After a 45-minute march, we reached near the nest. I could already hear the sound of water flowing from the creek. The nest should be a fifteen-minute march from our location. Even though we were not too deep in the forest, it started getting on my nerves. My heart rate was already slightly higher, but the forest was not the only reason.

  This fight would be my first mission-related task, and it would test my methods, my way of thinking, and whether the opposing royal army’s doctrine of leading a death squad was the right decision. It was also a perfect opportunity for any of the conscripts to take advantage of the situation. I had made preparations to minimize the harm they could cause, but even those plans would be tested.

  Since I became a sergeant about a month ago, every squad-related decision has been mine. Good or bad, I would have to bear the consequences of my choices. There was no Walter to ask questions. I no longer had the privilege of simply completing a given task. Leaving the fort, the weight of those responsibilities had only increased. Now, my worries did not stop at fighting beasts.

  I had to make sure the supply cart was secured, keep injuries and fatigue to a minimum, and maintain our pace to complete the mission within the given time frame.

  I took a deep breath, then another, and finally focused on the task at hand.

  “Stop,” I said without raising my voice, using [Battlefield Command (UC)] so that everyone could hear me clearly.

  “If we keep moving straight, we will reach the creek in ten minutes. On the left, along the creek, the lizards’ nest is roughly fifteen minutes away. From now on, keep your voices low and your footsteps light. These lizards are known for their sensing abilities.” I then shifted my focus to Garran and Varric. “As soon as we reach the creek, you two will start cleaning yourselves.”

  “Barry, after reaching the creek, carry the boar a little farther from their nest so that if they take the bait, the lizards will be facing away from us, not toward us,” I said to Barry.

  “If all three lizards take the bait, then it will be best. In that case, me, Barry, Kael, Garran, and Varric will engage. If only two lizards take the bait, then only me, Barry, Garran, and Varric will engage. If only one takes the bait, then we do nothing. We allow it to eat its fill, and then our whole squad attacks their nest. Hopefully, one with a full stomach will be a little slower.”

  Before I could go into other details, Barry spoke up.

  “Why don’t we just attack their nest? Why go through all this?” he said, lifting an eyebrow.

  I raised my own eyebrow. Somehow, he always interrupted at the exact moment I was about to explain my reasoning.

  “I was getting there,” I said, irritation creeping into my voice. “As I said earlier, these beasts are good at sensing. Attacking their nest means they will be prepared for us. The bigger problem is that they build their nests with mud. That is why they prefer creeks or places with abundant water. The mud is usually deep enough to hinder our movement, making the fight more dangerous than it should be.”

  “The reason we will not engage a single lizard is that the squad division would be uneven, and if the remaining two attack our cart, things could turn dangerous.”

  What remained unsaid was that I did not trust the conscripts not to take advantage of the situation. For the ambush to succeed, I would have to control the rune. In the case of two lizards taking the bait, I would be leaving Kael and Peter to guard the cart. I trusted Kael not to harm the squad, but if there was a chance that two lizards could attack the cart, I would have to leave one more Tier Two behind for proper defense. That would be either Barry or Garran, and both could take advantage of the chaos to target Peter or another squadmate.

  Once we reached the creek, I nodded to Garran and Varric, who started cleaning themselves. When I nodded to Barry, he just stood there, staring me in the eye.

  I clenched my fist. It looked like my squad was about to lose a member.

  Just as I was ready to use the mana oath, he smiled, picked up the boar, and started running toward the location I had indicated. As he ran, I sighed, letting go of my anger. Barry had been getting on my nerves, and I had even started thinking about executing him. Yet watching him run, I could not help but feel impressed. He was carrying a three-hundred-pound, roughly one-hundred-forty-kilogram boar, yet I did not hear a single footstep, and his speed was not slow either.

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  I sighed again and turned to Peter.

  “Peter, the lieutenant has provided you with an oath badge, to be used only if I permit it,” I said, handing him the badge. “If I am engaged in combat while you are guarding the cart, you are allowed to use it.”

  The lieutenant had wanted to give Peter the oath badge for the entire mission, but I had convinced him otherwise. Just as I did not trust conscripts not to take advantage of combat to harm others, I also did not fully trust Peter not to see threats where there were none.

  “Also, if someone really tries to sabotage the defense position, do not just oath them. Kill them,” I said, my last words infused with [Battlefield Command (UC)] so everyone could hear.

  By the time I finished giving instructions, Barry had already placed the bait and was returning.

  After fifteen minutes of waiting, we saw one lizard making its way out of the creek through the brush. It was fifteen feet long (around five meters), with thick scales. Its hide looked almost like polished stone, gleaming faintly. It slowly approached the boar. A minute later, another followed, about the same size. We watched for five minutes, and slowly a smile spread across my face as I saw the third and final one emerge from the brush.

  I signaled Kael and the others to follow. I stood in the center, Garran and Varric on my right and left, while Barry and Kael took the extreme right and left, forming a wall of five. Once everyone was ready, I took out the wind mana crystal and used [Mana Manipulation (UC)] to link all our boots.

  We began moving slowly toward the lizards, staying close to the creek. I wanted to get near their heads and attack from the right side, killing at least one as quickly as possible.

  Our pace of moving was relatively slow to maintain the rune’s effect, and even after practicing during drills, it required patience, especially from Barry and Varric. I could see they wanted to rush in and attack as soon as they could. It took nearly fifteen minutes to get close. We were only a few steps from the brush where the lizards had exited the creek when my slow pace turned into a blessing.

  Thanks to [Perceptive Instinct (UC)], I sensed another mana signature ahead of us. It looked like the scouts’ reports were not accurate. I raised my hand, stopping everyone in their tracks, as a fourth head popped out of the brush.

  It was within reach of my spear.

  Without wasting time, I used both my attacking skills, [Flowing Spear Style (UC)] and [Mana Reinforcement (UC)], piercing through the lizard’s eye and into its skull.

  I was happy to score an easy first kill, but the dying beast made enough noise to attract the other three. The nearest one hissed, then stood on its hind legs, rising taller than Garran, and lunged at us.

  In a coordinated motion, we all raised our shields without any command from me. Garran took the brunt of the nearest lizard’s impact on his shield. I used the opening to stab its stomach, which was at my shoulder level, while Barry struck from the other side, forcing it back. The other two lizards were already being held off by Kael and Varric.

  “Kael and Varric, keep doing what you are doing. Keep their attention on you.”

  “Barry, move from behind us and help Kael and Varric keep those two occupied.”

  “Garran, you and I will kill this one,” I said.

  This time, the lizard did not leap. Instead, it charged with insane speed and slammed into my shield. I braced for the impact as Garran struck at its neck, but once again, the blow only chipped its scales. It staggered back a few steps, then attacked again with enormous force, pushing me back several steps, my boots sliding across the ground.

  This continued for the next ten minutes. At one point, I worried that another lizard might emerge from behind us, so I kept [Perceptive Instinct (UC)] active, but nothing appeared. The fight up to that point had given me a confidence boost. My methods were working. Our defense and attacks were, in my view, almost flawless. I did not have to shout constantly; we instinctively knew when to move and where to move, without hindering each other’s movements.

  Eventually, the lizard grew tired and injured, its movements slowing. Instead of finishing it myself, I shifted targets and moved to assist Varric, leaving the exhausted one for Garran.

  The lizard in the center was the least injured. I took the role of defender this time, leaving the attack to Varric, but the lizard did not like my addition. It rose onto its hind legs like the first one, attempting to intimidate me, but this time I was ready. As it jumped, I stepped forward and used my shield to stop the lizard midair, positioning it so that its head and neck remained exposed.

  "Varric!" I shouted.

  Varric took the opportunity and drove his spear through the soft flesh of its throat and into its skull, killing the beast in a single strike.

  We then surrounded the remaining two lizards and killed them over the next five minutes.

  By the time it was over, all of us were breathing heavily. I straightened up with a smile on my face and unknowingly raised my fist, expecting a fist bump.

  Everyone just stared at me in confusion, but after a brief pause, it looked like Barry understood my intention and bumped his fist.

  I nodded with a smile and started laughing.