TtOW! - Chapter 23: On the Road (Patreon)

The history of the Etleni Empire cannot be separated from the history of the Legion.  Of course, that is exactly what the Imperial Doctrine has pounded into us all since our childhood, but in this case it is undeniably correct.  It is no exaggeration to say that the Legion gave birth to the Empire.

To understand why this is so, we must first understand the conditions in which it was born.  The Age of Heroes, as it is called by the romantics and the novelists.  Or, more aptly in my opinion and by any serious historian, the Age of Blood.  A time when the Elves and the Empire of the Sun were at their peak, and when humanity was little more than scattered tribes.  An in-depth discussion of those times is beyond the scope of this work, so for the sake of brevity, let us consider the overall trend.  In those days, humanity largely existed in one of three states.  One, the frightened and trembling inhabitants of minor city-states, whose world did not extend beyond the walls of their city.  Two, as the slaves of the local power, whether that be the imperious Elves or the cruel Demon Lords, forced to spend their strength and their blood on enriching their masters.  Three, as savage and brutal tribes, living short and cruel lives of violence and misery.  And all three of these states had one thing in common: the survival of the group depended solely on the strength of its highest-leveled member.  All human efforts went solely to boosting the level of the local champion, whoever they may be.

It sounds fanciful and quite frankly arrogant to describe our ancestors in such a manner, but in this case we know it to be true.  Time and time again, we’ve found that these conditions are replicated almost universally beyond the borders of the Empire.  Even the mighty and prosperous Elven civilizations follow this rule, it is simply that with their longevity they have many more and much greater champions to expand their reach and cast down their foes.

This is the world into which the Legion was born.  Where human lives were short and bloody, human ‘society’ barely extended beyond the strongest relative, and death came swiftly, suddenly, and often.  And for once, it is not romantic exaggeration to say that the Legion changed everything.

-The History of the Empire, by Hostus Tettidius Clodian

***

Ateia and Taog woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of spells being cast.  Both of them shot out of their rooms, knives in hand.  They heard the sound again, coming from the latrine.  Both of them nodded at one another and rushed over.

They found NSLICE-00P standing by the latrine, launching magic missiles down into.

“Seero, what are you doing!”

“Answer: This unit’s sentry scans detected hostiles in the area.  This unit is in the process of terminating them.”

“Hostiles?  What hostiles?!”

“Answer: This unit has detected hostile slimes in this facility.  Slimes are designated to be terminated on sight.”

Both Ateia and Taog blinked for a second as they processed the situation.

“Seero!  Not these slimes!  Those are sewer slimes!”

“Requesting Elaboration: There are different types of slime?”

“Yes!  These ones are bred by the Empire to clean up waste!  So don’t hunt them!”

“Acknowledged.  Data on entity ‘slime’ updated with new intel.  Slimes located in organic waste facilities redesignated as ‘terminate if hostile intent detected’.”

Ateia exhaled her breath as NSLICE-00P dropped the magic circles and returned to her room.  Taog hit his forehead with his palm and groaned.

***

The next morning, Ateia made a quick stop at the small Legion Barracks so they could send word ahead.  A fancy name for the town’s guardhouse, but this was technically an Imperial settlement and the guards were technically limitanei, so they did have a way to contact the provincial headquarters.

And with that, the group set off once more.

They were not far along the road when NSLICE-00P stopped walking and engaged her helmet.

“Warning: Hostiles detected outside of the bounds of a settlement.  Engaging termination protocols.”

Ateia and Taog turned around.  Taog quickly rushed over to NSLICE-00P, whispering so Ateia wouldn’t hear.

“It is Lar and the others?”

“Affirmative.”

Taog took a deep breath.

And then…he had a thought.

They were outside the town.  No one else was around.  NSLICE-00P might be quick to kill but in every instant he had seen her she had technically acted in self-defense.  So…if he didn’t say anything…and NSLICE-00P encountered Lar again…well, he would never have to see Lar’s stupid face ever again.

In fact, it would simply be justice, wouldn’t it?  It wouldn’t be his fault if Lar went and got himself killed being a jerk.

He took a deep breath.

And then he let it pass.

Growing up as an orphaned half-wulver had taught him never to act solely on his emotions.  As much as he would like it if Lar died, he at least had to consider the consequences first.  So he recounted the situation.  He, Ateia, and NSLICE-00P had just left town, Ateia had even announced their departure to the Legion.  Lar and his friends left town shortly afterwards.  Lar had just had an altercation with NSLICE-00P that was reported to the guards.  So if Lar never returned or else was found dead outside of town a day later…he and NSLICE-00P would be the prime suspects.  And given the townsfolk’s general distrust, often blatant dislike, of him and the fact that NSLICE-00P was a visitor with no connections…it was obvious what the verdict in town would be.  Now altercations happen out in the field all the time, so it wasn’t as if they had legal proof, but to them it wouldn’t matter.  His enemies would use it as an excuse to rally the mob against him.  He could never return there.

Personally, he was fine with that…but there was a chance Ateia would like to return.  Plus…his parents were buried there.  That was not something he was willing to let go of.

And…there could be other consequences.  The townsfolk would report the situation to the Legion, who would have to conduct an investigation.  Now the Legion didn’t have any personal beef with Taog and altercations on the road are notoriously hard to investigate.  Still though, being accused of murder could complicate his application to the Exploratores.  And…he was fairly certain NSLICE-00P wasn’t an Imperial citizen.  And he was completely certain that she was extremely dangerous.  So the Legion might not be as understanding towards her.

He wasn’t going to see Lar for quite a while in any case, maybe ever, if all went as planned.  All of which meant killing Lar here would be risking his future and his benefactor for momentary satisfaction.

Taog heaved a sigh.

“Seero, please don’t kill them.  It could cause trouble if we get investigated for murder.”

“Acknowledged.”

Then, Taog smirked.

“...doesn’t mean we have to let them follow us, though.  Do you have a way to trip them up, without letting Ateia know?”

“Analyzing…”

NSLICE-00P went through her arsenal.  None of her non-lethal implants could affect the targets from this distance, so she went through the more recent additions instead.  And she came up with a viable option, given past combat data.

NSLICE-00P stirred up her mana…and began to transform it.  All schools of magic category skills contain basic knowledge on how to lend their respective attribute to mana, the fundamental requirement for casting attributed spells in the first place.  This is generally useful for non-combat applications, for example creating fire-attribute mana without a spell will generate a small amount of flame that can be used to start a fire.

In this case, NSLICE-00P chose the Earth attribute, allowing her mana to interact with and move earth and stone about.  She then seeped the Earth mana into the ground, and stretched it out down the road.  Farther and farther the Earth mana stretched, until it was resting underneath the incoming targets.  Her head ached as she struggled to hold the mana in such a long and thin line, but her cybernetic half aided her focus.

And then, she activated the Earth mana, using it to move the dirt around.

Creating a circular pit…directly under the signatures she had detected.

[You have learned the spell Pitfall!]

[The skill Earth Magic is now level 4!]

[The skill Earth Magic is now level 5!]

[Mana control increased by 10!]

[You have learned the skill Farcasting!]

[Pitfall (Level 1): Dig a large hole in a target area, may be concealed.  Mana cost may increase depending on suitability of terrain.]

[Farcasting (Level 1): Allows the user to manipulate mana and create magic circles at far distances.]

“Statement: Hostiles have been non-lethally incapacitated.”

“What did you do?”

NSLICE-00P explained.  Taog had to cover his mouth as his shoulders trembled.  Ateia frowned.

“What are you two talking about over there?”

“N-Nothing, nothing, don’t worry about it.”

Ateia raised an eyebrow at that but NSLICE-00P had disengaged her helmet and resumed walking, so she let it go.  And so the group continued on their way.

Later that night a farmer found Lar and his friends trapped in a pit alongside the road.

***

And so the trio made their way along the road.  They traveled across rolling hills, the trees and forests giving way to walled farms and the occasional watchtowers.

Ateia and Taog explained the history of the Empire as they walked, how the legendary champion Velus had come up with the idea of the Legion and saved his home city.  How that home city had used the Legion to establish itself, and bring peace to the surrounding area.  And how that had given birth to a nation, the first true human nation in history, which continued to grow across the centuries until now, when it encompassed an entire continent and practically all of human civilization, not to mention the many client races it had absorbed as well.

Suddenly, NSLICE-00P stopped, turning in the direction of a nearby hill.

“Warning: This unit has detected numerous signatures, indicating a large group of humanoids moving in this direction.  Recommending caution.”

Ateia and Taog looked at one another.  Ateia tilted her head.

“I mean, that has to be the Legion, right?”

Taog rubbed his chin.

“Could be an incursion…but there should have been a call to arms long before they got this far if so.  So yeah, I’d say it’s most likely the Legion.  Though, I wonder what they’re doing out here?  And off the road?”

Ateia shrugged.

“Training exercise?  Dealing with a big monster?  I mean, the Legion sorties for a lot of reasons that don’t require a general alert, right?”

Taog nodded.

“That’s true.”

“Requesting Clarification: So detected signatures likely belong to Empire-aligned forces?”

The pair nodded.  Ateia grinned.

“Actually, that could be good.  Seero, how would you like to see the Legion in action?”

“Response: Intel on entity ‘Legion’ is calculated to be highly useful in identifying this unit’s current location.  It would be most appreciated.”

“Got it, let’s go then!”

“Are you sure, Ateia?  They could be fighting something dangerous, you know?”

Ateia shook her head.

“We’ll be careful, and just take a peek from afar.  If the threat is big enough that even that’s too dangerous, then the Legion should have announced the threat.”

Taog nodded slowly.

“I guess that’s true.”

“It’s settled then!”

And so the three made their way off the road, climbing up and down the nearby hills as they moved in the direction of the signatures.  Closer and closer they came, though the hills still blocked them from view.  Finally, there was but a single hill between the groups.  The three climbed to the top of the hill and peeked up and over it.

Ateia and Taog’s jaws dropped.

“What…is this?  What’s happening?  This is impossible…”

It was not the Legion.

The valley below…was filled to the brim with wulver clansfolk.  They moved swiftly and quietly through the valley, despite their numbers.  Ateia and Taog’s eyes widened.

“It’s…an incursion.”

Author’s Note:

Well, I’m sure this will be fine.  Everyone will stay calm and talk things out, right?  After all, this novel is Diplomacy in the Other World!

What’s that?

That’s not the name of the novel?

Oh.

Aggressive negotiations it is.

Anyways!

Can the gang calmly diplomacy the big wulver incursion?  Will we ever find a way to terminate Lar?  Will NSLICE-00P rid the world of hostile slimes?  Tune in next time, to find out!