Rebirth of the Phoenix God

Chapter 139: Fen's plan

***Three months later***

"Hey, newbie! Bring us some beer!"

Sitting in a small circle around a campfire, Victor shouted at a random passing soldier. Even though they had absolutely no official authority over the private forces of the noble, just their authority as the better soldiers was enough to let them command absolute obedience in the camp.

Even if it was used mostly to push the former farmers turned soldiers around with mundane tasks like bringing something or cleaning the camp.

"So, what's the plan? Don't tell me that they want to simply throw us against the enemy and see what happens"

Even though he could heat himself up with his own flames, Fen still preferred to extend his hands towards the fire. For some reason, being warmed up by the foreign energy, while less efficient, gave him the strange feeling of comfort.

Yet, the topic that the group was discussing made it impossible to enjoy the calm atmosphere of the camp. After all, they weren't here for the sake of making a picnic with friends, but to fulfil the terms of their mercenary contract.

"That most likely will be the case. It's not like we can expect anything from the local commanders. It's a pity they skimped on the other mercenary groups, making it impossible to form a single autonomous unit of the veterans"

Sipping on his beer, Victor clearly tried to drown his annoyance. While they couldn't expect all that much from the local nobles that hired them, even the great pay that they offered wasn't enough to make them ignore their commander's ignorance.

"It will be okay. Worst case scenario, we will win this by ourselves."

Tired from all the talking, Fen suddenly stood up before approaching the fireplace. Raising his own cup to his mouth, he finished the last few drops of his drink before dropping the clay drinking utensil directly into the fire.

"Isn't this what we were hired for real? What's the point of keeping the pretence?"

Turning around, the young arcanist didn't bother to watch for the reaction of his fellow teammates, disappearing into the darkness of the night.

Just the fact that there was no torches or any other items illuminating the surroundings of the entire camp of the expeditionary force spoke wonders about how much the noble hiring them prepared for this fight. Even though the entire fight was about moving the borders of the province within one of the kingdoms neighbouring the Kinar republic to the north, Fen had this distinctive feeling that the majority of the war funds that could easily finance the proper army was actually directed to the fund for sponsoring his very own group!

"Madness"

Staring into the darkness of a random point, Fen could only rest from the commotion of the camp for a short moment before the sound of the grass being crushed under someone's feet announced that his private time was over as quickly as it began. 

"What is madness?"

Turning around, Fen could see Nadia's face illuminated by the fire coming off from a small torch that she was holding in her hand. 

"This entire war. What is even the point of it?"

As stupid as it might seem to be dissatisfied with the problem that was the source of his employment, Fen still couldn't handle the idiocracy that seemed to take over mots of the people he worked for in the span of the last three months. While the first few initial requests that he had to fulfil completely on his own once he entered Victor's group were quite satisfactory both in terms of income and the moral aspect of helping someone to solve their problems, it didn't take long before the situation in the north started to deteriorate. 

In the end, it wasn't that long on the historical scale ever since the old kingdom that brought stability to the region fell. At first, everyone who had the chance to do so rushed at the opportunity to rob the lands and riches of what was once the greatest country of the continent, the age was slowly changing. With the unexpectedly obtained riches slowly drying up, Kinzarian Heptarchy to the north of the republic started to act up.

At first, everything started with the minor nobles clashing against each other in an attempt to turn the lands of their neighbours completely bare of riches so that they could sustain their extravagant lifestyles. Yes, what they didn't expect at all, was that before long, the money they wanted to obtain from the raids and conquest turned out to be just the absolute minimum that they had to pay for mercenaries in order to save their own lands from the invasion of their other neighbours.

In a span of a single month, Fen's group had to change their employer thrice, with the entire households collapsing and falling apart, only for their place to be taken over by some ambitions warlords. Yet, as sad as this situation definitely was for the overly taxed folk of the land, this was the exact atmosphere in which mercenaries thrived!

"Why are you bothered by it? It's not like this entire semi civil-war is our fault. We are just doing what we are hired for, so there is no point to think about the deeper meaning of it all."

Shrugging her arms with a confused look on her face, Nadia clearly failed to gauge what was going on through the mind of her peer. Yes, peer. Ever since Fen joined the mercenary group, his growth finally showed what it was capable of. Using most of the free time to either train his combat and arcanist skills all the while using the rest of the time that he could spare to discuss tactics and strategy with other mercenaries, Fen quickly reached the point where instead of being Nadia's junior, he was slowly inching towards the point where she would actually have to refer to him as her senior!

Yet, in the mercenary group, there was no such thing as social hierarchy. Just like when they were all fighting side by side during a battle, this kind of relationship extended towards the times of relative peace.

"Not think about it? Sorry, but I lived through the events that I had no influence over at all. I know this feeling. But there is also a point that even someone like you and the others will understand."

Fen didn't bother pushing the talk towards the moral side of what they were doing, opting to go with the reason that spoke to the mercenaries the most.

Gold.

"Nadia, listen. Right now, we are basically cutting our way through a countless number of serfs that were forced into military service. While it works wonders for us so far, with how the war only continues to escalate along with the price of our services But how long do you think our employer will be able to pay us when most of the people that he can tax will end up dead on the battlefields?"

This was the main reason why Fen dared to start this topic in the first place. There was no denying that the current rate at which their group was earning made it possible for many of their peers to think about retiring as soon as this golden time for mercenaries would be over. Yet, no one seemed to understand that the world that they would do in this country could pretty well destabilise not only the entire region but the entire continent at large in the process!

Only by creating a situation where one of the factions of Kinzar would reach for the absolute rule while preserving at least a tiny bit of their manpower would there be a chance to stop the entire world from going at each other's throats down the line!

"Yeah, it came to my attention as well."

Out of nowhere, Victor seemed to grow up from the ground, joining the discussion. Given how he didn't bring any source of light with himself, just the noise of Fen's discussion with Nadia was enough to cover the sound of Victor's steps, allowing him to approach the two of them without being noticed.

"If my calculations are not wrong, then as soon as the next battle concludes, we will have to end our contract. That damned idiot won't be able to pay our fees anymore after the battle, so that's why he is throwing all the gold he has right now both on us and on his private troops."

Pointing at the camp behind them with his hand, Victor made sure that the duo would understand the implications of what he said before moving on.

"But sadly, it's not like we can do anything about it. That's why I'm taking any jobs that are offered to us. Unless you guys want to go back to the times where a single quest was enough just for about four or five days worth of living"

What Victor said wasn't a threat, but the sad reality of the mercenaries. 

Without intricate requests, rather than aiming for huge, singular rewards, they were forced to lower their princes even below any reasonable level, often risking their lives just for the price of food necessary to survive no more than five days. 

"You see, what I will say right now might be taken as treason So I hope you will keep those words yo yourself. Is that okay?"

Instead of outrightly explaining just what kind of idea was going through his mind, Fen took a moment to ensure that their leader would pledge to keep the content of their discussion. 

"I promise. Now, are you happy?"

Noticing how Victor's face reduced to nothing but a grimace of a fake smile under which a truly desperate and annoyed soul could be seen, Fen realised that he had nothing to worry about in the first place. After all, while one could be even the greatest actor in the world, as long as one watched keenly enough or even simply knew where to look, the entire disguise would fall apart.

And this was exactly what happened with that fake Victor's smile.

"Yes, I am/ So, without any further ado, let me begin."

Rather than bothering to bring some kind of utensils to draw, Fen simply pushed his flames through his head and started to write directly int the air by leaving a small trail of fires behind his finger.

"Right now, we are facing two problems. The upcoming battle that might be easy, but will still cost the lives of several of us just for the sake of money, or"

Taking a moment to calm himself down, Fen breathed in and out for a moment before he managed to regain his composure and once again look into Victor's eyes.

"Or we could negotiate a deal, where outside of the areas that that our employer was interested with, anything that we will conquer on our own would become a protectorate under his rule. With you as the governor, wouldn't it be better to have more serfs to manage?"

Getting closer and closer to explaining the true nature of his idea, Fen could feel the excitement coursing through his veins. From the changing expressions on Victor's face, the young man could tell that the idea of obtaining one's own lands just by being a mercenary was definitely alluring to the leader of their group.

"But if we want to realise this scenario, I will have to ask for a favour. During the upcoming battle, I want to be allowed to act on my own. I will try to scare the heck out of our enemies, so I need you guys to deal with the enemy mercenaries if they hired any. In this way, not only we will be seen as the liberators both from Kinzar and from their own lords, but our group would receive a stable source of income for the generations to come, preserving your legacy as its leader!"