Zaos frowned when he heard it. Something seemed pretty weird with that statement. Not to mention, what was the point of having two supreme commanders? One for defense and the other for the offense? As far as Zaos was concerned, Commander Ruvyn already showed that he deserved to be the only leader for the soldiers and guards in the area.

In any case, Zaos left without questioning that. Another thing that he learned was that he would never hear the truth about certain things coming from their mouths. It would be better if he check and learned something by himself.

Half of the day had already passed, but since Zaos had imagined that someday an important mission would require him and his unit to act fast, he had created a certain network that would make things speed up a little bit. He had divided his one thousand soldiers into groups of five. Each group had a leader who had to check things on the headquarters at the same time around sunset. Around that time, when they showed up, Zaos informed them, and then he gave them the task to tell the other members of their groups that same evening. It wasn't on short notice, but they had to prepare everything for a trip before noon of the next day.

"The north, huh," Cohnal furrowed his eyebrows. "It has been a while since we had been there… I didn't imagine we would return to that region."

"Bad memories regarding the followers of the demon god?" Zaos asked.

"That and the fact that the weather didn't agree with me, the snow makes me feel depressed," Cohnal said. "Anyway, I have heard that this Vitalar fellow is commanding several operations in the area. Now and then, he even gives orders to Commander Ruvyn's direct subordinates."

"This is very suspicious. I have never heard of him before," Melisse said.

"I have. He is a man that writes in detail about the followers of the demon god," Nyana said. "However, a few years ago, His Majesty hired him, and now his research is only shared to the top-brass of the country."

"I am a pretty avid reader, but I never saw a single book talking about them," Zaos said. "That is because His Majesty bought all his works and his services and made him swear that he won't spread that information. Apparently, few people in the kingdom know as much about the followers of the demon god like him."

"Is that so…" Zaos furrowed his eyebrows. "Well, let's prepare our things. Considering what the king said, this mission might last quite a while, so we must prepare accordingly. See you guys tomorrow."

  After that, they left the headquarters and then headed to their residences. Usually, they would need some time to prepare every single thing, but the king said that they could use the resources in the northern base as they saw fit. He also said they won't have to worry about money since he will offer all the necessary support. That much help couldn't even be compared to one year and a half ago when they went to the western base. The king basically dropped a huge problem on Zaos's hands and didn't try to help even a little bit.

"It seemed he is really worried about the followers of the demon god…" Zaos thought. "In any case, I guess this is a good opportunity to learn more since this Vitalar fellow is leading expeditions to the enemies' lands."

  Zaos didn't have many things to pack, so he finished things pretty quickly, and due to his worries, he couldn't quite fall asleep. Something seemed weird about that mission. Although it was a mission that objective was to attack the enemies and prevent them from doing the same, Zaos decided to take Guardian's Hearth with him. Just in case. After making sure that everything was ready, he decided to talk with his mother more than the usual that day.

"Hey, mom," Zaos said in front of the grave. "It seems this mission will take a while, so forgive me I don't return to talk with you for a while."

  For some reason, Zaos suddenly recalled one of the few occasions that his mother scolded him. The reason was pretty silly. It was because he decided to stay quiet at the first birthday party he was invited to after returning from the North. Soon afterward, she said that she wasn't angry, but she was disappointed because he wanted to see him finding a nice girl and getting married and then have a kid. 

"I am not sure why that memory suddenly popped out, but… I promise I will work hard on that once I return, mom," Zaos said.

  After saying that, Zaos ended up sharing his worries with his mom. That mission was way too weird. The rumors and the response of the kingdom… everything seemed weird in some way. Despite that, Zaos managed to feel a bit sleepy. As expected, he needed to find a girl with who he could share his troubles without reservation… that would be hard, but Zaos couldn't give up.

  The following day, Zaos headed toward Halamar's shop and then grabbed a decent stock of black steel bolts he had asked him to prepare and store just in case. After that, he waited for his unit outside the capital. Usually, Moody would make a lot of noise at that time of the day, but he was strangely quiet.

Although the entire unit was summoned to leave at noon, one hour before the appointed time, every single member had already shown up and was ready to leave on a long journey. Zaos looked at them before giving an order to depart, and he could tell that he did best to prepare his unit over the course of eighteen months. They were ready to fight for the kingdom under the best conditions.

"We don't know when this mission is going to end, but I am sure that we will once again complete it as soon as possible and return triumphantly," Zaos said. "Here is your first order for this mission: struggle as much as you can fight hard. I want each of you to return home with me. Let's go."