Carol advanced alongside the 10 Spartans towards the city of the Bhadwuans. Along the way, they encountered several hybrids that they easily neutralized. When they were about five kilometers away from the city, they were detected.
Several dozen flying soldiers cautiously approached Carol before stopping a few meters away.
"Who are you?" asked the Bhadwuan leading the group. He wore larger armor and seemed to be someone important.
Carol smiled slightly before responding.
"We are invaders."
"What?" the leader asked, confused.
"We have come to invade your city. You can surrender," Carol said, placing her hands on her hips.
The 10 Spartans behind Carol couldn't help but be speechless. That wasn't exactly the right way to do it, but they couldn't think of anything to say in this situation either.
The Bhadwuan leader didn't really know how to respond to that. Besides, the decision wasn't entirely up to him. He felt that responding would only embarrass him further, so he gave the order to retreat and prepare the city for what was to come.
Carol didn't attack them as they retreated; she simply continued to advance slowly. She didn't want to start a massacre; it was better to crush whatever resistance they had, shatter their spirit, and facilitate their surrender.
The hybrid men started to attack them, but it was only to delay their progress. They were all neutralized before the soldiers following them captured them.
Damian, who was at the back, witnessed the entire interaction and agreed with Carol's decisions. By giving them time, civilian casualties wouldn't occur in the crossfire, and they would likely surrender once their defense was broken.
Carol finally reached about a hundred meters from the city. They had erected a rough earth wall about 5 meters high. Carol had read in the report that they knew magic, so she assumed they had constructed it that way.
At the top, there were hundreds of Bhadwuan soldiers waiting to attack.
Carol calmly observed the situation. The wall put them at a disadvantage, and if everyone up there were mages casting spells like fireballs, even the Spartans would have to retreat in defeat.
There would be no dodging in that rain of attacks.
"Alright, guys, we're going to race. The last one to cross the wall buys the drinks," Carol said, laughing before enveloping her body in a golden glow and flying towards the wall.
The Spartans cheered in approval before running after Carol at high speeds.
The Bhadwuans on the wall quickly began casting all sorts of spells down at them.
Carol and the Spartans zigzagged, avoiding all kinds of energy beams and fireballs.
Carol landed forcefully on the wall, creating a small crater, before striking one of the enemies and sending him flying.
Carol began flying in one direction while striking and eliminating several enemies.
"Damn, the commander won't leave us anything," Laura complained as she leaped over the wall and activated her energy sword, which emerged from her forearm in the shape of a tear.
They all hurried and began taking down the Bhadwuans.
Damian observed the battle from behind and was quite satisfied with the Spartans' performance. Although it was too easy for them, the Bhadwuans seemed to have no military training, which was to be expected since they hadn't faced any enemies in thousands of years.
Nevertheless, their offensive power was quite good. A stray spell managed to hit one of the Spartans, sending him flying several meters and knocking him off the wall.
Damian saw him cough a bit from the impact before getting up and jumping back onto the wall to continue fighting.
Carol truly seemed like an unstoppable force. Enemies were sent flying one after another, and even the leaders couldn't resist. Within minutes, the entire defense collapsed, and the remaining Bhadwuans began to retreat.
One Bhadwuan stayed behind and began chanting a long spell, causing dark clouds to gather.
The Bhadwuan pointed his hand at them before hundreds of lightning bolts rained down on them from all directions.
Upon seeing this, Carol quickly shot a bolt at the Bhadwuan, sending him flying and canceling the spell.
"Everyone, move forward, secure those who are still alive," Carol said to the 90 soldiers waiting.
Damian slowly advanced behind the soldiers.
Originally, they were supposed to join the attack behind the Spartans, but the spells turned out to be really strong. If an unarmored soldier were hit by the attack, they could die. So Damian let only the Spartans clear the battlefield.
The few remaining Bhadwuan fighters retreated towards the inner part of the city.
Carol advanced with the Spartans behind her when she encountered a man without armor and wearing a more majestic suit.
The man glared angrily at Carol and the Spartans behind her.
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"I am the king of this place. State the terms of surrender," said the man through clenched teeth.
He didn't want to surrender, but he clearly knew there was no way they could resist. It was better to surrender to obtain a better deal.
His city had only about a thousand trained soldiers, and most of them had fallen in the attack. They didn't have more soldiers because they didn't really need them. No one could threaten them in the wild lands, let alone normal civilizations with outdated weaponry.
"Eh?" Carol asked unconsciously as she looked at her men, who also glanced at each other.
The man also looked at the Spartans and Carol, not understanding why they were looking at each other.
At that moment, Damian appeared next to Carol, startling everyone.
Carol looked at Damian with a smile as she took his hand, clearly entrusting him with everything.
The king of the Bhadwuans stared at Damian in astonishment. He felt an immeasurable amount of magical power within that person and felt dizzy trying to gauge how much he possessed.
When he saw Damian, he knew there really was no room for resistance and stopped thinking of ways to get out of that situation.
"I surrender," the man said, sighing with slumped shoulders.
Carol couldn't help but be surprised at his sincere surrender. She couldn't help but look at Damian reproachfully.
If she didn't know him, she would think it was all an act.
"Wouldn't it have been easier for you to come forward and face him directly?" Carol pouted.
"The goal was to gain experience for the Spartans, plus you looked great fighting," Damian said, smiling at Carol.
Damian redirected his attention to the king of the Bhadwuans.
"I accept your surrender, don't worry. It won't really change your life too much," Damian assured him, looking directly at him.
"I will only ask you for a few things that should be easy for you. First, lead us inside," Damian instructed the former king.
"Yes, please, come in," the man said, gesturing courteously for them to enter.
The former king guided them to a hall where he offered Damian the main seat.
"So, tell me the history of your people," Damian requested.
The man sighed before beginning to speak.
"Our small city dates back over 12,000 years, when Atlantis was the most advanced civilization on the planet. At that time, there was a great cataclysm. I'm not really sure of the reason," the man said, shaking his head.
"In this place, a prince from Atlantis took control of the location."
"After that cataclysm, my ancestors attempted to venture out into the world again, but all the expeditions were destroyed. There were powerful beings that eliminated us on sight. They called us Deviants," the man explained.
''We learned from the beings after many sacrifices, they never seem to grow old''.
"Eventually, we prevented anyone from leaving this place. My ancestors created legends of divine punishments. Very few people know the truth; it was passed down orally and it's forbidden to write it down."
''Although we never understood why they couldn't find this place''
"So we resigned ourselves to living in this place. Over 6,000 years ago was the last attempt. We are humans, but at the same time, we are different. Before the cataclysm, we modified and combined our DNA to gain power. That gave us this dark appearance and allows us to use magic."
"Thanks to magic, we have superior physical abilities compared to normal humans, and we live for quite a long time. The more magic there is in your body, the longer you live."
"I am the 70th king, and my name is Ka-zar," the man finally introduced himself.
"Interestingly, I will also be the last king. Now we are at your service. Feel free to ask for whatever you want. If you want someone else to be in charge of the city, I will make sure to instruct them in all the important matters," Ka-zar honestly stated.
"No, it's not necessary. You can continue in your position. Your future actions will determine your ability to remain the leader of this place," Damian nodded in response to his words while pondering over the story Ka-zar had told him.
Many things now made sense with his story, and he also inferred who was preventing their departure.
Carol was also quite impressed with the story and had a curious gleam in her eyes.
"As for the inability to leave this place, we will slowly uncover the truth in the future," Damian said thoughtfully.
He assumed that if they talked about Deviants, then it was a matter concerning the Eternals. Damian doesn't remember anything about that movie, so he's somewhat excited to see what might unfold.
"Yes," Ka-zar replied with a sparkle in his eyes. He had always been curious about seeing the world. It's just that he is afraid of dying.
"I also want all your books or research on magic. Additionally, if possible, information about your genetic modification to obtain magic," Damian requested.
"I will send some people to investigate the place and search for what kind of materials are there."
"Yes, sir. I will have everything ready as soon as possible," Ka-zar said earnestly. This is the moment to prove his worth if he wants to maintain his position.
"I'll be back. I'll leave my soldiers here for now. Soon, a group will come to take care of everything," Damian said before taking Carol's hand and disappearing.
Ka-zar remained, staring at the spot where Damian had vanished, with astonishment. Teleportation is something they have been researching, but all attempts ended in terrible accidents, so they stopped trying.
He couldn't help but think that this is also an opportunity for his people to advance in magic.
...
Frank was on guard duty at the newly established camp. They had been ordered to stand guard until the next team arrived to take over everything here.
"It's quite crazy that magic exists," Laura said, sipping water while recalling the spells they had cast.
"I would say it's quite terrifying. With our armor, normal spells don't affect us, but without our armor, we could easily die," John shook his head. He had been sent flying several times by spells hitting his shield.
"What's even more terrifying is our king," Frank said somewhat strangely as he pronounced the word 'king.'
"Not only did he appear out of nowhere, but I didn't sense him at all. If he had appeared behind me, I probably would have died. And I don't know if you noticed, but the king of these people was almost scared shitless when he saw our king," Frank recalled the man's expression.
"He surrendered earlier because it was the best option, but when he saw Damian, it was as if he had no other choice but to surrender," Frank shook his head. It seems like he has entered a bigger world by coming to Madripoor.
"I really don't care. In fact, I'm glad knowing that our king is very powerful," Laura shrugged.
"I think Commander Carol looked even more frightening. She was practically invulnerable. It's like playing a game with cheats," John commented.
"That's true. What about this family? I wonder what their daughter is like," Laura pondered.
"I wonder if I can have a dinosaur as a pet," John said, contemplating.
"Are you an idiot? It would eat you alive," Laura looked at John.
"Maybe a baby one. I could train it," John considered.
"Oh, we could create a dinosaur cavalry," John said excitedly.
"If we were in the Middle Ages, it would be a good idea. But if someone shoots a damn spell at you, I want to see your dinosaur dodge it," Laura looked at him disdainfully.
"We could give them armor," John hesitated.
"We barely have enough materials for 10 soldiers, and you want armor for a dinosaur?" Laura asked, looking at John as if he were an idiot.
"You wouldn't understand," John muttered annoyed. Riding dinosaurs must be really heroic and youthful.
Frank just gave a slight smile at their nonsense before looking into the distance and sighing.
He has 2 children, and it seems like the future is uncertain with all the things he has seen. He can't help but worry about their well-being. He will have to train them to ensure they can choose what kind of life they want to live.
At that moment, a large ship approached and deployed smaller vessels.
One of them was the scientist in charge of the Spartan project. He looked around with curiosity before approaching them.
"Guys, I'll need your help to install some things. I hope I'm not bothering you," the scientist said with a slight smile.