This is truly a paradise. Decided Annie, as the train was reaching its final railway station. At all times, eight trains could arrive at this place, three civilian trains were heading in, three out, and two more railways were left for the trains that were carrying industrial goods or resources in or out of the city.
And this was just one of the eight major railway stations in the city. The entire Core Lands were covered with thick railway lines, almost as numerous as roads for cars. Despite bus companies' best efforts, trains were the cheapest, most reliable, and most affordable mode of transportation for civilians. This is why I fight. For the day when all lands would look like this, when no one would be afraid of monsters.
A long armored convoy train passed the train with Annie in it, carrying countless weapons into the Wastes. Among the massive parts for the crawlers, there were also three Seeker class walkers, machines taller than any warlord, standing menacingly on their four sturdy legs. Annie knew a bit about them, the First Army recently tested them in combat. In battle, Seekers made long bounds across the battlefield, looking for a weak spot in the front line of the enemy. Upon finding a badly defended spot, tall shadows fall upon the horrified defenders, while walkers bring to bear their thundering assault cannons installed in their arms, spraying deadly bullets the size of fists upon the enemies.
Then, Seekers charge deeper into enemy lines, unleashing missiles from their shoulders at the key structures, spreading panic and confusion behind enemy ranks. Should enemy forces possess a new breed or a monstrous mutant that could take on a Seeker in melee, these walkers used their own reactive armor as a weapon, sending countless deadly shards into all directions and shredding whoever tried to attack them. The latest remote malware programs were installed into the depths of the proud metal torsos, ready to be unleashed into the networks of the foe, causing enemy forces to experience a series of miscommunications and false commands over their communication network and targeting systems. The Seekers were still newer machines, and Annie was honestly surprised that they were being sent into the Wastes. Against whom were they supposed to be used there?
There were no more disloyal elements in the Wastes, the entire region was united by the Reclaimers and the Ravaged Lands were slowly being converted by the diplomats. Yeah, some voices say that the mysterious King and his coalition won’t bend the knee willingly, but surely reason will prevail in the end. Only Oathtakers and Iterna could take on Reclaimers nowadays, and most people in Ravaged Lands would honestly be better off under the leadership of the Dynast, since Iterna expands at a snail's pace. Water, medicine, food, restoration of the cities… King would have to be mad to deny his people all of this. Annie quickly checked the newspaper in the train and discovered that Seekers had been sent as part of the new Fort Uglo defenders. This was reasonable, Wyrm Lord deserved a better royal guard instead of the usual forces of the normies. Seeker class walkers were too expensive to be used in anything but the decisive battle anyway, if the newspaper was to be believed. Only one factory in the entire Reclamation Army could produce them.
"Are you a knight captain by any chance?" The girl’s voice asked once again near Annie. The wolfkin saw the apologizing face of the older woman, holding her cub by the hand. In her free hand the cub held a sizeable journal.
"No, I am a scout. It’s…" Annie felt herself lost for a second. In the Wolf Tribe, military ranks went as follows: male, warrior, scout, wolf hag, shaman, and finally warlord. In the Ice Fang order, the ranks went as follows: initiate, foot soldier, defender, hunter, squire, knight, knight captain, sage, and finally, sword saint above them all. Apparently, foot soldier, defender, and hunter ranks all were more or less the same rank. Where would Annie’s meager rank of scout fit into all of this… Annie decided against inflating her own ego, "I think that my rank is equal to a hunter's rank in the hierarchy of the Ice Fang order."
"So you hunt various beasts?" The girl pushed her hand away from her mother’s arm and started flipping furiously through the pages of the journal.
"That and I also train others and sometimes lead small groups of my kin." Nodded Annie.
"Then you are not a hunter!" The girl almost jumped from indignation, flipping to another page of her journal and showing a picture of a wolfkin of the Ice Fang order, standing tall in ceremonial iron armor. The shoulders of the wolfkin in the picture were equal in width to Annie’s shoulders, the helmet was on his belt, allowing proud crimson eyes to look encouragingly on the reader, two mighty paws rested at the handle of a deadly looking broadsword. The girl pointed at description below the picture, "You are a knight then! They train lesser ranks, lead groups of six or fewer wolfkins in battle, sometimes act as champions for the knight captains…"
"Trust me, little one, I am not the champion of any wolf hag… I mean, knight captain. Last time I ended up fighting against a villain, she crushed me easily." Annie felt a red color appear on her cheek. Knight, as if. She read about them, knights would easily whoop her ass. Now Carty or Ultis would probably win against a knight… But then again, Annie wasn’t sure about this either. Better to underestimate skills than to lie to the cub.
"But the rest checks out!" The girl stubbornly replied, pointing at the description in the journal with her finger, "Also it is stated right here that true knights are always humble about their skills. You are a knight then! Can I have a photo with you and your autograph?"
"I am deeply sorry if we are bothering you, miss," The woman bowed, and Annie noticed that the left eye of the woman had a rectangular-shaped pupil. Mutations were not uncommon in the lands of the Reclamation Army, after horrible war that ended the Old World, many people were changed for good. Even now, some cubs could be easily changed inside the wombs if their parents came into contact with a glow. The reclaimers tried their best to remove this dangerous substance from their lands, but accidents sometimes happen. The main difference between new breeds and mutants lay in the fact that offspring of new breeds kept the appearance, or simply physical prowess if the appearance of a person was unchanged by the meeting with a glow, of their parents. While this little cub here looked like her mother and father, at the same time she bore no visible signs of mutations, unlike her parents. Very rarely are mutations among humans passed on to their children, "Entia is a bit of a fan of the soldiers of the state…"
"Heroes! They are heroes, mom!" shouted the cub, while the captain laughed, taking the beautiful looking woman into his hand and showing her this situation. Annie felt thankful to the Spirits that fur covered her face, her skin was all red from embarrassment. Hero, she? Even the mere thought of this was stupid. Entia turned to Annie and showed her the empty lines on another page of the journal, along with a place for a photo, "Teacher gave us a task of interacting with new breeds and, if they are not against it, get an autograph from them or even a photo. I have a page for workers, a page for shop owners, a page for cleaners… All sorts of pages! Now I have no idea why Wolves Tribe…"
"Wolf Tribe." The woman corrected her daughter.
"Yeah, you in short!" The cub pointed at the still surprised Annie, "I have no idea why people like you are not in the journal, but can you imagine how envious everyone in the class will be when I show them the photo with unknown…"
"Well known." Once again, the mother tried to mitigate the situation.
"… New breed?! Please? Just one picture?" The cub utterly ignored her mother, while Scorpio and the strange woman laughed out loud at this situation.
"I… This is allowed, right?" Annie threw a glance at the captain.
"Sure, sure, go on ahead, oh brave hero!" waved free paw Scorpio, relishing every moment of this situation and Annie's embarrassed expression.
"Dragon! Mommy, there is a living dragon on the terminal!" The cub shouted, seeing an image of the Scorpio, as Annie placed the terminal on a nearby table for hands, displaying it to passengers.
"Now, now little one! New breeds like me are known as wyr…" Still keeping a smug smile, the captain tried to explain. Other passengers slowly start looking at the situation, some of them start to smile at the scene.
"Look mommy! He even has a stolen princess! Just like in stories!"
Seeing the face of the captain, this time it was Annie who laughed her ass off at his expense, uncaring how she might look to outsiders. Her frustration, her fears, all faded as she allowed the mother to photograph her alongside the cub. She left a mark with a pen in the journal, while the captain’s face was frozen in a mix of embarrassment and shock, one of his clawed fingers was lifted, while he desperately tried to think of a good comeback. The woman in Scorpio’s palm joined Annie with a honeyed laugh, making the captain even more confused about the situation.
Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.
What a great day. I will see my sister. Everything is going to be great. Thank you, of thank you so much for this day, Spirits. Annie smiled as she lifted the cub from her lap.
****
The smile was still on Annie’s lips as the scout left the train. She pressed the ticket against a small device that opened doors to the city for her. Walking out of the station, she breathed in the air of the city. An enormous square was in front of the station, with a road running around the square and a small park in the middle of the square. On the opposite side of the station were gigantic facilities.
Massive square-shaped facilities made from stone and metal were casting shadows on their surroundings. These were the terraforming facilities, built here by the Reclaimers a long, long time ago. Once, they were humming and brimming with energy, changing the surrounding area into something that would suit most people better. Nowadays, they are just a great testament to the industrial and technological might of the Reclaimers, their engines have long since shut down. Now these great marvels of the age were left here in case of an emergency, one that would most likely never happen, for this area in the Core Lands was changed for good. For over one hundred and ninety-six years, these facilities served as an attraction for tourists and monuments of pride for the locals, there was zero chance that they would somehow be activated and ruin the surroundings, all energy cells and chemicals that were needed for terraforming facilities to work were removed and guards were posted inside. One day, similar facilities will be built in the Wastes as well.
To the left and right of the station were numerous shopping malls, some with small shops and others with clothing shops. Tourist guides were standing near the station, calling people to take a tour around the city on one of the nearby buses. Traders were selling cotton candies and other sweets, along with bottles of water. Stone roads were clear of trash and garbage, public workers in orange uniforms were visible here and there, keeping the place clean. Several statues of sword saints stood tall in the park, raising their weapons in greeting to the arrival of newcomers to the city.
A massive display, installed into the wall of the terraforming facility, was projecting some advertisements for medicine for weight loss. In a flash, the advertisement disappeared, giving way to an urgent announcement. A calm and steady voice declared that war in the lands of Oathtakers was finally over, Stonehelm endured the siege. The walls of the city were broken, forces of the Chosen Prince invaded the very heart of the city, they reached all the way to the former royal palace in the city, and Chosen Prince himself almost touched his much-coveted throne. At this moment, Lord Steward, Hive, and the entire relief force of the Oathtakers finally arrived at the battlefield in force, forcing back the enemy and saving civilians and remaining military forces in the city. The news anchor showed images of the ever-shifting mass of flesh, muscles, and bones, a mass that was slowly reforming back to the human shape, revealing itself to be the Lord Steward, uncrowned ruler of the Oathtakers, standing triumphantly over the broken remains of the Chosen Prince. The news briefly showed the field of battle, littered with countless dead bodies and ruined military vehicles.
All well that ends well. Enough of the war. You are on leave, Annie, relax, drop thoughts about the war, and try to enjoy life for a while. The scout shook her head, looking herself over. Her ID tag hung from her neck on the steel chain. Carty nearly burst out laughing when she saw Annie's plan to carry her ID tag. Ultis desperately gestured something about "not being a dog", but Annie decided that this was the safest way to carry her documents. The scout herself was dressed in clothes provided to her by the Carty, a blue leather jacket, a black sweater, blue trousers, a white shirt, a long skirt on suspenders, and a pair of sturdy boots that reached all the way to her knees. The scout refused to accept any tokens from Annie, laughing and saying that Annie was free to do as she wanted with these clothes. Annie assumed that this amount of clothing would cause her to sweat like mad in the Core Lands, but Kayleen and Carty persuaded her otherwise. The scout had to agree that they were right, wolfkins of the Wolf Tribe were all too comfortable in the hot climate of the Wastes and Ravaged Lands. Here on the other paw? Annie felt herself getting a bit cold and reached for the green cap in her backpack. ID, checked. Tokens, checked. Maps, checked. Take a deep breath and go, go, go!
Annie dialed the number of the taxi company on her pocket terminal. An operator was supposed to take the call, but instead the call was abruptly dropped, and the terminal sent a map to Annie, indicating that she was supposed to wait near the edge of the road. It was just a few steps, and Annie saw how a black car moved toward her, separating itself from the busy line of countless cars moving along the circle road around the square. Annie lifted brow, unsure who this might be, when message came on the screen of her terminal.
"Ivar always pays his debts. Enjoy your visit."
Blue wyrm? But he is a rival of the black wyr… Annie’s thought stopped mid-sentence when her amber eyes noticed someone unusual among the large crowd of people. The parents of Entia were buying some sweets for their daughter when the cub noticed a group of new breeds. Annie admitted begrudgingly that they looked magnificent in their shining power armor that looked like a second skin. The Ice Fang patrol was led by the knight captain, who was flanked by two knights, all of whom were bareheaded, their helmets locked in maglocks at their waists. The knight captain had a pair of curved swords at his waist, while one knight walked with a broadsword and a shield behind his back, the other was armed with a deadly looking claymore in a green sheath. The wolfkins were walking away from Annie, but the scout saw how Entia dragged her mother to them, showing her journal to the ice boys. The knight captain turned toward the cub and lowered himself on one knee, throwing back his gorgeous purple cape. The wolfkin nodded at the girl's request, and she quickly flipped through the pages of her journal. Annie felt a tingle of fear down her spine, praying for the car to arrive just a tiny bit faster. One of the knights, a youth with a claymore behind his back, twitched when the girl showed him the journal page with the knight on it. Annie knew who exactly he saw on this page. The young knight dropped on his knees before the cub, hastily asking Entia about something.
Please, please, faster! Annie thought in panic, seeing how the car was approaching her. Entia pointed toward Annie, and the youth stood up, looking at Annie with wide crimson eyes. The knight captain stood as well, leaving the third knight to entertain the girl while the duo tried to make their way toward Annie. The young knight wildly waved to her, and the scout almost tore out the door of the back car that stopped before her.
They want to challenge me to a fight! Or worse, trick me into misbehaving and lock me up! Not today, run, evade, dodge, I won’t let those scum ruin my day! Sveta waits for me!
Opening the door, Annie saw lieutenant Angoro sitting casually in the car, dressed in a grey suit without a tie, instead of his usual black coat. After countless days in the Wastes, the face of the man was slowly becoming more tanned, but his forearms were still pale, his hair was cut short as usual. The agent gestured at a seat near him:
"Good day, fair lady. You seem like you are in need for a ride, and we are only too happy to oblige. Please, grace us with your presence, I beseech thee." The man grinned, bowing courteously.
"I am in need of rescue, so drive me away, good sir," Annie joked back, taking a seat near the agent and putting her backpack on her knees. She closed the door and looked from the back window, noticing that the young knight was almost charging toward the car, "Floor it! Before something happens!" Pleadingly squawked the wolfkin.
The agent frowned for a moment before snapping his fingers to the driver, who pressed the pedal and made the car move.
"Wait, please! I want to ask you about Ara…" The knight shouted, but the rest of the sentence was drowned in the sounds of moving cars, when the "taxi" of Angoro moved onto the main road. Annie threw a glance in back window one last time, seeing how the knight captain put his paw on the shoulder of the knight, while the wild-eyed knight reached for a pocket terminal on his belt.
Will their wickedness never end? They plan to ambush me now or something? Why? I have never met any of their kind before! Annie thought worryingly, seeing how the ice boy was calling someone over the terminal.
"Friends of yours, by any chance?" Angoro asked, cracking his neck.
"Potential problems, that’s who they are," Annie leaned back on the seat, cracking her neck to calm herself. Everything was fine, she hasn’t done a single bad thing yet. No one will throw her out of the city. She looked at the agent and said, "What are you doing here of all places? Are you spying on me?"
"I am truly hurt," Angoro pressed his left hand to his chest, "I’ll let you know that I was born in this city. I just went here to see Ma and Da, to see how my nieces are doing, to slap my little brother back into reality…" Angoro innocently looked at Annie, "And to look after you and the other one as well, of course. Captain Ivar was very angry that the investigation bureau failed in our task. He very passionately asked the point of our existence if our target found us herself. My direct superiors are livid as well at this situation and appointed me as your nanny, under the guise of giving me leave as well for a few days, threatening me with moving me back into sergeant rank once more, if you cause a scene." The agent snapped his fingers, placing both hands behind his back, "Sorry for pushing myself onto you, but there is no way that I will go back to sergeant ever again. I earned my promotions, Abyss take it all!"
"You joking? You just saved me eighty tokens, of course I am not against you being here," Annie smirked back, wondering who was the other one. As far as she knew, she was the only member of the Wolf Tribe who had left for the city recently. Maybe the agent meant Sveta? Oh well, keep your secrets, you earned this much. Annie looked at the driver and quickly made a half bow, "Thank you for your help as well, lady," The woman behind the driver's seat simply waved her hand dismissively, indicating that no thanks were needed, "I need to get to the university no later than fifteen o'clock. How fast we can…"