Alsilia War Records
Chapter 4: Last day of Training (part 1)
Last day of training, just outside fortress Gown
Near the east gate of the fortress' outer wall, a few meters away from the main road, a lone kitsune kneels in front of a big backpack, currently checking its contents to make sure she hasn't forgotten anything.
"Let's see… rations for two days in case this mission takes longer than expected… a few purple potions in case of serious injuries… my spare dagger… camping equipment… and a few miscellaneous items… this should be all."
Closing the top of the backpack and securing it, Alsilia looks at the left of it where a detachable quiver settles, taking a single arrow from it and inspecting it quickly.
"Mmh… can't deny the quality of them and their enchantments, but I still prefer the ones from my homeland."
Putting the arrow back in the quiver, she grabs her crossbow that sits next to her backpack and stands up, aiming it towards the wall for a moment.
"Crosshair alignment seems alright… the runes are working as they should… hmhm, all set and ready to go," she muses aloud as she readjusts her grip on her weapon to look at its wooden stock, three names carved on it, most likely with a knife.
"..."
Sighing deeply through her nose, the brigadier general hangs the crossbow on the right side of the backpack, then looks down on her service uniform.
'Communications crystal hanging on the left pouch… equipment crystal on the right… three grenades and a flashbang, more than enough for anything we might encounter…'
Alsilia then looks up and towards the distant horizon, where the sun's light has already started peering over and quickly pushing the night away, the stars slowly fading away from the sky. Alsilia quickly mutters a short prayer to the forty-one Supreme Beings, as well to one of her country's goddesses named Luneir, then looks towards the fortress' gate, expecting her subordinates to appear any moment now.
As always, a plethora of people goes in and out of the fortress, mostly Sorcerous Kingdom forces and supply wagons, or soldiers meant to patrol the town that has been growing on the foot of hill Dalnus.
'I still haven't had a chance to go and explore the town, and I doubt I'll have time after this training mission…' she sighs quietly to herself, then spots her team exiting the gate and making their way towards her, so she takes out her pocket watch. 'Ah, there they are. Three minutes late, but I'll let it slide for today. It's their big day after all.'
Pocketing her pocket watch, Alsilia crosses her arms and strictly glares at them.
"You are late by three minutes," she says as her recruits line up in front of her and salute, all fully equipped with their weapons and armor. "But I'll let it slide since today is your last day of training and you've gotten your first mission."
Motioning them to lower their hands, Alsilia crosses her arms behind her back and starts moving back and forth in front of them, her gaze sending chills down their spines.
"I'll say it only once, but out there, you'll be following my orders to the letter, especially today. If a single one of you does otherwise, I'll have you running circles around the fortress till the soles of your boots melt off. Understood?"
"Yes, ma'am!" the recruits answer in unison, putting a slight smirk on Alsilia's face.
"Good. Now, let me go over the mission one more time to make sure your empty heads have at least the basic parameters memorized. A few clicks east of here is a village with around fifty people or so. They recently reported to the authorities the sighting of bandits inside the nearby forest, most likely remnants of the armies that fought against the JSDF and our forces. Our task is to make contact with the village and get information on where the bandits were spotted, then search for their hideout and clear it. From the numbers reported, we are talking around ten to fifteen people max, so it shouldn't be a problem for you. Any questions?"
Alsilia slowly gazes at her recruits in case they have any questions for their mission, but seeing them remain silent, she nods to herself once and goes to grab her backpack.
"Good. Now then, we'll be making our way to the village on foot, so expect us to arrive there by noon. Oh, Antelouse."
"Y-Yes, ma'am!" Antelouse immediately responds, her body stiffening as she glances at the kitsune for a moment.
"Good to see you finally decided to fix your armor. Should protect you from any stray punches in the future," Alsilia muses as she puts on her backpack, causing Antelouse to shiver as the memory of the kitsune's punch on her crotch numbs her whole body.
"T-Thank you, ma'am!"
With that, Alsilia retrieves a map that she had been provided specifically for this mission and starts guiding her recruits towards the small village, secretly eager to do something other than simply staying at the base and training recruits, as well see how her subordinates perform under action.
A few hours later, approximately five kilometers away from the village
"Are we there yet?" a bored Antelouse asks as she looks around, seeing nothing but grassy fields and a few trees here and there, a view that she has been seeing for the past few hours thanks to her trek through the falmartian countryside, currently bringing the rear of the squad as they all walk in a line at the side of a small dirt road.
"We should be arriving at the village within the hour, Private," Alsilia responds from the front, currently leading her team towards the village and glancing at her surroundings just in case danger is lurking nearby.
"Falmart's countryside isn't all that different from the one back home," Prund muses, currently second in line and looking around for any threats as well, while also gazing at the landscape before him. "Though it looks mostly plains with some hilly terrain and very few forests."
"No monsters appearing either. The most you'd have to be wary of here is most likely bandits," Alash, who is currently lying on Antelouse's head, adds, its body gently vibrating.
"Don't be so sure. I heard a few people saying there have been sightings of dragons around the Empire, not to mention their troops used domesticated wyverns as air units, which implies there must be wild ones as well," Enerimia muses from behind Prund, looking somewhat annoyed thanks to all the sunlight she's currently being bathed into.
"You are all partially correct, but also wrong," Alsilia speaks up. "First of all, they are domesticated dragons, not wyverns. Wyverns have two legs and a pair of wings, but the ones being used as air units by the Empire have four limbs and a pair of wings. Second of all, it's not only bandits that lurk around, but other creatures as well. Wild dragons, wolves, fairies, you name it. Thirdly, though this is more of noting than correcting you Prund, just like back home, there are a plethora of landscapes and biomes within the Empire. What we are seeing here is but a small part of it."
Alsilia then turns her head slightly to look at her subordinates through the corner of her eye.
"Which reminds me, the Empire used to be human supremacists before the occupation, meaning that we might get some rather nasty glares or wary glances when we arrive at the village. Don't do anything rash; we want to help them, not cause trouble."
"So they were like the Slane Theocracy, Commander?" Prund asks curiously, remembering what he had learned about the now gone human nation at school when he was younger.
"Indeed. They hated demihumans, seeing them as nothing more than mere slaves, which led to effectively hunting them out of their nation. That's also why almost all of the citizens are exclusively humans, though I've heard Sadera's red light district has a few."
"You are quite knowledgeable, commander," Alash comments, gently vibrating and sliding down to Antelouse's left shoulder.
"I just did some research during my free time," Alsilia muses, before taking out her pocket watch to check the time. "It'd benefit you greatly to do some research as well. Especially since we will be operating within the Empire's borders for quite some time."
Pocketing her watch, she turns to glance at the recruits again.
"In fact, I'll order you to do some research about the Empire. You see, while reading a certain book that contained the Empire's history, I came across two interesting entries. The first one was of a recent rebellion within the Empire around seven years ago, while the second was the invasion of the Warrior Bunny tribes three years ago. I want you to write a report on what happened in both the rebellion and the invasion and why. You have a week to complete it, else I'll make you run laps around the whole fortress for an entire day."
"Eeeeh? I don't want to do that…" Antelouse whines, though a glance from Alsilia and a terrifying chill going down her spine immediately changes her mind. "I-I mean, it'll be a pleasure t-to do it, Commander!"
"With all due respect, Commander, this isn't the time to be making jokes," Enerimia says unamused at this school-level assignment. "Where would we even begin gathering information about them? Such things will probably be very difficult to obtain, not to mention they'll most likely be written in a language we can't read yet."
"Then find a way to obtain the information, Private. Books aren't the only way to learn what you want. And I never joke when on a mission," Alsilia responds, before her ears suddenly perk up and she raises her closed fist to signal everyone to stop moving.
"Commander?" Antelouse asks as she stops walking, curiously looking at the kitsune as she intently sniffs the air.
"Smells like something is burning…" Alsilia mutters to herself, before she slowly reaches for her wooden crossbow. "Enerimia, fly up and see if you can spot anything beyond the small hill in front of us. The rest of you, weapons out."
Without saying a word, two huge, black, bat-like wings appear behind Enerimia's back, before she flaps them and shoots up in the air, while Prund and Antelouse equip their respective weapons, a warhammer and a spear.
Reaching a comfortable height of around fifty meters up in the air, Enerimia hovers in place and carefully scans the landscape before her, though it doesn't take her more than a few seconds to spot a column of black smoke slowly rising in the distance.
"Tch, that can't be good…" Enerimia mutters to herself as she grabs her communication crystal and pours a tiny amount of mana in it, the crystal dimly glowing as it connects to the team's communications network. "Commander, I can see a large column of black smoke rising up in the sky, I'd say around three to five clicks from our position, due East."
Alsilia widens her eyes slightly as she immediately puts two and two together, her instinct telling her they should pick up the pace.
"Enerimia, fly over the origin of the smoke and provide overwatch on what's happening. It's most likely the village being under attack, so do not engage unless I say otherwise, understood?" Alsilia says through her own crystal.
"Understood, commander."
As Enerimia flies away as fast as she can, heading towards the column of black smoke as quickly as possible, Alsilia turns around to face Prund, Antelouse, and Alash. "Prund, up on Antelouse's back, we are riding her till the village!"
"E-Eh!? Commander, I'm not a horse!" Antelouse cries out as Prund immediately goes and jumps up on the arachne's spider belly, her legs slightly bending from the extra weight.
"You are now, and that's an order!" Alsilia answers back as she jumps up on Antelouse's spider belly too, then puts her gloved hand against her back and casts three spells. "[Lesser Strength Up]! [Lesser Acceleration Boost]! [Lesser Speed Increase]!"
Almost immediately, three different-colored auras surround Antelouse for a brief moment, her body suddenly feeling a lot stronger and lighter.
"Uhm, commander, this is-"
"It's buffing, now start running!" Alsilia commands and Antelouse springs forward at once, almost knocking off the other three from her sudden acceleration as she makes her way towards the village at top speed."Ghk-! You almost knocked us off, Private!"
"I-I'm sorry, Commander, I didn't expect I'd be this fast!" Antelouse responds as she's already at the top of the small hill, the vast grasslands and forests of the plains in full view, along with the column of black smoke that shows no signs of lessening. "Is the village really getting attacked?"
"Most likely, though I fear it might already be over…"
"Can a few bandits really take over a village that easily? Weren't there supposed to be around ten to fifteen people only?" Prund asks as he wearily looks at the smoke, barely able to see Enerimia's outline flying towards it.
"It is possible if they are indeed soldiers from the lost battles. A village this size shouldn't have more than two or three hunters, and I doubt they have more than twenty men capable of fighting. Even with a numerical advantage, it can't outdo military training and experience."
"Couldn't it be that the attack has already ended, Commander?" Alash asks, still glued to Antelouse's shoulder despite all the shaking and wind striking against its gelatinous body.
"With how much smoke is rising up in the air and with how black it is, I'd say they are in the process of looting, but they might have just withdrawn if they have ended with it…" Alsilia clicks her tongue, having seen this exact picture many times during her time in the last continent.
'However upstanding a military and its soldiers might be, hate always finds a way to reveal people's worst parts… Even I ain't an exception to that rule…'
"Bzzt-Commander, I'm over the village!"
Hearing Enerimia's voice, Alsilia snaps out of her thoughts and grabs her crystal.
"What's the situation?"
"Most of the buildings are on fire, and I can see several bodies littering the place. There are also armed men running in the streets, looting or dragging people around."
"Can you see exactly how many men are armed?" the brigadier general asks as they get closer and closer to the village, now only a few minutes away thanks to Antelouse's enhanced speed.
"Yes, there are around fifteen armed men in total, all wearing various pieces of iron armor."
"Hmm… then it shouldn't take too much time to deal with them. Stay up in the air, you'll be our eyes until we clear the village."
"Understood, Commander. Requesting permission to use magic in order to support your advance."
"Request granted."
Cutting the transmission, Alsilia hangs the crystal on her belt and loads an enchanted arrow from her quiver on the crossbow.
"Listen up, everyone! The looting of the village has already started, numbering around fifteen armed hostiles. Civilians are present as well, so do not engage unless you are absolutely sure the person on the other end of your weapon is an enemy. Also, if you get the chance to capture any of them, do so. We might be able to get some information out of them."
"Commander, I can see two men up front, they are wearing armor!" Antelouse shouts as she spots at the border of the village, on a dirt road that passes between two burning, wooden houses two men, one of them dragging a woman further inside the village by the hair, while the other is walking next to them laughing, in his hand holding a silver necklace that the woman is desperately trying to grab from him, being just out of the reach of her hands.
Alsilia leans to the side and looks at the two men and the woman, then raises her crossbow and aims her sights towards one of them.
"I'll kill the one on the left, the one on the right is yours, Antelouse!" she orders and after a moment of zeroing in, presses her crossbow's lever and launches an arrow through the air, striking the man that's dragging the woman square on the forehead and killing him instantly, his now limp body falling down on the ground like a sack of bricks. The other man barely has any time to register his friend's dead body before Antelouse's spear impales his back, the tip piercing his heart and killing him instantly as well.
"Good throw, recruit, but don't let me see you doing this again. A soldier should never throw away their main weapon like that," Alsilia reprimands the arachne as she stops in front of the woman who is looking at them with widened eyes.
"A-Ah… aaah… a-a monster… h-help… s-someone help…" she stutters in a quiet voice shocked, her entire body freezing upon seeing the terrifying figure of Antelouse standing over her.
"Huh? A monster?" Antelouse asks quizzically as she pulls out her spear from the impaled man and looks around confused, not sensing the presence of a monster nearby.
"She's referring to you, Private. They probably don't have any arachnes in this world, so she thinks you are a monster," Alsilia says and jumps down from her back along with Prund, already having loaded a new arrow in her crossbow.
The woman snaps her gaze towards Alsilia and Prund, and the blood immediately drains from her face, her stuttering becoming even worse.
"D-D-Dem-mihumans…!? O-Oh dear gods… p-p-please help me…"
"Alash, check her for any injuries and treat them. Antelouse, Prund, keep an eye around for any bandits that might try to sneak on us," Alsilia orders, then walks towards one of the dead bandits to check him out.
'Huh… they look even more pathetic than the bandits back home… just a simple breastplate and a shortsword…' Alsilia hums slowly in her mind, then kneels next to him and starts patting his clothes to see if he has anything hidden on him that could give her unit any information on them.
"Tch… nothing of value in here…" she clicks her tongue, then spots the silver necklace that's still in the dead man's hand and grabs it, standing up to inspect it slightly.
"Hmm… it doesn't seem that bad… though its quality seems to be rather low…"
"Commander," Alash calls out from the top of the terrified woman's head, having successfully treated the bruises and cuts that littered her body, but also covered her in a thin film of its fluids as it moved around her body. "I've treated her injuries. She had a few bruises and scratches, nothing severe."
"Good," Alsilia hums, then walks next to the woman as Alash hops down on the ground and back on Antelouse.
"A-A-Aah… wh-what did I ever do to deserve this…" the woman quietly moans in fear and disgust, looking at her trembling hands and the slime juices that are covering her. "I-I think I'm going to vomit…"
"This is yours, correct?" Alsilia asks as she crouches next to the woman and puts the silver necklace in front of her, the villager widening her eyes and immediately snatching it.
"Ah! Thank gods, it's fine!" she says in a brief moment of joy, before realizing her mistake and slowly turning to look at Alsilia.
"I-I-I… I-I'm really sor-"
"Don't waste your breath, we aren't here to cause you trouble," Alsilia cuts her short and stands up. "Find a safe place to hide and wait there till me and my team have dealt with the bandits."
The woman looks at Alsilia with a dumbfounded expression for a few moments, before she quickly gets up on her feet and runs away to find a spot and hide till everything is over.
"Enerimia, how are things looking from above?" Alsilia asks after picking her communication crystal from her belt, her ears slightly turning around as she keeps hearing various screams and laughter from further down the road.
"Some of the bandits have started moving the survivors at the center of the village, mostly women and children. There are also four bandits inside a house down the street you are, it's about twenty meters from your position."
"Any civilians present?"
"I can see an elderly couple and a little boy huddled at one of the home's corners."
"Understood."
Cutting the transmission, Alsilia turns towards her team.
"Antelouse, Alash, you'll proceed to the village's center and deal with the bandits there, as well rescue the civilians. Coordinate with Enerimia and ask her for support if you see fit, but don't mess this up, understood?"
"Yes, Commander!" Antelouse responds and quickly goes away along with Alash, grabbing her communication crystal to contact Enerimia.
"As for us, Prund, we'll breach the house twenty meters down the road. Try to capture as many of the bandits as you can alive."
"Yes, ma'am."
Alsilia and Prund quickly make their way further down the road, and a few seconds later stop outside a rather large wooden home, from inside various voices and sounds of clattering being heard.
"Prund, move next to the door," Alsilia orders as she takes a step back and faces the wall, casting two spells to help her pinpoint the location of the bandits inside the house.
"[Track Life-force]. [Track Iron Weapons]."
Almost immediately, her world goes black and white as a few green and grey orbs start shining and moving in front of her, tracking everyone inside the house.
'Just as she said… four people with iron weapons, most likely the bandits. There's also three more in a corner, probably the elderly couple with the child.'
Alsilia carefully tracks the bandits as she goes to stand next to the door as well, hanging her loaded crossbow on the side of her backpack and retrieving the handle of her mana saber.
"Prund, I'll try to grab the attention of one of the bandits. When they come out, you knock them out, I'll deal with the remaining ones."
"Understood, Commander," Prund responds, gripping his warhammer a bit tighter and hunching slightly.
Alsilia takes a few breaths, before she knocks hard on the wooden door a few times.
Knock knock!
This startles the bandits inside the house, as all the orbs Alsilia can see suddenly stop moving and flare up, seemingly their attention turned towards the knocking.
"Hey, go check it out," she hears a hushed voice say from inside, and one of the green orbs accompanied by a grey one slowly move towards the door.
"Prund, get ready," Alsilia whispers at the half-orc moments before the door opens and a bandit steps out and looks around.
"I don't see any-"
Before he can complete his sentence, the man finds himself crashing on the ground along with the wooden door, Prund having just bashed it on him to pin him on the ground. Alsilia takes this chance and jumps inside the house, glancing around and dashing for the bandit closest to the elderly couple with the young child.
"What the-!"
Before he can even register the blur coming towards him, Alsilia infuses her handle with mana and a blue, translucent blade appears out of nowhere, which she swings with enough force to cleanly cut through his neck and decapitate him under a moment.
Thud
"Wh-Wha…"
Everyone looks in shock at the new arrival as blood spurts everywhere, Alsilia slowly turning to face the remaining two bandits.
"Unless you want to meet the same fate, I suggest you throw your weapons to the ground and quietly surrender. I can promise you won't die as quickly."
The two men, sensing her killing intent, immediately raise their weapons with trembling hands, the pressure directed towards them being quite unbearable.
"Y-You… you filthy demihuman! Y-You think you can intimidate us!? Inferiors like you should just bow their heads and do what the humans say!"
"I bow my head only before my queen and my gods, now surrender!" she says loudly, the pressure increasing even more.
"Kh-! Wh-Why you…!" one of the bandits shouts and charges against Alsilia, sword in hand and ready to cut her into pieces.
"Seriously…" Alsilia snorts at the futility of the man's charge and swings her mana saber as soon as the bandit gets in strike range, easily cutting through his sword's blade and his throat, then sidestepping and letting his bleeding body limply fall down on the floor.
Alsilia glances at the gargling man for a moment, then turns at his friend, who has already fallen to the ground and thrown his weapon away.
"I-I surrender! I surrender! P-Please don't kill me, I'll do anything you say!"
"Hmph. At least you know when to quit," the brigadier general scoffs and stops feeding the mana saber with mana, its blade disappearing and the blood on it falling down on the floor.
"Commander, I've restrained the bandit outside," Prund reports as he enters the house and looks around, awaiting his orders from Alsilia.
"Good. Knock this guy out as well."
"Understood."
Prund goes in front of the bandit still alive and punches his face, knocking him out dead cold as he crashes down on the floor like a log. He then retrieves some rope from his backpack and starts tying him up, while Alsilia hangs the handle of her saber and goes to check on the elderly couple.
"Are you alright? Are any of you hurt?"
"D-Demihumans…? But why would you help us…" the old man asks quietly, watching the kitsune approach them in both confusion and worry.
"P-Please, my grandson! Th-The bandits hurt him!" the old woman says in distress and lifts her grandson's left arm, a deep cut visible on his forearm. "I-I'll give you anything that you want, but please treat him! H-He's lost a lot of blood!"
Alsilia kneels in front of the trio and gently takes the boy's slender arm, closely inspecting the wound.
'Hmm… it doesn't look like he's bleeding too much despite the cut's depth… should be safe if I use a potion directly on it.'
Letting go of the boy's arm, Alsilia brings her backpack in front of her and opens it, then retrieves a purple healing potion and some gauze.
"Please, hold on this for a moment," she says and hands the old woman the gauze, then opens the potion and pours some of it over the wound in the boy's arm.
"O-Ow!" the boy weakly yelps and tries to pull his arm away, but the kitsune's iron grip prevents him from doing so.
"Just put up with it, it'll make your wound heal faster," Alsilia says as she watches the poured liquid suddenly flash green and disappear, steam rising over the wound as it starts slowly healing. The kitsune then takes the gauze and uses it to cover the wound, before putting it back in her backpack and giving the rest of the potion to the boy to drink it.
gulp gulp gulp
"Yuck! It's bitter…" he complains, his pale face grimacing in disgust.
"It'll help with healing your wound, so no complaining," Alsilia responds and puts the now empty potion glass inside her backpack, then slings it on her back and stands up. "The wound should be fully healed in a day or so, so don't remove the gauze until then."
The two elders just look in awe at the kitsune, completely taken by surprise at what she just said.
"A-A, day!? For such a wound you'd need at least a few weeks, and you'd be lucky if it didn't get infected!" the elderly woman almost shouts in disbelief. "A-And that potion, s-such an expensive concoction to be used on the wound of a mere boy…"
"Just who are you, if you'll allow me to ask, my lady… armed demihumans that help people inside the Empire's lands are unheard of," the elderly man asks, then stands up and helps his wife and grandchild to stand up as well.
"I'm brigadier general Alsilia, part of the Kitsune Kingdom's armed forces and currently a unit commander under the Sorcerous Kingdom's unified vassal forces."
"Kitsune Kingdom? Sorcerous Kingdom? I'm sorry, but I've never heard of them. A-Are you invaders from outside the Empire's borders and vassals?"
"I'm afraid the invasion has already finished. Currently, the Empire is under occupation by the Sorcerous Kingdom, and they are already at talks for a possible vassalization," Alsilia explains and the man widens her eyes in shock, as does the woman too.
"O-Occupation? Th-The mighty Empire that once controlled most of Falmart and had so many vassals… i-is under occupation by another kingdom?" he stutters in disbelief, and Alsilia nods.
"Some time ago, a gate connecting two worlds opened up in hill Dalnus, and the Empire decided to pass through it and attack us. Or course they were easily defeated, and so the Sorcerous Kingdom counterattacked, passing through the gate and setting a mighty fortress on the hill. After that, they steadily advanced through the Empire and reached the capital, essentially occupying all of its lands until they have signed the vassalization treaty."
"O-Oh dear gods, j-just what has happened…" the man sighs in desperation, before shifting his gaze down on the floor. "Ah, these old bones can't take such surprises anymore. Then, if that's the case, why would you help us?"
"We do not seek to antagonize the locals." Especially when it was basically the fault of their government and leadership - as she had read in the provided reports, it was clear as the day it wasn't the common folk who sent those legions to attack, but the Senators and the Emperor. "Receiving scorched earth and a butchered population will do no good in the long run. But we can talk more at length after all the bandits have been killed or captured, for now we must get you to a safe place."
"Commander, I'm done with restraining the bandit," Prund responds as he stands up, and the kitsune nods towards him.
"Good. Grab him and the other one by the door and drag them to the village's center."
"Understood."
"Commander. Antelouse and Alash have cleared all the bandits on the village's center, but there are still four more east of their position, inside a house. There are also three civilians, heavily injured it looks like," Enerimia's voice reports through the communication crystal, with Alsilia quickly taking it from her belt to respond.
"Send them to deal with the bandits and keep providing the two with support, we'll drop off a few civilians with the rest and join you as soon as possible."
"Understood, commander."
Terminating the connection, Alsilia takes her crossbow and looks at the elderly couple with the child.
"We better get going. Almost all of the bandits have been wiped out, and any survivors gathered by them are at the village's center."
"By the well? Are they safe?" the old man asks as they start following Alsilia out of the house, with Prund having already collected the restrained bandits and awaiting outside.
"Yes. Two of my subordinates cleared any bandits there and are moving to deal with the last ones as we speak."
"Ah thank the gods, at least some people survived…" the old man sighs lightly in relief.
Alsilia makes her way along with the rest through the street slowly, looking around at the destroyed and burning houses, as well the corpses littering the area, a solemn expression appearing on her face.
'All too familiar of a landscape…' it just made her remember too much about the invasion of the last continent.
"So many good people died… what we ever did to deserve such a fate…" the old man speaks up, his face mirroring his sorrowful emotions.
"Good thing Armilus and Lemithia are gone on a trip to the capital. I couldn't bear having them get injured or die…" the old woman mutters as she looks around, having covered her grandson's eyes to protect him from the sights around.
"Your children?" Alsilia asks curiously.
"Armilus is. Lemithia is his wife, and Marius here is their son."
"Ah, I see. So Marius was staying with you until they returned?"
"Yes, but… I doubt there is a place to return after what has happened."
"May I ask you a question, Miss Alsilia?" the old man asks as they slowly approach the village's center.
"What is it?"
"If you are from another world, how come you can speak our language, and so fluently at that. You basically sound like any Falmartian."
"Ah, that. Any person from my world is born with a special talent."
"A special talent, you say?"
"Indeed. It allows us to comprehend people that speak foreign languages, as well for those people to comprehend us as if we were talking their language."
"Ooh! Such a blessing, it surely must have been from the gods themselves!"
"There are many different stories of how this came to be, but the most popular one says there was once a great mage that sought to unite the world and bring everlasting peace to it. In order to accomplish this, he performed a grand ritual that encompassed the whole planet and allowed people to understand each other," Alsilia muses as they reach the village's center, a large, open, circular area with a stone well in the middle, a few wounded villagers sitting around it, mostly women and children, but also a few men.
"Village elder!" one of the men, currently checking on a woman and her child, shouts in relief upon seeing the old man, quickly running towards him.
"Village elder?" Alsilia asks curiously and looks at the old man.
"Ah, right, I didn't introduce myself. I'm Dolvus, the head of this village," Dolvus introduces himself as the man quickly stops in front of him.
"Village elder, are you alright? Are you hurt anywhere?"
"I'm alright, Favius, no need to worry. This lady here and her friend saved us," Dolvus says and slightly gestures towards Alsilia.
"Thank you very much for helping us," Favius immediately bows his head.
"We are just doing our job," Alsilia responds. "You should go with the rest for now, village elder. I still need to check on my subordinates and make sure the village is completely clear."
"Yes, of course. I can't express my gratitude enough for helping us. If it weren't for you, who knows what would have happened to us."
Bowing his head to the kitsune, Dolvus is led away along with his wife and grandchild by Favius, the rest of the villagers gasping or sighing in relief upon seeing them approach.
"The man was surprisingly calm for seeing a demihuman," Prund comments, stopping next to Alsilia and letting go of the two bandits.
"They probably got a scare when Antelouse and Alash appeared, that's why. Anyway, watch over the civilians until I'm back with the rest. Also, ask if we can use any of the still standing houses, we need to interrogate the captives for any useful information," Alsilia orders and Prund nods.
"Yes, ma'am."
Prund goes away to talk to the village elder, while Alsilia takes her crystal and heads towards her subordinates' position.
"Enerimia, status report."
"Antelouse and Alash just cleared the last of the bandits, ma'am, and managed to capture two of them after they surrendered. I'm looking around but I can't see any more bandits, so it's safe to assume the whole village has been cleared."
"Understood. The civilians?"
"There was a casualty, but the other two civilians have been stabilized by Alash."
"Alright. Join them and load the injured civilians on Antelouse, she'll bring them to the rest."
"What about the bandits?"
"Knock them out and drag them till the village's center."
"Understood, commander. Over and out."
Sighing a little, Alsilia scratches the spot right behind her left ear, evidently feeling just a bit concerned about her recruits and how they'll cope with what they've seen today.
'And this was supposed to be a simple training mission…'
"Things never go as planned, do they…" she grumbles to herself, hoping that at least for today they won't have any more surprises.
One hour later
"Hah… what a fucking mess…" Alsilia mutters to herself, looking down on the captured bandits with crossed arms over her chest as they sit on the floor, everyone currently inside a ransacked wooden hut that somehow avoided the fires that still burn around the village.
"Commander, are you sure this is safe?" Enerimia asks as she stands by the door, just in case the bandits somehow manage to get out of their binds and pass Alsilia. "The fires are still raging all over the village and the civilians haven't been fully evacuated yet."
"It's fine, Alash is tending to any injured, and Prund and Antelouse can safely guide them out of here. Not like the village is that big anyway," Alsilia responds, still gazing at the bandits with an apathetic stare. "As for you four, let me explain what will happen. I'll ask you a few questions and you'll give me some truthful answers, else I'll break your bones until I hear what I want, understood?"
The bandits do not respond, though their frightened and uncertain faces signify they've gotten the message.
"Good. Question one. How many of you attacked the village?"
A heavy silence fills the air as the kitsune waits for the bandits to answer, slowly tapping her left hand's index finger on her right arm.
"...Not many…" one of the bandits says quietly, his expression that of a man that has lost all hope.
"Not many, huh…" Alsilia repeats, then uncrosses her arms and goes to crouch in front of the man. "Care to tell me an exact number?" she asks in an eerily calm tone, grabbing the man's face by the chin and forcing it up to stare directly in his eyes. "Or should I punch the answer out of you?"
The man simply fearfully stares back at Alsilia's slit pupils, gulping down a lump that has formed in his throat.
"F-Fifteen! Fifteen people!" the bandit next to the man says, a rather young boy who's already sweating profusely from how scared he feels.
"Aren't you a young one," she muses as she looks at the boy's face, before she lets go of the man's chin and stands up.
'Fifteen, just as many Enerimia reported,' Alsilia muses and glances at her subordinate for a moment, who in return nods silently.
"Question two. Why did you attack the village?"
"We attacked for provisions and money…" one of the bandits comments and Alsilia turns to look at him. "Th-That's all, we didn't want anything else…"
"So… fifteen armed men attacked a small village and razed it to the ground just cause they wanted food and money…?"
Walking in front of the man, Alsilia silently stands over him, before she lightly kicks him on his side and breaks three of his ribs.
crack!
"AAAAARRRGH!?"
Everyone looks in shock as the bandit doubles over the sudden pain and falls down on the floor, his wails and moans quickly filling up the house's air; even Enerimia has been caught off-guard by Alsilia's seemingly unwarranted strike.
"C-Commander, I don't think-"
"Silence, Private, I'm not done with the interrogation," Alsilia cuts Enerimia short, her intense glare falling on all the bandits. "You think I'm stupid, or what? I'm a war veteran, I've seen my fair share of razed villages and towns. So how about telling me the truth, hmm? Why did you attack the village?"
A low growl leaves her mouth at the end, making the young boy yelp in fright and try to move away from the kitsune.
"...It was also to get slaves…" the bandit on the far left says, making Alsilia walk in front of him. "The plan was to get as many slaves as we could and make a run for one of the vassals, then sell them there for money…"
"Really now… and how were fifteen people with barely any provisions on them supposed to take care of thirty captives, eh? Or are you saying you'd march them to death and sell their husks as slaves?" Enerimia asks, but the man offers no answer. "You still keep thinking I'm just a dumb fox, but whatever. Question three."
Taking a step back, Alsilia starts moving back and forth parallel to the bandits, her piercing gaze making them squirm in fear.
"Where is your base of operations?"
The bandits tense at this, at least the ones that didn't get their ribs cracked, glancing at each other in alarm.
"Come on, don't be shy. Where is your base?" she asks again, stepping closer to the bandit writhing in pain and pinning his right ankle under her boot. "I'll give you three seconds, else I'll crush his ankle to dust. One…"
"Aagh… p-please… have mercy…" the writhing bandit moans out in pain, his broken ribs making speech really painful at the moment. "I beg you…"
"Two…"
c-c-crack
Alsilia starts to slowly increase the pressure, already straining to the limit what the man's ankle can bear.
"Commander, you are stepping out of line! Military laws clearly state that torture and bodily harm upon POWs is strictly forbidden!" Enerimia says and starts walking towards Alsilia to stop her, though she's late by a second, as the kitsune ends her counting and crushes the man's ankle with ease.
"Three…"
crack! splatter!
"AAAAAAARGGHH!?"
Like it would sink in soft butter, her boot smoothly plasters the man's ankle on the ground, turning it to bloody mush underneath it. It is an unnaturally smooth move for the onlookers, like she has just stepped into a pile of manure, almost separating the foot from the rest of his leg.
"Tsk… how messy…" Alsilia clicks her tongue as she wipes down the gore from her boots on the floor, offering a disgusted expression.
"You sick monster, do you get some kind of pleasure from this!?" one of the bandits hatefully shouts at Alsilia, with the kitsune glancing at him lazily.
"No, not really, that's more of my sister's thing," she says and takes a few steps towards the man's direction, only to be stopped by Enerimia stepping in front of her.
"That's enough, Commander!" Enerimia growls at the kitsune. "You are stepping out of line! If you don't stop immediately, I'll report this to your superiors!"
Alsilia slightly squints her eyes, her right hand moving towards her mana saber's hilt.
"Are you threatening me, Private?" she asks quietly, her intense glare sending chills down Enerimia's spine and making her take a step back.
Enerimia gulps down a lump that has suddenly formed in her throat, once again fear gripping her body but not backing away.
"I-I'm simply warning you. This is not how a commander of the Sorcerous Kingdom should behave. We might be a simple expeditionary team, but we are not exempt from the army's military laws."
Alsilia keeps gazing at Enerimia intently for a few moments, before she scoffs and grabs her mana saber, supplying the mana necessary to form the blade and swinging it at Enerimia's throat, the tip a breath away from it. The dhampir widens her eyes in surprise and holds her breath, her gaze now solely focused at the mana blade.
"Let me make it clear since you seem so hellbent on going by the book. Good for you, Enerimia, but I don't give a damn about the rules. I play with the hand I want, not the hand I am dealt. Now stop getting in my way, or I will cut your head off for insubordination."
Silently glaring at Enerimia for a few moments, Alsilia turns around and goes towards the almost unconscious bandit with the broken ribs and crushed ankle, pinning his other ankle under her boot. "Now then, tell me what I want to know or I'll crush his other ankle as well! Three!"
"P-Please! Please stop! I-I'll tell you where our base is! Just don't hurt him anymore!" the young boy that has moved a bit further from the rest of the bandits pleads, everything that has happened being too much for him as he looks at Alsilia with a teary expression.
"Took you long enough…" Alsilia mumbles and walks towards the young boy, stopping and squatting right in front of him so that they are at the same eye level.
"You idiot, what the hell do you think you are doing!?" the bandit that was shouting to Alsilia before says harshly, and the boy flinches in response.
"W-We don't have any other choice! If we don't tell her what she wants she'll kill us!"
"And so you'll rat out our friends!?"
"Hey, hey, stop wasting my time and tell me where your base is," Alsilia says as she snaps her left hand's fingers in front of the boy's face to get his attention back to her, with him looking at Alsilia and gulping audibly.
"I-If you go northeast and enter the forest… follow the trees that have a piece of red cloth tied to their branches. They'll lead you to our base…" the boy says quietly and Alsilia hums in satisfaction.
"There you go, wasn't that hard answering my questions, was it?" Alsilia muses and stands up, then stops feeding her saber mana and hangs the hilt on her side. "We got the info we wanted, let's move out," she says to Enerimia and makes her way towards the home's door, the dhampir letting out a sigh of relief and following Alsilia out of the hut.
"What about the captives, Commander? Shouldn't we take them back to the fortress?"
"Ah, right. We can't really leave them like this, can we?" Alsilia muses as she stops dead on her tracks and turns around, pointing a hand towards the hut and casting a spell. "[Fire-"
Before she can complete it though, she stops herself and lowers her hand, a sudden itch appearing on the spot right behind her left ear.
scratch scratch
'I can't really burn them without scarring Enerimia more than I already have… hah, whatever…" she muses in her mind, before looking at her subordinate.
"We let them be. What they do now is of no concern to us."
"Eh? But-"
"We have neither the time, nor the supplies to take them back to the fortress or take them with us," Alsilia responds as she takes her crossbow from her backpack's side. "Besides, it's unlikely they'll cause any more trouble after what they've seen. Now come, we have a whole base to take out. Not that it'll be difficult."
Enerimia quietly sighs through her nose as she starts following the kitsune, both heading towards where Antelouse, Prund and Alash are waiting along with the surviving villagers.
'Now that I think about it, I never said to Ralia I'd be going on a training mission, did I?' Alsilia muses in her mind and a sudden sense of dread spreads throughout her whole body. 'Ugh, she's going to be so mad when I get back…'
A/N: Finally completed the chapter! Won't make any excuses, this took way longer to complete than it should have. Hopefully the next chapter won't take as long. Once again, special thanks to Oblivon2991 for helping with the chapter and suggesting a few ideas used in it. Please do note that English isn't my first language, so expect awkward grammar and misspelled words here and there. At any rate, I hope you all have a good day/night, and I'll see you in the next chapter.