Observing the movement on the walls, Victor relaxed. With most of the crowd already departed from the fortifications, only newcomers would stay behind. There was no need for him to hide anymore, yet there was still no movement on his side. Only after the additional half an hour passed away, did he slowly shifted back and merged with the surrounding leaves.

After disappearing from the fortress observation field, his movements became even more elusive and careful. Sometimes he would cross empty spaces in short jumps, sometimes he would wiggle to match the shadow of the treetops on the ground. The distance that could be covered by just ten minutes of a serious march took him over two hours to cross.

It was true that the area behind the walls was full of the barbarians. Their attempts to conquer the wall were always unorganised and spontaneous. A young chief took the steering wheel of the tribe after his father died? Then he would bring a sizeable host to try to gain the fame and glory necessary to hold the reins. In the treacherous lands of the east, without the strong backing of the tribe, one's fate was sealed in the stomach of the wild animals or even some more bloodthirsty groups.

In this kind of undeveloped land, perfectly organised and hidden camp was totally out of place. There was simply no way that some tribe would gain enough enlightenment to invent stuff like stretchable tents, leaf cover mats, smokeless wood and so on. Judging from the amassment of highly advanced equipment, an observer would quickly guess that this place belonged to either some stupid noble or courageous merchant.

Why such a big difference between those two? It simply showed the social expectations of different classes in the civilised world. Nobles would see this land as worthless because it was impossible to establish a strong presence here. Countless numbers of barbarian warriors would quickly get rid of this kind of hindrance. Establishing a stable foothold in the area would require vast military resources and at least an intention to set up a permanent defence.

But there was no point in doing so!

The layout of the mountains separating two parts of the continent was simply too unfavourable. While it was advantageous to hold the choke point, there were only about one hundred meters of small hills before the whole area opened up to the great forest on the north and immense plains on the south. Just as if the mystical northern woods managed to overcome this kind of geographical barrier and set foot on the other side of the mountains!

But why a merchant being there would be considered a courageous one? That was the said difference between the classes. Even if one were to ignore all the unbelievable and probably false rumours about incredible treasures overflowing from the ruins of the eastern civilisation, there were still various materials here that would fetch an unimaginably high price on the western markets. Eastern part of the northern woodlands was confirmed to be rich with precious wood, rare animals and mystical herbs!

On the other side of the plateau, vast grasslands were a home of the countless tribes, living off the riches of the earth. Some even wondered if it was right to call those tribes barbaric ones. There wasn't any other place in the world, where people established and enforced a set of rules that would prevent any of the farming lands to be destroyed, even despite constant wars between different powers.

Some voices pointed out that if they were to ignore those limitations, the immeasurable population of the great plain would simply starve itself to the death. Those people could only live in the open grasslands, hence crossing many geographical barriers to reach the northern lands was just a pipe dream for them. The only way to finally set themselves free and earn their spot for a comfortable life was hiding behind three sets of walls.

But if one were to subvert all expectations and overcome all those troubles, he would arrive at the doorstep of the Perra lands. While the staring difference between wild tribes on the south and modern cities of the north would confuse an uneducated observer into thinking that this was surely a utopian place, one would truly be a frog in the well claiming that entire world limited itself to the walls of the pit.

It was the Commonwealth Empire that supported the camp near the border. As for specially designed force, they were used to scout the situation at the border and covertly hamper any attempts of the tribes uniting. For them, the western wall was just a blessing, diverting barbarians attention from their homeland. They could not afford to lose it!

The whole Perra state was simply a gift given to the blood brotherhood. While others were limited by the manpower and riches of their lands, this highly militarized faction recruited its members from all over the country.

Using the special place they hold in the King's direct council, their castles, garrisons, and fiefs were sprayed all over this grand place. While the decentralisation of their forces lead to the great diversity and lack of overall unity of the faction, their lack of interest in the politics and great honour of serving directly under the King maintained their will to stay at the absolute top.

"It took you a while! Any news from our dear neighbours?"

Victor heard a silent voice as soon as he entered the outskirts of the camp. Even before the first word completely disappeared in the sounds of the forest, he already located the source of the question.

"Day like any other. It seems that we will have another two performers from today on."

'Performer' was a common name used for Fortress guards. Brotherhood scouting mission here was a prolonged task. Some people lived here for years already! With some raids now and then, most of the time here could only be spent on betting how many steps will patrolling guards need to cross the entire section of the wall. It worked for about three months before any newcomer would already remember the usual routine for the whole garrison. If not for the utmost importance to remain hidden, scouts would already build a tribune to enjoy their daily dose of 'fun' in comfort!

"Who would've guessed? It seems that my dreams of promotion and leaving this damned place won't be fulfilled today!"

Guard sighed deeply, with great sadness reverberating through his words. The only way to escape this place was either scoring some achievement points on the mission or waiting for someone else unlucky enough to fill one's spot. There was a reason why scouting missions were used as a punishment for the more frivolous brothers! Without luck, one's duty would go on even for years!

"Don't falter. Eventually, one of the bigger tribes will try to make their move. And if not that, annual blood rite should be just around the corner. If nothing had changed in the common soul of our new brothers, we will see some unwilling recruits coming down here rather quickly!"

After calculating the dates for a short while, Victor announced with a wide smile. Contrary to the guard, he was here voluntarily. While every officer had a duty to attend this kind of mission once in a while, the terms weren't fixed. Every single camp required at least one commanding officer to lead and order the scouts around. While it was supposed to be a rotating shift after taking the severely limited numbers of the higher officers, their shifts extended indefinitely.

After passing the pitiful guard, Victor finally reached the entrance to the hideout. Once a small cave, after carefully stacking layer upon layer of various mats and plants on top of the entrance, this small hole managed to perfectly merge into the surroundings. The officer couldn't help but feel impressed by the astonishing work done by his predecessors. Not only did they manage to cover all clues about earth depression here, they even broken through the side of the cave, built a small shed there and covered it with earth to make it look like an ordinary hill from the outside!

While the camp was hidden perfectly, entering it presented quite a trouble. At first, one had to pull out the covering mats in a specific order, resting them in a standing position against each other. After pulling special kind of wooden planks away, only then did the opening showed up. What came after was even worse!

When Victor entered the hole he opened, he had to pull this wooden cap back into its place and carefully push a specific leaver down. If one were to stay outside, he could see all those mats falling orderly back on the wood, completely hiding it from the sight. While the outer entrance got sealed, the officer still had to grovel through the small tunnel for a few meters to reach another wooden blockade.

"Victor here. Open up!"

After knocking up in a specific rhythm on the planks, someone swiftly pulled them to the side. The way the hideout was constructed, it was impossible to remove them from the outside without collapsing the whole passage.

"Any news on the city?"

As soon as he crawled out of the hole, happy voice welcomed him in the dimly lit room. A small fire was burning smokelessly on the side, illuminating stacks of the documents, equipment and sleeping mats. Just this one phrase was enough to sour Victor's mood.

"Off ya go!"

Officer cursed under his nose while tossing a gold coin to one of the bodies lying near the wall of the shack. While everyone would consider the coin worthless in this place, damaged pride hurt like hell.

"I guess I was wrong about him!"

As if explaining himself, Victor unhappily said while taking the sneak suit down. As soon as a thick layer of hardened mud, leaves and flowers laid down on the floor, the officer brushed his face, trying to wash the exhaustion from his face.

"To be honest, it was just a stroke of pure luck. I didn't get deep enough to gauge the situation from a political point of view after all!"

Mocking his friend, a shadowy person suddenly stood up and entered the area of light around the small fire, showing his dirty yet handsome face.

"On our end, the tribes seem to be chilled down. No major reports or strange sightings came during your mission."

"Good, let's hope it will stay that way!"

As soon as Victor said these words, his friend's hand instantly covered his mouth.

"Don't you ever utter those words again!"

Despite his silent voice, his face was a perfect embodiment of human wrath.

"Urgent report!"

In the blink of an eye, a sudden shout resounded in the small shack. It was coming from outside. Looking with fury at the wall, the officer resisted his urge to smash through it and silence the stupid soldier. With this single shout, he forced them to relocate! Just as he turned to the tunnel to check the commotion out, a hand broke through the wall. After going back where it came from, the light from the outside that shone through the hole got blocked by someone.

"Huge barbarian group was seen approaching the central Forrest! All scouting units are to fall back into the central passage and hinder their approach!"

The report immediately froze the space inside the now broken building. Various postures lying on the mats stopped breathing, while Victor's eyes turned red. "What the hell are they looking for in there?!"

Unbothered by the usually maintained silence in the hideout, officer screamed down. Annoyed by the obstacle blocking his way, he jumped forward and smashed through the shack side, completely sealing the fate of the building.

"All men gather!"

After shouting heavily, Victor took one of the sticks lying around and started drawing on the soft earth. When enough of his people gathered, he started following the lines as he explained

"We will take the forth route and join up with 7th, 31th and 84th detachment. Then we will proceed to intercept the enemy here!"

The reaction was brilliant. In just two minutes, less important papers were burning down, their recent home lied in ruin covered by the small layer of earth and every single one of Victor's underlings was ready and equipped for the incoming march.

'This damn guy! Why is he starting already?' While waiting for the rest of his troops to gather and prepare, Victor felt deep in though. There were no usual sights that would announce the beginning of another god's game. Just a moment before he could order his people to dispatch another guard came running and announced

"There is a response from the Fortress!"