Part 2

The next day, when the rooster hadn't even woken up and crowed, Sahar was already rushing inside his tent, wearing his suit of armor when the war signals from the two front camps sounded. Little Vaishravana was awakened by the commotion, and no one in the tent had time to comfort her. She blinked in a daze, before calling out to her father in a low voice. "Daddy..."

Sahar instantly turned around. He hasn't put on his helmet armor yet. His slightly dull face was lit by the candlelight inside the tent, as he moved closer and kissed his daughter's cheek. Vaishravana kissed back while rubbing her father's head and reciting some child-like prayers. Amid the tense situation, the people who saw her immediately melted their stiff expressions and laughed. The commander-in-chief kissed his daughter's cheek once more before putting on his helmet of armor and rushing out.

Before getting on his horse, Sahar first spoke to the Camp Commander who was preparing to escort him away. "Turn off all ignition sources, moving towards the wind whenever the code is launched. This may be just a casual attack as usual, but you can't let your guard down. The two front camps will guard, so don't stand out in the least. Back-up troops were on the line, joining them as soon as they saw signs the front line was being crushed. Burning rations is a last resort to be avoided. Send the Princess to the civilian settlement as soon as possible. And also…" Sahar looked sideways at another tent which was quite spacious and luxurious, with a set of heaters and a tea table. He continued, "Explain the situation to that Eunuch as briefly as possible and protect him as best you can. Sahar withdrew his gaze from the tent and looked into the Camp Commander's eyes calmly with a smile, emphasizing the word "as best you can".

With that, Sahar got on his horse and pulled the reins, ordering the pitch-black horse to race against time and distance. Behind him, Nial followed.

"Commander, your bow! " Nial lifted a steel longbow weighing more than 30kg with one hand. Sahar slowed his horse so they were level, and he took over his longbow. It was more than half Sahar's height. This thing is very difficult to control and not very friendly at first. This bow is passed down from generation to generation from his ancestors. With its heavy body, this longbow can even kill someone without the need to shoot an arrow, by hitting its body on their heads until they break.

Sahar practiced archery for years under the tutelage of the old Marquis until ten of his fingers were callused even when he was so young. When other children his age were still playing kite archery with a small bamboo bow, Sahar spent his playing time practicing shooting moving targets in the middle of the forest with a 10kg bow. The old marquis didn't force him at all. No one in the Zehra residence forced him. This was purely of his own volition.

Sahar and Nial raced their horses and reached the front camp in less than an hour. During that time, the vanguard had been taken over by a young General named Zanth. As soon as Sahar arrived, that person immediately explained the situation. "At 3 p.m., the patrol team found several falco cherrug belonging to the enemy already flying in the sky of Livia. Our team also released some gyrfalcons to take them down. Then not long after that, several barbarian tribal troops appeared at the Alexis-pass border and briefly clashed with the patrol team. They are in larger numbers than usual. "

Sahar entered Alpha's camp tent and immediately headed to the sand table. The battles on the frontlines had been too intense. The soldiers ran as soon as they opened their eyes and could only sleep a quarter of a night each day. It had been half a week since Sahar last took a bath. He was so used to the condition that he himself felt a little horrified. General Zanth explained while pointing at a few places in the sand, "The attack this time came from a bit midway in Alexis-pass. Quite a long way from their regular route on the edge of the Katla-Kleitos mountains. "

Sahar twirled the ring of his thumb bone, looking thoughtful for a moment. He then asked, "Is it being led by Prince Blyana? "

"It seems so, Commander. "

Sahar furrowed his brows "I don't accept the word 'seems', you have to confirm. " He then pointed to a few points on the sand map and said, "Prince Blyana always applies a hit and run strategy. He never expects to win over his opponent, he just wants to piss us off and tire us out. Now that he was attacking from the open area, there must be something else planned. What about the trails on the Katla-Kleitos bank? "

In the mountains of Katla-Kleitos, several large groups of bandits proclaimed themselves kings of the mountains and set up headquarters there. Most of the bandits were from the Dallas Kingdom, both had a long history of fighting with Galahad, so barbarian soldiers would not dare to enter Livia through the middle of the mountains, but only dared to set foot on the edge. They also didn't dare to sell Livia to the enemy.

But even so, they had to remain vigilant. Nothing is impossible in war.

"There were also some attacks there, but the intensity was very small. Some of them fled to the forest area at the foot of the mountains. We've already deployed troops to catch up. "

Sahar had a bad feeling about this. Not long after he discussed with General Zanth, Nial came in and reported the situation outside. Another attack came. This time in larger numbers than usual. Sahar asked while preparing his arrows and longbow unhurriedly. While talking, they exited the camp tent. "Who is the leader? "

"Prince Blyana. "

"Definitely? "

"Certainly. "

Sahar put on his helmet armor and got on the horse. He spoke to Nial one more time before leaving, "Don't let your guard down. Send half the troops from the Regiment bordering the mountains on emergency patrols. "

"Roger! "

Sahar drove with several companies of soldiers. They are a multitalented army with swords and bows. The enemy must guess carefully which platoon will be the archery team and which platoon will raise his sword. On the other hand, they also have squads with hand cannons. Although the number itself is quite small, it is still quite detrimental.

They drove past the castle gates and were met with a vast desert. Dawn had not yet broken when the battle had already erupted. It didn't take long for them to come into contact with the enemy forces. From a distance of tens meters, a rain of arrows rushed forward. The vanguard raised his armor in time, and the troops at the rear immediately counterattacked by drawing their bows and shooting arrows. Finished with the first shot, the rear team will advance to the center formation, and the person from the wing formation will take turns shooting their arrows.

Prince Blyana is seen at the front of his army wearing brigandine armor. As usual, he looked very confident and deceitful.

The two camps clashed briefly before Galahad withdrew his troops and scattered across the desert. They didn't retreat too far as Livia's Armored Cavalry wouldn't catch up too far. As the name suggests, Livia's Armored Cavalry is a mobile steel fortress that won't move too far from its place.

On the other hand, Nial had flown a goshawk carrying a warrant to the area Sahar mentioned just now.

The letter arrived at midday right at the nearest Regiment. Lt. Col. Jordis raised his vambrace-coated hands as the gray goshawk landed. He gave the goshawk a few pieces of meat before asking it to move to the shoulder after the letter on its back was taken.

The memorial scrolls used their supreme commander's wax seal, and Lt. Col. Jordis immediately gasped. He unrolled his memorial in a bit of a hurry. Jordis read it for a few moments before running into his room. He gave the letter to one of his subordinates to keep for file, before pulling someone back from his patrol.

"Tell me, is there something strange about the mountain bandits? "

The little soldier seemed to think for a moment, "Nothing strange, Commander. Only, we found several caravans of illegal traders carrying slaves. "

"Where are they now? "

"Major Harry is looking into it. "

"Call him here, we will rearrange the formation. Bring all the caravans. Call the nearest regiment and ask them to be on guard. "

"Roger! "

In the Livia border garrison, outside of the 3 main camps held by the Great General as Commander in chief of Livia's 3 main commands, the area along the border between Livia and the Katla-Kleitos mountains was led by a General who divided his work area into several divisions. and commanded a regiment of cavalry and infantry. And in each regiment, there will be a battalion with different posts. The highest memorial scrolls came from the Commander in chief, but the most frequently came were the memorial scrolls from the Corps Commander. This time when Lt. Col. Jordis got it from the commander-in-chief, he couldn't help but get goosebumps. Definitely not a good thing.

-0-

The scorching mid-summer afternoon was unbearable. Crickets creak loudly under the trees, the temperature rises by 10 degrees, and the people working outside are almost dying of thirst.

A number of soldiers on patrol had emptied the water supply in their deer hull pouches. They complained and decided to sit down. Just then, from the northwest direction, the noise of the collision between the wooden wheels of the merchant caravan and the hooves of the horses filled their ears. Merchant caravans were used to this route, especially those traders from Verice and Dallas who passed through Mahavira to get to some places in the North. Not to mention, nearby, there was a caravanserai. Even though it was a common thing, they still had to check it no matter how lazy they were.

The lane was blocked and the caravan's pace was stopped. They knocked on the body of the train carriage carrying passengers before one of the merchants got off. One of the soldiers pointed his sheathed sword at the merchant, sternly saying, "Show me your transit permit. "

The man was sweating in this hot weather, dripping profusely from his forehead to the collar of his clothes. He asked several of his colleagues in the train carriage before getting his transit permit. It was a letter made of yellowish papyrus with the stamp of the area that had been traversed and granted permission. The group of traders this time had the seal of the Mahavira area.

The squad commander asked, "Where are you guys from? "

One of the merchants, who was very thin and small, jumped out. He's a guide in this area. He said in fluent Elysian, "These guys are from Dallas. They wanted to head north via Livia. "

The squad commander replied, "Let us check your merchandise. " He then made a brief signal and his troops immediately moved as directed. This caravan carries some smoked meats and several types of special knick-knacks. There's nothing strange about that. But a train carriage behind unexpectedly brought several men in shabby clothes. One of the soldiers shouted to ask, because the distance was quite far. "What's this? "

The person who was covered in sweat earlier replied, "Slave. "

The squad commander raised his eyebrows, "You guys are selling slaves too? "

The man nodded.

Elysian did buy slaves from outside. But never buy it from a caravan like this. Most nobles and people of high rank when they buy slaves from outside, will buy slaves with a clear identity, like slaves passed down through generations. It is very risky to accept slaves of unknown origin.

"Show me the indenture. "

When asked that by the squad commander, the person immediately stuttered. He reasoned, "Master, these are slaves who sell themselves for a bag of silver coins to feed their family. "

"Okay," The squad commander made a short gesture to instruct his subordinates, and continued, "You're going to need Livia's stamp, right? Follow us. "

"Surely! "