"Weak." Annie smiled, feeling Kayleen’s throat underneath her fingers.
"I submit." Kayleen spat blood on Annie's fingers, and Annie threw the former wolf hag into the air with a twitch of her wrist. Annie looked at how the body of Kayleen flew to the ceiling of the sparring hall like a doll. Annie's beating brought the former wolf hag to the brink of losing her conscience. Annie extended her arm, catching Kayleen and slamming her into the floor with all her might. Wolf hag Annie smiled upon hearing how scout Kayleen groaned in pain. The jaws of Annie left a mark on the sturdy neck of her opponent.
"And don’t you dare challenge me again," Annie let go of the neck of her opponent, leaving deep wounds in the flesh. The wolf hag spat out the blood of Kayleen and looked around her, throwing her arms up in a gesture of victory. The pack of Annie, the pack that once belonged to Kayleen, looked at their new wolf hag. Annie came back strong from the faraway land. Her build was mostly the same, yet her movements were now fluid, showing the restrained power behind them. After spending two years studying and training under the teacher, Annie no longer felt inadequate or weak. She was strong and felt strongly. This was an intoxicating feeling, a feeling that sent a surge of adrenaline and euphoria across her veins, causing the new wolf hag to smile wildly. Her eyes found Lucendra, "Carry scout Kayleen to the infirmary at once!" Her first command as a true wolf hag felt good. Now she has earned her rank by right. She followed Kayleen with her eyes, only now noticing that Kayleen once again had both breasts. It seems Annie wasn't the only one who worked to better herself during this time.
I am going to grind Virginia into dust. Today. Annie allowed her smile to widen at this thought. Retribution! Finally, after all these years, she will reclaim her honor.
Soldiers of the pack walked toward Annie and bared their necks in a gesture of submission. She bit some all the way to the blood, while others, like quiet Carty or the Branded, she only touched lightly. Carty had her own problems to deal with. Thankfully, all of them managed to evacuate from Pearl safely, but Annie felt that Carty still deeply troubled by the betrayal of her friend. While Annie wanted nothing else but to settle things with the scout once and for all, a half-assed victory is no victory at all. No, she will ensure that Carty will first recover both mentally and physically, and only then she will dominate her in a fair fight. Ultis was nowhere to be seen, and this slightly annoyed Annie. All the lesser members of the pack were meant to be present during the challenge for the rank. She will have to punish Ultis later.
"Wolf hag," Carty said, coming closer, baring her neck to the wolf hag. Annie once more held herself back from biting the scout. Both of them felt that strange sensation upon leaving the city. They both knew that if Dragena hadn't been there, the strange being who had stalked them in the middle of the night would have killed them and the teacher. Carty became at least ten centimeters taller during her time in Pearl, and as usual, she was elegantly dressed. The scout looked into the eyes of Annie, "Warlord is calling for you. We have a new mission."
****
This sucks. Annie decided for herself. She was sitting in the ATV that was racing across the plains of the Ravaged Lands toward the border of Pearl. The ATV was jumping up and down on each stone and on every bump, causing Ron to smack his head against the ceiling of the car from time to time.
"Wildling, oh honey for my eyes, could you perhaps avoid some of the stones?" Ron asked, running with one paw over his head. He was the only one in the car in regular body armor, the kind that was meant for the foot soldiers in the field. He left his helmet in his backpack and now suffered each time his head connected with the metal ceiling of the car. Meanwhile, both other passengers produced soft metal sounds upon hitting the ceiling and could care less about the uneven road due to both of them being clad in full power armor.
"The male is suffering. Virginia, slow down." Annie lazily commanded, looking out of the car window at the desolate landscape outside.
"Nah, Ronny boy can just put on his pretty helmet on. Gotta hurry!" Virginia smirked, keeping the pedal pressed.
"The attack happened two days ago," Ron tried to reason with Virginia, tinkering with a small communicator on his knees. A small detail fell from his paw, and he looked for it under Annie’s seat, "It is unlikely that anyone is still there."
"Shut it, male." Annie commanded, calling the time on the data stream before her eyes.
Ron was right, of course. But they all had to play their roles for now.
Dragena had summoned Annie just a mere two days ago, offering her this assignment. Unlike any other mission, the wolf hag had to volunteer for this job due to the extreme risk involved. Over the past years, the number of people missing on the southern border of Pearl has reached tens of thousands. The missing people were mostly refugees, during their time of training, Annie and Carty saw tons of flyers asking for help in locating lost family members in the Pearl city. Annie even had to scare away some thugs who tried to kidnap a cub from the kinder garden meant for cubs of refugees. Annie called the police, of course, but the Pearl City police officers were known for their corruption, almost all of them were either in the pocket of the Respectable People or worked for the cartel. The thugs most likely escaped. And people still go missing.
Recently, several people from the Reclamation Army went missing. All of them were civilians, one of them was persistently visiting the villages of the Wolf Tribe. Wyrm Lord asked the Regulators, the local force who governed over this part of the region, for help in finding kidnappers, but Blaguna Nokto sent no reply back. The commander of the Third Army, angry at being ignored, unleashed the Omega team and asked the investigation bureau for assistance in this matter. It took the Omegas two weeks to sneak in and gather information. During their investigation, an entire caravan of traders was attacked, the caravan was made up of regular people who often bought goods in the lands of Reclaimers and sold these goods at a higher price among the Bento Tribe. Regulators and Reclaimers both arrived at the site of the attack, noticing the distinct lack of human bodies. By interrogating local raiders, agents of the investigation bureau learned that someone was paying a high price for the slaves. The Omegas returned from their own mission with fresh prisoners and unexpected information from their contact in the Pearl City. Someone within the government agency of Pearl was willing to aid the Reclaimers in eliminating these slavers. By connecting the dots, the Omega team made a theory about the possible existence of the underground arena within Pearl. Agents of the investigation bureau made a theory that some locals in the Ravaged Lands could potentially be working with the slavers who provide the "fresh meat" for this possible arena. Far too many caravans were ambushed recently on the previous safe routes. The Omega team made their plan, and Dragena allowed the participation of one of her wolfkins in this. A few other people could have handled this mission better than her.
Dragena also invited Annie to join in the second phase of the plan. The goal of Virginia and Annie was to travel around the local villages, asking people for any signs of potential slavers or attackers. And only then, visit the recent attack site. Both wolf hags were also instructed to leave their car unattended for as long as possible during the time inside the villages. Dragena warned Annie about a potential danger, but the wolf hag was ever eager to risk her life. Reclaimers were missing. This grievous crime called for swift retribution. Dragena warned Annie about other problems as well. The most likely location of the arena was in the land of Pearl. While the Reclaimers had allies within the government, this mission did not have the official permission of the Pearl’s government. A certain amount of discretion was required.
Ron complained once more, after his head slammed into the ceiling. In a burst of movement, Annie turned to him, grabbing the male by his neck and squeezing it. With fear in his eyes, Ron reached for her vambrace. His fingers tapped on it, almost nervously. His fingers beat a seemingly panicked tune on the metal of the power armor, but Annie’s ears discerned a clearer tune in his frantic tapping. This tune is actually saying something.
A bug is in the car. Any moment now.
Annie slammed Ron back into his seat and hissed in his face: "Shut. Up. Your whining really gets on my nerves, male."
Ron leaned back, letting out a whining noise and baring his neck to Annie in a gesture of submission. The wolf hag was aiming to take a bite when something hit the side of the car, sending it spinning into the air. Annie grabbed the edge of her seat and the impact of a car crushing into the ground still sent her flying through the ceiling of the car. Rolling around, she found herself two steps away from the ATV that was now laying on its back. Virginia tore away the door of the driver's seat, crawling outside alongside Ron.
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"What in Spirits' name was…" Virginia asked, her voice sounding weak and frightened. She tried to stand up. In the next moment, Annie heard a sound. The sound of servomotors moving within the power armor and the sound of something else. This sound reminded Annie of the times when the teacher used an iron staff during training with Carty. This was the sound of a staff or maybe a pole being sent forward with a thrusting movement.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a figure in the air. It looked like a wall made of pure air, propelled forward by some unknown force. Annie was no stranger to the natural disasters of these lands and saw several sandstorms in her life. Even experienced one during the training. However, this time it appeared as if someone had plucked a five-step-tall and wide piece of air from the air and propelled it forward. This wave hit Annie with the force of an explosion, sending all the wolfkins away from the car. The kinetic absorbers within the power armor easily dispersed the impact across the entire surface of the armor, yet Annie still felt a hit across her fangs. It felt as if some greenhorn warrior had taken a shovel and slammed the wolf hag across the fangs with full force. It was a strange feeling, but Annie once experienced it, when Lucendra smashed Annie’s snout by accident during a drill. With a frown of annoyance on her snout, Annie allowed the power armor to fully close itself around her body, covering the wolfkin like an eggshell. The lenses of several cameras on the power armor cracked under the onslaught of this strange force.
Both wolf hags landed on their feet, and Virginia caught screaming Ron in her paws, putting the male on the ground. The car was sent flying once more, landing behind the group. Two lines were visible on the ground, marking the passing of the two surges that hit the team previously.
"This place was supposed to be safe!" Ron howled in panic. His scream fell short when Virginia punched him across the head, causing Ron to fall silent.
"There!" Virginia pointed with her paw at the rocky hills some forty meters away. Annie’s lenses caught the sight of a tall figure in power armor of the steel color. Instead of a lens, the figure had a full visor on her helmet. In one hand, the figure held a tall spear, edge of the spear was pointed at the wolfkins. The long purple cape flowed from the shoulders of the figure, held on her body by the pauldrons of her armor. The power armor of the attacker bore no marks indicating to which group this person belonged.
Annie reached for her back, reading her shardgun. Quickly taking aim at the foe, she pressed the trigger. At this distance, it was pointless to aim, the spread of the shards would be far too great, all she could hope for was to land at least a couple of hits. The moment her weapon fired, the figure made a thrust with her spear in the direction of the wolfkins, the armor of the attacker shining under the sun like glass. Another piece of air was plucked from the air before the figure by the tip of its spear and was sent forth. This was not a shockwave, for air moved in a strict line at the group instead of spreading in all directions. Shards connected with a burst of moving air and were pushed aside. Virginia took Ron in her paws and slung him over her shoulder, and both wolf hags jumped out of the way of the attack. The gush of air flew in a straight line across the place where wolfkins stood a moment ago, leaving a trail of destruction on the stone ground.
"A power freak, huh." Virginia said, readying her weapon. She cursed upon seeing black shapes on the hill near the figure. The enemy had a back-up. The figure moved the spear-wielding hand back, making another thrust toward the group.
"Leg it! To the mountains!" Annie screamed, jumping away from the line of enemy fire. Landing on her feet and turning to the mountains behind her, she felt something was crashing against her armor, sounding almost like raindrops. Except in the Ravaged Lands, rain did not exist. For over two hundred years, these scorched plains only knew the heat of the sun. Bullets. A hail of bullets that’s what was hitting Annie in the back right now. The rest of the attackers joined this mysterious person. Annie smiled beneath her helmet, knowing that each thrust of the foe was made with the intention of forcing the wolf hags to flee toward a small pass between two mountains, and the bullets themselves were insufficient to pierce their armor. They were being led.
The shadow of something huge fell on the group, and looking up, Annie saw a flying machine in the form of a crimson ship in the air. The sleek form of the machine resembled a knife, instead of sails, a pair of engines held the machine in the air. Four shapes leaped from the flying ship, landing in explosions of sand and rock. Each of the newcomers was clad in steel-colored power armor with the same looking pitch-black visor that hid their faces as the first attacker. The only difference from the first figure was that three of the attackers were wearing black capes on their shoulders, and one figure was wearing a red cape. The new foes were armed with near identical looking claymores the size of a normal person. The edges of their capes dragged on the rocky ground. The enemy wearing a red cape landed closest to Virginia, in one bound, this foe crossed the distance between the wolf hag and itself, swinging with a two-handed claymore at the wolf hag. Virginia, still holding Ron, backed away from the strike. The sword cleaved the ground in front of Virginia. Virginia had to block the next attack with her own arm, the wolf hag hissed when the enemy’s sword cleaved through the vambrace of the power armor and left a small cut on the wolf hag’s wrist.
Before the attacker could move for a third strike, Annie kicked the armored form away from Virginia. With a curse, the figure flew to the side. Even dulled by the helmet, the voice of the attacker was clearly female. Running toward the pass between mountains, Annie herself had to dodge the sword thrust of one of the attackers. Their speed was impressive, and their moves lacked no strength, indicating that the attackers were from the number of new breeds or that they were on a stim that boosts physical abilities. The theory about foes being from the number of new breeds was further confirmed by the enemy’s height. New breeds or no, they were too impatient, all three attackers were acting like individualists instead of acting like a team. Two times, Annie had to restrain herself from going on the counterattack, for each of her opponents was way too eager to try and claim the first kill, pushing ahead and leaving themselves overexposed. Backing down further into the pass, Virginia threw Ron ahead of herself and spun around, kicking out with her leg. Her kick sliced through the metal pauldron of one of the attackers and sent the foe flying like a doll into a pit nearby. The enemy has rolled down into a deep hole, leaving traces of blood on the ground behind her and losing her sword.
Too violent. Annie gritted her teeth, backing down from the attacks. They were told to show moderation…
The enemy in the red cape joined the remaining two attackers, and both wolf hags had to retreat once more, step by step, before the blurry of blades before them. Attack after attack was coming for the necks, wrists, or legs of the wolfkins. And yet Annie noticed so many blind spots… One attack was too wide, leaving the foe exposed. Just a simple strike with her claws across the side and…
No. The mission takes priority. Annie breathed a sigh of relief upon hearing Ron’s panicked scream behind them. Since that moment, they have been retreating for a good two minutes by now. Hopefully, Blaze and the others were successful in carrying out their part of the plan.
The group was pushed back a good twenty paces from the pit when Annie felt a surge of electricity hit her in the back. The discharge of the unknown weapon was potent enough to make even her body go limp. Feeling saliva trickle down her chin, Annie slumped on the ground like a rag.
She heard the sound of Virginia’s body falling nearby and saw how the attackers came closer, sheathing their weapons. A steel boot hit Annie across the side, turning her around, another kick landed on the neck of the wolf hag and caused her to split.
"Don’t damage my goods, please." An unknown yet slightly familiar voice said. Whoever was speaking had a calm and deep voice, yet Annie was sure that she had heard this voice before. She looked around through the cameras on her power armor.
A group of men came into view, all of them were geared in body armors that had seen better times. A mark of the mercenary company could be seen on their shoulders, four claws leaving a tear. The Rift Talons, the mercenaries of the deceased Alsyn. A tall figure covered from head to toes in a black cloak stepped forward, removing a hood from her face.
Ultis looked down at the downed wolf hags and smiled. Lifting her foot, she slammed down on Annie’s chest, cracking the ground underneath the wolf hag and causing Annie to gasp for air.
"Ul… Ultis?" Annie asked in a shocked voice.
"Still conscious," Ultis critically clicked with her tongue. Annie could see the edge of the power armor looking above the collar of the cloak, "Pals, fry bitches better next time. Unlike the male, they are still conscious."
"Kill you… All of you…" Virginia pushed the words out of herself, trying to growl. Her growl came out sounding like a mewling instead.
"But… wh..y?" Annie managed to say, feeling how she was losing control over her limbs.
"Because I don’t want to spend the rest of my life living in a gullet and by being beaten…" Ultis moved her foot up, slamming it against the chest and spearing Annie with pain once more, "…By the likes of you, scout. No, I am moving up in the world from now on. And you are going to help in this humble endeavour."
"Friends of yours?" A new voice asked and the woman with a spear in her hand appeared in the view. The tip of the spear pierced the ground centimeters away from Annie’s head.
"Be careful with them," Ultis snapped angrily at the woman, "This meat will bring me some good tokens," Ultis smiled, "Ah, I misspoke. You use credits as currency in Pearl, right?"
"Yes. You didn’t answer my question," The woman removed the helmet, showing the elegant face, unmarked by any scars. Long raven hair was tied up behind the round face, two blue eyes looked down at Annie and Virginia with a slight disgust. This woman was clearly beautiful by normies' standards. The thin lips of the woman pressed into line when she saw the last member of the attack team coming back. The last attacker was limping, her black cape was wrapped around the torn pauldron in an attempt to stop the bleeding, she hunched under the weight of her power armor, "Pathetic. You allowed them to disable your armor? Ultis, I will compensate you for the cost of their power armor." The woman lifted her long spear out of the ground and slammed the lower end of the spear into the face of Annie, breaking through the helmet and knocking out the wolf hag.