After a bit of rest, the group continued down the slope.
The Ice Wyvern Zone had many mountains and hills, and the battlefield was basically a gigantic crater that had been created over many years of war between ice and fire beasts.
Of course, the clash between the two Zone Beasts hadn't helped the land. Their clash had happened in the north, and if it weren't for them, the other side of the crater would begin in the middle of the battlefield.
However, since they fought, a huge chunk of the north was also destroyed, leaving behind a kilometer-wide crater, which was just as deep as the central crater of the battlefield.
One only needed to imagine a big crater in the center of the map, which then stretched into the north for several more kilometers.
As the group of soldiers charged down the steep decline, they had to evade several spikes of ice. Over the long years, the fire had molten the ground in many parts and pushed it towards the south. However, these waves of earth had been frozen by the Ice Mana, essentially locking them in place.
Because of that, several frozen spikes of earth pointed towards the south, making travel very inconvenient for people that couldn't jump several meters into the air.
Luckily, as General Stage warriors, these spikes were nothing more than a couple of bigger pebbles on the road, but, of course, it was still draining to constantly jump over them.
"Why did you say that you were a traitor?"
Two looked over to One, who had just asked the question.
"Why do you care?" Two asked.
"Because, if you like it or not, we three have been lumped together," One answered. "We can trust no one, but there should at least be some trust between the three of us."
"How can there be trust without reciprocity?" Two asked. "I gave you a sensitive part about my person, but you didn't give me anything."
One snorted. "And how am I supposed to believe that what you said was true?"
"What reason would I have for endangering myself?" Two asked.
For a while, One didn't answer. "Assuming you told the truth, why? Why did you tell the truth?"
"I want to take revenge on the people that hunted me in the past," Two explained. "My words will surely attract them."
For a second, One wanted to comment that this was a stupid idea. After all, if the enemy knew where and who Two was, they wouldn't send some weak warriors. They would definitely send someone that had the power to kill Two.
But then, One saw the Space Ring on Two's finger, and he realized that Two probably had his real weapon stashed away, making it difficult for the enemy to actually find out who he was exactly.
One looked at Two's weapon and guessed that this weapon wasn't Two's actual weapon.
Maybe Two was even imitating another traitor to make the enemy underestimate him?
"What if I belong to Duke Mithril's faction?" One asked.
"So?" Two asked. "What does it matter? You don't know anything about me, and you have learned nothing. This conversation has changed nothing between us. If you were part of the enemy, you would try to kill me, regardless if I talk to you or not."
"You're quite smart," One commented with a rough chuckle. "I like to have someone smart on my side."
"And how will you plan on getting me to your side?" Two asked.
"We'll have plenty of opportunities to prove our intentions to each other," One answered. "We have a full year ahead of us, and we will come into conflict with humans and beasts alike during that time. If words can't convince you, my actions will."
Two remained silent for a bit.
"Alright, then I'll wait for your proof."
"Don't worry. It might happen sooner than you would think," One said with a chuckle. "Anyway, I need to also talk with our other… friend."
One looked over at Zero, who was running down the slope just ahead of them.
"I wouldn't get my hopes up," Two said. "Zero feels like someone that doesn't care about words. I think you would get further with money than with words."
Two couldn't see One's face due to the mask, so he couldn't judge One's reaction to his words.
"Maybe," One said mysteriously.
And then, he accelerated to catch up with Zero.
Many other soldiers in the group had difficulties with the constant jumping, but One seemingly danced over the huge, icy needles without a care in the world.
In just a couple of seconds, One arrived besides Zero.
"You said you were interested in money, right?" One asked.
"I am," Zero answered directly.
One looked at Zero more closely and noticed that he also wore a Space Ring. This meant that Zero could very well also have hidden his true weapon and equipment.
"Are you willing to earn additional money?" One asked.
"Depends on the amount and the risks," Zero answered. "I won't jeopardize my payment from Duke Whirlwind's faction for a lesser amount."
"No, nothing like that," One quickly explained. "I don't want you to go against our mission."
"Then, I'm listening," Zero said.
Zero couldn't see One's face, but he imagined One to be smirking under his mask.
"You see, we three have been lumped together by everyone else. You can see that by the distribution of the team," One explained.
"Get to the point," Zero answered with some annoyance.
One didn't like that Zero interrupted him so quickly, but he kept his annoyance in check.
"Two isn't very interested in forming a team without some strong proof of trust. He seems to be more on the ideological than the materialistic side of things."
"I said get to the point," Zero interrupted again.
For two seconds, One didn't say anything.
"I'm willing to pay you an additional 50% of our salary, but I want you to follow my orders," One said.
"When are the payments, and what do you want me to do?" Zero asked.
"The payments are every month upfront," One answered, "and I won't make you do anything that will endanger our primary mission. I just don't want to be alone amongst a big group of people that might betray me at any moment."
"Fine," Zero answered before he stretched his right arm to One. "First payment."
"Wait a second," One said. "I won't agree without some insurance."
After saying that, One took out his own Space Ring and summoned a contract.
He quickly filled in some blanks on the contract and signed it before handing it to Zero.
Zero took a glance at the contract and snorted. "Don't waste my time."
"What do you mean?" One asked. "The contract reflects what we have just agreed upon."
"Yes, it does," Zero answered, "but that's a dummy contract. I don't need a contract, but you wanted one, and now, you are offering me a dummy contract."
One chuckled a bit. "I only wanted to see if you were actually experienced in the shadier ways of doing business. After all, we are all wearing masks, and we hide our true selves."
The first contract vanished, and a new contract appeared, which One quickly signed.
After receiving the contract, Zero looked at it for around five seconds before signing it.
A second copy of the contract appeared beside it, and One took that copy while Zero kept the original.
"Payment," Zero said as he extended his hand to One again.
One took out a huge sack of gold from his Space Ring and threw it to Zero.
Zero leisurely stored it in his own Space Ring.
"I'll contact you if I need anything," One said.
"Sure," Zero answered.
And then, One went back to Two, and they continued talking.
Zero simply continued running alone.
