~BAM!~

The fist of one of the seated Dragon Generals hit the main table that spread straight down within the meeting room. His action caused the piece of furniture to tremble, almost to the point of breaking apart.

However, it didn't.

Whether this spoke of the integrity of the table, or the fact that the General was still subconsciously holding back despite his current emotional state it was impossible to decipher.

"Damnit! How did things get to this point again?!" He raised his voice, his bloodshot eyes piercing the room as he looked at everyone present.

The 12 Dragon Commanders were utterly silent, all of them having nervous and incredibly uncomfortable expressions on their faces. Their unfocused gazes shifted from one point to the other, with beads of sweat evident on their faces.

No one liked it when this particular Dragon General was upset.

However, since they all knew the source of his frustrationwhich inevitably led to angerthere was nothing they could say.

All they could do was sit and take it all in.

"Just yesterday you said they were being pushed back. You told me we would have them subdued by the end of the week. You said they were not a threat at all. And now what's with this bullshit?!" He raised his voice, once again pounding the table.

At this point, his colleagues had to calm him down.

"R'azak, calm yourself." The one cloaked in blue muttered with a sigh. "This unexpectedness plagues us all, after all"

The moment he heard this, R'azak, the purple robed General, turned to look at his colleague, still growling and seething from his lips

"But!"

"Getting upset won't fix anything. It's better we calmly assess the situation." This time, the one with the ashen robe spoke up.

All three Generals shared the same elevated position of leadership. Yes, R'azak was the one who often took the role of offensive leader due to his hot-blooded and incredibly violent nature, but that didn't mean the other two were inferior to him.

The one shrouded in blue was best known for his defensive maneuver; so he often took charge in times of dire straits. It was thanks to his leadership that the Dragons were able to hold out for so long despite the Elves gaining their hands on Enchanted Items.

That didn't stop them from being on the losing end, but he minimized their losses.

As for the ashen one, he appeared to be the youngestlooking like a teenagerbut his true age was one that no one in the room knew of.

Many rumors floated around of him having some form of ties with the Emperor, but there was no concrete proof to back it up. The only thing people really knew about him was

He was strong.

Among the Generals, he was certified the strongest.

Still, he kept his role within the squad to a minimum. He hardly engaged in combat, and he only did so when he found it to be worthwhile, or if the opponent somehow managed to upset him.

Even now, despite the tension in the room, he was the only one smiling.

"U'riah, Ce'phas what do you think about this, then? What other reaction am I supposed to make to the news that our forces have been decimated in the last strike?" R'azak spoke to the Blue and Ashen General respectively.

His teeth gritted with every word he uttered.

"How could they have overwhelmed our horde? I don't get it. Were they hiding something till the last minute? Did we underestimate them? It makes no sense"

The Commanders knew to be silent in this period, so none of them leaked as much as a croak to these questions that were meant to be rhetorical.

"Hmm" U'riah rubbed his chin, stroking his well-polished bearda sharp contrast to R'azak's shabby one. "I don't think they could have been hiding any secret weapon of any sort. Too many of them have died for them to not have shown all their cards already."

U'riah was right.

The Elves, according to all observation, were a very cooperative and compassionate raceat least to one another. There was no way they would allow their sisters to die in droves, only to reveal their hidden card now.

"All of these are just speculations. In the end, isn't it best we ask the one person who should know about what happened better than the rest of us?" The juvenile voice of the Ashen General echoed out as he cast his gaze on the most obvious target.

The one being referred to was seated at the foot of the table, his demeanor a mask of calmness despite the confusion that plagued everyone.

His dark hair danced on his face as he intertwined his fingers and tightly shut his lips in silence. Once Ce'phas mentioned him, though, all eyes slowly began to shift in his direction.

He was previously unnoticeable among the bunchprobably due to the arrival of the devastating newsbut right now he enjoyed all of the attention from them. "The forces we sent consisted majorly of your Undead Minions. In terms of military might, you have suffered the most damage yet you seem awfully calm." Ce'phas grinned as he narrowed his eyes on Adrien.

"Does this mean you have an idea of what happened with the Elves? You know why they got so strong so suddenly?"

"No."

Adrien's response was curt, nearly to the point of being recognized as rude. Ce'phas didn't take any offense at this, though. Instead, his grin only grew deeper.

After all, Adrien was about to explain himself even further and everyone was waiting in deafening silence to hear all he had to say.

"I am very puzzled by this current development." He began. "Resistance should have been quelled, instead over a quarter of my Undead Stockpile has been eliminated."

Despite saying such tragic words, his face remained a calm facadealmost like that of a doll.

"One thing is for sure, though and that is the fact that the Elves have somehow found another way to become strongerincreasing their threat level."

"So, what can we do abou?"

"I'll go." Adrien cut the Blue General off before he could conclude his words. The deep, insidious tone that he used nearly shook everyone within the room. However, Ce'phas could only chuckle in excitement as he watched the whole thing.

"It's time I personally went and see what's happening with my eyes."