"Your requested Company should be waiting in the assembly area!"

Within the two hours that Victor took to sort through the documents, the young secretary already passed his request down the line and confirmed its acceptance! If not for the pressing time, the officer would be sure to put up a good word for him before leaving. While it wouldn't take a long time, the sun was already past its daily prime so if they wanted to sort out everything before the night to leave with the sunrise tomorrow, they had to make use of all the time that they had.

With all the matters at hand already settled, Victor's party left the building and headed towards the outer border of the district. As they travelled north yet again, the number of buildings lessened, with elaborate castles and mansions giving place to barracks and training yards. As the district outlined the definite border of the city, beyond the town walls, no buildings were allowed for several kilometres.

After a good hour of fast-paced walk, they finally reached the assembly area mentioned by the secretary back in the headquarters. While it might sound fancy, it was nothing more but an empty plot of land, located between the massive soldiers quarters and warehouses. With a crowd of people already waiting orderly for their newly appointed commander.

"Lor Kamarish and the company are ready for Hesman orders!"

As soon as they closed on the crowd of soldiers, a low-rank officer run up to them and straightened himself while saluting. Being the practical commander of this company, his task was to follow the Hesman's orders in fulfilling his mission. While in other military formations delegating just a punny five hundred men strong unit for a general-class officer would be unheard off, Perra faction was special even within the confines of the commonwealth.

As the oldest military body in the country, they continued the traditions of the first subjugators of the Perran lands that later grew into the Commonwealth Empire. Despite being in the seat of power at the beginning, their prime mission didn't align with ruling the country. That put the entire tribe in a perilous situation, where they needed a country to support them, but couldn't afford to rule it!

This state of affairs held for about fifty years, after which one of the nearby tribes whose name history didn't record, united with the Perrans and set the foundation for the future powerhouse. At first, this cooperation worked well for both parties, but with the constant growth of the country, a single military power became too threatening for the later rulers, forcing them to grow other forces.

With the present state of the country, the overgrown military started becoming a headache to the King. With the endless rivers of gold constantly sinking down in this part of the nation, most of the armed organisations were allowed to use their soldiers as mercenaries or henchmen for rich merchants or nobles. As the Perrans built themselves an image of always sticking to the tradition, they were the only force left for the exclusive use of the King!

Exchanging the greetings with the Lor of the company showcased this point. Instead of being angry at losing his command over his underlings, he was actually excited by the prospect of serving directly under the legendary Hesman!

"I would normally order you to ready your people, but I see there is no need for that. Good job!"

Appreciating the honest effort of both the officer and his people, Victor didn't hold back his praise. For him, it was just a few effortless words, but for the Lor, this was an acknowledgement from someone he looked up to!

"Since everything is ready, let's not waste time here. For now, we need to reach the main west camp. We will talk about the mission on our way."

Giving the initial orders was important. They could explain the situation while travelling, instead of wasting the time doing it in here. Only in the warm confines of Perran outer camp would they be safe from the potential cancellation of the mission. Considering the worries that Victor had about the prophecy, this mission was too important for them to risk it!

Getting the entire company to move would be an arduous task in other militaries, but thanks to the strict Perran training regime, they managed to round it up to just a few minutes. No matter how skilled or experienced a unit was, it still took time for the big group of people to form up the marching column, pass through the gate and set up the march.

The journey this time took them over four hours, leaving them only a few moments of the light before the sunset. If not for a faster marching pace than usual, they would be forced to either camp in the darkness of the night or risk injuries while travelling with torches.

As soon as the enormous camp came into view, Victor dashed forward on his horse. Greeting the guards at the opening of the fence with a nod, he stepped down from his mount and jogged towards the plaza. The sight of Hesman running around like some errand boy caused some of the soldiers to blatantly stare at this unusual picture!

There was a reason behind Victor's hurry. With only a few minutes left behind his company would enter the camp, he had to find them a place to sleep, settle the administrative matters coming tied with entering the camp and order them a night meal. While he could order his aide to do it for him, he dared not to imagine how would their wedding look like if he were to order her around now!

Barely a minute after various servants ran to the kitchens or empty barracks, Kamarish's company entered the premises. Still burdened by a few matters that he wanted to settle before the night, Hesman guided his troops to their accommodation. As this was nothing more than a forward operating base for their faction, the rules and order didn't vary much from their previous garrison. As soon as their armour and weapons were taken care of, they would be free to do whatever they wanted before the trumpets would announce the sleeping time.

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On the other hand, as soon as the mundane tasks were over, Victor and his friends rushed toward the commanding centre of the camp. Even while walking through the narrow streets separating the identical barracks from each other, they could feel the familiar aura of the traditional military. When they served their time at the front lines, they had to get used to the new way of conducting war. Troops divided by multiplications of ten, officers being someone to fear instead of respect, grand drinking parties after the battles without a care in the world about its outcome… Walking on the calm streets with everyone acting their part without complaint could soothe the heart of any veteran in the world.

Not too long later, they arrived in front of the simple building with the "officer's canteen" sign hanging over the entrance. At this time of the day, this was a true heart of the entire camp. With the commanding post manned by the lower officers, even if they wanted to settle something there, they would be sent back to this lowkey building!

With Klimmer pushing the door open, the high ranking trio entered the building. There wasn't even a hint of a guard in here. As this place was a sanctuary of the traditionalists, lower-ranking officers sat at the tables near the entrance, with the several Pulanians and Kirkuts talking in groups at the opposite end of the main hall. At the very middle of the room sat a two-star Hesman, discussing something with several aides.

When people noticed another high ranking figure entering the place, the entire room froze. Only when Victor's face got illuminated by the light of the torch did the peaceful and calm atmosphere return to the gathering. He was too easy to recognise amongst the upper echelons of Perra officers to make them worry about him kicking up some sort of fuss!

To keep up with the tradition, Victor went up to the middle table and bowed deeply before the higher ranking general. Putting his hands into a bowl at the height of his belly button, he looked down and said.

"One-star Hesman greets his superior!"

"Two-star Hesman receives a greeting!"

Cupping his hands together at the height of his sight, the highest-ranking officer in the room nodded to Victor before turning back to his aides. With that done, Leila and Klimmer joined up with their superior and sat in the nearby table.

"I think that the entire company might be too much. Everyone will know that we came with some big mission, giving the potential rats ample time to either hide or stop their activities. Even a group would be too much! Wouldn't it be better to go with at most two units?"

As soon as their drinks arrived, brought by one of the commons soldiers serving there, Klimmer couldn't hold his anxiety anymore. With over five hundred people, they were as good as official legation!

"While you are right about our company being just a tad too big, don't you think that just sixteen people are far less than reasonable? What if there will be some kind of great conspiracy going on? They could just get rid of us and prevent any news from leaking. Even if the King would get alerted by it after some time, with the orders he gave us, it could even take a year or two before he would turn his eye towards the shadow kingdom!"

Victor wasn't soo positive about the idea to ditch their assistance away. There were some reasons why he applied for it in the first place! While his friends made a valid point, without proper troops stopping any attempt at their lives, this mission could turn from western vacations into a quagmire of schemes and assassinations!

"Maybe we should take just a single unit with us and let the rest of the company travel through a different route? We could task them with resupplying the outpost for the time being. If we get someone to play the role of the legate, we could operate covertly while they would draw attention to their arrival!"

Knocking her fingers on the table while sipping on her drink, Leila suddenly put away her mug and entered the conversation. The main Victor's reason for requesting the backup laid in the potential scale of the hidden conflict, with the main downside being the attention that it would attract. With her proposal, they could both make use of additional help while keeping a low profile!

"That sounds like a good idea! We could travel without any carriages in this scenario!"

Klimmer immediately hopped on the idea and expressed his approval. Even while both of his friends supported the resolution, for some reason Victor still hesitated. With his eyes cloudy and hands slowly rubbing the handle of his mug, he has fallen into one of his moments of internal seclusion, when he would ignore everything around him to think about some stuff.

"While I'm not an advocate of splitting our forces, I don't think we can find any better solution. For now, let's go with your proposition, dear."

Raising his cup to drink some of his light beer, the Hesman hand stopped in the midair with his face suddenly tensing up. With a loud 'bang', he placed the cup back on the table and looked sternly at his companions.

"We don't know what situations might arouse during our mission. I think we should apply for blood renewal. And that means… No drinking!"

Those words struck the fragile place in soldiers hearts. As the most important ceremony, exclusive to their faction, going through it required perfect state of body and mind. With how important this event was to them, going through it was valued very highly by every Perran member.

"Do you think it might be that serious?"

Blood renewal was in its essence an act of leaving one's heritage for future generations. While it could greatly improve their condition, it was insanely taxing on one's soul, requiring the participants to ready themselves for the worst possible scenario.

Back in the times of the Empire, one could go through it only when he joined the faction or when he was sent on a suicidal mission. Even if the modern times made the restriction on the ceremony loosen by a huge margin, it still wasn't something to be taken lightly.

"Yes, it's better to take part in it now and be at ease rather than cursing about forgetting to do so later. Let's go!"

Putting his plates away, Victor stood up, nodded to the superior Hesman and left the building with his friends. With the night just falling, they had just enough time to fast. With the ceremony always taking place right at the dawn, they were in for a long endurance test!