When the first sun rays peeked over the horizon the life in the camp awoke slowly as well.
The first Adventurers and Mercenaries woke up with a headache after their heavy drinking session the day before. They got up with the intention to prepare for today's battle inside the Untamed Jungle.
However, what they didn't expect to hear was screams of horror and fear to sweep through the entire camp as more people awoke.
After the first screams resounded more Adventurers and Mercenaries woke up, and more screams filled the air.
Everyone was forcefully pulled out of their beds, while the tension all over the camp increased drastically.
In the following ten minutes, dozens of mercenaries rushed over to the infirmary, holding one of their eyeballs in their hands.
Their remaining lone eye was filled with horror and disbelief. They couldn't understand how they lost an eye without even realizing it.
But that was not even the worst.
They woke up in the middle of several blood puddles, and the dead bodies of their comrades. The mercenaries didn't even notice that their comrades had died right next to them. They continued to sleep soundly, unaware of everything that happened at night.
It didn't take long before the news reached the authorities of the Jungle Expedition. At first, they didn't believe what had happened. They thought that their Mercenaries and Adventurers were still not sober and were hallucinating.
However, it was not long after that they realized how wrong their thoughts had been. The corpses of the deceased were brought to the center of the camp, creating a heavy atmosphere all over the camp.
Fear slowly crept up in the hearts of the men and women who were oblivious to the happenings of the night before and all of the sleep had been wiped off their eyes.
"Nobody noticed anything? How can that be?" One of the Jungle Expedition's participants asked.
He sobered up the moment he heard about the death of their comrades-in-arm, knowing that it could have been him who lay dead on the ground instead of them. He had just been lucky.
"I only heard rumors about the dangers of the Untamed Jungle before…I didn't expect them to be true…" Someone else murmured quietly. He was not from Xiltra and had traveled through the Zentika Empire especially for the Jungle Expedition not knowing what awaited him.
"Is that the Curse of the Untamed Jungle?" A female Adventurer asked, her voice laced with terror.
"Are we bound to die like this as well?"
One after another, voices of discomfort, confusion, and fear filled the camp.
"I don't want to stay here anymore…"
"Can't we just leave? I don't want to die."
"...I will never sleep again."
The seeds of fear and terror took root in the hearts of the Jungle Expedition members.
It influenced their minds and battle morale, weakening their spirits drastically.
They slowly lost the eagerness to enter the Untamed Jungle.
It was just like Michael hoped but much better.
While terror swept through the camp like a blazing fire, Michael and his people had long since returned to the territory.
After a long and tiring night, everyone rested for a few hours, leaving the guardian duty to those who had stayed back in the territory.
When Michael woke up again, he got up and met up with Lilica and the others.
He took a look at the territory and realized that Tiara, Blaire, and more than 5,000 Starless Summons had yet to return from the mission he'd given them. Michael was not worried about their well-being. He could sense their intact Link of Loyalty, and the emotions from both Blaire and Tiara, whose Links of Loyalty were especially firm.
"I hope they'll return by afternoon, otherwise, it will be difficult to deal with the Tier-3 Adventurers…" Michael murmured.
He had a plan to fight the Tier-3 Adventurers, but Tiara and the others had to complete their tasks to achieve that. If they were to finish their tasks too late, it would become increasingly difficult to deal with the Tier-3 Adventurers.
Fortunately, Michael and the rest could deal with the other Jungle Expedition members until then.
16,000 members of the Jungle Expedition had been killed until now. Amongst them, 2,000 were at the 2nd Tier.
"9,000 2nd Tier members and roughly 41,000 1st Tier members are left…If we deal with the people at the 2nd Tier by tomorrow, we should have it much easier to finish up the rest…" Michael concluded quietly.
Last night, Michael scanned the whole camp within a few hours. Thanks to his high perception, and Enhancement further heightening his senses, Michael was able to figure out the current situation across the Jungle Expedition's camp.
Only after he analyzed the camp the night before did Michael finally comprehend why the Jungle Expedition didn't charge into the Untamed Jungle with all of their people toward his territory.
The Tier-3 Adventurers were still missing!
Initially, the Jungle Expedition was supposed to start three days later. But because Michael and his people attacked the Adventurers and Mercenaries all across the border of the Untamed Jungle in the last few days the authorities of the Jungle Expedition started the expedition without waiting for the most important participants to arrive.
Their impatience caused the deaths of thousands of participants, and it created a terrific opportunity for Michael and his team.
The night before Michael killed more than 500 Adventurers. He harvested their SoulStar Fragments and Soultrait Symbols before absorbing everything. The Soultrait Symbols had been extracted a second time to produce more SoulStar Fragments.
In a single night, Michael harvested a total of 2763 SoulStar Fragments.
He didn't use the SoulStar Fragments immediately, knowing that it might be better to leave the upgrade options open. Michael would upgrade one of his three 4-Star Soultraits based on the need of the hour.
Other than the SoulStar Fragments, Michael harvested hundreds of powerful Artifacts, Memory Orbs, and more valuable loot. His gains outweighed his warfare expenses by large.
That was great, but it wouldn't stay like this. After all, Michael was just about to start using their fortune to acquire another advantage.
"We will start using poison from today," Michael said to the others while giving Sun Demos a few orders through telepathic communication.
[Wake up the Demon Monkeys. It's time to initiate the Beast Stampede!]
Since he presumed that the Tier-3 Adventurers wouldn't arrive today, Michael thought that it was necessary to up their game.
It was unlikely that the Demon Monkeys could enrage the Tier-2 Monsters of the middle zone as well as the day before and repeat the pattern. Fortunately, that was not necessary. The Demon Monkeys didn't have to do that anymore.
Instead of enraging their enemies within the Untamed Jungle, the Demon Monkeys were now ordered to target the biggest hordes of Tier-1 Monsters in the outer area. Michael and his people had located more than 100 habitats with a large population of Tier-1 monsters in the last few weeks. But since he and his people weren't too interested in those monster hordes anymore, they left them alone.
That would change now.
The Demon Monkeys split up in small groups to scare off the monster hordes, essentially pushing them to the border of the Untamed Jungle.
Preparing for battle didn't require too long. However, it was necessary to wait until the Jungle Expedition would charge inside the Untamed Jungle.
"Do you think they'll still enter the Untamed Jungle?" Mika asked the group.
"I bet they will. The authorities won't allow the Jungle Expedition's participants to be frightened of the Untamed Jungle. If they allow that, their authority will be undermined, and they'll lose face in the Zentika Empire. After all, the council invested heavily into the Jungle Expedition," Lilica explained before she added, "The moment they fail to deliver results, they will lose the opportunity to pursue a promising career in the Zentika Empire. They have to continue the Jungle Expedition now that they started it!"
"Furthermore, nobody knows for sure what happened the night before. We didn't leave any witnesses alive. That means nobody knows what will happen tonight. Nobody will be able to sleep soundly in the camp, scared that they might become the next victims of the 'silent reapers'," Liopham added confidently.
"I think they'll attack with all participants today. By sending all of them out, everyone will feel more comfortable, thinking that their chances of survival are higher." Another Forest Elf, Opars Zelk, added after Liopham.
Michael nodded in agreement. He couldn't tell for sure what the authorities of the Jungle Expedition were thinking, but the morale would dwindle the more days passed.
Michael was certain that the Jungle Expedition's members wouldn't be able to sleep soundly anymore, which would cause sleep deprivation and a severe burden on their minds. The combat prowess of the entire Jungle Expedition would decrease the more time passed while letting fear gnaw at their minds.
Thus, they had to prepare for an all-out war starting today.
Michael equipped everyone with various potions, ointments, and several types of poisons. He hoped that every attack could take out an opponent. That way, they could quickly annihilate their opponents and take care of the more terrifying enemies.
The territory's army went into position. They spread in a wide range around the territory, ready to attack at any moment. Afterward, they waited for the signal that would indicate the start of the all-out attack on the Jungle Expedition.
Meanwhile, Michael changed his position. Instead of joining the battle in the Untamed Jungle, he did something else. He jumped on Icarus' back before the Greater Eagle left the Untamed Jungle to circle high in the air above the camp.
Eagle Eyes' passive effect enhanced his eyesight enough to see clearly what was going on the ground even though Icarus was circling more than 500 meters above the surface.
Michael observed the situation clearly, and he gave Sun Demos the mental command to initiate the Beast Stampede once the Jungle Expedition set off to the Untamed Jungle.
The roars of the Demon Monkeys were the territory army's signal to stay vigilant and await the arrival of the Jungle Expedition.
On the other hand, Michael waited patiently to see how many would stay behind.
"It's about time to deal with the snake's head."
