Chapter 139 Planning Operation: Rage

Lucius led the group to one of the empty buildings within the internal camp. Once they had all entered he used his Elmando skill to close the door, before creating furniture for the four of them to sit on.

The others were confused by the chairs at first as they had never had to sit before, but once Lucius took a seat they all followed. Lucius then used Elmando to create a round table at the center, before creating a map of the necromancer's camp on top of it.

"This is a layout of the necromancer's camp," he said finally.

"You went back there?" Alpha asked in surprise. "Why didn't you tell us? We could've helped," he added after.

"I didn't train you all in stealth, and from your movements, I don't think it's your strong suit," Lucius politely explained. Hannibal was well aware that both of them had no talent for hiding, whereas Pagan was mildly disinterested.

"Anyway, there are three layers of protection... two layers of guards here and here," Lucius said, at the same time using Elmando to put x's on the discussed points. "There's also a hidden squadron somewhere here," he said, adding another x a bit behind the second layer of guards.

"They are probably arachnids, or some sort of naturally stealthy creatures. So you can expect them to be fast," he added, before moving on to the camp's internals.

"They have been constructing buildings, here, here, here, and here," he said marking out the areas. "They seem to be the foundations for temples," he added, before drawing a massive x at the center of the camp.

"This is the main target. It's the largest structure in the camp, and probably where the necromancer resides. I estimated at least 600 guards here, all of them highly dangerous," he explained.

"You memorized all this?" Hannibal asked, amazed by how detailed Lucius's drawing was.

"Would you expect any less of the Lighted One?" Pagan asked, currently playing with his crux.

"Now here's the mission briefing. The whole point of this mission is to cripple the necromancer enough for its other enemies to finish it off, or at least deal a somewhat fatal blow," Lucius began explaining.

"Other enemies? You mean there's another group trying to stop them?" Hannibal asked.

"It seems so. From the last time we were there, the undead have only claimed a small portion of the green forest. I fail to believe that a creature capable of spawning armies every so often is moving that slow, so it's safe to assume something is hampering it," he replied.

"Perhaps food?" Alpha asked.

"That would be a good argument, except they are undead. Even if they do need to eat, I highly doubt they would be against eating each other. And besides, if they can secure bodies to create more undead, they can secure food as well," he said before carrying on with his briefing.

"We'll attempt to burn down all the buildings they have constructed, as well as their main temple, he continued.

"Dead and decaying plant material makes for good fuel for fire, so the fire will spread quickly. Though we have to be strategic to prevent it from spreading too much," he added.

"And what about the undead creatures? Shouldn't we focus on destroying them as well?" Alpha asked.

"That's where you and Hannibal come in. You two will be responsible for the first segment of the plan," he said before drawing another camp next to the necromancer's camp."

"We'll create a 'dummy' camp a bit into the dark forest, one just big enough for the undead creature's to believe is an actual camp. You two along with the chieftains will use Elmando to create traps around the 'dummy camp', and we'll burn and poison the undead we trap."

BEst

"This will probably take care of a large chunk of their external security so that in itself will be a mission success," Lucius said, with a half smile.

"But you're not looking for just a 'mission success', are you? You have something else planned.." Hannibal said.

"Right," Lucius replied with a smirk. "I doubt that burning the main temple will succeed, since the necromancer could have some sort of spell to stop it... so while Pagan is burning down all the other structures, and you guys are taking care of the external security, I'll be lurking through the temple,"

"Too dangerous, let me," Alpha and Pagan said at the same time.

"You're thinking they might have valuables, huh?" Hannibal whispered with a far-away look in his eyes, before remembering how they had discovered a new technique today. "Spellbooks... it makes sense I suppose, that the necromancer would have something like spellbooks," he realized before looking at Lucius.

"But isn't that a little dangerous," he said, finally agreeing with the other two.

"Dangerous, but necessary. If I can loot the temple during all the distractions, we might gain something that will give us an upper hand in the future. And out of all of us, I'm by far the strongest, so I have the highest chance of surviving in case I encounter the necromancer," Lucius said.

"I understand... but isn't that a little too... I mean sure, but what happens if you... die?" Hannibal asked. For a moment silence fell upon the room.

"To ask the Lighted One such a question... you must be going mad," Pagan mumbled, though Lucius could sense the doubt in his voice.

~I miss war,~ Lucius thought to himself. It was a feeling that had recently come up, a lingering urge for war. The one thing he had once loathed in his old world was calling him... The Undying Boogeyman wanted to breathe again.

"We've been building up this camp for a while now, it's time to test our mettle. In this mission, kill and destroy as much as possible," he said after a moment of silence.

"From the moment the mission starts, forget who you are, forget that you are breathing... seek to destroy... rage. The necromancer and his undead won't have mercy on us if they grow too large, so when we go out there, be the very hands of destruction... that's what I intend to do. And if I can't complete my side of the mission, then you guys are better off without a half-assed leader anyway," Lucius said, and for a moment the others looked at him in confusion.

"The hands of destruction... I like the sound of that," Alpha said with a smile.

"Finally the Lighted One has permitted me to wreak havoc on those that oppose his light. I shall show them your radiance Lighted One, I shall rage, and leave nothing of the decayed forest," Pagan added.

"I hope you find good books," Hannibal added.

"I highly doubt they'll be crippled for long, even if this mission is a success. So long as the necromancer stands, it can recreate its army in a matter of days... but for now, it'll do. Until we are strong enough to completely destroy it," Lucius said out loud, however that did not mean he wasn't going to try and kill the necromancer.

"What about Ghost?" Alpha asked, disrupting Lucius's train of thought.