High School Soldier
73. Against witches 2: accepting the challenge of war
10 September 2321, 15:12 WIB/1914 Arevelk kingdom, noon.
**
Zarif is seen walking quickly leading to the room the Great Witch is in. But his limping steps were enough to make it difficult for him to walk fast. His feet did not have any problems, but an illness he had suffered from since birth made his right leg longer than his left leg, which made his path look like a limp.
No one living in the same neighborhood as the Great Witch is suspicious of Zariv dressed all in black. People who are similar to Zariv do often cross in this environment. The people dressed in all black were usually mercenaries, whose job was to kill, or just to find news for the person who paid them.
However the neighborhood where the Great Witch lived was a very safe area, due to the existence of the Great Witch herself.
The people who work as mercenaries are usually paid by the government who wants to fight. Of course paid soldiers are those from organizations that do provide mercenary services.
Some mercenaries do work individually, but there are also mercenary organizations that have hundreds of members. Zariv is a mercenary who works alone.
Zariv knocked on the door of a house on a small patch of land located some distance from the settlement. The house is approximately 4x6 meters in size, with the size should only be one person who inhabits it.
There are two large windows that function as a place of entry of light and wind into the house, because of the existence of small glass in this world.
The house looks very long standing, and not cared for. Because the walls of the house made of red bricks covered with vines.
Someone's voice came from inside the house, it was like a child, but who knows.
“Ivy, is Mister there? There is very important news I want to tell him,” without opening his face cover, Zariv can see the girl with the physical ‘white’.
Ivy suddenly had a cold face after hearing Zariv's words which were like a very emergency. Yet he already knew that he was a mercenary that the Great Witch paid to search for news regarding the actions of the neighboring country in this war.
“Come in,” Zariv goes straight into the house and searches for the existence of the great Witch.
“What news did you bring me, Zariv?” The great witch suddenly spoke on the seat placed near the fireplace.
Zariv then removed his face cover, and showed the face of a girl who worked as a mercenary.
Zariv thought quickly to answer the question of the Great Witch. The answer he said later might surprise everyone in this house, even if only two people lived in this place. Ilhiya is not included, as she is a military magician trainer in Arevelk Kingdom.
Zariv walked a few steps closer to the Great Witch, after which he sat down on his knees. He then took a few breaths to prepare himself to answer the Great Witch's question.
“The joint force of five countries declared war with the Kingdom of Arevelk,” Ivy immediately took custody and stopped writing copies of the book which was his work.
Ivy was just like Zariv, gulping with an indistinct expression, be it confusion or anger.
“That's obvious, because Sigiz decided to help the foreseen person. Let's tell Sigiz about this news as well,” even though the great Witch already knew what reaction Sigiz had shown after hearing this news.
Zariv and Ivy follow the Great Witch's steps leading out of the house, before reaching the doorstep, Zariv is already back wearing his face cover. Covering identity was the code of conduct of a mercenary, in addition to the ability to kill quickly.
There was no signal to invite the dragon-riding troops who picked up the Great Witch and Zariv, but there were already two handlers riding two wind dragons with reddish-colored scales.
It was quite surprising for Zariv who did not see the two dragons in front of the mansion of the Great Witch. He ignored his curiosity. Zariv, the great Witch and Ivy ride on a dragon that is already parked in front of the house.
**
The people working in the Cloud Palace did their duties according to their respective duties. Most of the workmen's job was to maintain the neatness and beauty of the palace, although there were only two people who had very important roles in this country inhabiting this floating palace.
The size of the palace garden is adjusted to the area of this floating land, most of the land area serves as the place where the palace stands. So that the park that stands can be said to be very small. However, Sigiz who really likes various types of ornamental flowers will do anything for the flowers of his collection.
One is to put hundreds of pots filled with flowers of various types and colors throughout the corner of the palace. Even his father's own room became the place where the flowers belonged to Sigiz. Hin did not mind Sigiz's behavior at all, because if he mentioned marriage to Sigiz, his own life and the country were threatened.
Sigiz likes to collect rare flowers that grow in this corner of the world. There were hundreds of rare types of flowers that he had collected during his 60 years of life. He did not miss a year to hunt for his target flowers, moreover he would spend no small amount of money on a flower. Of course he used his own money for this hobby.
But Sigiz's face suddenly became flat, though what Zariv said was what he had expected to do with helping otherworldly forces. This was not like when he was walking around in the palace garden which always showed a happy and calm face.
That was because Zariv had informed him of a news concerning the joint forces of five countries declaring war with the Kingdom of Arevelk.
The flat face Sigiz showed showed showed no anger or upset, but another feeling that made his heart race quickly. Like the feeling when I first saw Nio's face.
“Thank God, I have prepared a combat-ready army,” Sigiz's remarks were unexpected by the three people facing him.
Even the Great Witch who had been Sigiz's teacher for a long time remained unable to guess what he thought of one of these students.
“Why did you know they were going to war on this country?” The great witch wanted a logical reason for Sigiz's words.
“Because I've helped Mr. Nio's army, so it's possible that they became angry with me,” after that Sigiz walked towards the special dressing room of his combat clothes.
“I also feel that he is in the midst of danger, because Mr. Nio and his troops know nothing about the magic of this world.”
“Why do you know that he is going through something dangerous?”
“I've marked his aura with mine, his aura sometimes feels cold. But what I like about her is her soothing warm aura.”
“Don't say you'll move to save her,” the great Witch's words that seem to limit Sigiz's movement to meet again Nio are only answered with a smile by Sigiz.
“Sadly, I have prepared an army to save Mr. Nio, and at the same time accept the battle challenge of the five foolish kings.”
Sigiz then headed to a special place to change his battle clothes, before leading hundreds of companies of dragon riding troops and tens of thousands of heavy cavalry troops.
**
A loud bang was heard, it came from the barrage of lightning strikes issued by the witches who were continuously chasing Squad 1.
Lightning is a natural event that often occurs in certain situations, but this time the squad 1 saw is a fantasy phenomenon called ‘sihir’. Lightning strikes certainly cannot appear suddenly or deliberately.
After all, lightning is a frightening phenomenon. Especially if the phenomenon is combined with magic, it might be very dangerous if the use of a military magician squad with a number of 25 people.
“But this is another world, it could be that the impossible happens in our world, happens in this world!” Nio spoke frantically as the vehicle drove rapidly on the uneven road.
“Hei! Why are they riding on a stick that can fly?”
All troops opened fire on the horsemen and stickmen from the gap of the vehicle which was functioned as a gap to shoot. The cracks also became a protection for the soldiers, as they shot from inside the vehicle covered in steel armor.
But because the vehicles were moving in uneven fields, making all the shots they fired none of them hit the all-female soldier. Even they considered that fighting in the middle of a city was much easier than fighting in an open field like this.
The distance between the two armies was several hundred meters away, and Squad 1 drove far ahead of the pursuing horsemen and mages on their canes.
The first Sergeant of the Main Force by the nickname Chandra was busy with the map prints he was carrying, even the violent shaking from the wheels of the vehicle hit the rock did not make it take off the view from the terrain images the drone had taken.
But the problem is, Chandra found a problem after he found the approximate location of these troops on the map.
“Commander, we are soon entering the territory of another country!” chandra's words actually make Nio more unsettled and longer holding his breath because in this situation he must find the right solution.
Liben turned to look at Nio who was only silent, but there was no calm at all to Nio. Even the sound of a barrage of fire did not make Nio release his concentration.
“Commander!? Did you forget to breathe?” Liben destroyed Nio's constancy, yet it made him to breathe again after a few minutes of holding his breath.
Even in the battle against witches, there was no way to deal with it other than by fighting directly again. Although no one knew what magic the witches would unleash, Nio had already ordered his troops to get off the vehicles and fight head-on.
All the soldiers occupied the places they thought were safest, mostly sheltering behind stone pillars and behind vehicles. But the operator of an assault rifle mounted on the roof of the vehicle is something that must be protected, that was why there were some soldiers who attacked while lying on their stomachs on the ground and under vehicles after installing bipods on their respective rifles.
Nio attacked on his stomach after installing a bipod on his rifle, he was in front of the bottom of the vehicle and at the same time protecting the machine gun operator on top of the vehicle.
Although the bipod is not mandatory equipment, but every soldier who holds a rifle will definitely get a bipod as additional equipment. Of course soldiers are not required to wear bipods on their rifles, as each soldier definitely has the most preferred firing position.
Nothing even prohibits a soldier who has a favorite shooting position in the form of sleeping on his back, as long as it is able to hit the target even though it is not accurate.
The first and deadliest attack released by Squad 1 was a rocket fired from a disposable rocket launcher. A rocket that could destroy an armored vehicle shot rapidly towards the hundreds of people who were chasing them.
The magicians unleashed their magic to destroy the rockets that carried out toward the troops in the front row. The magician team managed to detonate the rocket, but the explosion actually left 15 soldiers dead due to a very powerful explosion. Even the shockwave blew the witches away, and made them fall from their respective sticks.
However Squad 1 will not stop their attack on the troops who continue to pursue them. However, they did not know if the troops they were fighting were all female. However, as long as they were soldiers or combatants of an enemy country, and there was a possibility of arms contact, the scattered cruisers gained permission to fight them.
The magician army continued to release their magic to Squad 1, and it could be interpreted as an attack. The horsemen chased while holding the sword that had been released from its sheath.
Occasionally bullets hit the chests of the horses that were protected by iron plates that were shaped like special iron armor of horses. The horses that were hit by bullets fell to the ground, and made their riders fall and get dragged on the ground.
It was already evening, but the contact of the weapons had not stopped until a large bird was seen from the direction of the Luan Empire's border with Arevelk Kingdom.
There was no attack that the two forces gave their respective opponents, they were more focused on a very heart-shaking rumble. There will be hundreds of thousands of troops closing in on them.
“Sial, this one alone is not finished!” Nio cursed in his heart because he had to face with the enemy troops again.
However, Sheyn felt that the troops who dared to cross the border were the troops of Queen Sigiz. He has also heard that the joint forces of five countries declared war on the Kingdom led by Queen Sigiz.
But he did not expect, if the troops on the side of the challenge would attack first than the troops who challenged them.