The soldiers no longer had the comfort of their tents; instead, they were forced to sleep inside the trenches. Some were tasked with keeping watch throughout the night. The trench was shaped like a square, with a great general stationed at each side, for defense.
In the middle of the night, as they slept, a strange noise echoed through the darkness. The ominous sound resembled laughter, and it grew louder with each passing minute, soon rousing the soldiers, who were ready to fight.
Using the cover provided by the trenches, the mages took aim, peering into the dead of night for whatever was making the sound. Edmond waited with bated breath until he first caught a glimpse of one of the creatures responsible for the noise.
It was a shadow hyena—a beast capable of merging seamlessly into the shadows, becoming nearly untouchable. The most dreadful aspect of these creatures was that they hunted in packs, sometimes numbering over a hundred. Their laughter was meant to cause confusion and fluster their prey.
The mages fired their muskets at the hyenas, but they were too quick, vanishing before the shots could hit. It felt as if the creatures were toying with them, striking from behind. The night was filled with the screams and shouts of wounded soldiers, the ominous banging of muskets echoing in the darkness and the shadow hyena's dreadful laughter.
After a while, it became painfully obvious that the hyenas' attack patterns were calculated. They avoided the great generals altogether, focusing their assaults on the lower-ranking mages. Everyone knew that wild animals weren't capable of such sophisticated tactics. This was the work of Grimjaw.
The onslaught continued, with the mage soldiers screaming at the top of their lungs as they were ripped apart. They were dropping like flies, and as they witnessed the sheer number of their fallen comrades, panic began to set in.
Their attacks became sloppy, and their own comrades were caught in the crossfire. In a single night, their army of over 7,000 mages was reduced to roughly 2,000. By morning, exhausted and demoralized, they had to remove the bodies from the trenches due to the lack of space to walk and the foul scent that had already began to emanate from them.
They piled the bodies into a massive heap, where Edmond used his fire magic to incinerate them. Most of the remaining soldiers appeared on the verge of a mental breakdown, their eyes completely lifeless. In just one night, their morale had been shattered.
Yet, there was nothing they could do but prepare for the next wave of beasts that would come their way. This continued for days on end until the unthinkable happened—the soldiers began to fall ill. One moment they were fine, and the next, they were drained of mana, paralyzed, and coughing up blood. Whenever they stumbled upon a demi-human village, it was always the same: most were dead, with only a few children surviving.
At a young age, children's bodies didn't heavily rely on mana, as it wasn't fully developed in their blood which is why they were spared. But int the end it didn't matter, those children would often starved to death or they were killed in acts of vengeance.
Unfortunately, all the other white mages had been killed, except for one—Victor. After thorough research on this seemingly mysterious disease, he concluded that the cause was hyperuricemia.
Hyperuricemia is a condition caused by elevated levels of uric acid in the blood. And what was the remedy for this disease you ask? Drinking more water. It was a genius plan: Make them think that the cure for the disease is actually the thing that causes it. They were determined to spread the virus as much as possible.
Still, none of the great generals had fallen ill, and they were now left with a meager 700 mages. The four great generals, along with the other commanders, gathered to decide whether to retreat.
The decision was 1 to 7, with Joffrey being the only one who voted to stay. Edmond suspected that the virus would likely kill them before they could leave so he didn't bother to vote on behalf of staying. Additionally, for the past day and a half, the attacks from Grimjaw had ceased completely, leading them to suspect that he had been killed by the virus.
Edmond's plan was coming along nicely; the only missing pieces were the deaths of all the great generals and Damien, as he was the only one who could link Edmond to the virus.
He sat joyfully, looking around the tent at the faces of the men who were once considered better than him. Now, they were nothing but frightened kittens.
Just then, the mangled corpse of one of the soldiers was hurled into the tent where they all were.
Their confusion was evident as they stared at the corpse until a loud, vulgar roar snapped them out of their daze. They rushed out of the tent to see the mages pointing their muskets at a demi-human.
It was a lion demi-human with a white mane that was matted together to form locks. He was encircled by a group of mages, his wild eyes darting back and forth until he caught sight of Edmond and the others. As if by instinct, he stared at them intensely.
"Which one of you is the king?" Grimjaw asked, his voice rough and demanding.
"King?" Joffrey was the first to respond. "What business does a mut have with a king? Know your place."
"Mut?!" Grimjaw's claws extended menacingly. "How dare you! I am Grimjaw, King of Bea—"
BAM!
His introduction was cut short by the sound of a musket. In a panic, one of the mages fire their weapon. A fire blast connected right in the center of his face. That single shot triggered an orchestra of gunfire, with all the mages firing at Grimjaw. His huge imposing figure was now covered in smoke from the aftermath of their attacks.
Before the smoke from the gunfire could even clear, Joffrey spoke.
"Tell me something, King Of Beasts: is it true that you wiped out your entire tribe? Hahahaha! What kind of monster wipes out their own kind? I haven't been able to find a single Lion demi-human." he said bitterly.
"I thought that if I started killing your kind it would've dragged you out of your hidey hole; but it seems you finished the job already."
A menacing smile spread across Grimjaw's face, his mind consumed by thoughts of the hunt. A fog-like aura began to seep from him, infused with raw magic that unleashed his killing intent.
The air thickened with this potent magic, causing some of the soldiers to gasp for breath. They collapsed to the ground, wheezing as their bodies involuntarily shut down. Edmond and the others exchanged looks of disbelief and horror, unable to comprehend the terror unfolding before them.