They were cities and towns specifically made for times of war, even though it didn't look like the Ekireton's state ever made any moves to attack them in the last few years, they knew about the past more than the people that Gaius knew… in any case, Gaius wondered if they were part of the problem that caused the almost total annihilation of the state in the past…

“Well, it is a question for another time,” Gaius thought and then went to check Relia’s parameters to ask for a report.

“Young master? You are coming? I can feel that you are getting closer,” Relia suddenly said, and Gaius wanted to facepalm while wondering how she could feel such a thing. “Anyway, a lot of things are changing here… We didn’t have the chance to analyze much of the enemy's forces now despite the fact that we fought some of them, but they are brazen enough to use all of their cards at once now and nonstop. Siege weapons, poison, night raids, assassinations within the cities thanks to the infiltrated spies… things are getting crazier by the minute.”

“Keep it simple, stupid,” Gaius thought and then sighed. “This kind of report is a mess… gather more intel about it and only tell me concise things since I already have too much in my head.”

As it turned out, Relia had already simplified most of the events, even though her previous report still sounded like a mess… in any case, they learned that the forces of the enemy state were a lot more diversified than they had expected… Since a bunch of states became one after a long war, they decided to absorb all of their strength and fighting styles, but they kept developing them at the same time.

"I thought Lorencis state was good at catching spies, but I guess the enemies are not too shabby either," Gaius thought. "They didn't show many details about their methods, so I will have to be careful… all that training to be a specialist at dealing with small fries will be useless if some assassin comes from behind or if I am poisoned. How scary…"

To humans, there are no such things as absolute strength, that was why Gaius had to be cautious… unless he manages to catch a monster that will grant something like Poison Resistance, but it would be hard to believe that such a thing would fall into his lap. He had a second chance at life and while he was a moron, he wasn't stupid enough to think that he would have a third chance in life.

In any case, they passed near three other towns like that and their design was basically the same… confirming what Gaius thought earlier. In any case, after those towns, they saw an even more massive city that was surrounded by forty-meter-tall walls… Gaius had heard earlier that Ekirenton was there negotiating with Lord Lorencis… it was hard to know if he was stupid or just brave when money was part of the equation.

Regardless, in a world where people can become stupidly strong by fighting each other or monsters, it made sense that such tall walls could exist. Building them would still be pretty hard. Which made Gaius wonder if he could start his own kingdom once he could use earth magic to create such walls. It seemed like a good idea since he was already sick of being told to go to such battlefields.

"Nevertheless... We didn't catch up with him, and we can't stop here… so I can't get rid of him," Gaius furrowed his eyebrows.

Gaius was also interested in how things worked and were inside the capital of that state. To avoid unnecessary risks, he made his spies only check villages and towns, which was why he didn't know much about the capital… the life in the villages and towns was basically the same as in Ekireton's state.

Regardless, after four more days, they reached the city that was under siege… the place had been fighting the enemy's armies for over a week, so their defenses weren't that bad. Still, one could tell by looking at the attackers that they were only starting and they still had a lot of energy to burn.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

"I guess we are going to join this Battlefield no matter what… Relia said that the enemies are concentrating their forces here, and they should know that we were approaching, so we won't be able to surprise them," Gaius thought when the group was at the top of a hill and saw the enemies surrounding a walled town.

The group stopped moving for a short while since they were supposed to wait for further orders. Besides, the enemies surrounded that city and they didn't have any way of entering it without a fight.

"A town like that should have around ten thousand inhabitants, and two times more than that are there since they are fighting," Kennil said. "Their supplies won't last longer, even if they are saving their numbers."

That would explain why the attacking side still looked fine despite the fact that they had been fighting for many weeks… they were waiting for that. Still, if they conquered that town, they would probably stop the conquest since they would have a lot of land to manage. Their next steps should take a few years to resume…

The group didn't set camp since it was only noon. The chances of the enemies targeting them there were low, still, they needed to be ready for action in case something happened. Gaius wondered if he should use his underlings now to create a good situation for them, but keeping them hidden for longer seemed like the best option.

After waiting for one hour, a group of riders suddenly approached from their left side. When Gaius looked behind them, he saw a bit of a curtain of dust on the horizon… it looked like they came with a larger group, but the others stayed behind.

"You must be the commander Kennil that we heard of," an orange-haired man that had some knives on his waist suddenly said and then saluted. "We are a group of mercenaries that are transporting some supplies to that town, and we will also be your guides to enter the city amidst all this chaos."

"I see…" Kennil said while imagining how hard it would be for them to succeed when the enemies will definitely try to destroy those supplies.

"Entering from the southern side will be easier since the siege weapons are on the northern side," The ginger man said. "They are using ordinary infantry on that side, so we will be able to pass through them by leading with the horses with ease. However, things might change once they realize our intentions. With that in mind, we will have to move fast and join forces while we are closer to the walls."

That was another risky idea… they didn't only have cavalry there. So, if the infantry is left behind, they will face total annihilation. They will have to run for their lives… there was also the possibility that the enemies would be waiting for something like that, for the two forces to join together and then forcefully open their path through the enemy's lines.

Still, it looked like Kennil was seriously considering that option… they had come to follow orders, after all. Besides, the people who have been fighting the enemies for many years should have better ideas on how to deal with them. That situation made Gaius consider learning earth magic to build his own kingdom once again. Still, even if he had a bunch of minions, it would be difficult to maintain such a place... he will have to find some skilled personnel to help with other tasks aside from defending the place.

"Very well, when will the plan be put into action?" Kennil asked.

"In three hours, we should capitalize on the fact that they don't know exactly when we are going to move, besides, they have been fighting all day, so their exhaustion must be reaching high levels," The ginger explained. "Please, prepare your soldiers accordingly to avoid losses."

Kennil nodded and then began to give some orders to the people around while the group of the ginger left the area and returned to their allies. While the information was spreading. Gaius went to check the weapons of the commander… while he probably wasn't going to use anything aside from the long spear, it was better to keep his guard up just in case.

"I didn't check their parameters yet, but I bet I can stop a lot of the enemies with my magic… still, a lot of people will be nearby," Gaius rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I need to be careful, even though gaining some soldiers with different kinds of skills will come in handy here. I have been training to be even more sneaky when fighting, but I wonder how useful that will be..."