Morze returned twenty minutes later, his face pale, sweat drenching his leather armor.
"Commander... My Lord..." Morze gasped. "It's a camp. Not monsters. Demons."
The word sucked the air out of the command tent. Even Kaze, a veteran of a hundred battles, stiffened. The Demon Race was supposed to be extinct, driven back to the underworld centuries ago.
"Numbers?" Reynold asked calmly.
"Two hundred low-tier. Two mid-tier. And one... one High-Rank commander. He has obsidian skin and horns that burn with purple fire."
"A High-Rank," Kaze whispered. "That's a creature capable of wiping out a battalion single-handedly. We need to retreat, Lord Reynold. We need the Royal Army for this."
"The Royal Army will not come," Reynold said coldly. "And if we retreat, they will march on the city tonight. We fight."
"But Sir! We are outnumbered and outpowered!"
"We are," Reynold agreed. He looked at the map. "But we have something they don't."
He pointed to a depression in the terrain near the Demon camp.
"We have the element of surprise. And we have the Sorcerers."
Kaze looked confused. "Sorcerers? The outcasts? They live in myths."
"They live three miles north of here," Reynold revealed. "I've been tracking their mana residue for months. They hate the Kingdom for persecuting them. If we offer them a home... they will rain fire for us."
Reynold stood up. "Kaze, hold the line here. Make noise. Draw their attention. I will go to the Sanctuary."
"Alone?"
"No," Reynold's eyes flashed. "I'm taking the Shadow Squad."
[SYSTEM ALERT: UNEXPECTED ALLIANCE DETECTED] [SCENARIO DEVIATION: 45%]
High above, Mr. X watched the screen. "He's recruiting the Hidden Faction? That wasn't supposed to happen until Volume 3."
"Should I block the path?" Vanz asked over the comms. "Collapse a few trees?"
"No," Mr. X replied, his voice laced with curiosity. "Let him go. If he fails to convince them, the Demons will slaughter him, and the simulation resets. If he succeeds... the data will be invaluable."