Chapter 311 - Investigation

Much to Zaos' disappointment, he didn't find anything new in the library. Even despite the fact that he had one week to do his research. After five days of waiting, Zaos decided to ask Ruvyn why it was taking so long to receive a reply, but he said that it was normal. Vitalar was annoying to the point that he replied to messages slowly just to piss others off.

Fortunately, Zaos was smart enough to use his time well, so he trained his unit in how to fight under those conditions. Zaos trained as well, but he didn't manage to focus for a long time since he was worried and quite interested in how the followers of the demon god obtained a power-up.

Ruvyn only received a reply after ten days, and he quickly summoned Zaos to pass the message. Since he was itching to do anything, Zaos ran toward the office..

"It looks like someone is itching to work," Ruvyn said. "Vitalar apparently needs some soldiers to replace those who are guarding certain points in the mountains. He is asking for you."

"Just to guard the border," Zaos frowned. "I thought he was planning an attack in the enemy territory."

"You should ask him for the details. I am pretty sure he attacked some places, but he can't do that every single day," Ruvyn said. "Anyway, he is asking for five hundred men who can watch certain parts of the mountains for a full month, so choose your soldiers well."

A full month… Zaos had to endure a training session in the mountains for a full month in case he got lost, but that had been pretty hard. He trained his soldiers well, but that kind of task will be harder than anything they had experienced in the last few months. However, since they would work in groups, they should be fine.

"You should leave at least one of your lieutenants here and make them train your soldiers since they will probably take the first group place in a month," Ruvyn added.

"I think I will leave all three here," Zaos said. "They will train the softest soldiers of my unit for a while longer. Some of us really need an adapting period for the region."

"That is up to you. Here is a map, and on this mountain northeast of here is where you will find Vitalar," Ruvyn said. "Good luck."

Zaos left and informed his lieutenants about their mission. While they wanted to go with the first group, they were fully aware some of them needed some extra training, and unless the lieutenants stay behind to monitor everything, the training won't be that effective.

"Since it is just some guard duty, I am sure you will be fine, but be careful, Captain," Cohnal said. "We want to be there when the real fight starts. I am sure this one will be different from the others."

"Let's just hope that this weird fellow won't attack the enemy without using our whole unit," Melisse said. "I want to score some followers of the demon god on my list of defeated enemies."

"To be honest, I want to test my skills against them as soon as possible. After all, they are essentially better mages," Nyana said. "I will finally have the chance to show my growth over the last few months."

Zaos frowned when he heard. It seems that his lieutenants were itching for a fight instead of any real work. Zaos didn't notice it, but it seemed the battle against the mercenaries turned them into some bloodthirsty soldiers. Zaos felt that something was weird because Nyana was supposed to be more level-headed than the other two.

"What is wrong, Captain?" Nyana asked. "You are looking at us as if we said something weird."

"Not exactly. I am just a bit surprised that you are blood thirstier than usual," Zaos replied. "Perhaps I trained you too harshly."

"I don't think so. We are only like this because the enemies are the followers of the demon god," Nyana replied.

"And?" Zaos asked.

"And what?" Nyana frowned, confused. "Isn't it only natural that we would feel excited in defeating the enemies that threaten the most the peace in the world?"

"They did that thousand of years ago, and while they are our enemies now, it isn't for that reason," Zaos said. "We will defeat them because they are threatening the people who live near the Northern base."

"Are you sure that you are okay, Captain?" Cohnal said. "You are talking as if we should only treat them like ordinary enemies. They are specialists in magic, so they might find a way to bring back the demon god one day. As many of them know, defeating might not only retard that process, but it also might prevent it from happening. Of course, we want to participate in that process. All soldiers of our kingdom want to be a part of the legend that might give birth to the everlasting peace of the world."

"You are right," Zaos said and then smiled. "I guess I am not much of a dreamer."

Something was really weird with those three. Zaos couldn't imagine why he should treat the mercenaries who tried to invade the kingdom differently from the enemies in the North. Both groups did unforgivable things to try to invade the kingdom. Still, Cohnal, Melisse, and Nyana didn't feel that happy in defeating them. Zaos was pretty sure that they hadn't been brainwashed or something… so they might really think that beating the followers of the demon god wasn't only their duty… it was something they should look forward to. Was it because the legends made most people think that they were the absolute evil of the world?

"As expected, something is really wrong this time…" Zaos thought.

Zaos recalled that the soldiers five years ago didn't look that excited when they imagined the prospect of defeating the enemies in the North. Regardless, Zaos had to confirm if the others thought the same way.