Chapter 125: Monarch Caravan

Jarkales Monarch Caravan, Fifth platoon.

The dawn of a new day descended on the Sorcan Mountain Pass. The sun hid behind the clouds and dropped a trail of shadows on a set of marching men.

The Jarkales traveled in groups of 10 normally, but during conquests traveled in groups of roughly 1000 with 10 Captains and 100 lieutenants forming their power structure. In a few days, they'd meet up with sixth other platoons and attack the East Branch from six different directions.

General Lorklan had selected six attack points in order to destabilize the Horned's natural advantage. Since they were channelors, each of their students had a great deal of strength, however, they only could cover a limited amount of ground.

General Lorklan wanted to capture the East Branch to first take hostages, and then use them as a condition of surrender. He had been in hundreds of battles, and hardly made a mistake. 

Currently, one of the men on the trail, Orlank, remembered watching General Lorklan fight against White Mist Nation's warriors. He crushed them even when they outnumbered them 100 to 1. Not only did he have huge personal strength, but he regularly anticipated his opponents most surprising tactics. 

Orlank took a swig from a blue water jug and wiped off his mouth. He had on black and yellow armor that matched the surroundings perfectly. When he walked by the rocks of the canyon, you could hardly notice his facial features, which were dark and mysterious. He had dark brown eyes and tanned skin that matched his outfit. 

However, he looked terrified. His two brothers had been killed by a man named Howard. He wanted nothing more than to crush Howard with his fists, but couldn't stop trembling. A few tears dripped down his eyes and immediately got noticed by his Captain Endel. He pushed his head down and gently smacked Orlank on the back.

"Come on, cry baby! You can't cry in public! The general will make you do 10,000 pushups if he catches you."

"It's pointless. I'll never get to kill Howard. I'll never get revenge!" Orlank's brothers had survived Howard's attack back in the Open Furnace, but had died because of their inability to train. The Jarkales cared about training more than anything else, and even scholars were expected to train till age 26 before helping make tactical maneuvers. 

When his brothers returned, because of their defeat, they got sent into 1000 Authoritarian Colloseum to train, and ended up getting murdered by the beasts instead. 

It was so unfortunate! His brothers had so much talent, but because of Howard they had died! He sucked in his stomach and toko a deep breath. He had to be strong and get revenge for them! He couldn't be sad!

"Look, I know you trained with your brothers every day for 10 years, and you were inseparable, however, I promise, we'll catch Howard." Captain Endel smiled and tried to stay upbeat. "There is 600 of us and 1,000 mercenaries we hired to attack the East Branch. Our scouts reported they barely had 20 Horned Warriors. We'll slaughter them."

"Are you sure?" Orlank wiped a tear from his eye, hearing the general's footsteps in the background. "I-I keep having this dream. A teenager with horns is floating in the air. He has the sun behind him and is in a black set of clothes with two large orbs of blood floating around him. I-I can't stop having that dream either! I'm getting tired of this! I just want him dead!"

"You're suffering from your brother's regrets," Endel patted Orlank on the shoulder. "However, don't worry. That just means your connection was strong."

When Jarkales formed units they sometimes started to share the same dreams and hopes with their fellow armored comrades. 

The Jarkales regularly combined their attacks and their Ki. Sometimes, this did more then increase the energy of their attacks, and also increased their overall bonds. Orlank's brother, Narlos, had trained with him for ten years in a place called the Sea Bridge in Jarkales roaming territory. The sea bridge normally got kept on the back of two huge Authoritarians their tribe called the Unordinaries.

The Unordinaries were 100 meter tall Authoritarians with great strength, but little desire. If you gave them food, they'd do pretty much anything you asked. They had extremely large and muscular bodies with four legs and gigantic curved horns that spun several times against their checks. With small eyes that seemed almost pointless on their large foreheads, they could literally pick up 10 times their weight. 

As such, the Unordinaries were used to transport a small city when the Jarkales traveled in their native land and carried the several schools the Jarkales used to train their young. In one of these schools, Orlank and his brother had achieved a 70 percent bond! It meant that they had gotten so close he could experience his brother's vision if he used enough Ki! And now that he was dead, his brother���s dreams still remained with him!

Narlos wanted Howard dead at all costs, however, he was also terrified of him! As such, Orlank wanted the same thing! He wanted Howard dead, and to make his brother's dreams come true!

Orlank took a deep breath, he looked right into his captain's eyes and spoke out with an intense passion. "I-I will kill Howard, captain. I have to!" Orlank stomped his foot onto the ground. "I-I need you to get me an opportunity! The general already entrusted you to stall him right?"

"Yes, but will it be easy? Your team only has 8 Jarkales because you refused to replace your dead brothers. Why should I risk my life for you?"

"Because if you do, I won't take a wife," Orlank grinded his hand into a fist. "It means that much to me! I need him to die!"

Endel seemed to take the offer seriously and laughed before pushing Orlank back into the line. "I-I won't dare take your wife or otherwise how will we get little Orlank juniors to boss around! Now go! Keep your head up, and keep walking! The general is looking at you!"

"Endel," General Lorklan said with a laugh mixed in with his words. "I expect in two days when we arrive you'll kill all the White Mist Nationalists as discussed? I expect to see 2500 bodies lying in pits when we're done. Do I make myself clear?"