Chapter 430 Reunion
The next day, early in the morning, Zaos said goodbye after giving everyone their respective orders. Most members of the group wouldn't leave the bases, but several things had to be done daily. Milliendra didn't like the idea that Zaos was leaving at such a moment, but Zaos explained to her that a battle was going to happen and he needed to be there. She understood that, even though she didn't like it.
"Keep doing your best, okay?" Zaos asked. "I will return as soon as possible."
"Okay, daddy," Milliendra said.
Zaos patted her head again, and then he kissed Aleni. He usually doesn't do that in public. He felt like it since there was no telling when he was going to have the chance to do that again. After that, he jumped into Moody's back and made him run after enhancing his legs. Zaos was carrying a lot of things, so his old horse would need that much help.
After traveling for one week almost nonstop, Zaos reached one of the few walled cities in the mercenaries' country. The place was the home of the Dark crows, the largest mercenary group in that country. It was located one hundred kilometers away from the western base of the Sairus kingdom, so it certainly would become where most of the battle would take place.
Zaos learned that over the years, but apparently, the leader of the dark crows was someone with whom he had more or less a connection with… he was the younger brother of the spearman he defeated when he was just a recruit in the North. The big brother was Elmar, and the little brother was Elkim. Although he and Zaos had the same age, he had two times more soldiers.
Zaos had sent a letter to Elkim and the other two leaders two weeks ago, and while he was the least influential among them, they decided to agree with the contents of the letter that was asking for a meeting. The meeting would take place in the dark crow's town.
Zaos managed to enter the town without any problems since many people were leaving and entering at the same time. The mercenaries of the place were preparing for the war. In any case, maybe it was due to the proximity, but the town was pretty similar to the ones in the Sairus Kingdom. Thanks to it, Zaos felt pretty nostalgic… even the climate was a lot more refreshing.
Zaos headed straight to the base of the dark crows since Nakin's squad had informed him of its location. It was an ordinary building that could be found in front of an arena. Zaos didn't feel many presences inside it, and only three were on the last floor. No one tried to stop Zaos, and after he put Moody in a nearby stable, he climbed some stairs and then found the three leaders sitting around a simple round table.
Elkim looked a lot like his brother. He was tall, had tanned skin, and also a spear on his left side. Although he had to endure a lot of things when his brother returned, he seemed like a calm man.
The second man was a rough-looking man that was standing still in the corner of the room with a battle-ax on his back. Zaos also had heard about him. He was the leader of the mad bulls, and his name was Perkis. A man is widely known for his savagery on the battlefield. Many considered him the stronger mercenary in the country. Still, since he didn't use any tactics on the battlefield, he never managed to stay at the country's top. He has short, brown hair and a messy beard. He was also fully armored, and it was probably because of that he wasn't sitting… he would break the chair with all that weight.
The last member was a woman in her thirties that was astonishingly beautiful. One couldn't even imagine that she was a mercenary since she didn't have many scars, but Zaos heard of her from Kat. She was called Helen, and she was the leader of the Golden Hawks. While she wasn't wearing any piece of armor, Zaos could see two very dangerously looking daggers on her back. Having long, red hair and quite a curvy body, she made Zaos recall Edea. They were weirdly similar. However, Edea didn't have a harsh look in her eyes.
"My apologies for my delay," Zaos said, and then he put his backpack behind one of the free chairs.
"Oh, don't worry about it," Elkim said. "We assumed that you would be one week late considering the time that you left your base, but as expected of the mysterious Rick, you managed to make your horse travel two times faster than any other."
"Moody is a good horse, but not that good. We travelled at night as well to reach this place on time," Zaos said and then sat down. "Instead of that, I would like to talk about the imminent war."
"First of all, we would like to hear where your men are," Helen said.
"They will guard the southern coast since I am sure that the ships from Vezar will try to take our ports," Zaos said.
"Interesting… I was hoping that the golden spearman would use his connections for that," Elkim said. "Still, I don't think that they will receive that many ships and soldiers from that country."
"They will, and unless someone stops them, will close all of the exits of this country and attack the frontlines from behind," Zaos said.
"You are probably lying to keep your men fresh and completely away from any harm," Perkis said.
"You are to use your imagination as you see fit," Zaos shrugged. "Nevertheless, whatever you say, I won't change my approach regarding this war. You know that I would be the one to suffer the most if our coasts remain unprotected, considering that, I couldn't leave that job to any of you."
