Commander Marrion, Cristopher, Camazotz, and Zapar personally welcomed the two Ministers of the Artemians who had come to finalize their alliance.
"You came at a perfect time," Camazotz said with a smile. "The Jinns will attack our city in two days, and we plan to fight them."
"What?!" The Minister who goes by the name Dowell looked at the Death Bat in shock.
The middle-aged looking Artemian with graying hair thought Camazotz just had an odd sense of humor. But after Commander Marion confirmed it to be true, they had no choice but to believe it.
"Since you plan to ally with us, tell us—what kind of alliance do you wish to have?" Commander Marrion asked. "Will it be a simple non-aggression pact, or a full alliance where we help defend each other when one of us is under attack?"
The two Ministers glanced at each other. Not long later, the second minister, who was completely bald, spoke his mind.
"If possible, we wish to have a full temporary alliance with the Wanderers," the Artemian Minister who goes by the name Marco replied. "We would have met with you sooner if our communication hadn’t been disrupted.
"The news of the Jinns’ upcoming attack feels rather abrupt. Even if we were to return to our Headquarters right now, it will take us at least two days to get back, and two days to come here with reinforcements. By then, I’m afraid..."
He didn’t need to continue what he was going to say since everyone already understood him.
There was simply no time to collaborate with each other and direct their armies to fight against the Jinns together.
"It doesn’t need to be that complicated. I have a plan that will work even in this situation." Although Zapar may not be an expert like Zion when it came to strategies, he still had his fair share of battles that got him to where he was.
In other words, he at least had an insight on what must be done to deal the Jinns substantial damage.
He had already laid down the groundwork, and he believed that the fruits of his labors would help them in this upcoming war.
’Fortunately, Thirteen and I infiltrated Velmusa City before they decided to attack,’ Zapar thought. ’We now have a higher chance of surviving this unexpected turn of events.’
"What do you suggest that we do?" Marco asked.
"It’s really simple," Zapar smiled. "The Artemians will focus on attacking the Jinns from the rear. You may use any method that you like, while we attack them from the front and the sides. The strategy that we will employ is guerilla tactics."
Zion had already told Zapar what the Azothralls could do, and frankly, they were the best monsters for sneak attacks.
Dowell and Marco glanced at each other and thought that this was indeed a simple and effective strategy.
As long as they knew their role, they would be able to attack and retreat using guerilla tactics.
"We just need to attack the rear of the Jinn Army, right?" Dowell asked in confirmation. "We don’t need to do anything aside from that?"
"That’s right." Zapar nodded. "Harass them from behind, and we will attack them from the front. Our forces will move northwest to buy you guys some time to prepare. All we ask is that, when you notice signs that we are attacking, you should attack as well."
"Understood." Marco nodded. "This is acceptable."
"Good." Commander Marrion smiled. "I will inform my superiors about the details of our alliance. Since we have very little time to prepare, please go back and help us deal with the jinn Army."
Dowell and Marco understood that time was of the essence, so they decided to leave. But before doing so, they asked if Zion was around.
"He is currently in the Aldebaran Continent, dealing with something important," Commander Marion replied. "He will return as soon as he is done with whatever he is doing."
After hearing her reply, the two Artemian Ministers left Casimir City to relay the news to their new Commander, Lysander.
Camazotz and Zapar returned to their own domains and told their subordinates to prepare to evacuate.
After informing his people about the upcoming war, Camazotz took flight and scouted around the territory in order to catch anyone who might be spying on them.
Zapar had been the one to think of it. If he were in Prince Aurelion’s position, that was exactly what he would have done.
The 69th Battalion and the Valkyries were always prepared to leave at any time, so it didn’t take them long to make their final preparations.
"Camazotz, fly to the border of the continent and get in touch with Colbert. Inform him of the changes here, so he can also tell the Wanderers about the situation."
The Death Bat was the fastest messenger in the Cygni Continent, so it was up to him to relay the messages between Zion’s troops, and the Wanderers.
It didn’t take long before everyone left Casimir City and headed northwest.
Just as planned, Camazotz and Zapar chose their most mobile subordinates to form raiding teams, who would execute guerilla tactics against their enemies.
They would be commanded by Camazotz and Zapar, while the 69th Battalion and the Valkyries would be under Zia’s command.
Their combined forces only amounted to around three thousand, but that was enough.
None of them planned to have a head-on confrontation with their enemies.
"I don’t see any activities from Casimir City," one of the Dragonkin Scouts reported to his Captain. "It’s as if there is no one there."
"Are you sure?" the Captain asked.
"I tried to get as close as I could, but I still didn’t see any movements from the city," the Scout insisted.
The Captain frowned before making a decision.
"We will take a second look at the city," the Captain stated. "This time, we will spread out and check at a closer distance. If we really don’t see anything, we will report this to his Highness at once."
The Scouts nodded and spread out to encircle the city from all sides.
They needed to confirm if there really was no one inside the city before they reported it to their superiors.
"It seems that he is right," the Captain muttered. "I don’t see anyone from my vantage point."
"Really? Why don’t you look again?"
"I’ve been looking since earlier," the Captain replied in irritation. "I don’t see anyth..."
The Captain’s eyes widened in shock when he realized that someone had spoken behind him earlier.
He slowly turned around to only see a smiling Death Bat, who was crouching beside him.
"Well, do you see something now?" Camazotz asked in a teasing tone.
The Dragonkin Captain hesitated for a bit before deciding to shout and warn his subordinates that the enemy had already detected their presence.
But before he could even make a sound, his head was severed from his body by a single swipe from Camazotz’s claws.
"One down," Camaztoz said before locking on his next target.
Zion asked him to eliminate any and all scouts he would discover roaming around Casimir City, so Prince Aurelion would remain blind to what was happening.
Now that all forms of technology were disabled, everyone had to rely on pure skills and abilities to get the upper hand in battle.
The war might not have started in full, but Zion’s elite forces were already dealing with the small fries in places that the Dragonkin Prince couldn’t see.