15 km from Anzuri City, Kingdom of Azuria.
May 8th, 1425.
7:48 AM
Ambassador Anderson looked out from the bulletproof glass viewing port of his armored vehicle, admiring the passing idyllic scenery consisting of expansive farmland and the occasional marshes here and there. Even if he had only been here for a day, he could tell how peaceful this part of the kingdom is by the children running around and the people tending to their crops, save for their surprise at the convoy. What’s strange is that some of these people do not look human, some have animal features like cat ears and tail while others have horns protruding from their heads.
Clack.
“You know, in my entire life I never thought I would one day witness the existence of half-human half-animal hybrids, much less having our entire continent sent off to a different world.” One of the soldiers inside the vehicle remarks as he took a picture with his personal camera through the opened gun port. “Some of the creatures here give me chills, especially the wyverns. You saw the teeths on those things?”
“At least the bright minds up in the brass actually made a good decision this time.” Private Lewis remarks as he knocks on the thin aluminum hull of the LT-PC with his hand. Although poorly armored, the small armored personnel carrier is still far more protected than the otherwise poorly armored UMT truck despite the discomfort of having to sit inside the somewhat cramped armored vehicle.
President Irwin wanted maximum protection for the delegation allowed by the recently discovered Kingdom of Azuria in case of any emergency situation, authorizing Army leadership to make special emergency procurement orders for new vehicles from Atlas Heavy Industry for the task force that would escort the Ambassador as well as the specialized equipment and experts to where they need to be. They have been traveling for 27 long hours on the muddy dirt road towards the inner plains now.
“Would’ve been nice if we had taken the choppers instead. I hate the muddy road.” Jonah, the Ambassador’s assistant, complained.
“You know that’s not possible, Colonel Stanford wouldn’t let his new birds take to the sky without the Navy or Air Force ensuring air superiority, even if it’s against flying lizards. Though he did put them on standby for any emergency.” Ambassador Anderson said, slightly annoyed at but remains understanding of Jonah’s position.
“Well that’s a let down.” Jonah lets out a sigh. “I must admit, the atmosphere here is nice. I haven’t been out of Arlette ever since I moved in near the university for work. Really make you appreciate fresh air when you barely have any of it for a year.”
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“I get what you mean, but security is the top priority right now. You can get some more fresh air and even some breathtaking views, if the Wyvern Captain’s word is true.” Anderson tried to reassure him.
“Speaking of wyverns…” Private Lewis picks up the small radio set inside the vehicle and tunes in the frequency. “Mornin’ Sarge, how’s the lizard flyboys above us?”
A voice cracks through the built-in speaker inside the radio. “Well… The Royal Wyvern Corp flyboys are definitely elite, they rotate their shift every 4 hours in the air and always maintain a circular watch out formation. I wouldn’t want the convoy to be ambushed by these guys. Technically we could survive but our best shot would’ve been to burn the twenty UMTs in the convoy to deny capture and make a run back to the boat in the LT-PCs, if we have dedicated anti-air or air support then we can beat them back for sure though.” Sergeant Boris comments through the radio as he looks up to the small formation of wyverns above from his machine gunner seat in one of the 5-ton trucks.
“The only things that the boys in the 160 man company discussed for the past 24 hours were catgirls, flying lizards, as well as some of the weird crops, trees, ruins and structures we came across.” Boris let out a long sigh at the conversation that was going on in the back as he pointed the radio’s microphone towards the back of the truck.
Laughter and conversations can be heard clearly through the radio.
“I told ya man! She would totally rip your lil’ shitass face out in bed! Listen here, Richie. When we arrive at whatever city we’re going to, I’ll find you a nice cat lady for you to sleep with. I know what you like, Richie. Thanks to the drill instructor, he found out about the secret porn stash that this fella here hid under the barrack's bunk and made the him do 20 laps around the base! They’re all fuckin’ cosplayers!” Private Joker laughed uncontrollably as he exposed his squad mate's embarrassing story to the rest of the men on the truck.
“Didn’t know you are into cosplays, Richie. You don’t look like one of those weirdos in the corner of the bookstore.” another man said.
“Unbelievable...” a feminine voice comments, seemingly out of place from the rest of the truck. “When will we get there?”
Boris moved the microphone back with him, pretending as if he had heard none of the typical Marine clownery just now. “At least they’re having fun. I do enjoy the scenery though, if not for the flock of lizards above I would have thought that I had gone to heaven with all the beautiful scenery.” he said with an unusually calm demeanor despite the extraordinary circumstances.
“Hey. Everybody dies someday, Sarge. Let’s hope it is not today. I’ll keep my eyes up for anything out of the ordinary.” Lewis said.
“Copy that, Private. Cutting transmission, over.”