Jack spent the afternoon working with Lance who organized the search for the Raretooth tribe in Thenitsa. The same search was being carried out in the other settlements near the border.
Jack also sent messages to John. This evidence confirmed Master's involvement in the matter.
The search didn't take long since Lance had placed every orc within the town under surveillance since Neil's murder. They found three orcs that had the Raretooth tribal tattoo. One tried to run away, and he was rather strong. He was a level 56 rare elite and an assassin type, so he had the speed.
Jack took to the sky after asking for the general direction. His gold dragon wings flapped majestically as they reflected sunlight. Those who looked up couldn't help but be awed.
With his radar, he quickly located the runaway orc because there was only one red dot in the vicinity. The orc was registered as an enemy the second he fought off the soldiers who tried to apprehend him.
This orc was quite aware of his surroundings. He noticed Jack who was coming from above and used Vanish. He was saving this skill so he could use it to become invisible and slip through the guards at the gate. He had no choice but to use it now when he saw Jack hunting him from the sky.
Unfortunately, Jack had the Gold Dragon Sight. Jack cast Wind Jet and his body shot straight at the running orc who thought he was safe after becoming invisible.
Jack landed hard on the orc, slamming him into the ground. Jack pinned the orc while taking out a runic rope.
The orc activated Berserk and his whole body was covered with black tattoos. His strength increased, but it was of no use. It was still not enough to contest Jack's strength. He struggled helplessly as Jack bound him using the runic rope.
Lance and the soldiers came soon.
"Take him into custody. Have Sherly and Canon interrogate him for information," Jack instructed.
After the orc was taken away, Jack asked Lance, "Have you heard about the other border towns?"
"I've heard from five settlements who have also captured at least one orc of the Raretooth tribe," Lance answered. "I believe we will hear more as time passes. This tribe seems to be serious about infiltrating our border settlements. Is this truly Liguritudum's doing?"
"I believe so," Jack nodded and asked, "Is there any raretooth tribe that manages to escape capture?"
"I haven't heard of such an occurrence. The orc just now is the one that came closest to achieving that. Luckily, we have Your Majesty on the scene."
"I doubt this will remain a secret. Now that we start capturing them, I'm sure the ones hiding outside will find out sooner or later. We need to hit their base as soon as possible," Jack said. "The force in Verremor should be ready by now, I will go meet them. I will leave everything here to you."
"Your Majesty will truly bring Hans?" Lance asked. He didn't think that was a good idea.
"There is no known medicine for grief, but doing nothing and feeling misery about it is the worst way to deal with one," Jack said. "Hans is full of anger for his grief. It is better to direct that anger at the right target than leave him here and let him cause havoc. He has already tried doing that by riling up the mass and attempting a riot. We can't let him do it again."
"Your Majesty will keep him safe, right…?" Lance asked.
"I know. If something happens to him, his family won't stay quiet. His safety will be my priority," Jack said.
Lance nodded.
*
Jack picked Hans up from his mansion. Lance escorted them to the Zone Portal. Jack paid the fees for Hans to use the portal. Jack changed his appearance into his orc disguise before he used the portal. His king costume was too eye-catching. The two of them appeared in the zone portal of a Verremor border town.
"Welcome to Urguzz," a female voice greeted them.
"Lily…!" Jack called cheerfully.
"I don't think I will ever get used to you calling me that way. Please stop doing that," Water Lily said.
"Let me introduce. This is Lord Hans Orline," Jack said.
"I am Water Lily," Water Lily offered Hans a handshake.
Hans didn't take the handshake. Even though Water Lily was an outworlder, she was also an orc.
"I see," Water Lily caught the gesture. She motioned to Jack, "Follow me. We will head out to where the others are gathering."
"Good. The earlier the better. Otherwise, the enemy might know we are coming," Jack said. "How far away are we from village… What's the name again?"
"Giggragh," Water Lily answered. She ushered Jack and Hans into a waiting carriage.
"Yeah, that one," Jack said as he entered the carriage.
"This town is the closest settlement to that village. It's around four hours' ride using rare-grade steeds," Water Lily explained. "All the ones who are in this mission are equipped with at least rare-grade steeds."
"How many soldiers do you bring?" Jack asked. "Are you sure they can all be trusted?"
"Don't worry, this is not our first rodeo," Water Lily replied. "We started organizing once we received your information. We mostly bring our guild members. Around four thousand are the ones we can assemble on short notice. They had been teleporting to this town in batches and gathered outside. If anyone sees them, it will just be like we are doing a guild quest. Aside from those guild members, we also bring three natives."
"Only three? Four Winds is not mobilizing his soldiers?" Jack asked.
"This province is under a different tribe's command. We are doing a covert operation. If Four Winds moved his army here, he would be found out easily. Plus, it will take them days to arrive here. We need to do this fast. If we march now, we should be able to hit them before midnight."
"How do you know so fast that the Raretooth tribe is in that village?" Jack asked.
"We already know the Raretooth tribe is inside that village," Water Lily answered. "We just didn't know what they were planning until we received your information earlier today."
