The Guardians’ Throne – The First Magic Swordsman - Chapter 432

After traveling for two days, Zaos finally found signs of the Sairus kingdom army ahead. He had already seen that region on the map. Still, he couldn’t help but click his tongue in annoyance… It was one very long grassland that stretched for dozens of kilometers. Basically, ambushing and quickly escaping anyone there would be pretty difficult. If there were some hills around, Zaos would be able to use his enhanced speed to quickly disappear, but now that was nearly impossible. If he gets caught, he will have to kill hundreds to escape.

“They will hide scouts in the highest places… I can put them to sleep with magic and then pass by them, the problem comes after that…” Zaos thought.

Armies have formations in battle and outside battles for a reason, to keep the chain of command intact. So, Zaos will have to pass by who knows how many soldiers to find the first commanders. Again… he could solve that problem using a dirty trick, but even now, Zaos was hesitating in using that. How could he look at Milliendra after this if he uses such a dirty tactic… desperate situations require drastic measures. Zaos knew that, but knowing didn’t make things easier.

“Let’s see… I need to find the bloody knights as well,” Zaos said and then looked at the numerous campfires in the distance. “Yep… I can’t see them.”

The chance was small, but Zaos needed to check if his former allies decided to check things in the capital. If they bought any book with information about the demon god, then Zaos could help Milliendra more effectively. He had to find them as early as possible because they might change their minds about helping Zaos if he kills someone.

In any case, Zaos waited until night to move. He was lucky that night was a night of the new moon, so he could move in the grasslands without being detected.

Things proceeded exactly how Zaos had expected. After circling around the camp for a while, he felt the presence of several scouts on some slightly high places. When there wasn’t any place high, in a certain location, Zaos found two scouts hidden on a tree. Putting those two to sleep might cause trouble since they will fall. Now that he thought about it… he also had a certain option. Zaos noticed that the scouts were working in pairs, which made things a little tricky for him. Still, he put two random scouts to sleep and then took his armor and cloak. It was annoying for Zaos to leave his armor behind again. Still, it was the only way for him to infiltrate the camp without raising suspicion.

After disguising himself, Zaos headed toward the camp, and there he found some guys looking at him suspiciously since he didn’t take the hood out of his head. However, they did only that since they knew where the scouts were positioned, and Zaos came from that same direction.

Once Zaos passed through the first line of guards, he began to move behind the tents while walking through the paths that had fewer people to avoid being seen. That was something Aleni taught him, move behind things and away from any fire. Still, Zaos eventually would have to face some guards as he approached the commanders’ tents.

“Where are those idiots…” Zaos muttered.

Zaos tried to look for Nyana’s presence since she had even more mana than most mages, but he was having a hard time finding her. Zaos didn’t want to think about that, but there was always the possibility that the bloody knights would be commanded directly by Drannor, and he would leave Cohnal, Melisse, and Nyana behind to avoid a possible betrayal. He heard a few things about Drannor in the last few years, and he certainly had become quite suspicious and harsh enough to do that.

In any case, after walking around the entire outer layer of the camp, Zaos didn’t find any signs of the bloody knights. To begin with, hoping to recognize his troops after nine years was too much… he didn’t find a single magic presence powerful, and Zaos knew that Nyana had an entire squad with hundreds of mages.

“Maybe they were caught trying to enter the royal library and I am wasting my time here, there is also the possibility that they joined forces with Orleand to attack from the sea…” Zaos thought. “Several squads of mages certainly would be troublesome in the sea and considering that Drannor knows what I can do…”

While Zaos was thinking about that, he suddenly felt several demonic presences. It was hard to believe, but several of the ancient followers of the demon god had infiltrated the army. That shouldn’t be possible with their appearances. Drannor certainly wouldn’t go as far as relying on demons to avenge his wife.

Zaos tried to approach to see those guys from up close. Even though it was risky, he had to check. The last thing that he needed was to let a group of demons advise Drannor on that war. When Zaos approached the inner circle of the camp, he saw a group of armored men leaving a big tent. Zaos could feel a powerful presence inside that tent and the energy of a magic weapon. It was Drannor’s tent… at the same time, the demonic presences were all coming from those individuals.

“You have got to be kidding me… all the direct subordinates of Drannor are possessed by demons.” Zaos thought.

What was weird was the fact that none of the people Zaos knew was among the group. Erean, Ruvyn, Elius, Cohnal, Melisse, and Nyana. Even if Drannor got paranoid worrying about a possible betrayal from them, it would be too weird to make them stay away from the whole war.

“…. This is weird, but I don’t have to worry anymore,” Zaos thought. “I was hesitating in killing those squad commanders, but since they are being possessed, then everything changed…”