Patiently waiting for the distraction to increase with both the tribes, Greyson did not immediately take action. Otherwise, everything would seem like too much of a coincidence and all the current anger could rapidly change direction and focus in on him instead. In the midst of all this, Theo continued to hop back and forth between the tribes" territories and spread rumors about one side attacking the other. Both sides were having infighting issues and felt even more anxious when they heard the other side was planning to attack. Playing off the fact that the enemies did not bother to check with each other on whether the rumors were true, Theo fanned the flames of unrest. No longer bothering with such a scourge, Greyson started to think out a second plan. Sneaking into the heart of the Cidian Bear tribe was not like walking into an open field. Plus, Theo mentioned the tribe leader was equal to a great magister level stage three magician. Overpowered by almost a full level, Greyson did not want to try his luck. Otherwise, he could genuinely be looking at death before he even catches a glimpse of Lucius.For this, even Theo was not sure what to do. No more brilliant ideas or schemes in the face of just absolute power. Theo himself was at the great magister level stage one, but was still no match for the tribe leader. He could barely face off against the other prominent figures in the tribe. Throughout their time together, Greyson learned more about Theo. For example, his level and that he was in fact already 40 years old which meant he was older than Lucius as well. Still young in terms of magic beast age, but in Greyson"s mind that was already middle-aged. He was no longer able to look at this cute mouse the same as before. Picturing himself affectionately petting the head of a 40-year-old man made him s.h.i.+ver in disgust. Already slightly prepared since he knew the appearance of a magic beast was deceiving, he managed to get over the surprise fairly quickly.
"Ultimately, we have to lure the Cidian Bear tribe leader away from the territory. This way, we don"t have to worry about detection." Greyson thinks aloud.
"That will not be easy. Unless it is a major occurrence, the tribe leader virtually never leaves."
"Should we kidnap the heir again?"
"Don"t forget the Cidian Bears are wind element beasts! A great magister level stage three Cidian Bear could probably catch up to you in a heartbeat. There would not be enough time."
"Well, do you have any ideas on how to trigger a critical battle between the Hargravens and the Cidian Bears?"
"I"m not sure..."
"Wait! You can speak all those other languages right?"
"Yeah?"
"Why don"t you give both tribes a false alarm? The Charflys are the scouts for the Hargravens, and the Murs are the scouts for the Cidian Bears. If you speak in their language and warn them that the enemy tribe is attacking, that could start a fight. Not many other magic beasts can mimic the sounds like you can, so it would be hard for them to realize it"s an impostor."
"Actually... that is not a bad idea! I could achieve that." Theo"s eyes lit up with excitement. Already picturing all the tribes panicking after his tricks filled him with delight. Waiting until the dead of night, Theo finally rushed out towards the Hargraven territory first. Finding the Charflys, he shouted out a bunch of random clicking noises. In a panic, the Charflys all heard him and buzzed off to warn the Hargravens. Before long the fires of every tribe were ignited as they all prepared to charge out and meet the Cidian Bears and company. Snickering to himself in the dark, Theo flashed off like a bolt of lightning towards the other side. Skulking around, he soon found himself at the Murs territory. As a rodent species, their language was more familiar for him and thus easier to fake. Screeching out a bunch of frightened squeaks, Theo set off the alarm in the tribe. Subsequent screeching and squeaking exploded throughout the tribe and spread off towards all the surrounding tribes. Thrown into disarray, they gathered themselves and prepared to rush out and fight with the Hargravens.
Soon Greyson could hear the echoes of rus.h.i.+ng beats of running troops approaching each other. Knowing this was the moment, he quickly tunneled into the ground towards the Cidian Bear tribe. Theo said he would meet up with him somewhere near. He was scouting ahead to try to pinpoint the position that Lucius was in. He could feel himself getting closer and the bond getting stronger. Unable to suppress his excitement, Greyson rushed forward. However, he was held back by a warning squeak that came from above. Following the noise above ground, he saw Theo running towards him.
"What is it, Theo?"
"You need to hide! The tribe leader stayed back and decided to guard the tribe because he sensed something was amiss." Heavily breathing after running as fast as he could, Theo managed to still spit out the words.
"What?!" Greyson exclaimed before quickly grabbing onto the mouse and burrowing underground once again. When he felt he was deep enough, Greyson finally stopped and just sat down exhausted. Reflecting on his actions, he felt he let Theo"s earlier success cloud his judgment. Just because those little tricks worked before did not mean the Cidian Bears were stupid and could not realize the situation was not right. There was no king that would join the war immediately; he would first send his best generals to lead the soldiers. Only now did he recognize his foolish thoughts arising from impatience to save Lucius. Now, there was no way to attempt the same strategy because all the tribes would be prepared. Soon they will realize the warning messenger did not exist and that they were tricked. It was just... he was so close! The more he did not see Lucius, the more he was concerned over his friend"s situation. Since the Cidian Bears already entertained thoughts about exploiting him to curry favor with another powerful tribe, whose to say it would not happen really soon. Just because the other tribes do not agree did not mean they could not execute the trade in secret. At that point, Greyson would be unable to do anything. Even more influential than the Cidian Bears means that this tribe presumably has a great magister level stage five existence or even higher. He would have to wait until he is stronger while leaving Lucius to suffer in captivity.
The immediate threat on Lucius" life is minimal, however, they will most likely force him to use his bloodline abilities. Using these spells too often would impact his lifespan and talent causing him to slowly wither away. As a magic beast, his lifespan was extremely long so the process would be gradual death so he could nevertheless be exhausted enough times by whoever manipulates him. The constant exhaustion would also prevent Lucius from advancing in power, so he would not obtain the chance to revolt. All these scenarios were described to him by Lucius during their times together. Although he tried to act unfazed by the possibilities, Lucius let out signs of a deep-seated fear of being confined.
Squeezing his fist tightly, he pounded into the ground in frustration.
...
In a dark, heavily guarded cave...
"He"s finally here! This idiot! I definitely disclosed the bond"s abilities to him, but he clearly did not listen. Why did it take him so long to just get close enough?! So ridiculous... Why did I ever sign myself off to this imbecile?" A small silver cat bolted up with his eyes s.h.i.+ning.
Biting into its wrist, a glowing red rope appeared around it. Feeling his mana rapidly draining, the cat grunted in pain.
"Ugh, the things I have to suffer. Next time, it"s definitely his turn to get us out of a situation. I won"t have any blood and mana left to give at this pace." Snorting indignantly, he still did not let his concentration waver as he could detect a threatening presence approaching. That tribe leader must have felt the mana fluctuations, only just that it was too late already.