As Ajax's Squad advanced in the snow wastes, the truth about the last few days came into view as small groups of Neanders tried to intercept the convoy before being dealt with methodically and without remorse.
There were many corpses in the area, and it seemed that the Freeze had caused many other survivors to be captured and killed by the savage mutants, pouring raw rage into the hearts of every squad member.
All the survivors who seemed to be heading towards Adam's base were, it appeared, captured by the Neanders instead, putting an unpleasant halt to the population growth of Adam's faction.
Reports were sent to home base, and the order to carry on was given.
A few minutes later, the group met its first real threat on the field with a large group of Neanders who seemed to have mutated into larger variants. They were dangerous in direct confrontation, as their ability to hurl objects was a threat to all troops, grunts included.
Not taking any chances, the squad reported back to base, gave exact coordinates through Chips's radio and drone, then sat back and watched after hearing Adam's voice chirping excitedly on the other side.
Not a minute later, whistling sounds were heard through the sky, and the entire squad took cover as the shells impacted with a rumbling reverberation. Those who were experienced in this field, such as Hammerhead and Ajax, kept their senses safe from the blast impact, whereas inexperienced troopers such as Bolt and Fish watched the shattering impact as three shells tore through the throng of the Neanders, causing bodies and limbs to fly everywhere, at the expense of their senses.
As the cloud of dust and snow settled, Chips's drone took to the sky and scanned the area for more activity, but rather than the Neander horde gathering from afar, their survival instinct took over, and any Neander who survived the impact immediately scattered in frantic fright.
The V-Bugs rolled in, checking on the three large craters that formed afterwards, with Adam on the radio demanding a thorough status report while bragging about his EXP gain from that hit alone.
The report Chips made was indeed thorough, reporting the annihilation of no less than seventy Neanders, with an open route towards the first Scanner Beacon.
Pleased, Adam looked over his status screen, grinning ear to ear after descending from the gunner chair of the stationary bombard cannon he was operating.
≪ You have gained 4 EXP! ≫
With a total of 11 experience points, he could now raise his Spirit score to 9, feeling a massive surge of power running through him.
—————[ STATUS ]—————
Name — Adam Clay
Role — Survivor
Class — Sorcerer
EXP — 2
—————[ STATS ]—————
Might — 5
Trick — 4
Spirit — 9
—————[ SKILLS ]—————
(Adam's Archived Skills|Archived: 3)
— Chef (VI)
— Charisma (VIII)
— Gun-Fu (III)
— Psyche (VI)
— Sage (III)
— Sanity (V)
— Senses (V)
— Evolved Skills|Spirit Geometry (II)
— Toughness (III)
— Warfare (IV)
—————[ POWERS ]—————
— Font of Magic (Class)
— Puppeteer Rune (???)
— Bending Rune(Item: Alfari Bracer)
— Slaying Rune(Item: Carved Bone Talisman)
— Tracking Rune(Item: Carved Bone Talisman)
————————————————
Only one point separated him from his Class advancement, and with enough artillery, he would get those experience points no matter what. After all, what is the Legio Bellarium without artillery?
With that done, Adam stayed around the artillery platform for a couple of hours as Ajax's Squad went around between Scanner Beacons, reactivating them one by one. Unfortunately for Adam, no more Neander hordes were seen, and even the ones detected by scanners were all fleeing the area.
As for the Stingray Drones, one was recovered, but it was partially damaged. Brother Solbjorn connected himself to its systems, as he had with the Beacons, and found traces of the Freeze blocking it from reactivating.
Just as Adam had battled the Freeze in his Captain trial, Brother Solbjorn did the same, but rather than a battle simulation to overlay the actual work, Warrior Monks would use their Solar Arts to purge instances of corruption from any electronics before their Sacred Code was affected. That way, the drone was freed from the Freeze and returned to base on its own.
The second drone wasn't as lucky, as a Bigfoot seemed to have taken it upon itself to utterly destroy the technological construct, which may have caused its payload to detonate from within. The drone was found split apart, with the Bigfoot's corpse nearby, and a large chunk of the drone plunged deep into its chest along with many pieces of shrapnel. A rather funny, albeit costly, ending for both sides.
The second drone was marked for scraping, and the team returned to base without much combat. However, on their way back, a rather interesting occurrence was heard.
The air molecules suddenly started feeling erratic as a pained howl tore through the sky, echoing far and wide past the traveling V-Bugs and all the way back to base.
Everyone heard it, but nobody knew what it was, and all radio communications started buzzing. Ajax's Team was ordered to return to base, while Adam shifted the priority of the War Factory temporarily to hastily repair the surviving Stingray drone.
Whatever that was felt like something threatening, and Adam hated such threats being too close for comfort.
Interestingly, he received a call from the Civilian Base, and it seemed Professor Hendrick and Kahori wanted to talk, to which Adam agreed immediately, seeing that the Alfari envoy might have actual information about what may have caused that howl.
But to assert his dominance, Adam agreed to meet the alien not in his base nor the Hendrick Privateers building, but summoned them to the Command Center / Work Guild of the Civilian Base, called the Town Hall by the Earthlings, since it housed the offices of the Bailiff, Senator Ned Carter, and Lawman Sheriff Brya Vigil.
So as the Professor and the Alfari envoy walked in, those two prominent figures were already present, but sitting in the center was, of course, Justiciar Adam Clay, and behind him stood the beautiful and solemn Elena Skarn. The Sheriff took the seat at one end of the table to his left, while the Bailiff took the other end to his right.
The sight that greeted Kahori was that of a solid front; each of the figures sitting at the table carried their own weight: the Bailiff who manages the town affairs, the Sheriff who enforces its laws, and the Justiciar who acts as the vice commander and representative of the human front.
Opposite Adam were three empty seats. The lawman who guided them inside told the professor to sit in the central seat while Kahori was instructed to pick a side.
But just as the professor was about to speak, the door opened one more time, and a woman in strange robes walked in. The Professor and the Senator were both looking strangely at her, but the Sheriff jumped to her feet, offering the woman a firm handshake.
"Sol's blessing, Sister of Wisdom." The old Sheriff said, an obvious grin on her face.
"His luminous blessings guide you, honorable Lawman." Luminare Soliha greeted the Sheriff with warmth before turning warmly to everyone else, until she spotted Kahori. "Oh, a xenos! Is this a trial? Will I witness an execution on my first day of work? Should I go grab my Blessed Scorcher?"
The grim words mixed with the joyous melody of her voice created a strange contrast and sent some mixed signals all around the room.
"Justiciar, this can't be…" Professor Hendrick stood up with trembling hands, but Adam shook his head.
"Worry not, dear Professor. There will be no transgression over our agreement regarding your sanctioned xenos associates." Adam said, quelling a headache before it sparked into an argument.
Soliha took her seat with a disappointed sigh, throwing glances at Kahori as if she was a slab of meat that would unfortunately waste away before entering the grill. Still, she reined in her instinct to burn aliens at the stake and addressed Adam directly.
"Congratulations on your Captain promotion, Justiciar Clay, sir." She spoke, spreading the news of Adam's new rank.
"Thank you, Sister Soliha." Adam graciously accepted her congratulations.
"Promotion?" Almost all three elder individuals turned to Adam with surprised faces.
Bailiff Carter and Sheriff Vigil both congratulated him, the two realizing that since their boss had risen in rank, new higher ranks under him would soon be open, and an adept Ordinarium official must always be alert to such opportunities.
As for the Professor…
"Strange!" He exclaimed, scratching his chin at Adam's sudden rise in power, "If not the 'Commander' himself coming back to promote you, could you possibly promote yourself?"
Even the politics-hating professor found himself participating in a verbal tug-of-war, sending a subtle threat that he could undermine Adam's story about the existence of the Commander, but since Adam knew that he knew, without him knowing that Adam knew, Adam simply put on a smile.
"Of course, I can be promoted without a Higher Officer thanks to the holy will of Sol Imperius lingering within the Sacred Code." Adam said, smiling ear to ear, "Once I had accumulated enough merit and passed the promotion trial, I was given clearance to take the rank."
"Well…" The Professor thought for a while before nodding. "My deepest congratulations, Captain Justiciar."
"Many thanks, Professor, and hey…" Adam pointed with a genuine smile to the old man. "Thanks for going out of your way to save my life from the Bigfoot that night. I owe you one."
Purposefully, Adam put himself in the Professor's debt, giving him a hook so that the Professor would feel comfortable around him.
"You're welcome, Justiciar." The Professor nodded with firm eyes. "You've been one of my students, after all."
"And I'd love to think I still am. 'A teacher for a day, I serve for life.'" Adam said with a smile.
"You mixed the Chinese and Arabic proverbs." The Professor spoke patiently. "The Chinese one says 'A teacher for a day, a father for a life', whereas the Arabic one says 'Whoever teaches me a letter, I serve for life.'"
"Oh!" Adam clasped his hands in realization before smiling brightly. "See? I'm still learning."
Whether that was Adam trying to sway Professor Hendrick's opinion, or just him being genuine, no one in this room could tell, especially the calculating Bailiff Carter and the opportunist Sheriff Vigil, a fact that somehow worked in Adam's favor as the two shrewd characters became more favorable toward him, further unifying his social front.
But if there were a bombshell in this room… scratch that… if there were two bombshells in this room, they would be sitting on the opposite side of Adam.
"Professor Hendrick, was it?" Sister Soliha turned to the Professor with interest. "To speak such words means you are a Luminare as well, Sol be praised! Would you be interested in joining the Luminare order? Many members of our scholarly ranks are rather independent actors in all the scholarly theaters of the galaxy."
But right before the Professor replied favorably or negatively, Envoy Kahori jumped heatedly into the conversation.
"What in the World Tree are you spouting? Sage Hendrick is an exalted sage, someone whose mind has exceeded the limits of your kind. His scholarly level transcends the stars."
Hearing Kahori take an antagonistic stance toward Soliha's offer, everyone in the room followed the conversation with interest.
"Oh, it speaks." Soliha covered her mouth slyly. "Justiciar, this is disturbing news. The Sacred Code teaches us not to give ear to the insinuations of xenos. The first commandment says: 'Purge the stars of alien breath, offer them nought but death.' Should I prepare the pyre, please?"
"No!" Both Adam and the Professor spoke in unison; the latter was clearly more bothered by Soliha's words.
"Oh, dear Professor. A wise man like you is a rare gem to humankind. As I am instructed to seek and record the knowledge of this world, I am willing to freely share many insights of SolTech with you." Soliha said while holding the professor's arm from one side.
"Sage Hendrick, you know about the mysteries of the Alfari, and we have a promised visit to Fiya. I already know where your heart is." From the other side, Kahori approached the professor.
"Oh, this is getting good. None of you step in!" On the other side, Adam was single-handedly holding back Elena, Sheriff Vigil, and Bailiff Carter from ruining the drama.
"That's enough!" But the one to ruin the scene was the Professor himself, almost prompting Adam to boo at him. "This is a serious meeting, you two. Envoy Kahori, we've spoken of this. Only Justiciar Clay can grant you and your sister asylum, so please."
"There is another one?" Soliha asked before turning to Adam with sparkling eyes, "Pretty please!"
"Nope!" Adam replied.
"And Luminare Soliha, I understand that you are a teacher and a scientist, the same as I am, so let's keep it civil with each other and remain secular. As a Privateer, I have a license to trade and protect my alien assets, and that was a legal verdict from Justiciar Clay. Ms. Kahori and Ms. Samara are fully under my protection."
As the professor said so, Soliha simply let out a long breath and rested back on her seat without much interest.
"Whatever the Tribunarium dictates is as good as the revelations of the Sacred Code," Soliha said and no longer pursued her immolation fantasies.
"Thank you. Plenty of xenos are out there to set aflame, Sister Soliha. I will make sure to catch you a gobzkin or two to use as firewood." Adam said and tapped the table, turning to Kahori, "Envoy, fancy seeing you again, and thank you for stepping in to rescue the professor that night, and for your cooperation earlier during the siege."
"I am honored to be of help, honorable vindicator." Kahori replied, lowering her head, "I believe my usefulness grants me a favor I can cash in."
"While I find it distasteful to quickly cash in favors, I will surely be willing to listen." Adam said and spread his hands, "Is this about the asylum from earlier?"
"Yes." Kahori answered, "My sister has recovered well, but we are in no shape to travel, and the Freeze must have severed the trade routes we use through the Rifts. This means that our people will consider us perished, and no rescue shall turn up unless the trade route is reopened."
"And that will take?" Adam asked.
"I cannot say." She replied with obvious dejection, "The food trade was important to our side, but we dare not risk facing True Jotnar. Even Lord Kaimu would request reinforcements from other Elden Lords, preferably at the level of Elders."
Adam leaned in, trying to understand the Elden hierarchy. If Kaimu would not come unless he had an Elder supporting him, it would mean he was not one, and that not all Elden Lords were of similar power levels.
"The only kind of asylum I can give is to promise that neither you nor your sister will be harmed or pursued, as long as you are under the custody of Professor Hendrick, which is standard Solarium procedure. Other than that, you have no other guarantees." Adam said, and sealed the deal with Kahori.
"Then I thank you, honorable vindicator." Kahori thanked Adam graciously.
"Hold on, your honor." Soliha stood up right away. "I have a lawful claim to make in this matter if you would allow it."
Seeing that a Luminare had a lawful claim, even a Justiciar must tread lightly in matters such as this. After all, it is the Luminare who interpret the Sacred Code for making laws.
"Go ahead!" Adam granted her permission.
"In the Book of Tithes of the Solar Dogma, it is stated as follows." Soliha said and closed her eyes before starting to recite the law, "Should a Privateer of the Writ grant harbor to the xenos vile, such blasphemy shall be tolerated only within the absolute dark of their sovereign domain. Where the sacred rays of Sol cannot pierce, there alone may the beast cower. Let the Holy Inquisitorium stay its purging fire, conditionally and with malice, provided the alien filth is proven utterly toothless, devoid of malice, and broken to the will of Man. To stray from this shadow is to court the absolute wrath of Sol Imperius."
When it was over, Adam and the Professor seemed bothered, but Sheriff Brya Vigil spoke her mind:
"Usually, this means the alien must remain in a holding far away from the Sacred Solar System, but on many occasions we have encountered aliens confined at the deepest chambers of Stellar Arks even in the heart of the Solarium."
"I understand the concerns." Adam nodded and turned to the Bailiff, "Mr. Carter, if you please write this down. We, Adam Clay, Justiciar and Captain-in-Arms of the Solarium, hereby grant Professor Anthony Hendrick, Head of the Hendrick Privateers, the building they dwell in, and its address, as their diplomatic domain, protected as a foreign embassy, with all members of the privateering group possessing diplomatic immunity within its premises, unless the Head of the Hendrick Privateers strips them of their immunity."
Before the discussion could go back and forth, Adam put together a new law, making the privateering headquarters a sort of embassy, while not really persecuting the Alfari refugees. However, his benevolence came at a price:
"If I were in your shoes, Professor, I'd offer the sisters positions as Privateers, which would give them legal immunity inside your domain." Adam said, before adding, "And to be safe, I would suggest that you try to get your hands on a stronghold where you can spread your influence away from this base. You can contract Solarium units from the Titharium and the Scriptorium or even Free Paladins, which would increase your access to SolTech. However, dealing with the Sacred Code on your own is a cardinal sin."
"Which means I'll have to hire a Scriptorium member for sure." The Professor concluded.
"Plenty of those will come in the future. I'm sure I can spare one or two." Adam said with a smile.
"Fufu!" On the Professor's right, Soliha smiled thinly. "I will look forward to working with you, Professor."
The Professor stayed silent and settled back into his seat, now realizing that Adam wasn't simply helping, but rather forcing him to expand outside his base while keeping him under his thumb.
He glanced towards Senator Carter, but the latter was grinning ear to ear, clearly delighted by Adam's improved sense of politics. The young Justiciar was proving a competent leader, forcing everyone to play by his rules with a carrot in one hand and a stick in the other.
"For now, let's dive into the most critical matter," Adam said and changed the topic directly to business. "We all heard the howl from before, more like a monster's bellow, and it seems Kahori the Envoy has some information to share with us." He focused his gaze at her and asked, "Is it some sort of dragon or something we should worry about?"
"Thank you for allowing me to speak, vindicator," Kahori said and shifted in her seat, glancing between the members of the meeting. "This monster was not something I had encountered before, but my sister concluded that it is a Dark Host monster called the Blighter Legion."
"Blighter? As in those infected walking dead?" Adam asked.
"Yes, but on a much bigger scale." Kahori nodded. "Usually, the Blighter is a parasite that pilots the body of the infected until it gathers enough nutrients to develop a second life phase in a body it calls its own, or it would face the risk of shrinking, becoming the small-sized Shrinker Monsters, which consolidate into swarms."
"Tell me about the Blighter Legion," Adam asked.
"One thing people mistake about the Dark Hosts is thinking they are mindless. They are certainly eccentric, but they follow specific patterns to grow and evolve. The Legion, however, is a drastic measure for the Host in its parasitic phase, just like shrinking. However, when the entire hive of Hosts realizes that they are individually facing the risk of annihilation, to counter this, all Blighters start to amalgamate into one body."
"Holy shit!" Adam exclaimed.
"I am not getting the picture." Bailiff Carter complained while looking at Adam.
"Imagine a horde of zombies put in a blender, then coming out as one big body," Adam explained.
The room fell silent following Adam's explanation, and it seemed this was something dangerous.
"So, if a Blighter Legion appears, it implies something just as dangerous is out there, and the biggest threat we know of is the True Jotnar, " Adam stated, but he was looking at the people around him, waiting for a follow-up that never came. "Fine, let's say we have two titans duking it out against each other out there, and we have to wait until they finish each other off so we can move ahead and blast the other one. Is this a valid strategy for you all?"
"Seems like it." Sheriff Brya Vigil said.
"Fine." Adam stood up and issued a few quick decisions. "Sheriff, I want your men to secure the food and medicine stockpile. If people freak out, they'll try to grab things before they go. Bailiff, talk to the people, tell them that the operation is going strong and that the Neanders are being pushed back. If they wish to leave, give every individual a week's ration and send them off. Anyone who leaks information about the enemy we are facing will be put to trial. Limit this information to your closest aides and prepare every capable member under you to be called to battle at a moment's notice."
With the civilian front under control, Adam dismissed the Professor and the Alfari Envoy, preparing for more drastic measures, away from those who could be considered outsiders.
✧ ✧ ✧ ✧ ✧
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