On the way back, they didn't run into anyone. Upon arriving at the Kitsune village, Lena and Lyra went straight back to Mitsuko's house.
"I'll take care of Lena. You two should return to the Wolf Village."
"Alright."
Gideon glanced at Luke, and the two of them walked away from the Kitsune village that morning.
The earlier event had drained Gideon—it never crossed his mind that Moko's troops would show up at the village and threaten him and Lena.
"What exactly happened?"
Luke and Gideon were walking with their M4A1 rifles in hand. Gideon glanced at him, then turned his gaze back to the path ahead.
"I got an Entry Permit Plate," Gideon replied, reaching into his pocket and pulling out a green plate to show Luke.
Luke looked at the plate in awe, the green glow shining from it as if it held some kind of magic. But he had no idea what it was for.
"According to the village chief, this plate will help us enter every city in Moko," Gideon explained.
"Hmm... is that so? If we can see their civilization firsthand, we might find something that can help us."
"That's my goal. The Wolf and Kitsune villages aren't very big—there's not much we can discover here," Gideon added.
"If we want to survive longer in this world, we need to start moving."
"Mischo City will be the first one we visit," Gideon said.
They arrived at the wolf village, where many of the villagers had already started their tasks. Women were washing and hanging clothes to dry, the men were helping with Luke's project or out hunting, and the children were playing traditional games inside the village grounds.
Gideon stopped before entering the house. Luke turned to look at him. "What's up?"
"The fight earlier... our team is bound to be suspected and watched. Security will be tight in Mischo City."
"Are we heading there soon?" Luke asked. Gideon shook his head.
He stepped forward and patted Luke gently on the shoulder. "We can't leave until the Moko army camp is disbanded."
"Operation Black Crown? Don't worry, I've already prepped and maintained our gear."
"We'll take out their commander for sure," Luke said confidently.
"Yeah, I hope so."
"I really can't wait to kick those Moko soldiers' asses!" Luke complained.
Gideon chuckled. The two of them were about to enter the house when someone's voice caught their attention.
Luke and Gideon turned quickly to see an elder approaching with two guards. The three of them had come with the intention of speaking with Gideon.
"Sir Gideon?" the elder asked.
"Old man? Do you need something?"
"The wolf tribe elders have come to invite you to the village hall to discuss something. Do you have time?" the elder asked.
Gideon narrowed his eyes, his brows furrowed as he tried to guess what the wolf tribe elders might want to discuss. He glanced briefly at Luke. Luke cleared his throat in agreement.
"Alright. I'll go with Luke."
"Follow me, gentlemen."
Deciding not to put away their rifles yet, Gideon and Luke followed the old man to a cone-shaped building with a roof made of palm leaves and walls crafted from tightly bound bamboo. The ceiling was high, with good air circulation thanks to the roof windows.
Inside the hall, five people were seated at a podium table, high above the ground level. Gideon and Luke stood in the center of the hall.
"Feels like we're being put on trial," Luke whispered.
Gideon kept quiet. Once the hall doors closed, the five elders—three men and two women, all of them were old and full of knowledge about the wolf race and other mythic races—began to speak.
"Sir Gideon, it's good to see you in person," said one of the women.
He nodded and gave a slight bow. Luke, a bit confused, decided to follow Gideon's lead.
"It's an honor for me to be invited and meet the esteemed elders of the wolf race," Gideon responded.
"Ohh, I like his manners. He's not arrogant like most humans," the elder woman said, glancing sideways.
"Let me introduce you. This is Ula, one of the elders from the Southwest Wolf Tribe," explained Hui, the head of the wolf tribe village.
'Southwest Wolf Tribe? So there really are multiple wolf villages across this continent?'Gideon wondered.
"And that woman over there is a representative from the Eastern Wolf Tribe," Hui added, gesturing toward another elder woman.
Gideon smiled and respectfully nodded toward them, making a strong first impression. To the elders, Gideon came off as a polite and respectable man.
"There's a specific reason we asked you to come here," Hui said.
"Does it have to do with uniting the mythic races?" Gideon asked.
"That's one part of it."
"Actually, we wolves have five separate villages, each based on our wolf tribes."
"Here, you are in the Forest Wolf village. To the east, we have the Mountain Wolves. In the southwest, the Sea Wolves. At the center of the continent, the Earth Wolves. And to the north, the Moon Wolves."
Gideon nodded. He didn't yet understand what made the five wolf tribes different, but their fur color showed some contrast.
The Mountain Wolves had a mix of white and gray fur. The Forest Wolves had brown and gray. The Sea Wolves had blue and gray in their coats.
"I've sent messages to all four other villages. Only three responded. The village in the north remains closed off."
"What was your message?" Gideon asked.
Hui smiled, handing over the message to one of his aides, who brought it to Gideon.
"Grand Plan for Wolf Unification?" Gideon asked in surprise.
"That's right."
"Before uniting all the mythic races, it would be best to unite the wolf race first," Hui explained.
'He's sharp and wise. He's trying to consolidate power among his own people so that his race stays dominant once all mythic races are united,'Gideon thought.
'Looks like Hui wants to use this momentum to assert his race's superiority over the others,'he added.
"Alright. I get the overall plan. What does this have to do with us?" Gideon asked, narrowing his eyes.
Hui looked over at his aide. The man nodded. They unfurled a large map and hung it on the wall—a full map of the continent. Everyone in the hall turned their attention toward it.
The aide marked two spots, one in the southwest and the other in the east—each several dozen kilometers from the village.
"They've heard, seen, and even felt your magic. They're interested in it."
"Are you asking me to bring all my tech there?" Gideon asked directly.
"Calm down. I'm not asking you to do that."
Hui stepped down from the podium and walked over to the map, stopping near his aide. Gideon's focus shifted from Hui to the map.
"There are around two thousand people in those two villages. We want you to help evacuate them safely to this village," Hui said.
"Don't worry, the men here will help you."
Luke leaned in and whispered to Gideon, "This is like NEO."
"Yeah, you're right."
Hui went on to explain in detail. There was a lot Gideon's team needed to prepare. Gideon narrowed his eyes, stepping closer to the map for a better look.
"To evacuate them, we'll need to pass through several other mythic races' villages."
"I'm sure you can handle it," Hui said.
'Tch! He always makes it sound easy,'Gideon thought.
"Why don't you try evacuating them yourselves?" Luke asked.
"There's a major gender imbalance in those two villages. There are far more elders, women, and children than men," Ula, the elder from the southwest village, explained.
"We could do it ourselves, but we're worried human forces might attack," she added.
"Elder Ula's right. The Mountain Wolf village faced a similar situation. We hope you and your skilled team can help us," said Sif, the elder of the Mountain Wolves.
"We should start drawing up a plan to help them, Captain," Luke said.
Gideon fell silent again. A non-combatant evacuation would require a thorough strategy and proper supplies—like herbs and ammo.
After a few battles, their ammo supply had taken a hit, and the team had to start thinking about conserving rounds. Otherwise, their M4A1s and other weapons would become useless.
This was going to be a carefully calculated mission.
"Well, Sir Gideon?" Hui asked.
The elders remained quiet, their eyes fixed on Gideon with hope. They truly believed Gideon could solve their problem.
Luke looked over. Gideon's face was tense, his sharp eyes fixed on the map. Luke realized Gideon was already planning, calculating the risk of this evacuation.
He stepped forward and bowed his head. He didn't intend to reject their request.
"Captain Gideon and I need to discuss this plan with our team. We'll let you know the details in the next few days," Luke said.
"Would that be alright with the elders?" Luke asked.
The elders looked at each other and nodded in agreement. They understood that this evacuation would be dangerous and time-consuming. It made sense to them that Gideon's team would need time to plan everything.
"Of course. We'll wait for your decision within the week."
"Thank you."