The calm before the tempest

A few hours later, the battelfield was being cleaned by soldiers. It was a common thing to do, since leaving the corpses in the wild would result in many beasts feasting on corpses. Besides the funeral ceremony, there was a pragmatic sense to this harsh task: not leaving much food for wild beasts.

The only limiting factor behind the spread and multiplication of wild beast populations, including sand wolves population, was the lack of food. It was not uncommon for wild beasts to starve for weeks at times. Goblins were similar to wild beasts in that regard. Tribes would often end up killing each other for the sake of gaining territory and bigger hunting grounds in order to sustain themselves.

"Lieutenant Bluehill!", Captain Sanders spoke with a low voice, "Can I speak to you for a moment?"

Greem, however, shook his head while continuing to harvest the wolves' eyeballs. After living three years in the desert, Greem had managed to conduct several experiments in order to strengthen his body. Wild beast meat was obviously beneficial to growing muscles, but there was actually an interesting phenomenon that would happen upon practicing his knight breathing technique and consumed sand wolf eyeballs: The benefits would be multiplied by four to five times!

Greem expected Captain Sanders to become extremely angry. He had, after all, disobeyed direct orders and went on to act independantly.

"Congratulations, Greem", Captain Sanders spoke while kneeling. This was quite unrealistic, since Greem basically broke military laws and risked the lives of many on his own accord. He expected the Captain to oppose him greatly and suppress him, but it seemed like Greem was used to villains. Knights upholded honour, and a Captain was bound to possess some dignity, "I am truly grateful for your action. Not everyone can boast to flank an army single-handedly, and take on a dozen elite sand goblin raiders on his own. Your actions saved many soldiers today. When we are back at the oasis, I will make sure to make a detailed report of your actions. You can expect a Steel Warrior medal"

Greem smiled. The reason why he risked his life earlier on was, after all, to earn some merit and impress the acolytes. He did not expect to receive a [Steel Warrior Medal], which was considered one of the highest military reward that one could get, since it would always be rewarded alongside a pouch of 1500 gold coins, which was roughly the amount necessary to sustain 3000 homes.

Evangeline came forward as well: "True enough, your swordsmanship was impressive. I heard that [Quick Draw] was the signature skill of James Warmth...To think that you would be able to display it with such high mastery...He must not be very happy about it, right?"

Greem knew that this was just the beginning. Once the soldiers would return to Oasis, his reputation would soar greatly.

Unknown to Greem or the others, three hundred desert swordsmen were marching forward. Captain Sanders aimed at baiting the [Brotherhood], but it seemed like he, along with Greem, Evangeline and the acolytes, had underestimated their means and skills.

The Brotherhood was known to be very fragmental, and although they had a common cause, it was extremely rare for the different factions within this vast organization to unite. As for warriors, there were only a few dozen of them in each faction. Gathering 300 desert swordsmen was no easy task, but it was something that the General Jabar could do.

In General Jabar's military carriage, a shaman regained consciousness.

General Jabar spoke: "So...what did you see?"

The shaman quickly bowed: "I have successfully used the [Clairvoyance spell]. The Flying Citadel Acolytes have been spotted as well. Unlike what we were fearing, however, they are not very strong and unused to combat. We will be able to capture them alive, not to mention that they were coincidently attacked by sand goblins who were attracted by the ore they used to lure us out"

The General laughed: "Giving us iron ore, and three acolytes on a golden plate...The Imperials must have lost their reason to lack such foresight"

The shaman shook his head: "The Imperial Knights are very skillful, however. One of them managed to take care of 13 sand goblin raiders without sustaining a single injury, flanking the goblin army alone. The Captain leading the charge also reacted swiftly. The soldiers are all very strong, and although there were many casualties, they are not to be underestimated"

General Jabar smiled: "I have united the 8 different factions from the [Brotherhood], and conducted a plan to free the Dalian Desert from the Imperial's grasp, accumulating ore, weapons and funds to eventually conquer Oasis. With 300 desert swordsmen, a battalion will not be able to resist...Finally, I can begin my conquest"

Little did he know, for three hundred desert swordsmen would never be able to take on the thousands of imperial soldiers stationned at Oasis. However, as mighty as the [Brotherhood] was, their network was pitifully bad. They ignored pretty much everything about the fortress.

However, there was no denying that the sixth battalion was weakened from its earlier fight, and that there was a definite gap in numbers.

It was the calm before the tempest.