Chapter 1310: View from the top
"What are you doing?"
The Red Mankey quickly hid his phone. "Nothing! It’s nothing, brother."
His paternal sibling could never understand his desire. He lived by the monarch’s rule. And he made sure that everyone followed them, too.
Unlike him, his brother was on the fast track to become the monarch’s personal guard. An honor that would bring their family great respect within their tribe.
"Come on, Rowan. The Monarch has instructed us to survey the horizon. It looked like the humans have finally found us."
Rowan’s eyes widened. "They did?"
He eventually caught himself smiling when he heard that. He quickly punched his own mouth. Had he truly been influenced too much by this phone that he became happy when humans broke through their illusion?
Why? Just because there was a chance that he could get out of this Chasm?
Preposterous. "I’ll go, I’ll go," he said to his brother.
Both Red Mankey soldiers climbed atop the kingdom’s sacred tree. It was the very body of their worshipped deity. It towered over everything, with its crown almost reaching the top of the skies and the sacred sun itself.
Because of that, it allowed them to survey the demi-human kingdom with ease.
So, it was easy for them to spot the human army now marching towards them at top speeds.
"Only 15,000?"
"Loren, don’t underestimate him," said Rowan. His brother tended to think of humans as lesser than them.
However, Rowan saw the pictures on the phone. If they could build such majestic structures, something that even they could not do, then that meant that they were a lot more powerful than them.
Loren scoffed at the thought. "Brother, how are they not idiotic? They are coming towards our kingdom clueless of the true power that we hold. They’ll get destroyed by our Monsters even before they graze our sacred tree."
It seemed that the other Red Mankeys in their troop copied that sentiment. They laughed as they looked at the army of 15,000 men marching towards them.
"But... how were they even able to break through our illusionary wall?" asked Rowan. "Isn’t it supposed to be invisible? Wasn’t it protected by a horde of our tamed Monsters?"
Rowan’s trepidation about the whole thing fell to deaf ears. They didn’t seem to make a big deal about how the humans were able to breach their kingdom.
"These humans may be simple, but they have lots of numbers. They probably just bashed their heads in the wall until they were able to get in."
Loren’s words caused the rest of the Red Mankeys to laugh. Ever the charismatic leader, Rowan’s brother was.
In contrast, Rowan just kept to his corner. He looked down at the army of 15,000 soldiers.
Then, he couldn’t help but stare at a single figure amongst them.
A young human. With golden hair. He seemed to command respect from the soldiers around him, simply by walking amongst them.
Was this their leader? Rowan asked himself.
Why did he look familiar?
He didn’t understand it. Usually, in their culture, seniority reigned supreme. The older one was, the wiser and stronger they were. Since the Monarch was the oldest demi-human amongst them, it was only natural that they led their entire kingdom.
But this human... he was too young. And in company with other more older counterparts.
And yet, he was able to command them. How?
Rowan was intensely curious. Then, his heart skipped a beat.
"He saw me!" Rowan burst out loud. He quickly hid behind a branch, his heart beating out of his chest.
Loren and his other troopmates suddenly laughed amongst themselves.
"Loren, looks like your brother had another one of his accidents!"
Hearing this, Loren snarled at the other Red Mankeys. "Shut up! All of you!"
Then, Loren turned to Rowan.
"Brother, he saw me! He looked straight at me!"
Loren placated his younger brother. "Rowan, that is not possible. We are a mountain’s width away from them. And even then, our sacred tree is protected from the sights of anyone who dared to come close.
They wouldn’t even see our tree. All they see is an open space in the forest. So, it was impossible for that young human to see you. He’s too young!"
Despite Loren’s best efforts to calm his younger brother down, Rowan still couldn’t let his chest settle down.
He was sure. He was sure that that young, golden-haired human looked straight at him.
And he smiled! The human smiled at him, as if he could see him!
"... you’re right, brother... it’s probably just a coincidence...," Rowan said to himself.
But in truth, he didn’t believe his own words. He was never going to underestimate these humans ever again.
...
...
...
"What’s up, Michael?"
Michael smiled as he looked at the horizon. "Nothing. Just saw an interesting sight. A Red Mankey with a phone."
Seberus’s eyebrows raised. "Wow... I don’t even see anything."
That was true. After all, the giant tree in the horizon was hidden from view. But thanks to his Supreme Talent, he could see through any kind of illusion of magic as if they were transparent.
That must be their kingdom.
With his destination set, he eventually ordered his Mini Drones to spread out and start to conquer the skies of the demi-human kingdom.
He’d need every bit of information he could get.
And with his Drones, he’d be able to form a dynamic map that was up to date with the movements of every single demi-human in this jungle.
Of course, he eventually sent a few of his Mini Drones to come close to those Red Mankey soldiers.
He wanted to see what they were doing with his phone.
And most importantly, he wanted to know what the Ersatz were planning. Surely, they didn’t come here for nothing.
If they had struck a deal with the demi-humans, then that meant that they needed something from them.
Michael had to know what, and get it before they got it.