In the throne room, shining with luxury, the atmosphere seemed oppressive. The princess, looking at the strangers, involuntarily shook with fear, or rather, the hands of Furgur, who was holding her body, shook while both looked at the massive soldiers in combat suits with powerful weapons at the ready. Opposite the soldiers stood a small delegation of nobles from the kingdom of Lakuus. Considering how many of them are left, it is not difficult to guess that now they are not deciding anything here and that they are forced to be nothing more than observers in these negotiations.

Among the massive soldiers, there was a not so massive, but majestic figure dressed in a dark blue uniform, whose cloak barely touched the marble floor and the scarlet carpet covered on top. This was a man decorated with medals for his many years of military service in the far corners of the Republic. An old man with different-colored eyes, blue and brown, with a stern face, wrinkles on his forehead and gray hair hidden under his cap.

He looked sternly at the natives with his arms crossed behind his back. On both sides of him stood paratroopers with machine guns, ready at any moment to shoot anyone who came within a meter of the general with bad intentions. However, this also applied to good intentions.

Among this entire earthly delegation, I stood along with all the surviving soldiers of the platoon. To be honest, I no longer care about the fate of these natives and the fate of this kingdom, even if the general decides to shoot them all, but I will finally be among my own people and strive to go home to Earth. My boys and I finally felt a little more comfortable despite the time spent on this damn anomalous planet.

Now I no longer have to rack my brains every day over pressing questions like how to get out of this asshole of the universe and not die. Now I will receive orders from above from my senior ranks and carry them out as protocol requires. I was sincerely glad that I could now serve humanity as I always knew how to serve. Apparently that’s why the past ten years have not been great for my career growth, but now that I’ve thought about it, I’ve finally realized it.

At the same time, I thought about how to somehow repay the kindness shown to me by Granid and the representatives of Lakuus, and also thought about how to help the Hippolytes, whom we met first on this planet. In order not to feel lousy, I firmly decided to lobby the interests of Lakuus. I will try my best to make sure everything turns out fair for both parties. It is impossible to say with certainty whether I will succeed or not, but I will do everything in my power. Such will be my gratitude.

The general, meanwhile, briefly glanced in my direction and looked away a moment later, thereby making it clear to me that he had quite a lot of questions. However, this was to be expected, but now the main thing is different, namely the Lakuus delegation.

Seeing how the princess in the mercenary’s arms trembled slightly, seeing those who had just saved their country by flying in on huge shuttles was in the order of things. At the moment, she is the head of this state and is obliged to represent it, even if she was not ready for this. She probably couldn’t even think about it, that she would become a queen right now.

Fortunately for her, Krezhd, a military adviser, will help her, but for some reason I doubt that his help will be worth anything, especially after what we did here. The old man himself and the members of the royal council tried to make stern grimaces on their faces, but they themselves, giving in under the pressure of the cold eye sockets of the helmets of the alien soldiers, obediently lowered their eyes down.

For some time, silence hung in the throne room, and the aristocrats behind the delegation whispered among themselves, waiting to see how these unequal negotiations would go. After some time, a fighter approached through the open double doors with the roar of massive armor, after which I heard a familiar female voice:

"This is Captain Kurogawa. I have arrived with a report on the results of the current operation."

General Zeonid nodded, signaling to the Captain that she could continue her report, which she did:

"Operation "Black Angels" was completed successfully. There are no casualties of personnel. Patrols have been organized in the city. Outside the populated area, reconnaissance drones are conducting surveillance. According to primary data, an army of three thousand people is approaching the city, technologically backward, the same with which we fought There is a battle here. The shuttles are ready to take off and launch a preemptive missile strike on the enemy. The locals are hiding in their houses and are not showing aggression. Just in case, we are. We are preparing humanitarian areas, but we don’t know if our synthetic diet will be suitable for them. We need to adjust the replicators to the needs of the local residents.”

After listening to the report, Captain General Zeonid turned to me with a hoarse voice:

"Second Lieutenant, do you have anything to add?"

I nodded, standing at attention, as befits my position in the 127th Army.

"That's right, sir. Platoon C1-2-2-D4 lost one soldier, Glade with the rank of sergeant. At the moment, we are out of ammunition, there are no cartridges or mines left. In terms of food, we have long switched to a local diet, having used up all our rations. We can help set up the replicators, but for this we will also need the help of one of the natives with whom we previously managed to establish contact."

Hearing my words, Zeonid took off his breathing mask and coughed, and then sat down on the throne, crossed his palms and said to me:

“We won’t observe formalities today, Boris. I want to congratulate you all on the successful completion of the operation, but before we distribute additional rations to the participants, I want to ask a number of questions and of course...”

The general glanced at the frightened princess.

“I would like to talk with the aborigines. Junior lieutenant, as I understand it, you have already mastered their language, can you act as a translator?”

As if I know their language.

I sighed sadly and answered.

"Sorry sir, but I can't."

Zeonid blinked a little in surprise at what he heard.

"And how is this to be understood?"

I put my hand in my pocket, took out the ring from the stem and, coming closer, handed it into the hands of the general.

“At first glance, this is just a stem twisted into a ring, but in fact it is an artifact that allows you to understand the speech of the natives and, of course, speak their language.”

You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story.

Looking at me in disbelief, and then at the ring, the general took off the glove from his left hand and put the green ring on his index finger.

“Fa sogut di’la vehri tu’tarf?”

"General?"

Captain Kurogawa said, slightly taken aback by what Zeonid had just said.

"What did you just say?"

Before the general opened his mouth, I hastened to explain:

“You can still understand English, but speech in the Lakuus language will now come out of your mouth, and you will also be able to understand them in your native language. We really don’t understand you without the same ring, so I think you should take it off for now.”

Having removed the ring, the general turned to the Captain:

“Did you really not understand what I just said?”

Captain Kurogawa shook her head.

"You did say something in another language. I confirm that."

The general, clearly not believing what had happened, laughed a couple of times.

"Yeah, that's... hah... that just can't be."

"It's magic."

I scratched my head and said.

"Magic?"

"There is no clear definition for this phenomenon yet, but in English it would mean magic. Fred insists that we refer to this as "anomalous energy." He has collected some data on this phenomenon. I want to assure you, sir, that forty people after the crash We lost precisely because of the magic that the natives used. However... however, I think I’ll write about everything that happened in a detailed report. Now I think it’s best for you to focus on something else.”

"Okay... we'll discuss this later."

The general said and put the ring on his index finger, I did the same, realizing that now there would be questions from Princess Ilifreeta, who looked at us more with fear than with curiosity.

A few more moments of silence and the general spoke:

"So, inhabitants of this world... We come in peace. Greetings... here."

These words made the royal nobility slightly worried, and not only her, but the princess too.

"G-greetings to you."

Ilifreeta said and then turned to Furgur.

"Put me down."

"I obey."

The master of the bow answered and then laid the girl on a pre-prepared chair next to them.

Having sat down more comfortably, the princess, or rather the queen, spoke with a proud look:

"My name is Ilifreeta, I am the queen of the kingdom of Lakuus, mistress of these lands."

From her face one could see how she was a little worried, hiding her fear behind a stone mask, but the droplets of sweat flowing down her temples spoke of her uncertainty and extreme caution. Zeonid clearly noticed this, judging by the barely visible grin on his face.

"I am General Zeonid Kudrinash, commander of the 127th Army of the Republic Human Forces of the Federated Human Republic of Earth."

The general answered her.

"Nice to meet you."

So far everything is going smoothly.

I sighed with relief, and meanwhile the princess, bowing her head, continued:

"Thank you with all my heart for saving us, people from heaven. Without you, we would already be dead."

"Well...glad you appreciate it."

Zeonid said with a slight frown, and then added sternly.

“However, we are not here to save you further. We came to return our people to the 127th Army.”

"I understand this perfectly, dear general."

The princess answered humbly, and trembling began to appear in her voice.

“We owe you our lives, but the danger has not yet passed our people. Enemies will soon besiege the walls of our city again. The rebellious nobility and the main contender for the throne, the brother of my late father. I ask you to help us.”

"No."

The general answered with his arms crossed.

"Why should we help you? What can you offer us? Personally, I think that we have everything we need to get out of here. Moreover..."

Raising his right hand up, the general gave an unspoken signal, according to which all the paratroopers raised the barrels of their rifles towards the natives, including Princess Ilifreeta.

“Moreover, we have power that you do not currently possess. If we want, we will kill you all and take away what we need, books, people, artifacts... and much more. We, however, only need our people for now , and we are not going to play diplomacy."

"Sir,"

I turned to Zeonid, a little worried about the princess and what was happening.

“I think it’s not worth provoking a conflict with them now.”

"Conflict? No, junior lieutenant, they are too weak for a conflict between us."

The general said sternly, when suddenly an echo of approaching light stomping was heard in the throne room.

Three figures, magicians, entered through the double doors of the throne room, past the paratroopers guarding the entrance, who fought with Swidok until reinforcements arrived. Granid, Camellia and Incartia in person. Some of the trunks were pointed in their direction, but they did not show fear, but on the contrary, they were confident and firm.

“Who else is this?”

Zeonid said dissatisfied.

"These are the strongest people in this room, sir."

I answered, starting to reach with my hand for the holster with the pistol.

"Those who skillfully wield anomalous energy, that is, magic. They are called magicians."

"Maggie?"

The general grinned, clearly not believing what he heard.

“Have you fooled my subordinate?”

"Do you want to check it out?"

Camellia said sarcastically, fixing her scarlet eyes on the old general.

"May I die, the lousy dog."

The general said, and then sharply widened his eyes and slammed his hands over his mouth.

Zeonid looked at the girl in surprise and barely removed his hands and now looked at the magicians with a slightly different look.

“That...what was that? Did you do that?”

"General?"

Captain Kurogawa said turning towards Zeonid.

"What just happened?"

"I... I didn't say what I wanted. It's like... like I was being manipulated... like a doll."

Can she do that too?

I was surprised, looking at the white-haired sorceress.

Camellia, meanwhile, came forward and introduced herself:

“If you decide to use force here, then know that we will defend our world.”

"My name is Granid, I am a free wizard."

The old magician bowed.

"My name is Incartia, student of Granid."

The dark-haired woman bowed next.

"I am Camellia, adventurer."

Finally, the white-haired woman bowed.

Zeonid still looked at the magicians with some fear, and then glanced at me.

"This is true?"

I nodded.

"Yes, sir, they really are magicians."

"This can't be true!"

Zeonid looked in shock.

"What... what... I thought... I thought we... forget it."

I don’t know what the general wanted to say, but he was clearly in shock and had his own thoughts about this phenomenon. Maybe he had some theory in his head to explain the actions of this ability, or maybe something else. The paratroopers did not know what to do, continuing to aim at the natives and magicians, but looking at me, the general, after several deep breaths and exhalations, turned to the natives again.

"Okay. I understand. You have power, but that doesn't mean we will help you. We'll take our people and leave here immediately."

"Your right to do so."

Granid's hoarse voice sounded and he raised his head towards the general and continued.

“However, you must understand that without knowledge there is no strength, and without strength there is no life. You will not survive in our world without knowledge about it.”

"We will find this knowledge."

Zeonid said, looking at me again and then asking.

"What do you think, Boris?"

"Sir, I'll tell it like it is. I'm not crazy, but I think they should still be helped."

Zeonid frowned at the words he heard.

"Why would we? What benefit does this have for us?"

“The information that I currently have suggests that Granid is right. Without knowledge about this world, we will not survive, not to mention the fact that traces of the Pantorians have been discovered here.”

Hearing the last word, all the paratroopers in the throne room flinched. The word “P” alone inspired more horror than the most vivid nightmares and the horrors of unprecedented wars in the far corners of the Republic. The presence here of those who once destroyed half of humanity and buried a third of the entire galaxy in ruins and interstellar dust cannot but inspire horror.

Of course, after this the general became more serious, more strict and calmer. Maybe he doesn’t know what dangers lurk on this planet, but he knows for sure that the Pantorians here are a huge threat that we will have to reckon with in one case or another. Zeonid rose from the throne and fixed his gaze on Camellia, who now looked at him not as sarcastically as before. Now she seemed to be herself, a little ridiculous and timid.

"I've made my decision."

Zeonid said nodding.

"We will cooperate with you."