Chapter 1312: Ineffective guerilla
The Rebornian army skillfully and quickly maneuvered through the forest floor, avoiding each and every trap and pitfall that was set for them.
They moved so fast that they had caught the group of demi-humans off-guard.
Expecting to finish off the Rebornian army, these Red Mankeys hid atop the crowns of trees with their cudgels and their knives ready in hand. They thought that they’d get to cut down the human army by a few soldiers, one at a time.
But how could they have expected that none of them would fall into the trap?
And not only that, but the Rebornian army started scaling the trees and apprehending these demi-humans immediately!
The caught Red Mankeys had no choice but to raise their hands in surrender once the Rebornian soldiers got ahold of them.
Guerilla tactics demanded groups to be small, which meant that once caught, they had no chance to fight for their freedom.
"Kill us quickly!" the Red Mankey platoon leader screamed out. "We will not live without honor!"
Bound with their hands behind their back, they thought that their lives were done for. The worst they could do here was leak the secrets of their kingdom.
However, unexpectedly, they weren’t killed. They weren’t even hurt.
"I’m not here to kill you," Michael said to the Red Mankeys. "I’m here for peace."
And after saying those words, Michael cut their ropes and let them go.
They looked at him with perplexed eyes, one filled with apprehension and disbelief. They were wondering if this was a trap or not.
However, as the ropes loosened and the Red Mankeys started backing away, the Rebornian army did nothing to pursue them.
The platoon leader looked at Michael with furrowed eyebrows, before quickly scurrying off into the jungle and disappearing into the foliage.
But because the Red Mankey was so flustered, he absent-mindedly stepped into one of the traps they’d laid out beforehand.
He slid down into the hole, before he caught himself on the edge of the hole. Unfortunately for him, his feet grazed the tip of the stakes down below, meaning that the poison would now quickly spread to his body and kill him within a few minutes.
It was at this moment that Michael caught the Red Mankey and pulled him upwards.
Then, he raised his hand, conjuring a green magic circle in the air. In an instant, a healing aura emanated off of him and quickly purged the poison out of the Red Mankey’s body.
"...healed..," the platoon leader muttered in disbelief, seeing his foot no longer bleeding.
The other Red Mankeys quickly dragged their leader away, helping him escape. But before that, the platoon leader gave Michael one last look, as if memorizing his face.
"Tell them what I told you," Michael shouted to them.
...
...
...
"What? How is this possible?!" the general of the Red Mankeys shouted out loud.
He’d just been told that multiple of their traps were proven ineffective against the human army.
It didn’t make sense. Somehow, they were able to perfectly avoid any traps, dead ends, and pitfalls that they provided against them! No could get this lucky!
And not only that, all of the demi-humans who had been caught were quickly released!
This was uncharacteristic of humans. Usually, any captive they caught were quickly killed off, right before they were interrogated. Only once the Red Mankeys proved their loyalty did their use to the humans cease and they were killed.
But instead, these humans let them go.
Of course, the general’s immediate thought was that this was a trap set by the humans.
They were letting these demi-humans go so that they could follow behind and find out where they had set up their army.
But no such thing happened. The human soldiers kept their pace normally, with no sign of pursuing the other Red Mankeys!
"This is bad... by the looks of it, they are heading straight for our kingdom!" said the general. "We must deter them at any costs!"
And it was at this point that one of the Red Mankey scouts suddenly spotted something in the distance.
Standing atop the Sacred Tree of the demi-humans, they were able to see a structure in the distance.
A structure made out of some strange stone and metal.
"A HUMAN CITY?!"
The Red Mankeys could hardly believe what they were seeing. Right in the middle of the jungle, they saw a human civilization set up, complete with houses and establishments of all kinds!
"This must be an illusion," said one of the Red Mankeys.
After all, they didn’t see the humans building those structures. It simply appeared. One second there was nothing, and the other, there was suddenly an entire city there.
"So this means that this is a trap!" said the general. "Using such a grand illusion like this, they probably want us to attack that place and surprise us from behind."
The other Red Mankeys agreed with that theory.
"Then, let us see how long they can keep up that illusion. It must take them a lot of energy and resources to keep it afloat. They’ll soon get weary and tired!"
And so, the Red Mankeys decided to do nothing.
The next morning, the Red Mankeys were astonished to see that the entire structure had completely disappeared once again!
Meanwhile, the human army kept on marching forwards, their direction unmistakable headed towards their Sacred Tree.
"Hmph! They must be lacking sleep after that illusion! We’ll see if they can last another day!"
And so, the day passed, and the Rebornian army kept marching forwards, getting ever so closely to the demi-human kingdom.
Of course, the Red Mankeys continued their guerilla attacks, to no avail. And as usual, all prisoners were quickly released.
And by night, that structure appeared again. The Red Mankeys began to doubt their own theories. But still, they held strong. They didn’t attack the human soldiers.
The next morning, the general ordered more traps, more pitfalls, increasing the intensity and number of their guerilla tactics.
"This time, they must be tired!"
Unfortunately, the truth was exactly the opposite. The human soldiers looked like they were rejuvenated each day that passed!
"What’s happening?! Is that structure truly their own camp?!"