Chapter 2: Meet the Crew
The fighting barely lasted two days.
During the initial first day, the Japanese Self-Defense Force was able to shoot down anyone who got too close. As it turned out, bows and arrows were practically worthless in the face of M4 carbine assault rifles and the various anti-tank missiles.
After the first retreat, the enemy forces decided that they would try to sneak up on the JSDF under the cover of the night. The end result of that was devastating, as the medieval army couldn't comprehend the idea of night vision goggles and thermal scopes.
After that, they attempted an aerial assault with their wyverns. All it took was a well-placed aim from one of the self-propelled Howitzers to knock them out of the sky.
By that time, any surviving forces were smart enough to retreat.
However, the fact remained that hundreds of them had been taken casualty.
And not a single member of the JSDF was lost.
By the third day, the middle of the battlefield became a wasteland.
The opposing armies had long since retreated, and the JSDF was now able to advance. In the early mornings, while the fog was still prevalent, soldiers walked the no man's land.
Momo Yaoyorozu walked by herself in the middle of the empty field, as she heard the crows, vultures, and other scavengers flying over her head, cawing excitedly at their feast.
In fact, she could see dozens of them flying over her head, and landing down to eat. In front of her, she could see the remnants of spears, pikes, and helmets, all of them making it look like this had all come out of some sort of war movie about Sparta.
Looking over to the other side, she saw that Kirishima was kneeling down, and holding something. Upon further inspection, it was part of a wooden bow, with the string still attached.
"I heard we killed almost fifteen hundred of them," she said, trying to strike up a conversation.
"Didn't they send like fifteen hundred to Musutafu, too?" he asked, standing up.
"Yes, but only fourteen hundred of them were killed."
"So that's three thousand soldiers in total," he growled.
Momo looked at the redhead worryingly. "Are you worried about the enemy?"
"Think about it: Three thousand soldiers, all of them heading straight for the gate. They clearly didn't know what was on the other side, hence why they got wiped out so easily. What the hell kind of country sends three thousand soldiers into unknown enemy territory… WITH LITERAL STICKS AND STONES AS THEIR ONLY WEAPONS?!"
As he yelled out his frustrations, Kirishima threw the broken bow out of his sight.
As Momo walked through the beginning foundations of their base, her mind kept wandering back to what Kirishima said during their patrol earlier that day.
He was right, it made no sense. There was no way that there would be any nation in this, or any other world, that would be stupid enough to go into an unknown territory, guns blazing, and expect complete victory. They had to have done some sort of advanced investigation, used spies, anything like that, but no, they just charged in blindly.
What happened in both Musutafu and in the Special Region was a complete waste of manpower and resources. The only thing that could have come out of something like this was that whatever survivors there were would go back to their superiors to warn them of the enemy.
Unless that was some sort of elaborate suicide mission, something was up.
But she really couldn't think about it for the time being.
For some reason, Nemuri Kayama, the Major General, had summoned her to her "office."
It wasn't much of an office as it was a private tent. There were talks of establishing a permanent military base around the area, but they had literally just gone to the other side less than five days ago, so any such plans to do such a thing were a few months away, tops.
Entering, Momo saluted, and said, "You called for me, ma'am?"
"I did," she said. Kayama was around Aizawa's age, but her service in the military gave them both a healthy athletic build, but for Kayama, it also made her look like she was ten years younger than she actually was. With dark hair and sky blue eyes hiding behind her red glasses, she stood up from her makeshift desk, and addressed Yaoyorozu once more.
"I'm going to be frank with you," she said. "Thanks to your discovery, we have been able to get linguists to help us with learning all we can about the enemy, but it's not enough. The higher-ups have come to the conclusion that we need to investigate the people, ecology, industries, religions, geology, and politics of this region, among other things."
"So, you're sending someone to investigate? A recon team?"
"Unfortunately, no," the superior officer answered. "It has been decided by our oh so wonderful politicians that we should try to investigate this world peacefully, which means knowing the local language, and determining their nature, and, if possible, establish a friendly relationship."
"So…?"
"Look, it's basically like this," the glasses-wearing general explained. "We were asked to make a team of scientists, mechanics, communications specialists, and the like to explore this world, but they gave us two conditions: One, they all have to read and speak Latin, at the bare minimum, and two, they're all combat-capable; in other words, from the JSDF."
"And how many ended up fitting that criteria?"
"Only fourteen. You included," Kayama said. "First Lieutenant Momo Yaoyorozu, you have been authorized to fully command the first-ever Special Region Exploration Unit. The mission is to go out into the Special Region and discover everything you possibly can, by any means necessary, and report back to base one month after your deployment. Do you accept it?"
"Yes, ma'm."
"No hesitation, I like that," she smiled. "Alright then, come on over to my desk, I don't bite. I have the pictures and profiles of your very own rag-tag team of adventurers."
Nodding, Momo walked closer towards her superiors desk, who pulled out a file containing thirteen profile pages, all of them with photos.
"Alright, we're starting with this one," Kayama said, handing Momo the profile of a blond man with blue eyes. "This is Second Lieutenant Neito Monoma. We had him and his girlfriend shipped out of our base in Kanagawa. He'll be your second-in-command. He may appear to have an inferiority complex, but deep down, he's a good soldier."
"This right here is Sergeant Major Itsuka Kendo." The profile picture shows a woman with orange hair and teal eyes. "Monoma's girlfriend. She is an expert in hand-to-hand combat. Karate, tae-kwon-do, jujutsu, kung fu, if you can name it, she can kick your ass in that type of martial art. She has a friendly personality, and will help you reign in Monoma."
"And here we have Sergeant Major Katsuki Bakugou." A man with spiky ash blond hair and piercing eyes is the profile picture. "Demolitions expert. RDX, PETN, amatol, Composition B, Composition C, TNT, we'll be giving him all the good stuff, and then some. He may appear crude, arrogant and aggressive, but don't worry, we've vetted him thoroughly. He's good."
"The next one is Master Sergeant Ochako Uraraka." The picture has a woman with brown eyes and equally brown hair, in a bob cut. "She holds a Bachelor of Science in Astronomy and Astrophysics. She may appear bubbly and cheery, but she is determined as can be, seeing how she climbed the ranks so quickly. Friendly word of advice; don't piss her off."
"After that is Sergeant First Class Yui Kodai." A woman with black hair, also styled in a bob cut, blue eyes, and an expressionless face. "Holds a Bachelor Degree in Health Sciences, specifically in Clinical Health Sciences. She'll be your combat medic and field doctor. Keep in mind that she doesn't talk much, and has a quiet personality, if a bit… promiscuous."
"Next up is Corporal Yosetsu Awase." The picture is of a man with spiky black hair that is held up with a headband. "Holds a Bachelor of Science in Automotive Technology. He's also the genius who souped-up your vehicles for the mission, making them all-wheel drives, incorporating solar panels alongside the turret guns, and making a new type of light armor."
"Up next, Corporal Kinoko Komori." Just like Uraraka, the woman in this picture has a bob cut, but unlike her, her brown hair covers her eyes completely. "Holds a Bachelor Degree in Life and Earth Sciences, specifically in Botany and Plant Science. Her profile picture may make her look shy, but she is extremely excitable and gleeful. Fair warning, she loves mushroom puns."
"Then, we have Corporal Rikido Sato." The picture is of a man with spiky brown hair, tan skin, and big lips. "He is a British immigrant who holds a Bachelor's in Culinary Arts, so he'll be acting as your group's cook, with his expertise being in sweets. His personality is pretty chill, if a bit dull, but he is ready and willing to fight alongside the rest of you."
"Afterwards, we have Corporal Eijiro Kirishima." Despite the fact that the photo featured a man with black hair which went down to his shoulders, instead of red, upright hair, Momo knew who this was. "He'll be your radio communications specialist, both in machine operation and the codes used. He has an outgoing and confident persona, but I think it's a facade."
"Moving on, this is Private First Class Hiryu Rin." The photo was of a guy with lightly tanned skin, and black hair that was shaped in a braid. "A Chinese immigrant, he holds a Bachelor Degree in Zoology, and his job will be to document any new fauna found in the Special Region. Has a serious demeanor, but will work with others diligently."
"Following him, we have Private First Class Yuga Aoyama." The picture shows a man with blonde hair and a rather feminine face. "He is a French immigrant, who will be your team's sniper. Turns out, he's talented, hence why he's a sniper despite his current rank. He may come off as vain and prideful, but he's actually a really compassionate and kindhearted individual."
"And then there's this fella, Private Sen Kaibara." The profile picture features a man with shaggy, dark brown hair. "He holds two degrees in both Geology and Geophysics. He can flop between a level-headed personality which is both calm and focused, to a belligerent personality who'd agree to any stupid dare his friends ask of him. You'll want to keep him in the former."
"And last but not least, Private Kosei Tsuburaba." The profile picture featured a man with spiky, light brown hair. "He holds a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology. Usually, he has an enthusiastic personality. However, he's also best friends with Kaibara, so his more lecherous side might appear whenever the two of them are together. Any questions?"
"Uh, ma'am?" Momo asked, as she read over the files she was given. "No one here is over the age of twenty-seven. Hell, the oldest one of us is Bakugou, at twenty-seven!"
"Well, of course. As it turns out, the majority of your team took Latin as an extracurricular class during their university days, so they're not completely rusty," Kayama explained. "The ones who didn't either studied it on their own as a hobby, or they learned it outside of the country."
"I see," Momo whispered to herself. "Uh, one more question: This page says that we'll only be taking three of Corporal Awase's modified vehicles, each one capable of holding five of us. However, aside from our gear and weapons, I don't see anywhere where we would be able to store our food, camping supplies, scientific equipment, or well, anything else."
"And that's where the neat part comes in," the Lieutenant General said, as she opened up a box, and handed Momo the contents. "Do you know what this is?"
"Uhh… a sack? A really fancy one?"
Momo gave the bag a thorough inspection. It was small, the leather was dyed purple, there was a golden belt around it, and it had some odd-looking runes all over it.
Oh, and it also had a strap. How convenient.
"Not exactly," Kayama said. "We actually confiscated it from General Kido."
Momo gave the general a confused look. "Who?"
"The guy you spoke Latin to? Bandages covering his face?"
"Oh, right, him!" Momo remembered.
"Exactly," the higher-ranking soldier nodded. "Apparently, it's a magic bag. And before you ask, yes, we tested it ourselves. According to him, it can hold up to two hundred kilograms of materials, as long as it does not exceed eighteen hundred liters."
Momo simply stared at the bag in disbelief. "There's no way this is real. It has to be some kind of trick. I mean, the implications of pocket dimensions are just –"
"Yes, we know," Kayama nodded along with Momo. "The problem is, we can't cut it open to find out, or we risk destroying it, and this is the only one we have. So, Aizawa figured that if we can't study it, it could still be of use to us. We already calculated what you'll be taking with you. Food, camping supplies, scientific equipment, explosives, drones, scuba gear, it's all in there. You can test it for yourself. All you have to do is put your hand in, visualize what you want, and pull out."
"Okay…" Momo said, skeptically. "What have you put in there?"
"Try a pack of ground beef."
Unsure, but nodding, Momo put her hand into the bag, and imagined an everyday pack of beef she would get from the supermarket. Pulling out, she felt that her hand was holding…
"No. Fucking. Way."
"I told you so."
…a neatly, wrapped-up packet of ground beef.
"It's… still fresh. I can feel the cold."
"The best theory we have so far is that the objects that go into the bag end up in some sort of "stasis," so nothing would end up spoiling," Kayama said, as she handed a piece of paper to Momo. "Here, this is an inventory of everything that we put into the magic bag. It includes weight and volume, too. The other reason we're loaning this to you is so that whenever there's enough room, you'll put in something that is local for the Special Region, you know, to give us something tangible alongside your report. Photos, flora, weapons, magical items, whatever."
"Understood, ma'am."
"Great," Kayama smiled. "Get well-rested, and pack up all of your essentials, Lieutenant Yaoyorozu. You all leave in two days, specifically, at ten in the morning."
Eijiro double-checked his pack as he made his way towards what was basically a parking lot, passing several other soldiers on his way. Though, to be fair, it wasn't a parking lot, as it was more like a flat plane where all of the military's vehicles were parked.
Still, he could not believe his life.
In less than a week, not only did he help stop an otherworldly invasion of Japan, but he did it alongside the Momo Yaoyorozu, the heiress of the Yaoyorozu conglomerate, who he didn't even know was a member of the JSDF at the time.
And now, he was going on a mission with the very same Lieutenant Yaoyorozu!
Arriving towards his designated mission destination, he was amazed by what he saw.
Right in front of him were three trucks he vaguely recognized as Komatsu LAVs, but they were… different. Sure, they still have the turret gun on top of each of them, but…
Are those tiny solar panels on the roofs? He stopped and rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Holy crap, they seriously spared no expense for this mission! Next thing they're gonna tell us is that they're air-conditioned, too –
BUMP!
Breaking out of his stop, he felt something shoving into his back, as he turned around and saw a guy with spiky blond hair and scary-looking wheeling an open crate in front of him.
"Hey, Shitty Hair, if you're looking for the visitor's center, go all the way back to the gate and fuck right off back to Musutafu," he growled, before muttering, "Not even wearing your helmet…"
"Excuse me?" Eijiro asked, before he noticed that something fell off one of the guy's crates. Picking it up, he said, "Hey, you dropped your dy-dy… dynamite…" Eijiro began to sweat a bit, as he asked, "Uh, heh-heh… what else have you, uh, got in there…?"
Grabbing the stick of dynamite, the grumpy-looking blond said, "Oh, you know, C4, nitroglycerin, notepads, fuzes, TNT, glue, uh, paper clips. Big ones. You know, just the office supplies."
Before Eijiro could figure out whether or not the guy was being sarcastic, the dude simply walked away, and a new voice entered his ears. "Corporal Kirishima! There you are!"
Turning around, he saw… "Lieutenant Yaoyorozu! Hey, it's good to see you!"
"Likewise," she smiled, as she introduced a different blond man who was next to her. "Kirishima, this is Second Lieutenant Monoma. He'll be the second-in-command of this operation."
"Corporal Kirishima," the blond smiled, shaking Eijiro's hand. "Pleasure to meet one of the heroes of Musutafu. Did you shoot up any monsters? I saw the photos, they were really ugly."
The redhead winced a bit at that, but he let out a strained smile and said, "A couple."
"All right, all right, you can introduce yourselves later!" Yaoyorozu said. "Line up!"
"Fall in!" Monoma yelled, as he, and every other soldier Momo was now responsible for, stood in attention, their uniforms packed to the brim. Saluting, he said, "Ready to go, ma'am!"
"Thank you, Momona," she said, saluting back. If she was nervous, she was good at hiding it. This was her first time leading a team all by herself, and for the past two days she was freaking out on the inside. But now was not the time to deal with that. Now, she had to act serious.
"Hello, I'm Lieutenant Yaoyorozu," she announced, loud enough to be heard. "All right, before we head out, I want to establish a few rules. We're going to be the first outsiders the natives will ever see, so I want to leave them with a positive impression. That means no destroying settlements or monuments that may be inhabited or culturally significant towards them. That also means not taking anything of theirs without asking, and making sure that it's not a sacred treasure of theirs, we're not the British Museum. And absolutely no killing, unless explicitly for self-defense. I don't want these people to remember us as conquistadors. Any questions?"
A few hands went up. "Okay, let's start with you. Private Aoyama, what is your question?"
"Doesn't this outfit make me look très magnifique?"
"We're all wearing the same outfit," Momo said, rolling her eyes at the blond sniper. "I would suggest you focus more on staying alive than how you look, Private Aoyama."
"Your words might wound my heart, but they do not make me glow any less."
"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Momo said. "Private Kaibara, your question?"
"Uh, I don't wanna offend anyone, but are we really ready for this?" he asked.
"You have all been doing military service for nearly an entire decade. If Corporal Kirihsima and myself could survive the Musutafu Incident, you can all survive this mission."
"Yeah, but I was a mechanic!" Corporal Awase speaks up. "I mean, I was pretty good at inventing new shit, like our souped-up LAVs, but I've never been in an actual firefight before."
"All of you have had training in live fire exercises, correct?" the raven-haired commander asked.
"I mean, yes, but the majority of us barely know each other. I only know Sen here because we were stationed together when we got called here," Private Tsubaraba answered. "How are we supposed to work together, regardless of the fact that we all went through the same training?"
"Well, then it's a good thing that we'll all be working together for the foreseeable future, that should give you all plenty of time to get to know your comrades, should it not?" Momo smiled. "Everyone works, everyone drives, and we all take shifts as look-outs."
Sighing, the First Lieutenant says, "Look, I'm going to sugarcoat this, soldiers: Japan has a crisis on its hands. We have no idea what's out there. For the average civilian, this could be seen as the end times. However, we are not the average civilian. We are the JSDF! Each one of us has been hand-selected for our completely unique set of abilities. We have the resources and the willpower to complete this mission, and to make it back alive. Now, let's get going!"
"Understood, ma'am!" Monoma said, as he turned to the rest of the squad. "All right, soldiers! Lieutenant Yaoyorozu wants this convoy moving five minutes ago! Move, move, move!"
In less than a few seconds, all fourteen soldiers had now gotten into their assigned seats, ready to go. The vehicles blared to life, and a few minutes later, the three cars had exited the recently erect checkpoint, with the guards saluting them off to their mission.
And so, at ten in the morning, the Special Region Exploration Unit had moved out.
Thirty minutes later, they were now on the road.
Lieutenant Yaoyorozu was in the leading car, along with Awase as her driver, Uraraka as the gunner, and Kirishima in the back. Meanwhile, Monoma had the vehicle in the middle, which had Rin as the driver, Kodai, Komori and Kaibara as the gunner, and Kendo led the rear with Sato as the driver, Bakugou and Tsubaraba in the back, and Aoyama as the gunner.
Sixteen minutes after leaving the area that was the battlefield that occurred less than five days ago, the area around them had become much cleaner. There were no more signs of burned down trees, damaged weapons, dead wyverns, or the bodies of soldiers.
The sky was now much clearer, with only the occasional cloud or two in the sky, and by the seventeen minute mark, the SREU could see lush hills, tall grass, forests, mountains, and above all, a road. Or, to be more accurate, multiple roads.
They weren't paved for anything of the sort, they were merely dirt paths which showed that the locals had traveled through that part of the grasslands enough times to make the surrounding plantlife stop trying to take root there, but good enough for them.
The car ride for the most part was silent, especially in the leading car, which had Momo in the passenger seat, writing down anything of interest. Looking around, she told the driver, "Awase, slow down here. Kirishima, radio the others and tell them to stop here."
"Why'd we stop here all of a sudden?" Kendo asked.
"Look over to that direction," Momo pointed, and everyone looked. "We can't see the gate or the base from there. Heck, I'm fairly certain that the battlefield itself is now over the horizon. I believe that this is the perfect place to conduct our first series of tests."
"Tests, ma'am?" Kodai asked.
"Yes, tests," Momo said, before looking over at a few soldiers. "Sargent Uraraka, see if you can take notice of any differences between this world and Earth. Corporal Komori, please examine the local flora. Private Kaibara, I want you to analyze the soil samples. Private Tsubaraba, I want you to take atmospheric readings and find out the composition of the atmosphere."
"Understood, ma'am," Uraraka nodded, as did the other three.
"Good." Pulling out the magical bag from her side, Momo put her hand into the pocket dimension and handed each one of them their equipment to run the proper tests.
"Whoa…" Kirishima let out a low whistle. "So that's magic, huh? Manly."
"Manly?" Momo repeated the word.
"Uh, yeah. Anything I like I call "manly." It's just my thing," he said, scratching his head.
"Oh, well… that's pretty manly, I guess."
A little less than a half hour later and…
"So, what did you find?" Momo asked.
Uraraka stepped up to her commanding officer first, and showed her a rock and a stick in either one of her hands. Letting go of them at the same time, both fell to the ground.
Looking down at the rock and stick, the brown-haired soldier said, "I can safely say that this world's gravitational pull is a safe, normal, 9.8 meters per square second, ma'am. That means that this world is either roughly, or exactly the same size as our planet. Once it gets dark, I should be able to see if there are any constellations I can recognize."
"All right, do so once we set up camp. Komori?"
"The majority of trees surrounding us right now are mostly deciduous trees, but I also saw a couple of coniferous trees, as well," the botanist replied. "And the grass around us is nothing special, just your standard grass. Kentucky bluegrass, blue grama, buffalograss, the usual. I'm honestly kinda disappointed, ma'am. No new species of fungi."
"We'll search again later," Momo reassured her subordinate. "Kaibara?"
"Soil composition is just the same as back home," the geologist answered. "Feldspars, micas, and quartz, mostly, plus some pyroxenes and hornblendes, as well. I also borrowed the compass you gave Uraraka, and I can safely say that there's a good chance that the planet's core is also made of iron, if the compass working is any indication."
"I see… Tsubaraba?"
"Well, the good news is we won't die from breathing in the air," Tsubaraba chuckled. "The atmosphere is seventy-eight percent nitrogen and twenty-one percent oxygen. I also picked up traces of carbon dioxide, neon, and hydrogen, as well. The majority of the clouds in the sky are cumulus and stratus clouds, but I can assure you all of them exist back home."
"Why did you ask them to do all that?" Sato asked.
"We were asked to find out everything about this world, Corporal," Momo answered. "That includes the ground, atmosphere, flora, and fauna, as well as the people. Hence why we have geologists, meteorologists, botanists, and various other scientists on this team."
"And cook!"
"Yes," the commanding officer chuckled. "And cook. Anywho… Monoma?"
"Understood, ma'am," the blond second-in-command nodded. "Alright, back to your assigned vehicles! We'll keep driving for the rest of the day, and then make camp in the evening!"
Continuing with their drive, Private Hiryu Rin was looking at the beautiful scenery through the windows, when he noticed that the soldier across from his seat, Katsuki Bakugou, was reading something. Taking a closer look, the title read, Monster Manual: Fifth Edition.
Wait, what?
"You done squinting?" Bakugou growled.
"Sorry," Hiryu said. "But I gotta ask, why the book? Isn't that a manual from that Dungeons and Dragons game? You know, the one for nerds and socially awkward adults?"
"Then how do you know about it, nerd?" Bakugou shot back, before relenting, and saying, "Think about it: We're out here on a mission to explore a fantasy world, where literal wyverns came out of a gate that magically appeared out of nowhere and began eating people. You saw all the videos everyone posted on YouTube, same as me. So, if reading this book gives me an edge on making it our of this place alive, then I'm gonna read the fucking book."
"But… It's for a game. There's no way in hell that it'll be accurate to this world."
"Alright, don't read it. When you get eaten by a dragon, don't blame me."
"Man, you're crazy."
With the initial scans of the environment done, Momo enjoyed looking at the local scenery now that she knew that this world's atmosphere wasn't going to slowly kill her and her team.
She saw James Cameron's Avatar. She knew it was a possibility.
Still, a small part of her felt a bit of comfort knowing that even though she was technically in another world, some basic things wouldn't always stay the same.
"It sure is peaceful, don't you agree, Kirishima?"
Looking up from the radio, the redhead said, "Huh? Oh, yeah, I guess."
"The scenery sure is beautiful," Momo continued.
"With all due respect, Lieutenant," Awase interjected. "We have beautiful scenery back in Japan. So far, all we've seen are trees that we can find back home. I mean, I dunno, I figured we'd see a fairy, or a wyvern that wasn't being ridden by those Roman-cosplaying assholes."
"Corporal Awase, I'll have you know that the research we are doing is extremely vital, and that everything you have just said proves my point," the raven-haired officer retorted.
"Oh, yeah? How?"
"Well, while the trees Corporal Komori classified are also found on Earth, it still shows that there's a major chance that we'll find more flora and fauna aside from those local plants and humans existing in this world, which also hail from ours. In other words, we have a higher chance of recognizing such threats, and in turn, defending ourselves from them."
"So, you're saying that there's a good chance that we'll be fighting against regular bears instead of giant fire-breathing dragons?" Awase asked. "And, that, that's somehow a good thing?"
"Yes," the raven-haired First Lieutenant answered curtly. "I would very much prefer to combat a bear, as we'll at least know what we're going up against."
"Aight…"
"But, like I said, the scenery is still quite beautiful," Momo said. "Sunny day, clean air, not a single trace of pollution, and the best part… it's peaceful, and it's quiet –"
BOOM!
Before Momo could even finish her sentence, something crashed down into the middle of the road, faster than a meteorite, and created a dust storm from the impact of the blast. It was nothing short of a miracle that Awase stepped on the brake when it hit, and that none of the others crashed into them from the sudden stop.
The first thing she could hear after the crash was Kirishima yelling…
"ENEMY CONTACT!"
"Your Imperial Majesty," Moe Kamiji said, bowing before the throne. "We have received a report from one of our wyvern riders. The gate at the Collibus Hills has apparently been taken over by the enemy, and they rained fire on our troops and mercenaries. A little over a hundred of them are now fleeing for their lives. That one wyvern rider was our sole survivor of his brigade."
Just as Enji had predicted. The most rebellious of his vassals had been successfully eliminated. But now, he had to deal with the matter of this new enemy. A scorched-earth policy should prevent the enemy forces from eating the Empire's agriculture, and make them back off.
Still, the main issue for the moment was that he had no idea how powerful this new threat was. General Kamiji wasn't one to use figurative speech, so chances are they had plenty of mages capable of using fire. But so many of them that only a hundred troops escaped with their lives? And only a single wyvern rider? Something didn't add up.
Not even the Demon King to the west or the Elven Queen to the south had that sort of firepower, on such a massive scale. Sure, they had plenty of powerful allies, capable of taking down entire armies, but to have that many powerful mages together? Not feasible.
Not only that, but since Kamiji herself wasn't there, he couldn't press her for further details. The wyvern rider, sure, but that would have to wait after they recuperated. Seeing all of your allies get obliterated in front of you was bound to have negative effects on a soldier's psyche.
Still, though, it gave Emperor Enji Todoroki some time to think and plan.
Perhaps a few hours of training with Shoto would refresh his mind a bit.
Author's Note: No comments, huh? That's a new one.
Regardless, I'll still keep posting my stories. Anyways!
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