Part 4 The Refugees
Sylvania is still admiring the vehicle she rides with her savior. Using the small windows inside the Safir, she can see outside the vehicle and estimate how fast the vehicle moves right now. Even though the vehicle moves without horses to pull it, it can still be as fast or even faster than any horse she ever rode in her life. Moreover the vehicle itself is also made of metal entirely which should be really heavy to be pulled even by the strongest horses. Sylvania were unable to find out what kind of magic this You I See people used.
CLANK
She was looking out through the back window all this time and suddenly, a clanking sound can be heard and at the same time, there is an object which looks like an arrow hitting the window. Even though the object didn't leave any damage on the vehicle, it still made Sylvania shocked. Soon the other occupant including Ahmed rushed to look at the back of the vehicle through the back window and there they found dozens of horse riders struggling to chase them.
"We have Leonian Riders trying to chase us, take them out."
Ahmed put on the vehicle radio and moved beside the driver seat.
"Abdul, can you move faster?"
"The road ain't really pretty sir, but I'll try to leave these Leonians behind."
The Safir soon slightly adds its speed, but the dirt roads are giving a hard time for the Safir and other vehicles to move any faster. On the other hand, the Leonian Riders also add more speed to their horse, trying to catch up with Ahmed's vehicle. It was pretty unfortunate that the road they used had a lot of rocks which is why the Safir can't move faster while the horse which the Leonian used seems to have no problem with it.
The 25 mm gun on the top of Safir soon started to fire on the cavalry. Both exchanged fire of bullet and arrow while the arrow didn't do more than a scratch to the Safir and other vehicles. Following the Safir which Ahmed rode on, the other vehicle soon started to follow up, firing the cavalry. The Jamal jeep used its remoted 12,7 mm gun to fire on the Leonian cavalry. At some time, the magic user between those Leonian cavalry also launches a small fireball, sharp ice, sharp rock, or any other element attack.
TATATATA TATATATA TATATATATATA
One by one, casualties fell at a fast pace between the Leonian. One of the magic users seems to have pointed his wand at one of the Ghazi's vehicles and the wand emitted a brighter light than the other. Ahmed knows that the magic user would launch a stronger magic attack on his men and warn the one who drives the Safir.
"Watch out Abdul!"
Not long after that, the magic user launches a fire magic which is shaped like a spear. Abdul, who receives a warning from Ahmed, slightly evades the spear shaped fire magic. The magic hit a road and made a blast that was on a par with an ATGM missile, enough to shake Ahmed's Safir. Ahmed knows that the vehicle won't survive from that blast if it hits his vehicle directly. One of the Jamal jeeps successfully hit the magic user that launched the fire spear, killing him instantly.
Upon the death of that same magic user, the other Leonian cavalry seem to be shaken and immediately stop their attempt to chase Ahmed's convoy. Ahmed guessed that the magic user who made the spear shaped fire was their leader and the death of their leader would make the rest of their unit lose morale. Ahmed let go of Safir's gun remote and sat with a sigh.
"Alhamdulillah."
Sylvania who watched the short battle unleashed directly in front of her stared at Ahmed with a look of amazed and fear. She tried to look outside Safir windows at the back side, making sure that the Leonian really stopped chasing them, then she switched her gaze at Ahmed again.
"How can you defeat the elite Leonian riders which outnumber you in such a short time? And that staff which can kill people instantly, what kind of magic did you use?"
Sylvania even remembered how Ahmed saved her with the mysterious staff he held back then. Judging from how all the people who come with Ahmed holding the same staff, Sylvania thought that all of them were mages.
"We don't use swords and arrows anymore, Sylvania, what you saw back then is the basic capability of our weaponry and the soldiers of our country. It's not magic either."
"Not magic? Then what kind of weapon do you use which can instantly kill people?"
"Our weapon is a mixture of science and mechanical engineering, purely handmade by an ordinary human. It's a result of hundreds or thousands of years of development of science and technology in our world."
"Your world?"
Ahmed didn't give her any reply and stayed silent, letting Sylvania to find the answer on her own. Sylvania still unable to understand what he meant by saying "his world", did they come from a different world? Sylvania never saw anything like this in her whole life. Weapons that can kill people from far instantly, carriages made of steel that are able to move without being drawn by horses. She even never heard about the country called You I See (UIC) mentioned by Ahmed before. How big and how strong is the country? If they can defeat a company of Leonian elite riders with a handful of soldiers, what can they do with thousands of soldiers like them?
Question after question keeps popping up in her head without any answer. If the man in front of her didn't want to give her the answer, she had to find it by herself.
"What did you see back then is just a small thing of what we can do. We still have other weapons which you have yet to see and might surprise you." Ahmed suddenly said it in the middle of their silence, adding more questions to Sylvania's head.
It also sends shivers to Sylvania's body, imagining what other thing they might be able to do. After some time, Sylvania who was lost in her thoughts came to her senses when the vehicle suddenly stopped. She can see regular houses on one side and farms on the other through the windows which can only mean that they are stopping in a village.
"We have arrived in the nearby village. Let's get out of the vehicle." Said Ahmed before he stood from his seat and got out of the vehicle followed by his subordinates.
Seeing all the occupants getting out of the vehicle, Sylvania follows suit. Just like the last time they got to the village, people are gathering again around them, especially when this time they bring the vehicle inside the village and park it near the chief house. Just like Sylvania when she looks at the vehicle for the first time, the villager also looks at it in awe and curiosity while they still didn't know that those vehicles also had the deadly capability in combat. The chief immediately showed himself from the middle of the crowd to see Ahmed and his men once again.
"I see you returned to our village, what brings you back here?" Asked the village Chief. This time the chief, Walt, realizes a new face amongst Ahmed's group. The young girl who didn't come with them when they came to Ruma village last time.
"We just came from the Olin village. The Leonian troops killed everyone in the village without mercy and burned their houses. This girl is the only survivor we can save."
The villagers around them were shocked with the news from Ahmed. They start to murmur among themself. Ahmed can clearly see the panic expression from their faces.
"Everyone, calm down!" The chief tried to calm the panicked crowd before it got into chaos.
"Looks like the city of Eklaire has been captured by the Leonian Army. Some of their troops have begun to plunder any village they can find to get any surviving nobles and the rest of the Scotian Army."
Walt turns around to face the villagers.
"We need to go to the capital city of Longnard to save ourselves. It's the safest place we can find to avoid the Leonian army. Gather your things tonight and remember to only bring your most valuable belongings. We will leave tomorrow morning. Let's hope king Rauffe will give us protection from Leonia."
After that, the crowd disperse and the villagers are going to their own house to pack their belongings. Walt turns to face Ahmed again.
"We will abandon this village tomorrow at dawn. I know you might be tired so you can stay in our village for this night, but you have to leave tomorrow since it won't be safe anymore here. You can use the barn beside my house. Even though it's not really clean, I'm sure it's still worth spending the night."
"Thank you, we will accept your offer. But, can we use one of your rooms inside your house for this young lady? She seems pretty tired after what she was going through this whole day and it's not appropriate for a lady to sleep among men."
"Of course, I know it's not good for her to sleep outside too. Come with me young lady, I'll show you your room, miss…"
"It's Sylvania, my name is Sylvania." Sylvania introduces herself.
"Alright, come with me Miss Sylvania."
Sylvania looked towards Ahmed as if she was asking permission from him, to which he replied with a nod. Ahmed wants Sylvania to spend the night in Walt's house since Walt also has a daughter with him so that Sylvania won't be alone. After seeing Sylvania enter the chief's house, Ahmed turns to face his 20 subordinates.
"We will spend the night in this village. The chief offered his barn for us to use as shelter. Call the HQ and tell them that we will return tomorrow. Let's have maghrib prayer first, then we will arrange the schedule for an overwatch."
"""Yes Sir!"""
The squad then carry on with a maghrib prayer inside the barn and they continue with ishak prayer. In the middle of their prayer, the door on the barn was knocked. It was Sylvania and she came with a kind of cup in her right hand while she used her left hand again to knock on the door. Sylvania has also changed her clothes with more proper clothes for a girl. The dress reached her foot this time and it was gifted by the chief which used to belong to the chief's wife.
Knowing that there is no one responding to the knock, Sylvania tries to peep through the window and see Ahmed and his 20 soldiers form a line and doing some kind of gesture which she can't understand. It was after they prostrated that Sylvania knew Ahmed and his men were worshipping their God. But still she can't understand who they're worshipping since there is nothing in front of them. There should be a statue, idol, or something to represent their God when someone is worshipping their God, but these people seem to be different. It was after finishing their prayer that one of the soldiers came to the door to open it. Sylvania stops her peeping and gets back to the door. There she met with one of the soldiers who were supposed to be Ahmed's subordinates.
"Ah, Miss Sylvania, is there anything we can help?"
Sylvania looks at the soldier with a confused look. The soldier talks to her in a language which she can't understand. It was Ismail who opened the door for her, knowing that she didn't understand his words, Ismail scratched his head.
"Wait here!"
Ismail said it with a hand gesture. Although Sylvania still didn't understand what he said, at least she knew that he asked her to wait according to his gesture. Ismail goes back inside the barn and whispers to Ahmed. After receiving what Ismail said, Ahmed nods and stands, then he walks to the door to meet Sylvania who is still waiting there.
"Miss Sylvania? Is there anything you need from us?"
Sylvania slightly looks down to avoid Ahmed seeing the blush on her face. She handed the cup in her hold to Ahmed.
"I made a drink for you."
Ahmed looks at the cup to see what's inside.
"What is this?" Ahmed asked again.
"It's Roa, a drink that will warm and relax your body."
"Does it intoxicate?"
Sylvania looks at Ahmed with a confused look again and replies with shaking her head. She thought that maybe Ahmed doesn't like to get drunk. They walk outside the barn to find someplace to take a seat side by side. After taking a seat, Ahmed takes one sip from the cup. It tastes like tea mixed with ginger. He takes another sip until he spends half of it. Just like ginger, Ahmed can feel warmth spread through his throat and it feels relaxing.
"Inside the barn, what did you do back there?"
Sylvania spit her confusion straight to Ahmed after he took the sip. He stared at Sylvania for a while, then took another sip before he gave the answer.
"You should've known it from the way we move. We do our prayers, worshiping our God. It's the way we communicate with him."
They got silent once more, no one knew what to talk. Ahmed continued to spend his Roa drink to the last sip. He thought it was good since he also likes tea in the first place.
"I haven't thanked you for what you did for me today. Thank you, for saving my life. If there is anything I can do to repay you, I would gladly do it for you."
Ahmed put his empty cup beside him, shifting his gaze to Sylvania for a while, then he shifted his gaze again to somewhere else. Staring at a girl who is not a mahram for too long is not good anyway. Before Ahmed gives his reply, apparently Sylvania still wants to add another word.
"You saved my life for those barbaric soldiers. If only you didn't come at that time, my body might still be lying on that bed without life, or worse, they could have taken me as a slave. The Leonian were raping any women they can find and kill all men in the village, regardless of how old are they. Some of them were taken captive at first sight."
Ahmed waits for a moment, ensuring that Sylvania has finished her word before he finally gives his reply.
"You don't have to thank me. It's our duty as the soldiers of Islamic State, and it's also ordered by our God."
Sylvania lowered her gaze. Her expression turned gloomy. She responded to Ahmed's answer.
"Those who kill innocent villagers also say the same thing. They say that it's their God's will." Sylvania said it in a sarcastic tone.
Ahmed smiled, hearing what Sylvania said. Seems like Sylvania didn't really have good terms when hearing the word "God". He remembered how the European crusaders killed innocent civilians, including women and children in every muslim village they visited one thousand years ago. He remembered the story about how the crusaders kills Jerussalem's population until the blood flood reach their feet and they say the same thing.
"Maybe you talk about a different God. Our God forbids us to kill any women and children, or even men who are surrendering and chooses to have peace rather than war. We are also taught to do justice to our people regardless of where they came from, regardless of their race, even though they are formerly citizens from another nation or other country."
"Is that so? Your God must be merciful and have great compassion to forbid you from killing any non-combatant in the war." Said Sylvania while smiling bitterly.
"Indeed, he is the most merciful and compassionate. Because he is Allah, our God. Well, it's already late at night, you should rest now. You must be tired for all you've been through this day."
Sylvania nodded. She stands from where she sits and takes the empty cup beside Ahmed. She takes a step to the chief house, but before she continues, she takes a glance and asks Ahmed.
"Ahmed, you said that you came from a country called You I See. What is the meaning of 'You I See?' "
Ahmed immediately knew that Sylvania misinterpreted what he said before.
"It's an abbreviation, the U-I-C. It stands for United Islamic Caliphate."
"Islamic Caliphate, I'll remember that then. Good night Ahmed."
Sylvania continued her step, leaving Ahmed behind in his guard duty. He moved from where he sat to a position near the barn door. He automatically gets the first turn since he was already there at this late hour.
###
Ahmed didn't know how long it had been since he took his turn for a watch. The door on the barn opened and Karim came out with a gun hanging in his back. He holds a portable stove in his left hand and a pot in his right hand filled with water.
"You better had some rest Sir! It's my turn for an overwatch."
Ahmed nodded, he took his own gun and stepped to the barn's door. But when he was about to enter the barn, Karim said something to him.
"I heard some of your conversation with that girl sir. Orhan also told me how you both saved her at Olin village."
Ahmed stops in his tracks, waiting for another word from Karim.
"Are you planning to persuade her to enter Islam sir?"
Karim asks it while he turns on the stove and puts the pot on it.
"We just convey the word about Islam, not only to that girl, but to all humanity we can reach. Regarding how they are willing to accept it, it's completely up to them." Ahmed replied with calm, he then continued his step entering the barn.
"Yes sir, you're right. Islam is meant for all humanity, not only from our world, but anywhere they might be."
Karim puts his coffee powder into a cup while he waits for the water to be boiled. Inside the barn, Ahmed takes one of the sleeping bags and unloads it, then uses it for sleep, entering the world of dream.
###
Ahmed was walking in the middle of the city. The city was in ruins. He didn't even know what city he was in before he saw the markings on the road which read "Baghdad". In the sky, a single rotor helicopter flies past him and launches a volley of rockets at one of the buildings, destroying it instantly. In some buildings, there is a flag which does not belong to the UIC flag. It has three big horizontal stripes in red, white, and black. In the white part, there is an Arabic writing which reads "Allahu Akbar". The flag was a complete stranger in Ahmed's memory. He tried to recall a nation with that flag but there shouldn't be any nation with that flag in his world.
"What happened? This is not the Baghdad I know! Are we under attack?"
Soon, a group of soldiers run past Ahmed. The soldier didn't seem to notice Ahmed's existence. The soldiers have a flag on their side shoulder and Ahmed knows well what flag it is. It's the USA flag, the American flag.
Soon, his view suddenly changed. It's a different city, but it also seems in ruin. This time the sign on the road reads Gaza and there is a different flag too. Three stripes of black, white, and green with a triangle red in the left side. A jet fighter flew in the sky and launched a rocket to one of the buildings and blew it with anyone unfortunate enough inside. A tank drives past him and fires its machine gun to a civilian. The tank also carried a flag with a david star on it. It was another unknown flag for Ahmed.
"What is the meaning of this? Where is the Ghazi who should defend our country? Why are these soldiers destroying our city without any resistance?"
The scene keeps changing again several times, from Syria, North Africa, Afghan, Yemen. Ahmed always sees different flags in every place. Not in a single time he sees the UIC flag, not even in the Anatolian Turks. The Turks were using the old Star Crescent red flag and they seemed to do little about the chaotic muslim world. There were also other muslim regions with different flags and better conditions, some even had prosperity, particularly in some Arabian regions in the Persian Gulf. But they too only do little to none in helping the other muslim region and even had a cooperation agreement with the aggressors nation.
###
Ahmed wakes up with a panting breath and his body covered in sweat. He doesn't know what kind of dream he experienced recently. It was truly a nightmare, a worst scenario that can happen to the muslim world, he thought. He takes a look at his watch which shows 4 in the morning. It's time for Fajr prayer. He shaked his head, trying to forget the nightmare which gave him a disturbing feeling.
"Lieutenant, you seem a bit uneasy." Said Aryan not far from him while tidying up his gear.
"Don't worry, just a little nightmare. Where is the other private Aryan?"
"They are doing wudhu right now. You're the last to wake sir."
"Alright, I'll take my wudhu too then."
Two hours later, at 6 o'clock in the morning, Ahmed and his team had finished packing their things in the vehicle and preparing to get back to their base near Al Jisr. The other villagers seem to prepare their leave too, packing on their belongings to their carriages. I headed to the Chief's house, to see Sylvania if she also had her preparation. We planned to take Sylvania to our base since she doesn't have anywhere to go and she doesn't have any family who could take her in. But if only she chose to go with the Chief, we would have no problem either. I knocked on the door, then someone opened it from inside revealing Walt the Chief Village.
"Thank you for allowing us to stay. We'll take our leave to our base then. I'm here to see Sylvania."
"Ah, she is having breakfast with my daughter. She should be done by now, so I'll inform her that you're here."
Walt came inside the house, leaving Ahmed to wait in front of the house. Several minutes later, Sylvania came outside and greeted Ahmed.
"Ahmed, it's about time. I also finished my preparation so we can go anytime. Well, it's not like there is something for me to carry anyway since I came here without bringing anything."
"'We?' Are you deciding to come with us?"
"Of course, well… I don't know where to go and have no place to stay now, I'm homeless. So if you would let me come with you…" Sylvania lowered her gaze, trying to hide her blushing cheeks.
"I thought you would decide to go with the Chief and other villagers."
"NO!"
Ahmed was surprised a bit with Sylvania raising her tone. Ahmed didn't understand which part of his word that might offend Sylvania. But before Ahmed could give his response, Sylvania continued a bit with her words.
"I just… wanted to come with you. Would that be a problem for you?"
Ahmed didn't understand why Sylvania seemed to insist on going with him.
"No Sylvania, it's just that the place where we would go is just a military base which might not be interesting for you. I thought living with the other civilians would be better for you. But if that is your choice, then I hope you can just bear with it."
"Don't worry, I've been living in many places, I'm sure I can bear with it."
"I understand. Follow me to the convoy then. We will depart soon."
Sylvania replied with a nod while somehow her lips formed a smile. She is kind of weird Ahmed thought. In the first place, she is already weird enough with how she looks, particularly with her hair color and her pointy ears. Ahmed remembered that her ears resembled some fantasy race in a novel he had read. Maybe her ears are just abnormal, he thought, trying to think as logically as possible. There is no way that a fantasy race in some kind of novel can be met here right?
All of his team were finished packing and putting their things into the vehicle. Ahmed led Sylvania to one of the Safir parked there and asked her to get inside first. Just when Ahmed was about to step inside the Safir, there was a sudden scream that could be heard nearby. His eyes widened when he saw that the villagers were being chased and killed by a horse rider clad in knight armor. That armor is the same armor with the rider they fought yesterday when they were about to leave Olin Village.
TATATATA TATATA
"Sir! They're here! The Leonian who chased us yesterday!" Yelled Osama who just recently fired his T-7 and dropped some of the Leonian riders.
Ahmed takes his radio and speaks to his entire team.
"ALL UNIT, ENGAGE ENGAGE! WE ARE UNDER ATTACK!"
Ahmed put away his radio and talked to Sylvania inside the Safir.
"Stay here, it's dangerous outside."
Sylvania can only nod in acceptance. She knows that she doesn't have the ability to fight for now without any weapon and would be a hindrance if she chose to jump down to fight.
"Osama! I want that 20 mm on the Safir and the 12,7 mm on the Jamal firing now!"
"Yes Sir!"
Osama soon entered one of the Safir while also asking another 3 people to operate the other gun on the other vehicle.
"The rest of you, split up, take on the enemy as much as you can and save as many civilians as you can."
They split up, taking cover while shooting any Leonian around them. Hendra and Yusuf sprinted towards the tallest building they could find so that they could provide sniper cover. Near the parked convoy, Faruq struggled to take care of one of the injured civilians with Aryan covering his back. Ahmed and Karim rushed towards the Chief house which looked as if it's already been breached. When they arrived inside, it looked like the two of them were pretty late since Walt the Chief was lying on the floor motionless.
The Leonian who breached the house earlier are pointing their sword at the Chief's daughter who is cornered in one of the rooms. At that moment, she can only stand scared facing two Leonian knights with a long sword. Apparently she realized the presents of Ahmed and Karim in the house and looked at the two with a pleading stare. Ahmed put his index finger to his lips, gesturing her to stay silent while he took out a knife and slowly stepped towards the two Leonian. After positioned right in the Leonian back, he stabbed the Leonian in the throat right on the gap of his armor.
"Arrrgghhh"
The knight dropped dead with blood flowing out of his throat. Karim does the same thing to the other knight, stabbing him on the neck. The girls who feel relieved suddenly hug Karim while crying.
"Whoa-whoa, not that fast girl."
Karim knows that touching a non relative woman shouldn't be allowed, let alone a hug. He grabbed and pushed the girl's shoulder to part with her. The girl looked sad, knowing that Karim didn't want her to hug him. She was scared anyway and she just lost her father, she needed a hug to comfort her and Karim understood that well, but still it can't be an excuse to touch a non relative girl.
"I know someone who can give you comfort, follow us to our vehicle." Said Ahmed to the girl.
She weakly nodded with a sad expression and her eyes still wet. They led the girl to one of the Safir where Sylvania boarded earlier. This time, she received a warm hug from Sylvania. Meanwhile, in the Jamal jeep, Ubaidah and Abdul are busy firing the Leonian with the 12,7mm gun on its top using the remote from inside. The Safir joined in the fray, firing its 20 mm gun to the surrounding enemy. The place where Ahmed's convoy parked soon became a killzone for the Leonian rider.
Ahmed proceeds to look for any civilian he can save. At one time, he encounters a Leonian rider who is chasing and pointing his lance at a woman carrying a baby. Ahmed fired a burst at the rider, hitting the rider's head. The rider soon fell from his horse which soon stopped running since no one controlled the horse.
"All unit reports!"
"This is team 2, I'm down to two mag. This bastard seems endless."
"This is team 4, I already dropped 15 knights. They just don't know when to stop, do they?"
Ahmed keeps receiving reports from his team mates, informing them of the chaotic situation in the village. The knight seems numbered in hundreds, Ahmed and his teams are far outnumbered. In one place, he sees a knight stabbing his lance on a man who is protecting his wife and his child.
"Karim, help them." ordered Ahmed while he pointed to the knight. He is already preoccupied with the other knight. Karim unleashed three bursts to the mentioned knight, killing him instantly. He asked Faruq to come with him and rushed to the man with a lance stuck in his abdomen.
There is a clunking sound on one of the Safir, indicating that something was hitting it. It was four raiders who tried to target the Safir and other convoy vehicles which is now becoming a gathering place for the surviving civilians. The four raiders try to attack the Safir again with their arrows to no avail. Knowing this, Ahmed turned his attention to the four raiders, shooting two of them. The two raiders were dropped dead, leaving the other two to shift their attention to Ahmed. They aim and shoot their arrow to Ahmed. Knowing that there are two arrows launched in his direction, Ahmed jumps and takes cover on a brick fence.
The arrows hit the brick, knowing that his enemies missed their shot, Ahmed stood from his cover, aiming at one of the riders and released three shots, dropping the third rider from his horse. Ahmed shifted his aim to the fourth rider and released another three shots, but unfortunately the fourth rider was still able to launch his arrow from his bow before Ahmed shots hit him. This time the arrow hit Ahmed right to his left chest and knocked him down from the impact.
"Arrrghhh!"
"Lieutenant!"
Faruq who's not far from Ahmed rushed towards him to check his injury after knowing that an arrow hit him. Apparently Ahmed's vest stops the arrow from getting through his heart and only able to knock him from the impact. Faruq can only sigh in relief.
"You okay sir? The vest seems able to stop the arrow Alhamdulillah."
"Yeah I'm fine. Just help me to take the arrow from my vest. That man, did you manage to save him?"
Faruq shook his head.
"He lost too much blood, it was too late and there is nothing I can do. The rest of his family were already in the LAV right now."
Faruq pulled the arrow out of Ahmed's vest and the two of them got up from their covered position. Both look at the direction where the four riders lay dead.
"Incoming!"
Ahmed pulled Faruq to take cover behind the bricks once more and not long after that there was a small explosion on the other side of the bricks. There is a small piece of bricks falling to Ahmed and Faruq because of the explosion. Trying to peep outside the brick, Ahmed was able to see who his attacker was. There were another 2 riders, but this time the armor they used looks more shiny and luxurious and they are attacking using a wand.
Soon, one of them pointed the wand which emitted a bright light and not long after that, a fireball was fired to Ahmed's position again, forcing him to take cover behind the bricks once more. Clearly they are magic users and they are the most troublesome unit they faced since their first encounter in Gaza city. Both of the magic users fire their magic in turns, leaving Ahmed and Faruq no chance to fire back while the bricks where they take cover are getting thin by the time.
The Safir operator near Ahmed apparently realized this situation and turned the 20 mm cannon to fire on the two magic users. The fireball finally stopped and Ahmed came out of his cover to see how the Safir fare with the magic users. The dead body of the magic users even lost some of their limbs from receiving a direct hit from the 20 mm Safir Canon.
"You okay Faruq?"
"I'm still in the fight sir, fortunately those magic attacks have a bad precision, either because the magic is hard to aim or the user is just bad at aiming."
Ahmed nods in agreement, he then sees his surroundings. The gunshot sounds start to fade, indicating that the battle is over. Even the Safir and Jamal also cease their fire. The remaining Leonian knights are running away from the village. Ahmed is not sure whether they finished their job in ruining the village or just feared Ahmed and his squad. Most of the houses in the village are on fire. There is a dead body everywhere, mostly civilians of the village. The rest of Ahmed's squad returned to the convoy location bringing the survivor they could save.
"Lieutenant, we only manage to save the women and children numbered in 50. All men in this village were found dead, mostly because they're protecting their family or other women and children." Report Orhan behind Ahmed.
Ahmed turned around, responding to Orhan's report.
"It's just the same thing as what happened to Olin village. The Leonian killed the entire population. It's a genocide Orhan."
This time Karim stood near Ahmed to say his suggestion.
"We should take the survivor to our base sir. They have no one to protect them anymore and we can't just leave them alone."
"You're right, we have to bring them with us. Find any carriages that can be pulled by our vehicle. Our vehicle won't be sufficient to carry 50 people." Ahmed agreed to Karim.
"Why don't we just call the base and ask them to send an additional truck sir?"
"It would take time for them to send additional vehicles, even if they send the helicopter. This place is dangerous and the Leonian could've returned with reinforcement to finish their job. We need to move as fast as we can."
Thariq who just asked the question can only nod in understanding since Ahmed has the point. He and the other squad spread to find any carriages they can use to carry the villagers. After giving the order, Ahmed talks to the survivor of the villagers.
"We are going back to our base on the hill in the west. I know that most of you have lost your beloved ones and have nowhere to go. You can come with us as refugees. We will provide you with food, shelter, and any medical treatment if you need them. Of course you will also receive protection from us. Any of you who are willing to accept our offer may board the carriages we provide."
At first, the villagers seemed hesitant in accepting Ahmed's offer. Of course it was a natural reaction since Ahmed and the other squad members are just strangers to them. They feared that they may be taken captive or worse, they may be sold as slaves. The first one who boards the carriages is a woman with a baby in her arms, the one who was saved by Faruq. The others soon follow suit, deciding to go against their own worries. 30 minutes later, all of the survivors had boarded the carriages and the convoy started to move. The children were given an option to go inside the LAV or be with their mothers while some of Ahmed's squad sit in the Safir's roof. Just like the other times, Ahmed boarded the Safir where Abdul drove. He soon gave the order to move.
"Let's go Abdul. We return to base. Just remember to move slowly so that we don't break the carriage we are pulling."
"Roger that sir, returning to base."
Abdul started the Safir and drove it to their base in Al Jisr location. It should take two hours for them to reach their base a day before, but with their current speed while they're pulling a cart, they would need at least three and a half. While Ahmed sits beside Abdul in the front seat, he can feel a sudden tug from his back. Apparently it was Sylvania who tugged his clothes.
"Do you have any water?" Asks Sylvania after Ahmed turns toward her.
Ahmed nods and heads to the back of Safir, pulling a box from beneath a seat and taking a bottle of water from inside the box. Both of them share the water to the children who board the Safir. Sylvania took one of the bottles and took it to the girl who appeared to be the Chief's daughter. The girl's name is Lusie, she looks around eighteen, maybe she is the same age as Sylvania. Just like Sylvania, Ahmed thinks that Lusie should be too young to experience the loss of her parents. Ahmed shocked to see that there is a slash wound on the Lusie's arm, may be he was too focus to fight the knight when he and Karim try to save her so he missed the wound.
Sylvania uses the water to clean Lusie's wound. Then after several swipes on the wound, Sylvania directs her hand palm to Lusie's wound and the palm emits a bright light. The sight is shocking enough for Ahmed, seeing a bright light came from nowhere and what shock him the most is the fact that Lusie's wound were perfectly recovered as if there was no wound in the first time. The pained expression on Lusie's face soon fades, replaced with a relief while Sylvania has a tired expression with some beads of sweat on her face.
"MasyaAllah." That's the only word Ahmed can say.
"Thank you Sylvania, I never thought I would meet an elf in my life, especially a kind elf like you." Said Lusie in gratitude.
Hearing the word "elf" gives another shock for Ahmed. He glances to Sylvania's ears and indeed her ears have a characteristic feature that matches the definition of elf he ever read before. He notices the difference in Sylvania ears from the first time he met her, but he doesn't have any thought that she might be an elf. He only thought that Sylvania had unique abnormal ears and nothing more.
"You're welcome. You know Lusie… not all elf is as bad as you think. Some of us also wanted to do kind things to ordinary humans or anyone else disregarding what their race is."
Ahmed can only shake his head in confusion. In the end, he just chose to go back to the front seat beside Abdul.
"You seemed to be concerned sir, is there anything that might have troubled your thought?" Abdul, who was aware of Ahmed's expression, decided to ask him.
"You know the girl we saved from Olin village?"
Abdul frowned his forehead in confusion when he heard Ahmed respond with another question.
"Elf sir? What is an elf?"
"You never heard of an elf?"
"Yes sir, I never heard nor read about them."
"It's a race which is usually told in a fantasy story back in our world. They also used to be told that they're special in some way, but I don't know if the definition of elf here is the same as the definition in the common fantasy story."
"Well, I'm not really that surprised sir, since that 's not the first bizarre thing we found in this world."
Ahmed nodded in silence, he agreed that the existence of the tunnel along with this whole world is a bizarre thing, let alone what is inside it. It's a pretty great relief that most of the natural law in their world still applied in this world anyway. They rode for another 3 hours before they started to enter their base area. There is a sign board beside the dirt roadway that reads as follow.
"Fort Andalusia"
"Beware, you're entering the territory of the United Islamic Caliphate."
"Any hostile presence will be met with deadly force."
It was written in three languages with their respective letters. It's written in Arabic with arabian letters, then in English and France with the local alphabet. After passing the sign board, Ahmed can see the first line of defense which consists of trench and barbed wire, then the second line of defense that consists of sandbags, and the third defense of the last defense line is a concrete wall which is still under construction.
The first and second defense lines used to be the training ground at the time. Ahmed's team and the villagers can see how tanks and other armored vehicles are firing their cannon to a target which looks far from their position. There are also other infantry units numbered in hundreds or even thousands, all carrying the same type of weapon which Ahmed and his teams used. They also do their training, firing to an abandoned Leonian body armor or a target practice wood.
At some point a helicopter of H-1 Saqr and H-2 Ababil can be seen flying in the sky firing a rocket or rotary gun, some of them also seem to only transport something from one place to another, mostly ammunition for those in the training ground. Sylvania and other villagers can only see those views with astonishment and fear. An army full of mage as they think of it, added with a beast of steel and some of the beast even roared in the sky with a pair of fast moving wings like a dragonfly and a loud sound like a bee.
After entering the wall, they were welcomed with flat ground (asphalt) and more steel beasts lined up inside. For the villagers, they look like a beast in their sleep. Even Ahmed was amazed and surprised with what the army could achieve in a single day. Last time he knew, the army in this world only numbered in thousands, but now, it possibly reaches beyond ten thousands. The tanks and other armored vehicle were doubled in hundreds and there are also far more active helicopters in this region compared to the last time they left.
"The entire soldiers are able to use the magic sticks" Said Lusie when she watched another group of soldiers firing their guns in a training facility inside the fortress.
"Iron elephant, Giant iron dragonfly, and other carriages which move without horses and magical staff. They have all the things beyond our imagination." This time it's Sylvania who expresses her amazement.
Ahmed who heard the entire expression of the indigenous civilian can only smile in the front seats. Maybe they should tell them that all they see in this place is completely unrelated to magic. Seeing the coming of Ahmed's convoy with the cart full of refugees on their back, the guard in the base directs the convoy to go to some place which even the driver of the vehicle doesn't even know where they're going.
After a few minutes driving through the base fortress, they finally stop in front of a big tent with what seems to be other civilian refugees inside it. The tent has a white flag with a red crescent flying on top of it. Just like the refugees that Ahmed brings, the other refugees who were already inside that tent were mostly comprised of women and children.
Ahmed and his team started to dismount from their vehicle and asked the villagers to dismount from their cart or carriages. Other staff in the base are coming to their convoy and help the refugees find a place to rest. They also bring food and distribute it among the refugees who just came with Ahmed's team. Among the staff, there were also medics who helped the wounded villagers and took them to a medical tent not far from there.
In the medical tent, there are women who serve as nurses wearing a white dresses. They are wearing an armband with a symbol of a red crescent just like the other medical staff. It's the first time Ahmed sees the women from his world since he stepped foot into this world. It's only natural because the women used to only serve in logistic and medical treatment and not in the frontline with the regular army.
Those who insist on going to the frontline would be considered as volunteers or auxiliary and they would only be under the care of a certain squad or platoon. The army won't provide them with any weapons because formally they're not part of the army, so that they should bring their own weapons with them if they need any necessary self defense. While most of his squad were busy taking care of the refugees, Ahmed boarded one of the Jamal in his convoy with Osama who still sat in the driver's seat.
"Osama, take me to the HQ tent."
"Yes sir."
Osama drove the car to the place where the HQ tent should have stood when the last time he left the base. But when they arrived there, the tents were already replaced with a four story building where the fourth floor appeared to be under construction while the first and the second floor were already flooded with military staff. Ahmed dismounts from Jamal and enters the building, trying to find the Colonel's office room.
Ahmed actually feels anxious how the Colonel will react to the fact that he brought the refugees without his permission. After walking through the hallway, Ahmed finally found Colonel Umar's room. He knocks the door three times, then opens the door and enters the room. Inside the room, the Colonel was typing on his laptop, probably writing some report. He noticed that Ahmed was entering his room and stopped what he was doing.
"Assalamu'alaikum, Colonel."
"Waalaikumsalam."
The Colonel closes his laptop and switches his attention to Ahmed. He gestured to Ahmed to sit in front of his desk. Ahmed can only comply and sit there with anxiety.
"I see you've returned Lieutenant. I heard a commotion out there and people talking about refugees being brought to our base."
"It was us who brought the refugees, though my squad may not be the only one since I already saw other refugees when we came to the base. It was purely my decision to bring the refugees, I was worried that the base may refuse my request to bring the refugees. In addition, there is also some part of the Leonian army who are harassing the village and there is no time to wait for a permission from the higher ups. I'm sorry if I made this decision without telling the HQ and I'll make sure to take responsibility for this."
Actually, Ahmed didn't see any anger or frown in the Colonel's face. The colonel looked calm and didn't seem to be annoyed by what was happening.
"You do know that we are not that cruel Lieutenant. It was our duty as muslims to help those who need help and protection regarding whether they are the same muslim or not. Now, please tell me how you make a decision to bring refugees. I heard that you mentioned the presence of the Leonian army too."
Ahmed told the story from the first time they departed from the base, found the village of Ruma and Olin, and also the attack of the Leonian elite knights. Colonel Umar seems to understand the overall condition on the field. Apparently Ahmed is not the first to tell the story to the Colonel.
"You've done the right thing son. These people need our help and protection. This is not the first time since the beginning of Islamic civilization or the Ottoman reign that we accepted refugees. We always open our borders to accept anyone who wants to take refuge from any warzone. Just like what happened in Armenia during World War 1, or the German and Austrian during World War 2. I also received a report from another squad that they experience the same thing as your squad. Infact, I may have punished you if only you chose to not bring the refugees here and just leave them to their fate."
"Thank you sir, I'm glad that you approved my decision. Ah, we also get a map that describes the whole continent here. We may be able to make good use of it."
Ahmed opened his pouch bag and put the map on the desk, opening and revealing what was being drawn on it.
"The whole continent map which is called Edela. You're right, this would be very useful since we can only rely on the local map up to this point. We just need to wait for the Caliph to give us further instruction after we finish our base, though I'm sure that we will continue on the offensive after this."
Colonel Umar stops for a while to have a sip of his coffee which has been on the table.
"The Caliph and the other high ups in the military had already predicted this kind of thing. Additional supply and more troops is being requisitioned to this region. As for the refugees, we already prepared extra supplies for them, so it should be enough for now. You can return to your barack and get some rest Lieutenant, we will handle them from now on."
"Yes sir, thank you sir."
Ahmed stands and salutes the Colonel, then he walks to the door and is about to leave the office, but he stops his step when the Colonel says something behind him.
"Next time if you want to bring another refugee, please let us know in advance so that we can prepare the needs for the refugees here in our base."
"Yes sir, I'll make sure to contact the HQ if this kind of thing happens again in the future. Assalamualaikum."
"Waalaikumsalam."
Ahmed continued his step to leave the Colonel office and make his ways towards the barack which already provided for him. Taking some sort of rest would be a nice thing after what he been through this last two days.