Ball of Nothing

Chapter 565: Strategic Meeting Outside Lycantopia

Donkey Sharo, Zero and Truen didn't have much time to rest over the next few days as they travelled to Lycantopia as fast as possible. Bob was going to meet them outside the locked-down city to sneak them in. According to Jermine's brothers, there was a way for people to sneak in and out of the city, but they needed to have a powerful magician capable of creating a stealth barrier, or they would be discovered.

The plan was simple. Zero had to deal with King Gaon somehow, and it would be best to involve King Sharo so that the werebeasts can help keep the elves in check. There were simply too many people in Jermine's family, and the doctor wanted them to contribute to New Moon Village as soon as possible. Monoman had been gone for a long time, and New Moon Village needed their leader back. Hence, Truen and Zero planned to spend a day or two gathering information before they snuck the mole people out with Monoman to head back to New Moon Village.

"Master! Over here!" Bob whispered from beneath a rock, and Zero paused. They were still a distance away from the agreed meeting point. Why was Bob here?

The familiar lizard appeared, and Zero dismounted the paka-paka. "Is this your new appearance? It looks handy."

Bob transformed into his human hybrid and looked at the ugly donkey that Truen got off. The mule was stubborn and disobedient. It made a lot of noise and would be a terrible idea to keep alive.

"Master, can I kill and eat this donkey? It's making too much noise. I'm afraid it might attract unwanted attention."

Zero smiled and looked at Donkey Sharo calmly. "What do you think, King Sharo? Should we let you become our dragon's lunch, or will you cooperate with us? After all, I don't know what the werebeasts will think if they knew the King of Altear is here to spy on them."

Truen was both proud and horrified at how calmly Zero was able to threaten and blackmail someone in the same breath while holding up his angelic expression like a credible doctor. Even Bob couldn't help but widen his eyes when he heard his master calmly handle the difficult donkey. Who would have thought that King Sharo would actually listen to him?

"The hole is tiny because the mole folks made it. I had to transform into a lizard to run through it, but I don't think Monoman can fit through it without some extra work. The soil is very loose in some parts because they don't have materials to reinforce the tunnel with so it might take a while for them to work on creating one big enough for Monoman if you want everyone to depart in a few days."

Truen held onto the lead tightly and looked at Donkey Sharo. It would be difficult for them to sneak into the city if the tunnel was that fragile. Zero thought about it and looked at his paka-paka. The poor creature wouldn't be able to pass through either because it was rather tall.

"No choice then," Zero sighed. "We will leave the paka-paka here for now. Do some of the mole people have crafting skills? I was thinking of loaning them our mounts to make travels easier if they can build wagons or carts."

Donkey Sharo's ears perked up, and he stomped his feet angrily assuming that Zero was going to make him run errands like a regular mule. Zero patted his head gently and assured him that they would find a way to bring him into Lycantopia.

"Monoman knows how to do it, and maybe Jermine can assist because she's been with the New Moon Villagers for a while. The rest of her family have only known how to dig tunnels and graves their whole lives. Maybe a few ladies know how to farm, but that's about it."

Seeing that there was still some time, Zero told Truen to settle everyone down somewhere less open. They were in the middle of some rocky wasteland, and it was easy to be ambushed. The archer quickly found a good spot and helped to set up camp. Bob was happy to see meat on the menu and tore at the huge lamb leg vigorously.

In between bites, Bob answered all of Zero and Truen's questions about Lycantopia's situation. Seeing that sneaking into the city wasn't a good idea because of the tunnel's size and structure, they had to move to a new plan.

"So more than half of their fighting forces are wounded, and a good twenty percent of the carnivores are dead?"

Bob nodded, too busy eating to reply properly, and Zero glanced over to Truen. Donkey Sharo simply rolled his eyes when he heard that. If it were the elves, they would have done a better job.

"What are they fighting?" Zero asked again.

He only knew that the werebeasts were battling against Indra Seagloo, but nobody mentioned what was happening at the battlefront. Were they fighting sea monsters or just dealing with Queen Leah's magical tantrums?

Bob swallowed and did his best to explain the complicated situation. From an outsider's perspective, this shouldn't be too hard. However, from Lycantopia's view, it was a disaster. This battle was simply too one-sided with Indra Seagloo smacking the werebeasts around.

"Uh, they fight a lot of things but mostly wind and water. Occasionally there would be a flying fish or swordfish school or some sharks or a mini Kraken. Other than that, there isn't anything the werebeasts should be struggling with. These creatures taking advantage of Queen Leah's instability are bottom feeder thugs in the ocean trying to loot a haul from this chaos. Against the elite army of Lycantopia, they're no match on a normal day."

Zero tried to visualise what it would be like in person, but he failed. Fighting against bad weather and some small-time thugs should be easy. It wasn't even a war, it was just some minor disturbances, but King Gaon handled the situation so poorly. He couldn't understand why. Compared to humans, werebeasts are more powerful in physical and even magical capabilities. Besides, they were on home grounds. How could Indra Seagloo slap them around?

"Master, you'd only understand it if you witness it with your eyes. If you think King Darius is a fool, then King Gaon is a passionate fool. I don't know to call it admirable or stupid that the people in his faction continue to support him blindly without a second opinion. Nobody plays the devil's advocate in Lycantopia, and everyone relies on the one brain cell of the country called King Gaon."

Truen cringed. At least Altear wasn't as terrible in comparison. King Sharon was slightly more intelligent and not as foolishly passionate even if he was as obstinate as the mountain. Donkey Sharo shook his head when he heard the dragon's report about the situation, and with every new bit of information, Zero's expression grew duller.

There were two things in this world that a doctor couldn't cure and stupidity was one of them.