Unlike the other tents, all the soldiers gathered around the long table inside the tent, which was shaped like a long rectangle rather than a square, had donned their battle armors. The person who had caused them to gather here was no exception to this; perhaps he was the one with the most magnificent armor. Even though all of the command echelon possessed a detail in the color of the precious stone their guild was named after, Izumrud had an emerald armor from head to toe.
"The time for war has come, I am listening to you!"
When his metallic voice echoed inside the tent, the two general-class soldiers at the head of the rows stretching on the right and left sides turned towards the other commanders. They were the main pillars of this army, and it was obvious they were the superiors of the people in their respective rows.
"Sir, I have been against us entering this war from the very beginning, and I will say the same thing here. We absolutely must not take another step forward from this point!"
A general on the same side as Izumrud's left arm spoke, placing his hand over the map stretching along the table, detailed on white paper. Everyone was looking at him, especially the man standing at the head of the same row, his eyes wide open beneath his two-finger-thick eyebrows, could not catch his attention for even a second.
"Lion, I was thinking you would leave this cowardly commander behind, but I see you brought him along even though he still spouts the same nonsense. Or are you treating him this softly because he is your son?"
The person at the head of the row on the right side, using the pelt of a wild creature containing black spots on white as a cape, responded to the incoming proposal. There were many implications and insults in his words, but the laughter he let out made it clear he didn't think this would be a problem.
"The cub of a lion is still a lion, and he does not hesitate to speak his mind. Tiger, do you have your own opinion, or will you continue to lick the bowl as usual?"
Lion, speaking as his cape consisting of vertical brown stripes on dark yellow billowed behind him, was angry but still knew how to display his arrogance. His hair, starting from where his eyebrows that framed his face from above ended and long enough to cover his ears and nape, was yellow like the other hair on his body.
"While we have come to the end of the military campaign we embarked on under the leadership of our guild leader, and are on the eve of a victory, these are not things to be spoken of. My opinion is that after ensuring our soldiers rest well, we should descend to the battlefield when the noon sun reaches its peak and route the enemy."
"How is what you say going to happen; could you explain it on the map?"
When the commander at the end of the row Tiger was in spoke, the other one opposing this campaign interjected, and a duel of words began between the young men who were understood to be the sons of the two generals. From the gazes of the other soldiers in the command echelon, it was understood that this situation was something customary; what was experienced was like a battle of scout units before the major powers clashed.
"If we go there, we will fall into a geographically disadvantaged position!"
"Have you stooped so low as to consider geographical position in the face of a few thousand bandits? Lion cub!"
As General Lion's son insisted on the idea of acting cautiously, the young commander, who was Tiger's son, continued to hit below the belt.
"We came here with almost all the power we have, without even sending scout units. Have you ever considered, just once, what will happen to us if it goes the way I said?"
While the two generals watched their sons on one hand, they were following their leader out of the corners of their eyes on the other. It was impossible for them to see his face, it was hard to understand what he thought, but it was impossible for them not to notice the change occurring when General Lion's son completed his words.
Had the Emerald Leaf Guild Leader, who had come all the way here in a fit of rage, finally begun to think he should act cautiously? Was his merchant side finally bringing his warrior side roaring for blood and brutality under its yoke?
The answers to the questions belonged only to him, and the man glowing in emerald color from head to toe stood up. He had listened to all the conversations; in a place with so much difference of opinion, he had to say the final decision and close the subject, but a person he would never expect was going to act before him.
"Izumrud, you coward hiding behind your mask, where are you?"
When the man who was to declare whether a great struggle would be fought the next day was insulted by name, everyone around the table got to their feet. No one in an army camp could do such a thing; their enemies must have come within shouting distance.
While they were thinking these things, with a fist landing on the table, pieces of wood scattered in all directions. The Emerald Leaf Merchant Guild Leader was stepping outside before everyone else. The two generals were one step behind him, immediately making it known that they were different from the others.
"Where did you hide again, wrinkled old man? Must I come and pull you out of the hole you crawled into?"
The whole camp was up in arms, and some of the vehicles forming the outer frame had become ready to fire, waiting for orders. Even if the face beneath the mask of the man, from whom anyone seeing him took a few steps back, couldn't be seen, the aura he emitted said he was ready to kill someone at any moment.
"You can't walk around without your dogs trailing behind you, can you? You were always like this; you used to be afraid of your own shadow, you son of a bitch!"
Batu, standing on a distant hill with two swords on his back, continued to shout as soon as he saw Izumrud. There was no one around him; he had come right up to the edge of the camp boasting a crowd of tens of thousands all by himself. Even though the flares fired into the air to illuminate the darkness revealed his position, he didn't move; he withstood the pressure like a statue standing in the same place for thousands of years.
"What are you still waiting for? Kill that bastard!"
Green lights appeared at the feet of six people from the command echelon behind the generals; a few seconds later, they were passing over the mechanical vehicles. They moved again as soon as they stepped on the ground; the distance between them and the enemy had been halved, and Batu, taking his swords from his back into his hands, was waiting for them.
At the same moments, in an unassuming tent in another camp a day's distance away, two orcs were sitting face to face. The orc warriors, one female and the other male, whose physical characteristics were almost identical, had no armor on them; they were in their simple leather clothes.
"Where did this crazy guy go now? What does he mean, they are going to give up, let me go hype them up a bit and come back!"
Wind of Death began to laugh upon seeing the state of Boss, whom she partnered with on the campaign. She couldn't hold back her laughter; the orc warrior snapping with furrowed brows couldn't be the person she fought to the death a few days ago.
"Why are you laughing, do you think it's normal to act this carelessly?"
The Commander-in-Chief of the Orc Empire pulled herself together and stopped laughing with the last words of the person opposite her. She straightened up in her seat she was about to fall from, crossed her arms in front of her chest, and began to answer.
"When I first heard this saying, I didn't understand what it meant, but now I can perfectly see what Nafız meant to say. Apparently, a madman hides his stick when he sees another madman; have you turned into a wise old man upon seeing someone crazier than yourself?"
Saying get out of here, Boss waved his hand; he didn't deem this analogy fitting for himself, but Wind of Death, shaking her head, made it clear she stood behind her words. Boss, who always stood out with his headstrong and rebellious personality, remained like a well-behaved child next to Batu.
"I wouldn't want to interrupt your pleasant conversation, but do you have any time to spare for me?"
When the door of the tent opened, the two orcs, whose relaxedness drew attention until that moment, suddenly drew their weapons. With nowhere they came from or hid, the two orcs standing up along with their weapons were ready for battle at any moment.