SHK CH 556: RANGERS (Patreon)

Everything started on a sunny day.

In the territory of Lustburg, the beast men had been pushing forward unimpeded. While the news about the few defeats they received worried them, this also increased the morale of the soldiers who continued to win even as Lustburg retreated.

Of course, they understand that they were lucky not to have had to face the truly dangerous one. But even so. Wouldn’t one say that luck is also a skill? This was a truth in this world.

After all denying Luck would mean denying the Blessed.

“Captain, how long before we break the last blockade?”

“They are barely hanging. In a few hours at most, we should be able to break open the castle.”

They nodded. The gate of Lustburg were opening to them in a way. After beating the nobles in the frontiers and pushing forward a little more, they would be able to infiltrate and pillage villages while gathering resources.

The moment this transformed into a guerilla, Lusburg would have a hard time spreading the resources necessary to catch all of them.

“In all history, this may be our greatest victory.”

Lustburg and Wratharis had fought many times in the long history of war. Some wins and some losses existed on either side. But most of the time, the war would simply stop after lasting a few years and start negotiations for captured soldiers, slaves and whatnot.

Lustburg had generally more wins though. It wasn’t for nothing that so many beast men and half-beast men were born and raised there.

“Captain!”

The hearty and joyous discussion in the tent was stopped as someone barged in. The captain was about to remonstrate them but knowing this soldier in particular, he knew that he was not the kind to lose his cool most of the time.

A uneasy feeling started to spread as he stood up and asked,

“What happened?”

“Lustburg received reinforcement!”

“Is it all? Isn’t it obvious? How many did they send? Hundred? Thousand?”

It was impossible for the army of Lustburg to spare more than a thousand or a few thousand at most. They even had Two Dukes present just in case. So this was not going to be too problematic.

At least….This was what he believed until he received the exact number.

“Only 10.”

“Well… Shit.”

The captain finally grasped the gravity of the situation.

“Is it perhaps a group led by a King? Did Lustburg finally go crazy and decide to break the Convention?”

In this world, there was a clear reality, when a small group of people were sent to face an army this group was composed of the elite. The fewer they were the more powerful. To the point where numbers became meaningless.

Nearly all the known Dukes of Lustburg were on the battlefront. The few who were not were either guardians or one of the actual four Duke of the Kingdom.

The captain’s mind started swimming. It didn’t matter if Lustburg broke the convention and got condemned by the world. This wouldn’t bring them back to life if they were annihilated here.

But at the same time, he could not send the retreat order. They would all be treated as deserters if they gave up on fighting without at least ascertaining the power of the enemy.

In the end, he started walking. He was one of the two Duke in place. He was not particularly strong all things considered.

But he could not simply send his soldiers to their deaths.

“My friend, are you ready for what could be a suicide mission?”

The other Duke, a middle-aged woman who was taller than most men and had cute bear ears above her head grunted and nodded with a sad smile.

Dukes in the military enjoyed many advantages. Exempt from taxes, having their own lands, receiving high pay, and being above most laws.

Even Lupus in all his madness did not diminish the right and power of the Dukes. But with all those rights and advantages came an equally high level of responsibility and punishments in case of refusing to uphold one own responsibility were even harsher than on normal soldiers.

This means in moments like this they would always advance first.

After choosing a small team of about 30 or so soldiers who all had fear etched on their faces, they detached themselves from the main groups and started advancing until they finally saw the so-called Reinforcement.

“What is this…?”

As a soldier, he had lived a long life and seen many kinds of weapons and armor but even then, this was the first time he observed something like this.

A full body armor with no gap. A sleek design that seemed to stick to the body without disturbing it. The group of ten seemed to be divided evenly in five colors.

Red/Blue/Yellow/Pink/Green.

They were all wearing faceless helmet that reflected the light.

Sweat started to tickle down the brow of the Captain of Wratharis. Not only did the armor look so foreign from the usual design that they created a dissonance in his perception. But at the same time, he was feeling a very faint oppression coming from them.

This was something he had only felt once in his life when he stood in front of the Dragon Flood queen.

Dragon Might.

Even though this was infinitely weaker than what he felt back then, the pressure was still here.

“What…”

“Under the order of his Magnanimous Highness, Sol Luxuria. Future King of Lustburg. You are thereby given an ultimate.”

A ghostly womanly voice spread through,

“You have 10 hours to leave. Should you not comply. No more pity shall be spared.”

“You…Who are you?”

He should have been angry. Receiving such an order from the enemy was humiliating. But all he could do was think about what kind of people those guys were.

“Are you even humans?”

He wondered if he was being faced with some new races.

Even though he could not see their face, he could not help but feel that one of them was smiling

“Remember our name. Remember this day. We are the new Ranger unit and we will sweep the battlefield. Send those words to your higherup less they say they were not forewarned.”

On this day. A new unit appeared and as ridiculous as they may appear, they were undeniably strong.

This fact was swiftly proven.

(AN: Don’t throw stones at me. I admit, I may have diminished the cool factor and increased the cringe factor. But damn. Sentai shows like Bioman 20 years ago were my favorite shows when I was a kid. I liked Power Ranger less but heh. Anyway, this is basically the last arc before the last part of the war. This one won’t last long. This is honestly just me living my childhood dream of having Power Ranger. Then again, I kinda have them in my new story.)

Don’t forget to come follow and read my new story on Royal Road. The name is Cosmic Fairytale: Sea of Stars. I say this because pretty sure the Link won’t appear. This always happen in the non-exclusive novel like SHK.

Link: https://www.royalroad.com/fiction/76472/cosmic-fairytale-sea-of-stars-science-fantasy