The soldiers stared at Clyde with stunned expressions, 'There's still the swordplay test and it's his specialty yet he admitted defeat?' Murmurs echoed out as Zaramias nodded his head before saying, "Since the contestant, Clyde Barthos has acknowledged Dan Longinus' position in the Fiery Blood Army, it could only mean that he has admitted his defeat."
Sweeping his eyes, he announced, "From this day forth, Dan Longinus shall be the Vice-Commander of the Fiery Blood Army! Whenever he commands you to go, you obey, even if the path is riddled with swords and fires!"
"Yes, sir!"
A deafening roar composed of hundreds of men rang out. The earth itself faintly trembled as an indiscernible aura enveloped the atmosphere. Each soldier emanated a ferocity akin to that of a beast. Staring at these brave soldiers, Dan nodded his head in satisfaction.
To be able to command such capable men. It was an honor for him.
But before he could greet them one by one, a soldier whose expression looked bedraggled and was breathing with ragged pants, interrupted their salutations with a solemn news. According to him, the Empire of Eternal Faith's Hawk-Eye Battalion successfully captured a village located on the border between the two empires, further west from the Western Guard Camp.
The village that they captured was called the Azure Hamlet. And even though its population, only numbered to three thousand plus. It performed a vital role for the empire since it was also a place where tourist and merchants frequently converged.
In other words, the village could be considered as a center of trade for foreign visitors and the merchants of both empires. And one could say that capturing it was akin to thoroughly provoking the Empire of Dawn's wrath. Enough that the Emperor himself issued a decree.
He instructed the Fiery Blood Army. To do what it takes to retake the Azure Hamlet. No matter what the cost would be.
Zaramias tightly clenched the scroll containing the Emperor's decree as his expression reddened in anger, "Those coward bastards actually dared to provoke us first!" His eyes flashed in viciousness when he remembered his first encounter against the Hawk-Eye Battalion.
The Hawk-Eye Battalion was composed of soldiers skilled in long-range combat. And they were slippery like fish, especially when the battle was inside a huge forest, which was practically their playground. Their main weapons were bows and their accuracy in using it was dreadful enough to the extent that in each arrow that they shot, one would definitely die.
Zaramias knew that the weakness of these bastards was a close-combat quarter. But since these guys cultivated a peculiar cultivation method that enables them to tap on Nature's Power, increasing their perception inside a forest. He always had a bad time, settling his debt with these bastards.
But now, since they openly dared to provoke the dignity of the Empire, Zaramias hollered, summoning all soldiers of his battalion, they marched towards the nearby forest along with Dan who was kept protected at the center of the soldier's formation.
"Take the high ground! Never let those bastards take the higher ground or else, we will all be dead!" The imposing soldiers retracted their might as they extinguished their presence. Thanks to the sunset, their fiery armor seemed to merge with the surroundings giving them the perfect camouflage.
Dan followed suit, his nimble movements atop the branches gathered the attention of the soldiers who stared at him in disbelief. After all, to be able to do such maneuvers in mid-air, one would usually train for several years. But this kid, he only looks like he's at his late teenage years, yet he could do such skillful movements...
The admiration that the soldiers had for Dan intensified.
"Quiet, don't cause a ruckus," Clyde signaled to the backlines as all soldiers stopped what they were doing. A strange atmosphere enveloped everyone as all of them held their breaths. However, Dan's eyes flickered in shock when he stared at the system notification that floated in the air before him.
[Quest Name: Retake Azure Hamlet]
[Quest Difficulty: S Rank]
[Quest Objective: Retake Azure Hamlet and survive in the process]
[Quest Reward: System Upgrade]
'A system upgrade? and the quest is even at S Rank at that...' Dan mumbled, staring at the notifications. Just the difficulty of the quest alone tells him that the quest would not be that simple. Moving along with the soldiers, the army could finally see a clear view of the hamlet and what they saw, perturbed them to an extent.
Remnants of bodies scattered before the gates of the hamlet could be seen, piling into a mountain. The mountain of corpses composed of both men and women, along with the old and children. The soldiers inside the village endlessly pillaged everything which they find as valuable.
Dan felt a swelling feeling inside his abdomen as he quickly covered his mouth. Although he killed two men before. It was a do or die fight, completely different from this scene before his eyes.
"Vice-Commander, are you okay?" A soldier asked beside him, concern evident on his face. Handing over a gourd of water, Dan took the bottle from his hands and chugged it down, dissipating the feeling of unrest within his heart.
'Yeah, that's right...'
'I should remember this fact...'
'I'm not in Earth anymore and this world is clearly more ruthless and unforgiving towards the weak...'
'If I want to survive,'
'There's only one way.'
'And that is to become ruthless towards anyone who blocks my path...'
The sudden realization gave him a grim reminder that even though he was in the world of his dreams. It was also merciless and barbaric towards the weak.
Clenching his fists together, Dan stared at the Azure Hamlet. With his eyes, shining in a light of resolve and killing intent.