As soldiers worked on revolving s.h.i.+fts, they could take short breaks. Seeing Faxul limping out, a soldier who seemed to be manning the small portgate said these words while looking at him admiringly.

With a nod, Faxul walked out and headed to their room.

….

A few minutes later.

The closest barracks to the Royal Palace of the Black Raven Kingdom was located just two streets away. With just a 20 minute walk between them, this ensured that the two locations were kept apart but reinforcements could arrive in a blink if needed.

The Capital City was roughly square-shaped, with the Palace located at the corner opposite that where the entrance stood. Looking from above, the Capital would look like a square-shaped block of buildings with one corner mushrooming out.

This 'mushroom' was both the expansive forest land of the Palace and the grounds of the barracks, which held over 1,000 Black Raven Fighters and an unknown number of Mages.

The exact number of Mages was a piece of information which could put any Kingdom at risk, hence it was closely guarded to make sure that enemies wouldn't know what to expect if they even considered attacking.

As the soldier on duty at one of the entrances saw a bleeding man approach while holding a raven in his hands, he immediately sounded the alarm, alerting his superiors that something strange was going on.

In barely a second, an Exalted Human Fighter teleported over with the help of a Mage beside him and started questioning the man about what had happened.

After seeing the headless Raven and listening to the man's explanation, the Fighter immediately spoke into a trinket before hurrying back inside to gather a team.

Pandemonium ensues, as the news of a spy infiltrating the Capital City itself and boldly killing a Black Raven was something that had never happened before. More than anything, the sight of the headless Raven caused a fury to erupt in each and every soldier's eyes, as these were the beasts which they both wors.h.i.+pped and treated as a close friend and family member.

During the chaos, the man who started everything limped to the healer wing of the Barracks, quoting his injuries due to which there was a line of blood at the side of his mouth.

No one gave any more attention to this man, as the news had been confirmed that there really was an enemy at the location and that he was actually holding a few civilians as hostage.

As more and more Black Raven Fighters and Mages kept getting deployed, Faxul managed to make his way to the room which held the backup Ravens without many people hindering his way.

Sadly, as this was one of the most important locations in the entire barracks, it was guarded night an day by an Exalted Human Fighter.

Stumbling to the door, Faxul knocked and waited while tears welled up in his eyes due to the meeting that had happened before.

Trying to put it aside, he recalled the plan. As per their discussion, it was now his turn to play the role of a soldier who had just lost his lifelong companion. Hence, Daneel had said that he had to be bereaved and sad.

Yet, at this moment, eyeing the dead Raven in his hands, all Faxul felt was indignation and anger.

Anger that someone had dared to kill a magnificent descendent of the deity who was the reason they were all alive right now.

Going with his gut and knowing that this was the right emotion, the tears which had appeared in the first place due to the memory of the Raven which had been locked up for decades alone turned into those of anger at the sight of the lifeless body in his hands.

Hence, as a wizened man with an equally wizened Raven on his shoulders opened the door, he sighed seeing the pure emotions of a soldier who has lost his companion.

"Was it you who reported the spy?", he asked, before seeing Faxul nod.

Sighing deeply, he said, "Revenge is the best way to honor a fallen comrade. Get in and choose a raven. The pain of loss is raw in you, and I have high hopes that you will be able to bond with one. Go."

After leaving these words, the man stepped inside.

As Faxul stepped inside, he saw that the room he was in was actually like a foyer. Right in front of him, there was a metal door whose bolt was currently open.

Taking a seat in the chair to the side, the man started to scratch his Raven's beak softly.

Walking forward, Faxul walked through the metal door and closed it behind him.

The process of bonding with a Raven was a personal activity. Hence, usually, no one would be present in the location unless it was in the case of kids who were doing it for the first time.

Inside was a large room, at least 3000 sq.ft. across which had multiple Ravens either caged, standing on pews or resting in nests.

The caged Ravens were the ones which had actually gone mad due to the death of their partner, causing them to be locked up for their own good.

After looking around to ensure that no one was looking, Faxul walked to an empty pew and took out his own Raven which he had brought inside in a hidden compartment in his s.h.i.+rt.

Reviving it again using the solution, he walked to the side and picked up the item he had come for in the first place.

It was a ring with a small thorn on the top.