"Mono/Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
Narration
[Message/communication apparatus]
Date: Mid-September 1089
Location: Kazdel
POV: Hoederer
“We got the update, our destination has become a little more complicated.” Addressing my men, I could see how more than a third of them groaned from what was said. It is normal for the situation to change and develop, but it doesn’t make it any less exasperating. Although I said that, W sports her usual expression of ‘Couldn’t care less, get on with it.’ while Ines is glaring daggers at her.
“So what’s the bite, Commander?”
“To ensure the cargo is delivered to our destination successfully, we will not split the convoy in two. We decide this because keeping up with periodic contact would be hell otherwise, so I’ll have the whole operation on our side while PMCs have theirs.” They nodded, it is certainly a good idea to not divide up our forces without much of a reason. Kazdel is unlike other countries, the limited amount of infrastructure and general disturbance meant that communication lines could be severed like a twig on a relatively good day.
“So We’ll be babysitting them? Sounds easy enough, as long as we do not meet the kings or heroes we’ll be good.” Ines answered confidently and added a bit of a joke. Some people around her chuckled, they believed that the Kings wouldn’t pay them much attention. I too believe that we are too small to warrant such a gracious treatment, but anything can happen on the battlefield.
“That might be so. Oh, I forgot to add.” I turned my gaze to W, before I even said anything the black-haired Caprinae already groaned in frustration. She deduced my intention even faster, just as usual.
“W, stop peeling on the potato or I’ll force you to read another novel.”
“Again with that! Can’t you stop?!”
“It is for your good.”
“Who are you? My dad?”
“No, but I want you to listen, are you following so far?”
“… Fine, go ahead.”
“You’ll be attached with Ines as her 2IC when worse comes to worst, so listen closely to her directives.”
“Really? You won’t mind me accidentally killing your lover?” Her hand crept closer to her dagger, Ines had hers already in hand from the get-go. I swear, these two are just hopeless… Well, better defuse the situation.
“Go ahead, and do me a favor to make it a mutual kill. The company could always use some extra bonuses after all.” A few laughed, they had seen this sort of exchange happening now and then. However, I could see that the greenhorns were quite nervous seeing how either of them was serious about stabbing each other.
“Tch, sure thing, Commander. What’s our RoE?”
“We’ll ensure that avoiding combat would be our top priority. Even much better if we could deliver the cargo and divide out shares without too much death.”
“How nice, and here I need to follow Ines around… Great, I’m being jerked around by a sheep.” The Sarkaz girl couldn’t stop making such a comment. I was half-tempted to just call it a day and tell everyone to rest up.
“The last time I checked, you can’t leash a cockroach else its head would snap.” Ines fired back as usual.
“You wanna go?”
“Oh please, a wounded cockroach would hardly be a challenge. How does it feel to make a fool of yourself, huh?”
“Alright, that’s enough.” Stopping their endless banter, I take their attention back.
“Tch.”
“Hmph.”
“… That being said, we would be moving at Zero-Three-Zero-Zero, any question?” One of the members raised his hand if you considered waving his sword around is valid.
“What’s the formation? Actually no, we’re the usual cannon fodder right?” His question was less of a question and more of a complaint. Such a statement is a frequent one, along with some bad apples thrown into the mix.
“Nope, Cordelia's order was that we stay as close as possible to support them. Else they would have a hard time maintaining a cohesive line. Our role is that mobile task force to flank around when needed.” Almost everyone blinked incredulously.
“Hold your horses though, they still underlined that when the situation called for it, they would prioritize the cargo above all else.”
“Right…”
“With that, I’ll end it here, everyone is dismissed except for Ines and W.” With most of them started filling out of the place, I called upon them to move closer.
“So whaddaya want?”
“I’ll be frank, I have no problem with how you handled that incident days ago.”
“… What do you mean?”
“Hmph, what a perfect time to play dumb. We know how you dispose of those peeps. Your proactive approach was appreciated, but you still overstepped your bounds for giving false reports.” Before they could restart their argument, I made my position clear.
“No, listen. I genuinely have no problem with how the onsite management had gone off, what I’m concerned about is your disregard with an order. I’m still your commander, and I’ll warn you to temper your individuality when necessary.” I put my hands on the table, W could feel how our eyes landed squarely on her.
“If you cannot listen to what I, your commander, had ordered you to do, then we’re going to have a problem.” W scoffed.
“Sarkaz mercenary with loyalty? That’s new.”
“You’re capable and have more than just some idea on how to use explosives. That’s why tomorrow we will be expediting our progress, you can still cast your Arts but do keep in mind to not treat the Cordelian the same way as the other mercenaries. If you did? Well, best of luck while I perform damage control.”
“…” Her face is as neutral, but even I could see how she was this close to gnashing her teeth.
“Clear?”
“…Clear.”
“Good, Ines?” She looked at me and was seemingly puzzled that it was not just W being put in the spotlight.
“You’ll have Vaskiela as your temporary 2IC (Second-in-command), she will be helping with bridging command with PMCs on your side. I much prefer for you to not dig too deep into their mind.”
“Our outcast noble or the Cordelian? Also, I only read shadows not mind… why do I keep reminding you this…?”
“That’s beside the point and the answer to your previous question is Cordelian. I personally have no interest in what happened to her, but try to avoid it as well. I only want to make sure you’re not digging into corporate warfare territory.”
“Hah… all right, I know how annoying organization can get and I’m not in a hurry to go missing.”
“That goes without saying.”
“Lastly, why did you tell us but not them?”
“From what I could understand, Vaskiela was brought by the Grey Serpent who vanished mid-way. Cordelian operatives had confirmed that her contract is still in effect, so they’re in limbo with what to do. Technically, the Banshee is Nyx’s subordinate, so…”
“They want us to potentially take the fall huh? Clever.”
I nod at her conjecture, it is not hard to imagine that her ambiguous position might have some deeper implication if handled wrong. So, Cordelia would rather have Sarkaz deal with Sarkaz’s problem while watching from the sideline. This company has some of the weirdest modus operandi I have ever seen, they understand what they need and make compromises easily but have no qualms to achieve their objectives…
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POV: Narrator
The convoy merged up, reshuffled personnel as needed, and proceeded with their delivery as intended. Hoederer is with the front part of the convoy, he is accompanying Meteorite and the CO through this damnable forest he has seen more than a few times. He has cautioned them that this position is probably the one with the highest possible chance of ambush. Cordelia considered his advice, and to ensure their mission's total completion. They are very adamant about passing with flying colors it seems.
Ines and W are accompanying the latter half along with Vaskiela, the former certainly worked well judging by how many times they shouted expletives or barbed at one another. Vaskiela was left trying to keep the central part and rear end of the convoy cohesive, putting her in an awkward position on what needed to be done. Luckily, Jordan detached himself from Meteorite’s unit and gave the Banshee a helping hand.
Their convoy is now trudging through the muddy terrain with surprising ease, the mercs because they have their light but somewhat protected buggies and PMCs with their armored SUVs. The only reason they slowed down was because the truck was much slower than them.
This journey, for them, had been going too smoothly and swimmingly, such fair weather usually means that a storm is in the making for their line of work is somewhere around the corner. Such is how the tension runs at an all-time high, Babel’s messenger arrival further enhances that notion.
Wounded and battered was the messenger, he talked about how the upcoming winter had been truly dire. Babel’s landship was, according to him, in apparent need of medical supplies and equipment from the convoy. He seems to wither from the information that there is no heavy-duty medical equipment within the convoy, but the abundant supplies give him enough to be hopeful once more.
Disengaging from the previous topic, now we’re seeing the convoy is going to be truly tested for the first time.
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[We’re almost through the forest, and judging from the vegetation we had been passing along the way, there was no shortage of battle. My drone has yet to pick up any sign of troubles…] The Banshee lady’s voice keeps updating on their position. W thought that despite being glared at from time to time, she was reasonable. Would have been nice if a certain Caprinae could be as well-mannered as their resident outcast.
[Ines here, all units be on high alert, I sensed some bad vibes around us.] Ines then switched her channel to connect with Hoederer at the front.
[Commander, how is it looking up there?]
[I know this place like the back of my hand and I’m quite surprised how Vaskiela has been so proactive… we have yet to see anything that-] His words were cut off when a loud explosion slammed the vehicle at the foremost position.
[Front vic got hit! Are you guys OK?!] Vaskiela almost screamed on our radio.
[We are fine, stay calm.] Hoederer looked to the side and saw the PMCs already started to retaliate.
[Rear Guard here, I spotted flashing lights-] More and more explosives are being thrown into their pathway. Either using some kind of catapult, or launcher or even thrown by hand, volatile objects are raining down on them.
Taking that as their cue, Ines directed the buggy upfront to take the current lead point. It doesn’t take long for them to shift their position, being on the vanguard means more shits are going in their way, but oh well…
[All units maintain formation and step on the gas, there is little sense of staying inside the forest. Mercenaries do your job as your terms dictate, PMCs keep a tight perimeter.] They watch how the Cordelians start moving quickly enough to make the best of this cramped road, their 4 turrets on each side are scanning for hostiles. Cordelian SUVs are armed with either Raythean pattern lightning gun (An Arts caster for close-range combat, have a notoriously high accuracy to hit, well, everything.) or repeating scorpion loaded with an equivalent of HESH or standard AP.
The Mercenaries are used to fighting with the idea of disengaging like flipping their palms, it makes little sense to fight to forgo any sort of advantages after all. The convoy then came under a continuous barrage of ranged attacks. Fireballs, cutting winds, and even the occasional lightning strikes struck the SUVs reinforced with durasteel armoring and coating.
Hoederer and Vaskiela offered tactical guidance and navigation along with the CO who kept barking orders. Their comms links are filled with crisscrossing commands without impeding one another. They are concentrating on commanding and leaving the fights to their subordinates because command and oversight are still demanding tasks after all.
W, however, doesn’t sit idly by, her grenade launcher made more than just a little counter bombardment of their own. One, she hasn’t missed a single one of her precious Originium-loaded shells. It struck just where it needed to be, judging by how pieces of flesh and blood were being kicked up from where it landed.
Ines meanwhile, could only throw her shadow sentry and daggers now and then. She could try to dismount and leave her sentry here, but her gut feelings prevented her from doing so. Not to mention that she is not being demanded to fight yet, better conserve her stamina whenever she can.
Jordan and his fellow PMCs are armed and trained with ranged weaponry. Some pointed their crossbows or guns through their windows that have been made to accommodate mobile warfare. The Archosauria is probably the star of this current engagement along with W's almost unbidden use of explosive ordnance, his crossbow made a point to score lethal hits that never deviated from the center of their skull or heart.
This back and forth turned for the worse when bikes with 2 or 3 mercenaries started tailing them. The braver one closed the gap to throw Molotovs or other improvised weapons at the convoy. A PMC got injured through their turret’s opening, burning them alive. Luckily their buddy is always ready and pulls the person off before taking their place. Exacting vengeance soon after by riddling the offenders with 14mm wolfram (Its equivalence anyway) tipped ballista bolt.
[We are about 1500 meters to the opening exit, and everyone maintains cohesion. We’ll have no time to pick up any stragglers. At 122 meters everyone takes the second intersection and keeps going for the next one just 300 meters away.] Regaining calm, she deftly kept the convoy informed while also directing them through the maze-like forest. She is not exactly familiar with it, but judging from the latest map and some informational gathering using a drone allotted to her, she still could chart their way like a competent messenger.
She might not be able to spot the hostile quickly enough, but she understands that it is now in the past and focuses on avoiding roads filled with traps. Just to make sure, she tried to briefly cast her drone’s lens towards the hostiles she could see and saw how some of them just didn’t register in heat signature while others were faint.
‘… No, that’s impossible, he is not here… he is not here… stay calm Kyrie, don’t fail them now.’ The purple-haired Sarkaz keeps chanting those phrases in her mind while keeping the convoy informed.
The chase continues and Ines realizes a significant difference. Now it is Ines’s turn to scan her opponent's demeanor, she found how little they showed surprise nor any sort of reaction from meeting a formidable opponent. Next would be their gear, although those look fairly old, Ines soon sees that they are more varied and well-maintained. The most damning evidence would be how they present themselves as a cohesive fighting force.
“This is Ines to all units in this channel, our ambushers are not mere mercenaries! I repeat they are not mere dregs and amateurs! We are facing trained and experienced people!”
[Mis- -es, d— y- know them?] Ines grimaced, their communication starting to get compromised doesn’t sound so reassuring. She pressed on the communication to confirm her statement.
“I’m unsure, but worst comes to worst, we are facing Kazdel Military Commission…” Theresis’ base of power is none other than the commission, now rumored to be backed by even more kings from the Royal Court.
[We n— to le- *bzzt* area… Watch o- *bzzt*.] She saw the moment when an Arts lightning of some kind struck one of the cargo trucks. It was scorched badly but Cordelian engineering has proven to stay true so far, the question is for how long.
“Terra fucking dammit, hey W!” Ines couldn’t believe how they tried to destroy a valuable cargo. They might be here not for Cordelia but for something else. She has her hypotheses, one of them would be how KMC just wants to ensure Babel collapsed due to the upcoming winter.
The second being Hoederer’s mercenary group has a bounty in the millions if not tens of millions collectively. Surely, even her head would fetch a pretty penny on the Scar Market. Yet that contradicts how mercenaries usually operate… Especially how this company's haul and cargo couldn’t be cheap after all.
Third would be the usual modus operandi, a mercenary group that stood above the rest usually being rid-off because they had gone too dangerous of a wildcard. Nyx has been a really valuable lesson too, she is a monster amongst monsters and her presence could tip the balance of favor between factions. Her employment by CM meant that her danger level got lowered somewhat, but still, she is a highly dangerous individual.
“W!”
“DID I LOOK LIKE I’M JUST SUCKING DICK TO YOU?! I’M BUSY!” W’s legs keep kicking the driver to go faster or dodge incoming counters. The said driver has no time to grumble when his eyes are being glued on the bumpy, nigh-swampy, road. It is a miracle they had yet to topple from this crime on safe driving protocol.
He swerved as best as he could in this narrow passageway.
“They might not be after the cargo! We should peel off to deal with them independently!”
“HOW CAN YOU BE SO-“
“Watch out!” A caster of theirs cast a barrier to stop the incoming projectile. Not long after, the vehicle shook and Ines was smashed against the window behind her.
“SHIT!” She blanked out momentarily, her vision went fuzzy and dizzy. She could not hear W who was screaming at her, nor the sound of battle. After what felt like an eternity ended when another jolt made her mind reorient itself.
A large javelin stopped just right on top of her pretty face. It is already bloodied and that’s how she realizes a caster who cast the shield in front of her had a large gaping hole smashing through their head. She was momentarily shocked before ducking when another one completely stripped off two doors, the one in front and behind her.
“HEY SHEEP FUCK, ARE YOU THERE!?” the white-haired Sarkaz’s voice came out a little strained.
W then turned her eyes back on her foes, she saw how a large Sarkaz already winding up for another strike. The Sarkaz is around several others who hefted large swords or spears, this one just towered over them and gives out an eerie aura. Then they have 2 of their hands forming up a large Arts energy on their palm, she could feel the esoteric energy that overflowed from them.
The white-haired Sarkaz could feel how a thin line of Arts energy was forming around the vehicle. She frantically reloaded her grenade launcher and when they cast their Arts she expected the worst, but an explosion erupted on her potential executioner just the same. She was stumped about where it came from until she saw Meteorite repositioning herself at the central part of the convoy. Right on top of the moving cargo truck.
“Hey kid, don’t space out!” She shouted at her just enough. Meteorite has long since ditched her part on the communication and let the other PMCs deal with it. Despite being so exposed, she could dodge attacks aimed at her with just enough before jumping off to the next cargo truck and doing her insane sentry duty.
While W is flabbergasted seeing how she could act so stupidly brave like that, and kind of envious too, Ines changes her channel back to contact Hoederer. The Caprinae could listen to how utterly deadly the frontline sounds like. She could hear how projectiles kept pinging on Hoederer’s and the CO’s vehicle.
“Hoederer! They might be here to gun us down and not the cargo!”
[Ines *bzzt* keep calm and *bzzzt* we got Bab- *bzzt*] The sounds of battle on his side made her audibly click her tongue. Her hands never stop retaliating when possible.
‘This is too perfect of an ambush, how did it even happen?’ Ines often dismissed the idea that someone wanted them dead so badly a tailor-made plan was always in place. Sure, their company might have hefty price tags and bounty, but compared to a certain someone, it is still much too risky.
This eternal chase on a narrow passageway ended when the convoy finally made it through the woods. Contrary to their expectation, their communication hasn’t been restored if not worsening altogether.
The black-haired Caprinae remembered how she had tried to probe them all, including the Banshee, and found no potential traitor amongst them. Her brainstorming was put to a halt when W got knocked off the turret.
Without even a prompt, Ines dives right towards her and the both of them fall off their vehicle. One of them appears to have smashed their head on the ground, but Ines shadows seems to have reacted regardless, causing them to vanish from the spot. Some of their pursuers disengaged from them and moved after the missing pair.
[… Hoeder- *bzzt* conv- *bzzt* … moving!] Vaskiela saw how they fell off the moving convoy, her garbled voice made it hard to understand what she said. Hoederer knows what she means by it, however.
[For- *bzzt* … afe *bzzt* back!] The Sarkaz mercenaries accompanying them don’t appear to mind his decisions all that much. Having been living in Kazdel for so long made them cognizant of their overall shortcomings, especially when life and death are concerned. The best they could give the duo would be wishing them luck, or not at all.
All is now up to Hoederer, even if they died he knows how to use them correctly. Just like the old W, not even a drop of their value would be squandered…
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POV: W
“Fucking dammit, wake up!” I keep trying to resuscitate her back up. She seems to have injured her head quite badly, doesn’t help that I suck at something like this. I checked the back of her head and noticed a small gash opened up.
I rummaged around my chest pouches for any first aid. As my shitty luck would have it, I found one and start bandaging her a little. I kept on working on it while watching the surroundings, I caught a glimpse of them chasing us through her shadow.
‘Just how are they so good? Like what the fuck?’ When I think that I’m done, I collapsed on my ass and start panting roughly. God that was rough and-
“Ngh!? Nghhhh… hah… hah… Fuck…” My trembling hand reached up on my shoulder, and I could feel how the wound opened up a little.
‘Damn this shitty sheep and her stitches…’ I start disassembling the art primer and ignition part of my grenade launcher. It is highly infectious, supposedly…
‘Fuck it, I’m already dying of stupid rock cancer anyway…’ Rolling up some unusable cloth, I jammed my own mouth with it; taste like shit too. Taking some more breaths, I start pressing the already-heated primer on the wound.
“NGGGGHHHHHH! MGGHMMMM!” I couldn’t even make too much noise… we’re both wounded. Her Maj-
‘No, they wouldn’t fucking care…’ Turning my head back on Ines, I continue trying to wake her up.
“… Ines…” No dice huh…
“Ines! Tsk …” Wake up you bastard!
“Ines!” In a fit of annoyance, I shook her body like a bag of groceries. I really couldn’t stand this shit, we are out in the open and cut off.
“Screw you!” I opened up her canteen of water and splashed her with it. That seems to do the trick now, the black-haired sheep opens her eyes. A bit drenched, but I don’t know why something seems to overcome me. Meh, not important.
“Mhh… huh?” Oh great, she is disoriented… tsk, I’m stuck babysitting this one now….
“If you’re not dead, then wake up already…”
“Huh?” Oh even better! Do you have amnesia now? Should I ditch her after all?
“What’s going on… what happened?” Hahhhhhhhhhhh….
“Oh no, nothing happening at all. We just got thrown out of the vehicle, our Arts barrier caster got pierced, and then your shadows started doing their shenanigans… now we’re stuck here…”
“… and the comms?”
“Jammed, worse than before. I don’t know how they’re doing it, but we’re definitely up against pros. At least more professional than any of our prey before.”
“…”
“Well, it is somewhat of consolation that Hoederer got the convoy covered… Guess someone tipped them about their existence or some shit.” I leaned on the nearby broken-down wall, Kazdel is shit but at least it could be usable at times.
“…”
“…” Ines heaved a sigh before talking again, a hand pressing the back of her bandaged head.
“… Go ahead, find a way to meet up with others.” Is that her way of thanking me?
“Oh? I figured you’d doubt me, at least a little…” Let’s see how far her bravado goes…
“Guess I’ll leave you as bait then.”
“Who do you think would survive if we fought?”
“…” Fuck this shit…
“Oh… so it hurts that bad, huh?” She leaned back on her piece of a broken wall, we were facing each other in the eyes. I really couldn’t stand this bitch, even after everything she is still an ass.
“I figured that you are somewhat in control of your emotions, guess I was too cautious than needed.
“… Tsk, you really should do something about that nasty personality of yours. Scanning someone who saved you the moment they woke, some trust you have there, boss.”
“Sorry, force of habit.”
“So that’s why, huh? The first thing you do after you open your eyes is surveil your surroundings? What a coward-” She pushed me off to the side, causing my wound to contract.
“Ngh! ASSHOLE!”
“You said bait right? Not a bad idea.” She stood up while I reeled in pain.
“No point in dragging along a merc who couldn’t even stand up straight. You stay here for a sec, and I’ll call in the enemy.” … I’m so going to kill her…
“Hope you guys get along nicely. Can’t have you dying on me too quickly.”
“See you later, W.” I gripped my dagger so hard, I could even feel how blood seeps through.
“Oh, one last thing…” She looked down on me.
“I never trusted you.” Oh, we’re playing this now- no that bitch immediately fucked off.
“Hey, you little-!” Ah… screw it… I’m dizzy… I’m tired…
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“--- I found a mercenary. Just one.” That voice woke me up. A masked Sarkaz stands just a few meters away from me, he has his hand on his sword. I could see from the edge of my vision there were 3 or more just standing around…
‘This is it, huh?’ Sitting up, I just looked at him.
“Update; the merc is confirmed to be W.”
“That was fast…. Or rather, we got followed from the get-go, huh?” I wonder if she already established contact with Hoederer… must have been divvying up payment now.
“Letting them and the Cordelian go for those KMC fucks was well worth it if it means we can get our hands on HVT like you.” He walked closer and yanked my hair. I spit at him. He then slam my head on the muddy ground in retaliation.
“… Hmph. I was gonna follow you back to the rest of your stragglers… Never expected them to just abandon one of their own.” A sword was stabbed inches away from my face, scratch that… it pricked my cheek a little.
“Tell me everything you know and what the hell those Cordelian are hauling, then you might be lucky enough for a quick death.”
“Well, there’s the trouble huh? … I’d love for us to be honest with each other, but the truth is I don’t know anything…” Hoederer has the details… probably she too… I just blow shit up.
“You’re badly wounded and we don’t have time to waste. You might die if we torture you on the spot and I’m sure nobody wants that.”
“In that case, you should chase down that woman, she knows more than I do.” Don’t look so puzzled bud.
“… Don’t you resent her for using you as bait? You’ll have a better time if you work with us.”
“Bait, huh?”… Oh yeah… bait… tsk, just my luck. Without meaning to, my lips curled up into a thin smirk.
“Say… have you ever baited Originium slugs with industrial waste residue before?”
“… What are you talking about?” The others are circling around me… his grip on the sword also tightened.
“It’s kind of a Kazdel folk thing. We get slug infestations, you know? Wild Originium slugs are dumb, and they like Originium---” My smirk turns into a full-blown grin. God, this is so stupid I love it.
“--- but setting that aside, do you know what happened to the poor slugs that are lured over?”
“Don’t mince word with-“ Explosions round up all around us. His buddies are all gone, seizing the moment, I kicked up my position ready to strike.
“What?! When did you?!” He slashed down on me but evaded while ignoring the growing pain. I’m still quite pissed after all.
“Hey, you even said it was bait. Didn’t you think of that meant as a trap?” I kicked him off his footing, and now his face is in the mud.
“Probably should have killed me sooner, or ran off, I guess. Here, I’ll give you another chance. Let’s take it from the top” And… someone ruined it.
“*cough!* *cough!*”
“Ugh… who’s… behind…” The guy couldn’t even move while I had my coughing fits. Yeah, I’ll her take it from here, god she was an ass…
“Hush, no sudden movement.” Black Caprinae bitch and her shadow plus knife restrained the poor bastard.
“It’s kind of a beginner sword, but I’m not so good with a blade. If my hand slips, you die.”
“When… when did you get---” Ines pressed the blade closer to his neck.
“I’m pretty close with the shadows. Did you think you’d be able to catch me without a scout?” Digging the blade into his flesh, she draws blood.
“Speak up, who is your master?”
“I’ll… never– GRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHH!” Ines shadows start to constrict his body like a pack of cans being crushed by hand.
“Easy there you sheeple, how’s a guy supposed to talk if you turn his organs to mush?”
“Kazdel… will… never… forgive you…” This guy is so dramatic…
“Mhmm, thank you for your cooperation.” She slashed his neck open and his body looked like a crumpled fowlbeast’s thigh.
I throw a knife at Ines who catches it just fine.
“You really suck at torture.”
“… Damn, you’re still alive.” I’ll be cramming an explosive in her lunch next. To hell with it…
“… You could have let him kill me first. Too bad you’re so impatient.”
“Hmph. Of course, I would kill them first, these insects have taken too much from us.” Here we go again…
“When the enemy shows you an opening an opening, any merc worth her salt would kill him, no?” Tsk…
“Hah… You really do have a bit of Sarkaz in you, huh?”
“Rubbed off on me.”
“That wasn’t exactly quite. I bet more of them are on the way.” Ines throws a bottle of painkillers and syringes my way… she really just wanna see me suffer.
“Isn’t that what we want? Keep them away from the objective.”
“With Cordelian around, Hoederer could turn it around better.” We turn our eyes on the dead shmuck.
“He wasn’t good enough to take down many of our people, Cordelian presence made it harder too. He talked big, but his shadows couldn’t stop trembling… he was scared. There’s… something else out there.”
“Whew…” I just sigh after that nice injection and medicine… How lucky of us to have a client so accommodating… almost as if, this whole thing was orchestrated for something else…
“… How… is your wound?” I could only stare at this shameless faux-Sarkaz.
“You shoved me, the wound opened up.”
“Desperate time, and you looked pretty with that mud too… Forget it…” I stared at her seriously.
“Did you… realized that I rigged up presents for them?
“If I didn’t wake up, the bait would be me.”
“Not me though, I’ll definitely let them have their scores on you before springing the explosives.”
“Hmph…” We looked at each other, I could sense how a smirk formed in her mind.
“If one day, you meet someone who could actually read your mind… You won’t be able to match her.” Wow, the boss is being nice… how lucky me…
“I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.” As if on cue, another explosion resounded. Someone had triggered the trap.
“As if I wasn’t going to do that alrea-… no…” Yep, we’re boned for real now.
“That’s the look that usually means we’re boned.”
“You got that right… but there’s no running now, we press on.”
“I thought you would rather slack off? Last time I heard you keep saying that you suck, turns out you just wanna exploit me huh? Jackass.”
“Head west, we’ll link up with Hoederer and the folks.”
“If they’re not there?”
“Simple, we die.” Great………….
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POV: Narrator
A pair of Sarkaz are seen conversing. Around them are also others who managed devices that were meant to facilitate the horrifically insufficient ambush. One monitor shows how the Cordelian and some of the Mercenaries are pulling rear guard duty.
The PMCs are fighting like bonafide soldiers, with clear rotation and the wounded are never sort of support. They had gathered a substantial number, but it might take longer…
“While we did wipe 1/3 of Hoderer’s unit, we barely caused casualties on the Cordelian. Fucking Grey Serpent’s chew toys are something else…”
“They threw out a whole lot of decoys… The previous one was filled with heavy-duty soldiers and this one is just a small army masquerading as an aids convoy.” One of the seemingly high-ranking ones is raking his brain on the matter.
“… Either Babel is pulling some next-level strats, or… the real one doesn’t even need protection.”
“Yeah, we need to end this fast… rumors abound that-”
“Shut up, I know.” He looked fed up when those rumors were brought up. Sanguinarch and Grey Serpent were said to be active… neither of which is a good enemy or ally. He sighed before continuing.
“Thought we could leave mop-up operations to those scum… Didn’t think that they would blow that too… goddamn useless shitheads.” They take a seat on the nearest monitor while watching how a Sarkaz with a grenade launcher could direct the Cordelian in concert with the Mercenaries so well.
“Look at this idiocy! We were expected to raid doofus decoys facing these? Look.” He pointed towards his own who could only roll over and die, with the best barely hanging on.
“Hoederer’s team are way tougher than we thought and the Cordelian is just PMC pretending as archeological and motor company… What's next? Is it going to be a pharmaceutical company capable of taking down nations? What in the ancestors arse are we even facing?”
“If Babel didn’t score them first, would’ve been nice to have them for ourselves.” His colleague closed his mouth before asking for the next move while cautioning him.
“Do we keep chasing? The objective is unclear at this point and we don’t know what else they have in store.”
“…” The man glared at his subordinate. His answer is clear.
“… Understood, General.”
[END OF CHAPTER]
Author’s Note:
Yo there, this is me, myself, and I, the author who still has trouble sleeping. I'm not going to lie, I have a splitting headache and my toothache is rearing its ugly head again.
As you have seen, the Darknights memoir is really hazy back in the game too, it only cuts to when Ines is woken up by W. Then, I’m honestly a bit stumped that the timeline was updated again, making me consider revamping the whole arc. I was quite lost for days with all these complications around but… eh… What do you guys think? Either way, I can try to make it work.
Oh yeah, I don’t know about the update next week, but if it is updated then so, if not then it’s not
Ciao
"Mono/Dialogue"
'Inner thoughts'
Narration
[Message/communication apparatus]
Date: Mid-September 1089
Location: Kazdel
POV: Hoederer
“We got the update, our destination has become a little more complicated.” Addressing my men, I could see how more than a third of them groaned from what was said. It is normal for the situation to change and develop, but it doesn’t make it any less exasperating. Although I said that, W sports her usual expression of ‘Couldn’t care less, get on with it.’ while Ines is glaring daggers at her.
“So what’s the bite, Commander?”
“To ensure the cargo is delivered to our destination successfully, we will not split the convoy in two. We decide this because keeping up with periodic contact would be hell otherwise, so I’ll have the whole operation on our side while PMCs have theirs.” They nodded, it is certainly a good idea to not divide up our forces without much of a reason. Kazdel is unlike other countries, the limited amount of infrastructure and general disturbance meant that communication lines could be severed like a twig on a relatively good day.
“So We’ll be babysitting them? Sounds easy enough, as long as we do not meet the kings or heroes we’ll be good.” Ines answered confidently and added a bit of a joke. Some people around her chuckled, they believed that the Kings wouldn’t pay them much attention. I too believe that we are too small to warrant such a gracious treatment, but anything can happen on the battlefield.
“That might be so. Oh, I forgot to add.” I turned my gaze to W, before I even said anything the black-haired Caprinae already groaned in frustration. She deduced my intention even faster, just as usual.
“W, stop peeling on the potato or I’ll force you to read another novel.”
“Again with that! Can’t you stop?!”
“It is for your good.”
“Who are you? My dad?”
“No, but I want you to listen, are you following so far?”
“… Fine, go ahead.”
“You’ll be attached with Ines as her 2IC when worse comes to worst, so listen closely to her directives.”
“Really? You won’t mind me accidentally killing your lover?” Her hand crept closer to her dagger, Ines had hers already in hand from the get-go. I swear, these two are just hopeless… Well, better defuse the situation.
“Go ahead, and do me a favor to make it a mutual kill. The company could always use some extra bonuses after all.” A few laughed, they had seen this sort of exchange happening now and then. However, I could see that the greenhorns were quite nervous seeing how either of them was serious about stabbing each other.
“Tch, sure thing, Commander. What’s our RoE?”
“We’ll ensure that avoiding combat would be our top priority. Even much better if we could deliver the cargo and divide out shares without too much death.”
“How nice, and here I need to follow Ines around… Great, I’m being jerked around by a sheep.” The Sarkaz girl couldn’t stop making such a comment. I was half-tempted to just call it a day and tell everyone to rest up.
“The last time I checked, you can’t leash a cockroach else its head would snap.” Ines fired back as usual.
“You wanna go?”
“Oh please, a wounded cockroach would hardly be a challenge. How does it feel to make a fool of yourself, huh?”
“Alright, that’s enough.” Stopping their endless banter, I take their attention back.
“Tch.”
“Hmph.”
“… That being said, we would be moving at Zero-Three-Zero-Zero, any question?” One of the members raised his hand if you considered waving his sword around is valid.
“What’s the formation? Actually no, we’re the usual cannon fodder right?” His question was less of a question and more of a complaint. Such a statement is a frequent one, along with some bad apples thrown into the mix.
“Nope, Cordelia's order was that we stay as close as possible to support them. Else they would have a hard time maintaining a cohesive line. Our role is that mobile task force to flank around when needed.” Almost everyone blinked incredulously.
“Hold your horses though, they still underlined that when the situation called for it, they would prioritize the cargo above all else.”
“Right…”
“With that, I’ll end it here, everyone is dismissed except for Ines and W.” With most of them started filling out of the place, I called upon them to move closer.
“So whaddaya want?”
“I’ll be frank, I have no problem with how you handled that incident days ago.”
“… What do you mean?”
“Hmph, what a perfect time to play dumb. We know how you dispose of those peeps. Your proactive approach was appreciated, but you still overstepped your bounds for giving false reports.” Before they could restart their argument, I made my position clear.
“No, listen. I genuinely have no problem with how the onsite management had gone off, what I’m concerned about is your disregard with an order. I’m still your commander, and I’ll warn you to temper your individuality when necessary.” I put my hands on the table, W could feel how our eyes landed squarely on her.
“If you cannot listen to what I, your commander, had ordered you to do, then we’re going to have a problem.” W scoffed.
“Sarkaz mercenary with loyalty? That’s new.”
“You’re capable and have more than just some idea on how to use explosives. That’s why tomorrow we will be expediting our progress, you can still cast your Arts but do keep in mind to not treat the Cordelian the same way as the other mercenaries. If you did? Well, best of luck while I perform damage control.”
“…” Her face is as neutral, but even I could see how she was this close to gnashing her teeth.
“Clear?”
“…Clear.”
“Good, Ines?” She looked at me and was seemingly puzzled that it was not just W being put in the spotlight.
“You’ll have Vaskiela as your temporary 2IC (Second-in-command), she will be helping with bridging command with PMCs on your side. I much prefer for you to not dig too deep into their mind.”
“Our outcast noble or the Cordelian? Also, I only read shadows not mind… why do I keep reminding you this…?”
“That’s beside the point and the answer to your previous question is Cordelian. I personally have no interest in what happened to her, but try to avoid it as well. I only want to make sure you’re not digging into corporate warfare territory.”
“Hah… all right, I know how annoying organization can get and I’m not in a hurry to go missing.”
“That goes without saying.”
“Lastly, why did you tell us but not them?”
“From what I could understand, Vaskiela was brought by the Grey Serpent who vanished mid-way. Cordelian operatives had confirmed that her contract is still in effect, so they’re in limbo with what to do. Technically, the Banshee is Nyx’s subordinate, so…”
“They want us to potentially take the fall huh? Clever.”
I nod at her conjecture, it is not hard to imagine that her ambiguous position might have some deeper implication if handled wrong. So, Cordelia would rather have Sarkaz deal with Sarkaz’s problem while watching from the sideline. This company has some of the weirdest modus operandi I have ever seen, they understand what they need and make compromises easily but have no qualms to achieve their objectives…
-
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POV: Narrator
The convoy merged up, reshuffled personnel as needed, and proceeded with their delivery as intended. Hoederer is with the front part of the convoy, he is accompanying Meteorite and the CO through this damnable forest he has seen more than a few times. He has cautioned them that this position is probably the one with the highest possible chance of ambush. Cordelia considered his advice, and to ensure their mission's total completion. They are very adamant about passing with flying colors it seems.
Ines and W are accompanying the latter half along with Vaskiela, the former certainly worked well judging by how many times they shouted expletives or barbed at one another. Vaskiela was left trying to keep the central part and rear end of the convoy cohesive, putting her in an awkward position on what needed to be done. Luckily, Jordan detached himself from Meteorite’s unit and gave the Banshee a helping hand.
Their convoy is now trudging through the muddy terrain with surprising ease, the mercs because they have their light but somewhat protected buggies and PMCs with their armored SUVs. The only reason they slowed down was because the truck was much slower than them.
This journey, for them, had been going too smoothly and swimmingly, such fair weather usually means that a storm is in the making for their line of work is somewhere around the corner. Such is how the tension runs at an all-time high, Babel’s messenger arrival further enhances that notion.
Wounded and battered was the messenger, he talked about how the upcoming winter had been truly dire. Babel’s landship was, according to him, in apparent need of medical supplies and equipment from the convoy. He seems to wither from the information that there is no heavy-duty medical equipment within the convoy, but the abundant supplies give him enough to be hopeful once more.
Disengaging from the previous topic, now we’re seeing the convoy is going to be truly tested for the first time.
-
-
-
[We’re almost through the forest, and judging from the vegetation we had been passing along the way, there was no shortage of battle. My drone has yet to pick up any sign of troubles…] The Banshee lady’s voice keeps updating on their position. W thought that despite being glared at from time to time, she was reasonable. Would have been nice if a certain Caprinae could be as well-mannered as their resident outcast.
[Ines here, all units be on high alert, I sensed some bad vibes around us.] Ines then switched her channel to connect with Hoederer at the front.
[Commander, how is it looking up there?]
[I know this place like the back of my hand and I’m quite surprised how Vaskiela has been so proactive… we have yet to see anything that-] His words were cut off when a loud explosion slammed the vehicle at the foremost position.
[Front vic got hit! Are you guys OK?!] Vaskiela almost screamed on our radio.
[We are fine, stay calm.] Hoederer looked to the side and saw the PMCs already started to retaliate.
[Rear Guard here, I spotted flashing lights-] More and more explosives are being thrown into their pathway. Either using some kind of catapult, or launcher or even thrown by hand, volatile objects are raining down on them.
Taking that as their cue, Ines directed the buggy upfront to take the current lead point. It doesn’t take long for them to shift their position, being on the vanguard means more shits are going in their way, but oh well…
[All units maintain formation and step on the gas, there is little sense of staying inside the forest. Mercenaries do your job as your terms dictate, PMCs keep a tight perimeter.] They watch how the Cordelians start moving quickly enough to make the best of this cramped road, their 4 turrets on each side are scanning for hostiles. Cordelian SUVs are armed with either Raythean pattern lightning gun (An Arts caster for close-range combat, have a notoriously high accuracy to hit, well, everything.) or repeating scorpion loaded with an equivalent of HESH or standard AP.
The Mercenaries are used to fighting with the idea of disengaging like flipping their palms, it makes little sense to fight to forgo any sort of advantages after all. The convoy then came under a continuous barrage of ranged attacks. Fireballs, cutting winds, and even the occasional lightning strikes struck the SUVs reinforced with durasteel armoring and coating.
Hoederer and Vaskiela offered tactical guidance and navigation along with the CO who kept barking orders. Their comms links are filled with crisscrossing commands without impeding one another. They are concentrating on commanding and leaving the fights to their subordinates because command and oversight are still demanding tasks after all.
W, however, doesn’t sit idly by, her grenade launcher made more than just a little counter bombardment of their own. One, she hasn’t missed a single one of her precious Originium-loaded shells. It struck just where it needed to be, judging by how pieces of flesh and blood were being kicked up from where it landed.
Ines meanwhile, could only throw her shadow sentry and daggers now and then. She could try to dismount and leave her sentry here, but her gut feelings prevented her from doing so. Not to mention that she is not being demanded to fight yet, better conserve her stamina whenever she can.
Jordan and his fellow PMCs are armed and trained with ranged weaponry. Some pointed their crossbows or guns through their windows that have been made to accommodate mobile warfare. The Archosauria is probably the star of this current engagement along with W's almost unbidden use of explosive ordnance, his crossbow made a point to score lethal hits that never deviated from the center of their skull or heart.
This back and forth turned for the worse when bikes with 2 or 3 mercenaries started tailing them. The braver one closed the gap to throw Molotovs or other improvised weapons at the convoy. A PMC got injured through their turret’s opening, burning them alive. Luckily their buddy is always ready and pulls the person off before taking their place. Exacting vengeance soon after by riddling the offenders with 14mm wolfram (Its equivalence anyway) tipped ballista bolt.
[We are about 1500 meters to the opening exit, and everyone maintains cohesion. We’ll have no time to pick up any stragglers. At 122 meters everyone takes the second intersection and keeps going for the next one just 300 meters away.] Regaining calm, she deftly kept the convoy informed while also directing them through the maze-like forest. She is not exactly familiar with it, but judging from the latest map and some informational gathering using a drone allotted to her, she still could chart their way like a competent messenger.
She might not be able to spot the hostile quickly enough, but she understands that it is now in the past and focuses on avoiding roads filled with traps. Just to make sure, she tried to briefly cast her drone’s lens towards the hostiles she could see and saw how some of them just didn’t register in heat signature while others were faint.
‘… No, that’s impossible, he is not here… he is not here… stay calm Kyrie, don’t fail them now.’ The purple-haired Sarkaz keeps chanting those phrases in her mind while keeping the convoy informed.
The chase continues and Ines realizes a significant difference. Now it is Ines’s turn to scan her opponent's demeanor, she found how little they showed surprise nor any sort of reaction from meeting a formidable opponent. Next would be their gear, although those look fairly old, Ines soon sees that they are more varied and well-maintained. The most damning evidence would be how they present themselves as a cohesive fighting force.
“This is Ines to all units in this channel, our ambushers are not mere mercenaries! I repeat they are not mere dregs and amateurs! We are facing trained and experienced people!”
[Mis- -es, d— y- know them?] Ines grimaced, their communication starting to get compromised doesn’t sound so reassuring. She pressed on the communication to confirm her statement.
“I’m unsure, but worst comes to worst, we are facing Kazdel Military Commission…” Theresis’ base of power is none other than the commission, now rumored to be backed by even more kings from the Royal Court.
[We n— to le- *bzzt* area… Watch o- *bzzt*.] She saw the moment when an Arts lightning of some kind struck one of the cargo trucks. It was scorched badly but Cordelian engineering has proven to stay true so far, the question is for how long.
“Terra fucking dammit, hey W!” Ines couldn’t believe how they tried to destroy a valuable cargo. They might be here not for Cordelia but for something else. She has her hypotheses, one of them would be how KMC just wants to ensure Babel collapsed due to the upcoming winter.
The second being Hoederer’s mercenary group has a bounty in the millions if not tens of millions collectively. Surely, even her head would fetch a pretty penny on the Scar Market. Yet that contradicts how mercenaries usually operate… Especially how this company's haul and cargo couldn’t be cheap after all.
Third would be the usual modus operandi, a mercenary group that stood above the rest usually being rid-off because they had gone too dangerous of a wildcard. Nyx has been a really valuable lesson too, she is a monster amongst monsters and her presence could tip the balance of favor between factions. Her employment by CM meant that her danger level got lowered somewhat, but still, she is a highly dangerous individual.
“W!”
“DID I LOOK LIKE I’M JUST SUCKING DICK TO YOU?! I’M BUSY!” W’s legs keep kicking the driver to go faster or dodge incoming counters. The said driver has no time to grumble when his eyes are being glued on the bumpy, nigh-swampy, road. It is a miracle they had yet to topple from this crime on safe driving protocol.
He swerved as best as he could in this narrow passageway.
“They might not be after the cargo! We should peel off to deal with them independently!”
“HOW CAN YOU BE SO-“
“Watch out!” A caster of theirs cast a barrier to stop the incoming projectile. Not long after, the vehicle shook and Ines was smashed against the window behind her.
“SHIT!” She blanked out momentarily, her vision went fuzzy and dizzy. She could not hear W who was screaming at her, nor the sound of battle. After what felt like an eternity ended when another jolt made her mind reorient itself.
A large javelin stopped just right on top of her pretty face. It is already bloodied and that’s how she realizes a caster who cast the shield in front of her had a large gaping hole smashing through their head. She was momentarily shocked before ducking when another one completely stripped off two doors, the one in front and behind her.
“HEY SHEEP FUCK, ARE YOU THERE!?” the white-haired Sarkaz’s voice came out a little strained.
W then turned her eyes back on her foes, she saw how a large Sarkaz already winding up for another strike. The Sarkaz is around several others who hefted large swords or spears, this one just towered over them and gives out an eerie aura. Then they have 2 of their hands forming up a large Arts energy on their palm, she could feel the esoteric energy that overflowed from them.
The white-haired Sarkaz could feel how a thin line of Arts energy was forming around the vehicle. She frantically reloaded her grenade launcher and when they cast their Arts she expected the worst, but an explosion erupted on her potential executioner just the same. She was stumped about where it came from until she saw Meteorite repositioning herself at the central part of the convoy. Right on top of the moving cargo truck.
“Hey kid, don’t space out!” She shouted at her just enough. Meteorite has long since ditched her part on the communication and let the other PMCs deal with it. Despite being so exposed, she could dodge attacks aimed at her with just enough before jumping off to the next cargo truck and doing her insane sentry duty.
While W is flabbergasted seeing how she could act so stupidly brave like that, and kind of envious too, Ines changes her channel back to contact Hoederer. The Caprinae could listen to how utterly deadly the frontline sounds like. She could hear how projectiles kept pinging on Hoederer’s and the CO’s vehicle.
“Hoederer! They might be here to gun us down and not the cargo!”
[Ines *bzzt* keep calm and *bzzzt* we got Bab- *bzzt*] The sounds of battle on his side made her audibly click her tongue. Her hands never stop retaliating when possible.
‘This is too perfect of an ambush, how did it even happen?’ Ines often dismissed the idea that someone wanted them dead so badly a tailor-made plan was always in place. Sure, their company might have hefty price tags and bounty, but compared to a certain someone, it is still much too risky.
This eternal chase on a narrow passageway ended when the convoy finally made it through the woods. Contrary to their expectation, their communication hasn’t been restored if not worsening altogether.
The black-haired Caprinae remembered how she had tried to probe them all, including the Banshee, and found no potential traitor amongst them. Her brainstorming was put to a halt when W got knocked off the turret.
Without even a prompt, Ines dives right towards her and the both of them fall off their vehicle. One of them appears to have smashed their head on the ground, but Ines shadows seems to have reacted regardless, causing them to vanish from the spot. Some of their pursuers disengaged from them and moved after the missing pair.
[… Hoeder- *bzzt* conv- *bzzt* … moving!] Vaskiela saw how they fell off the moving convoy, her garbled voice made it hard to understand what she said. Hoederer knows what she means by it, however.
[For- *bzzt* … afe *bzzt* back!] The Sarkaz mercenaries accompanying them don’t appear to mind his decisions all that much. Having been living in Kazdel for so long made them cognizant of their overall shortcomings, especially when life and death are concerned. The best they could give the duo would be wishing them luck, or not at all.
All is now up to Hoederer, even if they died he knows how to use them correctly. Just like the old W, not even a drop of their value would be squandered…
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POV: W
“Fucking dammit, wake up!” I keep trying to resuscitate her back up. She seems to have injured her head quite badly, doesn’t help that I suck at something like this. I checked the back of her head and noticed a small gash opened up.
I rummaged around my chest pouches for any first aid. As my shitty luck would have it, I found one and start bandaging her a little. I kept on working on it while watching the surroundings, I caught a glimpse of them chasing us through her shadow.
‘Just how are they so good? Like what the fuck?’ When I think that I’m done, I collapsed on my ass and start panting roughly. God that was rough and-
“Ngh!? Nghhhh… hah… hah… Fuck…” My trembling hand reached up on my shoulder, and I could feel how the wound opened up a little.
‘Damn this shitty sheep and her stitches…’ I start disassembling the art primer and ignition part of my grenade launcher. It is highly infectious, supposedly…
‘Fuck it, I’m already dying of stupid rock cancer anyway…’ Rolling up some unusable cloth, I jammed my own mouth with it; taste like shit too. Taking some more breaths, I start pressing the already-heated primer on the wound.
“NGGGGHHHHHH! MGGHMMMM!” I couldn’t even make too much noise… we’re both wounded. Her Maj-
‘No, they wouldn’t fucking care…’ Turning my head back on Ines, I continue trying to wake her up.
“… Ines…” No dice huh…
“Ines! Tsk …” Wake up you bastard!
“Ines!” In a fit of annoyance, I shook her body like a bag of groceries. I really couldn’t stand this shit, we are out in the open and cut off.
“Screw you!” I opened up her canteen of water and splashed her with it. That seems to do the trick now, the black-haired sheep opens her eyes. A bit drenched, but I don’t know why something seems to overcome me. Meh, not important.
“Mhh… huh?” Oh great, she is disoriented… tsk, I’m stuck babysitting this one now….
“If you’re not dead, then wake up already…”
“Huh?” Oh even better! Do you have amnesia now? Should I ditch her after all?
“What’s going on… what happened?” Hahhhhhhhhhhh….
“Oh no, nothing happening at all. We just got thrown out of the vehicle, our Arts barrier caster got pierced, and then your shadows started doing their shenanigans… now we’re stuck here…”
“… and the comms?”
“Jammed, worse than before. I don’t know how they’re doing it, but we’re definitely up against pros. At least more professional than any of our prey before.”
“…”
“Well, it is somewhat of consolation that Hoederer got the convoy covered… Guess someone tipped them about their existence or some shit.” I leaned on the nearby broken-down wall, Kazdel is shit but at least it could be usable at times.
“…”
“…” Ines heaved a sigh before talking again, a hand pressing the back of her bandaged head.
“… Go ahead, find a way to meet up with others.” Is that her way of thanking me?
“Oh? I figured you’d doubt me, at least a little…” Let’s see how far her bravado goes…
“Guess I’ll leave you as bait then.”
“Who do you think would survive if we fought?”
“…” Fuck this shit…
“Oh… so it hurts that bad, huh?” She leaned back on her piece of a broken wall, we were facing each other in the eyes. I really couldn’t stand this bitch, even after everything she is still an ass.
“I figured that you are somewhat in control of your emotions, guess I was too cautious than needed.
“… Tsk, you really should do something about that nasty personality of yours. Scanning someone who saved you the moment they woke, some trust you have there, boss.”
“Sorry, force of habit.”
“So that’s why, huh? The first thing you do after you open your eyes is surveil your surroundings? What a coward-” She pushed me off to the side, causing my wound to contract.
“Ngh! ASSHOLE!”
“You said bait right? Not a bad idea.” She stood up while I reeled in pain.
“No point in dragging along a merc who couldn’t even stand up straight. You stay here for a sec, and I’ll call in the enemy.” … I’m so going to kill her…
“Hope you guys get along nicely. Can’t have you dying on me too quickly.”
“See you later, W.” I gripped my dagger so hard, I could even feel how blood seeps through.
“Oh, one last thing…” She looked down on me.
“I never trusted you.” Oh, we’re playing this now- no that bitch immediately fucked off.
“Hey, you little-!” Ah… screw it… I’m dizzy… I’m tired…
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-
“--- I found a mercenary. Just one.” That voice woke me up. A masked Sarkaz stands just a few meters away from me, he has his hand on his sword. I could see from the edge of my vision there were 3 or more just standing around…
‘This is it, huh?’ Sitting up, I just looked at him.
“Update; the merc is confirmed to be W.”
“That was fast…. Or rather, we got followed from the get-go, huh?” I wonder if she already established contact with Hoederer… must have been divvying up payment now.
“Letting them and the Cordelian go for those KMC fucks was well worth it if it means we can get our hands on HVT like you.” He walked closer and yanked my hair. I spit at him. He then slam my head on the muddy ground in retaliation.
“… Hmph. I was gonna follow you back to the rest of your stragglers… Never expected them to just abandon one of their own.” A sword was stabbed inches away from my face, scratch that… it pricked my cheek a little.
“Tell me everything you know and what the hell those Cordelian are hauling, then you might be lucky enough for a quick death.”
“Well, there’s the trouble huh? … I’d love for us to be honest with each other, but the truth is I don’t know anything…” Hoederer has the details… probably she too… I just blow shit up.
“You’re badly wounded and we don’t have time to waste. You might die if we torture you on the spot and I’m sure nobody wants that.”
“In that case, you should chase down that woman, she knows more than I do.” Don’t look so puzzled bud.
“… Don’t you resent her for using you as bait? You’ll have a better time if you work with us.”
“Bait, huh?”… Oh yeah… bait… tsk, just my luck. Without meaning to, my lips curled up into a thin smirk.
“Say… have you ever baited Originium slugs with industrial waste residue before?”
“… What are you talking about?” The others are circling around me… his grip on the sword also tightened.
“It’s kind of a Kazdel folk thing. We get slug infestations, you know? Wild Originium slugs are dumb, and they like Originium---” My smirk turns into a full-blown grin. God, this is so stupid I love it.
“--- but setting that aside, do you know what happened to the poor slugs that are lured over?”
“Don’t mince word with-“ Explosions round up all around us. His buddies are all gone, seizing the moment, I kicked up my position ready to strike.
“What?! When did you?!” He slashed down on me but evaded while ignoring the growing pain. I’m still quite pissed after all.
“Hey, you even said it was bait. Didn’t you think of that meant as a trap?” I kicked him off his footing, and now his face is in the mud.
“Probably should have killed me sooner, or ran off, I guess. Here, I’ll give you another chance. Let’s take it from the top” And… someone ruined it.
“*cough!* *cough!*”
“Ugh… who’s… behind…” The guy couldn’t even move while I had my coughing fits. Yeah, I’ll her take it from here, god she was an ass…
“Hush, no sudden movement.” Black Caprinae bitch and her shadow plus knife restrained the poor bastard.
“It’s kind of a beginner sword, but I’m not so good with a blade. If my hand slips, you die.”
“When… when did you get---” Ines pressed the blade closer to his neck.
“I’m pretty close with the shadows. Did you think you’d be able to catch me without a scout?” Digging the blade into his flesh, she draws blood.
“Speak up, who is your master?”
“I’ll… never– GRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAHHH!” Ines shadows start to constrict his body like a pack of cans being crushed by hand.
“Easy there you sheeple, how’s a guy supposed to talk if you turn his organs to mush?”
“Kazdel… will… never… forgive you…” This guy is so dramatic…
“Mhmm, thank you for your cooperation.” She slashed his neck open and his body looked like a crumpled fowlbeast’s thigh.
I throw a knife at Ines who catches it just fine.
“You really suck at torture.”
“… Damn, you’re still alive.” I’ll be cramming an explosive in her lunch next. To hell with it…
“… You could have let him kill me first. Too bad you’re so impatient.”
“Hmph. Of course, I would kill them first, these insects have taken too much from us.” Here we go again…
“When the enemy shows you an opening an opening, any merc worth her salt would kill him, no?” Tsk…
“Hah… You really do have a bit of Sarkaz in you, huh?”
“Rubbed off on me.”
“That wasn’t exactly quite. I bet more of them are on the way.” Ines throws a bottle of painkillers and syringes my way… she really just wanna see me suffer.
“Isn’t that what we want? Keep them away from the objective.”
“With Cordelian around, Hoederer could turn it around better.” We turn our eyes on the dead shmuck.
“He wasn’t good enough to take down many of our people, Cordelian presence made it harder too. He talked big, but his shadows couldn’t stop trembling… he was scared. There’s… something else out there.”
“Whew…” I just sigh after that nice injection and medicine… How lucky of us to have a client so accommodating… almost as if, this whole thing was orchestrated for something else…
“… How… is your wound?” I could only stare at this shameless faux-Sarkaz.
“You shoved me, the wound opened up.”
“Desperate time, and you looked pretty with that mud too… Forget it…” I stared at her seriously.
“Did you… realized that I rigged up presents for them?
“If I didn’t wake up, the bait would be me.”
“Not me though, I’ll definitely let them have their scores on you before springing the explosives.”
“Hmph…” We looked at each other, I could sense how a smirk formed in her mind.
“If one day, you meet someone who could actually read your mind… You won’t be able to match her.” Wow, the boss is being nice… how lucky me…
“I guess I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.” As if on cue, another explosion resounded. Someone had triggered the trap.
“As if I wasn’t going to do that alrea-… no…” Yep, we’re boned for real now.
“That’s the look that usually means we’re boned.”
“You got that right… but there’s no running now, we press on.”
“I thought you would rather slack off? Last time I heard you keep saying that you suck, turns out you just wanna exploit me huh? Jackass.”
“Head west, we’ll link up with Hoederer and the folks.”
“If they’re not there?”
“Simple, we die.” Great………….
-
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POV: Narrator
A pair of Sarkaz are seen conversing. Around them are also others who managed devices that were meant to facilitate the horrifically insufficient ambush. One monitor shows how the Cordelian and some of the Mercenaries are pulling rear guard duty.
The PMCs are fighting like bonafide soldiers, with clear rotation and the wounded are never sort of support. They had gathered a substantial number, but it might take longer…
“While we did wipe 1/3 of Hoderer’s unit, we barely caused casualties on the Cordelian. Fucking Grey Serpent’s chew toys are something else…”
“They threw out a whole lot of decoys… The previous one was filled with heavy-duty soldiers and this one is just a small army masquerading as an aids convoy.” One of the seemingly high-ranking ones is raking his brain on the matter.
“… Either Babel is pulling some next-level strats, or… the real one doesn’t even need protection.”
“Yeah, we need to end this fast… rumors abound that-”
“Shut up, I know.” He looked fed up when those rumors were brought up. Sanguinarch and Grey Serpent were said to be active… neither of which is a good enemy or ally. He sighed before continuing.
“Thought we could leave mop-up operations to those scum… Didn’t think that they would blow that too… goddamn useless shitheads.” They take a seat on the nearest monitor while watching how a Sarkaz with a grenade launcher could direct the Cordelian in concert with the Mercenaries so well.
“Look at this idiocy! We were expected to raid doofus decoys facing these? Look.” He pointed towards his own who could only roll over and die, with the best barely hanging on.
“Hoederer’s team are way tougher than we thought and the Cordelian is just PMC pretending as archeological and motor company… What's next? Is it going to be a pharmaceutical company capable of taking down nations? What in the ancestors arse are we even facing?”
“If Babel didn’t score them first, would’ve been nice to have them for ourselves.” His colleague closed his mouth before asking for the next move while cautioning him.
“Do we keep chasing? The objective is unclear at this point and we don’t know what else they have in store.”
“…” The man glared at his subordinate. His answer is clear.
“… Understood, General.”
[END OF CHAPTER]
Author’s Note:
Yo there, this is me, myself, and I, the author who still has trouble sleeping. I'm not going to lie, I have a splitting headache and my toothache is rearing its ugly head again.
As you have seen, the Darknights memoir is really hazy back in the game too, it only cuts to when Ines is woken up by W. Then, I’m honestly a bit stumped that the timeline was updated again, making me consider revamping the whole arc. I was quite lost for days with all these complications around but… eh… What do you guys think? Either way, I can try to make it work.
Oh yeah, I don’t know about the update next week, but if it is updated then so, if not then it’s not
Ciao
