Chapter 181: Approaching Conflict

Chapter 181: Approaching Conflict

The capital city of Vairo, Vairen, was equal parts similar and different to Willowan. It wasn't quite as grand, in Reivyn's opinion, but that didn't mean it wasn't prosperous. Reivyn couldn't see the signs of a nation at war, though, as he had previously pointed out. The people moved about their daily lives like nothing extraordinary was happening in their empire.

Reivyn didn't pay it any mind, though, as their destination was on the front lines. It didn't matter to him if the citizens in the capital were mobilized for war as long as he had everything his company needed. It might cause problems for the military down the road if the same issue persisted in the other cities of the empire, but Reivyn didn't know for sure that that was the case. It could very well be that it was just the capital that wasn't affected. The emperor could be trying to keep the morale up by not burdening his people.

The city wasn't as large as Willowan. Reivyn didn't know the reasons behind the disparity, but it was something to take note of. It could be a difference in manpower in the Tier 5 Regions. As far as Reivyn could tell, most of the empires operated similarly, and there wasn't too huge of a disparity between the talents of the individuals in the empires. Maybe they didn't have as many or as successful of expeditions securing them more advanced resources.

Reivyn led the company through the city. They ignored the stares from the people watching them go by maintaining their professional bearing. It wasn't as important for them to appear to be as stoic as the local military for the populace, but Reivyn was going to ensure they had a good, professional reputation.

The cohort of extra soldiers sent off to secure additional supplies eventually returned, and Reivyn motioned for Jekle to come over again.

"Make sure a proper inventory is done," Reivyn instructed. "This is our first mission, and most of our funds are provided by the Wispan Imperial Family. We can't be too loose with our cash, and we definitely can't allow supplies to be misappropriated when walking into conflict. Have some of those soldiers go and purchase some horses, too. We're going to need scouts, and I don't see any reason why we should make them run when they can ride. This isn't the desert."

"Yes, sir!" Jekle performed a salute and strode off to take care of the task.

By the time the mercenary company Marched out the gates of the city, they had procured thirty horses. Reivyn wasn't going to assign that many scouts at a time; they were just one company of just over 200 people, but the extra mounts were a necessity. In a pinch, they could even cobble together a small cavalry strike force.

Even though there were four hundred miles to the front lines, Reivyn immediately sent the scouts out, and the mercenary company trundled down the highway at double-time. Everyone had the Stamina to spare, and the forced March might help some of them unlock the valuable Skill even though there wasn't any kind of emergency.

The orders that they had received so quickly upon arrival weren't because it was urgent. The general had just been waiting for their arrival and sent the orders over as soon as he knew they were here. Reivyn suspected that Prince Alwin wasn't actually part of the official delegation considering his overall lack of knowledge. He had probably just seen the opportunity to approach Kefira and had taken it. Reivyn could at least give him points for initiative if that were the case.

The weather was pleasant, with scattered clouds in a blue sky, and the topography was very similar to Wispan. The fields were verdant and gold with crops outside the capital city, and Reivyn could see forests in the distance. The direction they were headed had hills in the distance, but there were no mountains visible on the horizon.

Other than moving at double-time, the March was a pleasant affair, and there didn't seem to be anything to suggest that there was an invasion of the empire. There was still foot traffic that made way for the troops, and life seemed to go on as usual everywhere that Reivyn could see.

They made good time on the mostly flat terrain, and the first settlements they passed through were comprised of the farming communities surrounding the capital. It was very reminiscent of Reivyn's time in Magron.

The first true city that they passed through, approximately sixty miles away from the capital city, was more of the same. The people were going about their daily lives without a care in the world. It seemed that the people living near the Vairen were either unaware of the impending threat or they weren't taking it too seriously. They hadn't experienced a quick advance from the enemy forces like he had seen reports of in other places, after all.

It wasn't until mid-afternoon on the third day when they were about halfway to their destination, that Reivyn saw signs of preparation and worry. The mercenary company jogged into a village about the same size as the village where he had been raised, Haluville, and Reivyn immediately spotted the difference.

There was not a single person walking the streets alone. Not only that but even the obvious Lifestyle Classers were armed everywhere he looked. Gazing down one of the side streets, Reivyn even saw a group of people that were dressed in everyday work clothes and aprons, practicing Marching and wielding spears as a group. A couple of militiamen were standing to the side overseeing the practice.

Reivyn waved down a passing couple of teenagers armed with clubs. They shared a glance and hesitantly approached Reivyn as he stepped away from the company.

"Hello, I just have a quick question for the two of you, if you don't mind giving me a moment of your time," Reivyn addressed the two teenage boys. They looked like they were around the same age as Reivyn, but he had a completely different aura about himself after years of military service and active Dungeon delving. The two local boys looked like they didn't have combat Classes, and they still had the air of carefree youth about them.

"Certainly, sir," one of them bobbed his head. "What did you want to know?"

Reivyn gestured down the side street at the group of people practicing their formation.

"Are the Lifestyle Classers being conscripted?" Reivyn asked.

The two boys followed his gesture and turned back to Reivyn with understanding looks.

"Not exactly, no," the first one replied. "There has been a round of conscription, but we haven't moved on to the Tier 2's, as of yet, much less the more established Lifestyle Classers. Just because they haven't been conscripted doesn't mean they can't fight, though."

"Yeah, everyone's been practicing to participate in the militia," the other youth added. "Micah and I are Tier 2's, almost Tier 3, so we weren't subjected to the conscription, but we've all still participated in the same training. Our Skills won't grow as fast as those with Combat focused Classes, but that doesn't mean we can't raise them at all."

"I see," Reivyn nodded his head. "So everyone is gearing up for a fight, then? What about simply evacuating the civilians?"

"That's Plan A," the first youth responded. "Obviously, we hope we can all get away, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't be prepared to fight to cover other people's retreat."

Reivyn considered the words of the two youths. He smiled and clapped the first one on the shoulder.

"That's exactly right. You got people like us to hold the line, though, so hopefully, you'll never have to find out if it's useful or not."

Reivyn turned and jogged back to his position leading the company. The two teenagers watched him go for a moment before turning back to their previous destination.The source of this content nov(el)bi((n))

"What was that about?" Kefira asked as he walked up.

"I was just gauging the mentality of the people," Reivyn said. "It's good to know the mindset of those we're ostensibly going to be protecting. We won't find any hidden masters among their numbers, but in a pinch, we can probably expect some of them to step up to fight. Let's hope it never gets to that point, but it's good to know."

Kefira went over and spoke with their leader, and she was able to get them to calm down. It took some time to adapt to the strange sensation, but everyone was able to do so.

The next group of people to be alerted to the difference were the few Tier 4 individuals who had just unlocked their Mana and Affinities. Their sensitivity was the lowest of those able to use Mana, but they could pick up on the strangeness after being subjected to it long enough.

Finally, even the group of people who made up the majority of the force, the Tier 3's without Mana or Affinities, began to notice the subtle difference. They were twenty miles away from Piori, and everyone in the mercenary company was aware that something strange was going on with the ambient Mana.

Reivyn hadn't expected it to be quite so influential that even those without Mana Skills were able to notice it, and he really wanted to understand what the cause was. There was no difference in his ability to access his Mana Skills or Affinities, and his Spell casting abilities were unaffected, as well. He could still absorb Mana just fine. There didn't seem to be anything to worry about, but there was just this nagging sensation in the back of his head that was coming from the ambient Mana.

It must have something to do with the invaders, Reivyn realized. Aeriella was there to subjugate that giant spider matriarch. The invaders here must have a purpose as well. They've probably discovered what it is that they're looking for, and they're already tampering with it. A purely defensive strategy probably isn't the right call in this situation.

Reivyn was just a mercenary captain this time. He had a say in the tactics during operations planning, but his opinion would most likely be mostly ignored in the overall strategy. He would need to speak with Kefira to figure out a way to leverage her identity if he wanted a voice with the big shots.

He didn't know for sure they were dealing with a group of people already accomplishing their mission, either. He would need to do some more investigation and inquiring to piece things together, and considering that at least a portion of the front-line soldiers was located in a spot where it could be felt by everyone, there was no way the commanders didn't know something was going on.

The best thing that he could do currently would be to simply explain the situation they had encountered in Drallo.

"I think you're going to need to relay the information about the spider matriarch to the general in Piori," Reivyn turned to Kefira.

"You think they're doing something similar here?" She asked.

"Yeah. That wasn't an invasion, according to Aeriella, but it was still an intrusion. We've gotten multiple reports of true invasions of other empires, but this one doesn't look similar to those. They aren't pushing toward the capital, at least not yet, but they're probably the cause of the ambient Mana phenomenon.

"It's not our job to take charge and win the war for them. We're mainly here as an experiment to expand the acquisition of experience for the people of Wispan, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't do our best to have a positive result for our employers."

"I'll see about getting a private meeting with him after we get settled in. Bringing it up as soon as we get there might not be the best choice, as I'm sure he's busy. He'll want to pen in an appointment to discuss it at length without having to worry about messing up his schedule. I know I would appreciate that. It's not like the information we have is life or death in this situation."

"Sounds good."

The walls of Piori finally came into view in the distance. Despite the sky being blue with just a little overcast, Reivyn had the impression that everything had a gray tinge to it. The only sounds that were carrying on the wind were those of the military stationed in the city, and he didn't hear the tell-tale sounds of ordinary life like the ringing of a blacksmith's workshop or the hollering of people bartering for goods in the market square. Those sounds, despite the city walls, were usually carried far enough that they could be picked up by Reivyn's enhanced Perception.

There was a dreary tone to the day as the mercenary company approached the city gates, and after inspecting the pennant with a tool from a distance, the portcullis was opened for them. Reivyn led the troops inside the city, and he was met with the scene of a military fort. It was like the entire city was one big military installation, and there were hardly any civilians to be seen out and about.

They were there, of course, but they were hurrying along with their heads down. There were no throngs of people in the streets, just orderly patrols of soldiers and guards Marching about.

Reivyn peeled off to the side with Refix and Kefira, Serilla still trailing her with the head maid also in attendance, to approach the guard captain at the gates. Kefira handed over the envelope when they approached, and the man perused the contents briefly.

"I'm guessing you want directions?" The man looked up, quirking an eyebrow. Reivyn nodded his head. "Just follow the main road to the administrative buildings in the center of town. Prince Allik has taken up residence there. He's the commanding general."

"Thank you, Captain," Reivyn said with a nod after glancing at the man's rank insignia.

"No problem. Your men can follow the wall to the left along that road," he pointed off to the side. "There are some empty barracks down that way where they can stay in for now. I'm sure if you tell the admin guys about this, they'll make it so that it's their permanent lodging."

Reivyn nodded his head once more and indicated for Jekle to lead the mercenary company that way. He continued into the city proper with the others in tow.

The city was about the same size as Magron, and in better times, Reivyn could imagine the streets being swarmed with civilians. He could faintly hear the phantom calls of the people as they walked. He glanced around everywhere, taking it all in. He didn't know how many soldiers were stationed here, but they could be seen everywhere. That also didn't include the fact that there were obviously multiple patrols on either side of the city, as well.

"This is just a corner of the front lines, and there have to be forty or fifty thousand troops stationed here," Reivyn commented.

Refix glanced around and nodded his head in agreement. Kefira just gave him a curious look. The head maid spoke up, though.

"I'm not doubting you or anything; I'm just curious, but what do you base that assessment on?" She asked.

Reivyn gave her a look and saw that she really wasn't trying to stir up trouble this time, so he gave her a candid answer.

"Just on what can be seen and what can't be seen," he replied. "You can't just look at what's in front of you. You have to extrapolate what it means. We can see dozens of squads on patrol in the streets. It's unlikely that they're all on patrol right now, though. Ten squads patrolling indicates there are ten more squads not patrolling. Taking into account the rotation of duties, we can also extrapolate how many companies there are, and we can guess how many people are in the companies based on the squad size.

"You also have to consider that there are going to be units training, units out in the field, units manning the walls, and units resting. There's also the fact that we know they've conscripted people from the surroundings, as well, but we haven't seen any of them yet. If you operate at 100% capacity at all times, then your soldiers will get worn out. I would guess that they're operating at 20% capacity at any given time."

The head maid gave Reivyn a strange look, processing the information that he had divulged. He knew that his estimation in her books had gone up, but he didn't really care one way or the other.

The small group eventually arrived in front of the administrative building, and with another check of the orders in the envelope, they were directed to where they could meet the commander, Prince Allik.

"Alright, time to find out what we're going to be doing for the next several months," Reivyn said.