The figure didn't stay at the location for long. He just confirmed the situation once more before retreating along the same path he came from.
A few metres higher, Kael was standing on a tree branch, looking at everything with amusement-filled eyes.
"So, a human really is involved in this, and he even came here," his lips curled up as he spoke. "This is getting interesting."
He considered following him, but before that, he asked his assistant, "What do you think?"
[The person has a higher-rank Artefact which blocked his aura mostly, so I can't check his rank. But my guess is that he's around D-Rank, with his class related to control of beasts in some way.]
"Yes and no. That rabbit was dead," Kael whispered under his breath as he watched the man leave. "He probably has a few more beasts like that hiding nearby, and they send back information to him."
He wanted to chase after him, as the man was probably the mastermind behind all of this, but there was a high chance he would give away his position.
He didn't want to lose his advantage of knowing so much about them. They were in the dark while he was in the light.
'I could have killed his beasts, but that would also alert him. Whatever! I need to prepare more now.' Kael sighed and retreated back into the forest.
He used his extraordinary speed to jump from one place to another. His destination wasn't the Great Tree, though he could still see it in the distance and was using it as an anchor to create a map of the forest.
After travelling for a few minutes, he finally found what he was looking for... a den of snakes. He smiled upon seeing the small cave crawling with venomous snakes, each around a metre long and dark black, with golden patterns running along their scaled bodies.
'Is their poison good?' Kael asked.
[No! It won't be enough to deal with the Fanged Lions. They will, at most, be paralyzed for a few seconds.]
"That is more than enough," Kael cracked his knuckles and took a step forward toward the snakes.
[I detected a small den of Golden Patterned Viata, and their poison is also enough to kill the Fanged Lions, so why aren't you choosing them?]
Kael stopped, hearing the curious tone of Alpha. She had knowledge and also high processing power, but it looked like she still needed some tactical training.
He calmly answered her, "Their poison is lethal, yes, but that's mostly because it is mixed with that type of mana, and I can't risk them sensing an attack coming at them."
As he caught a slithering snake in his hand, he added, "This poison, on the other hand, is purely natural. And while it contains mana, it isn't boosted by mana. It will be harder to detect."
[That... is a brilliant plan.]
"Right? You lucked out to get a boss like me," Kael grinned. "With me helping you, you'll turn into the best AI in the world."
[I look forward to it.]
A grin formed on his face as lightning crackled on his fingertips, "I wonder if I'll get the title of Snake Slayer?"
Kael then proceeded to cause a genocide on the snakes, as he collected them one by one and counted at least twenty before leaving the place.
He stopped by the den Alpha had mentioned and sneakily took one of the Viata snakes with him. He had some testing to do with it.
Finally done with his little operation, Kael returned to his base and found his three subordinates fighting with each other.
Kiona was holding her ground well, even though she was facing two Flameclaw Lions all by herself. She even managed to get into advantageous positions a few times. The ground around them was already showing signs of cracking.
Though, Kael did notice that she wasn't using her flames properly, making him wonder if there was a reason for it.
"Ah! There's no time to waste here," Kael jumped down from the branch and shouted, "Practice time over! Come here!"
The three of them stopped and came near him. They were confused upon seeing the snakes on his shoulder.
"Don't worry! They're dead and useful to us. But you should stay away from them. Two of them already bit me even though they're dead," Kael said, rubbing his back.
Kiona opened her mouth and closed it, swallowing back her question when she remembered that the being before her was a dragon.
"Anyways, we have a problem..." Kael sighed and explained everything about their baits and plans.
"Damn it! They have really fallen too low to even use such means," Kiona cursed with a disgusted look on her face.
"Easy! If that's low for you, then you better back out now, because I'll be going lower than this," Kael chuckled softly and said.
"No! It's fine." Kiona pursed her lips, contemplating something. "Fighting an honorless enemy with honor only leads to death."
"Hehe, looks like you are finally learning," Kael nodded like a proud parent, making Kiona speechless. "You don't need to thank me. I know I'm an amazing figure to learn from, but you're my subordinates, so you deserve this."
The three of them just stared at him with blank looks on their faces, wondering if they made the right decision to follow him.
"Ahem! You don't need to look at me like that. I was just trying to lighten up the mood because our situation seems hopeless," Kael felt hurt by their expressions.
"That is true," Kiona frowned and crossed her arms below her bountiful chest. "As much as I hate to say this, our option is to retreat and gather strength first."
"Nah uh! I only run away from a battle when I'm sure I'm dead fighting there," Kael shook his finger and then pointed at the snakes. "We are going to attack them before they attack us."
"Yes, but are you thinking of using poison?" Kiona opened her mouth and showed him her canine teeth, which were longer than the rest.
"At our second evolution, we get these fangs which not only help us in ripping our enemies apart, but also help in detecting mana fluctuations around us. The poison will alert them."
[Impressive, Master. You have already thought of this problem.]