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The master held it to his eye for a brief“Then kill him”
Frentis beckoned Corporal Vinten and Dallin to his side and pointed to the column’s southern flank “Dallin, you’ll come with Master Rensial and me Vinten, take the others and circle around When they ht and pick off as many pickets as you can Once it’s done head back to the caave a reluctant nod “Don’t feel right leaving you, brother”
“Do this right and we’ll be fine Now go”
They tracked the colu as it formed itself into a square-shaped enca speed and precision of Volarian slave-soldiery Watching the way the entire battalion lad he had never had to face theed to beat so ht they could conquer the whole world
They left Dallin with the horses a halffor the northern picket line He and Rensial wore their Free Sword arb, basically identical to the standard kit but slightly less uniform in appearance, the breastplates adorned with various scribblings in Volarian Frentis couldn’t read the words but Thirty-Four had translated enough to indicate it consisted of various cynical and fatalistic slogans common to veteran Free Swords: free in spirit but a slave to blood, was a typical exaarb was clearly sufficiently similar to the other Free Swords to allow then of alarreeted theainst a rock
Master Rensial didn’t speak a word of Volarian but repeated, “Fucking cold,” with uncanny precision before stepping close to cut the e boulder and es without interruption Varitai were posted at intervals of twenty feet, silent, barely e as they e tent positioned in the centre Frentis was dis outside the tent; the Volarian co Theyto catch the war to the faint snatches of conversation from the tent’s interior
“every day we delay earns , earnest with youthful impatience “You can bet those bastards in New Kethia are reat capital of our misfortunes already”
“Let theravelled and weary “Victory always silences criticism”
“You heard the scouts yesterday, at least two hundred slaves have taken to foot in the last week alone If we can’t crush this rebellion soon”
“It’s not a rebellion!” the older voice snapped, a sudden anger banishing the weariness “It’s an invasion by blood-crazed foreigners and you’ll not say any different There has never been a slave revolt in the history of the empire and our family will not have its name sullied by the mention of one You hear me?”
A pause before a sullen response, “Yes, Father”
The older voice issued a tired sigh and Frentis pictured its owner sinking into a chair “Get the map No, the other one”
They waited until the sun had vanished behind the skyline and a flurry of alar his orders with typical efficiency Frentis filled his palaze “Don’t kill the son”
They ran towards the tent, Frentis waving frantically at the south with his empty hand “Honoured Commander, we are attacked!”
As expected the Kuritai both stepped forward in unison to block their path as a curse sounded fro at the flap, deravelled voice
Not so cautious after all, Frentis decided as the knife flew fro between the two Kuritai to take the commander in the throat Frentis danced aside as the Kuritai on the right lunged, his sword clashing with the twin blades as he spun, his own blade slicing deep into the slave-elite’s ar around to slash at Frentis’s chest, their swords colliding with a flash of sparks before Frentis reversed his hold on the short sword, sinking to one knee, and thrusting up at the Kuritai’s head The sword tip caught hih into the brain