Chapter 431 No one
Perkis approached and glared at Zaos from above, he was used to being looked at from below with eyes full of fear, but Zaos didn't move a single inch or look at him.
"Humph, for someone who only acts in the shadows, it seems you are not all talk," Perkis said.
"Putting that aside, we need to draw a plan of action," Elkim said. "Until now, we only fought each other on open fields or did the same against other enemies. However, things won't be so simple this time."
"We will have to divide our roles and force smaller groups to follow our lead," Helen said. "Anyone with half of a brain can understand that if our forces perish, then the whole country is as good as gone."
"We already know that mine and Perkis soldiers are the best suited for a fight in an open field and Helen can focus on harassing the enemy camp with night raids, "Elkim said. "The question is, what Rick here can do. While they will have some naval help, they will draw our attention to the border and then only strike when they confirm that we are entirely focused there."
"I will attack the enemies before they can get too close," Zaos said. "I will slow them down as much as possible while eliminating some of their commanders."
"How exactly do you plan on doing that?" Perkis asked.
"I will ask nicely," Zaos replied.
Zaos knew that this guy wasn't bright, but he didn't think things were that bad… Why the hell would someone reveal their tactics to possible future enemies?
"Well, let's wait and see what the man who subjugated the assassins organization can do," Elkim said. "Truth to be told, we really need some extra time to prepare for the war, so we'll be counting on you."
Zaos imagined that he had acted as cautiously as possible. However, it seemed that some individuals still noticed that the former assassins were working for him. Regardless, that was no longer a problem. It only explained why the big guns of that country left him alone while he grew his group so fast.
In any case, Zaos was a bit surprised that Elkim didn't notice that Zaos was the one who defeated his brother. If he had connected the dots for a while longer, he should have found out about Zaos' identity… did he learn that and was playing dumb, or he truly didn't know?
After a while, the group talked about each minor group they should convince to obey them. Most of the mercenary groups were already waiting for orders in the nearby villages, so that wouldn't take too much of their time. In the end, they ended up drawing and deciding which locations their siege weapons would be put in. Zaos never built up those since he just trashed around his enemies' base and made them leave. Besides, he didn't have proper knowledge on how to build one. That kind of technology was passed down only in the real old families, after all.
Zaos didn't have to see where they would put their siege weapons and armies, but he decided to memorize their battle plan just in case. If something happens and he has to make a big move, knowing that might help him.
When the meeting ended, it was already night. So, Zaos decided to sleep in one of the inns of the city and let Moody rest for a while longer. According to with Elkim spies, the Sairus kingdom army still was preparing to move, and they had more or less two days before they began to March. So, the battle was sure to take place in less than seven days… Zaos had to cause a huge ruckus in the middle of an army of forty thousand by himself. That being said, he already had experience doing that.
Zaos woke up early in the morning and then checked his map. While he hadn't seen the region between that city and the western base, he could guess at which points the army would camp. Given that not even he could attack an army of that size in the middle of the day, it was only obvious that he would need to know where they would spend the night.
"... The same strategy won't work two times, so I will have to do everything on a single night while not alerting anyone," Zaos rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
Finding all the tents of the commanders in a single night was too much. Still, there was a way for Zaos to accomplish that. Still, he didn't like it… unfortunately, there was no other option, which would certainly decrease the number of deaths.
Once Zaos made up his mind, he left the city while riding Moody. The city had become quite tense for some reason. When Zaos asked some mercenaries the reason behind it, he heard that the enemy army had sorted out sooner than they had expected.
"It seems that Drannor is trying to fool everyone," Zaos muttered.
Zaos considered the possibility of talking to him about Milliendra's powers. Still, after so long, Zaos knew that any conversation wouldn't go so smoothly. He didn't have time for that, but he couldn't help but feel guilty for not finding a solution to Milliendra's problems in eight years… he had been Transmigrated to that world to protect her, and until now, he was certain that she had been protected. However, he did so by telling her many lies.
Zaos listened to Ameria on her deathbed and agreed that Milliendra had to be raised away from the sight of people, at least for a while. However, things got more complicated over the years, thanks to it.
"There is no point in dwelling on that, I did my best based on the little information I had," Zaos said to himself. "No one, not even whoever transmigrated me to this world can blame me if things turned out this way."
If Zaos could listen to his words at face value, things would be simple, but he couldn't since he knew that his actions caused two wars…
