Chapter 53: Battle Plan

Adesewa remained crouched at the crest of the hill for another minute, studying the valley as though she could force it to reveal one more problem before they committed themselves.

Behind her, twenty-eight Walkers waited among the ferns and exposed roots without speaking.

The morning breeze carried Mana from the Palladium Tree uphill in faint waves, enough that Jet could feel the difference whenever he inhaled. Below, fifty-eight confirmed Lesser Monsters occupied the basin around the pool while the two enormous lion-python hybrids remained coiled beneath the silver tree.

Nothing had started fighting yet, but the peace looked temporary. Too many predators were gathered around something every one of them wanted.

Adesewa finally turned away from the valley and lowered her spear across her knees. "Yesterday’s plan is useless now, so forget it. We’re rebuilding the operation around what is actually down there."

She pointed toward the island. "Those two are Regal Coil Lions. Greater-ranked monsters. They’re territorial predators normally found deeper inside the Thousand Boughs, and they’re the reason nothing has reached the tree yet. I’ll take both of them. Nobody else engages either Regal Coil unless I specifically call for assistance. If one breaks away from me, you create distance and warn everyone around you. Do not become brave because you see an opening."

Jet glanced back toward the island. Knowing their classification made the creatures look no less monstrous. One Regal Coil Lion shifted in its sleep, revealing scales along its serpentine body that were each nearly the size of Jet’s palm.

Adesewa intended to fight both alone. The pressure Jet had felt when she appeared suddenly made considerably more sense.

Adesewa moved her spear toward the northern side of the valley. "Our next problem is the five Lesser Monsters sitting closest to ascension. Marcus, Cassian, Odhran, Safiya, and Bastian, those belong to you."

Three Walkers stepped closer alongside Marcus and Cassian. Odhran Keary was a lean, weathered man with reddish-brown hair cut close around the sides and a long scar disappearing beneath his collar.

He carried a heavy recurve bow almost as tall as he was, with a short sword strapped against his thigh. Safiya N’Dour looked somewhere in her early thirties, with dark skin, tightly braided hair, and two narrow spears fixed across her back.

Bastian Kreutz was broader, older in appearance than the others, his shaved head marked by several faded scars. A rectangular tower shield rested against one shoulder while a thick mace hung from his belt.

Adesewa looked between the five. "You don’t need to kill your targets simultaneously. Bastian controls the front. Safiya and Cassian pressure whichever target commits. Odhran stays mobile and prevents anything from escaping toward the island. Marcus anchors wherever the formation starts bending. If one target falls quickly, collapse onto the next. Five peak Lessers are dangerous, but they’re still Lesser-ranked. Don’t let them dictate the pace."

Marcus nodded while adjusting the fastening on his armor. "And if one manages to reach a fruit?"

"Kill it before it finishes eating," Adesewa replied. "If it completes the ascension, call it immediately. Nobody tries handling a newly ascended Greater alone."

Her attention shifted toward everyone else. "The remaining Lesser Monsters belong to the rest of you. That sounds straightforward until fifty creatures start moving at once, so don’t turn this into twenty-three separate fights. Maintain groups. Protect your flanks. If your target retreats, don’t chase it halfway across the valley and break formation. The objective isn’t exterminating every monster because we enjoy collecting corpses. The objective is clearing access to the island while keeping the Palladium Tree intact."

She traced several lines across the soil with the butt of her spear, reproducing the rough shape of the valley. The pool became a circle, the island a smaller mark at its center, and three approach routes extended from the hillside toward the basin.

The Raid Team would descend through the northwest slope where the vegetation offered cover until the final hundred meters. Once the monsters reacted, the formation would spread instead of funneling everyone into one approach.

Adesewa would break directly toward the island and draw the Regal Coil Lions away from the Palladium Tree. Marcus’s group would intercept the five peak Lessers, while the remaining Walkers established a broad crescent between them and the main body of monsters.

Jet studied the rough diagram carefully. The plan wasn’t complicated because complicated plans rarely survived contact with dozens of moving creatures. Everyone had a role, a priority, and an obvious response if the formation changed. Frey would remain with Jet in one of the mobile combat groups. Their task was to reduce the Lesser population quickly, reinforce nearby teams whenever pressure became uneven, and prevent monsters from crossing toward Marcus’s group while those five dealt with the strongest Lessers.

Frey rested one hand against a curved sword and asked, "What happens if the normal Lessers ignore us and rush the tree the moment you pull those two Greater Monsters away?"

Adesewa nodded toward the pool. "That’s likely, which is why we don’t open the route completely. Two ranged teams will hold the western bank and target anything entering the water. The rest of you create enough pressure that crossing the pool becomes expensive. If several make it through anyway, let me know. What you don’t do is abandon your section because one monster gets closer to the fruit than you’d like."

Cassian folded his arms while watching the valley. "How long do you want this running?"

"As little as possible," Adesewa answered, her expression hardening. "The moment we start, the entire region is going to hear us. Blood will spread through the forest. Mana signatures will spike. Monsters will investigate, and eventually Walkers will too. Between those two possibilities, I’d rather deal with monsters."

Several veterans gave humorless smiles.

Adesewa continued, "Another pack arriving is dangerous. Another Raid Team arriving is complicated. We can kill monsters without explaining ownership, contracts, discovery rights, or why a Grade Three Origin Treasure should suddenly belong to whichever Guild has the most people nearby. Once this begins, speed matters almost as much as winning."

That removed the last trace of amusement from the group.

Adesewa’s amber eyes moved across every face. "And that brings me to something more important. This valley does not exist outside the people standing here. You don’t mention it at Zenith. You don’t tell Guild contacts. You don’t tell friends because you trust them. You don’t tell someone after three drinks because the operation happened months ago and you think nobody cares anymore. You keep this location buried."

Her voice never rose, yet the warning carried across the hill.

"Every experienced Walker here understands why. A Grade One Origin Treasure can start a conflict between Guilds if its effect is valuable enough. This is Grade Three, produces multiple fruits, and its effect can push someone standing at the peak of their current Star Rank toward ascension without the usual instability or harmful residue. No damaged pathways. No contaminated Mana. No hidden price appearing three months later. Do you understand what happens if word spreads before we harvest it?"

Nobody needed an explanation.

Jet certainly didn’t.

The price of one fruit would already be absurd. A living tree producing multiple Palladium Fruits was something else entirely. Guilds wouldn’t merely bid for the harvest; they could fight over access to the source itself. Even if the tree couldn’t produce another crop, nobody currently knew that. The possibility alone was enough to bring people far stronger than anyone on this hill.

Adesewa looked directly at Jet and Frey for a moment longer than the others. They were outsiders, after all.

Jet met her gaze and nodded. "Nothing leaves this group."

Frey’s expression remained serious as he added, "We came here to hunt, not advertise someone else’s treasure. You won’t hear about this place from us."

Adesewa accepted that without demanding an oath. "Good. Once we’re finished, we harvest quickly and leave. Distribution happens away from the valley after we’ve confirmed exactly how many viable fruits exist. Nobody pockets one during the fight. Nobody decides their contribution deserves a private bonus. Anyone who has a problem with that can walk away now."

Nobody moved.

She went through the battle plan again, this time calling names and forcing each group to repeat its responsibility. Escape routes were established. Signals for retreat, regrouping, Greater-rank breakthrough, and unexpected Walker contact were confirmed.

Medical supplies were redistributed toward three designated support members.

Packs containing unnecessary weight were hidden beneath marked covers uphill, leaving everyone with only combat equipment, emergency medicine, water, and harvesting necessities.

Jet tightened his forearm guards, checked the straps protecting his ribs, and drew the Vorpal Blade halfway before sliding it back into place.

Beside him, Frey rolled his shoulders and adjusted both curved swords behind his waist. Around them, bows were strung, shields lifted, spearheads checked, and armor fastenings pulled tight.

Adesewa rose and took her bronze spear in both hands.

Below them, one Regal Coil Lion opened its golden eyes.

The valley was waking.

Jet looked beyond the monsters toward the luminous Palladium Tree, its white fruits glowing beneath silver leaves. Danger crowded every meter between him and that island, but anticipation burned beneath his calm.

He wanted that Origin Treasure.