Chapter 421

“We’ll need to contact the Alphas of the nearby packs,” Zion said once the setup was complete. The mage nodded, moving with purpose to the table. He began chanting the spell, his eyes briefly scanning the map laid out before him, pinpointing the exact coordinates to link the communication crystal to the correct targets.

Not long after, the communication crystal flared to life, glowing so brightly that both Maxwell and Zion had to turn their eyes away from the sudden burst of light. They waited for the connection to stabilize, and soon enough, the crystal dimmed to a steady glow, signaling a successful link to one of the nearby packs.

The person who answered was a stationed mage assigned to that area, placed there specifically to ensure seamless communication between packs.

After all, a communication crystal was useless without a mage operating it, and relying on messenger birds to contact other Alphas was not only slow but riddled with risks. There was always the possibility of interception, especially with enemies lurking.

To avoid such problems, Archmage Elric had dispatched several of his disciples to the packs scheduled for evacuation. With a mage present, communication through the crystal became instant and secure.

Now that the connection was established and the mage on the other side had received it, all that remained was for him to summon the Alpha on his side so they could speak directly.

Zion and Maxwell waited for less than ten minutes before an Alpha, still dressed in a loosely tied silk robe, strode in with long, hurried steps and sat down abruptly in front of the communication crystal.

“Alpha Zion, Alpha Maxwell, what is so urgent that you’re calling at this hour?” he asked, irritation clear in his voice.

Both Zion and Maxwell immediately noticed the fresh scratch marks on his exposed chest, already healing but unmistakable. It didn’t take much imagination to figure out what, or who, they had interrupted.

The Alpha had clearly been in the middle of an intimate moment, right at its peak, only to be summoned away. Who wouldn’t be in a foul mood after that?

Even Zion and Maxwell silently admitted that if they were pulled away at such a time, they’d be cursing the heavens too. But they had no choice. Time was running dangerously thin, and they needed to notify the surrounding Alphas tonight, not tomorrow.

No one knew what the next day would bring, and delaying the evacuation could mean disaster.

“We apologize for the interruption, Alpha Blaze, but we don’t have the luxury of time,” Zion said, his voice firm. “We need to inform you to prepare for evacuation tomorrow morning. All nearby packs must meet at the designated rendezvous point. As we’re pushing forward with the biochemical strike on the locust swarm as soon as possible p>

“If we delay, we risk other forces breaking into the Golden Hue Pack and releasing the swarm. If that happens, the West will be thrown into chaos, and the infestation could even spread into the central plains p>

Alpha Blaze, who had been frowning in irritation over the interruption, suddenly shot to his feet. His chair toppled backward with a loud thud, but he didn’t even spare it a glance. It was as if Zion’s words had detonated like a bomb over his head.

“Are you telling me someone is trying to harm us and was trying to release those pests on purpose?” he demanded, voice rising. “What, are they aiming for the granary p>

“It really is great speaking with smart people, it saves us so much time explaining,” Zion said with a smirk as he leaned closer to the communication crystal.

“Yes, it’s exactly as I mentioned. They attacked the Golden Hue Pack just last night, trying to break the barrier and release the locust swarm. Fortunately, we managed to push them back, but we’re worried they’ll return with reinforcements p>

“That’s why we need to move the plan forward and evacuate the nearby packs as soon as possible. This way, even if they come back, we’ll have secured most of our food supplies, livestock, and people before we drop the biochemical agent on the swarm p>

“Who knows… by the time they return, the biochemical agent might already be in effect, and they might end up getting poisoned too. We could even kill two birds with one stone Zion added, attempting a bit of humor despite the severity of the situation.

He didn’t want to alarm the other Alpha or cause panic among their pack members, and sharing this much was simply to ensure they weren’t kept in the dark.

Alpha Blaze’s brows furrowed deeply as he fell silent, clearly weighing everything in his mind before finally speaking. “I understand. I’ll have my pack ready tonight, and we’ll move out tomorrow morning. Just send me the departure time, the rendezvous point, and a brief outline of the plan. I’ll be there with all my warriors and my people p>

Hearing this, Zion’s smile widened. He always appreciated dealing with smart people, as there was no need for lengthy explanations. He laid out the situation, the planned response, and the other party immediately understood.

It saved him precious time, allowing him to contact the rest of the Alphas sooner and give everyone more time to prepare. “Alright. Thank you for your understanding, and apologies for the disturbance p>

“It’s my pleasure, Alpha Zion. And thank you for your hard work and for informing us as quickly as you could.” As soon as Alpha Blaze finished speaking, he stood up, already mindlinking his core pack members as the communication line dimmed and went dark.

Zion exhaled softly and lifted his gaze toward the mage in front of him, signaling him to connect them to the next pack. They continued contacting the remaining Alphas one by one, relaying the same urgent information each time.

If only they could establish a conference link, it would have been the perfect solution. He wouldn’t have to repeat the same explanation over and over, and they wouldn’t waste so much precious time.

But that was impossible. A conference communication would require dozens of communication crystals spread across the table, and they barely had enough mages to manage each communication crystal.

Worse, they only had one mage available; no mage could manipulate that many crystal cores at once. And they couldn’t request more from Archmage Elric, as his side was already severely understaffed. Pulling even one more mage would risk collapsing the barrier they were desperately maintaining.

So Zion and Maxwell had no choice but to take turns, repeating the same message throughout the night until every designated pack had been informed.

By the time the night reached its deepest hour, they finally finished contacting all the nearby pack Alphas. Even the mage operating the communication crystal looked completely drained; he had already consumed the energy of three mana crystals just to keep up with Zion and Maxwell’s pace while sustaining the calls through the night.

The moment they were done, his knees wobbled, and he nearly collapsed from sheer mana exhaustion.

“You did well,” Zion said firmly, his voice carrying the weight of authority. “Rest. Tomorrow, I’ll have Archmage Elric allocate additional resources for your hard work p>