The two of us reached the meeting room on the fourth floor of the castle ahead of the rest. Actually, one man was waiting for us inside the room.

He was an old man of a rather short stature known as the Warden. His sole function was the protection of the kingdom. However, in wartime, his authority transcended that of all the other military officials.

“The beginning of the end, is it?”

I couldn’t take my eyes off his noble mustache. It was an immaculate white, going far and wide, with the corners lifted upwards and defying gravity itself. He stroked it lovingly, stretching it out even further.

“The gears are turning. And they will not stop until a victor emerges.”

“I have a bad feeling about this,” I said. “I know our Warden has a penchant for dramatic, and I feel a particular fondness for this old sack of bones because of that. But I don’t like the dark vibe I’m getting from his words.”

The king chuckled, “I’ve never seen you make that face before. Is that concern? No, no I must be mistaken. The Lynch I know would be walking around with his usual carefree attitude, even against the most unfavorable odds.”

“I mean, he’s a senile geezer most of the time, so I tend to ignore him while he’s blathering about the end of the world… But he can be sharp at times.”

As if answering me, the Warden announced, “The mighty dragon and the crippled falcon shall clash at the end of all things. Until a new beginning arises!”

“I take back what I said. He’s just a delusional old fossil.”

“Young folks these days… No respect to their elders whatsoever. Back in my days-”

“Oh, shut up, geezer!” I interrupted him. “I don’t have time for a lecture now, can’t you see the world is in danger?”

“You’re right, my eyes are clouded, so I can’t see well… Aging is such a pain.”

“Oh, now you’re grumbling about your failing body? Give me a break!”

“Let’s get back on track,” The king said softly. “From what we heard from the report, it’s safe to assume the enemy is coming from the northern dense mana zone. Lynch, you went there last year, didn’t you? Did you notice anything?”

“Hmm… Let me recall. I was escorting Astaroth back to his mansion in the northern dense mana zone after we caught him feeding on some farmers near Ozen. I didn’t punish him, because he didn’t kill anyone, he just turned an old farmer into an immortal vampire… You know how it goes.”

“That sounds like a punishable offense if you ask me.”

“Anyway,” I continued. “On the way back, I did a thorough inspection of the area. I didn’t find anything abnormal. Old Man Flint was-”

“Flint? You mentioned his name before, wasn’t he a blacksmith?” asked the king.

“Something like that. He spends his days in the northern dense mana zone crafting armors and weapons that no one will ever use. He’s obsessed with blacksmithing.”

“How can he live in the dense mana zone? The mana pressure can kill nearly any human…”

“Well, I don’t know the details, but his skin is purple, so I assume he’s not human,” I answered. “Are there any races in the kingdom besides elves, dwarves, humans, and witches?”

“Humm, the kingdom used to have orcs, but they went extinct a few decades ago. Then there are vampires, like Astaroth and the people that he infected. That aside, the report indicated that they were wielding weapons, could Flint be responsible for this?”

“Absolutely. He’s obsessed with his craft. Even if a Horsemen of the Apocalypse came to him asking for a weapon to destroy the world, he would craft his order, without fail.”

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“Did you notice anything else?”

“Nope, Old Man Flint wasn’t doing anything out of the ordinary and if some kind of goat army was planning an insurrection, I would have noticed. Also, I’ve never seen a humanoid goat before. Goats are pretty commonplace though, even in the dense mana zones-”

“In the dense mana zones, even the unimaginable can become reality.”

I twisted my neck and looked at the Warden. He was stroking his mustache as if nothing happened.

“What was that?” I asked. “Did our Warden say something sharp all of a sudden?”

“I have to pee. I swear aging is such a pain.”

On this, the Warden turned around and left the room, without a care in the world. His steps echoed through the room, resonating within my eardrums.

“Never mind…”

“Anyway, Lynch, you said you’ve never seen the kind of humanoid goat that the guard was describing, right?”

“Yeah, these bipedal goats must be a nightmarish sight to behold. Quadrupedal goats are commonplace though, even in the dense mana zones. They have thick fur and some unusual lungs that allow them to survive there under the oppressive mana pressure. An impressive feat of evolution. That said, I doubt the goats could evolve so quickly. I mean, a fucking army? Armed and organized?”

My confusion was immeasurable. A war was fought between two parties that had at least a slight understanding of each other. At least, they understood each other enough to realize they disagreed.

**Oh well, I’m just stating the obvious.**

A single report, an unannounced invasion, and a new species.

Not much to go on.

“Oh well, there’s no point in worrying about it now,” a somewhat sadistic smile crept up my face. “Let’s prepare for the worst. You do your job, and I’ll do mine.”

“That’s the Lynch I know. I feel better now.”

The door opened and two men entered, followed by the king’s right-hand man. The generals that just came in exuded a dignified aura, amplified by their military uniforms covered in weighty medals.

They performed a military salute, then exclaimed, “Your Majesty!”

After witnessing such flawless discipline from these elderly men, I straightened my back.

The first one to enter the room was the general of the Land Corps. Every land troop in the kingdom was under his command. The general was followed by the admiral, the head of the Marine Corps.

Suddenly, the king ordered, “Report!”

The general stepped forward, “My units are leaving the capital as we speak to help the evacuation of the nearby villages. They will also call back every patrol we had in the area. I dispatched scouts in the north, where the enemy is supposed to be coming from. With the troops that will come back from patrol, I estimate that we will have three thousand and five hundred available land units for the upcoming siege. Over.”

Next in line was the admiral, “I interrupted all activities in the harbor and barricaded it. Every trader and crewman we can find will take refuge in the city. I have twenty warships patrolling the canal as we speak.”

The canal was a man-made waterway bisecting the entire continent. It went all the way from the Elven forest kingdom, at the far west of the continent, to the Dwarven mountain kingdom at the other end of the land. Humanity’s capital, Brindle, which we were currently staying in, was somewhere in the middle of this large continent and the canal was flowing just south of the city.

This canal was used as a highway by merchants and travelers altogether. It was the main artery of the transportation network, assuring a smooth transit of goods from a kingdom to another.

Yeah, it was pretty convenient.

Anyway, the enemy was coming from the north and the canal was flowing south of the city, oriented east-west. Which means the enemy was unlikely to attack from the canal. Also, they were traveling on foot, so they would need to make boats on the way. And I was skeptical at the fact that they had the engineering skills to make boats out of raw wood.

The admiral resumed, “I’ve limited the staff on these ships to the strict minimum, which should free around five-hundred units that should be used to strengthen our land defenses.”

“Good reasoning, admiral,” interrupted the king. “I am confident that this invader will assault the city through the front gate. Thus, naval defenses should be minimized. If they attack from the canal, these ships should be able to buy us enough time to prepare a proper defense of that side.”

“Thank you, your Majesty. That will be all.”

“Much obliged, admiral,” He was about to dismiss these two before he stopped himself.

“One last thing, General, I want to be informed of the scout’s report as soon as it comes in.”

“Naturally, your Majesty!”

The General and the Admiral left the room swiftly and returned to their duties, which was to prepare the city for the upcoming siege.

Only the king and myself were left in the room.

“That mutant army must be on the march by now. Ozen isn’t too far from here, so I can guess that they’ll be here tomorrow or the day after tomorrow.”

“Want me to have a look?” I asked. “I could fly over there and scout them real quick. And while I’m at it, might as well throw a couple of spells at them!”

“A compelling proposal, Lynch. However, I want you to preserve your vitality. We’ll wait for the scout’s report.”

“As you wish, your Majesty,” I replied mockingly with an extravagant curtsy.

“And Lynch, make sure you enjoy this evening with your precious wife.”

“Oh, you don’t have to tell me that. If my child had been born already, I’d make him or her a little sister tonight!”

I made a suggestive gesture with my hands and he sighed back.

**Eh, I’m sure his queen will give him some special treatment tonight, so I don’t see why he’s complaining.**