A/N: Sorry for the massive delay on the update. Lot of stuff was happening that needed to be prioritized.
Regarding the issue of whether JSDF is in the story or not. I have still not yet come to a final decision regarding it since I have to weigh its Pros and Cons. I will make a decision about it in the future chapters.
Note:
"Radio/Thought"
Chapter 2
Imperial Calendar Year 683
Third Month of the Year
Night Time
City of Italica, one of the empire's important agricultural areas and trading town sitting on the crossroads of Appia highway and Dessria highway. In the center of the city lies the mansion of Count Formal.
The symbol of clan Formal flies proudly on the walls that surround the mansion. In one of its gardens, a group of people were enjoying the beauty of the garden and the cold breeze of the night.
"Milord, here is the wine you requested." A female voice said
"Thank you Kaine" A male voice answered as he set aside several papers
The male wore elegant clothing that signified his status as a noble of the land. He is no other than Count Colt Formal the leader of clan Formal and ruler of Italica.
"This year seems to be filled with bandits and monsters." Kaine said as she looked at the papers on the table
"I pray to the Gods that Italica will continue to prosper in these troubling times." Colt said "Reports of flying steel monsters being sighted now are reduced to a handful compared to several days ago."
Several days ago, villagers from different villages came knocking at his gate. Requesting him to deal with the sightings of flying steel monsters flying near their villages.
The story was ridiculous at first and he assumed the villagers were either drunk or hallucinating. But, when those monsters pass over Italica in broad daylight, chaos ensues and people panic.
The guards were put on high alert and ballista were manned and ready to fire at a moment's notice, curfew was enforced and patrols doubled in frequency. The Count thought it was the mages in Rondel who were responsible for those flying steel monsters, considering Rondel was just north of Italica just past the Romalia mountains and most of the monsters head towards the general direction of Rondel.
"It's probably them and just hiding it to avoid public scandal." The Count thought
A messenger arrived yesterday bringing a message from the Rondel Council after repeated letters of complaint from the Count. They replied that the flying steel monsters are not of their creation or have anything to do with it.
"Whatever those monsters are, at least they did not cause any damages aside from making people panic." Colt said "Unlike the bandits and goblin camps raiding the villages on my territory."
"Milord, pardon for asking but do you really have to join the soldiers in the goblin extermination mission near the village of Danum?" Kaine said "Lady Myui is quite distressed upon hearing it and fear for your safety."
The two looked at a 8 year old girl playing at the gardens while being watched by clan Formal maids.
"I must, I need to assure the people in the villages under my territory that they are safe and their pleas for help are not ignored." Colt said "If anything ever happens I leave the safety of my daughter to you Kaine."
"I will ensure the safety of Lady Myui." Kaine said "Even if it cost me my life."
"Father, father" A voice called
They saw Myui was running towards them with a bunch of roses in her hand
"What is my dear daughter?" Colt asked as he hug his daughter
"I like this flowers to be put in my room." Myui said excitedly while holding several flowers
"I can have some of the maids make arrangements for it tomorrow." Colt said "I hope you did not use Persia as a thorn cutter with her claws to remove those thorns in the rose."
"Nope" Myui said while the Count just laugh
"It's no problem for me milord, it is my duty as a maid to serve lady Myui." Persia said
"It's already past your bedtime" Colt said "Persia please take my daughter to her room."
"Bu- but I am not sleepy" Myui said while yawning
After several talks Myui finally agreed to sleep and was guided by Persia to her room.
Next Day
Early morning
"Father, will you be alright?" Myui asked as she saw her father wearing his armor and surrounded by his bodyguards
"I will be fine, my daughter" Colt said
"But must you personally go when you can send soldiers instead?" Myui asked
"I am the leader of our province and one of our villages is requesting aid in its dire situation. It is my duty as a leader to give aid." Colt replied
"Take care of my daughter while I am away." Colt said to the maid
"Of course milord" Kaine replied
"Goodbye my child" Colt said giving Myui a hug "May the Gods be on our side."
"Have a safe trip father" Myui said
Myui watches as her father departs along with his men to aid a village east of Italica raided by goblins and trolls. She can only pray to the Gods for the safe journey of her father.
Spirit of Fire
Captain Cutter's Office
Professor Anders and Captain Cutter were currently in an argument while Serina was watching from the sides.
"For the last time Professor, I know you want to join the recon teams." Cutter said "I can't simply allow it. Not only its unknown territory but we don't know what danger lurks outside the safety of our base."
"I can take care of myself Captain" Anders said "But you have to understand that this world is new and holds so many mysteries for us to unlock. It might even hold secrets that can help us get back home."
"I find it hard to believe a primitive society can help us navigate back home." Serina said "Even if we based it on our fantasy themed books written from the 21st century to the 26th century."
"Magic as the fictional people in the book calls it and assuming it's real in this world, would require a person to be in the level of a God or simply a Deity to help us get back home." Serina continued "It's not even a guarantee if magic could even help."
"Never thought an AI would be interested in magic." Anders commented
"There is already a betting pool in the lower ranking soldiers of what fantasy creatures exist, what kind of magic they possess,etc." Serina changed the topic "I believe Sgt. Forge has bet 500 credits. To quote the Sergeant, '500 credits, for a fantasy creature kidnapping Anders because she did something to put herself in danger and I have to move my ass to rescue her again.'."
"Your babysitter seems to be confident you will get in trouble again Professor." Serina commented with a smile
"Ladies, as much as I want to hear gossip." Cutter interrupted "There is a better time and place for it."
"Good day to everyone present." A voice said
The group looked at the direction of the voice and saw a person wearing a standard Office of the Naval Intelligent agent uniform. An average looking man in his 40s.
"Since ONI is here, I will be going back to my lab, Captain." Anders said "I will contact you if I find anything important."
"Very well professor you may leave." Cutter said "What do you have, Major Harold?"
"Intercepted a signal coming from an area of interest." Harold said
"My ship did not find any signal that you mention." Cutter said "Serina?"
"None, no signal was detected for the last several hours." Serina replied
"That is because your ship is not equipped for it, Captain. I worked with Section 1 most of my life before being transferred to Section 2." Harold said "My ship staying in your hangar has the necessary equipment to barely detect it."
"The reason the signal eluded your scanners is because its nature seems to blend perfectly with other natural occurring signals in the environment. When analyzed by your system it can be easily dismissed as an error or a natural occurring product of the environment." Harold added "Here is the data if you don't believe me."
Cutter accepted the datapad and began to read the data. His expression changes to a grim one.
"Serina, passed this data to Anders." Cutter ordered
"No need for that Captain, I already left a copy in her lab." Harold said "I was surprised when I found it. How they are doing it is beyond me."
"Your thoughts, Serina?" Cutter asked
"Either the natives possess some kind of advanced technology that they have no idea how to operate or they simply use other means that we are not familiar with." Serina said "Considering the origin is located in one of the areas of interest that has the highest energy readings of unknown origin."
"Anything else?" Cutter asked the ONI agent
"Yes, I am hoping you are willing to finance the construction of an information network and fund a mercenary group." Harold said "Considering we have ways to pay for their services."
Mining operations in the mountains near the base started last week. In hopes to gather raw materials needed to repair the ship and replenish its stocks. According to the reports that Cutter received, the mountains near them contain large deposits of copper,gold,silver,iron,etc.
If this world still uses gold as currency along with silver and copper then Spirit of Fire will be the richest faction in the continent. All thanks to the 26th century mining and processing techniques.
"We already have some satellites in orbit, planes in the air and boots on the ground." Cutter said "Mercenaries are also not reliable as they fight for money and will stab us in the back the moment someone makes a better offer than us."
"In the field of espionage, having eyes in the sky isn't enough. Putting ears in the walls can reveal dark secrets. They may put a smile in front of our troops but behind closed doors they are plotting our demise. " Harold said "As for the mercenaries, they are the best black ops we can have. We can eliminate troublesome natives high up the food chain and they could act as our spies in places where our troops can't go."
"I will think about your request." Cutter said
Harold just smiled before leaving the room, leaving the captain alone to his thoughts.
UNSC Recon Team
Fireteam Luna
Unknown Location
Two Warthogs are headed in a certain direction. According to the photos taken by a recon plane a few days ago, there is a village several kilometers away from their base.
They were currently tasked with surveying that village for anything that the recon plane might have missed, along with collecting fauna and flora samples for Anders to study.
The mission also includes establishing contact with the natives. Since the last few weeks are just aircraft doing recon missions and mapping the area.
The team were equipped with translators to aid them in communication. How much the translators will be useful is up to debate but Captain Cutter is hoping it will aid the troops on the field to avoid miscommunication with the locals.
"So is anyone excited to meet with the locals?" Cpl. Dunn said while driving the vehicle
"As long as they aren't shooting us with plasma and declaring us affront to their Gods." LCpl. Sarah said "I think I will be fine meeting a few locals."
"Are you sure these translators will work?" Ramirez said "I don't want to get embarrassed from a mistranslation."
"The nerds said it has all the languages we have encountered along with dead ones from our history." Sarah said "Also Serina put some kind of software that allows it to make a translation for new languages not found in the database."
"Since we are in some kind of fantasy medieval world." Ramirez said "Do you think magic exists?"
"I hope so,I always wanted to see someone shoot fireballs the size of a truck." Sarah said
"Do you think Captain Cutter will allow us to have our weapons get upgraded by having a magician cast some enhancement spells on it?" Dunn said "Imagine having our guns on the Warthogs shoot lightning infused rounds or incendiary AP rounds."
Forge could only shake his head as he listened to the conversation his team is currently talking about.
"What do you think about their conversation, sir?" A voice said beside him
Forge looked at the private who was busy driving the warthog. The private was just fresh out of boot camp and his first engagement was defending his home Arcadia from the Covenant.
Then again all of his squad members are soldiers that the Spirit of Fire happens to pick up during their time on Arcadia.
"Well private,since we were greeted by trolls and goblins the moment we landed." Forge replied "Magic might as well exist alongside any fantasy creature that lives on this planet. Hope we find friendly magicians because I don't want to be the receiving end of their magical abilities."
It took them several minutes to arrive at their destination yet instead of a bustling village all they saw was a burnt down village and a large number of dead bodies scattered around.
"SOF-Actual, this Forge we got a situation." Forge said and order his team to investigate the area
"What's the situation Sergeant?"
"Village is gone, probably attacked by someone." Forge said "Requesting to investigate further."
"Granted, careful out there"
"Roger that, Forge out" Forge replied then one of the marines approach Forge
"Assessment?" Forge asked
"Looks like an ambush for someone based on the placement of certain traps, Sir." Ramirez said while pointing to several traps "Some of the houses were burned early in the morning."
"The villagers?" Forge asked
"Gone either captured or run away." Ramirez replied
"Sergeant, you need to see this." Sarah said
"What is it ?" Forge asked
"The bodies are armored similar to the knights in medieval times." Sarah pointed at the bodies "The flags near them indicate that they are working for a person of high status."
"ID on the attackers?" Forge said
"Bandits from what I can see." Sarah said poking the dead body with her weapon "Wearing almost like leather armor, got weird animal bones as an accessory."
"Whoever they are, they are smart enough to make the execution of the ambush almost flawless. They know that their target will stop by in this village and investigate the burned down buildings then sprung the trap." Sarah continued "Additionally, this ambush just ended recently, probably several minutes ago at best. The wounds on the body and blood in the ground looks fresh."
"Sergeant, we found several horse tracks leading towards a forest nearby." Dunn radioed
"Everybody back to the Warthog we are going to follow those tracks." Forge said
Unknown Location
Spartan Red Team
While other UNSC forces were being sent out for recon, the Spartans had a more important job. Eliminate the goblin camp that attacked the outpost a few weeks ago to prevent future attacks.
Recon planes manage to triangulate the location of the camp. Bombing it from air is useless as scans revealed the camp has access to a cave which can be used as a cover.
"So from eliminating insurrectionists and aliens to fantasy creatures." Alice said "Quite a job resume we have."
The Spartans are currently looking at the camp from a nearby hill. Below them was the goblin camp they were sent to eliminate and its inhabitants seemed to be having a festival of some sort based on the music of instruments and dancing around a campfire.
"Assessment?" Jerome asked
"Well their camp is easier to infiltrate and eliminate." Douglas said "Walls are made of wood and built with no regards to structural integrity in mind. Several gaps between the walls. No patrols or even guards manning the tower."
"They have a primitive alarm system, a string and some metal and bones dangling on it.'' Douglas continued "I count 25 visual targets in total."
"Although more could be inside that cave" Alice said "Any intel we have about that cave?"
"Scans from the satellite reveal one long corridor leading towards a big chamber." Douglas replied "Lifeforms detected inside the cave, although scans can't tell how many inside either it's one big target or a group cluster together."
"So what's the plan?" Alice asked
Jerome looked at the camp surveying the best possible method
"I will advance from the front to draw most of their attention while Douglas will flank from the back." Jerome said "Alice, you stay here to provide support."
Timeskip
After disabling the primitive alarm system Jerome slowly moved towards the gate of the camp and just like Douglas said no guards manning the towers. Most of them were dancing around a bonfire while others were eating nearby.
"Douglas here, I am in position" Douglas radioed "Waiting for your signal"
Jerome looked at the 15 goblins dancing around then pulled out a grenade and priming it. Then, he threw it which landed in the middle of the dancing goblins.
The goblins were curious about the weird metal object on the ground and pushed each other to get a closer look.
BOOM
The grenade exploded instantly killing 8 goblins and injuring 5 more. Jerome quickly raised his MA5B aiming at the nearest injured goblin before pressing the trigger. Jerome could see Douglas flanking the goblins in the back.
Jerome was putting bullets on the targets head so fast that the targets were dropping dead on the ground like a puppet with strings cut.
The goblins never had a chance to retrieve their weapons or defend themselves. They were simply systematically wiped out by the Spartans. The attack was so precise and fast that the goblins never had a chance to react.
Jerome looked around while making sure the goblins were dead. He then saw Douglas approaching him and was about to say something when Douglas spoke first.
"I am seeing lot of movements exiting the cave" Douglas said
A troll came out along with hundreds of goblins following behind him. They were curious about the commotion happening outside. The troll saw the dead bodies and the two armored people standing. Before it could even let out a cry, its body was littered with bullets.
The troll's companions did not fare much better. Due to the nature of the entrance of the cave it became a choke point.
The goblins tried to charge at the Spartans while walking over the corpses of their fellow goblins but they were simply no match for modern weaponry and the cave entrance was constricting the use of their numbers effectively. Those who were lucky managed to get out of the cave and were met with similar fate as bullets coming from high above hit them.
It took the Spartans almost half an hour to deal with the goblin reinforcement and another half of clearing the entrance. Alice moved out from her position and went to regroup with her fellow Spartans.
"Well that was something." Douglas said "Do you think we have dealt with a quarter of their numbers?"
"Considering they have thrown hundreds of their troops against us during our landing." Alice said "I guess so."
"Well one way to find out is to enter the cave." Jerome said "Check your weapons and ammo because we are going in."
Fireteam Luna
Sgt. Forge pressed the brakes of the warthog and looked at the scene in front of him. There were several dead bodies of bandits and armored knights.
"So what do you think happened here?" Cpl. Dunn asked
"Looks like an attempted last stand to me." Forge replied "We don't know if the suspects are still here so keep your eyes open."
Then they hear the sound of sword clashing in a fair distance. The group slowly walked towards the sound and saw a person dressed in armor that exuded authority and power. Around him are bandits dead and alive.
"Guess we know who is the leader of the fantasy knights."Ramirez said in a joking manner
"Quiet" Dunn said
The person was fighting bandits, 15 in total but most of the bandits are on the side just waiting while the others are fighting.
"It looks like they are trying to wear down that person." Sarah said
"A little smart for bandits." Forge said "If this person is high up in the food chain then saving him will earn us some points with him and probably the locals."
Forge signals his team to take positions around the area.
Count Formal was currently on his last energy. His group were ambushed by bandits after returning from a recent goblin and troll extermination threatening several villages. He noticed that the bandits are more armed and prepared than normal.
His soldiers were quickly overwhelmed by the sudden surprise attack that the bandits set up on a burned down village.
"Like they were waiting for me." Colt said in his mind
It was no secret to the people in the empire that Colt Formal made several enemies in the Saderan nobility regarding his policies of his land and the treatment of demi-humans. Italica's wealth is also coveted by other nobles. So it is not surprising if there is an occasional assassination attempt against him.
Colt quickly dodge a sword slash and retaliates with his own slash, killing the bandit. He notices some bandits are not participating either waiting for him to get tired or looking for an opening.
"Crafty honorless bastards" Colt muttered
A bandit charged at him and Colt was about to dodge when he was forcefully tripped. When he looked down he saw that a previous bandit he thought dead was actually alive and was just pretending to be dead.
Seeing the Count down, the other bandits quickly rush in all directions. Disarming him of his sword and restraining his limbs. The Count is at the complete mercy of the bandits.
"Any last words Count?" The Bandit Leader said as he prepare the sword to stab the Count
"I'm sorry Myui" Colt said accepting his fate
Then a loud bang sound could be heard and something hit the bandit leader.
Colt could only stare in shock at what happened. He was about to be executed by the bandit when several flashes of light and thunder-like sound occurred. Then, he saw the bandits falling down like puppets with no strings.
He looked around and saw the other bandits dead on the ground, even the ones holding him. Did the Gods take pity on him and grant him a second chance?
"Thank the Gods" Colt said before kneeling on the ground and started praying
"Are you okay?" A voice said snapping the Count back to reality
Count Colt quickly grabbed a sword and looked at the general direction of the voice and saw a few armored soldiers wielding weird looking weapons.
"Who are you?" Colt asked in suspicion
"Sgt. Forge of the UNSC Marine corps" Forge replied "We saw dead bodies in a village and decided to investigate."
"Are you responsible for killing the bandits holding me?" Colt said
"Yes, we thought you could use some help." Forge said
"Then you have my thanks Sir Forge." Colt said sheathing his sword "Where are my manners, I am Count Colt Formal, Leader of clan Formal and ruler of Italica and her surrounding lands."
Spartan Red Team
Red team was slowly exploring the cave checking every possible ambush point, the path was literally covered in darkness that even a lit torch could barely illuminate a few feet from the light source. However, darkness is not an issue for the spartans as their helmet comes equipped with night vision.
"We've been walking for a few minutes now" Douglas said "How long is this corridor?"
"We already passed 100 meters based on the suit sensors." Alice said
Jerome motioned for the team to stop and began scanning the area.
"Problem?" Alice asked
"I feel like someone is watching us," Jerome said "My motion sensor is giving out phantom signals."
Alice was about to ask again when the team heard a giggling sound of a female voice. The team quickly scans the area weapons high and fingers on the trigger. They are ready to put bullets on anything hostile.
"I assume that I'm not the only one who heard the giggling sound of a girl?" Douglas said
"Whoever it is, she is capable of hiding her presence." Alice said as she looked at her motion sensors for possible movement "Thermal and infrared are not even showing anything."
"FOOLISH MORTALS, TO THINK YOU ARE BRAVE TO TREAD ON SOMEONE'S DOMAIN." The voice said "THEN CONTINUE YOUR JOURNEY, THE ONE YOU SEEK IS JUST AHEAD. HOPE YOU WILL ENTERTAIN ME."
The voice ended with a laugh before fading out of existence.
"Hello?" Jerome said as his voice echoed in the cave
But the mysterious voice did not reply.
"So what now?" Alice asked "Our presence is already compromised."
"We continue, the voice says we are nearing our destination." Jerome said "But keep your finger on the trigger for any possible ambush."
They continued walking for a few minutes until they could see a light source ahead of them. When they entered they were greeted by a large interior with stalactites and stalagmites scattered, in the center is a very large bonfire surrounded by monsters. They quickly hide behind the stalagmites to avoid being seen.
In the center was the largest and fattest goblin the Spartans ever saw. It stands about 4 meters tall. It has a crown on its head made from crude scrap iron and leather cape on its back. Around him were 10 heavily armored trolls and 50 goblins.
"Jerome, prisoners on the back." Douglas said while pointing to several cages filled with humans
"So what's the plan?" Alice asked
"We eliminate the goblin king first since we don't know what capabilities it has." Jerome replied while observing the goblin king "We need to aim for the head considering its body seems like it could take some punishment."
"After that, Douglas threw some grenades into the troll formation." Jerome continued then turned to Alice "Make sure no enemy tries to eliminate the prisoners or use them as hostages. "
Douglas pulled out two grenades and Alice ready her weapon to mow down the goblins.
"Mark" Jerome said
The goblin king heard something but before he could react, ten bullets found their way into his head killing him instantly.
The trolls were shocked when their leader fell down with bullet holes in his head and when they looked at the direction of the sound they saw the Spartans. They roared in rage but before they could charge, two objects landed in the middle of their position.
BOOM
The explosion instantly killed 4 trolls and 15 goblins.
"Douglas go help Alice in taking out the goblins." Jerome said "I will take care of the remaining trolls."
The remaining trolls quickly charge at Jerome raising their weapons as they run. Jerome quickly shot 3 trolls in the head but before he could fire at the 4th troll a random stalactite fell off from the ceiling which hit his weapon. This allows the surviving trolls to close in.
The armored troll quickly smashed his giant club but Jerome easily sidestepped the attack before plunging a knife below the chin which was not covered by armor. The troll's friends did not fare better as their attack kept missing before getting a bullet to the head.
Jerome looked at the dead trolls before pocketing his knife and pistol then went to inspect his MA5B which was slightly damaged. He noticed his fellow spartans approaching him.
"All enemies are eliminated." Alice said
"Rock problem?" Douglas asked as he approached Jerome
"Yes" Jerome replied
"Alice said the same thing, A stalactite falling down for no reason or a stalagmite appearing out of thin air." Douglas said "My weapon got impaled by stalagmites appearing out of nowhere."
"Do you think that random voice is responsible?" Douglas said
"Probably" Jerome replied
The prisoners could look awe at the unknown armored knights on how they easily eliminate the goblins and troll. Their presence feels like they are apostles of the Gods.
Jerome approached the cage where the prisoners are stored and easily ripped off the lock with his hand. He stepped aside and let the prisoners out. The other spartans did the same to the other cages.
When all the prisoners were freed they started kneeling in front of Red Team and started praying.
"So does anyone have an idea why they are doing it?" Alice asked in their private comm network "Because it's making the situation a little awkward."
"No idea" Douglas said "But based on the translators they are praying to the Gods for sending their Apostle to save them."
"Apostles?" Alice said "Hope they dont start a religion out of us."
"Must be our armor" Jerome replied before looking at the villagers who just recently finished praying "Is there a village nearby who can take you in?"
"Yes, your holiness" One of the villagers said while still kneeling "There is the village of Colonia, it is just a few hours walk from here."
"Very well, ready to move, we will be escorting you to that village." Jerome said "Also stop referring to us as Holiness."
Jerome motioned to Douglas and Alice to help the freed villagers for the journey
"What shall we call you?" One of the villagers asked
"Spartan" Jerome said
Italica
Count Formal looked in awe at the speed wagon ran. It took them an hour to arrive at Italica which would normally take a galloping horse to reach several hours in the best travel condition from the village of Brige.
He was offered a ride back to his city after his horse got killed by the bandits. Seeing the warthog as the stranger called it, he was initially confused on how this wagon would move without a horse to pull it. But they surprised him as it can move without horses.
He asked the strange men if this was the fastest speed their wagons could run and they replied that it could run faster than their current speed. The reason for their current speed is to avoid accidents along the road they drive on.
He can already see the walls of Italica then his people tending in the fields and the guards manning the walls looking at the strange wagon with curiosity.
"Halt! State your business" A guard shouted near the gates as they blocked the vehicles who stopped in front of them
"It's okay soldier, these people are with me." Colt said
"Milord, are you okay?" A guard said finally noticing his leader
"I am fine soldier" Colt replied as the guards let the vehicles pass
Meanwhile on the other Warthog in the back, the passengers were busy discussing the events.
"Man who would have thought that the dude we saved was more than a noble but a ruler of the area." Dunn said while driving the hog "I could have made myself more presentable. Hey Woods, how do I look?"
"You are still ugly sir." Wood jokes "Not even plastic surgery could fix it."
"Do you want me to stop this vehicle and beat your ass private?" Dunn said
"No sir" Wood replied
"Hey guys have you notice something" Ramirez said
"Aside from a large amount of civilians looking at us curiously?" Woods said in a sarcastic manner "How is it hard to miss?"
"I mean there are some non-humans among the crowd." Ramirez said and the other two marine look around and saw what the private was saying
"Man, I know we are in a fantasy world but do they have to rip off things from an anime?" Dunn said
"I'm not complaining sir" Wood replied looking at a bunch of demihumans
"Cut the chattering people as we are entering the Count's mansion." Sgt. Forge said on the radio "No funny business while we talked with the Count. We want to make a good first impression to the locals."
The two warthogs enter the gate that leads into the Colt's estate which is protected by large tall stone walls. After parking in the side the men disembark as they are greeted by a large number of maids.
"Damn you seeing this Wood?" Dunn asked
"Yep" Wood said in a low tone "Are we sure we are in a fantasy world and not in an anime?"
"You mean those isekai anime where the MC is usually overpowered and has a harem?" Ramirez whispered "Those anime really get boring very fast."
"That`s a lot of maids" Sarah whispered to the group
One of the maids approached the group. She was older than the rest of the maid and wore a different kind of uniform. The marines speculated she must be the head maid.
"Welcome back milord" Kaine said with a bow "I am happy you arrived safely but if I inquire where are the rest of your escorts?"
"Dead, Bandits ambush us near the village of Brige." Colt replied
Before Colt could address the group something shouted his name and ran towards him.
"Father!" The voice said
"Lady Myui please slow down or you will trip." One of the maid said following a small child
"Father" Myui said hugging the Count "You are safe"
"I am fine Myui," Colt said before looking at the marines "I hope you gentlemen can wait for several minutes while I change into more appropriate clothes and discuss your rewards."
"We can wait, Count Formal." Forge said
"Kaine, Please take our guests to the Guest area and serve them some drinks and snacks while they wait." Colt ordered
"Of course milord" Kaine said "Please follow me"
The Forge, Ramirez and Sarah went to follow the maid while the rest of the fireteam stayed behind to guard the warthogs.
On-route to village of Colonia
Spartan Red Team
Luck was on the Spartans side as the recently destroyed goblin camp has a stable for captured horses and several wagons filled with repurpose the wagons for civilian transport.
Jerome along with Alice are currently manning the warthog as they lead in the front of the convoy while Douglas provides rear guard. The warthog moves slowly to let the wagons catch up.
The trip was peaceful most of the time aside from the bandits attempting to rob them or wild animal attacks.
Timeskip
They finally arrive at the village of Colonia, the villagers who were tending the fields were currently looking at the convoy mostly at the spartans and the warthog as they never saw something like it in their entire lives.
Jerome surveyed the village, seeing it better protected. Wooden walls surrounding the area, militia watching from wooden towers. If Jerome guesses it will be a town in several years from now.
"Greeting Good Sir" A voice said
Jerome looked at a person approaching them. The person was dressed more elegantly than the others.
"You are?" Jerome asked
"I am the village chief of this humble village" He said "So what can my village do for you?"
"We have recently rescued some people from a nearby monster camp." Jerome said "One of them said your village can take them in."
"I would like to thank you," The Village chief said "It was a few days ago when some of my villagers were captured by goblins and I don't have any men to spare for a rescue mission."
"I would have requested the local lord for help but you have saved me the time and effort." He continued
The village chef inquired regarding the rescued people which Jerome motioned him to follow.
Jerome noticed that most of the people that the village chief is taking in are mostly the people who live in the village along with younger people who could work in the fields.
"You are not taking them all?" Jerome asked seeing the remaining people in the wagon
"As much as I would like too but our village has suffered some problems." The Village Chief lied "We don't have enough food to feed all of them and space to house them."
Jerome knows if someone is lying to him. No use threatening the village chief to take the remaining people in. There is no guarantee that the moment his team left the village, the village chief wont abuse them or expel them.
"Very well" Jerome said
"If excuse me good Sir" Village chief said "I will be going since I need to attend to some important matters along with processing the documents of the new villagers."
The village chief quickly went deeper inside the village until Jerome could no longer see him.
"Jerome, you know that person is lying." Alice said "Douglas said that this village can house thousands of people with no problem and heard from some farmer that the harvest is good and can support them for a few years."
"I know," Jerome answered "But we can't simply force them to take the remaining people in."
"So what do we do with the remaining refugees?" Alice asked "Douglas has asked some villagers during the trip, he found out some of them don't have a place to go back after some monsters and bandits destroyed their village."
Jerome looked at the remaining refugees after the village chief said his village couldn't take more refugees. While he and his fellow spartans could just ride the warthog and drive away but to Jerome it felt wrong leaving them behind.
"I will contact Captain Cutter if he is willing to take in some refugees." Jerome said
"Good luck" Alice said
"SOF-Actual, this Spartan-092" Jerome said "I need to speak with Captain Cutter."
"Patching you to the Captain" SOF-Actual said
"Cutter here, what seems to be the problem Spartan?" Cutter asked
"We have successfully eliminated the enemy camp and managed to rescue some civilians. We already escorted the civilians to a nearby village but the village where we dropped them can't take more." Jerome said "Requesting to bring them back to base?"
"You know you might be bringing possible security risks back." Cutter said "Also we have to build housing for them along with other necessities needed to make them self-sustaining."
"Are you sure they don't have anyone else to take them in?" Cutter asked
Jerome looked back at the civilians who were staring at him with hopeful and pleading expressions.
"I don't think they have anyone left to take them in" Jerome answered
There was a moment of silence on the other end before Cutter's voice was heard again.
"How many refugees?" Cutter asked
"There are 24 refugees, mostly old people and children, Sir. " Jerome replied
"Very well, you can bring them back to base. I will send some Pelicans to your location to pick them up." Cutter said "Cutter out"
Jerome went back to the refugee who were awaiting the news
"Captain Cutter granted permission to bring them back." Jerome said
"Do you think the reason the Captain agreed is because of Professor Anders?" Douglas asked
"Knowing the professor, she must be bugging Captain Cutter to let her explore the world and its wonders." Jerome replied "With the refugees coming in, professor Anders will have a lot of people to interview regarding this world without getting herself in danger."
Jerome signals Alice to round up the refugees and wait for them to be picked up. The older refugees were hugging each other and some even bowing to the Spartans to show their gratitude.
Formal Mansion
Guest Room
The room Forge finds himself in is similar to what history books tell about houses owned by Nobility in medieval times. Bookshelves filled with books, well crafted tables and chairs, a marble statue in a corner, expensive looking curtains with intricate designs, marble floors.
"Although the maids are a bit more paranoid than I'd like." Forge said to himself "I lost count how many times their hands tried to pull out concealed weapons in their uniform."
The maids outside the room quickly opened the door revealing Count Colt Formal dress in nobility attire of the current era.
"Greetings and welcome to my home." Colt said "I hope you are enjoying your stay."
Colt gestured to the table nearby where they could discuss. After both parties were seated and comfortable, a few maids replenished the snacks and drinks on the table.
"But before I gave my rewards for your actions." Colt said "I would like to ask what your relations are to the flying steel monsters ?"
"Flying steel monsters?" Forged asked in confusion "Do you have any description of what it looks like?"
Colt described in detail what the monsters looked like. Forge guessed those arrow shaped monsters were shortsword bombers and fatter looking ones were pelicans.
Now here comes his dilemma, he could lie that he does not know about those but the presence of the warthog reveals a possible link to those flying steel monsters as the locals like to refer and he does not know how good is the Count in detecting lies.
Or, he could tell some degrees of truth.
Hard choices if Forge is to decide, both have pros and cons. He sighed deeply before answering the Count's question.
"Yes, those were our birds." Forge said "They were just performing recon and they did not mean any harm."
"Recon?" Colt asked "Surely you're not invaders looking for lands to conquer?"
"No, we are not invaders or barbarians looking to plunder the area." Forge said "We were just making sure we did not get attacked again by trolls and goblins in the area."
"So you are foreigners, then how did you arrive here?" Colt asked "Afterall, Italica is quite in the center and I would probably have heard about your group from merchants coming from port cities."
"Unknown portal somehow drag my group and drop us in foreign land." Forge answered
"I ain't telling him about the Spirit of Fire because that thing is more complicated to explain." Forge thought
"Portal huh, I heard from mages that Portal can only be summoned by Gods or powerful ancient artifacts." Colt said
Colt could tell that Forge was hiding something.
"You are quite open about your intentions." Colt said "Most people I know would rather deny it before backstabbing me in the back."
"Well, trust has to start from somewhere. "Forge said
"Guess I will trust your word for now." Colt said
"Milord, are you sure?" Kaine asked "For all we know, he is just luring us to a false sense of security before attacking us."
"He is right Kaine" Colt replied "Trust has to start from somewhere. This is my trust given to him and his leaders that they come to this land with no malicious intentions."
"Now we move to the main subject of our discussion." Colt continued "So my saviors, what can I offer to you as a reward?"
"Seeing that we are quite in a foreign land." Forge said "I am hoping that you could lend a few books regarding the land and a map."
"Books are quite expensive but compared to the service you did for me it's cheap." Colt said "I grant your request."
Colt motioned for one of the maids to get several books and a map.
"Here you go gentlemen." Colt said "Are you sure about your reward? I can add a few things."
"How about having dinner considering it's almost nearing night time?" Colt asked before Forge could reply "I can have the maids prepare a feast."
"I humbly refuse Count Formal." Forge replied "I need to return back and I don't like to overstay our , we thank you for your hospitality."
"Very well then, Hope the Gods grant you a safe journey."Colt said
Forge and his team left the room being guided by a maid back to their wagons.
"Milord, do you really believe they come in peace?" Kaine asked "I have my doubts for them."
"I would be lying if some part of me told me how foolish I am for believing them." Colt said "But, I saw them wield weapons that can only be described as magical. If those flying steel monsters are under their control then what kind of weapons does it use?"
"Based on that they can easily conquer Italica or raze it to the ground if they wanted to." Colt continued "For now we will keep an eye on them."
"Do you think their presence will bring changes to this land?" Kaine asked
"Only time will tell," Colt replied
Courtyard
"So that was interesting, he seems to be a nice guy." Sarah commented
"Well at least our trip is kinda worth it." Forge said looking at the map they were given along with some books
The group went back to their vehicles when they heard a voice shouting at them.
"Wait, please wait!" A voice shouted
The group looked in the direction and saw a child running at them. Following behind her was a catgirl wearing a maid uniform.
"Yes?" Forge asked while the child was hesitating
"Lady Myui" The maid whispered "I think you should tell them what you want since we don't want them to wait. They might have important things to do."
"Okay Persia" Myui said "I am Myui Formal daughter of Colt Formal." Introducing herself in the Saderan way of introduction
"Sergeant John Forge of the UNSC Marine Corps." Forge introduced himself out of formality "So miss Myui, what seems to be the problem?"
"No, there is no problem Sir Forge" Myui said "I am here to personally thank you for saving my father."
"It is nothing, my team just happened to be in the area at that time." Forge replied
"Still, he meant a lot to me and prayed to the Gods for his safe journey." Myui said "Not only that he is loved by the citizens of Italica, specifically the demi-humans."
"Your father is a good man from what I can see." Forge said
"Really?" Myui asked
"Of course, I am sure he has his flaws but he strives for the betterment of his city and his people." Forge said
He notices one of his teammates giving him a sign that Captain Cutter wishes to speak with him.
"Well gotta go now, goodbye Miss Myui." Forge said
"Goodbye Sir Forge" Myui said while waving goodbye "I will pray to the Gods for your safe journey."
Myui watch as the vehicles exit the courtyard
Few Days Later
Unknown Location
The tavern was quite full for the day and the occasional gossip of drunks and songs of bards filled the room.
"I am telling you those Spartans that they introduce themselves and fight like an apostle." The drunk man said "I can feel they will bring changes to this forsaken land."
"Yeah keep dreaming, next you're gonna tell me they can beat an apostle" A drunkard shouted in the back "I doubt they can beat the Imperial Legion."
"The only thing good is killing bandits which any trained soldier can do." Another drunkard shouted
The shouting kept going for several minutes which heats up as time goes on before the owner threatened to call the guards and have them thrown to the dungeon.
The man just enjoyed his alcoholic drink although he notice the tavern went silent but he ignore it since it's not his problem until a voice interrupted his thoughts
"Excuse me good sir, can you tell me more about the Spartans?" A voice said
"What do you need to hear mis-" The drunk stops midway in his sentence when he notices who he is talking to. "Your holiness, forgive me for not realizing."
"It's okay, no harm done" The person said while letting her halberd lean to a wall "So can you tell me more about the Spartans?"
"More ale please." The man said and a waitress passed by to drop some Ale. "So what do you want to know about them?"
"Everything you know" The person said
End of Chapter 2
A/N: Hope you guys like it.
Took me several drafts to finish it. Never ending drafts
Don't forget to fave, follow and review.