, and finally, this new law being passed. ~They're hoping the necromancer will wipe us all out... but why?~
Food-wise, this didn't make any sense. An extinction threat at this level would leave nothing for them to feed on. And besides the food factor, they would be losing important foot soldiers, which would mean an utter loss for them in the event of another war with tier 10s.
~What exactly are they so afraid of that they'd be willing to lose this much for?~ he pondered. In reality, he already knew the answer to that question, though it was still too early to be drawing conclusions.
One thing was clear though, the Immaculate Forest as well as their council were now enemies. An organization that selfish shouldn't have been allowed to be put into existence.
~For my children, and those I will call family in the future, I'll destroy this council. And slaughter anyone who aids their rule,~ he decided to himself, his eyes staring blankly like the crevices to a dark void.
"I apologize for interrupting, but how far does the decay spread?" he asked, interrupting the chief's report.
The members of council looked to each other in surprise for a moment, before Shavril stood up, no doubt in an attempt to make Lucius look foolish.
"Shavril, you'll do well to sit down. If you want me to leave your den, speak now and I'll be out of here. But if you value even a bit of the fighting chance I give this den, then sit," Lucius warned in a cold tone.
"Now chief, where did you and your team first come into contact with poisonous earth?"
He suspected that it couldn't have been too far out if the chief and his men managed to survive. After all, willpower could only get them so far.
"It stretches as far as the green forest. We had to use mushrooms we had collected from the clan lands to travel most of the distance. But even then, the ground sapped all the life out of all of them before we were halfway here," the chief explained.
~Perhaps there's hope for them,~ Lucius thought to himself. It was unexpectantly inventive of them to use mushrooms to traverse, a standard he had not expected from them at least.
"Wait, does that mean the decay hasn't spread to the clan lands?" he asked next.
The chief nodded his head in response.
"Wait, does that mean it remains free of the necromancer's rule?" Lucius asked after. The chief looked confused for a moment, before realizing what Lucius could be referring to.
"The area is currently engaged in many fights. It seems the shroom golems are giving them difficulty," the chieftain replied.
~The golems huh? They may be useful in winning this war,~ Lucius thought to himself.
As the rest of the chief's report went on, there was a cold silence within the room. In fact, a few members seemed to have trouble breathing.
It was only after he noticed Shamira staring at him with a petrified expression did he realize he was letting off too much intent. After all, these were still wild creatures, they could sense when something may be a threat.
