Meanwhile elsewhere in the Frozen Hell. A group of young soldiers were traversing a hilly terrain.
They breathed evenly while their steps were in sync. Being trained to maximize their stamina they lightly jogged. Their feet made no sounds as they perfectly avoided breaking the Icestalk.
An older soldier was leading the recruits. He brought them on this mission where they would learn to face human opponents. For the veteran this was a rather standard mission.
The army received a report about a few blasphemers appearing. While guarding an orchard owned by ‘Frinks’, some guards were getting drunk. To their misfortune some of the companies’ sla… lowest rank workers overheard them blaspheming the God of Light and recorded it.
Naturally the company reported them instantly. No one would be stupid enough to hide such a capital crime from the army. Somehow however, the culprits learned about the army’s arrival beforehand. They immediately fled in panic.
Although the Frozen Hell was not a place for humans to live in it was still better than being caught by the Luminous Army.
Thus, a prefect mission for the army recruits started. Chasing down and apprehending criminals in the Frozen Hell.
The recruits adjusted their minds as they followed behind the officer. They knew they had to fight humans for the first time other than spars for training. This would be a real life and death struggle.
Emantarel was among the dozen recruits on this mission. He voluntarily registered for it. The pious young man was incensed that someone would dare to blaspheme the God of Light.
After his sister was kidnapped, it was the God of Light who gave him the strength to fight on. It was Captain Kaquir who trained him in the sword. It was the church who gave their family food from time to time when Emantarel couldn’t collect enough. It is also the God of Light who shields all of humanity against the Malohcras.
The young man couldn’t even fathom why someone would badmouth such a wonderful being. Anger boiled in his stomach.
Suddenly a light touch brushed his hand. A smile involuntarily appeared on the young man’s face. His head turned to the beautiful girl running beside him for a moment. Not daring to break the army’s discipline Emantarel could only keep a few flowery words in his mind.
Luckily the officer ignored the slight interaction between Emantarel and Moloan. The young woman with short, green hair also didn’t dare to push her luck too much. After calming down Emantarel she put on a stern face and focused on the mission.
A few minutes later the formation came to a stop. The leading officer observed his LMT before he announced:
“The fugitives have entered signal range again. Their SMTs are located at two different positions. We are splitting up. Numbers 2, 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, and 11 you follow me to pursue the bigger group of fugitives!
“Yes, sir!”, acknowledged seven young voices the order.
“Number 1. I grant you temporarily higher security allowance. Take number 3, 7, 9, and 12 and hunt down the remaining two criminals!”
“Yes, sir!”
Emantarel’s eyes lit up. As the first to participate in this mission he was number one. Now he would even gain temporary leadership. It was obvious that the higher-ups rewarded him for the effort he put in over the last few weeks.
A slight smile even formed on Moloan’s face. She felt happy for her friend, knowing that the army meant a lot to him.
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Suddenly a quiet beeping tone sounded from Emantarel’s SMT. A red arrow appeared in the blurry image the device projected into his mind. It showed the direction where the criminals’ SMTs were last found.
Before joining the army, the young man had only vaguely heard about SMTs. He hadn’t known that the Luminous Army could locate those devices if they were near a signal station.
As a devoted believer however, Emantarel didn’t think anything was wrong with the army’s actions. It was their job to keep Hex peaceful. It was only right that they reserved the means to do so. How else would their small squad be able to chase down criminals now for example.
Doing his best to suppress the happiness about his first command, Emantarel quickly tried to get into the right mindset. The other recruits led by the officer already continued their chase, while Emantarel mustered his team.
To his delight Moloan was with him. He knew he could always count on her, reassuring him of the successful completion of this mission.
Other than his almost girlfriend the officer also put two frontline fighters and even a precious healer under his command.
Emantarel nodded in appreciation. With this team it would be easy to get their job done. The criminals they were chasing weren’t that powerful. Even in the absolute worst-case scenario they would at most face two expert rank fighters. If they couldn’t even deal with this, then what were they even doing in the army?
“Everyone knows our mission.”, announced Emantarel,
“ETA 20 minutes. Let’s move!”
Some relief appeared in the young man’s mind as he noticed everyone following his command. Although the Luminous Army was particular about discipline, one never knew what would happen without an officer in sight. After all, Emantarel wasn’t on particular good terms with many of the recruits.
This time though the whole squad was focused on successfully accomplishing their mission. It wouldn’t do anyone any good if they failed. The other recruits also knew that if they were dissatisfied with their temporary leader, the only thing they could do was to put more effort into their training from this point on.
Thus, the squad silently followed Emantarel even though his left arm still twitched from time to time. Under his lead they advanced quickly. No beasts attacked them along the way.
As everyone recognized the area they were in, they also understood the reason for the absence of beasts. It seemed the criminals choose to cross through the Dragon’s Plain on purpose.
There are signs hinting at a beast with dragon blood sleeping somewhere underground, deterring all other beasts from approaching this place. It was a logical choice for the criminals. After all, if they were attacked by beasts, how would they escape from the army’s pursuit?
Unfortunately, this decision was not enough to keep them save. Emantarel and his squad were rapidly approaching the resting criminals.
A few minutes later two resting men appeared in the recruit’s vision. Since their SMTs were superior versions, the low-leveled criminals couldn’t even perceive any noise.
Emantarel signaled his team to stop. They stayed outside the criminal’s detection range as the young recruit carefully observed the two men.
Old leather armor, shabby swords, unkempt hair. Emantarel had seen many such men in his neighborhood. They belonged to the lower rungs of society, living paycheck to paycheck. Imagining that he would have become one of those too, if the army hadn’t accepted him, the young man shuddered slightly in disgust.
And instead of improving themselves and being thankful to the God of Light for enabling them to live in safety, they even blasphemed their benevolent ruler. Emantarel couldn’t understand their mindset. He was sure a few months or years in prison would do them good.
Shaking his head Emantarel continued to do his duty. He watched the criminals as he checked the information they received during the briefing. After a moment he found their profiles.
Lorn and Eftim were a pair of brothers. The older brother Lorn had reached the expert rank while his younger brother Eftim was stuck as an apprentice. Both hadn’t shown any improvement in years. The took cushy jobs as guards for Frinks. They could have just lived an uneventful life, but now they destroyed all their chances.
After knowing what they were dealing with, Emantarel was certain of the mission’s success. They had five expert rank warriors after all.
Putting his attention on the criminals, Emantarel slowly raised his hand.
His squad got ready for combat. The young recruit made a few signs, assigning everyone their targets. Next, he silently counted down with his fingers.
Three, two, one…
On Emantarel’s signal everyone dashed ahead. Moloan drew her uncommon choice of weapons. Two gorgeous, white pistols appeared in her hands. She abruptly came to a standstill. She suspended her breathing. Her eyes focused on the criminals.
Lorn and Eftim were peacefully resting. Suddenly a flurry of steps sounded out. They shot up. Before they could register the attack, two balls of mana already reached them. With high speeds they hit their legs. While Lorn received a nasty looking wound, the mana cleanly shot through Eftim’s leg. Cries of pain sounded in the deep darkness.
A young voice reached their ears before the army soldiers even closed in:
“Criminals! Drop your weapons! On your knees, hands up! You stand no chance!”