There was an area behind the only mansion in town, and it was large enough to hold an army fit to fight off a surprise invasion if one ignored the densely packed trees that protected the ground from erosion. But if one were to look carefully, they would notice the peculiar growth of trees that seemed to open a path down to nowhere.

At the end of the path, however, were several bunkers, painted with natural green to camouflage themselves from nosy civilians or enemy invaders. The base of the trees along the path was carved with spell circles that formed the basis of a large scale illusion magic, intended to further conceal the already concealed.

A man wearing a black T-shirt and a pair of equally dark sweatpants walked down the path, and before anyone noticed, he was gone, swallowed by the illusion magic that coated the path. Any outsiders could follow him through, but that would earn them a lesson that they'll never forget, if they survived the punishment, that is. The man walked to the first of the four bunkers arranged perpendicular to the path and entered his residence. This was where he lived now, where they all lived. Within were two rows of bunk beds arranged on opposite sides of the bunker walls, a kitchen after the place they sleep and a bathroom large enough for five people to bathe at once. The reason why there was so much space was due to the enchantment of spatial magic that expanded the insides of the originally very small bunker and the generosity of the scion who was not so selfish as to keep his wealth to rot in his vault. The investment seemed to pay off, considering how the scion had four of the kingdom's 20 elite teams under his rule. The soldiers weren't just for show, either. They had the skills to commit espionage, destroy countries from within and even rule a country whose king was just killed as if nothing happened at all. Of course, the kingdom which they were born in was smart enough to keep these men satisfied by rewarding them handsomely through their lord.

The bunker was rowdy as hell when the man entered, but one look at his face made others feel the solemness of what he had to say. "Riz and his team... didn't make it," the man's shoulders drooped as he announced the news after the whole bunker gave him their attention.

"Ah shucks, don't fool around Aaron!" a soldier joked, as if unable to accept it, but when he saw Aaron's expression, something told him his friend wasn't lying.

After a moment of silence as respect for the dead men, one of the guys who were playing cards asked. "Who did't? And 'ow?"

Stolen novel; please report.

Aaron looked up as he closed the bunker door behind him, and he gave a laugh before spitting out what he heard by eavesdropping with a laughable tone. "You're neva' gonna believe it, they got turned into these creatures during their mission," he hugged his stomach as he continued laughing. "Creatures?" One ask. "What'r they?" asked the other guy who was playing cards. "They be tis' biting creatures, like vampires," Aaron stopped laughing all of a sudden, turning serious next while wiping his tears off. "Worst off, we're being deployed."

As the words left his mouth, the others looked at him dumbfounded. A few started to laugh, thinking Aaron was joking. "You're kidding?' More laughs followed and soon, the whole bunker was filled with laughter. "Bud'! 'ow many times have I told ya', lying ain't good!" the laughs started spreading until even Aaron found it hard to resist. Before long, everyone was laughing in the bunker, yet it came to an abrupt halt when the bunker door opened behind Aaron, revealing the butler who always accompanied the scion.

The butler cleared his throat before relaying the scion's orders. "Protocol 1-1-1." He then left for the other bunkers. The soldiers in the bunker looked at the door, before looking at Aaron again. It took only an instant before they did what they had been drilled to do. Aaron went to his bed to prepare well. His bunk-mate, Chris, was gearing up as well.

"Hey A, remind me what protocol one to one to one stands for again?" The question was intended to clear up his mind, but Aaron answered him seriously anyway. "It's total deployment. That means we're going to war with an unknown entity."

"I thought that was protocol one to one to two?" Chris looked confused, but his tone didn't. Aaron chuckled as he replied. "Dude, that's invasion by all the other countries. The king would've had to accomplish something so fucked up to earn that much hostility and unite all the other countries."

"You've gotta start memorising the textbook, Christopher!" Aaron added jokingly.

"Yeah, you're right. I hope I don't bring the wrong shit into the wrong war." Chris replied as he felt better having his friend by his side.