Chapter 248: At The Edge Of A Battle

The time of the battle arrived rather quickly. Within three days after the announcement, the troops were ready. The battlefield that was chosen was none other than the north western border of the Inanis territory.

This was very close to the same battlefield where the original Asher had died and Lucius had taken over his body. Currently, about six hundred people stood on the side of Inanis territory.

These were all the private guards of the Inanis family and there were even some that were recruited from the mercenaries. When the news of Inanis territory being attacked was released, while the commoners were scared, the mercenaries were excited.

War payments were always far greater than normal jobs and they seldom got them.

When a kingdom went to war, it wasn't just the normal soldiers that fought, mercenaries could join in as well. Though there were several restrictions on them, such as the fact that they must not have fought on the side of other kingdoms before.

But if they willingly joined in, they would get good payment at the end. But it also came with extra risk. If the side they joined lost the war, they would most likely be killed rather than taken as a prisoner.

After all, there was little to gain diplomatically from a free mercenary rather than a group of soldiers or a high ranking officer of the army. 

There were risks on the side of the kingdoms too, of course. There were often times when a mercenary would switch sides from the losing to the winning side. Of course, such mercenaries were banished from the mercenary guild after that and would not be recruited by any job commissioners.

They would become outlawed mercenaries. The Bergan's Band was one such example of it.

Thankfully, in the case of the Inanis territory, the mercenaries were in the favor of the Inanis family from the start.

Not only did the count have a better reputation, but there was also the fact that they had a bigger army. The Count was an experienced warrior who had fought in multiple wars and even held the rank of a colonel in the royal army.

Compared to him, Viscount Drew who only held a noble rank and no military rank, was nothing. The level of experience was incomparable at that point. 

Thus, it was obvious that the mercenaries held great trust in the chances of winning for the Count. That's why from four hundred soldiers's the Inanis territory had managed to increase it to six hundred.

Gellor and his team were not present here though as they were currently out on the job that Lucius had sent them on a week ago. But if they were here, it was far more likely for them to have participated in it as well.

After all, they owed the life of their companion Finch to Lucius and the Inanis family.

~step~step~step~

Behind the army of Inanis territory, there was a small hill. A few people stood on it and one of them walked forward to the one that was standing at the edge of the hill.

"The soldiers are ready, my Lord." Donald Spoke.

"Very well. What is the situation with the Drew army?" Gabriel questioned.

"They are approaching from the pass and our scouts have already spotted them." Donald answered.

"Hmm… very well. Continue observing, we shall be prepared for anything." Gabriel repelled, without moving his gaze.

~clip~clop~clip~clip~

The sound of horses cantering could be heard coming from behind. Gabriel turned around and saw two people on horses arriving. One of them was none other than his son Asher and the second was his niece, Kiana.

Both of them were dressed in battle attire, with Asher wearing a metal chest plate with the Inanis Crest on its left and Kiana wearing a compact armor that increased her mobility. Her hands had a different type of gauntlets though as the palm part of them was bare, revealing her skin.

Asher on the other hand, wore shoulder pauldrons and gauntlets. He wore a light leather armor underneath which could be spotted from the gaps in his armor. The wind scar sword hung on his left while a dagger was on his right.

"Are you ready?" Gabriel asked his son.

"Yes, our secondary support is ready as well and will join whenever needed." Lucius replied.

Lucius walked and maced to stand beside Gabriel while looking at the army below.

"You don't feel nervous?" Gabriel asked.

This was Lucius's first time joining a battle after he lost his memory, and it would have been normal for any person to feel nervous or anxious. Yet Gabriel could not see it on his son's face, thus making him think that he was just hiding it.

"No…" Lucius said casually. "Why do I need to be nervous about a battle what we are going to win? 

"Ahahah!" Hearing his words, Gabriel couldn't help but laugh.

"Good! Good! good!" Gabriel felt pleased.

"You should stay at the back, Young Lord Asher. Just you being here will be a good morale boost to the other soldiers." Donald suggested.

"Now that I'm here, it would be a shame if I just stood at the back in safety. I'd like to fight on the front lines as well. After all… father is doing the same, isn't he?" Lucius replied.

"That's right! My son is no coward who will stand at the back. He shall fight those bastards and kill them all!" Gabriel spoke.

Lucius simply nodded to it without speaking anything else. Normally Lucius would have preferred to stay at the back as well as it would give him the greatest safety. But he had a different reason for being at the front.

'With there being no Divine Pull in this world, it would be a shame if I missed out on this opportunity to gather wandering souls.' Lucius thought to himself.

That's right, Lucius's goal in being here was to gather more souls so that he could increase his power even more.