Wesker's POV
I was still sitting on the back of my Aquila, several hundred meters above the desolate lands of Mordor, when my Kingphone vibrated. Kevin and Ada were flying a few dozen meters away from me, each riding their own mount, as we continued discreetly following the Orc army advancing westward.
"Wesker, change of plans," Gerald announced.
A map immediately appeared on my phone's screen. Gerald explained that it came from the fortress Chris had captured and that he'd managed to translate some of its markings using the memories of the Orc officer sent to Raccoon City.
"You're about to approach a citadel called Cirith Ungol. Farther ahead is another fortress, Minas Morgul. I don't want you wasting your time on either of them for now. Go around them and continue straight west."
I moved the map until I spotted a city standing on both banks of an enormous river.
"Osgiliath?"
"Exactly. It's a human city, and according to the information we've recovered, around five thousand Orcs are currently preparing to attack it. The army you've been following is mainly serving as a reserve, and its troops will be sent in waves to maintain pressure on the defenders."
I immediately understood the value of our new mission. We could slaughter Orcs anywhere in Mordor, but intervening just as several thousand of them attacked a human city presented an ideal opportunity to establish contact with the inhabitants of this world.
"Meanwhile, their lord is apparently preparing a breakthrough farther north," Gerald continued. "Leave that alone for now. Help Osgiliath, and above all, try to make a good impression."
"Understood."
I ended the call and looked toward Kevin and Ada.
"You heard him. We're abandoning the pursuit and heading straight for Osgiliath. Gerald wants us to make a good impression on the humans."
Kevin gave an amused smile.
"Then maybe we should avoid starting with Wesker demanding their submission."
I gave him a cold stare.
"I'm perfectly capable of being diplomatic."
Ada let out a small laugh.
"Well, that's reassuring."
I gently urged my Aquila forward, and the creature immediately understood my intention. Its enormous wings beat more powerfully as we gained altitude, allowing us to bypass the main enemy fortifications without unnecessarily attracting their attention.
We left Cirith Ungol behind without approaching it, then avoided Minas Morgul as well. The three Aquilas could cover considerable distances in very little time, and at this altitude, ground patrols had little chance of noticing us.
The landscape gradually changed as we left the most hostile territories behind. The mountains gave way to broader plains, and after some time, an immense silver ribbon appeared on the horizon.
The Anduin.
Even from the air, the river's width was impressive. Its waters divided the landscape in two, and a fortified city stretched along both banks, with several bridges connecting its eastern and western districts.
Osgiliath, however, clearly bore the scars of numerous conflicts. Some of its walls were damaged, several buildings had lost their roofs, and entire neighborhoods appeared to have been transformed into improvised defensive positions.
But the city was still holding.
On the opposite bank, several thousand Orcs had gathered in irregular formations. Black banners rose above the mass of soldiers, while units equipped with bows, spears, and heavy shields prepared to advance.
The battle, however, had not truly begun yet. The two armies were watching each other from a distance while the human defenders reinforced their positions behind the walls and in the streets leading to the crossings over the Anduin.
"Nice view," Kevin commented as he surveyed the battlefield.
"Five thousand enemies and a city in ruins. Indeed."
"So, what's the plan?" he asked as we gradually approached.
I thought about it for a few seconds. Immediately slaughtering the Orcs would certainly attract the humans' attention, but suddenly appearing with three gigantic eagles after exterminating an entire army probably wasn't the best way to begin diplomatic relations.
"We'll approach the human side first. We'll check whether they speak a language we can understand and explain why we're here before we start cleaning things up."
I'd barely finished speaking when I felt a slight pressure around my neck.
My hand immediately moved toward it.
A small metal collar had just appeared around my throat. Kevin and Ada were now wearing identical devices, and their reactions told me they hadn't received any warning either.
Gerald's voice immediately sounded through our communicators.
"Those are translation devices. The humans in this region mainly speak a language called Westron, and for now, the recorded vocabulary is still limited."
I lightly touched the collar.
"You could have warned me before materializing something around my neck."
"That would've been less fun."
Of course.
"For now, I've only been able to build the language database using the memories of the Orc officer Chris captured," Gerald continued. "So you mainly know the words and expressions he used regularly."
Kevin frowned.
"So probably a lot of insults."
"An enormous number of insults," Gerald confirmed.
I sighed.
"Perfect for a first diplomatic encounter."
"The System will automatically analyze conversations around you. The more you talk with the humans, the more accurate the translations will become. At first, some sentences might sound awkward or overly literal, so work with what you've got and try to get them talking."
The communication ended.
I looked at my two companions.
"You heard the boss. We're going to have a little chat."
We were beginning to circle around the rear of the Orc lines when the shouting coming from the ground suddenly changed.
Several soldiers were now pointing their weapons toward the sky, and something rose from the center of their army.
I narrowed my eyes.
The creature vaguely resembled an enormous winged reptile, but its anatomy was particularly grotesque. A long, almost wormlike neck supported a head with massive jaws, while two large membranous wings beat violently to carry it higher into the air.
A rider completely wrapped in a dark cloak sat on its back.
Even from several hundred meters away, his presence felt strange. A chilling sensation accompanied his approach, and the Orcs on the ground seemed almost invigorated by his appearance.
"Airborne contact," Kevin announced.
The rider immediately directed his mount toward us.
I began straightening up on my Aquila, but Ada moved ahead of me.
"Leave him to me."
She gave a slight push with her legs, and her Aquila suddenly dove.
The enemy creature let out a piercing shriek before lunging to meet her. The two mounts crossed paths at impressive speed, their wings passing within mere meters of each other before Ada immediately made her Aquila turn around.
A veritable aerial ballet began above the battlefield.
The creature attempted to bite Ada's Aquila while its rider leaned toward her, but our mount was far more agile. It folded one wing, tilted almost vertically, then slipped beneath its opponent before abruptly climbing again.
Ada simply raised one hand.
Several daggers emerged from their sheaths and shot toward her opponent, but it wasn't the rider she was targeting.
"She's going to do something excessive again," Kevin commented.
"Probably."
Ada crossed paths with the enemy mount once more.
The blades flew.
The first sliced through the membrane of its left wing for several meters. Two more immediately followed, methodically severing the structures supporting it as the creature unleashed a deafening scream.
Ada made her Aquila execute a U-turn.
A second volley struck the other wing.
This time, the creature completely lost its lift.
It tipped into the open air, desperately flapping what remained of its wings before beginning an uncontrolled fall toward the thousands of Orcs gathered beneath it.
Its rider turned toward Ada as they fell.
For a few seconds, I thought he was going to try jumping or grabbing onto something to escape the crash. Instead, his hooded figure began losing its substance, as though his very body refused to remain in this world.
A strange dark mist escaped from his cloak before completely enveloping his figure. A second later, there was no one left on the creature's back, only a few black wisps quickly scattered by the wind.
"Interesting," I murmured.
I seriously doubted Ada had actually killed him. A disappearance of that nature seemed more like an escape or some kind of survival mechanism than an actual death, but we'd have plenty of time to study that particular ability if we encountered one of those riders again.
His mount, however, clearly didn't enjoy the same privilege.
Deprived of its wings, the creature was now spinning uncontrollably toward the ground. Its piercing screams almost drowned out those of the Orcs, who were gradually realizing that it was about to crash directly into the middle of their formations.
The soldiers tried to scatter, but five thousand fighters gathered on a single battlefield couldn't disperse in a matter of seconds. Some stumbled over one another, others abandoned their weapons and ran, while several officers shouted useless orders amid the chaos.
The creature finally crashed into the heart of the army.
The impact sent an enormous cloud of dirt and dust into the air. Several Orcs were thrown skyward, while others simply disappeared beneath the beast's gigantic body, its carcass plowing through several more meters of ground before finally coming to a stop.
For a few seconds, a strange silence seemed to settle over the battlefield.
Then a roar erupted behind us.
I turned toward Osgiliath and discovered that practically every human defender visible on the walls had witnessed the fight. Hundreds of men were now raising their swords, spears, and bows above their heads.
Their cheers gradually spread along the fortifications.
Soldiers began striking their weapons against their shields in a heavy, steady rhythm, producing a rumble that sounded like an enormous war drum. Others shouted toward the sky, raising their blades in the direction of Ada and her Aquila.
After spending hours waiting for an assault by several thousand Orcs, watching one of their enemies' flying creatures have its wings sliced apart before crashing into the middle of its own army had clearly done wonders for their morale.
Ada calmly climbed back to our altitude.
Her Aquila made a wide turn before returning to its position beside us, while Ada herself seemed completely indifferent to the hundreds of soldiers still cheering for her from the ramparts.
Kevin watched her for a few seconds before gesturing toward the city with his chin.
"Making a good impression on the humans... Looks like that's taken care of."
Ada glanced toward the defenders before giving a slight shrug.
"Let's go. At least I've made it perfectly clear whose side we're on."
"Hard to make it any clearer," Kevin replied. "You just turned their flying monster into a projectile against their own army."
I let out a small laugh.
For a mission that was supposed to begin with a cautious approach to avoid any misunderstandings, Ada had effectively solved a large part of our diplomatic problem in less than a minute.
I directed my Aquila toward Osgiliath and began descending gradually. Kevin and Ada took positions on either side of me as the three gigantic creatures flew together toward the human defenses.
The reactions along the walls changed slightly as we approached. The cheering continued, but some soldiers returned to their positions and watched us more cautiously, probably aware that they still knew absolutely nothing about us.
I couldn't blame them.
Three strangers riding gigantic eagles had just appeared from the direction of Mordor, and one of them had sliced apart an enemy creature in midair using a method none of these men had probably ever witnessed.
But at least nobody seemed interested in shooting at us.
I could even see several soldiers pointing toward an open area behind their lines, large enough for the Aquilas to land without destroying half their fortifications.
I smiled faintly.
"Let's keep going."
Kevin brought his Aquila closer to mine.
"Still worried about diplomacy?"
I looked at the hundreds of men who were still cheering for us as we descended toward Osgiliath.
"Not anymore. I think our introduction should be very easy."
After landing, I let the translation device listen to all the conversations around us, knowing that Gerald's specialists were already working on translating the language and improving the system's accuracy.
I discreetly signaled Kevin to remain silent as we dismounted our Aquilas. Several human soldiers had cautiously approached, and one of them, clearly their officer, was walking toward us with one hand resting near the hilt of his sword.
I took out my phone and opened the interface connected to the translator. Rather than risk saying something incomprehensible, I began typing what I wanted to say so the device could suggest the Westron words it already knew.
The result was particularly disappointing.
A large portion of the available vocabulary clearly came from our Orc prisoner. To express the simple concept of an enemy, the translator suggested several insults, two expressions involving my listener's family, and one phrase that apparently involved ripping out his entrails.
I raised an eyebrow.
"Gerald was right about the insults."
Kevin glanced at my screen.
"I like the third one. Very diplomatic."
I motioned for him to be quiet before simplifying my sentence as much as possible. After several attempts, the program finally managed to produce something that wouldn't risk turning our first contact with the humans of this world into a diplomatic incident.
I put my phone away and looked directly at the officer.
"We... not know much your language. We come fight with you... against them."
I finished by clearly pointing toward the enormous Orc army gathered beyond the human positions. The sentence structure was atrocious, but the message seemed obvious enough to be understood despite the device's limitations.
The officer remained silent for a few seconds before looking at Ada, Kevin, and me in turn. His attention then lingered on the carcass of the flying creature Ada had just sent crashing into the middle of the Orcs.
His expression relaxed.
He spoke a sentence that the collar only managed to translate a few words of, such as "enemy," "fight," and "welcome," before extending his hand toward me.
I immediately shook it.
That would be enough for a start.
I then signaled Kevin to stay with them. For the moment, his role would be far more useful here than on the battlefield, since his translator could listen to the soldiers' conversations and continuously transmit new words to the System.
"Get them talking as much as possible," I told him. "In an hour, I'd like to be able to put together a sentence without accidentally threatening someone's mother."
Kevin smiled.
"I'll do my best."
Ada and I then climbed back onto our Aquilas, but only long enough to quickly cross the human defenses. Once we were close enough to the enemy lines, we jumped from our mounts and landed directly in the space separating the two armies.
The Orcs hesitated.
I could almost see the confusion spreading through their ranks. Two individuals had voluntarily landed in front of several thousand soldiers after one of them had shot down their aerial support.
Ada calmly drew several daggers.
"Shall we begin?"
"After you."
She raised her fingers.
Her daggers immediately left her hands.
Thanks to her metal manipulation, the blades began spinning around her before shooting off in several directions. They moved from one Orc to another with surgical precision, slicing throats or striking the weak points left exposed by their armor.
The front ranks didn't even have time to understand what was happening to them.
A dozen Orcs collapsed almost simultaneously while the daggers were already changing direction. Whenever a soldier tried to raise his shield, Ada simply guided her weapons around the obstacle to strike directly at his neck or the back of his skull.
The archers reacted quickly.
A first volley of arrows rose above their lines before descending toward us. Ada simply raised one hand, and the metal arrowheads abruptly veered off course.
Some arrows fell around us.
Others flew straight back toward their owners.
I had no need for that kind of subtlety.
I accelerated.
To ordinary Orcs, my speed probably made it look as though I was disappearing from one place and reappearing somewhere else. I tore through their front ranks before they could properly raise their weapons and struck the first soldier directly in the chest.
His armor caved in beneath my fist.
The Orc was thrown backward and crashed into several of his comrades, but I was already somewhere else. I grabbed the next one by the throat before hurling him into another fighter, then dodged a spear with a simple tilt of my head.
I caught the shaft as it passed.
A single pull was enough to rip the weapon from the soldier's hands.
I spun the spear around and struck three Orcs in succession before the wood snapped under the force of my movements. I dropped the broken pieces and simply resumed fighting barehanded.
Ada was advancing alongside me.
Her daggers now formed a deadly zone around her. Every Orc who tried to approach saw a blade abruptly change direction to strike his throat, face, or an opening in his armor.
We steadily pushed deeper into their army.
Then the humans began joining the fight.
A whistling sound cut through the sky behind us.
Hundreds of arrows passed overhead before raining down on the Orc ranks far enough away to avoid hitting us. The first volley was immediately followed by a second.
Their archers had understood our advance and were adjusting their shots accordingly. Instead of targeting the enemies close to us, they concentrated their arrows on the formations attempting to reorganize farther away.
The gates of the human defenses opened shortly afterward.
Several dozen heavily armored warriors charged onto the battlefield as well. Their shields formed a compact line while their swords and spears struck the Orcs already thrown into disarray by our attack.
It was at that moment that the enemy army truly began to break.
The destruction of their flying creature had already dealt a serious blow to their morale. Watching two strangers tear through their front lines as though several thousand soldiers posed no threat whatsoever had finally turned their confusion into outright panic.
Orc officers were shouting contradictory orders.
Some units tried to surround us while others were already beginning to retreat. The soldiers at the rear pushed against those in front of them in their attempts to flee, causing collisions and gradually breaking apart their own formations.
Ada recalled her daggers and looked toward the Orcs who were beginning to retreat.
"They're running already?"
I dodged an axe and struck its owner hard enough to send him tumbling into his comrades.
"They've just lost their aerial support, their front lines, and probably several hundred men in a matter of minutes."
Another volley of arrows passed overhead and rained down directly on the retreating Orcs.
I watched the human soldiers advance behind their shields while their enemies gradually abandoned any attempt to maintain a coherent formation.
"And now they realize they're being attacked from both sides."
Ada spun her daggers before sending them toward another group.
"Then we might as well help them make up their minds."
I smiled faintly before breaking into a run again.
If Gerald wanted us to make a good impression on the humans of this world, I doubted we could find a better way than by handing them the deaths of five thousand Orcs.
(Author's note: The Nazgûl's specific names will be used later, since the team still knows nothing about them.)