Chapter 69 - Tension

The next day, Zaos didn't have to wake up his squad members. When it was time to leave, all of them were already ready to depart. As if he knew that Zaos's squad would arrive earlier, Elius showed up at the precise time to leave. 

"Let's get going," Elius said.

In the end, they didn't even hear the place where they were supposed to work, not like they would know the name of any village in the region. They were supposed to have some lessons about it, but only in the future. Zaos made a mental note to research the geography of the region. He will probably find a map or at least a few things registered in the library's books.

After crossing the tunnel they used to arrive at the base, Elius guided the squad toward their left side. After just a couple of minutes, they found a road that had marks of wagons. While the road was essentially made by some marks in the ground, it was the first sign of civilization Zaos had seen in weeks.

"Make your squad march in order and at the same pace," Elius said when he turned around and saw that the kids were pretty much walking as if they were going on a picnic. "Despite everything, you are part of the kingdom's army. Don't do anything to shame the name that was built over thousands of years."

Elius didn't shout like usual. He only did that to warn Zaos and make him work to organize his squad. He almost let out a sigh, but in the end, he held it back and then approached his squad members.

"Form five lines and walk one meter behind one another," Zaos said. "The mission already started and we are essentially being paid to work like soldiers, so we have to like one from the very beginning."

Zaos chose the right words to make his squad move as quickly as possible. Maybe he was gaining their trust. After all, he taught them many things, even if it was his obligation to do so.

While they were walking, Zaos made sure to look at all directions in order to memorize as much as possible of the environment and also to look for some herbs. While they were rare, it wasn't impossible to find medicinal herbs that could withstand the cold weather. That being said, Zaos concluded that it would take more than a single trip for him to get used to the region. Everything looked pretty much the same, thanks to the snow. Aside from the road, there wasn't anything he could use to find any other sign of civilization.

Around time for breakfast, Zaos noticed that the expression of his squad members had worsened. They were hungry and thirsty… that could have been avoided if they had used some horses to move faster, but just like Zaos, none of them knew how to rise.

"Sir, wouldn't it have been better if we had learned how to ride a horse for this kind of job?" Zaos asked.

"The village is too close for that… we can't use horses for every single trip," Elius replied.

Zaos noticed that Elius didn't answer like usual. In any case, there were probably other reasons why they couldn't use horses and why they were doing work outside the base when they barely had learned any real combat tactics.

Regardless, after one hour, they finally managed to see some smoke rising in the region. It was exactly in the same direction they were moving. When they finally reached the village, Zaos couldn't help but frown. The place was smaller than expected. He could barely count one hundred houses there… it was too small to be guarded by twenty-seven soldiers… or recruits. Regardless, despite being in a cold and pretty remote region, the houses were pretty well built since there were many trees around to be cut down.

"What are your orders for your squad?" Elius suddenly stopped and asked when they reached the entrance of the village.

Zaos frowned when he heard that. He couldn't help but wonder why things weren't more straightforward in the army. They should at least show the squad leaders what they should do on their first time doing each job.

"... When was the last time someone guarded this place?" Zaos asked after looking around for a few moments.

"Three days ago," Elius replied.

"For the time being, the members of the squad should just move around and get used to the layout of the village," Zaos replied. "Once we get a good grasp of the place, we will continue or change our course of action if it is necessary. Move in groups of five along the village, but don't do anything suspicious and don't touch your weapons. We are here to make the villagers feel safe, so don't get too tense or too relaxed."

While Elius frowned while he heard that, he didn't say or do anything. It looked like Zaos's actions were correct, even though he thought of them on the spot. Zaos also thought that he should accompany his squad members. Still, he decided to stick around with Elius for the time being.

"We are going to talk with the village chief, after that, we will check our post," Elius said.

After hearing that, Zaos noticed that the village streets were completely empty, which was odd given that Ruvyn said that the place had never been attacked. However, when Zaos and Elius began to pass through the village, he heard the sound of windows and doors opening. The villagers were probably taking a peek at them.

The entrance was at the southern side of the village. Meanwhile, the military post was on the opposite side. It was basically just a slightly bigger building that had a watchtower on the left side. Regardless, it wasn't that tall and probably not much useful given that only five or even fewer soldiers stay stationed in such a place. Still, that place would be checked later.