Rebirth of the Phoenix God

"I'm telling you that it's possible!"

As unbelievable as it might seem, it only took them one day for Fen to already argue with Orsha over the topic of the artificial hand for her. All the uneasiness and tension given the severity of the girl's injury was now gone. As if nothing happened, the two of them definitely didn't seem like the defeated party.

After all, there was no one who could see their column right now. Nearby villagers would only ever meet the "scouts", scouring the area in the search of "ambushes" and "enemy". It would be the word of those mounted soldiers that the locals would have to take for granted. Regretfully, as soon as the first city appeared in the sights of the small, mercenary army, their small force had to act as the remnants of the main army of the mercenaries. 

Because appearing as the surviving few would reinforce Fen's policy about what happened at Offmase.

The massacre that happened there, could not be revealed to the public. At least, not the true invaders and the victims of it. The one good thing about the situation was that everything was going perfectly according to the plan!

Outside of Orsha's injury that is.

"Are we going to stop by Astyrran?"

Suddenly injecting his few cents into the ongoing discussion, Victor instantly changed its topic. When it came to choosing between friendly banter and discussing their next moves, no one in the trio of mercenary commanders would have any doubts on what to choose.

"I don't think that's necessary. If we want to make ourselves look like retreating survivors, taking a rest in the city would sabotage that image. I believe we can push ourselves to reach Tlinra before the night. We could spend the night there and then…"

This was the last step of their plans in the Kiznar Kingdom. The location of that particular city was simply too coveting to not make the use of it. 

"I know… But I won't lie either. I would really kill for a night in a comfortable and safe bed…"

Shaking his head, Victor looked at the walls of the city they were passing by. With the many scouts pushing ahead to inform the local lord about their passage, there was no need to worry about an misfortunate attack. After all, Fen was quite sure that this strange man would properly weight the chances of each side. 

And as long as no major disaster struck the mercenaries, nothing seemed to stop the progress of their ambitious plans!

Surprisingly enough, the journey passed even quicker than everyone expected. But while it was a pleasant surprise, it didn't change the fact that the entire mercenary unit had to march with perfect discipline over quite a vast stretch of land. And by no means did their endpoint guarantee a proper shelter and rest.

Because it would be in the power of the local lord to decide whether to ally himself with the mercenaries and thrive or oppose them and fall. 

While potentially putting the tired soldiers directly to a battle could spell a disaster, there was no chance for a direct battle to happen in the first place. With the smouldering ruins of Offmase and friendly aligned Astyrran separating the rest of Kiznar away from those lands, it was obvious that mercenaries had to secure this position.

And do it in a way that wouldn't alert the Kiznarian army that would surely pass through this point on their way to destroy the rebels.

"Do you think he will agree?"

There was no way that the gates would be left open for the approaching mercenaries. While the fact that such a relatively huge force entered the lands of eastern Kiznar wasn't commonly known, there was no way Tlinranian guards would mistake their uniforms with the unkempt appearance of the royal forces.

"If he has any sense of intelligence, then he should. We came from the hinterlands of Kiznar. Being the lord of a city on our way, what would you think the reason from our approach like that would mean?"

It wasn't all that much time ever since Orsha and Victor met, yet what one could observe right now, they were already on pretty good terms. Using his way greater experience to lecture the girl while Fen spectated the spectacle, Victor once again showcased what made him the commander of Fen's initial group, Galvatian mercenaries.

"That we are either on a conquering spree, or we are returning from the audience with the King himself."

Victor's question wasn't hard. While normal folk might find it challenging a bit to find the answer, all three of the mercenary friends already had to be used to governing their own lands and looking at the events from the perspective of a local ruler.

Obviously, there were many other ways to explain their presence and how their entire small army could come from the west. From the whole group being, in fact, a trading caravan disguised as soldiers, through some kind of great wedding procession aimed at circumventing the entire country to obtain the blessings for the young newlyweds…

While the options to explain the situation were aplenty, they could be all summed up in a category of two attributes. Unlikely and unimportant. For the local lord, they could either be enemies, allies or simply passing by. All the other options were irrelevant. 

"And that puts him in a situation where refusing to allow us in would either be an affront to the people that just met with his King. On the other hand, if he will decide that we came here for what we actually came, then trying to stall us back isn't the better option either. This city is too far from the capital for the crown to care."

That was the old problem of all the huge countries. With how the power balanced itself out on the continent right now, it affected literally every single country present on the map. Because with only horses and pigeons serving as the main way of passing the news and orders, there was only so much distance that could remain under the strict influence and control of the central power that managed it. 

It was because of this problem that both their initial province and the province to the north where their former employer declared the independence could prosper as they did. If not for the tense diplomatic situation and how strategic the lands the mercenaries controlled right now were, just by keeping the seat of power relatively close to all the lands that their country consisted off allowed for way better management of the place.

As long as they would eradicate the nobles that is.

"Look, somethings happening."

Right now, the entire army of mercenaries orderly waited a respectable distance away from the walls. While the usual annoyances of the moody weather in this part of the world made it hard to stand in place, ready to fight at any given notice, they didn't really have many options. 

If they would be kept at the gates for too long, then the city would be cleansed from all the resemblances of human lives. Repeating the massacre of Offmase here, the mercenaries would have to keep in mind to keep the collateral damage as low as possible, because the city still had to look its part when the subjugation force of Kiznar would arrive. 

On the other hand, if the local lord would welcome them in the city, this could either be a trap or a genuine act of obedience, marking the man as a potential collaborator for the times after the great national armies would return back to their homes. After all, if someone was energetic and witty enough to understand what the ongoing situation truly meant - just like the lord of Astyrran - then sticking with the faraway capital seemed like a stupid thing to do in face of the neighbouring power of mercenaries.

Especially once one would realise how vital this city was to manage the safety of the entire western border of the mercenary kingdom of the new age!

"Huh? That's strange…"

Standing watch quite a fair distance away from the city, the common soldiers might find it troubling to notice anything amiss about the situation. But for Fen, with his heightened senses, there was a lot of weird things to notice once he saw the party that opened the gate and rushed towards their position.

"Welcome to Tlinra, our great saviours!"

With only about ten people approaching them, there was absolutely no need to worry about the possibility of an ambush. The entire area around the place was controlled by Fen's and Victor's scouts, while Orsha's light troops secured a tight leash around the entire place to make sure no witnesses would escape once again.

But what was puzzling in this meeting the most, was the fact that right off the side of the horse that the leader of the group was mounting, a bloodied, severed head was hanging.

"We came here to welcome you, and to put those traitorous noble rebels general's head!"

At first confused, once he heard this sentence, Fen suddenly understood what was going on. Ignoring his confused friends, he stepped forth towards the now dismounting man before offering him his hand in a greeting.

"And we will gladly accept your welcome. It's nice to know that this world does not yet lack smart people."

Smiling from ear to ear, Fen shook the hand of the man in front of him. Unless he was just a messenger, then it didn't really matter who he was before, as with his actions right now, he earned himself a good future, hand in hand with the mercenaries!

"Excuse me, but you could you maybe enlighten this old soldier about what the heck is going on?"

Seeing Victor as confused as he was, was just a topping for the entire situation.