All's Fair In Love and War

Chapter 9

The soldiers keeping guard of the rescued workers stumbled to a salute when their marshal.He waved them off to be at ease.

"I am looking for a Lee Taemin," the marshal demanded, looking over the group.

A young man stood up at the call of his name, a panicked look on his face. He was even more panicked when he saw the smile on the marshal's face.

"Follow me, please," the marshal said, turning around and leaving the makeshift fort.

Taemin winced in worry, afraid of whatever the marshal had planned for him. He doubted that they wouldn't be passed from one tyrant's hands to another. But the marshal of an enemy nation asking for you? It couldn't be good-

"Please don't worry," the marshal began, turning to the man. "I've just come to make sure you are well. Do you know someone by the name of Park Jimin?"

The man's eyes widened, quickly nodding, "Y-yes sir, he's a friend of mine. Did something happen to him?"

The marshal shook his head, continuing to strol away from the fort at a slow pace, "quite the opposite. I met him on the patrol. He wanted to ensure you are well."

Taemin paused, tensing. The Glorian army was known for their rather effective brutality in battle, especially in a fortified formation such as a siege. Someone couldn't simply pass through unscathed.

"'Met him', sir?" Taemin asked, a tad nervous of the marshal's response.

Hoseok raised an eyebrow, "yes, he managed a way past the siege and is doing so consistently. He's intriguing, and I wish to learn more about him. It is only fair I pay him back. So, while you're in the camp and the travel back to Gloria, I ensure your safety."

In response, the shorter man had a puzzled look on his face. "But, why? You could just say you spoke to me and he'd be none the wiser."

The marshal laughed, grinning at him. "Well it's not good to lie to potential friends, is it?"

Taemin nodded, still confused.

"Now, if you could help me out, what is his favourite food?"

~~

A few short hours after, Hoseok was stationed in his tent at the fort. He was carefully scanning over some papers regarding battle reports. Numbers of casualties, number of kills, well-being of his men, their food and water supplies.

He paid extra special attention to the food supplies report. They were quite well equipped, a cavalry coming through once or twice a week and supplying them with their stocks. They were well equipped enough that a mouth or two could be fed without a stark notice in the report.

He wasn't foolish enough to fiddle with the numbers, knowing that Namjoon had his own identical report at his base. The man was amazing with numbers, and he'd be a complete fool to ignore that fact.

All he could do was hope and pray that he wouldn't notice the ever slight discontinuities in the numbers. Then again, this was Namjoon he was talking about. The one man who had a chance of noticing.

But if Hoseok's assumptions were correct, invoking Namjoon's wrath would be worth it.

Not just any ordinary person could pass through the Glorian army's siege. That was a large feat that would gain the marshal's attention regardless. But by accident? Those sorts of natural skills, a combination of god-like abilities, not just a few, was unheard of.

And the marshal hoped to see to it those legendary skills put to use in his battlefield.