The army, led by the four great generals, was now in the middle of Beastopia. For some strange reason, this area had no trees, just flowers of various sizes and colors. It was like a lush garden encased in a tapestry of colors.
These flowers were unique to this area of Beastopia and could not be found anywhere else in the world. Even with the violence and destruction that took place here, the flowers remained unharmed.
They remained untouched because they were poisonous. The demi-humans had no choice but to leave them alone. That was why most of the demi-humans who relied on herbs and plants to survive had moved to the border of Beastopia, while the more aggressive tribes stayed and were in constant conflict.
A little over 7,000 mages remained out of the 8,000 troops that had originally been deployed. With no trees, they were left out in the open. The land was clear for miles, with nothing or no one in sight.
The great generals were in full control of the army, with the other generals positioned behind them, demonstrating their superiority.
As they marched, a loud blast erupted through the sky, which could only be described as a sonic boom.
Without skipping a beat, the mages began aiming their muskets into the air as they searched the sky for the source of the sound. That was when they spotted the faint outline of what looked to be a shadow hovering above a cloud.
Then more shadows started to emerge, soon forming a whole swarm. They looked on with dazzled expressions as they tried to make out whatever was flying above.
The scene was reminiscent of sharks circling their prey. Like a black lightning bolt falling from the sky, a shadowy figure struck into the center of the army's formation.
Through the panic and sheer confusion, Edmond caught sight of it—a Wyvern. A black-scaled beast that resembled a smaller dragon, with its wings fused to its arms like a bat.
With the savagery of a wild beast, the wyvern began ripping the soldiers to pieces, and soon more wyverns entered the fray, diving from the sky like a meteor shower. The four great generals were the first to react.
A swirl of dark energy engulfed Joffrey, circling around him like a raging storm. His eyes glowed a deep purple as he directed his magic at the wyverns closing in from the sky.
"Pulsus Tenebrosus."
A massive wave of dark energy erupted from his fingertips, engulfing the sky and circling the Wyverns. Their lifeless bodies plummeted from the sky as the dark energy absorbed their life force. The other great generals also prepared their attacks.
Augustus Fitzgerald, a nobleman in his early thirties and a great general in the war, engulfed the battlefield in his ice magic with just a simple chant.
"Glacies Diffundere."
Then, with another chant, he infused the first magic with a specific property.
"Modus Paralysis."
The ice covered the wyverns and made its way into their bodies like a living entity—like a virus that paralyzed them. One by one, the wyverns froze in place. The other two generals, Theodore Wellington and Eleanor Hastings, both used magic that enhanced their physical attributes. They attacked with great speed and power, killing most of the wyverns before the mages could even fire a shot.
Just as the battle concluded and all the wyverns had been killed, Joffrey approached Edmond.
"Was this him? The King of Beasts you mentioned before?" he asked.
"Without a shadow of a doubt," Edmond replied confidently. He knew it had to be him. From the reports he had received, everything matched up. He had heard countless tales of the shaman lion demi-human with the abilities of a Beast Tamer. He went by the name Grimjaw—the King of Beasts.
Edmond also knew that the shaman bear demi-human, Björn, was the one responsible for the earlier attack on his troops.
"Where is that coward hiding?" Joffrey said angrily, spitting onto the ground. "Cheap tricks— is that all they're capable of? No wonder they're dying off."
Edmond was taken aback by Joffrey's words; his usually calm demeanor faltered for just a moment. Joffrey noticed this and a twisted smile grew on his face. Edmond understood what it was about. The only time that bastard smiled like this was when he was describing something an ordinary person would consider tragic.
"Haven't you heard? Those demi-humans are falling sick and dying off, hahaha. The white mages said we might've brought a disease they had no protection against. It serves them right."
Edmond merely smiled at Joffrey's boasting. He finally got the confirmation he needed; Damien had successfully spread the virus. Which means his plan was proceeding nicely.
A part of him felt like he was saving the demi-humans. He hated the lack of standards within the army. The female demi-humans, in particular, had it rough. Originally, they were taken to be sold as slaves, but none of them even lasted a night.
Even after they died, their bodies were kept around to be defiled. For that reason, he made sure that no children were captured. He burned them until only ashes remained. It was the least he could do for them.
And the man in front of him—Joffrey—encouraged their depraved acts. This war had brought out the depravities in men that civilization had covered up. He quickly discovered that in the wild, they were nothing but animals.
That was why he felt nothing when they, too, began to be killed off by the virus.
The lack of trees was a major disadvantage for them. If they were attacked again, they would be left exposed, and given the time lag of the muskets, that would be detrimental. Hence, they decided to dig trenches.
Using magic, it wasn't that difficult. The trenches would provide necessary cover for them to hide. Additionally, they could use tunnels to travel unseen, and if more wyverns attacked, their strikes would be less effective if their prey was concealed in the crevices of a trench.
By nightfall, they had completed the construction of their trenches. Edmond felt uneasy and resolved not to sleep for the duration of the night.
He knew that lions mostly hunted at night.