《Magic Empireum: Blood Coin》


 0 - Proloque

    Living in the underground bunker, brought a sense of liberation.


    Despite being surrounded by the thick, enchanted walls, despite having fifteen meters deep layer of the earth above the ceiling, living in the real world made the people inside free.


    Unlike all the others living in the under-dimension, they had unlimited access to pure, unfiltered magic! Rather than satisfying themselves with heavily restricted daily quotas, they could draw from the endless pool of this pure energy, directly from the planet itself!


    Located under one of five main transition stations, even the filtered air sucked here from the atmosphere outside was so enriched, that by just breathing it in, their internal energy was always at its very peak!


    Of course, compared to the under-dimension, the number of services or facilities was heavily limited. Not counting the basic medical bay, permanently understocked canteen and rundown resting room, the rest of the bunker was densely packed with various magic and electric tools, connecting them directly to both the underdimension''s grid and planetary network.


    Not counting their living chambers and the main control area, every single room had its designated purpose, with space enough to barely squeeze one person over the crew required to run the facility.


    Sitting on an uncomfortable chair with legs lying against the table - great breach of the military code of professional conduct by the way - Arthur was slowly sipping his tasteless coffee. While it tasted as if it was made out of the random leaves growing outside, it packed quite a caffeine punch in it. This was the only thing that allowed him to keep staring at the monitors in front of him instead of just giving up and sleeping.


    While the entire bunker was perfectly fitted for a total of twenty-four crew members, only seven of them were living here on a daily basis. The remaining number of personnel was contracted on short term application form, making the base even more desolate than it was supposed to be.


    While others might find this situation unbearable, Arthur, with his introverted nature, actually loved it. Stable work, good pay, only his closest kin actually adhered to the rules and staying underground instead of leaving the site to play outside. Thanks to that, this bunker actually turned into kind of a home for him!


    Out of sudden, his lazy time got broken by a small, red window appearing on one of his screens. Apparently, one of the borderline generators malfunctioned!


    Putting his cup away on the empty table nearby, he put his legs down and pulled the chair closer to the monitors. Touching the pulsating popup, a short message expanded into a long wall of text with numbers mixed in between. What was strange, was the fact that those numbers kept falling down!


    "That''s strange."


    Arthur murmured to himself while reaching behind with his hand to grab the coffee back. In his long time of service in the bunker, he never saw anything like that!


    "What is strange?"


    Appearing in the general monitoring room, man''s sister brought some snacks with her. After putting the platter she was holding on Arthur''s lap, she leaned over his arm and looked at the monitor.


    "Have you ever heard about this kind of bug?"


    Unable to put his mind on it, the man decided to seek some help from his family. While she was a tad younger than him, she had an informatics degree, far better at solving the software problems than himself, with just a magic engineering one.


    "That''s probably not a bug. I guess that this generator malfunctioned. We will need to call the ministry. They need to send someone all the way over there. I just hope it won''t be any ofˇ­"


    Just as the girl wanted to point out her worries, another red alert popped up. This one was actually worse since it had lines connecting it to at least seven generators!


    "What are the chances that all of them malfunctioned at the same time?"


    Burrowing his eyes slightly, Arthur looked at his sister.


    "You might actually be right. I will check the logs and be back to you."


    Shrugging her arms off, she straightened herself and sat in front of the chair next to Arthur. Pulling a special cord, she extended a keyboard from under the table and started energetically typing something on it.


    During that time, Mike pressed the second red window and started analyzing the streaks of the data. While he might not be as great in coding as his sister, he still knew a fair bit about it.


    "That''s not the software bug."


    After a while, Arthur said out of nowhere, patting his sister''s arm.


    "Come, take a look at this!"


    Forcing Freya to leave her lines of code, he pulled her attention to several lines in the alert description that caught his eye.


    "The change is too constant. If my guess is right, another alert should pop up soon."


    Like in self-fulfilling prophecy, as soon as he finished his sentence, another window appeared on his screen, this time indicating that almost ten percent of the generators were slowly starting to choke!


    "I will turn the green alarm on, go fetch Naria please."


    Putting his coffee away yet again, Arthur''s pupils contracted, as he started dancing his fingers on the monitor''s touchscreen. In just a moment, green light enveloped the entire bunker. At the same time, a special notification was sent to the officers lazying outside the bunker, urging them to come back.


    In the end, Freya didn''t even manage to stand up before other alerts started showing up. With a slight swipe of his fingers, Arthur sent the strategic map on the big screen, covering the biggest wall in the entire bunker. Only then did he realise the severity of the problem!


    On his own, small screen, the alerts indicated that some small problem occurred near the border of Patarian sphere of influence. Enlarging the map allowed him to notice, that failing generators weren''t random! They were forming a curve, spreading outwards in every direction!


    "Connect me with the Beferian main bunker!"


    Turning on the voice command function, he instantly called his nation allies. While their underdimension entry was located in the far north, their sphere of influence bordered the southern end of Patarian one.


    "Who''s calling?"


    Just a mere moments after giving out the order, a face filled with anxiety showed up on the big screen on the bunker''s wall.


    "Sixth rank officer, Arthur Kawark. I''m sorry for ignoring the procedures, but can you tell me if you have encountered some problems with your southern generators?"


    This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.Though he was a colonel, he preferred to skip the formalities, using a more standardized system of ranking instead.


    "You mean the generators turning off for no reason? Does that mean it happened on your side as well?"


    From the widened eyes of the person on the screen, Mike could fathom that current trouble was on a lot greater scale than he would dare to imagine.


    "Yes, it is. I''m cutting the connection. This situation is far beyond my level of competency. Good luck sir!"


    Arthur didn''t wait to trade the pleasantries. Since his dark guess was slowly proving right, there was simply no time to waste on speaking!


    "Good luck to you too. If we are right about the reasons, we can only pray to God for help!"


    Breaking the connection with those words made a great impact on Arthur and his sister. After hesitating for a short moment, the man collected himself, swiped his fingers on the right side on the screen andˇ­ hesitated.


    "Guys, what''s going on? It feels like the magic is thinning out!"


    A new voice appeared in the room, startling the siblings. Since currently there were only three people in the bunker, there was no doubt who did it belong to!


    "Did you just say that the magic is thinning out?!"


    As if unable to accept what he just heard, Arthur turned on his chair and took a look at his fiance, face.


    "Naria, are you perfectly sure about this?"


    "Yes! At first, I thought that I just didn''t get enough sleep last night, but now I''m sure about it. Did something happened?"


    As her big eyes stared at Arthur, she started to comprehend that something was definitely wrong!


    "Yes, it did."


    The man responded as he stopped worrying about possible consequences and pressed the red button.


    In just a second, hell broke out in both the bunker and the headquarters back in the underdimension!


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    For the first time in modern history, crossing the border was as easy as today. Lines of carriages, pushcarts and peddler groups filled the entire scenery all the way to the horizon in the west. Only near the Altarcian border did the crowd turned from a mass gathering to organised rows. After waiting in this enormous queue for days, no one wanted to be barred entry for something as small as misbehaviour!


    Just a single year ago, before the war forced the Altarcian King to close his borders, the customs checks here were a hellish experience. Just a single bag of wheat too much, a gourd of firewater or even a crossbow, and the dreams of getting rich in the neighbouring country would end up smashed under the soldiers'' shoes.


    Compared to the past, the current times were much more forgiving. As long as one cooperated with the Altarcian Officers and didn''t try to smuggle forbidden wares, one was free to enter the country. Of course, the reality wasn''t void of some overly attentive officers!


    As the queue was organised to follow the numbers, whenever someone passed the border, the customs station would call for the next in the line. While it made the whole process move without any major disturbances, it also prevented the merchants from choosing who will be in charge of controlling them.


    "... boxes of cereals, seven boxes of andu fruit, three boxes of karra fruitˇ­"


    Mike saw a merchant hastily preparing a complete list of his cargo.


    "... tonight. If we manage to sell it all, I will consider sponsoring you a voyage through the brothels then!"


    An elderly trader was laying out promises to the manservants travelling on his coach.


    With similar talks going on everywhere around them, there was no way they would be able to discern what was said in any of the checking areas. With the insane benefits offered by the Empire for those willing to expand its trading influence over to Altarcia, it looked like every single merchant from the eastern half of the country jumped at this opportunity.


    "What do you think about this whole mess?"


    Unable to find a single comfortable position to lie on his couch, Verkel tried striking a conversation to forget about the numbing pain of his bottom.


    "Not only we can earn a lot from just a single carriage worth of wares, but Altarcians will also consider us their saviours. What else could we wish for?"


    After hours of moving an inch every few minutes, Mike was too tired to hold any real conversation. While he did reply, everyone could hear a lack of interest in his voice.


    "Oh, come on! If you are not following Xyenna''s example, at least comfort me for a bit! We have nothing else to do after all!"


    Unwilling to let go, fat merchant pointed at the woman lying on the back of Mike''s carriage. Fitted perfectly between the boxes of fruits and bags of flour, she appeared to be either dead or asleep. Only when she heard her name being shouted, did she raise her head a bit.


    "Take that stinky finger off my face!"


    Noticing a round piece of meat pointed right at her, Xyenna snarled at its owner. While they were travelling together, Xyenna''s harsh character made it hard for other people to get along with her. While she had no problems with the rest of their companions, for some reason she despised Verkel to the bone.


    "If you are willing to be the first one killed here, just say a word!"


    Fat merchant deserved a word of praise here. With just a single action, he made this sloth of a woman raise her hand to where her sword lied!


    "Calm down, sister. There is no need to waste your energy in correcting this pig behaviour."


    A burly man lying flat on Bern''s wagon joined the fray. With an empty bag shielding his head from the sunrays, he nonchalantly pointed his hand at Verkel.


    Too lazy to pursue the matter, Xyenna rubbed her eyes before prompting herself up. After shaking her head for a bit, a devious smile surfaced on her face as she turned around to look at Mike.


    "But this ball of fat has a point! I''m sure that my arm would make for a perfect pillow!"


    "I''m sorry, but I won''t gamble between losing my chastity or manhood."


    Not daring to turn his head around and look at the girl, Mike murmured under his nose. While he at least paid some attention to her, his voice only showcased how uninterested he was in keeping any conversations.


    "Tch, no fun!"


    Xyenna clicked her tongue seeing Mike''s reaction. With a sudden bout of life appearing in her eyes, she looked again at her employer. Kneeling on the bags of flour, she brought both of her arms down, putting her supple breast into even a better view.


    "Am I really that scary and unattractive in your eyes?"


    After finishing her sentence, she bit on her tongue to force some tears out of her upturned eyes.


    "Do you really believe this?"


    Without a warning, Mike straightened up and turned around. Bending himself over the wall separating the cargo and the couch, he placed his pointing finger on her lips.


    "You really should considerˇ­"


    Young merchant flicked his finger upwards, hitting Xyenna''s nose.


    "... going back to sleep."


    With his voice turning from intoxicated and aroused back to a cold one, he turned away with a triumphant look on his face.


    "You do realize that you are responsible for springing her into this action, do you?


    Mercilessly replacing the fake tears in his bodyguard eyes into real ones, Mike switched his sight to a fat merchant.


    "Hahahaˇ­"


    Unable to come up with anything smarter, Verkel could only pretend to laugh in response. While his blessing allowed him to be successful in most of the task that he took upon, relying on it made him lazy. Unable to be bothered by hard work in achieving his targets, he just took advantage of his gift. This attitude earned him rather bad fame, resulting in nicknames like a ''pig'' or ''fatso'', describing both his mind and his body.


    While Merchants were bickering among each other, the remaining trio in the company didn''t pay them any heed, focusing all their attention on the set of cards spread out at the third carriage coach. With a gourd of firewater at stakes, they couldn''t allow any laps in their concentration!


    "I knew I shouldn''t play with you guys!"


    After raising the claims over and over again, the merchant wielding the title of the oldest in their group raised his hands and thrown his cards on the wooden plank serving as a couch. With a dissatisfied face, he passed a simple bottle to his bodyguard.


    "If I were to be ignorant about your blessings, I would bet that you used them in the game!"


    Plainly upset about the loss, the old merchant couldn''t let go of the bottle without at least a bit of mopping.


    "Maaaan, it''s not about winning the game! It''s about not losing it!"


    Veil, his bodyguard explained with a wide smile plastered on his face. Making sure to take the bottle from his employer''s hands before uttering this remark, he uncorked it and take a few gulps before passing it to Verkel''s mute mercenary.


    "Youˇ­ YOU! How dare you!"


    Hearing the words spoken by his comadre, Bern''s face reddened as he realised what happened. To think that he would get tricked in his own game! Just as he was about to fly into a rage and demand the bottle back, they finally heard a call their whole group was waiting for.


    "Group nine, six, nine, come to the eight gate. It''s your turn now!

 1 - Crossing the border

    Waiting for hours in the queue sapped Mike''s endurance dry. As soon as their number was called, he shook the reins and hurried his horse forward. To stay honest, his companions didn''t let him leave them behind. With just slightly slower reaction time, Bern followed the young merchant footsteps, while Verkel took his sweet time. If not for his damned gift, someone would probably try to sneak in his spot!


    With no one bothering them on their way, three merchants arrived at their destination. While it was called a "gate" it was actually just a wide, empty plot of land, separated from others by a simple wooden fence. With crowd left behind, nothing obstructed their sight on the east.


    While the area was manned by quite a lot of guards, they didn''t except for such a sight to appear deeper into the country!


    With crowd left behind, nothing obstructed their eyes when looking east. If not for their knowledge about the circumstances, they would probably think that the Kingdom was preparing for war!


    Rows upon rows of soldiers were marching in every possible direction. Several large units were working around their respective campsites, some others were doing drills in the open air.


    ''I have to admit, that view is impressive'' Even Mike was amazed by the picture in front of his eyes to the point of losing himself for a moment. When the movement to his right forced him out of his daze, the young man noticed a smug smile on the faces of approaching people.


    "Documents please."


    As soon as the newcomers closed in, one of them stepped forward and extended his hand. From the slightly better uniform he was wearing, Mike reasoned that he had to be a local officer. While the outfit could be just a clue, a face that lost all of its emotions as soon as the man got into contact with Mike''s group proved the young merchant''s guess.


    To make matters worse, by rushing forward, Mike''s carriage ended up in the rightmost side of the gate, making him the first to be checked. Even if he tried to aproach the left side, it would look too unnatural for a trained eye to pass it off as some random action. He didn''t even want to think if Verkel''s position was due to his laziness or his blessing.


    "While I would love to provide all of them at once, it seems that my companions don''t trust me much. Here is my citizen card from the empire, travel and trade permit from the Imperial Market governor and golden page issued by the governor office. With that, there should be no need to bother my lovely companion on the back?"


    Even the younger and less experienced guards didn''t budge when he mentioned the golden page. If it was someone''s first time hearing about it, they would probably rush to look for a well-known shine among Mike''s documents. In reality, it was just a document serving as a claim to all kinds of benefits that the Empire provided for its merchants. Spanning from tax and customs reliefs, through the bodyguard application card and ending with insurance policy. While this was something unheard off outside Imperial borders, this great country didn''t overlook this issue either when taking care for their retainers!


    "Like you couldn''t take care of your friends'' papers beforehandˇ­"


    Staring daggers at the young merchant, an Altarcian officer took the documents and scanned them page by page. With the folder of papers being as thick as a finger, Mike understood what took the most of the control time.


    As the last page was turned around, Officer passed them back to Mike, while keeping his extended hand. He didn''t need to say a single word to force the young man to sigh from the bottom of his lungs and present yet another document. Compared to the official ones, this single piece of paper didn''t have any looks of an elaborate government writing. With lines of short sentences, it listed out all the cargo that Mike was intending to carry over the border.


    "We will now check your cargo. For this reason, I need your ''lovely'' companion to step down from the trunk."


    Accenting the adverb with a honest dose of irony, the officer moved closer to the back of the carriage, outright ignoring the merchant. Not willing to create any troubles in this crucial moment of their journey, Mike could only grith his teeth and endure all the pitying looks he received from the guards around.


    With the stirc Mike''s orders to keep her attitude to herself, Xyenna clicked her tongue and jumped down from the carriage. Not sparing the aggressive guards, she made sure to swing her bottom at their eyes before distancing herself and standing a bit farther, as if overlooking the entire situation. This way, there would be some delay between her taking action and actually doing something, giving Mike a window of opportunity to stop her in her tracks.


    With his men working hard to unload the entire carriage on the ground, the officer went forward and repeated his actions with Bern. This time, his attitude was even harder to bear, possibly because of Xyenna unnecessary teasing. Compared to them, Verkel managed to get scot-free, taking only a few seconds of the important man''s time.


    Seeing the guards swarming all three carriages, Mike couldn''t help but worry.


    ''I bet he could safely smuggle armour or even weapons for rebels, but he would still avoid facing any obstaclesˇ­''. Noticing the triumphant look on Verkel''s face, the young man could only turn around to save himself from looking at the fatso''s smug smile.


    "Damn his luckˇ­"


    Unable to hold his anger anymore, Mike let it out by muttering some curses under his nose. It was infuriating how hard they had to work for things that Verkel didn''t need to lift a finger to get!


    "Don''t bother yourself with him. That pig might be a child of fortune, but he will always remain the same pig that he is right now. Don''t you think that my presence is worth far more than his pitiful blessing?"


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.With every word, Xyenna said, her voice was turning from the calm and distanced into a sweet one. Only at the end, a hint of sourness appeared as if she remembered something unpleasant.


    With his men done with their work, the officer stopped his pointless wandering and came to the Mike''s carriage. After receiving a short note passed to him by one of his subordinates, the unpleasant man started comparing the content.


    ''So that was the catch!'' Mike thought as the realisation struck him. Most of the time he spent idling on the carriage, he was wondering what kind of method was implemented to catch the smugglers and other criminals. By comparing the list given by merchant himself and the count that his people prepared, he could easily spot any differences!


    With the insane crowd at their gates, the pace at which they were working had to be fast. Some of the other officers probably were okay with diligently checking random carriages to pretend they are fulfilling their work properly, but the man in charge of their control still chosen to use this more time-consuming method, that could very well stop any smugglers from entering his country! Even if that meant a wasted time to Mike, he could understand the officer.


    Kingdom''s people, or to be more specific, officials and officers were deeply negative towards Imperial merchants! With multiple obligations placed on both sides by the peace treaty, if someone wanted to keep some people from the border, there was no way nothing illegal could be found. Just taking the weight of the cereals, they were dependant on the air humidity! If someone didn''t take this into account, his wares could be confiscated by some overly attentive officer!


    Observing the officer actions with an annoyance slowly arousing in his guts, Mike tried to look as calm as he was able to. Not willing to take any chances, he moved slightly closer to the Xyenna on his side, to the point where their legs touched. With the hateful gaze focusing him in an instant, he could forget about worrying if he wrote down every single piece of information correctly.


    What surprised the young merchant the most was Xyenna''s initial reaction!


    While she stopped herself before the movement she made became visible to a naked eye, Mike was standing too close to her to miss her muscles tensing up as if she was going to instinctively rest her head on his arm.


    "What do you think you are doing!"


    While her voice sounded angry, the young merchant could hear some kind ofˇ­ embarrassment!? She didn''t move away either! Noticing the fun that this situation could offer, he took the most charming smile he could think of.


    "Weren''t you the one offering me your arm as a pillow a while back in the first place? Is this offer applying to your tights too?"


    He replied while gently putting his right hand on the clothed part of her leg. When hearing those words and feeling his touch, her face instantly dyed in bright red as she shrugged uncomfortably while putting a fake smile on her face.


    Noticing the events between the pair, the officer sighed deeply and put the papers down.


    "You are free to go"


    He announced with a formal voice and turned around.


    "To hell with all those lovebirds..."


    A soft whisper almost escaped young merchant ears. Seeing that his gambit paid off, he retracted his hand from Xyenna thigh.


    "Spare me for that. As you can see, it worked"


    The young man directed small, soft whisper to Xyenna''s ear. As he was uttering those words, he noticed that even her earlobe took the color of roses. This sight immediately prompted him to nibble on it. Right before he fell for this trap, Xyenna''s eyes overflowing with fury surfaced in his mind, making him stop everything he was doing and move two steps away


    "I wonder how others will fare."


    Mike quickly tried to change the previous topis. For some reason, it worked! On the other hand, Xyenna absolute focus on the ongoing control made him wonder whether there was some kind of bet going on.


    While the peace treaty that created this whole opportunity was really generous in its terms, it still placed some restrictions on everyone. Officially it was made to prevent oversupplying the market and curbing out local competitors, but most of the Imperial merchants realized it was just a courtesy move towards the Altarcia kingdom.


    Partially because of this knowledge, partially because of their own greed and hastiness, a lot of people still decided to try their luck, smuggling forbidden items like alcohol, drugs or weapons. There were various punishments for this kind of action, spanning from confiscation, fines, and even to imprisonment or the death penalty. What''s more, even the amount of goods allowed to be transported through the border was officially set!


    Despite that, people like Verkel were sure to try their luck! For the objective eye, his wagon was barely holding itself together, while made from fine materials! It was easy to understand that if he were to abide by the limitations, this situation couldn''t have taken place!


    Apparently, he relied on his damn blessing way too much! What if he finally crosses the threshold capacity of its power? Information about his gift would surely spread far and wide in a matter of days, making their journey way harder! Mike courtesly decided not to think about the Altarcian retribution that fatso''s action could bring on their heads!


    As both Mike with Xyenna and Bern with his bodyguard were closely watching how the events unfold, the customs officer started comparing Verkel papers with those from his subordinates. With every second he was taking, the fat merchant was sweating more and more while trying to maintain his fake smile.


    ''Its so damn infuriating!''


    Mike could barely contain his frustration! While he risked separation of his manhood from the rest of his body by annoying both the officer and Xyenna, this damn guy couldn''t even keep his composure! ''My own blessing might be useful, but he is way over the top! If they won''t catch him now, I will never call myself a fortunate man!'' he decided.


    In the end, Mike''s ways of self addressing had to be shortened by yet another phrase when an officer passed the papers back to the fat merchant with a pleased smile. On the other side, from Xyenna smug smile, the young man could guess that there was indeed some bet going on under the table.


    As if their suffering was enough for today, Bern cart got a pass even quicker, allowing them all to finally move on. Contrary to Verkel expectations that he had voiced way in the past when they just formed their group, there was close to no guards in the proper border a few hundred meters away from the checkpoint. Swiftly riding through it, they could finally fill their lungs with foreign air.


    "Let''s get moving slackers!"


    Lound Xyenna''s shout broke them from the stupor they entered upon this mystical feeling of crossing the border.


    "We still have a long way to go!"


    The girl added as she looked at Mike with a hint of bloodlust lingering in the corner of her eyes


    "And don''t even dream that I will forget about what you did!"

 2 - Conflict begins!

    Mike was sitting in his usual spot, holding the reins and watching the back of the horse. As it usually happens, the border between the Altarcia Kingdom and Empire lied on the verge of two different areas.


    Hills on the Imperial side and vast grasslands of the eastern counterpart. Said hills were once a prosperous area of the Kingdom, protected from the west by a huge number of hillside forts.


    Sadly for Altarcia, the emergence of Vindean Empire and great conflict that followed right afterwards kept moving the border to the east all the way to the former core of the Kingdom.


    Lucky for them, just before the Imperial army could pour out of the conquered defences and swarm unprotected, rich lands, one of the great lords of the Kingdom stepped in. History says that in turn for making his fief independent, he agreed to stop the invasion himself!


    Since that time, the border didn''t move at all and after the reformation of the Empire a few decades later, the conflict officially ended. Heroic Lord didn''t live to see the end of the struggle, but his efforts made his son a king of a new country.


    Losing most of the western area of the Kingdom and dire aftermath of the prolonged war resulted in Altarcia retracting its financial and political help to its semi-vassal state. While the south became independent, it remained a loyal friend to its former overlord.


    Nowadays, western plains became rather barren, abandoned for the sake of a safe perimeter. While Mike could see some military camps here and there, there were no sights of any villages or civilian settlements.


    Almost unbothered by human hand, nature quickly reclaimed the area, resulting in a rich life of plants and animals. Rumours said that this situation extended all the way to the northern great forest, which had to be kept under constant watch to prevent it from expanding too far south.


    "I''m glad we managed to avoid any troubles."


    Verkel informed his companions, apparently bored out of his mind. Pretending to not notice hateful glare from the other two carriages, he wiped his forehead with one of the many handkerchiefs stuffed in his pockets.


    "You are really trying out your damn luck!"


    Veil, Bern''s bodyguard muttered through his teeth as he put his hand on the sword hilt in an obvious threat.


    "If you had overestimated your gift capability, we would have all been screwed!"


    He almost shouted those words. While his attitude could be considered negative, his body, comfortably lying on the back of his employer cart, belied those words.


    "Stop arguing" - Mike ordered. There was no point in bullying Verkel at this point.


    "We could have made him dump some of his cargo before the border, we can''t blame him now. But that doesn''t mean that you are not in the fault!"


    He added while staring daggers at the fat merchant.


    "How about we just kill him and take his stuff? We can later report that he had an unfortunate accident..."


    Xyenna suggested out loud while playing with one of her many daggers. What could scare the others were not her words, which were often harsh ¨C but her face and tone, devoid of any hint of joking.


    "Come on, I know you are just..."


    "And you just shut your mouth!"


    Apparently still angry at an earlier situation, the girl over-shouted Mike''s unfortunate attempt to fix the situation.


    "This fat bastard had to try his luck, that''s a damn fact. He risked not only our time but even our money!"


    "How can that be? Neither Mike nor I have broken any rules regarding..."


    Bern tried to interject with a logical argument while awkwardly scratching his nose.


    "Are you dumb or na?ve?" Xyenna swiftly interjected, "You seriously think they would let us go?" Young sword mistress became so agitated that she stood up from her usual lying position. For those unaquitanced with her, this situation would look like a sign of small outburst, but Mike''s company knew better than that.


    "Let me explain it, sister."


    To prevent a disaster that this whole situation was heading towards, Veil decided to make a move.


    "Even if those guards were rather amiable and uncommonly, this is but a part of the profession they are in, just a mask."


    As someone who rarely spoken, his words always carried a certain weight to them. While he wasn''t an absolute mute like Verkel''s bodyguard, a burly warrior preferred to keep his word inside his mouth.


    "There was a shitton of merchants there, and most of them are rather observant. Unless given the opportunity, they couldn''t bother us. But if any situation appeared where they were obviously in right..."


    He didn''t need to finish his sentence, as his colleagues were smart enough to see the potential outcome of the presented situation.


    "Get off my ass"


    Vertel suddenly shouted, unable to bear this kind of discussion any longer.


    "Didn''t Mike said it already? You could have told me off before the border and anyway, nothing happened so why you keep blaming me?!"


    Angry at the escalating situation when he was the main target of everyone''s blame, fat merchant finally burst out.


    "You dare to think of killing me? It''s not like you have any chances against Horien!"


    Unknowingly, by threatening them with his bodyguard, he crossed Xyenna''s line.


    She instantly gathered herself, about to jump out of the cart. Noticing the situation, Mike immediately left the reins from his hand and threw himself at her, holding her in place.


    "We can''t fight here!!"


    Despite his valiant attempt, the nimble girl swiftly freed herself from his embrace and tried to jump. Proving his insane instinct at reading the situation, Mike gave up at holding her, and with no other way, grabbed her legs, stopping the jump in the last moment. As they both fell on Mike''s wares, Xyenna instinctively grabbed one of her daggers to protect herself. Only when she met young merchant pleading eyes, did she came back to her senses.


    As this situation unfolded, both Veil and Horien armed themselves, but with a vide discrepancy in their postures. Berns bodyguard was visibly hesitant, while Horien appeared annoyed. It was hard to say if he didn''t like fighting or just the way his employer acted.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site.


    "Are you okay?"


    As their emotions cooled down, Mike straightened himself and grabbed Xyenna''s hand to help her get up. Still infuriated, she slapped extended hand away and stood up by herself. With no additional word, she just fixed her usual sleeping place and instantly lied there down, sulking.


    As the situation ended, the whole group felt the glares on themselves. Only then did they realise that despite how empty the road appeared compared to the checkpoint, it still had some other travelling merchants on it.


    Embarrassed by the amount of attention they drew, both bodyguards quickly sheathed their weapons and sat on their preferred spot. While the whole action halted, the atmosphere remained tense, making all of them silent. With no other word, they travelled forward.


    *****


    As the day was swiftly coming to an end, the whole group finally found a place to rest. Putting a value to every moment with sunlight available, they promptly put their carriages in the triangle shape, with a comfy spot for sleeping and firepit in the middle, secured from all sides.


    After taking care of their horses and lying them to sleep, the party dug a small hole where they placed some newly found branches and a bit of charcoal collected yesterday. As soon as the fire started, two separate buckets with water begun to slowly boil.


    Although a few hours passed already and atmosphere kinda of relaxed, usual chattering and laughter was nowhere to be found. Making their meals in silence, all six of them stared tirelessly at the dance of the fire.


    Thanks to their formation, heat from the blaze was trapped between carriages, defending them from cold, night winds. The chirping of the birds died a long time ago, making the cracking of the wood the only noise present in the area. For some reason, there wasn''t a single group camping nearby, making them all alone in this desolate place.


    As the water finally finished boiling, Xyenna added a fair bit of meat and cereal to the pot shared with Bern duo. With no surprise, Vertel once again decided against making one big meal for everyone, arguing that because of his size, his appetite was a lot bigger than everyone else. Sprinkling a bit of spice on top of their pot, Xyenna smiled inwardly.


    Suddenly recalling events at the border, a girl almost jumped at the opportunity to exact her revenge, when Mike''s preemptive strike landed on her. Understanding the meaning behind small glint in her eyes, he placed a small box in her hands, put a slightly devious smile on his face and covertly pointed at Verkel with his eyes.


    When she opened the container, Xyenna saw a small amount of strange powder that immediately attracted her nose!


    While receiving those spices cost her an occasion to lash out at him, seeing both angry and envious look that Vertel could not hide, all her negative emotions faded away into nothingness.


    As pleasant aroma spread through the air, Bern inhaled it with delight. Only after something struck him to his very core, he swiftly got up.


    "What is the spice that you used?"


    He almost shouted at sword mistress with eyes wide open in surprise.


    "Just some spice Mike passed to me to use. Don''t worry. I used just a small bit of it!"


    She replied with an innocent and confused look.


    "Why is the old man so agitated? It''s not like spice is nobles exclusive luxury, while it might be costly, a middle class like us can still afford it sometimes!''


    "If I''m not wrong, and I rarely am, this is renowned Virviruta. I had once an occasion to smell this aroma, and I will never forget it!" - He exclaimed with joy while spreading his arms to add more emphasis to his words.


    "Virviruta? Are you just making up the names right now?"


    The girl asked, confused to no end.


    "No, he is not."


    Mike, who just jumped on the cart, replied in his companion stead.


    "I''m acquaintances with one of Putrani tribe, hence my hidden supply of it."


    He explained casually while jumping down inside the triangle. He quickly approached the pot and smelled it for a bit.


    "While the aroma it gives is certainly nice, you should add just a bit more. This way, it will show its full prowess."


    He added with a smug smile, happy from the impression he made.


    "I need to pee, we are leaving!"


    Angered by the joy Mike and Bern parties were sharing almost as much as envious of the access to insanely expensive spice, Verkel pulled his bodyguard arm while turning away and climbing on his wagon. At this moment, everyone else could understand the pitiful fate of Horien just from the longing look on his face. It wasn''t that he wanted to leave, he just had bad luck when choosing his employer!


    Understanding the situation on the spot, Xyenna looked at their pot, then at the leaving bodyguard and sent him a meaningful wink. While they never heard him talking, happiness and a slight bow he made was enough to understand what was going through his mind at that moment.


    After the fat merchant left, Xyenna used Mike''s advice and sprinkled a bit more of the spice into the pot. This time, she paid her whole attention to not waste even a single drop of it. After seeing approving nod from Mike, she stirred the soup for a bit and turned to her employer.


    "I understand how much value you put on placating me, but isn''t this too much? Wouldn''t you make loads of money if you sold this box to any merchant in the Empire, not to speak about Altacia?"


    "It''s not something I bought, this bit of Virviruta is something that was gifted to me. While due to my efforts to save as much of it as I can, I never treated it as something I would ever sell."


    After saying his piece, Mike sat down near the fire and extended his hands to warm them. Only after rather a long while, he realised that others were still waiting for the proper explanation.


    "Sighˇ­ Have anyone told you before that when you are expecting some kind of treat, you look just like an adorable cat?"


    Mike parried friendly poke that was aimed at his side.


    "This spice is the only thing Putrani people can sell to make a living. They live in a harsh area of Empire and barely make ends met ends. While resources needed for it are common, processing them is both very tiresome and is the best-kept secret I ever got to know. So just from pure respect from the trust they placed on me, I never ever tried making it or selling it. What if I made so much money I would forget about my principles?"


    Mike sighed.


    "Not only I would lose the trust of people I really respect, but I would also send their whole tribe to the depths of starvation by making the price of their product fall lower than it is now. What''s more..."


    As Mike went on recalling the story that led him to meet this strange tribe, Verkel finally got far enough from the camp to show his true colours.


    "I had enough of this! They don''t respect me, they dare to threaten me and provoke me!"


    He said in silent but infuriated voice. Apparently, his anger from the previous conflict didn''t disappear at all.


    "As someone chosen by the gods, with their enormous blessing, I am ought to achieve greatness, yet they treat me like some annoying newbie, who knows nothing about trade!"


    He keeps going, not even realising how his bodyguard expression darkened with every word he said.


    "That''s why here are my orders. When we get back, I will act as if you''ve scolded me, making me rethink my actions. I will be very sorry and ask for forgiveness. When we will arrive in the town, wait until they sell everything they intend, and then we claim that they stole wares and their carriages from me! With my blessing, there is no way it won''t work!"


    Verkel got so caught up in his revenge plans, that he didn''t even realise that during his speech, Horien hand several times travelled to the hilt of his sword, only to stop midway and helplessly fall to his side.


    Finally stopping his hateful tirade to catch his breath, he looked at his bodyguard and asked with a high and mighty voice.


    "Do you understand what you will be doing?"


    In a reply, Verkel received only a small and hesitant nod.

 3 - Entering the town

    It didn''t take them a long time to reach the end of the crowd of people that already passed the border. By the time they reached this point, Verkel''s wagon still had about one kilometre to reach the current endpoint of the queue.


    ''Rushing the horses might have worked in the short distanceˇ­ To rush like that without even knowing how far the destination is...'' Mike shrugged as he thought about the sad fate of fatso''s horse. Not only forced to pull an overstocked wagon, but a merchant himself also weighted his own worth, not to speak about armoured guard lying on the trunk.


    Soon after arriving, Mike stopped nearby one of the many wagons around.


    "Hey mate! Mind if I ask how long do you think will take to reach the gate?"


    "Sorry my friend, I would like to know the estimate myself. I hope we can enter the city before night breaks out."


    Elderly trader from the nearby coach expressed himself.


    "I feel got you here. Camping outside with city this close would kill me."


    Mike said while jumping down from the couch.


    "I will be the one to kill you if I won''t sleep on the bed tonight."


    Xyenna poked her head over carriage walls. With her squinted eyes and lips tightened into a straight line, one could take her threats seriously.


    ''Oh, someone just woke up!'' Mike could quickly deduct it from her messy hair and agonising fire deep in her eyes.


    Thankfully for him, this short exchange was long enough to make the whole crowd move forward a bit. While it didn''t seem like much, in reality, it signalled that the checking ongoing in the gate wasn''t either harsh or prolonged. Yes, they still had a few hours of patiently moving forward, but the nightmare of camping outside became very unlikely to happen!


    As they were creeping forward, Mike finally had a long time to observe city surroundings. Apparently, the first section of the walls was once destined to become the main line of defence against the Empire. Only a change of the head wearing the Imperial crown, Grey Army never reached so far into the former Altarcia core.


    As the borders established themselves farther to the west, old fortifications got incorporated into the closest city in the area.


    Despite lacking funds, locals finished the walls with their own efforts, enclosing an enormous area surrounding the real city core.


    True stronghold from the past that became a bustling city of today was hidden behind those insane walls and a few kilometres of farmlands and tense villages.


    Along the great wall extended another network of farms, sheds and houses. Sadly, this beautiful image was corroded by the silly state most of them were. Instead of lush wheat-fields, only barren earth remained. In the place of old vineyards, a desert with orderly placed sticks, once used as a support for the grapes.


    As Mike was immersing himself in this pitiful sight of poverty, the queue moved a little again. The sudden movement made him look at the masses in front. Prompted by this image, he turned around to search for the rest of his company.


    Bern was rather close, separated from him by barely a few carriages. At this distance, everyone could easily notice hostile looks he was sending him. As to avoid any unnecessary conflicts from arising, the young merchant ignored the bearded face of the mature trader as he looked out for Verkel.


    Thanks to the greater distance that separated them, it took him a while to locate a fatso position. Squeezed between two large carriages, he could even let his reins lie beside him. His horse didn''t have much choice besides moving forward as far as the back of other carriage allowed him. Normal people would really panic in this kind of situation; As their wagon could easily get damaged in that situation, Verkel didn''t look bothered by it in the slightest.


    ''Seems like we will be the first to go through the gate'' Mike quickly realised. Unsurprisingly, a lot of guards were patrolling the queue, stopping any attempts to cut the line or cause troubles.


    ''In theory, I should be thankful for their care, but on the other side I hope Xyen won''t be the one to put their attention on usˇ­'' young merchant sent a quick, worried look at his guard.


    Apparently, he didn''t have to worry about it at all, since the source of his worries was fast asleep! Following the old military rule, Xyenna never missed the chance to have some rest. In her line of work, being fresh and being tired made a great difference, and no one knew when the danger could come.


    Unfortunately, Mike couldn''t allow himself such a luxury as sleep. As the coachmen of his carriage, he had to patiently guide the horses along the queue, making sure that both his horse and wagons surrounding his won''t get damaged.


    Finally, after close to three hours filled with boredom and resignation, a young merchant reached the gate. Made of big stone blocks, the west gate was truly an architectural masterpiece. Armed with thick, wooden doors with metal plates covering most of it from both sidesˇ­ Everyone stepping through them could feel how insignificant they are!If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    There were two teams of guards, taking care of the passage. While one appeared free, their colleagues had their hands full. By pulling short straw in the lottery, they sealed their fate of checking out an endless sea of merchants. Visibly tired by the task, they didn''t even pretend to be serious about the job. After all, their duty was superficial only! Every smuggler eventually finds his way to the castle basement and all the troublemakers will be caught out from the streets. Why would they bother for nothing?


    After passing through the line of guards, Mike''s carriage rolled into the gateway. Overwhelmed by almost seven meters long tunnel, a young merchant couldn''t help but gulp his saliva down. He finally understood what might have caused a long period of peace between Altarcia and the Empire. After all, there wasn''t enough suicidal youth in the whole Empire to forcefully burst through this defences over and over again!


    After finally reaching the exit of the tunnel, Xyenna prompted herself up and gasped in awe. Contrary to the barren lands outside, internal food supply was without a question ¨C great. Redish orchards filled with big apples, wide plots of different''s kinds of cereals basking under the sunˇ­ In short words, internal farmlands of the city were one of the most beautiful places she has ever seen!


    "Feeling amazed, aren''t you?"


    Young merchant remarked with a small, proud smile. As a trader, he was in this city before, so observing the reactions of people graced with this view for the first time was truly awesome!


    "What can I say, it''s breathtaking!"


    As if not her, Xyenna replied honestly, her dazed look reaching over the colourful carpet of the cereals waving under the gusts of wind.


    "You never mentioned that this place would look like that!"


    She added after a while, back in her usual form.


    "Don''t be surprised then, but compared to the city, there is nothing to marvel at here!"


    Enjoying it even more with every little surprise Mike had for his companion, he pointed his finger along the road.


    "It might be a little hard to spot it from here, but you just wait till you see the city itself!"


    After another few moments spent on traversing the remaining distance, the whole glory of the city finally showed itself.


    Built on the softly rising hill, sturdy walls encompassed whole earth bulge, not omitting even places that only a madman would risk to climb. Located in the highest point of the hill was the keep, surrounded by turrets towering over the whole city.


    For better or worse, their destination wasn''t even close to such attractive place! After crossing through layer of internal walls, Mike finally felt safe. Famous from their order, Altarcian cities could be considered best safe heaven in the world. There was even saying that the higher amount of criminals were in the city, the calmer it was!


    Letting Xyenna marvel at the various artistic shop fronts and signs, the young merchant guided them through the city outskirts before they finally stopped.


    There was nothing eye-catching there when compared to the streets they went through, even the buildings seemed to be made with lower-quality materials. Despite all that, Mike was wearing a rather happy face as he knocked on one of the unremarkable doors.


    "Who''s there?"


    A short, irritated voice came from the depths of the building before the vizier got slammed open.


    "Yrwa still works here?"


    Simple question, enchanted with a charming smile, must''ve convinced the owner of the voice from behind the doors. There were three knocks of the locks before doors got slammed open and a massive figure burst out.


    Instantly unsheathing her weapon, Xyenna moved to jump out at the aggressor, but before she even managed to put any strength into her legs, foreign giant embraced Mike tightly and swung him around!


    Suddenly losing all her strength, the girl immediately deflated and fell on her bottom with resignation written on her face.


    "Would you mind not scaring me like that?"


    Those words spoken with the accompaniment of disappointed and sulky expression really hit Mike''s soft spot. After freeing himself from the giant''s embrace, he came back to the carriage and slightly lowered his head.


    "Sorry about that. I truly am!" - A mistake has been made, there was no point in denying that. Warriors born in hot water like Xyenna were known to burst out with strength during the time of crisis, only to suffer setback later on. Most of the times it worked great! During the fight, they could give their absolute best and compensate for it by just resting more later. But in case of false alarms like now, this instinctive action was rather bothersome!


    "Anyway, let me introduce you guys to each other. This kind golem here is Diaman, while this lovely girl is Xyenna, serving as my bodyguard. That''s why I hope you will forgive her action of reaching for a sword!"


    Mike said with a hint of a threat in his voice. To girl''s surprise, this meat mountain that scared her to her wits put his head down and muttered an apology!


    "Going back to the main topic. I came here to ask if you have any free rooms for us and spots in the barn for the carriage? Keep in mind that there will be another party of two coming as well."


    "Sure boss, You will always have a room kept for you!"


    Diaman replied kindly, before scratching his head.


    "But I''m not sure whether there will be enough space for your friends too, let''s go ask Ma''am about them!"


    "Don''t bother yourself. I am already here."


    When Mike heard this familiar voice, he swiftly jumped around the giant only to kneel before the old lady on one knee and kiss her hand.


    "It''s been far too long since I came to visit. May we go in?"


    "Oh, you''ve grown so much! My little Mikey even brought a girl with him! What a great day to be alive!"


    The elderly woman exclaimed with joy while tasking Xyenna with a curious gaze.


    "Thin tail, modest but sharp bosom, shapely bottomˇ­ Thank goddess, your tastes didn''t derive much from the norm after all your travels!"


    After assessing Mike''s bodyguard for a moment, she literally caught her head to express how worried she was.


    "Oh, stop it! You make me look like some pinky boy now!"


    The young merchant replied with faked anger, only to swiftly change his expression back to a bright smile.


    "As you probably heard, we would really use some rooms, both for us, our friends and carriages. Do you think you could help me with that?"

 4 - Betraying the kin

    "Rooms? Sure, I still have some for friends andˇ­ desperate people."


    The elderly woman laughed softly.


    "Trust me or not. I can spare two medium-sized rooms and my private place in the barn. The problem is, those beds are double..."


    She added while looking with a meaningful look at the Xyenna.


    The girl instantly dyed her whole face in red, unable to even utter a word of complaint. All she managed to do was to shyly put her head down and mutter something too silent to understand it.


    ''That''s kind of new side to her I have yet to see'' surprised by the unusual reaction, Mike could only wonder about it. Nevertheless, his bodyguard felt uncomfortable, so wasn''t this his duty to fix the situation?


    "Auntie, stop it. For you, it might be funny teasing, but just look at her!"


    Young merchant protested.


    "You should understand that every bit of uneasiness that she feels will be unloaded violently on me!"


    "Ara ara, isn''t that a good thing? Maybe a bit of violence would help you with giving me grandchildren?"


    Yrwa pondered with a thoughtful look. On the other side, Mike started praying to all the Gods he ever heard about. When Xyenna was tightening her fists like thatˇ­. Nothing good could happen afterwards!


    "Auntie, stop it, please. I won''t survive the night!"


    Merchant exclaimed pitifully, barely able to stay straight on his legs.


    "Stop deepening the misunderstanding!"


    Xyenna finally said something hearable, but her voice was still too feeble for Mike to assess her mood based on it.


    "Ara ara, did I take the situation wrongly?"


    Yrwa disconcerted herself while hiding her mouth with her hand in shock. Seeing that the main point finally got conveyed, trader left a sigh of relief, that turned into a gasp when he saw his aunt resting her head on her hand.


    "Is she your mistress then?"


    Trebuchet fired the stone.


    Torch touched the straw.


    The blade pierced the flesh.


    In that one moment, Mike realised what it means to be betrayed by the closest kin. While imagining all kinds of torture that he would be put through every single day and night of the current month, he slowly turned around to cast a glance at his bodyguard.


    Surprisingly, when the merchant saw her expression, his face did the impossible. Already stiffened in fear, facial muscles almost tore through the skin of his cheeks. Eyes started to involuntary wet themselves and his legs gave the word shivering a whole new meaning.


    It was the first time that he saw tears dripping down Xyenna''s delicate face. This sight was so stunning and unexpected that Mike didn''t even know what he was supposed to say or how should he act! In the end, it was some warm, strange feeling, that forced his steps towards the sobbing girl. Awkwardly putting her into his light embrace, the young man looked at his aunt with anger.


    "While I do appreciate this situation, don''t you think you went a step too far?!"


    "Look at what you did! Don''t you see how even mentioning her real position in your heart makes this poor girl cry her heart out?!"


    Angered by the situation and unable to understand that she was the reason behind this escalation, Yrwa lashed out at Mike.


    "She is my damn bodyguard!"


    The man shouted back, unconsciously tightening his embrace around Xyenna arms.


    As if something was melting him from the inside, all those moments when she was bullying him were fading away. Soft, balsamic skin, partially hidden under wraps of her leather armour was heating his arms while her sobbing head hid on his chest.


    "Guard? Like you would ever need someone to protect you!"


    The elder woman exclaimed while sending half angry and half annoyed looks. Out of a sudden, when her eyes meet Mike''s deathly serious stare, she froze on the spot. As if suddenly hit by realisation, her expression softened as she moved closer to embracing pair.


    Seeing the development, a young man opened his arms and lightly poked Xyenna''s face.


    Pulled out of her silly state of mind, the girl looked around with her wet eyes. Noticing the warm, protective smile on Mike''s face, her defencelessness turned into anger as she whispered through closed teeth.


    "Bullies!"


    For some reason, this devil of the battlefield got bested to the point of being unable to retaliate! Be it someone who she didn''t know and just an old lady, but against this kind of opponent she couldn''t even protest!


    "Look here, I''m sorry!"


    Yrwa told while lowering her head and nervously massaging her left hand.


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there."Blinded by a happy misunderstanding that I will finally get to see my grandchildren I caused this situation and brought you to tears. I hope you can forgive me!"


    Looking at the nervous expression of this previously mighty old woman, Xyenna involuntary giggled softly while wiping out tears from her face.


    "It seems that it''s not You who we should blame right now."


    She added while glancing deviously at Mike.


    "Were it not for his incompetence with handling the maidens, this misunderstanding would never happen!"


    "And now all the blame gets pushed on me?"


    Merchant lamented, theatrically raising his arms into the air as if asking the Heavens for intervention. But when he did so, he caught a glimpse of Bern wagon! Not wasting any time, he immediately patted Xyenna shoulder.


    "Take care for the carriage and I will organise the rooms. You don''t want to show this kind of cute face to the others, aren''t you?"


    Mike ordered his bodyguard so she could pretend to just do those annoying chores. As if understanding the whole situation, Yrwa didn''t dwindle either and swiftly guided the young man into the building.


    A few moments later, Bern carriage got escorted to the barn by the old merchant himself, while Veil took some of their private belongings to the room landlady showed him. Apparently, Mike''s room had one single bedˇ­


    That luckily was made up just by linking two single ones! As the burning problem of sleeping place got resolved and they safely stored their wares in the private barn chamber, there was nothing left for them to do at this place.


    I took them only a moment to get ready to depart. While for some it might sound easy, changing one''s look from typical traveller to the proper merchant wasn''t as easy as it sounded.


    Plain and a comfortable shirt and pants had to be changed into a white tunic, fluffy and colourful jacket and covered with an oversized coat, exposing only the right side of the wearer.


    But why give so much attention into formal traders dressing? While no one cared about such minuscule details back in the empire, people conducted business in a slightly different way in the Altarcia.


    Most of the merchants were used to judging their counterparts by how well did they look. The kingdom didn''t reach the point, when a smart middle class could overcome great nobles financial status, making one''s clothing the best way to assess the opposing party in the negotiating battle.


    When they were finally done, the whole party comprising Mike, Bern, Veil and Xyenna went to the main Inn chamber as to use the front exit. Riding the carriage through the back alleys might be fast, but doing so on the foot would take too much time.


    Even though the sun has still a long way to go before setting, a hall was already filled to the brim. Various parties were cheering their members finding out who can chug the beer down faster. Others were trying to ignore the commotion and talk over the meals. Multiple maids were rushing between tables, trying to deliver ordered food and drinks in the fastest way, yet none of them showed even a hint of losing balance! This lively sight inside belied the situation of the Altarcia outside of the city borders.


    After finally getting through the crowd, Mike hoped that they would swiftly reach their destination, but after making just one step through the opened doors, made him lose all his faith. If one thought the Inn was busy, then the street would have to be a damn world trade centre!


    ''Just relax, keep it calm'' Mike suppressed the feeling to order Xyenna to cut and burn them a path. After all, there were too many guards around to get away with something like that! But looking at the annoyed look on Bern and Veil faces, he could comfort himself that he wasn''t the only one considering that option! What was surprising though, was how the only girl in the party could nimbly shift between people, utilising every gap between them that appeared.


    The road that was supposed to take them just a few moments, turned out to be a harsh, hour-long voyage through the storm of people. At the time that whole party was close to giving up, stone arch appeared in their sight, with a grand "City Market" letters sculptured in it.


    If they dared to consider the situation of the streets as crowded, then sight that met them after they crossed the Arch leading to the market would easily force them to redefine their dictionaries.


    What was a busy street before, became a tight mass of people, slowly moving along with the current. Even if one saw a good price tag on one of the wares he was looking for, it was highly doubtful that he would ever reach the seller.


    Even stalls were over-staffed, with every bit of the room inside taken by attendants busy with passing coins, bills, deeds and wares to those lucky few that managed to emerge from the human mass.


    After a short hesitation, they still joined the mindless crowd. At first, Mike managed to keep himself on the edge, for the sake of being able to scan several nearby stalls he passed.


    ''Aren''t those fronts ratherˇ­ empty?'' Mike noticed that in most of the shop fronts he spotted, there were only a few products of the same kind, with prices written in two colours.


    The meaning of the different ink was obvious; the black one probably meant buying price while the green one explained the selling price.


    Sooner than he thought that this would happen, Mike, at last, got pushed into the central layer of the crowd, barely catching Xyenna hand. After forcefully tearing between the people with the great help of his bodyguard strength, he slipped away from the masses only to hide in some remote valley. As escaping from the grasp of the horde required a lot of power, when he suddenly broke free, he fell on his companion chest.


    "I see that you took your Aunt remarks to the heart!"


    Hearing cold, distant girl''s voice, he immediately jumped out from the heavenly sensation that surrounded him for a short moment. Looking Xyenna in the eyes, Mike realised that he accidentally opened the floodgates, making his bodyguard remember everything that happened today once again.


    Involuntarily raising his hands in the defensible pose, young Merchant made a pleading face.


    "I''m really sorry, I swear that I didn''t intend for something as disrespectful to happen!"


    Just as he saw the incoming doom in the Xyenna eyes, Mike heard a silent voice from behind him.


    "What did you want to discuss in such a covertly way?"

 5 - Planning

    ˇ°Just tell me, why did you need us to go through such a farce?ˇ±


    While kinda harsh, those words saved Mike from XyennaˇŻs wrath. Swiftly turning around, he saw two tattered men, looking as if they just left the battlefield. Once elaborate clothing was disordered, once elegant haircut turned messy, once stoic and serious face changed into one of anger and annoyance.


    ˇ°IˇŻm really sorry for the trouble, but there was a reason behind this.ˇ±


    Mike swiftly answered, while keeping his hands up in the same defensible pose he used to guard himself against his unruly bodyguard.


    ˇ°I was thinking about making more serious business with you than just hauling one or two wagons worth of wares here.ˇ±


    Putting his hands down, a young merchant fixed his dishevelled robes.


    ˇ°As you just saw in the same way I did, the market potential here is so great that no matter how many traders come here, all the wares will end up bought out. And if that''s the case here, in the city nearest the border...ˇ±


    Mike theatrically cut his sentence short, making his interlocutor finish it by himself.


    ˇ°And do you think I didnˇŻt realise that before you pointed that out for me?ˇ±


    Angered by how much importance young fellow put into this simple fact, Bern almost turned away right on the spot.


    ˇ°There is no way that small fry like us can do anything about it!ˇ±


    ˇ°Right now? Yes, you are right about the current situation. We are almost completely powerless about the situation, but so is everyone else. What our wares are is just a small patch on the open wound in the Kingdom. People will continue to starve, prices will continue to rise and eventually Altarcia will reach equilibrium, and then everything will collapse, both in the Crown and our end. Is that desired outcome for small merchants like us?ˇ±


    Mike stared intensely at his companion with expectation in his eyes.


    ˇ°You could say that the longer this situation wonˇŻt stabilise, the bigger the profit we will make!ˇ±


    Bern threw the ball back at his younger counterpart.


    ˇ°DonˇŻt take me too lightly kid. I was in this business long before your head poked out of your motherˇŻs womb!ˇ±


    ˇ°Yes, we will get rich. Maybe not by the standards of nobles or guilds, but just making the round trip a few times can secure at least a few years of a lavish life. But what if...ˇ±


    MikeˇŻs eyes suddenly lost their shine as he turned gravely serious.


    ˇ°ˇ­ Our last trip happens to be during the market crash?ˇ±


    Mike sighed as colours returned slowly to his face. His eyes yet again started brimming with the same calm energy that already started forming his trademark around his colleagues.


    ˇ°To speak more about my plan, I still need to confirm some stuff. If I''m right about the things I have on my mind now, we could cut a lot larger piece of a pie from this situation that you couldˇŻve ever imagine!ˇ±


    Mike ensured his companion after promptly turning around and heading into the deeper parts of the alley.


    ˇ°We need to visit the Great Market now. We wonˇŻt get anything by fishing out here. I know a rather calm path leading outside the walls, follow meˇ±


    Not leaving them any choice, Mike promptly moved ahead. Left with nothing better to do than follow this theatrical guy, Bern sighed heavily and followed him. Seeing this action, Veil sent Xyenna a meaningful look before heading forward too.


    What young merchant said appeared to be true. Compared to the cramped main streets or filled to the brim city market, a route that Mike took was rather empty. There were some passerby''s here and there, but they could consider overall spotting a single soul in those remote alleys a lucky or fated meeting!


    Sooner than everyone would ever hope, they out of a sudden stood before the main gate. While it was busy, the number of people coming and going was incomparably smaller than in the West gate.


    ˇ°Where did you take us?ˇ±


    Xyenna asked while looking at her employer with curiosity. Not knowing much about city landmarks, she could not easily pinpoint their location. Judging it by the flow of people was impossible since most of them headed from or into the central area of the town. Obviously, if she were to put her heart and experience into the task, she could do it. By orientating herself with directions, she could tell the name of the gate they stood in front, but that wouldnˇŻt exactly be the answer she was looking for.


    ˇ°Northern district gate. The only one not following directional cross in the city layout. Guess what this road is heading too?ˇ±


    Mike asked as corners of his mouth moved higher by just a bit.


    ˇ°DonˇŻt make it so dramatic. You already told us we will visit the Great Market and those hintsˇ­ What else would need its own road and gate if not the main trade centre of the area?ˇ±


    Bern humped with just a bit of annoyance in his voice, implying that this kind of silly puzzle was far too easy for intelligent people like them. What he didnˇŻt realise though was a faint red mark that appeared on the VeilˇŻs cheeks after he said his bit.


    But to everyoneˇŻs surprise, Mike didnˇŻt say a word and just kept smiling lightly, while taking a pose inviting them towards the gate. Humping slightly, Bern moved forward, prompting the bodyguard''s duo to follow them. All would be good if Xyenna didnˇŻt take a chance when passing by her employer, to honestly hit him in his side to express her thoughts regarding his attitude.


    This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    Contrary to their expectations, soldiers guarded this gate in the opposite way to the one they crossed before. Unbothered by the guards, they could just walk past them! For some reason, when Mike passed by them, nodded their heads to him in small greeting. Right after that, they suddenly looked at his companionsˇ­ Only to show them wide and amused smile!


    But even this secret got revealed soon. The moment they exited the gate tunnel, and the world opened before their eyes again, every single one of the trio felt their jaw touching the ground.


    ˇ°How!?ˇ±


    ˇ°What the hell?!ˇ±


    ˇ°Impossible!ˇ±


    Three shouts used different words to express the same emotion. And the sight was truly worth this reaction. Even Mike couldnˇŻt help but stare at the busy area in a daze for a short while. It didnˇŻt matter that he saw it God only knows how many times before.


    Where open ground filled with farms and houses should be, was insanely cramped urban area! A multitude of warehouses, with the most prominent ones being five-story high! Stores, stalls, Innsˇ­ All kinds of trade or service buildings were stretching all the way how far eye could reach!


    ˇ°That''s why I was so theatrical beforeˇ±


    Mike stated while gazing into the distance.


    ˇ°This is the most magnificent thing I ever saw in my life. I just wanted you to enjoy it as much as I did when I was in your place.ˇ±


    Merchant explained, unintentionally showing unusual, relaxed smile.


    ˇ°But, how? Before we entered the city, there was no such area here!ˇ±


    Bern protested with a light voice, still unable to comprehend how this gargantuan area could be hidden in the plain sight.


    ˇ°This goes all the way back to the first century after founding this city. Legends say that most of the building elites in the entire country gathered here and implemented this set of walls. To this day, they hold an enormous power of their blessings. If you know that there is something special here, you might find it, otherwiseˇ­ Good luck!ˇ±


    Mike elaborated for a bit.


    ˇ°When Altarcians realised that the inner city market could not hold all the trade that was going through local roads, they had to expand the buffer zone for trading. And with such huge amounts of cargo flowing daily through the cityˇ­ They had to find a place to divert all this traffic from the city. Thanks to that, if you know the right way and follow the internal cargo limitations, you may even be able to pass through the city without even entering it!ˇ±


    ˇ°Then I apologise for my earlier comments about your actions. It seems I was the one acting stupidly. But let''s stop wasting time. While this place is indeed magnificent, donˇŻt you have something to check? Now I''m getting rather curious about your offer!ˇ±


    Bern pointed out truly the most important thing. The money!


    ˇ°Actually, there is no need for that. Just looking at this place and the way the guards actedˇ­ I know everything I need!ˇ±


    Mike surprised his older colleague with those unexpected words.


    ˇ°What I wanted to offer you before include renting some storage here. Instead of jumping like everyone else on the occasion, why wonˇŻt we sell our cargo and use the money we get to create a stable supply of goods between empire and this city?ˇ±


    ˇ°Hmmˇ­ While it sounds like a good idea, there are several problems with it. We wonˇŻt be able to obtain food and other common wares as cheaply in greater amounts, without going out of the way to procure it. Then, there is a problem of selling it in Altarciaˇ­ But looking at this from the other side...ˇ±


    Bern felt into deep though. Despite the eagerness in MikeˇŻs eyes, he still decided to wait until the older merchant finishes his calculations to drop the next bomb.


    ˇ°I have a list of potential suppliers in the Empire, that might help you make the price even lover that what you can buy in the guilds. I want you to establish a warehouse near the border on the Empire side, where all wares for the trade would be held. You would also organise people to ride the carriages here.


    On the other side, I would receive the stuff and create another network responsible for selling it around the Altarcia. We split both the cost and profits in half. What do you think about the idea, without bothering with all the obstacles we will have to face along the way?ˇ±


    After explaining his idea to Bern, they talked for a few minutes while walking on the streets and adoring elaborately decorated buildings. After reaching the primary conclusion, they finally exchanged a strong hand grip, sealing their promise to talk about the details of the whole operation later.


    When all was said and done, all four of them got back to the city and directed their steps towards their Inn. While it was still daytime, several people on the city roads started shrinking already, making their stroll rather comfortable. But just as they finally entered their Inn, Mike heard an enraged voice.


    ˇ°What is the meaning of this! Guards took over my private stables and claim that the carriages you guys brought were stolen!ˇ±

 6.1 - Old friends (part 1)

    "What the hell is the meaning of this?!"


    Yrwa yelled, instantly attracting everyone''s attention. Sudden silence covered the dining hall, giving a strange background to her accusations. She stared right at Mike''s eyes; her look filled with a mixture of anger, fury, disappointment, and sadness.


    Like if not bothered by the situation at all, Mike remained calm, not giving out any hints of anxiety. He softly sighted and wiped down his forehead.


    "Can you explain what the hell is going on?"


    Bern interjected, face frozen in dumb surprise. He expected that Verkel will try to make things for them hard once they enter the city, but from the looks of things, he really went out of the way for the sake of taking silly revenge.


    While he was wondering, Xyenna looked with a slight worry at Mike''s face. She might not know him since forever, but she accompanied him plenty of times already. While her character never seemed to bother young merchant, she got a glimpse of the reason a few months back in time.


    While it was nothing much in the first place as the situation got ultimately resolved peacefully, she saw the same face that Mike was making now. Calm and kind on the outside. Random outsiders would never figure out what was really going on under his scalp.


    Back then, his ice cold words combined with eyes devoid of any life appeared on his face. At that moment, something tiny changed in him. His moves, his gestures, his wordsˇ­ They all became just a bit smoother, devoid of any hesitation or imperfection.


    That situation resulted in a few people being sent to gallows. Some other lost their fortunes while some regained the dignity they deserved. That was the only moment Xyenna had the chance to look at this face. And she was genuinely scared.


    "A while ago, three guards appeared with fat merchant, claiming that you stole his carriages and killed drivers that he hired. They immediately requested me to show them your wagons, and they secured them afterwards. They are currently moving them around. I couldn''t do nothing about them!"


    Yrwa showed her true emotions, as her eyebrows furrowed in worry.


    "Please, tell me what''s going on!"


    "Calm down and head to the Warden''s office, ask for Cyriel or one of his colleagues. Bring them here as soon as you can."


    Without budging an inch, Mike answered as he smiled slightly.


    "Let''s greet our guests then!"


    As if woken up from some kind of trance, Yrwa instantly rushed out to the doors. While she might be on the older side, years of hardworking for the sake of the Inn made her quite lively. As she moved towards the main entrance, Mike beckoned at the rest of the party and leisurely crossed the main hall. Sensation-hungry crown of people intently watched every single step of his. To avoid those stares, Xyenna and the other duo swiftly followed the young merchant.


    Right after exiting the building through the back exit, the group stood up on the wide plaza they visited when they first came here. Contrary to the previous image, the current one appeared a lot more busy. Various wares were being stocked in the middle of it, as three guards busied themselves with emptying Mike''s and Bern''s carriages. Near one of the entrances to the courtyard stood deviously smiling Verkel and stone faced Horien.


    As Mike looked around using the time before their arrival got noticed, he noticed a few irregularities. Alleys between the buildings were deserted, backyards were emptied and despite the commotion caused in the inn, there was no sign of anyone coming to watch.


    Relaxing his upper torso a bit and slightly lowering his center of weight, Mike slightly poked Xyenna side as he stepped forward.


    "What is the meaning of this?"


    Before letting the guards take the initiative, young merchant slightly raised his eyebrow, taking an annoyed look on his face. His disposition wasn''t of the accused one, but of the accusing side!


    "Are you Mike Nedler?"


    This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.One of the guards put away the stuff that he was carrying and stood before the merchant. Without even waiting for the answer, he continued.


    "I hereby arrest you under the serious crime charges. Are you willing to submit willingly or do we have to force you?"


    Unbothered by the fire burning in the eyes of merchants bodyguard, sentry guy looked at the traders with no signs of being bothered.


    "Serves you right murderers!"


    Verkel laughed at the scene. After all this time of enduring his rage, he could finally see the results of working around the city for the whole day!


    "If it was only my cargo, I could''ve let it slide after formal apology, but killing those poor boys?! There is no way that I can forgive you now!"


    Fatso exclaimed while theatrically screaming on top of his lungs at them.


    "If only you have acted as beautiful back at the border as you do now, this situation would never happen..."


    Mike sighed, suddenly devoid of any energy. His eyes turned back to how they usually looked too.


    He looked at the Horien staying by the merchant side. Burly man was truly a picture of someone caught in the unlucky turn of the events. His hunched disposition spoke loads about his views of the whole matter.


    When it came to guards, they couldn''t be blamed. From what Mike heard, Verkels gift wasn''t only a passive luck, but more of and ability to bend other awareness to one''s liking. While it allowed to manipulate others far more easily, knowing the crux of the matter beforehand made one immune to the influence of this ability.


    As someone obviously grasping the real meaning of the whole matter, fatso blessing couldn''t sway Horien into believing in this farce. Siding with Verkel despite how stupid his plan was meant that there was something more going on in his case. But all said and done, while he kept close to the fat merchant, his face belied his actions, as he watched his employer back with sadness and disgust.


    As he tried to understand his former companion situation, Xyenna couldn''t take it any longer. She slid her cape to the back, as she openly put a hand on her sword.


    "You should''ve wait for your reinforcements before spitting out such a nonsense or threatening us."


    While Mike didn''t seem to care about arrogant sentry attitude, his bodyguard was different. There was a reason why she devoted herself to this kind of profession, and it would hurt her pride if she allowed others to badmouth her or her company.


    Seeing her actions, all the guards instantly readied their weapons.


    "Are you sure you want to stand against the law enforcers of this city? Do you really want to die so badly?"


    One of them said with an arrogant voice, apparently too used to the weight of his position to take infuriated Xyenna seriously.


    As the situation heated, Horien was the only one standing still. Maybe it was thanks to his self confidence, maybe he didn''t feel he needed to bother himself yet or maybe it was some kind of doubt. He stayed down, wish his eyes directed at the soles of his foot.


    "Lets all just calm down."


    Bern interjected, trying to stop the bloodbath from happening. He had an opportunity to observe mock fights between Veil and Xyenna, he also knew that even with their whole group strength combined, they wouldn''t be able to make her tired if she were to attempt to claim their lives. It wasn''t the fight outcome that he was worried about, but what would come afterwards!


    "You accuse us solely based on the words of this guy, where is the proof? What gives you the right to treat us like that?"


    Old merchant asked harshly, trying to make them think about the whole situation.


    Because it was really bizarre! Whole Antarcia was famed for the almost perfect order beaten up into everyone wearing a uniform. Considering the bigger picture, they would pay even more attention to preventing all kinds of brawls or accidents that would sully their reputation. Yet despite that, those guards acted as if there weren''t any laws in place except from their words!


    "How dare to even speak about laws!"


    Verkel cut in at this point, probably worried that if he won''t keep adding the fuel, the guards might calm down and think the situation through.


    "Laws apply to civilised people, not the scum of society like you!"


    "Xyenna, calm down."


    Mike quietly ordered her, seeing as the girl''s rage was starting to boil inside her.


    "You brought it upon yourself! If not for your greed and lack of respect for life, those two poor boys would still live! You deserve to be hanged!"


    "Xyenna, don''t let him provoke you!"


    Mike disregarded the Verkel''s abuses and turned around without a slightest care about opening his back for a sneaky stab.


    "What did you even make you come to this place? You thought you would be able to lie your way out?! Truly a disgrace!"


    "I reserve the girl for myself!"


    One of the guards shouted with a wide smile on his face.


    It wasn''t the words that fat merchant spewed as lightly as if he was praising prostitute appearance. It was his smug face that made Xyenna rage erupt. Not even bothered by the guard''s remark, seeing fatso fulfilled gaze on her as his mouth twitched in excitement, she lost the grip of her own reins.


    Instantly leaning herself forward, she gathered her strength and jumped out. The speed of her attack didn''t even let the guards react. Just as her shoes were about to leave the ground, she could hear the noises of commotion, as the Inn backdoor got blasted open, giving way to large unit of Enforcers.

 6.2 - Old friends (part 2)

    When Enforcers entered the scene, it appeared vastly different from one could expect from Militia in other cities.


    Instead of rushing like a madman on the potential enemy, those people made their way into the plaza. The whole place suddenly had all of its exits blocked by small teams of the militia, while a main body of the unit barged into the scene from the Inn backdoor.


    Just as Xyenna was leaving the ground intending to skewer the fat traitor, around forty men orderly entered and enclosed the area. Already midair, with a clouded mind, Xyenna had no chance of stopping herself. It took only a moment for her to arrive in front of the first guard blocking her way. Apparently, this was also the one to express his naughty ideas earlier.


    Without letting him put his guard up, she reached for one of her daggersˇ­ Only to be bump into Mike, who suddenly blocked her path. Without even being able to blink in the surprise, Girl swiftly got caught; just one second, later she was standing straight at the merchant''s side.


    Dumbfounded by the proceedings of the events, Xyenna took a glimpse at her employer. His knees slightly bent, head put down with an expressionless face, hand hovering near his side. But before anything happened, he straightened and smiled slightly.


    While this short act was taking place, everything else got frozen in place by the arrival of the Enforcers. They were widely known around the country and were said to be the best organised militia force in the whole continent. As things were for the three guards? They got paralyzed.


    In the city, there was an obvious difference between Altarcian classes. One side believed in enlightenment and organisation, while the other had no chance to compete on the idea''s field. Most of the cities swiftly turned into torches of enlightenment afloat in the sea of countryside belonging to the lower class. Because of the rather bad relationship between those two counterparts, both of them created their own militias. Upper class implemented Enforcers.


    Made entirely of veterans of the army, prestigious adventurers and noble knights. Famed by their perfect organisation and a true reason behind Altarcia urban security. Compared to them, lower-class Sentries were made of lower rank adventurers and mercenaries. The difference was like between heaven and hell. Despite many conflicts, both classes came to an agreement in the matter of seniority of the troops.


    Because of a lot greater potential, cities were an Enforcers domain. While there were garrisons of sentries in the towns too, the former ones wielded far greater authority. On the other side, the militia of the lower class had an upper hand in the countryside.


    Thanks to that, as Enforcer''s officer moved forward, Sentries trio didn''t even try to argue.


    "Everyone stays where they are!"


    Rather normal, slightly lowered voice resounded in the plaza.


    "Let''s keep things calm and peaceful while we will settle the problem?"


    When hearing this slow voice, one could pain himself a picture of a middle-aged, kind man. But when looking at his smile devoid of any joy, every normal person would freeze. Just as he finished the words, every Enforcer drew his blade to augment their captain kind request.


    "At first, you!"


    Officer pointed at the Sentry trio.


    "What the hell happened here?"


    While his face might be scary, his attitude was gentle. After all, he didn''t kill anyone to set an example yet.


    "We came to investigate a whisper about murder and thievery act. When we were in the process of comparing the existing cargo with the story of the victim, this group barged in and attempted to attack us!"


    Lustful sentry quickly recounted his own version of the story.


    At this moment, Mike jolted. While the movement was too minuscule to let anyone notice it, a young merchant got stunned. He felt as if something bent itself, just before snapping. It lasted only a fraction of the second, yet he was sure he felt something.


    Officer face slightly changed. His plain smile twitched a little before he looked at Mike.


    "What is your version?"


    Instead of answering, Mike looked deeply into the man''s eyes. After short direct contact, he relaxed his gaze and replied.


    "As the officially registered peddler, I have a right to just process and investigation. I pledge to speak the truth under the citizen book and demand my rights!"


    What was strange, Mike direct and weird response froze the Enforcer on the spot.


    He stared at the merchant and his group and finally straightened up and responded.


    If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation."As the City servants, we acknowledge this Civil case!"


    Only Mike didn''t have a puzzled expression when the militia officer straightened up and responded in a formal voice.


    Those were dire times. Any accident with a chance to blow big would be a hit to Enforcers reputation. To prevent the lower faction from gaining a strong card on the political table, they had to very strict with themselves!


    Immediately after he received the pledge, Mike showed his hidden face.


    In the blink of an eye, kind merchant disappeared, giving way to an absolutely calm and serious prosecutor.


    "You can check with the documents in the Gate. He wasn''t with us when we entered the city. We were together yesterday while crossing the border, but because of an argument, I started having my doubts against him. Considering his arrogance and greed, he never had strong willpower. Irked by the conflict he created, it was obvious he will scheme something against us."


    Mike exhaled, angry at himself for allowing this situation to happen. While he barely showed it, one could read great exhaustion from his eyes.


    "I tried to protect myself by just leaving him alone, but it seems he prefers to haunt me just for the sake of fulfilling his wicked desire."


    Speaking with no emotions, Mike coldly recounted with grief hidden in his voice.


    The officer went into deep thought for a second. After a short moment, the man turned to the Verkel and asked.


    "And you claim thatˇ­?"


    Slight suspension of the soldier voice was enough for Velker to open the bullshit gates and start spitting it on everyone around.


    "They murdered the two coachmen that I hired to transport the cargo. Then they stole the carriages and tried to pretend as they own them despite stealing them from me!"


    Fat merchant instantly put on his act and dramatically exclaimed.


    "... after robbing most of my wealth, they are proclaiming their innocence right in front of them!"


    "ˇ­ yes, we travelled together! I gave them a ride, trying to be nice!"


    "... when they saw the occasion, they backstabbed me! I barely left the scene alive!"


    After listening to both parties, the officer fell into deep thought. It took him a few moments to organise his thoughts, after which he ordered his people to search the scene and said carriages. Then he just sat on the nearby bench and started whistling leisurely while his underlings were carrying on the investigation.


    It took them only a few minutes to finish their task. Just this was enough to send Mike a signal that something was terribly wrong. According to his experience, this process should take at least half an hour! The young merchant held Xyenna hand and tightened his grip slightly. Just from this, he could feel that her whole body slightly tightened.


    Finally, the officer finally stopped listening to the reports, stood up and turned to the audience.


    "After going through the situation, we concluded that..."


    "ˇ­ group under the leadership of Mike and Bern, are guilty of their charges. As a verdict, I will give all of their cargo back to its rightful owner, after deducting service costs. Murderer''s party is guilty of two heads and will thus surrender the same amount of people for gallows. Remaining two will spend the rest of their days in forced labour around the city."


    When officer recited his verdict, the time frozen for a second, as the reality dawned upon Xyenna. Old merchant and his bodyguard looked like they were in the process of accepting how unfairly they were treated, while Mike didn''t seem to be fazed even for a bit. Seeing no other choice, Xyenna put her hand on the handle of her sword, preparing herself for the impossible battle.


    While Bern''s duo swiftly accepted that the sentence couldn''t be avoided, Xyenna couldn''t agree with it. She took a simple task, and it turned into death pit! Also, that trap was set up by her former companion! There was no way she would just give her life on a silver platter! As she readied herself for the inventable, she looked at Mike, to check whether he would try to back her up.


    To her surprise, the young merchant face brightened as he put on an elegant smile.


    "What are you smiling for? You are getting what you deserved!"


    Verkel instantly joined in, almost dancing on the spot. On the other side, Horien looked as he was the one who passed an unfair and dooming verdict on his former friends.


    "Can you give her to us for our troubles?"


    Lustful Sentry even dared to ask Enforcers officer, before having his head slammed down to the ground.


    "Keep your dignity!"


    Officer exclaimed in disdain, looking with a small smile on the paralyzed group.


    "Do you really think you have any chances against us? Isn''t it better to hope that the line will break your neck killing you swiftly, without a pain?"


    He added and burst out with a loud laugh.


    "I demand a Nulifier!"


    Mike calmly announced.


    "What is that, kid? Going to beg for mercy now? Did you offer it to those two poor coachmen?"


    Officer continued mocking, not paying heed to the words at all.


    "According to the citizen''s book, I have a right to demand a Nulifier!"


    Mike repeated calmly, letting them insult and mock him as much as they wanted.


    "You don''t have any laws at all shithead! When you committed murder, you effectively removed yourself from the ranks of citizens!"


    Captain laughed yet again, provoking a whole wave of giggles from his subordinates.


    "If you refuse me my rights, then by the words of the Citizens Book I will be herby excused for taking your life for breaking the taboo."


    Mike calmly replied while pulling a long, elegant knife from under his robes. His face yet again became stoic, as his eyes slowly started shining with dark flames from within. Since he was dealing with an open threat, Enforcer''s officer couldn''t ignore him anymore. Swiftly jumping out, he pulled his sword and beckoned at his troops. Just as he was to order an attack, loud and slow voice resounded.


    "May I know what is going on here?"

 7 - Nulifier arrives!

    "May I know what is going on?"


    Calm voice suddenly appeared, absolutely unbothered by the ongoing situation.


    When Mike turned his head around, he saw unsteadily breathing Yrwa, standing behind a small group of four dignified men. The one standing at the top of their formation didn''t wear any weapons ¨C or visible ones at least. Leisurely strolling through the courtyard, they looked like some kind of special guests on the party, not onlookers they were.


    Despite mind-numbing attitude of the group, their presence frozen Enforcers, while making Mike smile. Instantly putting satisfied grin on his face, Mike stepped forward.


    "Thank you for your timely intervention. I was the one to request your presence beforehand! I vow to abide trail methods and follow the procedures!"


    Immediately straightening up, Mike threw another formula that seemed to have some strange effect on the local forces.


    While the merchant was speaking, rest of his group just stood in place, dumbfounded by the events. It appeared that Mike not only knew who the new guys were; he was the one to arrange their visit! While both Xyenna and Bern couldn''t make a tin or tails out of the sudden change in environment, Veil looked like he realised something. He threw a quick look at Horien, who seemed like if he finally got rid of some kind of pressure on him.


    On the other side, every single one of Enforces stepped down and sheathed down their weapons. Their captain at first furrowed his brows in confusion, but after looking at Mike content smile and quickly thinking things through, he followed his subordinates example and saluted to the elegant guy without speaking a word.


    "I see that most of you understand what is going on."


    Dignified official said calmly, with no hint of surprise in his clear eyes.


    "Just the fact that the single party that seems to be confused is the accusing one, we have our caught our schemer. Any of you have anything else to say?"


    "I agree. After Sirs arrival, everything makes sense. Forgive me for my previous behaviour."


    Officer slightly bowed to Mike, as if ashamed by something.


    "Men, arrest the fat merchant!"


    Dumbfounded by the direction that the situation was heading to, Verkel stood frozen on the spot. Only when Horien readied his sword and moved to his front did he understand that something went terribly wrong.


    "What is the meaning of this!"


    Seeing how guards were swiftly closing on him, the fatso could only escape to his greatest weapon.


    "Im the victim here, why won''t you arrest those murderers!"


    He screamed with a furious expression.


    "Spare the guardian please."


    Mike ignored his former companion and asked the Enforcers captain. Understanding the urgency of the situation and seeing merchant''s resolute face, he swiftly halted the attack and gave the way for Mike.


    "Under Nulifier influence, you are free from your obligations. There is no need for you to keep his side!"


    Swiftly moving in front of the guards, Mike approached the burly man with no weapon on himself.


    "I won''t pry into your reasons for putting up with him, but no matter what they are, they don''t matter anymore. This chance is all I can do for you my friend."


    Young trader sadly shook his head.


    "I don''t know what is going on, but don''t you dare follow his words!"


    Verkel couldn''t hold it anymore. His elaborate plot misfired, causing the rebound to hit him.


    "You agreed to the contract, you have to do as I say!"


    Flinching at those words, Horien disposition changed. Like if he resolved himself into doing something, he relaxed. After taking deep breath, his vision cleared, his hand lay on his sword handle and he shifted down his centre of mass. Any signs of regret disappeared as Horien readied himself for impossible fight.


    "If it''s about a contract, I may void it though?"


    Previously mentioned Nulifier stepped forward with a kind smile.


    "Be it mercenary, adventurer or professional, I''m authorised toˇ­ hmmˇ­ nullify them all?"


    Man gigged a bit, as if bringing up the best joke in the whole nation.


    "What is that supposed to mean?"


    Verkel burst out yet again. Unable to understand the flow of events, uncertain about his future, and dumbfounded by overall reality, his emotions were a mess. And the man that turned such a favourable situation into a deadly one was standing right in front of him.


    "Who even are you to carry wear a haughty smile while framing me!"


    "Who am I? Huh, it''s been a long time since someone felt the need to ask for my name."


    Man replied with a devious smile and snapped his fingers. Unbothered by hesitating Horien, a trio of Nulifier escorts suddenly appeared in front of fat merchant. His legs got kicked in an instant, as his hand got forced onto his back. Falling down on his knees, his head got brutally smashed on the stone street.


    "I am Birken, Nulifier in the service of his majesty, the King. Currently stationed in this city and carrying out my duties. As to what happened, aren''t you the one with the clearest image?"


    Unauthorized usage: this tale is on Amazon without the author''s consent. Report any sightings.Man introduced himself with his head kept high as if every word he spoke added some intangible aura to his disposition.


    "And no, no matter how your blessing works, it doesn''t matter anymore. Im capable of screening all blessings and profiencies down. Now you understand what''s going on?"


    Birken yet again put his kind smile, as he looked at the fat merchant with eyes filled with disgust.


    "While my ability works only since I arrived here, I believe that Enforcers already figured your scheme out. Don''t take them too lightly!"


    High official kneeled on one knee in front of a bruised Verkel face as he looked with curiosity at the guard''s captain.


    "Yes sir! With Your arrival, we realised all the stuff that was blocked from our sight before. He claimed that two of his people got murdered, yet there is no sign of fighting on the carriages. According to his testimony, those two traders supposedly ganged up on him to steal his goods. Then where does their guards come from? This story is so far-fetched that only someone ignorant and arrogant could ever get this kind of idea! Im really ashamed of not noticing it before, sir!"


    Enforcer who behaved a lot different compared to his previous self, quickly explained.


    "Why didn''t you ask for Nulifer mediation before then? That would save a lot of troubles for both of us!"


    Officer asked Mike with a face twisted in grief. That was the expression of someone saved from the trouble yet fearing consequences of his actions.


    "I''m sorry, but his blessing is too unpredictable. I figured out various scenarios how the situation would go, unsure how it would influence the events. I decided to leave nothing to the fate."


    Mike answered as he looked at the Verkel pushed on the stone floor of the courtyard.


    "Some kind of argument on the road?"


    Dignified Sir smiled sympathetically at the young merchant. Despite his lofty position, he appeared really likable.


    "You are right, sir! He overused his luck by relying on the blessing. When we pointed it out, he acted as we denied the core meaning behind his existence. Just from how he acted later on, I knew he would try to cause some trouble."


    Mike explained himself while keeping polite and respectful tone. Nulifier attitude might be friendly, but as someone from a far lower social position, Mike couldn''t act the same.


    "It seem my first evaluation upon hearing this beautiful lady explanation was not far off the mark!"


    Birken exclaimed with joy, as he put his hands together.


    "Those cases are getting easier and easier! I was expecting some real fun in this situation, and here I am, cleaning up small civilian outbursts..."


    Suddenly losing energy, official dramatically felt on his bottom. Act truly unassociated with such a high bureaucrat, yet man didn''t seem to pay it any mind.


    "For the matter of false accusation, this merchant cargo will be evaluated and after covering the costs of civilian affair meditation, wares will transfer its ownership onto the victims. They will also receive a government claim card. As for the perpetrator..."


    Birken hesitated after looking at the fatso guard. He looked at the names on the new report combined swiftly by enforcers.


    "Horien is hereby freed from his contractual and spiritual binds to the Verkel, the merchant. Supporting the scheme will be forgiven by the subordinate law from a civilian book. Government will provide claim card."


    After thinking it through, Birken decided against taking any actions against poor bodyguard. Forced to obey absurd and unmoral orders, acting against companionsˇ­ What happened made him go through so much, that any additional sentence would be pointless.


    "It''s time for the main dish. Verkel the merchant, born into Empire, Merchant''s guild member. I hereby sentence you for five years of forced labour in the Kingdom mines. All your possessions will be confiscated and given to the victims. Would you like to protest?"


    Official asked politely after announcing he verdict.


    "To hell with you all! Yes, I protest! Ha, if my cargo belongs to them, you need to arrest them for oversupply breach!"


    Fatso shouted few phrases, trying to slow down incoming ordeal, or at least to drag his opponents to hell with him!


    "That''s actually quite problematic. Even if it sounds ridiculous, the judgement has passed so according to the City law''s you are responsible for acquired waresˇ­"


    Nulifier suspended his voice, as if hesitating for a bit


    "But looking at the matter at hand, I think no one here have enough time to count all the stuff from both carriages to check if the total mass exceed the threshold."


    "There will be no need to avoid this problem!"


    Mike swiftly interjected, with a resolute look on his face.


    "I believe that we should abide the laws, and no matter how did I gain my profits, they need to be fully legal."


    "I would like to politely ask Enforcers troops to count the exact amount of wares in both wagons and calculate standard fine. Adding trial fine and tax alinement cost should add up to around half the worth of the newly acquired cargo."


    Merchant straightforwardly expressed his views on the matter.


    "Are you sure about this kind of conclusion?"


    Surprised, Nulifier asked. He gave this young man a way out of the trouble after considering all ups and downs, but he still wanted to pay?


    "I prefer to have a clean hands. In the end, those wares didn''t belong to me in the first place, so making the profit from smuggled goods would only bring me more harm."


    Mike shrugged slightly, as if brushing this kind of annoyance off himself.


    "Additionally, if the situation remains the same as three years ago, your post should be heavily underpaid Sir, while your service helps those in unjust troubles. This way, I can still get some gains while helping one of my friends from your ministry, that used to worry about this matter!"


    Dejected voice of the young merchant spread through the location.


    "Cronyism! Corruption!"


    Verkel''s shout erupted in the area.


    "You dare to speak about justice, while using your personal connections to sway the judgment into your favour! Such injustice! Treason!"


    Fatso kept struggling heavily under the arms of the Enforcers, as he shouted his lungs out.


    "Silence him!"


    Nulifier ignored Verkel''s screams and harshly ordered the troops. Next moment, one guard smashed handle of his sword on the merchant''s head, effectively cutting his cries down.


    "It is as you say."


    After the troublemaker finally fainted and fell on the street, Nulifier turned back to Mike with faint shine in his eyes.


    "And it only got worse since the beginning of the war."

 8 - Whats next?

    "At first, it wasn''t so bad. Sometimes they would cut our resources in half, on the other occasions they would delay our wages for a few weeks."


    Nullifier sighed softly while tilting his head.


    "As the war erupted and quickly grew in scale, our officium was brought to the brink of bankruptcy. Right now, we are still sustaining ourselves with the generosity of the few citizens here and there, but I hope the situation will soon stabilise."


    "I think the higher-ups though you would use your extensive influence and power to gather necessary supplies from the city inhabitants... If you didn''t oppose their decision, they probably assumed that they were right!"


    Mike stated his opinion. No matter where one went, this kind of thing was more than common.


    "While that might be true, you should be careful with openly saying it. There are many people who could use those words to take an advantage on you!"


    Nullifier warned.


    "By the way, I''m Cyriel. Pleased to make your acquaintance!"


    As man spoke those words, he extended his hand for usual greeting. This merchant just gave up about half of the profits he could expect to make from the spoils, only to appease his strange citizenship morals. Getting to call each other names was the minimum that Nullifier could offer to him.


    "Then yet again, I''m Mike."


    Young merchant smiled as he grabbed his counterpart hand and shaken it.


    "Would you mind elaborating a bit more about the situation in the country right now? Knowing what to expect here or deeper into the Kingdom would be really helpful!"


    While they continued to talk, Enforcers were slowly going through every single box on both carriages. Starting from moving it down to the plaza, they swiftly opened it to check its content, then put it on portable weight and stacked in back in the middle of the courtyard.


    Surprisingly, Mike''s cart was the first one to get checked. When one looked at it from the close point of view, it was strange as there was nothing wrong with his wares. All that should matter was the stuff formerly belonging to Verkel!


    But according to the deal that Mike proposed, all the wares would be counted together, and only then the amount that exceed the allowed mass for two carriages would be confiscated. Since it was like that, it didn''t really matter with whom wares did the Enforces start with and the young merchant stuff was already partially on the ground from sentries previous actions, making it easier for them to just finish it and move on to the other wagon.


    "Northern raiders still pose a great danger while using that road. I would strongly advise against travelling there if you are not prepared to face the loss. In the worst-case scenario, your life might be even in danger!"


    Cyriel pointed out with a worried face. Despite numerous efforts throughout the years, forest bandits were still a problem that the Altarcia could not tackle.


    While there were a few roads passing through the dense woodlands, the father east one went, continent continued to spread north rapidly making the journey to the coast longer and longer. Up to this day, it was uncertain what the inner site of the jungle contained, as only the coast and shallow area on the continental side was explored.


    "What about the southern passage? While it might not be as populated as the northern area, in terms of safety it should be way better! Especially if one takes into account that the southern part could still have some food reserves or charity help from the souther princedom."


    Mike asked, while thinking out loud even before Cyriel had the chance to respond.


    "While you might be right about the safety concerns, as you are trading mostly with food, the prices will be definitely lower in the south."


    Nullifier twisted his mouth in a slightly displeased grin. As patriotic official in the Kingdom, it pained him to admit to the great problems that kept haunting the country.


    "Earning less to spend it back for wine and women is better than earning more to feed the bandits!"


    Mike answered with a common motto of every small merchant around the world.


    "I believe that hitting the souther tract will benefit me the most, as I will visit both the southern villages and the central cities. And while I plan out really far ahead, I doubt my wares will last longer than two stops deep. Journeying further would force me to trade with miscellaneous stuff bought on the way, and in the starved country it''s far more profitable to send it back to Empire instead of looking for an opportunity to sell it to famished people."


    When Mike was explaining his ideas about future, Enforcers finally counted everything and wrote the detailed report down. After passing it down to the Cyriel, they orderly stood in three rows on the side of impressing pile of resources stacked in the middle of the courtyard.


    "There is about thirty bags of grain more than the treaty allows. They even found a hidden compartment in the formerly Verkel''s carriage, housing several bottles of high class firewine. If we go by the weight, I can settle with those, but if you want to use the worth instead, we would take two bags of fine flour, twenty bags of grain and the firewine. But considering how this situation came to be, I can spare you two bottles of the drinks!"


    Reading on Amazon or a pirate site? This novel is from Royal Road. Support the author by reading it there.Cyriel explained possible options while looking curiously at Mike. It was true that he wilfully gave up all the ware Nullifier listed now, and he didn''t even consider using more profitable, northern tract. But what choice would he make now?


    Both fine flour and firewine were very expensive, and their price grew with every step taken to the east. To be honest, even a single bottle of the drink was worth close to three bags of fine flour! The only problem laid in finding someone capable of paying for it! That''s why fine flour still held more worth, as it was easier to sell with a good price than the wine!


    On the other side, if he wanted to get as much as he could from the journey east, Mike would need as much grain as physically possible. Its price would grow exponentially if sold in the starved eastern cities!


    "I think I will go with the firewine. Just before this situation occurred, we struck a great deal, and now we are discussing how we are supposed to split the cargo that I never ever thought of gaining. in the end, the brew will find a better use as a crown of the party rather than just another ware. We might be merchants but we are still humans!"


    Mike replied, as he threw quick and covert looks at the glistering red liquid shining through the bottles on the side. Even this slight eye sweep was enough to make his face melt into a comfortable smile.


    "So be it!"


    Cyriel smiled sympathetically, as he ordered the Enforcers to tidy up the area. Freed from the care about specific details, troops orderly moved several bags aside and loaded the rest equally on the two carriages.


    "I hope you will enjoy their taste!"


    Nullifier smiled again as he passed carefully two intricate bottles with shiny, red liquid blasting against glass walls of the container.


    "On my side, I hope You will visit us tonight as we will celebrate!"


    Mike responded full of honest smiles, not even bothered to try hiding the joy he experienced upon touching the bottles. As one of the best common wine available for commoners on the market, its flavour, strength, and even packagings were insane. All of it resulted in a kind of mythical effect, making everyone in proximity focus solely on the bottle.


    After sorting the wares out and biding their farewells, Enforcers and the Nullifier with his company swiftly took their new belongings and left the area. Unbothered by the pain and injuries that Verkel would sustain, they dragged him by his foot as they moved towards the Enforcers quarters.


    With all said and done, Mike turned around to see stupefied looks on his companions faces. All these events were so strange and nonlinear that they weren''t able to follow the reasoning behind the actions of any party except the Verkels! How could the situation develop to the point where they could only understand the Villain actions!


    Before moving back to the Inn with his friends, Mike sent a short look to the Horien. This burly man still stood in the same place as if his whole body was set in stone. Only when the former bodyguard of the fatso noticed young merchant look, he flinched. After that, he calmly nodded his head in thanks and left the area via one of the small alleys.


    When they got back to the Inn, they became the centre of everyone''s attention. Most probably during the events that took place on the courtyard, some quests obviously hid around the streets to observe the proceedings. Most probably, everyone here already knew about all the hardships they just went through!


    Bothered the awkward silence and some kind of reverence that the guest showed him, Mike swiftly found a free table spacious enough to fit whole company and finally sat down. Yrwa only needed to look at his face to dash to the kitchen to hurry to cook and prepare some simple wine for them herself.


    "At first, let me explain the situation for a bit."


    Mike went for the most burning problem right from the beginning.


    "I know that you might believe that i had some sort of connection with the Cyriel guy, but that''s not actually what happened."


    Young merchant opened his arms as if trying to show that he is innocent.


    "What mattered there was his function and blessing. Xyenna might be proficient in swords and daggers, I might be able to stall the spoiling of the foodstuff. But those guys that arrived at the end can block everyone else''s blessing or proficiency from taking any effect."


    Mike explained the obvious, while looking at the three faces that started right back at him with anticipation.


    "While this was rather obvious from the way the action unfolded back then, I wonder if any of you have noticed they way that this Cyriel guy''s companions positioned themselves!"


    "All three of them stood at the angle points of the perfect triangle, that enclosed both Verkel and our group. Does that meanˇ­?"


    Xyenna was going to ask something when the realisation struck her, making her unable to even finish her sentence.


    "Yes, Cyriel was just a simple, low class official, serving as the helper for the Nullifiers!"


    Mike answered joyfully with a wide smile.


    "Why was he the one leading his group then?!"


    Bern shouted, his eyes wide open in surprise.


    "I have two ideas about the reasons. I think that using their blessing might be very taxing on their minds, making them unable to use the opportunity they create to observe and actually judge the situation properly. On the other side, they might just try to save resources by dividing the tasks. Why make one person do everything, if you can divide the tasks and have two people that will all together cost you less to train and support than one highly competent one?"


    Mike asked rhetorically with a slight grin forming on his face. While it sounded bad for the outsiders, filling the government jobs with geniuses only was just an utopian idea.


    "This would actually make sense thenˇ­"


    Bern brushed his beard while thinking about the matter at hand.


    "I think both of the options could be true at the same time."


    Shrugging slightly, an old merchant put his hands on the table. His eyes turned serious now, he looked back at Mike and asked


    "About our cooperation. You mentioned back in the courtyard that you will go deeper into the county? How is that supposed to happen when you are supposed to take care of our deal?"

 9 - Setting out

    "How do you intend to look after our business if you leave the city in the first place?!"


    If not for the curious glances they attracted since earlier adventure, Bern would have definitely shouted those words out loud.


    "You convinced me into joining you, then put out this farce from before, and now you think about leaving it all behind? What was all of that for then?"


    The old merchant was obviously furious. It wasn''t like he had a grudge with Mike or something. Deep down he understood that young companion wasn''t at fault back then, but the way he withheld any kind of information from them, even if for a specific reason, still hurt.


    "You saw the vast sea of merchants back at the border. How do you imagine we can compete with them all? For every carriage we bring, there will be a thousand more brought by small merchants. For every caravan we organise, there will be a hundred bigger ones managed by big figures. We are simply too small to fight with them for the comfy share of this town market!"


    Mike calmly replied as he rummaged through one of the pouches hanging at his waist.


    "Are you implying that the only way to successfully gain a reasonable profit is from venturing east? Didn''t you think about all the bandit groups formed by the deserters? Or do you really believe that the Imperial protection will extend far beyond its border?"


    Bern asked as he sank deeper into his chair with a resignation brimming from his face.


    "And this is just the tip of the iceberg. Travelling here already costs us quite a lot of food and fodder. We can''t afford those fancy horses from the far west that can feed even on the roadside grass. Every step beyond this city means lower capacity of the carriages! Even if you only intend to reach Uveno, the competition will still be great and the costs won''t make it worth it at all!"


    Old merchant stated his point, as he looked deeply into Mike''s unfazed eyes, trying to probe if everything was just a silly joke.


    After finally finding what he wanted in his pouch, the young man laid down the sheet of paper on the table, pulling his quill and a small bottle of ink out.


    "This is the Imperial Stock Market, here is the border, and this is Burgen where we are currently residing."


    Mike drew a few circles and lines on the sheet and moved the improvised map to the left.


    "Covering this distance took us in total five days, longer than I would need to reach Uveno. Farther east lies Latavia, Verkses and only then, Altarcia capital, Narieta."


    Mike continued drawing to his right until he met the end of the paper. With no sign of annoyance, he placed his ink bottle to represent the Capital.


    "The hardest step to take while travelling to the inner lands of the Altarcia lies between Burgen and Uveno. Since Narieta lies on the eastern part of the Kingdom, the closer we get to it, the shorter the distances between cities and denser placement of the surrounding villages."


    Mike pointed out some facts about the geography of the Altarcia.


    "Just by crossing over to Uveno, I expect the worth of our wares to at least double. The farther we venture, the higher the prices will be. While it is true that there will still be a lot of our countrymen there, competition won''t be as fierce as here!"


    The young man grimaced with displeasure while recalling the events at the local trade centres.


    "While the profits during trade might be higher, you need to double the amounts of the daily necessities for every step east. If you take that into the account, the number of goods that carriage could bring to the Uveno would be far lower than what you would need to compensate for those additional costs!"


    Bern argued back, while he unintentionally looked closer at the hand-drawn map. While this young lad was a bit aloof, he rarely spoke nonsense.


    "That''s only if you were to count this travel as one single trip!"


    Mike hastily replied, taking the lead in the talkback.


    "What I''m looking forward is not the markets of the Uveno or even Latavia. Where I''m looking for our profits, are the villages around the cities!"


    Mike finally got to the point, with slight satisfaction curling the ends of his mouth upward.


    "If you think about Burgen, Uveno or Latavia, not as targets but only as checkpoints along the way, you will be able to avoid all of those who seek fast and easy profits in those cities!"


    "And how do you think this would happen? Are you going to spend your life marching around desolate villages only to earn a few coppers in each of them?"


    "Of course I will not treat local villages as money bags! I want them to voluntarily fill our coffers themselves!"


    *****


    Despite all the commotion raised in the last afternoon, no one seemed to remember them when Mike and Bern got to the main hall the next morning. It might be because most of the visitors paid their full attention to the delicious dinner they were served, or maybe because events like that tend to happen nowadays in Burgen.


    Thanks to being used to the harsh reality of a trader''s life, neither one of them looked bothered by the measly amount of sleep they got. On the other side, Xyenna and Veil were nowhere to be seen.


    Leaving their bodyguards to get some peace in the morning, merchants used the backdoor to get to their carriages, and after tending to the horses for a while, they directed them onto the real market.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.


    "We need to sell everything that can bring us any amount of profit. Less cargo means less risk of being raided."


    Bern stroked his short beard, deep in thought. Yesterday''s talk extended far into the night, filled with ideas, reasons, and disagreement. While some may take last night''s discussion as a rift opening between partners, it was just a natural process of decision making.


    It didn''t matter that Mike was a lot more knowledgeable about the state of the Kingdom. In the face of trade struggle fuelled by the Imperial merchant''s greed, the past situation didn''t matter as much, making Bern experience a lot more valuable.


    Originally, a young merchant intended to travel all the way to Verkses to scout the situation ahead. It took a lot of Bern''s shouts and arguments to make him settle on the Latavia as his final destination. It might only be two to three days to reach his originally planned target, but making the round trip would take twice that much, leaving Bern stranded in Burgen for a lot longer than he could handle.


    "Don''t worry about it. Before going to have a nap, I listed Verkels stuff and I think we can safely get rid of it all. As for my own wares, leaving only the low-grade food will suffice."


    Mike replied, after thinking this matter through yet again. He couldn''t go there empty-handed, since that would be the shortest route to land in the prison for espionage.


    While they were talking and debating how to maximise their profits, the duo finally reached and passed the gates. Once again they were greeted by the unbelievable sight, that belied the common sense.


    While Mike was already used to it, Bern quickly started feeling faint headed after trying to internally comprehend this incredible phenomenon. It was the same as with other wonders. If one were to grow up with them, they would never doubt the way the things were, while an outsider would ponder for ages about it.


    "Fruits! Fruits for the taking! As ripe as fresh!"


    "Low prices! Come and buy! You won''t make a loss!"


    Even if this area was known from all of those mighty figures behind it, there were still a lot of small traders trying to attract customers by shouting. Even if most of the visitors outright ignored them, one could judge from the bright smile of the vendors that this way of conducting business clearly worked. And in the end, who cares about dignity in front of the coin?


    "Where are we heading? The trading area is clearly that way!"


    Bern pointed out at the right turn that they just passed with confusion written all over his head.


    "Trading there is done in small quantities, and we would need to pay for a trading spot. We would only waste lots of time. I think it''s better to just sell it off to at local warehouses."


    Mike pointed out the site with multiple multistorey buildings in front of them.


    "Yes, we will earn a bit less that we could if we gave our best to do it, but I think it will be worth it in the end. Every prayer that we waste here translates into a bigger risk that someone will have a head-start on us."


    Cutting Bern even before he could voice this obvious flaw of his plan, Mike pointed out another reason behind his decision.


    "Ok, you are fully right this time."


    Old merchant theatrically raised his hands in the air, indicating his voluntarily surrender. Passersby could even think something was happening if not for the small smile on his face.


    "But don''t you think that this will be enough to fulfil yesterday''s deal!"


    The young man muttered under his nose, loud enough to let Bern hear it. But contrary to his expectations, his older counterpart only laughed at his reaction!


    *****


    It didn''t matter that they didn''t know each other for long, the time they spent together and the troubles that haunted them along the way, pulled all four of them a lot closer than they expected when setting off.


    As Mike stated, instead of wasting their precious time away on the trading area, they sold out most of their stuff only after a short two hours. Apparently, this kind of trade deals wasn''t new for those big figures at all, they even introduced it at the very beginning of the organised trade in this district!


    When merchant''s duo walked into the various guild and company cantors, they were immediately greeted and guided to the negotiating table, where they simply needed to pass their list of wares. After just a few prayers worth of time, a local clerk would finish prising their stuff and turn to them for a little bargaining.


    Who would''ve guessed that at the very first stop, they could sell the majority of their stuff! It took them only three more visits to round up and go back!


    Discussing how to split the gold, eating a delicious dinner with their bodyguards at the Inn, setting up first arrangements for their businessˇ­ they did all of it even before the sunset!


    "I wish you safe travel!"


    Bern extended his big hand and grabbed Mike''s.


    "I hope we will be able to meet here as soon as possible!"


    "Let the dreams of riches carry you on your way back here! If you dare to run out with the gold, I will chase you to the very end of the world!"


    Mike smiled back at him. Despite harsh words, it wasn''t something that he had to worry about. Renting small warehouse, setting up the deal with local stables, employing few craftsmen for some miscellaneous tasksˇ­ All of it cost a hefty sum, leaving Bern pouch to weight just a tad more than when he went to buy out the merchandise way back before setting off to the Altarcia. Knowing his character, there was no way he would even consider giving up such a great perspective for just a few gold coins!


    "Take care of him."


    Veil asked Xyenna with a slightly pained face. He loved to socialise, making Bern initial group a great party for him. Now, after Verkel''s judgment, the disappearance of Horien and the rest of the team splitting up, he would be left with no one but Bern.


    "Don''t even mention it. Do your job well too!"


    Despite all of her irritating behaviours, the young fighter still knew how to behave in these kinds of situations. She abandoned her usually fierce look and allowed her fiery hair to gently fall down on her back, looking a lot more like just a beautiful girl than a berserk swordswoman.


    After the last bit of farewells, Bern with his bodyguard turned around, jumped on their carriage and set west. Just a moment later, they were but a small silhouette on the horizon.


    "We need to get going too!"


    Said Mike just before energetically swinging down his reins.

 10 - Back on the road

    Leaving the city was a lot easier than entering it. Instead of lining up in the queues and waiting for the crowd in front of him to be checked out first, all Mike had to endure was slow speed while passing the gate.


    When his carriage finally emerged from dim depths of the gateway, a young merchant finally saw how the once beautiful fields behind the city deteriorated. Vast expanses of unattended farmlands scared passersby with loads of rotting corn, wheat, and other cereals.


    Without an experienced hand to tend the fields, ripe harvest laid wasted in the open. According to overheard rumours from the Inn, the city government tried to harvest as much of it as possible, but after initial failures, they simply gave it up.


    There were not enough hands to finish the task! Kingdom drafted most of the farmers, merchants had their jobs and nobles... Who could even think about sending them into mundane labour?!


    This problem occurred all over the Altarcia, with the situation worsening with every step east taken. Some might be misjudge that the closer one gets to the capital, the better the situation should be. In the end, drafting and organising the soldiers was a lot easier in the Kingdom core than forcing military prescription in the sparse population from western colonisers!


    "Don''t you miss them already? There is no one to play cards with!"


    Xyenna complained while leisurely stretching her back. No matter what kind of movement she made, she paid her utmost attention to keep her sleeping spot from deforming. With the lack of previous goods on the carriage, she had to settle on sleeping at the grain and flour bags. Who would''ve guessed that such a successful and mystical merchant as Mike would give her such hardships!


    Not bothering to even look at his lone companion, Mike turned himself down. There was no point in engaging in the small talk right now. They just left the city and had two to three day''s long journey ahead of them. If they use up all the topics to discuss at the very beginning of this voyage, how would they pass the time later on?


    "Come on! Don''t leave me hanging here! I''m bored!"


    Unsettled by lack of the response, the girl sent a hateful glare towards the back of her employer. While she was getting paid for protecting him, events back in the city made her realise that it actually could''ve been just a farce.


    He stopped her actions several times! The inexperienced eye could amount it to just pure luck, but the grace of fortune couldn''t stop veterans at her level! That could''ve happened if it was Verkel''s blessing, but everyone knew what kind of gift Mike possessed!


    Every time she was thinking about it, Xyenna couldn''t help but feel tricked. It was clear that he acted as if he wasn''t skilled in real brawls, but his efficiency in stopping her belied his actions! Just thinking about it made her humour worsen a bit.


    "Anyway, would you mind explaining one thing? Why did you even bother to employ me? From what I saw, it''s not like you need any help in defending yourself!"


    Maybe because of his lack of any response, maybe because of her boredom, she unconsciously blurted out this question. After realising that her thoughts got the better of her and finally left her mouth, she comically covered her lips and blushed a bit.


    While there was nothing wrong with asking this question in theory, what if Mike didn''t know his potential beforehand? What if he chose to get rid of her now? Where could she find someone who would pay her for just lazing and whining around?!


    "You are a capable fighter. I might be one as well, but my gift isn''t related to brawls at all. I would lack the edge over true warriors. And let''s be honest, fighting is just a last resort, deterrence is what I needed. Most of the petty criminals wouldn''t hesitate to attack lone merchant, but will stop in their tracks if put against swordmistress like you."


    Unable to put himself into a half-asleep state due to Xyenna''s constant nagging, Mike finally gave up on his idea and answered truthfully. From the lack of movement of his body, Xyenna understood that he wasn''t bothered by any dangerous ideas. Still, irked by his response, she couldn''t help but ask.


    "Is it worth it? For the wage I''m promised, you could easily rent some dangerous-looking guards! Wouldn''t they fill the role a lot better than me?"


    At this point, Mike sighed deeply and put the reins on the couch. They were on the straight road, so horse would just follow the tract even without Mike in control.


    After resting his back against the wooden wall of the carriage, he turned to the girl lying at the trunk.


    "And what would I discuss with them? How would I pass my time with that kind of people? If someone is looking dangerous, he must''ve been through enough shit to attain his look. Those people won''t enjoy talking like we can. And to be honest... You are young enough to still be open-minded. How would the events in the city end if my guard were to succeed in starting the fight? What would happen if he clashed with Horien, not to speak about guards? Would he keep following me on the seemingly stupid journey to Uveno?"


    "What are you trying to imply! Are you happy with a guard unable to step in when this stuff happened back then?"


    Somehow unhappy about his explanation, Xyenna asked with an annoyed voice. Mike''s words sounded both as if he was disregarding and complimenting her at the same time. Plagued by doubt about his actions and curiosity about his background, she couldn''t come to terms with her emotions resulting in a slightly aggressive response.Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.


    "Don''t say it like that. If you were to bypass me and start a fight, Nulifier would arrive after the start of the bloodbath. And you can guess what would happen in that case."


    Mike responded with passive voice. He could easily understand the reasons behind Xyen anxiety, but to tell the truth, she was far more important that what she believed.


    In case of a fight, typical warriors like Horien or even Veil were easy to judge and guide towards a specific outcome. Kill the enemies in front, move up to the commander, get rid of his head, go away in the shine of the setting sun in glory. But what if the opponent knew what he could expect from them?


    "I can''t even count how many times have I heard about great merchants or caravan owners losing their entire wealth or even life due to their guard''s straightforwardness. Compared to them, you are someone with whom I can reason with and use more efficiently."


    Mike honestly explained his point of view. While it might be a little rude and cold, he believed that putting it that way would let his companion see her value in a new light.


    "So you think I''m that easy to control? That''s what are you trying to say? How old are you to even think like that!"


    In the line of his expectations, Xyenna instantly fired up and even stood up. While her anger wasn''t something that Mike was fond of, he noticed that her previous anxiety disappeared completely.


    "If I''m not wrong about the dates, then I should be crossing to the twenty-second year of my life somewhere around now. Though I''m sure you are the younger one, kid!


    Mike couldn''t help but stick his tongue at his companion with a small grin. For some reason, this action pushed Xyenna back to her usual lying position, seemingly washing her anger away.


    "Happy birthday then, old man!"


    Unable to think out any better response, all she could do was hit him with the same weapon he used against her.


    *****


    Dorian woke up as late as usual. Just one look through the window was enough to sap his living energy. It took him almost an hour to stop bustling in the bed and finally start dressing up.


    While he was donning his fancy officer''s suit, his eyes unconsciously wandered toward the reflection tower. This enormous structure was the biggest pride of the Dariedic order capital. Despite being already a few hundred years old, to this day it stood alone on the architectural peak of the civilised world, impossible to be recreated anywhere else.


    If one were to trust centuries-old rumours, this building was a leftover heritage left by the eastern tribes before the collapse of their own society. It was a wonder that despite being half millennia old, it still served its duty as the clock tower for the whole city.


    The tower itself was just a typical stone turret. What made this building special, was an intricate mechanism at the very top. It was based on sun clock carved in marble and covered by the circular ''hat'' of mirrors embroidered in stone, conical shape.


    Thanks to the height of the tower, as long as other buildings didn''t obstruct one''s view, one could look at those mirrors to see the position of the shadow on the clock plate.


    Aa the said shadow started to get dangerously close to the point when Dorian''s work would start, he fastened his belt and buttoned up his cape and finally left his room.


    Despite being a high officer of the Dariedic order, brotherhood laws still forced him to live in the army quarters, even if he was already rich enough to easily afford a comfy place near the reflection tower.


    Just as he would step through the doors, his hand unconsciously wandered to the side and grabbed small pendant from the shelf. While it was made of pure gold, it was made up with such fine craftsmanship that at first glance, one could think it can be snapped with just a little effort.


    At first, when Dorien got his hands of this small treasure, he was really worried about breaking it, but some time later, it saved his life! Just by wearing it around his neck, the pike that was aimed for his heart in one of the battles in the past, broke up upon contact with the medallion!


    Since that time, the officer tried to break this thing innumerable times, just to get to know what kind of wondrous material it was made of. In the end, no matter how hard he tried or how crafty he got, the medallion always stayed as it was before.


    Unable to either break or profit from it, he treated this small piece of gold as nothing more than a pendant. After all, compared to jewellery available on the local market, it was far superior!


    After just a short walk, Dorien arrived at the officer''s building on the city outskirts. The closer one got to the east, the less sunlight seeped through the massive walls of the fortress. This structure served as a main line of the defence against various wild tribes of the east, barring them from the civilised world.


    Consisting of three layers of walls enclosing the valley exit and massive castle hidden behind them, a fortress was erected at first by the Alcartian pioneers who later became overlords of the surrounding areas. Controlling this vital choke point between east and west brought them insane wealth and gained them whole continent worth of the enemies. Later on, they made first layer of the trenches, separating two parts of the continent before total divide.


    This symbol of overcoming their wild origins served as a great propaganda point, allowing said pioneers to further legitimise their claims over the vast grasslands. Even after political schism that divided the area between militarised order on the border and Kings realm on the west, they cherished those three walls as important national symbol for whole of Altarcia.


    On the other hand, barbaric tribes that were kept behind the walls always saw the wall as a cage of sorts, that closed their way to the rich lands of the west. Tales told by the adventurous raiders endlessly irked their greed, resulting in the rivers of blood seeping into the earth under the fortifications.


    When Dorien finally arrived at the newest third wall, a ceremony was already closing. As the acting officer of the next watch change, he proudly stepped in after just a short wait and passed the golden torch from the veteran duo to the pair of newly appointed guards.


    Donned in the ceremonial suits, a pair of youths kneeled on the one knee while accepting the symbol of the order. It stayed in their hands only for a short while, only to be passed on to the ceremony-master on the side. From now on, those two youths were no longer simple recruits; they became a part of the Order!


    For them, it was a grand day filled with fanfares and meaning. For Dorien on the other hand, it was just another day in the work. Immensely tired from all the hard work he had done, he swiftly left the walls, hurrying to the city behind the fortress. A big caravan was supposed to visit the market today! Who knew what kind of great goods awaited there!


    It was a pity though. Even if years of comfortable job made him lazy, Dorien was still a veteran. To reach through the ranks from one of the many foot soldiers all the way to the peak of commoner ranks required a lot of achievements! If only he stayed a little longer to accompany the newly appointed and inexperienced guards, he might spot some irregular shadow on the nearby trees. If he were there, if he were incredibly lucky to look into the specific spot at the specific timeˇ­ He might''ve noticed something. There was simply no chance that newcomer''s untrained eyes could reach that far!

 11 - Hidden camp

    Observing the movement on the walls, Victor relaxed. With most of the crowd already departed from the fortifications, only newcomers would stay behind. There was no need for him to hide anymore, yet there was still no movement on his side. Only after the additional half an hour passed away, did he slowly shifted back and merged with the surrounding leaves.


    After disappearing from the fortress observation field, his movements became even more elusive and careful. Sometimes he would cross empty spaces in short jumps, sometimes he would wiggle to match the shadow of the treetops on the ground. The distance that could be covered by just ten minutes of a serious march took him over two hours to cross.


    It was true that the area behind the walls was full of the barbarians. Their attempts to conquer the wall were always unorganised and spontaneous. A young chief took the steering wheel of the tribe after his father died? Then he would bring a sizeable host to try to gain the fame and glory necessary to hold the reins. In the treacherous lands of the east, without the strong backing of the tribe, one''s fate was sealed in the stomach of the wild animals or even some more bloodthirsty groups.


    In this kind of undeveloped land, perfectly organised and hidden camp was totally out of place. There was simply no way that some tribe would gain enough enlightenment to invent stuff like stretchable tents, leaf cover mats, smokeless wood and so on. Judging from the amassment of highly advanced equipment, an observer would quickly guess that this place belonged to either some stupid noble or courageous merchant.


    Why such a big difference between those two? It simply showed the social expectations of different classes in the civilised world. Nobles would see this land as worthless because it was impossible to establish a strong presence here. Countless numbers of barbarian warriors would quickly get rid of this kind of hindrance. Establishing a stable foothold in the area would require vast military resources and at least an intention to set up a permanent defence.


    But there was no point in doing so!


    The layout of the mountains separating two parts of the continent was simply too unfavourable. While it was advantageous to hold the choke point, there were only about one hundred meters of small hills before the whole area opened up to the great forest on the north and immense plains on the south. Just as if the mystical northern woods managed to overcome this kind of geographical barrier and set foot on the other side of the mountains!


    But why a merchant being there would be considered a courageous one? That was the said difference between the classes. Even if one were to ignore all the unbelievable and probably false rumours about incredible treasures overflowing from the ruins of the eastern civilisation, there were still various materials here that would fetch an unimaginably high price on the western markets. Eastern part of the northern woodlands was confirmed to be rich with precious wood, rare animals and mystical herbs!


    On the other side of the plateau, vast grasslands were a home of the countless tribes, living off the riches of the earth. Some even wondered if it was right to call those tribes barbaric ones. There wasn''t any other place in the world, where people established and enforced a set of rules that would prevent any of the farming lands to be destroyed, even despite constant wars between different powers.


    Some voices pointed out that if they were to ignore those limitations, the immeasurable population of the great plain would simply starve itself to the death. Those people could only live in the open grasslands, hence crossing many geographical barriers to reach the northern lands was just a pipe dream for them. The only way to finally set themselves free and earn their spot for a comfortable life was hiding behind three sets of walls.


    But if one were to subvert all expectations and overcome all those troubles, he would arrive at the doorstep of the Perra lands. While the staring difference between wild tribes on the south and modern cities of the north would confuse an uneducated observer into thinking that this was surely a utopian place, one would truly be a frog in the well claiming that entire world limited itself to the walls of the pit.


    It was the Commonwealth Empire that supported the camp near the border. As for specially designed force, they were used to scout the situation at the border and covertly hamper any attempts of the tribes uniting. For them, the western wall was just a blessing, diverting barbarians attention from their homeland. They could not afford to lose it!


    The whole Perra state was simply a gift given to the blood brotherhood. While others were limited by the manpower and riches of their lands, this highly militarized faction recruited its members from all over the country.


    Using the special place they hold in the King''s direct council, their castles, garrisons, and fiefs were sprayed all over this grand place. While the decentralisation of their forces lead to the great diversity and lack of overall unity of the faction, their lack of interest in the politics and great honour of serving directly under the King maintained their will to stay at the absolute top.


    "It took you a while! Any news from our dear neighbours?"


    Victor heard a silent voice as soon as he entered the outskirts of the camp. Even before the first word completely disappeared in the sounds of the forest, he already located the source of the question.A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    "Day like any other. It seems that we will have another two performers from today on."


    ''Performer'' was a common name used for Fortress guards. Brotherhood scouting mission here was a prolonged task. Some people lived here for years already! With some raids now and then, most of the time here could only be spent on betting how many steps will patrolling guards need to cross the entire section of the wall. It worked for about three months before any newcomer would already remember the usual routine for the whole garrison. If not for the utmost importance to remain hidden, scouts would already build a tribune to enjoy their daily dose of ''fun'' in comfort!


    "Who would''ve guessed? It seems that my dreams of promotion and leaving this damned place won''t be fulfilled today!"


    Guard sighed deeply, with great sadness reverberating through his words. The only way to escape this place was either scoring some achievement points on the mission or waiting for someone else unlucky enough to fill one''s spot. There was a reason why scouting missions were used as a punishment for the more frivolous brothers! Without luck, one''s duty would go on even for years!


    "Don''t falter. Eventually, one of the bigger tribes will try to make their move. And if not that, annual blood rite should be just around the corner. If nothing had changed in the common soul of our new brothers, we will see some unwilling recruits coming down here rather quickly!"


    After calculating the dates for a short while, Victor announced with a wide smile. Contrary to the guard, he was here voluntarily. While every officer had a duty to attend this kind of mission once in a while, the terms weren''t fixed. Every single camp required at least one commanding officer to lead and order the scouts around. While it was supposed to be a rotating shift after taking the severely limited numbers of the higher officers, their shifts extended indefinitely.


    After passing the pitiful guard, Victor finally reached the entrance to the hideout. Once a small cave, after carefully stacking layer upon layer of various mats and plants on top of the entrance, this small hole managed to perfectly merge into the surroundings. The officer couldn''t help but feel impressed by the astonishing work done by his predecessors. Not only did they manage to cover all clues about earth depression here, they even broken through the side of the cave, built a small shed there and covered it with earth to make it look like an ordinary hill from the outside!


    While the camp was hidden perfectly, entering it presented quite a trouble. At first, one had to pull out the covering mats in a specific order, resting them in a standing position against each other. After pulling special kind of wooden planks away, only then did the opening showed up. What came after was even worse!


    When Victor entered the hole he opened, he had to pull this wooden cap back into its place and carefully push a specific leaver down. If one were to stay outside, he could see all those mats falling orderly back on the wood, completely hiding it from the sight. While the outer entrance got sealed, the officer still had to grovel through the small tunnel for a few meters to reach another wooden blockade.


    "Victor here. Open up!"


    After knocking up in a specific rhythm on the planks, someone swiftly pulled them to the side. The way the hideout was constructed, it was impossible to remove them from the outside without collapsing the whole passage.


    "Any news on the city?"


    As soon as he crawled out of the hole, happy voice welcomed him in the dimly lit room. A small fire was burning smokelessly on the side, illuminating stacks of the documents, equipment and sleeping mats. Just this one phrase was enough to sour Victor''s mood.


    "Off ya go!"


    Officer cursed under his nose while tossing a gold coin to one of the bodies lying near the wall of the shack. While everyone would consider the coin worthless in this place, damaged pride hurt like hell.


    "I guess I was wrong about him!"


    As if explaining himself, Victor unhappily said while taking the sneak suit down. As soon as a thick layer of hardened mud, leaves and flowers laid down on the floor, the officer brushed his face, trying to wash the exhaustion from his face.


    "To be honest, it was just a stroke of pure luck. I didn''t get deep enough to gauge the situation from a political point of view after all!"


    Mocking his friend, a shadowy person suddenly stood up and entered the area of light around the small fire, showing his dirty yet handsome face.


    "On our end, the tribes seem to be chilled down. No major reports or strange sightings came during your mission."


    "Good, let''s hope it will stay that way!"


    As soon as Victor said these words, his friend''s hand instantly covered his mouth.


    "Don''t you ever utter those words again!"


    Despite his silent voice, his face was a perfect embodiment of human wrath.


    "Urgent report!"


    In the blink of an eye, a sudden shout resounded in the small shack. It was coming from outside. Looking with fury at the wall, the officer resisted his urge to smash through it and silence the stupid soldier. With this single shout, he forced them to relocate! Just as he turned to the tunnel to check the commotion out, a hand broke through the wall. After going back where it came from, the light from the outside that shone through the hole got blocked by someone.


    "Huge barbarian group was seen approaching the central Forrest! All scouting units are to fall back into the central passage and hinder their approach!"


    The report immediately froze the space inside the now broken building. Various postures lying on the mats stopped breathing, while Victor''s eyes turned red. "What the hell are they looking for in there?!"


    Unbothered by the usually maintained silence in the hideout, officer screamed down. Annoyed by the obstacle blocking his way, he jumped forward and smashed through the shack side, completely sealing the fate of the building.


    "All men gather!"


    After shouting heavily, Victor took one of the sticks lying around and started drawing on the soft earth. When enough of his people gathered, he started following the lines as he explained


    "We will take the forth route and join up with 7th, 31th and 84th detachment. Then we will proceed to intercept the enemy here!"


    The reaction was brilliant. In just two minutes, less important papers were burning down, their recent home lied in ruin covered by the small layer of earth and every single one of Victor''s underlings was ready and equipped for the incoming march.


    ''This damn guy! Why is he starting already?'' While waiting for the rest of his troops to gather and prepare, Victor felt deep in though. There were no usual sights that would announce the beginning of another god''s game. Just a moment before he could order his people to dispatch another guard came running and announced


    "There is a response from the Fortress!"

 12 - Unexpected guest

    "There is a response from the city!"


    What previously was a bustling place froze on the spot yet again. There was not even a single soul that could break out of this stupor. This coincidence was just too much!


    "Klimmer, take the whole unit and head according to the route. When you rendezvous with other detachments, pass the news and act accordingly. I need to check what''s going on in the city!"


    With just a slight delay between the report and his response, Victor sprung into the action. Dropping his fighting gear on the ground, he pulled a small knife and started cutting his robes. If he wanted to enter the western world from the mountains and through the recently excavated tunnel, he had to make himself look like a stranded survivor from the merchant caravan. As such, there was no point in bringing all kinds of elaborate weapon, since it could only serve as a clue to those who would be potentially interrogating him.


    "What the hell do you mean by that! We received direct orders from the higher ranks. Did you forget what it means to oppose them?"


    Irked by the decisive reaction of Victor, Klimmer blocked his path to the route leading to the mountain pass.


    "Our people that live in the city should be more than enough to tackle any obstacles on their way, are you going to risk your whole life just for the sake of visiting a city for a while? Or do you think about desertion?"


    Infuriated by the commander''s action, he didn''t budge even under the murderous glare of his direct superior.


    "You actually believed when..."


    Before Victor could respond to his friend accusation, hurried they could hear hurried footsteps as several figures suddenly showed up on the scene. While all of them were masked, their uniforms immediately betrayed their identity.


    "I missed you so damn much!"


    One of the figures instantly jumped at the Victor, hugging him from the midair and spinning around due to the attained interia. What was really strange in this situation, was the fact that insignia on the voice owner uniform was a lot higher than those in the Victor possession!


    "Dear, it''s not a time to act like that. Did you receive the news?"


    Startled by the sudden change in the situation, Victor still took a while to recognise the newcomers. Thankfully, this time was short enough to not sour his fiance mood, otherwise, the scale of a massacre that would commence wouldn''t fall short of what awaited the barbarian detachment.


    "Yeah, that''s why I hurried here. Knowing you, nothing would stop you from inspecting the city by yourself, and there is no way that I would let you go into this pitiful joke of a town by yourself!"


    Seeing and hearing this exchange, Victor troops couldn''t believe their senses. Looking at her distinctions, the girl clearly outmatched their commander in terms of rank, but living together with him for almost a year now, they perfectly knew how little attention did he pay to the titles.


    If anyone else would ever dare to utter such words to his face, no matter the rank, he would end up beaten up and lying pitifully in the pit somewhere around the camp. But contrary to their expectations, not only Victor didn''t fly into a rage, he even smiled calmly, as if all the troubles in the world disappeared just like that!


    "What are you smiling for! I''m not some kind of fluffy mascot for you to hug!"


    Suddenly breaking her character, the girl broke up from Victor''s arms and stood to the side, hiding her reddened face. The joy from the reunion might have overcome her innate shyness, but the look of comfort and peace of her fiance''s face swiftly reminded her of the situation.


    "I''m not breaking any orders. I''m overwriting them. According to the field laws of the military, an acting officer of high enough rank can choose to modify received orders to make them suit the current situation."


    While grandly stating those facts, Victor pulled out a small medallion from under his shirt and showed it around.


    "By the authority bestowed upon me by Perran headquarters, I''m ordering you to set out. Your people should join them as well. The two of us should suffice for the matters in the city."


    What he showed around, wasn''t just a fancy medallion. It was special insignia proving his rank. Apparently, he wasn''t just everyday officer, but a lower-class general!


    "You heard him! Move out!"


    Completely changing her attitude, the girl turned around to face the troops that came with her. Without any hint of leeway for the slackers on her face, she simply pointed out the direction of the forest route that would lead them towards the next detachment.


    "What do you think you are waiting for?! Move!"


    Seeing that her people stood there frozen on the spot, stupefied by the situation, she could only take a serious look on her face and strictly order them.


    "Yes, Ma''am!"


    From the way her underlings didn''t dare to oppose her words, one could see how strict she was with their discipline. As the saying goes, the officer''s group was like their own children. Every single one of them had a different means to make them do their superior''s bidding! With the way Victor acted during his mission, one of the higher-ranked soldiers dared to accuse him of the intention to desert the army. Compared with how obedient were the forces under his fiancee, he understood that he was nothing more than a frog in the well when it came to commanding other people!


    Just a moment later, all the soldiers left guided by Klimmer, who actually had the highest rank after taking Victor and his woman out of the account. Left finally alone, the girl''s face turned gravely serious as she asked.


    "If it''s true that it''s starting, do you really need to go? Can''t you give up on it and just live with me? Please!"


    With a pleading voice, she cried out while hugging her husband-to-be arm. With her trembling body, unstable posture and tears flowing out from her ears, she was the perfect example of someone any man would love to take care of for their whole life. Additionally, her fragile emotional state was caused by her worry about him!The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    ''How lovely!'' Unable to utter even the smallest voice, Victor just hugged his fiance back, before pushing her away and looking her into eyes.


    "Leila, you know why I joined the military and as far as I know, your reasons were the same. If the clues are right and he is starting his game yet again, there is simply no choice. All we can do is hope that it''s just a great misunderstanding!"


    It was his turn to calm her down now. With how the things were, the events that took place in the city would either be a glorious and happy mistake or a death sentence for him. Through all the ages that separated them from the apocalypse, various key holders were popping up in the remaining populace of the origins. None of those remembered by history people had the luxury to die in their own bed from the old age! If nothing were to be different this time, his death would be as necessary and forced as it would, later on, become obviously futile!


    "Come on, we need to go. The faster we clarify the situation, the more time we will have for each other!"


    Not wanting to linger on this sensitive topic anymore, Victor pulled Leila''s hand and moved forward. The road to the hidden passage was long and full of obstacles. There was no telling how many wild animals would try their luck against them during the journey and every moment wasted would translate into a harder investigation later on!


    "We are not going through the outpost?"


    Leila asked in confusion. They barely left Victor''s camp yet she already realised that the direction they were heading wasn''t the one she assumed they would take. While it was certainly longer, it was still a lot easier to take. After all, caravans supplying the outpost couldn''t traverse hard terrain. By using alternate routes, they might save a lot of distance, but all the difficulties they would have to face by using it would considerably slow them down in the process.


    "If I''m not wrong, the last caravan will arrive in the fortress shortly. We can''t waste a single moment, otherwise, our standard excuse will lose its validity!"


    As they trekked between sparse trees, initially easy travel was becoming harder and harder. With every step they took, the forest became denser and the terrain started to take various, strange shapes. With just ten minutes worth of running, they got enveloped by complete shadow. Treetops greedily stretched towards the sky, blocking every sunray that dared to think about hitting the ground.


    "Please, don''t tell me we will use this old, abandoned mine!"


    Leila whined painfully, imagining the hardship they would have to go through if that was what was going through her betrothed''s head.


    "Then I''m sorry to disappoint you. There is no safer or faster way to cut through the mountains. We can''t cross through the valley and using the outpost route would be too big of a detour. There is no other way to get on the other side of the rocks."


    While it wasn''t something that Leila would be unaware of, he preferred to point it out in a straightway. If they wanted to fulfil their objective in the city, they could waste no time!


    "Still, if we are going to use our standard method, we need to gather some herbs and animals to do so!"


    Leila said while pulling her dagger from the wild boar brain. Throwing or retrieving the weapon didn''t slow her in the slightest. It all happened in one, smooth and elegant motion as if ingrained in the basic idea of running for her.


    "That''s actually true. Pushing this kind of stuff through the tunnels might be a bit difficult!"


    Victor used one of the kenners charging at them as a stepping stone. He swiftly jumped up from its back, grabbed one of the tree branches and allowed his motion to carry him forward before he reached the perfect angle and loosened his grip on the wood to glide through the air, vaulted upon landing and continued to run at the stable peace.


    "We will have to limit ourselves to some herbs. Carcasses would spoil on the way and be too bothersome when in the mines. Considering how much value fortress put on those weeds, they would let a demon lord inside if that would mean a bigger haul."


    "Don''t be so harsh for them! It''s normal for people to value things that they can''t easily get their hands on. From what I heard, those Ikka flowers can be turned into some kind of potion. They apparently use it as a painkiller drug!"


    Victor''s fiancee argued while plucking some flowers during her run. She even waved it at her partner before storing it in one of her pouches. While her point was right, those flowers were actually everywhere! Even if God were to multiply the herbs in her bag a thousand times, it would still pale in comparison to the amounts of those so-called precious herbs they destroyed by stepping on them!


    Don''t act like westerner! Stop being a westerner! Those kinds of sayings hailed from common wisdom: Westerners reap what they sowed! They would go at war for just a handful of those flowers, not realising that beyond the walls they built, people considered them as a nothing but a harmful weed!


    After just two hours of running, the pair finally reached their first destination. Rotted planks were lying bare on the stone shelves, created by enormous efforts of many miners generations. Few hundreds of years ago, this place was a thriving city, close to the walls yet perfectly hidden from the sight by the forest.


    Once known as Hervert, this small settlement was founded by two rival merchants, aiming to monopolise the southern outskirts of the forest. By burying the war axe between them, they attracted a huge bunch of poor people and created safe heaven for past scouting companies.


    Despite initial successes in the form of the prosperous mine and great income coming from forest riches, a lack of arable land quickly lead the small town to its downfall. The woodlands that brought them a great fortune were also the reason behind the food shortage. Unable to count on the pitiful amount of meat and fruits brought from the forest, settlers had to be constantly supplied by the Commonwealth caravans, that were too big and heavy to traverse the woods!


    Later on, there were a lot of speculations that if those two merchants invested all of their new income into sustaining their investment, that maybe this town would survive its initial years and steal enough lands from the forest to set up enough farms to provide for themselves. Sadly, all of those were just speculations made by people who never experienced local hardship by themselves. If they were to ask Perran scouts, for example, they would simply point at the small list of species that would lose their homes by such actions. Most of them were known to be extremely territorial and a tough nut to crack even for experienced hunters or even soldiers!


    As for today, all that was left from the once-prosperous city was just a mine entrance. All the land was previously stolen from the forest for the sake of building homes, warehouses or other necessary buildings was already fully reclaimed by the nature. If one didn''t know what to look out for, they might''ve never found this mine, even if they stood right in front of it!

 13 - Road through hell

    "I really hate this place!"


    Leila sulking voice reached Victor''s ears. They were camping in the middle of a small cave, surrounded by nothing but stone and mud. While the special wood they got that didn''t produce any smoke when burned, it didn''t mean they could use it in the mine. Every recruit in the Perran camps was endlessly nagged about how toxic the air would become if this wood got burned for an extended amount of time in unventilated place. Legends were circulating about the military newcomers that if one were to anger their trainers enough, they would be kept in the dark basement with raw meat, flintstone and a small stack of smokeless wood for three days straight!


    In his long-gone time of youth, Victor always disregarded those rumours as baseless and stupid. He only gets to know the truth after he was caught on the women''s campus, trying to talk with his current fiance! To this day there weren''t many things he abhorred more than the smell of raw meat mixed with the delicate fragrance of the smokeless wood!


    "Don''t act like a little child and stop whining! It''s not like we will have any more breaks!"


    Pushing away his tragic memories, Victor tried to ignore the most hated smell engulfing their camp as he resisted the urge to put those legends to the test. Who knows, maybe all of this was just a myth used by instructors to have some leverage over the recruits?


    In the end, instead of grabbing the flint, he grabbed Leila''s hand as he pulled her into his embrace.


    "We still have a long way to go. Let me enjoy this time as much as I can."


    Slightly surprised by the uncommon, emotional act of her husband-to-be, Leila settled in her man''s arms. Resting her head on his torso, she could hear the stable rhythm of his heart.


    "Do you really need to do this?"


    Her fragile voice seeped through Victor''s ears and directly entered his heart. While both of them were sturdy fighters that saw more death than anyone in the western part of the continent, they somehow managed to keep their delicate inner self from deteriorating into the abyss.


    "You know I have little say in this matter. Would you still accept my feelings if I were someone not true to myself? And even if, leaving the wielder alone will just extend our lives for a bit while making me the traitor to all of our ancestors who opposed the evil throughout the ages."


    The man shrugged a bit and tightened his hug on Leila. Breathing in her smell let him calm down, but only after her fragrance permeated his whole mind.


    "I know this. Were you not the one to warn me about it even before we started going out? But that still feels unfair!"


    Leila softly cried, wetting his shirt with her tears. At this moment Victor even pitied that she was still tightly burrowed in his chest since her normally cute face would reach the pinnacle of beauty with her current tearful expression!


    "Let''s not talk about this. While my death might be decided already, no one said it will happen soon. I need to see the wielder on my own eyes before I would even consider making the necessary sacrifice. Who knows, maybe it will happen when we will already let our great-grandchildren out to experience the world?"


    Victor gently brushed the tear of Leila''s cheek and delicately placed his kiss on her forehead.


    "Death will eventually come for all of us. Whether or not we like it. I think having my end serve the case of multiple generations of our ancestors is a kind of reassuring, don''t you think?"


    "You better start making up for all this time that I will have to push through life alone then!"


    Officer fiancee replied while lifting her head, placing her hands around Victor''s neck and deeply kissing him. When pieces of their clothing start to fall all around them, general yet again regretted the lack of light in the cave.


    *****


    Initially, the mine tunnels were wide enough for them to comfortably walk through them, but the deeper they got, the smaller they became. Even if they took the main branch of the tunnels, just going around a hundred steps deep into it made them crawl on all fours. A while later, they had to lie on the stone floor and push their bodies through the narrow hole.


    With every pull of their hands, they moved their bodies just a tiny little bit forward. With every breath, they fell as if the amount of the air lowered just a bit. But they had to keep crawling forward.


    After about an hour, their arms started to hurt. What was worse, the time was just an estimate! There was no way to measure time in complete darkness of the tunnel. Their arms and upper bodies started to hurt. While they were on the upper end of the human class in terms of strength and endurance, they were training themselves in the wholesome output. Relying only on particular muscles for a prolonged time wasn''t an easy task even for them!


    With every movement they made, worn-out muscles were burning up. The environment they were in, forced them to use a special kind of breathing technique that minimalised the amount of air they need to intake to maintain their lives, but that quickly made them exhausted and lightheaded.


    Breathe in. Move the arms forward and stabilise them on the uneven ground in front. Pull your body towards your arm while ignoring the pain that squeezes tears from the eyes. Breathe out. Breathe inˇ­


    With every inch they crawled, the pain only seemed to grow. Breathing became harder. Each move felt like an impossible task. Yet they had to push onward. With how limited the air was in the tunnel, they couldn''t just let themselves get tempted to take a break. Even a short rest would make them suffocate as a result!


    Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    Breathe in. Move your arms forward while ignoring bugs slithering on the ground and venturing into crevices of your clothes. Ignore the unbearable heat of the narrow tunnel. Pull your body forward. Stop the shrugging inherently followed by the sensation on smashing something slimy between your chest and the stone floor. Breathe out.


    No matter how painful it was, they had to continue. Time seemed to slow down to match the speed of their crawl. Too tired to even think about speaking, pair pushed onward while knowing that a single mistake or stroke of misfortune would mean their death. Maybe the opposite end was already sealed because of a small earthquake? That would mean suffocating halfway through the tunnel.


    The only thing that they had in this horrifying journey was the knowledge that they weren''t alone. Every time they got hit by doubts or resignation, small sounds of their partner keeping up were the only thing that pushed them forward before they regained some of their determination. Every time the ever-present darkness seemed to overwhelm them and push them into the abyss of insanity, small sounds the other party made woke them up from the despair and brought their resolve back.


    Only after three hours of the desperate journey did they see first sparks of light shining in the tunnel''s distance. Contrary to the expectations, now came the worst part.


    After closing to the light for a few moments more, Victor finally stopped. Instantly when his movements ceased, he felt a hand on his leg. Shaking it delicately, he signalled to his fiancee he was still alive. There was no need or even an opportunity for words. Before exiting the tunnel, they had to rest. The presence of light indicated an exit nearby, so they didn''t need to worry about the lack of air anymore.


    Taking a few deep breaths, Victor squeezed to one side of the tunnel, letting Leila push forward a bit and squeeze right next to him. To prevent any additional harm, they synchronised their breathing, making sure that one was inhaling while the other was letting the air from his lungs go away. Pushing against each other, the officer felt two soft mounds resting on his chest while rhythmically pressing on it with a bit greater force.


    Maybe it happened because of the terrifying experience they just went through, maybe because his loved one closeness, but Victor got aroused almost instantly. Wise men stated that high emotions influenced the body in a very similar way. Scholars tried using this as an explanation for why during the wars, even most cultured man or barbarian would often go on the raping spree on the enemy civilians. Close encounter with death simply stirred those people''s emotions, forcing them to vent them out in one way or another!


    Modern Commonwealth army worked this problem around by replacing the soldiers with the fresh units immediately after any kind of big battle or skirmish. Tired veterans were treated to the beer and tabor prostitutes, ensuring the safety of the Commonwealth citizens. As for what happened while they operated on enemy territoryˇ­ Generals commonly believed that traditional ways were sufficient during the conquest.


    As for what it had to do with Victor and Leilaˇ­ One didn''t need to put much thought in this problem. If not for the extremely limited space, they would probably already be engaging in extending Victor''s lineage. Sadly for them, despite all the reasons standing upright for him, only small touches had to suffice. Sharing a kiss, feeling her upper tights rubbing on his crotch area, her dry tongue entering his mouthˇ­


    Only after another five minutes of a passionate embrace, did they calm themselves down and finally moved to the last phase of this part of the journey.


    Maybe it was a blessing in the misfortune, but after all they went through to traverse the mountains, the exit was in the best possible form. While it extended straight into an open area, there was no one in sight who could spot them. Unable to take it any longer, Victor burst through the hole and immediately extended his hand to help Leila out.


    "We made it!"


    He said with a pleased smile, as he powerlessly felt on the soft ground. Just after he finally relaxed, he felt another weight falling on his lap.


    "I''m soooooo doneˇ­.."


    As soon as they finally emerged from the mountain embrace, they just plainly laid down on the earth, whining softly from insane pain. Unable to hold on anymore, Victor pulled some flowers from his bag, plucked their petals, and rolled two small balls from it.


    "While the effects will be incomparable even to those silly potions, it might still alleviate some of the pain."


    Before he even though about swallowing hastily made pill, he turned Leila''s body around, put the herbal bit into her mouth and poured a small mouthful of water on her lips. Only then did he take the medicine himself.


    "I''m sorry. I know we need to hurry, but I need just five more minutesˇ­"


    Leila softly whined, while grimacing from the pain. Since they were infiltrating enemy territory, all kinds of elaborate stuff from equipment to real medicines were strictly forbidden. While the chances that someone could endanger or even interrogate them were minimal, they still existed. If some bad things happened, they couldn''t give westerners any clues!


    Human greed was unmeasurable. If westerners got their hands on silly stuff like Vizuta pills, used commonly in Commonwealth cities, they could amass the forces from the entire continent just to venture out in a search for those! Who cared about massacring serfs, commoners and conscripted soldiers, when one could attain immense wealth from the war spoils!


    While their homeland wouldn''t be endangered by even grandest crusade from the west, barbarians from the south, Imperials and republicans from the east, Norsters from the northˇ­ Already surrounded by hostile nations that didn''t share Perran sentiments to the old ways, Commonwealth couldn''t maintain yet another frontline!


    After resting for about a quarter of an hour, Victor finally gathered the remaining strength he had in himself and stood up. After taking a while to stabilise his shaky legs and get used to the pain, he delicately pulled his fiancee''s hand.


    "I know it hurts, but we need to go. If we hurry a bit, we might be able to enter the city before night closing of the gates."


    Knowing that this was an inevitable thing to happen sooner or later, the young girl gnashed her teeth and stood up with the Victor support.


    "Let''s run. We ought to use other muscles if we want to get rid of the tiredness!"

 14 - Meeting the old-new friends

    Thankfully, running was the best medicine they could seek. At first, they just trekked, trying to smarten all of their muscles. Only when the familiar heat in their legs and bowels finally heated their bodies up, did the medicine started working. Step by step, the residual pain was subsiding, giving way to a blissful feeling of running in the open.


    While Victor''s party considerably shortened the way they needed to cover by using the mine tunnels, there was still quite a bit of distance to cover before they would reach the city. Yes, it was visible as soon as they emerged from the hole, but that only meant that they could probably reach it by late evening.


    As their bodies got used to the exercise, the pair gradually speeded up. While the sun was slowly setting behind the outline of the city in front of them, they could freely run with their greatest speed because most of the residents already moved back before the closing of the gates. So all things considered, if they want to make it in time and avoid infiltrating the city in a rather dangerous way, they had to make haste!


    At some point, if one were to spot them and correctly measure the speed they were running at, one could think they were some kinds of legendary devils, reaching the speed of a running horse! According to the common physical laws of the western continent, it should be impossible! There was no way that someone who didn''t give up his entire life for athletic training could reach that speed!


    To understand this strange event, one had to know that the way magic worked differed between the western and eastern nations, not to speak about other continents. In the west, where common people embraced the faith of the one and true God, they could freely access his blessings, that either enhanced one effort in practising certain skills or allowed one to influence the world in a small but useful way.


    On the other hand, eastern nations never acknowledged the "Teren" as the god, calling him an evil instead. This belief resulted in them lacking any kinds of blessing and limiting their magic usage to operating small amounts of their internal energy to enhance their actions.


    One could easily understand that this exchange wasn''t fair. Mastering the use of internal energies was an insanely hard task, requiring from three to even ten years of practice, only to slightly enhance one''s psychical abilities. Compared to them, westerners only needed to receive a baptism of the faith in the chapel to be blessed with God''s grace! To this day, various deeds supported by their faith were unachievable for other nations! Preventing food spoilage? Creating buildings that were so elusive that without a piece of knowledge about them it was nigh impossible to see them?


    Nevertheless, by using the small amount of their internal energy circulating through their bodies to create a minuscule explosion under the soles of their feet whenever they lifted their legs from the ground, allowed Victor and Leila to achieve speed impossible for any westerner!


    But this blissful jog couldn''t last forever. As soon as they got into the range of discernable sight from the city, they had to considerably slow down and take up the appearance of insanely tired people. There was a reason why they didn''t even bother to scrub the dirt that got on their clothing and faces while crawling through the tunnel!


    When they finally reached the gate, there was an annoying realisation that hit them. The hours of the gate closure got changed!


    That was a grave miscalculation on their side. According to the information they got on this particular city when the seasons changed towards the colder times, most of the Dariedic towns shifted their time scale by one hour to honour some kind of weird tradition!


    Left with no other choice, Victor came to the city gate and softly knocked on it, while making extremely exhausted expression and resting his back on the wooden doors near the lurking window. He continued to do so before a harsh voice could be heard.


    "The hell are you trying to achieve by knocking! Gates are closed already, get lost!"


    Apparently, some kind of annoying guard was nearby and got bothered by his knocking! Using the fact that the peep window wasn''t opened, Victor answered.


    "Sir, we got separated from our caravan! My companion is gravely hurt and can barely stand on her legs. Please, let us in, just this one time!"


    Hearing his pleading voice, Leila raised her eyebrows high with her eyes filled with a pleasant surprise. She didn''t know her fiance could utter such words with such a voice! In the end, she had to immediately hide her expression, bit her mouth and spread some blood on her hands as she slightly bent downwards. Just a second later, sounds of footsteps stopped and the small window opened on the small doors imbued into the gate. After observing them for a second, the guard asked.


    "How do I know you are really from the caravan? Everyone can say that!"


    This was a huge headache for him. If those people indeed were merchants from the recent convoy, letting them rot outside the gates would create a grudge too great for him to handle. While this was the capital city of Dariedic order, its wealth came mostly from those foreign caravans that exchanged various goods for the only worth kept in the city - war spoils from the barbarians!


    Seeing the hesitation on the gate guard face, Victor hesitantly reached for his pouch and after keeping his hand on it for a short while, he pulled out a few flowers he gathered on the way to the abandoned mine. As if lifting his hand made his heart bleed, he finally passed the herbs through the window.


    "Take is as the token of my goodwill and a proof of my identity."


    Victor couldn''t help but feel amused seeing the guard''s reaction to those weeds, but he still had to maintain his acting. In the end, his voice shaken more than he intended to, almost making him break his act!


    "Ok, give me a moment!"


    After swiftly grabbing the flowers from Victor''s shaking hand, the guard closed the peephole and proceed to rummage with something on the other side of the gate. Just a moment later, a small door opened, finally giving them access to the city. To maintain their story, Victor slowly lead Leila through the opening, while making sure to block her ''injury'' from the guard sight.


    "Remember! If I catch you later on doing something sketchy, you won''t get away easily!"


    If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.As they passed him, the guard warned them, just to keep his consistency clear.


    "Oh, before I forget, would you mind telling us where the Urielian caravan is staying at? We would love to reunite with them!"


    Turning around for a bit, Victor asked the guard just to enhance his story a little bit. It was true that he knows most of the people from the caravan since they hailed from the outpost manned solely by Perran military, but there was no actual need to visit them. Appearing on their side would make people remember them and connect their faces with the caravan, while all they needed to do was to deal quickly with their matters and leave.


    "As far as I know, they settled in the Rose Inn. You can find it by going southeast from here. Good luck!"


    Annoyed by his pestering, guard tightly pressed acquired herbs to his chest, as if trying to underline that he won''t part with them anymore even if they asked him to do so.


    Not wanting to linger in the presence of the security officers anymore, Victor swiftly pulled Leila with him. Their act of being wounded ended as soon as they quit from the guard visibility on the corner.


    Quickly cleaning up the blood from her hand, Leila finally could stand up straight. Just after a few steps, they took deeper into the street, she realised that Victor tensed up a bit and yet again take a pitiful pose of a stranded person. Immediately following his lead, she took a quick peek at the cause of his action.


    "Excuse me, sir, do you have a moment?"


    Not wasting even a second, Officer bowed deeply to a stranger on the street. The person he was talking to didn''t appear any different from other civilians on the street. All that was ''unique'' about him was loads of bags he was carrying with him and slightly better quality of his own clothes when compared to the others around.


    "What do you want beggar?"


    Even if his expression was clearly annoyed, the man still stopped his steps and looked at Victor. This in itself was quite strange, as people like this guy would ignore most of the beggars or just shoo them away.


    "I''m not a beggar, sir! We just lost touch with the rest of our convoy while we were moving through the woodlands, hence the pitiful state we are in!"


    As if angered by the man''s remark, Victor refuted him with a short explanation.


    "Okay then, why are you bothering me?"


    Not wanting to waste any more time on this persistent guy, the man opened his posture as if saying to hit him with it.


    "I believe you will be interested in those!"


    Not paying any attention to the provocative stance of the man, Victor unpinned his pouch from his belt and slightly opened it to let the man see its content. It was as if a thunderbolt struck him right where he stood. Like he couldn''t trust his own eyes, he had to rub them for a short while and only then take a second look.


    When he confirmed the content of the pouch, he instantly covered it with his hand.


    "Are you seeking damn death here?"


    He whispered and pointed out at the closest inn.


    "Let''s talk in there!"


    Decisively pulling them into the building, the man quickly rented a room and guided them there. Only when they finally sat down on the chairs around the table did the man calmed down.


    "I''m Dorien. What are your names?"


    "I''m Neller and she goes by the name Victoria."


    Victor didn''t even try to make their names sound real. The man sitting opposite to him didn''t seem like someone who would miss this point or dig deeper into the topic. Opportunity to get his hands on the fortune they got in their pouches was apparently too tempting for him to bother in uncovering their real names!


    "Tell me then, how much of the Ikka do you have and what do you want for it?"


    Unable to wait any longer, Dorien put his stance straight. He would do everything to acquire those flowers. Just from a single look at the ''merchants'' sitting across the table, he understood that they didn''t bother much with a trade in their lives. Threatening them with his position or personal might wouldn''t bring many results.


    "As we are the ones who brought the wares you are clearly interested in, don''t you think you should be the one to call the price?"


    For some reason, Victor gave up his initiative and pushed in on the opposite party. This utterly confused Leila, who thought that since he was the one to start the conversation up, he will be the one to call the shots!


    Hearing this answer, Dorien quickly reached for his pouch, only to stop his hand in the air. Only then did he realise that he already spent all of his gold he took with himself!


    "Ermˇ­ could you maybe wait here? It seems I run out of the money I took with myself and would like to fetch some moreˇ­"


    He didn''t even need to finish his phrase. From raised eyebrows of the merchants, he knew that they would never accept those terms. Since they came here with Ikka, they had to know perfectly their worth and implications behind it. After just a quick thought, Dorien hesitatively reached under his shirt and pulled out his beloved medallion.


    "Will this do? I don''t know what it''s made from, but it''s clearly more valuable than it looks. I tried many times but even with all my might and tools I couldn''t break it!''


    As if conscious that the medallion was clearly not enough for the flowers he wanted, he tried his best to raise its relative worth in his counterpart eyes. Who would''ve guessed that Neller stoic eyes would suddenly brighten up!


    After leaning for a little to take a closer look at the medallion, the man fell into deep thought. Only after a few tense moments passed on, he asked the question that Dorien was waiting for.


    "May I take a look at it?"


    While the Dariedic officer hesitated for a bit, he still took the golden pendant and placed it on the table. Surprisingly, when Neller picked it up and checked it out, the shine in his eyes seemed to disappear.


    "I know what it is. For you, it''s just a fancy piece of jewellery, but in truth, it''s a heritage of one of the fallen Urielic clans. I recognise the patterns on its outer ring, but to be honest, I can''t fathom where did the middle part come from."


    With a sudden bout of honesty, merchant placed the medallion back on the table along with two pouches full of Ikka flowers.


    "Those flowers are just a way to get some money for our wedding. On the other hand, bringing this medallion back would earn me favours with an influential family back home. I think that those two pouches are more than enough for it."


    With his eyes back to their usual look, trader placed his offer. It was all up to the Dorien to take the decision now. At first, he strongly hesitated. After all, this medallion saved his life before. But compared to the comfortable feeling he had while wearing it, those flowers would give him an opportunity to cross the bottleneck he was at in his career! Maybe he could even be granted nobleship! After weighing the pros and cons, he finally extended his hand to the Neller.


    "I''m down with the trade. Deal?"


    "Deal!"


    ******


    "Is this really it?"


    After leaving the inn and finding deserted alley, Leila asked her fiance with a worried look on her face. If she was right, this artefact would someday take her beloved''s life! In such a situation, no matter how important it was, she could only hate it to the bone!


    On the other hand, Victor slightly cut his hand and allowed a few drops of blood to fall on the medallion. For a second, both of them thought that it started to shine just a bit, but this illusion faded almost instantly. As if alarmed by the situation, the officer tightened his grip on the amulet and closed his eyes for a while, only to open them a moment later with a dejected look surfacing on his face.


    "It is fake. There is no reaction to the key in my blood:"


    As if dropping a great weight from his shoulders, Victor finally breathed in and straightened himself.


    "It being fake doesn''t change the fact that is rather valuable. Let''s pay for a grand fest with it!"

 15 - Yet another trouble

    After two day''s long journey, Mike finally arrived at the Uveno outskirts. Exactly as he expected, no crowds were pilling up at the gates, military swarming every possible place or small thieves lurking around. While it was pleasant to see it, this also indicated that the new tide of merchants didn''t really hit this city yet.


    In the end, only about a week passed since the announcement of the truce conditions so most of the big traders either was still in Burgen or already passed Uveno, chasing the highest price for their wares. One could explain it by the relative proximity of this City to the border which indicated that the situation wasn''t as bad as in Latavia, two to three day''s worth of journey deeper into the Altarcia.


    While it sounded ridiculous at first, venturing even farther away could only bring more losses! While it was obvious even at the first look at the map, only a small portion of locals knew that this city was perfectly in the middle between kingdom''s capital and border, making it the hardest to supply in the extended periods of time.


    The price rises along with the severity of the good''s demand. This is just a basic rule of pricing own wares, putting Uveno at the really hard spot. There just weren''t enough merchants interested in making their business here, subverting young trader''s initial expectations!


    Not wasting any time, Mike quickly arrived at and passed the gates, unbothered by guards at all. Contrary to his expectations here, they were looking at him as he was some kind of hero!


    "Excuse me for suddenly asking about this, but did the local balance of powers change in recent years? I was thinking about making a prolonged investment with the help of Nuaren faction, but I''m simply not sure if they still hold as much manpower in the villages around as they used to."


    Seeing the emotions caused by his arrival in the guards, Mike didn''t need to be a genius to figure out the reasons behind them. Leaving such an opportunity would simply be a waste!


    "It looks like you are rather well informed about these city affairs!"


    As if hearing those words was equivalent to offending their mothers, initially friendly guards immediately turned hostile. They even dared to ostentatiously put their hands on their weapons!


    "Oh, forgive me if I said something unnecessary. I used to live in Burgen for a while a few years ago and I was told that they were the ones maintaining the daily operation of the common folk. Hence my interest in them! Who am I to be making business with the town hall after all!"


    Shrugging his previous question off with a small bit of self-deprecation, Mike placated guards emotion a bit, making their faces ease a bit.


    "You should be careful about what you are announcing out loud then!"


    Just as one of the guards that previously rebuked them tried to reply, Mike heard another voice from behind the guards. After pushing two soldiers to the side, a fancy dressed officer stepped up and replied in their stead.


    "Would you mind telling me what kind of rumours did you hear about the Nuarens?"


    "Of course! My pitiful knowledge comes from a few discussions that I hear while resting at my aunt Inn in the Burgen. From what I heard, powers in the Uveno were split up between City Hall and noble faction called Nuarens. While there was supposed to be a small conflict going on between those two, what interested me the most was the division of the influence, delegating the city matters to the Hall stead and leaving the countryside villages in the Nobles hands. Did I get that information wrong, sir?"


    At this point, Xyenna wasn''t sure whether Mike was playing dumb or if he was really clueless about the current affairs in the City. In the end, he didn''t get to spend much time alone to gather intel beforehand, so she was more inclined to believe in the second option, but the number of surprises this young merchant had in store made her curious about the truth. Left with no other choice, she could only regret that there was no one to bet about the eventual outcome of this conversation!


    What she noticed but didn''t pay any heed for, was the changing expression of the guard''s officer. It looked like he was constantly weighing two options in his mind, not sure which one to choose. While he looked like he was uncertain about something, suddenly his face brightened up as if he came up with a great idea!


    "And why is that you want to deal with the serfs instead of the City merchants? Won''t you be able to get more profits this way?"


    With an expression of pure pride, the officer probably thought he managed to corner Mike with this question! Xyenna couldn''t help but break out a small giggle!


    "What the hell are you laughing at!"


    Instantly, the officer''s pride got shattered when a young woman reacted with a giggle to the great point he brought up. He instantly flared up enough to raise his hand to call for his subordinates, when another voice suddenly resounded.


    "I wouldn''t do that if I were in your place."


    Not even a hint of anxiousness in this voice! Mike instantly turned his head around, only to see a relaxed man sitting on top of the wall and eating some kind of round fruit. His legs were freely swinging from the edge of the fortifications only showcasing his laid back attitude. He looked like he didn''t say anything at all!This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.


    "What the hell are you doing here!"


    Turning absolutely serious, the officer instantly placed his hand at the hilt of his sword and lowered his centre of weight. While his intellectual capabilities didn''t seem to amount to much, simply from the way he positioned himself against the owner of the calm voice indicated that he wasn''t a stranger to the fight!


    "What a funny question to ask someone who just does his job!"


    Man on the wall giggled for a second before throwing half-eaten fruit behind and sliding himself down from the edge. Like if he had weighed a lot more than he looked like, his body almost instantly appeared on the ground, with just a hint of force lingering around his bent knees.


    "Forgive me my late introduction, I''m Damash. Serving under the orders of the lord of these lands, appointed as the overseer of this gate affairs. Why this kid here is rather stupid, his question actually holds some value, would you mind answering to it, Sir?"


    Unbothered by clearly hostile attitude that the ''guards officer'' had, agile soldier stood up straight and directed the question back at the Mike with a gentle smile.


    "Merchants earn the most during unstable times. With varying prices, they can make the killing at the cost of the small folks. To even think about joining the fray, one needs enough assets to either compete or work with them. Since I''m no one worthy of their attention, just by trying to nip off a tiny amount of their cake would draw their wrath onto my humble self."


    Mike shrugged slightly as if the sole idea of dealing with those big merchants prompted him to puke.


    "That''s might be true, but if we extend your line of thought, what you intend to do wouldˇ­"


    The noble officer was stroking his cleanly cut beard as he was speaking, with every word spoken slower than before. Just as he was about to say what struck him, Mike swiftly interjected with a wide smile.


    "Yes, it seems that sir Damash is witty enough to comprehend my small ploy!"


    Looking at the young merchant in a daze for a while, Damash suddenly opened his eyes as wide as his eye socket allowed him, unable to add two to two. Only after seeing the resolute look on Mike''s face hidden behind a fake smile did his facial expression returned to the usual small smile. After another short while of figuring out some stuff in his mind, he finally smiled wide and laughed openly.


    "It seems that it''s not me who should be called witty! If that''s your reason for looking for Nuarens, you should look for the long sword and shield signboard, at the third turn to the left from the main road. From what I know, some influential figures of the nobles heritage like to dine there. Just tell them that Damash sent you and they should spare you some time to listen to your requests!"


    As the situation evolved into an unexpected direction, the city guards officer couldn''t take it any longer. He would be severely punished if he allowed any kind of opportunity to fall into those damn nobles hands!


    Pulling his sword in one swift motion, he jumped at the Mike carriage and pointed its tip at the lying Xyenna.


    "Don''t you ever think about leaving this place with my consent! With the authority of the City hall orders, I arrest those two people and confiscate their belongings for furtherˇ­"


    Before he even finished his part, someone knocked his sword to the side. Surprised, he instinctively tried to follow his weapon movement with his eyes, only to feel a cold and surprisingly hot touch on the front of his neck. When he looked back to his front, all he could see was devilish, red eyes, enveloped by the fiery storm, completely blocking his vision.


    "Don''t you dare to point your weapons at me"


    "Resisting lawful arrest, threatening the officer, attacking city guardsˇ­ Don''t you fear death, little girl?"


    Despite the critical situation, he was in, the officer almost burst out with joy! What was a slight overuse of his authority turned into a situation where the other party gave him all the cards he needed! Even with no call from him, the soldiers all around were ready to assault and kill them when the first opportunity arises!


    "Using a forceful approach on the Altarcia citizen guard without stating her laws first. Unsheathing the weapon with no imminent threatˇ­ And I''m not even speaking about violating the peace treaty! Sir Damash, my memory is a bit foggy at this moment, could you remind me what was the punishment for those crimes?"


    Rather than letting Xyenn finish the matters in her own way, Mike decided to interject. While he could try to ease the situation, the hostile officer tried to use him as a pawn in the fight in his petty, factional infighting! There was also the dissatisfaction that Xyenna built up about her own performance. Considering those two points, the best he could do was to guide the events to the least bloody end.


    "You appear to be well versed in the Altarcian laws, young sir! Those crimes are punishable either by the merciful death sentence, any kind of lesser punishment satisfying the offended person or the lethal duel between offended and offender if that''s the victim wish"


    Noble officer recounted with a light voice, granting his town''s counterpart a rare, beautiful smile. In Mike''s eyes, Damash was just a bit too happy about the situation where it was his presence that turned it from small talk into a fully-fledged conflict.


    It could be disputed whether the current situation was better or worse than the neutral stance that Mike wanted to take before. Doing business with nobles while maintaining a positive relationship with the town hall? Seeing their relationship on his own eyes was necessary to realise that it was nothing but a pipe dream!


    "So duel that is. As the offended party, I have the right to designate a time and place. I think plain fields right outside the town look like a proper place for your burial, so let''s settle on them!"


    Mike calmly moved to Xyenna side and placed his hand on her arm to make her lower her weapon. Not daring to look into the eyes of the huntress in heat, he happily looked at now free guard and continued.


    "As for time, let''s settle for two days from now. Obviously, since I''m not a combat type of person, my interests will be represented by this lovely girl! here!"

 16 - Little adventure

    "Sorry for setting you up like that. I didn''t want to snatch your prey, but fighting them there would put us in a really tough spot."


    While following Damash into the Inn he mentioned before, Mike explained himself before Xyenna. While it might sound strange for boss throw excuses to his employee, young trader really wronged his guard back then.


    Even while they were travelling to this city, there was a great tension born from the girl''s dissatisfaction with her ability to showcase her worth. As a personal bodyguard, she was protected by her VIP frequently, yet every time she could prove that investing in her was a good decision, Mike in one or another way thwarted her advances!


    To top it off, threatening a bodyguard was legally understood by all western countries as an act against his employer, yet despite all those occasions where Xyenna could legally exert herself and aim to gather some more battle experience, she had to stand down in the end!


    "You made it up by setting that duel. Forget it already!"


    Clearly not in the mood to talk, Mike companion cut the talk. Yes, she was granted a promise for her desired fight, but her blood was boiling now! Not in the future!


    "Couple''s quarrels?"


    Observing the duo on the carriage couch caused Damash to burst with a short laugh. Just a moment later, they finally arrived before massive doors with an honest amount of iron fitting. From the street, there was almost to sound coming from the building. Only when the noble officer finally opened the way to the Inn, did the wave of hearty laughs, friendly quarrels and the obviously drunk song hit them.


    "How''s the day going, Dam?"


    They didn''t need to wait for a long time before the innkeeper spotted and greeted their guide.


    "Who did you brought with yourself?"


    "A new friends that I met at the city gate recently. In just a few minutes, they almost killed Town''s guards and set up a duel with their officer for the day after tomorrow. Apparently, this young man here has some businesses with our merchants!"


    Unbothered by the bustling atmosphere appearing in every tavern all around the world, Damash shouted over to his friend.


    "Oh, I just realised. I never got to know your names!"


    "I''m Mike and this sulky girl behind me is Xyenna, my bodyguard."


    Contrary to what could be often found in adventurous stories told around the firepit, save for the innkeeper, no one paid any heed to their arrival. Those people were coming to the Inn to rest after work and drink with their friends, not to pick on any newcomers!


    "Since it''s your first night at Uveno, forget about any official blabbering. Sit down, enjoy the great meal and our beautiful maids, and keep your matter for tomorrow. Today''s work is over, now it''s time for the fun part!"


    Surprisingly, someone actually noticed them! Be it because one of the trio was a stunningly beautiful girl, be it because of Damash appearance. In the end, Mike enthusiasm got extinguished before it even had a chance to start burning. Right as he turned intending to negotiate the situation with the owner of the voice, a massive hand suddenly slammed him down on the bench.


    "Don''t even think about reasoning with us! All those petty tricks performed by Town''s hall are really exhausting. While you earned some brownie points for standing against those fuckers, don''t lose our sympathy by being so stingy with time!"


    A burly man sitting opposite to where Mike got seated by some other guests raised his beer mug and cheered.


    "For all those beautiful women out there! Maybe some of them will finally find their way to this place!"


    What was probably aimed to be a silly joke suddenly resulted in the man almost choking on his beer when he saw Xyenna annoyed gaze. Those weren''t the eyes of some maidservant. Those were the eyes of a hunter in an extremely bad mood!


    "Don''t listen to this old drunkard."


    In a timely matter, a lively maid appeared out of nowhere and put a plate full of delicious-looking food in front of the Imperial duo. With the usage of some kind of strange magic, she instantly pulled two beers from behind her back and dropped them on the table with a cute smile.


    "Enjoy your stay here!"


    Even if that would prove to be a bad move in the future, Mike was just a normal guy in his early twenties! Even if he was perfectly conscious of Xyenna deadly stare, he couldn''t help but escort shapely and barely covered the bottom of the maid as far as he could. There was a great chance that only because of her consideration for the good mood everyone around, Xyenna had limited herself to muttering quick "Leecher".


    Looking at the events in the tavern, an honest observer would never guess that they were taking place in the starving country! Overflowing wine and beer, tables bending under the weight of the fancy dishes, cute and barely dressed maids lively loitering around the place while carrying yet another servingˇ­ This place definitely was special!


    "I''m tired. I will rent rooms for us, you can stay and enjoy the moment."


    Probably uncomfortable in this typical man''s cave, Xyenna swiftly excused herself, took some money from Mike''s pouch and left for the counter. Just a moment later, she disappeared on the stairs.


    Blink of an eye later, the place beside Mike that she was usurping just a moment ago, already got filled by yet another cute maid that instantly glued herself to the young man''s arm. Apparently, his longing gaze didn''t escape the watchful eyes of the owner!


    Besides the obvious merits of the current situation that included, for example, a specific type of pleasant warmth that enveloped both sides of his hand, surprisingly every maid could somehow produce refills without even moving for an inch!


    Only after chugging down two big cups of the local brew did Mike finally exhaled and relaxed. What surprised him on the other side was how much an admiring gaze from his cute little companion could encourage him to reach for yet another mug!


    "That''s what I was speaking about!"


    Shortly after a young man saw the bottom of his third glass, the guy insisting on leaving the business matters aside laughed. Only now did merchant realise that his joyful expression could come from the pair of sneaky girls that were using their whole body to hug both his arms.


    Maybe because of the perfect lighting system installed in the hall, but for whatever other reason, Mike suddenly realised something. Most of the maids he could see around were wearing a very short top that highlighted theirsˇ­ attributes, rest of their uniform clothing comprised short, sylphlike skirt, where some strange strips connecting to the knee-high socks held the cloth in its place.


    What caught Mike''s eye though, was that most of those skirts folded in a slightly different way than those belonging to the servants of his burly drinking companion! While even his maid cloth was orderly kept just below the ethical line to cover maid''s charms, the situation was different on the opposite front!


    "See, everyone is noticing them eventually!"


    Noticing where Mike''s gaze was travelling too, his table companion laughed up and hung his beer high into the air.


    "Cheers to Galamand the great!"


    "Cheers!"


    Instantly after the toast was raised, the whole hall cheerfully responded! It was as if an eruption happened in the building, throwing everyone''s hands high up!


    "Don''t look at me like that!"


    The burly man laughed right into Mike''s face.


    "We have a tradition here, whenever we enjoy some kind of local invention, we cheer for its creator!"


    "But what is this invention? What do you mean?"


    Maybe because his brain was already slightly mulled down from the alcohol, maybe it was the influence of the cute pet rubbing herself on his arm, Mike didn''t really catch the counterpart meaning.


    "I''m speaking about those skirts of course!"


    As soon as the question was asked, the man burst out in even greater laugh and lifted the skirt of the maiden to his right. Surprisingly, while it gave some gift to the imagination, it actually didn''t reveal almost anything! Those strange strips apparently prevented the cloth from revealing any vital parts!Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "We have a special kind of drink here! Instead of gulping it down like you just did, you need to be really careful around it!"


    At this moment, a man''s face took a conspiratorial look as he slightly bent over the table to get closer to Mike.


    "But for every time you drink it, you may remove one strip!"


    As he whispered those words, he yet again erupted with jovial laughter.


    "Remember, what you drink, it''s yours for the night! But every maid has a different number of those stripes! Every time she gets conquered, she will remove one of them permanently! So as you might have probably noticed, your little thing is yet to be won! Consider it as both a gift and a challenge!"


    Surprisingly enough, this bit made the whole hall erupt with the cheers yet again! In this kind of situation, there was no way that a proper man like Mike could back out!


    "Bring me this booze!"


    He shouted and turned his eyes down at the petite girl squirming around his arm.


    "For every drink, I have the right to remove one strip, and whatever results I will achieve they are mine for the taking?"


    While others might account that to the great body specifics, Mike''s gift "unspoiled" side effect was the ability to cleanse his body from most of the toxins! Lightly stimulating this part of the gift allowed him to clear his head enough to return to his usual scheming self.


    "You are absolutely right! But you ought to know that this isn''t just a stronger drink! It will arouse your senses and increase your responsiveness, In other words, it has an effect of an aphrodisiac!"


    Suddenly turning serious, a man put out a tough expression and stressed those points out.


    "The more you drink, the harder it will get for you to remain sane. The time or your maid''s reward are the only ways to alleviate the effect of this drink. Be advised that if you freaking out, we won''t bother to be gentle with handling you!"


    While those words could sound scary, from the impatience and expectations written on everyone''s faces, he quickly understood what this sentence actually meant.


    "Bring it on!"


    *****


    "How do you intend to deal with him?"


    While Mike was waiting to be served a plate of drinks, Damash was talking with two of his friends at the Inn counter.


    "I think we should go with the number two. No matter the outcome, we stand nothing to lose and much to gain!"


    From the slightly devious expression of the person speaking, one could infer nefarious meaning behind his words.


    "Don''t you think that it''s a bit wasteful? Why invest so much attention to just some small fry? In the worst-case scenario, we will just use his duel!"


    Damash protested weakly, as if not sure about the power of his arguments. While he kind of used newcomer during the incident at the gate, he quite liked his wits. Not to speak about the idea he proposed!


    "Don''t worry and just observe! If not anything else, at least we will see quite a show!"


    ******


    Back at Mike''s table, the young merchant could finally see the task he had to accomplish. Row after row of small glasses filled with some kind of sparkling, violet drink. The aroma that it spread around smelled like tulips mixed with sweet berries. Not daring to waste any time, trader reached for the first bit, when the young cuddly thing on his side stopped his movement and pulled his arm back.


    Finally letting go of his hand, she smiled shyly as she jumped and sat right on his lap. With an adorable smile, she skillfully reached behind her, grabbed the first glass from the row and raised it to her mouth. With an erotic pose, she threw her head to the back, bending her sensual body. When the entirety of the liquid finally ended up in her mouth, she kept it inside for a few moments while letting Mike adore the exposed curves of her waist and chest, only to let her head returned to its normal position a moment later.


    As soon as her eyes levelled up with Mike''s, she held his head in her hands and closed in. After a second of insane softness pressing against his lips, a flood has begun. With her jiggly tongue prying open his lips, all the liquid she stored in her mouth poured into Mike''s throat.


    The instant wave of heat struck him. The second it happened, he tightened his embrace on the girl''s waist. With the drink flowing through his organism, he almost instantly felt his brother reporting for the duty and immediately rubbing against the hidden oasis of the girl above.


    Apparently, this way of doing things makes the challenge even harder, since the more he was to drink, the more of this brew would end up in the girl''s blood. Making both parties aroused to the limits would only serve as a vicious circle through the process of the challenge!


    Breathing in the sweet smell of sweat right into his nostrils, Mike guided the maid eyes towards the plater behind. Startled by his drive towards the booze, she bent her waist a bit, forced by the drug flowing in her blood to actually look where she was reaching.


    Moments after, the whole process repeated itself. This time, however, the girl''s tongue freely ventured around the insides of Mike''s mouth, making an acquaintance with its male counterpart. This kiss also lasted a lot longer than the first one!


    As they finally separated their lips, the maid''s face was flushed red. Her haggard breathing could be seen from the swaying of moderately sized goods in front of the young man''s eyes.


    "Two drinks, means I have to right to remove two strips, am I right?"


    Suddenly breaking the intimate connection that developed between him and the petite girl, Mike turned his attention back to the real world and the man sitting beside the table.


    "Yes! Feel free to enjoy your rewards!"


    As usual, the man replied with a hearty laugh.


    Looking back into the girl''s eyes that were already flooding with the hidden desire, he pointed his chin at the glasses.


    "Another one!"


    When the girl hesitantly broke the eye contact and twisted her waist to reach for the drink, Mike reacted.


    As if following her movement and keeping adoring her body, he raised his hands to the level of her chest, avoiding the front side though!


    Only when the maid threw her head back to intake the liquid again, did he suddenly pinch and in the end - sever the two thin twines connecting the front and back layer of her breast cover.


    Surprised by the unexpected event, the startled girl swung her head forward, spitting mouthfuls of the drink in the process. Ignoring the astonished silence that ensued after his action, Mike greedily slammed his head against girl''s waist and started licking down the liquid flowing down from her mouth through her neck, collarbone, breasts and belly. Following the traces of the liquid, his mouth quickly dried her exposed abdomen, the young man moved on and attacked her breasts.


    Stunned by the flow of the events, the maid wasn''t able to hold her mouth shut, making the remaining liquid flow down her body yet again. That only added the fuel to the fires of Mike''s lust. Kneading one of her proud mountains with one hand and ravaging the other with his mouth, the young man quickly brought the girl to the verge of climaxing.


    As if in a try to calm herself down, the cute maid did her very best to claim yet another glass from the table. While it felt dangerous when one was starting to drink, after igniting the drug with one''s arousal, a person would feel the urge to drink more and more of it, like it had some kind of cooling effect!


    As a matter of fact, that was only an illusion brought by the master brewer who came up with this drink. While giving a false sense of security, it only stacked its effects on the person who drank it!


    While others might''ve thought that Mike already lost himself in the colourful phase, it wasn''t actually the case!


    The ability that was bestowed on him was "Unspoiled". While one might consider it a great tool for a merchant dealing with foodstuff, during his eventful life Mike figured out its other applications!


    Constantly driving his blessing to its very limits, he was able to keep his head clear enough to notice a slight hand sleight when the maid grabbed the drink! While the great lightning provided the guest with a perfect environment to have fun, it also allowed Mike to spot small drops of some powder landing in the brew and instantly dissipating within!


    Others might instantly get alarmed and focus all of their attention on the unannounced addition in the drink, Mike actually couldn''t help but feel impressed how this maid kept her mind clear enough to try this kind of tricks!


    Realising that the maid already brought the drink up to her mouth, Mike had to decide as soon as possible. While he was capable of detoxing himself to a certain extent, his energy was already substantially impaired! Taking yet another unknown substance, one given to him in such an elaborate way, was simply too risky!


    The instant that girl allowed the drink to flow into her mouth, Mike jumped up!


    Since the maid was sitting on his lap, she shot up, only to be slammed down on the table when Mike crushingly laid on her, forcing his tongue into her mouth!


    He couldn''t allow anyone to notice that he was sober! He had to keep the act up!


    Connecting their mouths made some of the enhanced drink instantly mix with his saliva and enter his stomach. Firing himself up, he started rubbing his upper body on the exposed maid chest, while forcing the drink down her throat.


    For outsiders, that might have looked like a desperate action of the man in heat, but the maid understood the implication of the situation! She enriched the drink herself and despite all the heat and aphrodisiac making her thinking slow down considerably, her pupils still managed to expand as her body shivered.


    Feeling the slight shrug of the other party, Mike played along and made his movements more frantic while tightening his handgrip of her right breast. In just a moment, he stiffened and relaxed. Hiding his face in the maid''s hair, he closed his eyes and stabilised his breath. Driving his blessing to its limits, he tried to purify as much of the drug in his bloodstream as he could, but in just a moment he hit his limit and felt exhaustion overwhelm him!


    Decomposed by the influence of Mike''s gift, aphrodisiac turned into yet another usual drug, instantaneously making him pass out.

 17 - Consequences

    "... damn idiot."


    Mike heard a soft murmur as he slowly regained his consciousness. The moment he tried to clear his head, a sudden burst of pain attacked his brain. He felt like his mind got squeezed to one point of his head and his body tried to adapt to the new size. Nauseating pressure on his skull almost made him throw up the second one of his senses preceptors started transmitting its information.


    After gathering himself for a short while, the pain subsided enough for him to try to slowly open his eyes. Only then did he realise that the landscape he saw was actually changing! It took him a good while to realise that it was actually the pattern imprinted on the Inn floor changing as he somehow was travelling through the corridor.


    As if opening windows one by one when trying to freshen up the old building, his senses were slowly coming back to Mike, refuelling the fire that was consuming his mind. The feeling of being pulled. The feeling of being dragged. Sudden outbursts of noise coming from somewhere nearby, yet somehow toned down to usually bearable tone.


    All of that information was overwhelming his pained brain when his movement suddenly stops. Lifting his head with the determination of demon-slaying hero of the legends, Mike took a glimpse at the vast lands in front of him, currently limited to a plain, painted wooden board. Only the small click of the lock let him know that it was actually a door!


    Just a moment after, he was brutally thrown on the hard bed, instantly rolling to the side and fortunately finding a fortuitous encounter. Puking his guts out to the empty bucket eased some of his pain, making him able to clear his thoughts for a second.


    "Water!"


    That''s all he managed to utter before another bout of vomiting struck him. Unable to bear with himself any longer, he twisted back to the front and bowed under the container.


    "Stupid, lecherous drunkard!"


    Those words were quickly followed by a loud slam and steeps silencing down in the distance. It wasn''t hard to figure out what happened. After he passed out, Xyenna somehow got to know about it and brought him to the room to let him rest.


    Assuming that he got hellish hangover was just a matter of fact in her situation! Mike didn''t know how much time have passed since the events in the Tavern main hall, neither he could stand up and look through the window to gauge the position of the sun. It would be actually quite dangerous!


    While hangover people needed water to flush out the toxins from their bodies, he desperately needed to refill his internal fluids! He didn''t have a hangover, he simply overused his blessing!


    He was clearly unprepared for the evening events. Cleansing himself from alcohol was easy. It worked in a gradual matter. Only when enough of it was stacked in the body did it start to actually have an influence over it. Keeping it at the low enough level allowed the body to slowly take care of the rest of it.


    On the other hand, if one were to compare the alcohol with last night aphrodisiac, it was like a small pickpocketer put against an old brawl veteran! Compared with a gentle approach of the old alcohol buddy, it hit him with a hammer right of the bat!


    With his energy swiftly approaching his limits, his body tried to react in a usual way, disposing of the toxins with the sweat and spit. While that made a hell of unsightfull look, it proved itself as a last resort.


    While his organism got cleared out of various poisons previously applied to it by its owner himself, the amount of the water that was used during the cleansing seriously dehydrated him. Combined with absolute exhaustion of his internal energy and overall tiredness from the long journey, what caused Mike''s current look wasn''t a simple hangover!


    As if the goddess of the rain, Xyenna swiftly returned with a small barrel of water. As soon as she placed it on the ground, previously puking merchant jumped to it. Not paying attention to his barbaric attitude, he started gulping down mouthfuls of water as his life depended on it. Well, considering how he lacked it right now, it kind of did!


    "Look at you! All mysterious and mighty, but with the first loose girl coming around you lost all your dignity! What a disgrace!"


    Mike didn''t even need to look at Xyenna face to see her face with his imagination. Wrath? Disgust? Disappointment? All of them probably mixed in her eyes, with her smile colder than even the most powerful blessing of freezing.


    "Don''t expect me to explain myself right now!"


    Lifting his head for a second, merchant remarked angrily. He was simply too exhausted to keep his usual composure. His eyes dead, body completely relaxed. One didn''t need to be a warrior to recognise this kind of demeanour! Only someone completely confident in his own capability could have this kind of still and calm aura despite the awful state Mike presented.


    The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation."Now instead of acting all high and bitchy, sit down and listen."


    Dropping all masks and formalities, Mike showed his true colours for the first time since Xyenna got to know him. Stunned by the sudden change in his behaviour, she couldn''t even utter a word as she obediently followed her instinct and sat down. The power behind his words was so strong, that she didn''t even manage to move to the chair, clamping down right on the floor instead!


    "They used some kind of drug on me. I never get to know those people or the exact situation inside the walls before. All I ever heard was a bunch of reports and rumours from a far past. Only by making them think that I''m weak and vulnerable I can make them lower their guard."


    Mike calmly explained his reasons, stopping here and there to lower his head, gulp a few mouthfuls of water, hold it in his mouth for a bit and then finally swallow the liquid.


    "What they fed me, isn''t lethal in any way. At worst, it''s some kind of nauseating poison that is supposed to limit my ability to think or move around. That might be the reason why they didn''t want me to even think about starting the negotiations back then."


    At this point, Mike felt in thoughts so deep, that he even forgot to continue his drinking routine. After a long, silent break that he took which Xyenna didn''t dare to interrupt, merchant finally shook his head suppressing his imagination from running amok.


    There was simply not enough information to figure out the real reasons for his future negotiation partners. This act might''ve been their attempt at lowering his negotiation ability or a try to take some kind of advantage from his conflict with town hall guards! With just those two possibilities, the routes to prevent his unexpected opponents from using him as a mere stepping stone were completely different!


    All kind of war was won by the intel advantage. One might think that it was the amount and the experience of the troops were the deciding factors of the military struggle, but that was far from the truth. Knowing what your enemy plan was, where did he station his troops, where was the week points of the fortifications, how long would their supplies lastˇ­


    Those rules applied to all kinds of war. Be it military, religious or trade. The one thing that changed, was the questions that everyone was trying to find answers to.


    "I need you to take my place at the negotiating table. I will outline what I can and what I can''t agree on. Just start with the best outcome and sparingly give them some space. If they ever ask, just tell them that I''m bedridden and cannot participate while hoping for good results."


    This question kind of woke up Mike''s thirst, making him dive his head into the remaining water in the bottle. This time, however, he didn''t allow it into his mouth, washing his face out of the remaining puke.


    "What will you do during the negotiations?"


    From the very moment that Mike changed his appearance, Xyenna quickly realised how swiftly he was coming back to his usual well kept state. Signs of the tiredness from the night were already of the verge of disappearing while his eyes recovered their natural gleam.


    "Now, I need to recover just a bit more. I would love if you could ask the Innkeeper for some leftover food. As soon as I will regain my strength I''m going to scout for some information about this city situation."


    With every second, his previous dark attitude was disappearing, hidden under the reappearing layer of kindness and politeness. Even his wording changed from harsh and straightforward into more formal and descriptive.


    "Don''t tell me that with food alone you will be in a state to go outside!"


    Xyenna suddenly protested, feeling the oppressing feeling that weight on her just a moment ago thinning out and disappearing.


    "It would be highly irresponsible for a guard to leave my employer to freely roam the city in such a fragile state!"


    Just as her words left her mouth, Xyenna suddenly lost the ground under her feet and crashed on the room wall. Only when her buttocks dropped down on the floor, did her arms folded at her stomach with a pained expression. Even though she called herself a swordmistress, she didn''t see this hit coming at all!


    "Don''t overestimate yourself. If I''m able to take you by surprise now, try to imagine what I will be capable of where I replenish my inner energy!"


    With her remark invoking Mike''s wrath, Xyenna felt the burn of her own prideful act. While this guy appeared and acted like merchant should, from the various actions and knowledge he already showed her she still dared to underestimate him!


    What''s worse, Mike reaction allowed her to take a glimpse as his true, dead-like expression, usually hidden by a cheerful smile. While it scared her only a bit, the fact that a sole facial expression could frighten her even in the slightest was already a great proof of Mike capabilities!


    Feeling the need to leave this room as soon as possible, the girl ran off to the stairs outside. This time, the door got closed silently behind her when she left the chamber. As soon as her figure disappeared from the part of the corridor visible from the room, Mike felt back to his knees.


    Breathing in and out in a stable manner for a rather long while, he finally managed to calm his heart, trying to jump out from his chest. Using such an imposing attitude when he was spent took a great toll on him. All he was able to do was to slowly crawl to the bed and lay down on it.


    What Xyenna said was actually true. Despite how skilled in acting he was, he wasn''t an actual brawler. Placed against any kind of mercenary or skilled warrior in the open field, his defeat would be set in the stone. He simply wasn''t someone who could face his enemies head-on and survive.


    But the miscommunication lied somewhere else. While Xyenna did imagine him strolling freely around the streets and picking up a fight with any thug he would meet, Mike, preferred a more delicate approach. What''s the point of fighting two enemies that were a lot better fighters than him individually, when one could just follow them into the dark alley, use the surprise to kill the first one and intimidate the second victim to get the necessary information!

 18 - Reaching to the doors.

    Strolling through the city, Xyenna reached the gate of the noble''s district. Yes, even right inside the town, area bought and managed by the rural faction had to be closed behind the gates! The only question was whether it was for the sake of the safety of themselves or the rest of the city inhabitants.


    According to Mike''s information, usual town residents hated the situation. Just because they either were born into the middle class or managed to climb their way into the settlement for the sake of leading better lives, they had to either join the Nobles or obediently agree to be used as City Hall pawns by the default. There was no third option!


    When looking at the situation from the outsider perspective, Xyenna could only shake her head with pity. It was the same as everywhere else. Folk was just too used to just a tool for those with power, not realising at all the strength they wield themselves. She made her choice a long time ago and now she was a respected adventurer. If enough of those common people realised the strength that lies dormant in them, be it nobles or the city hallˇ­ None of them could live lavishly while wasting resources on stupid conflicts!


    While the gate was diligently watched over by a dozen guards, she was a single woman in a travelling outfit. There was no reason to stop her from entering at all! Only when she entered the shadowy passage did Xyenna realise that it was the first time in a long while when she passed the gate by herself!


    "Excuse me, where can I find the administration building?"


    Closing onto one of the random strangers busying themselves on the streets, she asked for the directions. With all his genius in planning and scheming, Mike seemed to forget about such a basic thing as the map! It was the very first time she was in this city, so instead of just marching right into her destination, she had to depart an hour earlier to have enough spare time.


    "You need to go two alleys forward in this direction, turn left and just follow the road. When you will see the highest building around, you will know that you have arrived at your destination miss."


    As if used to strangers asking for help, random citizen Xyenna chosen as her guide didn''t seem to mind it at all. While he appeared busy on the outside, there was no man alive that wouldn''t be pleased to help such a cute woman in need!


    Thankful for the received help, Xyenna smiled gently and slightly bowed her head in response. Just this small act of gratitude made the man''s mood expression brighten up. Encouraged by the easy-going approach of the girl, he scratched his head.


    "If you don''t mind, I would love to lead you thereˇ­"


    Only after he raised his eyes again, did the man realise that this girl already left!


    Moving forward in big strides, it took her only a few minutes to reach the described building. It was indeed as impressive as Mike told her it is. Consisting of five layers in total, each level got a different kind of decorations on its outside walls.


    The ground floor made use of big windows to exhibit simplistically furnished lounge, with a reception desk, some sofas and few standalone tables filled with drinks and snacks. The first and second floor have an elaborate painting on their walls, picturing the most important events and landscapes to the faction. After closely examining the paintings, Xyenna realised that every single of them had a hidden date in it, allowing to recognise shown events!


    The third level was a bit different because instead of using the colours, it wielded the shapes! Instead of filling the walls with elaborate art, it was slightly smaller than its lower counterparts, making use of the remaining space to exhibit a variety of sculpted figures. From the harsh looking warriors, through elegant nobles, sturdy farmers all the way to the delicate merchants, those sculptures depicted the most important historical figures that created this faction in the first place!


    But all of that simply paled in comparison to the last, fourth floor. While a lot smaller than the rest of the building, it looked like it was made with pure gold and decorated with gemstones!


    From what Mike told her, there were only two houses of this height in the whole town. The one Xyenna was standing in front served as the Nobles faction headquarters, while its rival, located in the very centre of the commercial district was the City hall main location.This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.


    Of course, there was a castle, several town turrets or even the walls that occasionally left those houses height in shame, but it didn''t matter at all. Both factions took it as the point of honour to lavishly decorate their topmost floor just for the sake of expressing their superiority over the other party!


    Not wanting to waste any more of her precious time, Xyenna took out a small piece of paper from her pocket. Reading it with her lips only for a small moment, she ensured herself that she engraved its content into her memory and decisively threw the paper into her mouth. After chewing it for a short while to soften its structure, she quickly swallowed and reached the doors of the wondrous building.


    Quickly reaching the counter manned by one of the several servants, she proclaimed.


    "I''m here on the behalf of the Mike Newer. There should be prepared under his name."


    *****


    Leaving negotiations to Xyenna made Mike anxious, but there was nothing he could do about it. Pretending to be sick opened him a window to deal with his matters covertly, but forced him to give up the control over the crucial matter of setting a foothold in the city.


    Regretfully, all he could do at this point was shrugging his arms and marching down the road. Covered by a think, capped coat, merchant slowly strolled through the small city streets until he reached an indistinctive place with dead fish signboard hanging over the doors.


    Surprisingly, despite how early time of the day it was, the dining hall was filled to the brim. It could be expected when thinking about some fancy, well-known place, but not a rundown tavern like that!


    It took him a good chunk of time to finally find some free spot to sit. It wasn''t comfortable, to say the least. Hard, wooden bench and stone table with vulgar looking men all around. There were some nicer spots, but considering how their occupants were all silently talking with each other, it was easy to understand that they were already reserved for local elites.


    "What would you like to order sir?"


    By the time the young merchant finished his observation, an ordinary-looking maid came to serve him.


    "I was thinking about lamb breast and pink wine."


    As silly as it sounded, Mike still said it. Even in the overwhelming noise surrounding them, those words managed to attract several mocking looks from the surrounding quests.


    "Are you sure you have chosen the right place, sir?"


    Maid asked with hesitation. While this might be a rundown tavern for the lower class of people, they had to act politely as long as the customers did so aswell. Those were the strange rules enforced by the owner and the maid already got too used to it to be bothered.


    "If you would be so kind, pass this order to your cook. If he still finds it impossible to prepare it, I will just go with your recommendation. Will that be a problem?"


    Swiftly reaching for his pouch, Mike grabbed a silver coin and passed it to the girl''s hand.


    "I''m on my way right now sir!"


    Suddenly mobilised, servant jumped to the back. A silver coin for passing the message? No matter how strange and out of place it was, that had to be the best day of her life!


    "Aren''t you a little wasteful with your money?"


    As soon as the maid left, one of the burly quests sitting next to Mike suddenly said.


    "If you can''t take care of your pouch, there are bound to be people ready to strip it from you!"


    Compared to all the scheming he was used to, Mike felt it refreshing when some random thugs straightforwardly threatened him. His state of mind surfaced on his face, curling his lips upward a bit.


    "What are you smiling for? Are you mocking me?!"


    His expression didn''t hide from the eyes of the thug. Happy to find an opening that he could use, he instantly grabbed his knife from his belt.


    Only after pulling it up to the height of his chest did he fell a tiny cold glint on his throat. Unknowingly when Mike''s dagger was calmly resting on his artery! Acting as if nothing happened at all, Mike took a piece of meat from the thug''s plate with his spare, right hand and brought it to his mouth.


    Just when he was about to have a taste, his face twitched and an ugly grimace appeared on it as he dropped the meat back. Still holding the edge near the aggressor''s throat, he calmly cleaned his fingers on the controlled guy coat.


    "I think I will wait for my lamb after all. Why don''t you go and check if they roast it already?"


    "Y-yes, sir!"


    Scared to his wits by the dagger pressing on his vital point, thug immediately tuned down and jumped from his seat to escape.


    "Don''t forget about the wine!"


    As the man was squeezing through the crowd to escape, Mike provocatively shouted at him and hid his weapon back under his robes.


    Somewhere else, this kind of situation might bring loads of attention and even enmity, but not here. People around Mike only slightly nodded with respect and got back to their own matters. After all, the food was still hot, why waste time to allow it to get cold?


    "I have to say. I never expected to see you here, Mike."


    Not long after, a calm voice resounded near young merchant ear.


    "Would you mind if we switch the places?"

 19 - Sending the letters

    The Inn wasn''t as busy as it appeared on the outside. After following an indistinctive guy to one of the smaller halls, Mike found out that it housed only about ten or so people! What''s more, the ruckus from the main room didn''t reach this place at all!


    "Welcome to the Xantia Brotherhood outpost. Despite your name in the family, I bet it''s your first time here!"


    The guy that approached him before, introduced the place with a proud smile on his face.


    "Who are you? I believe we didn''t meet before!"


    Mike was a bit confused. It was true that he made a name for himself back in the days, but he was proud of being able to recognise all of his acquaintances. Yet the person in front of him didn''t ring the bell at all!


    "Don''t be surprised! Such a small fry like me would never catch the eyes of the renowned bloodthirsty Mike!"


    This guy laughed out loud as if finding this fact funny.


    "I''m Ritzy. I''m the manager of this humble outpost. How can the Xantia help you?"


    "I wish to send two messages. First one will go to the Kerialis, with the Mash as the receiver. The other one should go to the Revy in the headquarters. Will that be any problem?"


    After stating his wishes, Mike stared his counterpart right into the eyes, as if trying to pry open his mind and read his thoughts. There was something strange in his behaviour. If this guy knew who he was, he should act differently, either full of respect or hate. Yet no one of those emotions could be seen in his eyes.


    "That won''t be a problem at all sirˇ­ But would you mind answering me one question?"


    Ritzy asked while spreading his arms and striking a pose.


    "Why would the brotherhood bother to help a traitor like you?"


    Right after he spelt those words, everyone in the room suddenly stood up and readied their weapons. It was obvious that they were ready to jump into the fray the second that the ringleader would signal them to do so.


    "While there is no bounty on your head, neither do the family hunts you, I can''t even begin to imagine what would I gain from bringing your head in!"


    Showing his true colours, Ritzy broke in the laugh.


    "With this, I will be finally able to leave this shithole!"


    "Considering how much you want to leave this place, I assume that you didn''t come here voluntarily, am I right?"


    Mike turned around on the bench he was sitting, resting his back on the table. Ignoring the armed thugs in the room completely, he focused on the leader.


    "You don''t even need to answer. But let me ask you a different question. Considering that somehow those silly joke of guardians would be able to take me down, how can you be so sure that Revy would reward you for my head?"


    As relaxed as if he was sitting in the warm bath instead of being surrounded by armed enemies, Mike asked with a slight smile.


    "Do You know Revy at all? Or did I just mistook you for the legendary Mike, idiot?"


    Ritzy lashed out, ticked off by the lax attitude of the merchant.


    "She is the most power-hungry person in the Kingdom, maybe with the exception of the King and his court. How could she accept such a legend you are behind her back? Your head might even bring me into her chambers as for the reward!"


    Right as Ritzy said those words, Mike moved.


    Pushing his back against the table give him enough momentum to move his torse over the line of his legs. Thanks to the sitting position, his knees were already bent, allowing him to instantly jump at the other party. Pulling the dagger during his move, he extended his left hand to the head of the leader.


    In less than it takes to blink, he grabbed Ritzy''s throat and by using the momentum and his weight, he smashed on his opponent body. Falling together on the ground, he slammed the knife into the floor, hair width away from the young pesky brat ear.


    "Never speak about Revy in such a disrespectful matter. Even calling her name is too much for you."


    Leaning his own head over the scared face of Ritzy, Mike uttered those few words with overwhelming fury. Despite only whispering them, one could feel the amount of rage boiling in his voice.


    Not wasting any time - after all, there were a lot of guards everywhere - Mike secured his hand on the young leader throat and rolled on the ground, putting him on the top. Landing on his knees, he pulled the man in front of him like a shield, looking for incoming attacks.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.


    One of the thugs couldn''t handle the tense situation well. Seeing his boss in danger, he immediately jumped at them. When his employer body blocked his line of attack, he tried to step away and attack from the side.


    While he lost his stability, he still managed to poke his sword along the Ritzy side, endangering Mike''s vitals.


    When the sword was about to pierce Mike''s body, he threw Ritzy to the side, denying the guard a way to attack him. Using the momentum attained from the throw, the young man jumped at the guard.


    With the sword extended in an attack, the guard had no way to guard himself. Just a second after he though he will deal the fatal hit, his throat got deeply cut by Mike''s knife.


    Standing in the middle of the hall, Mike''s body was splattered by the blood escaping from the fallen guard neck. For a second, the time in the hall seemed to stop. Only when there was a loud thump indicating that the body has fallen to the ground, did Mike spoke again.


    "If anyone else wants to try my hand, go on!"


    Those imposing words spoken by the bloodied mouth had some kind of effect on the rest of the guards. Just from the single look at their outfit, it was apparent that they didn''t belong to the Xantia. Mike could bet that they were nothing but a bunch of hired thugs, used by Ritzy to impose his arrogant nature on the others. But by spending so much time around the young guy, they had to hear about the bloodthirsty Mike!


    Seeing the legendary person in front of them, dressed in his titular colour, made them waver.


    "What are you waiting for? Kill hˇ­"


    Mike instantly stopped desperate Ritzy''s shout, by simply kicking him in the stomach. The imposing aura that he showed successfully stopped the guards in their tracks, allowing the young merchant to do as he wished with their leader.


    Stepping on the Ritzy belly, he turned back to the guards.


    "I need two couriers. One will go Kerialis, find a trader going by the name Mash and deliver one message. The other one will hurry to Latavia, find anyone from the Xantia family and pass them the second message along with my sign. I can guarantee that both of the volunteers will be heftily rewarded after the mails will be delivered."


    With every calm word leaving Mike''s mouth, the pressure he was putting on his hand increased bit by bit. Doing so made his words reach the guard''s ears with the company of pitiful whines.


    "Who is willing to take this task?"


    At this point, the force that the Ritzy belly was stepped upon finally reached the required threshold. Everyone could hear a disgusting sound and feel sour smell reaching their noses.


    "Ewwˇ­ You dirtied my shoes!"


    *****


    "Come on, young Miss. The boss is waiting on the top floor!"


    A butler was guiding Xyenna through the complicated outline of Noble''s mansion. Strolling through the endless corridors made the girl wonder about the true size of the building. While the ground floor was mostly a single, open room, every level higher was more complicated than the one before.


    Right after she entered the building in the first place, this butler instantly appeared on her side and offered his help. Ignorant about the layout of the mansion, young swordmistress was elated about the situation. What was supposed to be the worst part of her mission actually was easier than she could imagine!


    While the first and second floor were indeed really complicated, then the third one was build in a very straightforward manner. Rows of rooms on each side of the straight corridor, with the stairs at both endings.


    Surprisingly, the butler stopped before the last stairs and simply pointed the way up.


    "I''m deeply sorry, but the servants are forbidden from entering the Lord''s chambers. I''m gonna ask you to go there yourself, madam!"


    Slightly confused about this strange rule, Xyenna couldn''t help but head forward. Yet before she managed to make even a single step, she was stopped by the butler.


    "I''m really sorry, but I need to ask you to leave your weapons with me as well. We cannot allow any danger to come to our Lord!"


    "Ok, just let me enter. The faster this starts, the sooner it will end!"


    Slightly annoyed by parting with her beloved partner, Xyenna gave up her sword and passed it to the Butler.


    "Let me remind you. If I see even the slightest scratch on the scabbard or the sword itself, I won''t pay any heed to your silly rules here!"


    Only after leaving her weapons behind, was Xyenna finally allowed to climb the stairs. What struck her as she was reaching the last door that enclosed the staircase, was the immense focus paid to the details of decoring this place. Every single step was a sculpture in itself, making one hesitate to go up!


    But that didn''t work on the swordmistress. After spilling enough blood, one would lose sensitivity towards those kinds of intricacies. Unbothered by the dirt left on the stairs from her shoes, she decisively reached the door and pried it open.


    The sigh that welcomed her was insane. In contrast to the lower floors, this whole level was just a single, open space. But that didn''t mean that it was ugly!


    Golden statues, beautiful paintings, skins of the rare animalsˇ­ This room contained it all! Despite being adorned with gold on both sides, the walls somehow managed to keep the hall comfortably warm, preventing its inhabitants from overheating.


    But out of all those wonders, the thing that pulled one''s attention the most was a simple, mahogany desk, with a feeble figure of a man busy with his papers behind it.


    "Welcome to the golden room! I presume you are the renowned Xyenna, who will soon entertain us with the death of the City Hall guard?"

 20 - Striking the deal

    "If you know who I am, would you mind cutting the pleasantries up? I still have other matters to attend to so I would strike the deal and move on."


    Annoyed by a typical welcome from the local powerhouse, Xyenna rebuked him harshly. While it was along the line of her character, she did it only because Mike already advised her to do so. For his reason thoughˇ­ She had no idea!


    ''Uhm, I see. Let''s get to it then. What kind of proposition are you coming to me with, young lady?"


    Pushed out of scenario he prepared in his mind, Noble got a little confused. Years of hard negotiations swiftly made him regain his composure. Putting the quill away and laying his hands on the table, he looked at Xyenna and waited.


    "At first, just to fulfil the formal requirements, here is my deed, that allows me to speak in the name of my Employer. I won''t ask you to sign it yet, but if we manage to shake the deal, it is going to be a necessary part."


    Young swordmistress pulled a small piece of paper. It was already signed by Mike and herself and was missing one signature in the bottom right corner. Without it, no matter what they managed to come up with, the deal would only be between Xyenna and the Noble, without any participation of Mike in it.


    "As for the deal, I''m tasked to bring here. My employer would like to acquire certain storage space in the city, unified tax on the wares he will be bringing here as well as the help of the locals with setting up the distribution pavilions in the nearby villages. What''s more, the downflow of the wares will be guaranteed and secured by the faction you govern, so that the business deeper in the country won''t be thwarted."


    At this point, Xyenna took yet another paper from her pouch, outlying all the details regarding Mike demands. Taking a deep breath, she moved back a bit and continued.


    "Of course, we aren''t asking for all of this to be free. We propose to set the customs at the five percent of all the trade flowing through and at the ten percent of all the trade done locally."


    "Five and ten percent? Don''t you take the taxes too lightly?"


    Nobleman giggled softly. After taking a pitying look at the young girl, he extended his arm and in the direction of the gate.


    "Villages spread around the vicinity are paying me 40% of their total income. Those farther away have it easier in that regard. Due to the increased risk of banditry, longer routes for supplies etc, their tax is set only at thirty-five percent. Considering those numbers, don''t you think that your proposition is just a funny prank?"


    "While what you said might be true, there are a lot of details you omitted. Those lands belong to your faction in the first place, obviously influencing the rate of tax. What''s more, you need to pay up huge sums just to take care of their security, you are the one responsible for taking care of them in case of disasters as well."


    Xyenna listed out a few things while counting them on her fingers to enhance the effect of her speech.


    "I won''t say that the tax you forced on them is just, I''m only implying that there are reasons behind it being so big. But we are speaking about foreign investment. Not only we will pay the respective fees for the storage, but all the pavilions I mentioned before will also be built at our cost. There are no costs for your side, so what kind of problem do you have with the taxes I offered?"


    "By letting you guys trade here, I put at risk our own farms. From what my subordinates told me, you are willing to go against the entirety of the merchant''s community, by establishing a stable trade route. That will hurt our customs income from said trade as well. I still think that those costs should be included in the tax. What do you say about 20 percent for local and fifteen percent for the outflowing one?"


    Nobleman leaned back at his chair backrest, apparently satisfied with the argument he came up with. What he didn''t expect though, was an amiable smile on Xyenna face!


    "You are not producing big amounts of food right now anyway. How do you think our trade could hurt those abandoned villages?"


    The girl outright laughed here. Despite being deprived of her weapon, she had still a lot of means at her disposal, so she didn''t worry about insulting her negotiating rival in this way.


    "You call that costs, but I call it savings. With our route established here, the cost of food will significantly fall, decreasing the costs you have on supplying those poor farms! What''s more, using this city as a distribution point of our trade route would seriously liven up the area. What we are offering is not a deal but a god sent occasion for you, asking only for reasonable terms in return!


    "You say that this is an occasion while ignoring the risk factor. What if you don''t succeed? Making this kind of deal with you would spoil my faction relations with other merchants. As you are a guard of the trader, you certainly know how crafty this bunch is! They will surely find a way to make things hard for us!"


    If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.The Lord suddenly stood up, circumvented his desk and stood at the window.


    "This beautiful place is already plagued by faction conflict, impoverished by stupid war and treated by people like your employer by nothing but a place to squeeze the gold from. I won''t allow you to destroy my hometown with your petty tricks and ideas! I won''t let you undermine the power we have ower the farmlands and this city!"


    "Well, if you are reluctant to do the business with us, then why bother debating over the tax? I will just leave the matters in my employer''s hands and count that he will strike a nice deal with the City Hall. Whoever will be the local patron of our business will reap great profits from it and enjoy increased popularity amongst the city folk. It''s not like we are forced to settle on you guys!"


    Standing up, Xyenna replied. She fixed her clothes and turned around to leave.


    "Don''t you try threatening me with those fuckers!"


    Suddenly angered, Nobleman turned around and lashed out at Xyenna.


    "And how the hell is your employer supposed to negotiate with the city hall? From what I know, he lies in bed with a poor condition!"


    There was a smug smile on this despicable guy face. While he didn''t give any vital pieces of information about the incident, his attitude made apparent who dirtied his hands in poisoning Mike!


    "If you want to flaunt the City Hall in front of my eyes, you can as well scram! We can deal with them by ourselves, even if you somehow managed to strike a deal with them!"


    "I just realised that we stopped talking about the business at all!"


    Happy that her provocation played well, Xyenna turned back at stared at the Noble with a dangerous glint in her eyes.


    "You BELIVE that my employer is sick. If you want, then take your time to order someone to check on him. You will find it surprising that his bed is empty!"


    After taking a few deep breaths, young swordmistress calmed herself, making her face return to its usual cold self.


    "Right now, we are more inclined to work with you only because of this stupid duel matter. I didn''t kill that stupid guard just because it would effectively close our window to negotiate with them. Right now, people think that we are supporting you. Do you know what will happen if I surrender?"


    Negotiations were a game of shadows and lies. Suggesting that the duel wasn''t caused by her real intention to kill that stupid guy back then, must''ve made this Nobleman think about all the other possibilities!


    Just by trapping him in this specific line of thought, made him a lot more vulnerable to another attack!


    "And well. You might be right about City Hall. There is a chance that we won''t be able to strike the deal with them. But trust me, we have a way to make this trade route happen, be it with your help or just by employing Xantia brotherhood to our case. From what I heard, their fees aren''t that highˇ­"


    It was as if sudden lightning struck the nobleman. While Xantia was a local force ruling over Latavia from the shadows, everyone around knew that once their prowess. Just by controlling a damn city, they proved their worth!


    "You are lying. There is no way you will even be able to contact them! Stop threatening me, or I will make sure that neither one of you will leave this city!"


    Finally taking the whole negotiation seriously, nobleman replied with a grim voice, while raising his right hand slightly into the air. It was obvious that if he were to drop it, Xyenna would be in deep trouble!


    "We came from the west, yet somehow we can flaunt the Xantia name. This is my first visit to the city, so frankly speaking - I have no clue what do they amount to. But considering your reaction, using this chip made you reconsider the situation. Now, the question. How do you think my employer could be so sure I will be able to bend you to my will just by using this single word?"


    While her body started heating up after sensing the aura of danger, Xyenna remained calm on the outside. Even if she would manage to escape the building, with the whole faction on their tails, making the business in the City would be nigh impossible. The only way out of her predicament was successfully closing the deal!


    On the other hand, nobleman appeared to be fighting with his own thoughts. Still holding his hand in the air, he looked between Xyenna and the beautiful landscape he was admiring before.


    "Mikeˇ­ Is that possible?"


    His slight mutter didn''t escape girls ears. Apparently, this name rang some kind of bell in his head!


    ''Just who the hell he is!'' The merchants face appeared in front of swordmistress eyes. He was full of secrets and rarely spoke about himself, but the deeper they got into the kingdom, the greater his past seemed to be. At this point, Xyenna couldn''t even make a guess!


    "Okay then. Fifteen percent from the local trade, five percent for the outflowing one. I can''t possibly get any lower. While what you said about making the business here is true, securing your trade will be a hard task to tackle. If the City Hall realise that we are making a great profit from Your investments, they are sure to interfere in it, hence the higher custom rate. Do we have a deal?"


    After a short while of battling his own thoughts, nobleman finally calmed himself and made the decision. Slowly lowering his hand, he extended it to the girl, intending to confirm the details traditionally, before writing them all down. To his surprise, his counterpart only smiled and pulled out yet another piece of paper from her pouch!


    "Thisˇ­ No, its no use thinking about it. It''s definitely him!"


    This small mutter was the last thing that preceded his hand putting a signature on the paper.

 21 - Telling the story

    After finally finding two volunteers brave or greedy enough to deliver the messages, Mike could finally go back to the rented rooms. But travelling back wasn''t as easy as it sounded!


    Considering what he ordered Xyenna to tell during her negotiations, he at least should keep up with the appearances. Instead of just taking his hood off and strolling to the streets in the direction of his tavern, Mike decided to go to the real town centre.


    It was easy to observe that the closer one got to the castle area and partisans location surrounding it, the better the quality of the surrounding building was. While most of the peasants lived outside the city, there still were some districts inhabited by those who lost their wealth or had to escape the hands of the local militia.


    While those dirty parts of the city were always loathed by the middle and the higher class living in every single town around the world, they were simply necessary. While on the outside, the government would fight with them and clear the areas up, every bigshot in every city needed a way to make their shady businesses.


    Supplying drugs? Smuggling forbidden items? Trading the secrets? All of those and many other actions were done in those shabby locations, who often very close to the distinctive Inn''s! There was even a saying, that the cleanest looking tavern in every city was sure to have some secret passageway leading to the slums!


    While all of that holds true, there had to be some boundary. Majority of the wealthier people would hate living near the poor areas, it would easily influence the pricing of the houses as well. Since the rulers couldn''t outright go at war against the poor for the sake of the rest of their cities residents, there had to be a buffer zone!


    Mike was travelling exactly through this kind of place. His clothes were stained in blood, so he had to cover himself in the coat he forcefully acquired from one of the thugs back in the Inn. Only after he finally entered the guilds area did he allow himself to take his hood off.


    This was strictly City Hall territory. As most of the City wealth came from the trade and production, various gilds were a local treasure trove, supplying the higher class with various intricacies and everyday necessities. Ranging from clothes, through furniture all the way to the jewellery, these areas were overstaffed with city guards!


    Why did Mike choose this roundabout way to get back into his inn then? As the saying as old as this world goes, the closer one gets to the light, the harder it will be to see him!


    Strolling leisurely through the streets, he visited a few of the street stalls selling various foods or trinkets. Pacing through the city with roasted meat would make him invisible to the guard''s eyes! While there was a conflict between him and the City Hall, most of the bigshots would rather consider it a minor occurrence, by no way was he a major threat!


    After finally reaching the outskirts of the partisan area from the west, he entered the outer road leading around it. Only when he reached the south entrance, did he finally set his destination back at the Inn!


    Covering his face with the hood yet again, he moved slowly, as if anxious of getting seen. This was yet another act served for all those eyes that had to befall on him sooner or later. Mike needed only a moment to notice the first observer that was tracking him!


    From then on, his travel was just a simple matter. Acting like he didn''t notice anything at all, he continued moving covertly back to the Inn he was staying at. When he finally reached the building, instead of going through the front doors, he moved to the backside of it. As soon as he got there, he climbed on various supporting structures and jumped onto the taverns second floor. Using one of the empty room''s windows, he finally entered the building.


    Reaching his bed, Mike could finally relax. All this acting, fighting and scheming was really tiresome. ''I left this kind of life for goodˇ­'' Stressed by how his current job required him to use his old methods, Mike could only lie back and wonder.


    ''If even a simple merchant need''s to go through these lengths just for the sake of earning moneyˇ­ Maybe Revy was right in the end.'' The young trader couldn''t help but consider this option. When he was leaving the family, she urged him to stay. Growing up and going through so much shit together made them rather close. She used to joke that he might even be her actual blood brotherˇ­


    Looking back at how the Ritzy acted, he had to consider that some big changes happened back in the Latavia. He left the family seeking refuge from the bloody life he was leading, yet it seems that this act changed the whole organisation. He used to deal with the worst kind of jobs, but since he left - someone else had to stand up and do his piece. Considering this, it was no wonder Ritzy called him a traitor...


    While he ventured deep into his though''s about his past life, Xyenna finally returned with an accomplished smile, waving a paper around!


    "I did it!"


    Pure joy and pride reverberated through her high pitched voice! She was hopping around instead of simply walking as if she broke through to the third layer of her proficiency blessing.


    "How did it go?"


    Considering how joyful she was, there were bound to be some pleasant surprises. Mike couldn''t wait to hear about them!


    "I have no idea how did you predict it, but he signed the first draft of the deal! I didn''t even need to lower our demands at all!"


    Finally settling down and sitting on the chair, Xyenna took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, trying to calm her heart. While she was a great fighter, dealing with those pesky and scheming merchants wasn''t her piece of the loaf at all! Overcoming her limits and reaching her desired goal was bound to make her happy! And there was a promise connected to it!


    "But no matter what, I did accomplish what you asked from me! I want my reward!"


    "Sure, give me your sword."


    If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.Knowing what she meant, Mike didn''t give any excuses. Giving back what one promised was the basic rule of employing people.


    After receiving the sword, he unsheathed it and put the scabbard away on the bed. What appeared in front of him was a thin, delicate-looking blade, with a handover connecting the small dace and the hilt of the weapon.


    It was truly a piece of art, not a killing tool. Devoid of any engravings that would weaken the structure or decorations that would only serve as a temptation for the enemy to focus on killing the owner, this sword could be considered a pinnacle of practicality and simple beauty. No wonder Xyenna was soo keen on enchanting it with his gift!


    Cutting slightly his hand with the tip of the blade, Mike spread the blood on the whole weapon, starting from the thrust all the way to the tace. Only when all of the metal got covered in a thin layer of his blood, did Mike stop his actions.


    Putting his wounded hand on top of the sword, he closed his eyes and focused on the item in his hands. As if he was meditating, his hands started slightly shining, slowly covering the blade in the eerie light. Drops of sweat started falling from his face, as the light seemed to solidify and merge with the weapon. A short while later, young merchant exhaled deeply and opened his eyes.


    "This is a beautiful weapon. I won''t lecture you to take care of it, but you should definitely treasure it!"


    Putting the blade back in its cover, Mike passed the sword back to the Xyenna, holding it on top of both of his palms. Since both of them were deeply infatuated with this almost mystical scene, neither of them could feel any shame of this almost a knight inauguration act!


    When the weapon reached the girl''s hands, she slowly unsheathed a small bit of the blade. Admiring the faint shine on the metallic surface, she seemed to be hypnotized by it. Mike thoughtfully didn''t interrupt this important moment of his bodyguard bonding with her renewed weapon.


    "Okay. Thanks for that! I will be sure to show you that it was a worthy investment in the duel!"


    Xyenna finally broke away from her trance, sheathing back the blade and attaching it to her belt.


    "Speaking of which, would you mind explaining a bit what those arguments were? I used them as you instructed me, but this guy made a really funny face when he heard Xantia word!"


    The girl couldn''t help to ask. While she wasn''t a manipulator herself, she learned a long ago that if someone did you a favour, it was all the easier to ask him for another one right away! She was curious about her employer! She wanted to know!


    "Well, you will get to know it soon enough, but I guess it won''t hurt to explain some things to you beforehand."


    Mike sighed deeply. His eyes swiftly got covered by a mist of regret, as he seemed to stare back into his past.


    "Xantia brotherhood, Xantia family, Xantia, Revy companyˇ­ All of those names means the same. There is an organisation that was created at first by orphans in the slums of Latavia, with the aim to help them to survive and support each other."


    While recalling those past events, a small smile grew on his face. While he wasn''t proud of the last part of the story, he would always feel nostalgic happiness when recalling their beginnings.


    "At first, they worked just for the sake of food and warm place to sleep. Later, they started doing some small tasks for serious underground cliches, earning favours and sympathy. While most of those real criminals were hardened murders, thieves and simply a scum of society, somehow they managed to get on their good side. As the oldest of them started to enter their teenage years, the profits from those odd jobs skyrocketed. Scamming the citizens in the card games, stealing the pouches from arrogant merchantsˇ­ As someone who grew up in the worst area of the town, they definitely knew how to chose their targets."


    After saying this part, Mike''s smile seemed to fade away, giving place for a complicated expression.


    "Latavia at that time was a boiling pot of interests for all kinds of groups. Mercenaries, royal officials, cliches, gildsˇ­ There were too many of them to recall all of them all. Long story short, by helping every side bit by bit and pitting them against each other in the process, this formerly small brotherhood suddenly grew to an astonishing scale. On the outside, they legalised their existence by creating a fake society for poor people, but in reality, they managed to put their pawns in every single important position in the city while keeping everyone else in dark about it. There were even occasions when government officials argued between themselves about the best way to implement Xantia orders, without knowing that both of them were bought by the family!"


    For some reason, those witty and insane feats only made Mike''s expression tense. Instead of pride or happiness, his face was full of grief.


    "This whole process wasn''t as delicate as one would think. Some people tried to oppose them, some tried to eradicate their roots. Without elaborating for no reason, most of them are buried in the city outskirts now, while the rest either serve the family or hides in faraway places. You wouldn''t believe how far their hands reach in case of need!"


    Suddenly turning silent, Mike took a while to recollect his thoughts. Shaking his head to discard his memories, he took a deep breath and livened back up.


    "To not give you a lecture, right now they are ruling the Latavia from the shadows, with absolute control over every aspect of its economy, politic or laws. All of the surrounding villages or neighbouring towns house a fair bit of their influence too. You could say, that the only thing preventing them from officially separating from the Kingdom is their lack of ambition! At least that was the case at the time when I left them."


    Mike suddenly stood up, smiled and continued.


    "But to hell with all of that. We have a long way to go before we even depart on our way to the city. Let''s eat dinner now!"


    It was obvious that by escaping like that, he tried to change the topic and avoid any discussion over it.


    Overwhelmed by the whole story and the implications behind it, Xyenna could only nod. Following Mike''s back downstairs, she was still trying to figure out and sort the details of the story, trying to find her employers place in that plot.


    "Look who is here! Come on, let''s eat together!"


    As soon as they reached the main hall, a familiar voice called out to them. Sitting in the nearby table was their recently made acquaintance, Damash. Since ignoring his invitation could be considered rude when he was a subordinate of the faction they wanted to cooperate with, they had no choice but accept it.


    "Come on, don''t sulk like that!"


    Seeing the serious face of Mike who was still spiritually back in his past, Damash patted his back, forcing him to drop down on the stool with the sheer force of the friendly pat!


    Instantly, platters filled with food and gours of wine appeared in front of them, as if some magician teleported them for the sake of pranking them!


    "Is that tasty?"


    Seeing that the duo didn''t speak at all, Damash got rather confused. While the Xyenna he knew was always cold and aloof, Mike used to be an approachable guy! Seeing him focusing on eating while deep in thought was really strange.


    "I''m sorry, I''m trying to be sure this food isn''t poisoned."


    Mike''s reply hit the mark. From the troubled expression that appeared on Damash face, it was obvious that he knew about this attempt.


    "I''m not gonna say any excuses. We are all slaves to something. I just did what I was ordered to."


    The burly man tried to fight off his uneasiness coming from those accusations. By admitting to doing so, he could at least alleviate some of his guilt!


    "All I can do now is to say sorry. Soˇ­ I would like to apologize for trying to handicap you. I hope you won''t hold it against me!"

 22 - Settling the matters

    After the night spent drinking at the Damash cost, Mike and Xyenna went back to sleep. Considering only slight repercussions that the young merchant had to face after being poisoned, this form of apology was sufficient for him. Unsurprisingly, after a good night of rest, he was fully revitalised.


    Waking up with the sunrise was a habit that Mike attained shortly after becoming a merchant. Time won''t wait for anyone, and where everyone else could happily sleep, traders and peddlers were in full swing of their work. Securing assets, planning the routes, taking care of the animalsˇ­ Despite living currently in the Inn where designated personnel would take care of those mundane tasks, Mike still woke up as usual.


    Not bothering to even dress, he stood up from the bed and moved to the window. Thankfully, it was located high enough to hide his bottom parts. Not worrying about his appearance at all, merchant opened the shutters and took in a huge mouthful of air.


    While he was only on the second floor, the view that extended from his position was breathtaking. The city basked in the sunrise, the smell of freshly baked breed coming from a nearby bakery, lazy voices of people slowly waking up and starting their daily routine. Despite changing his profession to a rather boring one, he only occasionally was free enough to enjoy the morning.


    After a long while of simply leaning through the window and staring into the distance, Mike finally gathered himself back together. Not bothering to even close the shutters, he walked to the chair where he left his clothes previously. Hastily putting all his robes on, he was finally able to start working.


    Before moving on, Mike swiftly packed a few of his belongings and exited the room. Just a few steps later, he stood before yet another wooden blockade, knocking on it to wake Xyenna up.


    He could understand her lack of response after knocking once, but after the second and third attempt, he took a deep breath and pushed the door open. While he knew Xyenna''s habit of sleeping, up to this time they always either spent the night in separate rooms or out in the open. He really wasn''t prepared for the sight that welcomed him!


    In theory, when sleeping in bed one should be covered by a blanket. Contrary to men, women also used to wear nightgowns to sleep. On this day, Mike learned that both of those barriers didn''t necessarily protect woman charms!


    With the quilt lying on the floor and the thin gown rolled right up the upper part of her thighs, Xyenna was truly a picture to remember. Starting from the top, her bed hair covered half of her face, wearing a dreamlike expression. Down the line, her delicate collarbone was rising along with her supple breast as she breathed through her sleep. Not even the temples at the top of her two mountains hid from the merchant''s sight!


    As his eyes travelled downwards, velvet-like skin covered her waist, with regular, slight bulges on her delicate belly muscles. Just when he was about to check out her most precious part, he finally came back to his mind!


    Recovering from his stunned stance, he swiftly came to her side, grabbed the quilt from the floor, and throw it on the girl''s body. No matter how great she looked, he was allowed to see those parts only after she consciously let him do so! If he couldn''t handle his libido, he could always go and visit a brothel after all!


    "Wake the hell up, swordmistress. We have a duel to win!"


    Not daring to come close to the asleep girl, Mike limited himself to shout those words from a close distance. His decision soon proved right, when the startled Xyenna jumped from her bed, pulled the sword from the scabbard lying nearby and tried to cut him down. Only by stepping away did he avoid getting hurt by her outburst!


    "Oh, myˇ­ If I should treat this as a reckless invitation to some kind of play, don''t you think we should wait before the duel ends?"


    By leaving her bed to execute this attack, Xyenna lost the only shield that covered her charms again! Even with his earlier decision, Mike couldn''t help but send a glance to her breast, jiggling from the sudden movement.


    After a second of admiring the sight, he reluctantly turned around to give the girl some privacy.


    "Dress up, we have work to do!"


    After saying his piece, he didn''t dare to wait for Xyenna answer. Who knows what kind of idea might appear in her flustered mind? Swiftly leaving the room, he immediately closed the doors behind him and rested his back against the wall. This decision did payout yet again when he heard a delayed scream and saw the tip of the blade piercing the doors he just closed!


    ''Let''s hope she will come to her senses soonˇ­'' Reluctant to fight his own guardian, Mike didn''t wish for any conflict to arise between them. After calming her head, she couldn''t blame him either!


    When she finally opened the doors, the girl passed the Mike with a harrumph and moved to the stairs. While pouting, her disposition didn''t betray any funny ideas. Lamenting at the fate that paired him with this fiery girl, Mike exhaled deeply and followed her steps.


    After a short while later, they arrived at the Inn''s doorstep, where Damash carriage was already waiting for them. Mike''s earlier reminder wasn''t a lie. Even before the duel, they had to complete a few of the formal jobs to make sure that any potential outcome of the fight wouldn''t hinder the business!


    "How was your night guys?"


    Unaware of the current acid between the duo, the burly man tried to strike a conversation with them.


    "Humph!"


    Sadly to him, a loud pout was all that he received in the form of a response from the girl. Scratching his head in confusion, he looked at Mike.


    "Don''t ask me about it. All of us should pretend that nothing happened at allˇ­"


    While those words attracted a furious Xyenna gaze, Mike''s current priority was to cut this topic and focus on work. After the duel, she could vent her fury on him, but before, she had to stay in the top condition!


    "Okay then. Cutting the crap, we have found a few warehouses that might interest you. Later on, there is a visit to our headquarters and finally the duel. We need to hurry a bit since no one wants you to be late!"


    While Damash was puzzled, he obediently ignored Xyenna''s strange attitude. There was no need to dig deeper into this matter as it didn''t involve him at all!


    Travelling in carriage allowed them to reach the city outskirts in just a few minutes short of half an hour. Be it Noble''s mindfulness or just sheer luck; all the proposed warehouses were located in the same vicinity!


    It took them only a short trip through all the proposed locations to let Mike decide. All of them had a similar capacity and size; The only thing that differed between them was the accessibility to the main city road. By exchanging the letter of introduction from Noble''s faction and giving a few gold coins away, Mike became a proud rentier of the said warehouse!


    Since they saved a lot of time thanks to his quick decision, on the way to Noble''s headquarters, they stopped by the street stalls and eat their breakfast. While all of them were used to meat - Mike and Xyen from hunting while travelling and Damash from dining in the Inn daily - the taste of boar skewers were way over the top! At that time Mike even tried to acquire either the recipe or the spice mix they were using, only to completely fail his task.Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    While that was truly a pity, he could still comfort himself with the small box of Virviruta safely kept in the Burgen warehouse they rented a few days ago. All he had to do to eat something even more delicious was finishing his task and returning there!


    After eating the dinner on the go, Mike''s party resumed their travel to Noble''s headquarters. While the duel was supposed to be just local strife between Xyenna and a random guard, Noble faction involvement turned the situation around into a grand fight between their political opponents! Even now there were people in heated discussions about who would in their opinion win!


    "Don''t worry about the duel. Our people are already manning the site. I know it turned out to be rather an ugly thing, so at least we will do our best to keep it fair and as easy as it is supposed to be!"


    Noticing the anxious looks that Mike was sending outside the wagon they were travelling in, Damash proclaimed.


    "Don''t even try to convince me that you are as influential in the city area as the guards. While the chosen place is outside the town, those fields are still considered City Hall territory. There is no way they won''t try to play some tricks!"


    Annoyed by Damash''s words, Mike lashed out at him. While the fight in itself should not be a problem at all, since it turned into a prestige war between factions, some real problems were bound to appear!


    That was one of the reasons why he didn''t hold back at the meeting with Ritzy. It was obvious that disgraced youth would try his best to get back at him and the easiest way to do so was by supporting the opposing faction. But he was powerless by himself. If he wanted to try to meddle in the matters, he had to call for help from the Xantia family. That was what Mike was betting on in case of trouble! As to why he didn''t rely on the guards to deliver the message firstˇ­ Even such a stupid manager was bound to have some means of contacting the headquarters at his disposal!


    When they finally arrived at Noble''s mansion, the whole lounge was already cleared out of the people. Right when they stepped through the carriage doors and entered the building, they were greeted by a variety of maps lying everywhere around!


    With the help of multiple attendants running around providing the best help they could, the future layout of the distribution pavilions was quickly drawn. While it sounded hard on the surface, the whole idea was based on investing in the biggest villages in the area, since they mostly already had various connections to the other settlements!


    After tuning the details out and shaking the hands with the Lord that came to visit them himself, they were finally free! With about three hours remaining before the duel, Xyenna decided that she wants to take a rest in the quiet Inn instead of heading for the arena right away.


    The road back took them only about twenty minutes, leaving them with a nice buffer before the fight. While the girl intended to just take a quick rest, drink small bout of alcohol to heat her body before the fight, Mike had another idea!


    Quickly running to his room, he brought out a sizeable bag with him and entered Xyenna''s place. Uncovering elaborate armour he sneakily bought and enchanted recently, Mike could admire his bodyguard''s an amazed expression.


    The whole set compromised of single armlet, intricate metal glove, two inner tight plates, chain-mail shirt for the armour, long pants made with hardened leather, special belts to bind all the protection equipment in place and a long dress to cover it all.


    "I want you to wear it. While it cost quite a bit, I don''t want to lose my guard to some shitty schemes of stupid faction. I only enchanted the dress and the chain-mail last night, but I hope that will be enough."


    Mike exhaled deeply, only now expressing his worry for his friend. While they had a fair bit of quarrels in the past, the time they spent together still made him treasure her a lot.


    "You didn''t need to do it though!"


    Seeing the amazing set that she would never hope to get by herself, Xyenna couldn''t help but feel stunned. While it looked rather ordinary for female armour, she could feel a strange tingle as she touched the pieces. While he might enchant himself only two parts of it, she was sure that someone else already enchanted the whole thing!


    The burden put at the enchanter was immense during their working process, making the prices of enchanted stuff skyrocket! A simple sword with an ordinary example could fetch twenty times its usual price!


    "Yes, I didn''t need to do it. But what''s done is done. Don''t make me regret this choice though!"


    Trying to ease up the tense atmosphere, Mike laughed and turned to leave when he felt a strong grip on his arm.


    "I want you to watch."


    Xyenna''s voice seemed like it was on the verge of breaking, but she still managed to finish this short sentence properly.


    "Oh, don''t you worry! I will be sure to watch the duel!"


    Mike turned his head around and affirmed his bodyguard. Only then did he notice seriousness on her face.


    "Oh, cut the crap and just stay put!"


    Suddenly annoyed by something, pulled him towards the centre of the room and pushed him on the chair.


    "I won''t offer it again!"


    Just as she spoke those words, she decisively took her jacket off and pulled her tunic over her head. While all the Mike could see was her exposed back, the whole situation instantly startled him!


    "I don''t think I should beˇ­"


    As soon as he tried to interject and move up, Xyenna turned around and smashed him back on the chair. Her exposed breast wiggled along with her movement, instantly attracting Mike''s gaze. While pushing him on the seat, her pink tips even brushed past his lips!


    "Don''t you dare to move!"


    Red on her whole face, Xyenna straightened up and continued undressing. Short upper skirt, long everyday pantsˇ­ In just a few movements all she had left on herself was a set of undergarments covering her most precious part. Her exposed, long legs were as attractive as her bare breast, confusing Mike who was unable to decide where to look like!


    "What should I start with?"


    Straightening herself back up, Xyenna stared at merchant''s eyes with a dark red blush on her face. Despite the obvious nervousness she felt, she didn''t break the eye contact!


    "What do you even mean, it''s not the timeˇ­"


    "In what order do you want me to put the equipment on!"


    Annoyed by Mike indecisiveness, she pointed out at the armour pieces lying on the bed.


    "Ughˇ­ I think with the thigh plates?"


    Stunned by the whole situation, Mike could only utter the name of the first thing he saw when he followed her palm with his eyes.


    "Will do!"


    Smiling deviously, Xyenna slowly moved toward the bed and bent over it while keeping her legs straight. Faced with the perfect outline of her bottom, Mike could feel a bout of blood bursting through his veins downwards.


    After grabbing two pieces of armour, the girl put them on her legs and stopped.


    "How I''m supposed to lock them in place?"


    While there were special belts designed for this purpose, the plates were supposed to be worn on top of the pants, not on the bare legs!


    "I think I was wrong. The pants should go firstˇ­."


    Mike''s heart was beating faster and faster. While he was a skilled warrior himself and was put through countless life and death situations in the past, this shrewd girl managed to show him his place!


    "Okay!"


    Passing away the plates to Mike, Xyenna grabbed the pants and started to slowly put them on. When the merchant thought that the worst had already passed, she turned back to him while holding the pants right below her undergarment.


    "Would you mind helping me out? I can''t hold the cloth while putting the plates on!"


    Smiling cheerfully, Xyenna closed on the Mike. Not giving him any time to regain any composure, she embraced his head with her arms and pulled it closer to her abdomen.


    Left with no other choice, merchant tried to ignore the sweet smell of her body. Putting first place in its designed place, he strapped both belts around, locking them in the special holders on the pants. When he finally tightened the belts, his face smashed against Xyenna belly as he heard her quiet moan.


    "Excuse me, I didn''t expect it to be so tight!"


    The girl commented with a mischievous voice, letting Mike pull his head away from her belly. This time, he was really careful to not fall into her trap! Thanks to that, the second plate got mounted with no additional stimulant to his crotch.


    Just as Mike though that after all the trouble, this elaborate torture was already over, Xyenna finally pulled her pants up all the wayˇ­. Only to fasten her belt and raise her hands! With her bust still exposed, her breast nicely stretched, taking on the most arousing form!


    "Those belts made me a little light-headed, can you help me put my tunic on?"


    This time, Mike only sighed. Turning himself down as to not immediately assault her, he reached for the piece of thin cloth. As he was pulling it down her hands, Xyenna twitched a bit, making his hands come into contact with her straightened up nipples for a second! Thankfully, this lasted for only a fraction of a second. Finally covered up, she didn''t pose as much of a treat to the poor merchant sanity.


    Next events passed rather quickly. Chain-mall, long skirt, armletˇ­ At least she didn''t ask him to help her wear her glove!


    Finally, all dressed up, Xyenna attached her beloved blade to her side, while ensuring that the short knife was stably mounted on the right side of her belt.


    "That was just my gratitude. As you said yourself, time for the reward will come only after the duel!"

 23 - The duel begins!

    Seeing that Xyenna finally finished with her teasing, Mike exhaled with exhaustion. While she was very attractive and this sensual teasing she subjected him into, there were far more important matters on hand!


    With the duel becoming an attraction to the entire city, both factions were bound to meddle with the rules and the overall situation. The question of how would they do that remained unanswered though! There were so many ways to interfere with the fight, that Mike couldn''t revise a foolproof countermeasure to them!


    The best way to avoid any mishaps was to force Xyenna to give up on the fight and do it himself. While he wasn''t the strongest person in the world, his immense experience gained since he was just a few years old would be a great bet against whatever his enemy would put up.


    Sadly, there was no way to convince the girl into that solution. Lack of action annoyed her and Mike intervening with all the problems before brought her to the verge of erupting. This fight was a kind of catharsis for her! Only God could know how she would react if he tried to propose or just mention this kind of solution!


    "Are you sure you can pull it off? We can''t possibly figure out what gifts they will use during the match, putting you at the great disadvantage!"


    Mike tried to implant the idea of danger into Xyenna mind. Considering her previous attitude, the enemy didn''t amount to anything in her eyes! While that would be initially true, the problem laid in her identity!


    While the guard that she was supposed to fight with was an anonymous figure, she was a mercenary, an adventurer! Checking her proficiency out was an easy task to any figure with just a bit of influence.


    "I don''t think you should worry about it too much. Won''t the Nobles simply hire some Nulifiers to prevent any of outsiders gifts from affecting the fight?"


    Xyenna got slightly confused. After the show back in Burgen, her impression of this profession skyrocketed.


    "It''s not that easy."


    Mike sighed and felt back on his chair.


    "They are using their gifts just like anyone else. It''s possible to break through their blessing; You just need to try it hard enough. In the end, the outcome depends on the strength of both parties blessings."


    "Oh? Why didn''t you mention it back in Burgen?"


    Xyenna finally realised that the situation wasn''t as simple as she took it to be. Without the Nulifiers screening, a lot of strange things could happen in the arena!


    "So that''s why you bought this armourˇ­"


    "Actually no, I was just expecting my reward!"


    Mike laughed in response, instantly putting his guard up to defend against the incoming fist.


    "Ok, stop it! I hoped that Nobles will somehow bring forth the third level Nulifier, but they would inform us about it already if that happened. So we can''t count on this duel to be fair."


    "Don''t worry about it. No matter what they will attempt to do, this swine won''t win against me!"


    Xyenna proudly announced while pushing her chest up. Her eyes were filled with determination, unspoiled by any doubts!


    Noticing that the noise from the city was steadily growing, Mike stood up, moved to the window and confirmed the position of the sun.


    "I think it''s time to go."


    "Roger that!"


    Smiling mischievously, Xyenna looked at Mike shyly while lowering her head a bit.


    "You just wait until I will clear this mess. Don''t even dream about ever forgetting what will happen tonight!"


    With those words, Xyenna stretched herself and walked calmly to the door.


    When they left the Inn, a carriage was already waiting for them right in front of the doors.


    ''Those Noble''s will make use of every single possibility to boost the popularity of this eventˇ­'' Barely able to hold his anger, Mike could only grit his teeth. This perfectly showed what did they mean with all of their apologies for blowing the duel out of its initial proportions! Just a load of bullshit!


    Not having much choice, the duo moved towards the wagon. As soon as people around realised that they were the one to board the carriage, they began loudly cheering!


    "You couldn''t just pick us up on the way? Weren''t you supposed to help us, instead of exposing us to danger this way?"


    Noticing the Damash already sitting inside the vehicle, Mike sneered with displeasure. Giving them a lift all the way from the Inn was done only to showcase them to the public and boost the citizen''s morale!


    "You really take it that way? Have you ever thought about City Hall trying to handicap you even before the duel? Streets aren''t as safe as I would want them to be. The only way I can ensure your safety is to escort you guys to the designated place by myself!"


    Contrary to Mike''s expectations, the burly man didn''t back out this time. He seriously thought he could provide them with any help in case any brawl erupted on the way! While this might be a Mike habit of thinking, by walking all the way to their destination, they would avoid any attention! The best way to secure themselves was to get there incognito!


    "Oh, stop it guys!"


    Right as the carriage finally twitched and started moving, Xyenna stopped the argument between her current companions.


    "What''s done is done and we won''t be able to change it! And look at all those people! Their cheers are making me all fired up!"


    "And that''s exactly why he did that. Showing off is for the nobles and rich people, not the common folk like us!"


    Despite the girl''s attempt, Mike couldn''t leave the matter like that. After all those fancy words of helping them out to repay them, every single of the action they tookˇ­ They were all aimed directly against them!


    Not wanting to waste his energy on arguing with this shameless blockhead, Mike kept silent as they were riding through the city. Only after a while did he notice the amazed Xyenna stare directed to the outside. The roads they were going through were densely packed, yet somehow the carriage swiftly followed the road, just as if the people in front of them didn''t exist at all. This fact made Mike very curious! Did those people make the way by themselves - despite how hurried they all were to see the duel - or was it a work of some strange gift? Just this showed how varied the blessings could be!Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Their travel ended as soon as they passed through the city gates. Thankfully, they didn''t encounter any ''unfortunate accident''s'' on the way there! But the carriage stopped as soon as they entered the former farmlands. Be it the gift user exhausted his energy or the masses of people became just too dense, but they couldn''t move forward even a tiny little bit!


    "It seems that we will have to go on the foot. There should be some of our people aroundˇ­"


    Damash lurked through the carriage window, before opening the door and stepping out.


    "Make the way! Duellist coming through!"


    After this loud shout, the crowd somehow managed to make a small passage that instantly filled with the noble''s henchmen. Creating a cordon by smashing their great shields around, they created enough of the open space for Mike and Xyenna to leave the carriage.


    Jumping down without bothering to use the steps, the girl smiled as the people around started to cheering yet again. Seeing the cute face of the contestant made them root for her, no matter what faction did they identify with. For most of the commoners, this whole political war was just a game played between the higher class, with some spoils like this duel sometimes falling from their table.


    As time was rather tight, the surrounding guardians didn''t pay much heed to the people around, forcing them out of the way. In just a few moments, the whole group arrived at the only one empty spot in the area!


    Every single place around was crowded with people! It seemed that both the City Hall and the Nobles gathered everyone they could here! This spelt yet another trouble. In such a crowd, there was no way to spot any danger. If one were to get creative a bit, it was possible to hide an entire army out there!


    There were loads of different hand-pulled carts filled with snacks, drinks, and other refreshments. Most of those small merchants would make a killing today! That was the power that combined might of both factions could bring!


    As usual, two of the empty arena sides were closed for the higher class. With small tribunes built to create a better viewing spot for the rich public. There was even a small stall with commentators!


    Just to make sure that no funny stuff would happen either during or after the duel, they separated the whole population between the remaining open sides of the arena. With the City Hall taking the spot closer to the city, Nobels had to settle on the worse but bigger location on the opposite side.


    There were many distinct differences between the separated masses. The town citizens were, for the most part, better dressed and behaved. While only a small fraction of them had a good viewing spot, there wasn''t much small fighting going on, with the overall peace well kept.


    Compared to them, Noble''s subordinates presented a lot worse attitude. Except for a significantly smaller high class that secured their spots on the tribunes, an immense crowd on the plains was in a constant state of boiling. No matter where one looked, there were small duels and even group fights going on!


    Well, there was nothing anyone could do! Compared to rather unified town inhabitants, the crowd gathered on the far side of the arena came from a lot of different places and backgrounds. With the constant rivalry between those villages for better land and resources, no one would expect them to go along!


    As soon as Xyenna finally reached the arena, she was swiftly noticed by the announcer. Her beautiful set of light armour made her stand out, not to speak about a dozen of heavily armoured guards surrounding her!


    Immediately coming to the middle of the arena with two other people, Announcer started shouting!


    "Both of the challengers have arrived! Gather up people for the great duel to the death between mortal enemies! This will be the show that no one of you has seen before!"


    Taking a short, deep breath, he extended his hand towards the City Hall tribunes.


    "On my left side is the great Marcus! Know from bravely fighting in the early days of the recent war! After being gravely wounded on the battlefield, brass sent him home and put into service to defend our dear city against trespassers!"


    With his voice greatly amplified, everyone standing on the field could clearly hear him. At that point, a blurred image of the arena showed up high in the air!


    "I''ve never seen a gift like that!"


    Mike muttered with astonishment. While he went through a lot in his life, he was learning about new things all the time! No matter what it was used for, it was still an incredible blessing!


    "Welcome the City Hall challenger, the brave Marcus!"


    With a great announcer shout, a wave of cheers resounded on the east side of the arena. It was like and berserkers army suddenly appeared and tried to kill everyone with their epic war-cry!


    Along with the announcer words, a figure in full plate armour appeared on the duel site. Holding a mighty war axe, it was hard to say for sure that he was the same person who was challenged in the first place. With every step he made, his feet sank into the ground, bearing testimony to the weight of his crust!


    When the man was entering the arena, the image in the air suddenly turned sharper, allowing the viewers from far away to see his silhouette clearly.


    "And on the other side, we have a Xyenna, an Imperial mercenary! Welcome her to the arena!"


    With a great difference between the announcement, Mike''s bodyguard got introduced.


    Unbothered by the great disparity between the introductions, the girl swiftly entered the enclosed area. Joyfully trekking forward to the middle grounds, she stood up in the very centre.


    "What the hell is the meaning of this?"


    Infuriated by the unfair treatment even in the announcements, Mike turned to the Damash. When he saw a smile on his face, he realised that something wasn''t right!.


    "Just look at the illusion!"


    Only after listening to the man''s word did Mike realise what was going on. Compared to the outline of the Marcus figure, they showed Xyenna in great detail! He could see a small, provocative smirk on her lips, he could see how relaxed she was when she detached the sword from her belt, moved one leg forward a bit to get a stabler position and threw her main weapon on the ground! He could swear that he spotted small drops of sweat on her face!


    "City Hall demanded that since we can produce those images, they will get to choose the announcer! By introducing her unfairly, they only shoot themselves in the foot!"


    Damash laughed out loud. To be fair, he was right! Compared with the empty words that most of the people recognised as nothing else than bullshit, Xyenna''s cute face, slender figure and mischevious disposition appealed to the public a lot more!


    "Just to let you know. We sacrificed most of our opportunities to smack their faces, only to let Marcus have a better standing on the betting tables. I need not mention that all the bets are guaranteed by the faction''s treasury? For all the trouble we put you guys into, you will get half the spoils from them!"


    Just as Mike wanted to ask something, an announcer shouted yet again.


    "Let God be the witness to this sacred duel! Challengers, begin!"

 24.1 Duel (part 1)

    Contrary to everyone''s expectations, after the start of the fight was announced, nothing major happened. Xyenna was standing still with her mischevious smile, waiting for her opponent to come at her. Using the advantage that she was in the very middle of the fighting area, all she had to do to follow his slow movements was to turn around!


    On the far end of the field, her opponent was slowly moving in circles, as if trying to heat up his muscles. Neither one of them had any chance to do so beforehand, so flexing now, even if only for a bit, might give them an advantage later.


    It appeared that the girl took Mike''s warnings to her heart. Instead of outright provoking her opponent, she carefully observed his moves, the way he could bend his joints, his field of view from behind his full-on helmet or how far he could reach.


    It was obvious that so-called Marcus prepared himself for the fight. Or to tell it honestly, he was prepared by the faction supporting him in this duel. His set of heavy armour was aimed against her sword, making it very hard to reach any vitals with it! There were some techniques like dace smash, but her sword wasn''t sturdy enough to try them on. Her grip-cover made this specific movement even harder!


    After a few moments of just observing each other, Marcus finally charged at the girl. While his attack was slow at first, the weight of the armour considerably slowing him down, with every step the momentum he attained made it harder and harder to dodge or break his rush.


    The audience watched with held breath as the man rushed at a seemingly powerless girl. Her sword lying on her foot made her look even more useless against this metal can charge at her. Only when her opponent got close enough, she did act.


    Twitching her leading foot up, she kicked the sword away! Lowering her centre of weight, she swiftly grabbed her sturdy knife and seemingly trusted it at the man while rushing with her right leg forward.


    While the man got distracted by the main weapon flying away, he didn''t bother much with it. Realising what the girl was aiming for, he turned his body sideways to avoid the hit on the joint between the breastplate and the fauld covering his crotch. This was one of the few places where his body wasn''t protected by the chainmail. If she managed to strike a lucky hit, he would bleed to death in just a manner of moments!


    Just from this slight movement, it became apparent that the current Marcus had nothing to do with the guard that was initially challenged. One had to possess great skill and experience to perform this minuscule movement, not to speak about even maintaining his mind calm and analytic enough to figure out a correct way to counter Xyenna attack.


    To his surprise, Xyenna didn''t plan anything that simple!


    Just when he appeared at the distance of an arms reach, swordmistress extended her left, gloved hand while retracing her right one! With a slight ''clang'', she locked the knife''s blade on the metal glove and rested the backside of it on her armlet. Falling on one knee, she judged the correct distance and squeezed herself in.


    Unable to change his position at such close distance, ''Marcus'' could only endure the blade of the knife suddenly piercing through the chainmail on his armpit!


    While the sudden, sharp pain startled him, the angle at which Xyenna could turn the knife''s blade was too low to actually do much harm! This elaborate and extremely dangerous move served only as a form of the greeting!


    Carried away by his momentum, Marcus had to extend a fair amount of strength to stop! Stunned by his opponent, he moaned when he felt the small pain from the shallow wound. As if struck by a realisation, he slowly turned around.


    Someone capable of executing this kind of attack, would not hit him in the back! Not in such an early phase of the fight! His eyes instantly confirmed his thoughts! Not even trying to follow up with any attack, swordmistress calmly straightened herself and flailed her gloved hand around for a moment. The metallic sound of her glove clanging around made both of them realise that the audience was absolutely silent!Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.


    Those people that couldn''t keep their mouth shut even when the announcer was introducing them, were currently stunned at the turn of the event. This small and actually pointless exchange made them realise that this wasn''t a onesided fight that they expected.


    Both of the challengers shrugged when the same realisation struck them at the same time. Realising that she wasn''t fighting with the same guy that she initially challenged, Xyenna didn''t hold any animosity towards her opponent. While smiling sympathetically at him, she strode to where her sword lied and picked it up.


    Finally uncovering the thin blade, she gazed at her reflection for a short while. She closed her eyes for a second as if experiencing some mythical bond with her weapon. After she was done, she stood up in proper fencing stance and saluted Marcus with her beloved sword.


    Figuring out the processes that took place in the girl''s head, the man clad in armour didn''t interfere with her actions. Seeing the gesture of respect, he struck his breast with the blade of his axe, producing a reverberating, metallic sound.


    With the proper greeting exchanged, now the real fight was about to start!


    While those first hits were exchanged, Mike didn''t sit on his spot doing anything. While he paid a certain amount of his attention to Xyenna''s situation, he was also diligently observing the crowd and the arena itself. What made his confused a bit was the fact, that during his charge, Marcus didn''t leave deeper footprints on the ground. They were all around the same depth as if something was allievating his weight.


    Compared to him, Xyenna seemed to just slide through the grass. While the light armour wasn''t heavy, it still had its own mass. It took him a while to realise that her swiftness was augmented by her proficiency blessing slowly firing up!


    Since the real greeting was done, warriors started closing on each other. In just a few steps, they reached their attacking distance. The man swung his axe sideways, at the torso height, trying to force Xyenna into a worse position. Accelerating forward, she didn''t have much choice but to lean forward with her sword held along the centerline of her body. While the man''s attack got dodged, the girls sneaky cut from below didn''t manage to put even a crack on Marcus armour. Flying past him, she still managed to turn herself around on the move and execute yet another slash, this time aimed at her opponent neck. Unsurprisingly, this light hit didn''t cut through the chainwest either.


    Turning around his body, Marcus took a wide swing while holding the longer end of his axe. This kind of attack might make him wide open, but the range at which it forced Xyenna to escape compensated for this flaw. Left with no other choice, the swordmistress had to jump back a bit, allowing the man to use this attack yet again.


    With this short exchange, the audience finally understood that the bout was slowly heating up. While they had no idea about the depth behind each move, the show itself was really enjoyable!


    While looking at this exchange, Mike couldn''t help but feel that something wasn''t right. With how massive Marcus''s battle-axe was, there should be no way he could swing it that easily with all the iron armour weighing him down!


    It was plainly obvious that he wasn''t the original guard. It was clear for all to see that his fighting skill was supported by loads of actual experience. This kind of people didn''t bother themselves with the gifts, but relied on their proficiency alone! It looked like the City Hall trick were already in place, working in Marcus favour!


    As Mike was desperately looking for either the culprit or the solution, the duelling pair stopped their fight and distanced themselves from each other. In this kind of intense battle, they had to take short breaks to take a breath! If they allowed their blessing to take over their minds, this place would instantly turn into a bloodbath!


    While Mike was still looking around with a panic slowly growing in his heart, Xyenna''s disposition suddenly changed as if she resolved herself to something. Pulling the knife yet again, she held it in back grip, looking for any lapses in Marcus movement. Seeing that he was still gathering his breath, she instantly jumped at him!


    And it was exactly what he was aiming for!


    Instead of continuing with wide swings, he held the axe by the blade and swung it upwards, trying the split woman in half in her approach!


    Using the fact that both of her hands were on the right side of her torso, she swung her knife-holding arm and struck the side of the axe with a palm of her hand!


    Unable to deal any damage while in front of the panzer wall, she placed the blade of her sword at the side of her enemy ankle, jumped to the side and pulled her weapon along, severing the belts that held his greaves on his right leg! Judging from the amount of blood left on the blade after the slash, his tendons should be cut as well!


    Contrary to Mike and Xyenna expectation, Marcus didn''t seem to be hindered by it at all! Replying with a wide hand smash, he managed to land a hit on the girl''s shoulder!


    Thrown out of the balance, the girl strode forward a few paces, while grabbing her arm. Looking at the Xyenna''s pained expression, merchant froze. It was obvious that just from that single hit, her shoulder got dislocated!


    But that was an impossible hit! With his tendons severed, there was no way he could turn around so fast, that even agile swordmistress couldn''t react to it at all!

 24.2 Duel (part 2)

    While Xyenna''s attack aimed at gaining any kind of advantage, Marcus unhindered movement proved that there was something strange going on with his body. Her eyes widened, as she stared at her opponent with a look of bewilderment on her face.


    Mike was sure now. Someone else had to somehow lend his gift to the challenger! While he could amount to the decreased weight to some kind of gift, there was no way that it could also allow such a rapid regeneration to recover the tendons right after they were cut!


    Xyenna jumped away a few paces to gain the distance. Gritting her teeth, she pushed her shoulder back in place. Her face grimaced in pain, but she kept her eyes open to watch for her enemy attack. With her hand pressed against her arm, she waited for the enemy response.


    Marcus on the other side didn''t hurry at all. He stretched himself with a delighted smile barely visible from behind his helmet. As he moved forward, there were no hints of trouble with his walk! His leg was definitely fine!


    Looking at the events on the arena, Mike tightened his hands into fists. Looking at the girl''s expression, even from so far away he could spot the small wrinkles appearing around her eyes, indicating how infuriating the situation was for her. Sooner than later, she would give in to her bloodlust and enter her berserk mode! There was no way he could allow that!


    Struggling to stop observing the duel, Mike managed to turn his head to the Damash. His frozen face proved that he had the same line of thought as the merchant. They had to do something; Otherwise, the duel would be just a competition on whose blessing was stronger. Xyenna''s sword mastery or all of the gifts poured over the Marcus!


    There wasn''t much time. Not only they had to locate the culprit, but he also had to be stopped and brought away. Otherwise, unbeknownst to them, all of their efforts might just go to waste if he escaped.


    From what Mike saw, a lot of people around them were moving around as if their lives depended on it, trying to spot some unusual act of a random stranger. Considering the enormous crowd gathered for the duel, this task was comparable to looking for a needle in the haystack!


    When Mike pupils were dilating more and more, he finally saw one of the guards jumping up and down. This unusual action was enough to attract his sight, as it was for Damash. When the guard realised that he was looked at, he raised his head and pointed at a certain group on the other side of the arena.


    ''Did they really think that the distance could stop me?'' Mike thought as his face darkened. Lowering his posture, he ignored the ongoing duel. The only way he could try to figure out the events on the stage was by the variety of metallic sounds and pained moans reaching his ears.


    He ignored the Damash and his underlings. Using all of his experience gained through the formation years back in Latavia, Mike moved through the crowd. Instead of trying to force his way against the spectators, he did something opposite. By allowing himself to float on top of the small movements of the entire mass of people, he was squeezing through them delicately, using every gap that appeared. While Damash forces were just smashing the people out of their way, he appeared to just move along with the waves circulating through the entire field!


    ''I will kill those bastards'' With every step taken, the usual, light glitter in his eyes was replaced by a fark flame, slowly climbing up his eyeballs. The closer he got to his target, the feebler his body appeared to be. Lowered head, bent knees, hands gently hanging along his sides. The normal merchant-like appearance disappeared completely, turning him into yet another observer already bored by the fight.


    ''She is still holding on.'' Allowing himself only a short looks at the fight, he noticed that Xyenna, while barely, was still able to fend of Marcus attacks. Already bleeding from several cuts on her body, it was a matter of minutes before she would lose!


    ''Wait, what?'' Comprehending one fact made Mike stop in his tracks and focus on the fight for a moment. All the usual signs indicating a person going into the rage of their gift disappeared from the girl''s face! Hazy expression was replaced by one of focus, fluid movements turned stiff. She wasn''t able to enter her fighting stance!


    On the other hand, Marcus was in his best form! Swinging his axe right and left, there was no sign of him bothering about the defence anymore!


    ''I can''t!''


    Mike disciplined himself. There was no point standing in place and lamenting over the changes in the arena! If he wanted to help, he had to move!


    Feeling the hotness slowly spreading through his body, Mike ignored all the noise surrounding him. With every step, he got just a bit closer to the interfering party!


    When he judged that the distance was finally short enough, he raised his head to take a look at the group before acting. Unleashing his wrath wasn''t necessarily the best course of action here. Those people had to be defended by a huge number of guards hidden among the crowd. He had to figure out a way to interrupt them withoutˇ­.


    Just as he was trying to find a way to finish the matter peacefully, he saw Ritzy watching the duel with a wide smile plastered on his face. But that kid wasn''t the one to draw his attention. It was a hooded man standing next to him. Despite the hood he was wearing, Mike could make out the contour of his face. With familiar, slight movements of his hand raised to his mouth, merchant instantly realized who he was!


    His mind went blank.


    While Mike was keeping his composture before, he completely lost it now!


    Turning to the duel, he kept his head low and continued to move sideways. Pretending to watch the fight, Mike crept closer and closer to his target. Shouting loudly when others did so, gasping for air when the crowd was stunned by a showy attack. Moving in this manner brought him to the arm''s reach of his desired target.You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.


    Making sure that he was squeezed in between random people that surrounded the group, Mike pulled one of his daggers and kept it tugged to his abdomen. When the opportune moment came and people cheered yet again, merchant reached with his knife under the arm of the person in front of him and stabbed some random guy in the back. Retracing his knife as swiftly as he attacked, he started moving backwards.


    When the loud cheering finally subsidised, scattered guards noticed the pained screams and commotion created by them! With the duel slowly coming to an end, something was bound to happen!


    With them desperately rushing to control the situation before it gets out of the hand, Mike used one of the passages created by guards forcing the people out of their way. Reaching the border of the open space, he judged the distance and threw his dagger!


    Thanks to its special construction, it didn''t make any sound while flying through the air. Not even an expert would be able to guard against it, not to speak a monk focusing all of his attention on his task!


    Not bothering to observe the effects of his actions, Mike sank into the crowd and started circulating the targeted group. He couldn''t say for sure than Nemarien was the only one responsible for Xyenna trouble, hence he kept moving until he was again close enough to strike a hit.


    Observing the people around was the very basic of hiding in it. Only by acting similarly, one would be able to fool the eyes looking for suspects. Even if he wanted to repeat his previous action, it was already impossible. Nearby people already got distracted by both the stabbed man and the assassination, so they didn''t watch the duel anymore. But that didn''t mean there wasn''t any opportunity there!


    Reaching the open spot where his targets resided, Mike pulled another dagger, brought it to his neck and jumped forward, instantly falling face down to the ground!


    Startled by yet another unexpected event, guards - this time gathered around the people they were supposed to protect - rushed to the crowd, trying to catch the murderer!


    As expected, they mistook Mike for yet another victim of the assassin!


    Feeling the minuscule vibration of the ground as the armed people passed him, Mike waited a short while. Hearing the sounds of people complaining and falling moving, he rushed forward.


    Pushing himself with his left hand, he kicked the ground and threw himself forward. There was no need to distinguish any person from another. Everyone in the group took part in this scheme. They all could just die!


    Opening his eyes as wide as he was able to, Mike spotted his first target. Old, dressed in expensive robes. Two more men behind him still watching the duel. One man and a woman on his left, turning their heads to him. Nemarien lying on the side with Ritzy holding his hand. Perfect.


    Approaching from the right side of the old man, he reverted his right-hand grip on the knife. Still on the fly, he slashed old man''s throat and pushed him away with his free hand. After the first attack, those people were bound to react. Be it running or defending themselves, throwing a dying body on them would for sure hinder their action.


    With the momentum on both of his arms, Mike didn''t even bother to stabilise his footing. As he was already tilted forward, he allowed himself to slip, managing to reach the woman''s heart with his knife thanks to that. Pulling his left leg as high as he could, he turned sideways and kicked on the once beautiful corpse to launch himself at the young man, slashing both of his eyes.


    With one, fluid movement, three of his targets were either dead, handicapped or living their last seconds. Now, nothing obstructed his way towards Nemarien!


    With the bloodlust igniting his blood, Mike could feel all of his senses sharpening. Not sure if his previous throw ended this despicable man''s life, he has fallen on the monk''s body. When Ritzy tried to raise his head to check the sudden commotion out, Mike already grabbed the dagger with his left hand and slashed it upwards, aiming at young guy throat.


    While this move ruptured half of Nemarien''s chest open, Xantia''s stupid manager just experienced his most fortunate moment. By a stroke of luck, he slipped on his knees falling down on the corpse and avoiding the lethal hit!


    There was no time to waste. Mike rolled sideways in the crowd''s direction. Making sure to turn its back on the people to hide the bloodstains on his robes, he shouted while dropping the knife in his left hand.


    "MURDERER!"


    Pointing with the now free palm at the Ritzy, Mike backed out and merged with the confused crowd. Whether the masses would kill the fortunate kid or not, it didn''t matter. While the whole action took just a few seconds, the guards were already on their way back and the remaining two men readied themselves for the fight. With that, even if they were capable of interfering with the duel before, they lost that chance.


    As he moved to the denser parts of the crowd, Mike noticed approaching Damash''s party. Yet again using the gaps and the people''s own movement, merchant squeezed through the people to the friendly Noble.


    "You don''t need to bother yourself with them anymore. It''s better to leave now."


    Despite numerous and well-armed warriors following the Noble, there wasn''t any point in engaging those people. Not bothered to either explain the situation to his colleague in the scheme, the merchant turned around and looked at the illusion in the air.


    With the cheating party now cut out of the picture, the situation on the ring changed as well.


    Instead of flailing his axe around, Marcus just stood on the spot, with confusion written all over his head. Apparently, during the duel, he took his helmet down to provoke Xyenna into attacking him!


    On the other side, swordmistress stood stunned in a similar way. She brought her hand up to look at them as if looking if something happened to them. After a short moment though, she lowered them and showed her opponent a wide smile.


    Instantly, the tables have turned! The girl that mostly tried to dodge enemy attacks and simply run away to tire him down, started attacking!


    Holding to both her elegant sword and sturdy knife, she approached Marcus and turned the fight into a close distance one. As the man tried to mount an attack, she simply blocked the axe by countering locking her knife between the blade the man''s weapon handle.


    With the enemy weapon blocked, she was free to attack him however she wanted with her sword! Daring not to attack his head outright, she just stabbed right into his armpit! Disengaging him as soon as the blade reached satisfactory depth, Xyenna paced back and waited for the man''s reaction.


    As expected, this time Marcus showed a proper expression of pain! Stumbling hardly on one knee, he brought his hand to the wound. Seeing that he held his weapon only with his left hand, Xyenna didn''t hesitate for long. Taking just a few steps to gain some speed, she made a perfect fencing stance before slashing with her weapon diagonally.


    The stunned audience was so silent at that moment that the slight ''thump'' when Marcu''s head has fallen to the ground seemed to reverberate through the whole arena. As the blood fountained from the neck freed from its previous burden, the man''s body felt forward with a characteristic, metallic clang.


    Not bothering to dodge the blood spewing from the body, Xyenna''s body instantly became bloodied. Only then, the crowd woke up from their stupor and erupted in cheers!

 25 - Doomed

    With the red alarm turned on, the whole bunker turned into the respective colour. The eerie atmosphere the Arthur loved here, disappeared, replaced by the annoying horn and pulsating bloody light.


    After only a few seconds passed from turning the alarm on, the main screen on the wall got covered by oversized letters spelling ''DEFMIN''. This wasn''t a call they could ignore! After all, after just three seconds of scaring everyone from the heights of the monitor, letters disappeared and a reddened face of the very minister of defence appeared.


    "What the hell is going on? Is Hurutai attacking or what?!"


    Instantly lashing out at the poor residents on the bunker, Minister appeared on the screen like the final boss of some kind of silly game that nowadays young people were wasting their lives playing.


    "No sir, it''s something worse. Take a look at the map!"


    Swiping the screen with two fingers extending in opposite directions, Arthur zoomed in the view, and then uploaded the video on the communication channel.


    "Isn''t this some kind of malfunction? Do you think you can announce the fucking nationwide alarm only because of some bug? What is your IT support there for! If I were just a bit slower, the whole underdimension would surface! Can you imagine the consequences of doing that?"


    Not even looking at the reuploaded map, fat minister stared furiously at the man on the opposite side of his screen.


    "Shut the hell up! If I''m wrong, marital court. But if I''m right, then in just a few damn hours, there won''t be any courts to speak of!"


    Arthur couldn''t handle the politician anymore. Who cared about surfacing the underdimension right now? Not doing that could very well lead to its implosion! Without enough magic energy to sustain dimensional dive of the artificial continent, it''s fate would depend just on pure luck!


    "I hereby suspend your service, rank and access to the network. You will be shortly escorted to the military court and judged for defeatism and overstepping your authority!"


    Minister replied in cold voice, squinting his eyes.


    "Turn this whole damn alarm off!"


    Before the connection was cut, bunker residents still managed to hear his words!


    "This fucking bastard!"


    Arthur smashed his fist on the nearby table, breaking it in the process.


    "Right now I really believe that sometimes authoritarian governments are far better than this democracy!"


    The man inhaled a mouthful of air, kept it in his lungs and exhaled deeply. Turning around on his chair, he looked at his sister.


    "Can you circumvent the blockade and connect us with the president?"


    "Are you out of your mind? His channel is highly secured, not to speak about minister probably making us the scapegoats on it right now!"


    Freya responded while spreading her hands. While she was great at her job, there were some limits to her ability! Breaking into the second most secure channel in the whole nation, with restricted access at that, was an impossible task!


    Hearing the unfavourable answer, Arthur felt deep into his thoughts. After a few moments, another layer of the generators displayed on the widescreen on the wall turned grey, with the next ones turning red.


    Despite being focused on analyzing the situation, he still noticed it.


    "What the hell is going on! Someone answer me!"


    Seeing the pace at which the situation was escalating without her even understanding the reasons, Naria approached Arthur and hugged him from behind.


    "Don''t scare me like that!"


    She was the only one in here, unacquainted with the military. While her expertise was in magic fluctuations, she lacked the proper strategic mindset. The only bits of information she could extract came from the aggrieved of her closest friends! With her soft character, she was already on the verge of tears!


    Arthur reached for Naria hand and planted a gentle kiss on her palm. All of the emotions cleared out from his mind, leaving nothing but emptiness. Faced with approaching apocalypse, he could do nothing so he felt nothing. Nor the fear, nor the sadness. All he could feel right now was the familiar heat of his fiancee''s hand.


    "What are we going to do!"


    Harsh, Freya voice brought them back to reality.


    "Who do you think we are to grieve like that! It''s not in our nature Arthur!"


    The woman stood up and shouted. As the daughter of the war hero, she couldn''t allow them to just perish into dust for nothing!


    "If we are to die, so be it! At least we can check which bastard did this and make sure he will come to hell with us!"


    While she said that, she just stood on the spot, looking calmly in Arthur''s eyes. He was her older brother and senior in rank at the same time. While she might propose a ''solution'', it was his decision to make!


    Taking a while to digest those words, the fire returned to the man''s eyes.


    This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there."Does the stepping spell spread equally or does it have some variations?"


    Squeezing Naria hand, Arthur waited for an answer, not rushing his fiancee to reply at all.


    "Small scale ones can be used in various ways, but the grand ones are too powerful to be controlled. Tell me what is going on goddamnit!"


    Arthur ignored the question and let go of the hand of his beloved one.


    "Private call, Kevan. Freya, connect me to the outpost number eight-eight-three!"


    Issuing orders both to the system and his sister, the middle-aged soldier stood up and turned around to face his fiancee.


    "We are all going to die soon. Everything points out that one of the Horien maniac''s managed to create their so-called "doom spell". Generators are stopping working one by one and it won''t be long when the underdimension''s submersion energy requirement won''t be met. All we can do now is take early revenge on them."


    After saying his piece, Arthur turned back to the screen only to see his old friend face on it.


    "What''s going on brother? Our alarms went off for a moment, before turning back down! Any information on your end?"


    His face was the very definition of worry. With his eyes running in every direction with each passing second, he obviously wasn''t in a good mood!


    "The ministry got hacked. We discovered it so they cut us off from the grid. I need you to order a ''katharsis'' on Horien''s territory. First seven layers of our generators are down, we suspect the Frictional bomb attack. I will find out the exact location soon, in touch!"


    Seeing Freia raised thumbs, Arthur didn''t hesitate to end the call after saying just a single piece.


    "Can you connect us?


    "Right away!"


    In just a few seconds, the entire screen on the wall turned into a camera view of a closed room. With many people in three types of different uniforms bustling around, the former soldier didn''t hesitate, grabbed a microphone from his sister''s hand and started speaking.


    "Patarian Bunker number zero, three, zero. We are isolated. The enemy is attacking. Send current generator outline maps, so we can calculate and pass the strike coordinates!"


    There was no answer. A hearable one at least. With his words stopping everyone in the camera view in their tracks, he didn''t need to wait for long to see a raised thumbs of the entire crowd!


    This was an emergency communication technique. Even if someone managed to block the military channels, blocking one-way communication was physically impossible. By using three different frequencies to transmit respectively: his voice, video request and video itself, Arthur managed to establish some sort of communication with them!


    In just those few moments that were required to receive the data from the joint operation base, another layer of generators turned down with the next line turning red. While even in the zoomed view the changes were relatively slow, taking the speed of stepping spell advance into an account, it would be only a matter of a few hours at most before the apocalypse would start!


    After the maps finally got uploaded onto Arthur''s private communication channel, he transferred them through to his personal computer. While receiving live on the broadcast was impossible, the data allowed him to trace the changes in the generator status on a greater scale in comparison to taking only Patarian ones into the account.


    Passing them on Freya account, he waited only for a moment where she nodded her head.


    "Listen to me very carefully. Can you trace the origin of this stepping spell from its advances on this map?"


    Grabbing tightly his fiancee''s arms, Arthur''s asked with hope reverberating in his voice. Naria was one of the best magic fluctuation experts in the entire nation, if she wasn''t able to do it, no one could!


    "Yes, just give me a momentˇ­"


    After observing the event''s for quite a while already, she was able to understand the severity of the situation. But as soon as she looked at the numbers displaying on the side of small markers for a short moment, her face lost all its colours.


    "This isn''t a grand stepping spellˇ­"


    Naria muttered while covering her mouth with her hand. With her pupils dilating, her body started to tremble.


    "It''s an archspell already!"


    "You know we are not in your field of expertise, tell us in a way we can understand the difference!"


    Full of anxiety, Arthur couldn''t help shouting. Instantly regretting raising his voice, he lowered his head.


    "Sorry for that, I''m really on the tips of my toes here. So, what''s the difference?"


    It seemed that the realisation that struck her after observing the maps conveyed the true scale of events to Naria''s head. She turned slowly to face her significant one.


    "The grand spell''s can be stopped at caster will. While they require unimaginable control over them, they are still a creation dependant on its owner. The archspells were believed to be just a theory. In essence, they are a magic structure that needs to be cast and after gaining enough momentum, it will continue its work forever!"


    "How can you be so sure about that! Is there any chance that you miscalculated?"


    The answer he got, wasn''t something that Arthur or actually anyone in the world would take in lightly. Denying it was just a natural reaction for humans!


    "As I said, grand spells need a person to control them. Casting it is a great burden alone, it was proven several years ago that human mind cannot fully wield those structures, because even keeping it up consumes more mind capabilities to allow for any kind of precise control."


    Naria inhaled the air, struggling to say everything in one breath.


    "Archspell, on the other hand, is just a structure. It simply forces the energy to follow certain rules, only growing in scale. If you imagine a pool with uneven ground, the water inside will level itself. The same thing is happening here. The best generators are drained as fast, as the outdated ones. This spell is adapting itself to the amount of energy in every location that it reaches!"


    "And what does it means to us?"


    Seeing his beloved one all jiggly but with serious and focused eyes, Arthur finally got scared. This little hugging machine was known to show this kind of face only when she was facing the problems that used to hinder human progress for ages. Her appearance meant only one thing.


    "We are doomed."

 26 - Duel aftermatch

    When the loud cheers erupted, Xyenna just stood in place, staring into the distance. While she enjoyed the excited shouts of the crowd, it didn''t hold any real meaning to her. They were a stimulus that could be used to hype her up before the fight but, after the adrenaline rush started to recede in her body, they became yet another background noise that she had to endure.


    Throwing a quick look at the mangled corpse that lay on the ground, Mike''s bodyguard couldn''t help but feel repulsed by the awful sight. For some reason, commoners believed that decapitation was an awesome way to end the life of someone. On the other hand, Xyenna judged it as a repetitive chore of cleaning her armour of all the filth and blood that splashed onto it during each battle.


    Suddenly, as she felt her legs twitch, only then did the girl realise the extent of her wounds. During the fight, all of the cuts she received went unnoticed thanks to the adrenaline rushing through her veins. But once the fight had ended, the adrenaline content gushing through her veins subsided. Devoid of this natural painkiller, all of her body began to itch and send painful signals to her brain''s receptive senses.


    Unable to hold her composure for much longer, she thanked God that she was already on the edge of the arena. If not for that, she didn''t have the strength to escape this place with just a short walk.


    As soon as her foot crossed the line separating the crowd from the challenge grounds, her body lost its strength to even stand. She was initially startled when her fall was broken but, the moment she realised it was Mike who had come to her aid, Xyenna managed to relax a bit.


    "You fought great!"


    Mike helped her walk to the tribune and sit down on it when one of the merchants initiated a conversation with her tired self.


    "Stop bullshiting me. He was toying with me the whole time. If I''m right, it was you who actually allowed me to win this fight."


    The girl refused to accept the merchant''s praise. When Mike carefully touched one of her wounds, her face grimaced slightly, but she pretended as if nothing noteworthy happened.


    "No need to act tough. We need to mend those wounds."


    Noticing the small waver in the girl''s expression, Mike couldn''t help but feel worried. Most of those bloody cuts could be avoided if only he had acted faster. Now, she would be covered in ugly scars that would forever taint her once silky smooth skin!


    "Hold on tight. We need to go to our Inn. I have some medicaments kept within my sacks there."


    Putting his arms behind her back and under her knees, Mike lifted the girl on his arms. He managed to princess-carry her only for a few steps when the people surrounding them suddenly got pushed away by Damash with his entourage.


    "Is she okay?"


    Furrowing his brows in concern, the burly man couldn''t help but gaze at the multiple wounds scarring the girl''s body. Only after confirming that most of them were just scary looking shallow cuts, did he allow himself to exhale. He saw what Mike did to those who were responsible for the trouble that his bodyguard went, making him all the more worried about well being of the girl.


    "For now. Help me a bit. We need to bring her to the Inn so that I can take care of her wounds."


    Tightening his embrace, Mike explicitly showed that the word help only applied to the overall idea of healing her injuries, not the task of carrying his friend!


    "Let''s go to the carriage then. This way, we can at least lay her down on the couch."


    Following Mike''s line of thought, Damash quickly reorganised his underlings, creating a cordon surrounding the pair. Standing on the front by himself, he began forcing his way through the crowd.


    "Don''t worry, it will be over soon."


    The Merchant whispered in a silent voice as if trying to prevent the guards from hearing his words.


    "Just hold on for a moment."


    "I''m not some kind of scarred herbivore, don''t talk to me like that!"


    Xyenna protested, hitting him softly with her relaxed fist. After the fight, when all her wounds started acting up, she didn''t have much strength left. Her failed attempt at a threatening punch turned to look like a scene of cuddling between two lovers.


    After a few long minutes of walk, the entire party reached the carriage, secured in the same spot that they left it earlier in the day. From the envious looks thrown at the vehicle by the surrounding people it was apparent that if not for the armed men watching over it, not even the dust that settled over it would have been left intact.


    When the cordon touched the side of the wagon, Damash opened its doors and rushed to prepare a comfortable lying spot. Pulling some blankets from the boxes located under the seats, he creatively turned what was once hard seats into a soft couch.This book''s true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.


    After ascertaining the security of the inner part of the vehicle, Mike carried Xyenna inside and laid her down on the prepared place. As he tried to leave the place to order the driver to move out, he stopped in his track as he felt a slight tug on his arm.


    "Hold my hand please."


    A barely audible voice reached his ears, gently caressing his eardrums.


    "Okay."


    Pointing to Damash to take care of the coachmen in his stead, Mike sat beside the improvised mattress and carefully reached for the girl''s hand.


    "I''m here, don''t worry."


    Just as he said those words, he felt a short pull and the carriage started moving. A moment later, Damash boarded the room and closed the doors behind him. As a form of respect towards the intimate moment between the duo, he moved to the farthest point of this small space, at least pretending to look through the small window.


    "I hope you didn''t forget what I promised you earlier. It''s our fault that things escalated to this scale and we couldn''t hold on to our responsibilities."


    Still keeping his eyes on the outside, the burly man affirmed the merchant. While he didn''t have much to say in the entire faction decision-making process, he was glad that they didn''t try to use Mike and just ditch him afterwards.


    Probably thanks to her exhaustion and accumulation of intense stress, it didn''t take long for Xyenna to fall asleep. Noticing that her eyes had already closed and her breathing stabilised, Mike finally allowed himself to look outside.


    The crowd didn''t even notice that the winner had long left the scene. Talking about the duel, the moves used by both parties, the strange disparity in strength that suddenly flipped from tides of the battle from Marcus to Xyenna''s sideˇ­ It looked like this duel would be the only topic of the discussion over the next few weeks.


    On the other hand, seeing such happy and excited expressions on the faces of the masses, Mike suddenly felt heaviness in his chest. The blood of people he killed today started weighing down on his mood. Only the warmth of Xyenna''s hand supported him while he started thinking about the assassination.


    He thought he left that life for good. Cutting his ties with Xantia and leaving them on that day when he reached that decision was the main foothold for him to abstain from killing. He didn''t want the sacrifice he made to appear meaningless.


    There was still another point hanging over both his and Damash''s head. What would happen when the City Hall notices the corpses of their people. The only comfort the young merchant would find was the idea of leaving this stupid city as soon as possible. By doing that, all the problems here would disappear!


    While he was deep in thought, the carriage drove through the city streets, unbothered by guards or town residents. Most of the people were outside in the duel area, still discussing over the recent fight. Thanks to that, the Inn courtyard appeared a lot sooner than he had expected it.


    Paying extra attention to not wake the girl up, Mike inserted his hands in the same spots as before when he had carried her in a princess-carry and carefully lifted her up. Making sure that his grip was secure, he stepped out of the carriage. Thanking Damash for opening the Inn doors with a slight nod of his head, he moved towards the stairs.


    "I will organise some medicaments for you. When the girl recovers, feel free to come downstairs and celebrate with us!"


    Damash didn''t hesitate to invite his new friends over for the party. They were the ones who made this party possible.


    "I will think about it later, for now, she takes priority!"


    Gently holding her in his embrace, Mike continued onto the stairs. He had to watch every single step of his so as to not wake up the injured girl. After finally appearing on the second floor, he kicked open the doors to his room and laid Xyenna down on his bed.


    After making sure that the breathing rate of the girl was at a steady pace, the merchant quickly rummaged through his sacks. Finding the stuff he needed that was hidden deep in his private stash, Mike pulled out a small jar of mudlike substance and a few rolls of bandages.


    "Wake up."


    After putting the items beside the bed, the merchant lightly shook Xyenna''s arm. Tending to her while she was sleeping would be dangerous for both of them.


    "Whaaatsss goingggg onˇ­"


    It was reassuring to see her sleep like a log even with such severe injuries. Mike raised the medical accessories he had taken out.


    "It''s time to tend to your wounds. Can you sit?"


    "Ughˇ­ It seems that I don''t really have any choice in this matter, do I?" Her casual expression turned into a grimace as she tried to sit up, her injuries turned out to be more painful than she had expected.


    "Don''t overexert yourself. While you don''t seem to be hurt at any of your vitals, the massive loss of blood due to the accumulated wounds have heavily exhausted your strength. Come on."


    Mike comforted his bodyguard and he pulled her to a sitting position. Unsheathing his knife, he started cutting down the belts holding her armour up.


    After her entire torso got exposed, Mike cut a long stip from the armour and rolled it into a short piece.


    "Open your mouth."


    When she obediently followed his words, he placed the rolled leather between her teeth. While the medicine he had was great, it caused great pain upon applying. He needed to make sure that she wouldn''t bite her tongue in the process of tending to her wounds.


    Unravelling one of the bandages on the bed and opening the jar with medicine caused Xyenna to struggle.


    "Mhmhm, mhmhm hmhhmmh!"


    She admirably tried to say something despite the gag in her mouth. Since they didn''t start yet, Mike didn''t mind pulling the leather out.


    "If you want to smear this shit on me, bring me some heavy wine first!"


    Freed from the mouth gag, Xyenna declared her demands. Just from the sour smell of the paste, she could fathom how much pain she would have to endure during Mike''s treatment. There was no way she would agree to it without desensitizing herself first!


    "Okay, okay. Just give me a moment!"


    Sighing with resignation, Mike left the room and ran downstairs. A moment later, he reappeared in the room with two bottles of wine in his hands. Uncorking one of them, he shook it in front of Xyenna eyes.


    "Half of it now, another half later, okay?"


    "Sure, just feed me the wine and get it over with!"


    For some reason, sitting half-naked on the bed in front of her employer made her somehow uncomfortable.


    Sitting on the side of the bed, Mike put the bottleneck to the girl''s supple lips. Slowly lifting the bottle in short intervals to allow her a breathing break, he did his best to watch the liquor level instead of gazing at her breast swaying to the rhythm of her gulping the wine down.


    ''She is fucking wounded!'' Disciplining himself in his mind, Mike finally took the bottle out. He could already see a small shine in the girl''s eyes.


    As the alcohol swiftly started to work its charm, her mouth gaped a bit in response. Relaxing herself, she stared down at Mike with cutely open mouth. Not falling for that trap, merchant clutched her lower jaw, pulled it down and stuffed the gag right into her mouth!


    "Let''s get this over with!"

 27 - Celebration

    "About the bet''s, I think we made a lot of money."


    As Mike was covering yet another wound with a bandage, he kept talking about anything that would come to his mind. He could divert Xyenna''s mind from the painful itching that the medicinal paste inducted on her wounds.


    "From what Damash told me, they wagered a lot of money on you, the commenting ruse included in their scheme to tilt the odds in Marcus favour. He promised us half of the spoils."


    When he saw a shine appear in the girl''s eyes, Man pulled the ends on the bandage and bound the tightened ends together. A burst of excitement was the best thing to distract his bodyguard from the bout of pain caused by the finishing touches of tending her wounds.


    "We are done, try to raise your hands."


    After good two hours of bandaging his friend, Mike was already numb to any kind of excitement from her naked body. Even when she struggled to move her hands up straight, her breasts didn''t fire any sparks of arousal in him. He saw them for simply too long!


    Mike stood up and reached for Xyenna''s sacks. After rummaging through them for a while, he found a plain shirt. Pulling it down her arms, he breather out in relief when she was finally covered. Numb or not, it was embarrassing for both parties to keep her in nude.


    "Good girl."


    Reaching for the bottle with remaining half of the wine in it, merchant passed it his companion extended hands. After pulling out the gag from her mouth, Xyenna hurriedly started gulping the liquor down.


    After throwing the empty container away, she swiped her mouth.


    "Forget the bet''s now. I want to have a real drink!"


    After enduring the pain for a good while, a single bottle of wine wasn''t enough for her! She just won the duel, withstand the torment her employer put her through and emerged victorious from all those events, she deserved a full-blown celebration! With the unexpected surge of gold from the bet''s Mike mentioned, there was no need to hold back!


    "That''s a good idea. My hands are already sore from all of the bandaging!"


    Curling the corners of his lips up, Mike stood up, picked Xyenna''s hand and helped her move out of the bed.


    "I wouldn''t mind getting drunk tonight!"


    The girl''s body was truly amazing. Despite all the blood loss she suffered, she was able to stand by herself only after only two hours! While Mike''s gift has its own uses, there was no way the merchant would be able to replicate her achievement!


    As they exited the room and went down the stairs, as soon as their silhouettes appeared in the main hall, a loud cheer erupted!


    Startled by the unexpected noise, the pair stopped in their tracks for a second but continued their march after a slight shrug. While the big room was filled to the brim with guests, an honour spot was cleared for them in an instant. Using the same skill that Mike was amazed by during his previous drinking adventure here, glasses full of beer and other brews appeared as soon as they sat down.


    Looking in her employer''s eyes, Xyenna grabbed her first mug and chugged it down in one go!


    At this sight, the hall instantly broke in cheers again!A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    "Everyone, one for the Xyenna, the winner of the duel!"


    As Damash stood up and raised his mug, everyone followed suit. With another loud cheer, all glasses held by guest got emptied! All of them, with Mike''s being an exception.


    When Damash sat down and people calmed themselves, Mike stood up, raised his cup and said with his usual voice, not raised by even a bit.


    "For Xyenna, who stood her ground against the assault of four different gifts at once!"


    Those words stunned the crowd. While most of them were Noble''s pawns, not even Damash knew how grave the situation was back then! Those words caused a short while of stunned silence followed by yet another noisy outburst!


    After the situation finally calmed down, the proper celebration started. Maid''s appeared out of nowhere with platters shedding an intoxicating smell. After refilling the tables and empty mugs with new content, they disappeared as quickly and mysteriously as did they show up.


    Everyone got to eating right away. The smell already roused their hunger, so when the lids got raised and artistically arranged food revealed itself to the masses, everybody rushed into eating. Grabbing the meat with their bare hands, scooping the soup with their bowlsˇ­ In a matter of seconds, what once was a feast to the eyes, turned into a battlefield.


    Despite all the commotion, Mike noticed when a person dressed in expensive robes entered the tavern. With their eyes meeting, merchant nodded his head in a greeting. Sitting beside Xyenna, the young man had no way to move to greet him. It was on the newcomer''s head to somehow close on him.


    Despite how busy the hall was when people saw the new guest, they actually parted way''s to let him pass! Just from this action, Mike could guess how important that person was in Noble''s faction!


    Despite all the effort he had to make to come here and reach Mike''s place, this man just passed him a small paper slip and excused himself right after finishing his task! Making use of the perfect lighting in the hall, Mike unrolled the gift and read the contest.


    ''We won one hundred, eighty-six red goldens and seventy-two Tarels. Your share will be hidden between the wares on your carriage.


    Count Hikar''


    This short message stunned Mike!


    He never expected for the winning from the bet''s to be so big! To put it in simpler terms, one gold coin was enough for a person to live comfortably for up to two months! If one were to count the whole treasure, Mike could easily buy himself a mansion with that kind of money!


    The problem actually lied in keeping it! Simply pulling out red golden in even the distinguished Inn would be considered flaunting one''s wealth! If one were to count the entire wealth Mike brought to the Altarcia in the first place, it would amount up to four and a half gold coins!


    With all the wares their entire company initially passed the border with, it would amount up to twenty red goldens! This only showed how insane wealth Xyenna earned without even knowing about it!


    There was only one place where Mike could think of storing the money now. They had to depart as soon as possible while guarding themselves against robbers sent from the city or just common brigands!


    Going back to his seat, Mike finally started sipping on his second beer tonight. The cold booze allowed him to calm his mind and stop thinking about securing the insane wealth he obtained. While he saw this kind of money before, it was the entire Xantia treasury at that time!


    "Let''s go back to sleep. We have to depart with sunrise tomorrow."


    After drinking silently for a long while, Mike decided that no one would connect his decision with the message passed by the elegant messenger from before.


    "Why? The fun is just starting!"


    Xyenna protested without even looking at her employer. She did a great job in a fight and all the praises she received from everyone around only put her in an even more celebratory mood!


    "Trust me. We have to go. Pretend that you are drunk."


    The merchant didn''t have the time to play along. Taking a rest took a priority now. She was still wounded, and alcohol would only slow down her body regeneration. Feeling the weight of the fortune on his chest, Mike couldn''t help but worry.

 28 - Leaving the city yet again!

    In the end, Xyenna didn''t resist much. She rarely has seen Mike so serious with his orders, even despite all the alcohol she already managed to pour in herself the girl could understand that something unprecedented happened.


    Standing up, they both refused various offers of drinks that appeared as soon as people understood they were going to leave. Excusing themselves by pointing at those few bandages that weren''t covered by Xyenna clothes, they made their way back to their room.


    "What happened for you to be in such a hurry? We could have fun in the morning! Worst case scenario, we would depart a little later!"


    While the bodyguard obediently followed her employer, she couldn''t wrap her head around his reasons for leaving so early in the night.


    "In simple terms? We have so much money on us, we need every little bit of rest we can get. If I''m not wrong, those people might very well be hunting us tomorrow"


    Mike intentionally exaggerated. If the Nobles didn''t want to share the gold, the wouldn''t even tell them about the bets in the first place. But Lord''s decision to give them their share wasn''t necessarily easily accepted by his officers. The information about the prize obtained by just a lowly merchant with a single bodyguard was simply a tasty bite for those people!


    In terms of the entire faction, less than a hundred red goldens was a food change. But for all those individuals with the early access to this informationˇ­ It was easy to fathom how would they react!


    "So, you are scared? If the amount is so huge, why not simply ask the noble''s Lord to hold onto it for you? With what I understood about your plans, this place will be incorporated into your trade route, giving you easy access to the money later on. Isn''t that a better solution?"


    Xyenna didn''t ditch the matter out. If Mike appeared to be troubled by it, that only meant there were some serious risks included.


    "Right now he sympathizes with us. You winning the duel strengthened his faction morale and dealt a great hit to the City hall. But as soon as our trade ensues, he will inherently see a huge loss of income. Inauguration of change is always a thorny path."


    Mike sighed and sat on the bed. Resting his head on his hands, he appeared to be in deep thought. Who could''ve imagined that obtaining unexpected fortune would bring so much trouble!


    "What''s your idea then? We can''t store the gold here and bringing it everywhere with us would only make the travels all the more dangerous!"


    Annoyed by the merchant indecisiveness, Xyenna pointed out the obvious facts. Except for immediately investing the gold into some local business, she couldn''t think of any other way to dispose of the reward.


    Tired by the today''s events and another trouble landing on her head right when she thought she could finally relax and get some rest, Xyenna sat down in the middle of the bed and rested on Mike''s back.


    "Forget about this now. Didn''t I promise you another reward for tonight?"


    Considering the looks that her employer was giving her in the sensual session she served him before the duel, it was obvious that her body held some arousing capabilities towards him. Instead of forcing themselves to figure out a way out of the sudden problem, they might as well get some rest and think about it with a fresh mind later!


    "Don''t even think about it! Your wounds need time to close up. No way in hell I will risk reopening them just for the sake of fleeting pleasure now!"


    Knocked out of his stupor, Mike scolded his bodyguard. Freed from thining about the quagmire they were in, freely expressing himself was an exhilarating feeling!


    "Youˇ­ Nevermind then, just hug me to the sleep then!"


    Raising her brows in surprise, Xyenna didn''t know how to react for a moment. From what she heard and knew about men, freebies should be welcomed in any scenario! But if he wasn''t going to follow her outright, she had to lure him in!The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Why are you so insistent on sleeping togetherˇ­"


    Mike couldn''t understand his friend intention. She might be drunk and the duel was certain to affect her emotions. During his early days, he often heard about the reasons why soldiers were so keen on raping the citizens in conquered cities. Some well-known physicians said that with all the adrenaline rushing through their veins during the life or death situations in battle, satisfying their lust was simply a way to vent all of those emotions.


    "Eh. Sure. I can''t keep always refusing you."


    In the end, Mike decided that agreeing to her request would bring less harm than keeping a hard stance on this topic. By letting Xyenna take the lead, he would have a wider field to manoeuvre than just plainly rejecting her!


    Shifting himself to the side, Mike laid back on the bed while pulling Xyenna with him. Putting his arms around her body, he let her head rest over his heart. There was no way he would let her be on the top with all the wounds she had!


    "Hug me tighter!"


    Still trying to undermine Mike''s resolve, the girl asked, intending to sound as cute as she could!


    Without a word, merchant tightened his embrace. While trying to ignore pleasant warmth coming from her body, he let go of her back and started slowly patting her head.


    "Just go to sleep. We have to wake up early."


    While his hand rubbed her hair, Mike tried to lul her to the sleep.


    "I don''t want to!"


    There was no way Xyenna would give up so easily! Who could''ve known when they would have another opportunity to go at it! During the travels, they had to either guide the horse or keep guard during the night. If not tonight, her next opportunity would only arise in Latvia at best!


    But she couldn''t imagine how comfortable simple head pats could be! Slowly rubbing her face against Mike''s breast her consciousness started to fade away as did her resolve to take an action. A short moment later, she was calmly breathing in sleep.


    *****************


    Waking up with the first light was already Mike''s routine. Despite how late they went to sleep, he wouldn''t complain about being tired. Nothing was stopping him from spending a little more time cuddled with Xyen but his own decisiveness.


    Carefully untangling himself from the girl''s embrace, young merchant left the bed. Stretching himself first, he walked to the window and opened it. As soon as still, dim daylight entered the room, a protesting moan came from the direction of the bed.


    "Come on dear, we have to go!"


    Seeing the girl hiding her face from the light under the blanket, Mike couldn''t help but smile. She was the cutest when half-asleep! Only at those times, her inner feminine side showed up!


    Stepping on the side of the bed, merchant grabbed the ends of the blanked and with one swift move, pulled it away!


    "If you don''t hurry, I will leave you here!"


    "Bully!"


    Left with no other choice, Xyenna had to make a move. Stretching herself with a soft moan, her revitalised limbs carried her out of the bed at last.


    "Everything is already packed up. I asked the kitchen to prepare some breakfast and supplies for the road. All we need to do is to move on and leave. Hurry up!"


    Noticing that the girl''s movements were smooth, without any indication of impact from the wounds, Mike exhaled with relief. Her fighting ability relied mostly on her agility. Even if she was still incapacitated to some degree, they had to leave anyway. Seeing that this was not the case made Mike praise her wondrous regenerative ability in his mind.


    Taking a moment to fix the blankets on the bed, they were finally ready to go. After going downstairs and grabbing their food, the pair moved to the backside of the Inn, where the stables were located. Eating the loaf of breed on the go, they dropped the sacks with preserved meat and vegetables on the carriage.


    "Leaving so early in the morningˇ­ I see that you are a smart man!"


    Suddenly, Damash voice came to their ears! Turning around, they saw the burly man and count Hikar following closely behind.


    "I see that I wasn''t wrong about you."


    As the Lord spoke, he pulled a small bag from under his robes.


    "This is a small gift for the Xantia. Could you pass them when you arrive in Latvia?"


    "Sure, but I hope I won''t be chased by half of this city guard for doing so though!"


    Mike laughed. As he guessed, even locally powerful Noble''s faction was trying to get on Xantia''s good side!


    "I will hold my officers for one day. That''s all I can do for you, friend."


    After throwing the bag on Mike''s carriage, lord turned back to the merchant and bid his farewells.


    A moment later, unexpected visitors disappeared in the Inn.


    "I guess that settles it. It''s high time to depart now!"

 29 - Mercenaries

    With the sun slowly hiding in the distance, El''s comrades were scavenging the scarlet painted picture of the battlefield. The atmosphere of the evening perfectly fitted the situation on the land. With bodies scattered all over the plain, streams of blood irrigating the fields and only a few men left standing, this was one of the places that everyone would like to avoid.


    Out of the initial fifty men they had, this battle devastated them to only seventeen in the headcount. Looking at the wounds of the wounded, this number would reach even lower in just a short moment.


    That was the life of a mercenary!


    After all those years spent fighting, killing and dying, their dying comrades were drinking themselves down to soothe the pain while the rest of the company was enjoying their own quirks. Their leader was collecting the bones from the enemies he felt himself, another old veteran was roaming around the battlefield looking for incapacitated enemies to finish, others were just looking for riches or nice pieces of the equipment.


    That was the harsh life of the rented soldier. With enough experience, one would adopt. Numbing his own emotions, one would always look for a way to survive. Compared to high-class society, the only difference lied in means to do it. Nobleman need''s to keep enough favours and alliances with his compatriots. Mercenary on the other side needs to collect as much gold as he can to be able to retire!


    Yes, some quirky individuals simply loved this way of living, enjoying all the blood and death. But for most, this profession was just a way to reach somewhere higher! Personal guards, private armies, property guardiansˇ­ All those kinds of jobs needed great expertise in real fighting and were hefty paid for!


    When the sun has hidden behind the forest, only fourteen were left alive. As the death collected its final toll on the band, people got to burying their former companions. El grabbed the nearby axe to use it as a shovel. While those pesky deserters could rot in the field, their deceased friends deserved a proper burial.


    In the end, the axe wasn''t fitted for digging. While they had some shovels in the carts, most of them were already in use somewhere else. Only when two other people came to his aid did the work become manageable.


    "That was a tough day."


    As their axes kept moving up and down, Aingrad started a conversation. After almost fourteen years spent in this service, bidding his farewells to his fallen comrades already became a routine for him. They died, we survived. Instead of mourning them, we should be happy and keep going - was his popular line.


    "Yeah."


    Wiping her forehead with her palm, Christina replied. Resting herself on the axe''s handle, she turned to El.


    "Do you think it''s deep enough already?"


    "That should do."


    El replied mechanically. Nodding his head low over his chest, the man gave his last respect to Rose. With her robust body, she always brought much joy to the male part of the team. Now, she lied two feet under the ground, with stabbed heart and an arm looped off. Nothing was left of her former pride, smashed to bits with Warhammer.


    "She was a fine warrior, yet an awful cook."


    Stomping on his axe, Aingard pushed the earth from the mound he made before down to the grave. As the earth fell down the pit, Rose face disappeared under the mud.


    "With this part done, I think they will call for the meeting. Stay put."


    Nodding his hand to El, the older man dropped the axe and moved away.


    "I will be on my way too. There is something I want to check."


    Promptly excusing herself, Christina followed Aingard steps. It was plainly obvious what her plans were. With the blood bursting through their veins and adrenaline making their bodies steam, there was a need to let down some steam. It was better than wasting money in the town''s brothels.


    In a mere moments later, El hears a specific sound of a horn. With three short signals, the brass ordered the elders conference. With such a high headcount of the troop, only six of the oldest band members were allowed to participate.


    With all those loses they suffered today, their entire way of operating had to change. They no longer had the ability to take on the big orders. Even with fewer people to share the rewards, the overall amount they could earn this way was a lot lower than it was previously.


    While the prices of the company were calculated per its strength in numbers and fame they earned, the smaller task would mean way lower spoils after the fight! Compared with the wages, their main source of income would just disappear!


    Reaching the single carriage with an actual roof and walls, El entered the vehicle and sat in the corner of the cramped room.


    This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience."... need to reach the Empire. What kind of work can we expect in this desolate place?"


    Smashing his hand on the single table in the room, Claudio lashed out at Apexar.


    "Do you really think that such a small company can lay good deals there? Local competition would force us to partake in the worst kind of tasks. With all the chaos here, there are bound to be people with problems on our current scale!"


    Interjecting in the quarrel, Nix stood up. While she was barely thirty-six years old, she was the second oldest member of the band! Living with the "Bloodsabers" since she was only twelve old, most of the people considered her a true matron of the unit.


    "Empire doesn''t need small teams. With the scales of their operations, we would be at best, sent to some unimportant frontline. Forget about contracting some merchants or guild, all those sweet spots are already taken!"


    Gravenut cut the discussion with this statement. While being the most recent addition to the company compared with other elders, he was commonly respected thanks to his vast knowledge. Being the oldest person in the entire unit, his overall experience overshadowed everyone else in the carriage.


    It wasn''t that easy to survive so long through constant battles. Every year of the service multiplied a mercenary worth. Reaching his sixty years threshold next autumn, he could easily regard everyone in the company as his son''s, with the second oldest person being the Claudio, reaching only his forty-forth year of struggling in this world.


    "Why risk fighting in great battles if we can have fun protecting some rich local merchant?"


    Budewain finally said his piece in the rare break between drinking his beer and playing with his beard.


    "For now, I think we should go to Latavia. Going back all the way to Verkses would be just a waste of time and money. I don''t think that with all the loot we grabbed here its worth to travel so far just for the sake of a single golden coin."


    Nix was the first to propose a valid course of action instead of negating their leader idea to go to the empire. Considering how close she was to everyone in the company, she wanted to save her family as much trouble as she could.


    "What do you think about this, El?"


    Sitting in the opposite corner to El, Apexar dealt a fatal hit. To avoid placing his own word into the conversation so early, he forced the young archer to do so!


    "I think that for now, Latavia is our best choice. We can''t sell the loot in small villages and it''s the closest city right now. I don''t know what we should do later, but thinking this matter through should be done in the tavern with a mug of beer, not on the damn battlefield."


    Emerging from the shadow of his hood, El leaned over the table and looked at his comrades.


    "We just suffered a great loss. Making a decision on the go could only hurt us further. Let''s rest."


    After those words, the whole carriage went silent. Overwhelmed by the sorrow, greed, exhaustion and adrenaline, even elders would have trouble coming up to a good solution. No matter how numb one became, they were ultimately just humans!


    "So the Latavia it will be."


    Seeing that his point was not yet lost, Claudio agreed and settled the matter. While the whole conference was about making a decision together, in the end it was his duty to close the discussion


    Hearing those words, everyone quickly departed the vehicle and got to their job. Of course, they weren''t the one to work hard! Despite losing a lot of people, only soldiers and slaves would move the loot on the carriages!


    Even with only half of the survivors working, they quickly managed to pack their things up and depart. Sweeping through the battlefield took then only a few minutes, but the sun already disappeared completely. With the distance separating them from the Latavia, they would probably arrive only around the tomorrow dusk, making it hard for them to enter the city easily.


    With all the spare wagons they had after losing most of their people, everyone managed to get one for themselves. With a total of seven carriages, only two of them were carrying the looted weapons, armours and other valuables, while leaving the remaining five to the passengers.


    Switching the drivers every few hours, the night slowly passed. There was no need to set the guards or avoid lighting up their way. Despite losing so many people, no one would try to pick a fight with them.


    Thanks to hurrying the horses and lighting up the way with torches on special handles, the entire unit first spotted the dimly lit city walls, when the sun started blinding them. Travelling east, this was an inevitable outcome of their decision, but there was nothing they could do to prevent it. While slowed down because of this, the front carriage stopped at the city gate only a few moments after it opened.


    Sending Luciel to negotiate with the guards was a standard tactic. A cute young girl could easily sway the soldiers and make her company enter. No man alive could refuse such a nice and polite girl, devoting herself to explain the distress her family landed in!


    Overcoming the usual hurdle with surprising ease, Luciel took only a few moments to reach the stage where she passed a few silver coins into soldier''s hand. Just a mere eyeblink later, she was already jogging back to the Gravenut side. Despite the profession she was in, this girl loved listening to this old man stories!


    After passing the gates, the company swiftly found a nice looking in. Paying the stable-boy to bring their carriages to the back, the whole team entered the main hall. In time shorter than one needed to draw a blade, they were already ordering various drinks and foods!


    As the party was starting, the tavern doors suddenly opened, letting three armed to the teeth men inside. After them, a young, smiling man made his way inside.


    "I''m the messenger of the Xantia organisation. We heard that an armed group came to the city intending to trade off their spoils. Would you be so kind as to choose three people to follow me back to our headquarters? This way all of your matters could be settled swiftly and in one go!"

 30 - Discussing the current matters

    "And what even this Xantia is?"


    Annoyed by the haughty tone of the messenger, Budewain shouted while patting his bastard sword handle. Despite all the bloodshed back in the day, those few beers he had made him look for another fight already!


    "Shut your crap!"


    While keeping the stoic expression, those who know Nix could clearly how terrified she was. From the small glint in the corner of her eyes, defensive foot placement, hands clearly visibleˇ­ All those small details could be brought as proof of the Xantia''s fame in the region. While straightforward warriors like Budewain might not know about them, Nix grew up in the area and always attempted to keep up with her friends living here.


    "Forgive him, he is clearly drunk. How can we help you then?"


    Turning back to the messenger, she sighed deeply, as if dropping a great weight from her shoulders. The newcomer didn''t seem to be annoyed at all!


    "Nah, don''t sweat the details. I grew up in slums so I''m accustomed to this kind of people. Looking at the reports, you had to have a hard time obtaining all this loot. I can understand the need to let off the steam!"


    Young guys explained himself. While those three guards on his side made him put on airs, he appeared to be a rather sympathetic, down-to-ground type of guy.


    "I''m sorry if my request sounded hostile, but as you can see, negotiations can be done only with the top brass. There is no need to gather everyone in one place and break their celebration!"


    "I get the message. If I may ask, give us a second to decide."


    Turning around Nix looked at her drinking companions. She wasn''t going to give up the opportunity to speak with Xantia brass. Claudio was an obvious choice due to his leading position, but there was still one more person needed! Just as if the bad luck had to hit him twice, matron noted El''s presence.


    "I know who I will be bringing. Let me grab them."


    Excusing herself, Nixy rushed to the leader. Seeing that El shrugged when she looked at him, she knew he understood his position. Against her, the young bard had no chance. Despite being treated as the elder of the company, in this higher company he was the one to clean the dishes!


    Just a mere moment later, she came back while dragging a protesting Claudio along. Since the El was already obediently waiting in place, they didn''t waste any time and moved out.


    While most of the town residents were still sleeping, a great number of merchants, peddlers or just common workers were filling the streets. Although they were still in the poor area''s of the town, the vibe that the crowd gave was that of handwork and motivation! Compared to other places, it was apparent that the local powerhouse operated in the lower areas simply by the energy present in here!


    "This way please."


    Stopping in front of one of the buildings on the street, the messenger invited them in.


    "I''m pleased to welcome you to the Xantia reception. Mister Syrkas will spare you some time shortly. Please, make yourself comfortable!"


    As soon as the young guy from before disappeared on the street with his guards, an elegant butler came to guide them in. The interior of the building belied its outer appearance. While it was kept in humble terms, the sheer quality of the furniture showed the wealth of its owner.


    Contrary to El''s expectations, this so-called Mister didn''t force them to wait outside. Apparently, this way of flaunting one''s influence didn''t apply to the local powerhouse!


    "The housemaster will meet you now."


    The butler appeared out of nowhere yet again, bowing slightly with his left arm showing them the way.


    As the mercenaries entered the corridor, they could see another party leaving the room at its end! From the looks of things, they had to wait for a while, not for some petty reasons but because another meeting was taking place!


    Entering through the open doors, the party saw just a simple room with plenty of chairs and simple desk manned by a plain-looking guy. There wasn''t a bit of jewellery on him, neither his robes did look expensive. If one were to describe him shortly, it would be along the lines of random middle-aged guy pulled out from the street. There was nothing distinguishable in the local master, except for his eyes.


    With a deep gaze, he seemed to analyze and judge all of them, even before they allowed themselves to sit. There was a certain radiance in his sight, putting everyone in place without a drop of protest.


    "Welcome to the Latavia. I''m sorry for the abrupt summons, but in current times this city need''s to supervised. You can imagine if we were to let parties like yours roam the city free."


    While his words were harsh, they could easily fathom the possible results. Mercenary belonged to the lowest class in society. Only slaves and serfs could be considered worse than them. One didn''t need to be ultra-bright to understand the implication of letting people like them have their share of fun in the busy town!


    "We understand your intention sir. Your messenger said that you might have a deal for us. Would you please be so kind as to elaborate on this point?"


    Taking the initiative, Nix asked the most important question. They just arrived in the city. While they might have loads of spoils for sale, they need to find the buyer in the first place. Without this man approval, they would probably have to grith their teeth and travel all the way back to Verkses!


    "Of course. There is no need to be in such a hurry though. At first, I would like to hear your reasons for visiting this town."


    Emphasizing ''this'' word, the man called previously Syrkas tapped his desk.


    "While I heard a bit about your adventures in the east, I would love to hear about your future plans right here and now."


    "We don''t really have any plans clarified right now, sir."


    To the Nix and El''s surprise, Claudio actually entered the talks in a rather graceful way. This ordinary and brutal man apparently knew how to speak with high-class governors! While they knew him for quite a while, before the last massacre, all of those official matters were dealt with by his deceased attendant!If you encounter this tale on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "What would you say if I were to propose you another job? I know you just arrived in the city, but this is an urgent matter. One of our traders went missing on the northern areas. Because he departed early in yesterday''s morning, we happened to receive a report from the scouts that they saw him fighting with some brigands. Do you think you would be able to bring him back safely?"


    Putting his hands bound together on the table, Syrkas leaned over the table. During the whole talks, his face didn''t even twitch for a bit.


    "And what is in it for us? With all due respect, mercenaries don''t work for free!


    Claudie asked while relaxing his back on the comfy sofa. The quality of this furniture was wondrous. This was the softest sitting spot he had in his life!


    "Of course, there will be a reward, or if you prefer to stick to official terms - a quest prize. What would you say about two red golden''s?"


    There had to be a proposition first to even start the negotiations. Usually, the party that initialised the bargaining offered a very low price, but this man brought his offer up a notch right off the bat! If the matter was as easy and simple as Syrkas described it to be, their usual cost would amount up to three red golden''s!


    "What about five gold coins then?"


    El finally decided that it was his turn to speak. Keeping silent through the whole exchange made him the best candidate to raise the first bet. This proposal brought him Syrkas attention the moment his words left his mouth. Gazing deep into those perfect eyes, El couldn''t help but shrug a bit.


    "Let''s make it three and close the deal right now. I won''t raise the price any higher. Sadly, your troop can''t dictate the prices anymore. I would actually love if you were to serve under Xantia as the entire unit, but your losses made it impossible. So treat it as a chance to prove your worth to me."


    Syrkas stood up from his chair behind the desk and moved closer. They spent more than enough time to discern the warrior movements. Shifting his foothold with every step, the man in front of them always was ready to either run or engage! This wasn''t something that a newbie or amateur could do. At least, it explained the lack of guards in the room.


    "If you are okay with my proposal, I would love to see how the rest of your company would react to the news of a sudden job landing on them, right after they thought they will finally rest. While I''m lenient on this part, our leader enforced this rule a long ago. People serving under us need to be able to react in a timely matter."


    "We didn''t agree to your terms yet!"


    Annoyed by the man believing everything would go his way, Claudio couldn''t help but growl silently. When he quietly murmured those words, the local powerhouse stopped.


    Turning around, he smiled and replied.


    "And do you think you have any choice here? Your friends seem to be better versed in the power balance in Latavia. To put the things short for you, the moment you entered the City, you are on my mercy. Consider me introducing you nicely to your work as an act of compassion, not weakness."


    There was a hint of coldness in his voice. His eyes kept their radiance, but the feeling they gave was a lot different now. Instead of feeling analysed, El could feel the creeps when the aura of the judgment passed by him.


    Just as if something was forcing his steps, bard followed the Syrkas as he left the room. Soon, conflicted Nix and furious Claudio closed the doors behind them and joined the group.


    Travelling through the streets in Syrkas company was a whole different feeling compared to the trip they took before. Instead of gazing at them with a look of either hostility or fear, whole mercenary part of the four of them got ignored!


    People that passed them never missed a chance to greet Syrkas with a nod or a wide smile. All of those commoners were visibly respectful toward him, yet there wasn''t a hint of fear in their eyes as they continued to welcome him. What surprised them the most, was the fact that this mighty figure was amiably responding to all of those people!


    The moment that the tavern the rest of the mercenaries were staying at, came to view, someone appeared running in the distance. In an unbelievable short time, he appeared in front of Syrkas, bowed and reported.


    "Lady Revy wants to see you immediately."


    With his lazy smile disappearing on the spot, Syrkas straightened himself and nodded.


    "Take care of this matter for me, please. I will go to report myself immediately."


    "Now then folks, your fates got passed to my hands. Show me your team and I will figure out what use can you be for the great Xantia!"


    As soon as the man left, the messenger took up his role, rolled up his sleeves and announced loudly. While his words sounded a bit haughty, his happy smile making him resemble a puppy banished all of their anger steaming from hurting their pride!


    As the newcomer was entering the Tavern with his new friends, Syrkas was almost running through the streets. In reality, there was no obligation for him to appear as fast as he could. He never considered Revy as someone who would demand him to do so. But by demanding his presence while he was in the middle of his workˇ­ Something urgent had to happen!


    After a short jog, Syrkas finally reached the doorstep of yet another house, not different from any other in this part of the city. Knocking respectfully on the door, he heard slow footsteps before the entrance got opened.


    "Come in."


    It was no one else than Revy herself who invited him! Despite unimaginable power she wielded, this young girl never acted in a way other people would expect her to. Refusing to keep even a single servant or butler, she was known among the upper brass of the organisation to be the only one preparing her own meals!


    While some believed that she insisted on doing that herself in fear of being poisoned, but Syrkas knew better than them. Being one of the founding members of the organisation, he knew her personally from the times before ever the idea of setting up the family surfaced!


    "What happened for you to summon me in such a way?"


    There was no need to stand on the ceremony. With the doors now closed, they could act the same way they used to back in their childhood years. Who would be so dumb to call his friend a lady, while knowing how detached she felt because of her position!


    "I heard a report today. They said he is going back."


    With her head unusually low, her tiny body appeared even smaller than usual. There was only a handful of people who knew the real Revy, not the bloodthirsty and authoritarian figure created for the sake of the family.


    "Who is going back? Barran? And I was about to send a rescue party for himˇ­"


    Catching up on her words, Stern exclaimed in surprise. Why did he send the distress signal then? Why didn''t he run to his place to inform?


    "Stop making fun of me. It''s Mike who is coming!"


    Gritting her teeth through her friend response, Revy erupted in fury. There was only a single person she would mention with such emotions to it.


    "Mike?!"


    This one single word broke all the composure that Syrkas was so proud of having.


    "Didn''t he die on the frontline two years ago?"


    "You actually believed in that?"


    Opening her eyes as wide as her eye sockets allowed, Revy stared at her friend, unable to utter another word. They both grew up with Mike, so she believed that Syrkas wouldn''t underestimate their friend abilities!


    "Forget that. I got a report that he is pretending to be a merchant now. He tries to act covertly, but as usual, leaves a trail of blood and hate behind him. If my predictions are not wrong, he should be running away from someone right now. Ignore the Barran. Send those people to his aid and bring him back!"

 31 - Chase

    "I don''t think this is a good idea, guys."


    Julia protested when they were leaving the shadow of the gatehouse. The morning sun was still low when all of what remained of their former unit departed. Already energised by those few drinks they managed to chug down, there wasn''t a single person enjoying the idea of another mission. Just when they looted enough stuff to get them easily through the coming winterˇ­ Leaving everything in the local lord goodwill, they had to go on yet another mission.


    "We don''t really have much choice. It''s either do or die for us."


    Nix engaged in the small talk. While she was great at keeping the morale up, comforting others wasn''t her best side.


    "Why do we need to go for such lengths? Anyone is willing to remind me?"


    Suria interjected their talk, wearing an annoyed expression on her face. As one of the scouts, she wasn''t allowed any drinks on the battlefield. A small lapse of attention and she would be the one getting killed instead of the enemy. Yet now she was here, riding a horse and trying to ignore the pleasant warmth of alcohol in her body.


    "We need some sort of protector in the city we are in. With their help, we will be able to sell our loot. With their work, we might be able to slowly rebuild in a stable environment. There are so many reasons for accepting this task, we simply couldn''t refuse!"


    While her words were said with a firm tone, her sour smile didn''t add much of value to her speech. Even if what she said was true, there was another part to it. Failing the mission would lead to angering their employer and potentially losing their wares. But if the only other option was to slowly die under their oppression, wasn''t it the best solution?


    "I feel like this mission will haunt us."


    Shrugging in the response, Julia curled up when hearing an answer. Curling down, her petite, fairy-like body gathered in a small ball on top of the horse saddle.


    **********


    "This damn Lord tricked us!"


    Scanning the horizon, Xyenna shouted. Her hand on the grip of her sword, she didn''t bother to hide her anxiousness.


    "There is no way we will reach anything at this rate, do something!"


    "I''m doing my best now!"


    Focusing on controlling the horse, Mike couldn''t split his attention between the animal that was going wild from fear and the enemies rushing to backstab them. The difference between carriage and riding horse was just too great!


    While just a moment ago they were nothing but small drops on the horizon, silhouettes of their pursuers were already the size of small balls. With enough attention, she could even discern the horse from the rider!


    "We can''t do anything but wait now. Grab the gold and pack it into a single bag. We can''t drive fast on the carriage, the best way to use it is to bait them into attacking us here."


    Mike suddenly slowed down, coming to the decision. The cargo he was carrying was worth just a few silvers at most, and the horse that was pulling the wagon wouldn''t be able to keep up with the nimble mounts of their pursuers. There was no other way, they had to fight!


    "Are you out of your mind? There are more than ten people visible, the only god knows how many of them are closing on us as we speak. How do you intend to fight them?"


    Xyenna turned around rapidly and stared daggers at Mike. While she couldn''t blame him for the situation, there was a limit of absurd she would willingly accept from his mouth!


    "It''s not like we have any other way. The wagon gives us a higher ground towards them with some cover against arrows. You can have a better foothold on it compared with attacking from the horseback. If you have any better ideas, feel free to share them!"


    It''s not like his proposal had other reasons behind it. With the way the whole situation played out, it was obvious that the Lord planned every single detail of this action. With his ties to Xantia surfacing due to either a report of the mess Mike made in their base of operations or Ritzy ratting him in, it was obvious that there was some conflict between his faction and Latavia. Forcing Mike to lower his guard by sharing the winnings from the bet, he put him in the worst place that former assassin would imagine for a fight!Reading on this site? This novel is published elsewhere. Support the author by seeking out the original.


    Sparking the conflict in the city would spell death for the entire faction. If they knew who Mike once was, they had to consider his abilities when they planned this operation. Just by putting him on the empty plain they made so that all of his might could be thrown into the trash!


    While Mike was trying to figure out any other way out of trouble, Xyenna was busy moving the red goldens from small pouches into a single grain bag. Leaving a few coins in every pouch, she bound them to her belt. In case of need, she could always throw one bag away at the enemies!


    "I don''t think they hail from a single group."


    After Xyenna finished packing the gold up, Mike took a random bag of wheat and weighed it in his hand. With over forty kilos of grains inside, he could barely hold it with one hand. Looking back to judge the distance still separating them from the pursuers, merchant stopped the horse. Cutting the ropes and raising the wooden part that connected the carriage to its mount, Mike dropped the bag on poor horse''s back and slammed its ass.


    Scared by the sudden pain, poor animal broke into the run. While it looked comical when a pulling horse tried to gallop, the necessary speed was there. Even if parting with trusted mount pained Mike, this action could bait some of their enemies away from them. That would also allow them to gauge whether they were chasing them to steal the money or for other reasons!


    While letting the horse go could serve as great provocation, it also meant that now they stopped in place. Even this slow speed that they were travelling at made it seem that they had some chance of escape, but now there was nothing else but fight for them.


    Thankfully, Mike idea paid off. Noticing his action, a small part of the pursuers changed the direction and rushed for the road. That served as proof that they didn''t work together.


    Just when the things were supposed to get at least slightly better, an arrow dug into the road behind them.


    "Fuck! That scared me!"


    Jumping away from the edge of the wagon, Xyenna looked down at the arrow. Long bolt with a slim head. It wasn''t made for hunting the animals, but the other type of prey!


    Falling on the cargo and hiding behind the wooden board, Mike grabbed two hunting bows from their luggage and threw one to Xyenna.


    "We don''t have many shots, aim for sure hits!"


    While their enemy was bound to be equipped in far better weapons, they had to shoot while riding. Compared to them, merchant and his bodyguard were on far better position. Calmly drawing reading their bow''s behind the cover, all they had to do was to stand up, aim at their target, shoot and hide again. The only problem lied in how far their enemies were!


    Every moment could be counted by the sound of another arrow striking the carriage. By moving all of the grain bags to the sides, Mike didn''t need to worry about bolts penetrating the wagon walls. While this allowed them a brief moment of rest, with every shot, their enemies were closing in.


    After a few minutes, Xyenna decided to take her shoot. Emerging from behind her cover, she drew her bow, took aim and released it. As soon as the projectile separated from the bowstring, the girl jumped back to her hideout. As the arrow flew through the air, it''s target tried to change the direction his horse was running at. Before the man managed to accomplish his panicked task, bolt firmly lodged itself in his throat.


    "Nice shot."


    While he had a lot of skills at his disposal, archery wasn''t one of the abilities Mike could be proud of. Hunting the deer was different than aiming for people. The speed, the predictability, the patternsˇ­ They all made it a hard task for the merchant to adapt. Only when their enemies get into his preferred range, did he repeat Xyenna action. Without a surprise, the girl followed him in an instant.


    With another two shots, only one enemy felt down from his mount. Apparently, they both aimed for the same person!


    "What the hell was that!"


    Feeling the burden of the looming fight in her chest, Xyenna wasn''t able to keep the reins on her emotions. Wasting a precious arrow like that could only bring them closer to certain death!


    "Don''t sweat it. It''s not like we can shot anymore. They are too close now."


    Even if shorter distance meant easier shot for them, it was the case for the enemy as well. At first, the remaining six pursuers tried to surround them to have a better angle to shoot, but few arrows sent by Xyenna made them understand that this wouldn''t be as easy as they imagined. Promptly giving up on the idea, they staffed their bows onto special hold in their saddles and pulled out their swords. It was the right time to start the real fight!


    Seeing their action, Mike exhaled with relief. They had to be used to bullying commoners. What could they do from horseback against two fighters standing firmly on the carriage?

 32 - First blood drawn

    In the end, the result was exactly what Mike expected. Charging on horseback against their carriage, only to slow down and stop on its side! With all the momentum their enemies gained while closing on them, there was no way they could orientate themselves properly after the sudden stop!


    Unable to attack their targets hidden behind the planks, they had to brush by the wagon sides and continue their run on the road. Not even a single hit was exchanged between the parties!


    "When they charge again, throw grain on them."


    Peeking through one of the holes that an arrow made in the plank Mike was hiding behind, the merchant saw their enemies turning their horses around and preparing to charge yet again. Noticing a small nod on Xyenna side, he didn''t bother with her anymore and braced himself for the next clash.


    Not learning from their previous failure, pursuers charged again. This time at least two of them switched to pikes, realising that swords had to short range of attack to pose any threat to their targets. Remaining five of their comrades either didn''t want to part with their swords or just didn''t have other types of weapon to use.


    Taking the lead, pike armed men charged at the carriage. When they got close enough, their arms sprung forward making the tip of their spears burst through the tiny planks. What they didn''t expect though, was that both of their enemies would jump out of cover to attack!


    All of them were wearing hardened leather shirts with hauberks on top. Without a battle hammer or a heavy axe, there was no way to penetrate their defences. Lowering their heads at the point of impact made the single vital spot covered by the helmet, hence there was no reason to fear any kind of retaliation.


    All of their pride and guesses turned worthless when one of them suddenly found a heavy bag flying in his direction. Just by simply turning around his own centre and letting go of the grain he was holding allowed Mike to push one of the enemies down from his horse!


    Hiding back behind his plank, he noticed that the second leader of the charge remained back in his saddle. Confused by the situation and unbothered by the swords slashing at the plank that served as his cover, he turned to Xyenna, only to see her kneeling motionless with a hand full of wheat with a dumbfounded face.


    "Did you justˇ­."


    "SHUT YOUR CRAP"


    Despite how dire their situation appeared to be, this small little exchange forced a smile on Mike''s mouth. He couldn''t believe that Xyenna listened to him soˇ­ directly!


    "Stop laughing! I just thought it was another one of your brilliant ideas!"


    Infuriated by her own silliness more than the lord''s treason, Xyenna blushed from the rage raging in her. Unable to take it anymore, she brandished her sword and jumped at the last enemy passing by their carriage. Focusing her full strength on this single hit, she aimed for her opponent sword.


    With a loud clang, both of them fall back. The only difference lied in the fact that the girl landed on the bags of wheat from standing, while her opponent felt down his rushing horse!


    Thanks to some stroke of luck, dislodged enemy tried to hold to the reins when he was falling, making his horse stand up! In this brief moment when his mount was dribbling on his back legs, Xyenna used the opportunity to grab the saddle and jumped on the horse!


    Sitting firmly in her new mount, the first thought to appear in her head was to run away!


    Shrugging herself from this blasphemous idea, the girl kicked her heels on the mount sides and rushed forward. While the enemies heard the noise of her exchange with one of their comrades, their armour made them unable to look back and assess the situation. With that in mind, Xyenna hastened her horse and before her opponents managed to slow down to turn around, she slashed her sword horizontally to the right, looping the head of the soldier''s neck.


    Continuing her chase, Xyenna turned her horse to the right and repeated her action on yet another enemy, claiming her third kill in the fight. Only then did the enemies realise what was going on!This book is hosted on another platform. Read the official version and support the author''s work.


    With the Mike picking up his bow and Xyenna now chasing them, it didn''t take long before the now two remaining soldiers turned around and run. After a short moment, they disappeared in the nearby trees.


    "That was a rough one."


    Xyenna got down the horse. Even if there was bound to be a mass of people doing their best only to catch them, they had to catch their breath. While some might call it irresponsible, if one were to keep fighting, running and dodging, he would be caught in a fairly quick manner.


    "Yeah. We need at least four horses, this way we might still getaway."


    Mike pointed out. But this wasn''t as easy as it sounded. The clock was ticking. With every second wasted on running around to catch the mounts, their enemies would be a step closer!


    "Here, this one already obeys me. Pack the gold on him!"


    Not wasting a single moment, Xyenna got down from the horse she previously acquired. Leaving it back so Mike can fix the bag with gold on its saddle, the girl slowly walked towards another animal. Whispering in a calm, relaxing tone, she moved closer step by step. Thanks to its docile nature, there wasn''t any problems with this one.


    Turning around, the girl spotted another horse, slowly walking around the carriage. Noticing some movement in the corner of her eye, she turned around and stared in the distance. There was a crowd of silhouettes slowly appearing on the horizon!


    "We have no time for the spare horses!"


    Without a delay, warrioress shouted and jumped to the free horse. After checking its saddle, the girl turned around only to see Mike running around collecting the arrows.


    "Are you out of your mind? They will catch up to us!"


    "Calm the hell down. With their numbers, we can''t engage in a hand to hand fight. Being in front gives us a better range to fight at the distance. Gather as many arrows as you can, their horses are bound to be tired as well."


    Calming the girl down, Mike turned around and approached a limping horse nearby. With its broken leg, it wouldn''t be of any use for them, but there was a quill full of arrows mounted on the back of its saddle!


    Trying to use the opportunity, Xyenna looked around. Probably scared by the fighting and screams, the remaining horses already ran away. While still visible nearby, there was no way she would be able to catch them now.


    "Okay, I got them."


    Detaching the quill from the hurt horse''s saddle, Mike ran back to the mount with the gold and jumped on it''s back. With Xyenna promptly following his action, they turned the horses to the east and moved.


    Despite the enemies already visible on the horizon, they both slowed down their horses. They still had some advantage in terms of distance, so instead of tiring their already spent horses down, they choose to let them rest first. Only after a good half an hour, they were forced to hurry.


    At some times, even the most emotional and important chase was turning boring. With both parties gaining and losing the distance to let their horses have some breath, the time was passing in a speed of a rushing turtle.


    Seconds stretched into minutes, minutes into hours. The army that was chasing them lost about half of its members, leaving only around fifty behind. Thanks to some serious drilling, their horses were able to endure this prolonged chase!


    The only good news was that with every step they made east, Xantian''s sphere of influence crept closer. They only needed to pass by the first patrols to hide in the warm embrace of Mike''s former organisation.


    It was about the time when they felt into the illusion of escaping. Another group showed up in the east!


    Numbering as much as the party behind, there was already one hundred enemies chasing them down!


    Slowing down, Mike looked into the distance. While they were still far away, he could already see the familiar hills indicating how close they were to the city. Yet halfway there, there was another rider''s host slowly moving towards them.


    From the way they saved their horses energy, their intentions were apparent. By no means, don''t let Mike and Xyenna circumvent them!


    Taking a quick look at their remaining choices, young merchant felt some kind of pull towards the north. While there was a jungle fairly close in that direction, south offered a lot better terrain for riding on horseback. There were also lesser villages but a lot wealthier ones in there, potentially capable of granting them a refugee.


    After spending a good chunk of his life as a merchant, Mike preferred to listen to his guts. Working as an assassin taught him how to rely on his six sense. To really make any use of it, one had to understand the principle of its effect first.


    It wasn''t some kind of magic trick or innate gift. It was way easier and simpler than that. Human''s never collect as much data as everyone would believe. By focusing oneself on more basic sensations, one''s peripheral senses would develop. This so-called ''assassins sense'' was nothing more than a more efficient way to survive on the battlefield. And Mike lived through enough to know when to listen to it.


    Turning their horses, Mike rushed north with Xyenna the following suit. After just a few minutes, they could spot the lush forest in the distance. While the horses had to stay on plains, running away in woods was a lot easier than doing so in the open area.


    Just when the duo thought of relaxing, Mike''s horse fell to its side, barely breathing. They didn''t have two horses anymore!.

 33 - Staying behind

    "Goddamnit!"


    Crawling from under the horse, Mike cursed at their fate. They were so close to the treeline, yet with a single look behind, the merchant could ascertain that this was as far as they could go.


    "Are you okay?"


    Hopping down from the horse, Xyenna ran to Mike''s side. Seeing that he was okay, she took a glance at the horse. With its haggard breath, they could see it reached its limit. Unable to even stand, there was no way it could keep running.


    "Any ideas now?"


    Checking the remaining horse up, Mike felt into a short daze. It was way too tired to keep both of them on it''s back. Only now it became apparent why those horses were so easy to catch. It wasn''t their docileness, but those mounts that had the energy to spare ran away in the first place!


    "We won''t be able to escape anymore. There might be three reasons for them to chase us while investing so many resources. If you decide to stay, we can only hope that they are after the gold. But looking at how they disregard the lives of those soldiers just to slow us down, I find this possibility rather unlikely."


    Lacking any other options, Mike could only state the facts. With one horse, only one person could try to escape now. While he made a little mess back in Uveno, Mike was overall lying low. While he could stand out a bit thanks to his schemes and intervention at during the duel, only the City Hall could have any interest in abducting him. Xyenna, on the other hand, could prove to be valuable bargaining cheap for Nobles if they were to try to lower the tension between the factions.


    "I have the last task for you. Take the horse with gold and run it to the treeline. From there, follow the border of the jungle to the east. When the forest will start shifting northwards, turn south. You will reach the Latavia in about three days. Just let someone from Xantia pick you up and ask them to pass a code forty-two to the Revy. She will know what to do."


    There was no other way. They could either catch him or both of them. In this situation, only his old friends could be of any help. Considering how the pursuers cut them off from the road to the east, they probably deduced that he had some ties with Latavia. That would explain why they were so keen on catching him!


    "Are you out of your mind?"


    Hearing Mike''s proposal, Xyenna calmness broke. Up until now, her employer always managed to come up with a crafty idea even in the worst kinds of trouble, yet he was giving up now? Unable to contain her fury, she pointed out at the pursuers and shouted.


    "Do you really think I will leave you on their mercy?"


    "There is no other way. We can''t fight them off, we can''t run away. What else can we do? If you manage to reach Xantia, they will probably send some help. Isn''t this better than just staying back to wait for the certain death?"


    It wasn''t like Mike didn''t understand Xyenna''s stance. Leaving her employer in the face of danger would considerably drag her reputation and prospects down. With the addition of the friendship they shared, it was no wonder his proposition infuriated her!


    "You are right. Staying here means death. Why would they keep you alive then? What will be the use of even the whole army if you are no longer in this world to be saved by it?"


    There was no way she didn''t notice this hole in Mike''s reasoning. With all things considered, he just wanted to give her a nice way out of this quagmire!


    "Try to think about it for a bit. If they want gold, you can spit them in the face by running away with it. If they for some reason want me, they won''t kill me anyway. But what if they want you?"


    Looking back in the direction of the pursuers, Mike started to feel a bit of panic slowly crawling all over his body. While they were still a considerable distance away, the merchant had only about five minutes to convince Xyenna to run. Later on, even if she forced the horse to run for its life, the army chasing them would be able to catch up with her before the line of the trees!


    "What do you mean by that? What uses would they have for me? I''m just an adventurer!"


    Unable to understand what her employer was implying, the girl just stood in the spot and stared at him with a dumbfounded face.


    "Oh, for the fuck sake, don''t you see how valuable you are for them as the winner of the duel? Be it to provoke the City Hall or to treat you as a bargaining chip during the peace talks, they are bound to value you! Do you want to spend your days as the damn exhibition slave?"


    Slowly but steadily losing his composture, Mike lashed out at his bodyguard. Not sparing the harsh words, he tried to paint a picture of her possible future. Only by this kind of heavy psychical hit could the merchant force her to abandon him!


    "Okay, okay! I get it!"


    Unable to refute Mike words, Xyenna had to give up. Grabbing merchant''s arms, she pulled him into her embrace.


    "Don''t you dare dying one me now!"


    Whispering those few words into his ears, the girl tightened her hold on him before stopping the hug and strolling to her horse. Leaving all her hesitation behind, she kicked the ground and jumped on the saddle. Turning the mount''s head toward the forest, she looked back.


    "I hopeˇ­"


    Before Xyenna managed to finish her sentence, she furrowed her brows and looked back to the treeline. She was sure she heard some clamouring coming from that direction!


    Alerted by his bodyguard unusual action, Mike focused his attention at the place where he wanted Xyenna to run away. Only a few seconds later, all the emotions flew away from his face, replaced by pale white colour surfacing on his cheeks.


    Somehow, enemies managed to man this area as well!


    As more and more people emerged from behind the trees, their situation turned desperate. They couldn''t run west, north or east. While the south was still open for them, there was no way Xyenna''s tired horse could outrun their pursuers! Only by reaching the terrain where one could count only on his feet, would she have any chance of escaping!This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    "It seems like our previous discussion just lost its point."


    Casually point out the facts, the girl jumped down from the horse. Detaching the bag with the red goldens from the saddle, she freed the mount from the pieces of her equipment and slammed its back. With their remaining horse speeding up into the distance, she proclaimed her stance on the matter.


    "Well, there is nothing left but to prepare now."


    They lost. Even if they were still standing with various weapons lying all around, there was simply no way for them to win. They could try to fight off some enemies, maybe even a dozen of them! But staked against more than a hundred? The only question that could be asked was how many of them could they kill before losing their lives or freedom.


    When the pursuers noticed that their prey ceased any sorts of movements, they shouted in cheer and hastened their horses. As their silhouettes were growing with every passing moment, the lone duo prepared their bows. Just like before, they had the advantage of staying on the stable ground, where their enemies were riding the horses. If only they had some cover to run behind, this fight might take longer. While the ultimate outcome was already decided, Mike dearly missed the opportunity to incur even more death in their pursuers formation!


    With the horsemen charging from both west and east, footmen in the north jumped into a frantic run. Judging from their urge to enter the fight, there was bound to be some reward in it. Be it claiming their lives, securing the gold of apprehending them, everyone was keen to finish the task in the shortest time possible.


    What the riders didn''t expect though, was that the moment they entered the Xyenna''s bow range, arrows started whistling everywhere around.


    While normal arrow would have a hard time penetrating the chainmail, with the riders galloping towards the shooter, their hauberks didn''t amount to much. As the bodies started to fall off the horses one by one, Xyenna''s eyes turned red as her repetitive movement started to accelerate.


    Nock the arrow on the bowstring. Pull the string, while pushing the grip away from the body, while raising it to the desired angle. Correct the aim. Let go of the string. Pull the arrow from the quiver, nock it on the bowstringˇ­


    With every shot fired, Xyenna looked like she was sinking deeper and deeper into some strange stance, where nothing else mattered for her despite operating her bow. On her side, Mike was doing his best to keep up with her. While it was impossible for him to match her speed, he could at least try to make accurate shots.


    In only a minute, more than eleven soldiers received a solid dose of iron into their body! Unfortunately, not all of them ceased the chase. Even after being hit with the arrow, if Mike or Xyenna didn''t manage to reach a vital spot, the soldier would be able to brace himself and plainly ignore the bolt sticking out of his body. In the end, only about five or so men dropped dead the moment the arrow reached them.


    While this was a satisfactory result, it didn''t change the situation at all. As the distance changed from a few kilometres to only a few tens of meters, Mike and his friend dropped the bows. Grabbing the lances formerly belonging to now-deceased soldiers and holding their swords in their main hand, they braced themselves against the ground and waited for the impact.


    ***********


    It took them a good few hours to find the first clue. After galloping down the road all the way from the Latavia to their current location, they could at least report some success. While it sounded like a great thing to happen, there was nothing special to be proud of. Anyone going down the road would notice this broken-down carriage!


    After reaching the suspicious wagon, the vanguard didn''t even need to look around to spot several bodies lying around in the grass. With pools of blood formed by small streams originating from the corpses, it was obvious that some fight happened here recently.


    Jumping down from his horse, Gravenut approached the deceased and started inspecting it. By the time he was done, the rest of the mercenaries arrived at the scene. While they were impatient to rush back into the chase, they just stayed silent in wait for the results of wise man judgment.


    "They are already cold. Due to their vigour, their bodies only started to tense up around half an hour ago. My guess is that they are dead for at least six hours already."


    Standing up from his previously kneeling position, old man cleaned his hands under the water poured on them by his assistant.


    "Thanks love."


    Dismissing Luciel, Gravenut nodded his head in gratitude. As the petite girl ran back to her horse and stuffed the goatskin back to her sacks, the old man turned to Claudio.


    "What are your orders?"


    "Is there any trail around? I don''t see any blood on the carriage, so it''s passengers either got kidnapped or left by themselves. Any clues?"


    Turning back to Suria, the middle-aged man sent her a serious look.


    With a face filled with displeasure, an athletic girl jumped down from her horse and kneeled on the ground, inspecting the grass. It didn''t take long before she raised herself back to the straight position and started moving all around the place. She even whistled at her horse and climbed back on it to have a better view!


    "There was some sort of small scale skirmish here. I can''t say anything more specific, but a lot of people went offroad and travelled northeast from here."


    After reporting her findings, this diabolic little girl positioned herself back in the saddle, closing her eyes and pretending to be asleep in an instant.


    "If the chase moved north, our targets were probably aiming to escape to the Latavia. So if Xantia didn''t intercept them there, we should be able to catch up to them by going directly north."


    While it was rare for him to speak up, Apexar didn''t shy away from proving the superiority of his strategic thinking over everyone else in the unit.


    "Don''t think you can take a rest now. We need you to look out for any traces leading west. Understood?"


    With his gaze directed at their scout, it didn''t take long for Suria to give up. While he was a part of the elder''s group, his status never got confirmed by anyone. While he simply usurped it thanks to his analytical prowess, no one dared to make a commoner an officially commanding figure! Despite that, feeling the murderous gaze on her, petite spotter gave in to the pressure and nodded her head with reluctance.


    "Can you estimate the number of the riders?"


    Looking for any other information outside of the general direction of movement, Nix asked Suria.


    "It''s hard to tell the exact count, but there were more than sixty of them."


    At the single though of facing this kind of crowd with only a few people to her side the girl shrugged slightly. Whoever it was that they were trying to save, he clearly knew how to step on someone''s tail!


    "We will go north then. Everyone, prepare for a fight! We are going to rescue those people and earn a comfy place to live from now on! Imagine all those luxuries we might get if we finish the task we were given! Come on! Follow me!"


    Giving a short but passionate speech, Claudio kicked his heels to his horse''s side. Startled by the sudden pain, poor animal had to other choice but to speed up! In just a moment, the rest of the mercenaries followed suit.

 34 - Dungeon

    When Mike regained his senses, all he could feel were his pained wrists. With the complete darkness surrounding him, he could rely only on his touch and hearingˇ­ Or he could have if not for the rope tightened around his hands!


    Only when merchant tried to move around did he start to feel the pain all over his body. With his head slowly clearing up, he noticed an annoying itching coming from the bruises that he obtained before getting knocked out.


    With both his legs and arms bound, Mike could only slowly crawl around until he stroked his head on the metal bars. Even with this small bump, his skull made him remember that it wasn''t treated gently previously.


    The merchant managed to climb up and rest his back on the metal bars only after the assault of the pain subsided. This slight movement sapped the young guy energy. Resting his head on the blockade, he focused on his hearing.


    Sadly, there was no one around. Not even the greatest assassin would be able to hold his breath out of sudden. Thanks to the absolute silence in the place he was kept, Mike could at least ascertain that he was all alone. While that gave him the opportunity to escape, it also meant that Xyenna either died or was held somewhere else!


    After waiting for a bit to let his body have some rest, the young man started tightening and relaxing his wrists. Setting himself free from this ignorant bidings didn''t take much time. With as much as three minutes, the ropes fell to the floor as Mike got to unravelling the knot on his legs.


    With all his limbs freed, the young man could finally straighten himself and pace around the room he was held in. While one would say it didn''t bring him any closer to breaking away from the location, Mike knew he had to devise a plan to rescue his friend and escape from the daring hands of the nobles.


    Curious about the size of the room he was held in, Mike strolled along the wall of his temporary prison to gauge its dimensions. With his short walk completed, only a single conclusion surfaced in his thoughts. He was in some sort of the basement of castle dungeons.


    For some, this thought would be enough to lose all the energy. This kind of place was used to hold prisoners even in ancient times. With such a long tradition to it, there was no way one would be able to escape from it, isn''t it?


    On the other side, Mike couldn''t stop the corners of his mouth from curling up. His kidnappers either didn''t know who he was in the end, or they outright underestimated him!


    Biding his time to let his body rest, the young man noticed a very slight background noise, coming from somewhere up top. Focusing his attention on this slight sound, the merchant still needed some time to make up its origins.


    There was no way to ascertain it, but from the sudden ups and downs in the volume, Mike assumed that the noise was, in fact, a distant cheering. It would make sense because cashing on ninety-six red goldens probably meant a great bonus for those soldiers pay.


    The fact that he could barely hear the cheers meant a world for Mike. If they were celebrating, everyone was bound to put their guard off! Additionally, the fact that he was able to hear them, meant that there was no one else in the dungeon!


    Turning around to face the bars, Mike held one of them with his right hand. With his eyes closed and mind cleared, he focused on the small iron tube, held in his grip. With the enchantment part of his gift activated, he started pouring his energy into the metal.


    With every drop of his inner power leaving his body through his hand, he could kind of see the structure of the bar in his mind. Rust covering the small fractures and holes, impurities in the metal that were left after the smithing processˇ­ All of it flooded Mike head, making him unable to think of anything else.


    As the drops of sweat started to fall from his face, young man tightened his grip. At first, he had to clear the rusty sediment from the iron pole. Cutting it away part by part, it took him almost an hour to finish this task!


    With the bar now seemingly flawless on the outside, its internal structure was a wreck. Full of holes and fractures, it seemed like with just a little pressure, the bar would break. But the reality was disappointing. While Mike could give it all and break the weakened part, not only it would take his entire strength, it wouldn''t leave any real results! He was far too big to squeeze through such a small hole.


    After taking a short break to stabilise his breathing and recover some of his energy, Mike got back to work. Holding the cleaned part of the metal bar again, he focused on recovering it to its perfect state!


    Contrary to how stupid it would sound to a hypothetical observer, there was a meaning in his action. His ability to restore the things to their perfect state was a part of his gift, but he assimilated it only when he broke through to the second level of his gift. He couldn''t break or affect the basic law of the world! He couldn''t create something from nothing!


    Closing his eyes yet again and focusing on the repair, small drops of the metal started flowing down from the metal bar, filling the holes in the cleaned part of it. With every flaw resolved, the upper and bottom parts connected to the bit Mike was fixing became thinner and thinner. Sadly, it wasn''t enough!


    Taking another short rest, the merchant started to purify the metal that the bar was made of. Feeling the impurities emerge from the pole with the palm of his hand, Mike could watch various elements flow down his fingers and fell to the ground. Only when the part he was holding was finally restored to its absolute peak did it''s neighbouring parts thin enough to be broken out.


    While some would consider it a great job, Mike wasn''t done yet. Even if he managed to remove one bar, he had to repeat the whole process at least two more times to make a hole big enough to fit through!Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    After another two hours of arduous work, the merchant was able to leave his cell. Almost entirely sapped dry from his internal energy, the darkness all around influenced his mind. Too tired to think rationally, he felt as if some kind of membrane separated him from the entire world. Enclosed in his own state of mind, Mike started to discern the outline of the corridor.


    It was filled with holding cells just like the one he escaped from. While all of them were empty, just by swiping his fingers on the metal bars he understood why he was here all alone. There was no way those people would hold someone in a place that could be broken open with just a slight push!


    Done with assessing the unknown territory, Mike randomly chose the direction to walk. Even while trapped in his weird state of mind, it was simply impossible for him to find any hidden clues. In a situation where he had no idea where to go to, choosing at random was the best choice.


    Travelling through the multiple corridors and staircases took him quite a while. Only after he climbed up four floors did Mike heard steady breathing coming from the shadows in front of him.


    As soon as the noise became discernable, the young man stopped. While his killer mode enchanted his senses, he couldn''t tell if the person he heard was sleeping or just resting.


    Moving as slow as the turtle, merchant got to his knees and crawled forward, one inch at a time. Even if this was excess trouble to go through, wasting a few minutes of his time in exchange for ensuring that no alarm would be sound was a worthy trade.


    When he finally reached the corner and peeked around it, Mike saw a guard sitting on the floor, with his back resting against the wall. From his lowered head and steady movements of his chest, the young man understood that he only wasted his time. With a bottle of booze lying beside the guard it became obvious that he was dead drunk!


    Approaching the man, Mike quickly searched him for any sorts of weapon. Retrieving a used up sword and a knife from his belt, he covered guard''s mouth with one hand and placed the knife''s blade on his throat. With a swift swing, the blood started flowing down the guardian''s neck.


    Using the light of the nearby torch, Mike made haste while stripping the guard''s corpse from his leather armour. When he was done changing his outfit, the young man dragged the naked body to the lower floor. While the trail of blood was an obvious clue to what happened, there was a chance that whoever would discover it, would try to find the body before sounding the alarm. While the probability of that happening was as low as princess ending up as a prostitute, this kind of small possibilities and advantages were the baseline of Mike''s famed works back in the times.


    Donning the formerly guard''s helmet, the young man straightened himself, took the torch off the wall and followed the corridor. I took him only one more staircase to reach the ground floor. Looking through the first window he spotted, Mike saw the courtyard littered with corpses.


    With no blood oozing in the moonlight, it was obvious that those were the victims of the persona well known amongst warriors community going by the name of booze.


    There was simply no way he could risk going out in the open now. While he was dressed as one of them, with the blood of the former owner of the suit still on his chest plate, showing up in front of the people would instantly alarm them. If he wanted to leave, Mike had to ensure that the numbers of possible pursuers would be as low as possible. Taking how small the surrounding buildings appeared to be in comparison to the tower he was in, a considerable number of soldiers were bound to be inside.


    With no information about Xyenna whereabouts or even her physical state, he had to take care of all the possible enemies before even attempting to rescue her!


    Following the circular pattern of the corridor, Mike passed the doors and arrived at the staircase. The closer he got to it, the better he could hear the talking taking place upstairs. While he was going right into the lion''s mouth, instead of tightly gripping his weapons, Mike relaxed and trekked on the stairs as if this was the natural thing for him to do!


    Reaching the upper floor allowed him to see seven people sitting in their deep chairs around the fireplace embedded into the tower wall. Just this small insight made Mike wonder about the architectonical skill of the designer of this tower. Adding a small fireplace like that, which could only serve as a comfort zone for the tower inhabitants required a lot of complicated work at the projecting stage! Including the chimney, smoke vents, holes in the structureˇ­ All of it had to be done even before the first brick got laid out!


    "The guard down there fell asleep. I wanted to discipline him at first, but don''t want to do it without the order. What should I do?"


    Still pretending to be one of them, Mike asked while approaching the soldiers. Using his voice to mask the slight sound of pulling out the knife from his belt, the young man felt as if the membrane distanced him from the world even farther.


    "Just kick him in the balls. I''m not paying him for sleeping around!"


    Not even bothered to turn his head to the newcomer, the man in the centre laughed and took another sip from his cup.


    Hearing this answer, Mike''s eyed lit up. Giving away his position in the first word the man spoke, could there be a better chance for him? He moved to the right side as if heading for the stairs. After judging the distance, he stood in a perfect position. Mike placed his right hand on the grip of his sword and readied himself.


    "Could I ask for a cupˇ­"


    He attacked in the middle of the sentence. Considering the classy glassware those people were using to drink some smelly wine, they had to breastfeed all those stories about brave heroes and evil villains. While it was obvious that as soon as they came to realise what was going on, they would attack. Using that fact, Mike pulled their attention and stroke when they were about to refute him!


    Pulling his sword out, the young man continued it''s motion horizontally. While the long blade was cutting through the spine of the man sitting at the rightmost end of the line of chairs, he plunged his knife deep into the throat of the man in front of him. As the feeling of resistance in his right-hand subsidised, he pulled his arm around his head and slashed vertically at the man sitting next to the leader. Stabilising himself for a fraction of the second, he moved forward two steps and kicked the leader''s chair into the fire.


    Only then, the remaining three soldiers managed to shake up from the shook and reach for their weapons. Unfortunately for them, Mike didn''t give them the necessary time to prepare. Using the forward momentum on his leg that knocked the leader''s chair, he stepped on it, leaned forward and swung his sword yet again, making a shallow but lethal cut on the throat of the next man in line.


    The remaining duo finally managed to arm themselves. Rising up from the chair, the one closer to Mike tried to slash him with a sword. Kicking the ground with his right leg, Mike jumped forward, closed the distance rendering enemy sword useless and pressed his knife right into the enemy heart. While this simple stab was unable to penetrate the soldier''s hard leather armour, when a young man fell on him and used the weight on his body the press on the knife''s handle, even this fine piece of protection failed its purpose!


    Sensing the danger, Mike slashed with his sword outwards, knocking the blade that was rushing at him away. Pushing himself off the knife, the young man stood straight with his sword along the line of his leg. Excluding the leader crying out from the burns he obtained after getting pushed into the fire, only one enemy was left.


    "Now, should I kill you or can I expect a few answers to some of my burning questions?"

 35 - Argument

    "Without further ado, tell me. Where is my comadre?"


    Not even bothered to threaten the soldier with his sword, Mike looked at him with his deathlike eyes. With the curtain separating him from the rest of the world, he appeared distant to others as if disregarding anything that was happening around.


    "And why should I tell you anything? With the commotion you caused here, there is bound to be someone to sound the alarm soon. You won''t get out of here alive!"


    With the sword still in his hand, the soldier still kept some of his self-confidence. Even after seeing the aggressor deal with all of his friends, now that the advantage of a surprise attack was gone, there was nothing to fear.


    "I won''t ask this again. I''m not capable of disarming you to, and even if I could do it, someone is bound to show up here soon."


    Mike agreed to his opponent conjunctions. Pushing his centre of mass forward a bit, he left his free leg separated from the floor by the minimal distance.


    "But I can get rid of your arms and legs before killing you. This way I won''t waste more time idling here. It''s your choice."


    Ready to jump at his opponent the moment he refuses to talk, Mike changed his grip on the sword a little.


    Only then the soldier hesitated. There was no fear, anger or anxiety in their former prisoner eyes. To tell the truth, there were no emotions on his face at all. Looking deep into his pupils, officer trembled and lowered his sword.


    "Your friend is kept in the cage at the courtyard. Our leader thought that keeping the winner of the duel as a trophy would raise the morale of the troops."


    Sitting down on the chair he jumped from a moment ago, this middle-aged man put down his sword. Exhaling deeply, he relaxed and pretended to not be bothered by the blood slowly forming streams on the brick floor.


    "I see you are a smart guy. Now then, just to confirm my assumptions. Who ordered you and other Nobles to pursue and catch us. I won''t believe you all invested so much just for those few red goldensˇ­"


    Noticing the obedience of the soldier, Mike stood back normally. With his face devoid of any expression on it, this small change of footing spoke wonders about his attitude towards the officer.


    "Do really need to ask about it? Isn''t it obvious it was count Hikar?"


    Confused by the question, soldier even shrugged slightly while sending a look at his sword. It looked like this stupid question undermined Mike''s authority in this situation quite a bit.


    "It''s not who did this that puzzles me, I would like to know why."


    Staring daggers at the soldier, Mike''s muscles tensed a bit. He didn''t have the time to idly talk and ascertain the dominance over some small fry. If the enemy Uvenoan soldier would make this hard for both of them, he would have to cut him down and find another prey.


    "I can''t answer that question. It''s not that I don''t want to do this, but I simply don''t know the reasons."


    The man opened his arms wide. With an innocence written all over his face, it was a brief moment when he relaxed. Noticing those changes from behind his mental curtain, Mike noticed how his body lost its tension.


    "I have some ideas though. They are nothing more than my own conjectures, but at least for me, they make sense."


    With his eyes shifting to the side, a look of uncertainty surfaced in his expression.


    "Speak up."


    While Mike wasn''t interested in hearing the conspiracy theories, even those had some seed of truth in them. After all, there had to be something that gave birth to them in the first place.


    "For long Naurens are trying to gain an upper hand in the conflict with the City hall. Since there is no third party in this conflict, they cannot grow by conquering or allying with anyone. Limited to internal struggle, Hikar would use any possible means to gain the strength to strike. When you connect it with the fact that a caravan from the far east will be visiting the town the day after tomorrow, I believe that he wants to make a profitable deal with them, move his army and deal with the City hall once and for all. How do you think it was possible to mobilise so many troops to pursue you two in such a short amount of time?"Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.


    It was as if flood gates got open. With every word he spoke, the soldier was speeding up and hyping himself more and more. Only after he asked the rhetorical question at the end, did he manage to sober up and frantically inhale.


    "Interesting. But it''s time for the last question. Was this guy the local noble, or just your leader?"


    Pointing his sword at the guy grilling his face on the hot charcoal in the fireplace, Mike asked. That was vital information. While killing him in the heat of the fight could be considered a bad move, there should be another type of leader somewhere!


    "This was the leader of our troops. The local noble is living at the mansion, two kilometres north from the camp."


    The soldier answered right away. Just from the fact that he added the location where Mike''s target could be found, meant a lot of his sincerity.


    "You know what I will have to do now, don''t you?"


    Bringing his sword back to his leg, Mike gazed at the soldiers face. While devoid of emotions, he was still able to think rationally. This guy was cooperative and made him save a lot of time. Even if his original intention was to kill him regardless, his positive attitude made Mike change his mind.


    "Can you at least make it quick?"


    Coming to terms with what was about to happen, the soldier ignored the sword near his foot and reached with his hand for the lone bottle of booze that remained intact after the fight. Gulping the remaining liquor in one go, he dropped the bottle behind him and closed his eyes.


    "I think I''m softening up. Don''t worry, I won''t kill you. Sweet dreams."


    With that said, Mike turned his sword around, made a wide step and knocked the sword grip on the soldier head. Seeing the body drop powerlessly, the merchant turned around and walked to the window. With noises coming from the staircase, he had to prepare for another bout of fighting. But he left only after ascertaining the position of a small cage, shining in the moonlight in the middle of the courtyard.


    *****


    "How come there is still no news!"


    Smashing her small fist furiously on the expensive painting, Revy created an additional and unplanned hole in this work of art.


    "Maybe the messenger got lost? Maybe they don''t have anything for the report? Or maybe they already found him and are peacefully escorting them back?"


    Trying to quell his leader anger with logical arguments, Syrkas sighted from the bottom of his lungs and took the frame with destroyed painting down. Using his connections, he should be able to get in touch with its creator and ask for the painting to be fixed.


    "Don''t try to calm me down. This whole situation is a mess. Those mercenaries wouldn''t run with just the horses, you said the loot was worth a lot more than the mounts, am I right?"


    Trying to figure out a reason behind the lack of progress in her attempts to bring Mike safely back, Revy didn''t want to erase her emotions. Being a stoic leader and making calculated decisions made her yearn for this feeling of being alive.


    "Or do you hate him and don''t want your oldest fucking friend to come back home?!"


    Pushed to the brink of desperation, this small girl couldn''t wrap her head around the situation. With their influence, it shouldn''t be so hard to find a single person that had to travel on the road!


    "You know it''s not the truth! But looking at you now, I need to take the matters of this city into consideration! Knowing you for so long I already know what kind of thoughts are swarming in your head!"


    Unable to hold back his anger, Syrkas shouted back at the Revy. Stunned by this development, the girl stood on the spot, staring at her friend.


    "If you want to spend the money and rent people to help him in his illusory troubles, fine. We have more than enough gold to do that. Do you want to send a search party for him? Sure, nothing bad will happen in the end. But seeing this look in your eyes, can you promise me that you won''t engage our full force just for the sake of one person!?"


    "No."


    Recovering from her earlier stun, Revy swung her head to the sides with her eyes joining in the contest of stares with Syrkas.


    "Goddamnit! Who do you value more? Mike or the entirety of Xantia!"


    With his brows furrowed in fury, the young man realised that the picture frame he was holding already shattered to the bits.


    "If not for him, there would be no Xantia today. He set up a foundation for who we are today, he saved our lives multiple time, he is responsible for every good thing that happened to us! There is no way I will abandon him if there is even the slightest chance that he can be in trouble!"


    Holding firm to her loyalty towards Mike, Revy plainly stated out her stance on the matter.


    Instead of refuting her and repeating the whole process of arguing, Syrkas took a deep breath and held it in to calm himself down. Exhaling, he looked deeply into Revy''s eyes as if seeking the determination that allowed her to say such words.


    "Okay then, what do you want to do?"

 36 - Xantias summit

    "We need to gather our men. And I mean the real force, not those pesky and useless mercenaries. We don''t know what we can expect out there. At least if this whole situation will hopefully be just misunderstanding and me panicking, the rumours spread will limit to less loyal troops."


    While her face was like a river on which a variety of emotions was racing to appear on the first spot, her way of thinking didn''t change at all. Calm and focused, Revy always stroke others as a capable and collected leader.


    "It won''t be that easy. From what I remember, there will be a picnic in the City outskirts in three days from now. We need to leave some troops to safeguard it. The officials won''t like the idea of pushing for mobilisation either. Even if all of them are our marionettes, they still need to appear as capable leaders looking out for the commoners."


    Syrkas didn''t wait to remind her about the pending problems. The time didn''t wait or stop for anyone. Holding the picnic back would cause great unrest among the populace and leaving it unattended by guardsˇ­ Let''s say that commoners liked to brawl among themselves and if the guards couldn''t stop them in a timely manner, the events could very well spiral out of the government control.


    "Okay then. I will rally up the patrols and the guardians. We will leave local militia, guards and mercenaries to defend Latavia. They should be enough to take care of small incidents."


    Giving it a short moment to think this through, Revy explained her idea. Raising her hand gracefully over her head, she called one of her handymen. Appearing out of nowhere, a slim, young man showed up in a mere moment and kneeled on one knee.


    "Grab three of your colleagues and go inform Pete, Mark and Brien to rally up their troops and set up a temporary camp outside the western gate. You will go to the quartermaster with this paper and ask him for a quick type of supply carriages forˇ­ hmmˇ­ eighteen standard units. Now go!"


    Writing a few words on the random slip of paper she managed to grab from her desk, Revy passed the newly created authorisation. As the sole and only owner of more than three-quarters of this city supplies, she could manage it however she wished.


    "I will take care of the officials. Should I stir some trouble for them? You know what could happen if they all receive the same orders at the same time."


    Partially joking, Syrkas sought Revy''s advice. She was the leader so this choice was up to her. Both ways of dealing with this matter had their own pros and cons. It would be far easier if the entire official body of the city government were unified when deciding how to react with sudden Xantia move, but it could also give a hint to both the commoners and the officials themselves that in fact, whole government was in the hands of Revy''s organisation!


    While this was already considered a well-known secret amongst the populace, there was no proof of it. All the people that had enough information to put the pieces together and endanger the organisation, either defected to its side in the early days of the family or were buried by Mike outside the City.


    "I think we should prompt up the Visceras party. They are too insignificant to stir any real trouble, but they will feel important for standing against everyone else per our orders. Later we could spread rumours that the main groups didn''t want to create bad blood between the government and our family."


    Revy didn''t need a lot of time to figure out a way to deal with the government. While they had absolute control over the Latavia, they had to keep the facade they made in the first place. Everyone influential enough to know the truth was dealing with them directly, and the consequences of their failures were shouldered by the official parties. While they could directly take over the city, there was no profit in doing this!


    "What about renting the local adventurers from the guild? We could get some meatshields while gaining some experienced veterans in the process."


    Just as he was about to leave, Syrkas thought of another great idea. It would cost them a lot less than renting the entire mercenary band from the camps surrounding the eastern side of the city. If this mission ended up with a hard fight, those people would save them from losing their loyal veterans, and the surviving part would be indebted to them for giving them the opportunity to rise!


    "This could be a good idea, but the deserters'' attacks are on the rise lately. We can''t draw from the pool of adventurers without a good reason. Common people still need some ways to protect themselves."


    While the idea was good, the drawbacks to this decision could possibly destabilize the lives of the common folk in the area. Xantia was relying on them when it came to the greatest part of their income and manpower, so regretfully Revy had to disagree. Dismissing her friend, she went back to her bedroom.


    Opening one of the ordinary wardrobes resting against the wall, she stared down at the variety of equipment shining in the sunlight falling on it through the opened window. As the wave of nostalgia overwhelmed her, Revy had to hold the frame of the bed to stabilize herself. It was so long since she last used or even thought of using those daggers!


    Recalling her previous experiences including this cold steel in front of her eyes, she couldn''t help but smile with a hint of sadness in her eyes. All she knew about direct fighting today, stemmed from Mike''s lessons. While she was agile since she made her first step, her friend needed a long time to hammer basic knowledge and skills into her skull to turn this inborn talent into the ability to protect herself.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    Shrugging herself, Revy got rid of those nostalgic memories. She understood the mechanism in which her mind coloured those memories with happiness, to make a safe haven for itself for the dire times that could come. This process happened literally to everyone, thus it wasn''t a surprise to her. If she were to be honest with herself, Revy could recall all the pain, hits, shouts and abuses that Mike had to escape to for the sake of teaching her. But she refused those parts. Those memories were too precious to her, especially with the big hole in her soul created when Mike left the organisation!


    Before Revy even managed to finish donning her weapons and armours, her butler knocked three times on her bedroom door, informing that guests arrived.


    "I will be done in two minutes!"


    Shouting through the door, Revy dismissed her disarrayed thoughts and focused on tightening the belts around her shin guards. When she finished dressing up, she nimbly ran out from her room and arrived in the guest room, where three men were waiting.


    "Greetings, leader Revy!"


    Despite numerous attempts by every leader and important figure in the organisation, their military officers never gave up on using the salute form. For some reason, those blockheads insisted on using the full, official name of their old friend, instead of talking like a normal acquaintance would.


    "You might be wondering why I summoned you all."


    Starting from a high horse, the girl couldn''t help but grin when she saw those men reaction to her haughty attitude. Bursting out with a laugh, she had to wipe her tears before regaining her composure and enabling herself to continue.


    "In the first place, I''m sorry for withholding this information from you. Syrkas already called me irrational and impulsive when he saw my reaction to that news, so I was scared of what would happen if I were to tell you about it."


    Those words stunned the soldiers. Belonging to the upper echelons of the organisation, they were the first to receive the news from the vast spy network that Xantia created. While the leaders kept some of their own informants in several places of importance, it was rare for such a situation to occur! If they were to take how apologetic Revy was for not sharing it right away into consideration, this information was bound to be earth-shattering!


    "Don''t build up the tension. If this is important, stop wasting time and just tell us,"


    Being the oldest among the commanders, Pete stepped forward and spoke. Hailing from the fallen organisation that got incorporated into Xantia during their emergence, he was the most experienced strategist in the entire family. If not for his background, he would be able to claim the general leader spot with ease.


    "Before you start shouting, let me explain the whole matter. It''s about Mike."


    Dropping the bomb, Revy took a serious expression while waiting for a sudden outburst. This name was the key. As the original leader, he was held in great regard by everyone who got in touch with him. Contrary to common opinion, with the growth of the family, he voluntarily shifted more and more of his power away, instead of grounding his might and reaching for more. While most of the old members were kept in dark about his reasons for doing so, people like those commanders were perfectly clear about it.


    "At first, I got a message from him, saying that he will arrive in Latavia in four days at most. From the very limited information his messenger brought, there was some business, some sort of duel that he was involved in, explaining the time necessary to arrive. Two days later, I got another message stating that he left Uveno on the same morning that I received the first news. It was five days ago already."


    Ending her story here, Revy waited for her commanders reaction. Just as she expected, when the entire timeline got revealed to them, Pete budged a bit, as if intending to run to the door. While the youngest wielder of the rank of general in Xantia, he was one of the founding members. To this day he boasted about the brotherly bond he shared with Mike ever since the childhood times.


    On the other hand, the remaining duo of the officers leaned forward.


    "What''s the rest of the story? Knowing your temper, you reacted in some way."


    Somehow keeping his calm, Mark, at last, said his piece. While he was the only one recruited after Mike left the organisation, he would have to be dumb to not notice all the fame and rumours that surrounded this legendary figure. Looking at his achievements prior to joining the family, one had to be insanely brave or stupid to underestimate this guy intellect. Despite how backwards he appeared to others, he was the only one in the entire organisation that had some degree of autonomy!


    "You are right. It''s not a secret how close I was to him. As soon as I got hold on that news, I ordered a small company of mercenaries to find him and escort back here. They departed on horses three days ago, yet no news came from them to this date."


    Saying those words awoken the worries that Revy was harbouring deep inside her. With her arms dropping, eyes seemingly trying to pierce the floor and fists tightened, she was the perfect image of worry mixed with anxiety.


    "Our units are already setting the camp outside the city as per your previous orders. The sun will set soon, we can depart as soon as it rises again tomorrow."


    Stepping up again, Brian informed. While he didn''t exactly like this Mike, there was no denying in the importance he had for the remaining members of the organisation.


    Just when everyone was about to depart to their units, the doors bust open with a haggard figure rushing in. Falling to the floor the instant that this intruder passed through the entrance, he curled up and fought to regain his breath.


    Noticing the urgency of the situation, Pete fell to his knees and started massaging this unknown person back to help him with his struggle for air.


    "Who are you?"


    As soon as the person regained its ability to inhale, Revy pulled her knife and pointed it at the intruder. While she didn''t feel any bloodlust in the newcomer, in her line of work it was always better to be safe than sorry.


    "I''m part of the mercenary troop you guys send out a few days ago. I''ve got bad news. The person we were supposed to find and escort back here, got beaten up in a fight and taken back to the Uveno region. The rest of my unit is tailing them as we speak, they will try to do something, but the enemy appears to be reading for war. Without help, they are powerless!"

 37 - Sparking chaos

    After dealing with the few soldiers gather on the upper parts of the tower, Mike ran down the stairs all the way to the floor level. Taking a little time to fix his robes gathered from the soldier''s corpses, the man checked the situation outside through the window.


    Most of the soldiers outside were still sleeping. With only small groups here and there gathered around the fires, there was no need to act stealthily. Most of them didn''t know his face, giving Mike a lot of opportunities to get rid of them.


    Checking his robes for the last time, the merchant opened the doors and entered the open area. As the sudden bout of cold, night air surrounded him, he shrugged and covered his face with the coat. While he was noticed in an instant, no one paid him any attention.


    The first thing that Mike did was to ascertain the position of Xyenna''s cage. As he was told previously, it was placed in the very middle of the courtyard. There was no way he could access it without attracting the ire of everyone gathered here. If he wanted to help her, he had to thin out enemy numbers first!


    Crossing the short distance separating him from the closest group of conscious soldiers, he joined their circle.


    "Come to the tower. Officers have some orders for you."


    Dressing his face with an annoyed expression, he pointed his hand at the building he just left.


    "What the hell do they want from us? Go bother someone else!"


    Unwilling to stop their fun, one of the soldiers rebuked. His reasoning was easy to understand. Work was already over, their targets got caught and almost everyone else was sleeping. The fact that they were still awake stemmed only from their thirst for alcohol, not some guard duty that the newcomer could assume they were serving.


    "Are you going to disobey the orders?"


    Mike asked while placing his hand on the hilt of his sword in an obvious threat. No matter how undisciplined those people were, ignoring the officer''s order was a grave crime.


    "Yes, we are. And what can you do about it? Report us? Judging from the looks on your face, it will be you who will face punishment by failing your task, not us for disobeying some random messenger!"


    Even if the spokesperson for this group managed to hold back his laugh, the rest of his companions didn''t bother in doing so. Some just smirked while others outright erupted in laughter.


    "You are right about two things yet wrong about a single matter. I''m a simple messenger and I''m responsible for bringing you in. But you misjudged how I will react for your act of deserting the army!"


    Pulling out his sword, Mike pressed it against the closest soldier''s neck.


    "You have two choices. Either follow me like obedient trash you are or die here by my sword and force me to ask someone else."


    The young man spoke those words without a hint of annoyance in his voice. He acted as if he was doing the most mundane task in the world, comparable to preparing the dishes or washing his clothes.


    "Do you really think you can scare us? You are all by yourself and there is five of us here. Raise a commotion and you will have to take everyone sleeping into the account as well. Do you think you can face all of us? Aren''t you a little overconfident here?"


    With the blade touching his neck, the soldier turned serious. Even if there was no way that this messenger would follow up with his threats, his actions still forced him to abandon his joyful mood.


    "Oh, are you threatening some of higher rank now? Do you know what are the consequences of doing so? Let me spare you the trouble of going into the military court!"


    Thanks to the barrier that still shrouded Mike''s perception, he was able to surface any kind of emotions that he wanted. Every second that he wasted on those people put his mission at risk. Unable to stall for the time anymore, he pressed on the sword and sliced the side of the soldier''s neck open.


    "For the act of disobeying a higher rank and mutiny in the form of threatening your superior, I hereby sentence you to death."


    Seeing as the soldier raised his hands to hold his throat in a futile attempt to stop the bleeding, Mike just stood there and watch the vitality flow out of him.


    Stunned by the unexpected action of the messenger, other people around the firepit took a while to accommodate the fact that one of them just died. Eerie silence lasted for a short while before they stood up, took out their weapons and threw themselves at the Mike while shouting names like ''Murderer!'' or ''Treason''.


    "Everyone wake up!"


    Busy fending off the simultaneous attacks of four people, Mike intentionally slowed down. Despite being able to cut them down with ease, he allowed them to push him back.


    "Kill those traitors!"


    As people around were slowly but steadily waking up, they were greeted with the sight of the corpse lying in the pool of his own blood and four men assaulting a single companion of theirs. Realising the seriousness of the situation, those drunken bastards quickly reached for the weapon and prompted themselves up to join the fray.


    Everywhere around the courtyard, a similar situation was taking place. Those who were awake previously were trying to stop everyone else from joining the fight. As they saw who initiated the fight, they could have some doubts about the authenticity of the messenger actions, especially when he started provoking everyone to enter the fray.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    Allowing his enemies to push him back, Mike caught the arm of one of the soldiers around and supported himself on it.


    "Kill all of them, I saw them killing our officers in the tower so they tried to silence me! Kill those traitors!"


    Uttering the blasphemous lies into the random soldier ears, Mike could watch with satisfaction as the rage showed up on his face. Without a need to move even a finger, a large portion of the soldiers who heard the accusation jumped at those four assailants.


    These soldiers just woke up, saw the attempt at Mike''s life and got a quick explanation of the events. There was no need to think much about the matter at hand. After all, there was no way that this poor guy would attack four other men all by himself for no reason!


    With the fighting spirit overwhelming everyone on the scene, the situation couldn''t be stopped by normal means anymore. With all officers holding any authority amongst those people lying dead in the tower, Mike''s lies were the only thing that they now accepted as the truth.


    Everywhere the architect of this madness would look, he could see limbs and corpses falling to the ground. In just a few moments, this chaotic situation already turned into utter madness. Everyone was clashing with everyone, not leaving any room for negotiations. With a great majority of those people belonging to the lowest tier of the military, the discipline was nonexistent. Once fired up, they would kill everyone in sight for as long as they had the energy to do so or someone calmed them up!


    With the lights from the fires blocked by the frantic movement of the crowd, Mike could at last merge into the chaos. While still holding to his sword for the self-protection only, he tried to avoid most of the fights. Even if his aim lied in the very centre of this chaotic place, surprisingly it could be said to be the eye of the storm right now. With the steel cage blocking both the movements and the swings of the swords, everyone radiated more to the sides of the area, where they would be unhindered in their fights.


    When Mike finally reached the cage, he had to dodge the blade of the pike thrown from the cage. During the ongoing battle, Xyenna somehow managed to obtain this weapon, and noticing someone moving towards her, she could only do so much in self-defence. Only when the man got close enough did she recognise him.


    "What are you doing here! They will kill you!"


    With clashes everywhere, it was just a matter of time before her employer would be struck by some random attack. While she respected his abilities to both stir and calm the troubles down, she couldn''t believe that he would appear in front of her in the middle of the battle!


    "Just shut up now and prepare to run."


    Busying himself with the cage lock, Mike was unable to pay any attention to what she was saying. He created this opportunity with great effort so he wasn''t keen on letting it go just for the sake of chatting.


    Breaking the lock wasn''t a hard task by any means. The cage was in the middle of the sea of soldiers, so those who put it in here would never imagine that someone would try to pry it open! Just when the pins inside the mechanism finally gave up to Mike''s pick, he saw a swift movement to his left side.


    Jumping away, he raised a sword. The hit aimed for his head bounced out of his weapon, knocking it out from his hand.


    "You better leave her alone."


    An unfamiliar voice. While it was obvious that Mike didn''t know the sound of soldier''s speech, the man that just attacked him didn''t look like one. Dressed in practical and expensive armour, he was holding to a long sword. In just a moment, a few other people jumped from behind his back and surrounded the cage.


    "This is Xantia business, don''t even try to meddle and be grateful that I''m leaving you alive!"


    Before any other actions could be taken by either the soldier or the Mike, another harsh voice resounded.


    "That''s not him! What should we do now!?"


    The shout this time came from a middle-aged lady, wearing a light set of armour and carrying a short blade in her hand. With her face full of anxiety, she was looking around the battlefield as if trying to locate something or someone.


    "Don''t try to pose as Xantia. Either leave or help me free her before I kill you all."


    Raising back up on his feet, Mike pulled his dagger from under the guard''s robe and prepared to fight. While his opponents obviously didn''t belong to the local army, they were still an armed group separating him from his companion!


    "It''s him!"


    Hearing a sudden shout, Mike turned his head around only to see a familiar guy pointing at him. Somehow, the officer that he left alive managed to regain his consciousness and gather a group of soldiers while trying to stop his soldiers from fighting. Spotting the runaway, he didn''t hesitate for the slightest bit before unleashing those who he already gathered to catch and kill him!


    "Fuck!"


    The time was running out. There was no way Mike could fight those people off by himself. Freeing Xyenna with another group blocking his way was out of the question too. Crouching for a second, Mike picked a bloodied, small axe lying on the ground and threw it at the crowd. With only four people on the front, all of them tried to avoid the projectile, stopping in place for a moment.


    Not wasting this minimal chance, Mike turned around yet again and jumped forward. For some reason, the imposter just looked at him with a dumbfounded look on his face. Unhindered by the group, the merchant managed to at last pry the cage door open and pull Xyenna off.


    "I don''t know who you are, but if I were in your shoes I would run as fast as I could now."


    Turning around to run, Mike stopped in his track in an instant. Somehow, this officer actions were more effective that he hoped they would be. While he freed Xyenna from the cage, all of the fightings around them already stopped. Around half of the initial number of the soldiers were surrounding him, all ready to fight with insane hate in their eyes.


    Because of his actions, they were killing their own friends, comrades and companions. Now that they managed to calm down and notice the lapses in his provocations from before, even those stupid soldiers were able to understand the situation!


    "What''s your name?"


    In this desperate situation, the girl from the different group that he noticed before asked him a question.


    "It''s too late. Now you can either fight with me or die by their hands. After what I did, they will kill everyone who is not wearing their insignia."


    "That''s not the answer to my question. What''s your name!"


    Looking at this crazy woman, Mike couldn''t help but wonder. Who could''ve guessed that there were such strange people in this world? Asking for someone''s name seconds before the desperate onslaught?


    "Mike. My name is Mike."

 38 - Battle

    "That settles it then."


    Contrary to his expectation, this strange group reacted to his name. Instead of turning their weapons against him, they came to his sides and braced themselves for the impact!


    In the last moment, before the crowd of soldiers clashed with Mike''s and his newfound companions, the whole world seemed to stop. A tranquil feeling of uniting with the universe overwhelmed the young man. As if some stars aligned, god''s looked down on him and the time halted its steps, Mike could see every detail of his surroundings.


    Drops of sweat falling down from the random soldier''s face, glistering shine reflected from the blade of another warrior, everything felt right in its place. Connected by the unseen bonds of fate, every tightened muscle, tensed face and wide opened eyes created a wonderful piece of art. And then, all hell broke loose.


    Clash.


    With a loud clang, weapons got interjected by weapons. Armours bent under the hit of the great axe to Mike''s left. A spear pierced the shoulder of the man to his left. Blood splattered when the young man''s sword slashed the head of the enemy soldier open.


    Covered with blood, intensities and small bits of brain in an instant, Mike had no idea how he survived the charge. Three of his new companions were lying on the floor, either dead or bleeding out. There was no time to even remember their faces.


    With the first row of soldiers down, another strike reached for Mike''s party.


    Squeezed between the crowd and the metal cage behind, all he could do was to slash away at his enemies with fury. Knock one of the swords aimed at him out of its trajectory, only to see a war hammer shattering the arm that held it. Bend your neck to the right, to avoid a pike thrust. Grab its handle and pull the unfortunate soldier under the blades of his companions. Push the woman to his right away from the slash of a small axe.


    There was no beauty in this slugfest.


    What was described in heroic tales as brave deeds of the chosen ones were just a bunch of lies. Mike wondered if the authors of those fables ever seen a real fight to the death. If they did, they wouldn''t dare to describe a fight as something glorious. But who would like to read the story of what kinds of patterns formed the blood from the neck of decapitated person? Who would want to know how ugly was the sight of a person with his internals flowing out?


    With every slash of the weapon, the numbers of the soldiers thinned down. They were no match for experienced warriors that came to Mike''s aid. When Xyenna shrugged her dizzyness away and joined the fray, the entire fight was already over.


    After this clash, only about forty soldiers remained standing. On the other side, half of Mike''s new company was unable to fight. With only one man seriously wounded, the remaining five either died instantly or departed during the fight. In theory, the enemy had five times more people than them, but that didn''t mean they were outnumbered.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    While the soldiers were armed and uniformly dressed in armour, their skills were lacking. They were no match for the experienced veterans of the opposing side. Truth to be told, Mike was impressed with the newcomers'' military prowess. Despite varying weapons, they supplemented each other. What made him curious though, was the man in the very middle of the formation, holding tightly to his bow.


    He didn''t wear any personal weapon. Not even a single knife! With his right arm lying motionlessly to his side, he couldn''t draw his weapon!


    Mike''s received an answer to his question as soon as everyone calmed down. This man''s bow was mounted on a special holster on his glove! When reaching for the arrow, he attached the string to a small pin on his shoulder and grabbed a small loophole with his thumb. Propelling his arm forward, he readied his bow, while resting the upper part of the arrow on hid fingers tightened around the grip.


    After spotting the unusual weapon, Mike looked around to check if there were any bodies impaled by the arrows. Only when he saw around eight corpses with the arrows in their hearts did he realise how effective this method of using the bow was!


    "Any ideas now?"


    The female standing on his right whispered. It was hard to say who was the intended receiver of this question, but Mike took it to himself.


    "We can either kill them all or try to disperse them. Without the horses, we won''t be able to run, and they won''t give us the opportunity to find those."


    Not waiting for anyone else to reply, the young man pointed out their options.


    "Killing them all would take too much time. We don''t know when someone else could arrive. Let''s break their morale completly and find some horses. Ours are already dead tired from chasing after you."


    The man in the back with the strange bow interjected. While most of his sentence carried a piece of important information about their current situation, there was a bit that interested Mike a bit more.


    "That''s settled then. Any objections?"


    In the end, there was no time to ask for more information about their reasons for coming here. the young man had to ensure that everyone would follow their charge. With even a single person less than what they actually had, their engage would very likely become unsuccessful!


    With no response to his question, Mike stretched himself.


    "Three, two, oneˇ­ GO!"


    Coordinating their attack was crucial. No one could slack off at this moment. As they set off, this small group of eight people charged against soldiers numbering more than forty!


    Another clash happened.


    While Mike''s party was reorganising, so did the soldiers. Putting the wounded behind, the frontline was supplied with the remaining fresh meat. Even if someone could consider it a wise move, it was the worst decision that the traitorous officer could make.


    Despite the slight wounds, those who were on the front before could still be qualified as seasoned soldiers. With all the elite already dead, they were forming the backbone of the remaining troops. Pushing them to the back, only allowed Mike''s party to swiftly break through this line of encirclement.


    With the overall level of the soldiers being way belove the average of a typical mercenary or adventurer, there weren''t any problems in getting past them. Just by chopping some heads off or cutting down the holes in the bodies of a very limited amount of rookie soldiers, the troop morale reached the bottom. Unable to take it any longer after seeing another brutality unfolding in front of their eyes, those people dropped their weapons and just started to run away!


    Just when the Mike was about to start looking for the stables, a haughty voice announced a newcomer.


    "What the hell is going on here?"

 39 - Desperate fight

    Instantly stopping in his track, Mike turned his head around towards the direction of the voice. To his despair, he recognised the person standing at the entrance of the courtyard, with a mass of soldiers behind him.


    With his hands folded on his chest, Damash just stood on the spot with a calm smile on his face. When his eyes met Mike''s sight, the officer signalled to the soldiers behind him with his hand.


    "Capture them."


    At that moment, what was a desperate situation, turned into a hopeless one. Ten people against forty? With enough disparity in terms of personal skill and experience, they could still somehow manage to overcome the odds. With the addition of a few hundred of enemies, even if they were to be on a similar level as their previous opponents, they wouldn''t endure the prolonged fight.


    Just by looking at the dead bodies of the fellow mercenaries on the ground, one could understand how treacherous the battlefield was. No matter how powerful one became, it took only a single stray hit to down him.


    "Break and disperse!"


    There was no other choice. In a full-on fight, they had no hope of winning. Only by splitting the battlefield into multiple simultaneous duels would the situation turn into the contest of endurance. Not waiting for others to react, he pulled Xyenna hand and ran towards their original enemy.


    In just a few steps, his sword slashed the throat of the closest soldier. With a mass of angry enemies just a few meters behind, his moves were limited. One thrust and he would have to leave the weapon behind in enemy innards. Wasting even a split of a second to pull it out, could prove lethal in the long term.


    Thrust. Despite how stupid it might seem, Mike didn''t have any choice. While theorizing the battle could give some insights, the real situation often proved different from one''s ideas. That was the case right now. When choosing between losing the weapon and his hand, Mike didn''t hesitate for a second.


    As the blade entered the stomach of yet another nameless soldier, the young man dropped its handle and turned his body to the right, allowing the sword aimed at his torso to pass by his side. Slashing another opponent with his dagger to the right, opened him a way out of the quagmire.


    There was no time to look back and check on the others. Feeling Xyenna''s presence behind him, Mike rushed forward, toward the buildings. Be it alleys or buildings, every place was better to face the enemy than open space of the courtyard!


    Twenty meters. Ten meters. Five meters.


    Mike managed to stop in the last second, evading the tip of a pike. Thanks to the curtain still covering his mind, he was able to spot another group of the enemies before they made a move on him. Sadly, Xyenna wasn''t as lucky. Startled by the sudden stop, despite Mike''s extended hand, she plunged right at another blade. Seeing the metal coming out from her back, the young man eyes flared red.


    Losing his grip over the reins of his consciousness, he jumped forward into the mass of the enemies. Slashing his knives to left and right, he harvested the lives with every move he made. Entering this berserk state of mind made him immune to the pain from the accumulating cuts. The single thing that existed in his mind right now, was the vital points of his enemies that he was supposed to cut.


    Suddenly, everything came to an end. Exhausting the last bit of his strength, Mike felt to the ground. While he sapped himself dry, the enemies blocking the path got cleared out. With this window, at least Xyenna would be able to escape this predicament!


    Contrary to his hopes, the girl refused to leave him, brandishing her sword against the incoming charge from the fresh reinforcements. That was the last thing Mike managed to see before his consciousness faded away.


    When he regained his senses, the first thing that the young man could feel, was the cold embrace of steel cuffs around his wrists. It took him a good few seconds to even realise that he was kneeling on the ground. Putting all the energy that he managed to recover into his eyes, he preyed them open.


    The sight that welcomed him proved his worst calculations right. He placed into the row of survivors, with the remaining five of the strange group to his left, and Xyenna to his right. All of them were kneeling with their heads lowered in resignation.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    Out of the initial group, only seven of them were left. From the looks of it, most of them were heavily injured, some even to the extent of missing a hand or leg! Apparently, using up all of his energy and knocking himself out allowed Mike to avoid anything more serious than bruises.


    When he lifted his head to check the surroundings, the young man could see some figures arguing with Damash over something in the distance. With his hearing still recovering, Mike had no way to fathom what they were saying. With the mess they made here, their fate was easy to predict, but there was always a glimmer of hope that their execution would be put on hold.


    No matter how much they would increase security, they would always be an opening. With Mike skills, there was no way he wouldn''t be able to bank on it to escape and free his friend!


    The talks of the officers ended at the same moment that Mike started to recover his hearing. With that done, the energy in his body got restored to a level when he should be able to move again. Tilting his head up and down as in a daze, he took a quick glance at his friend to his side.


    What he saw, made his blood boil in rage. He remembers how tender and delicate her body was. He remembered how hard it was for him to patch her up. And now, it was a miracle that she was still alive!


    With profoundly bleeding wounds all over the torso, missing fingers in her right hand, two large cuts over her formerly pretty face and more than a three stabbing wounds near her heart, she was the picture of a future corpse. Despite all those wounds, they still left her kneeling in the row as if waiting for the poor girl to die!


    With his mind blanking behind the reappearing curtain, he saw Damash stopping just a few steps away from him. Just as he was about to jump and bite his throat off, a woman from the strange group on his left spoke.


    "We are Xantia delegates! Don''t you dare to lay a hand on us!"


    When those words reached his ears, Mike lost all his strength. ''Like that would change anything after killing a shitload of their soldiers!'' Bitting hard on his tongue to stop himself from lashing at the stupid girl, Mike lowered his head to hide his expression. Those words might not only kill them in the coming seconds but can also bring unnecessary trouble for the Xantia!


    "And why should we believe that? You attacked our encampment, tried to free our prisoners and killed our soldiers. That''s not how a powerfull faction works! Kill them all."


    Talking the girl off in just a few words, Damash didn''t hesitate to order their execution in his next phrase. Nearby soldiers didn''t hesitate at all. They drew their weapon as soon as the command was given.


    "Stop it!"


    This time, it was one of the officers who argued with Damash before. Going so far as to shield Mike and his unlucky companions with his own body, he pointed at the burly man.


    "What if they tell the truth? Can you handle their retribution? Do I need to remind you what happened the last time that we displeased them?"


    Mike barely held his laughter when he heard those words. Just like he thought. Ritzy presence in Uveno wasn''t coincidental. There ought to be some shady businesses going on underneath the blanket! The only thing that made him wonder was if the Nobles had some deals with Latavia, why did this young prick support the City hall?


    "If they are all dead, they won''t be able to prove it was us. What''s your problem?"


    Unsettled by the insubordination of his right-hand-man, Damash raised his hand. Just when he was about to smack him, he looked to the side. Seeing the state of the prisoners, he smiled deviously and waved his hand downward.


    "Execute them!"


    It was over.


    In a mere moment after the order, the soldier cut the first head from the leftmost man of the crowd. As soon as the blood burst out of the neck, the crowd of soldiers all around begun cheering. When the executioner stood over the second prisoner, some young guy ran towards the Damash and whispered a few words towards his ear.


    Another head looped off followed by another cheer from the warriors. Seeing those powerful mercenaries dying one by one, powerless to stop their fate, made them almost jump in joy. It was hard to believe that only a few moments ago, they were like sheeps ready to be slaughtered.


    Just when the third head was supposed to be cut, Damash raised his hand to stop the execution process. From the grim look on his face, one could read that the messenger brought some bad news. Noticing that the soldier stopped his sword in its track, the head officer turned around and lowered his head. A single moment later, a familiar person came into Mike''s view.


    "What is going on here?"


    This person was unmistakably the Uveno''s count. With his head raised high and wide steps, he marched through the masses of soldiers as this place belonged to him. After some thought, it probably did.


    "I was executing rebellious prisoners. Those people come to our prey rescue and attempted to help in their escape. Since they proclaimed to have some ties with Xantia, I judged that it would be safer to get rid of all of them altogether."


    With his head still lovered, Damash replied without a hint of hesitation. While his voice twitched for a bit, betraying his anxiousness, he still properly reported the situation.


    "Ties with Xantia? Why would they try to free a commonˇ­"


    After hearing the news from his officer, count tried to ask something before stopping in his track and sending a strange look to Mike. After staying still for a while, his face suddenly lightened up.


    "Is that possible? Aren''t you the renowned "Bloodthirsty" Mike then?"

 40 - Siege

    "Who could''ve guessed that we would catch such a big fish! Was I known who you were back then, I would''ve never let you out of my pawns!"


    Gleefully laughing at Mike misfortune, Count Hikar couldn''t stop himself from sneering. Be it ransom, fame or even simple leverage over the Xantia that he obtained with Mike''s head were immense. Considering that there were some deals between the Latavian family and Uveno, he really struck the jackpot here! With his mood improved out of the sudden, Damash punishment for overstepping his authority got pushed into the future.


    "What the hell is that?"


    With his expression suddenly turning sour, Count pointed at Xyenna, who was already on the verge of bleeding out. With her face snow white and haggard breath, it was just a matter of moments before the old, boney lady would come to claim her ownership over her soul.


    "Tend to her wounds immediately! She will fetch us a great price!"


    For some reason, Xyenna attracted even more Count''s attention than Mike. It was easy to understand it since his word implicated that she was a part of an already prepared deal, while the young merchant identity could only be assumed. Even if he was of much greater use, confirming Hikar assumptions would still take some time. As a pragmatical leader of the entire faction, he knew how to prioritize his interests.


    "Sir, I ask for permission to speak!"


    The officer who shielded the prisoners earlier stepped up and bowed his head to the supreme leader. From his shaking hands it was apparent that he was quite fearful of the Noble figure, but for some reason decided to speak up nonetheless.


    "You may speak son."


    Noticing the soldiers rushing to the girl with bandages and some herbal medicine, Count anger subsidised a bit. With everything going more or less according to his plan, there was no reason to appear cold to his own subordinates.


    "If he is really this legendary figure, or if those people were really sent by the Xantia, should we act against them? What if they decide to retaliate? Ah, who cares about their revenge, just by cutting the subsidies and siding with City Hall could lead to a severe hit!"


    The officer was visibly concerned about those points. Just those few words allowed Mike to gauge what was going on in Uveno.


    As the closest neighbour to Latavia, this city lied in the immediate sphere of Xantia interests. Be it trade, manpower or intelligence, one could say that it served as the first line of defence against all foreign probing. With Latavian government tightly bound to the family, they didn''t need to fear any rebound from the inner parts of the Kingdom, making the western direction as the most vulnerable to potential meddling.


    From what the officer said, it seemed as if Revy tried to balance the internal Uveno powers and keep it in the state of constant boiling. With unstable government and constant infighting, it was far easier to install her own spies and servants there.


    "You don''t need to be bothered by that. This night we will vanquish those pesky meritocrats from the City Hall and finally achieve a complete rule over the Uveno. There is nothing that those shitty commoners will be able to do against us then!"


    With a kind, protective smile surfacing on his face, Count replied to his officer. There wasn''t a hint of hesitation in what he said. Looking at the army amassed in this small outpost alone, Mike could tell from where did his confidence steam off.


    Scanning the corpses of both the mercenaries and his own soldiers, Count pointed at those dead bodies and ordered.


    "Bury our people. Ditch the enemies to some corner. When you finishing tending to this girl wounds, we are moving out!"


    With his hand moving to the side to point at Xyenna, Hikar threw a look at Mike.


    "As I would love to have a short talk with you later on."


    As soon as the orders were given, soldiers rushed to their tasks. With more than a few hundred people crowded in this small outpost, everything could be done quickly. Be it digging the graves for their fallen comrades or moving the lifeless Xyenna to a carriage, they didn''t waste a single moment in doing so.


    In just a few moments, prisoners got bound together with the single rope. If even a single of them were to slow down, everyone else could feel the bounds tighten around their necks. Considering how most of them were from the same group, this was the most practical way to ensure their obedience.


    Barely ten minutes after the order was set, everyone departed. Rows upon rows of soldiers marched through the road, with multiple carriages following them. From the sheer amount of resources carried in those wagons, one could understand how grand the Count''s plans were.


    The walk wasn''t as hard for Mike as he initially thought. While the marching speed was set by the soldiers and the prisoners had to adapt to it, he could end up much worse. From what he saw, out of the remaining five of this strange group, two of them had wounded legs! If not for covert help that they received from their comrades, the entire line would fall apart a long time ago.


    Thankfully, Uveno was relatively close to the outpost they were in previously. With just a half-day of marching, Mike managed to spot the town in the distance. While he could see an ominous smoke way earlier, he didn''t want to believe that it originated from the city!


    "So they already made their move."


    One of the soldiers commented when he saw the state that the town was in. Hanging his head low over his breastplate, he sighed in agony.


    "Aren''t you happy? With this, we will be the overlords of the entire plains!"


    Unauthorized content usage: if you discover this narrative on Amazon, report the violation.A rookie marching to his said replied with curiosity. With his anticipation-filled eyes, he was the picture of a soldier devoted to the case.


    "Like it will influence us at all. Our wages won''t increase, but the prices will rise. Instead of fighting off with the City Hall, we will bully the citizens. The only one who should be happy about this situation are lords."


    At this point, the older soldier looked at the prisoners walking beside him and shook his head.


    "While they told us to loathe Xantia for meddling in the situation, I can''t really force myself into doing that. If not for them, the aristocrats would force our faction away long ago. If not for themˇ­ Forget it. If not for those merchants from the far east, the balance wouldn''t shift towards our sideˇ­"


    "What do you mean? What merchants?"


    The rookie was visibly surprised. Apparently, the inner workings of the faction were so obvious that even a simple veteran could catch some news about them. This novice couldn''t miss a chance to learn something new for him!


    "The duel happened three days ago. From what I heard, some kind of big merchant from the far east was visiting the Count at that time and he expressed his utmost interest in obtaining our duelist. I''m not sure if it''s true, but there were some talks about ancient duel rings located near the border. Why do you think the entire faction had to come out of hiding and mobilise? The count had to strike some kind of deal far more profitable than the subsidies that we were receiving from Xantia. Otherwise, he would keep hiding his power to keep sucking their money, wouldn''t he?"


    Bored by the long walk, the veteran was happy to find someone who would listen to him with his full attention. He didn''t care if the prisoners were attentively listening to his as well. Considering the shift in diplomatic relations performed by his faction, they would be executed anyway. The remaining question was - how fast would that happen?


    The closer they got to the city, the more obvious signs of the conflict appeared. Starting with tents orderly organised into groups of fifty, following with piles of preserved food and ending at various units marching in all directions. When they got into direct proximity of the gates, the count''s plan laid bare before Mike''s eyes.


    From the lack of screams or other noises of fight coming from the city, it was obvious that Nobles abandoned their holdings inside the town. Limiting themselves to hold one of the gates, they kept a firm hold over it, waiting only for an order to began the bloody ordeal.


    When they finally stopped, every prisoner sighed with relief. While the distance wasn''t long, their injuries made a simple walk a road through hell. With a few hits with blunt parts of their guardians'' weapons, Mike with his unfortunate comrades were forced to sit. Because of that, he was only able to powerlessly watch some strange looking man approaching the count in the distance, having a short talk with him and exchanging a handgrip.


    A mere moment later, the carriage with Xyenna blasted towards the leader of the Nobles. In a single instant, Mike''s eyes met with the girl desperate sight, before her wagon carried her away. Tightening his teeth and cursing his powerlessness, Mike could only watch as his faithfull bodyguard distanced herself farther and farther away before the reins to the carriage got passed to one of the strange man''s servants. As soon as the transaction was done, a foreign man set off with his people while count waved his hand to start the assault.


    At first, Mike was focused on the departing carriage with his friend, but it hid itself from his sight behind the continuous rows of soldiers marching inside the city. Only when more than a few hundred of them made their way inside, Mike was forced up along with other prisoners and prompted to march behind the soldiers.


    Even before they managed to enter the gateway, screams and clangs erupted in the town. Despite the overwhelming disadvantage of numbers and preparations, City Hall wasn''t going to surrender. After the years of hate and infighting, there was no place for pardons. When enough of those emotions accumulated, only the death cleanse the atmosphere.


    With the swords poking their backs, the prisoners had to hurry. It was strange why they were even forced into the city if the plains outside were still swarmed by Noble''s forces, but at least they could observe the fight with their own eyes.


    When they finally crossed the gate, the full scale of the battle came to their view. On every street there were blockades, stopping the soldiers from advancing. Behind every barricade, defenders were throwing sharpened sticks, stones and even pots with faeces at the enemies. Everything that could slow down the soldier''s movement would force them to stay in a disadvantageous position for longer, giving the archers in the back a little more time to send them to hell.


    But those piles of rubble and broken wood couldn''t stop such a massive army for long. In less than ten minutes, all of the barricades got broken through with soldiers rushing inˇ­ only to be stopped by other obstacles! More than that, the defenders there used the height advantage by shooting out from the building''s windows, rendering the attack even harder to continue.


    While the morale of the attacking troops was falling with every second, all the officers could do was to continue forcing them towards their deaths. With no siege equipment, Noble''s had no way to force other gates open and there was no need for a great strategist to understand that the walls passages were defended by the elite City Hall troops. No matter the losses, the cheapest way towards the centre of the city lead through the town roads!


    Forcing more and more people into the fray managed to achieve the first target. The fight got pushed deeper and deeper into the city, making Mike and the rest of the prisoners unable to watch the show anymore. Left with their guards and corpses piling up everywhere, they only wished to be able to cover their noses to block the foul smell.


    Another forty minutes had to pass for the count Hikar to finally cross the gate. With another influx of soldiers, the majority of his forces was already inside, giving him enough self-confidence to enter the bloody area. A mere moment after he arrived near the prisoners'' positions, a messenger came shouting.


    "My Lord! My Lord! Common people are revolting against us! Our soldiers are forced back!"


    Barely after saying his piece, the soldier fell to his knees and then on his face. Only then everyone could see several deep cuts on his back.


    "That''s not good, establish a safe perimeter andˇ­"


    Right when the count was trying to set some orders to reorganise his army, a loud sound broke through the commotion. At first, it was incomprehensible, but with every passing second, it became louder and louder. Even Mike took a while to recognise it, before raising his head high and looking through the gateway towards the sound source with a look of disbelief on his face. Orderly rows of footsoldiers and cavalry uniformly dressed in the grey armours confirmed his suspicions.


    Just as he thought, this was the sound of Xantia''s warhorns!

 41 - Xantias move

    This was a stunning view. Compared to barely organised units of Nobles, whose greatest achievements laid in orderly moving in units, Xantia troops presented a class worthy of a national army. Banners wiggling on the air, horses stepping impatiently on the ground, motionless rows upon rows of footsoldiersˇ­ They looked like they just came out of a historic picture!


    With the beautiful, deep melody of the warhorns spreading in the air, Mike could feel morale rising higher than ever. While this wasn''t the kind of reunion he expected from his family, he would be a lier if he said that this sight didn''t make him want to jump in joy!


    Sadly, he was instantly brought to reality by a heavy hit of a poleax handle served right to his head. From the looks of the guard''s face, he was the only one enjoying the change of situation.


    "What is the meaning of that!"


    Unable to make the heads or the tails out of the sudden arrival of such a formidable force, Count Hikar staggered to the back and almost fell on his bottom. In the last moment, one of his manservants supported him from the back, preventing the Noble from showing such a shameful display.


    "My Lord, an unknown force is attacking us!"


    Before he even managed to get to know who''s leg he stepped upon to provoke such retaliation, the Noble was flooded by the reports from his subordinates.


    "My Lord, they took over the backward garrisons!"


    "My liege, the rear guard got slaughtered! The regular units are setting the defence up!"


    "My Lord, our people are running away!"


    With every next message, the complexion on Hikar''s face only worsened. While the greatest part of his force was already inside the city, they were bound to their respective fights. Pulling out now would mean sacrificing the entire city!


    "Bring as many people as you can inside and then close the gates. We need every man alive to defend against them! But who they actually are?"


    After organising his thoughts for a second, the Nobles leader announced the most rational order right now. With the limited information he had about both the origin, numbers or expertise of the enemy troops, holing up in the city seemed to be the best solution for now.


    "Bring me to the forward commanding unit, there is no use staying here right now!"


    As soon as this order was given, all of Noble''s elite guards rushed forward with their Boss right in the middle of their formation. With only a few guards left, this would look like a great opportunity for Mike to escapeˇ­ If not for a masses of soldiers frantically rushing through the gateway inside the city!


    While the Count''s idea was great, it''s execution proved to be difficult. With the cavalry rushing to the gate, most of the soldiers had to steer away from it to avoid being levelled down by the horses'' hooves. Only a fraction of the remaining troops managed to enter the passage before some soldiers in the gatehouse panicked. When Mike heard a disgusting sound of a horrow impaling people down to the ground, he knew that his time has come.


    Compared to remodelling the metal bars in the cell, tinkering with the small lock on his cuffs was an easy task. It only required him to make a mess out of a single pin inside the mechanism to render it useless. While he could free his hands any time he wanted, the rope bound around his neck still remained.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    There was no way in which Mike could untie the know without alerting his guards. But when solving the matter in the usual way couldn''t prove effective, there was always a brutal way of doing things.


    Waiting for the moment when the man would be pushed towards him by the last influx of the soldiers, he reached out with his now free hand and pulled a knife out from his belt. Cutting the tightened rope with a single swift motion, he slashed upwards at the guards back. Despite getting rid of one of them, there was a multitude of soldiers everywhere around!


    Thankfully, those newbies had worse matters on hand than some runaway prisoner. Locked inside the city, catching him would be just a matter of time. What they had to focus on right now, was the horse of experienced fighters coming for their lives!


    Noticing that the soldiers didn''t bother with him, Mike rushed to his fellow compatriots and started setting them free. With the guardian corpse lying nearby, cutting the rope would do the trick. As soon as the first person, a girl who used to speak for the entire group, was freed, Mike pointed out at the corpse.


    "He is bound to have the keys to your shackles. Find them!"


    "You seem to know what is going on. Where can I place the wounded? If those people get through the gates, they will be killed on spot!"


    Even before the woman rushed to look for the item, she stood up and looked Mike right into the eyes. Seeing the determination from the bottom of her stare, the young man couldn''t help but stop for a second. In the end, those people tried to save his life. He owed them as much as a little help!


    "Pretend that we are going to fight along with them for our lives. If we get to the gatehouse on top of the walls, we can take it over, open the gate, leave your wounded there and lock it from the inside. I won''t figure out anything else on the spot."


    Whispering those words to the girl''s ear, Mike ensured that she understood him. To make this ragtag plan work, he needed her cooperation. No matter how great of an assassin he was, there was no way he could take over the gatehouse alone!


    Seeing her nod, Mike didn''t hesitate for any longer. Pulling the sword from the dead guardian hand, he turned to the soldiers and announced.


    "If they get inside, we are all as good as dead. If I get to choose to live as a prisoner or die like a warrior, then I don''t need to hesitate before making my decision! Are you with me?"


    Turning back to now freed prisoners, Mike and the soldiers could see them nod hesitantly. In Noble''s situation, every soldier was worth his weight in gold right now.


    "Those two are gravely wounded. We need to put them somewhere safe before those dogs break-in and ravage them!"


    While continuing to spew bullshit every time he moved, Mike grabbed one of the wounded''s arm, placed it over his head and started climbing on the stair. In a few moments, the entire group arrived on top of the walls, from where they could see everything that was happening on the plains.


    And it was truly a sight to behold.


    Xantia forces were methodically cutting everyone on the city perimeter. With the cavalry chasing after those with slightly quicker legs, foot soldiers could be seen gathering in front of the horrow. Right now, they were still trying to figure out how to lift or break it, but lack of siege weapons proved fatal.


    With nothing to pry it open, there was no way that those few men who could fit near it would be able to remove this blockade. While the solution would be found sooner or later, Mike''s current plan could hasten their movements, reducing the casualties in the process!


    After confirming the situation on the plains, Mike looked at his comrades and entered the gatehouse. It was surprisingly small, with a few leavers and a big reel in the middle of it. Inhabited by a mere three soldiers, they didn''t stand a chance against Mike''s sneak attack.


    There was no way they could pull those bodies out of the room without alerting the soldiers around. Left with no other choices, Mike helped the girl and a burly man to carry the wounded inside, before looking at the wall to analyze the leavers'' system. Just a short moment later, he pulled two of them while rising a single one back to its normal position.


    "We need to move the wheel!"


    While it originally served to open and close the gates of the passage, after tinkering with the switches on the wall, this giant, wooden circle allowed them to raise the harrow, out of the Xantia way.

 42 - Reunion

    The moment that the gate''s harrow got lifted, Xantia''s troops poured inside. While they were far better equipped and trained, in the narrow and cramped passage those advantages didn''t amount to much. That''s where the attackers commanding structure came into play.


    After just a few initial clashes, soldiers backed out from the gate and set up a semicircle around the entrance. Putting great shields on the front with pikemen in the second row of the formation, this point of the battle stalled. With the cavalry clearing out the remaining troops on the plains, officers at the game simply waited for the rest of their army to arrive.


    Noble''s side didn''t waste this opportunity. Realising what happened to the gate, some witty officer gathered some troops under him and launched an attack at the gatehouse, intending to put the harrow down. Due to the intricate mechanism, without doing this it was impossible to close the gate!


    Mike had his hands full with tending to the wounded when he saw the soldiers emerging on top of the stairs and rushing towards the room. Making a decision didn''t take him even a second.


    "Help your friends!"


    Throwing a bandage roll that he was using to the woman, he jumped to the doors and barricaded them with all the loose furniture laying around. While the doors were rather heavy and durable, with enough determination and numbers, enemies would easily burst them open. With everything he could think off to secure their place already done, he jumped towards the outer window, opened the wooden cover and leaned outwards.


    "Hurry up! We won''t hold them for long!"


    The young man shouted from the bottom of his lungs towards the troops at the bottom of the walls. Even before he managed to get back into the building, the tiny cracks started appearing all over the doors. While they were reinforced with the metal fitting, under the relentless hits of swords, axes and hammers, they had to give up sooner or later.


    "We will hold the door, figure out how to break the lifting mechanism!"


    One of the wounded noticed how dire the situation was. Without caring for his health, he lifted himself, raised one of the shields lying around on his side and slammed his body on the door.


    Luckily, either someone from the Xantia heard Mike''s desperate plea or their reinforcements arrived. With an entire unit of archers located right behind the shield wall, they took aim and send salvo upon salvo of arrows into the narrow entrance.


    Everyone that was there and was inexperienced in the ways of war, died instantly. Everyone with brains or at least some degree of previous experience either rushed inside the city. In just a few short moments, the passage was clear.


    Not going to waste the opportunity, heavy armoured footsoldiers rushed inside and instantly started pouring on the gate plaza. Mike''s previous shout quickly proved to be effective, with more than a hundred people rushing up the stairs to clear out the enemies near the gatehouse. With that, the gate was lost to the Nobles.


    Finally able to go outside, Mike was greeted with a beautiful sight. With line formations blocking the street entrances to prevent any trouble for the fresh units entering the city, Xantia was forcing its way into the town. Enemies outside were already either rooted out or captured, allowing for the core forces to make their way towards the heart of the enemy. Closed between the City Hall defending forces and the Xantia''s army stepping on their backs, Noble''s were surrounded. As long as other gates wouldn''t fall, it was just a matter of time before the victory would be secured!


    Standing on top of the walls, Mike''s had a great vantage point that allowed him to see the events taking place far into the city. Only when he focused his sight in the far-off distance, did he notice the scale of the uprising of the town''s residents. While it would be normal for the Aristocrats owned areas to stand up against Noble''s intrusion, even their own population has risen against them!


    With the current state of the events, what was the regular Hikar''s army, already turned into nothing more than a crowd bound by the constant small fights into small groups. While his elites were donned in heavy armour and wielded great weapons, Mike could only look at them with pity when they tried to cut down those pesky peasants who dared to oppose them.


    This was the greatest of Noble''s mistake. Heavy units were one of the most dangerous weapons of the current times. On the open plains, no matter how many lightweight troops were thrown against them, only bad luck could make them lose that fight. In the case of the better-trained soldiers, even a cavalry attack was powerless against them!


    But all this armour that made those warriors so durable in the open, proved to be fatal in the tight spaces of the alleys. Oversized weapons capable of cutting entire rows of the enemies in front of them were only hindering their movements if they weren''t able to take a swing. Placed against a massive crowd of commoners, those elite troops mired in place.


    While the commoners didn''t have the proper weapons capable of tearing the metal can that called itself a heavy soldier apart, they had more than enough tools to bring them hell. You can''t land a hit against an enemy? Then just go back to your home, boil calmly some water and pour it through the small gaps in the helmet. You can''t strike any vitals of the warrior? Then just pull him inside the crowd and hammer the soldier into the ground with chairs, wooden maces or just a piece of rubble that lies everywhere around!The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.


    When Mike looked to the side, he saw the first sparks of a fire, set up by an unknown party. It didn''t matter who started it, as it now was spreading downwind, towards Noble''s position. While it was a nice stroke of fate for now, if no one were to stop it soon, it could devour the entire city!


    Unable to watch from the side for any longer, Mike jumped down the stairs and found one of the dead Xantia''s soldiers. While it could look disrespectful towards the fallen comadre, he needed his armour to blend in with the rest of the troops. While he would never be mistaken for a Noble with his tattered clothes, if he were to join the street fighting, he needed some sort of protection. While he did his best to leave the corpse in the best state possible, Mike quickly dressed up the lighter parts of the Xantia armour. Now, he was ready to take revenge for the entire situation caused by the count Hikar greed!


    Reaching the current frontline didn''t take him long. While the friendly soldiers were advancing quickly at first, the sheer amount of Noble''s forces forced them to conquer every meter of the streets by laying down at least a dozen of enemy corpses down. Despite visibly better organisation and prowess of the Xantia troops, they took many casualties in this process as well. There was simply no way to avoid them during a chaotic city battle!


    Squeezed in between the Xantia and City Hall, Count''s army had nowhere to run. While some could hide in the buildings, jump from the window to window or escape through the roofs, it was a solution for the individuals, not the numerous group!


    As soon as he reached the point of contact between the hostile forces, Mike noticed a small figure commanding her soldiers from the third row. With her petite build, she couldn''t join in the slugfest between two lines of shields and pikes, but she didn''t budge even a bit when people were tearing each other apart just inches away from her.


    Just from those characteristic, Mike was sure that he knew who that person was. While he felt a deep urge to greet her after all those years, a battle wasn''t a great scenery to start a reunion. Startling the commander in the middle of a fight would only result in loses, giving the potentially happy event a bad after taste. Holding back for a few moments was a rational price for the life of few men!


    The fight itself looked like a stalemate for an inexperienced eye. With two equally matched units baring their fangs at each other, the loses were surprisingly small. Unless the shield wall broke on either of the sides, this skirmish could go on for hours without any results!


    With just a few pieces of light armour on him, Mike agility wasn''t hindered almost at all. Joining the unit would bring close to no effect, so he had to figure out a way to hinder the enemies in a different way. Daring not to waste even a single moment, Mike knocked the doors to the nearby house open and entered the building.


    "I''m only going to pass through! If anyone is here, don''t bother with me!"


    At this point of the battle, only those who were incapable or unwilling to fight would remain in the houses. Announcing himself like that could save him the trouble of killing innocent citizens, who would only try to defend themselves. Soon, his action proved to be correct. After climbing the small stairs to the second floor, he caught a glimpse of a family of five tugged into the corner of the room, with the parents holding a knifes extended towards him.


    "I need to get onto the roof. Can you tell me where the ladder is?"


    With the limited space in the city, most of the houses used their roofs as an additional living space. Be it parties or simply lazing around while basking in the sun, they were commonly used for that purpose. With that in mind, there had to be easy access to it somewhere in the building and it was far easier to just ask about it instead of rummaging through the entire house while risking a sudden stab from the scared owner!


    "Next room on the right."


    With his voice breaking, the father still managed to give a word of advice.


    "Thanks."


    Noticing the shaking hands of both of the parents, Mike hurried to the place described by the man. Scaring them any longer could result in some unpleasant events that would only sour Mike''s mood. If he could avoid bothering them, he was keen on doing so.


    Finding the ladder, Mike swiftly ascended to the roof. As soon as he got there, he didn''t waste any time, took a few steps to gain enough momentum and jumped. With just a single meter of the pit width between the buildings, he could make this jump from the spot, but he needed some force to what he was going to do next.


    Upon landing, Mike didn''t stop and kept running to the side. As soon as he closed to the building side, plunged his sword into the corner between the short, stone fence and the ceiling. Using the momentum he had, the young man managed to dislodge some of the bigger stones, pushing them off the building right on Noble''s line of shields!


    Even if those few stones couldn''t break the soldier''s line, when Mike started digging out separate pieces and throwing them precisely at the frontline warriors helmets, the effects showed in an instant. Xantia''s leader wasn''t as dumb to miss this opportunity!


    As soon as the first Noble''s soldier lost his balance after the direct hit to his head, she instantly pushed her men forward to enlarge the gap that appeared in the enemy line. With three pikes plunged forward and to their respective sides, three enemy soldiers were hit in their vitals! The moment that they staggered upon getting hit, Xantia''s line bulged and two men rushed forward. With their formation firmly lodged into opponents force, the stalemate broke up instantly.


    The biggest advantage of this kind of formation was how hard it was to break. On the other side, as soon as a single flaw appeared, if the opposing force was able to bank on it, it was doomed to collapse. With the organised unit using the advantage of tight formation against the enemies without the cover, it was just a matter of time before the fight would be over!


    Seeing that the events proceeded according to his wishes, Mike jumped over now broken fence, grabbed the edge of the building and jumped down to the street. As soon as his feet touched the ground and he managed to straighten himself, he felt someone jumping into his embrace!


    Recognising the familiar smell, Mike closed his arms around the person''s back and tightened his grip.


    "It''s been a while, Revy."

 43 - The siege conclusion

    It''s been four years since Mike left Latavia. Set on leaving the old way of life behind, he travelled all the way to the Empire, where he used some of his connections and savings to establish himself as a merchant. He never expected for the reunion with his old friend to happen during a fight over Uveno!


    Despite the fights still ongoing everywhere else, Mike couldn''t stop himself from enjoying the moment. Holding Revy''s head tightly to his chest made him remember all those times that they spent in the past.


    It took them a long while to finally separate from their embrace. Pushing her slightly away, Mike looked at Revy''s face, trying to see any changes on it. With her blonde hair enveloping her entire head and falling on her back, she could be used as an example of eastern beauty. With supple lips and deep green eyes, her look was mesmerising.


    As they continued looking into each other''s eyes, Revy licked her lips with the tip of her tongue. With a delicate, shy smile causing the dimples to appear in the corners of her mouth, her face was intoxicating view to watch. Once one took just a single look, he would be unable to look away.


    Their short moment got interrupted with the appearance of another group of the enemies. Noticing their lack of real armour or command, Mike understood that Noble''s forces were slowly but steadily thinning out. While heavy troops always were in the minority of the armies composition, they formed a backbone for it. Without the armoured units, one was deprived of any stopping power against enemy heavies.


    "Let''s talk later. We still have some matters at hand."


    Brushing off a wild strand of Revy''s hair from her forehead, Mike pointed his chin towards the enemy soldiers. Even if her personal guards could cut the opponents by themselves, she was still a leader. No matter how easy the situation looked like, she had to keep the reins.


    Stepping just a single pace away, Xantia''s leader couldn''t break the eye contact with the young man. After worrying sick about him for the past few years, she almost got a heart attack when the information of Mike''s kidnapping came to her camp. Usually composed and calm, finally reuniting with her oldest friend made her lose her grip over her emotions.


    Noticing Revy''s state, Mike couldn''t help but want to curse. With all her talents and experience, she still allowed herself to freeze in the middle of the battlefield! If not for already established advantage in this particular place, that could even put their lives in danger!


    "Frontal triangle formation! Push them to the sides!"


    Unable to wait any longer, Mike assumed the command. While most of those people might not know him, they saw how their leader reacted to him. With the Revy pulled along, they had to reason to disobey the new commander.Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.


    As the fight went on, the death of every single Noble''s soldier brought the city closer to the peace. Jammed between the onslaught of the Xantia forces and the iron fist of the City Hall defenders, those former farmers were starting to break. While the first few who decided to run away were cut down on the spot by the officers, once the mass panic started, there was no way to stop it.


    What started with a single person making a successful dash towards the side alley, an avalanche of desertions happened in Noble''s ranks. With only a handful of people willing to try their luck against the officers at first, more and more people started to give in to their doubts. In mere moments, entire units were laying down their weapons in surrender!


    As the entire Xantia''s might entered the city, the fight was already leaning to an end. Unable to hold their position with both sides pressured by the respective factions, those who didn''t outright surrender, were killed in short bouts of violence. While Xantia usually tried to keep up the appearances of the good guys, just a single look at the city could prove this image to be wrong.


    In just an hour since Noble''s advance towards the city, the outcome of the battle was already decided. Even if there were still some loyal groups stalling for the time here and there, the tables got turned on the Nobles. With the Xantia appearance and willingness to join the fight, there was nothing that the Count could do.


    When the Xantia''s mercenaries met with the City Hall soldiers for the first time, the cheers erupted on the entire front line. That small event indicated how close they were to conclude the fight. All that was left for Mike to do, was waiting for all of the platoons to shake hands with the Town''s guard.


    The young man didn''t have to wait long for the desired message. What was the worst in this bloody day was the messenger face, when he brought reports for Revy, only to see her glued to Mike''s arm, with her eyes firmly set on the young man''s face.


    "Our rat''s entered the fight. In less than half an hour, the city will be ours."


    Unable to watch his respectable leader acting all lovey-dovey with some unknown man, the runner hastily said his piece, saluted and ran back to where he came from. To Mike''s desperation, the rumours were now bound to appear about his relationship with the Xantia''s supreme leader!


    As the enemies in the immediate area got cleared up, there was nothing left here for them to loiter around. Keen on ending the fights as soon as possible, Mike directed his newly acquired unit towards the town''s centre. If his intuition wasn''t wrong, this place would yet again serve the winner of the power struggle to announce its effect.


    Upon reaching the central city plaza, Mike could see a variety of flags, wiggling high in the air, as if ready to announce the soldier''s affiliation with this or that mercenary group frequenting the Xantia''s call to arms. With the core troops of the most prominent groups in the family, announcing the victory was the last bothersome Revy''s duty.


    Using the support of Mike''s arm, she detached herself from the young man''s arm and jogged to the central spot of the plaza. After looking around with her watchful eyes for a while, Revy cleared her throat and looked up.


    "To all Xantia''s personnel. We have won the battle!"

 44 - Audience

    It''s been two hours already, but Victor with his friends was still kept in the Grand Hall. Even if forcing one''s subjects to wait for the meeting was a Royal way of acting, this knowledge didn''t lessen the officer''s anxiety.


    He counted every column in the vast room, took his time to appreciate every single painting plastered on the walls, admired the mosaic masterfully laid on the floor. And he was still kept waiting!


    Rushing to the capital all the way from the border took them two weeks. Changing the horses on every possible occasion, leaving most of the luggage behind to prevent it from slowing them downˇ­ They did everything in their power to show up as soon as possibleˇ­ but it would be unheard of if they were invited straight away! Even if the news of them reaching the city was sure to arrive in advance, royal etiquette forced them to waste their precious time!


    "... why we should push them now! We can''t be sure how quickly they will regain their wits and curb us out of the Buzan!"


    Klimmer continued to argue with Leila in the background. While Victor preferred to wait in silence, this duo was known in the entire Perra for their constant bickering. At times, the officer wondered that if his companions'' worldviews were just a slightly better aligned, would his friend end up with Leila instead of him?


    "While this might be true, we won''t be able to force them out of the Heska Hills. Even if we captured the entirety of no man''s land, it would be all meaningless in the end."


    If not for the sake of spelling her words, Leila face could be said to be as still as water in an undisturbed pond. While she might be able to trick others, both Victor and Klimmer knew her for long enough to understand what lied behind this false lack of emotion. For someone as energetic and impulsive as her, calmness could only be an act!


    "What do you mean meaningless? If we want to ever push beyond this line and finally eradicate them, we will have to conquer those forts anyway! Taking over the plains and the old town would grant us enough operating space to unleash our forces and just swarm them!"


    Pacing around in circles, Klimmer looked at Victor with the hope seeping out of his eyes. Noticing the dispirited look that he received in response, the young officer turned back around to face the Leila.


    There was no way Victor would enter this argument. How was he supposed to choose between supporting his dear friend and fiancee? No matter what he said, speaking up would cause either one of them to feel resentful towards him, and if he disagreed with both of themˇ­


    "Have you seen those Hills? I did! This wouldn''t be a siege, attacking those fortifications equals to making mincemeat out of our soldiers! The only thing that I find comparable to Heska Hills is the continental wall!"


    Before his beloved could attempt to drag him into this, Victor moved quite a distance away. Looking at the paintings in the reverse order now, he pretended to not feel Leila''s eyes glued on his back. No matter what, he had to avoid being pulled into the conversation!


    Just as if fate was looking over him, before the girl attempted to call him, the massive doors in the inner side of the hall opened. At first, a party of eastern looking dignitaries left, accompanied by the Royal Chamberlain. Bowing lightly at the leaving party, the old man swept the imaginary dust from the folds of his robe and looked at Victor.


    "The King invites you in."


    With a slight nod, he moved aside and pointed at the throne room with his right hand. While this gesture looked quite excessive, his post was mostly about keeping the proper, traditional manners in the most important building in the country. Even the whole audience was just a farse kept up only to give royal attendants some work.


    Most of the people working as crown high servants really cared about those posts. Despite the vast inhabited lands in the northern part of the country, Commonwealth was already divided into many various princedoms, glued together by the central power of the King. But the Nobles had to be rewarded for their deeds in some way or another!


    Opposing to the idea of shrinking the crown lands, old emperor from seven generations ago passed a degree where the only thing a Noble could get from the crown was either the tax relief, someone else fief, conquered land or an honourable title. With the savings in the treasury constantly shrinking down, internal peace and borders already boosted to the maximum of country administrative capabilities, the only way to please the high class laid in those titles.


    Keeping the look of ridicule from appearing on his face, Victor passed the old man and entered the throne room. While the Grand Hall where they were waiting was rather simplistic, kept at the minimal level of grandeur required for the residence of the King, the main hall was filled to the brim with the treasures.


    Walls laced with the thin layer of gold, columns decorated with various weapons from the many wars that Commonwealth waged in its prime times, even when stepping on the floor one had to be careful to not twist his ankle on the gems protruding from it!


    Despite entering the throne room first, Victor had to wait for the Chamberlain to let the others in first. When his comrades stepped through the door, Royal guards pulled on the handles and closed the massive gate. With the official stepping in front of the party, they began their slow march towards the throne.If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    While the soldiers wielded far greater authority, both in the military and the court rankings, this was the Chamberlain kingdom. Not hurrying at all, he made sure to make the most of the time when he could tower over the real powerhouses. While this was yet another stupid rule, the official had to march at the very front.


    Victor tried his hardest to prevent any looks of discontent from surfacing on his face. Showing disdain would only inflate the chamberlain ego, taunting him to walk even slower. It took them a long few minutes of admiring the surroundings before the whole group stopped and kneeled on one knee.


    "One-star Hesmen, Victor and his subordinates have arrived, your Majesty!"


    While the old man could flaunt his position at the soldiers, he did not dare to overstep his bounds in front of the King himself. Lowering his head to the level of his abdomen, chamberlain introduced Victor''s party.


    "You may raise your heads."


    The middle-aged man sitting on the golden throne raised his hand while giving the order. If not for his beautiful dress and a modest crown, one would never guess that he was one of the most powerful people of this age! With the vast and rich Commonwealth''s lands guided by his hand alone, he wielded the strength to wipe the entire countries from the face of the planet! Compared to the punny rulers of the Western continent, he was like a deity placed against an ant!


    "My king!"


    Raising from his knees, Victor sent a look to his highest superior. With the bag under his once lively eyes, he could see how managing the former empire took a great toll on his mind and body. With the memories of great adventures they went through together back before his enthronement, all he could do right now was to bury his worries in the deepest part of his heart. That was the best way to honour his friend''s decision from the times when he was just a prince.


    "As per our orders, we managed to drive the invading barbarians back to the great plains. While the losses were heavy, the enemies lost more than half of their original number. With the common use of the traps supplied by the Juttaran princedom, our real objective remains hidden. What worries me though, are the movements we observed beyond the continental wall."


    With the summons strictly describing the cause of this audience, Victor didn''t dare to elaborate on the points he considered important. While he might have a great bit of influence over the court, compared to the old geezers crammed behind the throne, he meant nothing. Even with the King''s support, those people could make things hard for him if he overstepped his bounds. Even this slight remark caused some whispers in the Senatorian body.


    "You did well, once again you saved our country from the barbarian onslaught. Was there anything special about the invasion this time?"


    With his head resting on the palm of his hand, the King ignored Victor''s probing and stuck to the main topic. From his eyes squinting in annoyance, it became obvious that he definitely wasn''t oblivious to the small commotion behind him.


    "Your Majesty wisdom is as vast as the ocean reaches. Indeed, we observed that Barbarians implemented some sort of tactics requiring at least a primitive commanding group. Their reactions were on point, even if it meant losing the people. I believe those officers were the cause behind our abnormally high losses."


    Lowering his head, the officer replied with grief. Most of the deaths occurred while he was away on his escapade to the west, but admitting this point would result in a great stir in the higher echelons, possibly ending up with the reform of the military. With the Perran autonomy still intact despite several schemes created by other factions, he couldn''t give them any weapons to undermine his position!


    "This is quite worrying. I don''t recall them ever overcoming our influence and establishing such an elaborate structure. If what you said is right, the implications could be disastrous! While I put my deepest trust in Perran capabilities, we can''t allow this situation to develop. Rance, Gryve, come out!"


    Waving his hand at the crowd behind him, the King summoned two people. With life returning to his eyes, he leaned forward and scanned the duo that came out.


    "You have one month to mobilise your silent forces. At the end of the next month, I want them to join the shadow force and dig up the reasons behind this change. In a quarter of the year, I want to hear about the results. Prove to me that you are worthy of the uniforms you are wearing!"


    As the King dismissed the Hesmens, Victor followed their departing silhouettes. Standing on the pinnacle of both the military and the court ranking, they could freely enter and leave the throne room without the Chamberlain guidance. As his eyes wandered to the side, he noticed a small Leila nod.


    "My King! If I may have a wordˇ­"


    Not asked directly, Victor wasn''t allowed to speak as he wished. That was one of the only palace rules he understood and respected. Without it, the King would be hindered during the process of making decisions!


    "If it''s about the west, then you may not. I understand your fixation of the legendary aspect of our history, but the current times are too dire to waste our sparse resources on that front. But taking our long friendship into the account, I have a perfect task for you!"


    Without a warning, the King stood up from his throne and walked down the stairs that separated the quests from those who received them. Walking up to Victor, he placed his hand on his shoulder and looked him in the eyes.


    "Recently, I received a report that we have some spies meddling with the shadow kingdom affairs. If our intelligence turned around the new leaf and actually found an existing problem, if we don''t do anything about, this spy could cause mayhem in on the other side of the continental wall. While the profits from that investment aren''t as great as I wish they were, they still amount to quite a nice pile of gold."


    The King stepped away from his old friend and paced back to his seat. Contrary to everyone''s expectation, instead of sitting back on it, he just gently patted the armrest.


    "This chair forces people to set their sight on reality and ignore the sanctum. I can''t let you wander around on those undeveloped lands, looking for a mirage. If you really want to see the world outside, take care of that spy for me. Don''t come back without results!"


    Ending his sentence with a powerful voice, the King sat heavily on the throne and looked at Victor.


    "You are dismissed!"

 45.1 - Military district (part 1)

    The massive doors that guarded the way to the royal palace closed as soon as Victor''s party left the premises. With the guards standing on both sides of the gate, the only way forward was leading them through the Crown gardens all the way to the bridge connecting the Royal land with the rest of the capital.


    After going down the stairs, Victor couldn''t help but stay in place for a moment and stare at the insane view in front of his eyes. Flowers were segregated by their colours, creating various patterns on the vast garden expanses. To their right, the plants formed three layers of white, red and white, with a golden crown in the middle.


    On the opposite side of the road, the gardeners took great care to maintain the royal crest of a white hippogriff standing proudly on a dark blue shield. Those two most important symbols in the country decorated the immediate surroundings on the main road, with different flags and crest symbolising various princedoms and counties that were united under the rule of the King.


    Travelling through the main road took Victor''s party north, voiding the possibility to admire Perran colours, located at the southern end of the gardens. It wasn''t that the Commonwealth disregarded this faction importance but rather the overall concept behind the fields, laid out according to their relative location from the capital city. Even if at first the officer considered going to his homeland memorial place, that would require them to cross the entire length of the Royal garden twice!


    "What do you think about this mission? It sounded like the king just wanted to remove us from the picture!"


    Unable to bear the solemn silence maintained from the very moment that the ruler dismissed them, Klimmer asked. As Perran Kirkut, he had great capabilities allowing him to flaunt his title with a deserved pride, but when it came to scheming and politics, it was Leila who showed the best expertise in the topic!


    "It sounded shady for me as well. If the times are as dire as his majesty Laszlo implied, would he really let go of his trusted aides? Victor, could you enlighten us? You know the king the best from us!"


    Great friendship connecting the ruler with the Perran Hesman wasn''t a secret to anyone. The entire court kept their opinions to themselves despite various whispers of favouring this particular faction only because of Victor himself. Ruling over such a diverse bunch of people, officer''s old friend had to tread carefully even despite the crown on his head. No matter how powerful he was, just a single wrong move could spark the flames of rebellion!


    "He couldn''t let me go just like that. My report is probably being discussed right now, hence I can''t really imagine those senators giving up on the one who usually cleans the mess they create. While I''m not sure whether the spying matter is real, we could use this opportunity to monitor the western continent."


    Closing to the garden''s gate, Victor stopped talking to prevent the guards from hearing their conversation. While on the paper they worked directly for the Royal House, the officer expected that at least three of the great court figures had them on their pay list.


    After paying their respects to the guards and leaving the crown lands, they dived right into the busy street of the capital. With the palace located just to the side of the town centre, they had to travel quite a big distance to reach the Perran headquarters. Back in the times when Commonwealth entered its expansion phase, a need for a centralized city aroused. With more and more counties joining the federation under the influence of either diplomacy or the army at their gates, the future capital of the state needs to incorporate all sorts of powers within its borders.


    With the escalating need for a crown town, ancient city planners meet with quite a trouble. If they were to divide the districts by the existing factions, it would cause unrest among the newcomers to the union, lacking their own place in the most important place in the country. To avoid this problem, the entire area was separated into specialised districts. Thanks to this solution, every influential figure had to excel in at least one field to gain the privilege of settling down their headquarters in the capital.The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.


    "Continuing with the talk from before, the King couldn''t outright support my idea of investigating the west. While its Perran raison d''etre, he can''t ignore current state problems. With the solution he came up with, we have free reins in doing whatever we want there under the pretence of looking for spies."


    Mixed with the crowd, even if someone was tailing them, he had no way to eavesdrop on their conversation with all the commotion everywhere around. Even Victor''s friends had to almost hug him to hear what he said.


    "I wish people would remember what is our purpose in the first place. With the growth of the Commonwealth influence, commonfolk and even the court officials started treating us as Kingdom''s tool to solve dirty matters."


    Hugging Victor''s arm with her whole body, Leila murmured under her nose. This was the problem that annoyed the entire traditional part of their faction. With how effective they were in dealing with uncommon troubles, they were burdened with more and more missions, while their budget for the west operations constantly thinned down. No matter how many times they applied to the King to change this trend, they would be given empty promises.


    "There is nothing we can do about it. If we refuse to work as hard as we used to, we will lose a lot of influence in the capital, limiting our possibilities even more. What''s worse, we can''t even take on side jobs to improve our situation, because the Kingdom would consider this a treason!"


    Smashing his fist on the nearby wall, Klimmer stopped for a second to calm down. Only when his breath returned to the usual rhythm, did he pick up the pace and catch up with his friends.


    "We can''t expect the politicians to understand Perran morals. They only see the immediate profits and loses, while they don''t dare to look farther into the future. In the end, if we fail to endure our current situation and decide to ignore the cause, all of the hard work of our ancestors, the sacrifices they made, the blood they shedˇ­ all of it will turn meaningless!"


    With her mood considerably soured by that realisation, Leila tightened her embrace around Victor''s arm. Seeking comfort in the heat of his body, she turned silent for the rest of their march.


    As soon as they left the core of the city, the streets became a lot wider and less populated. Right on the district border, there was a special stable that they entered. Fully dressed in their uniforms, they didn''t even need to show their privilege card to rent the horses. Dropping a few silvers on the counter, they didn''t litter around for long before taking the horses on the road and trotting towards their destination.


    Even on the horseback, covering the necessary distance took them half an hour to reach their destination. For the comfort of the various travellers, another horse station was located right outside the military district gate. After getting rid of their mounts, they were finally able to enter the district.


    Compared to the royal palace, the security here could be considered lax. Only a few guards were patrolling the streets, with some more placed at the doorstep of some more important offices. As the name of the district stated, almost every worker on inhabitant here had a long past in the army, making any kinds of brawls or aggression - impossible.


    Strolling through the streets, Victor nodded to several people he was acquaintances with, refraining from any proper greeting. Knowing the habits and boring nature of this work, simple hello could turn into a long talk with an invitation to drinks at the end. Since they didn''t know if the king wouldn''t change his mind in the last moment before their departure, the officer didn''t want to risk talking with anyone just to hear about his mission being cancelled!


    In a few short moments, they arrived at the doors leading to the Perran headquarter. The building looked like a small-sized castle, with some newly added touches here and there. It wasn''t anything strange since the Perra faction was a part of the old Commonwealth Empire even before the unification movement began. As one of the oldest buildings in the entire city, visitors had to cut some slack for the old design!


    Despite the old look in the outside, the interior that Victor''s party saw after entering was completly different. Instead of stone walls, there was a layer of jungle wood, the floor was covered by maps of different regions with intricate details added on themˇ­ Even if there was no gold or silver for people to see, the entire building gave off a majestic and expensive feeling.


    After following the corridor to a specific door, Victor knocked on them and after hearing the invitation, he pushed the door open. There was only a single person sitting behind a massive desk inside. Busy with sorting the stacks of papers lying everywhere around him, it took a while before the person raised his sight to look at the visitors.


    "How can I help you, Hesman?"

 45.2 - Military district (part 2)

    Even if the secretary knew Victor from the several interactions they already had, the etiquette still required him to refer to the man with his proper title.


    "I need all the documents about the western outposts and shadow kingdom. If you would be so kind, I would love if you could prepare a forty-seven demand for me."


    Victor stated his request outright. Here, in Perra headquarters, he was basically a god to the others. Wielding the highest operational rank, he was outranked only by the great and crown Hesman''s and King himself.


    "Will do. Do you need anything else?"


    The secretary didn''t bother to put his work aside while speaking with Victor. Despite the great difference in their ranks, relatively young hesman was know from being approachable. Instead of putting his full attention on the small talk, it was better to finish the task at hand and help with Victor''s request right afterwards! Stopping his work only for a moment, the young man behind the desk reached for one of the shelves and brought a stack of papers down on his table.


    "Nothing that I can''t solve myself, thanks for asking anyway!"


    With those words and a small nod, the officer grabbed the papers and left the room. Just before closing the doors behind, he turned around to ask one more question.


    "Any ideas which room could be empty right now?"


    "Briefing six should be free at this moment. If I recall correctly, there is a meeting scheduled there in two hours, but no one should bother You before that time!"


    Hearing the secretary response, Victor nodded again and closed the doors. This young man seemed to be busy with all the papers around him so there was absolutely no reason to bother him anymore. Even if he was at the bottom of the pecking order, his job was actually even more important by the work that several field officers were doing. If not for people like him, the whole papyrology in Perra would collapse!


    While leading his party to the room pointed out by the secretary, Victor recalled the times when he was the one doing those odd jobs. With all the energy he had in his formative age, he joined the faction to serve his country to the best of his possibilities. Thanks to the strict training, even the long lineage of his ancestors serving as the officers didn''t allow him to avoid those torturous times.


    With the huge amount of motivation and energy present in most of the recruits, it was obvious that there some mishaps and accidents were bound to occur. At some point, Victor even thought that the entire training routine was created so that people like his younger version would cross the line and be punished with this kind of work!


    After reaching the room that the secretary told them about, Victor invited his friends inside, split the papers in three and passed them to his companions. Sitting down on one of the chairs present in the location, he dived into the documents in his hands, looking for any pieces of information that could prove useful in his mission.


    For the next hour or so, the only sound present in the room was the rustling of the paper. Despite how boring this job was, it could save them a lot of trouble later on. From time to time, one of them could be seen jotting down some notes on omnipresent blank papers with a piece of charcoal.


    The first to finish was actually Leila. As she scanned the last page of the documents she received earlier, she took a look at her companions. Calculating something in her mind, she picked two small stacks of documents that she left over before and passed them to her companions. With the random splitting of the papers, it was obvious that some reports were bound to be split in half, so instead of breaking her friends focus to request them, she just ignored the incomplete parts.


    Just a moment later, both Victor and Klimmer finally finished their job and sighted from the bottom of their lungs with relief surfacing on their faces. Coincidentally, those actions synchronised, adding a bit of comicalness to the situation.


    "Okay then, let me start."


    Noticing how everyone was ready, Victor took the paper with the notes he was making and looked at his friends.


    "From what I saw in those documents, our control over the outpost is diminishing. Locations seven, fourteen and twenty-two switched hands to those bastards from Numian, while locations four and nine show the same signs, but with someone else playing in the shadows. While that might be an accident that is not connected to our mission, I have a feeling that we should investigate this. I have something about the shadow kingdom, but let''s speak about it later. What did you find, guys?"Support the creativity of authors by visiting Royal Road for this novel and more.


    "I''m empty on the outpost matter. All that I have applies to the kingdom itself."


    Leila spread her hands in resignation. While all of those papers tackled the matters connected to the western continent, commonwealth still had quite a few projects going on there. It was no surprise that her portion of the documents was about different problems.


    "I think that Lyrian princedom might be behind the four and nine locations. There are some reports about some sponsorship of those places. There is a surprisingly high number of the resettlement request made by their people as well. If my assumption isn''t wrong, they might be trying to smuggle some of their wares to the shadow kingdom."


    Despite being in one of the most secure locations in the entire capital city of Commonwealth, Klimmer still used a lowered voice to say his piece. If his words were proven true, that could result in a purge in the government! Since ancient times, the west was a taboo for everyone except those who were chosen by the King himself. Trying to meddle with any kind of affairs there was punishable by death!


    "That''s one point to investigate for us later. Do we have anything else about the outposts?"


    Victor jotted a small note on a separate piece of paper, before turning his head back to his companions.


    "While its marginal, outposts three and forty-one seems to be lacking supplies. Apparently, the company tasked with supplying them went under recently and the headquarters didn''t find any other contractor to replace them yet."


    Klimmer reported after looking through his notes again. While he called it a minor issue, he used the national scale to judge it. For the people stationed in those locations, lack of supplies would mean weeks of starving or breaking the law and go hunting themselves!


    "We will go through the forty-one outpost while on our way to the shadow kingdom. About the third oneˇ­"


    Unable to find a solution immediately, Victor fell into deep thought for a moment, brushing his beard while looking at one of the official documents.


    "It seems that sixth outpost delivery is scheduled for the next week. If we hurry, we can intercept this caravan and redirect them towards the third one. While it will require some paperwork, lets put this aside for now. What about the kingdom? From the looks of things, I don''t find anything strange going on there. Any clues?


    "While the usual meddling with the outposts should affect some vital parts of its operation, I can''t find any signs of that happening. What about you, Leila?"


    With a look of disbelief on his face, Klimmer turned around to face his debate nemesis.


    "There are some everyday problems here and there, but nothing extraordinary worth reporting. On the side note, they seem to finally implement the arena project there, so we could take a look at it when we will arrive there."


    Noticing that something was amiss, Leila checked some stuff on the official documents but still went with the results that she found out earlier. From the looks of things, there wasn''t any problem with the shadow kingdom at all!


    Just when Victor was about to continue, the doors to the room got opened with a few people almost making their way in. When they saw that it was already occupied, a look of hesitation appeared on their faces. Looking at their uniforms, they were nothing more than just freshly nominated recruits, with an angry-looking officer behind them.


    "We are very sorry, we didn''t know someone was already using this room! Forgive our insolence!"


    Noticing the awkward look on his underling''s faces, the officer stepped up to solve the problem, only to see someone wearing Kirkut''s uniform! What was worse, when he got stunned and involuntarily scanned the rest of the room, he saw a damn Hesman and his aide! With the blood flowing out of his face, he tried to bail out, but Victor''s swift reaction stopped him in his track.


    "Don''t worry, we knew that there was a scheduled meeting here, but we kinda overstayed for a bit. As we are finished already, just give us a moment to pack the papers and you are free to use the room!"


    Reaching Hesman rank required one to be both quick-witted and a great observant. Noticing the look of terror in the training officer eyes, Victor didn''t make things hard for him. In the end, they were the one failing to keep track of the time!


    After sorting out the documents back to the state they received them in, Leila collected all the notes from the table and raised up. Even if she was Victor''s fiancee, first and foremost, she was Hesman aide. In front of the audience, she had to act her part!


    When they were leaving, the freshmen stepped aside as if the King himself was making his way through them. Their eyes filled with respect and awe indicated how respected was the Hesman position even in the eyes of new additions to the faction! Compared to other military factions when the general position - Hesman equivalent - could be either bought or inherited, Perran organisation showed its prowess once again!


    Going back to the room of the secretary, Victor opened the door and passed the documents back. As the young man received them with a respectful nod, he didn''t wait to inform his superior.


    "I already passed the orders, if they didn''t slack off, your requested Company should be waiting in the assembly area!"

 46.1 Blood renewal ceremony (part 1)

    "Your requested Company should be waiting in the assembly area!"


    Within the two hours that Victor took to sort through the documents, the young secretary already passed his request down the line and confirmed its acceptance! If not for the pressing time, the officer would be sure to put up a good word for him before leaving. While it wouldn''t take a long time, the sun was already past its daily prime so if they wanted to sort out everything before the night to leave with the sunrise tomorrow, they had to make use of all the time that they had.


    With all the matters at hand already settled, Victor''s party left the building and headed towards the outer border of the district. As they travelled north yet again, the number of buildings lessened, with elaborate castles and mansions giving place to barracks and training yards. As the district outlined the definite border of the city, beyond the town walls, no buildings were allowed for several kilometres.


    After a good hour of fast-paced walk, they finally reached the assembly area mentioned by the secretary back in the headquarters. While it might sound fancy, it was nothing more but an empty plot of land, located between the massive soldiers quarters and warehouses. With a crowd of people already waiting orderly for their newly appointed commander.


    "Lor Kamarish and the company are ready for Hesman orders!"


    As soon as they closed on the crowd of soldiers, a low-rank officer run up to them and straightened himself while saluting. Being the practical commander of this company, his task was to follow the Hesman''s orders in fulfilling his mission. While in other military formations delegating just a punny five hundred men strong unit for a general-class officer would be unheard off, Perra faction was special even within the confines of the commonwealth.


    As the oldest military body in the country, they continued the traditions of the first subjugators of the Perran lands that later grew into the Commonwealth Empire. Despite being in the seat of power at the beginning, their prime mission didn''t align with ruling the country. That put the entire tribe in a perilous situation, where they needed a country to support them, but couldn''t afford to rule it!


    This state of affairs held for about fifty years, after which one of the nearby tribes whose name history didn''t record, united with the Perrans and set the foundation for the future powerhouse. At first, this cooperation worked well for both parties, but with the constant growth of the country, a single military power became too threatening for the later rulers, forcing them to grow other forces.


    With the present state of the country, the overgrown military started becoming a headache to the King. With the endless rivers of gold constantly sinking down in this part of the nation, most of the armed organisations were allowed to use their soldiers as mercenaries or henchmen for rich merchants or nobles. As the Perrans built themselves an image of always sticking to the tradition, they were the only force left for the exclusive use of the King!


    Exchanging the greetings with the Lor of the company showcased this point. Instead of being angry at losing his command over his underlings, he was actually excited by the prospect of serving directly under the legendary Hesman!


    "I would normally order you to ready your people, but I see there is no need for that. Good job!"


    Appreciating the honest effort of both the officer and his people, Victor didn''t hold back his praise. For him, it was just a few effortless words, but for the Lor, this was an acknowledgement from someone he looked up to!


    "Since everything is ready, let''s not waste time here. For now, we need to reach the main west camp. We will talk about the mission on our way."


    Giving the initial orders was important. They could explain the situation while travelling, instead of wasting the time doing it in here. Only in the warm confines of Perran outer camp would they be safe from the potential cancellation of the mission. Considering the worries that Victor had about the prophecy, this mission was too important for them to risk it!


    Getting the entire company to move would be an arduous task in other militaries, but thanks to the strict Perran training regime, they managed to round it up to just a few minutes. No matter how skilled or experienced a unit was, it still took time for the big group of people to form up the marching column, pass through the gate and set up the march.


    The journey this time took them over four hours, leaving them only a few moments of the light before the sunset. If not for a faster marching pace than usual, they would be forced to either camp in the darkness of the night or risk injuries while travelling with torches.


    As soon as the enormous camp came into view, Victor dashed forward on his horse. Greeting the guards at the opening of the fence with a nod, he stepped down from his mount and jogged towards the plaza. The sight of Hesman running around like some errand boy caused some of the soldiers to blatantly stare at this unusual picture!


    There was a reason behind Victor''s hurry. With only a few minutes left behind his company would enter the camp, he had to find them a place to sleep, settle the administrative matters coming tied with entering the camp and order them a night meal. While he could order his aide to do it for him, he dared not to imagine how would their wedding look like if he were to order her around now!


    Barely a minute after various servants ran to the kitchens or empty barracks, Kamarish''s company entered the premises. Still burdened by a few matters that he wanted to settle before the night, Hesman guided his troops to their accommodation. As this was nothing more than a forward operating base for their faction, the rules and order didn''t vary much from their previous garrison. As soon as their armour and weapons were taken care of, they would be free to do whatever they wanted before the trumpets would announce the sleeping time.Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on the original website.


    On the other hand, as soon as the mundane tasks were over, Victor and his friends rushed toward the commanding centre of the camp. Even while walking through the narrow streets separating the identical barracks from each other, they could feel the familiar aura of the traditional military. When they served their time at the front lines, they had to get used to the new way of conducting war. Troops divided by multiplications of ten, officers being someone to fear instead of respect, grand drinking parties after the battles without a care in the world about its outcomeˇ­ Walking on the calm streets with everyone acting their part without complaint could soothe the heart of any veteran in the world.


    Not too long later, they arrived in front of the simple building with the "officer''s canteen" sign hanging over the entrance. At this time of the day, this was a true heart of the entire camp. With the commanding post manned by the lower officers, even if they wanted to settle something there, they would be sent back to this lowkey building!


    With Klimmer pushing the door open, the high ranking trio entered the building. There wasn''t even a hint of a guard in here. As this place was a sanctuary of the traditionalists, lower-ranking officers sat at the tables near the entrance, with the several Pulanians and Kirkuts talking in groups at the opposite end of the main hall. At the very middle of the room sat a two-star Hesman, discussing something with several aides.


    When people noticed another high ranking figure entering the place, the entire room froze. Only when Victor''s face got illuminated by the light of the torch did the peaceful and calm atmosphere return to the gathering. He was too easy to recognise amongst the upper echelons of Perra officers to make them worry about him kicking up some sort of fuss!


    To keep up with the tradition, Victor went up to the middle table and bowed deeply before the higher ranking general. Putting his hands into a bowl at the height of his belly button, he looked down and said.


    "One-star Hesman greets his superior!"


    "Two-star Hesman receives a greeting!"


    Cupping his hands together at the height of his sight, the highest-ranking officer in the room nodded to Victor before turning back to his aides. With that done, Leila and Klimmer joined up with their superior and sat in the nearby table.


    "I think that the entire company might be too much. Everyone will know that we came with some big mission, giving the potential rats ample time to either hide or stop their activities. Even a group would be too much! Wouldn''t it be better to go with at most two units?"


    As soon as their drinks arrived, brought by one of the commons soldiers serving there, Klimmer couldn''t hold his anxiety anymore. With over five hundred people, they were as good as official legation!


    "While you are right about our company being just a tad too big, don''t you think that just sixteen people are far less than reasonable? What if there will be some kind of great conspiracy going on? They could just get rid of us and prevent any news from leaking. Even if the King would get alerted by it after some time, with the orders he gave us, it could even take a year or two before he would turn his eye towards the shadow kingdom!"


    Victor wasn''t soo positive about the idea to ditch their assistance away. There were some reasons why he applied for it in the first place! While his friends made a valid point, without proper troops stopping any attempt at their lives, this mission could turn from western vacations into a quagmire of schemes and assassinations!


    "Maybe we should take just a single unit with us and let the rest of the company travel through a different route? We could task them with resupplying the outpost for the time being. If we get someone to play the role of the legate, we could operate covertly while they would draw attention to their arrival!"


    Knocking her fingers on the table while sipping on her drink, Leila suddenly put away her mug and entered the conversation. The main Victor''s reason for requesting the backup laid in the potential scale of the hidden conflict, with the main downside being the attention that it would attract. With her proposal, they could both make use of additional help while keeping a low profile!


    "That sounds like a good idea! We could travel without any carriages in this scenario!"


    Klimmer immediately hopped on the idea and expressed his approval. Even while both of his friends supported the resolution, for some reason Victor still hesitated. With his eyes cloudy and hands slowly rubbing the handle of his mug, he has fallen into one of his moments of internal seclusion, when he would ignore everything around him to think about some stuff.


    "While I''m not an advocate of splitting our forces, I don''t think we can find any better solution. For now, let''s go with your proposition, dear."


    Raising his cup to drink some of his light beer, the Hesman hand stopped in the midair with his face suddenly tensing up. With a loud ''bang'', he placed the cup back on the table and looked sternly at his companions.


    "We don''t know what situations might arouse during our mission. I think we should apply for blood renewal. And that meansˇ­ No drinking!"


    Those words struck the fragile place in soldiers hearts. As the most important ceremony, exclusive to their faction, going through it required perfect state of body and mind. With how important this event was to them, going through it was valued very highly by every Perran member.


    "Do you think it might be that serious?"


    Blood renewal was in its essence an act of leaving one''s heritage for future generations. While it could greatly improve their condition, it was insanely taxing on one''s soul, requiring the participants to ready themselves for the worst possible scenario.


    Back in the times of the Empire, one could go through it only when he joined the faction or when he was sent on a suicidal mission. Even if the modern times made the restriction on the ceremony loosen by a huge margin, it still wasn''t something to be taken lightly.


    "Yes, it''s better to take part in it now and be at ease rather than cursing about forgetting to do so later. Let''s go!"


    Putting his plates away, Victor stood up, nodded to the superior Hesman and left the building with his friends. With the night just falling, they had just enough time to fast. With the ceremony always taking place right at the dawn, they were in for a long endurance test!

 46.2 Blood renewal ceremony (part 2)

    Walking towards the very middle of the entire camp, Victor stopped only when he reached an elaborately decorated hut, lit by a multitude of torches and lamps. The plaza hidden behind similar tents was currently as dark as a place could get in the night as if the entire light from the camp was unable to get past the tents.


    "Welcome to the ceremony office, how can we help you?"


    As soon as Victor entered the hut he was walking towards, a warm voice greeted him. When his eyes got used to the dim lighting inside, he could recognise the face of an elderly woman that used to be a famed general of the previous generation. Unable to leave the warm confines of the faction and unwilling to join the court, she has chosen to take care of the main blood pond in the entire country.


    "I came here to request a blood renewal for me and two of my aides at the next dawn. Would that be still possible Ma''am?"


    Despite wielding now higher position than the former legend, Victor still acted as respectful as he could. While her service time barely touched his military history, he still had some vivid memories of the hellish training she subjected his group right before her retirement. While those experiences was just a short memory now, the officer still recognised their value that showed up at his second field mission.


    "Yes, we don''t have many recruits currently, so there should be no problem with that. May I know why do you deem it to be the right time?"


    Even if the old Heswoman held some kind of sympathy towards her former trainee, the historical and traditional value of the ceremony was too great to take it lightly. Without following steps that were set in stone, the meaning of the whole event would lose its importance!


    "We will depart for a potentially dangerous mission with the first sunlight. If my worries will become real, there is no telling if we will be able to make it back."


    There was no need for any longer elaboration. While common soldier might repeat the ritual before the mobilisation, high officers like Victor were used to various missions that could threaten their life. If the gut feeling told him that he had to be careful, it should be enough to apply for the spot!


    "Very well then, get your people to change into ceremonial clothing and fast for the rest of the night. You will be notified when the rite will be about to begin."


    Acknowledging Victor''s reasoning, the old Heswoman dismissed him with a wave of her hand. Only when the general left the hut did he allow himself to take a deep breath. No matter what other people said, his former master aura was suffocating. While she appeared and acted amiably to her colleagues, every drop of blood that she spilt altered the feeling that one had when near her. Despite being the soldier himself, Victor still found it hard to endure her bloodlust.


    Prompting his friends to follow after him, the hesman entered yet another building where they found stacks of celebratory robes lying orderly on the tables. After searching for a while for the types reserved for their respective ranks, both men left the building to let Leila change in peace.


    As soon as she stepped out, the world seemed to stop for a moment. With her black hair set free and falling on her back, her figure covered with a thin layer of the velvet robe seemed to align with the will of the world itself. Every step she made with her bare foot looked like she was gliding on the grass instead of walking. Unable to contain himself any longer, Victor and Klimmer reentered the building to don their outfits as well.


    While female celebratory suit could be said to be beautiful, male version induced a feeling of seriousness and dignity. The tight bottom robe forced them to walk in small steps, to make them remember than everything had to be achieved by constant effort. Two wide pieces of material were hung from the respective arm and circumvented their torso to end hidden under the belt. With their heads covered by a loose piece of a cilice, they were bound to remember all the hardships that their ancestors had to face.


    When both men were done with dressing, they left the building, picked up Leila which mind seemed to already start wandering through the annals of the history and entered the celebratory area.


    On the very middle of the entire plaza, there was an elevated platform with an enormous, golden cauldron that seemed to shine with its own light. While they knew what was inside it, from their point of view, they were unable to take even a single look. To honour the tradition, they kneeled in front of the stairs leading to the stage and smashed their heads on the first step.


    As they entered from the side where the officers quarters were located, they only cached a glimpse of the other group that was already prostrating themselves on the opposite side of the elevation. Without uttering a single word that could bother their new companions, the officers started contemplating the wonders of Perran history.


    To feast before the sacred blood pond meant to endure the inevitable pain of the muscles stretched in an unnatural position while focusing all the attention of the brave deeds of their ancestors. There wasn''t a single guard or watchman to hinder them from moving, but they didn''t show even the slightest sight of movement. This was just a small discomfort compared to the hardships that their predecessors had to endure on the harsh road of being a warrior.


    With every hit of the pain reaching his mind, Victor could focus more and more on his contemplation. Behind his closed eyelids, he could see the scenes from the past that he regretted. He could see the moments that left a mental scar of him. He could see his friends dying because of his failures. And this was just a first stage of mystical experience that he was about to endure.Love what you''re reading? Discover and support the author on the platform they originally published on.


    With every event flashing before his eyes, he could feel an overwhelming burden of guilt rising within his soul. At first, it was comparable to being caught stealing a fruit at the market, but with every passing second, it turned into unbearable mental torture. At times he thought that he was about to scream to rhetorically scratch his guilt consciousness, but he nevertheless managed to endure.


    This state of mind keeps escalating for hours before it all stopped. The guilt disappeared completly from his mind, and a godly garden appeared. With colourful flowers, gentle sways of the grass and comfortable breeze, he felt as if he died and reached the legendary eternal peace. With a delicate chirping of the birds and blissfull wailing of the sheep, Victor thought that he would be content leaving everything behind just to spend the rest of his days here. Just as he reached his hand to touch one of the flowers, the entire place started burning.


    The birds were flying frantically with their tails on fire. Formerly beautiful flowers were withering down, the wailing of the sheep turned into the most annoying sound he ever heard. As this scene of tragedy developed at an unimaginable pace, his mind was overtaken by a sudden burst of sorrow and feeling of loss. If even such a perfect place could be destroyed in a blink of an eye, what was the point in living in this damned world!?


    In a flash, the sorrow turned into anger that quickly developed into a rage. Filled with wrath, Victor was on the verge of standing up and destroying everything around in the endless sea of wrath, but in the last moment before taking this decision, he gnashed his teeth and endured.


    With the fury unable to find a way to went, it turned into a fire that started burning his entire body. For hours he felt the temperature of the blaze constantly rising, to the point where he was at the verge of losing his consciousness. Unable to control his body anymore, when a sudden force prompted him up, he couldn''t resist it. He glided through the blazing inferno in an unspecified direction, feeling that this whole ordeal was about to put his life to an end.


    And then, unspeakable comfort overwhelmed him.


    The pain has stopped.


    All regrets, longing for a calm life, anger and the need to give up. They all disappeared, washed away by an unimaginable feeling. If he were to try to describe it, it would be like he was suddenly embraced by his father, mother and all of the ancestors, taking all of those feelings on themselves while comforting his soul. It felt as if his veins were pumping new energy into his bloodstream, void of all the imperfections there were in it before.


    Only when this godly feeling subsidised, Victor was able to open his eyes. Noticing his arm submerged into the great pond of crystalic blood, he understood that the ordeal came to an end. Shifting his sight to his right, he saw Leila with the blissful expression, still submerged in the aura of happiness. Seeing such a content look on her face, he was hit by how insanely beautiful she was. With her robe barely hiding any details of her figure, with her black, dense hair enveloping her head and falling on her backˇ­ If not for his willpower, he was sure he would just push her down here and now and indulge in her!


    Shaking the unnecessary thoughts from his head, Victor pulled his arm from the pond only to have it instantly covered by a bandage. At some point during his trial, a ceremony helper cut his wrist to allow the cleansing of his blood. Without the bandage, he could very well die from the bloodloss!


    Finally back to his full mental capabilities, Victor stepped back a bit and took some bandages from the helper while waiting for his fiancee to clear her head as well. When he saw Leila opening her eyes, he jumped to her and helped to finish the rite. Throwing a quick look around, he saw that they were the last to finish the ceremony.


    This wasn''t something to be surprised about. With every rite, with every experience and day lived, the trails would become harder and harder. According to the legends, by exchanging the blood with the Perran heritage, one was leaving a silver of his experience in the mixed blood, gaining a connection to all of his ancestors and colleagues in its place. If that myth was to be true, it was no wonder that the later one went through the ceremony, the harder it was for one to endure!


    Helping Leila down the stairs, Victor nodded to Klimmer, who was already waiting for them on the solid ground. As the sun was already rising over the horizon, his face seemed to shine with a profound aura. Waiting for his fiancee to take a few breaths and stabilise her mental state, the hesman looked at the sun to judge the current time.


    "Kamarish is probably out of his mind already. We told him we will depart with the sunrise, but we didn''t inform him about the ceremony at all."


    Noticing Victor''s look, Klimmer pointed out. While delays were common in every military, being late at the very beginning of the mission was a bad example for the soldiers!


    "Yeah, we need to hurry up and go. You all right?"


    Nodding to Klimmer''s remark, hesman turned to his beloved and looked at her face only to see a perfectly clear look in her eyes.


    "I''m good. We shouldn''t stall any longer."


    Even if physically she was in a perfect state - side effect of the rite - she still had to sort her state of mind. Since this was the case with everyone who finished the ceremony, getting on the move would be the best thing to do right now.


    With only celebration helpers remaining at the plaza, they managed to leave the most important place in the Perran camp rather swiftly. Without anyone brave or stupid enough to hinder them on the way, reaching their company assembly point took them just a few minutes.


    When they appeared on another wide plaza, Victor had to acknowledge the Lor''s prowess at commanding his unit. Despite how late they were, the soldiers were already organised in rows, with several carriages ready to depart at any given moment. Unwilling to waste even a single moment more, Victor jogged up to his new underling, received horse reins directly from his hand and jumped at the mount.


    "Good job. Sorry for being late, we went to get our blood cleansed."


    Even if there wasn''t any need for a Hesman to explain himself to a simple low-rank officer, Victor still felt that they owed this guy an apology. They were going to work together for a long time from now on, so keeping their relations fair and nice was the minimum that hesman could provide!


    "As we are already late, let''s not linger here anymore. Everyone! With the King''s blessing, forward march!"