"... Do you wish to remain mercenaries forever?
Do you wish to live an eternally dangerous life, walking on a razor's edge, lingering between life and death?
Do you wish to fight only for money, not for honor?
Now, there is an opportunity before you!
An opportunity to change your destiny!
An opportunity to make a name for yourselves!
An opportunity to part with the status of commoners, become nobility, or even obtain a fiefdom!
So, arm yourselves with your swords, follow me, follow the Marquis Charles, follow the Hilde family, and kill the trolls!"
...
Watching the mercenaries who were passionately stirred by Sael's speech, Colin suddenly laughed and said to Oliver beside him:
"You know, this dutiful son really knows how to deliver a speech, almost had me swayed."
"He's nothing but a despicable fellow." Oliver looked extremely unpleasant, somewhat at a loss of what to do in the situation, "What are we to do? Are we really going to Mirror Lake?"
"Do we have a choice now? That kid dares to even kill his own father."
"But..." Oliver was reluctant.
However, he knew he had no other choice.
Without the escort of the Firefox Mercenary group, there was no way he would safely deliver these goods to the Fallen Eagle City.
But if they really followed Sael to Mirror Lake, these goods were very likely to be confiscated as military supplies--one should not overestimate the conscience of an army.
Especially during wartime.
Moreover, according to his guess, the Marquis's army gathered at Mirror Lake could very likely be a defeated army.
If that was true, then going to Mirror Lake would be even more dangerous.
Unlike Oliver, who was undecided, Colin had changed his mind and wanted to go to Mirror Lake.
That was because Baron Angler had originally set out on the expedition with Marquis Charles, and if the Marquis's army truly retreated to Mirror Lake, then Colin could find his father there.
If his dad was within sight, he doesn't need to go to Fallen Eagle City seeking help from his sister.
As for the dangers of the battlefield...
No matter, Colin could play dead. He prided himself on being a very believable corpse.
Meanwhile, Sael had fully taken control of the situation and began appointing underlings, instructing everyone to prepare to depart.
The cavalry of the Hilde family had left long ago, presumably in search of other unfortunate souls in the vicinity, sparing only the solitary corpse of Saru and some horse dung.
Corpse?
Colin suddenly stepped forward.
"Where are you going?" Oliver shouted from behind him, feeling incredibly insecure, as Colin seemed to be the only person who could reassure him in the encampment.
"To bury Mr. Saru," Colin responded without looking back.
"You..." Oliver opened his eyes wide, unable to comprehend why Colin suddenly wanted to take care of Saru's remains.
Were you that close to Saru?
Aren't you afraid of provoking Sael?
After hesitating for a while, Oliver did not follow him.
Colin, alone, walked over to Saru's remains and began to dig a hole.
Since advancing in rank, Colin had found that his strength had greatly increased, and he could now begin controlling the holy light energy within his body to accelerate his physical recovery and gain a small stature boost.
Taking the opportunity of digging a hole, Colin was willing to experiment and adjust to his new power.
Soon, a hole about a meter deep was ready.
When Colin climbed out of the hole, he faced expressionless Sael.
"Shall we carry it together?" Colin, laughing, pointed at Saru's corpse and proposed.
Sael stood still, coldly saying, "Collecting the remains of such a traitor could harm your honor, Knight Cain."
"Haha, it's alright. As a wandering knight who has lost his fiefdom, I don't have much honor to start with." Seeing Sael unwilling to help, Colin dragged Saru's corpse alone towards the hole.
All the while, he thought to himself--what does the honor of Cain Sudor have to do with me, Colin Angler?
"Thump!"
The corpse fell into the pit, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"Knight Cain, you will be heading to the Mirror Lake camp as well, won't you?" asked Sael, his voice ringing out from outside the pit.
"Indeed, it is my duty as a knight. Besides, it's the best opportunity to restore the Sudor family's honor," replied Colin, sounding dead serious.
"Excellent! We will depart in half an hour. We look forward to having you accompany us."
"Alright, I'll be right there."
Colin crouched in the pit and wiped off some sweat. Once the footsteps above gradually receded, he quietly drew out his dagger and water bag.
"Shh!"
"Glug… glug…"
——————————
By the time the Firefox Mercenary Group caught sight of the military camp by Mirror Lake, it was completely dark.
The outer patrol sentries had already spotted them. After glancing at the emergency conscription order in Sael's hand, they pointed out the gathering point for them.
Oliver, following the group, appeared forlorn.
Colin walked along, sipping the "water" from his bag, his mood seemingly far from good.
He'd discovered that the blood of second-tier warrior Saru didn't help improve his strength after all.
The effects of drinking it were just like drinking deer blood or that of the no-good crook—it only replenished his strength.
Colin considered two possibilities for the use of fresh blood.
One possibility was that his previous advancement was purely coincidental and not because of Knight Carter's blood.
This was clearly the worst-case scenario, suggesting that fresh blood had no effect on boosting his strength.
There's another possibility.
Not all high-ranking professionals' blood has a beneficial effect. Perhaps, only the blood of high-ranking knights could boost Colin's strength.
Therefore, further testing is required.
The thought of this gave Colin a headache.
After all, compared to the dime-a-dozen warriors, knights were few, and their identities were usually exalted. Their blood wasn't easy to get...
Once he entered the camp, Colin realized the area it encompassed was incredibly vast, sprawling as far as the eye could see.
The camp was bustling with innumerable people whose numbers were difficult to gauge.
However, Colin could tell that the forces gathered in this section of the camp weren't the regular army but seemed more like mixed troops similar to the Firefox Mercenary Group.
Their weapons and equipment were inconsistent, and some even carried farming tools, making one wonder if they were peasants urgently conscripted directly from their fields.
It seemed that this gathering might be just cannon fodder...
After settling down in the camp, Oliver squeezed his way over, "Knight Cain, have you seen the situation in the eastern camp?"
"That should be the regular army camp of the St. Hilde family."
The military camp by Mirror Lake was divided into two sections. Unlike the disorderly western camp where Colin and the others were located, the eastern camp was orderly and heavily guarded.
"Yes! I tried walking over there but was turned away by patrolling soldiers before I could get close."
That was not surprising.
Certainly, the regular army would not allow casual access to their camp.
Seeing Oliver's eager look, Colin immediately understood his intentions: "You want to go to the eastern camp?"
"Yes," Oliver nodded repeatedly, "You've seen the situation on our side. We'll definitely be cannon fodder if there's a fight!
So, it's best if we figure out a way to mingle into the eastern regular army camp. It's safer there. But I can't get in. However, it will be different for you. Once you announce the name of the Sudor family, you'll surely get in."
But Colin hesitated a bit.
He knew that while he could fool the Firefox Mercenary Group and Oliver with his fake Cain Sudor identity, he stood a high chance of being exposed if he were to meet authentic nobles of this world.
Of course, he could use his real identity to get in, which would make it easier to find his father, Baron Angler—if he were in the camp.
But if Baron Angler wasn't here...
"Knight Cain, once you get there, please inform the Marquis that I am willing to donate all the goods I've brought this time to the St. Hilde family for free!"
Colin, taken aback, looked at the plump merchant before him. Admiring his resolution, he said, "You're really willing to part with those."
"What choice do I have..." Oliver forced a bitter smile, then encouraged him further, "Of course, I won't forget the help you've given me. If we survive this time, both I, and the Tulip Chamber of Commerce, will surely express our gratitude!"
Colin, looking at Oliver's earnest and enthusiastic eyes, could only nod, "Alright, I'll give it a shot."
Crossing out of the tent, Colin made his way eastward.
Just when he still had doubts about revealing his real identity, a voice rang out:
"Young Master Colin, is that really you?"