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Five demon ranger were running along the 'Great Demon Road' from the coastal city Nark in the direction of the village of Irk. All five were arch demons and part of a special intel unit directly under the duke of Nark. A normal demon soldier on a horse would need at least three days to reach Irk but they were arch demons and could therefore use their mana for body strengthening magic. The mana coating their bodies gave off a dim blackish light which was only visible since the sun has already set. Yesterday, just two days after an important war conference in Nark about the imminent danger of a human attack, reports came in about smoke rising in the west. Could there have been a human attack? But how was this possible? The upper echelon of the demon army was in a state of panic.
There were three big demon cities at the coast of Arkar. Nark, Ark and Kark. The three dukes of this three coastal cities decided to merge their armies so that they could overwhelm any human army that would attack them. Together they had an army of 100 000 demon soldiers and about 100 arch demons. The smallest city, Kark, situated in the south, provided 20 000 soldiers, the northern and biggest city of Nark 50 000 soldiers and Ark 30 000 soldiers, leaving only about 3000-5000 soldier in each city to defend them. The army camp was situated near Ark so that they could reach Nark in half a day and Kark in one day. The basic idea of the demon defence plan was that if one of the cities observes a human army or fleet they would send an arch demon messenger to the main army to ask for help. All three cities had city walls so nobody expected a city to fall before the main army would arrive.
But their plan was foiled. There were reports of smoke rising in the west. Has something happened in Irk? The lord of Irk has left the war conference in Nahr just two days ago, half a day before fume was seen at the horizon. Irk was almost defenceless without their lord so it wouldn't be supprising if even a small human army could defeat them. The fate of Irk was of course tragic and it was imperative to destroy them to get revenge. They have after all spilled blood of a higher life form. But this wasn't the reason why the upper echelon was anxious.
Why would a human army ignore the coastal cities and march west instead? They should know that they were trapped and cut of from their supply routes. What was west of Irk. There was the demon capital Arkarna with its rich surrounding area which was the core region of the demon empire and further west there were the human farms. It was not very likely that the human army was big enough to conquer the whole core region of the demon empire but maybe it was big enough to force its way to the human farms. The human cattle was fed Calio kale over their whole life cycle. They had a lot of mana so a human army reinforced by the human slaves could become a real danger to the demon empire.
The dukes of Nark, Ark and Kark reacted to this conclusion with panic. They immediately sent five of their fastest arch demon rangers to Irk while mobilizing the army to be prepared for the worst case scenario.
The five demon rangers easily found the human army camp after reaching the still smoking ruins of Irk. It was night but they used the magic [Night vision] to observe the camp on the hill while hiding behind nearby trees.
"Captain, this camp is big enough to host at least 20 000 soldiers." (whisper)
"Yeah, we need to report this at once. You two go back and report the position for this camp to duke Nark. You two stay here with me." (whisper)
""Yes, sir."" (whisper)
Two of them left, while three stayed behind.
None of them notice the smiling girl sitting on a tree branch above them.
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"I told you that our mission is to reach the human farms in the west of Arkar to free the humans there, as you all know. But this was a lie to ensure that the enemy would not learn of our true objective even if they catch some or all of us."
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Murmur was heard from the ten captains being present.
"Mmh, I see." (whisper)
"I told you so." (whisper)
"Yeah, yeah but be silent I want to hear what she says." (whisper)
Luna commanded an army of thousand soldiers. There were ten captains under Luna each leading hundred soldiers.
"Silent! ... Our secret mission is to pretend that there is a human army in the interior of Arkar trying to free the human slaves so that the demon army leaves the coastal region. That is the reason why I burned Irk, why I ordered you to build an army camp that could host up to 20 000 soldiers, although we have only 1000 soldiers, and why we haven't left this position up until now."
Luna paused a few seconds to let her words sink in. The people present were silent waiting for Luna's next words.
"Just ten minutes ago I found five arch demon spies near our camp probably from Nark. Two of them turned back to report our position while the other three stayed to continue observing us. Of course I killed those three after the other two left. Soon the demons will know of our position so we have to act now. The first part of our strategy was a success. I have summoned you two explain the second stage of our plan since I will leave for a short time. Max will be in command in my absence."
"What! General why me? And what about you?"
"Be quiet! I will explain your marching orders. You will leave this camp tonight and begin marching north."
Luna pointed at the symbol for the 'ruins of Nar' on the map.
"This is your destination: The ruins of Nar. The best way is to follow the nearby river upstream past the ruins of Irk and through the forest north of Irk. It is imperative that no demon sees you. Every soldier has a black hooded cloak in his backpack. I want them to wear them. Furthermore the supply unit has a barrel with black paint. I want all soldiers to apply it to their face and hands just in case a demon sees you. Understood!"
"""Yes!"""
"You will need probably two or three days to reach Nar during this time it will be forbidden to use fire or do anything else that might draw attention to you. Max! I leave the unit to you. Do not disappoint me!"
"Yes, general Rubra! ... but what about you, if I may ask this question."
"I will go west and destroy the next two towns, Kirk and Jul, along the 'Great Demon Road'. Then I will meet you again in Nar. You will wait in Nar for one week and lead the troops to Nark if I don't arrive in this time to join the main army besieging Nark. Now go and prepare everything. You have one hour. Dismissed!."
"""Yes!"""
All ten captains left Luna's tent leaving only Max behind.
"Is there something else?"
"... please don't do anything too dangerous."
"Heh. You worry about me?"
Luna asked teasingly but Max didn't answer.
"Don't worry, it's not a mission that will kill me."
"Yeah, I know. But please don't forget that you are alone on the demon continent. Please be careful."
Luna's face darkened while she looked with a deadpan expression at Max.
"I spend three years alone on the demon continent. I don't need your advice. You are dismissed."
"Luna, I' sorry I didn't want to ..."
"Yeah I know. Now go and prepare for your part of the strategy. We will see each other in four or five days."
Max nodded and left the tent with a heavy heart.
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Author note: What do you think, should I concentrate more on the present or the past of the storyline? Which is more interesting?
Edit: I changed the distances. Irk-Nahr is now 3 days by horse