Ploritan and the fishmen flowed in through the gates of the lizardmen village.

'To be honest, I expected him to question things a bit more.... but it appears that he too is aware of the antiheroes... just how far have they extended their reach already? Humans.... fishmen... lizardmen... I wouldn't be too surprised if they had enemies and allies all over the world.'

Many of the chefs of the lizardmen village prepared an entire banquet for them.

They were led to a reception area, where they all were fed to their hearts content, as if they were VIPs.

'Isn't this a little too much? We were the ones who came here asking for help.'

Rocko approached Ploritan, who was sitting down at one of the tables with a few other fishmen.

"We will do everything we can to ensure that the will of the antiheroes is performed."

'Ah... so that's it.'

"So you too accept them as your leaders?"

Rocko bitterly smiled.

"Is there any choice? The only options are that, or elimination."

Ploritan knew exactly what Rocko meant by this.

While he was sincerely concerned over Kota's leadership, every single supporter of Kota was slaughtered in the matter of seconds when they went against the antiheroes. They did not even live long enough to know who they angered, or why they died.

'It isn't that the antiheroes were in the wrong, but they certainly aren't playing around. If you go against them, you won't even have the time to regret it.'

"So, should we discuss strategy?", Ploritan asked.

"Yes, let's do so. Give me more details on the situation."

Ploritan then went on to describe the landscape, mapping out the situation and the stationing of the enemy troops from what he knew, along with the position of the underground cave.

"You're sure that the enemies are no more than regular humans?"

"The humans over there can likely tell you more about it, however when the fishmen were originally attacking the humans, they had barely any issues overwhelming even a force that significantly outnumbered them."

"I see... then, if we muster up our entire forces, barring that there is no outside interference, we shouldn't have any issues winning this battle, and liberating the village."

"That is correct."

The two continued to discuss strategy and formation for a while, and Ploritan informed Rocko of all the events which led up to the current situation.

The appearance of Claire in the village, and the tournament which led to Kota's chiefdom.

Kota's ill mannered response to Claire, and his lack of preparations.

His disturbing treatment of the antiheroes when they visited as meek criminals, who had been captured.

And finally, his allowing of the humans to take over a critical point by trying to fight them in an open field as 'courageous warriors', all while refusing to evacuate the fishmen in the upper village, thus leading to their slaughter.

"This has been going on for quite a while then...."

"Indeed it has."

"It must have been terrible, knowing that an incompetent leader was in power... one who had no respect for those above him, and yet not being able to do anything about it..."

Rocko shuddered at the thought of someone else irritating the antiheroes, and his entire village being punished for it.

Rocko then told Ploritan the story of the war between the birdmen and the lizardmen, where the antiheroes had single handedly prevented the war at the cost of the sanity of two men.

"Their power is truly something beyond belief.... to be able to completely prevent anyone within their vicinity from moving even a muscle.... I cannot even imagine how terribly powerful they must be.", Ploritan commented.

The two spent the rest of the day together, planning and discussing all their worries and troubles among one another.

----

Lance and his group looked around the lizardmen village with astonishment.

"Wow! It's almost like a human city!", Lance exclaimed.

Pierre looked to be stunned. He had not yet completely accepted the monsters as people before this, but after seeing two villages, he was starting to change his mind.

'Civilization.... culture... buildings... they really are just like us.... how? How can these monsters be this intelligent?'

It was an outstanding sight. They passed by a number of lizardmen who were training their swordsmanship in their yards, and some others who were hauling materials back and forth. There were even shops and various places to visit.

"I wanna purchase some stuff here! Do you think they will take human currency?", Charlotte asked while looking around excitedly.

"Who knows. Either way, we should take a look! I wonder what type of things they would sell here.... maybe there are some ingredients for potions...."

Charlotte and Lance were completely back to their old selves.

Now that they had a purpose... a reason for their killing, even if they recognized the ones they killed as humanoid, and not as mere monsters, they were able to come to terms with it.

They had branched off from the main group of fishmen who were led throughout the village to a dining hall, in order to explore.

"We will meet up with you later. For now, we will take a look around.", Melody told Ploritan as they left.

"Alright, just remember that we will be heading out tomorrow morning. But are you all really alright with sticking with us, and even attacking the humans to assist us?"

Charlotte and Lance simply smiled.

"We've been enlightened with a new purpose. We will do everything we can to assist the antiheroes, and those who share our respect for them."

"I see. Then, I will rely on you tomorrow."

"As we will rely on you."

The groups went off on their separate paths, and Pierre pointed over to a tavern.

"How about we head over there later tonight?", he suggested.

"Haha! Just like old times?"

"Well, I don't mind. I am quite interested in seeing what type of drinks that lizardmen would serve.", Melody stated.

"But first lets take a look at the shops!", Charlotte begged, while grabbing Lance by the hand and dragging him to go shopping with her.

"Ugh... but you take forever when you shop....", Lance said while trying not to be brought along.

"Well, you'll just have to be patient then! Are you two coming with us?"

"Fine fine, we'll come.", Pierre sighed.

The four walked down the winding streets, and stopped at a general store.

"These buildings are so tall!!!"

"Mhm."

Charlotte spent the rest of the day dragging the group around the lizardmen village, looking at all the different things, and they even managed to speak with some of the lizardmen, and hold regular conversations.

Well, somewhat regular.

"Excuse me, shop owner! Hello! I can't believe you lizardmen have shops like this!"

"Well... we do pride ourselves on our culture. Please, have a look at the weapons and armor we produce. We are a warrior people, after all."

"Oh, really! That's so cool!"

"By the way, miss, why would you humans be here in the lizardmen village?"

"Oh, um.... well, actually we happen to be... I guess you could say we're friends with the antiheroes, and we're stocking up for the attack tomorrow to help their allies."

"The- did you just say the antiheroes!?! And, friends!?!?"

The shop owner seemed to be sweating bullets, and his eyes bulged when he heard those words.

He fell backwards to the ground.

"Forgive me for addressing you all in such a casual fashion!!! Please do not report this to those beings of terror!!!!"

The group was confused at the reaction of this lizardman.

"Uh, what are you doing?", Pierre questioned.

"Is... is my submission not enough!? Please, take whatever you want from this shop, free of charge! Whatever you do, please don't report anything bad about me to your friends!"

"Oh, really? Ok then!", Charlotte exclaimed as she started sieving through some bracelets which increased attack power.

Lance looked around until he found an area for medical herbs and ingredients for potions and poisons, and he helped himself to a fill.

Melody didn't find anything that was better than her current equipment, so she simply found a ring that looked good and equipped it.

Pierre took a look at the weapons, however none were similar to his whip so he instead decided to purchase a pair of leather gloves which would improve his agility.

"Thank you, shopkeeper! We won't forget this kindness!", Lance said on the way out.

Melody was the only one who actually understood what just happened.

'We just robbed that shop owner using our authority. Well, not that it's a big deal, but these guys don't seem to realize that.'

She laughed to herself, and kept quiet about it.

'It seems that I really do have to stick around these guys to protect them. They don't really understand anything yet.'

----

Night approached.

Caspus lay down in his quarters, wishing that he had brought along some female servants to entertain him, however he understood that this was a warzone, and to bring them here would put them in danger.

Even if he cared nothing for the mercenaries, and even if he was willing to sacrifice his own soldiers like they were nothing more than pawns to be used, his servants were different.

He couldn't expose them to even the slightest danger.

But how lonely a night was without them.

'This is war, I suppose. I wonder if there is any news from the unit which was sent out scouting? No, they would have informed me before anyone else. They likely haven't found any alternate routes. If they find nothing then I will send a unit into the breach tomorrow, and if they don't come back then I suppose we will try to dig our way in... we brought a number of picks and supplies for mining in case this happened.'

But there was a more important event which was happening just as Caspus thought this.

'It should be about now that most of the mercenaries are being slaughtered. Algerth should report back with the news of their demise any moment now.'

Caspus took a sip of water.

'I wish I could drink wine, but that would be inappropriate, especially knowing that we could be attacked by the fishmen hiding in the cavern at any moment.'

All that remained in this campaign was to take over the inner area of the village.

If there were no other entrances, then the fishmen inside would essentially be trapped, and it would only be a matter of time before they starved to death.

Or would it?

Caspus was not sure about this tactic, as he didn't know just how complex of a city lay within the underground cave system. Could it be possible that they had farms down there, or did they survive off hunting animals within the cave system?

There did exist farms on the upper area of the village, so it was a possibility that they existed underground as well.

This might turn into a siege that would last for months if things didn't go well.

'Well, this was a long term deployment either way. Whether we defeat these fishmen here and now, or whether we are stuck in this siege won't make much of a difference, as it will give the Emperor more time to gather the heroes and send them on a head on campaign. Who knows? If this lasts too long, they might make their way here on their own. So long as no other monsters attack us, we shouldn't have any issues, but that could be an issue. If it's just a few, that won't be a problem, however if an army of them comes, we might have to retreat. Many of the fishmen escaped, but it's not like those monsters will be able to ask other groups for help anyway, so it shouldn't matter. But what if another group tries attacking the fishmen village on their own, only to find us here?'

Over a long term siege, the possibility of this happening was great. Caspus didn't know how often monster villages would attack each other, however he decided that he needed to prevent anyone who might be a scout from returning with the information that the fishmen had been overtaken.

'Maybe it was a mistake to let those fishmen escape.... no, most of the mercenaries died killing them off. It's not like we could have done much even if we chased them.'

Caspus laid back, and considered his new role in this campaign. While he was supposed to be the one to start it off, he might have to stagnate for a while, and before he finishes his task the heroes will likely have already made significant headway into the monster realm from the wall.

'Well, I should be able to figure something out so long as Brutus becomes the Emperor in due time. He will ensure that I receive the position of high commander. All I need to do is ensure that there are no major mistakes on this campaign... this will be perhaps my last campaign as a mere Legion Commander.'

Caspus smiled as he thought this.

He had worked his way up to the top, but was still standing side by side with the other four legion commanders.

Darius in particular annoyed him, and he would love to be able to order him around.

In the distance, Caspus began to hear the crackling of fires and the screams of people.

'Ah, it seems that it has begun. Their sacrifices didn't go to waste. They took out a large chunk of the fishmen unit, and we didn't have to spend a dime on them.'

----

Joran was born in the Ruthobold Kingdom as a peasant.

He grew up, being the son of a farmer working the fields.

However, this mediocre lifestyle was always unpromising.

He understood well his own position, and knew that it was impossible for him to ever do anything more than manual labor at the rate he was going.

He would live his life producing crops for a landowner that he didn't know, living off the scraps that were leftover, which the landowner would always ensure were minimal.

Essentially, Joran and his family were only given a portion barely large enough to keep them working the fields.

One day, a traveling merchant came by Joran's farm from the Vythguard Empire.

The merchant had a conversation with Joran, as he stopped by to ask directions, and this was when Joran first heard of the Emperor, Percius, and his revolutionary policies.

Specifically, the establishment of the mercenary system within the Empire.

Joran threw off his work gloves and jumped at the opportunity.

To be rid of this life of poverty for the opportunity at riches and adventure, Joran gave up his entire life, which didn't amount to much.

He left his parents and set out on his own, hoping to come home with a fortune.

His own farm was close to the Empire's border with the Kingdom, and as such he didn't have to travel very far. After a long procedure, he was accepted by Darius, the Legion Commander of the 2nd Legion, and promoted to mercenary status.

At first, the tasks were menial, such as basic hunting and serving as a bouncer for bars, however he made some reasonable money from them, and was able to purchase himself a nice set of gear. A shortsword and a shield, along with a set of leather armor and even a magical ring which increased his vitality.

Joran never found any comrades to fight with, however he did find a few drinking buddies.

So long as he was the one paying, of course.

He continued to work simple jobs, until one day the opportunity arose for him to go on a real military campaign, with a reward that was out of this world.

An entire gold coin, per day.

He was the first one to set out for the village of Githard, traveling across the Vythguard Empire as soon as he heard of the opportunity.

However, things hadn't exactly gone as planned.

Joran didn't expect a military campaign to be easy. Absolutely not. He understood well that he would be putting his life on the line for this.

Yet, what awaited him in the monster realm was something far more chaotic than he had imagined.

The fishmen were strong.

Overwhelmingly strong.

If he took them on one on one, he would have died for certain.

Fortunately for Joran, he had stayed behind out of caution during the initial landing. This saved him his life, as many went before him to die to the overwhelming strength of the fishmen.

He only took on fishmen who were significantly weakened as he fought his way through the bloody mess, all while clinging close to the landed ships.

He didn't dare try to be a hero and venture forward.

Fortunately for him, by some miracle, many of the fishmen died due to what was said to be natural disasters.

The vortex in the sea was one thing, however Joran saw the fire from closer than the people of the legion.

That was no natural disaster.

There was no way fire could just randomly appear like that, and disappear so quickly.

And worse.... he thought he saw the faces of the dead within that fire, as if there were souls possessing it.

It was horrible.

So horrible in fact, that Joran couldn't remove it from his memories.

That was all he was thinking of, as he lay in his tent, in the encampment of mercenaries.

However, as Joran was thinking about what that horrible fire could have been, or where it came from, he heard the crackling of another fire.

It was nearby.

The shuffling of soldiers running about, and then...

A scream.

Not one.

Not two.

Many screams, all at once.

Joruk grabbed his shortsword and shield. He was still dressed in his armor, as he couldn't sleep due to the anxiety he held.

'Is something going on outside??'

He opened the flap of his tent, to see a red sky.

Flames covered the encampment, and soldiers were running in and out of tents.

Each time a soldier entered a tent, a scream was heard, followed by the soldier exiting with a bloodied spear.

'What is going on!?!?'

A soldier noticed him, and three of them came running over.

"We got an armed one over here! Gather around boys!", one of the soldiers shouted.

Joruk held his sword in an attacking position, and prepared to block with his shield, however two more soldiers appeared from either side of his tent.

There were now five soldiers around him.

"What is going on!?! Why is everything burning!?! Don't tell me you people of the Empire did this!?"

"You ask too many questions.", one soldier replied.

One of the soldiers thrust their spear from the side of Joran, and he blocked it with his shield, however just as he did so, two others thrust their spears into his chest.

"Why.... I just.... wanted to make some money...."

The soldiers stabbed him once more in the head to confirm the kill, and quickly moved onto the next tent.

Many more screams were heard after this.

500 mercenaries were slaughtered in a matter of 10 minutes.

Trevor, Ashley, Samantha, and Garett watched this scene from above while invisible.

"I like the lighting. The flames really provide a nice touch.", Ashley said as she stuffed a handful of popcorn in her mouth.

"A well planned move, with minimal risk. Only a few were even able to arm themselves, and they weren't prepared to take on many at once.", Trevor commented while sipping a soda.

"Just another group of leeches trying to suck each other dry.", Samantha sighed.

"It seems like the mercenaries made a bad gamble. Everyone knows that if the rewards are too good to be true, it likely is.", Garett laughed.