Chapter 206: Hurry Up and Wait

Chapter 206: Hurry Up and Wait

Reivyn Marched in front of the company setting the pace. He could see the first platoon perfectly clear with his Divine Sense, and for the first half of the March, he used their condition to gauge how hard to push them. Just the first platoon wasn't everyone, though, so he had the officers order the NCO's to closely monitor everyone and keep him apprised of how everyone was doing. He didn't want anyone falling out of the formation and left behind. He pushed them just as hard as he could to get them where they needed to be as fast as possible.

The road was clear ahead. The civilians and Adventurers not participating in the conflict hadn't stopped. They would keep fleeing until they reached the next city. The terrain was mostly flat with a bit of rolling hills and woods, but there were no significant defensive features until the river that the Prince had directed them to.

Using the river as the next line of defense was a double-edged sword. It had great potential for slowing the invaders down and bleeding them some more, but they had to make it there in the first place. There were thousands and thousands of invaders in the advancing army that were completely fresh. They hadn't taken part in any part of the conflict. The Prince had to to time things perfectly in order to retreat in time that they would have a fighting chance after they had expended so much Stamina.

If they hadn't been lied to about the Stamina expenditure of the soldiers, they would have been able to rest for thirty minutes before sending everyone. As it was, they would most likely have to leap-frog their entire way to the river, always balancing the Stamina for retreating and covering the retreat. Reivyn was sure that switching his company out with the cavalry unit to March ahead and prepare the fortifications would help alleviate a lot of the pressure.

Reivyn kept the focus of his Divine Sense on the soldiers behind him, but he continuously scanned the edges of the woods, hills, and horizon where he could see it to make sure there weren't any hidden dangers that had snuck around them while they were fighting in the city. Based on the objective and strategy employed by the invaders, he didn't think it was likely, but that was no reason not to check. He didn't have his usual scouts available, but Refix, Xudrid, and Vyria were taking turns running out and inspecting further than they could see to cover for the inadequacy.

Sweat poured down the faces of the soldiers behind him. He could see, hear, and feel their physical stress as they gasped for breath. Pride warmed his heart, though, as nobody gave up. Nobody quit. They dug deep and squeezed every ounce out of their Forced March Skills. They maintained their military bearing as well as they could, too. No heads were drooping, and all of their bodies were straight.

It was easy to give in to the temptation of loosening their posture, but that was a trap. If they loosened up their muscles, they might feel temporary relief, but their bodies would sway much more than maintaining their posture would allow. All that extra movement equaled a whole lot more physical exertion over time.

Reivyn was proud and happy that they were pushing so hard. He wouldn't let it go to waste. He would make sure they made it to their destination with enough time to accomplish their mission, and he would ensure they got the rest they needed before employing them in the building of the fortifications.

Time seemed to crawl as they Marched in silence. There was no cadence or morale-boosting singing. Everyone had their full concentration on putting one foot in front of the other, even the officers and senior NCO's who were higher-Leveled. Unless there was a large discrepancy in Class or Bloodline, twenty or so Levels in late Tier 3, early Tier 4 didn't translate to a much higher Stamina pool.

All of the soldiers, besides the two Cultivators in disguise for their Life Experience expedition, were regular Adventurers. Before they seized the opportunity to join the Mercenary Company for a change of pace and Life Experience, they were all on track for middling careers.

Even Jeckle, before the Drallo Campaign, was barely poised to go beyond Tier 4 because of the rarity restrictions of the higher Tiers unless something extraordinary happened. Reivyn believed that him stepping up and eventually receiving a battlefield commission had already propelled him to eventually advancing to Tier 5, but if he continued to grow, Reivyn could see Tier 6 in his future, as well. He was one of the cream of the crop with the mercenary company, but he wasn't an extreme outlier.Read latest chapters at novelhall.com Only

These types of situations, where they were going to the extremes to accomplish their goals and survive, were awful in the moment, but they allowed those that endured the opportunity to reap their just rewards in the future. If these mercenaries had stayed as regular Adventurers, they never would have pushed themselves the way they are now. They never would have experienced the things they saw today. These scenarios of Life Experience were just the thing they needed to become more powerful in the future.

And wasn't that exactly what Reivyn had promised them? On some level they must have realized they were going to need to earn the grand prize from this new experience, and Reivyn was gratified to see that none of them were backing down from the challenge.

"River's just up ahead," Refix came running back to the company after another hour and a half of Marching.

They had made good time, saving a full thirty minutes on the expected four hours of Marching to reach their destination. Reivyn had pressed them with his pace to make sure they arrived in time to construct a defensible position.

Reivyn nodded his head, but he didn't alter the pace they were Marching. He also didn't announce the end was in sight. It was only a matter of minutes now, and they would get their break once they crossed the bridge.

Nobody hooted or hollered when the river and the bridge came into view. Nobody had the energy to spare. They continued to trudge along, and Reivyn led them over the bridge and to an open space just beyond. There were woods to the left and open grassland to the right.

"Everyone rest where you are," Reivyn ordered the men formed up and waiting. They stood panting, but they stood straight. "Eat some rations and drink some water. If you need to refill your water skins, just use the river. It's running water, so it's fine."

With Vitality Stats as high as they had, it would be unusual to get any kind of malady from drinking sitting water... in a lower Tier Region. The microscopic things that could survive in a Tier 4 Region had adjusted to the ambient Mana and could still do a number on one's stomach if not anything fatal to anyone above Tier 3.

The men sat down where they were. There were groans and sighs of exhaustion as they barely prevented themselves from collapsing where they were, but nobody did. Reivyn strode to the woods to the left and unsheathed his sword.

He would let the men rest and recover their Stamina, and in the meantime, he would collect the lumber. He had mainly expended his Mana in the fighting in the city, and his Stamina pool was no less than anyone else's.

Being a mere mercenary captain attached to one of the princes, Reivyn wasn't privy to the larger, overall strategy. He didn't know if reinforcements were on the way or if more mercenary groups like his had arrived to take advantage of the situation.

Reivyn's and Wispan's idea of selling their military force wasn't unique to them. Reivyn had no doubt that others would have the same ideas. He was only confident that they were receiving more valuable training with their preparations for dealing with human enemies instead of monsters. Even then, more bodies would be greatly appreciated now that he had gotten a glimpse of just how many enemy soldiers there were.

One had to remember that they were only one point on the long line of the front, and they weren't even the main stage. Prince Endrew was at the most concentrated position in both local population and enemy forces. Reivyn had to remind himself that the presence he had felt watching their battle with the giant blood-knight was only one of several sub-commanders in the invasion. There was still the overall commander in charge.

That didn't mean that the head honcho of the enemy forces was the highest-Leveled person among the invaders. He knew from his experiences facing off against Aeriella that there was a noble caste, but even if the commanding general wasn't the highest-Leveled individual among the enemy, chances were high that he or she had a high-Leveled bodyguard.

Hopefully it wasn't something crazy like the person Aeriella had addressed as Master. That person had been truly horrifying. His presence alone had brought everyone to their knees, and was obviously over a hundred Levels into Tier 6 at minimum.

If they had to fight someone of that caliber, their only chance of success was holding off long enough for some of the old monsters in the Tier 5 plus Regions to make it back. The conflict had been going on for quite some time before Reivyn and his crew had arrived, though, so there was a good possibility that they weren't too far away.

I wonder what a battle between two mid or high-Tier 6 Classers would look like, Reivyn absentmindedly thought. I thought what my parents and their Party had done in Magron was impressive. I can't imagine what such a high-Level conflict would look like.

Time continued to tick by, and Reivyn's Stamina and Mana pools slowly recharged. He hadn't pushed himself so far physically that his Stamina regeneration was hindered, and the Mana potion had kick-started his Mana regeneration, so he was quickly recovering. If he had another couple of hours, he was confident that he could get to full strength, but he didn't have that luxury.

Once his Stamina and Mana reached 70%, he canceled his Meditation and stood up once more. The sun was setting in the horizon, but he only spared it a passing glance. He strode away from his secluded spot to inspect the company and the little fort they had built.

The first thing Reivyn noticed was the addition of unfamiliar soldiers taking a rest off to the side. He was surprised to see that there were already soldiers arriving, and he took a quick glance at his System clock. He was once more shocked to see that almost three hours had passed since he had started Meditating.

There was no furniture or office spaces for anyone to lounge in. Reivyn spotted Refix sitting on the ground with the other officers, and they noticed him approaching at almost the same time. Reivyn waved them off from standing up. Well, he waved everyone but Refix off. That was his father, and he wasn't going to stand up for his son if he didn't have to. It was much like he never referred to Reivyn as "sir." It was perfectly natural, though, and Reivyn didn't care.

"I see that we already have at least one company that's arrived," Reivyn said, glancing in the direction of the resting soldiers. "What's the situation?"

"We've sent out some scouts, and they've informed us that the rest of the army seems to be retreating in good order," Refix answered. "From what we've gathered, the enemy soldiers never really pressed their advantage too hard. That isn't to say they stayed in the city. They just didn't chase after us with everything they had."

Reivyn frowned at the information.

"That seems weird," He said after a moment. "Their entire strategy had been designed to wear us down as much as possible so they could capture as many people as possible, but now they let us rest and recuperate so we could get away?"

"What isn't weird about them?" Refix replied with a snort. "They're perfectly willing to sacrifice ten times the number they're able to capture, and the captives aren't going to bolster their forces any time soon. Even with the numbers they're throwing at us, they shouldn't be so callous about the life and death of their soldiers."

"Hmmm, we know they refer to themselves as Deathsworn," Reivyn pondered. "There must be a clue in that. I've only seen fanaticism and determination in the eyes of the enemy. Maybe they're some sort of religious cult?"

"Beats me, but that guess is as good as any. There were some small skirmishes along the way, but the cavalry acting as a strike force managed to shield the slowest companies from anymore heavy engagements."

"That's good," Reivyn nodded. "I'm glad my recommendation worked out. How long do we have until they arrive?"

"We probably have another two hours before the last company gets here, and the enemy soldiers should be right behind them. They still have a lot of fresh troops, and I would bet anything they're going to launch a night assault."

"I agree. Let's make sure we have enough fires going to light up the battlefield. We don't need to waste Mana from the Mages as much as possible."