Back to the present.

Enos and his companions silently sneaked through the large forest. It was in the middle of the night, with no moon or stars visible in the sky.

Enos wanted to use the darkness to their advantage and catch the unknown creatures off guard. They had been walking through this forest for three days already but hadn't found a single trace.

His companions were growing impatient. They were exhausted and drained.

-Where are they? Did the villagers really lie?- Doubt slowly crept into Enos as he moved quietly through the forest.

In the distance, perched on a tree, stood three figures.

"Do you think it has been long enough?" Ramor asked, "They have been on the move for three days now. If we wait any longer, they might rest."

Xersies nodded, "Yes, we should start now. Their minds should be more susceptible to the imagination. They're all tired, stressed, and nervous."

"Good," said Ramor. He gave a small whistle, and the Polykenas hidden in the surrounding started moving.

"Did you hear that?" one of the men in the group asked.

Enos stopped and looked at him,

"What?"

"The whistle."

Enos closed his eyes and listened carefully.

"I can't hear anything," said Gilfred after straining his ears.

"Now I can't hear it either. It was just a brief and quick whistle."

Another man, a third rank, furrowed his brow.

"Maybe you just imagined it..."

He froze mid-sentence. Enos looked at him, "Alris, what's wrong?"

Enos raised his hand, and a faint light illuminated the young man. Enos froze. There was a hole in the man's head, and blood was flowing out.

"WE'RE UNDER ATTACK!" Enos screamed, raising his hand high.

A bright beam of light shot up, illuminating the entire forest. Around Enos, dozens of figures emerged from the underbrush to his horror.

His men reacted immediately. After all, they were all well-trained men, experts of their rank, and experienced fighters.

Xersies raised his hand, and the golden light in the air vanished instantly.

He watched as the Polykenas attacked the small group of humans.

Xersies looked at Enos, "We'll spare that one. He is important in the city and held a high position. His word carries weight."

"Okay," said Ramor, giving the command to the Polykenas. Attacks rained down on the humans, but they fought bravely.

The first Polykenas fell, even before one of the humans died. But that was all part of the plan.

-They really are Reils! - Enos thought as he unleashed a powerful beam of light at the creatures. Shortly the entire forest was bathed in brilliant light as the beam struck one of the creatures, burning its head off.

"He is powerful," Ester said thoughtfully, witnessing Enos' attack.

Even they could feel the heat of the beam. It burned a hole into the forest. Xersies nodded and continued to observe the battle.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Gilfred roared, his body swelling as he activated his magic. Like a berserker, he charged at the creatures, fighting them in the midst of the mass.

He tore and struck, killing dozens. Yet, they seemed to come endlessly from the forest. Slowly, the humans began to weaken.

Soon, the first casualties fell. The battle stretched on for several hours.

All the third-rank fighters had already died, and only half of the fourth-rank fighters remained, including Gilfred and Enos. The corpses of the "Reils" piled up all around them.

"How high are the losses?" Xersies asked.

Ramor pondered for a moment and replied, "Exactly 112 Polykenas of the weakest class, 23 Polykenas of the third rank, and 4 Polykenas of the fourth rank."

"All right then, we should start now," Xersies said.

Enos was about to attack one of the creatures when it suddenly turned around and disappeared into the darkness of the forest. The other "Reils" also left the newly formed clearing.

"Did we win?" Gilfred asked as he joined Enos.

"It seems so," replied another member of the fourth rank.

"Now we have confirmation. Those are indeed Reils," Enos said, his gaze fixed on one of the fallen monsters.

Suddenly, he heard a cracking sound from the opposite thicket.

Startled, he looked up to see three figures emerging, their auras unmistakable. Enos' pupils contracted.

"They are nobles! Run!" Enos shouted, turning around and starting to run. He never expected to encounter fifth-ranked beings in this forest.

"Damn it," cursed Gilfred.

"I'll buy you time. Run as fast as you can," one of his companions, a muscular little man with black hair and pale skin, shouted. He ran towards the three Reils, his hand engulfed in flames.

Ramor saw him approaching and threw a small stone. A symbol appeared on it, and the stone exploded into a small black hole that pulled everything into its gravitational field. The man was drawn into the center, compressed into a tiny point.

Enos and the others took advantage of this opportunity and ran away. Xersies raised his hand, forming a long spear of light. He then hurled the spear with full force. No sound could be heard from the spear as it raced through the forest at incredible speed, heading straight for Gilfred.

He couldn't even react as the spear passed through his body and exited with the same velocity. Enos looked in shock at Gilfred, whose face had turned pale. He stumbled and crashed to the ground, lying motionless.

"Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck!" Enos cursed as he continued to run.

"It's my turn now!" Ester said, raising his hand. There was a small cut on his palm, from which blood flowed. The blood gathered and formed dozens of small knives that hung in the air. They shot forward, hitting another one of the people in the back and coming out from the front.

Ester pointed with his hand, and the man's blood shot into the air, forming a small stream. It rushed toward another fourth-ranked individual. The Human created a small hollow shape with his hand, and space tore apart.

The blood was pulled in, but it was not enough. The rest of the blood enveloped the person, and shortly afterward, all the blood was sucked out of his body.

It flew towards the last person remaining beside Enos. The blood surrounded him without touching him. Thousands of blood spears emerged and pierced the man. He died shortly thereafter. Now only Enos was left.

-Damn it. The difference between the fourth and fifth ranks is just too great,- Enos cursed inwardly. He raised his hand, and a wave of light shot toward the blood, evaporating it.

Ester allowed it to happen. Xersies once again threw a spear of light, but it narrowly missed Enos. However, the three had already turned around. They walked away and also disappeared into the darkness of the forest.

Enos lay on the ground, unmoving.

-Do they really think I'm dead?- Enos wondered. He waited for half an hour before getting back up.

-It seems they genuinely believed they hit me. That was lucky,-

He looked around and saw the bodies of his former comrades and his friend Gilfred. A deep sorrow filled him. He set off, not wanting to spend a single second longer in this cursed forest.

"They were indeed Reils... And three of them are nobles. There must be a reason for this. The Reils have something planned. But what? They've smuggled such a powerful force into our land. Why here? Why in this forest? But we're lucky. They made a mistake. We can prepare ourselves for their fight. However, we need to be cautious that the arrogant elves don't take advantage of the situation," Enos pondered.

He was deeply concerned. It was a dangerous situation, one that involved the entire future of humanity and the planet itself. If the Reils were indeed planning to attack humans, it could disrupt the entire balance of power on the planet. Enos had to return to the city as quickly as possible and report this.

It must be immediately conveyed to the Council of Humanity and the King. Fortunately, nothing strange happened on his way home, and Enos safely emerged from the forest.

However, he didn't know that three figures were secretly observing him from the shadows.

"It seems to have worked," Xersies said to the other two.

"Yes, all thanks to our Duce's planning," they replied.

Ester nodded in agreement. "We must inform him immediately."

Ramor activated a symbol on his neck.

Nero opened his eyes and sat up. A symbol on his neck, normally invisible, was glowing. Through the symbol, he could stay in constant contact with Ramor. He had just received a message from him that the operation was successful. He smiled faintly. That was all they had to do. Now they just had to wait and observe until the time came for their reappearance.