Chapter 380 The Road To Sacrifice (1/2)

”I don't like it”

There was a deep crease in Sassun's brow as he looked at the series of diagrarams all represented different battle forued should be effective against Blightspawn

Sassun, however, was clearly less than pleased with the captain's efforts — so he made no effort to hide

”I don't like it,” he repeated ”Each of these has you and Arran do all the fighting, while the rest of us do naught but hang back and scratch our backsides”

Kaleesh gave a slight chuckle, then shook his head ”Your role is to finish off any wounded Blightspawn and prevent us fro flanked I do not expect that will leave you ave the captain a sour look ”It's a waste, is what it is Fifty strong men, and all you'll have them do is cover you”

”Waste of not,” Kaleesh replied, ”these are the tactics I plan to use Should they fall short, I will adjust thelanced at the sky, then continued, ”There are still soht left Let's not waste theh, Arran stood up froathered the troops for the drills ahead

Nearly a week had passed since they'd left Lady Raina's fortress, and every evening since their departure, the captain hadformations

Kaleesh had tried all sorts of tactics, but the ones he had eventually decided on had Arran and hi, with the otherbehind to provide cover

It was a sensible strategy, Arran thought With the gap in strength between them and the others, it only made sense to keep the mercenaries out of harreed with that, of course Even if they understood the captain's intent, they were proud to a fault, and hiding behind their leaders carried a whiff of cowardice that few of theladly

Yet in the Wolfsblood Company, Kaleesh's as law And so, the , they practiced the new formations until well after the sun had disappeared behind the horizon

The days that folloere no different

The group no longer traveled nearly as fast as they had during the previous ht, theythe mercenaries plenty of time to drill and practice

But even on the road, the captain no longer pushed his troops as hard as before Instead, he allowed theular breaks for rest and meals, and even entertained them with tales of past battles as they ate

Had the circumstances been different, the mercenaries would have rejoiced at the leisurely journey But as it was, they all knew the truth — that this was their final chance to rest before battle

The landscape was pleasant, with grassy green hills that held large herds of cows and sheep Underneath the bright sun and blue skies, it ion seemed as peaceful as any they'd encountered in their months of travel

Yet with a closer look, it was obvious that these lands ell-prepared for war

Even the ses they passed were hidden behind tall walls, atchful guards protecting their gates And while the hills held plenty of herdsmen and farmers, there were nearly as ilant as they patrolled the region

And then, there were the groups of soldiers on the roads

The first of these, theyLady Raina's fortress It was a large group of well over a hundred soldiers, led by half a dozen Rangers

The two groups' leaders exchanged words only briefly, but Arran was surprised to discover that these Darians had traveled over a thousand miles And when he heard that they all came from the same town, he could not help but feel some worry

To his eyes, the soldiers see, but it was just as clear that only the Rangers had any real experience

If such a group encountered any real ene well

But as they slowly approached the Desolation, theybefore Arran realized that the first group had been stronger than roups they encountered had no more than a dozen ill-equipped soldiers, and they were led by coers

Whenever the Wolfsblood Coroups, both sides would briefly co words about the road ahead before continuing onward