The Martial Unity

"How much does the Grintle-edged hammer cost for renting?" Rui asked the storekeeper.

"A gold coin for every twenty-four hours sir." She replied. "This doesn't include charges for damaging, destroying, or losing the tool either. Any amount of wear and tear will be charged based on the charges for restoration."

Rui nodded while sighing inwardly. A gold coin a day was enough for one person to lead a good life. Paying that much for a hammer seemed obscene. However, he did understand the rationale. The hammer was not ordinary, not at all. It was made from esoteric alloys that were not easy to procure and were quite valuable. Materials that could withstand Squire-level power were far from abundant and were highly in demand.

With that consideration in mind, the price for even renting it was actually quite understandable.

He purchased a rejuvenation potion before heading to the dispatch facility to sign out and head for Fort Zurtun. It wasn't long before he took to the air, heading towards the south of the country. It was the shortest path to the destination of his mission.

He also needed to meet the client before beginning the mission as requested by the client in the mission bill.

('He probably wants to coordinate a siege on the fort right after the mission is completed and the siege weapon is gone.') Rui figured.

In order to destroy the weapon, he would need to cause enough damage to their military or to the fort itself to prove that he was worth employing the weapon on. Meaning once he destroyed the weapon the damaged fort would be at its weakest it had ever been likely since the Britannian Empire had taken over and turned it into a colony.

This was the perfect timing for them to attempt seizing the fort back into their hands.

('If that is the intention of my client, then he is a smart one that's for sure.') Rui nodded.

If he were in the man's place, he would have prepared his forces for an attack on the fort so that they could immediately move out and begin an assault on the fort. It was best to not give them any time to recover from the damage that they would sustain from the attack of a martial Squire. The chaos wouldn't last long, and the damage and loss would be repaired and replenished.

Rui shook his head, putting aside such thoughts, he would find out soon enough once he reached.

It took him several hours to reach the border at the south of the Kandrian Empire. He stopped skywalking after he left the Empire, after having gone through the due process, and began running on the ground.

BOOM!

A shockwave rippled across the atmosphere as he sprinted at a tremendous speed.

Fort Zurtun was more than a thousand kilometers south of the Kandrian Empire. Even with his tremendous speed, he needed a little more than an hour to reach his destination while maintaining his high speed.

The rebel group had a base in a forest surrounding the mountain that hoisted the fort.

('It should be around here.') Rui glanced at his pocket watch, before looking around. He had been instructed to arrive at a hill near the mountain, serving as a landmark for them to intercept him. The Martial Union should have already informed them about his dispatch and the estimated timing of his arrival. It was a whole ten minutes before he finally detected human presence with Seismic Mapping.

A group of five people arrived at the location soon enough.

('Four Martial Apprentices, one normal human.') He surmised with a single glance. The four Martial Apprentices guarded the man, clearly distrustful of Rui.

They covered their faces with masks, just like Rui, out of caution. The Martial Apprentices were in combat garbs while the man they were protecting wore something resembling a business or formal outfit.

They approached him cautiously before the man addressed him. "May I know your name?"

"I am Squire Falken." Rui responded simply, confirming his identity.

"Let us exchange verification codes." The man reached inside his jacket as Rui reached for his pouch. They quickly verified that they weren't dealing with imposters, before proceeding with business.

The Martial Apprentices didn't say anything, but Rui could vaguely sense that they were confused by his presence, probably due to the fact that he felt like a normal human being

"Thank you for accepting our commission and coming this far to humor our request to meet you, Squire Falken." He bowed, expressing the respect that a Martial Squire deserved.

"No problem." Rui nodded. "Where is the client? I was under the impression that I was going to meet him."

"Ah, he's at our base." The man clarified. "He didn't want to come here personally due to security reasons. Please allow me to escort you there."

Rui nodded, before following them through the forest. The Martial Apprentices were clearly on edge due to the fact that Rui didn't feel like a Martial Squire did, at all.

('Maybe I should drop the mind mask from here on out." Rui wondered. He used it because he didn't like drawing attention, but having to confirm that he is a Martial Squire each and every time was a pain in the ass. Besides, it's not like he could just suddenly drop the mask now. If he randomly dropped the mask while he was behind them, he would scare them into thinking he was going to kill them or something.

He sighed inwardly, it didn't really matter too much. If they were concerned about whether he was a Martial Squire or whether he was qualified for the mission, then he could simply prove it rather easily.

It wasn't long before they happened upon the base of the rebel group. It was a group of tents and other simple structures that were hidden under a canopy in the forest, hiding them quite well from the lookouts stationed on the fortress walls. It allowed them to mount attacks on the fortress easier than if their base was much further away.