Jericho proceeded to explain why he needed to hide his identity to Sarah. He told her that a group of mutants ambushed his squad and that they are definitely hunting him down right now. He told her that if anyone were to ask if they spotted him anywhere, the Villagers have to lie that they never saw him in case that group targeted them for information.
"Alright I forgive you but on one condition." She said as she crossed her arms and turned serious.
Jericho felt trepidation as he asked "What condition?"
"You have to…
*gulp
Sarah then suddenly smiled and said "You have to come back and tell me more stories."
"Sure." Answered Jericho as he also smiled for the first time since coming here.
Sarah's heart skipped a bit, she looked away as her face turned red. And then she mumbled. "so you know how to smile"
Jericho heard it because of his enhanced hearing. 'I guess so' he thought'
Morning came and so did the caravan of merchants. Jericho was in front of the Village gate saying his goodbyes to the villagers. He was wearing a disguise so the enemy wouldn't notice him.
After saying farewell to everyone he then turned toward Sarah. "Goodbye Sarah"
"Goodbye Jericho"
That was all they said but for some reason it felt heavy. Jericho turned around and joined the merchants, it was quite easy as long as you are able to pay. Jericho paid them using accessories that were still on his person when he got to the village.
The caravan had already left but the villagers still continued to stand in front of the village gate looking at the direction it went to. As seconds flew by the villagers started to enter the village and continued their daily lives. Sarah was the last one to enter the village because unlike the others she her body was too weak to work and so the only thing she does was sit at home and rest and sometimes go out to get some fresh air.
------
The caravan went down the mountains without any issue. They encountered some beasts but they easily scared them off.
When they reached the foot of the mountain Jericho stood alert and scanned his surroundings. He was wearing a poncho with a hood right now as it was part of his disguise.
Hours passed and it was night time already. The caravan didn't stop to camp because they were in a hurry to get to the capital of the Empire. The journey was smooth and fast and in a blink of an eye the first ray of sunlight hit the caravan and everyone woke up. They could already see the Empire's majestic castle from a distance and in a few hours they would arrive.
---------------------------------------------------------
(In an underground basement)
A man clad in white was standing in front of a beaten up man with tattered clothes and messy hair. He seems to be a prisoner as his hands and feet were chained.
"It's already been a month and my son is still not been found" said the man clad in white.
The prisoner shivered as he heard this. A month ago he was given a task to ambush some soldiers heading back to the Empire. The mission was simple, kill the soldiers except for the Commander, drug him up and then bring him back. He thought it would be that easy since the report said that there were only 50 soldiers and he had more than a hundred men.
But unlike what he expected, the soldiers were tenacious and brave. They sacrificed their lives to take some of them down. They were also quick on their feet and cunning. They led them to the mountains and laid out traps and draw the attention of some beasts to hinder them.
It was a bloody battle but they still defeated them. They cornered the soldiers but all of a sudden something unexpected happened. When their target crossed the bridge the other soldier destroyed the other end of it. When they killed all of the soldiers they began pursuit of their target but the distance from one side to another was too wide. Even their air elemental Projectors didn't have confidence flying to the other side. They immediately turned around and requested a flying vehicle to search from above while they find other ways to cross to the other side.
After two weeks of searching they ran out of supplies and they were dead tired from fighting beasts that they couldn't avoid from fighting. They decided to report and request for backup but after they finished reporting, all of them were immediately dragged towards an underground cell and were beaten up.
They were then informed that the Commander they were supposed to bring back was the only son of General Henry Stratenheid. Right after they heard it, all of them fell down and started shivering from fear some were even started sobbing. But nobody could blame them, after all anyone would react the same when they hear that name. Because it was the name of the white devil.
General Henry was nicknamed white devil because of his brutality and decisiveness when it comes to dealing with those that threatened the Empire. He would gladly sacrifice the lives of soldiers if it means obtaining victory. He was also the highest ranking official in the military and not even the King could do anything to him without fearing for the consequences. And for that he was an existence that many could only hide in fear from and they have the gal to come back after losing his only son with an injured body in an area populated by savage beasts. They must've been out of their goddamn mind!
"W-We will search for the young Commander! Please give us one more chance!" Pleaded the man as he smashed his head downward.
"I already have someone to look for him. Your services are no longer required." Henry said as he looked at the poor man coldly. He didn't delay a second when he heard the details of the report. He immediately sent a squad to search for his son's whereabouts. But even though that squad was fully equipped in hunting and tracking they still didn't find any trace of Jericho after weeks of searching. Mainly because Jericho covered his tracks and also because the mountain range was big.
Many assumed that Jericho was dead but Henry was still confident that Jericho was alive because he personally trained him. But even though he was confident he didn't have that much hope because staying alive in that situation would be hard even for him. His estimated time that Jericho could survive was 3 months. If they still didn't find him in that 3 months then he would call off the search party.
"Dispose of them in three months." Said Henry as he walked out of the cell.
"No! Please I beg you! I have a family!" Shouted the man.
Henry stopped as he heard this and without turning around he said "Do you think I don't have a family? Remember that it was your failure that led to this."
"And don't worry, your family will meet you soon enough." Henry ended as he walked away again.
"DEVIL!!! MONSTER!!! I SWEAR IF I EVER-
"Reporting Sir, your son has come back and is waiting for you at the mansion." A soldier came in and reported to Henry.
Henry turned around and looked at the beaten up man who was cursing at him earlier. "What were you saying again?"
"I-I-I-I s-s-swear t-that I-I w-will s-s-serve t-the General w-with a-a-all my h-heart." Said the man as he quivered in fear. Even he was surprised at himself for cursing at the white devil. He already lost all hope earlier but when he heard the report, he turned ecstatic but after remembering what he was saying his heart pounded so hard and his lips shivered non stop as he tried to make an excuse. 'FUCK! IF ONLY I KEPT MY MOUTH SHUT!' he thought.
Henry only looked at him without an expression and said "Beat the others again then you can release them. And as for this one, you can take a nail or two before beating him up again and then release him...a year later."
The man opened his mouth wide as shock took over him. Just because of his stupid mouth he was going to be tortured and would be locked up for a year! The man watched as Henry got further and further away and when he was out of the underground the man whispered "Devil!"