Five soldiers strode through a military outpost close to Meridian City with angry faces and annoyed tones. They walked with semi-automatic assault rifles with a massive line of people behind them.
Those following were plainclothes civilians, including children and elderly people. Each walked timidly, unsure of what was happening.
"At least we're getting these animals out of our base." A handsome, brown-haired soldier with an athletic build said, "They've been eating our food and causing us trouble long enough."
"True that, Smith. I wish I could beat the shit out of some of them for their attitudes, though." A bald black man followed, laughing bitterly in annoyance.
"Right, Devon? Can we make a pit stop really quick? There's someone I want to slap the shit out of before they leave." Smith requested seriously.
"Are you insane, Smith? We've been guarding these people for two weeks and now have orders to protect them with our lives." Mark scoffed, baffled at the man's arrogance.
"Fine, that bitch is lucky." Smith replied indignantly, rolling his eyes.
"No, you're lucky. Riley would rip your testicles out and shove them down your throat if you laid hands on a woman, you fucking idiot." A man with a bushy beard mocked.
"Women can't just do whatever they want because they're women, Randy." The brown-haired soldier sneered, "That includes Lieutenant Coronel Feminazi.
If women treat people like shit, they deserve to get what men get for treating people like shit."
"No, she's not a feminist; she's fair." Randy laughed mockingly, "You're just an animal who wants to beat a woman because she wouldn't sleep with you."
"What did you just call me!?" Smith roared, "You better take back those words, you prick."
They stopped walking and stared off, prepared to fight one another.
"We're on the job, guys." Devon said, attempting to defuse the situation, "So stop fighting. We have shit to do."
Unfortunately, his efforts were wasted upon the men, who continued yelling and shaking off any attempt to stop them.
The battle raged until Randy stopped talking abruptly and trembled in fear.
"Hah, look at that frightened face!" Smith snorted, "See, you're afraid because you know what I'm going to do to you after our shift.
Everyone should feel that fear when they treat people like shit, don't you—AgGhhhHhHH!"
The handsome soldier's face contorted in pain when a hand wrapped around his balls and squeezed firmly.
"What was that, darling?" A redhead mused, whispering in his ear seductively from behind, "You want to fulfill your orders to protect these people with your lives by beating them? A woman no less?"
"Riley, you don't understand. I—AgGHhHhHHH!"
"What was that?" Riley asked, increasing her grip tightly, "I misunderstood your explicit statement that you wanted to break your orders and hit a woman?"
"She threatened me!" Smith cried in pain.
"Hoh?" Riley mused, "She's terrifying enough to threaten you, eh? Is that why you're confident you can smack her around? Hmmm?"
The brown-haired soldier's eyes shook in horror and pain. "Riley, please! I-I'm not—"
POP!
A harrowing sound exploded in the area, and the man's crotch area instantly turned red, fighting against the dark green color.
Before he could scream, she chopped him in the back of the neck to knock him out and threw him twenty feet down a side hallway, shocking everyone, even the soldiers.
The demonstration was unceremonious, brutal, and absolute.
"Listen up, you idiots!" Riley roared, "You're protecting these people with your lives!
Since you don't understand what that means, I just gave you a warning. I will kill the next person who even jokes about hurting these people."
All the soldiers fell dead silent, looking at Smith in disbelief.
"That's just for our orders." The redhead warned, "If a woman's trying to kill you, rip their throat out. However, you can kiss your testicles behind if you hit one that's not.
Men shouldn't solve non-military conflicts by fighting. So saying a woman deserves what men [equally] shouldn't get is fucking disgusting. Now move!"
The male soldiers moved instantly, half-traumatized by what they saw. [Everyone] hated Smith's guts for his treatment of people but felt pity for the bleeding, unconscious man.
"What's the big deal with these people?" Randy dry-swallowed nervously.
"These people are linked to the Emperor." Riley whispered, shocking the soldiers, "He's paying billions in cultivation resources to move and protect these people.
He's also the leader of a fucking country, and you idiots could've triggered a war."
"W-Why didn't anyone tell us that?" A soldier stuttered after a sharp breath.
"I don't know why, but the information is classified." The redhead said ominously, "These people can't learn who's helping them or why they're moving. So shut the fuck up before we end up before a firing squad."
...
"We're loading you on trucks and moving you." Riley yelled to the five hundred civilians after they got outside, standing under the hot sun, "It'll be a bumpy ride."
Behind her was a fleet of forest green humvees with plastic, no-air tires.
"All the roads and highways are blocked, so we'll be offroading alongside the hallway." She continued, "So get used to it.
One parent will take their children in a separate caravan. It doesn't matter if it's a man or a woman—we're doing it for the children, not you."
The citizens dry-swallowed nervously. They didn't know where they were going or why, but they trusted the woman's orders to protect them with their lives, so they nodded.
"Now follow the soldiers, we're loading up." Riley yelled.
An hour later, a caravan of trucks bounced alongside highways. There were grassy areas on each side that weren't blocked.
Five humvees out front had special curved bumpers used to ram objects out of the way. They looked like snow plows but were curved outward to slide objects out of the way after smashing into something.
Whenever they reached an area that had cars crashed on the side, cultivators in the vehicles increased their speed and rammed into them, unphased by whiplash.
Due to the difficulty of navigating through areas, the trip took five hours, half the time it'd take for the other groups to arrive.
After making it past multiple security checkpoints with fences topped with razor wire, the group drove deep into a wooded area and arrived on campus with large hotel-sized buildings.
Contrary to expectations, most military bases lacked the walls that characterize famous bases like the Pentagon in the United States.
They're usually flat areas unsurrounded by walls except for strategic walls and fencing. They contain large residential buildings and meeting buildings for the people, making them look like college campuses instead of castles.
Lainwright Military Base had that appearance. It had four-story concrete residential buildings with living quarters and housing districts for approximately 20,000 people.
It also had an extensive dirt training ground, hangers, roadways, landing strips, and parking lots containing military vehicles.
However, building teams were busy setting up large, uncharacteristic fences with razor wire around the massive perimeter, and most vehicles were missing.
Soldiers ran around, working at a breakneck pace for various reasons.
When the humvees stopped and the civilians began unloading, the soldiers sneered.
Exactly 500 Immortal Skye civilians were moving from the Lasco Military Outpost, and they were joining the 942 currently staying on campus.
The soldiers knew they were coming and weren't happy.
A group of six stopped working on the fences and walked over to the soldiers unloading the people.
"Oui! Why are you sending this pack of fuckin' animals into our base!"
"Five thousand of us are transferring out because of these freaks!"
"Explain why they're here! There's not enough food for these useless members!"
"I'm getting kicked out because of you all. I deserve to know why!"
"Stand down, soldiers!" Randy yelled in a loud yet calm voice, "We're getting paid billions in cultivation resources to protect these people. It's for everyone's benefit"
"That's a crock of shit." A soldier with a jagged neckbeard and bloodshot eyes spat, walking up to the soldier aggressively, "We've been working 18-hour days for this place.
Now someone pulls out their checkbook, their people arrive, and we get kicked out?
I deserve to know why I'm getting transferred out instead of those people staying at your base."
I'll answer your question." Riley said, stepping forward and glaring at the man with icy green eyes that sent shivers down his spine. "Insubordination.
You've abandoned your orders to argue with higher-ranking soldiers and interfere with their orders.
That's three layers of insubordination and showcases why you were chosen. It's also why those in this group who weren't chosen will now join you."
Waves of anxiety crashed over the men.
"W-Wait! Are you saying you're gonna snitch?"
"I didn't say anything, don't get me involved with those idiots!"
"Hold up, there's no reason to escalate things, right? We were in the wrong and are sorry."
"Yeah, we're sorry. So can you just look the other way?"
Four immediately started issuing excuses. However, one of the silent soldiers and a loud individual didn't say anything. They just glared at the arriving soldiers and the civilians.
"What about you two?" Riley asked dryly, "Are you not interested in justifying yourself pointlessly?"
"No." The silent one said coldly, "These people are trouble. They're consuming resources and dislocating important defenders. Moreover, we'll face expulsion, prison, or death if we hurt them.
Each is a threat to personnel on campus. So even if I said something, I wouldn't apologize for it."
The redhead narrowed her eyes slightly, scanning everyone else's faces.
"Those are fair points; however, that's not the issue here." She said dryly, "Leaving your duty and fighting with us is insubordination. Complaining to [me] was already pointless when you defied orders."
"Look, miss." One said, changing his tone, "We just want to know why they're here.
You understand that if you keep the reason quiet, the soldiers will attack them sooner than later, right?"
The redhead's eyes glided to the left. While she had orders to keep things under wraps, her first objective was to protect the people. So he found a compromise.
"That's true." Riley replied, "I will not report you if you spread this message to everyone. Are you ready?"
The soldiers dry-swallowed and nodded.
"For all intents and purposes, the 3,491 civilian cultivators are hostages of Lainwright Military Base." Riley announced, stunning everyone present, "They're valuable.
Therefore, you must protect them with your lives, as their value can bring life-saving resources and protection to this base and prevent a war.
Now spread the word that Lieutenant Colonel Lycan has issued that declaration and doesn't want to see anyone complaining about our guess or planning to harm them. Now go!"
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