For two days, the Ammarian Army didn't try to attack the Yelan Encampment, and because of this, an uneasy peace settled inside the Glouswell Forest.
Lux had been paying attention to Jasper's and General Revon's markers on the map, but aside from always seeing them together in the same area, there was nothing else that looked out of place.
Even so, the persistent feeling of dread he felt never eased up, making him wonder if he was just feeling stressed due to the current situation of the war.
According to Diablo's and Asmodeus' report, the Mountain Battlefield that was located on the Western Front of the battlefield was experiencing intense battles, which worried not only Lux, but also Great General Watson and Great General Sherlock.
General Hubert, the General of the Yelan Army who was tasked to hold the fort on the mountainous area, reported that they were slowly being pushed back, despite their geographical advantage.
This was bad news for the Yelan Army, but only the higher-ups were aware of it.
Great General Sherlock dispatched 5,000 soldiers to reinforce their Mountain Defenses in hopes that it would help them out in the battle that was being waged at their Western Front.
Naturally, General Carran had also been told of this news by Great General Watson and Great General Sherlock. However, there was nothing he could do about it.
Even he was having a lot of problems dealing with General Revon, whose army had swelled considerably after absorbing the remnants of General Phobus' men.
One mistake and it was possible for them to be overwhelmed by the Instinctive General's tactics, which were quite unpredictable.
While Lux and General Carran were pondering how they would be able to reverse their current situation, the Ammarian Army finally made its move.
"Report to me if General Revon made any sudden movements," General Carran said.
"I will," Lux replied. "Be careful, General. Something feels amiss. I don't know what it is, but I'm sure that our enemies didn't just sit idly on their camp these past few days."
General Carran nodded. He then ordered his four elite soldiers to never leave Lux's side and keep him safe.
While the General prepared to intercept General Revon's troops, the Half-Elf turned to his friends and asked them to go to the left flank of the battlefield, which was the furthest battlefield from where General Revon and Jasper were located.
"All of you be careful," Lux ordered. "Our priority is to clear this mission. If your lives are in danger, do not hesitate to retreat. Did I make myself clear?"
Everyone nodded their heads in understanding.
"Go," Lux said as he pressed his fist and palm together. "May fortune shine upon all of you."
The others returned his gesture before departing to join the battle.
Cai, who was standing beside Lux, raised its head towards the sky and frowned. Dark clouds started to gather in the sky, bringing in strong gusts of wind blowing in their direction.
"The spirits are restless," Cai muttered. "This is not a good sign."
Fei Fei, who was on top of Cai's head, also looked up at the sky and tilted her head to the side. She didn't know what her Master meant when it said that the spirits were restless.
Lux, who had strong hearing, heard the Boar's words and glanced in Cai's direction.
"Do you sense anything bad, Cai?" Lux inquired.
Cai nodded. "The Spirits are telling me that if I want to live, I should stay where I am right now. They added that following you is dangerous at the moment because you have been marked."
"I've been marked?" Lux asked with a serious expression on his face. "What do you mean that I've been marked?"
Cai took a deep breath before shifting its attention to the Half-Elf, who was waiting for its answer.
It then spoke in a solemn voice, different from its usual snarky comments that could irritate even a monk that was meditating to reach enlightenment.
"I can sense faint traces of a mark on your shoulder," Cai said as it narrowed its eyes. "There is also a faint mark on Eiko's forehead. Both of you have been marked, and I see the omens of death hovering over the two of you. If not for the fact that the Spirits of the Forest are gathering around me right now, I wouldn't have noticed it at all."
Lux's eyes widened in shock. He finally understood why he was feeling a sense of dread that wouldn't go away even after the passing of a few days.
"So, this was what they planned to do from the start," Lux muttered as he connected the dots together. "Thank you, Cai. Now I know what I need to do. For the time being, you stay here. Since the Spirits are telling you that you shouldn't move from this spot, then don't move from this spot, okay?"
Cai nodded its head in understanding. "Be careful, Lux. I'm sorry I can't accompany you right now."
"It's fine. You've already saved me big time," Lux replied before he shifted his gaze towards his four bodyguards who were all at the Initiate Rank. "The four of you, stay with Cai as well. I have to go somewhere."
The Captain of the four soldiers stepped forward and shook his head.
"The General has ordered us to accompany you," the Captain stated.
"But it will be very dangerous to come with me," Lux insisted. "Don't worry, I have plenty of life saving abilities that will keep me safe."
"The answer is still no. Even if we die, we will follow the General's order without fail."
"You're all so stubborn."
Lux crossed his arms over his chest. His four bodyguards were all Initiates, but if what Cai said was true, then the one who would come after him was none other than General Revon, who was a skilled Ranker.
The Ammarian General wouldn't even break a sweat when it came to killing four Initiates. His bodyguards would just lose their lives needlessly.
The Half-Elf didn't want this to happen, so he tried to convince the four soldiers to let him go alone. However, they didn't budge and insisted on going.
"Fine, since you don't want to follow my orders then have it your way," Lux said before activating his Boots of Teleportation.
The Half-Elf and the Baby Slime on top of his head were bathed in a silvery light for a few seconds before disappearing in front of everyone's eyes.
It took the Captain a few seconds to realize what just happened before cursing out loud.
"Find him!" the Captain ordered. "The General will have our heads if something bad happens to that Half-Elf!"
The four soldiers immediately spread in different directions to look for Lux, who had teleported to the cave he had discovered a few days ago.
Cai, who saw this scene, only smirked before turning its head in the direction that Lux had gone.
The lingering traces of death were still active, so the Boar was able to tell the general direction of where the Half-Elf was.
"Be careful, Lux," Cai said softly. "The shadow of Death creeps closer to you with each passing second."
—---------
"We're finally here," Lux said as he glanced at the Skeleton Mages that gathered around him.
Before he had left the cave a few days ago, he summoned his Skeleton Mages to keep watch over it, just in case it turned out to be a nest of a Beast that had left to look for something to hunt in the forest.
However, as the days passed, no creature entered the hidden cave, making Lux assume that it had no owner.
Since his four bodyguards were adamant about staying with him, he had no choice but to use his teleportation boots to reach his secret hiding spot.
'It's a bit of a shame that the teleportation ability of the Boots of Teleportation is now on cooldown,' Lux thought. 'Fortunately, I just have to wait for fifteen minutes before I can use it again.'
Fifteen minutes might seem like a short time, but in a war, a lot of things could happen in fifteen minutes.
The first thing that Lux did was open his Elysium Compendium to see the current state of the battlefield.
A moment later, he noticed that one of the purple dots on the map, accompanied by over a dozen red dots, started to move in his direction.
Lux's face immediately became grim because he was able to confirm his suspicion that Cai's words were correct. The Ammarian General had indeed put a mark on him, allowing the latter to locate his current position on the battlefield.
"This is probably going to be the longest fifteen minutes of my life," Lux muttered as he gazed at the approaching dots that were headed in his direction.
Although he had other life saving artifacts, he didn't want to use them at the moment. Because of this, he decided to do what he could as he waited for General Revon to make his way to his hiding place.
'Fortunately, I prepared for something like this to happen,' Lux thought as he patted Eiko's head, who was now on his shoulder and looking at the map that the Half-Elf had projected in front of them.
"Eiko, we have work to do," Lux said.
"Pa!" Eiko replied.
Even though a Ranker was coming after them, the two of them were still calm because they had made modifications to the inside of the cave beforehand.
Since General Revon was firm in his decision to end their lives, the Half-Elf would be more than happy to return the favor.
Although he wasn't confident that he would be able to kill the Ammarian General, the Half-Elf was certain that he could at least send the General's subordinates to the afterlife.
