Global Beast Mastery: Only I Can See the Hints

Fifteen kilometers northwest of Withered Tree Fortress, on a narrow path, Charles and Connell successfully disguised themselves as Serpent soldiers using camouflage gear. They were waiting for the arrival of a Serpent soldier squad.

Connell felt slightly uneasy. He thought Charles’ plan was far too risky. According to Charles’ plan, they had to infiltrate this Serpent soldier squad, and after that, the squad would take them into Withered Tree Fortress.

“Are you really sure this plan will work?” Connell asked after a moment of hesitation. “I think it’s too dangerous. If the Serpent soldiers don’t believe us, they’ll just attack us right away.”

Charles wasn’t concerned by Connell’s worries at all. “No need to worry! I know the Serpent Empire’s situation very well. The front lines are in desperate need of soldiers, so they won’t care about our background. Besides, they won’t expect a human to appear behind the invisible barrier.”

Charles spoke confidently, easing Connell’s anxiety. Still, Connell was unsure. He was about to ask more questions when, just in time, Charles spotted the approaching Serpent squad from a distance.

“Enough talking! Get ready, the Serpent squad is almost here!” Charles reminded, prompting Connell to adjust his camouflage one last time.

A few minutes later, the Serpent soldier squad arrived before them. The squad leader looked them both up and down.

“Why are you here? Which tribe are you from? What mission were you on before?” the Serpent squad leader asked seriously, firing off three rapid questions.

The moment Connell heard these questions, his expression became awkward and unnatural. But Charles remained calm, his expression unchanged. With confidence, he responded.

“We lost contact with our previous squad. We’re from the Greenwater Tribe, and our mission was to follow the squad to Withered Tree Fortress to provide support.”

The Serpent squad leader nodded slowly after hearing Charles’ answer. He had indeed received reports that the Greenwater Tribe’s reinforcements had been ambushed by Sandworms in the desert. However, he did not fully trust Charles right away. He decided to probe further.

“Since you’re from the Greenwater Tribe, can you tell me about the current situation of your tribe?”

Charles quickly shared the information he had learned from Zara. “The situation in Greenwater Tribe is dire. Our high priest has already gone to Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis, leaving our tribe defenseless against the Sandworm attack.”

The story Charles told was consistent with what he had learned, but he knew the Serpent leader would still be skeptical. He had to tread carefully, knowing that the Serpent Empire’s forces were always on alert.

“Our squad’s mission isn’t just to support Withered Tree Fortress. There’s another, even more important task—we need to request reinforcements from General Sost for our Greenwater Tribe,” Charles explained.

After listening to Charles, the Serpent squad leader let out a long sigh. He had now fully believed Charles.

“It’s useless!” he said. “As far as I know, General Sost can no longer send reinforcements to any other tribes. The situation on the front line is dire. Your Greenwater Tribe will have to rely on your own strength to ensure your safety.”

A look of disappointment spread across Charles’ face. He awkwardly asked, “Is that really true? Is the situation on the front line really that bad? If that’s the case, then I think my companion and I should return to Greenwater Tribe.”

As he spoke, he pulled Connell along, preparing to leave.

At that moment, the Serpent soldiers surrounded them.

The Serpent squad leader shook his head. “I do feel sorry for you. If I were in your shoes, I’d choose to return to Greenwater Tribe as well. But I must do what I’m supposed to do. You two are now members of my squad! We all must head to the front line for reinforcement. You can’t just leave on your own!”

The squad leader’s tone was very firm.

Both Charles and Connell acted defiant, putting on a show of resistance.

“You don’t have to look at me like that. Even if General Sost and the high priests were here, they would make the same decision,” the squad leader added, pausing for a moment. “However, I do have some compensation for you. The front line will pass through Withered Tree Fortress, so you can directly ask General Sost in person.”

With that, the Serpent squad leader signaled for his subordinates to forcefully take Charles and Connell away.

On the surface, both of them were very reluctant, but deep down, they were both elated.

Charles knew his plan had carried enormous risks. However, by responding with perfect composure, he had successfully mitigated those risks.

Connell looked at Charles with admiration. He felt that if he had been the one to carry out this plan, it would have failed miserably.

Thus, the two managed to infiltrate the Serpent soldier squad and, along with them, headed toward their destination—Withered Tree Fortress.

Half a day later, they finally arrived at Withered Tree Fortress.

Withered Tree Fortress was massive. The entire fortress was surrounded by four layers of walls. Each wall was equipped with powerful defensive magic arrays. Countless Serpent soldiers patrolled the walls.

Although Charles had already seen an introduction to Withered Tree Fortress in the grand library of Serpent’s Eye Lake Oasis, reading about it in a book was one thing. Seeing it in person was another matter entirely.

Connell, standing beside Charles, wore an expression of absolute shock on his face.

He had never imagined that the Serpent Empire possessed such a grand and imposing fortress.

But after the initial wave of astonishment passed, a surge of joy welled up in his heart.

As long as he could bring back intelligence regarding Withered Tree Fortress, it would count as a major achievement. In that case, the crown prince would have no choice but to pardon his family.

“Have you seen enough?”

The Serpent squad leader’s voice came from behind them.

Charles and Connell quickly turned around.

The Serpent squad leader’s expression remained calm. He didn’t seem at all angry about their gawking.

“Your reaction is perfectly natural,” the squad leader said. “Withered Tree Fortress is a stronghold the Empire has maintained for many years. It’s a magnificent fortress—any Serpent seeing it for the first time would be equally stunned.”

As he spoke, pride radiated from his tone.

“But we have more important matters to attend to. Head to the camp and get some rest. Tomorrow, you both have far more important duties awaiting you.”

With that, the Serpent squad leader turned and prepared to leave.

Just then, Charles called out from behind.

“Didn’t you say earlier that we could have an audience with General Sost?”

“General Sost is not currently at Withered Tree Fortress,” the squad leader replied. “At the earliest, he’ll return in three days. So for now, focus on the task I’ve assigned you.”

Upon hearing this news, Charles showed a disappointed expression.

He had genuinely hoped to meet General Sost.

However, not being able to meet the general immediately wasn’t necessarily a bad thing for him.

He could use these few days to gather even more intelligence.

On the way to the camp, Connell spoke to Charles with great excitement.

“As long as we can get this intelligence out, we’ll be richly rewarded! Not only will His Highness the Crown Prince pardon my family, but they’ll be rewarded because of my contributions!”

Facing the excited Connell, Charles responded coolly.

“Are you really sure about that? I’m not convinced His Highness is the type of person who rewards merit fairly.”

Charles had already had dealings with the crown prince of the Stellar Empire.

In Charles’ view, the man was narrow-minded, petty, and utterly incapable of admitting fault.

Under such a ruler, even if Connell rendered great service, the crown prince would find any excuse to erase his achievements entirely.

“Even if His Highness the Crown Prince isn’t someone who rewards and punishes fairly, he wouldn’t dare overlook a contribution as significant as ours. If even achievements of this scale go unrewarded, then no one else would ever be willing to fight for the Empire again,” Connell argued.

In truth, Connell did somewhat believe what Charles had said.

But deep down, he still held on to a glimmer of hope.

He believed that he might be the exception—the lucky one.

Even if the crown prince wasn’t just or generous, Liam figured that the situation would force him to at least offer some form of reward.

After hearing Connell’s response, Charles shook his head with a bitter smile.

The man still harbored false hope.

Because of that, Charles couldn’t completely trust him just yet.

Only when Connell fully lost faith in the Stellar Empire would Charles consider him a truly reliable ally.

“Maybe,” Charles replied. “But everything depends on whether we can actually get this intel out. Over the next few days, we must make sure there’s nothing suspicious about our behavior.”

Connell nodded vigorously.

“Of course! I promise you, over the next few days, I’ll live and fight like an ordinary Serpent soldier.”

Connell’s answer pleased Charles greatly.

“Very good. That puts my mind at ease.”

Their conversation ended just as they finally reached the camp.

Under the direction of the camp supervisor, the two of them were assigned to quarters on the very edge of the outermost wall of Withered Tree Fortress.

Here, they didn’t have to worry much about their safety.

After all, Withered Tree Fortress was the front-line stronghold of the Serpent Empire’s defenses.

But for Charles, this wasn’t good news.

It limited his freedom of movement.

The wall area was crowded and closely watched. Any suspicious actions he took could easily be noticed by others.

And if that happened, there would be no way for him to gather more intelligence.

In the end, Charles decided to wait until late into the night before making his move.

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