“Chief Razugotter, here is the package you asked for,” a troglodyte said as he placed a wrapped box onto a stone table. “Frozen mehehoni meat.”
Razugotter unwrapped the box and nodded. “The clan chef will be happy. Didn’t the Iron Lords say this meat originated from a place far to the south?”
“Yes. Have you ever been there, Chief Razugotter?”
“No. The Iron Lords forbid us from going too far south, though they said it was for our safety. There are some… strange creatures down south that might attack us.”
“No monster is too great for us Chosen Ones, Chief!” the troglodyte retorted.
“I am afraid they are not monsters, but creatures like us. Anyway, I heard from His Divineship Princeps that he will bring a few elite hunters south to gauge the reaction of the southerners.”
“I hope to be chosen, Chief! It is said that the hunters chosen by His Divineship Princeps are coveted by the young girls of the tribe!” the troglodyte cheered.
“You should think more about the tribe than chasing legs, young hunter!” Razugotter sighed. “Now, I am needed somewhere and I must take my leave. Don’t forget to mark down the inventory update.”
“Ah, yes.” The troglodyte took out a long piece of paper and wrapped his hands in cloth. As troglodytes had a slightly slimy skin, they had to wear some form of cover to keep the paper dry and to keep the ink from smudging. “Mehehoni meat. One package. Half a red stone slab heavy.”
Razugotter nodded with a satisfied smile before leaving. However, as soon as he left the building, another troglodyte intercepted him. The troglodyte was covered mostly in chain armor and parts of his body were covered in thick padded cloth, a clear example that this person was an elite hunter. “Chief Razugotter! His Divine Princeps has summoned you! He is waiting at the field of war!”
“He summoned me?! I must get to him immediately!” Razugotter handed his package to one of his low troglodyte followers then rushed towards the aforementioned field. He was greeted with a large group of hunters, though most of them weren’t geared. “What’s going on here, fellow clansmen?”
“Chief! There is great news!” a young hunter, Torvogotter, replied.
“What is it?”
Before Torvogotter could reply, Princeps appeared before the troglodytes. As usual, he silently stared at the troglodytes for a few seconds. Though he had done this regularly, the troglodytes would still get nervous to the point that they couldn’t even dare gulp down saliva stuck in their throats.
“Question. Do you think you have the capability to waging a full war against the underground… tilapolas?” Princeps asked.
Razugotter froze. His breathing had stopped. What was this building within him? Fear? Excitement? He looked around, towards his fellow tribesmen. The Gotter clan had already butted heads with the Inners once, but their success was mostly due to the drones. Now, with more numbers, better equipment, and better support from their lord, could they stand a chance against the Inners?
Razugotter’s tribesmen all had a determined face. Though they would go with whatever their chief decided, it was clear what they wanted.
“Yes, Your Divineship! We have the capability to take on the fight to the heretic Inners!”
Princeps turned his head away from Razugotter before promptly facing back to him. “No, you don’t.”
The troglodytes nearly crashed onto the floor from disbelief!
“Y-Your Divineship... Then why ask me that?” Razugotter coughed.
“Recitation. My leader has given me permission to allow you to begin incursions against your enemies below. But from my observations, your forces are simply not enough to take on the full might of the underground hostiles. ”
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“Then…”
“Addendum. However, I believe with a bit more preparation, you will be. Ergo, I have a task for all of you - Prepare for war.”
The troglodytes’ disappointments instantly turned to joy as they cheered. “Prepare for war! Prepare for war!”
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‘Is it really smart letting the organics go to war?’ Niner asked in hivespeak as he stared at his mostly-empty farmlands. ‘Most of the troglodytes went back to the village to be trained so the number of workers I currently have is making me cry.’
‘In order to speed up the process of building the railways, we will have to make use of the abundant and cheap organic workers. Though not as efficient as drone workers, their numbers make up for their deficiencies. Capturing more troglodyte vassals from the underground dungeon is an investment for the future,’ Custodian explained.
‘We don’t exactly have a person at home to lead the army except for maybe Princeps, but he’s not exactly part of Security and Termination, is he?’
‘We will not be leading the organics to battle. This project will be theirs and theirs alone, but we still need a presence down there to take advantage of the organic infighting,’ Custodian pointed out.
‘True, true. Those dead organics won’t haul themselves back to our processors by themselves. But why now? Why didn't we attack the underground organics earlier?'
'First, I need a lot of resources to get Exarchi an Outpost core. Those things require many months’ worth of resources, so extracting material is my biggest priority. Secondly, we don’t have any current threats to our local projects. With security, comes expansion.'
'I see.' Niner nodded.
'Besides, I don't have any major projects going on. Slayer is still heading towards the planned base of operations in Hetten, Exarchi is waiting for the humans to move, and the humans have largely stopped their conflicts. I might as well kill time by testing the combat effectiveness of my organic vassals.'
'Perhaps you should takeover the agriculture project then! I wouldn't mind taking this bothersome thing off my to-do list.'
'Negative. Stop being a useless child node and get back to work.'
'Roger roger…'
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The trampled grass marked the passage of a large army of ragtag peasants and battered veterans. While the army marching with Agrianos had significantly dwindled in numbers, it was still sizeable.
It had been weeks since they left the borderlands, and they were about to enter the frontlines soon. The terrain had changed as the forests became lighter, and the grass became greener. It was also much less developed than the other lands, almost comparable to Northwest Rhankia after the drones had plundered the entire region.
Exarchi was studying the surroundings, trying to compile as much information as he could. The scout drones which used to be able to fly far from home could only go so far before reaching a limit. Any further and the drones would start losing connection to Exarchi and Custodian.
‘Remain cautious, Exarchi. If you are at a disadvantage, it is best for you to return home,’ Custodian reminded.
‘Affirmative. I’ll try my best to keep myself in one piece,’ Exarchi replied as he stopped his mount.
The Rhankish army he was following stopped, but the other humans kept moving.
“General Exarchi!” Agrianos called out, approaching the drone. “Most of our allied forces will be heading straight to the Kojan Front, but we will head towards the south to link up with the Undead Front.”
“What? We will not be fighting the kojans?” Exarchi asked with a clearly annoyed tone.
“W-Well, if Humanos willing, we will only secure the Undead Front until more reinforcements arrive. After all, if the undead manage to swarm us, they’ll certainly open the doors of humanity to the kojans. I hope this isn’t a problem?”
“There are no problems.” Exarchi nodded, after all, the kojans could wait. It might even be better to stock up on as much material as possible before facing off against the unknown threat. “Have you figured out why the undead are helping the kojans?”
“We still believe it’s to help the kojans wreak havoc upon our people. But the reports are still inconclusive…”
“What do you mean?”
“Is the Church’s goal really that simple?” Agrianos muttered to himself as he knitted his brows together. “In the first place, I don’t think the kojans and the undead are-”
“Archpriest! We will be joining you to the Undead Front!” one of the allied leaders, King Zigisma interjected. “If the undead had managed to penetrate into the borderlands, it means the Undead Front is more precarious than we thought.”
“All help is welcome, King Zigisma. I hope we all can work together to bring down the enemies of humanity,” Agrianos said with a nod.
Zigisma pointed at Exarchi and said, “I’ve noticed during our journey together that your mercenaries do not have their own supply train.”
“Ah, you do not have to worry about that…I think,” Agrianos tried to assure the king.
“Hmpf. As long as they do not slow us down.” Zigisma kicked his horse forward as he clutched onto his horse’s mane.
Agrianos sighed then stretched his back. Feeling somewhat sore from riding all day, he kneaded his back as he told Exarchi, “To be specific, we’ll be manning one of the forts which was held by one of the searist order. I have received a message that they have been under attack for some time and it won’t be long until it falls.”
“Then we will be facing the undead once more?”
“If Humanos wants battle, then yes.”
“That is good.”