Two days later.
Inside an airship quickly approaching Quarath.
Fifteen people sat in two lines, all of them wearing casual expressions as they made small talk.
That was until one of them, a bulky man in his thirties, asked, “Say, does any of you have an idea why fifteen of us were sent at once to this skirmish?”
It was a normal question, asked in a casual tone, but it instantly made the remaining fourteen faces turn solemn.
“The higher-ups have their own plans. They aren’t for us to discuss, much less question,” said a serious-looking man with short brown hair who appeared to be their leader. “All we need to do is follow orders and leave everything else to our superiors. Don’t forget that if you want to keep your status. Understood?”
Although those words made several of the fifteen scrunch their faces, nobody dared to form any kind of rebuttal. If they did and it got out, they would be instantly stripped of all their power and, in the worst case, used as cannon fodder.
They had no idea that the worst case they feared so much, and had no intention of ever facing, was happening right at this very moment.
The bulky man quickly nodded. “I was just asking, I was just asking. There’s no need to be so dramatic.”
The leader didn’t spare him a second glance and instead looked outside, where giant walls stood tall.
“We’ve arrived.”
Just a few words, yet the eyes of everyone present narrowed as an air of solemnity spread among them.
The airship came to a slow halt, and when it had fully stopped, the leader said firmly, “Let’s go.”
Without hesitation, he disembarked first, gently landing on the ground as the others quickly followed one by one and took their places at his side.
He stared at the city ahead and said, “Take this time to regulate your breathing. Nemesis will come at us soon.”
“Yes, sir.”
The fourteen replied in unison, taking deep breaths as they stared at Quarath’s walls.
Even though they were fifteen and all Grade 1s, they couldn’t help but feel trepidation standing so close to the only city that had managed to break free from the shackles of the Federation.
/////
Not even a second had passed before the soldiers on Quarath’s walls spotted the airship and identified the fifteen people standing on the ground below it.
“Enemy airship in front of the west gate! I repeat, enemy airship in front of the west gate!”
The soldier shouted at the top of his lungs for everyone to hear. Then, as he took a closer look at the people on the ground, he stammered, “Fif—”
Gulp.
He swallowed a mouthful of saliva, clenched his hands into fists, and this time shouted until his throat hurt.
“Fifteen Grade 1s present!”
The news was so outrageous that it quickly made its way up the hierarchy, reaching the captain, the commander, and finally, within seconds of the airship’s arrival near Quarath, a general.
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Darius was happily strolling through one of Quarath’s main streets.
“It feels good to take a well-deserved break,” he murmured to himself, his lips tugging into a casual smile as he enjoyed the atmosphere created by the ocean of people around him.
He had been training hard, barely taking any breaks ever since Nova had come back.
And it wasn’t just him.
Every general had been putting in far more effort than before, fearful that their boss might think they weren’t doing enough. After all, they were all deeply grateful for what he had done for them.
They also knew that although their current strength was the result of their own steady discipline and countless nights spent training, they would never have made it this far without the help they had received at the start of their journey.
Thus, despite the many years that had gone by, whether because they kept each other in check or simply reminded themselves through one another’s presence, none of them felt uneasy following Nova, and they still retained the same gratitude they had felt years ago.
Even so, they understood that mindlessly training for weeks on end wouldn’t yield any benefits, breaks were just as important as training.
And today was Darius’s first break in weeks.
As he hungrily approached a food stall, his communication device vibrated in his pocket.
“Hmm?”
Forgetting all about the food, he saw the caller’s name, Fusor, and quickly answered.
“Tell me.”
From the device, Fusor’s rushed voice rang out. “Warl—”
He caught himself before finishing the word, realizing that the title was too informal for the current situation, and started again. “General, there are currently fifteen Grade 1s from the Federation outside the west gate.”
“Fifteen?” Darius raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure they’re all Grade 1s?”
Never in the past years had the Federation sent so many Grade 1s to attack Quarath. In fact, the number was so much higher than before that Darius suspected they weren’t all Grade 1s. No, he even doubted that half of them were.
But Fusor quickly said, “I confirmed it myself after hearing the report. They are indeed all Grade 1s, and they seem to be waiting for something.”
“I understand. Call back any soldiers who went outside the walls and don’t let them approach those people,” Darius said, then ended the call.
Fifteen Grade 1s, right when Cassidy isn’t present. I’ll have to call a few others to swiftly take care of them.
/////
Far enough away to avoid being spotted by either the Nemesis soldiers on the walls or the fifteen Grade 1s standing outside, yet close enough to have a perfect view of the situation, were two people.
A man and a woman.
“What’s the point of sending fifteen Grade 1s?” the man asked. “They aren’t enough of a threat to make all of Nemesis’s higher-ups intervene, and if they aren’t all present, then how can we be sure they’re in the city at all?”
Hayden, Number 5, muttered as he stared ahead.
Lavinia, Number 4, replied in a matter-of-fact tone, “We already know which generals are best suited to fight. As long as they’re here, this mission can be considered a success.”
She side?eyed Hayden, her voice turning cold.
“Or would you prefer being sent to the ocean to hunt those fish until you run out of energy and die?”
Hayden jumped as if someone had stepped on his tail. Recalling what she had told him weeks earlier, he quickly waved his hands in front of him and said, “No, no, no. I actually like this mission. I was just curious, that’s all.”
With a snort, Lavinia looked away and said, “Sit still and don’t make a sound. Nemesis’ higher?ups are already gathering.”
////
Atop Quarath’s walls stood three people.
Two had swords strapped to their waists, while the third carried a bow in her hands.
They were Alaric, Darius, and lastly, Adira.
“There are fifteen of them, so… five each? That doesn’t sound too bad,” Adira said cheerfully as she looked toward the Federation’s party like a hunter eyeing her prey.
Darius smiled mysteriously and said, “You can try to get five, if you can.”
Adira looked at him in surprise, then chuckled. “How can I not try now that you’ve said that?”
“Make this quick. We have no time to waste on them,” Alaric said calmly as he stepped forward and fell from the walls, landing gently on the ground.
Darius saw this, shrugged, and turned to Adira. “If you want five, you better start shooting now.”
Not waiting for an answer, he stepped off the walls as well and landed next to Alaric.
Adira sighed and whispered, “Don’t mind if I do.”
She nocked an arrow, and at the same instant she released it, both Alaric and Darius vanished from their spots and reappeared amidst the Federation’s group.
“They’re here!”
The fifteen Grade 1s braced themselves for engagement, but they had never expected their opponents to move so fast.
Before they could react, two sword flashes and an arrow reflected in their eyes.
But despite seeing three attacks, four bodies hit the ground with dull thuds.
From atop the walls, Adira bitterly smiled. “So that’s why he said that…”
The remaining eleven Grade 1s finally raised their guards, staring attentively at Alaric and Darius, who stood perfectly still…
Thud.
The two hadn’t moved but another of their comrade fell lifelessly, their throat slit by a knife.
“…He called Nox too.”
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