After serving the food and drinks Elena became completely quiet and left the stage to the participants. Saradina was the first person to snap out of her stupor and picked up a cookie. She was followed by Hapis who also picked up the chocolate balls from the bowl which was in front of him.

Taking that as a signal others also started to pick up the food that was before them. Elena had specially picked only the foods that the participants would enjoy at this moment so everyone was satisfied with the choices before them.

Saradina was the first one to speak up in this exchange -

"Greetings, beast king Hapis. I'm Saradina, the aide of the major general. Can you please clarify why you were addressed as a 'rebel' by Elena-sama ?"

"There is nothing to clarify, it is exactly as she said. We, the bull beastkins had become rebels for the Gaim Empire. So the only way forward for us is to defeat you all as soon as possible and to take over the part of the great Hazakari desert that the Myrilia Kingdom controls. So, I will like to suggest you all to surrender as that will be good for both sides and you all don't need to die if you do as I just suggested."

Sandy replied back to that suggestion -

"Dream when you're asleep, beast king. Now that we know that the Gaim Empire is not supporting you, we have absolutely nothing to hold us back. Do you think you're able to defend against the whole Myrilia Kingdom's army alone ?"

"I don't know how madam Elena was able to know something that even I got to know just a few hours before but as she is a S rank adventurer that I suppose is expected of her. But you are not a S rank, general. Even tho you may technically have reached A rank which is the same rank as me, but still I can defeat you in at most three exchanges. So don't get conceited. This desert region is one of the most barren and least valuable areas under the control of the Myrilia Kingdom. So I think that your king will value a living A rank general more than a dead, barren desert. So, think about my proposal carefully."

Sandy was not a person who was calm and collected, so he instantly replied back -

"I'm Sandy Rogers, who was given an order to defend this land at any cost. So I will do just that. I don't have to think if this land is barren or not. I have the responsibility to defend it and I will just do that."

"You're stubborn, I see. but that stubbornness would take you nowhere. You should understand when one should take a step back. If I want I alone am enough to destroy your whole city. But that would still allow your soldiers to attack our soldiers in desperation which will force us to incur meaningless losses, and that is what I want to avoid.

So I will ask you for one last time, will you surrender this piece of land to us or not ?"

Sandy's brain was heating up and he was getting angrier while hearing Hapis taking. But before he could snap at him, Saradina held his hand under the table and that gesture magically lessened his anger. She then spoke up -

"Beast king Hapis, you may have a lot of confidence in your strength but let me tell you a secret. Our main base, the city of Jysis currently had a special defensive magic circle drawn inside it. And the creator of that magic circle is none other than Miss Elena, a S ranker. I hope I don't need to mention what that implies, right ?"

This statement changed the expression of every bull beastkins present there. They had already seen Elena's prowess a little bit. And that was frightening. They did not want to face off against something that she created, even tho she is not using it herself.

Hapis looked at Elena to ask for confirmation and she nodded her head a little and added -

"Yes, I did create a magic circle for them but I did not add any of my magic in it. So, the human army itself is responsible for maintaining and supplying this magic circle. And it only had defensive properties and no offensive ones. But as a pure defence specialised magic circle. Its defence is quite freakishly strong."

Hearing her reply Hapis went silent for a moment and asked once again -

"It may be rude on my part but please allow me to ask one more question. Can I break through this magic circle's defence ?"

"You can. But you had to use two of your tramp cards together and I think I don't need to mention why that is not a good idea."

Hapis smiled bitterly. He could not believe that someone could be so powerful and all knowing. She even knew about his trump cards and that was frightening to think about. Was all A rankers so scary ? Nope. No way. He had seen their Emperor before. Even tho he was also quite impressive, he was no way near Elena's level.

"That will be troubling, I agree with that but if doing so can let us win, I will still do it. But I will take a back step here. Tell me what you want as the price to leave this piece of land in the great Hazakari desert ?"

General Mars spoke up this time -

"We don't really have the authority to make any decision about the land belonging to the Myrilia Kingdom. Only the king has the right to do so. So, we will like some time to consult with the king about this matter."

"Time is something that we don't have at this moment. Even tho we are the ones who proposed this exchange that doesn't that we are pushovers. This will be my last and final offer, at what cost will you give me this land by tomorrow ?"

This statement just crossed the threshold for Sandy's endurance. Lightning covered his whole body and he snapped back -

"We are not going to give you even a single piece of dust from our own land without fighting. If you're really so confident then just attack."

Saying so he sent a bolt of lightning toward Hapis but as soon as he did that he froze in place. An overwhelming bloodlust washed over him and he instantly fainted. His whole body was shaking even after he lost consciousness. Elena's chilling voice suddenly rang out -

"Do advise your major general to keep his temper in check. And also don't forget to check if he had some sort of brain disability. As I do remember saying that 'nobody' is allowed to attack one another while I am in charge of the exchange. And from the looks of it, I think we can conclude this exchange and can declare it as an unsuccessful one as the war is still going to take place. Now go back to your own camps."

Saying so she snapped her fingers once again and all the participants returned to their respective camps instantly.

...

The Beast Overlord Horas was throwing his everything in this battle that would decide the future of his clan. He had already used most of the soldiers present in the fortress except the special secret forces.

The only silver lining in this bad situation was that Leonhart still hadn't taken any action. If he took to the field as an S ranker, then Horas would have no other way to use one of his ultimate trump cards, which he didn't want to reveal for the time being.

Horas himself had already gone to the battlefield and had fought against the A rank royal guard. Horas himself was level 263 so defeating him was not too hard for him but he didn't dare to go too far and did not kill him as that might provoke Leonhart to attack.

That's how the first day's battle came to an end. The royal army was able to maintain definite advantage throughout the war but the amount of losses that Horas' army suffered was not much. Which actually meant that Horas was successful in buying time with minimal losses.

The beastkins were not like humans who needed to stop fighting at night. They were beasts who felt more at ease at night. But as the royal army was here to subjugate the rebels they needed to show their mighty and great presence so they did not attack at nighttime and give the enemy time to recover. This action showed their magnanimity and confidence at the same time. Horas was very happy that the royal army was showing such an attitude as this sort of attitude would be helpful for Horas' objective.

For the next day he decided to use one of his tramp cards from the very beginning as that would be most effective. But on the other hand, Leonhart also thought that doing this much delay should be the limit as doing anymore delay might allow Hapis to conquer the desert territory which was something he did not want. So he also decided to take to the battlefield tomorrow.

The war was coming close to its end.

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