Chris was back at camp. He was standing in front of 20 hunters. They were those that joined him during his visit to the refugee camp.

"Everyone, I hope you kept your eyes open. Tell me your findings."

One hunter stepped forward "My King, I counted 30 soldiers total, including the gate guards and those guarding the Chief's tent. Their equipment is slightly better than ours."

He stepped back and another stepped forward "I managed to find out from one soldier escorting us that there are 550 people in the camp. The information still needs to be confirmed, but it does not seem false given the size of the camp."

Another hunter stepped forward. "I managed to see their kitchen after asking for water. They have a lot of cutlery. There is no way they can leave in a hurry if they want to keep it all."

...

The hunters shared their findings one after the other. Chris was impressed by their initiative. They were all recommended by Ferlin and he now understood why. They were probably part of some information gathering group before the collapse the Old Human Kingdom.

"Bergy, take note of their names, I'll need the list later." Said Chris

"Very well my Lord." Answered berg, he was very satisfied with the reports too.

One last hunter, who seemed a little beaten up, stepped forward and said "My Lord! They have three blacksmiths. I noticed two anvils and a hastily made forge, it can probably forge copper but there is no way it can forge iron. As for tools they had a few bellows, tongs and hammers but I could not count those as I had to pretend to walk by."

"Great work! How did you manage that?"Wondered Chris.

"I heard the hammers, but I couldn't find a way to go there. So I thought 'What would my King do'? And it came to me! All I had to do was spot a girl going in that direction and bother her until she ran away! Then I could 'naturally' chase her. And it worked! I was eventually caught and beaten up by the guards, though..."

"..."

You might be reading a pirated copy. Look for the official release to support the author.

"..."

"R-right... Very well done." Chris could only say this. Wouldn't it look too petty if he reprimanded him? [Did he just make fun of me while praising me?]

Chris cleared his throat. "Thank you everyone, your contributions will not be forgotten. You are dismissed."

Only Chris, Berg, Ferlin and Titus remained. The battle should be tomorrow, and they had to adapt their current strategy.

"What do you think Berg. Can they defeat the Kunalls?" Asked Chris.

Berg didn't hesitate, "They can't. They do not have enough soldiers. Their fortifications are wooden and incomplete. They will lose the fight."

Chris nodded and continued "Then we need to plan for tomorrow. As you know, we did not invite them to join us. This would have backfired on us. Their leader is smart, and she would have connected the dots. We need to be sneakier!

Which is why we will not take the initiative unless forced to. They need to ask us for help! For this purpose, I have made clear the position of our camp. They have horses. A messenger should reach us in under a minute.

But now we need to give them time to contact us! We need to delay the Kunalls without alerting the refugee camp our presence."

They thought for while when Titus finally offered an idea "If we just need to delay them, we can use those traps you prepared."

Most of the Red Hornets were killed to extract their poison, but Chris kept some of them alive. He planed to have them thrown at the Kunall during battle. This would slow them down and give more time for his hunters to flee. This was one of the two items he prepared for this trip, and one of the reasons he didn't want to sit in the cart.

"How do you suggest we use them? Asked Chris.

"Instead of throwing the nets, we can use them as stationary traps. This is possible since we know the Kunall's path. We can mount the nets on tree branches above the road, and shoot them down when the Kunalls walk by. The refugee camp's guard should hear the Kunall's shout if we place the traps close enough. This should give them time to react." Said Titus.

Chris' eyes shined "This is perfect! Well-done Titus. The task is yours!"

Titus showed a rare smile. "Thank you for your praise my Lord! I will get it done without fail!" And he left.

Chris continued."Ferlin, now let's talk about your tasks."

Ferlin : "Yes my Lord!"

"Your tasks start tomorrow morning. I need our hunters ready on site. You need to be discreet. You must not be spotted by the guards! This part of the plan is not changed. One half of our troops on each side of the road, look for high ground if possible. Give one poison urn to each team, but tell them to only start applying the poison when our scouts send the signal as it's potency declines when left in the air too long.

Remember, no melee combat! The orders are hit and run! Our battle plans remain unchanged!"

Ferlin: "Understood my Lord!"

"Bergy, I will need you stay at the camp with 10 hunters. Make it look like the camp is occupied and full as best as you can. The messenger should be in a hurry and will not linger, so tell him we will help and then join us as soon as he has left."

"Yes Sire"! Said Berg.

"Now go get some rest, tomorrow we spill some Kunall's blood!"