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Jäger
Jäger
Valheim sighed, catching a breath. The hoard of zombies have been neutralized and the civilians have been secured. He was finally relieved to know that Vontur was safe. The streets were filled with corpses and members of various factions. Beside him walking was General Nathaniel, and General Kai.
He saw wounded civilians and soldiers. Everyone was busy in their own world, processing what just happened. Some of the people had started to scrape off some parts of the zombies and began to chop them off. One of them was a 'chef' who took a fine interest in dissecting one of the corpses. Whatever that chef is planning, only Solev knew what twisted fantasies that man was thinking in regards with food.
Disgusting...
"Checking the trajectory of the airship, it looks to be that he's moving to Karthus. I already sent a message to get the White Knights to prepare for an airship and persecute them. Apart from that, I feel lucky that you all have a spare airship so we can catch up with them." General Kai said, followed by his officers smiling. Valheim only replied with silence. He didn't even look at the red general.
They passed by multiple slum areas and CSS soldiers saluting the two officers. Each soldier looked at them with respect while they continued their work. All was simple really: Getting people to the higher parts, making sure no zombies are left, making sure the area was secure, and keeping the evacuated houses free of thieves of any kind. Of course, that meant that the party-goers at The Bridge of Pleasure would stop their nightly routines, but it was for the betterment of the community, whether the rich class liked it or not. Valheim looked at the destination they were heading. Then, he looked at General Kai.
"General Nath, what would you do for Vontur?"
"Huh?" Nathaniel responded, turning to Valheim, waiting to see if he was going to follow up. General Kai however, was taken aback by the question. Aida, Alvin, and Tiffany heard this question as well, and as expected, their surprise was seen. Nath realized that Valheim was not going to ask anymore, so he answered.
"Anything, i suppose."
"Would you take innocent lives? If it had a purpose in the rise of Vontur?"
Nathaniel now looked down to think. Would he do such a thing? Zombies were much more different than actual civilians. Well, given the context of the situation, the lines between innocent and enemy was murkier than ever. So he answered... with a bit of hesitance.
“Perhaps, depending on the situation I guess.”
General Kai stopped. The Red Blood Regiment then stopped along with them. "So you'd kill civilians for the sake of the mission huh?" the red general said. Valheim just kept waiting after that, not saying a word. He wanted to stay calm, but blood was rushing through his veins and his mind flooded with thoughts if this was the time... He then cleared his mind, reassuring himself this was the best route to take.
They stopped at a metal gate. From the sounds of the inside, it looked like a lot of people were working on something big. Sounds of drills and metal scraping echoed to the outside. The knocking of metal and wood flooded the place. They were here.
“I hired all those workers to build my projects while I was not in Vontur. This whole place is built by me. They work for me. I know it isn't the greatest situation but they were living in the lower parts anyways, and it's for Vontur's progression. They are honored to even be here.” Valheim said, looking at the gate. The Red Blood Regiment only stood by as they were torn by the words that Nath answered from earlier. They wanted to leave, but they knew that they needed that airship to get as fast as possible to Jericho's position.
The gates opened, hailing a deep and harrowing sound of rusted metal sliding against each other. Some of the Red Blood Regiment soldiers even closed their ears at the sound of it. But Valheim and Nath only looked at the opening gates with blank faces. The gates then became fully opened and revealed something that would have shocked the average Ravenian.
It revealed an incredibly large airship that had a large cargo and passenger cabin. The Red Blood Regiment looked, but General Kai himself was stuck in awe at the massive size of the airship.
“So this is what you wanted to show me..?” General Nath said.
Valheim shook his head, and pointed up. “This isn't the main attraction.”
The mothership then deployed 6 other airships and wyverns from its massive cabin. It then made it clear that the massive cabin housed these wyverns, ballistas, and... other airships. Every single one of these airships had ballistas, the metal platings hanging from them shined in the moonlight. In total, there were 7 airships, ready to take off.
Valheim glanced at Nathaniel who was now speechless. Inside the airship stood 15 pyromancers, saluting, with holes on the sides and the bottom to shoot from. These weren't Hreinngarians. No. They were Karthusians who wanted to join him. Nathaniel was unsure at what he was looking at, but considering Valheim went through all this effort to protect them, it must've been important. He turned to Valheim, who was staring at these pyromancers. This man seemed to look like he was trying his best to keep calm. Nath thought deeply about the situation. Of course, this was a risky thing to do. To Valheim though, it was different. He might end up having to kill the man he has respected so much. He did not wish for that so he just waited to see his reaction. He then heard Nathaniel's voice.
“What... is this?”
Valheim took a deep breath and clenched his fists, and turned to Nathaniel, opening his arms wide open, with a smile on his face.
“I call it Project Phoenix. They are Selyrian Pyromancers, informed to burn anything that I tell them to into crisps. People, buildings, animals, anything you can think of. It's equal or more compared to the power of.. actually, probably more than the capabilities of Kai Ellington. Each ship has 15 of them. You are looking at the greatest set of weapons mankind has ever invented. But they're not the gods of destruction. I call it a phoenix because it will burn and then rebuild the world better from its dust.”
"I will not be a part of this." General Kai then sternly said at the two. "Come on comrades. Let's just ride towards our destination. We're not going to be killers."
The Red Blood Regiment then turned around and rode towards the gate with their horses, leaving Nath and Valheim on the grand display of Vonturian power. Valheim now panted, being able to say that against all the risks. But it was going to be worth it. He kept telling himself to hang in there. As for Nathaniel, he took a second to process that all in, unsure of what to feel, but he went along with it.
“So where do you plan to use them? Or who? Kai?” Nath said.
“What? No. I would not use it foolishly to just wipe out Kai. There are easier ways to do that. I will use them on Jericho when he's in a decently populated area.” Valheim replied.
“What? But why are there only innocent people living there? What do they have to do with all this?”
“Look..." Valheim said, adjusting his glasses. " I know this will sound crude but I want you to hear me out. Killing those civilians is the best way to use them.”
"How so?"
"THINK!"
Valheim yelled, then realized what he just did. He cleared his throat, then adjusted his posture. He then took a deep breath and then looked at Nath in the eye.
"Think about this simply; The Republic of Vontur has been attacked by Hreinngar for too long. Wars and conquests made our country unable to even be part of The Selyrian Alliance. We fought for Ravena. We fought in Karthus. We liberated The Magrins from The Clan of Aeryth! And here they are now doing nothing for us, giving nothing but scraps! I say we take the fight back and send a message. If we wipe out a city instantly along with Jericho, the world will see the power we hold in our hands. They will fear us. None of them will want to go to war with these ships, airships and especially Project Phoenix. From there we can declare Vontur as the only nation and imply the idea of a republic to every nation. Vontur is the most progressive nation out of all the ones out there. This world has been like this for so long. General - no, Nath. Vontur can fix it. The world needs to progress, and move forward! This is the best way to do it with the least amount of casualties! We just head to Karthus from here. Just like what Kai said from earlier, that's where most likely Jericho is headed.”
Valheim yelled. His speech was fast and stuttering. It was clear that he was excited for this. He panted, his back leaning a bit forward. He then fixed his posture and controlled his breath.
“Don't you see, Nath? I am right. You know it. Of course there will be rebellions but we can take care of it. I even have a plan to capture Kai Ellington. He seems to be our biggest threat as of now, being both the head of RBR and the most powerful pyromancer.”
General Nath looked at him in a way where he was deep in thought. Looking at the ground, he then asked.
“And how do you plan on doing that, exactly?” Nath asked.
Valheim smiled.
-----
The Red Blood Regiment sprinted their horses along in the Vonturian Forest. They hacked and slashed some remaining zombies in the area, as well as some trolls and ogres that they passed by who attacked them. Luckily for the mages, they could finally use their abilities. The sun was rising up, and the feeling of tiredness was catching up to the red soldiers. Tiffany could only supply as much adrenaline as she could. Her whole right hand veins were already glowing.
Suddenly...
A big shadow cast over them. Some soldiers thought it was nighttime again. But they were wrong. It was The CSS's Mothership. It was the one that Valheim showed earlier. And it showed its full glory on top of The Red Blood Regiment. "That doesn't look good." Colonel Alvin said, stopping to look at the big airship towering over them.
Then, an arrow, followed by fireballs. Everyone of those rained down upon them, hitting the Red Blood Regiment's soldiers. The comrades immediately took cover from the trees, but proved to not be enough. This made Gold and the rest of the Armor Division of The Red Blood Regiment immediately use themselves as projectile umbrellas against the new enemies. General Kai shot fireballs along with Oliver, but they were ultimately suppressed by the amount of arrows that the airship was firing. "We need to fall back immediately! We can't stay here!" Commander Anno said.
"We can't outrun that ship!" General Kai said, taking cover at a large tree. "We'll need a distraction!"
"How?" Lieutenant Aida said, while trying to fire small fireballs at the airship as well. "That will be suicide!"
Alvin then looked at the soldiers, then to General Kai. He then looked upward to see the mothership deploying its wyverns and other airships. He needed to act now, or else, everyone in this regiment would die. He sighed deeply, then looked said...
"I'll do it."
The officers looked at him almost in a puzzled face, but they immediately became shocked at the realization of what he just said. Tiffany then walked towards Alvin. She then put her hand on his shoulder.
"I'll help you."
"No, I can't let you do that!" General Kai said, before immediately backing off due to the arrows flying by him.
"We have no choice." Alvin said, looking at the officers. "I'm capable of at least stalling that mothership. You all can go."
General Kai looked at both Alvin and Tiffany in sad faces. Then, they nodded. They understood what needed to be done. They then stood up and prepared their escape. Alvin then walked back to face the mothership head on.
"Oh. And one thing." Alvin said, looking at the officers one last time. "When you meet with Kindred, tell him I said hi."
"Me too!" Tiffany said.
Commander Anno shed a tear in his eye, and Gold felt his hand shake, before carrying on and riding his horse to their escape. Oliver would remember the times where Alvin and the others would enjoy drinks at the tavern. But because of this, they had no choice but to say goodbye.
-----
"So this is it. The end of the line." Alvin said, putting away his combat gloves and adjusting his saber. Tiffany looked at her arm and saw that it was glowing bright green now. This meant that whatever spell she would do, it would need to be something important.
"Alright. Here goes nothing." Alvin said, before climbing up a tree with maximum agility and flexibility. He jumped from branch to branch. Tiffany only followed using a tree to put her up the top. Then, she saw the entirety of the mothership in its full glory.
"Tiffany. Hit me." He said, before getting healed by Tiffany. A glowing aura of green surrounded Tiffany's body, and a green thread of gas became connected to Alvin. It was painful for the mage, as she felt like her body was deteriorating, but Alvin had other plans. His eyes started to glow, and fire started to grow from his body. It was finally time. It was time to show what he trained for at the temple.
His Controlled Dark State...
-----
"INCOMING!" sounded a CSS soldier in the mothership, followed by a large fireball the size of a house hurling towards them. It was fired by Alvin, and it sent the Mothership bumping in the air for a bit. "GET THE WYVERNS!" Valheim shouted, making several soldiers ride their wyverns and fly towards Alvin. The half-demon flew into the air, slowly getting his attack position ready. Tiffany stood at the treetop ready to support Alvin. She checked her veins, and it was glowing near her chest. Time was running out.
"Ignis Tolerantia!" Alvin shouted, making his body erupt in an intense glow. "Manus draconis!"
Suddenly, a large beam of fire shot out of his hand and into the wyverns flying towards him. One by one, they fell. However, they fought back using their crossbows.
"Murus flammae!" Alvin then said, making a giant wall of flame erupt in front of him. The wall of flame was so big, it was bigger than the trees of Vontur itself. The Vonturians shouted in fear, but something else was happening...
Tiffany looked at Alvin with her eyes slowly closing. Her nose were bleeding very much, and the glowing veins in her body had reached her neck. It was now the last straw for her. She wanted to stop, but this was what was needed to ensure the escape of the others. Alvin saw her and wanted to help, but he knew what they both signed up for. And it was this. Tiffany nodded at him, and Alvin nodded back. It was now time to move to the next phase.
"SEND THE SMALLER SHIPS!" Valheim shouted at the CSS soldiers, making them order to send the smaller airships towards Alvin. Then, the airships fired back with their own fireballs. Alvin flew around to dodge them all. Finally, Alvin saw the opportunity to use his final spell.
-----
"I have to-"
He stopped. He realized that using the spell felt more painful than before. Strange, usually he won't feel that pain when a healer was around. But if he felt pain even if Tiffanny was there. Wait...
He turned around to see Tiffanny covered in Green glowing veins in her eyes. She was having a seizure, and she was screaming for help. She tried to scream, but words would not come out of her mouth. It had already happened. It had taken her too soon. Cerebral palsy, brain hemorrhage, strong headaches. It was all making sense.
Sorcerer's Syndrome...
Tiffany felt excruciating pain all over her body and mind. She overused her spells so much that she didn't realize that she ran out of mana. Alvin looked at her in widened eyes. He screamed while crying, but he suddenly felt something sting behind him.
It was an arrow, fired from one of the airships.
"NOOO!!!!" Alvin shouted, still hovering in the air. He looked at the airships, then felt blood escape his mouth slowly. He didn't care anymore. He was going to use it anyways. It was now or never.
He went hyperfocus.
-----
"INCOMING FI-!!!!"
The man could not finish his sentence as his entire small airship was blown to pieces by a ravaging wave of fire on the small airship. The airship could not even fall into pieces, as the fire was too hot that it evaporated the materials in the air. Alvin then realized that the mothership was important. He then flew as fast as possible to it using his fire magic. Arrows rained over his body, but he did not care. The red glowing veins in his body was reaching his right cheek anyways. Once those veins reach his eyes, and he would suffer the same fate as Tiffanny.
"For my comrades..."
He shot the wyverns using balls of fire, then landed violently inside the cabin of the mothership. He tried to stand up, while the wyverns fell down. He was about to attack, but he suddenly saw all of them.
Nath was on the side of the cabin...
Lillith was on the passenger seat, looking pale and afraid at everything that was happening...
Elizabeth was there, trying to comfort Lillith...
And Valheim was just in front of him holding a crossbow pistol in his hand.
"General Nath permitted this order. And whoever will try to ruin the movement of Vontur will suffer the same pain that Hreinngar inflicted on us." Valheim said, while Nath looked at Alvin in a blank face. Alvin could try to fight. But why would he? This was General Nath. They fought together during the shifter conflict. Fought Ebony. Fought with them against the enemies of Karthus. Elizabeth was there in the second Ravenian Siege. To him, they were almost brothers and sisters-in-arms. And here they were, betraying the Red Blood Regiment, and complying to kill him. He couldn't do it. They were his friends. Valheim noticed this and smiled. He then aimed his crossbow pistol at his head. To him, Alvin was just another liability.
A trigger popped, and the arrow lodged deep into Alvin's skull. Lillith gasped in the corner, seeing her friend dead. Valheim them got his foot to move Alvin's body off the mothership. He then called upon General Nath to help him throw Alvin out of the mothership. Nath nodded, and carried Alvin's dead corpse. They then threw the man out of the ship. Nath looked at Valheim. Valheim saluted his general, and the general saluted back. The next phase of the this project has begun.
-----
General Kai sprinted his horse as fast as he could. "LEON! LEAD SQUAD B! ALERT THE GEG AND BVR FOR KARTHUS!"
"AYE SIR!" Leon yelled, before the entire regiment was split into two squads sprinting. One was riding straight on, while the other separated from the group. General Kai looked back to see a body falling down from the mothership. From the battle that happened earlier, it only meant one thing. General Kai sighed.
This wasn't The Ravenian Expeditionary Force anymore. This was the new Committee of State Security. It wasn't about Democracy or The Republic anymore. It was now about power. It wasn't about spreading the ideals anymore. It was about spreading fear. It wasn't about protecting the people anymore. It was about killing them. General Kai continued to ride on as his forces saw the fire at the back.
It had seem like General Nath had finally made a decision on whose side he was on...
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