Chapter 404 - Night Attack

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"What a cute child… Is she your daughter?" Kat asked as she approached and then smiled toward Milliendra.

Once again, Milliendra hides her face on Zaos' chest. Although that was a bit rude, to hide without saying anything, it only made Kat smile even more.

"Aww… so cute," Kat said. "She doesn't look much like you, though."

"She looks like my fallen mother," Zaos said. "Anyway, are you Kat, the leader of the shadow cats?"

Although her minions were making a lot of noise, they stopped immediately when they heard that. Usually, those who asked that were people from other towns who looked down on her. Although the air changed in a weird way, Zaos couldn't care less about it.

"Yeah, I am," Kat replied after she crossed her arms. "Why do you ask?"

"I have some information for you, but I would like to talk in a place where we will have some privacy," Zaos said.

Once again, the air changed, but this time it was because the mercenaries behind Zaos moved and approached them. Once again, Zaos ignored them. Unless they grabbed their weapons, he had no reason to pay attention to them. The mercenaries waited for Kat's orders, but she just raised her left arm and then shook her head. If Zaos didn't get intimidated by that, then he probably wouldn't try anything. Besides, the little girl in his arms was really attached to him. It was evident that he wouldn't do anything as long as she stayed there.

In the end, Kat guided Zaos to her house… apparently, every single member of her group had a house in that town. Now that he thought about it, the town was slightly bigger than where her enemies were residing. In any case, while it was her home, Zaos could see that the place was only used for her to sleep. There was no sign of dust, but things inside were way simple, and the kitchen utensils were nowhere to be seen. She probably eats in the tavern whenever she is hungry. In any case, Zaos rarely uses that. Still, he was forced to put Milliendra to sleep with magic because she shouldn't hear the conversation and because he had no intentions of leaving her alone anywhere. Regardless, Kat didn't even notice him doing that when they were walking earlier.

"My name is Rick, and it is a pleasure to meet you," Zaos said.

"Rick… it is a common name around these parts, but you aren't from here," Kat said.

"I am, but I spent a good part of my life travelling around the world, my father had a ship and I pretty much lived inside one until now," Zaos explained.

"Is that so… well, let's skip the pleasantries," Kat said. "Why do you want to talk with me alone?"

"I didn't want to make certain rumors spread," Zaos replied. "The truth is, those who attacked you last year are about to do the same again."

"Those three idiots again…" Kat said and then facepalmed. "I was wondering why they didn't do anything problematic since then, but I finally got my answer. I heard that they were preparing something, but to think that it was a revenge of all things… Still, how did you discover that and why did you decide to tell me this?"

"Because they are working with some people I want to deal with, and also, because I want to become the leader of the next mercenary group in that town," Zaos replied. "If you give me your word that you won't try to annex that town to your territory, I will help you deal with the mercenaries those three already sent to this area."

"I see… they are sending smaller groups and they are moving at night in order to launch a night attack," Kat scratched her chin. "Still, those guys have some nasty lackeys, not only leaving them alive will be problematic, but there is also the chance that they might backstab you later."

"You can kill them if you want, I will start a mercenary group from scratch," Zaos said.

"... I really don't have any interest in increasing my territory, I just want to protect my hometown," Kat said. "If your information is true, and we prevent the attack by using it, you can do whatever you want with the other town… as long as you don't become someone as troublesome as those three."

"Naturally," Zaos said. "Since this is to protect your hometown, I will follow your orders, but I think it would be for the best if we look for the mercenaries that are already nearby tonight. I have someone monitoring those three, but it has been three days since I contacted her, it wouldn't be weird if their preparations are almost complete."

"I suppose…" Kat said. "Tomorrow is a new moon night, so they will probably attack… tonight is our best chance to stop them. Once night falls, I will send my best trackers to check the best places to hide a small army. We will call you in that inn once we find them, be prepared because we will leave no matter the time."

"No problem," Zaos said.

After that, Zaos returned to the inn and rented a room. Things will be troublesome at night… not because of the fight, but because he will have to take Milliendra with him. Leaving her alone was out of the question… Zaos thought that he should change his fighting style temporarily to ax and shield, but fighting up close while carrying Milliendra on his back wasn't a good idea. Unfortunately, he will have to fight. Otherwise, he won't obtain the respect necessary to build a new mercenary group.

"Hmm… I suppose that I will have to use my magic crossbows," Zaos nodded to himself while he was unpacking.

By using those at night, Zaos will be able to fool everyone who doesn't have Magic Perception, and it was only obvious that ordinary mercenaries wouldn't have it. After all, the range of the wind bolts was white big, so it would be perfect for keeping the fight away from him.. The only problem was… wind magic doesn't leave bolts behind.

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