“Good. We’re going to take that basic knowledge and go into it more. You will know not only how to call in artillery—you will know what the mortar team is thinking. You will be surprised with how effective mortars can be with the right spotter. You all know how the army was able to bleed the Blood Demon sect with the special teams observing the enemy and then our own Tiger Platoon dropped mortar round after mortar round onto them. We didn’t need to see the enemy, but we destroyed the enemy’s morale and we killed thousands of their members. The Tiger Combat Company will not have weak mortar squads, or else you will have to answer to me, as I will need to answer to Captain Yui!”
Sun Li looked them over. “Am I going to need to answer to Captain Yui?”
“No, First Sergeant!”
“Good! You will learn how to set up, tear down, fire, reload, clean, and love the mortar. You will also learn how to aim it without an observer and create mortar range cards, similar to your fire position range cards that you learned with the defensive portion of your basic training. You will become experts of this weapon system, to the point that you will be able to teach others how to use it easily. We are an expanding military and we need to train up people faster than ever.” Sun Li looked them over. “Sergeant Williams!”
“First Sergeant!” A voice came from behind.
“Take them to their training racks,” Sun Li said. “Follow Sergeant Williams. We are not here to screw around with you. You learned how to be a soldier in basic training. We will treat you like an adult here. You will attend class from morning until night for six days, with one day off. We will have some people on staff for you to ask them questions and go over training. You are here to learn how to hone your abilities. If you don’t know something, speak up. Others won’t know it either. We want to teach you as much as possible.”
Sun Li braced himself as Bai Ping and everyone else straightened up. “Dis-missed!”
They turned to the right and marched off, heading over to Sergeant Williams, who waited for them.
“Follow me,” Williams said.
They gaggled together and talked to one another as they followed Sergeant Williams. Some of them had trained together; others were in the same squad. They were all fresh to this, so they started to talk to one another and figure out who was who.
“Wilky,” one girl with her hair cut short said, pointing to her name tag, Wilkinson.
“Bai,” he replied with a head tilt. “You from Alva?”
“Nah, Vuzgal. You?”
“Same. You have any idea that they were hiding something like this?”
“No idea. I thought that Vuzgal was already hard to believe. Imagine if we told anyone up there about this massive dungeon that they control that has more mana and an even larger academy?” Wilky chuckled.
“I don’t think anyone would think we’re telling the truth.” Bai shook his head. “What brought you to Vuzgal?”
“From the east, Chaotic lands, wanted to be a crafter. Headed to Vuzgal—heard it was somewhere safe and had crafting. I showed up, but the academy wasn’t up at that time so I joined the military—food, free classes on crafting and a service term. I just thought that the crafting was a lie but I checked the service term, figured that if I worked in the military for some time, got stronger, then I could get some decent money together to start learning how to craft. You?”
“Town got raided. We were in the middle of the war. Fled with my family. I used to be a guard. I knew only how to fight and I saw how strong the Vuzgal army was. I wanted to be as strong as them so I joined them.”
“I keep waiting for the catch, you know?” Wilky said.
“Yeah, I’m used to being screwed over, but it seems that the contracts were true.”
“I don’t know about that. Did you read that if you die then your family will get what’s worth a year of your wages and that the army will do what they can to take care of them?”
“I did. Did you see how specific the terms are?” Bai Ping asked.
“It looked like a lot of words, so I skipped it.” Wilky shrugged.
“If you are wounded in any way in the line of duty, from getting the fear shakes and seizing up, to losing a limb, you will get healed. The army will give you wages until you are fully healed, then you will be returned to duty. Or if you don’t want to, you can move to one of the support units, join the policing or guard forces—just need retraining. If you get out of the military after finishing your contract, you get a bonus for your service. You get free schooling for the rest of your life—you just have to pay for supplies. If you die, then your family gets a year of your wages and assistance if they require it, have someone talk to them. Also heard that the city leaders and dungeon leaders, Major Erik and Rugrat, they’re true soldiers, like they came up from the bottom. With that, I think that they’re looking out for the people at the bottom of the ranks,” Bai Ping said.
“Damn, I didn’t think it was all that.”
“Then why did you sign it?”
“Easier than reading it all!” Wilky grinned.
Chapter: Forming King’s Hill Outpost
Nasreen looked at the road. It stretched behind them, going all the way to Shadowridge Outpost. It was still hidden and none of the mercenaries had found it yet. Linking the road to the outpost would be the last thing to happen.
Working together for a week, the guards had gotten closer to one another. Working in close quarters for a long time would do that. Their rotation was six days on and two days back in the outpost. They had all taken the time off, except the group from Vermire; they stayed on, working as hard as anyone else, if not harder.
The crafters had been nervous this far into the Beast Mountain Range. Now they stopped caring about the beasts and focused on their tasks, speeding up the process.
The guards scouted ahead and cleared the area well before they reached it.
Something seemed to have gotten into the Vermire people the last couple of days as they pushed harder than before, even using their weapons to clear the path. They had nearly doubled the distance they did in the previous three days. They had passed the halfway mark four days ago; they would reach King’s Hill early tomorrow morning.
They pressed on well into the night so they would have less work in the morning. The people from Vermire, instead of taking a break, continued to clear the forest. Each tree took them only a few blows to clear. It would make things easier for the mages and casters to create the road behind them tomorrow.
Pan Kun finally finished up and joined the guards in the camp.
“Get out your lumberjack on the trees?”
“They’ll be useful in building the convoy. The trees in here are much older and stronger than the ones at the fringe of the Beast Mountain Range,” Pan Kun said.
“You Vermire guards ever rest?” another guard asked.
“Only when the job is done,” Pan Kun said.
“Then you need to have one of McVoy’s meads and his wife Maria’s stew,” one of the Vermire guards said.
Pan Kun grinned and the others agreed.
“Nothing like our Mister Xia’s pizza!”
The groups went on, boasting about their outpost’s food and entertainment. Nasreen and her guards were no different.
“Ugh, why is it morning already,” Nasreen said as she got out of her bedroll and dressed.
She saw the Vermire guards, looking as fresh as anything and hacking at the trees once again.
Pan Kun saw her and waved her over to the pot of tea that brewed all night long to give the night watch something to keep them warm during the night.
“The night has to end at some point.” Pan Kun grabbed a cup, filling it with some tea and passing it to her.
“Well, it doesn’t seem like you Vermire guards seem to understand the concept of sleep,” Nasreen muttered.
Pan Kun chuckled and sat back. “We will be heading out in a few hours to scout King’s Hill. We’ve encountered a few beasts but it seems like their numbers are d
windling.”
“With our high levels and our numbers, we’re able to wear them down faster than mercenaries who are just thrown together for money,” Nasreen said.
“We need to remember that there are powerful creatures to be found in the Beast Mountain Range. We can’t be complacent.” Pan Kun sipped from his tea.
Nasreen nodded. “All right, we’ll be laying the foundations of King’s Hill Outpost tonight.”
“The sooner we start, the sooner we can have walls around us.”
***
“With the new products coming from the Edo empire, they need a greater supply of monster cores and ingredients that are found in the Beast Mountain Range.”
“So if we put up a bounty on the ingredients, then we should pull in a lot and make a nice little profit. Have you been able to find a new supplier of grain? The Rama kingdom is starting to increase their prices and Wilson County’s crops were hit with an early frost, which will drive up their prices—if they have anything spare to sell.” Leo looked to Peter, his direct subordinate and second-in-command. “Check with the ingredient gardens, see what we can grow. Let’s see what the other outposts might need. It seems that trading with outside powers is more complicated,” Leo said.
Peter nodded with a knowing smile. “Yes, my lord. I will look into more trading contracts with other outpost lords.”
Leo looked at the merchants in the room, seeing ideas appear in their mind as they started changing their perspective. At this time, only Peter and the captain of his guards knew about the King’s Hill Outpost.
“Well, what about Vermire?” one of the merchants said.
Leo indicated for them to continue.
“They have been trading with most people in terms of grain. It seems that some people are trying to pressure them with an increased price in foodstuffs. They have created a trading agreement with multiple partners, some that are months’ travel away. If we can contact them, they can possibly act as an intermediary. The prices wouldn’t be as cheap as that from Wilson County, but they would be much cheaper than what we could get from the Rama kingdom if we buy in bulk.”
The door burst open and Leo had a small crossbow in his hand. Seeing it was Nicolaas, the captain of his guards, he relaxed.
“There is an army of other outpost lords heading toward us. They will arrive tonight or tomorrow morning,” Nicolaas reported.
The merchants looked shaken and Leo looked to Peter.
He put the crossbow back into his jacket. “Excuse me. It looks like we have some unwelcome guests.” Leo strode out of the room.
“Who are they?” Leo asked.
“Looks like it’s from the Goldgrip, Brownspine, and Embergrove Outposts,” Nicolaas said.
“How many?”
“About six hundred. They brought mercenaries with them as well.”
“Did they leave anyone to defend their outposts?” Leo hissed. He had one hundred and twenty guards. With thirty of them working on the road, there was just ninety remaining in his Sea Castle Outpost.
“Send a message to Aditya and the other outpost lords in the area. Notify them that we are under attack and request aid.”
***
“Kingdoms sure are powerful,” Lady Sumi remarked as she read the latest letter. “With the units from their armies, we should keep all of the outposts occupied, pinning them all down. Then we start picking them off one by one. Bring all of our strength to bear on one outpost after another, grinding them into nothing.” Sumi ate some fruits as she glanced at the map on the wall.
“Tomorrow the Beast Mountain Range will be consumed in the flames of war. I should really thank you, Aditya, for creating this opportunity.”
She grabbed a glass and toasted the map, before letting out a laugh that filled the empty hall.
***
Aditya looked at the reports as he stood in his office. “Well, today we will establish King’s Hill Outpost and fight our first battles. Tonight, I will order our people to act.”
“Nervous?” Evernight asked.
“Terribly so!” Aditya said.
“We’ve rolled the dice and prepared our cards. It’s time to see if we get the rolls we need and our cards are strong enough to win,” Evernight said.
***
“Well, this is shitty,” one of the scouts said as they moved with Pan Kun, looking at King’s Hill.
“Huh.” Pan Kun frowned as he looked out in the field. “Looks like a cow, a deer—a very big deer—and a hairy ox got it on.”
Pan Kun looked to the scout. “Well, you can’t say that it doesn’t.” He shrugged.
“Let’s scout around,” Pan Kun said.
The group broke up and moved around the one hundred strong big beasts that were grazing atop King’s Hill. Each of them were powerful beasts; they had to be to survive in these lands.
The forest curled around King’s Hill, which was a large hilly area that surveyed the area. There were few trees on the hill and it was flat at the top, perfect for an outpost, and for the grazing beasts.
Pan Kun kept his eyes out as he looked around. He climbed a tree to take a look around. He couldn’t find signs of the bator.
He kept on looking but didn’t see any signs. The scouts grouped up again and shared what they had seen.
“There is a creek to the east. Nothing much of note. Rocks there, making it harder to get up the hill,” the first scout reported.
“The hill to the west is fine. Big trees. We climbed up, saw that the ox-deer cover the entire top of the hill.”
“To the north, there is a second hill. It is rockier, and it stands taller. There is a cave in it. There was a winged beast standing in the entrance. It’s a mean-looking creature, has a beak on it, and it was eating what looked like to be part of a mountain wolf.”
The others looked to the scout, seeing the slight fear in his eyes.
“Well, looks like we can use one to solve the other,” Pan Kun said.
“What do you mean?” Nasreen asked.
“If we can draw out that beast in the hills, we have it attack the herd that is on the hill, have them weaken one another and then we can swoop in and kill whatever remains.”
“Well, how are we going to get it on the ground?”
Pan Kun pulled out one of the two spell scrolls that he had been given.
“Trap Beast?” someone asked as he showed it to them.
“It will hold a beast within five feet of a binding location, so it will be stuck on the ground. The creatures in the herd are nearly seven feet tall, so they can easily hit it at that kind of range.”
“What if it kills them all? It doesn’t look weak,” the scout who had seen the beast said.
“Then it’ll be more tired out and we can get in there and kill it,” Pan Kun said.
I doubt that it can take that much punishment. With herds, if I can find out which one is the leader and I tame it, then the rest of the herd should follow. If the beast survives, then I use the binding scroll on it and capture it. Whichever group is strongest, I’ll be able to reap the rewards.
The others seemed to agree.
“So how do we get them to fight one another?”
“Easy. We piss off the flying beast,” Pan Kun said.
“Kite it into the herd, have it attack the herd,” Nasreen said.
“Rollo is our best runner.”
“Hey, I didn’t volunteer for anything!” one of the Vermire guards complained.
“You didn’t need to—you just got voluntold.” Pan Kun smiled, using one of the terms that the training staff had used and stuck with the guards.
“Damn,” Rollo muttered.
“Go and piss it off and draw it over to the herd. If it’s angry enough, then it’ll attack. So do your best,” Pan Kun said.
“I fucking hate this plan, just so you know,” Rollo said.
“Don’t worry. I’ll be here and ready to use the scroll the moment it’s within the herd,” Pan Kun said.
Rollo shook
his head as his friends gave him commiserating pats on the backs. “Thanks, you assholes. Just going to go and piss off a big bat—make it feel like a funeral.”
“Let’s get all of the guards in position. Once we are, Rollo, do your thing.”
***
Pan Kun waited. The guards were set, the herd was still munching, and Rollo had been sent off.
He heard a cry out in the distance. Pan Kun moved, feeling the scroll tucked into his armor and the other that was in his hands.
The herd looked up from their grazing as Rollo appeared. He turned and fired an arrow through the trees he had come through.
There was another screech of anger as Rollo ran and threw himself forward. There was a rush of wind. As the bator appeared, it let out a yell, a wave of force contorting the air as it struck the herd beyond Rollo.
The herd let out groans and snorts as they pawed the ground. The bator cut its descent and flapped its wings to gain altitude and pass over the herd.
Pan Kun activated the spell scroll, watching the bator get away and higher. “Come on, come on!”
The bator let out another screech at the herd below. The large beasts raised their front legs with deep bellows, before landing on the ground, one challenging the other.
The scroll activated and spell circles appeared around and attached to the bator. It was dragged from the sky. A chain appeared from the ground and a square formation there. The bator hit the ground, letting out an alarmed noise.
The herd beasts rushed in, charging with their horns now that their enemy was on their level.
Rollo quickly escaped into the trees, forgotten by the beasts.
The bator used her screech, stunning the beasts rushing her as she used her beak and talons to attack them. They tossed their heads, hitting her with their horns. She let out a yell as she was thrown to the side, the chain holding her in place.
A beast lowered his head to pierce her with his horns. She sliced at him with her talons, opening his face and neck. The beast let out a pained cry, half blind and in pain. She tried to escape but the chain stopped her from getting far.
The Fifth Realm Page 70
