Chapter 65 - Bonfire

"We are getting close to the Bolvar Tribe's territory." A dominant scout from the Zelan pack spoke up to his companion, who quickly left to go and relay the information back to the main body of the taskforce some distance behind.

The taskforce had made its stop at the Belmun pack, picked up the members who were eligible to join, and then set off again to the territory of the closest pack that was under the control of the Herder Drug.

The Herder Drug was the name of the special drug that was capable of subverting the minds of demi-humans. In the time that Han had spent away from the pack, the further interrogation sessions of Adam Henshaw had led to him exposing the name of the drug.

So basically, the humans had planned to herd demi-humans as though they were simple livestock. That was the idea behind the Herder Drug's name.

Han nodded his head when the message was delivered by the scout and turned to the demi-humans around him.

"Just a few more hours and we'll be within the Bolvar Tribe's lands." He announced. "Make sure to keep your guard up, we have no idea what we are going to meet when we get there!"

...

"What... Is going on here?" Han asked in surprise when he saw the scene that was spread out before him.

Just some time ago, they had finally crossed the borders of the Bolvar Tribe's lands, but surprisingly, they had not been intercepted by scouts or any other force that should have been left to safeguard the land's borders. Instead, the area had been devoid of almost every trace of life, leaving some members of the taskforce to doubt whether their target still existed in this area, or had moved away.

Only after hours of searching that they had finally come upon a strange scene. The scene that left every member of the taskforce speechless.

A massive bonfire glowed in the darkness of the evening, painting the surrounding trees in its orange glow. A large amount of Beastkin and demi-humans were gathered around the bonfire, dancing and singing as though they had no worries in this life.

But that was not what caught the attention of the members of the taskforce. No. What caught their attention was the small group of humans that were leisurely sitting and drinking at the center of the circle of half naked, dancing bodies.

The men all had two Beastkin women who were wearing very few articles of clothing, while the women were surrounded by Beastkin men that were in a similar state of undress. It was obvious that the Beastkin and demi-humans were not in their right state of mind for them to be acting in such a manner with humans. It was almost as if they were worshiping the humans!

The lecherous men's hands roamed over the bodies of the well endowed young ladies that they had chosen to have a good time with that night, while the women allowed the male Beastkins' hands to explore the various contours of their bodies.

Such a sight was especially sickening to watch when the members of the taskforce added in the fact that those Beastkin were not in their right senses.

The leaders of the taskforce momentarily gathered together to put together a plan of action. Based on the information gotten from Adam Henshaw, there were only six people in the team that had been assigned to the Bolvar Tribe.

Even if Adam had been truthful, there was still a chance that the figures had changed. Adam had been missing in the human society for over a month. There was always a chance that precautions had been taken, and the number of people assigned to each team had been increased. Because of this possibility, they had to make sure their plan was foolproof, and would allow for as little loss as possible.

"We can not just charge in there and attack them. The hundreds of Beastkin and demi-humans of the Bolvar Tribe are all under their control, so running in there with a mere seventy warriors would be akin to suicide." One person spoke up.

"I propose our archers take shots at them. That seems to be our best bet in this situation." Another member of the meeting Han was currently holding proposed.

"If we miss the first shots, then the humans can just use their captives as meat shields. My gut tells me that it won't work out so easily."

Ideas flowed back and forth as they tried to come up with a plan that would serve them best. What they wanted was the least possible casualties on their side, and possibly the side of the Bolvar Tribe. With lower casualties, then their prospects of having more people join the taskforce and complete the mission would increase greatly.

Han sighed and rubbed his eyes. He subconsciously turned to an demi-human boy who looked out of place among the various powerful demi-humans that were currently discussing.

Mian was seated between Dion and Daniel as the three of them listened to the ideas that were being thrown around. Suddenly, Han called for silence and decided to ask what the boys thought.

While the adults had been arguing on how to proceed, Mian had also been thinking on how to handle the matter through his own methods.

'Hana, what are the chances of me being able to handle this whole matter by myself when I go all out?' He asked his helpful companion that had been with him since the beginning of his evolutionary journey.

[By 'all out', I am guessing you mean using Evolution Points to boost your body?] Hana replied dutifully.

'Yes.' Mian replied. The sight of how the humans were manipulating Beastkin and demi-humans alike had struck a chord within him.. He felt an incredible sense of disgust, and was willing to do his very best to free those that were under the control of the humans from their predicament.