The Trip
Four hours later, after Heian Ciemnosc and his Concealed Ornament Team were ordered to meet up with the army.
"Sir commander, the scouting team is finally returning!" A student shouted after checking a monitor in the command center for a good while to ensure he wasn't seeing things. Lionel, who was just a few meters away and with his arms crossed, became as if electrified. But he didn't let it show as he kept the surprise and anger in his mind and suppressed it on the outside. With a turn of his head, he said, looking at that student, "Gather the army, let everyone know our scouting team is back. How many are there?"
"O-... only 8, sir commander," the student replied nervously, not knowing how to feel as he sneaked a glance at Lionel, but the latter was expressionless. However, inside Lionel's mind, a different thing was occurring. He was feeling glad and even as if he had won the lottery. He looked at the student and hurried him. "What are you waiting for? Do as I told you, heha!"
The student didn’t say anything and continued to relay the commander’s orders, even as he felt the commander’s reaction was strange. It didn’t take long for everyone in the army to know that Heian Ciemnosc and only his team members were returning, appalling everyone in whatever could have happened further into the woods. By the time everyone formed up and waited for Heian Ciemnosc with their commander and second-in-command in front, Heian Ciemnosc and his team were visible to their preoccupied eyes.
Step, step, step, step,... Heian Ciemnosc and his team members walked up to the army to be greeted by the sight of everyone seemingly waiting for the scouting group, but only a team returned. Without any expression, Heian Ciemnosc walked forth as his team followed a few meters behind him. Their clothes were bloody, but their hands were empty. The commander looked on with undisguised disdain at them.
“Team leader He-” Heian Ciemnosc walked to stand before the commander and was verbally saluting when the commander interrupted him and began walking left and right in front of the army. His face was incomprehensible, red with embarrassment, and half furious as his voice was choked as if trying to hold himself back.
“I sent 104 people out there to complete a mission, and it was a simple one: reconnoitering and choosing a better path! But not only did your group face a calamity, you even got 96 Sub Students killed!! Every single person that wasn’t from your team was annihilated, but only you and those 7 are fine?! Everyone here can see the blood on their clothes is not theirs! What kind of team leader are you if- if- if…” The commander stopped in his tracks, his left side facing the army and his right side Heian Ciemnosc and his team. “... Report!!”
With a final shout, the commander no longer berated Heian Ciemnosc and let him do as duty ensures. Heian Ciemnosc immediately stood in attention and looked up at the commander. But he knew that even as Lionel no longer talked about it, the other student troops were already incensed by his words. They felt flames of fury burning in their hearts as they watched Heian Ciemnosc and his team.
“Repoting. When I first discovered the enemy, I had the inkling they were closing in in order to not only enter in range but also secure a few more shots at us in case they failed or we could protect ourselves.” Heian Ciemnosc continued, “I sent a Sub Student back to tell the army while my scouting group waited and surveilled the enemy. However, 2 things happened that deteriorated our situation for the worse.”
“Excused! You and only you will be punish-” Lionel opened his mouth to continue berating Heian Ciemnosc. But the latter continued as if the former didn’t exist. “One. When the Sub Student I sent returned to the path we made, he was running with all his might and should’ve returned to the army in less than an hour. But when he returned, he did so by walking, taking 2 hours to return to his duty. Two. I don’t know which other student talked to him after relaying the news. But somehow, they convinced my scout that we didn’t have acute information.”
“Because of all that, when the Sub Student returned and raised a commotion, it was too late as the enemy began aiming its guidance system towards us. When I gave the order to retreat since we were under enemy fire, without knowing their firepower. They also hesitated for too long after hearing the Sub Student out. Only I and my team had to slow down in order to let them catch up.”
“Wait, that’s not important here! You wer-” But the commander finally reacted after he was numb hearing everything that occurred. He was processing Heian Ciemnosc’s guesses as he understood the result of each of his actions. Yet again, Heian Ciemnosc continued his reporting without considering the commander. Lionel could also feel the student troops wanted to hear more about what happened and felt helpless to simply silence Heian Ciemnosc right now…
“In the end, it was too late. The Sub Students were reached by the enemy cannon’s projectile and exploded to bits before burning to some ashes.” The moment Heian Ciemnosc said these words, 2 seconds later, the commander’s eyes brightened, and he immediately commented. “See?! You knew that would happen! Not only is your alignment doubtful now, but you also didn’t protect your group even as-”
“My Concealed Ornament Team has many tools made by me. They are very intricate and have unusual features. That is the only thing allowing me to protect them so fast and before the enemy’s projectile reached us. They were very costly, and I didn’t make them for free. They paid for each of them. I could only protect them and not everyone.”
“Additionally, I have assessed the firepower of this cannon at the moment it crashed and exploded, blasting my body away, as well as when the cannon fell on my team’s hands. It can kill anyone in the early stages of the Crabstynian realm and injure those in the middle stages. Only those in the later stages can ignore it like it’s nothing without using Power Energy or their pure energy armor. The range and other specifications of this cannon are also now known and to be studied by me and my team. This information has been sent to the Academy already.”
‘What?! You won’t be receiving anything good in your name, kid! Not with me here!’ The commander’s eyes immediately went a little too wide and seemed crazy before he calmed down. He looked down at Heian Ciemnosc and immediately interjected, not leaving any gaps for the teenager to continue. “You directly messaged the Academy of such important news on your own accord? This is my army! How dare you act with such recklessness!”
“Oh, I didn’t put my name on the message. It was too important to not send it. I suspect this cannon has been mass-produced, and even civilians can use it. With enough bravery and a boost in one’s mentality, any civilian can be convinced to attack cultivators with such weapons. It has happened in the past, continues to do so in the present, and will in the future.”
“Not on your name? Aah, good, good…” The commander relaxed at once, his back turned soft, and his heart stopped beating so wantonly. Heian Ciemnosc then continued, “I have hunted down the enemy. Their cannon is disassembled in my team’s Covert Space bags, and we are ready to keep studying it. I ask the commander for one-third of a day to study it so we can work to neutralize it better in future scouting missions. Additionally, I beg the army to send me cultivators of the higher stage to protect themselves… This is a war, not a kindergarten. This all could’ve gone much better if my scouting group wasn’t so disparate in cultivation base to my team.”
Heian Ciemnosc said as he took some heads out and let them fall on the ground, their sound muffled by the thick grass and soft dirt. They looked uniquely awful. Some even had half their head’s meat and organs gone, with only their bones remaining and showing as if for exposition. The army’s eyes changed as they looked at Heian Ciemnosc with a brighter sheen and a different emotion than disappointment.
“What… cultivators does your scouting team require?” The commander relented. He couldn’t just tell Heian Ciemnosc no and punish him publicly after he allowed the kid to say so much. With an unwilling voice, Lionel faced Heian Ciemnosc and wished he handled this in a way that wasn’t public, but there ain’t medicine for regret in the world. Heian Ciemnosc kept his stance and numbered as he spoke and looked down.
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“I need less quantity of scouts and stronger ones. Instead of 24 per army’s section, send me 6. A third with agile and speedy qualities than everyone else with the same cultivation base, and the rest should all be good combatants. I ask for nothing more. Scouting is important, and I intend to train them at the job.” Heian Ciemnosc said. His voice was neutral but somewhat cute to listen to. It made it impossible to be flatly denied for no reason.
“The world is genuinely big, and nobody here is an expert inside a jungle. It isn’t a mere forest that ordinary people go to hunt or chop wood to.” Cari, a second-in-command of the army, spoke at this moment. He seemed to help Lionel, giving him more time to ponder as the army watched. He then added in good nature, “Think about it well. The more scouts you have, the more land you’ll surveil as you advance. It will be too risky otherwise.”
“I asked less so that we’re not detected. I might as well ask for 1,000 student troops to act as scouts. It won’t matter if we’re scouts if we’re seen. A 200,000-strong army is behind us, not because it is courtesy for a smallish group to advance first but to neutralize and identify threats. As a large group asking to be discovered, what does it matter if it’s a few thousand or the entire army by then?”
“...” Cari fell silent as he looked at the commander from behind. Lionel looked down momentarily and then slightly nodded before staring at Heian Ciemnosc and accepting, “Alright then, you’ll have those cultivators. But if you abandon your fellow troopers or your duty again, you’ll be hunted down by me personally! Understood? What else does your scouting mission need?”
“Nothing much, just that and to return to the transporting ship to study the canon more. If I can study its system and infrastructure more, I could find a way to deactivate or localize them. That way, we won’t have to wait for the enemy to see us first.” Heian Ciemnosc answered and then stepped back. The commander looked at his prey for a few more seconds before turning around.
“You’ve heard it! Tonight, we will rest, but I expect every one of you to march and listen to orders without rest from now on! Triple the patrol and extend it. If any of you dare to also abandon your duty or harm other student troops, you will be dealt with!!” The commander didn’t forget to admonish Heian Ciemnosc’s actions more before ignoring the teenager, and walking towards the main camp.
“Let’s go,” Heian Ciemnosc looked back at his team and gave them a side glance with his left eye. His team nodded at him and followed suit as he walked towards the transporting ship.
… During the whole night, and before 5 AM, the Concealed Ornament Team worked in one of the empty rooms in the transporting ship. Heian Ciemnosc no longer just watched as he reverse-engineered and contemplated the cannon’s creation and materials. When he and the team were done working with it, it was time to resume their trip and continue scouting. But now, Heian Ciemnosc figured out a method to localize a general zone if any cannons were nearby.
It wouldn’t mean much to others, as a simple look at everything from above, or with the map the transporting ship was automatically drawing, anyone could make a conjecture after several encounters once they have learned their enemy’s modus operandi. But for someone with an impossible Spirit Sense range in the First Step, that was all Heian Ciemnosc needed.
The next day, Heian Ciemnosc, his team, and the new 24 scouts, all in the later stages of the Crabstynian realm, prepared a little in the main camp before departing into the woods again. But this time, when they saw fewer numbers rushing ahead, the student troops felt more secure. And knowing Heian Ciemnosc could deal with strange and severe situations, they only hoped that everything would go well for the rest of the day to advance with the transporting ship again.
… Stomp stomp stomp, stomp stomp stomp… Heian Ciemnosc and his scouting group rushed forward at a decent speed. They found a few hostile flora and fauna. But those were dispatched immediately by them without making much noise and avoiding making a commotion. With Heian Ciemnosc’s aid, no powerful Fauna was found. They always went around strange and dangerous zones where gigantic flora lived and camouflaged.
After 5 hours, they found no substantial danger, and the new scouts felt like the job was easy. Heian Ciemnosc didn’t do something to change their minds, but after rushing forth for that much time, he finally ordered a stop and rest. It wasn’t for anything else but to restore their Power Energy. They had traveled for a few hours and met no enemy. It could only mean they might face one, or several, soon.
Though the new scouts weren’t willing to wait and pause, a glare from Heian Ciemnosc made them, cultivators in the last stages of the Crabstynian realm, fear an Ashes Soul realm in the 1st stage. With the previously known rumors and stories they had heard, they became quiet and meditated as they replenished their Power Energy storage.
As they were resting, Heian Ciemnosc continued standing while they sat and meditated. Heian Ciemnosc not only walked around his team members but the other scouts in his group as well. While he did, he ensured his team ate well under the confused eyes of the new scouts. Meanwhile, his Spirit Sense detected the previous mobilization by small forces. He figured it was many small groups like the ones before reuniting at a sole point after realizing something wrong must have happened.
It was a clean execution of plans and orders from the enemy. Heian Ciemnosc was no longer in the Sinvonnia Kingdom… It became easy to notice.
“... My orders,” Heian Ciemnosc suddenly said after 13 minutes of resting. The new scouts were startled, but the Concealed Ornament Team members rose up on their feet and looked at the team leader. Their movements were so abrupt but filled with reverence that the new scouts felt like following, or they’d be doing things wrong. After everyone stood up and faced him, confused or seriously, Heian Ciemnosc began.
“The 8 with the best agility and stuff, go with Aleksander.” Heian Ciemnosc pointed at the ‘weakest’ member of his team. After he said so, some new scouts tried to oppose the idea, but Aleksander’s glare forced them to shut it down. They felt like spiders crawled down their spine, and though such a thing couldn’t be actually ‘felt’… just the idea was enough to scare them. Heian Ciemnosc then looked at Violet and casually mentioned, “I didn’t have the time to explain this to the first scouting group, but my second-in-command is her. Anything she says, and I don’t deny, is the law, and she or anyone in my team has the right to outright execute you if you disobey.”
“These three are a step below Violet. They will each lead 4 of you, and Oleg and Victor will take another 4 of you.” Heian Ciemnosc looked at his team members next, “Now, pick your victims. You will harshly train them and make sure they survive. Whatever they learn could be important, even if it’s repeated information or things we already know.”
“We know, team leader, we’ll convert them into faithful servants.” Esteban nodded and looked at the new scouts like prey. Some other scouts felt content with having such stone-like beauties like Fengli and Sakura as their leaders… They just didn’t know what was coming to them.
“Mn, Violet, you can move from any smaller team you want.” Heian Ciemnosc didn’t need to remind her to be careful to not be seen by the enemy in case there was one nearby. Nor did he need to tell her to be wise in her actions and decisions. Violet nodded and smiled before glancing at Esteban, their secretive flirt witnessed by Heian Ciemnosc and his team, unbeknownst to them.
“... … …” Just looking at the exchange between this team, the new scouts no longer felt only somewhat scared, but also that this team was nothing they thought it would be like. Immediately, they felt a secure sensation even if they knew a harsh training was about to follow.
Before setting off again after resting, Heian Ciemnosc reminded everyone. “We are still going with a tight formation. On the way, you will be taught what to do ifs and what to respond to in some worse cases. If you fail to do as you’re told, suffers or even dies. It’ll be all your fault. Whoever survives through this trip until the Endless Desert can join me if they want. Our scouting group will continue to expand as some of you will die. But when we reach our destination, those who survived, at least since the Ice Comet Division, are good enough to enter my team.”
“Bah…” - “Thk…” - “Hum~...” After Heian Ciemnosc said those last few words. The new scouts reacted somewhat mockingly. It was one thing forming part of another team since everyone in the army already belonged to one. And another to form part of the commander’s inner circle. Naturally, they didn’t see Heian Ciemnosc’s Concealed Ornament Team as different from any other capable Team.
“Let’s go.” Heian Ciemnosc ignored the fools and turned around, his team following suit with ‘whoosh’ noises at a greater speed than before. The new scouts were barely getting to accept all the conditions their new temporary team leader put on them when they noticed the different rates and movements the other 8 dashed with. Their eyes widely opened, and they rushed into the jungle again, their faces anxious as they lost Heian Ciemnosc and his team for nearly an hour before finding them again.
They became exhausted and felt mentally wearied, but they saw Heian Ciemnosc and his team’s faces looking quite at ease without a shred of Power Energy being used other than rotating inside their bodies.
As they caught up, Aleksander, Esteban, Fengli, Sakura, Victor and Oleg called their respective 8 and 4 new scouts to follow them. The new scouts were taught what they needed to know first-things-first before being oriented on what they needed to learn later. With time and understanding, as they rushed into the jungle faster than before, they slowly became aware they could follow up with the Concealed Ornament Team. Even if not at the same level, they could hold on for several hours after learning a bit from them.
Little did they know the next rest wouldn’t be until the following morning when they finally returned to the transporting ship… And the reason was none other than… Enemies were nearby!
…