Hearing and seeing the Commander of the Moko Infantry kneel obediently to Gideon left many of the wolfkin stunned, shocked, and speechless.
They looked at each other, unsure of what Norton was thinking. Giving up all his wealth to serve Gideon was something they had never seen or even heard of before.
Was Norton's loyalty really that thin, like paper, that he could so easily turn his back on his king?
Gideon said nothing, unsure how to respond to Norton. He was worried that if Norton defected, his entire noble family would be punished.
'It reminds me of a certain country in my world…'
Luke turned to look at Gideon's serious face, watching how he processed Norton's reaction. It looked like something else about the muscular man was bothering him.
"What's your decision, Captain?" Luke asked.
"I can't risk putting you in danger. Your life and the lives of all your soldiers still belong to the Kingdom of Moko," Gideon replied.
"You're too kind. I didn't expect that," Norton said.
"Alright then."
Norton stood up from his kneeling position and extended his hand to shake Gideon's. He had judged correctly—Gideon was the kind of leader Moko needed.
Gideon smiled broadly. He reached out and shook Norton's hand. He had turned down the offer to have Norton serve under him, but being friends wasn't a bad thing.
"I think just being friends is good enough, Commander Norton," Gideon said.
"Friends, huh? Sure. I'd be honored to be your friend, Captain Gideon."
Exactly! By being friends, the kingdom wouldn't suspect anything about Norton's ties to Gideon.
They also wouldn't know about Norton's plan to defect. His family—and the families of his 300 elite soldiers—would be safe.
Gideon also had another reason, especially concerning the wolfkin's sentiment. They weren't likely to accept humans among them so easily. Conflicts could break out simply because of the wolves' stubbornness.
"One last thing. Do you need my help, Captain Gideon?" Norton asked.
"Help, huh?"
Gideon instinctively turned to look behind him, eyeing the two elder envoys from the separate wolfkin villages.
Luke noticed where Gideon was looking—he understood what was going through his mind.
"That's a good idea, Captain!" Luke said.
"Did you just read my mind?" Gideon asked, surprised, half-joking.
"We're bros. I know what you want."
He chuckled softly. That's right. Gideon needed Norton's help—this wasn't something he could handle alone. He figured Norton and his 300 soldiers were the right choice for this problem.
He turned his attention back forward, seeing Norton still standing without his armor. Their eyes locked.
"Let's talk inside."
Norton nodded. Still unarmored, he followed Gideon and Luke into the wolfkin village. The men grew tense, raising their iron spears as Gideon arrived with Norton.
"The enemy commander is not allowed in!" they said sternly, standing firm.
Gideon said nothing. His cold eyes shifted to the side, locking onto the village elders standing in front of the cone-shaped building.
They stared back at him, unsure of what he was thinking, especially bringing Norton along.
Hui, the head of the forest wolf village, stepped forward from the group of men with the other elders. He stopped right in front of Gideon, occasionally glancing at Norton.
"What are you planning?" Hui asked firmly.
"I need to speak with the two elder envoys. It's about the plan you all wanted," Gideon said sharply.
Hui was surprised, but he still didn't quite understand. He'd allow Gideon to speak with the elders, but Norton would have to remain outside.
Gideon nodded—that wasn't a problem at all. He told Luke to stay outside and keep an eye on Norton, just in case anything went wrong. Luke understood.
In the center of the village, Gideon saw Lena in the middle of an emergency surgery to remove a bullet. Lyra was by her side, helping with the smaller tasks.
Gideon and Hui entered the village hall, where the wolfkin elders were just taking their seats on the stage. The doors shut tightly—no one could hear what was about to be said.
"What?! You want to use Norton's elite soldiers for the evacuation?" Ula asked in shock.
"Yes! They're superior in numbers and experience with the terrain on this continent. They could be our best choice at a quick evacuation."
"I'll assign two of my own to watch them during the evacuation," Gideon said firmly.
"I refuse! We are enemies with the humans of Moko. I won't entrust the safety of our people to them!" Sif said, rejecting the proposal.
"Sir Gideon, I understand your idea is well thought-out, but you don't fully understand the social tension here. Humans have always oppressed us. Trusting them won't be easy," Hui said.
"If you can't deal with your hatred of humans, then this plan to unify the mythic races will never work," Gideon replied.
"If that's the case, I'll have no choice but to pull my team and head somewhere more promising for us!" Gideon stated.
Ula slammed the table hard, pointing roughly as she glared at Gideon. The claws on her hands extended—a sign of aggression. Gideon didn't flinch at the threat.
"How dare you speak so rudely to us! Have you forgotten who's been sheltering you all this time?" Ula asked.
"We won most of the battles. We're eating from our own logistics. We're generating electricity from a river that doesn't even belong to you. All you provided was a roof over our heads!" Gideon fired back.
"Without our team, your village would've been destroyed by the humans from the start!"
"GIDEON!"
Ula couldn't contain her rage. She leapt forward, aiming to tear Gideon's face apart and seize all of his team's weapons.
Gideon drew his SIG M17, flipped the safety off, and aimed the barrel right at Ula's head. Hui and Sif stood up quickly, their faces filled with panic—they knew just how capable Gideon's team was.
"If you move, I'll shoot you in the head!" Gideon warned.
"You want to make us your enemy?!" Ula barked.
"From the start, you haven't listened to me. You keep asking for help but reject my suggestions, even though you don't have full authority over us!" Gideon snapped.
"You're underestimating everything!"
Hui stepped in, trying to calm Gideon down. He was exhausted—his body aching and his mind clouded after leading and enduring the last operation. It was only natural for him to act this way.
"Please, calm down, Sir Gideon."
"I'm sure we can find a peaceful solution to this," Hui said.
"My proposal stands. You have three days to decide."
Gideon re-engaged the safety on the SIG M17 and strode out of the cone-shaped hall with confidence, leaving Hui with Ula and Sif. Slowly, Ula began to calm herself down and clear her mind.
"We can't trust those humans!" Ula snapped.
"Sir Gideon's gotten too full of himself. He'll become a threat to our race. No matter what, he's still human!" Ula added.
"But we can't let them leave. Without them, we can't survive," Hui replied.
Ula smiled, retracting her claws. She knew what needed to be done. She closed the door to the elders' hall and turned toward Hui.
"I hope you two have some free time. There's something I need to talk to you about."
Elsewhere, Gideon walked back out front, meeting up with Luke and Norton. Luke asked what the outcome of Gideon's meeting with the elders was. He didn't answer.
"Take him to the human village. Let him rest there for three days."
"No need," Norton replied.
"My men and I will stay at the camp. We won't return for three days. If you need anything, I'll be there," Norton added.
Gideon let out a deep sigh, then nodded in agreement. Norton put his armor back on and rode off on his horse, leaving only Gideon and Luke on the forest dirt road.
"What happened?" Luke asked.
"They rejected my idea."
"Seriously? What are they thinking?" Luke asked, confused.
"I don't know."
"Listen to me."
"The tension between the wolfkin and us has been rising lately. What you saw back there was the peak," Gideon explained.
"We'll secure the logistics and everything else gradually."
"I know this will happen. It was inevitable," Luke replied.
"Where are we moving it all?"
Gideon turned his gaze straight toward the Kitsune Village. If the rifles fell into the wolves' hands, they'd become a threat to his team.
Before they could do anything bad, he had to take preventive action.
"For now, Kitsune Village."