Conflict Below

When Merman hurried back to the merchants' guild, he heard curses and angry shouts from far away, mixed with groans and cries of pain.

He knew something was wrong and quickened his pace. His people were badly outnumbered, and he could only hope they hadn't come off worse.

But when he turned the corner and saw the chaos spread out before him, he couldn't help staring in shock.

The whole street was strewn with soldiers rolling on the ground and howling in pain. Judging by their armor, though, they weren't from Gannan Province's logistics troops.

Merman stood there in a daze for a long moment before snapping out of it. He hurried over and grabbed a soldier who was sitting on top of an opponent and pummeling him. "What's going on? How did this turn into a fight? Where's Lieutenant Colonel Soxi?"

The soldier was already seeing red. Feeling someone grab him, he assumed they were trying to catch him off guard and launched straight into a grapple.

Luckily, Merman was strong enough to keep the man from locking his arm. He also got a good look at his face and blurted out, "Lieutenant Colonel Soxi?"

The other man recognized him too, and the clarity returned to his eyes. He scrambled to his feet. "Oh, dear! My mistake, my mistake! I thought some bastard was trying to sneak up on me!"

Merman ignored his foul language and gestured at the wreckage around them. "What happened? How did you end up fighting?"

Lieutenant Colonel Soxi clapped his hands, then stomped twice on a soldier who was trying to get up. Still furious, he told Merman what had happened, adding a few embellishments along the way.

When he heard that the men had come to seize their grain by force, Merman flared