Global Beast Mastery: Only I Can See the Hints

Inside the Gem of Light’s storage chamber at Withered Tree Fortress.

At this moment, Charles had both his hands pressed against the Gem of Light, using its power to extend his senses outward. With the Stellar Empire’s attack about to begin, he needed to ensure that he had a constant and thorough grasp of everything happening in the surrounding area.

His brows were furrowed, and an expression of concern was etched across his face. He had sensed numerous members of the Ancient Academy advancing toward Withered Tree Fortress. These members were scattered in different directions around the fortress, and faintly, they had encircled it.

After withdrawing his hands from the Gem of Light, Charles slowly opened his eyes.

“Could it be that the Ancient Academy has already reached a deal with the Stellar Empire? Isn’t Andrew moving a bit too fast?” Charles murmured to himself.

He was beginning to slightly regret letting Andrew go.

Although he had placed a special spell on Andrew, one that ensured every move the man made would remain under his surveillance, he had never expected that this spell would become ineffective after Andrew entered the Stellar Empire.

“It seems I still underestimated the Stellar Empire’s capabilities. I have to change my battle plan. The variables brought by the Ancient Academy are far too great!”

After frowning in thought for a long while, Charles decided to go directly to General Sost.

“You don’t need to worry. Before the Stellar Empire’s attack begins, I will make sure everyone completes the repairs to the fortress walls,” Sost quickly said upon seeing Charles, assuming he had come to check on the progress.

“I trust you can do that. But that’s not why I came here. I’ve decided to change my battle plan,” Charles said in a low voice.

A flicker of surprise flashed across Sost’s face. Charles’s sudden change of plans caught him off guard, but he quickly hid his emotions—he knew that showing his surprise could unsettle the troops.

The two of them moved to a secluded spot.

“What’s going on? Why would you suddenly change your battle plan? I believe the Stellar Empire’s assault is about to start. Changing plans now could throw us into chaos,” Sost said anxiously.

Charles did not take offense at the other man’s reproach.

He knew that what the other had said was indeed correct.

“You’re right. Doing this could very well plunge the Serpent Empire into great chaos. But if I don’t change the plan, there will be no way to stop the Stellar Empire’s assault. The Ancient Academy has already decided to join forces with the Stellar Empire!” he said urgently to General Sost.

Sost was momentarily taken aback.

In truth, he knew almost nothing about the Ancient Academy.

Although he was a powerful Serpent, all of his focus had been devoted to the war against the Stellar Empire. His understanding of the human world was limited to matters directly related to the Stellar Empire.

While the Stellar Empire did have some members who had once joined the Ancient Academy, those individuals rarely became part of the Stellar Empire’s army.

Seeing the look of confusion on Sost’s face, Charles quickly realized that the other man was still unaware of the Ancient Academy’s true strength.

“How about this—we call Zara and High Priest Kent over here. The situation has become far more complicated than before!”

At Charles’s suggestion, High Priest Kent and Zara soon arrived at Withered Tree Fortress. The two of them had previously been at Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis, gathering supplies in preparation for the coming war.

“What’s happened? Why the urgent summons to Withered Tree Fortress?” High Priest Kent asked in puzzlement.

When he had first received Charles’s message, he had thought the Stellar Empire’s attack had already begun. That was why he had rushed here with Zara at the fastest possible speed.

Yet upon arriving at Withered Tree Fortress, he found the place calm and quiet, which left him deeply perplexed.

Zara was equally confused, but she said nothing. She trusted that Charles would provide a reasonable explanation.

“The reason I called you here is because something has indeed changed. The Ancient Academy has already allied with the Stellar Empire. Through the Gem of Light, I sensed a great number of Ancient Academy members.

Their strength may not surpass mine, but some of their so-called geniuses are extremely difficult to deal with. They are certainly stronger than you. Therefore, I believe our battle plan must be revised.”

At Charles’s words, Zara shot to her feet in shock.

She knew the Ancient Academy very well, and if what Charles said was true, the crisis facing the Serpent Empire had just grown far worse than before.

“How is that possible?! Wasn’t the Ancient Academy just defeated by you not long ago? How could they dare to challenge you again?”

High Priest Kent and General Sost were both startled by Zara’s reaction.

Charles, however, remained calm as he replied.

“The Ancient Academy will never yield so easily. Their dean, Everett, has always been full of hostility toward me. I don’t believe that the members of the Ancient Academy came here specifically to cause me trouble.

I suspect they came to the Atacama Desert for training. During the course of that training, they must have learned—by chance—that I was also here, and that I was in opposition to the Stellar Empire. So, they decided to join forces with the Stellar Empire to deal with me.”

His explanation was indeed clear.

Zara slowly sat back down.

“How should we adjust our plan? The actions of the Ancient Academy could pose a tremendous threat to us! We have to find a countermeasure as soon as possible,” she murmured.

Her reaction gave High Priest Kent and General Sost a sense of the Ancient Academy’s strength. If the Academy could make someone like Zara show such fear, it meant their power was not to be underestimated.

High Priest Kent spoke with composure.

“From your conversation, I can roughly understand what’s going on. Since a new and formidable enemy has appeared, revising our plan is inevitable. Charles, what sort of changes do you think we should make? Whatever decision you come to, I won’t oppose it! Because from the very beginning, I said this war would be commanded by you.”

General Sost cast a sidelong glance at High Priest Kent.

Although he trusted Charles, he was not inclined to place the same unconditional faith in him as the High Priest did.

Charles gave a small nod.

“Thank you for your trust. Although the Ancient Academy has introduced new variables, I still believe we can be the ones to laugh last in this war! And we can even use this opportunity to weaken both the Ancient Academy and the Stellar Empire at the same time.”

He began by calming everyone’s nerves.

Only after they were fully settled did he reveal his new plan.

“We can’t just sit here and wait for the attacks from the Stellar Empire and the Ancient Academy. We have to take the initiative! I believe we should strike at the Ancient Academy first.”

In Charles’s view, since the number of enemies was too great to be eliminated in a single battle, it was only natural to defeat them one by one.

Although the Ancient Academy’s overall strength in the Atacama Desert was greater than that of the Stellar Empire, those so-called geniuses of theirs were, after all, not acting together.

Charles could use his high mobility to take down the Ancient Academy’s so-called geniuses one by one.

By the time those geniuses realized what was happening, he would have already eliminated at least half of them.

The remaining half, even if they gathered together, would no longer pose such a significant threat to him.

Moreover, during this process, the Stellar Empire might not necessarily step in to aid the Ancient Academy’s geniuses.

Charles knew the Stellar Empire’s crown prince all too well.

When the time came, the crown prince would almost certainly revel in their misfortune, and might even delay the Stellar Empire’s own offensive.

Zara and High Priest Kent voiced no objections.

General Sost, however, remained silent.

Charles turned his gaze directly to General Sost.

“Do you see any flaws in this? If you believe there’s a problem, say it now. I still hope all of us can reach a consensus.”

Faced with Charles’s question, General Sost replied helplessly.

“I don’t know much about the Ancient Academy, so I can’t say exactly how powerful they are. My only concern is this—when you go after the Ancient Academy members, you’ll have to leave Withered Tree Fortress. If the Stellar Empire takes the opportunity to launch an attack, what should we do? Without you, I don’t think we can hold the fortress.”

The issue General Sost raised was indeed a thorny one.

Charles couldn’t simply reassure them by claiming that the Stellar Empire’s crown prince would never do such a thing.

After thinking for a moment, Charles finally made his decision.

“I’ll leave two of my mystical beasts here in Withered Tree Fortress! With them present, the Stellar Empire won’t be able to breach the fortress so easily. And if the fortress truly is on the verge of falling, I can use those two mystical beasts to return here immediately!”

Leaving two mystical beasts behind in the fortress would clearly weaken Charles’s strength, making it more difficult for him to deal with the Ancient Academy members.

But he considered it worth the cost.

When commanding a large-scale war, he could not think only of himself—he also had to take his allies’ situation into account.

Hearing Charles’s decision put General Sost’s worries to rest.

The group resolved to move forward with Charles’s new plan.