A few hours passed and eventually, the meeting was over. The Imperium representatives and the JSDF officers had discussed about the reasons behind their coming trough the Gate, and infos about their respectives world. Both sides merely exchanged a few words over the true scale, power, economy and such of their universes, not wishing to leak too much informations. But Aradiel did enjoy the face of general Hazama upon hearing the words "an empire of over a million worlds". It was then and there that the japanese man realized that there was no way that either this world or the world behind the japanese Gate could survive a true war against the Imperium of Man.
Meanwhile, a young girl was giving a tour of the refugees camp to the boy of the Imperial Guard. The ambiance was all too familiar to Silas, despite this being his first ever deployment, he had lived most of his life in a place with very similar conditions. After showing him the bathes, which were empty and not guarded since they only opened near the end of the day, Lelei decided that she would profit that the two of them to learn more about the young man and his world.
"-Lelei: Tell me Silas, can I ask you a question or two? If you don't mind answering them that it."
"-Silas: Hm? Oh sure, go ahead. What do you wanna know?"
"-Lelei: I couldn't help but notice that you have a white strip on your helmet, while the rest of your group don't. Why is that?"
"-Silas: Well you see, that's because I'm a Whiteshield."
"-Lelei: A Whiteshield?"
"-Silas: Well that means that I'm not a true Guardsman yet, I'm still considered as just a recruit."
"-Lelei: Is it because of your age? Or because you just entered the army?"
"-Silas: Well, I guess you could say that it is because of my age, I'm only 16 after all."
"-Lelei: So we are around the same age. Is 16 years old too young for the Imperial Guard?"
The young man put his hand on his chin and looked in the air, thinking for a moment.
"-Silas: It probably depends on the situation, Whiteshields are often people that didn't fully finish their training but are still sent to the frontlines, or soldiers that have yet to see a battle. This is my first time being deployed, but I've lived with the Guard all of my life."
"-Lelei: Really? How was life before?"
"-Silas: It's a bit of a blur, I can't remember much about my homeworld. I was way too young when I left it. Then I was taken it by the Guard and I figured that I might as well join it, only life I ever knew."
He shrugged his shoulders, he wondered where he would be if he didn't join the army. Lelei for her part, seemed confused about something her friend just told her.
"-Lelei: Homeworld? Did you mean hometown perhaps?"
"-Silas: Not at wall, see, the Imperium is a very vast empire which spans over the stars, with dozens of billions of citizens across many planets, some like this one, but where there is only humans."
The apprentice mage was taken aback by this, an empire so vast could not possibly exist, could it? But then again, the things she had seen from the Imperium had for the most left her speechless.
"-Lelei: Wow, a kingdom that exist in the stars."
The blue haired girl looked to the sky. Despite not seeing any stars, she wondered what it must look like from above, seeing stars from closer.
"-Lelei: Does that mean that there is only humans in your world, like in the JSDF one?"
"-Silas: No, there are many threats to the empire. And a vast majority of them are not humans. Xenos, mutants, heretics, there's a lot of enemies for us to fight for the Emperor."
"-Lelei: The Emperor." The girl said it in curiosity. "He must be very strong to be the leader of such a big domain."
"-Silas: Of course he is! He's the God-Emperor of Mankind after all! The savior of humanity! He is the one that united humanity with the help of his legions, the Space Marines!"
It was clear at this moment that it was clearly admiration that was in the voice of young Silas, anybody who had been repeated such things all of their life would follow the same believes after all.
"-Lelei: Space Marines, are you talking about the red golems from earlier?"
"-Silas: They aren't golems, they are supersoldiers. Clad in the best armors and equipped with the best gear the Imperium can offer. And yeah those in red like that are Blood Angels, the sons of Saint Sanguinius, one of the children of the Emperor. It's a true honor to be able to serve alongside them. I've heard tale of such soldiers all my life, but I never thought that I'd ever see one."
The two of them continued to talk for a long moment, mainly following the structure of Silas explaining something, and Lelei being amazed, suprised, or curious, or the three at the same time.
A few dozens kilometers away, princess Piña Co Lada was visiting the refuge of none other than king Duran, one of the few leaders of the Coalition Army still alive. The Coalition Army is, or rather was, an absolutely gigantic army of over a thousand hundred men coming from several allied countries that assembled under a single banner to face a common foe. This time, the common foe were actually foes. As it turned out, both Alnus and Helnus Hills had fell to the respective forces that layed beyond the twin Gates.
In order to reconquer both Hills, the Coalition forces were split in two vaguely equal group of around 50'000 men each. King Duran was one of the commanders that was to attack Helnus Hill, and was the only commander to survive the battle, despite losing a leg and an arm.
"-Duran: I stood in formation, and thought for a moment that Helnus Hill had erupted. Princess, have you ever seen a mountain erupt? In my youth, I once saw a volcano erupt in the mountains. It was as though the entire mountain had exploded. There was no sign of it beforehand, like earthquakes, and then I heard the air tearing apart, followed by an unimaginably vast explosion. My heart nearly jumped out of my mouth, and that was but one of several occurrences. As for what had happened... we halted to make sure of the circumstances, but all we saw before us was thick, black smoke. Soon the smoke dispersed, and it was as if someone had driven a giant plough across the ground. In the earth that was dredged up we saw the bodies of the Arguna and Modwan armies, mashed into the ground like rice grains in a paella dish..."
"-Duran: For the rest of our offensive, smaller but still just as deadly explosions would occur here and there, always following the same pattern. The sky would scream, then stop for a second before an attack so vast that each of them wiped at least thirty soldiers. And that was only the start of our horror."
Duran closed his eyes and shuddered as he recalled that scene.Besides him was a nun, who was trying to feed him some seafood paella. But he did not eat it, instead turning his face away.
"- Piña: And what of the two kings?"
Duran shook his head when he heard Piña's question.
"-Duran: How shall I put this...?"
Piña had searched through the villages near Alnus and Helnus in the hope of finding the Coalition Army after the battle had started. The conclusion she had reached was that the Coalition Army had retreated back after losing their commanders.
Though it was called a retreat, it was more like the shredded remnants of the Army who were limping home, given that none of the soldiers or officers had escaped intact. They were lucky that the enemy had not pursued them, which was how they survived. In this condition, the arduous trek home would probably be even more agonizing than battle itself. In truth, the bodies of troops who had fallen out had already been buried by villagers throughout the land.
Before long, Piña heard that a nunnery in service of the god Hoboro had taken in a man of high birth. When they rushed to the place, they found that it was King Duran of the Elbe Kingdom.
He was over sixty years old, and perhaps because of stress or some other reason, all his hair was now white.
His body could not endure a long journey on foot, and the troops who had been fortunate enough to survive had long since escaped. He ordered his few remaining troops who were still faithful to return to the country and spread word of this danger, while he himself recovered his strength in this nunnery. However, this was just a nunnery, after all, and there were no doctors and the food was poor in quality. His strength came back slowly, but bit by bit, it also drained away.
The smell of rot from the stump of his missing leg was beginning to fill the air.
His face was pale, and his blood was not circulating properly, and he had Battle's signs under his eyes. If he stayed in this state, he did not look like he would live long.
"-Duran: I was in the third wave. This is what I have become. I advanced with the Mocha army into the hillside, but iron thorns blocked our way. By the time we cleared the obstacles and resumed the advance, the sky was lit red as dozens of hundreds of spells fell upon us from the enemy positions. Then, we heard the roars of monsters. Giants of metal fell from the sky upon us, wielding weapons that cut trough the flesh and steel like it was just paper. And the sound they made, I still hear it when I close my eyes. I barely had time to see them from up close, but I remember seeing one of those creature overpowering ten men with a single hand before cutting trough ten others with a single swing. It then locked it's eyes with me, and that was my last memory before I got blown away by one of the great explosions."
"-Piña: King Duran, I will notify the Empire immediately, and have them ready a physician and a carriage. We'll talk about this after you regain your strength."
Although she was the princess, in terms of the peerage, Duran was superior to her by virtue of being a king. Piña fell to one knee, took Duran's intact right hand, and bowed.
But Duran shook his head.
"-Duran: I'm sorry to reject the Princess' kindness, but I do not wish to trouble the Empire. Besides, I am not long for this world."
"-Piña: Why is that?"
"-Duran: I have been thinking about why the Emperor would summon the Coalition Army to fight this war... after becoming like this, I understood. The Emperor knew this would happen. I think he was angry that we remained intact while his troops were beaten. In other words, the Emperor wanted to have the enemy destroy us for him."
Duran did not use honorifics to dignify the Emperor, which showed his anger. Since he was about to die, he figured he might as well speak his mind.
"-Duran: Princess, do not say you did not know this. Place yourself in the position of the Empire. You can probably imagine what happened when the Imperial Army clashed with the enemy..."
"-Piña: Yes. The Imperial Army was beaten, that much I knew. But I did not know what sort of enemy was waiting for us there, nor that the Coalition Army we sent there would end up like this..."
"-Duran: Please go, Princess. I do not wish someone armoured in lies and wielding a sword of deception to stand before me. The Coalition Army would have fought to the bitter end to protect this continent. However, our greatest enemy was actually behind us. The Empire is our enemy. I say again, Princess, please go."
"-Piña: Your Majesty. It is too late to ask you to quell your anger, but could you at least tell me what the enemy is like? What magic do they use, what tactics? Please tell me about your tactics as well."
"-Duran: I will not speak of them. We made great sacrifices to learn that much. If the Princess wishes to find out, then please proceed to Helnus Hill by yourself. Perhaps the enemy will tell you for the price of your men."
Piña had tried her best. The Emperor had underestimated their opponents. He thought that he could make up the difference in fighting power with strategy and schemes. However, Piña felt that the enemy and the Empire were on completely different levels. She had the feeling that if the Empire did not understand the enemy's power, it would be completely destroyed.
Since there was no more to be gained from the King, she had to give up on him. Duran's angry cries echoed in her heart, as well as his hatred of the Empire that betrayed him.
"-Hamilton: Your Highness, please do not order the knights to attack Arnus Hill."
Piña sighed as she heard the words that hit her right after she left Duran's room.
"-Piña: Hamilton, how stupid do you think I am?"
"-Hamilton: I would not dare. But Your Highness is radiating an air that says 'We ride at once!'"
If they set out, their objective would not be Helnus Hill, but the Capital. Piña thought this, but did not say it.
Her eyes roved over Hamilton, who resembled a very handsome prince at a glance. As if to confirm her gender, Piña gently patted Hamilton's flat chest. Well, it was soft and bouncy.
Piña wondered what the hell she was doing. She could hardly believe she was goofing off at a time like this... Or rather, maybe she was so wound up that she needed to blow off steam.
"-Piña: Forget it, whether or not we attack, we still need to go to Arnus Hill. We need to see the enemy with our own eyes.
"-Hamilton: Ah~ Princess, with just this many people? Won't it be too dangerous?"
"-Piña: Indeed, it'll be dangerous, but you'll protect me, right?"
With that, Piña left the nunnery.
Yet another week had passed in the Special Region. The Imperium had returned to Helnus Hill and the commanders reflected on what would be the optimal way of conquering this world. Clearly, the japaneses were no real threats and could be crushed with ease if it ever came to this situation. But it would be better to conquer with diplomacy, after all, many of them are still humans, no need to kill them, for now at tue very least. As for the situation with the JSDF, Hazama had wrote down every bit of informations that he had collected during his meeting with the Imperium, clearly, this was a major problem in Japan original plans. And as if the situation could not get more complicated, the news had begun to announce topics that were announced publicly by an unknown source.
《The Shame of the JSDF? 130 Civilian Casualties?!》
《Falsehoods In The Under Secretary's Reply!》
《Unknown Battles In The Special Region! Were There Non-Combatants Among The Huge Casualties?》
《Another Gate In The Special Region, A New Danger For The Japan?!》
Japaneses citizens and many important people from all around the world were following closely such articles, and the National Diet was forced to take action for some of those news. As such, it was decided that the commanding officer in charge of the operation where non-military personel lost their lives, as well as survivors from the operation would be brought before a council of politicians and journalists to give the true story of the incident.
Meanwhile, the Imperium and the JSDF had begun to exchange communications. In hope of reinforcing friendly ties, General Hazama was hoping to find something that he could use to make the two military forces work together. He got his opportunity when the infamous lieutenant Itami proposed a request from the refugees themselves. They wanted to sell the scales of the wyverns that were killed in the battle against the Coalition Army to a nearby city. Seeing this as very good opportunity, Hazama contacted the Imperium and explained the situation to them, inviting them to join them in the escort of civilians that would go to Italica, the closest city with enough merchants to be considered a commercial carrefour.
The Imperium could clearly see trough the intentions of the japanese officer, but on order of Aradiel himself, they accepted the offer. A small force of the Imperium military power would help in escorting the civilians to Italica and make sure that they are protected. It was also the occasion to see how the local economy worked. Aradiel choosed the First Recon Group of the 158th mechanized infantry cadian regiment led by Captain Caleb. This choice was simply because Aradiel had heard that the japanese soldiers in charge of the operation were the same as during first contact, it was the most logical choice to choose the same soldiers as well, since they already knew each others. Furthermore, Caleb was more than worthy of the Blood Angels Captain trust. But, despite not being needed at all, Aradiel also assigned a single Battle Brother to the task. It was a great way to get absolutely all the details of the mission, as well as making once more a show of force to the locals and the JSDF should things go wrong.
It was Battle-Brother Esmote, trusted Lieutenant and close friend of Aradiel that was chosen to accompany the group. The Lieutenant was a veteran of many battles and considered by many as the right hand of the leader of the 13rd company, and they would be right in thinking of him as such.
The day of the mission came and both sides were prepared. Itami had chosen the three girl who had asked for this mission to be the ones who would make the actual transaction with the merchants. At the same time, Caleb and his two squads had geared up and were soon joined by Esmote. They saluted the Astartes in a respectful manner and they were soon ready to depart. The Battle-Brother was carried by simply sitting on the Leman Russ, the only vehicle of the group capable of moving without trouble while carrying the heavy frame of the supersoldier.
The two groups from different universes joined on a dirt path that led almost directly to the city of Italica. The japanese were surprised upon seeing the gigantic figure of a Space Marine, they did not expect one of them to be here for such a simple mission. But then again, they were no real number that said how many of those supersoldiers were currently in the Special Region. The japanese were a bit too intimidated to actually try and hold a conversation with the giant of man in power armor, which didn't disturb that much Esmote, he expected such a reaction. The convoy silently made their way toward the city, only talking to the members of their own faction.
A few hours ago in Italica.
Standing over the city gate, Piña loosed a few arrows at the retreating bandits and took a deep breath. Wounded soldiers staggered around or collapsed from blood loss. Arrows were shot into the stone walls and the surrounding area was a mess. She spotted several citizens holding farm tools and sticks with a glance. Outside the wall, the corpses of bandits and carcasses of horses were scattered all over the ground.
"-Piña: Norma! Hamilton! Are you alright?"
Inside the broken gate, Norma was defending a barricade. He supported his body by putting his weight on a sword, his shoulders rising up and down as he panted. He lifted a hand to signal that he was well, but his armour was covered with arrows and signs of being hit by a sword. His surroundings showed evidence of an intense battle, with bodies from the attacking bandits and defending soldiers everywhere. As for Hamilton, she was already sitting on the ground. Her legs were straightened with her palms supporting her body, barely keeping herself from keeling over. Her grip on her sword was loose.
"-Hamilton: Anyway, hah hah, I am, hah hah, alive."
"-Grey: What about me, princess? How cold!"
"-Piña: Grey! Of course you will be fine, that's why I didn't ask."
"-Grey: Should I be happy? Or sad?"
Grey, a man who looked about forty with a stout build, showed no hint of fatigue as he rested his sword on his shoulders. There wasn't any blood on him. If there wasn't any blood on his sword, he had probably been hiding somewhere, which would explain why he still looked so energetic. He was the Knight Grey Co Aldo, a veteran of the battlefield who rose through the ranks. In Piña's knight order, most of the knights were nobles. Since the knight order didn't have any real battle experience, such veterans were the real core of the unit. The path to knighthood was narrow for soldiers. However, they would be treated like normal officers after they made it through.
"-Hamilton: Princess, why are we fighting with marauders here?"
"-Piña: It can't be helped! I thought one of the armies from the other worlds would attack Italica! Don't you all agree?"
After completing her investigation of the areas around Arnus, Piña heard some news as she was planning to infiltrate Helnus Hill.
' A large armed group appeared in Count Formal's territory, and is planning to attack Italica.'
After hearing this news, Piña thought one of the army from the other worlds had finally started their invasion. 'Are they sending out forces to suppress the surrounding territories before laying siege to the imperial capital?', she thought. She had to take countermeasures then. For Piña, instead of meaningless reconnaissance, an elegant battle suited her better. She pulled out of Helnus, ordered her knights to head for Italica, while she and her group rushed there in advance. No matter what kind of battle it was, not knowing the scale and battle potential of the enemy would be useless. If the enemy forces were limited, she would defend Italica and attack with a pincer attack with her knights that would arrive later. However, she soon realized the ones attacking Italica were a marauding band. Most of the members were remnants of the former Coalition Army. In contrast, the head of clan Formal in charge of the city's defences was just eleven. She couldn't command in battle, and morale was at its lowest.
Piña was disheartened, but she couldn't stand idle and watch the bandits ravage the city. So she revealed her identity to the clan and forcefully took over command of the Countess' soldiers in defence of Italica.
"-Piña: If we can hold for three days, my knights will be here."
To be honest, they might arrive even later than that. But the citizens and the countess' troops believed in Piña and fought with all they had. The enemy might be the remnants of a defeated army, but they were former soldiers and proficient in attacking fortresses. The city didn't fall, but the gate that was supposed to be solid was destroyed, granting the enemy entry. With the help of the citizens and militia fighting with their farm tools, they survived the first day, but it felt like a defeat.
They had lost too much.
The small number of troops decreased, and the courageous ones of the militia fell in battle. What remained were casualties and exhausted soldiers. Just one day was enough to plummet the morale of the soldiers and citizens to rock bottom. Piña couldn't think of anything to raise their spirits.
That was how her first battle ended.
Those men who still had strength were rushing back and forth to put out fires. The small ones could be extinguished with water, but the buildings burning in earnest had to be abandoned. The women tried to help the moderately- or critically-injured, while the children collected scattered weapons and arrows. The lightly-injured people buried the dead, using shovels to dig mass graves in the outskirts of the city. Normally, they would have buried them properly, but there were too many corpses, so they did away with the ceremony and just put them in the ground. The bandits' bodies were simply dumped into a deep ditch. In this way, the soldiers, the merchants, the barmaids, the men, the women, the elderly, the children, everyone in the city came out to help. Anyone would be tired if they had to keep working like this amidst the pitched battle of the afternoon.
"-Old man: Your Highness... may we, may we take a break?"
An old man, who represented the citizens, asked that of the supervising Piña in a small voice. Everyone looked tired, and she understood their feelings. However, now they had to quickly bury the dead, put out the burning houses and watch towers, as well as repairing the city gates and barricades. Piña knew the importance of these things, and so she turned an annoyed look onto the old man asking for a rest.
"-Piña: The bandits haven't given up yet. Once they rally themselves, they'll immediately attack again. We can't count on destroyed city gates and barricades to protect us; it'll be even more tiring."
"-Old man: But, but..."
The old man must have thought Piña was being an unreasonable tyrant. Their positions and perspectives were different. It would seem that expecting them to understand was a naive dream she had.
"-Piña: I'm not asking you. This is an order."
"-Piña: Gray, how are the city gates, can we fix them?"
Gray, who was keeping track of the gate's condition, turned to Piña.
"-Grey: Your Highness, in my opinion, it is beyond repair. The bolt is completely destroyed,"
"-Piña: Then what should we do?"
"-Grey: Why not tear it down and jam up the entrance?"
They could enter and leave via the small side doors. After all, they would not be moving carriages and wagons through the main gate. If they could open the side doors to move in and out, then blocking up the main entrance ought to be fine.
"-Piña: Good. Make it so."
Gray directed the citizens to gather their sturdy furniture and pile it against the gate.
"-Grey: They might burn it down. Will that be all right?"
Gray shrugged and said that if it started burning, they might as well toss more wood in. Piña thought about it, and nodded. After all, a burning fence was a great barrier. Piña looked back, and raised her head to the top of the wall.
"-Piña: Norma! How's your side?"
On top of the wall, Norma was surveying the outside with a bow in hand. He looked back and replied.
"-Norma: No enemies so far!"
"-Piña:Stay alert, don't slack off. Who knows when they'll come back."
Norma nodded, ignoring the rills of blood flowing down his forehead, and ordered his subordinates to keep their eyes peeled.
"-Woman: Come, come, you should be hungry, right? We've prepared food."
The speaker was one of the maids from the Count's household, who was driving a wagon with a big pot on it. She brought milk and barley porridge, as well as black bread. Neither was particularly delicious, but an empty stomach was the best seasoning for poor food. Piña was struck by the smell of the food and felt that working while hungry wouldn't help things so she ordered them to eat in shifts. Afterwards, she felt that she should eat too, and so she went to Count Formal's home.
Because the guards and other men were out guarding the city walls, the Count's home was practically devoid of people, and she was not greeted by anyone. However, not everyone was gone. There were several large cauldrons in the residence's courtyard, filled with barley porridge or baking black bread. All the maids were helping out. In the end, someone came to greet Piña. It was the Count's old butler and the head maid.
"-Butler: Your Highness, welcome."
"-Piña: Mm. Forgive me, but do you have anything to eat or drink?"
As she finished speaking to the head maid, Piña sat on the sofa like it was her own home. The butler who stood by the side poured a silver goblet of wine for Piña.
"-Butler: Your Highness, it seems we are saved."
"-Piña: Not yet. Those fellows will come by for another round."
"-Butler: Must we fight them? Maybe we could negotiate."
"-Piña: You want to avoid a fight? Simple. Open the gate and give them all your money and food."
The old butler, who was averse to combat, sighed as he heard Piña speak.
"-Piña: After they plunder everything you have, they'll kill all the men. The young women will be taken as slaves, but before that, they'll probably... no, they'll definitely be violated. And the bandits will probably want to gang-rape pretty girls like me. I could handle one, maybe two, but I don't think I could stay sane after 50 or 100. What do you think will happen to Myui-sama then?"
"-Butler: M-Myui-sama is only eleven years old!"
"-Piña: Who knows, some of the bandits might like them young... or no, they'll definitely have some sick freaks like that among them. So, do you want to pray that there aren't and open the gates to them?"
Sweat poured down the butler's head, and he whined:
"-Butler: Your, Your Highness. Please, please don't scare me."
"-Piña: Then all we can do is fight, right? Trying to negotiate with these animals is pointless. That is a path to destruction. All we can do is grit our teeth and resist to the bitter end."
Piña gulped down the wine. With a satisfied "Whew!", she helped herself to the black bread and barley porridge. However, after a mouthful, she frowned.
"-Piña: So little and it's bland too?"
The head maid sternly shook her head and spoke.
"-Maid: Your Highness, when one is fatigued, their stomachs will be weak as well. Consuming rich foods in that condition will only do harm to one's body."
Piña accepted the head maid's comments without complaint. Come to think of it, the Count's maids were making food without any sign of fear, and she herself did not remembering ordering them to do so. Whose instructions were those? She could tell that the old butler was a lily-livered coward. Then, was it the old maid? As she thought about this, Piña asked the old maid a question.
"-Piña: Have you been through something like this before?"
"-Maid: I once lived in the town of Rosa."
The town of Rosa had once been attacked by the Empire. Although they beat back the Imperial Army, their government collapsed and they were finally taken by the Empire. It was now a ruin. That maid must have been in Rosa during that battle. Warfare was not limited to bows, magic and swords. Raising morale, distributing weapons and rations were also ways to fight. In that sense, the old maid was a combat veteran. The lady of the house was young, and could not be counted on. So the reason why the maids could soldier on without panicking must have been because of the old maid. Piña ate until she was nearly full, and wiped her mouth with a napkin.
"-Piña: Then, I shall go rest in a guest room. If anything happens, bring the messenger directly to me."
As she finished speaking to the old maid, a playful gleam came into Piña's eye and she decided to mess with her.
"-Piña: What would you do if I did not wake up?"
"-Maid: Why, I would dump water on your head and invite you to rise."
She had a very creepy smile on her face. Piña laughed, and said she wasn't interested in bathing in bed as she headed to the guest room.
However, in the end it was the feeling of cold water on her face that woke her up. As she wiped her face, she angrily donned her armor over her wet clothes.
"-Piña: What happened? Is it the enemy?"
Grey felt that Piña's drenched red hair looked exceptionally fetching, but he held his tongue because of the emergency. Instead, he began his report.
"-Grey: We don't know if they're friend or foe."
As the unknown party approached, the battle-ready soldiers and civilians peeked at them from crenellations in the city walls or the gaps in the roadblocks.
"-Farmer: Your Highness, you can get a good view from here."
A farmer holding a steel hoe made a small hole in one of the roadblocks.
Through the small viewing aperture she saw what looked like strange wagons... but they were not pulled by horses or cows. She could clearly see two types. The first kind of vehicles seemed to be four wheels carriages with a hull of cloth and metal. On closer inspections, their wheels seemed to be made of some kind of cloth or leather. The second kind of vehicle were the one that seemed to be more troublesome, it did not look like it was made of wood, but rather, it was sheathed in metal. And no matter how hard she tried, she could not see any kind of wheels. Piña knew about siege weapons called "covered wagons", which were essentially giant boxes pushed along by horses, cattle or soldiers from the inside. She wondered if the three vehicles in front were covered wagons. Perhaps this one also had it's wheels covered?
There were people inside those "armored wagons". The roof seemed to have something like an arbalest on top of it, and it seemed protected against arrows or thrown rocks. Still, however exquisite their weapons were, weapons alone could not take a city. Siege weapons were meaningful because they were used to take the city. However, she could see no enemies within her field of view. They did not seem to want to break down the roadblocks either.
If the siege weapons were there to lower morale, they should be making threatening moves, but they did nothing of the sort, so she could not tell what the other side wanted.
It was then that 'it' came into Piña's vision. She had first thought that it was some sort of strange and out of place decoration on the armored wagon mounted with what could only be described as an armored ballista. But what she thought was a decoration, moved, and jumped off of the vehicle, flattening the grass under it's giant feet. A figure of metal as red as blood, walking toward the door.
"-Piña: Norma?!"
"-Norma: No other enemies."
Norma replied as though he knew what Piña was going to say. Indeed, both of them had recognized this figure as one of the Golem that they had heard tale from.
As for the soldiers that had disembarked the wagons, it was hard to tell if they were carrying weapons or magic staves, but from their stern expressions and sharp glares, these people had power that could not be ignored.
"-Norma: Friend or foe?! If you are a friend, then come closer!"
Norma shouted loudly, while Piña, Italica's defenders and the citizens all held their breath. After a while, the back door of one of the covered wagons opened.
A girl emerged from it. She seemed to be 13 to 15 years old. Judging by the long robe and the magic staff she was carrying, she was instantly recognizable as a mage. The staff seemed to be made of wood... which meant she was an orthodox mage of the Lindon school. If that was the case, she should be skilled with attack spells and spell combat despite her young age.
In the previous attack, the bandits had not fielded any mages. That might have been why the defenders could hold out as long as they did, but if the bandits now had a mage on their side, the battle would be much harder. Piña clucked her tongue as she thought about the difficult battle that lay ahead.
The next to alight was a girl of around 16, wearing strange clothes. Her clothes clung to her frame, showing off the curves of her body. Because the clothes were a little too small, they exposed the snow-white skin of her back and belly, setting the men's imagination afire. As a woman, Piña felt that she had correctly divined the purpose of those clothes.
The problem was this girl's long, pointed ears. She was an elf, with blonde hair and blue eyes. No good... the enemy had Elves in addition to mages. She heard that Elves were, without exception, excellent spirit-summoners. Of note were those who could summon the wind spirits to create bolts of lightning that could wipe out an entire platoon. Even a full knight company would have trouble defeating both a Lindon-style mage and an Elf using spirit magic. Should she try taking them down while they were off guard? Sniping them with bows might work...
While she thought of ways to take down the two of them, after she saw the girl alight from the vehicle, her damp clothes suddenly turned ice cold.
She wore priest's clothing, made of black silk and edged in lace. She was a young girl who wore a headdress of black gauze over her black hair.
"-Piña: That, that's Rory... Mercury!"
She was an agent of the god of death, judgement, madness and war — an Apostle of Emroy. Because the Emperor counted as the highest religious official in the Empire, he could speak with Apostles during national religious events. As such, she had the chance to see the Apostles of the god Emroy, which was why Piña could recognize her.
"-Grey: Is that the legendary Rory the Reaper? Although it's the first time I've seen her, she looks like the young lady in the Count's residence..."
Indeed, Rory looked much younger than the mage girl and the Elf girl. However, her slender limbs were easily holding a halberd that looked heavier than herself, and she thumped it into the earth as she came.
"-Piña: Don't be fooled by her looks, she's a monster that's over 900 years old."
Before the Empire was formed, while this world was in chaos, there were already unaging "demigods", called Apostles. Even so, Rory was the second youngest among these Apostles. An Apostle, a mage and an Elf... Piña would rather flee than think of fighting the three of them.
"-Grey: However, what's an Apostle of Emroy doing with a bunch of bandits?"
Piña shook her head at Grey's question.
"-Piña: You can't judge these people like that."
Normal human values did not apply to Apostles. They cared nothing for the Emperor or the Senate's laws, or even the thing called justice. It might not be wrong to say they sneered at them. That was Piña's worried explanation.
"-Piña: Whether the Gods exist has nothing to do with good or evil. People pray to them, but bad things still happen. One can get sick even if one lives a virtuous life and a cruel tyrant can still live a long time. All these have nothing to do with prayer or reverence.
Gods are beings that humans can't understand. Or rather, humans can't understand the motivations of the Gods... and some people say the Gods must be crazy."
After hearing Piña's thoughts, Grey's brow was slick with sweat. He muttered.
"-Grey: If her Holiness hears that, we'll be in trouble..."
"-Piña: Oh yes. These people style themselves as the Gods' messengers. If you say Gods are completely insane and incomprehensible, then there's no purpose for them to exist."
In a polytheistic world, the faiths did not differentiate between good, evil, orthodoxy or heresy. If one is tired of one god, then one could worship another. However, the priesthood was a religious organization that enjoyed certain privileges and power. Anyone who denigrated the gods would become a target for them.
"-Grey: I didn't hear that, I didn't hear that..."
Grey shook his head at Piña from behind her. Then, Piña peered outside through the gap.
"-Piña: Oh... they're here."
She looked to the front of the gate once more. The mage girl was approaching them, followed by two soldiers in green wielding two different crossbows? Staffs? Whatever it is, it is clearly a weapon. And most importantly, the Golem was following them.
On top of the city wall, which was three stories tall, the sentries were lining up and pointing their crossbows at them. They had even installed a polybolos, which could release multiple bolts in sequence. In addition, they had many things that were difficult to imagine as weapons. For instance, there were steaming cauldrons, suspended over fires.
"-Caleb: I hope they don't decide to give us a bath..."
The Captain, who now following the young Lelei, muttered those words. Itami thought, they probably couldn't hear him. In variety TV shows that the japanese man had seen, the "bath" in question was little more than a harmless prop, but in reality, it was a horrible device on par with chemical weapons. Dying from being scalded to death by hot water would be a long and painful way to go.Being scalded by hot water over much of the body would cause the formation of full-body blisters and a consequent loss of body fluids, leading to dehydration. If that was not enough to kill a person, the loss of skin would also invite infection. The dead tissues would then rot and lead to sepsis, plunging the victim into terrible pain. Even if they somehow survived, they would bear the scars and agony for life. If he had known that this was not water, but rather molten lead, Itami would have ordered an immediate retreat because he was keenly aware of the stories where people tried to kill themselves by self-immolating, but somehow managed to survive after incredible suffering. Caleb however, had seen much more painful way to go and was not that intimidated by such primitive weapon.
Italica's defenders used weapons that were quite different from those of the JSDF and the Imperial Guard. They were sharp, or hot, and at a glance one could call them "implements for murder".
Both of the officers could feel eyes filled with murderous intent fixed on them.
"-?: Friend or foe?! If you are a friend, then come closer!"
Although Itami could not understand the language very well, Caleb could and thus, approached the gate, following Lelei, who was already moving. Itami quickly muttered something and joined the rest of the group that was gathering near the gate.
The points of the sentries' crossbow bolts tracked them as they approached.
Though Itami appeared to be frozen in fear, Caleb was able to keep his cool with relative ease, which helped in relaxing the japanese man.
Piña was forced to make a decision. She had no basis for her decision, but she had to decide anyway. This would be a big gamble.
"-Piña: Grey, what should we do?"
Even the experienced Grey could not answer Piña's question. Nobody could guarantee the outcome, and under these conditions, the need to make a big decision like this turned into an immense source of stress. This was called the 'Chains of Commanding'. The soldiers gripped their weapons, awaiting Piña's decision. The bowmen's hands trembled as they drew their strings taut. The farmers waited with their metal farming implements. The sword-bearing soldiers, the people of Italica, all their lives rested on her decisions.
To begin with, would the Apostle of Emroy, Rory Mercury, as well as an Elf and a mage, actually join a group of bandits? The answer... was "no". She wanted it to be "no". As for why... well, if they had been part of the bandits from the start, they would have taken part in the first attack and Italica would have fallen long ago.
However, Rory and the others might not have been with the bandits from the beginning. They might have been waiting for the right time to join in. She could not conclude that they were not part of the bandits just because they did not take part in the first attack. And if they were not part of the bandits, then why had Rory and the others come to Italica? Why had they come to a town under siege?
She should just deny them entry, but that might turn them into enemies. Piña wanted Rory and friends on her side. After all, the townspeople and soldiers would be certain of victory with an Apostle of Emroy, an Elf and a mage on their side. She sensed that she lacked the leadership skills to make her men certain of their victory.
Although she wasn't sure why Rory and the others had come, if she could talk them into joining, then she could tell the residents, "Help is here!" No, there was no time for long discussions. She had to make them her allies. Either that, or forbid them entry. She had two choices.
As Piña was thinking of what to do, the sound of knocking came from the outside of the gate. She held her breath. Then, Piña gulped, and made a decision. She would use her imposing demeanor to pin down the other party and drag them over to her side.
The thrice-bolted gate was forcefully and powerfully thrust open.
"-Piña: You're here at last!"
After feeling a dull thudding sensation through her hands, Piña saw Rory, the Elf girl, the mage, the Red Golem and one of the green soldier looking at a man who was collapsed in front of the door.
His eyes had rolled up in his head and he had lost consciousness. Immediately, the five of them stared coldly at Piña.
"-Piña: Could it be... that... that was my fault?"
The white-clad mage, the black-clad priestess, the green soldier and the blonde, blue-eyed Elf nodded as one.
Rory and Lelei knew it was just an accident, so they did not blame Piña, but instead they went to help the unconscious Itami. Itami was a big guy, and he was wearing a heavy suit of armor. With the help of the others, they managed to drag him into town. Then, they thought of removing his clothes to help him breathe.
First, they should remove the thing on his head. After that, they wanted to take his shirt off, but what they thought was a cloth shirt turned out to have metal plates in it. The shirt was mysterious in more than just its appearance, and they had no idea where to start. Thankfully for them, that was taken of by the expertise of Caleb, who opened the clothes with relative ease.
The sentries and townspeople gathered round to ask, "What's going on?" Piña choked up and could not answer. Lelei used all the knowledge she had to begin diagnosing Itami.
She peeled his eyelids open to check on his eyeballs, then looked at his nose, ears and mouth to check for bleeding or injury, palpated his face and head to see if there were any hidden injuries, and after making sure he was all right she breathed a sigh of relief.
"-Tuka: What were you trying to do?!"
As she poured the canteen's water on Itami's head, she scolded Piña for opening the door so forcefully when she knew someone was on the other side. She even went so far as to say rude things like "Dumber than a Goblin", but Piña knew that it was her fault for being careless, so she remained silent, an apologetic expression on her face. She looked nothing like an Imperial Princess now. However, she was quick to silence herself when she felt that she was being observed by none other than the Red Golem, or the Space Marine as she had heard Lelei call him. She felt shivers go down her spines and quickly turned her gaze away.
When people got angry, the people around them would either get excited or become even calmer. Lelei was now very calm, and she seemed to have realized she was now in Italica. With a glance, she realized the exit was shut and the bolt was in place. The guards and the townspeople had gathered around them. She couldn't help glancing at Rory... but the black-clad priestess simply smiled in amusement.
Itami recovered consciousness after a while.
"-Rory: He's awake."
The words came from this world, but Itami could understand them easily. Plus, Rory's voice was like the tinkling of silver bells, and pleased his ears.
"-Rory: Do you remember everything?"
Itami nodded. The door that had suddenly flung open smashed into his face and jaw, and everything had gone black. It would seem he had passed out for a while. As he opened his eyes further, a lot of people were looking at Itami, and he saw Lelei's worried face and Caleb calm demeanor.He had been furiously studying this world's language, but now he did not need a translator to understand the words around him. The language center in his brain must have made certain connections, probably caused by being bashed in the head.
The No.2 bulletproof vest was heavy, so Itami would only have managed to rise with great effort if Caleb had not already took it off. For some reason, his upper body was soaked.
As Tuka realized Itami had gotten up and she asked.
"-Tuka: Are you alright?"
"-Itami: Yup. I've let you see an embarrassing side of me."
Itami pulled up the zipper on his shirt and did up the buttons of his bulletproof vest. After that, he retrieved his helmet from Lelei and tidied his messed-up gear.
He heard Sergeant-Major Kuwabara trying to reach him, and pressed the switch on his lower chest.
"-Kuwabara: Lieutenant, are you okay? I was worried."
"-Itami: Kind of, yeah. I passed out for a bit."
"-Kuwabara: If you had waited any longer, I would have ordered our guys to burst in."
Being able to avoid an unnecessary battle was a form of good fortune. It would be terrible if they left behind casualties because if this. Kuwabara had waited so long because such thoughts were on his mind. The need to rescue a captured comrade and the need to avoid a needless fire fight. It was hard for him to decide which to prioritize.
"-Itami: I'll contact you again once I figure out what's going on. Stand by for now."
"-Kuwabara: Got it."
"-Itami: All right then, who's going to tell me what's going on?"
Itami was addressing the people around him. Rory looked at Tuka, Tuka looked at Lelei, Lelei looked at Caleb, Caleb looked at Piña, and Piña looked pleadingly to everyone around her. In the end, they all looked away, uneasy looks on their faces.
"-Hamilton: Impudent fools! This is an affront to the Third Imperial Princess, Piña Co Lada!"
The young knight stepped in as to avoid her master an humiliation in front of the townspeople, however, what came next made her regret having ever opened her mouth in the first place.
The Red Golem had stepped in.
Esmote watched as the little human girl cowered and lost all of her might under his gaze. His eyes pierced her very soul through his green optics. He judged the situation and decided to act as mediator from now on, if what she said was true, then this Imperial Princess could perhaps prove to be useful.
The Astartes turned his head toward Piña which froze in fear as the giant towered over her, and his hand resting on a sword attached to his hip.
"-Esmote: My name is Esmote, Lieutenant of the Blood Angels of the Imperium of Man. I believe that this man deserves an apology from you. Or is this world aristocracy devoided of any politeness?"
His voice was loud and there was something not totally human in it, as if it was amplified by some sort of magic, which turned the princess face very pale. In truth, it was simply the voice communication of Esmote armor making this effect, but to someone like Piña who knew nothing about such technology, it made his voice much more commanding and imbued of authority than it already was.
"-Piña: M-my apologies..."
The princess whispered, ashamed of herself for not saying it when she was clearly the one at fault.
"-Esmote: Good, you learned the lesson. Now, I believe that you might want to explain the situation here."
The princess nodded and regained a bit of her cool. She cleared her throat and invited the group to follow her to the mansion of the Countess Myui. While they walked inside the mansion hallways where the people of Italica could not hear them, Piña started to explain the situation as she was leading the way toward the room where the Countess was waiting.
"-Piña: This fortress city, Italica, stands strategically at the intersection of the Tesseria and Appia highways, making it a major commercial hub, as well. For generations, it's been ruled by the counts of Formal, imperial nobility. But when the last count died suddenly, the three daughters he left behind began struggling for dominance. The eldest and middle sister had already married into other families. They fought over who would be the guardian of the rightful heir, the youngest sister, Myui."
"-Itami: That stuff happens in every world, huh?"
"-Lelei: Itami, do you understand what she is saying?"
"-Itami: Yeah, there's some word I don't know, but I get the gist of it. Is it because I hit my head?"
Not stopping in her explanation, Piña continued to talk.
"-Piña: The, the Empire sent the expeditionary forces into the other worlds. The head of every families were expected to lead their troops into battle there. None returned. As a result, the security situation in Italica deteriorated quickly, to the point where even defending this city is proving the city is now proving difficult."
The red haired woman stopped in front of a wooden door at the end of the corridor.
"-Piña: Beyond this door lies the current leader of Italica and Countess of Formar, Myui."
She opened the door, revealing a finely decorated room, with two seats for the ruler of Italica and it's husband or wife. But only one of the seat was occupied, and the Countess Myui was seen visibly distressed at the sight of the group.
"-Caleb: A child?"
The veteran did not expect such a young kid to be the one leading the city, but it was not the first time that he had seen position of power occupied by young persons.
"-Lelei: I believe the countess turns eleven this year."
"-Piña: While she is head of the family, it's too much to ask her to lead an army. As scuh, I'm taking command in her stead."
"-Caleb: I see."
The group is now sitting in couch of rather decent quality for this world, the seat were not exactly comfortable but they were quite magnificent and suited very well with the rest of the decoration. Esmote had to stay standing, being far too big and heavy for a couch.
"-Piña: So you're saying that you'll help us, correct?"
"-Itami: Yeah, we can't exactly sell these dragon scales with all of this going on. However that only goes for my soldiers, I cannot take a decision for the Imperium."
Caleb for his part, had already decided that he would help the city, but he could not just take a decision like that, he first add to obtain the approval of the real leader of this operation. He turned his head to the Blood Angels, awaiting any symbol or intervention to know what he has decided.
The Battle-Brother simply nodded his head, giving his approval for the defense of the city. Caleb bowed his head and turned toward the Saderan princess.
"-Caleb: The Imperial Guard will come to help as well. Just tell us where you want us."
"-Piña: Very well, we'll have you guard the South Gate"
With the help of the JSDF and the Imperial Guard having been accepted by Piña, one of the gate was opened to let their vehicles enter. It was with curiosity and confusion that the citizens of Italica saw the strange soldiers in green disembark from their metal carriages and take position on the wall to the south. Piña and Hamilton had took position on a nearby tower and watched the soldiers install themselves.
"-Hamilton: So those are the people in green that everyone's talking about? The one's who slayed a Fire Dragon and make a second flee?"
"-Piña: So it seems."
"-Hamilton: Was it really wise to let them in?"
The princess looked down in shame. She was against the wall and had no ther choices but to accept any help if she wanted for this city to survive.
"-Piña: Right now we don't have a choice. We need to use whatever we can."
Itami got scolded on the radio by Major Higaki as he could not make it back to the base this day, due to him being caught up in an unexpected situation where he could not really say no. He however managed to convince the Major to ask for reinforcement so that the battle would be over much faster.
Caleb contacted HQ to keep them informed on the situation. His superiors approved of his decision when he told them that the Blood Angel Esmote had approved it as well. They would transer this information to Aradiel himself and it would be him that decided wether or not the First Recon Groupe would accomplish this mission alone or not.
A few hours later, as dusk was beginning to fall upon them, the soldiers on the wall could spot a few riders on the road leading to the gate. It was clear that they were scouts, and that the main force should not be very far from them. They understood that it was very likely that they would attack the south gate as it had far less than all of the other gate, and thus Piña had put them in charge of it as a test of their skills.
Night fell and there was no sight of any more scouts or soldiers at the south, west and north gates. However, the east gate fate was much different. Passed midnight, torches lit up in the middle of the plain surrounding the east gate and warcry started to be chanted by bandits thirsty for blood.
It was not expected for them to come from the east and thus the defenses there were rather mediocre, at best. Ladders were put against the wall as wave after wave of renegades soldiers started to climb up along the wall. The defenders tried to rain arrows upon their foes, but everytime a volley was ordered, it was simply stopped by the wind itself, indicating the presence of an enemy mage in the bandit forces.
It was not long before a few of the scondrels managed to overrun the sentinels of the wall and open the east gate, allowind a sea of bandits to flow trough.
The Rose Knight Norma could be found atop of the wall, having just cut trough one of the bandit, he continued to order the defenders to where they were needed.
"-Norma: Defend this area with your lives! This is our last stand!"
He cried as he cutted in half the stomach of a bandit, before punching in the face and stealing the spear of another in a swift movement. However, yet another soldier had joined the fight and struck him in the back, cutting directly trough the knight armor.
The blonde knight prepared to strike in retaliation but was promptly stabbed in the back by two more swords. This proved too much for the knight and life finally escaped his body.
The bandit commander, having been the one to stab Norma, raised the body of the knight, still impaled atop of his blade, and showed it to the defenders of Italica that were currently fighting with the bandits that had pierced trough the gate.
"-Bandit commander: The enemy commander is slain! Listen up, men! Now this, is war!"
The man threw the body of the fallen knight to the bottom of the wall, crashing into the ground with the sound of broken bone and bending metal.
"-Bandit commander: The murder and death that we sought at Alnus and Helnus, which our fallen fellows never saw! We kill the enemy, and then, we shall die, satisfied! That shall be our hymn to Emloy, the God of War! Here, we have found our war!"
The man laughed like a maniac as his soldiers banged their sword against their shields, and their spears against the ground in a cacophony that made the earth tremble for a moment.
"-Villager: Knight Norma has been slain!"
Cried in panic one of the villager. Hamilton and Piña, who were both observing the fight from the back (as most commanders did in the empire), could not help but mourn for their fallen friend. Piña banged her hand agaisnt the wood balcony in rage and despair as she realized how helpless they stood against such unending numbers.
"-Hamilton: Norma..."
"-Militia leader: The east gate has fallen! And the civilians have entered the combat! They're requesting reinforcements!"
"-Piña: We have none left to send!"
The soldiers of the JSDF and Imperial Guard at the south gate were observing the burning flames rises from the east gate, and wondered why they hadn't been call to reinforce the fight yet. At the same time, Rory was losing her mind as the aphrodisiac effect of souls passing trough her drove her to the edge of madness.
It was then that the soldiers realized that the Space Marine was nowhere to be found. How could they have lost track of such a big soldier? But they already knew where he went, and what he intended to do.
Piña rage turn into fear as she witnessed the civilians being absolutely slaughtered by the bandits.
"-Villager #1: Where are our reinforcements? Where are the men in green?"
The young man shouted before his face was reduced to a bloody mess by a single hit of a spiky ball.
"-Villager #2: It's over! Retreat-"
The man cry was interrupted as the same weapon crushed his spine and ended his life.
Some others didn't even had the chance to say their last words before being crushed or maimed by the sheer brutality of the weapon.
The wielder of such a dangerous weapon, was a mountain of muscles and rage. Towering above all other men on the battlefield. He was simply wearing military boots and pants, and his torso was exposed for all to see his impressive musculature. His face however, was a mask of death and gore. The giant man cracked his neck before letting out a roar that shook to their very bones the defenders of Italica.
"-Militia leader: If this keeps up, they're going to break through the bulwarks too! If that happens, the city is lost! You must order for the people to evacuate, princess!"
It was as if reason had left Piña body. She could not help but stare helplessly toward the massacre, repeating to herself that if her knights were here, she could have done something.
It was then that heavy footsteps were heard from behind her. Stepping out from the shadow, the giant frame of Esmote revealed himself to the commanding officers of this losing side.
"-Esmote: What a shame, humans should not have to fight between themselves. Such hopeless fools."
The Lieutenant took his power sword in his hand, and lighted it up. The sword cracked of thunder as it woke up, basking the air around it with small electric tendrils. To the surprise of the saderan present, Esmote jumped over the balcony, landing in the court beneath where the fights were happening. All soldiers, no matter the sides, turned their attention toward the Blood Angel as he made his entrance.
The giant bandit roared once more and started to spin his weapon above his head, preparing to launch it toward the space marine.
Esmote, simply pointed his sword toward the giant once, before starting to walk toward him, calmly. The mountain of muscle that is the bandit roared in anger as he launched his weapon toward the astartes with incredible force. However, the weapon didn't even scratch the hardened ceramite armor and simply fell to the ground after impacting directly with the armor in a loud 'thud'! The bandit, enraged even more upon seeing his failure, rushed toward the lieutenant, intending to slash him in half using an oversized axe.
Esmote parried the hit with ease, and in not even a split second, pierced the gut of the giant with a single strike. Blood was vomited trough the mask of the bandit as he grabbed the blade impaling him in pain before realizing that simply making contact with it was painful. Esmote grabbed the neck of the muscular soldier and with little effort, seperated it from his body with ease. He launched the head toward an incoming bandit while he took his blade out of the body as if it didn't even matter to the sword.
Several crazy bandits rushed at him, hoping to be able to sneak behind him and pierce the weak spots in his armor like behind the knees or around the neck. Esmote however, didn't even let them have the chance to do that. In successive motions, Esmote pivoted on himself, cutting in half a bandit before decapitating another. Archers targeted him but the arrows wouldn't even scratch the paint of his armor.
As the heat of the battle turned up, Esmote started to lose himself to the melee. With each enemy he cutted down, the more and more savage he would become. Going so far as to even simply grab the face of a man, and crush it with his bare hand while the other was still cutting another man. Bodies cut in half started to pile up around him as he searched for new targets. He spotted the leader of the bandit, shocked from the brutality of the Astartes, standing on top of the wall, thinking that he was safe. Esmote grabbed his bolt pistol, and as he clicked the trigger, a hole the size of a large book was punched trough the commander, his chest exploding in a shower of gore and blood.
Esmote then turned his attention toward the soldiers at the gate, who were now hesitating to enter upon seeing the death of their commander and the massacre of their comrades. They thought that their enemy was slow, seeing that his armor was very bulky and would most definitely be heavy. They were wrong.
The space marine sprinted toward his foes so fast, that the poor fools didn't even realize that they were already screwed. The bodies were cut and slashed and broken by the power sword that cut trough armor and flesh as if they were butter, and the strength of the man hands who was enough to punch a hole trough an armored man without resistance.
When several bandits attempted a last effort with their numbers, jumping on the man to overwhelm him and bring him down, the Astartes had no problem to simply take them one by one and reduce their bodies to lifeless corpses. He took one and threw it on the ground before stomping on his face with all of his might, then took another and broke his spine on his knee, and finally taking a third and using it as a weapon against two other soldiers as if he was a club.
The defenders of Italica could not help but witness how this single soldier was single handedly fighting an entire army, and was winning by a landslide. The brutality of his tactics and of his fighting style would forever be graved into Piña's memory as she watched a man be swatted like a fly by this red giant.
"-Piña: A monster... We have accepted the help of a monster..."