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“Vero, may I come in?”

Oli heard the shout and took a moment to exit his soul jade. Ready to receive his visitor, Oli replied, “Sure.”

The flap was pushed aside and Hurman walked in. But before speaking, Hurman sat down and filled one of his new rings with essence. A silent formation quickly took form and the two of them were now able to speak more freely.

“Hurdo told me about the strategy you all came up with before I arrived,” Hurman stated. “I made a few minor adjustments but your role in the invasion will be the same as you proposed.”

Smiling, Oli nodded. “Thanks. I’m glad to offer a viable strategy.”

“Now, on to the real task at hand. I have something for you, though I don’t think they were planning on giving it to you so soon. But it’s best for you to be safe, so I’ll just give it to you now,” Hurman said.

Hurman held out a tiny orb filled with brown-yellow earth essence.

Oli accepted the gift, holding it up to get a good look at the small item. “A formation orb?”

.....

Nodding, Hurman explained, “That’s exactly what it is. This is your grandpa’s first-ever formation orb after ascending to the early-king realm.”

With widening pupils, Oli blinked. “My Grandpa’s? Meaning, this holds an early-king attack?”

When Hurman nodded again, Oli asked, “What attack is it?”

“I don’t know. Bradok didn’t tell me.”

“Of course Gramps didn’t say…” sighed Oli, trying to imagine what kind of strike the formation orb contained.

“However,” Hurman added, “Bradok did say a few words about it. He said, and I quote, ‘When Little Oli wants to throw the strongest punch he’ll ever throw in his life, all he has to do is break this inside his fist.’ So, I imagine it’s some kind of punch stored inside.”

Feeling better about it, Oli made sure to keep the orb steady in the center of his open palm. “... Gramps didn’t say what he called the attack?”

“Nope.”

Accepting the little information he was given, Oli stored the formation orb in his ring. “Well, make sure to thank Gramps for me, when you get the chance. I don’t know when I’ll see him next, or when we’ll get to converse properly.”

“Then I’ll let him know after we take Prodson City,” replied Hurman. “I heard you had a run-in with a perennial. Mind telling me about him?”

“Sure. But he only seemed like an early, maybe a low-perennial at best,” Oli replied.

“You’ll never know for sure until you’re fighting them head-on, or you’re of a much higher realm than them,” Hurman stated. “So, please, describe this perennial. It’s better to be over-prepared and face an underwhelming force than to be under-prepared against an overwhelming force.”

So Oli explained, in detail, what the man looked like. After the man got up close and personal with the stone cluster hiding Oli, it had been really easy to get a good look at him.

“So he wielded a one-handed hammer, not a two-handed hammer?” Hurman asked for clarification.

“Yes. Compared to all the hammers I’m familiar with, both from construct battle arts and from my mom’s area of expertise, I would classify the man’s hammer as large but designed for one-handed use,” Oli stated.

Hurman asked, “And what was the rank emblem on the man’s uniform?”

“Umm, I’m not familiar with Prodson’s emblem hierarchy,” Oli answered. “But it looked like cross blades, using a saber and a hammer instead of the usual longswords. Honestly, it looked more like a crest than a rank emblem.”

Hurman’s gaze narrowed slightly. A slight smile appeared on Hurman’s face. “Ah. You’re right, Oli. That’s not an emblem to show rank. The crossing saber and hammer is the crest of the Prodson Family, who naturally wield wind, earth, or both.”

Thinking back to his experience of narrowly evading the suspicious perennial’s awareness, Oli sighed. “... Oh. Then, that man was from the Prodson Family?”

Nodding, Hurman replied, “Most likely.”

“... Then I made the right choice, betting on my solid hiding place rather than my speed to escape,” Oli said, imagining a bit of sweat on his brow.

Hurman laughed and slapped the drake’s shoulder, “You did amazingly! Not only do we know about their hidden camps, but now we know Prodson sent at least one of their own. Sure, that means Prodson is taking us seriously. But that also means Prodson is more stressed and desperate than we anticipated.

“Likely, I assume that’s due to the Iron armies attacking Prodon’s two cities to the south.”

Curious, Oli asked, “Armies? As in, multiple, separate armies?”

“That’s correct.” Hurman explained, “The closest city to the Iron-Prodson border is Iccad City, named after the Iccad Jungle just beyond the city walls. There, the Neilor Family governs a population of over seventy-five thousand people with only a few perennials. All under Prodson’s ever-increasing, strict supervision.

“Vloz led a small army to Iccad City to falsely claim the Neilor Patriarch’s head. But, in actuality, the Neilor Family agreed to give up the city in exchange for better conditions and more freedom. Vloz is just setting up the assassination as a cover for their under-the-table deal. After Prodson City falls, the Neilor Patriarch will reappear and explain the deal with the people of Iccad City.

“Apparently,” Hurman continued, “Iccad City was one of the first to get hooked on Jrabda wine and other Iron exports before Prodson banned trade with Iron. So just when Iccad City’s economy began to boom as Prodson’s gateway to Iron goods, that prosperity was ripped away from them.”

Hurman added, “On top of that, one of the terms was for Iron to conquer the Iccad Jungle. Iron can recruit, tame, or eliminate what we want from the jungle. And it will double as protection for the city.”

Hearing all that, Oli wondered something. “Did we invade Prodson before or after we started negotiating with Iccad City?”

Shrugging and smiling, Hurman replied, “Great question. I don’t know the answer. But knowing your clan and how crafty that leopard can be, I would be surprised if a few letters hadn’t been shared before Iron invaded.”

“Then, there’s a second Iron army heading to the city at the heart of the Prodson Territory? And that one isn’t led by Vloz?” Oli questioned.

“That army is personally led by Leader Bradok, who may be one of the strongest peak-perennials throughout all of Dominus. At least, that’s according to the world’s viewpoint,” chuckled Hurman.

“While Vloz led a small army of only beasts, making their trek through the dense Iccad Jungle easier, Leader Bradok is leading a half-beast, half-human army further north. Bradok will be attacking Dobbar City, which was the former capital before the Prodson Family took over almost a century ago. They have almost two hundred thousand people living there. That’s why it was more deserving of Leader Bradok’s direct attention, as well Bradok’s… strange yet flawless strategy.”

Oli wanted to ask what sort of strategy Hurman would consider unusual. But Olii had to get a different question off his mind first. “But Vloz is almost as famous as Gramps, if not more so after catching and killing a king cultivator. Wouldn’t it make more sense for Vloz to go north? That way, after claiming Dobbar city, Vloz can rush over to Prodson City and become a direct threat to the Prodson Family?”

Shrugging again, Hurman replied, “True. That would make a lot of sense, from many perspectives. But I agree with Vloz’s and Bradok’s plans. They made the right choice. It’s because of how their battlefields are looking that Iron will claim all of Prodson without breaking the hearts of the Prodson populace.”

“... Does that have something to do with Gramps’s strategy?” Oli asked, all the more intrigued.

Hurman explained, “I’m guessing that your Uncle Rathe’s sense for war and strategy comes from your grandpa. And boy does your grandpa’s unexpected ideas put Rathe’s to shame.

“Leader Bradok should’ve reached Dobbar City by either yesterday or today. And he plans to set up a base camp outside of all three city gates. Then… Well, no matter how badly Prodson doesn’t want their people using Iron-made goods, it will be impossible to avoid from now on.”

Oli squinted in thought. “... What do you mean? Is Gramps sending envoys to the gates like delivery boys, slinging Jrabda wine?”

Shaking his head, Hurman couldn’t help but chuckle, “I could see Bradok doing that, but he had a better idea. To work around the city guards and avoid Prodson’s meddling hands, Bradok will construct a few tall, stone towers not too far from the walls of Dobbar City. Then, Leader Bradok plans to shout a declaration to the people of Dobbar City.

“He’ll say something like, ‘How unfair! To not be allowed the best of wines and the best of cuisine! How dare they oppress you, the people of Dobbar City, who have stood the test of time for nearly two centuries!\'” Hurman surmised. “And in the middle of that declaration, your grandpa and other gorillas will throw supply crates and packages over the city walls, delivering Iron-made exports directly to the people of Dobbar City.”

Epiphany struck Oli as he broke out in laughter, “Ha! All while Gramps is choking the city gates so the people can’t leave to get more food or resources beyond the city walls? I guess that’s one way to guarantee that our new clientele try our product. So long as the rest of their food is running low, the people will eagerly fight over our air-dropped cuisine!”