General Becker was handling reports sent to him by the administrative bureau and written by people like Captain Lain, Sergeant Greene, and many others. It detailed their hunts, findings, and many others, from the multiple thaids close to the city to the monsters in the horde and the most dangerous ones of the lot.
His face was grave since most of the patrols, soldiers, and people estimated that the monster horde would arrive in the city in less than a week.
"What do you think about this, Colonel?" General Becker asked Tiwana.
The Colonel directly reported to the General since he was the one who gave him the task of managing the horde situation, and they often met to talk about the progress of their effort to cull down its population.
"About that, sir, with our current number of people, it will be hard. Destroying the barrier will be impossible for the horde, but the gate is a weak spot in our defenses; there are several Yevyag?t among the horde, and we are having trouble killing them. "Tiwana solemnly replied.
The General sighed. Tiwana was a dear friend and comrade in the army, so he didn't bother acting high and mighty in front of him. "Fuck…"
"Yeah… The situation is a mess, and we also got reports that the Blirdoth that one of our teams spotted had joined the horde. It looks like a coordinated attack to me, to be honest. I talked to Professor Derr Xilion about this, and he said that probably the Blirdoth is the Heniate's main avatar. As for the horde itself, it is clear that our containment measures are not working. We killed many of the monsters and managed to prevent several monsters from joining it, but it is not enough." Tiwana replied.
"Do you think we should ask the civilians for help?" The General asked, "I don't honestly think our forces are enough to do everything alone; we need the whole city's help," he added.
"That could be viable. After all, most adults have been in the army in their younger days, so we shouldn't have problems. However, I wonder what will happen to the internal order if so many people escape the barrier to fight the thaids... The local gangs will probably take action…" Tiwana said.
"We will keep a certain number of guards in key areas and ask for all the people under the age of 60 and higher than 16 to join," Becker said after having thought about it for a bit.
"That's a good idea… but we need Minister Rose's help to make all these preparations. After all, she is in charge of the city's defenses…" Tiwana replied.
The more the two thought about the situation, the grimmer their mood became. After that, the two kept studying more and more strategic plans that the various people under Becker's command had brought him. There were ones in case the city got breached, others in case that didn't happen, and many different scenarios.
All in all, they believed they could do it. However, a problem remained: what to do with the Heniate in the east? They couldn't send men to kill it, and they hadn't even found it yet. Besides, what if hidden enemies had created the beast? The case would be concerning if all of this was Etrium's doing.
"What about the parasite?" Tiwana asked.
General Becker replied earnestly while looking Armand in the eyes: "After this ordeal ends, we will prepare an extensive search of the beast. We won't leave even a single tree unchecked. After that, once we find it, we will try to kill it with all we have…" Then Becker explained how he thought about asking Etrium's mercenaries' help to search for and kill the monster.
However, Tiwana wasn't convinced. "What if we can't find it or the band of giants fails?" Colonel Tiwana asked. Heniates were not simple thaids. The more creatures they had, the stronger they became.
"In that case, I already asked for Volkov's help… He will go search for the monster…"
"Volkov? Do you mean Sinisa Volkov, Fasard's mayor? That Volkov? Wasn't he your rival before you took control of the nation?" Tiwana asked.
"Indeed, it's him," General Becker replied with a grave look.
Tiwana stopped to think for a minute. It was true that Volkov was strong, but there weren't many good words that his men inside the city of Fasard said about its mayor. According to rumors, Sinisa Volkov was a corrupt man with a strange obsession for children, and many believed that a pedophile lurked behind his noble demeanor.
Weirder rumors then revolved around Fasard itself. The people that Becker and Tiwana sent to keep an eye on the General's rival reported the look in the citizens' eyes while looking at their mayor. They seemed taken by a sort of religious frenzy, almost like they were under a spell.
"Sir, I don't want to seem disrespectful, but why did you ask for help from a man like Volkov? Don't you know what our reports say about him?" Tiwana asked.
"Yes, I know them, but it wasn't my idea; it was Zayan's, General Becker replied.
"The mayor? What does he know about war? Armand, with all due respect, this is not a good idea. We live in a precarious moment with the war and everything else." Colonel Tiwana paused for a couple of seconds.
"I believe Volkov will take advantage of the situation to seize control of the nation," he continued. "If you ask for his help, the citizens will see this as a sign of weakness, and the gangs will take advantage of it," Tiwana said, distraught.
"The dice have already been cast…" General Becker replied. "But let's think about this if the situation arises. What do you think about the general plan?"
"The plan seems feasible. Etrium's mercenaries are known to be strong, but they won't be cheap. Besides, what if Etrium is really behind the thaid's appearance? Lastly, do you already have an idea of who to send for such a dangerous task?" Tiwana asked.
"What about the fierce lioness?" General Becker said.
"Her? Are you sure, sir? She is not a very stable person…"
"Yes, but she is plenty capable for such a task… I think at least..." General Becker replied.
"I know that, but I don't trust mercenaries…" he paused momentarily. "Especially Etrium's, especially the Band of Giants," Tiwana responded.
He had the right to think so, especially about Amanda Ravithier, the fierce lioness. Her deeds were truly extraordinary. The tales sung about her slaying a Jolmine were legendary on the continent. Even the blackguards wanted her, as did many members of her mercenary guild. She had the respect of every warrior and soldier out there, but her personality wasn't the best.
She was greedy, ruthless, and didn't give a damn about military hierarchy. She frequently had fits of rage; if this wasn't enough, she was brutal to anyone who went against her. She openly defied orders several times and even fought with her superiors many times. She was, in a word, volatile.
"Yeah, but it's not like we have an alternative," Becker said.
"Well, to be honest, some other mercenary guilds are at the Band of Giants' same level…"
"What guilds?" Becker wasn't that knowledgeable about Etrium's mercenary guilds.
"Splitflayers, Hellaws, and Black Foxes," Colonel Tiwana replied.
The duo stopped talking momentarily; the General recalled the situation with the parasitized people and started inquiring about it.
"What about the infected? What is the situation?" General Becker asked, then stood from his chair and started maniacally walking around the room.
"Well, we had to execute all the people who got infected. This includes soldiers and even people who had contact with them, like spouses and children. This wasn't the best and also reduced the number of people available. Professor Derr Xilion is currently working on a cure, but it is not that simple according to what Fischer told me…" Tiwana replied.
The General stopped walking. He looked at Colonel Tiwana with a severe look. He passed his hands between his hair and pushed them to the back of his head, "Why so?" he asked.
"Because according to the professor, Heniates have a special brain crystal power that operates at a particular mana frequency that is different for each Heniate. The professor said it is necessary to locate this frequency before he can do anything about the parasites."
"Does he need more people?" General Becker asked.
"Yes, he does," Tiwana said while holding his hands to his face to support his head. The Colonel sighed; he freed his face from his own hands, and while looking at the General, he said, "Fischer asked several times for more people, but there has been no decision yet. He told me to ask you to do something about it."
General Becker sighed. He knew that what Xilion and Fischer were doing wasn't popular and that if shit happened, it would be his head to roll.
"I will make a call later to try and salvage the situation, but if things don't go as intended with the vaccine, we will keep killing the infected as Professor Derr suggested. We can't risk an outbreak inside the city."
"All right, I will tell him," Tiwana stated. The urgency in his tone was apparent to General Becker. He was the nation's ruler but didn't know every aspect of it. He only hoped the soldiers and citizens didn't learn about the executions. That would create a huge mess.
"Ok… Don't worry, Armand…"
"You can go now. I hope you will bring me good news the next time we see each other. Take care, Mirko…"
"Bye, Armand…"
Colonel Tiwana left General Becker's office with heavy steps. He still had a lot to do.
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