Baron Cain!

His goal had always been to rule the Western territories and divide Arcadina.

Now, they don't know where this man got help from.

But Death found that a few scouts he sent hadn't returned, meaning they were either killed off or were still being tortured somewhere.

And with Baron Cain's abilities, he shouldn't be able to find Death's men.

It was because of this that death stopped scouting altogether and instead gathered all his men and rushed towards this region, away from the chaos.

In short, his move was smart because several hours after they left, the people behind Cain came looking for him.

But they didn't see anything.

And in this heavy weather called spring, trail traces were bound to get washed away.

They were also fortunate enough that they decided to flee by running across the river banks, allowing the horses to touch the water, hence washing their traces away too.

Additionally, this was the wild, with several animals and creatures roaming about.

So their tracks were also destroyed by these animals too.

From the rain to everything else, unbeknownst to them, they were truly saved by Death's quick thinking to flee.

For now, Death was more concerned about the fact that there were enemies with Cain that could take down his men easily.

It looked like William's idea for him to wait for Baymardian Backup was indeed a great one.

And after this battle, if the Baymardians could handle things, Death was also thinking of sending a few of his men to Baymard to begin training there too.

They weren't weak. On the contrary, they were very strong.

But at times, one could neglect the basics because of how high they've gone up.

Maybe they needed to learn a few more things, observation skills and other skills to be even greater than they were.

They only learnt the assassination techniques Death had passed onto them.

But that didn't mean that it was the best.

In everything in life, there was always room for improvement and growth.

So maybe this was what was needed to push them to the next level... Beyond Pyno's limits.

Death assessed everything in his mind, thinking of his men's future, as well as the strange enemies Baron Cain had around him.

So... Could those people be from out of Pyno?

If so, then why help Baron Cain?

What could he have possibly offered that would make these people do so much for him?

.

Everyone's heart fell the more they thought about the hidden people Cain had brought into Arcadina.

One of Death's men frowned: "This guy, Cain, is bad news. But no matter who he has backing him up, we must reclaim Profus city, Agathus town and Siku Village fast. Because if we let him continue, it wouldn't be long before his teeth bit off more than what we thought.

Killian tapped his fingers deeply: "Hmmm... You're right. We can't let him continue like so. That's why we'll clean this up fast and find those hidden men."

Death caressed his chin thoughtfully: "This all sounds good. But even if we defeat Cain, my main worry is that these hidden men might find a way to sneak out, rushing towards their real owner and bringing more worries and troubles to Arcadina again. That said, with their high skill level, they might be the scouts outside the city. If so, this will be bad since they're too skillful, making it hard for us to spot them scouting about, then how do we ensure their capture?"

Killian and the other Baymardians smiled: "Leave that to us. We plan to strike at night, correct?"

"Hmhm... Nighttime is the most advantageous for us. Not only will civilians be aware in their homes, making it easier to spot enemies... but nighttime would make our movements easier too."

"Good. Then leave that matter of these strange men to us, while you all focus on Baron Cain's particular entourage. I assure you that during the skirmish, these strangers won't be able to flee at all!" Another Baymardian by Killian added.

Yes. These people may be more skillful than even themselves, the Baymardians when it came to scouting and hiding.

But no matter how skilled one was, they would be nothing when they decided to look through their heat and night vision goggles.

That's right.

Unless one found a magical way to remove the heat in their body altogether (A.K.A die), then forget it, they would find them.

Provided their hearts were still beating, their goggles would spot the enemy holding wherever around the outskirts of the city.

Even within the city, with the civilians all tucked away at night in their homes, those outside would be suspicious.

Of course, the movements and actions caught on the heat senses from anyone they pick up, they would be able to see suspicious behaviour too.

If they weren't too sure, they could tranquillize their targets and observe the situation from there.

The enemy might even try hiding behind a barrel or on the ceiling, thinking they wouldn't be able to spot them.

But unbeknownst to the enemy, they had their goggles on and would make their moves at every turn.

So for Death's worries, they were non-existent because they would find and shoot every scout hanging around the outskirts of the city, silencing them from afar.

.

Like so, their little meeting carried on, with everyone coming up with a plan of attack together.

They looked at the map, shared responsibilities and prepared for the skirmish ahead.

Following that, their plans were also told to the rest of the Arcadinian and Baymardian men.

Now, everyone was getting familiar with the teams they would be working with during the battle.

And when they were done, it was already lunchtime.

Good. 

They ate before all taking turns, getting enough sleep.

The Baymardians had arrived in the morning. 

And now it was 12 noon.

So they had to sleep till 10 P.M, get up, eat something light again, before leaving by 11:30 P.M in teams, all heading towards the outskirts of Profus city.

With the Baymardian vehicles, what could've taken a few hours or so, was now 43 minutes tops because of the bad weather and slippery forest-trail carriage roads.

The men took turns sleeping for optimal battle performance.

Alright. They were done with their preparations.

The men closed their eyes and soon found themselves drifting to the melodies of the rain.

-Zzzzzzzzzzz~~

They had fallen asleep.