Dragons, Knights and Monsters
(Part 1)
XX-XX-2018, Area of Operation classified, West Senshi Kingdom.
Hidden deep within the largest forest of the country were four elite commandos, their ghillie suits blended expertly well with the local flora, they could be easily mistaken for a normal bush even at close distance. These special operatives had been lying on the mossy ground for an hour, conducting their routine reconnaissance on the objective location. As silent as the wind, the commandos observed the enemy, their patrol routes, their positions and the castle they were guarding.
The castle had a medieval European-style, nothing out of the ordinary for them. The castle was fairly big, able to house more than two hundred digimon. However it was also a simple and standard typed concentric castle, featuring a single gatehouse, an outer pentagonal-shaped stone curtain wall and a much thicker and higher inner, rectangular wall with a ward inside it. Four stone watch towers were built at the corners of the high wall. In the ward, a couple of wooden barracks, an armoury, a mess hall and a storage facility were built around the heart of the castle; the keep.
The keep was an impressive fortification, a symbol of the owner's wealth. It was built with white stone bricks, giving it a pristine and sleek look and in daylight, the stones reflected the rays of the sun, giving it a heavenly and divine appearance. The keep featured numerous murder holes and machicolations on the battlements, built on top of the keep.
Other than those defensive features however, the castle didn't have any moats, ramparts, towers or the sort, thus invading the castle was quite an easy task. For now, it was protected by the Imperium, a local lord pledged his allegiance to the Emperor, receiving in exchange additional fundings and troops to maintain order in the kingdom. This caused the civil war in the West Senshi Kingdom. The lord, with the help of an Imperial legion and several lesser clans, invaded the kingdom and swept large chunks of land.
The kingdom's leader is a young and inexperienced princess Lilimon. The Imperials thought that since the princess was relatively new to the throne after her father's "early" passing, they would be able to conquer the kingdom in a few days. Unfortunately for them, they underestimated the local population's loyalty to the princess, due to her popularity and kindness towards her people. Rebel groups were soon formed to combat the foreign invaders. The kingdom's army either joined the rebels or fought to the death in the first week of the invasion. For over five years now, the rebels still held their ground, led by the former prime minister Rosemon, a devoted but calculated digimon, inflicting significant casualties to the Imperials and its allies.
And so the battle lines were drawn on the map between the loyal insurrectionists and the Imperial legionaires. It is now up to a multi-national special operations forces unit to break the stalemate and restore peace and stability to the kingdom.
"It's zero six hundred hours, end of the night shift, gents." The team leader of the French operators whispered.
On cue, four other soldiers appeared behind them, set to replace the former team. Quietly and discreetly, they greeted each other and exchanged their places, the former team heading for their little hideout. It didn't take them long to find their hideout. The team leader lifted the leaves and mud covered entrance to the dug in, underground shelter, also acting as an advanced communication post.
They got in and slowly closed the entrance cover, blending in the environment as if nothing happened, not a single rock nor a branch was out of place. These type of hideouts was a specialty for the men of the 13e Régiment de Dragons Parachutistes, the 13th Parachute Dragoon Regiment.
"Serpent 2 to Goliath. For now, RK intel is correct. How copy? Over." The team leader reported straightly.
"Solid copy, Serpent 2. Be advised, two Kilos are up for the dance. Maintain usual routine until the go time. Goliath out."
The mission had the greenlight. The weather was clear, no moon was up in the digital sky, a perfect time to drop off a few dozen elite soldiers from the sky while the ground force quietly make their advance toward the enemy line.
In complete darkness, fifty Royal Marines stealthily approached the castle's perimeter while the French operators provided overwatch with sniper teams and drones. The British Marines naviguated through the darkness of the night thanks to their night vision goggles, their multicam uniform and painted face blended well with the grassy and hilly landscape around them. Moving through the high grass field, they could be mistaken for the windy breeze swaying the leaves.
From above, two C-130 Hercules flew high above the area of operation. Their black, sleek silhouette pratically made them invisible to the untrained eye. A rain of soldiers then jumped off from their rear. The airborne troops were SOF units from the British Special Air Service, the Japanese Special Forces Group and the French 1st Marine Infantry Parachute Regiment. On cue, the elite operators branched off to three different paths.
In the end, the human forces, numbered in just over a hundred well-trained combatants, surrounded the castle. The guards conducted their usual patrols, not expecting to be attacked in the dead of the night.
When everyone was in position, controlled chaos ensued. First off, a series of loud explosions erupted at the castle's Eastern walls, a wide opening breached through the curtain wall, catching the guards on site by surprise. The Royal Marines gunned down nearby enemy soldiers before storming in through the breached wall. Alarms rang off in the distance, confused and nervous guardsmen and imperial soldiers rapidly gathered their weapons and ran toward the sound of battle. Sniper teams eliminated every digimon present on the walls and watch towers, covering the Marines' heads. The French paratroopers and the SAS teams both prepared their breaching charges at different ends of the fortifications while the SFGp platoon silently made their way in through the gatehouse.
Two earth-shattering explosions detonated on the Southern and Western perimeters, throwing the defenders in disarray. The curtain wall quickly fell in minutes with its gatehouse. Just as planned, an assault team led by two Royal Knights emerged from the sky and dove in the ward. Royal Marines and French paratroopers secured the curtain wall while the SFGp and SAS made an assault on the high wall's gatehouse. In the meantime, the Royal Knight task force cleared a path for their allies.
The battle looked like a choreographed spectacle from afar, and in a way, it was. So far, everything was part of the plan at the right time and place. Only a couple of light injured and wounded was sustained from the Royal Marines.
The second gatehouse fell in the attackers' hands. The SFGp and SAS teams rushed in, neutralised their targets and fought their way toward the keep. The loud crack of gunshots was accompanied by cries of pain and agony from the victims. The commandos were quick and efficient with their kills. They were deadly accurate and fast with their weapons, usually three sharp snaps spewed out of their guns before a body fell in a heap. Unlike regular soldiers, few words were exchanged. Their reflexes and senses were sharp, their actions cold, ruthless yet clean. They leave behind a bloody trail of death.
They weren't the best of the best for nothing. Chaos is their specialty and the battlefield their playground. This was just another day at the office, in another world.
The British special forces gathered themselves beside the keep's main entrance while the Japanese branched off to make their own entrance. The Strike Force shortly joined them, preparing to breach through. Stepping up to the front steel door was one of the Royal Knights, a paladin in white and red armour and cape.
Dukemon violently kicked the door in, sending the slab of steel in the keep and crushing two guardsmen to their deaths. He raised the Aegis shield in front of him and charged through the breached doorframe. He slammed his shield hard against a legionaire, sending them skidding across the stone floor of the keep. The unconscious legionaire slid to a stop just in front of a line of soldiers.
Facing Dukemon was a line of infantrymen, armed with rectangular greatshields and spears, blocking the knight's way to the main ward. The legionaires formed a spiked wall with the shields upfront and their spears raised and pointed at him. Behind the shield wall was a line of ranged units, equipped with crossbows and rifles, the local guardsmen took aim at the white and red knight. Commanding these troopers was an imperial centurion, a Mistymon with a velvet sash across their armour to display their rank.
The Royal Knight stood at his spot, observing his foes while Rhodoknightmon and the Strike Force soldiers joined him and awaited orders. The SAS operators silently took their positions behind them, guns aimed at the enemy soldiers.
From what Dukemon could observe, the guardsmen seemed to be nervous when Rhodoknightmon appeared with the assault team, evident by their shaky grasp on their weapons. They were probably untrained and undisciplined auxiliary soldiers.
Mistymon took his sword out of its sheath and raised the flaming blade. "Soldiers! You will hold this line until you die!" One of the guardsmen grimaced as the centurion continued to speak. "You will not let the enemy get pass us!"
"We're so dead..." A guard whispered dreadfully.
"Ready your weapons!" The centurion ordered. The guards tensed up and took aim. "Aim-"
Ear shattering cracks cut his voice off, instead cries of pain and bodies falling were followed soon after. The line of foot soldiers fell, they were either dead or bleeding out. Mistymon gazed past the Royal Knights and felt dread when he saw a dozen humans in black, smoke hazely drifted away from the muzzles of their weapons.
"Screw this! Run away!" One of the guards yelled in panic, the others shortly abandonned their posts and ran the other way, leaving the imperial officer alone.
"Goddamn auxiliaries..." Mistymon muttered angrily.
The digimon and humans slowly approached him, weapons poised to eliminate him at a moment's notice. He had two options left : die fighting with honour or surrender with whatever dignity he had left in him... or he could also try to run away. But that option ruled out when he heard the familiar cracks and barks of rifles behind him, silencing the retreating guards in their tracks. He glanced back and noticed another group of human soldiers in green emerge out of the kitchen and into the ward, securing the ground floor.
"Get on your knees! Now!" One of the humans screamed angrily at him, rifle pointed at him.
"Surrender with your life while you still can," Dukemon reasoned with the centurion, preferring to avoid another death. Sadly, things didn't go like he hoped so.
In a swift movement, Mistymon swung his sword at the nearest Strike Force soldier, slicing a Vritramon's thigh. He was about to plunged his flaming sword through the dragon's abdomen but he was gunned down by the humans in an instant. A hail of bullets tore through his armour and flesh. He fell motionlessly in his own pool of blood.
"Tango down," A British operator reported stoically.
Dukemon sighed and cheked up on the injured Vritramon.
"Just a scratch, sire, I'll be fine," The Demon Dragon assured the knight.
He gazed at Rhodoknightmon and ushered him to lead the assault. The pink Royal Knight nodded back and ordered the troops to move up with the humans. Dukemon stayed behind, making sure the enemy hasn't call in any reinforcements.
The human elite soldiers volunteered to take the lead, moving up slowly and carefully as they checked each corner. The Strike Force soldiers simply trailed behind them. They've reached the first floor and in minutes, the combined assault group cleared and secured the floor. The operators haven't suffered a single casualty so far, and from the lack of gunshots from the outside, it seemed that the others have secured the castle's perimeter.
"First floor clear. Move up!" A British SAS ordered with a swift hand motion.
The others nodded and followed his command. Accessing another spiral stairway to the second floor. As they went up the steps, all the lights in the castle were dead, basking the fortress in total darkness. This turn of event caused some of the Strike Force soldiers to trip over themselves loudly with a crash. The humans just put on their night vision goggles and continued with the mission.
"Try to keep up!" Rhodoknightmon quietly scolded his troops before following the humans.
Reaching the top, they are met with a large wooden door. Slowly, one of the operators opened the door. A quiet creak from the hinges made Rhodoknightmon cringe under his helmet; they might've lost the stealth avantage. Fortunately that wasn't the case.
A SFGp operator peeked in, the NVG filled his vision with a light green hue and enabled him to see better in the dark than the average human. From the different shapes in the dark hallway, he can tell that the defenders didn't except the power to be out, thus some were stumbling around blindly. The soldier turned back, reported to his teammates with hand signals and as if on cue, the humans split into two groups.
"Stay here." One of them told the Royal Knight.
Three soldiers brought out flashbangs and simultaneously lobbed them in the hallway. Light metallic thuds caught the attention of the blind guards. Then three loud explosions erupted, lighting up the hallway with a blinding white flash, temporarily disorienting the enemy by assaulting their senses.
In an instant, the humans rushed with their weapons up. They spread out and executed the imperials and guardsmen. Gunshots still went off, filling the hallway with sporadic golden muzzle flashes and green and red strobes. The Royal Knight approached the door way and peeked his head out. The humans silently stood in a firing line, their weapons' barrels smoked. One of them turned around and spotted Rhodoknightmon.
"Hallway clear, sir," The human reported in a monotone voice.
They cleared the next two floors with effective and ruthless breach and clear tactics. They were fast and accurate, eliminating most enemy units before they could react. After clearing the hallway and rooms on the fourth floor, they were about to move to the fifth floor when all of the sudden, rapid gunshots went off outside the castle. The men's radios buzzed sporadically to life, urgent reports of numerous bugs attacking the Royal Marines and French SOF units on the ground.
Rhodoknightmon's comms blared into his ears as Dukemon contacted him urgently.
"The whole keep is rigged! Dokugumon and Etemon are on your-" The line was cut off, the knight assumed that his comrade was in danger and needed assistance.
"Get back to the ground floor and help-"
"INCOMING!"
Two Kabuterimon crashed into the hallway, smashing two gaping holes on the keep's surface. Fortunately there weren't any human casualty however the entire floor was suddenly swarmed with giant sized spiders, crawling on the walls and ceilings while human sized monkeys dressed as ninjas jumped in from the holes.
The humans immediately engaged them, killing spiders and ninjas alike. More Dokugumon emerged behind them from the stairwell, surrounding the assault group. The Strike Force soldiers engaged the swarm of spiders while Rhodoknightmon personally took care of the two large, blue beetles.
Back on the ground, Dukemon is overwhelmed with a swarm of Dokugumon and their offsprings, the Kodokugumon. It would have been an easy battle and massacre, were it not for the squad of MetalEtemon and Kabuterimon that joined the fight.
"Final Elysion!"
The holy beam smashed narrowly and cleanly through the wave of spiders, clearing a straight line into the swarm. A MetalEtemon leapt over the spiders and poised themselves for a mid-air roudhouse kick. The Royal Knight held his shield and slammed hard against the monkey's metal foot, crushing the bones with more force.
The digimon fell on the ground while crying in pain. Another MetalEtemon jumped above Dukemon, their rear aimed at him. His eyes were wide open in fear.
"Oh no-"
"Hekoki attack!"
The digimon let out a loud fart, the flatulent gas hit Dukemon square in the face. The Royal Knight coughed painfully, his nose assaulted by the strong and potent smell, blinding his eyes with tears.
"Aah God WHY?!" He coughed while stumbling backwards.
A third MetalEtemon threw a banana peel on the way. Dukemon slipped back and hit his back hard on the stone cold ground. The swarm of smaller spiders crawled on him and started to chip away at his armour, bitting and scratching through the thick layers of Chrome Digizoid. A Kabuterimon loomed over him, cackling eargerly as it prepares to pound the knight to death while the MetalEtemon laughed hysterically and mockingly at him.
"That's it!" He growled and picked his shield and threw at the giant blue beetle like a flying disc.
The shield slammed at its throat, cutting it from oxygen. Dukemon then slapped and kicked away the spiders, picked his lance up and aimed the tip at the trio of metal apes. Their laughter halted abruptly and was replaced with silent and worried stares, one of them even farted in fear.
"Royal Saber!"
The holy beam evaporated two of them and left the last one with a missing limb. He grabbed the Aegis and shifted his focus on the spiders. He crouched down so that his next attack would have a more deadly effect.
"Final Elysion!"
An entire wave was wiped out by the devastating attack, causing the rest to flee away in distress, leaving him with a Kabuterimon and a screaming, one armed MetalEtemon. The beetle recovered from the sudden attack and roared angrily at the knight. Dukemon began to charge forward while Kabuterimon summoned energy for its attack.
"Mega Blaster!"
Dukemon avoided the ball of electrity and plunged the Gram through the insect's tough shell. It roared louder in agony but swiped its arms at the knight in a blind rage. Slightly nervous, Dukemon deftly dodged and blocked every vicious claw strikes. On the defensive, he tried to put some distance away but failed, the beetle pressed on with its unrelenting attacks. His left arm was beginning to strain and ache due to the savage, brute force.
Finally an opening was presented to him. Kabuterimon went for a strong claw strike, retracting his left arms upward. Dukemon rolled to the side just as the arms swiped downward, cutting a small chunk of his crimson cape. Its left side now exposed, he stabbed the Gram through its ribcage and fired a holy beam, extinguishing its digicore and instantly deleting it from within.
The cloud of data hazily floated away in front of the panting Dukemon. He glanced at himself, checking for any wounds until he heard multiple chitters and clickings above him. Slowly, he looked up and paled in shock. Dozens of Dokugumon stared back at him with wide, malicious grins. Suddenly they all fell lifelessly from the ceiling as elite paratroopers opened fire at the group of large spiders. The bullets easily penetrated the flesh and organs of their targets, spraying green blood on the ground and ceiling.
When the volley of bullets ended, Dukemon shuddered in disgust, the green blood fell on him, the odor was worst than MetalEtemon's fart attack.
"Okay, gents! Secure the ground floor! Second squad on me!" One of the French operators yelled. "Are you alright, monsieur?" The squad leader asked in English.
Dukemon simply gave the man a thumbs up. The squad leader laughed and gave a small pat on his right shoulder before leading the squad up the stairs.
"I fucking hate spiders..." Dukemon mumbled under his breath.
"Focking SPIDERS!" A British SAS yelled angrily, the M249 Para spat out hot lead at a swarm of Dokugumon.
"Frag out!" A Japanese operator shouted as he lobbed a grenade down the hall.
The special forces teams and Strike Forces were regrouped at one end of the hallway after fighting their way through it. They formed a firing line and resumed on killing everything on sight. It is a good thing that their targets were spiders, they were easy to kill and they had the ammo for the job. Unfortunately, a Royal Knight was cut off from his team.
After eliminating the two Kabuterimon, which wasn't an easy fight in the first place, Rhodoknightmon was then swarmed by a large number of ninja Etemon. A bloody melee ensued, the knight cleaved through the ranks with ruthless effeciency and speed, however the ninjas were able to do significant damage on him. Just when he was about to take a breather, he was surrounded by Dokugumon lashing out at the same time. He barely escaped being swarmed and beaten up after he sliced two of them in one go, leaving a small room to escape.
He ran past the large spiders, sliced apart the offsprings on his way while ignoring the incoming friendly bullets and jumped over the humans to safety. He knelt down, breathing rapidly. His shining pink armour was now covered in red, blue and green blood as well as scratches and spider webs. It will be a nightmare to clean all of this off.
"Are you wounded, sire?" A worried Gokuwmon asked.
"I'm fine, Corporal," He replied curtly. "Vritramon! Burn the insects to hell! He ordered sternly.
The Demon Dragon in question smiled wickedly, "As you wish, milord!" He stepped just behind the line of operators, "Stand back!" He warned them before charging straight at the enemy.
"The hell?"
"Wildfire!"
Vritramon spun around, summoning flames around himself and swirling them at the enemy. The spiral streams of fire licked and burned the swarm, growing in size and intensity as more victims were consumed by the undying flames. In seconds, the floor was cleared, covered in ash and smoke.
The humans stood with their mouths hung open, amazed by the chaotic spectacle and its end result.
"Status Report, Corporal," Rhodoknightmon demanded from Gokuwmon.
"Minor injuries substained. Private Shutumon has been poisoned but we managed to halt the effect for the moment." He reported dutifully.
"You get her out of here until help arrives. The rest of you follow me!" The pink knight instructed firmly.
The combined group reached the fifth floor. Two iron doors stood between them and their possible objective. Rhodoknightmon pushed the doors in. The doors creaked loudly, making some of them cringe on reflex. The floor seemed to be the great hall, judging from the curved ceiling, banners, long tables and decorations. The humans were the first ones to rush in. They spread out and pointed their weapons at a group of ninja Etemon and Baromon, a high-ranking lieutenant, with Lilimon chained beside him as a hostage and living shield.
Rhodoknightmon walked in with little patience left in him.
"Drop your weapons or else I'll slit her throat open!" Baromon warned while drawing out a dagger, placing it just above Lilimon's throat.
"Give up, Baromon, your little army has crumbled, your castle's under our control and your reinforcements are currently cut off by drones." Rhodoknightmon told him coldly, "You won't get out of this alive even if you tried and your last soldiers will surely be dead by the time you move an inch."
On cue, the humans took a step forward, making the lieutenant and his remaining guards take a step back, problably trying to retreat back in the chapel through the door behind them. His guards felt nervous, they pointed their swords or arbalest wildly, not sure who to target first.
"This isn't over!" Baromon retorted, "The Imperium will rule the world and we will have salvation from you and your god! You'll never take me alive!"
Sensing an immediate danger by the way the humans walked, Baromon did a mad dash for the chapel with Lilimon in front of him. At the same time, the humans opened fire at the twelve Etemon warriors, eliminating them in seconds while a window cracked open, a bullet whizzed just above the chapel's doorway before the baron closed it shut.
"Quinn, get your hammer out, we'll make another entrance by the kitchen." The SAS squad leader instructed.
"Now you're speaking my language!" The mentioned operator replied eargerly.
The SFGp operators stacked up at the chapel's doorway while the British special forces cleared the kitchen on the right side of the great hall. One of them prepared a flashbang and awaited the signal. Much to their surprise, a door connected in the kitchen connected with the chapel, though it was locked and blocked from the other side, which meant Quinn have a chance to use his hammer.
"On one, you bang the room and we'll go in on Go, got it?" The British squad leader instructed the other unit.
"Three, two... one..."
The Japanese operator swiftly pulled the door open and threw the hand grenade in, causing both the lieutenant and the hostage scream in panic. The flashbang detonated, blinding both of them.
"GO!"
The side door of the chapel bursted inwardly, two SAS operators rushed in and had a clear shot on Baromon. Without hesitation, they both fired three shots on the target's back and twice more once he was on the floor.
"Room clear! VIP's secured!"
Another British commando knelt beside Lilimon, making sure she wasn't hurt and helped her to get on her feet. Rhodoknightmon entered the chapel and formally bowed to the princess.
"My Lady, I hope we didn't take too long to rescue you."
"I'm fine, sir Rhodoknightmon, you have my thanks," She replied tentatively, more intimidated by the heavily armed humans with painted faces and balaclavas.
"Don't thank us now, princess, you're still in a hostile zone," The British commando told her bluntly.
"Birds are inbound in six mikes! Double time, gents!" The SAS squad leader ordered sternly, "Get the VIP to the evac site!"
Almost immediately, she felt a light shove as the human warriors escorted her out of the chapel and down the stairwell. She felt extremely nervous and uncomfortable by the humans pratically crushing her on all sides with their bodies. Once they reached the ground floor, she recognised another Royal Knight.
"Ah, My Lady, are you fine?" Dukemon asked politely.
"Y-yes! Thank you for asking!" She quickly replied with a light blush. She would've liked to stay and talk with the charming knight a bit longer but the humans just carried and dragged her out of the keep.
She caught sight of many human soldiers, gathering the prisonners and nursing their wounded. At least half of the castle had been destroyed, the humans now had control of the entire fortress. Her escort took her at the edge of the curtain wall and formed a circle around her, shielding her with their bodies. One of them stood up and took out a small cylindrical object out of their armour. They pulled a small pin and hurled a few meters away. The object popped and breathe out orange smoke.
A short while later, she could hear what sounded like rotors slicing the air above her. She looked up and stared with wonder at the sight of three flying metal beasts. The biggest flying machine had massive wing with its rotors pivoted horizontally. The other two were much smaller and had big rotors on the top and a smaller one at the tail.
The V-22 Osprey made its soft landing, the rear ramp pulled down to let the operators and VIP in. The two EC 725 Caracal landed beside it and dropped off additional Royal Marines before the French paratroopers got in. In under five minutes, the three air transports flew off and head back to their designated landing site.
Lilimon observed the hybrid aircraft's interior, occasionally glancing at the terrifying human commandos.
"Who are you?" She asked nervously to the man sitting beside her.
The man pointed at himself, "Special Air Service, British," He then pointed at the soldier in green facing him, "Special Forces Group, Japanese," Then he pointed a crewmember of the VTOL, "U.S Air Force, American,"
She simply nodded, understanding a little bit the soldier dressed entirely in black, his face covered by a black balaclava, leaving his hazel eyes to the world.
"Thank you, for saving me." She said gratefully.
"Don't mention it, it's part of our job." The man stated with a wink, a faint smile formed behind his balaclava.
After a dozen or so minutes of flight, the helicopters were approaching a camp installed in the middle of a dense forest near the border of the kingdom. The camp was made up of several olive drab and dark green tents, Hesco barriers and barbed wires around the perimeter with outposts spread out on five different points. To the east side of the camp was a dedicated landing zone with three elevated helipads. The VTOL slowly descended on one of the wide helipads, kicking up dirt and leaves around itself in a green-ish, brown-ish tornado. The aircraft shook violently on landing, the rear gunner got out first and gave a thumbs up at the operators. At once, the men escorted the fairy digimon out of the air transport and guided her deeper into the military camp.
Walking out of the landing zone, Lilimon caught brief glances around the camp. They were humans, their faces masked like the men escorting her. She also noticed that there were more humans than digimon, she recognised a few were from the Royal Knights' Strike Forces. She then gazed forward where the men were leading her toward a large green tent. The two Knightmon guarding the entrance pounded their right fist to their chest upon the princess's arrival.
One of the men, a SFGp operator she presumed, walked ahead and opened the tent's flaps for hier and his comrades.
She was amazed by the spacious interior of the tent; tables, crates, radios and computers almost filled the entire tent. Her observation was halted when a familiar sight greeted her, and she beamed in relief.
"Sakuyamon!" The men stepped aside and allowed the princess to embrace Sakuyamon.
"It is good to see you again, princess, safe and sound at last," The female shaman said sweetly.
Their greeting was cut short when Dukemon came in the command tent with a human beside him. The human in question formally bowed down. His posture and manner were respectful and friendly yet he held an air of authority. Lilimon quickly assumed he was the commander judging from the lack of a body armour and helmet.
"Your highness, I'm Captain Edward Terrance, commanding officer of Special Task Force "Panther"," The man introduced himself formally. He straightened his back, standing three heads taller than her and gave her a sympathetic smile.
She bowed down in response before he turned his gaze at the soldiers standing at his attention.
"Job well done, gents. Get yourselves some grub and shower. Debrief starts at 1400 hours," He instructed with a deep voice and saluted the men. They sharply saluted back. "Dismiss,"
The men relaxed their posture and silently left the tent.
"Do you know them?" Lilimon asked Sakuyamon curiously.
"On a personal level? No. But I've already worked with them. They are the best warriors the humans could summon and I have to say: I'm quite impress with their performance on the field," Sakuyamon explained.
Lilimon nodded and turned to Dukemon and Captain Terrance, "You have my sincere thanks for rescuing me and helping my people in our fight against the Imperium," She said gratefully.
"You shouldn't give us too much credit, princess, we're just doing our job by accomplishing our missions," Terrance stated modestly.
"You're being too modest now, captain," Dukemon joked playfully.
"Well I'm British, being a gentleman is in my blood." Terrance responded with a sly smile. However his smile soon vanished and he returned to his usual stoic self. "Jokes aside, now that you're here, I must unfortunately inform you that your stay here is short. We've planned to escort you to a village farther to the East where you'll have a direct and safe route to friendly forces. Prime Minister Rosemon is very eager to meet you there."
The princess simply nodded in agreement, feeling a bit intimidated by the humans around her.
"Will Sakuyamon or Dukemon be part of this mission?" She asked tentatively, hoping to have the powerful shaman or knight by her side.
The officer chuckled and smiled, "Dukemon and Rhodoknightmon will be your personal bodyguards for this trip, however I will send in some of my men to add more security. You are after all in a warzone,"
"Thank you, Captain Terrance," Lilimon thanked him once again.
Terrance nodded and gazed at Dukemon, "You'll be leaving at 1600 hours with four squadrons. I suggest you get something to eat and some rest if you can,"
The Royal Knight nodded and lent his hand out to Lilimon, escorting her out of the tent and giving her a tour of the camp.
