He looked into the distance from the top of the castle wall, toward Shadowmoor Castle, which was visible from where he stood, with Jagu sitting next to him.
Over the past few days, his jaguar had been acting restless. Sometimes it would wake up suddenly from its sleep and sit, staring south in the direction of Shadowmoor.
Although Ash could share Jagu's vision with himself, he couldn't sense what was causing the jaguar's unease.
Still, he understood that something there must be making Jagu more alert than usual.
The soldiers and the Finder team from Percival Castle had already arrived at Drogo Castle, and they were all mingling with the knights and The Unveilers.
He didn't want to join them or interact, so he chose to spend most of his time alone.
They left him alone and didn't bother him after witnessing his ability to control summoned creatures, as well as hearing stories from his team members about his skill in reviving the dead.
As usual, these stories started to grow and become exaggerated, which is why he chose to keep distancing himself.
The castle wasn't very far from Drogo Castle, but a strait separated the two locations.
It was situated on a large island that didn't appear very fertile, with many rocky hills scattered across the area.
To launch an attack on Drogo Castle, they would need to use ships.
Until now, there had been no signs of them coming to Drogo Castle, and everyone was starting to feel uneasy.
He rested both hands on his crossed legs, keeping his gaze fixed on Shadowmoor.
Suddenly, he noticed movement at the back of the castle and narrowed his eyes, trying to see more clearly.
He saw dozens of black dots starting to leave the area, but they were too far away for him to identify.
He took a telescope from his Inventory and focused on the dots. What he saw through the telescope were dozens of ships sailing away from the castle.
All of the ships appeared to be heading toward Drogo Castle.
He stood up and shouted at the soldier stationed at the observation post not far from where he had been sitting.
"Hey! Heyyyyy!"
The soldier, who had been dozing off, was startled awake by Ash's shouts and turned to look at him.
Seeing the young man pointing toward Shadowmoor, the soldier quickly grabbed his own telescope and aimed it in the direction Ash had indicated.
The moment he spotted dozens of ships sailing toward Drogo Castle, he jumped to his feet and hurried to ring the bell hanging nearby.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The large bell rang loudly and repeatedly, forcing Ash to cover his ears while Jagu yelped, trying to shield his own ears with his front paws.
Everyone below the castle walls, including the residents, turned toward the observation post and quickly understood that the enemies were on their way to their location.
The "guards" and soldiers immediately moved to help the residents evacuate, while the knights and the Finder team rushed to prepare for the upcoming battle.
The atmosphere became chaotic as the residents were evacuated further into the castle, leaving no one near the castle walls.
Meanwhile, some soldiers ran toward the castle wall facing Percival Castle and lit a large torch there, signaling to those inside Percival Castle that the war was about to begin.
Several important figures from Drogo and Percival, who heard the bell ringing, hurried to the castle walls.
Before long, they, including Drogo himself, stood near Ash.
"They've started moving," murmured one of the leaders from Percival Castle.
The others remained silent, each using their telescopes to watch the dozens of ships.
Drogo muttered while still looking through his telescope, "By tonight, they'll have reached the land in front of this castle."
Everyone fell silent again, staring at the approaching ships.
Then Drogo stepped down from the castle wall, patting Ash on the shoulder without saying a word. All the other leaders followed, leaving the castle wall.
Ash simply nodded and sat back down on the castle wall.
"But I heard Shadowmoor has a Warrior with a Rare item that can summon a Giant Eagle, rumor has it, it might even resemble a Roc."
Luca's words from when they were in Eldrathil Forest echoed in Ash's mind.
'Giant Eagle...' he thought.
He ran both hands over his face, then sighed deeply. "I can't be weak..."
Jagu let out a soft whine, drawing Ash's attention. He looked at his jaguar and spoke to it as he stepped down from the wall, "Let's get ready too."
They made their way back to the apartment, passing by the chaos of people rushing and bustling to prepare for the battle.
***
Ash spent the afternoon until evening preparing various plans.
He worked out strategies to maximize the use of all his summoned creatures.
He had Jagu, Spidy, several Minotaurs and Centaurions, a giant gorilla, a giant python, a giant eagle, a young wyvern, and a raptor.
No one would be able to help him, because only he could do it.
He decided to include his necromancy in his plans as well. Fortunately, he had acquired plenty of potions to restore his magic stats from Drogo.
It would be a disaster if his magic stat were to deplete too quickly like before.
Milo and her team also had been assigned to assist Ash, so everything should go smoothly.
If the enemies were only Warriors, his summons would easily defeat them. But if they truly had a Roc, Jagu wouldn't be able to fight it from the ground.
He would need to rely on his other summons to bring the legendary Roc down.
However, the only creatures Drogo had given him were a young wyvern and an ordinary large eagle.
"Hopefully they can manage to bring the Roc down—just once would be enough. Then Jagu could surely defeat it..." he muttered.
Still, his heart remained uneasy, and he couldn't pinpoint the reason.
'Is it because this will be the first war I've ever faced?'