CHAPTER 96: FINAL PREPARATIONS
Riding in the car, Andrés watched out the window as some drones and humans cleaned up the little dirt that was found on the street.
No matter how hard people tried not to litter, one could always find dirt that was unavoidable and even more so in such a big party as the anniversary party.
However, the use of drones for such tasks was innovative.
Drones designed to clean, collect, and store garbage moved around the city.
“Zerzura is more technological than I imagined when I first learned about it,” Andrés commented with a sincere tone.
He had arrived in Atlantis City and had seen that jewel in the sea.
Technology, security, and an impressive environment for a city on the sea.
Then he had arrived at Zerzura City and even though it was a city in the middle of Africa near a large magical forest and a city founded about five years ago, it was actually more impressive than he had imagined.
“Yes, adding the new Cosmos Portal has made it easier to travel here without needing to use airplanes.” Commented Liam, who was driving.
Andrés nodded.
He knew that it had been over a month since the ‘Cosmos Portals’ had been completed in Zerzura City, maybe that was the reason it had been left out of the news before.
“The Portals are too useful. Air travel seems unnecessary and more so when there are dangerous creatures in Africa.” Said Leslie, who was in the car.
The planes had kept the creatures from taking notice while reducing the speed of travel to the minimum possible.
However, that sense of danger and adding the hours of travel made it a method used when there was no other choice.
That didn’t mean that Zerzura was ‘isolated’. There were other personal portals that were used only by authorized personnel, although the ‘Cosmos Portals’ opened the door for tourism.
“Will the training be difficult?” Nicole asked, changing the subject.
“No, it’s mostly getting along with your new colleagues. Getting to know them and understand their skills, while they get to know you.” Liam replied and as they parked at a stoplight, he added. “As you know, this mission is official. We cannot recruit adventurers from Zerzura, and both the church and the military have their assignments. That’s why the Apicius Company is sending its force.”
The adventurer guilds were managed and organized in such a way as to avoid entering into human conflict.
There were exceptions, however, those guilds would generally be frowned upon, as they would appear to be mercenaries... Resolving conflicts with brute force and for money.
As for the Zerzura guilds, they did not wish to make enemies of anyone because they traveled all over Africa and were likely to encounter those they attacked.
Since Liam had already answered most of their doubts and they knew how the Assault Mission would be conducted, they knew what the Church and Zerzura’s army would be busy with.
“You guys just have to prepare for tomorrow,” Liam commented in a simple tone.
It was only a day before the mission was to begin, and the group of students couldn’t help but feel slightly nervous.
Liam, who noticed this and looking in the rear-view mirror of the car at Érica and said. “I read your article, Érica. It was very good. I especially liked the title.”
“Is that so? But it’s not published yet.” Érica replied, staring at Liam in surprise.
After interviewing with the militiamen, refugees, and Vanessa, who was part of the support group, Érica managed to make an article that she ended up sending to the magazine.
She had asked Shao Ya and Akira’s opinion to see if it was okay, and then sent it to the magazine, just casually mentioning it to the rest of the group.
She wanted to surprise her classmates a bit when the magazine came out, so she waited for it to come out before showing it to them.
“I have an acquaintance in the magazine,” Liam replied, looking straight ahead, dodging the gaze.
Andrés also averted his gaze, as if that conversation had nothing to do with him.
He couldn’t say that because Liam was bored with the job, he helped him infiltrate the magazine’s network by stealing a copy of Érica’s work... That they could simply order it or view it from a holographic watch.
He knew Liam was testing him to recommend him for an “information network” job, yet it was another matter to expose his crimes now.
“We’re almost there,” Liam said, putting on an expression of a driver who was paying attention to the road and wouldn’t answer any more questions.
An odd expression for someone who had been chatting the whole way.
Even though he said they were almost there, it took them about ten minutes to get to a suburb.
The students looked strangely at the surroundings, as this place did not seem to be part of a guild or to have a training area.
It was a residential suburb, which was impossible to relate to meeting their new colleagues with whom they would have an important mission.
The group had thought it would be an Apicius Enterprise building where they would meet.
“Okay, this is it,” Liam said after parking and gave a signal for the group to follow him.
Andrés’ expression turned odd as they approached a suburban house, typical in the surrounding area.
Receiving Liam’s signal, Andrés knocked on the door.
As soon as the door was opened, what they noticed was the torso of a man... The reason for that was that a giant over two meters opened the door and had to lower his head to get through the door, which was small.
Corpulent and very muscular, he made Andrés feel like a child compared to that tall man.
“Welcome. We have been waiting for you,” said the giant and giving permission for them to enter.
Basically retreating as he gave the feeling that with him in the hallway, they wouldn’t be able to get through.
Walking behind Liam like ducklings following mother duck, the group moved forward into the living room.
The good thing was that the house was big and the ‘giant’ could be comfortable... That was what Andrés was thinking, and the others might have been thinking the same thing.
When they got to the living room, what they found was Alice, sitting on the couch being attended to by a slender woman as if she were just another visitor.
Blonde hair and fair skin, the woman was quite beautiful.
“You must be our companions,” greeted a man in his late forties.
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Like the others, that man looked European and although Andrés was baptized by the Goddess of Knowledge, he could understand a particular Scandinavian accent.
“Henrik Vainio?” Leslie asked in disbelief and surprise.
“I didn’t think you would recognize me.” Said the man with a smile and, looking at the group, he introduced himself. “As your companion said, my name is Henrik Vainio guild leader of ‘The Unbridled Hunters’. These are my companions and now, we will be your new colleagues in this mission.”
Polite and simple.
That person was the leader of ‘The Unbridled Hunters’, whose headquarters was in Scandinavia and who were dedicated to ‘hunting’ creatures with their guild, affiliated to the Apicius Company.
That same guild invited Leslie to join them, that was why she recognized him.
Henrik, noticing the group’s gaze on him, pointed to his giant companion and introduced. “Alvar Kulmala a knight. His hulking body and tall stature are not an innate ability, he is just big by birth.”
No one asked the reason he explained so much, as that question had crossed the minds of the students, or at least Andrés, who had thought of an ancient hero who was known as a Steel Giant.
Like that hero who had an innate ability, which increased his size, it was normal to think that others had similar innate abilities.
“Laila Litmanen. A psionic focused on mental attacks and telepathy.” Henrik pointed this time at the woman, who gave a smile.
At that moment, a young man arrived with some snacks from the kitchen and set it down on the nearby table, without speaking or greeting those present.
“This young man is Niko Aho. Ignore his bad manners. He’s not much of a talker, but he’s a skilled sniper and someone with a talent in ranged weapons mastery,” Henrik commented and, looking at the young man, who was only nodding in greeting, he added. “The Earth Gods also chose him, but I don’t understand the reason.”
Andrés was surprised to hear that information.
Usually, those in the know kept such information hidden, but he knew they were coming clean because of the work they were about to do.
There were gods on other worlds, and Earth had its own gods.
While they were not gods like the God of Time and Space or the Goddess of Order who were beings that existed from the beginning of time, neither were they gods like those of Terra nova where mortals ascended to godhood, at least according to theology.
The Earth Gods were born through the mass belief of mankind in the course of its history and, unlike other Gods, they had a single goal.
They protected mankind through maintaining the dimensional barrier and, with modern times, the belief in the gods diminished and they weakened, unable to maintain the dimensional barrier.
Which led to them asking for help from the Primordial God of Time and Space, Aión.
However, now that they were ‘unoccupied’, they chose humans as champions of their religion, allowing them to use their strength while directly blessing others.
All this information was common knowledge on earth.
So it was surprising to meet a paladin of those gods, and more so when it was said that they were weakened by their long labor and were not like the other churches of great power.
“He’s just a paladin. Don’t look at him as a freak,” Henrik joked with an amused tone, and seeing the group look away, he added. “Though if he’s lucky, maybe he’ll promote to S-Rank soon enough.”
While Niko was quite young when they had already seen someone like Akira, it was normal to get used to hearing those words.
“Let’s save the small talk for another time.” Interrupted Alice sipping tea and looking at the group, she explained. “We’ll all hide our identities. That’s why Henrik is taking part, even though he has an adventurer’s guild.”
Liam had already explained to her that they would hide their identities so that they would not be known and prevent anyone from seeking retaliation.
The possibility could be minimal, however, Aurora wanted to eliminate that possibility entirely.
While some special abilities such as Akira’s ‘Tempest’ could be recognized, performing that ability would not be necessary.
Three teams: one saves the hostages, one eliminates the important forces and one would stop General Kavuri.
That was the plan.
While it was likely that the guilds of Zerzura would risk entering into these types of missions, a remote guild in northern Europe had more freedom and more so when no one would recognize who their members were.
“We are gathered here to meet them and test the skills of the other group. But also to coordinate with them using the communication system or telepathy if necessary.” Alice explained, and looking at the group of students, she added. “They will test you and you will test them.”
The ‘testing’ Alice was talking about was not about testing to accept them, but getting to know and see the capabilities of her new colleagues to enable them to better coordinate in the future.
It was necessary to get to know each other to make sure there were no mistakes or problems.
One’s experience and ability could make it possible to coordinate with anyone, but no one denied that knowing beforehand was more useful.
The next day, they would start the mission, and they had to be prepared for it.
******
In the high command room at headquarters, several presences were present, including Aurora.
“Tomorrow we start the mission and we are ready for it,” General McLean announced.
Dark-skinned, he was a tall, strong man whose voice was authoritative enough to make people hesitate to respond.
Despite his age, which must have been well over fifty, he looked in excellent shape, as if he could take on any kind of foe.
“The Church’s preparations are also ready and the Apicius Company has already arranged everything with the Lord of Mombasa,” Cardinal Brousseau reported.
Both the Church and the Apicius Enterprise had their own tasks for this mission.
“Will Zerzura receive criticism?” Colonel Makeba asked.
“Surely. We are intervening on an international scale on matters unrelated to Zerzura. However, both the Apicius Enterprise and the Zerzura Minister are prepared to deal with criticism or repercussions of the mission,” Cardinal Brousseau replied in a simple tone.
Zerzura was a city-state and, as with any government, could receive criticism for its intervention in other areas.
Adding that Zerzura City had the Apicius Company with it, it might appear that the company was trying to extend its ‘claws’ into other areas for more wealth.
It was possible that Apicius Enterprise’s commercial enemies wanted to criticize the city, trying to tarnish the reputation of both.
That was why the Minister and the ‘CEO’ of Apicius Enterprise would take it upon themselves to be the first to report on the mission and answer all questions when it was all over.
“Aurora, is your group ready?” General McLean asked with a serious and slightly cold tone.
The aura that emanated from that famous and powerful SS rank was impressive and that was being suppressed.
“Yes, we are already prepared. Three strike groups and a support group belonging to the Church.” Aurora reported the preparations.
This time it wasn’t her first time working with the Zerzura City authorities and it wasn’t her first time talking to General McLean, a famous SS Rank.
“Perfect. General Kavuri’s forces are the most problematic and the ones that need to be stopped as quickly as possible.” General McLean commented and looking at Aurora, he warned. “But remember, General Kavuri is related to demon gods and is performing a ritual... You have to expect the worst.”
He sounded strict, but there was no doubt or criticism in his voice and only a concern for everything to go correctly.
When someone was crazy enough to perform a ritual to unknown gods, one should expect the worst to happen.
Aurora nodded, understanding his concern.
“An attack on several positions throughout Kenya. Somali Terror will have nothing left,” General McLean stated, tapping the table with some excitement.
Aside from the individual success of the independent missions, a region-wide mobilization was actually taking place.
The forces of the ‘Somali Terror’ would be completely subjugated or annihilated once the principal objectives were secured.
Zerzura City was bringing peace to Kenya and allying with the ‘Lord of Mombasa’ to defeat all the military forces of the ‘Somali Terror’ controlling half of Kenya.
This was the first Assault mission to be carried out on this scale, as previously they only went for the important heads.
“It is now time to bring order and peace to Kenya.” Cardinal Brousseau announced with a nod.
Zerzura remained neutral in the conflicts and allowed adventurers’ guilds or companies to settle in the different cities of Africa on the condition that they imposed order.
This was because they could not economically manage the entire continent and ensure its security on a continental level.
Guilds and businesses of all kinds ensured the lives of the citizens and brought greater tranquility, but that was until war broke out.
The armed conflict had to be stopped and in order for these conflicts not to happen again, someone had to stay to rule these lands.
The Lord of Mombasa would take on that task.
Those present, by demonstrating their strength, made it clear what would happen to those kinds of people like the ‘Somali Terror’ who only sought to spread chaos.
“McLean, be careful when you go to Somalia to take care of the Somali Terror. I hear that we have sighted the Somali Pirate off the coast of Somalia,” Cardinal Brousseau reported with a slightly worried tone.
The Somali Pirate was an SS Rank who was in Somalia and despite usually embarking on his vessel to move around the Indian Ocean, he sometimes returned to ‘land’.
“No problem, that’s the reason I’m taking personal charge,” General McLean replied with a simple yet ready for anything tone.
Sending an SS Rank to take care of an S Rank was like sending a tank to kill a chicken... Of course, that analogy depended on the capability of the chicken.
However, the main point was that the Army was mobilizing quite a bit to achieve its goal of defeating the ‘Somali Terror’ and the reason General McLean was involved was to prevent the Somali Pirate from interceding.
One never knew what a lunatic would do.
After settling a few minor issues, Colonel Makeba and General McLean left the room.
“Aurora, I brought what you asked for. I hope they will be useful to you.” Said Cardinal Brousseau, passing some small crystals.
Aurora took those crystals and gave a smile.
“Thank you. With this, I will feel more relieved,” Aurora replied with a smile.
She always liked to have a hidden card able to prevent some dangerous situations from happening.
Now it was the same and those little crystals would be her hidden card for protection.
“Don’t thank me. This is the only thing I can do for the students.” Cardinal Brousseau said.
Those hidden cards were not for her or Akira’s group.
As Rank-A experts, they had a higher hope for survival on the battlefield.
However, students as B-Ranks were another matter and these crystals would make sure to avoid the worst eventualities.