A large force of Kodria's cavalry continued moving north after disembarking from the navy's transport ships which had helped them cut down on a large portion of their travel time needed to reach the Begus Dekus dukedom.

Akira had decided to use the sturdy breed of white-bellied elk used by the coldpelt cavalry to help pull several sleds that held small wolf packs of heavily armored werewolf infantry to allow them to boost their overall fighting power while also keeping the quick expedition force at fast speed.

Fluffball who had been playing around in the snow far ahead of the cavalry rushed back to Akira excitedly.

“The weather is quite warm the farther north you go...” said Balue who was traveling next to Akira.

Balue had decided by himself that he wanted to continue touring the land with Akira, who really did not have a problem with it as Balue had proven himself several times over that he was a worthy and strong ally.

Akira did not think any normal person would call this cold winter weather 'warm' but kept this opinion to himself.

“Yap!” said Fluffball alerting everyone to a moving figure in the distance.

“A local hunter?” asked Akira. They were too far to see just who it was and since they were still at the border between the southern demon lands and the northern human lands it could be a human or someone from the demon races.

'There are no monsters or animals around this area. What could he be hunting?' asked Grarr who Akira was sitting atop.

“Awo~!” With a howl from Akira, the cavalry changed their direction with well-practiced ease as they curved around and charged toward the lone person. Their weapons were held at the ready in case it was a cruel trap set by less-than-savory people.

When Akira was about to give the order to separate and surround the target he was finally able to see who the lone person was. It was a young man who he had seen several times on the battlefield delivering messages.

The young man's body was hunched forward, his head looking at the ground as he dragged his stiff body and his gimp left leg forward through the snow. The young man's right arm was hanging limp at his side while his left arm was dragging his short sword in the snow behind him.

Akira's face turned grim as he remembered the report he had read detailing the small force they had sent to the north to help advise their potential new allies. He urged Grarr to rush forward and when he neared the young man he hopped off of Grarr's back and landed in the snow right in front of the young man.

“Pran, what happened to you? Why are you here alone?” asked Akira.

Pran did not hear Akira and continued to half drag, half limp, in the direction of the distant river that was several days behind them.

Akira grabbed the man's shoulders and gave him a light shake causing him to look up with glazed eyes staring at him with a blank gaze that was unfocused and unable to see clearly.

The rest of the cavalry and infantry had already surrounded them and were looking at Pran curiously.

Akira sighed and looked over to Klyn who was in charge of a small pack of the shamen that joined the expedition.

“He's heavily wounded, see what you can do to wake him back up,” said Akira, handing over a red potion.

“I'll see what we can do,” said Klyn.

Akira then turned to the rest of the gathered force. “We'll be taking a short rest here for a few hours. You can set up camp and eat or take care of your mounts while we rest.”

A short time later Akira sat in front of a warm fire where he waited for over an hour as Klyn worked his magic on Pran.

Fluffball was laying next to Akira's feet and as he woke up from his nap, he yawned and stretched enjoying the fire that was holding back the cold winter air.

Balue was standing a good distance away from the fire as he relaxed on top of a tall snowbank that hid a large portion of their forces from any prying eyes.

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“Duke Akira! We have finished the task,” said Klyn as he exited a tent near where Akira was sitting.

“His wounds were not much of a problem, and although he was on the edge of starvation and severely dehydrated we fixed that easily. The real problem right now is that something really took a toll on his mind. He should be waking up soon. I hope you can be gentle with him as he has only just recovered.”

“I'll keep that in mind,” said Akira as he stood up. Fluffball also hopped up and joined Akira as they entered the tent.

Pran lay on a makeshift wooden cot that had been set up near the back of the tent. Inside the tent, the temperature was far warmer with the leather walls and fires burning in the metal brazier that hung from a tripod at the center of the tent.

His eyes were fluttering as he breathed heavily while his arms and legs twitched a few times.

Akira only had to wait a few minutes before Pran opened his eyes and slowly looked around in a dazed manner.

“Wha...?” as his mind began to clear he sat up straight fully alert ready to flee as he remembered his mission.

“There is no need to be on edge. You are quite lucky to have run into us,” said Akira.

“Yap,” said Fluffball looking at Pran.

Pran's head whipped around and looked at who had talked.

“Lord duke!” said Pran in shock. In only seconds his dazed and alertness fled his body as he flopped back down on the cot and wept. Tears which had been unable to escape from him due to being severely dehydrated before now flowed out from his eyes.

Akira waited a few more minutes to allow Pran to gather himself.

“I'm sorry for showing you such a pitiful scene...” mumbled Pran as he wiped his red face.

Akira took a waterskin from a wooden stool next to the cot and handed it to Pran.

“Drink, you lost a lot of fluids and are still recovering.”

Pran nodded and took several large gulps.

“Why are you here alone?” asked Akira.

Pran's expression hardened as he tried to keep his emotions under control.

“That vile human stabbed us in the back! We were touring the city offering them advice on how to set up proper defenses to withstand a siege from the demigods long enough for you and the rest of the army to arrive. But as we were nearing the end of the tour they killed our pack's shamen in a sneak attack. We fought all the way to the wall to try and escape but it was hopeless as demigods blocked us. Begus Dekus was with them. They must have gotten to him before we could and the coward blamed us for not sending enough people so he sided with the demigods,” said Pran all in one go. He let out a long sigh as if a heavy weight was finally lifted off his chest now that he had completed the task the 9 others had entrusted to him before they were killed.

Akira's rage began to boil and a palpable aura of killing intent was radiating out of his body, “...and the others are dead?”

“Yes... they sacrificed themselves to allow me to escape. I almost died several times due to the demigods that were chasing after me while I was already heavily wounded. I was only able to escape them by running through a large den of Onbonga monsters. With my speed, I was able to escape while the demigods were taken care of by the angry pack of monsters. But I did not get out unscathed and received several of the wounds on my body that you saw before.”

“Are you well enough to travel?” asked Akira.

“I can still fight!” said Pran sitting up.

Akira pushed him back down onto the cot and then pulled out a piece of paper and a portable ink pot and a feather pen. He started to write as he spoke.

“You experienced a lot and need to rest. I'll be sending you back to the border fort with a small escort. You will have to relay this information to the shaman there and have them send information back to Kodria and request a larger force be sent north. Preferably I want the [Full moon] guild to join us.”

“But I...”

“This is an important mission that will help decide the coming battles. The faster it is finished the more likely we will succeed,” said Akira as he melted the tip of a wax stick over the brazer and then used it to seal the letter and press on it with his personal metal duke seal. He blew on the wax to let it cool before he handed it over to Pran and exited the tent.

“Awooo!” Akira let out a howl ordering everyone to break camp and get ready to leave.

“So? What are we doing now?” asked Balue as he walked over to Akira.

“With the beast wave attacks finished. Now is the time to strike and clean up the troublesome thorns in Kodria's side. We must strike while everything is still in chaos.”

“I like this idea! It sounds fun so I will continue to follow you to see what happens.”

***

Sometime later Akira and those under his command finally arrived at the Begus Dekus territory and were making good speed towards its main city.

A werewolf scout who had gone ahead of the main force was now rushing back as quickly as his Garg mount could run.

“Lord Duke! There is an army blocking the path north! In the far distance behind them, there was some sort of large fortification that is not on any of the maps we have.”

“So they have been expecting us to come and meet with them... Good,” said Akira as he stared into the distance but could not see the army that was hiding farther north.

“Hehe! Wonderful! I haven't had the chance to see the Northerner humans fight in so many years! I'm getting all itchy in anticipation!” said Balue.