+++ Lieutenant Hans Hoffman +++

Chateau Lignon

November 4, 1538 CE

“Behave well, okay?” Laura said to Alizée. The older Virtus woman patted the girl’s head. For a few seconds, Alizée teared up a bit, before Laura hugged her. “They’ll take care of you well.”

“Will we meet again, Auntie?” Alizée innocently asked. Laura just smiled and hugged Alizée further.

“Of course we will. I’ll be sure that when I meet you, I’m more respectable than who I am today!”

“I will study hard too,” Alizée vowed. “And help Sir Hans and Lady Adelyn.”

“I know you will.”

Hans on the other hand was talking to Mathieu and Charles. The two young men were now dressed properly, ready to depart to whichever new place they should go. With their mission of killing the Calamity of Desire done, they were now going back to their old lives.

“Don’t do anything stupid, you two,” Hans warned. The two younger men just shook their heads and laughed.

“Absolutely not, Sir Hoffman,” Mathieu cheekily said. “I’ve seen enough demons for a lifetime.”

“Quite frankly, I think those words should be for you, sir,” Charles replied. “Take good care. I heard that Nomos is somewhere close to worse or similar to what Ygeia was before the Calamity of Desire was defeated. They’re infested by the buggers.”

“I’m sure about that,” Hans said, sighing. He looked back at Laura and Alizée. The Virtus Priestess already stood up and backed away. Alizée on the other hand went to Adelyn and hugged her. “Laura could have taken her…”

“Don’t say that again, sir,” Charles warned. “Not around the girl. She’s clearly more attached to the two of you. Besides, demons can come back to Ygeia any time they wish. This place isn’t any safer than the rest of the continent.”

“You’re right,” Hans said, still a bit disappointed. He tried his best to weasel out a good solution for Alzée. But either her remaining family members were incapable of really helping her out like Laura—who still had a long way to go in her career as church Priestess, or Alizée straight up didn’t want to be with them.

And so, they were sticking to the plan. Hans and Adelyn would remain the nominal caretaker of the girl. It was a hard sell for Hans, considering the dangers involved.

But we already went through it anyway. Hans reminded himself of that. I even used her multiple times already.

“We’ll be on the lookout for any demonic infestations here,” Charles said. “We’ll send you two letters if need be.”

“Nice then,” Hans said. “Alright, go off you two.”

+++

Near Chateau Lignon

Ambrille

“The regiment is now ready to march out. In fact…I think we’ve never been as confident before all of this,” Captain Strobel nodded as he looked at the men parading on the town.

While the leadership of the IYC’s “1st Anti-Demon Unit” was open to discussion, it would be nominally led by Adelyn, Hans, Captain Strobel, and Captain Weibel. They were ready for the next big hunt. The men had already received newer weaponry from the IYC. Every musketeer now had their old matchlocks replaced by enchanted snaplocks.

Pikemen were completely filtered out of the 4th Holy Ygeia Regiment as well. And Captain Strobel initiated a full restructuring of the regiment. No more would they be fighting using linear warfare, nay, each company was now broken down into platoons and further broken down into squads.

It was Hans’ suggestion. Due to the enchantments of their muskets, Hans knew that their guns were now more powerful and accurate. The new paper cartridges meant that the soldiers could now also fire at faster rates. He had also pitched in the idea of bayonets, but due to the design limitations of the guns, and time constraints, the best that the IYC provided to them was breech-plugged bayonets.

Very much a trashy solution, since Captain Strobel’s men wouldn’t be able to shoot when bayonets were fixed, but it was the best that they could have had. Hans crossed his arms as he watched the lines of soldiers march out of the town. Unlike the normal Imperial soldiers, they wore proper full-grey uniforms patterned after the Imperial Musketeer Guard.

The regiment was now at nine hundred men strong in its combat strength. Two full infantry battalions of three hundred men each, divided into three companies formed their core. Then there were two cavalry scout companies, and the regiment’s sixteen light horse artillery making up the rest.

“They spent a lot on us,” Hans said. “It’s surprising.”

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“Captain Wittenstein certainly has quite the flare at getting the IYC and hundreds of high nobles to fund her little project,” Captain Strobel shook his head. “It’s like…her entire thing. Don’t you think? Thirty thousand Imperial Marks. Just to raise one regiment into full specialization…”

“It’s a lot of money, and we bought a lot of equipment. But remember, all that we have is experience for now. Not actual training,” Hans shook his head. “We barely had enough drills in the last few weeks with all the new toys. What if some of your men fumble those special powders during combat for example?”

“Well, that would be quite the disaster,” Captain Strobel clicked his tongue. “But I think we can do this. We just need caution. A lot of caution. Approach things methodically, and attack nicely. We’ll keep the casualties low that way. Then win.”

“We’ll have full jurisdiction across the Imperium, right?” Hans asked.

“Not really, I doubt all places will cooperate with a bunch of IYC-affiliated mercenaries trying to meddle with their anti-demon efforts. But regardless, I believe our reputation will keep us out of trouble. And if not, Captain Weibel or Captain Wittenstein’s shrewd tongues will let us get off fine.”

“And what about your men?” Hans asked. “I still can’t believe they changed their minds after that victory.”

“Camaraderie, Captain Hoffman,” he nodded. “That’s what’s created through shared struggles and victories. These men want home, yes. They want freedom. But I made it clear to them that all of the continent is falling apart to these creatures. The pay is good. The equipment is good. And they have real purpose. To hunt demons. And they know they’re being led by an Angel ordained by the Goddess of Justice. Morale is at delusional levels right now.”

“That’s both concerning and nice,” Hans shook his head. “Alright…so, once you guys reach Nomos, it’s still the same plan alright? Don’t do anything stupid. If a demon engages you all, retreat. Just…just run.”

“And same for you Sir Hoffman,” Captain Strobel patted his back. The man then placed his officer’s hat back on. “Alright. I’ll be going now. Be quick. And stay safe on the journey. Let’s take that big damned win!”

He immediately mounted his horse, as a group of officers galloped toward their area. Captain Strobel immediately joined them, as Hans turned back to the parading soldiers.

Well, I guess we’re officially demon hunters now. Hans shook his head. Not like we have a choice. It’s either this or it’s all over. I doubt any moron up top of the Imperium knows what they’re dealing with.

It was the funniest thing to Hans. Somehow, a greedy, money-grubbing, exploitative company was the one acting to resolve this problem instead of the actual government.

“Glory to the Imperium, I guess,” Hans just laughed as he walked away.

+++

“All systems green, Captain,” Hans reported, as his Wanderfalke’s HUD finished booting up. Everything was in pristine working condition. Most importantly, all that grind in the last month meant that even with his depleted AP reserves, Hans was supplied in the best condition possible.

His ammunition rack may not be filled to capacity, but Hans had fifteen MPAT and APFSDS available to him. He had consigned himself to have the same amount of both types of munitions. His previous experience with demons after all showed that both rounds served their purposes well in a binary system.

MPAT was only useful in its airburst mode. With it, its main usage was suppression. Fast-moving targets could be hit much easier with the proximity fuse. Combined with a powerful explosion, then he could disorient a demon or chip away at its health.

APFSDS was Hans’ main damage dealer. Once the target had been suppressed and pinned in place, a sabot penetrator would deal enormous damage. He had so far not met a demon that even had armor that could resist his sabot’s penetrative capabilities, so he trusted it greatly.

Machine guns…well, he was aiming to take ‘Act: Trace the Dots’ as his next upgrade. That should elevate the ability of his double coaxials to counter demons to somewhat acceptable levels.

“I’m ready to move out too,” Adelyn replied on the comms. “Gonna be a long journey for us.”

Hans looked outside of the makeshift hangar. Captain Weibel gave them a thumbs up. Then, both he and Malte rode away on horseback. They were going to be moving rapidly to Nomos just by using that.

It was going to be the way of the 1st Anti-Demon Unit. Even Captain Strobel’s battalions would be moving in a dispersed manner for speed. Most important reason, however…was that none of them would be wiped out in one fell swoop. And so, Captain Weibel and Lieutenant Preisner were to advance to Nomos, alongside two squads of renowned battlemages, directly behind Hans and Adelyn.

“Seems like they’re ready too,” Hans said. “Alright, let’s move out then.”

“Let’s go!!” Alizée shouted excitedly.

“Calm down now,” Adelyn giggled. “We’re not going way too fast like back then.”

Immediately, Hans’ Wanderfalke drove out of the hangar. Behind him was a wheeled, wooden custom wagon. It resembled more of a fully covered box. Unfortunately, due to weight limitations, it only had the capacity for half a ton of goods. Previously, the two towed four of these wagons each to resupply devastated settlements with grain and other foodstuff.

But, doing so required the two to slow down to a crawl. At most, twenty kilometers. Otherwise, the fragile rig would break down. But, with only one wagon towed behind them, the two drove at a faster pace of nearly forty kilometers out on the dirt road. The wheels themselves were at least enchanted by Ygeian mages, allowing Hans and Adelyn to ensure that it wouldn’t be so easy to break.

Within minutes, the two were out of the town itself. Straight in the countryside, Hans turned to the side to admire the vast plantations beside the road. They could even see children running to watch their mechs as they drove out. As they left the town of Ambrille, they soon passed by Chateau Lignon. Near the gate, a few of the posted soldiers raised their hats and waved them as Hans and Adelyn passed by them.

Hans smiled to himself. These people looked up to them…somehow. It was strange, he told himself for the entire month. But it dawned on him when he found out how many cities, towns, and villages were wiped from the map. An unstoppable calamity…only stopped by them.

He pressed the button for his speaker.

“Goodbye, Ygeia!” Hans shouted at them. “We hope to meet you again one day when things get better!”

The few crowd watching them drive away cheered harder, as Hans relaxed on his seat.

It was nice to feel like a hero for a while. Even if it was nothing but delusions.