The soldiers of Nardodia, Alora and Azamet combined were now on the army camp near the border of Qalagon. Though the forces of Azamet were huge just like predicted, the ones on the Qalagon side weren't much lesser in numbers.
Aryan Tripas was in his tent when one of his most trusted Generals, General Randal came to him and bowed. "Your Majesty, a letter arrive for you."
The General handed the letter to the King and took two steps back.
When Aryan Tripas read the letter, there was a little smile on his lips. Then he turned to General Randal. "Come with me. I have to go somewhere."
*
Around half an hour passed and the King and the General finds themselves near the Asson River. It was night and as they were the only ones around, the General was quite alert.
Almost five minutes passed when one young man appeared with another man following him a step or two behind. When General Randal saw the face of the young man, he started to understand why they went there at night.
That's the King of Jerivia.
"You never accept even when I propose to come," Aryan Tripas remarked when the Jerivian King was still a few steps away. "To what do I owe this pleasure?"
Zaro Aventine halted when the Nardodian King was still three or four steps away. "I was expecting you to know my purpose. Am I wrong?"
Hearing this, Aryan Tripas's lips curved into a smile. "Will you finally join me?" he asked.
Staring at the face of the man who killed his only sibling, Zaro Aventine almost struggled to keep himself in check. He still remembered the promise he made to himself when his sister died. However, he had to put it aside, for now.
Once everything settled, he was still determined to fulfil his promise. But now, he had to save Jerivia first.
"I will join you," he said to Aryan Tripas as he slowly let loose his hands that were clenched. "However, I only have two goals."
The Nardodian King maintained his silence for a while and then asked, "What are those goals?"
"I want to kill my former brother and wipe off the Alewine Army along with it," Zaro Aventine replied without even thinking twice. "I have no interest in other things."
"I was expecting you to go after the Masked Commander," Aryan Tripas stated, observing the expression on the young King's face. "It seems like you change your mind."
Aryan Tripas's words brought Zaro back to that day in the Serene Valley. The time when he attempted to kill Iria. These days, he always refrained from recalling that day as it was futile to dwell on the past.
Nevertheless, there he was, recalling the horrendous things he did to the one he used to love when he was on the verge of fighting against her once again.
"You know the Qalagon Queen well," Aryan Tripas said, snapping Zaro Aventine out of his thoughts. "Why don't you help me to take her down? If we defeat Qalagon, everything will be over and we can be in peace."
"I'm not interested in that," Zaro Aventine replied. "I will help you in fighting the Alewine Army. That's all."
Hearing the response, there was an amusing smile on the Nardodian King's face. "Do you still like the Queen of Qalagon?" he asked.
There was no reaction from Zaro. He just stood still with a calm face.
"Is that important?" he asked Aryan Tripas back. "She is now the Queen of Qalagon, an enemy. I'm married to Athena and that's the fact that matters."
"You sound like if she is not the Queen of Qalagon and if you're not married, you will still want her back," Aryan Tripas pointed out.
Zaro Aventine maintained his silence for a while as if he was thinking of something. "Are you testing my patience? Just what do you want?"
Aryan Tripas simply smiled like always. "I think you know the answer to your question."
"You want me to fight against her? Are you not confident?"
"She is the Masked Commander after all," Aryan Tripas said to the young King. "Knowing that she will be the Commander-in-chief of the opposing side alone affect the morale of my soldiers. I have to do everything to make their fear go away. If not, we will surely be losing this war though we are larger in numbers."
Noticing the reluctance of the Jerivian King, Aryan Tripas continued, "If it's hard for you, we can just attempt to defeat her and not kill her. Don't you want her back in your life? If she lost the war, even Emperor Kalos won't be able to do anything."
* * *
While the Nardodian King was meeting the Jerivian King, Iria already left the Petrus Army camp with a few selected soldiers. Commander Nico was also with her to aid her as they were moving towards the camp of the enemy.
They separated into two with Iria leading ten soldiers while Commander Nico led the other ten. Taking down several soldiers who were on duty, the two groups cautiously made their way to the walls of the camp from the direction of right and left. However, rather than scaling the walls, they climbed up the small mounts which were right next to the camp.
"Be careful," the Queen said to the ten capable soldiers of the Elan Army who followed her. "There are many soldiers on duty and they will also look in this direction. If they spot any one of us, we will be all dead."
The soldiers nodded and hid behind the trees and bushes around them.
Meanwhile, Nico Petrus gave the same advice to his soldiers. Believing that Iria will be all set now, he advised one of his soldiers to light the fire torch. The fire will immediately draw the attention of the enemy and they will be spotted right away. However, that's just a part of the plan.
Once the soldier lit the fire torch, they heard the shouting of the soldiers in the enemy camp, a proof that they were spotted. Nevertheless, Nico Petrus and the soldiers burned the tip of their arrows and shot in the direction of a certain room.
A room which they already identified as a storeroom where all the foods for the soldiers were stored......
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