Xita City had fallen to a fairly powerful rebel force, whose leader was a man who called himself Osato.
Osato was strong, though he had yet to reach Full Beastification. At most, he was at the peak of the fourth form. His bloodline was that of the Golden Python, a mid-tier behemoth that ranked among the strongest of its kind. It was no weaker than Count Stanwen's terror crocodile bloodline, and perhaps even stronger.
Taking advantage of the chaos in the Sacred Dragon Empire, Osato had quickly gathered a band of men and captured several cities. His forces had expanded rapidly, becoming a fairly powerful rebel army.
Now, Osato stood atop the walls of Xita City. Scouts patrolled the surrounding skies, soldiers with behemoth bloodlines that allowed them to fly. These scouts enjoyed relatively high status within the Giant Python Army.
Whoosh!
A scout swooped down from the sky and landed on the wall, reporting respectfully, "General, we've spotted a merchant caravan up ahead."
"A merchant caravan?"
Osato's eyes lit up. Maintaining his army was enormously expensive. Capturing several cities had done little to replenish his stores, and many of his supplies were nearly exhausted.
Merchant caravans, on the other hand, were rolling in wealth. There was nothing unusual about rebels occasionally turning their hands to banditry.
"Did you get a clear look at how many people are in the caravan?"
"About five hundred. Three hundred of them wear armor and ride horses. They're Heavy Guard Knights, probably mercenaries hired by the caravan."
The scouts had been quite thorough. Osato considered this for a moment before asking, "Did you see the mercenaries' banner? Famous mercenary companies usually have their own banners. The stronger they are, the more likely that is."
Osato remained extremely cautious. The mercenaries hired by large merchant