Nothing happened after that incident at night. Still, when the villagers left their homes to begin a new day's work, anyone could see that they were tired and not feeling very secure. Verkan's mood grew even worse as time passed. He thought that he had failed his people again.

While they were on alert, Zaos whole squad couldn't do that nonstop, so they split into two teams to work during the day and the other at night. As for Zaos, he was meditating to recover his mana, and he also used that moment to try to understand the last events.

"If my conscience weren't so troublesome, I could have obtained some important information regarding magic from that kid," Zaos thought. "How exactly can they fire three magic spells almost at the same time?"

With some alterations, that type of technique could be deadly even when used against someone who experienced fighting against mages. Zaos wanted that knowledge, but he also felt that his sword skill would look even more pathetic if compared to his magic once he discovers that. That seemed like a problem as well…

"There is also the cost of mana," Zaos rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "My mana pool increased exponentially in the last year, but there is still a clear limit of how much magic I can use."

After thinking for a while, Zaos realized that he never tried to use two spells at the same time in his sword. Doing like the followers of the demon god near-instantly wasn't possible for him right now, but perhaps he could do something different… Zaos enchanted his sword with the fire element. Then after casting another spell, he added the power of wind magic. Zaos opened his eyes widely when the flames in his weapon grew broader and stronger.

"What the hell was that?" Verkan asked.

"I was just… experimenting with magic, sir," Zaos replied

It looked like Verkan was watching Zaos when he was thinking. Regardless, Zaos still had no idea how the followers of the demon god could cast spells so fast, but thanks to them, he learned a few tricks.

After confirming that his weapon didn't get any damage after being enveloped by such strong flames, Zaos experimented more with it. He could combine water and wind magic to envelop his sword with a thin layer of ice that increases his swing speed, the piercing power, and even the weapon's durability. Not to mention, the sword also emitted a cold wind that made Verkan even shivers a little when Zaos put his weapon close to him.

"It looks like even water magic can be used alongside my sword as well," Zaos said.

"I heard of mages that conjure spells to make weapons of soldiers stronger, but I never heard of one that used ice for that," Verkan said. "Did you just think that by yourself?"

"I was wondering how the followers of the demon god could fire spells so fast, and I had this idea," Zaos replied.

"It is a pretty neat trick," Verkan said. "However, while that can increase your attack speed and overall piercing power while you bother your enemies with the cold wind, you still need to improve your move and reaction speed. A more experienced soldier or mercenary will find a way to deal with such a… weird technique."

"I am fully aware of it," Zaos said.

Developing that new fighting style made Zaos feel much more confident since he could use it while he stays on the frontlines. Maybe he can even block some magic projectiles with that technique, so even if he tries not to fight from the backlines, he can still be deadly.

Around noon, when it was almost time for them to have their lunch, suddenly Zaos's squad noticed a single rider approaching in the distance. He was coming from the East, but he wasn't one of Verkan's men.

"… Is Captain Verkan here?" The unknown rider asked while he was breathing with some difficulty and had an exhausted expression on his face.

"You are talking to him. What is the matter?" Verkan asked.

"Enemies in the East… thousands of them, they destroyed… several villages and are…" The unknown rider said.

"You are not making any sense. Pull yourself together and take a minute to recover your breathing," Verkan said. "You will waste less time by doing that."

The rider obeyed that, and then he jumped from his equally exhausted horse. While one of the recruits was looking after the horse, the other brought a cup of water to the rider. Although he recovered some of the colors on his face, he still looked pale like a ghost.

"Thousands of mercenaries attacked the villages and towns in the extreme northeast part of the country," The rider said. "I heard that there are at least ten thousand of them. They have siege weapons; they are organized, and they are strong. Not a single place managed to withstand the attacks for more than a few hours."

Ten thousand… Zaos opened his eyes widely since that was more or less the same number of soldiers that worked to protect the northern part of the kingdom. However, that was just too weird. How come they had so many soldiers? How come they were mercenaries? They were supposed to be in the West, not in the East.

"When was the first place attacked?" Verkan asked.

"Yesterday at night," The rider replied. "I need a fresh horse to deliver the news to other places. Unfortunately, we don't have many messengers to pass this message, so I will need your help to pass that to."

Verkan looked at Zaos's squad and then nodded, but then he looked at Zaos and hesitated. Zaos could imagine what he was thinking, and that indeed was some bad news for Zaos.

"Zaos's squad will help you pass the message to another villages and towns, and you guys are also responsible for evacuating every single one of those places," Verkan said. "Against an army of such size, protecting any stronghold is impossible with the numbers they have. We will make all the population retreat to the Northern base. You Zaos… you are coming with me."