With the help of Yu and her shy fairy friends we lead a slaughter across the mountains finding every bandit camp and crushing it just as soon as it was found, with Yu's help and the increasing experience of the men casualties dropped after every battle.
Sending the loot back once a week using four wagons we stayed out in the mountains bandit hunting.
Nefamiti would train the new recruits in the city sending them over along with the wagons filled with new supplies for the troops, on that same day the wounded would be sent back with the wagons to recover.
The original first unit had dwindled to three hundred elites, once we reached three hundred men not a single man more has died in the two months since.
The new recruits that are sent here are temporarily put in the first unit to gain experience under their seniors before being put into the slowly forming second unit, at the moment the army out in the mountains is numbering five hundred strong, three hundred elites and two hundred quasi recruit level soldiers.
"Yu?" I said lightly, "Are there anymore left?"
"One camp is left, they are inside of an abandoned fort west of Durlivan up on a mountain pass." Yu replied, in these months her powers had grown greatly now capable of sensing the movements of life force in the surroundings, acting as a great ambush detector as well as gaining the ability to hide the presence of those directly around her.
"Then, how many?" I asked breaking camp.
"Six hundred, just around." She replied, "It seems that the bandits have been pooling into that fort trying to escape the extermination."
A fort? Must be Desdon Fort, it was abandoned a long time ago, even the documents in the previous lords study only briefly mention it, it was abandoned due to lack of man power and because that road was never used to begin with so the fort became unnecessary.
It was likely a smuggling or trading route used by the previous Duke Loktre to get goods over into the no mans land between the empires and from there into Rekardus and Kendogan.
Passing through the woods around Durlivan we arrived at the fort by night fall, the torches bright and marking our target.
"Yu, envelop the archers and head around the fort." I said quietly moving forward.
Immediately a stiff darkness spread out enveloping fifty of our best archers as they moved out.
"Netman, take your squad and circle around the ridge to the east, there should be a door at the top of the ridge where you will enter, make sure no one sees you." I said lightly to Netman, one of the people who had shown great prowess in these three months.
"Marcus, take your squad and circle west near the archers, dig in." Marcus, yet another who had proven themselves.
Lastly Huanto, a large man, larger than me, "We will use the snake, mouse and bird strategy."
Huanto nodded raising his arm his squad stepped forward just out of the dark.
"I am Huanto, leader of the second contingent of the Wolfs Teeth Unit under Lord Durlivan, I have come to ask you all to either surrender or die." He is just as loud and noisy as always, a perfect bird.
"Ha! As if we will give in to your lord! We will simply be killed even if we surrender!" A large well built man stepped out onto the ramparts shouting back.
"You should all have seen what happens to those who surrender! They are given wages and work in the fields! Protected by us, the army! Turn yourselves in and earn an honest living! Those who surrender will be allowed to live and in three months of labor will be allowed to leave with wages if they wish!" Huanto shouted once more, many of the men on the ramparts shaking visibly.
"We will not surrender to that demon!" The large man said once more.
"If you wish to live through tonight, surrender! You will be given wages, work and food!" Huanto shouted again, "This is the last chance! After this you will not be allowed to surrender any longer!"
"Why would we surrender when we have a fort and more men, you all have nothing to take us down--!" Suddenly the man stopped speaking, fifteen arrows lodged right into his back, falling forward off the ramparts causing fear to grip the hearts of the men inside instantly.
"Your fort has been taken while speaking to us! Open the gates and surrender!" Huanto shouted casually.
Immediately the entire fort was thrown into an uproar but no one could find where the arrows had come from throwing them into a panic as many began running out of the gates leading directly to a route.
Most of these men were from different groups that had just come together in a random mishmash making it a simple thing to use their inability to properly communicate between themselves, abusing the fear that brought them together I broke them with the very same fear, we aren't inside the fort, but their minds.
"It's the demon of Durlivan! Run for your lives!" One man screamed, most of the forts forces routing immediately.
They had heard of the Lord of Durlivan, a man who fought in the war with the Carrien empire and defeated the Prince earning his mens lives, the man who had in a single night wiped out the gangs and syndicates in Durlivan, the man who in three months had wiped out the majority of the bandit presence in the Durlivanian mountains hunting every last man with lethal accuracy.
Because of this he came to be known as the Demon of Durlivan by the bandits and called a Champion by the people.
"Drop your weapons and you will not be harmed!" Huanto shouted at the men who ran out.
"Drop your weapons if you do not wish to killed while trying to flee!" Marsh's voice broke through the darkness as arrows flew impaling several people.
"Fleeing in the face of us means death, surrender!" Marcus' men rose up from the brush impaling man after man.
From atop the fort Netman arrived with his squad of men holding the gate open and allowing Huanto and myself in, the archers hidden by Yu standing above the north gate leaving only the west to escape from, but it was fully blocked off by both arrow fire and spears.
Drawing my blades I fully released my newly refined killing intent that had undergone a qualitative change to over these months, the death aura that had by now saturated my very being amplifying my image in the dim torch light.
"Pleas spare me!" Dropping his weapon a man quickly kneeled.
Turning around many men did the same, only a few flying into a rage, but they could not match me only dying on the end of my blade.
"The bandits in Durlivan have been wiped out!" I raised a cry the men raising war cries all around, many of the veterans shedding tears.
"It's finally over...!"
"We are going home!"
"The scourge is no more!"
On this night we took four hundred captives, most of these men were dregs left over from previous attacks of ours making their morale extremely low to begin with when faced with us.
Making camp inside the fort night passed quickly, "Hardvar, i'd like you to take care of this fort for me, use it as the central intelligence base, I know you have been having a hard time due to not having a proper office, so take this place."
"Thanks Boss, also, in regard to what you asked before, Seramia is doing very well expanding the Veru religion, her church had just finished construction a few days ago, most of Durlivan's citizens go there to pray and recieve blessings now as well, due to Seramia calling you the champion of Veru the people too have begun calling you a Champion, though there are a few disgruntled people looking to cause trouble, but they have been taken care of." Hardvar said neatly and precisely.
"Taken care of?"
"Yes, we have worked hard and convinced them otherwise, as well as finding out a few of them are spies from the surrounding territories and guilds, those we have captured and interrogated." Hardvar replied angrily.
"They have told us that, they came from the Yuli Slave Guild, Seracoda Syndicate, Lianto Slave Guild and Loijon Syndicate as well as various other underground guilds, they are here to scout out the defenses of Durlivan."
"Our defenses is it?" I said with a toothy smile, "Kill them once they've given all they can give, send out a few spies of our own as well to gather information on these underworld guilds and have Alias and Nefamiti come here as soon as possible have them bring some officials as well."
"Understood." Hardvar said melting into the darkness, how the hell does he even do that.
Night left as fast as it fell.
In the early morning Alias arrived on horseback along with several officials as well as Nefamiti in tow.