Chapter 4: A Brief Diversion Part 1

When the sun set, the companies set up camp. While at the campfire, Shinon was seen grumbling to himself while rubbing his temple with a single hand. Shinon also had his eyes closed as if trying to obtain a moment of silence. It was increasingly apparent that both were not in the mood after a day of marching to reach Gallia. It was going to be another day or two before they reached their destination. While that was happening...

"We have several jobs ongoing right now, so be prepared, OK?"

The one who said that was a red-haired mercenary with a hard but soft gaze at someone who appeared to be his sibling, who nodded happily. Beside them was a young man whose long green hair was braided.

"Just like our routine!" Guy exclaimed with an excited expression. "Helping out the people, protecting royalty, and fighting side-by-side. It'll be great!"

It was an odd detail that this group seems to have done protection of nobles of royal lineage before. For now, those observing them were content with listening to their conversation. The figure knew some of them were involved in the evacuation effort in Melior. They were curious as to what kind of people they were. Bastian was notably worried for their safety after making friends with a man named Canas, who was also among the group's roster.

"Right, I'll count on both of you to watch over me, Brother Raymond. Guy," Priscilla nodded as she spoke. "Despite everything... we will always have each other."

It was a touching display of affection and trust. Something that the figure observing was reminded of whenever her childhood friends were present. But now, she knows not of their whereabouts or safety.

She spots a pink-haired pegasus knight from Begnion blushing extensively while at times glancing over to a man with short, dirty-blonde hair and ear cuffs on his left ear. The pair had just spoken briefly in the distance, and she seemed to have gained a slight infatuation for the man (AN: Omake 6).

Her attention soon shifts to a pair of brothers with different shades of green hair. The one with darker hair was currently messing with yellow-green hair.

"I'm telling you, Boyd, they're royalty!" Rolf told his brother, Boyd, who was not buying his younger brother's assertion.

The figure raised her brows with a tinge of surprise. Who were they referring to as royalty? It couldn't have been her, as they were referring to multiple people. Everyone in the companies had been informed of her identity, yet they did not appear to be as astounded by the fact, aside from being perplexed at times.

When told of her circumstances, some shifted their gaze back and forth between her and another woman with green hair tied up in a ponytail, just like the son of the leader of the mercenary company had done in her presence. The woman had an unusual style of attire, a one-piece light blue short-sleeved dress with slits at the sides. She was currently with some of the other members as they set up a map, pointing out various routes and debating which to take to potentially avoid some of the Daein forces.

"No way, pee-wee! There's no way the both of them are!" Boyd stopped messing with his brother's hair while shaking his head in amusement. "After all, Ike brought back a bunch of marquesses. Those two have to be at least a count or something... children of a duke, at best! We already have a princess in tow, so there's no way we should have two more of that kind of thing!"

Whoever they were mentioning, it may have been the other nobles who found her that day. Were there other royals besides her? As her eyes scoured the camp, she spotted the daughter of the leader currently bending her fingers like a cat alongside a light green-haired girl when being taught by a man with slit eyes who wore armor from the royal knights like the red-haired woman. It appeared there were former knights in their service. The man named Oscar was currently in the middle of cooking while teaching others how to chop ingredients.

Her attention soon shifted to a purple-wavy-haired young man giving a respectful bow before a young blonde-haired individual accompanied by an adorable young girl with matching hair color as her supposed brother. Someone who appeared to be their guard was a tall and imposing general who seemed to glance over in her direction at times.

"Curious to see our merry group of mercenaries and nobles?" Elincia turned her head to see a blue-haired man with slicked-back hair speaking to her. He then pointed his thumb to a man with red hair and a circlet on his forehead, accompanied by a beautiful light blue-haired woman wearing what appeared to be ceremonial attire. "Let's have you acquainted with the others instead of just staring at everyone."

Elincia quickly coughed and realized she was being rude by staring. She had been doing so for the past ten minutes, shifting her attention constantly to others. She felt she needed to apologize for the offense.

"Forgive me, I—" Her apologies were cut off by a shake of the hand.

"Forget it," Hector said brashly. Not minding the way he addressed a princess. "If you're curious, then it's better to find out more on your own. Hey, Heath!" Hector called out to a green-haired man with a tinge of white strands of hair mixed into his hair. "Mind letting her meet Hyperion?"

Might as well start by introducing her to the wyverns from Elibe. Unbeknownst to Hector, Elincia's country had no wyvern riders, and she was wary after wyvern riders invaded her capital. The man in question smiled kindly and nodded. He then politely bowed before the princess and gestured for her to see his mount, Hyperion. A blonde-haired, scarred woman smirked at her fellow wyvern rider and went back to tending to her wyvern, Umbriel.

"By all means, Hyperion will not harm you."

Elincia gingerly went up to the green wyvern. Putting her hand up to its face, Hyperion closed its eyes upon being petted. Well-trained and kind, just like its rider. All sense of prejudice was swept away upon contact with the wyvern.

"Now then, let's have you meet with the others," Hector told Elincia.

Elincia stood silent for a moment before she nodded happily. This would be a new experience for her after being raised in a secluded villa for most of her life.

"Thank you, Lord...?" Elincia trailed off, unaware of Hector's name.

"Hector's the name, Princess Elincia! Future marquess of Ostia!" Elincia widened her name at the title and was immediately confused. "Let me have you meet my best friend, Eliwood. He's going to be a fellow marquess in the future."

All Elincia could do from that point on was wonder. Aside from Hector, the others held a noble and regal bearing, with no signs of being mummers. Who were these people?

"I'm a failure... Damn it all!" The man with cyan hair agonized with every word he spoke. His elder sister beside him also had a dark expression.

After their lord sacrificed himself, they couldn't uphold their mission to safely escort the princess to Gallia. Geoffrey bravely fended off their pursuers to allow the fifth platoon to continue their task. His subordinate, Kieran, arrived to act as the diversion and allow Geoffrey to once again accompany the princess. But to no avail, as when he went in the direction of his liege, there was nothing but the battlefield with the imperial guard slain and their enemies strewn about. The princess was nowhere to be seen.

Geoffrey and Lucia felt as though their entire world had gone dark. If their princess was captured or worse, dead, they could never live with such failure. A set of footsteps was heard stepping down the stairs of the cellar they were in.

"I'm afraid it is a tad bit too early to despair," Bastian's voice called out to the pair, who quickly turned their attention to the now-disguised Bastian, who wore a red undershirt underneath his black garb and a tied polka dot sash around his waist. "I paid a handsome sum of money to obtain information from 'Fireman.' The princess is safe and with familiar allies..."

Geoffrey quickly stood up and approached Bastian. "Is it true? Was it our knights? Tell us, Bastian!" He yelled out, causing Bastian to grimace and gesture for the knight to settle down. Lucia also stood up, awaiting Bastian's answer.

"Ha... The princess's current retinue are the Greil Mercenaries and the Anna Merchants," the pair's eyes widened at the mention of the companies. "At first, I was shocked to hear my dear friend, Canas, survived the ordeal. The rest of his cohorts have retreated after most of our civilians fled the capital. And they were last seen heading south, straight to Gallia with Princess Elincia in tow..."

Geoffrey and Lucia gasped in relief. Their princess was safe. All doubts they previously had for this group were extinguished. They could only hold gratitude for the fact that the companies would allow the princess to accompany them to Gallia. Sadly, they possessed no power to regather a force to support the princess at this time.

Bastian was glad to know that his scholar friend managed to fend off the Daein forces. An impressive feat, as according to reports, they felled a significant number of generals during the raid. It was also said that two individuals from each company even fought evenly against the Four Riders, a feat that was astounding to hear. But those accomplishments were bound to be acknowledged and worthy of a response from Daein.

"According to our latest reports, or rather, Daein's way of giving a bounty for the brave ones who fought in Melior..." Bastian brought out a parchment that listed various names and descriptions. Many of them match the members who fought back at the capital.

"The 'Angel of Death,' 'White Wolf,' 'Mad Dog'?" Geoffrey repeated what was listed on the paper, confused by the titles. "There's even a tasteless title that says, 'Self-proclaimed Marquess of Cornwell, Raven (or Raymond).' What is this, Bastian? I've met the man, and I can say with confidence, despite his appearance, that he is no noble..."

After working with Raven to clear bandits on the highway, Geoffrey knew he was crude. Skilled, but not possessing any social qualities to be a knight or noble. His sister was polite, however. But it was not enough to indicate aristocratic origin. Geoffrey wondered if it was false information meant to lead astray the Daein army's intelligence gatherers.

Bastian shrugged in response. It was certainly a wonder as to how such titles became attached to a group of bodyguards/mercenaries. Unbeknownst to the Daein army and the Crimean nobles, Petrine chose that title for Raven partially out of spite. At the very least, her claim could be verified upon her subordinates' truthful testimony that they heard him claim he was a marquess of some unknown name.

"At any rate, we should prepare in case the princess returns from Gallia with no army to give aid..." Bastian proposed to the pair, who looked at him with a furrowed brow.

"Bastian, are you implying that King Caineghis will not give safe haven to Princess Elincia? She is the King's daughter! Why?" Lucia asked the man with her brother, also curious as to why Bastian was reluctant to believe that Gallia would give her sanctuary.

Bastian shook his head with a calm expression. "While King Caineghis is a loyal friend whose ties with King Ramon are strong, I'm afraid those ties would do very little against the bindings that his citizens and statesmen will impose on the Lion King," Lucia and Geoffrey widened their eyes in response to Bastian's explanation. However, he continued, "I suspected such a thing when Prince Renning first gave orders and even implored him to reconsider. Our relationship only extends between the royal family; the people of Gallia are reluctant to give aid to the princess out of fear of Daein justifying an attack on them."

Geoffrey clenched his teeth in frustration. "Damn, so our mission was all for naught?"

Lucia also held a bitter expression as she hoped that Gallia would give Elincia sanctuary. On the other hand, Bastian remained composed despite his dreadful conclusion.

"Remain strong, my friends. Our princess is not doomed, as she can promote diplomatic relations, and King Caineghis may secretly give aid to seek out Begnion for assistance..." Bastian told the siblings, to which they quickly looked at one another with a hopeful expression. "Until then, we observe the situation and support her anon, should the Goddess present us with an opportunity."

It was less likely that Caineghis would leave Elincia completely helpless. With that in mind, she would likely find a way to seek out the motherland, Begnion. They may be able to provide aid to Elincia during this unsanctioned invasion and regain her country. However, Bastian had his reservations against the notion, not that the Delbray siblings needed to know at this time.

Geoffrey and Lucia nodded, and as they were about to go undercover as peasants or merchants, Bastian stopped Geoffrey in particular. There was an odd glint in the former's eyes, and Geoffrey immediately felt an omen upon seeing the smirking face of his friend.

"I'm afraid that posing as a merchant will do you no good, as the Daein army is extensively patrolling for any traces of the Anna Merchants and will vet for every single seller." Bastian then gave a playful smile to Geoffrey as the latter soon grimaced at the Count's obvious plot to ensnare the general in his scheme. "You masked as a dull merchant is denied; a straight man in my act must be your art..."

"Blazes, why does it have to be so blamed humid?" Gatrie exclaimed while panting as he marched through the forest. "If we weren't being chased or in a hurry, I'd strip off this armor here and now!"

The others were unsettled by Gatrie's words as they hoped he'd keep his armor on. The less they saw Gatrie's skin, the better. Nevertheless, everyone was not accustomed to the new environment. Ike was notably not as exhausted as everyone else, as if he was taking in his surroundings with a sense of nostalgia.

"Please refrain from the act, unless you wish to offend our wards?" As Soren spoke, a certain scarred woman and a purple-armored general gave a life-threatening glare to Gatrie, who shivered in response to their looks.

"R-Right..." Gatrie gulped as he then wondered how such a man (Murdock), who wore as much armor, probably even more, managed to remain calm and not appear as sweaty.

Murdock was devoted and aimed toward maintaining strict discipline and a leveled head. As such, he remained diligent to ensure his prince's and princess's safety. It was almost inhuman composure, and while he suffered the appalling climate, he resisted the harsh elements to guard his lieges.

While everyone was currently enduring the harsh environment, they nonetheless continued into Gallia. Guinevere was currently tired, but her brother supported her by taking the reins on a horse and having her sit behind him. There was no carriage to take some of the people, much to the dismay of Merlinus. For now, many of the people needed to rely on just their horses or on foot to get themselves to their destination.

Titania would have normally added to the conversation by chiding Gatrie, but she continued onward as she led her horse to avoid the undergrowth. Her horse once tripped over a tree root, and she was jumped on by a bandit that she pursued. After the incident last year, she was reluctant to have her steed and herself go through a similar experience. There was a silver lining, as around that time, they were introduced to Rhys, who was currently pale and riding on Oscar's horse led by the man himself. The sub-commander remained oddly silent the entire trip, likely distraught by the events of the war and revelation. Her argument with Soren before they left the fort did not help...

Many arguments are along the lines of helping those in need versus the company having enough on their list of issues. Soren surmised that Elincia was the reason why they may face huge resistance when entering Gallia and the reason why the Daein troops engaged with the nobles of Elibe. For that reason alone, it made Soren reluctant to accept the escort mission for Elincia until Lyn arrived along with father and son to announce the acceptance to include Elincia in their ever-growing list of nobles to protect. Since that day, Titania and Soren were not on speaking terms. But they both equally suffered with the rest of the company on their march to the dense and humid forests of the Crimean-Gallian border, trying to traverse the endless sea of trees but with great difficulty.

Rath, on the other hand, did not have this issue and rode through the sea of trees at the forefront, leading the others as the scout. It was as if he was guided and blessed by nature, never to be impeded by the forest. Shinon scoffed as the nomad rode past the trees without any difficulty.

Despite most wearing light and airy clothing, it was still a struggle to endure the heat. Mist was seen panting with every step.

"It's so…wet and sticky…" Mist wiped away some sweat from her temple as she spoke. "This forest is so hot... I'm surprised some of us can still wear armor..."

"At least some of us have protection; I wish I had my armor around," Hector remarked as he still wore his formal clothing. "Can't say I like going through this appalling weather, but it beats some certain fiery caves..." Hector's words were left unheard as he muttered the last part to himself.

In any event, Hector did not have enough time to find armor for himself back on the battlefield. Wardrobes for the Lycian nobles were still limited. They still opted to wear the clothing they came with. Surprisingly, all the nobles remained composed and resilient when many would have complained endlessly about the conditions. Shinon, however, was not convinced of the nobles' durability.

"Wouldn't recommend it for your delicate skin, blue stockings," Shinon replied to Hector, to which the latter gave a raised brow at the insult he received. "Dense forests such as these are not made for us delicate humans. The sub-humans love 'em, though."

Some of the others gave a pointed stare towards Shinon the moment he said a derogatory term. Ike and Titania gave a shake of the head in disapproval over his lack of mindfulness. While others, particularly Zephiel, were more perplexed by the term.

"What are... sub-humans?" Zephiel asked with his sister behind him, also curious. Some of the others began to widen their eyes at Zephiel's mention of the term. It was time for Ike to interject into the conversation.

"He means Laguz, and I recommend you don't follow Shinon's example of calling them 'sub-humans.'" Shinon scowled as Ike decided to cut in and speak out against the sniper. Zephiel and Murdock were reminded of the continent's odd race of natives in Tellius by the quick lecture given by Canas. "Calling them by that name is very insulting and demeaning. It's better to call them by the proper term or refer to them as 'Gallians,' as they are citizens of their nation."

Zephiel and Murdock still couldn't believe the idea of a race that included various animal types. One of the odd things that stood out for the pair was that one of the groups included dragons. On the other hand, Guinevere was more visibly excited. She hoped to see cat people and possibly fox people. To those who do not know of Tellius, it all seemed like tall tales.

"Ha!" Shinon scoffed at Ike's attempt to correct him. "Looks like Ikey-boy wants to teach us about respect! Why shouldn't I call a few half-breeds what they are?"

"Shinon..." Oscar murmured in a concerned tone, with even Rhys staring at the sniper. Oscar was glad that his younger brothers were with the other group that was behind accompanying the princess.

"Sheesh... what problem does he have against feline people...?" Hector whispered to himself. "Did a cat man take his girlfriend or something?" Hector's last remark gained him a glare from the red-haired archer.

Hector had dealt with many problematic people, whether they were nobles or commoners, throughout his life as a lord. He's already had the displeasure of meeting Marquess Araphen, who is notably racist against Sacaens over a grudge with Lyn's mother choosing a Sacaen over him. Unbeknownst to everyone, Shinon had no special reason to dislike Laguz; he was just like that. Hector wondered how this sniper managed to remain employed in the Greil Mercenaries with such an attitude.

Shinon's disparaging attitude was beginning to become a disturbance. Some of the others, including the Sacaens, were notably bothered by the sniper's behavior. It was something that Titania and Greil needed to correct. Just as Titania was about to interject, Ike gave her a reassuring look and decided to let the young man handle the sniper.

"I don't need to be the one to point out that you're going into a nation; you better hope that a majority of the population won't be very offended if you decide to address them like that. You're going to be surrounded by Gallians, and not only that, you can't be like that when you're a member of the company; it reflects badly on Titania and Father," Ike pointed out, making Shinon scoff in response. However, Ike continued, "If you don't want Father to look bad in front of the King of Gallia, I suggest you behave."

Shinon blinked repeatedly at Ike's statement and gave a raised brow toward the latter. Why would Greil be involved beyond just escorting a princess (of which he already gained a massive headache after receiving the announcement)? He didn't expect Greil to receive anything beyond payment or a simple greeting. Shinon believed they were still preoccupied with finding a way to their new members' homeland (through methods he had no inkling about) while protecting important nobles/actors (he didn't believe Zephiel was a prince, even after Rolf revealed the matter to him). Adding a princess of Crimea to the equation did not help, despite their destination being the same.

"Father is friends with King Caineghis, King of Gallia," Ike explained, to which Shinon and some of the others blinked repeatedly at the fact. "Mist and I were born there. Titania can verify." Everyone looked towards Titania, who was stunned by Ike's recalling of the fact. Mist was seen tapping her finger as if to remember her childhood.

"Really? I remember we lived in a place with lots of trees nearby. So that was Gallia..." Mist voiced her thoughts, confirming part of Ike's statement.

"I'm surprised you remember..." Titania then nodded to confirm Ike's assertion, making Shinon stumped by the fact. "It's true, Ike and Mist were born in Gallia. I was acquainted with King Caineghis when I was still a royal knight and entered an officer exchange program. That's when I met Greil... along with Ike and Elena..."

Titania held a nostalgic smile as she recalled the fond memories of the family. She remembered the sleeping face of Ike in Elena's arms. Shinon and Gatrie glanced at one another as they were not aware of this side of the story. While they knew she was a former knight, they did not hear this distinct part as to how she met Greil. Shinon sighed and decided to relent on the matter on his way of addressing the Laguz by nodding (while grumbling), so long as he didn't embarrass Titania and Greil. The others saw the lack of resistance from the sniper and were satisfied to know he would try to behave.

Lyn and some of the others looked at Ike with a proud smile. All the while, Soren was seen silent and quietly listening to the conversation with an indescribable expression. A look that Sophia noticed and was worried for the young mage. She knew he held disdain for Laguz, and what Ike essentially had done was defend them. It was a complicated feeling that she hoped would one day be addressed.

"I can't believe this... A race of animal people..." Murdock murmured, which couldn't be heard by most, save for his liege.

"We may as well verify with our own eyes if they speak the truth, Murdock," Zephiel whispered to his retainer, who nodded.

Eliwood and Hector of Lycia seemed to believe that animal people existed. Everything was so alien and absurd to the prince and bodyguard. They were reluctant to believe that an entire dragon and animal race existed. They could believe that dragons migrated and possibly established a colony outside of Elibe. But everything told to Zephiel and Murdock was something they couldn't fully believe even after being shown some detailed drawings of the races' appearance in a book. It didn't help that Heath and Vaida fully believed in the Laguz races' existence (which made Murdock wonder if their loyalty and honesty to the prince were genuine for a moment). Murdock only prayed that this was not some elaborate trap by the Greil Mercenaries and former Black Fang to deceive the Prince.

"I want to see if there are fox people, Big Brother..." Guinevere whispered, to which Zephiel shook his head in amusement.

There were many odd phenomena that they'd encountered since arriving on this continent. Perhaps they will verify if this was a land like no other...

The group accompanying the princess was equally suffering as much as the group ahead. There were times when the companies had to take breaks or rest while on the move for the past two days. They were forced to be vigilant against Daein forces with so many important people to keep safe and sound. There was some small talk here and there, as some of the scouts needed some time in between breaks to ensure their route was safe. During that time, it was an opportunity to socialize, as evidenced by Marcia's blushing around Lloyd since their small talk.

"Are you OK, Ninian, Nils?" Eliwood asked the pair of siblings, who appeared noticeably uncomfortable with their environment.

"I can endure, my Lord..." Ninian replied with a slight smile.

"It's just the heat that bothers us... The desert of Nabata was more unbearable..." Nils added while panting.

The ice dragons of Elibe were more suited to the climates of their birthplace. That included ice-cold regions of Ilia, which was where they were born. The hot and moist climate bothered the siblings in terms of the former, and not so much in the latter. Greil took a curious glance at the pair of siblings who hid their identities as unique dragons compared to the rest of Tellius. There were no variants of dragon Laguz who wielded the element of ice.

For now, they endured their current environment. However, it was easier said than done. For those with a frailer constitution, it was difficult to march.

"Oooh... It's too hot!" Serra complained as she quickly turned to Erk, who no one could tell whether he was suffering from the climate or Serra. "Erk, can't you make some ice with a spell like you did back in the desert?"

She was referring to the time when Erk summoned chunks of ice using a long-range wind tome in the Nabata desert. It was certainly a good suggestion, as Matthew and some of the others began to look at Erk with pleading eyes. However, their hopes were dashed when the purple-haired mage sadly shook his head.

"Anna has it with the rest of some of our supplies. And I would avoid wasting the uses on the water tomes," Erk replied calmly as he wiped the sweat from his face with a handkerchief. "Still, I understand everyone's plight. I wish I could alleviate some of the suffering from this harsh climate..."

The group sighed as Erk could not summon ice for everyone. Just as Ninian hoped to help, Eliwood gave her a reassuring smile and shook his head. Now was not the time to reveal their true forms or powers, as there could still be spies watching their every move despite having the best assassins.

Speaking of assassins, Jaffar and Legault lagged behind the rest of the companies to check if there were any pursuers. They were vigilant to ensure that no one was tracking their movements, and if spotted, they were immediately dealt with. All the while, Nino was right beside her brothers, as if reminded of something important. They left their life behind to start anew in Tellius; little did they know that their past was catching up with them, whether it was intended or not. After all, while Nino and Jaffar refrained from assassinating the prince, it was extremely awkward to be within the same vicinity as them.

"Out of all things to take off to Elimine-knows-where, you decided to just leave without doing your proper duty as a convoy, hmph!" Merlinus commented as he led a horse with a rolled-up tent. "Let it be that I, Merlinus, will gladly act as the Greil Mercenaries' convoy!"

"That's the spirit!" Boyd raised his fist high as he spoke. "Hey, mind carrying some of my axes while you're at it?"

Boyd's request was met with a frozen expression from Merlinus. The latter was not ready to set up his wares just yet in his tent, especially with no carriage/wagon. He needed time to set up and have guards accompany him. Rolf snickered as his older brother's request could not be obliged based on Boyd being suddenly confused by the peddler's depressed look (he genuinely wanted Merlinus to keep his axes for him until he needed them).

"Glad you're here with us, Merlinus..." Linus added, making the former peddler lighten his spirits and turn his attention to Mad Dog. "Compared to our boss, you're more loyal (and present when people need you)."

Merlinus huffed out with a sense of pride welling within him. It was certainly more humorous to watch the man be proud of himself as he took in all the praise. Nino managed to giggle slightly at the sight, making her brothers smile at watching their sibling finally smile. All it took was Linus's bitter feelings toward Anna to be appreciative of Merlinus.

However, the eldest brother soon stared ahead, as if attempting to gauge the distance everyone needed to travel. Their destination was Gallia, but they needed to arrive in an abandoned castle near the border. It took some time, but they would reach Gallia by the end of the day. However, not everyone knew of this fact.

"Our provender and rations will not last long at this rate," Heath suddenly told everyone, whose attention was on the wyvern rider. "I suggest we spare some food for the children for the morrow if we do not reach our destination. I will forego eating so long as our lords and the children are fed."

Because they had a notably large group, there were more mouths to feed. The amount of salted pork, jerky, or biscuits was far too low in the brief time they could accommodate everyone after exhausting the fresh food supply. Not even all the mounts would be able to eat around the same time as their owners.

According to estimations, everyone and the mounts can only eat supper before half of the people present can be fully fed by the next morning. Marcia and some of the others were surprised by Heath's assessment and willingness to give up his meal for others. He was a very different kind of wyvern knight, and Elincia, who remained quiet this entire time, was assured that these wyvern riders were not of Daein.

She was at first wary of seeing wyvern riders but let down her vigilance once it became abundantly clear that they were acquaintances with the Greil Mercenaries and even let her pet Hyperion. Many of the nobles and retainers were suspected to be from Begnion, but only one pegasus knight (Marcia) was from that country. Once anyone inquired, it was said that the nobles who were traveling with the companies were supposedly from the noble houses of Pherae, Ostia, and Bern... None of them were recognizable and were sometimes subject to scrutiny by certain red-haired snipers.

Just as Boyd or Rolf were willing to give up their meals (uselessly, as Oscar would vehemently implore his siblings to eat), Lloyd shook his head in response to Heath's proposal. "We are not far from our destination. We can ask Gallian sentries for meals once we reach there."

Once they cross the river, they should be able to reach Gallia and meet with sentries. That was, of course, after they cleared the blockade by Daein forces. There was no doubt that the blockade was awaiting the companies or Elincia, perhaps both.

"Will Gallia just be all forest?" Florina asked with a worried expression. Huey neighed with a tone of being annoyed. "Not sure if our pegasi will like this jungle heat..."

"You should be glad you're not in the marshes west of Begnion then," Marcia shivered as she spoke of the matter while leading her pegasus. "I heard my commander received headaches when a senator did all kinds of stupid stuff to attract some group of Laguz just because his territory was right next to the area (he denied all wrongdoing and couldn't be charged)."

"West of Begnion? But that's..." Canas trailed off as Marcia shrugged to herself in response.

Some of the company turned their attention to the pair who were conversing. Some of the scholarly individuals or well-informed Crimeans had an inkling as to what place was being mentioned, while others were oblivious. Greil raised a brow as he was somewhat well-informed on the matter. Moreover, it was something that Marcia appeared to have little say on the issue.

"Can't say... I wasn't born when that happened. I think my bonehead brother was just born, and my parents weren't involved around the time of the Apostle's passing," Marcia answered. "I think some of our neighbors or the old folks we grew up with would remember better."

What was being mentioned was the assassination of Apostle Misaha. The accusations that soon followed led to the massacre of the Heron tribe, an event that Canas, after hearing they were wiped out, led him to study extensively, especially upon being aware that one supposed heron with white wings, who was alive based on Ike's copy of the profile book. Elincia remained oblivious and was only aware of the Begnion Empress being killed before she was born.

"Let us proceed," Greil announced. "Once we reach the river ahead, we'll be in Gallia."

For now, against the hot and humid climate, they braved through.

"None of our scouts came back alive..." One Daein soldier reported to his superior, Petrine, who held a neutral expression. "The squadron we assigned to track their movements has perished. I fear it may have been the Angel of Death, based on their slit throats. But we suspect other assassins besides just the man. By estimations, they should arrive at the river very soon."

Many of the wounds on the necks matched those that felled General Kotaff and his men. There were smaller dagger-inflicted wounds from the scouts that differed from the exotic wounds caused by the Angel of Death. Nevertheless, they were all done by experienced assassins, capable of taking down many soldiers and generals. Only through a trail of bodies left behind in various places could they somewhat infer from the trail that Gallia was the destination.

Petrine stood silent for a moment with eyes closed and finally opened them to address her underling. "Understood, you may step down."

The soldier saluted and quickly went off, despite the nervousness he felt upon being aware that all the men who attempted to track the companies had died. It was for that reason that everyone was afraid of disappointing Petrine and even Bryce, who sat in the tent looking over a map of the Gallian-Crimean border.

Petrine snorted as she seemed preoccupied with the fact that these companies had decided to seek out the beast tribe. She wondered if the monikers that the Daein army gave to their enemies would grant them some sense of kinship with the beasts... While the advice for strengthening the Begnion-Crimean border was not as useful, it was better to be safe than sorry if the Crimean Princess decided to reach out to Begnion for aid.

"So Princess Elincia and the companies are making their way through the forest to Gallia… And the men they have are very good at covering their tracks... Ena!" She called out. The petite tactician came at her call. "It appears Bryce's and your advice was sound. Well done. You have earned my praise."

Ena nodded and bowed in response. "Thank you." Petrine gave a fond smile to their capable tactician.

"When the king assigned me a tactician, I wondered what I had done to lose his trust. When I saw it was a young girl, I burned with anger at the king's judgment. Still, it's worked out better than I had expected. Keep up the good work." Bryce also gave a nod of approval to the young woman, as her insights have done well to provide them significant results in their conquest.

"Of course," Ena replied with a neutral expression.

"Now then," Petrine brought out her lance, which began to emit a red glow. Bryce followed suit with the regalia lance, Wishblade. "It's time for the hunt to begin. I hope our Black Knight will leave a few for the rest of us to have some fun..."

"Ha..." Haar yawned as he sat some distance away on top of his wyvern along with his squadron. He was glad that his subordinate, Jill, was to remain on standby with her father at the Crimean-Begnion border. "They just had to be involved..." He was glad that she would not be present to engage with this group after they had last encountered them in Port Talma.

The Greil Mercenaries and Anna Merchant Company have decided to escort Princess Elincia. The high-priority targets from Melior have been announced to be among these companies. The Daein forces would likely engage with the enemies to capture Princess Elincia. Luckily, Haar's men would not engage unless attacked and would retreat to inform their superiors if necessary.

Despite the failure to accomplish their tasks to capture the pegasus knight, they still gave relevant information regarding the members of the merchants and mercenary company. It corroborated with existing information about the entities, and the wyvern platoons evaded punishment as a result of bringing back some info.

Haar saw General Dakova and Emil across from the river, situated right at the border of Gallia. Their men were ready to impede any Crimeans or mercenaries by preventing them from passing. Finally, there was one more individual, clad in heavy black armor. He was the greatest obstacle that these companies would likely face.

"I don't envy any of you. It's sad, but don't say I didn't warn you all..."