"I didn't expect to see you again."
While trying to knock enemies by hitting their stomach using the body of the pole, Alab heard someone. When he looked, he saw Marshal and the other members of his squad. Reinforcements came. They were an organized squad that made coordinated changes between defense and offense. While going up the hill they ran and slashed their enemies with 3 vanguards and 2 rear guards, and when they were already at the top, they formed a circle and used their shields to push back their enemies and spontaneously lowered it to attack with their swords. Even though only being in the battle for more than a day, Alab understood that this was an elite team. It was a sight to behold. The other squads of the Lion Platoon did the same but Marshals' squad executed swiftly.
"Get inside our formation!" said Marshal.
Alab followed and was given a space to enter in the middle.
"Slip your pole through the shields to attack the enemy," said Sonny with a smile.
Alab did as instructed but was not hitting his enemies. Being inside the circle made him conscious of not hitting his allies. Throughout the battle, he let others do the killing for him by knocking them back using the other side of his pole, while his allies did the stabbing and slashing. The enemies finally realized that there were reinforcements and retreated.
The battle ended quickly, and the hill was saved. Alab was invited for another dinner by the squad led by Marshal.
After going back to the headquarters, Alab entered the tent of the injured ones. The wounds of the soldiers were poured with alcohol and wrapped with cloth. Perhaps the knowledge for antibiotics were not yet discovered in this time and he thought of introducing it in the future.
Inside the tent was also a man in white clothes and was tending the injured ones. He had his hands on prone touching the men's injuries. Alab was pre-occupied with his thoughts and did not mind this, but for those seeing mana, this man wrapped the injuries of with an aura as if it was a cloth. It did not heal the injuries but as time passed by, the aura would prevent necrosis of the injuries.
"Hey, you did good as a bannerman there!" one of the Dragoon platoon members said. The soldier emphasized as a "bannerman" because as a figher, Alab did bad. Unfortunately, despite the Heartwood soldiers gaining an edge and foreseeing the victory tomorrow, the Dragoon Platoon members were almost annihilated that is why they will be absorbed by another Platoon and announcements will be done after dinner.
"I believe you did better, " Alab replied.
"If only the Giants were here, the battles will be a breeze."
'Giants?! I need to know more about them.'
And so, after hearing that, Alab started extracting information about Giants. The first non-human race that he can possibly encounter.
Giants are a race that live in the forest. They have been an ally of the Heartwood Kingdom for many years and participated in the conquest of Gates, Towers and Labyrinths. Due to their apolitical stand, they do not involve themselves in human conflicts and thus, refused to join the war between Hearthwood and Green Rose. Giants do not group in great numbers and are separated by tribes.
The ones that help the Hearthwood kingdom were from the Ghano Tribe, a small tribe living in the Kaliko Forest, a forest at the northern area of the Heartwood Kingdom, approximately 3 days walk from the capital. As far as the stories from the soldiers go, the giants are a happy race and are very strong.
Alab was on his way to the Lion Platoon to join them in his dinner when he felt a strong force hit him on his back. His Widen Vision, not very active in the dark, was not able to notice it. The push made him tumble and his face hit the ground. Something like a foot stepped on his head.
"Hey, who are you?"
Thinking about it, Alab was never asked about it and so was addressed with only his descriptions. He was known as the lone survivor of the Diamond Platoon that was composed mainly of farmers. Maybe now that he raked a small achievement by being one of the leftover men of Dragoon Platoon who maintained his stance in Atop Hill, he will be known by that description.
Alab tried lifting the foot but even with his [Arm Power], he was not able to do it.
"Help!!! Someo-"
The man sat on his back and a sharp knife was directed on the skin of his neck.
"Answer my question kid or this pierces you. Let us just say, I know all the soldier's face and name in the army, especially Diamond Platoon, but I do not remember you. Rumors say, you also did not kill any Green Rose soldiers. Perhaps a spy trying to gain our hearts? Now, confess!"
'I don't know what to say. Can someone really know all the members, especially by face? Can this one be just bluffing? Maybe he has an idea, but I will pretend to be the same person whose memories I was able to have.'
Alab was taking too much time that the knife was gradually piercing his neck and a drop of blood, already appeared.
"Lu--Lucas Terno"
Lucas Terno being a late conscript must not have been noticed by whoever records it. Even among the farmers, they also did not know him. The conscripts were from different farms and Lucas' farm was in a far end of the kingdom and was isolated. The problem was if the man who was currently stepping on him, knew Lucas' face. They had completely different facial features but if the real Lucas' body was recovered right now, he will also be unrecognizable.
There was the sound of flipping of pages, the stranger was checking into something. Were there records of soldiers that were monitored regularly?
"Lucas Terno...I see. black hair..."
Black hair, that was the only similarity of Lucas and Alab. The soldiers in Gaia had different hair colors. The words then became indistinct chatter that did not give any clue to Alab except for pages being flipped.
"Hmm... Okay. Then why are you not killing the soldiers?"
"I am a new soldier! I still do not know how to fight!"
Alab then felt the weight from his back and the sharp sensation pointing at his neck gone but the foot still on his head.
"Hmmm... There must have been some miscalculations. My friend must have been mistaken. Be a good soldier, dear farmer. If you can win 100 battles, you will be rewarded."
It was only a quick conversation. What Alab thought would be a long interrogation ended only with a two-question and answer portion. The foot stepping on him lifted and he noticed a 4-leaf clover tattoo on that person's leg as it was walking away. When Alab lifted his body, the man was already gone.
'This is what I get for being noticed. I should have listened to Merlin and stayed on the sidelines.'
Alab was lucky. In this new world he was in, he needed to be very careful and not be noticed. Different questions and situations may someday arise which he cannot handle because of his lack of knowledge of Gaia.
But who was that guy?
Several questions ran into Alab's mind.
'And how in the world did he knew I was not killing Green Rose soldiers?'
With the blood dry on the pierced skin of his neck, he continued to join Marshal for dinner.
'O here he is, Mr. Bannerman.
Alab introduced himself as Lucas Terno.
He was welcomed by the platoon and the three other squad members also introduced themselves. After dinner, Alab asked Marshal if he can challenge again Sonny and be absorbed by the Lion Platoon. Just like Merlin said, as long as he finds the right people, he can tackle any obstacle. He can survive. For him, the right people right now are the strong ones. The group was definitely one of the elites among the Heartwood soldiers. With victory reaching their hands, one way to ensure his safety is to be with this platoon.
Sonny and Alab started arm wrestling. They were surrounded by different soldiers. With [Arm Power], Alab was confident he could beat Sonny.
Alab won.
But it was not an easy win. They used a total of two tables for a single match as the first bout was done on a weak table and was destroyed instantly. Although weak, for one battle, it should have not been destroyed by two skinny men. After preparing the second table, with a stool supporting underneath it, they started arm wrestling with them both almost dropping each other's arm and when their arms were in a right angle...
"Wahhh!!!" shouted Alab as he gave his all and Sonny's arm fell on the table. A loud 'thump' was heard as if a tree fell. The bout lasted for almost 3 min.
"I know you were special," Sonny said while holding his forearm and then asking for some water from his comrades.
"Welcome! My boy! Remember to call me lieutenant. These 50 soliders welcome you! Just so you know, arrangements were already done so that you can join our force temporary."
'Such a sly guy. Still agreeing with my request even though arrangements have been made. O well, I'm happy I earned it.'
The Lion Platoon was an elite one. Sometimes, they become a separate unit to perform different tasks such as reconnaissance. To be able to maintain its quality, Marshal always emphasizes to its superiors that they should not simply absorb soldiers of fallen platoons as this will affect the coordination of their group. But after the battle on the 4th day, to the officers' surprise, he requested the remaining soldiers of Dragoon to be absorbed in their platoon. This cannot be refused even by the high-ranking officers as Marshal is a special platoon leader. He should have been promoted long ago to a captain or a lieutenant colonel but always replied 'the higher rank I get, the lesser I get to join the battles! How is that fair?!
Marshal saw the potential of Alab who he perceived as Lucas, a farmer who had no war experience. Alab may be no farmer but he is the same as Lucas who had no experience in real wars. In order to mask his wanting for only Alab to join his platoon, he directly absorbed everyone from the Dragoon Platoon. Alab, thinking he has secured himself from the danger by remembering the words from Merlin, 'find the right people', he was also found by a good leader. Perhaps, after being a leader for quite so long, Marshal developed an eye for finding the right people. With this, a lion has found a cub to train for a possible successor in the future; and a cub has found the protection of his family.