Kingdom of Gavaria
1420 Hours
"I'm asking you again. What the hell do you want?" Anthony echoed.
"Wait! Wait! Amara, wait! Don't fight him!" Another girl wearing the same outfit as the first assassin came running from behind while shouting the name of the girl who is still wielding her twin daggers.
"Another one?" Anthony uttered, still keeping his guard up, looking at the girl who stopped on his left, panting heavily as beads of sweat ran down her cheeks and forehead. The girl had a shoulder-length white hair, blue eyes, and wears the same robe as the first would-be assailant.
"Arrinel? What are you—" The first one, now known as Amara, asked the new person, Arrinel, but the latter cut her off.
"That's my line, idiot!" Arrinel lashed out at Amara, pointing her index finger with anger and annoyance. "Why are you attempting to kill the man who saved the princess?! ARE YOU INSANE?!"
The moment Amara heard those words, she did not say anything and immediately dropped her daggers and kneeled, a move which catched the Ranger off-guard. "Please forgive me, Master. I will do whatever it takes for you to forgive me. I will wash your dishes, your clothes, clean your home, and offer you my mind and bod—"
"Stop right there!" Anthony held out his left arm, stopping her from saying anything more stuff that are big no-no's in his moral compass. He sighs and puts his M1911 back on his holster. "Just stand up, will you please, yeah?"
"Understood." Amara said, immediately complying with the order. She also placed back her weapons in their respective sheaths as well, now facing Anthony with a blank expression.
"Now, then..." Anthony looked at the second one. "Who are you?"
"Oh! Allow us to introduce ourselves properly." Arrinel went beside Amara. "I am Arrinel Carius. Commander of the Imperial Crimson Blades. And this idiot right here is—"
"Amara Galadriel, yes?" Anthony cuts her off, surprising both assassins.
Arrinel took a step forward. "How did you—"
"Charlotte told me."
"I see." Arrinel fakes a cough to get their attention. "Anyways, we were ordered by the Grand Master to search for you, so we split up to cover more area, but then I noticed that this IDIOT right here decided to do her own thing and almost engaged in a fight with you."
And almost killed her, Anthony thought. "That woman stalked me when the king held a party for the princess' return. Which is pretty understandable, to be honest. If you were to have someone unfamiliar roaming around your turf, I would be on the lookout, too. She was just doing her job."
Amara blushes and averts her gaze while shyly covering her mouth. "Thank you for understanding, Master. I also apologize for not voicing out my intentions."
Anthony sighed. "It's fine. And stop calling me that. Now back to the topic. What does the Grand Master want from me?"
Arrinel's expression became serious. "She wants to speak with you directly and tell the details herself."
Anthony nodded, understanding the urgency in her words. "Understood. Lead the way."
====================
Kingdom of Gavaria
Royal Palace - General Headquarters
1435 Hours
While walking towards their destination, Anthony decided to ask the assassins about the military structure of the empire. According to them, the knights of the kingdom are a separate branch from the Crimson Blades, and their armed forces is called the Imperatoria Exercitus. The branch that Charlotte belonged to is the Gladius Spei. There are other units that belonged to the Imperialis aside from the Gladius Spei and Imperial Crimson Blades.
"I'm sure Charlotte already explained some things about us Crimson Blades, so I will not say any more about us. Let's skip to the others. First up, the Ferrum Pugni. They are the branch responsible for heavy assaults and siege warfare." Arrinel began. "They are always the first in the frontlines, breaking defensive lines with speed and brutality. "
Anthony nodded. Blitzkrieg, huh?
"Next, the Acuti Iaculatores. They are the units trained specifically to provide long-distance support. But they are not to be underestimated, as they are also proficient in hand-to-hand combat despite using bow and arrows most of the time." She added. "Another one is the Alis Aureis. They are combat mages that work alone or together with Ferrum Pugni to counter other magic casters and exorcise demonic beings from the underworld."
Now this is getting interesting. I can finally fight demons. Anthony reckoned, feeling a little excited.
"There's also the Medical Corps. As the name suggests, they are combat medics and mages designated to provide medical care to civilians and soldiers alike, and save those who can still be saved." Arrinel added. "And last, but not the least, is the Angeli Proelium."
"Angeli Proelium?" Anthony repeats the name. Okay, they're literally naming military units like it's Warhammer.
"Yes. They are the most powerful branch in the Imperatoria Exercitus despite being so few in numbers. The reason for that is their weapons are blessed by the Goddess herself, and they are the chosen ones to wield them." She explained. "They are the crème de la crème of the kingdom. So the Grand Master herself, who's the highest among the Angeli, wanting to talk to you is the highest honor one could receive."
"Cool." He simply responded.
Confused, Arrinel asked him, "What's with that reaction?"
To which he replied with, "What?"
"Ehm... I was expecting you to fanfare while acting all wierd like 'Oh, finally I can talk to the Angelis!' or 'This is so cool!' or 'Can I get their autograph?!' kind of thing."
"That's a bit too much. I'm not that kind of guy."
"Eh... Is that so..."
Besides, I've already met a lot of high-ranking officers and officials back in my country. Something like this ain't new. Well, except for the fact that they're knights and have some magic bullshit.
"We're here." Amara inserts in the conversation.
When Anthony, Amara, and Arrinel entered the room, the knights stood in attention placed their right hands on their left chest. Inside the room is a round table, surrounded by seven female knights with different hair colors. The Ranger could immediately sense that the redhead in the middle is the general. All of them looked at him, some with skeptical looks, some gazing him out of curiosity, and others simply stared at him blankly.
Are they a reference of the Knights Of The Round Table in my world? Anthony thought in slight amusement. He then salutes them, and said, "Reporting as requested, ma'am."
"Are you the one that took the bandits alone and saved the princess?" The one with the blonde hair spoke. "You look weak."
Typical tsundere and, yes, a fucking ass. Not surprised. Anthony said in his mind.
"Hey, Margarette! That's so rude!" The green-haired knight shouted.
The blonde, Margarette, simply huffed at the green.
"That's enough. Lock it down, both of you." The general stopped the two from escalating the quarrel. "At ease."
Anthony drops his arm and stood silently.
"Sir Anthony. I apologize for suddenly summoning you here. Please, take your seat. Amara, Arrinel, you may take your leave."
The mentioned assassins bowed before leaving the room. The Ranger took the empty seat on the opposite side of the table and removed his hood, allowing everyone in the room to see his face.
The redhead smiled. "Oh? A face of a warrior. I like that."
"What do you need from me?"
"Before we begin, let me introduce ourselves. I am Beatrice Fraden Muriel. The Grand Master of the Imperatoria Exercitus." Beatrice, the redhead, states her name and rank.
So a equivalent to a General, huh? Possibly a five-star.
"The blonde over there is Isabelle Ulric, the green is Morgaine Felstead. The orange-haired one is Ryia Buxton, the blue hair is Claudia Hermionne, indigo, Elena Everdeen, and last, the violet, Elizabeth Ironwood."
You ladies are literally the ROYGBIV! He internally exclaimed. "Anthony Dela Cruz. 1st— I mean, I'm an adventurer. A pleasure to meet you all."
"Dela Cruz? That's a unique surname." Elizabeth commented.
"First off, we like to thank you once again for saving the princess." Beatrice said.
"It's no big deal. I'm used on that kind of work."
"You're too humble."
Ryia jumped from her seat and approached the Ranger, getting her face so close to his, causing him to reel back a little. "We heard from the princess that you used a strange explosion magic using a strange weapon! She said she couldn't see the projectile! That's so amazing! Can I see?! CAN I SEE?!"
"No."
"Aww..."
"Ryia, you're making him uncomfortable. Go back to your seat." Beatrice ordered. "We're gonna save that for some other time."
"Yeah, yeah." Ryia complied, though a little disappointed.
"Can we go back to the topic, please?" Anthony asked.
"Oh, yeah, right. My apologies. Now, going back to the main business." Beatrice leaned forward, clasping her hands. "We have a situation on our hands. As you may know, we are currently at war with the Kingdom of Nordevak. We have a very good relationship with that kingdom, and we were both supporting each other in times of need. But suddenly, they attacked us and killed many of our people, forcing the king to declare war with them."
"Now that you mention it, I still don't know why they declared war on you. What are they after?"
"We don't know, but we are suspecting that they are working with the Demon King."
"Demon King?"
"That's right." Claudia said. "Thousands of years ago, there are people who held the same power as us. We call them The First Order. They are the people who defeated the Demon King after a hard-fought battle. What's even more fascinating is that The First Order fought the Demon King in hell itself."
"Since then, the demonic forces have been eradicated, and their powers were passed down from generation to generation, until it was our turn." Elena added.
Anthony hummed. "Does the opposing kingdom have their own Angelis?"
"They do, and they're called The Crusaders."
"Were they also involved in the last attack?"
"No, that's why we managed to push them back and prevented it from hurting any more civilians."
"I see."
"We have been receiving reports that demonic forces have began appearing in various areas around the kingdom, which is why our security has becoming tighter and tighter recently." Morgaine spoke.
"We are preparing for a possible underworld invasion by the demons." Elizabeth said.
They're gonna ask me to help, that's for sure, but I'm gonna ask it anyway. Anthony crossed his arms. "So, why am I suddenly in the picture?"
Isabelle scoffed. "Isn't that obvious? We want you to help."
As expected. Anthony leaned slightly forward. "I will, but I don't want to be ordered around by someone with that attitude, even if your rank is higher than mine."
The blonde knight clenched her fists and glared at the Ranger. "You..."
Anthony kept his poker face, unfazed at her glare. Kung hindi ako sinanay na magkaroon ng maximum tolerance matagal ko nang binaril tong putanginang to eh... (TL: If I wasn't trained to have maximum tolerance, I would've already shot this bitch..)
"Okay, that's enough!" Beatrice intervened. "Sir Anthony, our purpose of summoning you here is we want to ask you a favor."
"And that is?"
"To infiltrate the Nordevak Kingdom and find out if they are really working with the demons."
"Why me? Can't you just send the Crimson Blades in?"
"Well, we are planning to, but we already assigned the Crimson Blades to be our eyes and ears around the kingdom's inner and outer areas, and they have been working day and night since they're already low in numbers — hundreds, as of now."
"You just want to see how I operate, don't you?"
"That's the other reason."
Anthony stood up from his seat. "Fine, I'll do it."
"You'll be leaving in three days. I'll also have my people secure some supplies for your journey. Shall I send it to your home?"
"That will do. Thank you."
"Good. Prepare whatever necessary things you need. As for your reward..."
"Let's talk about it when we're done."
"Very well. You may go."
Anthony salutes and left the room. The moment the doors closed, Isabelle's scoff was immediately heard, catching everyone's attention.
"What's up with that guy?! Talking to a Angeli like that...!" The blonde Angeli complained. "He's got some nerve."
"To be fair, you started it first." Morgaine shot back.
"Exactly. You shouldn't have started an argument." Beatrice agreed, while Isabelle simply responded with a 'hmph!'. "And no, he's not weak. He may not look like much, but he reeks with the stench of battle and death. You can feel it too, don't you?"
====================
Three Days Later...
Kingdom of Gavaria
Weapons Shop
0827 Hours
"Here, the 'suppressor' and 'cartridges' you ordered. You have three-hundred of those each bag." Baron placed four medium-sized sacks on the table, and the suppressor in the middle of them. "Not gonna lie, they're a pain in the ass to make. I had to buy the materials from other shops, and they're expensive."
The Ranger tried the suppressor first. He threads the suppressor in the barrel, and it fits perfectly.
"Oh! A perfect fit!" Baron exclaimed. "As expected of the best blacksmith in town!"
Next, the ammunition. He checked the sizes by comparing them to the ones he currently had, and found no problems. But, they have colored tips. The colors present are light blue, red, brown, and green. "Why do they have colors?"
"Ah, that?" Baron smirked. "I 'spiced' them up a little. Want to try them?"
====================
Kingdom of Gavaria
Baron's Archery Range
0840 Hours
Anthony and Baron now stood in an archery range. The dummy targets as well as the surrounding areas in front were already filled with arrows.
"This range is owned by me." Baron said. "See the fartest one ahead? Only few managed to hit it."
The Ranger looks at the mentioned target. "With or without magic?"
"Without."
Impressive. That target is probably eight-hundred meters, and most medieval bows only have an effective range of three-hundred meters.
He removed his coat, revealing his camouflage uniform and other equipment hidden within.
"Oh? Your outfit is unique, I must say."
Anthony then went to prone position. "It helps me blend in with my surroundings."
"Well then, let's see how you do in the range."
"Here goes." After he loaded a magazine filled with light-blue tipped bullets, he adjusted his iron sights, stabilized his body, and pressed the trigger.
The bullet streaked in the air, leaving a light blue trail, as if it was a tracer round. It hit square in the middle, and not even a second later, the dummy got incased in ice before shattering into pieces.
"Wha—?!" The Ranger looked at the dummy in awe. Holy shit!
The blacksmith only laughed at his reaction. "That's what I mean when I said I spiced them up a little. I placed magic that are usually applied on arrows on them. Figured it might help you in battle. I'm pretty sure that you already know what the other colors mean, but I'm gonna clarify it for you. The blue ones, as you already saw, are ice bullets. The red ones are fire bullets, the green ones are nature magic, which create lethal vines that kill enemies by stabbing them. The only bullet that doesn't leave those trails are the brown ones, which can create mud walls, and of course the original ones you have."
"I've seen enough. I'm satisfied." Anthony took the ammo sacks and placed them on his backpack. He then wore his coat back, grabbed another sack of gold coins, and gave it to the blacksmith. "For your hard work."
"You're too generous, young man. Don't worry, your secret is safe with me."
====================
Anthony's House
0946 Hours
When he got back in his house, he saw Amara standing beside a parked carriage, holding a sack similar to his ammo packs.
He approached her and asked, "What are you doing here?"
"I was tasked to escort you." She answered.
"By who?"
"The Grand Master."
"I thought you guys have your hands full?"
"She asked my assistance, since she figured you might need some help."
"And you expect me to just trust you right away after what happened three days ago?"
Amara's poker face turns into a sulk. "No..."
Anthony sighed, feeling a bit bad. "Alright, you can come with me, just don't try anything funny."
Amara smiled and nodded twice. "I'm more than happy to assist you."
"I'm gonna go inside, first. I still have the supplies sent by the Grand Master in there."
"I'll go with you. I brought this bag." Amara shook the bag she brought earlier. "This bag is a magical item that has a large capacity thanks to the spacial magic casted on it, but the storage space is not infinite. It will not accept items if it's already full."
"Can I see it?" Anthony looked inside the bag, and lo and behold, it looked like the outer space placed inside the bag. He continues to look at it in amazement. "Fascinating... I thought it's just gonna be just completely black inside."
Amara tilts her head. "You've never seen a magical bag before?"
"I've seen some, but not the inside. I usually use my backpack."
"I see."
"Well, let's not waste anymore time. Let's get this shit done."
Bạn đang đọc truyện trên: AzTruyen.Top