{Many years before Lorient's birth}

Kairoso POV

Damn it, how long do we need to march? This shit-ass battalion, made out of two dozens or so squads, is so slow.

I was together with my mercenary corps, which I joined a couple of years ago in Wolfsteeth because I had barely any coin to pay for my room inside some cockroach-infested inn, 'Damn it, I really don't want to go back to the Temple.'

Luck or not, there was some recruiting for a nonsensical operation in the west, and the next I knew, I was stranded on some ship that was almost better than my inn for some weeks, sailing towards our drop point.

The excursion had something to do with securing an iron mine and a city of a couple thousand of some Noble, which was invaded by some Human Noble, a somewhat experienced General.

So the Leonandra's decided to get a favor and send... her. A young Wolf-kin from the Leonandra's, acting as a General, and we only got the information after signing up, 'It will probably be her fire probe.'

Being at the very frontline, I was marching for days now since we needed to dock at the south because there was some risk going from the north.

In the middle of our troop was the newbie General from the Leonandra's, a hot young Wolf-kin with fire red hair, 'At least she looks good and pays well.'

I needed as much coin as possible, so I could fuck off from this god-forsaken part of Naisos. Demons, Monsters, insane Nobles, and the occasional underworld fight, 'Damn it, why is this continent so fucked up?'

At the Temple, they told me something about the historical context of why it is how it is, but who the fuck cares. It would be a wonder if I could remember a thing the teacher told me.

Peeking again at the General, I had a bad premonition of what was to come because of how young she was, 'I should've taken the Rosé contract instead. It would be much safer, and they wouldn't send a newbie as a General into a god damn battlefield without oversight.'

I clenched my fist and teeth. Nobles see us as nothing but cattle, ready to be slaughtered for their cause because of their moronic notion that they should rule over us because they popped out of some bitch who was a Noble or was banged by one.

At least, even though I hate the nature of the Temple, it ignores status to some extent and even stands against the crown if it violates its core principles.

But there is no way I can go against some Nobles alone as this is always a death sentence if I get caught. The Temple could protect me, but they would then put me under arrest.

A shout dragged me out of my thoughts, "HALT!"

Standing still, a smile emerged on my face, and I licked my lips as I saw the newbie in all her glory, which was our General, 'At least there is this.'

...

...

...

Rushing towards my comrade, I caught the sword aiming towards his throat with my bare hands, "YOU SON OF A BITCH! BE CAREFUL!"

Bringing it away, I let it bore through my hand and grabbed his hand, which was holding the sword, and with my other hand, punched against his helmet.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

After the third hit, he fell down, lifeless, 'Damn it! This never ends! What the hell is the General thinking! The formation is almost broken!'

While I pulled the sword out of my hand, the smell of blood and iron invaded my nose, and I could barely distinguish between Beast-kin and Humans, 'This is dangerous. The only thing which let me distinguish them is the smell...'

I sometimes heard some commands towards our backlines, but they couldn't follow them since the enemies were trying to encircle us, 'If this goes on, it will get impossible to retreat.'

My rage grew towards the enemy as I could see the corpses of my comrades piling up.

The General was not only some newbie but also incompetent, 'This can't fucking go on!'

I rushed forward, barely hearing the cries of my brethren, who wanted to drag me away.

It was already too late.

A roar, like from legends, escaped from me, and I slowly transformed into a giant bear. Fur like steel needles and claws like swords, I was again ready to reap lives like farmers reap wheat, "COME AT ME, MAGGOTS!"

Dashing into the front, I let my Aura loose, which whirled around me, excited to taste blood once more after such a long time.

The first one I reached was some random soldier, which I put out of his misery by swiping him with my massive paw, denting his armor, and, by proxy, his innards.

Bang!

I hit so hard that he flew to the side, crashing into one of his comrades.

The following two came together towards me from behind, again, some poor fuckers, at best mid-tier 1.

Concentrating the Aura on my left arm, like a mace, I crushed it against one of them from the side. The other soldier used my opening and stabbed his sword forward, which didn't penetrate me.

After the other flew away, I bit into the neck of the one who stabbed me.

Crunch!

Another soul was reaped.

I crushed one after the other as the pain accumulated for some time as swords and spears stabbed at me. I needed to switch with someone from the back as fast as possible, or this damage would be severe.

Getting a clearer head, I saw that I was not alone in my tiredness. Everybody's breathing was hefty, and they had blood and innards all over them, 'Damn it! I need to stay!'

But lady luck showed me what was under her skirt at this very moment, "RETREAT!"

Damn it! Give better commands, you god damn bitch! We don't have any troop commanders to manage anything on the Left-wing.

Clenching my teeth so hard, I could even penetrate Steel, I screamed, "I will take the rear together with Carl's and Louis's Squad! GO!"

Looking at the enemy in front of me, they were smirking at me, "YOU FUCKERS!"

I used all of the Mana I had left in my rage, and the grass under my feet became much greener. Suddenly, roots grew under the enemy's feet, slowly entangling them.

This shocked all the soldiers around the poor, entangled fuckers, as they stepped back from the four front soldiers who were smirking a moment before at me.

The roots quickly entangled them and gradually invaded their mouth, eyes, and nose, slowly torturing them to death. If you are not strong enough, forget destroying them as the thick roots entangled their bodies and thin ones invaded their innards, 'Who is laughing now!'

All the others around them were panicking, thinking they were the next, so they let us retreat more peacefully. Stepping back, I almost fell over, 'Damn it, I overdid it.'

...

...

...

"Argh!"

The Gazelle-kin in front of me looked sternly into my eyes, turned away again, and continued with her work while blabbering my ears off, "Hold still, you dumb fuck! What the hell did you think about holding the whole left-wing and THEN taking the rear almost alone! Did you know the panic we got because you barely moved after your transformation! And now look at you! You think you were hot shit, huh? Your body tells another story, so lucky..."

I hate healers, especially her. They are like trash-talking experts. I wonder if they have some skill to be so good... worse is that they are all from the Temple, and she is from mine.

The ones from the Temple rarely go to the frontline, but they act primarily as healers in the back.

"...if I tell your behavior to our trunk, it would be nice if you clean trash for the next decade! A druid, no less, is acting like some Demon! Are you insane? You should represent our belief and not murder in rage! Who the fuck let a druid be a mercenary, by the way?! Did you run away or something?"

Damn it, if the trunk finds out, it will be hell... this oldie is no good... damn it. Sylphs are a frightening bunch, especially the trunk from my Temple... a Tier-4 at that.

"...hey! Do you listen, Kairo?! Fuck me. I have barely any Mana left after treating all the poor fuckers at the right-wing, so you need to do with bandages and cleaning. Damn it, do you know how bad it was?! Some bastards lost their limbs, and this is not the worst. The Moral of everyone is at the bottom. It was, what I heard about, an absolute disastrous battle..."

Swoosh

We both turned and saw who came in, 'Damn it, it is the General.'

She looked solemn and had the typical stink of nobility around her, "I need to speak with him alone, are you done?"

The gazelle-kin bowed slightly and went out quickly without saying a word.

tap tap tap

swoosh

...

Being alone in the room, I looked at my body after the healer left, and I could only see how bad it was. My whole body was bandaged, but the General interrupted my observation, "So, you are Kairo? The Druid on the left-wing?"

Right. She is the moron who led our "army" in our first battle to defeat. There was no surprise about what happened.

She came out of nowhere after setting up our camp and said that we would go into battle the next day with barely any preparation.

Looking directly into my eyes, I could not even make out a trace of emotion, 'What the hell does she want?'

I nodded to her answer, not giving her the proper greeting.

She crossed her arms, staring intensely at me, slowly waggling her red-furred tail.

After good 2 minutes of our little staring contest, she heavily sighed before clearly responding, "I want you at the front."

I felt how the ends of my mouth slowly lifted up, "So, the General wants me at the front? May I know the reason?"

Asking or questioning the decisions of the upper ones inside an army is equivalent to a death sentence, which could not be imposed on me since Temple members, especially druids, are, as status goes, much higher than some brats from a knightage.

Her face changed into one of grimace, and she clenched her hands into fists, and as quickly as this happened, she stopped herself. Looking again into my eyes, her expression showed at least some emotion, "You have a big mouth for some druid in front of a noble."

Our starring continued for another minute till I interrupted it, "GUHAHAHA! Don't worry, oh noble pup. I will do it, but I need control over the vanguard... at least. Nothing against you, your highness, but your leadership skills suck ass."

Her golden eyes slowly became red, and a mist in the same color started to surround her.

I began to do the same.

Even if I don't have the same education as her, I have at least the experience of bringing my squad and other combatants not into a suicidal situation like the first battle we had and lost.

Her intentions were clear as day. She wanted to have some overly complicated textbook formations which would never work in reality. It was chaotic and barely resembled something akin to what she imagined.

She probably thought we were some army, ready to execute her commands on the spot without any hitch. That is why she invited experienced mercenaries and adventurers, which cost a lot and expected some phenomenal results.

Sending her here alone without any support of a superior and experienced tactician means that they want her to lose and disgrace herself, 'Again... some stupid internal Noble affair.'

But, what she probably didn't expect was that there was someone of equivalent or higher societal rank like me as one of the mercenaries... makes sense, though. Which Druid other than me would be a mercenary?

Now show me, what is more important? Some flimsy pride or your thirst to win?

If you choose the latter, I and some other guys I know can bring you to victory, but it will cost the control you have, and you will be nothing more than some newbie learning from veterans.

Choosing the former will lead to a loss without a doubt.

Her mist slowly dissolved, and I felt what it was, 'Demon Aura... damn, this shit really drags my mental status into a rage with only a sniff.'

She turned heel and walked out, but before she left, I could hear a clearly annoyed voice, "If you are patched up, visit me in my tent..."

She turned her head and looked at me, squinting her eyes and fletching her fangs, "Want to be in a leading position, you barbarian tree hugger? Then we have a lot to discuss."

swoosh

Now, this is what I call a fun mission! "GUHAHAHAHA!"

...

...

...

Swoosh

"Kairo! Whatever you do, if you disgrace the Temple, I will make sure to send the pests after you!"

Urgh, god damn bitch. Even though I am of higher status on the outside, inside the Temple, there are no static hierarchies after you ended your time as a leaf, and she is, if I remember correctly, a twig or something.

Being out of the medical tent, I saw the miserable state of the troops. Most of them had practically no morale left, and some squads were eyeing each other, ready for a fight to de-stress their frustration.

She forgot to train us. Not in the sense of combat but more to create cohesion between our squads.

You could tell her inexperience by how naive she was to throw dozens of different squads together, thinking we would work as one unit.

Even if I were not experienced in leadership skills, I could tell that something went wrong while fighting, and the tactic she wanted to deploy was simply overcomplicated.

What was it again? Hell, I can not even remember what she yelled, and I would say that I am more of the brighter ones here.

Walking towards the General's tent, I was stopped by a small Fox-kin, "Master! Wait!"

He came running towards me and hugged my leg. He looked at me with his bright blue eyes, 'Damn it. He is always so clingy.'

I glanced back towards the tent I needed to go and went on while he stood on my feet, using my leg as carriage, "What do you want, Saru? Go and play with the others."

His hold was getting tighter, "NO! Master, where are you going?! Let me go with you!"

A frown was building on my face. He was someone I saved from some Gnome slave merchants years ago and took with me out of pity.

It was a big mistake since I feel now responsible for him and can't abandon him anymore.

At first, he was literally broken. But it would be weird if he wasn't on the verge of suicide since he was tortured and raped by those bastards.

He needed years to overcome it, but now he is somewhat ok, but his dependency on me worsened... and this clinginess was annoying, to say at least.

I don't even know his real name as I gave him one since he didn't talk for a whole year after I took him with me, and my squad was even forced to feed him at some point because he didn't eat anything. He was as thin as a twig, 'Damn! Where is the bitch who should look after him?!'

A squeaky voice came from my leg, "MASTEEEEER! I leveled up and..."

A vein popped, "Shut up! You can come with me, but you need to be silent and come down from my fucking leg!"

He stopped hugging my leg and came down from my foot unwillingly, but he knew the drill. Whenever I need to talk to someone important, he can be with me but needs to stay silent all the time.

tap tap tap

There were two guards in front of the General's tent who only nodded toward me and opened the curtain to let me through.

Swoosh

Walking with Saru inside, what I saw was not what I expected. It was small, with a giant table and a map on top of it, taking most of the space. Pelts from some Monsters were lying in the corner, which is probably her bed.

The tent's interior and size were a stark contrast to her attitude. Usually, Nobles, especially their children, would use a giant tent and decorate it as luxuriously as possible while having at least half a dozen servants running errands for them.

The General was leaning with both hands on the table, and her, what I presume servant Swan-kin, was crossing her arms and glancing at me hatefully.

The General's ears twitched slightly, "What is this Fox-kin doing here?"

I shrugged my shoulders and looked at him, "He is my assistant, is it right?"

He suddenly straightened up and nodded vigorously, "Hm!"

The Swan-kin chimed in and banged her hand on the table while her wings fully opened, "Why the hell do you bring a child?!"

She turned her head towards the General and almost spat into her face while yelling, "See? Ms. Marisia, it was a terrible idea! How can this barbarian help us?!"

The young General pinched between her eyebrows, "Calm down, Saly. In the end, I decide what we are doing."

The Swan-kin crossed her arms and flapped her wings so firmly that the map almost flew away.

I ignored her and went to the table, looking at the map and what the newbie scribbled down.

What the hell do I see? No wonder we lost.

She wanted the front, front-left, and front-right sides to defend, then use the rear and middle troops to go around and attack... this strategy is impossible with a mish-mash of mercenaries... it is even hard to pull it off with troops that are coordinated.

No wonder we had no fucking rear for a switch since they tried to break through.

I kept staring and mumbled, "So, this is why we got sacked..."

The General's voice came from the side of the table, "What do you mean?"

I looked at her. She was looking at the map intensively and trying to find out what was wrong, 'So, she was trying hard...'

I pointed at the map, "This is too complicated for a bunch of mercenary corps. Like you said, we are barbarians, GUHAHAHAHA!"

She inhaled and exhaled heavily, "So, you are saying that they can't coordinate..."

I nodded slightly, "Yup, we are not an army and didn't train together. We are basically individuals and have worked as such for years. If you want such complicated formations to work, you need a solid army and a couple troop commanders who give appropriate orders..."

Scratching my head, I familiarized her with how the mercenary system works, "...even though we are not that many, and I get your insistence on commanding alone, it will not work with us, even though it can work with soldiers."

Saru suddenly chimed his opinion in, "Mercenaries are idiots! Don't trust them with anything more complicated than drinking and killing!"

I looked at him, and he was peeking over the table and studying the map, too, 'Well, this will not be a bad experience for him.'

I looked back at the map, "Fine, but hush, the adults are talking. Keep silent and learn."

A burst of hearty laughter came from the other side of the table, "Hahaha! No, let this pips squeak talk! I like him!"

A harsh voice came from the General, reprimanding us, "Enough! We have a discussion right now..."

I could see from my peripheral vision how her stare bore through me, "...tell me, Druid, what do you think would be the right tactic? How can I use, you mercenaries, in the most effective way?"

My lips curled up, and I took some ink and drew the plan...

Being ready, I was satisfied, "Use what you have. Who gives a fuck if you have an army? You have a bunch of bloodthirsty mercenaries whom you paid enough so they would die five times..."

I lifted my head and looked into her eyes with a giant grin, "...now, this is what we will do..."