A week later

„MOVE YOU MAGGOTS! WE'VE STILL GOT A LONG WAY TO GO BEFORE NIGHTFALL!” Lucon shouted out loud as a small army, mainly composed of the 104 recruits moved over one of the plastered streets and out of the castle. About 50 mounted soldiers were escorting them. There were multiple hunters among them.

“A three-day march… until it even starts…” Cassius huffed and puffed while they marched with their spears and a bag on their backs. Large Coats warmed them.

“Cassius, stop complaining. We all know you have no actual trouble with the weight.” Leona scolds him and snickers. Aquila smirks at Faust and they exchange a knowing glance.

‘Cassius sure likes to complain a lot when nothing is on the line.’ Faust grinned.

“If you were even remotely as fit as you’re ugly then you’d leave us all in the dust.” Aquila coughed violently and then laughed, as Cassius’s hand arrived on the back of his head, hitting his helmet.

“You son of a bitch! You’re not even carrying a quarter of our weight!” Cassius scolded his friend while raising his fist, waving it through the air.

The group laughed. Aquila only shrugged his shoulders with a smug grin and patted his 2 quivers and short bow.

“You might curse me now, but you’ll love me later.” He was the tracker and bowman of the group. He was vital for the mission, and they all knew it.

They had grown incredibly close over the last months. During military training, a unique kind of relationship is created among comrades. Suffering together bound them closely together.

The recruits were marching in their groups and were flanked by cavalry. Each of the soldiers had received 3 and a half kilograms of sunflower seeds. Food for 2 weeks. They also carried a waterskin in addition to their weapons and armor. The shield and spear were both on their backs and their weight attributed significantly to the strain the marching placed on them.

They had left the castle a few hours ago and the feet of many of them were already hurting in their leather boots. They had to ignore the pain and march on, gritting their teeth. They had become used to the pain over the last months.

Faust’s group had marched a lot more than the others in their 6 months of basic training. Their feet had grown used to the strain, though some pain remained, nonetheless.

The biggest change in their group had been Faust’s growth spurt. He had grown to 180 centimeters, making him as large as Leona and taller than their 2 friends. He still lacked almost half a meter to Schenk, and it was a running gag he would grow to Schenk’s size if he continued to eat and train the way he did. Despite his growth, he had put on a decent amount of lean muscle and by now his physique matched Aquila’s, which was outstanding.

Recently in their wrestling practice, he could easily overpower Leona and Aquila, though he was still careful in front of their wits and speed. He matched Cassius’s power by now. Considering where he had been 6 months ago Faust could be called a proper soldier now in terms of physique.

When they walked Leona turned to look at Faust who didn’t notice. She caught a weird train of thought in her mind. ‘He looks so much more mature with all that muscle and his face looks older too…’ she then shook her head, smiling at herself.

‘You can look, but nothing more. You’re a baron’s daughter.’ She repeated it like a mantra in her head, as she had over the last months. She was aware of the duties that came with her privileges, and she sometimes wished it was different. Still, she controlled herself.

‘Even now that Flora and Faust have become a bit more distant… that changes nothing… right?’ she shook her head and sighed, focusing on walking as her feet stung.

‘I wonder what Flora is doing right now…’ Faust thought and was immersed in his thoughts.

‘My feelings towards her have changed… I no longer feel like a drowning grasping for a piece of wood… but I have regained some stability in my life.’ He looked around at his friends with a smile.

‘They help me deal with my problems every day… but Flora has nobody like this in her life… she only has me… I can’t leave her alone… and now I’m gone for so long…’ he sighs.

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‘And I don’t even know if I love her anymore… Vitus told me that it might just have been a reaction to the traumatic events that had happened half a year ago. And something tells me he might be right…’

Faust found it difficult to accept that fact. Flora was still an important part of his life.

‘Why then does my heart stir with an unknown feeling when I look at Leona?’ he lamented to himself as they marched on.

3 days passed in the blink of an eye, and they eventually arrived at a small wooden fortress. When they approached it, Faust heard men shouting on top of the wall, and the heavy door was opened.

“A wooden fort?” Faust asked, a bit confused.

“Yeah, if you had the choice, would rather attack a group of tents in the wild or a fortified position like this?” Cassius laughed.

Faust nodded. ‘Sounds about right. Even though stone is a better defensive material wood is available here and well-suited for an outpost. It's still a powerful defense. Actually, against Stray Orcs, this is more than sufficient if what they told us is true.’ He concluded and cracked his neck.

They entered through the gatehouse and entered a large open space with many tents on it. There were no houses inside, but a few small buildings used for storage.

“Welcome to Caurium!” a man wearing the same uniform Lucon did shouted to greet them.

“My name is Trajan. And I am the commander of this fort.” He introduced himself and left to speak with Lucon.

“Who is this Trajan?” Cassius asked intrigued. “The sixth son of a neighboring baron. He’s a knight in my father’s service. He’s an expert when it comes to orcs. Some say he has killed hundreds in his lifetime.” Leona explained, looking a bit flustered.

“Hundreds? That number must be exaggerated…” Aquila mumbled, obviously not believing her words.

Before long Lucon returned and issued orders to his army. They would encamp here. This would be the gathering point and the base of operations. After 2 days of rest, they would drop off the recruits.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

At the same time, Antioch

The city had always had a flourishing underworld. Many trade opportunities, smuggling, drug trade, and more had attracted criminals from all over the kingdom. Despite the city council's best attempts to smash the criminal organizations in their own domain, they found themselves unable to as corruption had long since invaded its ranks.

Many city officials were in the pockets of criminal families, sects, and cartels. It was an unspoken law in the city not to oppose the underworld organizations as they were the real power in the city.

Even the tribute and tax the city paid to the Argorus Family was mostly shouldered by the criminal families, paying large sums to keep the noble family at bay. They had indirectly financed the new army of Vostrim Castle.

The Tide of Blood was one of these powerful organizations. It specialized in assassination and was known throughout the kingdom. If the price was right anybody could be taken care of. They were the main reason even powerful nobles entertained a personal guard.

It was also one of the richest of the criminal organizations. They had one of their branches in a tunnel system below a tavern in one of the smaller harbors of Antioch. At this moment a hooded man clothed all in black walked up to the bar and threw back his hood. A few months ago, he had arrived in the city with his boat.

He placed a leather bag on the table, and it had something round in it. The barman looked at the man before him and his eyes formed slits. “Cao Ming… you left 2 hours ago. You couldn’t have finished the task within that timeframe, did you?” he asked suspiciously.

The heads of 2 other thugs at the bar turned and looked at him warily.

“I have. His head is in the bag.” He nodded and opened it before the barman inspected the inside of the bag and gulped.

“I’m sorry. Follow me.” He nodded professionally and left through a door that looked like it led to a booze storage room.

When they arrived in the room the barman rolled a barrel to the side and revealed a secret staircase. It wasn’t the first time Cao Ming had walked down this staircase. They soon arrived in a small lobby.

“The branch manager will be with you in a minute. Your target was quite important…” The barman nodded and left back upstairs. The room was lit in a dim red light and 2 couches were separated by a small table made of glass. He sat down on one of them.

Cao Ming looked like a complete foreigner. His eyes were thin, like slits and his skin had a yellowish tint. He wore his long black hair tied up behind his head. His skin was void of impurities and his eyes were as black as his hair with traces of red in it.

He waited for 2 minutes before 2 cloaked and masked assassins accompanied an old man into the room.

“You must be Cao Ming. I must say I am impressed. I have never seen someone who could resolve a mission of this level in just 2 hours…” he smiled and sat down on the opposite couch.

“Show me the head!” he ordered and one of the guards took the sack and showed the head to the old man.

“Splendid!” he laughed as he saw the severed head. “Give him the money!” he ordered, but Cao Ming held up his hand.

“I have something else I want.” He said with a gentle smile and with lightning-fast speed brandished a dagger, jumping towards the branch manager. The manager had an evil grin on his face and the two guards immediately moved with short blades in their hands. Yet as they approached a burst of blood-red energy left Cao Mings' body and flung them against the walls, rendering them unconscious.

The arrogant grin on the elder’s face disappeared immediately and was replaced by fear.

“What do you want? I… I can get a lot of money for you… a lot.” He stammered.

“Just shut up and give me your life.” Cao Ming cackled and absorbed the man's life force with his right hand. Then he licked his lips and looked at the 2 assassins.

‘Finally, I could find a branch of the Tide of Blood… now I will bring it under my control before expanding my influence and building a private army… I need protection until my injuries are healed…’ he thought to himself and threw the withered body of the old man to the ground.

‘This city… will be mine.’