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The individual combatants on the field weren't visible from this far away, but Zeff could make out the shapes of organized battalions on the hills there, along with the odd spark or explosion.

Zeff had heard that, in terms of sheer numbers, the RPMP was at a rather enormous disadvantage, with only about four thousand total members, the vast majority of which were not even servants. Plus, it was keeping many of said members away from the fight in order to maintain peace within the city.

Compared to the ten thousand or so that the VMP had reportedly brought, it was impressive how well the RPMP was managing the situation. Warfare wasn't all about numbers, of course, especially when servants were involved, but still. That was no trivial difference.

Dimas led the group to their rendezvous point, which happened to be one of the tallest buildings in Ridgemark, the Ruby 88 Hotel & Casino. The tower's owner was a man named Vino Vance, and as one of the primary benefactors of the RPMP, it had been he who brokered the deal with the Rainlords.

In exchange for aiding in the defense of Ridgemark, the RPMP agreed to help the Rainlords protect the Miroan refugees.

The RPMP had already held up their end of their bargain, at least in part. From what Zeff had heard, just getting the refugees to Ridgemark had been quite the undertaking. Thaddeus Croll, the Killer of Krohin, had ambushed their convoy along the way. Melchor's team had already been skirmishing with him for weeks, and they'd managed to keep him subdued even if they couldn't finish him off, but this time, Croll had reinforcements with him. Powerful ones.

Raga Marda and Jan Cross, a.k.a. the Demon's Tiger and the Whitehand, respectively.