Chapter 304

Chapter 304: Recruits

Arran faced the tall recruit calmly, waiting for his opponent to make the first move . Although the odds were in his favor, it would not do to be reckless — he still knew far too little about the Hunters to move without thinking .

Moreover, even if his opponent was just a recruit, this was a chance to finally see a Hunter in action . And that was an opportunity he could not waste .

The young man, however, seemed to mistake Arran's caution for fear, and a confident grin appeared on his face .

"I bet you wish you hadn't interrupted me," he said, readying his sword . "But it's too late to back down now . "

Without any further words, the young man attacked, launching a flurry of sword strikes at Arran . There was no restraint in the attack — in an instant, his full skill was on display, and he used every shred of strength he had with each furious strike .

Arran accepted the attacks, parrying them without countering . And as the tall recruit continued to rain down blows on him, he retreated several paces, giving his opponent the chance to show the full extent of his skill .

Yet after just a few moments, a frown appeared on Arran's face .

The youth was weak and slow, and his technique was riddled with flaws . While a hint of a more profound foundation could be seen in his swordplay, there was too little of it to be useful for Arran .

The recruit, however, appeared to think he was winning the fight . Seeing Arran retreat, his smile grew broader, as if he was certain the battle was all but won .

"A good effort," he said, "for an outsider . But I think it's time we finish this . "

Arran couldn't agree more .

The youth barely had the skill to match a middling novice in the House of Swords . Fighting an opponent like this was a waste of time . It would teach him absolutely nothing about the Hunters .

With a casual blow of his sword, he slapped the recruit's blade aside, the young man's parry no match for Arran's strength . And even as the recruit's eyes went wide with shock, Arran's fist slammed into the side of his head .

The young man collapsed instantly, his limp body dropping to the ground like a sack of grain . The blow shouldn't be enough to kill him — or so Arran hoped — but he definitely wouldn't be getting up again any time soon .

His opponent defeated, Arran turned his eyes to the other recruit . The arrogant young man had been useless, but perhaps there would be something he could learn from the other one .

He raised an eyebrow as he got a better look at the slender recruit, because as he now saw, this was no man . Rather, it was a young woman, barely out of girlhood . And although she had a shaved head and a figure without any curves to speak of, her tanned face was unmistakably female .

Yet while Arran gazed at her with mild surprise, the look she gave in return was one of utter shock .

"You're not a recruit!" she said, her dark eyes wide with astonishment .

"I am not," he replied calmly . There was no point in pretending — he knew too little about the Hunters to pass for one . "What's your name?"

"Negin," she said, still too shocked to consider whether she should be answering questions . Yet as she looked at Arran, her shocked expression slowly turned to one of suspicion . "Are you a mage?"

"Do I look like a mage?" Arran smiled wryly, then shook his head . "I'm just looking for some treasure . After that, I intend to join the Hunters . "

It was a gamble, but he thought it was the best chance he had . He couldn't pass for a Hunter, and he had no confidence that threats or torture would get him the answers he needed .

But with a fresh recruit, deception might just work . And if it didn't, he could always try a different approach .

"You… you want to join the Imperium?" She looked at him with a puzzled expression that still contained more than a little suspicion . "You don't work for the mages?"

"If I did, do you think you'd still be alive?" Arran asked calmly . "But what's this Imperium you speak of?"

"Hunters… that's what outsiders call us," she replied . "We are soldiers of the Darian Imperium . " Despite the situation, she spoke the last words with pride in her voice .

Arran glanced at the tall recruit, whose limp body still lay strewn across the rocky ground . "Didn't he call you an outsider?"

"He's scum," she said sharply . "My parents were borderlanders, but I'm every bit as Darian as he is . No matter what they say . " As she spoke, a frown came over her face — as if she realized she'd already said too much . "Why do you want to join the Imperium?"

"I killed a few mages," Arran said . He shrugged, then continued, "More than a few, truth be told . If I join the Hunters — the Imperium — I figure they'll have a hard time finding me . "

The girl gave him a curious look . Although it was clear that she was still suspicious, there was something else as well — interest, Arran thought .

"You said you're here to find treasure," she said in a thoughtful tone . "You're looking for a weapon?"

"I am," Arran lied . It was an obvious explanation — on a battlefield where thousands had fallen, there would be no shortage of lost weapons .

"Then I'll help you," the girl said . "But only if you help me find one, too . "

Arran frowned . He hadn't expected it to be this easy . But then, from the girl's expression, he thought there was more to it than a simple desire to have a decent weapon .

"Having a good weapon won't make you any better at using it," he said, hoping to provoke her into revealing more .

She gave him a wry smile . "It will," she replied . "You'll understand once you join the Imperium — if you decide to join the army . It's not easy to get the means to grow strong . But if I return with a starmetal blade…" She didn't finish the sentence, but a hopeful light remained in her eyes .

"But why would I need your help?" Arran asked . "I've seen you fight…"

He left the rest unspoken . There was no need to offend the girl too much — just enough to get her to talk .

Of course, in truth, he had no intention of rejecting her offer . In just a few minutes, she'd already revealed things about the Hunters he hadn't known before, and he was certain that he'd learn a great deal more if he spent some days with her .

"There are others here," she replied . "Not just recruits, but Rangers as well . And if they find an outsider in this place…" She shook her head . "They'll kill you in an instant . But with my help, you can pass for a recruit . "

A small smile formed on Arran's lips, and he gave the girl a nod . "We have a deal, then . "

Naturally, he didn't trust her in the slightest . But what he did trust was the desire on her face at the mention of a starmetal weapon . It was clear that she was desperate to gain such a treasure, and it was equally clear was that she had no confidence in finding one herself .

Arran cast a look at the unconscious recruit . "What about him?"

The girl hesitated, but only for a moment . "If you dig a hole, I'll take his belongings . His clothes should fit you, more or less . " She looked at the youth, then frowned uneasily . "I've never killed anyone before . Could you…"

It was not the answer Arran had expected, but he did not object . This was no time to be sentimental . Breaking the young man's neck was a simple matter, and digging a hole only took him a few minutes .

A quarter-hour later, Arran was dressed in the tall recruit's thick linen clothes . They didn't fit him particularly well — the arms and legs were too long, and the chest too narrow — but for the time being, they would do .

"What if someone finds out he's missing?" he asked . He didn't worry about anyone finding the young man — the grave was shallow, but he'd surreptitiously put several wards on it that would make it almost impossible to find .

"They'll assume he died," the girl replied, her expression only slightly uneasy . "It's not uncommon for recruits to die during training — many go too far into the battleground and never return, while others take the opportunity to rid themselves of enemies . "

Arran nodded in response . "Anything else we need to take care of?"

"Several things," the girl said . "But we should travel farther, first . There will be too many people this far from the battleground . Follow me, I know where to go . "