The group traveled for a couple of days. The journey that had taken the invasion force months to complete had been completed by the striking squad in a couple of days. Obviously, the reason for that was the power of this striking squad.
Every single member of the striking squad was a level one King with an exceptional Battle-Strength, and they all also had an above-average speed for their level due to the Laws they understood. The speed difference between these members and the level three and four Lords in the invasion force was huge.
They quickly arrived at the appropriate defensive line. This defensive line was closer to the continent's core than the last one, which also meant that this territory was more valuable. Of course, this also meant that the defensive line was more powerful.
Instead of having only one or two level four Kings, this one had five. Yet, this defensive line also wasn't important enough to station a level five King here. Those were stationed even closer to the core of the continent or had entirely different tasks to complete.
The striking squad had been sent here due to the bitter battles between the defensive lines. Many of the members in the defensive line had been killed in the skirmishes over the past few years. Filling up the ranks of the defensive line was a huge expenditure for the land beasts. So, instead of filling up the ranks, they decided that it would be better to just destroy the troublesome enemy defensive line.
Just like the previous defensive line Gravis had visited, this one also resided on a huge mountain range. Earth Movers built these mountains to act as a natural barrier for sea beasts. If the sea beasts wanted to transform the environment into water, they would need to use way more Water Makers.
Gravis was a bit surprised when his Spirit Sense encompassed the defensive line. There were over 200 Kings present, which was quite a big number. However, over 150 of them were average level one Kings. The remainder were level three Kings, with five level four Kings leading the whole defensive line.
"We have been waiting for your arrival," a black panther transmitted to the group as she appeared in front of them. Gravis looked at her and felt a dark and oppressing aura coming out of her. Yet, he was sure that she wasn't the Commander of this defensive line. After all, Gravis didn't feel the unique aura of a beast able to fight a level above themselves on her.
Someone with the capabilities to lead four other beasts on their same level should be very outstanding. Beasts were never willing to follow anyone weaker than themselves or someone equal to them. They only followed someone if they admitted that they were weaker than them.
This was also the reason why the leader of the striking squad was a level three King while the members were all level one Kings. Every member of the striking squad had an exceptional Battle-Strength, and a level two King might not be able to lead them with confidence. Additionally, their leader also needed to have a powerful Battle-Strength themselves. That was why a level three King with a powerful Battle-Strength was the leader.
"Sorry to keep you waiting," the silver wolf transmitted back casually. The silver wolf had the capability to fight one level above himself, and he should also be more powerful than this black panther. That was why he didn't need to show any respect to the level four King.
"So, how is the Commander doing right now?" the silver wolf asked with a friendly and casual tone inside his voice transmission.
"Commander Rime is currently trying to find traitors among our ranks. As you surely have already heard, the number of traitors has skyrocketed in the past decade. We have no idea where they all come from, but the fact is that there are way more than before," the black panther answered.
The silver wolf nodded. "That sounds good. We can never be careful enough about traitors in our ranks. So, does Commander Rime have a plan in regards to the assault?" the silver wolf asked.
"Commander Rime is very careful with his plans and information and always keeps them secret. The recent rise of traitors has made him even more guarded regarding his secrets. Because of that, I don't know if he already has a plan or not," the black panther transmitted.
"Then I think I should speak with him at our usual spot," the silver wolf transmitted back.
"Go ahead," the black panther answered, making way for the silver wolf.
"Guys," the silver wolf said as he turned to his members. This whole discussion had been done via voice transmission, but he had kept his members in the loop. "I will be meeting up with the Commander for a bit and plan our assault. Please remain here and wait for further orders."
The squad nodded in confirmation. Then, the silver wolf left with the black panther to meet the commander.
While the squad waited, they used their senses to keep track of what their squad leader was doing. Meeting the Commander face-to-face was only a formality to show the respect that the squad leader had for the Commander of this defensive line. The silver wolf was powerful but probably not as powerful as the Commander.
The squad leader flew to a blue crab together with the black panther. Apparently, this blue crab was Commander Rime. The squad was actually quite surprised when they saw the Commander. Wasn't that a typical sea beast? Why would a sea beast lead the defensive line of the land beasts? This truly seemed suspicious.
The three Kings looked at each other for several minutes while they talked to each other with voice transmissions. The squad had no idea what they were talking about, but that was understandable. If these three didn't keep these things secret, every member of the defensive line would know their plan. If there were a traitor among them, this could become disastrous.
After some minutes, the Squad Leader returned with the black panther. "Alright, we have finished our planning."
"So? What will we do?" the red lizard in the squad asked with a voice transmission.
"Well, I can't exactly tell you the specifics. After all, the more beasts that know about our plan, the likelier it is to reach the ear of a traitor. I can only tell you that we will form a small hitting squad with Jessy over here," the silver wolf transmitted while gesturing to the black panther beside him.
"Glad to be working with you," the black panther transmitted with a nod.
"Jessy has the darkness element, which allows her to hide herself very well in the dark. We will be waiting until it's dark and then proceed with the plan," the silver wolf transmitted.
The group sighed. They would already be attacking in less than twelve hours. Judging by previous experiences, in twelve hours, over half the squad would die again. Every beast wondered if their time had come.
Gravis didn't really mind the wait. To him, this was no different than any other battle. He would risk his life in every situation that he considered as tempering. After all, if there weren't a high chance of death, it wouldn't constitute as tempering in his mind.
Meanwhile, the squad felt like the time was progressing way too fast. They felt like they would die in twelve hours, and they wished that these twelve hours lasted forever. They weren't ready to die.
The twelve hours passed way too quickly for the squad's liking. Yet, the time had come to move out. The sun had already fallen below the horizon, and the night was beginning.
"Time to move out," the silver wolf transmitted to his squad and Jessy.
Jessy and Gravis were already prepared to move out. Meanwhile, the remainder of the squad stood up with hung heads. They were the absolute elites of the land beasts, but that wouldn't change their fate. The chances were high that they would die tonight. Could such a devastating death-rate really be considered tempering?
The silver wolf and Jessy flew towards the west, away from the defensive line. The group was a bit confused about the direction, but that was probably part of the plan. Commander Rime, Jessy, and the silver wolf all didn't seem to mind that the group took this direction.
The group traveled for a couple of thousand kilometers until they could no longer feel the defensive line. Then, the silver wolf and Jessy stopped.
"This should be an adequate distance to the defensive line. We are still within Commander Rime's sense, but he won't be able to come here fast enough. If we move further, we will enter the range of the Blue Flame Empire. Let's do it here," the Squad Leader said to Jessy.
The squad felt confused and shocked when they heard that. What did their Squad Leader mean?
Jessy nodded. "Hurry up. We only have so much time until the Commander arrives."
The silver wolf turned to his squad with his usual, positive smile. "Sorry guys, but you have to die now."
The squad felt a cold shiver run down their spines. What did their Squad Leader mean?
On one side were four level one Kings, while on the other were one level four King and a level three King that was more powerful than the average level four King.
Was their Squad Leader a traitor? They could understand that the black panther was one, but their Squad Leader? He had been part of the Squad for a really long time! Additionally, hadn't he been a mate to the Empress? How could someone like that be a traitor!?
BANG!
And then, the silver wolf exploded as the lightning inside his body went wild. In no time at all, the lightning consumed the body and entered Gravis' body.
All the beasts felt like their eyes were falling out of their heads. What had just happened!?
"Huh, the Empress has been spot-on," Gravis commented with a bit of surprise.
Then, he looked at the shocked Jessy.
"And sure enough, I have one average level four King as an opponent."
Meanwhile, Jessy fell into a panic. This wasn't how this was supposed to go!