"Young lord, a messenger from the city has arrived along with the main force." One of the mages knelt before Asher.
"The main force? Today's the sixth day of our campaign. Aren't they supposed to arrive on the eighth?" Asher was confused.
The main force they were both referring to was the real subjugation force that was tasked with the mission 'Operation Clean Sweep' before Asher had requested Ol' Fang to let him handle it. According to the arrangement, Asher's team would have a seven-day 'head start' after which they would retreat whether they were done or not, while the main team would arrive on the eighth day and wrap things up. But now, things were proceeding differently from what was agreed upon.
'Doesn't matter. We are already done here.'
"Lead the way." Asher said.
. . .
"Young lord." A knight in black-lavender armour atop a red steed with a black mane jumped down from his horse and greeted Asher who was still a few metres away.
Even though many were not convinced that Asher was capable of succeeding the duke, partly due to his null status and the fact he has no notable achievement to his name yet, they still showed him the respect that was due.
'Black-lavender armour with a purple crest and a mixed breed White-blood. The family really took this mission seriously.' Asher thought as he approached.
The major colours of the Arnhaunt family were grey and purple, with the former used only by main family members and the latter for side family members, the family closest to the main family in bloodline purity. The branch family members also had their identification colour which was blue. These colours were for identifying one's bloodline and descent in the family and were usually used on the individual's family crest. But the colour arrangement was different in terms of authority and official clothing.
Grey remained the highest rank and was only used in authoritative items belonging to the family lord and the young lord. Then there was purple for the vice family head, yellow for the highest ranked elders, white for lower elders and individuals of similar authority, lavender, and finally green. In summary, there were only six official grades of authority in the Arnhaunt family.
A warrior in lavender colour clothing was usually at the fifth-stage of the Guardian realm; the same level of strength as the overall commander of the guards at Vermont mine, a treasured location of the Arnhaunts. Apart from the power rank, lavender officials had more power than a regular fifth-stage Guardian mage would in the family and they could command forces up to a hundred.
As for the horse, the official breed of the Arnhaunt was the White-blood; a powerful warhorse with impressive genes, a red skin colour, and a grey mane, reared exclusively by the Arnhaunts. However, because grey was the official colour of the main family and the lord of the family, pure White-bloods couldn't be used by others. Hence, mixed breeds were introduced. The knight's mixed breed was called the Black-blood due to its black mane and was used primarily by members with high authority from the military side of the family.
The lavender armour, purple family crest, and the mixed breed, Black-blood, all implied that this individual before Asher was no ordinary person.
"It's been a while cousin." The knight took off his helmet and smiled.
"Oh, Lenin, it's you?" Asher was surprised and walked closer, extending his hand in the process.
"Who else if not big couz?" The knight, Lenin, smiled and shook Asher's hand. He then pulled Asher closer and gave him a tight hug.
"Look at you, all grown up and looking big now." Lenin joked.
Asher smiled as he let himself slip into the warmth of his cousin.
Leuven, Asher's grandfather, had only two sons, Darius and Elijah, who both had only one son; Asher and Dylan respectively. With Darius being the family lord, Elijah's family was automatically relegated to side family
Meaning that only they could use the colour purple. However, Lenin could. The reason was quite simple actually; Leuven had a third child before he died, a girl.
Laelynn was the last of Leuven's direct bloodline and the youngest so when she grew up and go married, Darius was already established as the head of the family. Hence, she was similarly relegated to take on the identity of a side family. However, unlike Elijah, her children were least considered in the line of ascension.
Lenin was the oldest of Laelynn's children and the only son she had. He was also Asher's cousin which justified the usage of the purple crest. Lenin was of the same generation as Davian Arnhaunt, Asher's deceased elder brother (the second son and brother), meaning he was currently in his mid to late 30s.
During Asher's five years of training after the Ceremony of Confirmation and even before that, Lenin was one of those who had stuck beside him and still treated him well. Unlike the others in the family, Lenin didn't do this because Darius was his father, but simply because they were cousins and Asher was like a little brother to him. He also treated Dylan quite well too.
"You're the one they sent here?" Asher asked although the answer was quite obvious.
"You still have the mouth to talk, huh? Running off on such a dangerous mission by yourself. What would your dad say if he found out? Heck, I didn't even know until uncle Fang told me a day ago." Lenin released Asher from the bear hug and berated him instead.
"As for your question, hmm, not really but you could say so. My task is primarily to push towards the Kingdom of Terra's region rather than just here." Lenin finally answered the question.
Asher nodded with understanding.
Panama road didn't exclusively belong to the Great Dawn kingdom. While the majority of the road and its branches were within Great Dawn's territory, it still extended toward the Kingdom of Terra. The Arnhaunts could clear the bandits in their region, but if the other side wasn't safe and secure, it would be pointless.
For this task, Asher's team of thirty men alone wasn't enough and a top mage would naturally be required since they were stepping into enemy territory.
"Be safe." Asher seriously said.
"Don't underestimate me kiddo. I'm quite strong you know." Lenin smirked.
"Also, for this mission, we've already negotiated with the western bastards. It's a joint operation as it would benefit us both and all I need to do is stay by a bit beyond the border and handle any escaping rabbits."
Asher smiled but inwardly, he was surprised.
Even though a new and safe trade route it's true that this would benefit both sides, the Arnhaunts would profit more from this deal. Anyone with a slight understanding of business would see this. Furthermore, the Arnhaunts were the natural enemy of the Terreans since they were the ones blocking their advance into the Great Dawn kingdom. Strengthening their enemy instead of weakening them was a dumb move no matter which way one looked at it.
'Are they desperate or did we expend much to get this deal? Is there something I'm missing?' Asher couldn't help but think. However, he didn't contemplate the topic more as he still had something to handle at the moment.
"Why the abrupt arrival? I thought you guys would be here in the next two days. And I was informed you have a message for me, what's with that?" Asher asked.
"So many questions, kiddo. Oh well, I'll pardon the offence today. You have to be on your way now. Uncle Fang's orders." Lenin replied.
"Why?" Asher knitted his brows with a frown.
"The goldilocks sent in reinforcements." Lenin said seriously. [1]
"Reinforcements? Since when did they bother about such? Furthermore, what's happening at the border is a clash or better yet, a confrontation, not a full-blown war. We don't necessarily need reinforcements. And why didn't they inform us earlier on?" Asher frowned.
"Exactly." Lenin said.
"They're probably not here solely to act as reinforcements. I doubt the goldilocks would pull a suppression, especially in these turbulent times so I'm guessing they want to have their eyes on us at the moment. They are probably still suspicious that we would switch sides or something. Chances are that they also want to use this opportunity to extort resources from us under the guise of defending the kingdom. Well, those are my takes."
Asher nodded but the frown on his face still remained as he looked at the floor in rumination.
"But uncle Fang thinks differently." Lenin suddenly said.
"He believes that they might be here to watch you."
"Me?" Asher was shocked.
"Yeah. Hence, the reason why he said you should return home immediately."
Asher suddenly looked up and asked,
"How long till they show up?"
Lenin smiled.
"You're quick. A day."
Asher widened his eyes in shock.
"Haha. Off you go now. I won't hold you back any longer." Lenin smiled.
"You retard." Asher replied and then ran away.
"Huh? You dare call your big couz a retard? Ah, forget it. I'll pardon this insubordinate act of yours just this once." Lenin said with the visage of a magnanimous ruler.
"By the way, there are a few mixed breeds at the fortress. Don't forget to make good use of them."
Lenin's voice sounded from behind.
Asher immediately communicated with his men using a mental spell and ordered them to gather at the fortress for departure. They had less than a day to return to the city -a distance requiring two days with a normal warhorse- which meant that every second counted.