Cooldude : There was that explanation in one of the early chapters, when Neo got her first weapon. You need to infuse your bullet with aura in order for it to harm other aura-users, however most firearms don't have aura infused bullets. You should also note that while there are no mention of the use of materials other than Dust in the show, there also isn't any mention of Dust being used to propel bullets.
That being said, the real advantage of Dust for Huntsmen and Huntresses is that thanks to their aura, they can remotely activate it, something Neo can't do (aka, Neo needs a direct link between herself and the Dust she wants to use, either through her weapon or through a crate, for example). It also is easier to carry, especially when you want to do anything other than a crude explosion.
As for the explanation as to why there are no standing armies outside of Atlas, remember that Hunters pay for their own supplies, meaning that the only cost for Kingdoms is the rewards for missions.
It doesn't mean that a standing army has no advantage over the elite Hunters, however it does mean that, given what Hunters already bring to the table, there are no need for any Kingdom outside of Atlas to pay extra in order to maintain a standing army of their own, especially since no government is ever going to pay 10 times the minimum income to any one person, meaning that even if Hunters are only worth 10 soldiers, they would still be by far the cheaper option.
"No Neo !" said Roman, "No matter how many time we have this discussion, I am not going to run away, that would be suicide !"
Neo rolled her eyes and angrily waved at the Dust laying around in the wagon the were both currently in, away from prying eyes, and most importantly ears.
"I know this is madness." agreed Roman, "But there is no fighting this. If we run, she'll find us, that's for sure. And before you say it, no Vacuo isn't safe either. There is no running away from this. All we can hope for is get caught and wait until she forgets us before getting out."
Neo groaned. Why couldn't Roman just trust her on this ? He knew she was working with Shade, but somehow his dumb skull kept thinking running to Vacuo would mean having to hide every day from Cinder, when in reality it meant she could get Rumpole to intervene and rid themselves of Cinder for good.
"As much as I loath to admit it, Cinder is very good." argued Roman, "Nobody's going to be able to catch her, and the moment we will leave the school, assuming the teachers let me leave, she'll be there to kill us."
Neo let out an angry shout and slammed Hush on a nearby Dust crate before leaving towards another train cart, causing Roman to rush to the crate in order to stabilize it and avoid a chain explosion.
"Trying to make us blow up isn't going to help your case young lady !" shouted Roman, answered by a middle finger poking out of the door frame just before Neo slammed the door behind her.
Roman was about to chase after the angry teenager when he was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Hey boss !" shouted Perry from outside, "Found something you might want to see !"
"Is it good or bad Perry ?" asked Roman as he opened the door of the wagon, "Because let me tell you, I have had a day."
"Uh, it's a little girl ?" offered Perry
"Uhhhh..." puffed Roman as he saw who Perry was dragging, "That would be bad."
Neo was angrily kicking at the empty crates in the train cart she was in, when she heard Roman's voice through the intercom.
"Get to your places ! We are leaving now !" he shouted.
Not long after, the train started moving. Confused, Neo started making her way towards the locomotive, where she expected Roman to be right now.
Then she heard an explosion behind her, in the distance. It seemed like they were already letting the wagons go to make openings for the grimm to follow them.
Suddenly, the hatch on the ceiling of her wagon opened, and Neo hid herself behind her illusions. Three girls dropped in, the blonde, the Schnee and the black-haired one she remembered were part of the silver-eyed girl's team.
Seeing the three of them were planning on going forward, Neo dropped the illusion and made it seem as if she was dropping from the sky.
"You two go on ahead !" said the blonde, "This one's mine."
The two others gave the blonde a quick look before running ahead. Neo dodged a dust shot, but made no attempt at stopping the two girls from moving forward.
Normally, she would have tried dealing with the three of them at once. She had seen before how weaker they were compared to her, and she was confident she could beat them. However, any fighting carried inherent risks, and fighting three people at once might be stretching it just a bit.
Moreover, she knew they were with the silver-eyed warrior, so Neo was convinced that they wouldn't try to kill Roman. The worse option was that he got himself caught, which was exactly what he was looking for. All she had to do after that is break him out and force him to move with her to Vacuo.
Once the two others were gone, the blonde walked up to Neo who took the time to observe her.
Name : Yang Xiao Long
Age : 17
Level : 5 (11%)
Class : Brawler [You fight with your fists. Is there anything more to add ?]
Path : None
Title : Punny fighter
HP : 15/15
AP : 43/43
STR : 17
CON : 15
DEX : 10
INT : 11
WIS : 12
CHA : 13
Semblance : Burn [You convert the damage you have taken so far into additional strength you can use until your aura is out. Using it makes you angry, and being angry makes you use it]
Status effects :
Child of Remnant [You are from Remnant and follow different rules than other worlds. Your HP is always equal to your constitution and any bonuses that would normally improve it are transferred to your aura]
Defenses :
AC : 13
For : 18
Ref : 13
Will : 14
Neo grinned smugly. Yang had seemingly trained a lot during those past three months, but the change was ultimately meaningless. Although, maybe she would be able to withstand two hits before her aura would break now.
The mocking grin reminded Yang of all the people that told her to avoid this fight, and that pissed her off. With all her anger, she punched forward.
But Neo's illusions were already at work, hiding Hush as it hit the brawler right in the face, forcing her away.
- 17 AP
Yang growled and unleashed a flurry of punches, all of which Neo avoided, dodging by a hair's breath on purpose to enrage her opponent further. After she felt it was enough, Neo round-kicked Yang into the floor.
- 10 AP
Another exchange, and Yang was once again kicked away by Neo effortlessly.
- 11 AP
After one last exchange, Neo smugly sat on a crate, crossing her legs, while Yang glared at her, definitely worse for wear even if it didn't look like the angry blonde was realizing the damage she had taken so far.
"You know. Even though miss Goodwitch really want to help you and bring you back, I just really want to punch your face right now." said Yang.
Neo's smile faded ever so slightly. So Glynda was still trying to 'fix' her ? Well, that she would send a first year student to stop her was actually a bit insulting.
It was time to finish it then. She wasn't really in the mood to play anymore.
With a swing, she threw Yang in the air, smashing her head first into the ceiling.
- 5 AP
- 4 HP
The teenager fell down, unconscious. The shock must have given her quite the concussion. This wasn't over though, as Neo approached her while taking out her blade. It was time she showed Glynda that she was quite happy with where she was, that she didn't need her help, and the best way to do that was to kill the one she sent to fetch her.
She was about to stab, however, when she heard a strange sound coming from next to her. A quick look showed her that a woman dressed in a red armor was here and about to attack her. Neo barely blocked the two strikes, and immediately observed her when she stopped.
Name : Raven Branwen
Age : 39
Level : 20 (100%)
Class : Bandit [Raised a bandit, and always a bandit]
Path : Strength above all [You consider strength to be everything in life. The strong thrive, the weak die]
Title : Coward [You saw what you consider to be ultimate strength, and fled. You cannot find your destiny until you get you brave this]
HP : 24/24
AP : 107/107
STR : 28
CON : 24
DEX : 32
INT : 22
WIS : 22
CHA : 24
Semblance : Kindred Link [You can make portals towards people who you feel close to, as well as know they general situation]
Status effects :
Child of Remnant [You are from Remnant and follow different rules than other worlds. Your HP is always equal to your constitution and any bonuses that would normally improve it are transferred to your aura]
Spring maiden [You are the maiden of spring, heiress of a power that Ozma once gave to one of four young maidens. You gain 10 in every stat and can use Dust abilities without Dust or aura]
Defenses :
AC : 33
For : 30
Ref : 34
Will : 28
Neo stepped back in fear. So this was what a full maiden was capable of ? This was what Cinder was trying to become ? Getting rid of her might be more urgent that she thought. Maybe she should call Rumpole for help before it was too late.
Not wanting to fight what was very obviously a losing battle, Neo jumped and used her illusions to disappear in a flash, making it seem as if she had teleported away. In reality, she waited behind a crate until both the woman and Yang left. She didn't want to attack the blonde again and risk the maiden's wrath.
Once sure danger was out of the way, Neo got out of her train cart and saw that all the ones before hers had already been detached. Grimm were following the train as planned, and many white fang goons were trying to hold on to the wagon she was on, or trying to catch up to the train with the grimm hot on their tails.
"Neo !" she heard someone shout next to her, "A bit of help please ?"
She turned her head and saw Perry was part of the goons trying to make their way up the wagon. Slowly, Neo walked to the spot directly above him, and pointed Hush at him.
"Neo ?" asked Perry, not liking where this was going one bit.
With a soft smile, Neo activated the lightning Dust inside her canopy, which caused Perry to let go from the pain. He fell down, unconscious, and would soon be devoured by the grimm that followed.
She was sorry, really, she was, but the first rule she had learned about undercover operations was to take as little risks as possible, and while keeping Perry alive when they were cut off from the rest of the world was fine, now that they were going back to civilization, she couldn't afford to let him go.
The other White Fang members started sweating when they saw Neo's weapon being pointed at the rest of them. Soon, they started screaming as Neo pushing them one by one off the rails.
After all, if she was going to call for Rumpole's help, then the least she could do was to minimize the damage.
To be continued on July 17th
Name : Neo Politan
Age : 16
Level : 16 (17%)
Class : Illusionist [You add both your Intelligence and Dexterity modifiers to your AC and to Dexterity or Intelligence based attacks as long as you can still cast illusions]
Path : Me, myself and I [You live for yourself first and foremost, no matter what pain you might cause others]
Title : The Gamer
HP : 10/10
AP : UNUSABLE
STR : 11
CON : 10
DEX : 18
INT : 21
WIS : 12
CHA : 16
Semblance : The Gamer
Status effects :
Gamer's body [Your body follows game-like mechanics. You can restore 1/4th of your total HP (rounded down) by resting 15 minutes. You can only die if your HP reach 0 and you fail your last breath]
Child of Remnant [You are from Remnant and follow different rules than other worlds. Your HP is always equal to your constitution and any bonuses that would normally improve it are transferred to your aura]
Fighting for your life [Your aura behaved in the only way that would let you survive, and will continue to do so until you overcome your trauma. You cannot use aura, but you can will any item you wield for it to reflect 100% of any attack that hits it]
Words that shouldn't be said [Your last words almost caused you to lose your life. You cannot talk until you overcome your trauma]
Defenses :
AC : 26(30)
For : 19
Ref : 25
Will : 23