Chapter 351 Green Fire's Disappearance
"Your Majesty, it seems that Green Fire is still missing. Do you mind if we speak more about this in private?" Oku, the Right Hand of Orc King Hamu, requested as he saw Colonel Ayse beside the King, with her giving him an informal shoulder massage in his private quarters.
"Do not mind her, I trust her more than enough with the matters at hand. Maybe she might be able to give an opinion on the current situation too." Orc King Hamu said and smiled at Colonel Ayse which his Right Hand rarely saw him doing so. He sighed inwardly and reported his findings to Orc King Hamu about Green Fire.
"We had investigated on the tip that you had given on Green Fire and it does appear that the place had some form of fighting take place and a large amount of Shaitan Noble's magic was detected in that place. Upon further investigation, our team found that there were other villages that were burnt down too and traces of Shaitan magic energy were present. There was no witness to question as the village were either deserted, burnt to ashes or maybe the potential witnesses ran away from the scene." Oku took a out a piece of paper from a folder and presented his findings to his King
"The investigation team can only deduce two scenarios. One, he is still chasing these…'goblins' Your Majesty had foreseen with your Avatar's powers. Two, he did not have enough …fun and decided to rampage around the area. However, we could not understand his rationale of abandoning the current assault which we had been planning for ages. The investigation team can only hope that he will return at the nick of time." Oku ended his summary report to Orc King when it was just 12 hours away from their imminent assault against the goblins' capital.
In the meantime, Colonel Ayse was laughing so badly inside her. She knew exactly what had happened after Jin had updated her about it. Hence, she had formed a counter plan to make sure the King does not suspect Green Fire death. Ayse had asked Jin to relay the message to Flame Ripper to burn down deserted villages and leave obvious trails since he had the power of Ifrit with him. The Orc investigation team would not suspect that it was Flame Ripper who had done it since there was no update on the death of Green Fire. (The goblin assassins also took the chance to teach Ripcaller what kind of evidence would be subtle and more believable for the investigation teams. Although Daga told him that if something was too obvious, the investigation team might overthink it.)
"I suggest we delay the assault since there might also be a chance that Green Fire had allied with the goblins Your Majesty had predicted. That would be the only possibility I could come out with if we are being rational here. Maybe, he might want to overtake the throne and will do it when you are vulnerable. And because of this possibility, we need to shore up the defences or change our assault date to prevent the mission being leaked out to the Gob Gob Kingdom." The Right Hand suggested and Colonel Ayse displayed her displeasure.
"Do you have any idea what you are talking about?" Colonel Ayse stopped the massage and folded her arms towards the kneeling Right Hand to question him.
"If it's a possible unexpected attack on my King's life, I will do what it takes to protect him." The Right Hand spoke. After which, Ayse too knelt down in front of King Hamu and spoke defensively.
"Your Majesty, I ask that you refrain from listening to him and reconsider the attack. He is speaking of conspiracy of the highest level and is being very ridiculous at that too, an Avatar of a Shaitan Noble betraying you for the goblins? What will the goblins give him in return? A bloodied throne that he had to fight not just Your Majesty alone but two other Avatars??" Ayse voiced out her objections.
"Also, what can the goblins do even if they have the information here? It will take a messenger bird more than 10 hours to reach Gob Gob Kingdom from here. Magical channels like ours? As if those goblins are as smart as our researchers here." Ayse bragged to the King that there was virtually no way they would get the message.
"Maybe they captured one of the Orc Raider Captains and forced him to use it. Your Majesty, you cannot discount any possible leaks." Oku said hastily to counter Ayse's argument.
"Alright, let's say they did and by some fortunate mishap, allowed them to learn about this magical channel, how much can the leak benefit them? You already receive official spy reports that the majority of the goblin forces had already split themselves between the West and North, leaving the capital lightly defended. That amount of time is not enough to even sortie a cavalry battalion back in time." Ayse rebutted.
"Spear Goblin General Argent has a unit of superior wyverns under his command which he can fly back in a moment's notice." Oku tried to throw back his punches but he realised it was stupid of him to even suggest that one. Even if the wyverns returned from the north, they were only a bunchful. By saying that, it was like insulting the colossal Orc army to be so useless that they could be broken by a company of wyverns. Orc King Hamu who was observing the argument gave a serious stare at Oku for implying that his orc army was weak.
"Oh, give me a break on the leak part. You are worrying too much. Besides, Green Fire is weak towards the Avatar of Shiva which he will be stupid to fight head on. From the looks of the evidence you described, it might just be more of an A.W.O.L (absent without official leave) case or Green Fire could be playing truant since Ifrit had always desired for battle because of his nature. He could be venting some magical powers which had been stored in him for a long time since Your Majesty did not allow any outlet for the Avatars." Colonel Ayse retorted and Orc King Hamu had a long pause which made Ayse become braver with her words.
"Let's just say your Right Hand is correct, which I highly doubt it, I humbly suggest we pressed on with the attack. The war supplies of the two armies, the Orc Ice Fleet and the Thunder Orc Army would not be sufficient for a return trip. If we do not follow the time table, we might have logistical problems since we are the invading Army if we were ever to withdraw. That was the reason why you assigned Orc Raiders to plunder the supplies right? So why waste the lives and efforts of your subjects that had prepared so much. Also, my researchers had reported to me that the Red Moon tonight is going to produce the highest amount of energy ever recorded. It will be a shame not to utilise that energy." Colonel Ayse was talking and she could see that Orc King Hamu was being influenced by her words more.
"I have to thank the foxes for the ointment which I used to massage the Orc King. He seemed to be compelled to answer positively to me more than usual." Colonel Ayse thought before she took another breath and said her plans out.
"Hence, I propose something else. Instead of releasing your army in phases, attack all at once. Send in the Orcs like a blob of massive destruction into their city. I can also release the prototype Orc Walkers…erm those Tin Cans which Your Majesty loved when you saw them." Colonel Ayse said and was interrupted by King Hamu.
"Yes, those Tin Cans were magnificent looking. If you do bring them in, our firepower will greatly increase." King Hamu nodded his head in agreement.
"But Your Majesty, if you do that and we do not gauge the defences of the goblin army, we might suffer a defeat similar to the one that Colonel had in the North before she shamelessly came back empty-handed and ask for forgiveness." The Right Hand Oku disputed with some bitterness in his voice.
"I did not finish my proposal." Colonel Ayse stared murderously at the Right Hand but being a trained Orc warrior, he was not afraid at all. "That is why, I suggest you send in the Avatars of Syldra and Shiva to the capital instead of teleporting them to the North and West which your Right Hand had suggested in the past few days."
"You are insane! What kind of plan are you suggesting? That will reduce the firepower in the North and West. Your Majesty, we should take precaution not to lose that many orcs even though it is just a distraction tactic." The Right Hand retorted.
"My King, your objective is to kill King Sol and with the disappearance of Green Fire, I am suggesting that not just the Avatars, but Your Majesty as well, enter the fray with your Orc forces for the Capital Attack. That way, you have an overwhelming strength to crush them in one swoop. Whatever trickery they might have will be useless when you absorb the powers of the Full Red Moon. Besides, your Right Hand is not having any faith in the Ice Fleet and Thunder Army." Ayse smiled with an ever slight evil grin towards Oku. She could see in the expression of King Hamu and she knew she was going to win this.
"I would like to ask the Right Hand, are there any reports of the Thunder Army, who had been suffering significant losses, asking for more reinforcements? Have they retreated any more than just tactical ones?" Colonel Ayse said with spite towards the Right Hand and he was dumbfounded for a moment which made her press on with her agenda.
"With my upgraded inventions that had been dispatched for their use, I believe the two military forces are more than capable to provide more than just a distraction. I highly recommend this particular plan my King." Ayse had her head down as she requested.
"Ayse, stand up. It seems that your proposal was similar to what I had in mind when I heard of the disappearance of Green Fire. To hear that my top researcher had the same thoughts made me reassured that overwhelming strength is the way to go. To show that fake king the might of our Orc Race. That we are their masters." Orc King Hamu said in a solemn voice and turned his attention to his Right Hand, Oku.
"Oku, you had concerns but these puny concerns only make you look weak." King Hamu flicked his hand and a blast of dark energy made his Right Hand fly across the room. "Amend the assault operations according to her proposal. Inform the Avatars, commanders and the chain of command that we are proceeding when the sun sets. Tell them explicitly I expect no failures." King Hamu stood up and made his way to his personal armoury room. However, the ointment Ayse used did affect his mood and Orc King Hamu decided to relax with the company of a few virgin female orcs fresh from the neighbouring villages first before proceeding towards the armoury room.
"Ooof! If only you can go in now and strike their king." Qiu Yue was viewing from the console with Jin as she dried her hair with a towel. Because of the long strenuous hours reforming the goblin ministries, she did not really have the time to go back to her home. Hence, she decided to take a bath in Jin's terrace house which the System had designed.
There were extra rooms in place and Jin had already created one with Qiu Yue in mind previously. Her parents did not call since they thought she was in an overseas business trip, (though technically she was indeed in another foreign country.) but her boss called her multiple times to ask for an explanation but the number he was calling from was not a local one. (She picked up once to say she quit the moment she heard it's her boss' voice and never again did she answer any calls from her phone.)
Only then she realised…the boss had secretly booked a flight to their contractors' region…so he could have the opportunity to 'bump' into her. Qiu Yue finally able to see the link why her boss was so persistent in making her go for this particular trip compared to the others. She previously asked Jin if the System could trace the call and Jin was equally surprised the effort her Boss put in to stalk her.
"It's okay, you are safe here. I will make sure…he will have his just desserts." Jin reassured her and Qiu Yue said she wanted to be there to see the process. Jin could only laugh bitterly for now, although he really did ask the System to track him and made sure he did not come close to her in the future. Kraft, on the other hand, recommended something more effective. "We can have him assassinated you know. The country he is currently in made it a very easy excuse to have an unfortunate accident happen."
"System agrees with Original Bellator Kraft. System would provide the resources for free for this mission. Protecting User's potential Sub System User is of utmost priority " The System stated which made Jin surprised and wonder why but right now his focus was on Operation Pompeii.
"Well, the king is VERY vulnerable right now." Qiu Yue finally blocked the number when it was the umpteenth time phone call she was receiving from her boss and looked at the console. The King was occupied with indulging himself in women and such a scene made her more than furious as it also reminded her about her boss too. Although, she understood that the Orc King was lecherous and they did not adhere to the same moral values as humans but torturing the Orc women after he had his fill? Not acceptable in her books, not a single bit.
"Sigh…you know it's not the brightest idea and you fully know well why." Jin closed his eyes for a while since he too could not take the imagery being showed by the System. (Ayse purposely placed secret cameras in his quarters and all around the castle to learn more about the castle.)
Besides, Qiu Yue was the one who refrained Jin and his monsters from assassinating the King. With Colonel Ayse now a spy for Jin, he technically had access to the Orc's main castle but the System refused to portal the goblin assassins unless they decided to be Jin's property. Jin asked whether it would make a difference if he paid for the resources to use the portal services but the System still refused adamantly on that. That did not stop Jin having ideas of sending his own monsters to attack the King. Yet Qiu Yue stopped him because the possible implications of having their King slayed would only fuel the Orc's cause even further and it might prolong the war instead of stopping it.
On the other hand, if Operation Pompeii goes somewhat according to plan, the casualty lost in the long run was more acceptable for both orcs and goblins alike. They hoped to force the king down to surrender and if possible, brainwash the King with Kraft's ability rather than killing him outright.
"But boy, that was really a close call. If not for Ayse's offensive argument…" Jin had a sigh of relief as he looked at the time. It was early Tuesday morning and people definitely had to go to work. Yet, if the cultivators were able to assist in the Western and Northern defences, it would greatly improve the chances of the goblin's survival while Jin, his bellators and some top monsters would be on standby against the Orc King Hamu and his elite subjects.
"If that's the case, I shall make it more enticing for the customers then." Jin opened up the Pandamonium page via the Dungeon Maker console and wrote the following.
"Emergency Raid Event! X5 points!! Shop opens now till the event is completed! That is right, the shop opens now! First ticket entrance of the day is free for every cultivator! Take this opportunity to get as many points as possible and earn those great rewards!" An announcement was being sent out early in the morning and every monster had started to prepare themselves for the Operation Pompeii and to aid the defence of the goblins.