All terrain Moto-Terminator are automated motorcycles, produced by Ultron in 2028, whose main purpose are to deliver quick strike and reconnoiter. The Moto-Terminator possesses a GE M134 Minigun on each side. It also possesses a pair of M1919 Browning machine guns on each side near the front tire. They can travel at incredibly fast speeds , with top speeds of 250 miles per hour. The Moto-Terminators are possess incredible agility, with the sensors calculating debris or obstacles ahead, even viewing them in slow motion. With this trait, they easily avoid any obstacle, such as a car wreckage.
Ground Combat Command Vehicle G-1 Base: a 25 metres (82 ft) long, 12.8 metres wide (42 ft), 8.25 metres (27.1 ft) high and weigh 1,500 ton land-cruiser commonly employed as a mobile command center and a field hospital. Since these mobile bases are almost always carrying someone of significant importance, they are always surrounded by motorcades of police, medical vehicles, and escorted by the regular military in the form of tanks, armored vehicles, and anti-aircraft guns. A GCCV G-1 Base also carries moto-terminators inside. It can carry up to ten moto-terminators and launch them from its two side catapults.
Chapter 9: Rory Mercury
Unknown location, Lemuria,Falmart,52030 IC
In the shadows in one of the forests near an Imperial settlement, two creatures of the night hided in the shadow, their full form could not be identified in the darkness of the night, the only things that could be spotted were the shape of their eyes with unique cross-shape were members of a very dangerous doomsday cult.
"You heard the rumors of our accursed enemies, the 'Heretical Empire', they apparently suffered a massive attack by the otherworld army." one of the mystery beings spoke with a deep voice but with a spark of joy for the news.
"Yes, although this is not a rumor, the Empire have stepped on the sphinx's tail when they opened the gate to another world and now they are in a "Great War", we will eventually have our chance," said an individual with his comrade.
"So, should we make our move as soon as possible?"
"Don't be so rush, we don't know how powerful this 'United Earth Alliance' are, if the Heretical Empire wins this war, our precious spies could be in danger once again, we have to wait if the Earth Army attacks can cause more chaos in the Heretical Empire, then we can plan our next movements."
"I think you're right, if we're lucky soon this world will be our and the infidels will be purged, but when is that time supposed to be?"
"Soon my fellow believers, before being executed by the heretics, our prophet said now is the time of ending, when the Imperium and their false Gods will finally collapse into a trembling collection of shattered realms before being swallowed up by True Gods. If the Earthling forces can manage to hurt the military forces of the Heretical Empire, we will begin to enact our plan but for now, we just have to wait."
After that, the two beings disappeared back to their base without knowing they were tracked .
The nobles or knights rode out to hunt down cultists, they were like shepherds driving off wolves so the cultists preferred it when there were fewer nobles and knights around.
Until recently, they had to skulk around in the shadows, but now they could move around more freely.
For instance, there was a family who fled their village as they received news that a UEADF bomber squadron had been spotted in the vicinity.
The father drove his wagon with his 2 rabbucks (a giant rabbit-like horse), and on that wagon were all the family's possessions, his 300 year-old wife and his 140 year-old daughter.
The villagers all fled as if they were grazing animals. However, unlike wild herbivores such as buffalos or zebras, this family did not move in a group. There was no time for that, not when the enemy bombers could attack at any moment.
So they ignored their villagers' cries for them to stop, and left the village on their own.
On their second night, they ran into a group of cultists.
The man desperately spurred his rabbucks, but there was no way for the overburdened wagon and rabbucks to move quickly. With no way to resist, the family was captured by the mounted cultists. The man turned into a Titan to fight back but he was no match for the cruel, ruthless cultists and their black magic.
The man was slain instantly with a powerful dark incantation, and his wife and daughter were taken away.
In the darkness, over a hundred bandits gathered around a campfire and gleefully rummaged through their spoils.
Their prey had not just been carrying coins and currency, but provisions as well. They filled their bellies with the food they had captured. They took turns raping the mother and daughter and then sacrificed them to the Chaos Gods, but the more important cultist had already satiated their bestial lusts and were relaxing with wine.
"Master! Coda city is about to make a move!"
Ever since the UEAADF bombers appeared, scores of villagers had fled. Laden down with luggage, they could not move fast, nor could they fight back. Why not attack them? There was no reason not to do so. They would slaughter and offer them to the Chaos Gods.
After hearing his minion speak, the boss laughed in satisfaction. It was a good idea, so they should go ahead and do it. But as he thought about it...
"We don't have enough people."
It would be asking too much of his cult of a hundred-odd men to take on an entire city at once.
"So what will we do? We can't stand still without doing anything."
"About that, why don't we get guys from around the area? That way, we can work together to bring in the biggest haul ever."
This was also a good chance to recruit more hands .With enough people, they could successfully attack entire towns, and even cities.
"But that damned Empire could send their Praetorian Guards to stop us." said one cultist.
"They will be too busy fighting the otherworld's army, this is our chance."
Many cultist in the place were dreaming about the blood bath and horrors they would unleash but in the midst of those thoughts they heard a voice that sounded like a young girl.
"So you guys are the remnant of Chaos Insurgency, you heretics don't deserve to exist."
"Who said that? Show yourself." shouted one of the angry cultist.
In that moments under the low luminosity of the camp fire, a figure could be seen, the first thing anyone would think when they saw the girl was "black".
Her skin was so pale it was nearly transparent, her hair and clothes were black, and her eyes were bottomless pools of obsidian.
She held a heavy halberd in her hands.
It was a weapon that looked like someone had attached a heavy, slablike axe blade to a long shaft. It wasn't something a fragile little girl could swing like a matchstick. Nor was it something a girl in black lace should be wielding. That she could use such a weapon with her delicate, slender arms and her thin little fingers, as pale as white jade, was far beyond anyone's ability to imagine.
"Who you are?" asked one of the cultist who showed signs of nerve and fear.
The girl, surrounded by an extremely powerful dark aura like the 'Death Incarnation' itself, said nothing, only advanced towards them.
She grasped the hem of her skirt and curtseyed elegantly.
At a glance, she looked to be around 13 if she was a Terran, and judging by her beauty and refined movements, she seemed to be a very well-bred girl. She had a brilliant smile on her face, but that smile did not reach her eyes. Her black pupils were filled with a hungry darkness, like a fathomless abyss.
The men also retreated a little that sense of increased fear did not know why but they thought it has to be by an unknown magic.
"I repeat who you are, tell me before it hurts you" He shouted but inside the fear was consuming him.
The little girl stopped after the scream and from that pretty face, her eyes began to glow a spine-chilling crimson color.
"I am Rory Mercury. Apostle of Emroy, God of Darkness."
"I-is that the formal wear of the priestesses of the Temple of Emroy? One, one of the Thirteen Apostles, Rory the Reaper?!"
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Thirteen Apostles are apostles that serves various gods and goddesses, all of them wield power comparable to weapons of mass destruction and have absolute power over the Path dimension. The requirements of becoming a demigod is not clearly defined but becoming an apostle (a type of demigod) is pretty simple; be chosen by a god. All the demigods so far are apostles with one exception. The Forest Goddess Yareharun is a sentient forest who became a demigod through sheer evolution alone. She serves no god as her master.
An apostles body regenerates any wound it recieves. Even if their body is torn apart to atomic level, the parts will heal if they are stuck together, in other words they cannot die. It is stated by Giselle, however, that an apostle can be imprisoned or even de-facto eliminated (at least until they ascend) by breaking them into small enough pieces and separating them over large distances, typically by burying said pieces, suggesting they could be destroyed with hypervelocity weapons and atomic weapons, if the parts were separated sufficiently.
In Falmart standard, The Apostles are considered to be extremely dangerous since Rory Mercury and Giselle can tank the entire army of Chaos Demon with little difficulty.
Therefore, they are the enforcers of the Gods in keeping the Falmart in check by ''cutting tree branches'' that are grow to big, in this case is anyone attempting to make the advancement in dangerous technology and knowledge or putting down pesky races that come from beyond the Gate in other dimensions.
However, for modern military standard, they are outmatched against hypervelocity weapons like mass-driver cannon or powerful explosive weapons like fusion bombs since these weapons are strong enough to blow them to pieces to effectively incapacitate them.
Despite their obviously superior power over normal magicans, a great numbers of cultists in the Chaos Insurgency still underestimates them due to their sheer delusion and arrogance.
Apostle's power can be stripped from them by their patron gods if the Apostle proves to be too incompetent and the gods just wants to replace someone else new, like the case of Mabel Forn when Zufumus makes her a new Apostle as he tired of the old one.
Thirteen Apostles also are the Grandmaster of the Holy Order of Eden. The most powerful and influential religious institution in the Holy Darwinian Empire. As the world's oldest and largest continuously functioning global institution, it has played a prominent role in the history and development of Falmartian civilizations.
Hierarchy of Holy Order 's invested leadership is as follows.
Pope - The Holy Emperor of Darwinian himself, a figurehead position, holding mostly ceremonial powers as the de jure supreme leader of the Holy Order of Eden. Addressed as Your Majesty.
Grandmaster – The de facto leaders of the entire Holy Order, the Thirteen Apostles. Addressed as Your Holiness. As a collective group their power surpass even the Holy Emperor of Darwinian.
Cardinal – Deputies directly under the grandmaster, each one in command of one of the major orders. Addressed as Eminence.
Archbishop – Leader of one of Holy Order 's episcopal districts, which cover a large territory spanning an entire province or the like, generally reporting directly to the grandmaster but are still subordinate to cardinals. Addressed as Grace.
Bishop – Leader of a single Holy Order facility, such as a hospital or school. If there are multiple Holy Order facilities within a city or region smaller than a district, seniority dictates hierarchy. Addressed as Excellency.
Prior/Prioress – Elastic position without a permanent assigned command, equal in authority to a bishop or even archbishop depending on their specific duty. Addressed as Reverend Father/Mother.
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"Ara~ you knew? Mhmh~ correct."
In the face of the laughing girl, the cultist scattered like leaves.
They left everything behind and fled with all their might, driven by their fear of death.
"What, what the hell, how can we fight an Apostle!"
"Oh, no. No no no no no. You can't run away."
At the same time the fire went out for what seemed to be a kind of wind magic and the next thing that was heard were cries of pain and broken bones.
Rory jumped, carrying the heavy slab of metal that seemed to weigh several times more than her. She pursued the fleeing cultists like a ferocious carnivore hunting down its prey.
The halberd covered in an immensely powerful soul-destroying magic cleaved through the cultists' heads like she was splitting watermelons at the beach, and the surrounding area was strewn with chunks of flesh.
"Ueh, abbah… aiiiieeeee!"
Rory towered over of the fallen man. She swung her halberd lightly, sweeping it behind her legs before she raised it high above her head.
Her snow-white skin was dyed red by sprays of blood.
"Ufufu… God-sama said so, you know. The goal of all life is death. No Human can escape it."
A pitiful scream rang out just as the halberd swung down.
"Haa… haa… haa… why, what is an Apostle of Emroy doing here?!"
The man cursed his misfortune as he ran with all his strength.
A pitiful scream rang out from the distance. Rory the Reaper had claimed another soul.
"Damn, damn it!"
There were no paths in the wilderness at night. The countryside was littered with swamps, rock formations, thorny thickets and trees. The man stumbled occasionally, his body was covered in mud and sweat, and his clothes were torn.
Once more, a howl rang out from in front of him.
He slipped on a patch of mud.
His body slid across the floor, and he bashed his head against the ground.
"Dammit, dammit, dammiiiiiiit, why is my luck so damn bad!"
Rory ran towards the cult leader but when she reached him she sensed a buildup of magic from the cult leader. She did not stop trying to kick him though.
''Chaos Barrier!'' the cult leader yelled as he began to spin furiously and while he released black magic from his Spirit Circuits points. The black magic he released created a dome of black mist that rotated around him at a fast speed.
Rory's foot hit the spinning magic and was sent back. She flipped in midair and landed down the ground.
''That was unexpected.'' She said to herself.
The cult leaders stopped spinning releasing his defense magic. He smirked at Rory, ''This is my ultimate magic bestowed by the chaos god themselves, the ultimate defense magic. With this you cannot touch me anymore.'' he said confidently.
''Ultimate defense you say,'' Rory said, ''Shall we test that?'' The way the apostle of Emroy spoke made the cult leader wish he did not say the "Chaos Barrier" was an ultimate defense.
Rory did a single hand spell, ''Emroy style: Great Fireball'' A large fireball flew towards the cult leader. It was as big as the house. Due to the cult leader's current condition he could not escape the spell by running away from it. Rory was aware of that. The only way for the cult leader to defend himself was to use his Chaos Barrier.
The cult leader saw the Fireball coming towards him. ''Chaos Barrier!'' He yelled as he activated his defense magic again.
Both magics clashed but the Chaos Barrier held on. Rory ended her magic allowing the cult leader to do the same. The cult leader was breathing heavier than before and was barely standing. The Chaos Barrier was taking a toll on him.
The Chaos Barrier had passed Rory's first test, but barely.
Rory held another single hand spell again readying for casting another powerful incantation.
Emproy style: Dragon Flame Caterwaul!
Rory yelled as five small flame fish like creatures with two large fangs raced at The cult leader in five different directions. It was a spell Rory had inventing herself. All creatures seek out their targets till they hit. The only way to stop them was to make them hit something.
The cult leader gathered his remaining magic and called upon the Chaos Barrier again. One by one the flame dragons hit The cult leader 's defense. When each hit it exploded and the fire it created became one with The cult leader 's rotating dome of magic.
The cult leader realized this when he felt the heat rise up and stopped spinning to avoid being burned to death by his own magic. But he did not get away without suffering slight burns on his clothes and skin. The cult leader fell on his knees while sweating and breathing heavily. The heat that had surrounded was too intense for him. His magic was also spent.
'It is not a perfect defense' thought Rory to herself.
She decided to try another spell. She had yet to try it while fighting with someone other than her golems. The cult leader provided her the opportunity to test the spell.
She flashed through several hand gestures and expanded large amounts of mana...well to others who did not have much mana as Rory had.
"Emroy Style: Majestic Flame Destroyer!''
Rory breathed amount an unimaginable wave of flames that covered the whole space in front of her reaching the size of a small city. The wave of flames went straight at The cult leader who had his eyes wide open like a frog. Despite it being big it was not as big enough for Rory's liking. Still the flames were powerful enough to incarnate everything they touched.
The flames burned everything on their path as they made their way towards the cult leader 's position. The heat of the flames was too intense as everyone close to the battle field felt the heat. The cult leader began to fear for his life he could no longer do the Chaos Barrier. He also could not escape to anywhere; the flames had blocked each path he could take. Backwards was a cliff, he could not go anywhere. He closed his eyes as the flames reached him and burned him to ash.
Rory ended her magic and put an uncanny smile on her face.
"Ara~ weren't you having fun?"
There was the sound of footsteps.
Upon hearing the clear, bell-like voice, he desperately looked up. The black-clad girl towered over him, backlit by the silver disc of the moon.
"Weren't you having fun just now? Chaos worshipers ?"
She planted the pointed tip of her axe between the man's spread legs, a hair away from his groin.
"Aiiieeee! I, I, I've never killed anyone!"
"Ara, really now?"
"It's true! This was the first job I did since I joined! The women too, they said I had to wait till the end since I was the new guy! I didn't even lay a finger on them!"
"Hmmmmmm?"
Rory thought briefly about this before speaking to the man again.
"The other cultists have all been called to be with Emroy. Don't you feel lonely by yourself?"
The man shook his head desperately. He was not lonely, not lonely at all.
"However, won't it be sad if you're the only one left out?"
"No, please, I would really like to be left out!" the man begged.
Rory looked at him with a cold gaze that was as sharp as a knife.
"What should I do with you, then~"
As she said that, Rory clapped her hands together.
"I've got it, this should be a good idea. Why don't you tell me what are your friends planning ?"
With that, the black-clad girl grabbed one of the man's legs.
He could feel an unimaginable strength that belied her delicate appearance.
"Ru run ra~" she hummed to herself, as she dragged the man like a mop.
"It hurts! Please stop! Gwaahhhh!"
The wilderness here was filled with rocks and sand. They tore the man's clothes to shreds as he was dragged across them, and then rubbed his sweaty skin raw. Soon his body was covered in his own blood.
MoD Main Building, Whitehall, London.
"Well, gentlemen the Prime Minister wants to know how it happened." Admiral Lord Philip said as he looked out of the window at the teeming rain battering London. The weather forecast had been for bright sunshine. So the Met Office had gotten it wrong, again, hardly new experience for someone in Britain. This time though, he expected the Met Office had received some supernatural assistance in getting its forecasts wrong.
"The Hurricane Debby, Minister?" The Permanent Secretary wondered. "Well it was rather more powerful than we would normally expect for this country and the damage to BAE Preston and Warton aerodrome was quite extensive. The Met Office is still looking into…"
"Not the Hurricane Debby, we have a good idea what caused it." Philip replied. "Something much more important than that, the Prime Minister would like to know how the French got command of an Army Front while we have ended up as, well, an appendage of the American Army Front. "We now have a large army, experienced commanders and staff, and a lot of combat experience. Arguably more than the French, certainly. So how did this happen?"
"We may have a large army, Minister, by our standards that is." Field Marshal Dannattt, the Chief of the General Staff, replied. " But its still small in comparison with the whole UEADF. Even then, we don't have enough equipment, uniforms, or weapons to equip even half of them, and we are only just keeping up with the requirements of our troops in the United Earth Alliance Expeditionary Force as it is."
"Indeed, our defence factories are working flat out and yet are only just meeting requirements." Air Chief Marshal Stirrup commented. "It will be a while before we can put many more troops in the field than we have now; most of our reserve army are still at home waiting to be told to report to training centers.
"If we were overstretched before in Iraq and Afghanistan then we've gone beyond overstretch now."
Admiral Philip looked back at the defence chief. "It still doesn't answer the question. We've spent the last half century commanding NATO ground forces; first the Northern Army front then the Allied Rapid Reaction Corps; and we're not getting to use that experience. The Cabinet is not pleased."
"With respect, Minister, the Cabinet should look beyond appearances and examine what the situation really is on the ground." Dannatt pulled a file from his briefcase and opened it up. "If we look at the United Earth Alliance Expeditionary Force, it is very much a work-in-progress. It's important to remember that armored units, tank and mechanized infantry, are to be considered front-line in this war. Everybody keeps the leg infantry at home for self-defense.
The Second Army Front (Greater Russia ) is completed at 650 divisions, although many of its units are below strength. No surprises there, the Russians always had a big army andits fully mechanized. The Third Army Front (Chinese plus Mongolian) is at roughly 80 percents strength with 650 divisions out of its planned 815.
The Chinese Amy have attached extra leg infantry divisions to their armored units to make up the numbers but we all know that in this war, its armor that counts. In both Russia and China's case, they have huge stocks of war material in storage and massive manufacturing capabilities.
The Russians are pulling it out fast and they have come up with some interesting examples I can tell you. Did you know one of their divisions is getting a mix of improved T-72s and Object 490s - 152mm RUSSIAN SUPER TANK!?
"That brings us to The First Army Front (U.S.). The Americans are cloning divisions as fast as they can equip them – and diluting their force very quickly in the process.
Each of their new divisions has a cadre of veterans but that's about it, the rest of the formations consists of raw recruits, including an increasing number of conscripts. In the decade since the war started, they've triple the number of divisions they have available and then quadruple it again. They now have 640 divisions in their Army Front.
Again, they were able to do that because they had the reserves of equipment stockpiled. To that number, we're adding 30 British and Irish divisions, 10 Australian, 20 Canadian and about 50 Commonwealth division, 110 divisions bringing the total to 750. The number are likely to be higher in the future.
In other words, of the seven armies planned for First Army Group, five actually exist. One of those is half-Commonwealth.
However, there's more to it than that. Those American divisions are small, they're about half the size of the Russian and Chinese units. There are reasons for that including structural requirements but the numbers remain small.
"Those Three Army Fronts are the backbone of the United Earth Alliance Expeditionary Force. They are the important ones, the ones that actually matter. Now, the organization of those Army Fronts was done to ease command and control. That was the critical constraint and its what put us in The First Army Front. The BigThree can be defined by language, First is Anglophone, Second is Russophone, Third is Sinophone.
"Now if we look at The Fourth Army Front (United Republic of Europia aka EU ). Certainly the French politicked their way into command and they put 50 armored divisions into the field. The Germans added 50, the Czechs 10, the Danes 10 and that took a heroic effort from them, Greece 10, Italy 50, Netherlands 10, Norway 10, Poland 40, Romania 10, Iberian Union 50, Turkey 100. Sweden's added 20 divisions, Switzerland 10, the Baltic states 30. Added up that makes 460 divisions, again with no common language, but luckily with an united logistics and operational doctrine.
They are mobilizing their reserves butthey don't have the huge stockpiles of equipment that the Americans, Russians, Chinese and Middle East have. So, they're mobilization work is producing mostly leg infantry for guarding the home front.
"Now we look at The South Asian Fifth Army Front (India). India dominates it of course, they've thrown 700 armored/mechanized divisions into the pot. Bangladesh has added 90, a creditable effort for them if I might say so, Pakistan added 100, Sri Lanka 10. That makes 900 divisions. Like in China's case the Indian have attached extra leg infantry divisions to their armored units to make up their huge numbers.
Next was The East Asian Sixth Army Front: Japan 180, Indonesia 150, South Korea 120. The Koreans with the add of the North Korea can sent another 100. Malaysia's sent 10, the Philippines 30, Singapore 10, Thailand 50, Brunei 10, Taiwan 50 and Myanmar 40. Indochina Federation rounds off the pot with 150 divisions. Add that up and we can see they have 900 divisions and that's going to be about it. Those countries are straining hard to support what they have, any further force increments in the near future are really unlikely.
Japan command position of this Army Front has caused some North Korean don't even want to listen to the Japanese. They are grumbling about Japan leadership position, some right-wing generals in their government even accusing Japan recreating Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere in the Second World War. The Chinese even make some anrgy noise but so far has not taken action.
The next one, The South American Seventh Army Front or the Latin American Seventh Front. Brazil contributed 240 armored divisions into the pot. Mexico added 150, Argentina 100, Caribbean Confederation 30, Central American Union 30, Venezuela added 30 a creditable effort for them. Chile 10, Peru 10, Bolivia 10, Colombia 20 pretty impressive, Uruguay 10, Paraguay 10, 650 divisions and again, that's more or less it. Like in The Sixth Army Front those countries are straining hard to support what they have, any further force increments in the near future are really unlikely.
Next The African Eighth Army Front. DRC 80, Nigeria 80, Ethiopia 50, Mozambique 20, Madagascar 30, Cameroon 20, Angola 20, Zambia 20, Chad 20, Guinea 10, Senegal 10, South Sudan 10, Togo 10, Somalia 20, Central African Republic 20, Republic of the Congo 20, Burundi 10, Burkina Faso 10. Total, 460 divisions and again with no common language, logistics or operational doctrine.
Finally we have The Arab Union Ninth Army Front, that's got Algeria with 100 division, Egypt with 140, Iran with 130, Iraq with 10, Israel with 30, Jordan with 20, Kuwait 10, Morocco 40, United Arab Emirates 10, Yemen 10, Lebanon 10, Tunisia 10, Libya 40, Saudi Arabia with 40 and Syria with 30. Another 20 divisions from Sudan that have even less in common with the rest of the group. The Israelies don't even listen to the Iranians, they just wander off and do what they want. Total, 650 divisions and again, that's more or less it.
The big contribution from the Middle East military has been the stockpiles of equipment. We got more than 5,000 tanks from Libya and an 1,250,000 man Army. They may pull some additional forces in from Africa and so on but they won't make much difference. The Arab Union kinda have a common language but no integrated command systems nor commonality in logistics. The Ninth also have no common doctrine but at least Egypt has experience of commanding forces of this size in the field.
"In short, The Fourth, Fifth, Sixth Army Front are marginally useful and The Seventh, Eighth, Ninth Army Front are shambles. It is reasonably obvious to us that Supreme Commander Allied Expeditionary Force Liam Nuttall knows this as well as we do. He knows that Fourth composes troops that, in most cases, are very good on the small unit level, up to division or corps level, but they have no real capability of operating beyond that. If push comes to shove, he'll break The Fourth up and use the units as spot reinforcements, especially for The First Army Front. The French "commander" will be left with an Army Front headquarters but no troops to command.
"Now contrast that with our situation, we are in the primary striking group of the United Earth Alliance Expeditionary Force, we have the ear of the commander of that group and we are trusted, well-regarded allies. Our words weigh heavily with them. We are an influential partner in a vital organization, rather than the head of an ineffectual one. Put another way, we may have an inferior position on paper but in terms of actual power and influence we outweigh the French many times over."
Philip harrumphed, knowing he would have to pass this information onto his Cabinet colleagues. Both the Prime Minister and his deputy were very keen on the idea of a British led Army Front; in time Britain would probably have one but not yet. The United Earth Alliance Expeditionary Force, even in its present incomplete form, was just too large.
The Third Japanese Special Task Force:
-Troops: 32,500
-Tanks : 555
- SP Artillery :110
-Armored personnel carriers (APC) : 725
-Infantry fighting vehicle (IFV) : 200
-All terrain Moto-Terminator: 250
-Self-Propelled Flame Thrower: 70
-Towed Artillery tubes over 105mm: 150
- All terrain Self-driving Cybertruck: 1000
- Self-Propelled Floating Bridge: 100
- Combat aircraft : Jets Fighter: 90, Transport Aircraft : 30, Helicopter: 150, Drone: 100, Heavy Gunship: 5
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"The sky is so clear, as expected of a different world."
Itami muttered to himself. Huge lumps of clouds floated in the sky, with no utility and telephone poles obscuring the view. The sky was clear no matter where he looked.
"You can see the same scenery in Hokkaido too."
Major Risa Aoi replied from her seat. She came from the garrison in Hokkaido.
"Well, I was hoping a place where giant trees roam, huge dragons fly, and fairies buzz around. But the 'Humans' we saw in the village so far are all human-like and the livestock are just cattle and some weird sheep, 6 legs cows and giant rabbits, such a disappointment." Said Itami.
Aoi had just finished her training course and was only twenty seven years old. After getting to know Itami as his aide-de-camp and his casual approach to hierarchy relationships, Aoi spoke like his mother with litlle reservations.
With the blue sky as the background, a green coloured military convoy drove through the plains in single file.
Leading the way was the 1st and 2nd Combat Unit, with the 5th Combat Unit behind it, the 3rd Combat Unit at the very back and 4th Combat Unit above, acting as their eyes.
In simple words, the two in front and the one behind were an heavy mechanized mixed corps the one in the middle was an air defense unit.
Itami was seated in his G-1 Base, in the middle of the 5th Combat Unit. Behind him were the crew of the G-1 Base Platoon, under his command. One Lieutenant General and twelve crew members, that was the full strength of this platoon.
Sergeant Major Funai Tsuneari who was in the back seat with his map laid out leaned his face towards the driver seat.
"Hey Takashi, you should be able to see a small stream soon. Turn right and go along it, and we will hit a forest soon. That would be the forest the Lord Mayor of Coda city mentioned."
Orientating himself by using a compass and a map made via aerial photography, Sergeant Major Tsuneari who was giving directions worked all the way up through the rank from private, and was fifty years old. He had vast experience as a trainer in the training department, and was respected and feared by recruits who addressed him as 'Oyatsu-san'. Shimamoto Takashi completed his basic military training as a recruit in Sobuyama under the tutelage of Sergeant Major Funai Tsuneari.
There were no satellites in this world, so GPS could not be used. Hence, they could only rely on maps and compasses. Only those who were experienced could handle this task, so Itami pushed the operation of the G-1 Base onto Tsuneari.
"Lieutenant General Itami, I have a suggestion. Let's stop before the forest and set up camp there."
Itami looked behind him to express his agreement when he heard what Tsuneari said. Tsuneari nodded in reply and picked up the handset of the radio.
Takashi checked their distance from the 3rd Combat Unit behind them through the main touch screen.
"Hmm, Lieutenant General Itami, we are not going to drive all the way there in one shot?"
"If we go into the forest now, we will need to spend the night there right? Spending a night in a forest with who knows what creatures in it? I'll pass on that. Even if there is a village as indicated by the intel, we would alarm them if we reached at night correct? We are the JSDF who loves peace and the citizens, how could we make such threatening moves?"
"That's why only a small group will enter the forest." Itami said.
The objective of the reconnaissance was to communicate with the locals and find out more about the people. It would be more convenient to travel in a helicopter, but they purposely chose to travel by land in order to interact with the natives there.
Oppressing them with violence was not their goal. They had to do what they could to avoid earning the ire of the locals. That was the directive for this operation.
They had visited three settlements so far and attempted to converse with the natives of this land. All of them said the war was the business of the lords and had nothing to do with them (they lied, all of them were spies and loyal to the Holy Empire), and didn't seem to express dislike or hate for Itami and the others. In that case, Itami's Task Force didn't need to do unnecessary things to complicate their work.
"Eh—"
Itami took out a black cover note book from his chest pocket and flipped to the page that detailed common phrases in the local languages and started practicing. These were written by language specialists after they questioned the prisoners from the Ginza incident.
"Sabaru, haru, ugutu—? (Hello, how do you do?)"
"Utterly monotonous, shouldn't you attend a language school first?"
TL: line from a commercial
"Shut up!"
Itami knocked Aoi's helmet.
And so, the The Third Japanese Special Task Force reached the plain before the forest. The first thing that caught their eyes were raising columns of black smoke.
"Shit's on fire yo."
Itami kept his eyes on the smoke in the sky and replied to Takashi "Yup, it's all burning." Flickers of fire could be seen in the forest.
"So this is the power of nature."
"You mean a monster movie?"
Tsuneari handed his binoculars to Itami as he said that, and pointed slightly to the right.
Itami looked at the place Tsuneari was pointing at.
"That's!"
A horde of over 10,000 giant creature that looked like Balrogs with wings were scorching the ground with flames.
"Fire Demon from Hell? " Itami wondered.
A petite Woman Army Corps (WAC) personnel alighted from the Type 73 Cybertruck in front and jogged over in her Combat Jacket.
Two WACs were assigned to this recon task forces command structure. The political leaders want to implement Diversity, Inclusion, and Equal Opportunity in the Armed Forces program to encourage recruiting new troops, hence their deployment. For example, it would be better for women to converse with the women and sale little girl a dream career in the military.
"Lieutenant General Itami, what's the matter? We can't just stay here."
This was Colonel Shino Kuribayashi.
Most male JSDF would ask her if her Combat Jacket was too heavy after having seen her. She was covered in so much gear that it looked like it was moving her. However, anyone who tried to bully her because of her small stature would meet with a terrible fate. She was a warrior who held a close quarters combat badge after all.
"Do fire demons have a habit of breathing fire into deserted forests?"
Even though she was queried, there was no way Kuribayashi would know the answer. But she didn't answer "I don't know" directly and adopted a sassy attitude.
"Lieutenant General, if you are curious about the behaviour of demons, why not have a closer look at what it is attacking?"
She asked instead.
"Kuribayashi-chan, I am scared of going alone, can you send your Birds over there and take some pictures ?"
"Yes Sir. Sir is that Maha Village, the hometown of our interpreter and guide girl, Tuka Luna Marceau."
"Ah, is that so?" Deep down Itami felt something, something new. A feeling of shame. If only they had gotten there sooner. Itami scratched his head hard, and then said:
"Find a suitable position to take cover and see how it goes. After the demons horde leaves, we will enter the forest and render aid to any survivors." As the demons horde flew away Itami gave the order to stand down. It would've been ugly to fight that horde, heavy weaponry or not. The sheer destruction they had caused would have inflicted at least mild casualties to Itami's task forces. Something they couldn't afford.
They had intel indicating that there was a village in the forest. That was probably what the demons horde was attacking, Itami thought.
In the end, Itami's task forces only entered the forest the following morning.
The black fire burned through the night, spewing forth smog that would hinder any reconnaissance. Thanks to the rain that fell at midnight, the forest fire finally died down and they could enter the forest.
The view inside the forest was completely clear. The leaves were burned and the trunks of the trees were reduced to charcoal .Wisps of smoke rose from the blackened ground. Residual heat still remained in the ground, and they could feel the heat from the soles of their feet.
"It would be a miracle if there were any survivors."
Itami agreed with Kurata, but he still headed for the village anyway.
After a two hour hike, they finally made it to a clearing without any trees.
If the forest wasn't burned down, it would have taken at least half a day to make it here.
Surveying the area, Itami could see signs of several buildings. If he looked closely… No, he didn't need to, he could see several blackened Human-shaped objects. Instead of Human-shaped objects, it would be more appropriate to call them burned mummies.
"Lieutenant General, these are…"
"Don't say it, Kurata…"
"Bleh, I'm going to throw up."
Kurata rubbed his abdomen as he looked around him.
Watching out for attacks, they slowly walked around the remains of the village.
All the buildings were burned. Everything above the stone floor was destroyed, reducing all of it into piles of rubbles. Blackened corpses lay under these structures. Everywhere they looked there was nothing but death and destruction. Charred corpses in various states of decay littered the area, it was truly a grim scene. The air was rank with the stench of burnt wood and flesh.
"Colonel Daisuke Tozu, take your man and search the east. Colonel Kuribayashi; send your bird to the west searching from the air."
"Search? For what, Sir?!"
In response to Kuribayashi's question, Itami shrugged and answered: "Erm~ Survivors?"
After searching about an hour, they confirmed that there were probably no survivors in this village.
Itami wiped away his sweat as he sat beside a well. The other members were still searching through the things used by the villagers here and were wandering about.
Immediately, Kuribayashi jogged over to him with a clipboard.
"Lieutenant, there are three large buildings and twenty-nine mid-sized to small buildings in this village. We confirmed twenty seven bodies, that's too few. Some might have been crushed by the debris when the buildings were burning."
"Let's say there are three people per building, there should be ninety people in this village. Including larger families, there should be about a hundred here. Were they wiped out, or hiding somewhere?"
"How brutal."
"Yeah. I will need to report the existence of huge demons that attack villages back to base."
"Father, sister!" the screams of the poor elf was the only thing that could be heard in the sepulchral silence of the burned village. Her life, her home and her people annihilated by a fire demons horde. Anger, sadness and helplessness ran through her body, they did not deserve this cruel fate, her hope of reuniting with her family now turned into despair.
Although there might be a fortune, she did not find anything, the bodies of her weren't found, something like that could give her hope that they had escaped in time although In this circumstance it was difficult to be optimistic.
Tuka community was destroyed and its people were massacred by the fire demons horde, the only thing that remained of some importance was the bow of her father and some arrows the rest was useless especially the library that was in the town, with a large set of information which was completely burned, the first contact with a potential ally quickly collapsed.
All they could do is leave the place, nothing could be done, even trying to find out the bodies would be useless, they were so broken that parts were disintegrated with the simple touch and the smell was so horrible that being near them was almost impossible.
When they left the place nobody said anything out of respect for the dead and although they wanted to returned Tuka back to the base to rest from what she saw they had an important mission to accomplish.
According to their schedule, they need to visit two or three more villages, but the Elven girl needed mental care, so Itami planned to backtrack and return to base. After setting up the antenna to seek advice from base, he received a reply that was like 'yeah, fine, just get on with it.'
"Lieutenant Colonel Kurokawa… That's how it is, I will be counting on you. Let's head back to Coda city."
After Itami said that, he got onto the command seat on the . Takashi will drive and Tsuneari will direct the entire G-1 Base platoon from the back seat. In order to care for the elf, Kurokawa stayed with her in the GCCV.
The Third Japanese Special Task Force set off once again.
Their trip back was peaceful too. It was hard to believe that just this morning a fire demons horde was flying around and annihilated an entire village.
A clear sky without clouds and vast plains as far as the eyes could see.
Nearly half the day's journey was spent in the dust kicked up by the convoy. Compared to the time they came, the recon task forces was more energetic and it felt like fleeing to them.
"It would be terrible if the demons chased after us."
"Don't say it, it might just happen."
When he heard those words from the command's seat, Itami couldn't help retorting.
The citizens of Coda welcomed Itami's group with an 'Oh, you are here again' kind of feeling. They were not hostile and just greeted them casually.
Itami looked at his dictionary as he talked to the city Lord Mayor and explained the situation, how they found the village in the forest as directed, how it had been reduced to ashes by the demons attack, e.t.c.
"What? Annihilated? That's terrible!"
Itami flipped through his tiny dictionary and chose the phrase to say.
"Also~. We went into forest. Big bird. Forest burned down. Village burned down."
There were no appropriate words, so Itami said 'big bird' as he sketched the picture of a demon on his notebook. Itami was good at making such illustrations.
The Lord Mayor's face turned pale when he saw the sketch.
"This, this is a demons horde, and a Flame Demons horde on top of that!"
Itami's vocabulary increased with these new words. He wrote down the words for demons in romaji.
"Demon, a lot, breath fire. Immanity, many burned."
"Not Immanities, you mean Elves. Those living there are Elves."
Using the language of this world, the Lord Mayor repeated 're-namu' several times. Itami wrote down on his dictionary under the 'E' pages and wrote 'Elf/ Re-namu'.
"Yes. Elves there. Many died."
"We are very grateful you told us this. We have to alert the cities nearby. Demons who know the taste of Elves and Immanities will attack cities and towns when they get hungry."
To express his gratitude, the Lord Mayor shook Itami's hand, and shouted to his family and the people around him.
When they learned that a demon horde attacked an Elven village, the face of the resident turned pale and they ran off.
"One person, a girl is alive."
Itami's words made the Lord Mayor raised his head with an 'Oh'. The Lord Mayor was then led to the back compartment of the GCCV to show him the depressed blonde girl.
"How tragic. This child is left all alone. Everyone she knew is gone."
The Lord Mayor stroked the blonde locks of the Elven girl. Their culture might be different, but Coda city had some interaction with the Elven village.
The Elves watch over the forest, stopping the hunters from wandering into its depths. They would also help the hunters when they were lost or injured, even going as far as to escort them home.
Not meddling with each other's affairs and staying away from each other. But in a way, they respected each other.
"City, abandon?"
"We are escaping. If you didn't inform us, the entire city would be destroyed. We are very grateful."
XXXXXXX
"You're kidding me right?" said Colonel Tomita.
"That's a negative. Sir the mission's changed, looks like we're going to be escorting these people out of here. Those fire demons horde we met yesterday. They are coming this way." Answered Lt. Colonel Tetsuya Nishina.
"Jesus Christ Nishina . Do we even have enough fuel?"
"So far...yeah, Sir. We haven't had to transfer yet thank god."
"Jesus...alright, alright. I'll let Lieutenant General Itami know, but so god help us if we break down out there."
"We won't."
"You better not...Oh and Nishina ."
"Yeah?"
"Stay safe, good hunting, bring our boys and the tanks back in one piece. Tomita, out."
"Solid, Nishina out."
Tomita sighed as he took his comm helmet off setting it down next to his desk. As he removed his balaclava he ran a hand across his curry hair. He had just come dangerously close to getting his men ass into a hornet, operating this long without logistics was just asking for trouble.
Tomita pondered on all this for a few moments, what sort of reaction would this campaign bring? What would the rest of the world think?
What would people back home think? Would they be looked as pioneers of the modern world bringing peace and order to a new world Or soft-hearted amateurs who had wasted resources for the enemy's civilian that didn't deserve them?
What would his wife and baby girl think? Would his wife even stick through this?
Fuck, I just work here.
XXXXXXX
"Lieutenant General Itami! Permission to come on board?"
Itami shook his head and leaned over the right side of the GCCV G-1 Base towards the source of the noise. Standing at the base of the GCCV was Colonel Akira Tomita and Colonel Daisuke Tozu.
"Yeah, you're good come on up!"
As the two went to the command chamber, Itami waved his hand to greet them and flicked his cigarette butt away.
"So, what's the plan after this, Sir ?"
Itami finished gulping from his canteen, as he placed the Beret back on he let out a small sigh as he watched the evacuation continue. "Well to be honest, I'm not entirely sure just how far they plan on going. I think they just seem content to get as far away from here as possible."
Tomita rolled his eyes. "So...we're just going to keep following them? Sir. Lieutenant General, with all due respect, we're already operating outside of our capacity. We're a Combined Arms Task Force, not hearts and minds. Now mind you, I'm not against helping the locals, but facts are facts. If it was as simple as us just hunting the damn demons horde down and being done with it I could understand. But if something breaks, or we get stuck? It might be a while before help arrives."
Itami sighed as he took his carbon nanotubes armor off, running a gloved hand through his bushy hair. "Yeah, General Hazama wasn't too thrilled with the idea either. But we can't just leave them here, not with a horde of flying flame demons around."
Hayato fussed with his rifle's sling as he removed his helmet. "Agreed, the Colonel is right, but with Kuribayashi 4th Airborne Combat Unit and my 5th Air Defense Combat Unit on our side? I doubt those fire-demons will last long."
As Kuribayashi and Hayato fist bumped, Tomita shook his head.
These guys are too optimistic.
XXXXXXX
There was a small patch of trees located some distance from Coda city, and within those trees was a stone house located behind a large thick wall due to the dangerous magic used by the master mages. The wall was made of Sunstone bricks laid on top of each other, and was covered in ivy vines.
The house was constructed primarily of white stone, with dome-shaped roof painted bright blue. There were two small windows in its walls which were designed to allow the maximum amount of light and wind into the house. The light that filtered through the arching canopy above them warmed the surrounding air causing the house to have an elegant feel to it.
Someone had parked a wagon in front of the house. The bed was buckling under the weight of a small mountain of crates, sacks, and books tied together with twine.
After looking at the amount of luggage on the wagon and the Groath (a goat-like creature with flat, bony plate-like horns) grazing beside the road, one might ask if this was too much for one poor beast to draw.
In front of this heap stood an obviously troubled person, clutching a bundle of books.
She was a girl with silver hair, and looked to be around 14 or 15 years of age (she actually 145 earth years old). She was wearing a kantoi. The girl was Lelei La Lalena, Viscountess of Rurudo. Lelei and her sister Arpeggio were originally members of the Rurudo's noble family. After Arpeggio's father had died, her mother remarried, resulting in Lelei's birth.
When their new father saw their vast magic potential, the two sisters they were sent to magic school and ended up as sorcery students in Rondel, where their innate magical talents were recognized by Grand Master Mimoza La Mer, who took the two girls under her wing. But while Arpeggio elected to remain with her teacher, Lelei opted to study under Grand Master Kato El Altestan, and moved in with him to the outskirts of Coda city when she was nearly 100 years old.
"Master, we can't keep piling things onto the wagon."
No matter what they did, they simply could not cram anything else onto the wagon. The girl calmly related this fact to the person inside the house.
"Lelei! Can't you think of something?"
A snowy-bearded old man poked his head out from a nearby window, with a "I can't take this" expression on his wrinkled face.
"It would make more sense to leave the Coam fruits and the Lochte pears behind."
The girl called Lelei removed the sacks full of ripe fruits from the wagon one after the other. She placed the book bundle she was holding into the space that was freed up.
Coam fruits and Lochte Pears were herbal medicines that were very effective against high fevers for cattle. However, these fevers were rare, and so they were not particularly necessary in the short term. And while they were rare, they were not unobtainable by any stretch, so the precious books she had just loaded up took priority over them.
The white-haired old man sagged his shoulders.
"The Flame Demons of Chaos shouldn't be here , hadn't the Holy Order destroyed them all 50 years ago ? why now…"
The news of Flame Demons of Chaos's attack on the elf village had spread like wildfire.
Normally, they would have dropped everything and fled, but since they had warning in advance, there was still some time to pack. As a result, the city was filled with activity as everyone made their preparations to escape.
The old man grumbled and carried the sacks which Lelei had taken off the wagon back into the small house. There was a secret door under the bed where he planned to hiding them .
In the meantime, Lelei guided the groath over and hitched it to the wagon.
"Master, you'd best mount up quickly."
"Ah? What are you saying? I'm not interested in mounting a little girl like you. Your big sister would be much better… Oh yes, your big and bouncy sister…"
"..."
Lelei glared at the old man with the coldest look she could muster. Then she proceeded to solidify the air into a lump and launched it at him. The solidified air was still only about as hard as a rubber ball, but it still hurt when it hit someone.
"Hey! Stop it! Magic is not a toy! Magic is not to be used for personal gain or enjoyment… Hey!"
"Although there's still some time, we can't play around like this. Let's move out soon."
"I got it, I got it, no need to rush… you really can't take a joke, can you?"
The old man gripped his staff in one hand and settled into the seat next to Lelei. Lelei, on the other hand, glared at the old man and spoke.
"Jokes are meant for entertainment between friends, parents, lovers and other closely related people. However, once they start taking on a sexual nature, one must start taking the other party into consideration as well. For instance, it would be completely unacceptable to start making lewd jokes around a young girl. This might well irreparably damage the relationship with them. I believe this should be common knowledge for mature individuals, no?"
The old man sighed deeply as his disciple lectured him.
"Huu… I'm so tired. I wish I didn't have to get old."
"Objectively speaking, that is incorrect. I feel that Master is as hardy as a cockroach."
"Now that's what I call rude. Is that how a disciple should be speaking?"
"This is how I was raised from childhood, and I was raised by my Master."
After her unreserved words, Lelei lightly struck the groath with her riding crop.
The groath obediently tried to move forward, but it could not, because the wagon's bed was overloaded.
"..."
"...Like I said, we're carrying too much."
"That was expected. Also, you were the one who said we could keep piling things on, Master."
"..."
Lelei quietly jumped off the wagon.
She felt that it would be better to keep walking than sit still on an immobilized vehicle.
"Oi, oi! Lelei, you need to be more patient! If you're like that, nobody will want to marry you, and that would be a shame!"
As the old man said that, he took up the goad and struck the groath. The groath tried its best, but as expected, the wagon refused to budge.
Lelei noticed that one of the wheels was embedded into the ground, about a third of the way in. If it was stuck like that, it was only natural that the wagon could not move.
"Master, I think you need to get off the wagon."
"Don't, don't worry. After all, don't we have this?"
The old man raised his staff, and Lelei sighed. Mimicking the tone of her master, she replied:
"Magic is not a toy. Magic is not to be used for personal gain or enjoyment…"
Sweat poured like a waterfall from the old man's forehead, and he rushed to answer her.
"We are magicians, we do not walk like the animals."
However, he could not defy Lelei's glare, which was utterly devoid of warmth or compassion.
The old man's mouth opened up as if he were going "ah~", and he began chanting the words he had not spoken for a long time.
"..."
His solemnity as an educator clashed with the other feelings in his heart. It would seem the old man's next move would take some time. After a while, he looked at Lelei with an uncomfortable expression on his face.
"I… I'm sorry."
"That's fine. After all, I know that's how Master is."
Lelei was a child who did not sugarcoat her words.
After using magic to lighten the weight of the luggage, the Groath could easily pull the wagon and its mountain of cargo. And so, Lelei and her Master sat on the wagon and left the home they had occupied for many years.
As they drove the wagon to the center of the city, Lelei noticed many families with wagons full of things, much like herself and her Master. It wasn't just wagons they used, but haywains and plow harnesses, and some people had even loaded up their horses with saddlebags.
Lelei looked closely at the other people, as if she were studying them.
Her Master spoke.
"You're an intelligent child. Everyone else must look foolish to your eyes."
"It's only natural that Immanity would flee with everything they could carry once they heard of the Flame Demons's approach."
"You said it was natural for Immanity … does that mean they're foolish, then?"
"..."
Lelei could not deny her Master's words.
If they really valued their own lives, they would immediately drop everything and run as far as they could. Stopping to take on and secure luggage would only waste time that could be spent on fleeing, and the luggage itself would slow them down. It would be too late to abandon it when the Flame Demons came.
To begin with, why did humans even struggle so hard to survive? Death was inevitable — it would happen sooner or later. What was the point in slightly prolonging one's life?
Lelei logically dissected the topic as she considered it, and the old man was agonizing over how to speak with her.
When they reached the center of the village, the way forward was blocked by a line of wagons.
"What's happening up ahead?"
The column of wagons did not move, but Lelei's Master received a reply from someone in front.
"Ah, it's Master Kato. And Lady Lelei too. Ah, we're in trouble now. Someone had overloaded the train and now it derailed, and now it's stuck in the middle of the road and blocking everyone. We're all pitching in, but it'll be a while.
They would be bogged down by the wagons behind them even if they wanted to turn around and take another route. This was what some might call a Catch-22.
As her Master was talking to the city folk, Lelei's attention was drawn by a group of mysterious men, who spoke a language she had never heard before.
At a glance, these men were all dressed in green metal armor … Well, green and some other colors, like brown.
No, it looked like there was also a woman among them. They seemed to be wearing some kind of heavy metal armor; were they soldiers from Earth? The Earth Army shouldn't have came here for another 5 months, why now… Have they defeated the local Imperial Guard ?
Although she wasn't quite sure what they were saying, the men and the woman leapt into action under the orders of a roughly 450-year old man.
From the look of things, he seemed to be their commander. They felt like some sort of well-trained military organization, the kind that contained their violence with rules and regulations.
She told her Master that she was going to "check things out", and got off the wagon.
"Wait for me, Lelei."
As the JSDF were busy helping the civilian, an old man appeared who, due to his appearance and his strange cane, they could say that he was a magician, the situation started to become tense.
The old wizard came close to them and said "Welcome to Coda city, I am Sage Kato El Altestan. Can I have your name?" the old man asked.
"A Sage ?. This maybe our chance "
"I am Tsuneari, don't worry, we mean no harm and we want to discuss an issue with you."
"Yes, why not, please sit down"
After sitting on a kind of bench where they continued the conversation.
"As you can see sir, we are not from this place we have arrived from a country called Japan on a place called Earth on the other side of the Gate ," said Tsuneari.
"Then you must be from a very distant place so what are your and your people doing here?"
"We are exploring, Sir."
"An army of scouts then you come from an invasion force right?" The old man quickly began to fear the worst. News of an alleged invaders who defeated the Imperial Army was already something well known and he feared that this city would be massacred all of the people enslaved. He knew that even his magic it would not be enough to contain this invader.
With much nervousness and visible fear in his voice he asked "What can this humble men do for you, gentlemen?"
Tsuneari immediately realized the fear in the old man's voice
"Don't be afraid Sage Kato, we won't do you anything harm, we promise."
"As you know, the Flame Demons horde is coming this way, we want to assist the people in this city and the surrounding area to evacuated. We were told that an arch-mage can communicate telepathically on large scale. We want you to telepathically inform everyone in the area to evacuate immediately."
"Oh.. I will see.. what I can do about ..that " Surprised by the unselfishness of the invading soldier, the old sage answered awkwardly.
While her Master was busy with some foreigners and the others were distracted by the civilians. Approaching their metal beasts was easy.
Analyzing of those machines would require a lot of time considering the complexity of those device, something like those could not be recreated in Falmart for at least another 50 years.
In the middle of her analysis Lelei heard a voice addressed her.
"Excuse me, but what are you doing? " It was one of the men in green armor, who spoke to Lelei, little confused by what she was doing.
"I only analyze this machine, this thing doesn't have magic, or magic gems. I am wonder how can this metal carriage move."
"Tell me, foreign warrior, where does that peculiar chariot come from?"
Takashi sat down over the right side of the Type-92 Chamberlain turret's face as he went to answer the young girl's question. "Look it is quite complicated young lady and my vocabulary is still not the best, I could only make a small summary, it's not magic its sci-ence."
She seemed somewhat surprised that the machine was 100 percent mechanical, using no magic at all.
"This knowledge is very interesting, maybe if we meet each other in the future ..." She said as Takashi explained to her in simple terms the mechanism of the so-called tank.
"It is interesting but if it is true then how can they operated in Falmart, I doubt that the liquid you call gasoline exists here yet." Lelei asked sincerely.
(Note: Falmartian knew about crude oil, but not gasoline.)
"We will solve it, honestly young lady you have no idea the adversities that our world have had to face, we will be fine."
Lelei just nodded "maybe they are right. It doesn't matter, though, the Holy Empire will win this war, as they always do, from time to time.", she turned her eyes to the vehicles, when she realized that in one there was an elf with red eyes, probably because of crying and a black-haired woman at her side who seemed to comfort her.
"Excuse me but that elf over there seem like she just cried, did something happen?"
"I honestly don't want to comment much, I will just say that the Flame Demons horde were responsible."
Suddenly a cry rang out.
"Danger!"
"!"
The sound of an explosion followed shortly, and when Lelei looked back, the thrashing horse lay motionless on the ground. It had missed her by a hair's breadth, but if it had come any closer, the full weight of the 6-legs horse — ten times that of a man — would have fallen on top of Lelei.
All Lelei knew was that the men in green armor had done something to the frenzied horse, and that it had saved her.