Soldiers on Expedition
Unable to make heads or tails of the current situation, Gin was chosen to be the commander of fifty men. There were only two other leaders like him, and there was only Grucel above them.
The expeditionary force marched to the north along the river and made camp about a day"s trip away. They cleared the forest before constructing a large camp site.
The river had gotten shallower, preventing the warships carrying the blast cannons from pressing onward. Instead five smaller ships—with a capacity of about thirty men—sailed with the soldiers.
Gin yawned. He was given two tasks this time. First, to command a company of fifty men. Carrying a heavy wrapping cloth on his back, he stepped out of the tent.
『Nothing strange in the woods…』
It was right before daybreak. Gin finally made it up the 20-meter wooden watchtower, checking to see if anything was out of the ordinary. The eastern horizon was starting to brighten while the starry sky above and to the west was still a deep blue.
Silence enveloped everything. Gin could see the soldiers" bonfires below. Otherwise, the forest was completely still.
From the information he had on the location of the Roots, he should be able to see a “tower” from here, if not for the mountain blocking it from sight. Incidentally, it was from this mountain that the river flowed from.
『Is Silver Face really going to destroy the towers alone?』
Silver Face"s plans were top-secret, but since Gin had gone with the masked boy once, Grucel let him in on it too.
“If you tell anyone about this, you will not live to see the sun rise the next day.”
Threat included, of course. Then you shouldn"t have told me! Gin thought. Grucel"s emotionless face prevented him from getting the words out, however.
The plan was to stay in this campsite until Silver Face returned.
『Oh…』
Gin squinted. The first light of the day shone on his eyes as the sun started to rise. He put down the wrapping cloth and took out a huge mirror just big enough to hold with both hands. He then tilted the mirror, reflecting light to the ship docked on the river, the relay. A short while later, light came back from the ship too, a response indicating that everything was fine. After signaling back an acknowledgement, the transmission ended.
Gin"s other task was to send messages using the mirror and keep the relay running. Grucel told him to choose people who wouldn"t double-cross them. Should any turned traitor, all of them would share the responsibility.
Gin chose his fishing buddies Dolan and Zuzun without hesitation. After learning of the circ.u.mstances, he received a bunch of complaints from the two.
『Don"t screw this up, Dolan…』
Zuzun took the relay post, while Dolan would receive the notice from a boat near Dream Maker. He would then return to the city by boat to check the situation. This exchange was done three times a day—at dawn, noon, and before sunset.
If Dolan didn"t respond, they would wait an hour. If a reply still didn"t come, that meant something was wrong and all soldiers would return to Dream Maker at once. Half a day down the river and they"d be back in the city.
Gin would be fighting monsters in the frontlines, while Zuzun stayed on the boat the whole time. While it might seem that Dolan had the easiest job of the three, the pressure was on him. If he overslept or failed to send a message, it would affect the whole army. He had the most stressful task without a doubt.
『Why did I get dragged into this…』
At noon, the three company commanders gathered inside Grucel"s tent where they were given their orders—to standby. The two commanders looked confused. They were prepared to fight with their lives on the line.
『Uh… Can we tell our men about this?』
『Of course. Some might act on their own if they"re not given orders to standby.』Grucel said.
『Is there anything else?』
『N-No.』
『Nothing, Sir.』
The two commanders exchanged glances. They found Grucel"s decision questionable, but orders were orders.
『We might only be a day"s trip away from the city, but we"re right next to a forest dominated by monsters. Tell your men to stay sharp.』
『Yes, Sir!』
『Yes, Sir!』
『Yes, Sir!』
Gin saluted with the other two. Grucel shot a cursory glance at him as though saying “Keep your mouth shut”. A chill ran down his spine as he left the tent.
『What does he mean by standby?』
『I have no idea. Hey, Commander Gin. What do you think?』
Gin was an elite soldier that joined the expedition to Vireocean. However, commanding the best soldiers in the army seemed a little bit too much for him. It was only natural, then, that the other older commanders thought there was something more to him being chosen. Furthermore, Gin was given authority to get in touch with the midsize ship.
『I don"t know anything. I was summoned and told to just follow orders. Maybe he wants useful commander who says yes to everything?』Gin gave them the excuse he came up with beforehand.
『Hmm… I see. That sounds likely.』
『Gin… didn"t you go with uhh… what was his name again? Ah, Silver Face. Didn"t you go with him to investigate something? Did you find anything?』
『Oh, that. We went to the ruins, but I don"t think we got any noteworthy results.』
『You think? Weren"t you there?』
『I was told to wait at the boat because I would only get in the way.』
『What? That"s just infuriating. Lowly ape from Primeval.』
『So, did you just do what he said without a word?』
『I, uhh… yeah. The bosses ordered not to get on his bad side.』
The commanders seemed displeased. But they knew how Silver Face"s friend, Flower Face, healed their former comrades. They a.s.sumed the higher-ups were more concerned about the healing magic they possessed, so they didn"t say any more.
『Anyway, standby, huh? I came here prepared to die, you know.』
The two men left, seemingly unsatisfied with the order.
That"s a lotta complaints… Makes sense, though. How long are we going to wait here anyway? If this drags on, there"ll be trouble.
Gin felt just a little worried.
At that time, Hikaru was heading to a Root all alone as bringing soldiers who couldn"t use Stealth would only drag him down.
The continent was big. His notes contained the location of over thirty Roots, each more than thirty kilometers apart. It would take at least a day to get from one Root to the next.
「Gotta kill monsters on the way too… The efficiency of this expedition relies on how many points I earn on my Soul Board.」
His solitary battles had just begun.