Intel Gathering

Mateo was surprised at the mention of the Demon General. He couldn’t help but frown at the implications for such a figure making an appearance. What mattered most to him wasn’t that the Lich appeared, but that someone of equal strength from the human side would also have to step up so the front lines don’t get wiped out.

“Have you learned anything about the Lich?”

“Mostly rumors and gossip. The main speculation is that he’s replenishing his undead horde with the corpses from the battlefield. It’s not the first time such a thing has apparently happened.”

“Is there anything to worry about with his appearance?”

“Not likely. He’ll probably only wreck some havoc and then end up being repelled by the Knight Commander. This is the usual event that transpires whenever a Demon General makes an appearance.”

“Is that why no one is panicking? None of the knights showed any concern. In fact it wasn’t until you told me that I found out about the Lich in the first place.”

“Again, they say things like this happen several times throughout the year.”

“What about two Demon Generals simultaneously?”

“While rare, it has happened, and again the Knight Commander shows up to fight them. While he might not be able to repel them as easily, he is able to cause a stalemate.”

“He’s that strong?”

“Even at the castle they talk about the Knight Commander as if he’s the only thing keeping humanity safe.”

“Does that mean that if three Demon Generals came together, humanity would be doomed?”

“While the Pope can’t leave the Grand Cathedral, there is still the Wizard’s Tower. With the aid of both the tower and hundreds of mages, the leader of the Wizard’s Tower, even though he’s just an Archwizard, is capable of fighting against Demon Generals.”

“Wizard’s Tower? There was something like that?”

“Yeah. It used to be next to the capital but was relocated to the frontlines when the war ramped up.”

Mateo couldn’t help but ruminate upon the new information. While he had heard about the strength of the Knight Commander, he didn’t expect it to be so exaggerated.

As for the Mage’s Tower, he had been completely ignorant about this matter. He couldn’t be blamed though as Blair had been taught more about the matters of how the mages participated in the war.

“Hey Mateo, if walking really is no problem for you, then could you lend me a hand with something?”

“Sure, what is it?”

“Since I’ve been in the city I’ve been trying to get a better understanding of the bandit and demon activity in the area along with information on the frontlines.”

“How can I help?”

“Well, I’ve already got a pretty good grasp on the frontlines situation. As for the activity of the Demons, I haven’t had much luck in that department. Most of the attention has been focused on the bandits and their sudden change in behavior.”

“Gotcha. Are we going to taverns and eavesdropping, or finding information dealers?”

“We’ll get to that, but first we should visit the Mercenary Guild.”

“There’s a thing like that? Why don’t I remember one being in the Capital?”

“They started popping up inside the border cities. Their main source of income is noble scions heading to the different fortresses.”

“Do they go to the frontlines?”

“There are some jobs that hire mercenaries to do so, but most of the time it’s in an area that won’t see any battle, like I said, Noble Scions.”

Both gave each other a knowing look. Their own world had something similar, with children of powerful people being conscripted to the war, only for their parents to pull some strings and give them a cushy position in the rear.

The two headed off to the city, but not before Blair went and got a cane for Mateo. Even though he tried to resist, she would not take ‘no’ for an answer.

With Blair leading the way the two found themselves entering the local Mercenaries Guild. Surprisingly enough, Mateo was given a certain level of respect after the occupants saw the state of his leg.

A quick look around allowed him to see that he wasn’t unique in the guild, with several others in states of injury while others were even missing limbs. His state allowed him to fit right in.

“So what’s your idea?”

“Let’s look at the missions first.”

The two went to the receptionist and asked for the missions related to bandits. At first, they were asked for some type of mercenary ID, but flashing their emblems seemed to work just fine. The two grabbed the stack of papers and sat down at an open table.

Blair pulled out a map of the local area and spread it out in front of them.

“Try and circle the location of the mission.”

The next half hour the duo made their way through the stack and the map was soon filled with circles. The two weren’t alone either as several mercenaries stood around them. Particularly noticeable was an old muscular giant of a man with a scar over his eye. Both the hair on his head and the scruffy beard on his face were pure white.

Once the two students finished the stack of paper, everyone focused on the finished map in front of them. It became pretty clear to everyone what the two were trying to accomplish. While there were quite a few circles scattered upon the map, a lot of the circles would overlap in certain places.

“May I see this map for a moment?”

In contrast to his appearance, the old man politely asked the duo.

“Go ahead.”

“Thank you.”

He then waved over the receptionist who had been standing at the counter this entire time. She walked over and stood in front of the old man.

“Did you need something, Guild Master?”

Everyone grouped around the table looked over at the old man in surprise. Even though some of these mercenaries had been visiting this guild for years, they had never seen the Guild Master before.

“Find all tasks in each of these areas and combine those close together into a single task. Raise the difficulty and pool all of the rewards. As for the commissioner, make it out to be the guild.”

“Understood.”

“As for you two, I thank you for your service.”

“We were just doing our duty. It is as much our responsibility as it is yours.”

“I hope it would not be impolite if I were to ask you to bring this map to the knight garrison after we make a copy.”

“It would be our honor.”

“Thank you. Is there anything you need help with?”

“We’re trying to learn all we can about the recent bandit activity.”

“Give me a moment.”

The man walked off but quickly returned with a slip of paper in his hand. He handed it over to the two of them as they looked over the content with curiosity.

“On the paper are several informants, I've also written down where you can usually find them. Just mention that Hardt sent you and they’ll help you.”

“Thank you.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

After a few more minutes the receptionist came back and returned the map to them. With a nod from Hardt the two made their way to several taverns and inns around the city. The list consisted of five different names, all of them at different locations.

The content they received mostly overlapped between the five, but they were also able to gain some unique information too. First off they were given the identity of all of the intermediate-level bandits.

In actuality the amount had increased recently at an alarming rate. While Blair was confused at the sudden rise, Mateo already knew that the demons were responsible. Originally there were 2 Bandit Captains, 3 Bandit Branch Leaders, and the Bandit Leader. While that may seem like a lot when compared to Defy only having nine individuals of this level, it had to be remembered that those at this level were mostly being sent off to the border zone.

The only reason Defy had so many was out of wariness of the Serpent’s Blade; otherwise, the city would probably only have half its current fighting force. Serpent’s Blade itself was one of the top three largest bandit groups in the Kingdom too. The only reason they don’t stand out as much is due to their previous overly cautious nature.

The issue now though, was that the kingdom had already encountered nearly double the speculated amount of Bandit Captains and Branch Leaders. The only fortunate aspect was that those previously unknown bandits were weak compared to others at the intermediate level.

What made Mateo thoughtful was the fact that none of the slain unknown bandits turned out to be demons, they had been human. He couldn’t help but come up with a certain speculation that spooked even him. Did the bandits have some way to artificially raise people to the level of a Knight Captain?