[MA] 223. Zone A-B-44 (Patreon)

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[A/N: Chapters this week: 2/3

Late chapters: 2

Next release: Saturday ]

Alyphan turned to the cultivator. All his previous lax attitude was gone. "You're now part of the war efforts," he said somberly.

Shen understood at once. Drow hierarchy was already rigid, but things got worse at war. He could only obey or provide a very, very good argument against a command. Complaining just for the sake of it, or using a weak argument, was severely punished.

He always knew this day would come, but this felt too sudden. He had thought he would train with his new squad first.

Being deployed like this was simply irresponsible—and that was the Concept of War talking, too!

Still, all he could do was nod. He was sure any argument would be seen as weak simply because if he could see it, the man who had all but read his mind also could. There was undoubtedly a reason for them to do things like this, though he could only ask if he was explicitly allowed to or was removed from the war by someone above him.

The gloves were now off.

Alyphan turned to the others. "Score call. Explosive attack score; Stabby is twelve."

Shen wasn't surprised to find he had been evaluated. He wondered if twelve was good or bad, though.

"Nine," Swordy said.

"Six," Halby was next.

Nine, ten, two, and four, said the mages.

Alyphan then said, "Continuous attack score; Stabby is twelve." They provided their data, and the man continued, "Personal defense score; Stabby is twelve."

"Group defense score; Stabby is eight.

"Long-range scouting; Stabby is seven.

"Close-range scouting; Stabby is nine.

"Burst movement; Stabby is twelve.

"Long distance movement; Stabby is eleven.

"Macro management; Stabby is ten.

"Micromanagement; Stabby is four.

"Infiltration; Stabby is eight.

"Communication; Stabby is five."

Communication was the last, and Shen felt disgraced by his score. His was the absolute lowest, with Lighty a distant second at seven.

He guessed the score typically went from 0 to 10 based on drow standards for how strong a D-rank should be. Whatever was above that meant surpassing the usual limits of D-rank. He was the only one that sometimes reached or surpassed 10, though, so the only elite there, as also suggested by his armor's light blue details instead of white.

"Stabby will be the decision-maker and the main attacking and defensive force.

"Soundy will be the team manager and help Stabby attack.

"Icy and Halby will protect Stabby and Soundy.

"Swordy will be the reserve force.

"Lighty and Fiery will focus on scouting and do whatever you want during battle, as long as it doesn't interfere with the others or Stabby's plans.

"Questions?"

Shen took the opportunity at once. Supposedly, it rarely happened.

"Soundy has better the same macro management score as me and a better micromanagement one," he said. "Why not make her leader instead?"

He knew the answer but wanted to ensure the others were informed, too. He didn't need any dissidents in his ranks.

"Because it would be a waste of her abilities," Alyphan replied. "Being the team manager and keeping it running is more aligned with them. You're also a better tactician and strategist than her and have more experience than they all. This is their first deployment."

Shen was doubly glad to have asked about it. Knowing they were greenhorns would change his approach.

"And none of them ever fought with each other, just like me?" he assumed. Alyphan confirmed it. "Why not have us train together first, then?"

"Classified. Anything else?"

Shen suppressed a sigh and made a hand gesture that meant "no" in this context. He was now fully geared up. The helmet had tinny slits for the eyes that somehow didn't limit his vision at all. He could only wonder at the miracle of blacksmithing.

Nevertheless, he really wished he could acclimate to the new equipment before deployment.

"Your mission is to head to Buffer Planet Seventeen, zone A-B-44, and conquer all seven surrounding teleportation circles. Don't worry about keeping them; just move to the next one. A circle will be conquered if you kill all defenders within 900 yards of it and at least three of you stay within 300 yards for one Standard minute. Your deployment teleportation costs will be paid in MP by us. Teleport in four. Three. Two. One. Now."

"Teleport to Buffer Planet Seventeen, zone A-B-44," all seven said simultaneously.

The world warped.

= - = - =

Shen arrived alone before his team. His teleportation privilege was also useful there, which had interesting implications about how it affected pre-wars.

| You are now participating in the Buffer Pre-War between the High Elven-Drow Coalition and the United Front for Justice

| You are fighting for the High Elven-Drow Coalition

| Planet Seventeen's rank range: D to C

| You've entered Zone A-B-44

| Zone A-B-44 is part of the "D-Rank Area," spanning forty-seven other zones

| D-Rank Area's rank range: D

Zone A-B-44's blue teleportation circle was literally in the middle of a volcano, midair over the lava. Shen didn't know circles could not be on the ground. The volcano's wide mouth stood dozens of yards above him.

Shen quickly started floating and released his aura. He felt and saw ten D-rank drow on the crevices in the volcano's inner walls, all in standard armor. One of them demanded, "Identify yourself."

The voice came from the echo plate in his mouth. He turned to the speaker and pulled the identification token the Maiden had given him from his spatial ring.

"I'm drow," he said.

When there was no drow there to vouch for him, the token acted as the next best thing.

"You're drow," seven of them said just based on the token and his equipment. Three others said instead, "I don't recognize you."

The majority had accepted him, so now he was one of them, simple as that. Those who disagreed could ask a superior to intervene if it didn't go against their standing orders.

Unfortunately for those three, Shen was the superior there.

None had elite equipment like his, and there were no C-ranks around. He was the new leader, and that was it. They could only refuse his orders if they went against orders they had received from someone with higher authority. It was a system based on a lot of trust.

"Continue as you were," Shen ordered, changing the words and intonation expected from someone hierarchically above them. "Give me an update about the surrounding forces and current engagement status."

Two drow gave him the information he was looking for while he floated to the top of the volcano's opening. Up there, he found himself surrounded by a devastated region of scorched earth, magma, and rocks. It occupied a vast area surrounded by plains to one side, a forest to the other, and mountains on yet another.

The information provided by the two drow revealed two teleportation circles were in the mountains, two on the plains, and three in the forest.

Hundreds of D-rank drow stood protectively on Zone A-B-44, which was clearly delimited by a thick glowing white line on the ground in the distance. Most warriors were close to the volcano, but groups of a few dozen took defensive positions a little beyond. None was over the midway point to the zone's borders.

Zone A-B-44 had become a stronghold behind enemy lines. The drow had started strong on that planet but gotten slowly weeded out. They had less than a dozen remaining teleportation circles remaining.

Surprisingly, there were no fortifications of any kind anywhere. Then again, thinking about it, this was in the D-Rank Area, which likely doubled down as a training ground for D-ranks. If the drow tried to truly defend it, the other party would probably increase the rank range and finish the drow on that planet.

Shen's echo plate was connected with all those hundreds of D-ranks. He saw no elite among them. He truly had the authority to demand anything that didn't contradict orders from C-ranks.

They didn't need to confirm his identity to obey. The ten around the teleportation circle were the place's gatekeepers. They had to acknowledge his identity to allow or refuse him entry into the zone. Now that he was in, it would be a hierarchical mess if he had to ask for everyone's approval.

If Shen determined his mission could be better accomplished by using the hundreds of drow, he would order them to assist. However, it was unlikely because he could move faster and sneakier in a small group. He would postpone such judgment until he knew what he was dealing with; he got very little information about the enemy's troops from the two drow.

"I have B-rank teleportation privilege," he said. "How much longer does the usual D-rank take to arrive from Tar'Shalon than me?" he asked.

"Up to half an hour," someone replied. Shen now automatically converted the measurement units he heard to what he was used to.

Half an hour was a long time. He had around eight hours before the Summit. He couldn't just laze about and waste time; he would check what he was dealing with. It would double down as an opportunity to get used to his new armor.

Shen had no experience with mountains, so he wouldn't explore them alone. Plains were easy to navigate, but he would also be more easily spotted. That left the forest, which he had some experience with because of the tutorial's second stage.

"If I'm not here when the rest of my squad arrives, tell them to wait for me," Shen told the ten gatekeepers. "They are squad 939."

"Understood," they replied.

And then, Shen rushed toward the middle of the forest.

= - = - =

The armor's thinking speed enchantment let him think about twenty percent faster than usual, which was great. However, the C- agility only let him move at Mach 50.

He could do that on his own, but only if he used qi. So, it at least let him save some energy. Unfortunately, while the armor set let him move that fast without qi expenditure, he couldn't pile on it to move even faster than his usual max. Enchantments didn't work like that.

The same held true for strength, but he would have to wait and see how good C- resistance was. The armor had self-repair enchantment, but he wouldn't risk damaging it even a little in a war zone.

Shen slowed down after he passed the drow zone's boundary and retreated his aura to a dozen yards around him. The forest proper was still thousands of yards ahead.

| You've entered Zone A-B-46

| Zone A-B-46 is part of the "D-Rank Area," spanning forty-seven other zones

| D-Rank Area's rank range: D

He was inside an invisibility cocoon with the usual "binocular dots" to see ahead like he had done on Earth. He didn't care about being found out by disturbing mana here like he had when he arrived in Tar'Shalon. This was a war zone; the ambient energy was already unstable enough.

Shen considered a few things as he moved on.

He knew this war had to do with the Dreamer's death, which made him have no issues killing the other party. Maybe the fighters were individually innocent or unwilling to die for their cause, but such was the reality of war. Ideals and reasons clashed against each other, using people as pawns.

Shen didn't mind being the drow's pawn when the cause was surviving the backlash of getting rid of the being who almost caused Earth's doom. Although he didn't wholly accept he was drow, he had joined their side. He would kill for their survival.

Yet, one of the most curious things about this situation was that he had no idea who he was facing.

The Maiden and Alyphan hadn't mentioned it, and though the system had said he was enemies with the "United Front for Justice," that told him nothing about their identities. Worse, could he even identify a high elven ally if they wore armor that hid them like his? Probably not. Alas, there seemed to be no convenient system function in place to avoid friendly fire.

As Alyphan had said, some game-like rules were in place, but this was still a real-life war.

Shen reached the forest about twenty seconds after leaving the volcano, evidence of how carefully he was moving. If he had been spotted, the enemy wasn't acting on that intel yet.

He wished he could do more with his invisibility cocoon than create the two openings to see ahead, but he wasn't that skilled. So, he got behind a thick tree and dropped the cocoon entirely.

The forest was as alien as they came. The trees were over a hundred yards tall, thick, and spaced, their leaves round and pink. Countless multiple red bushes twice his height covered the ground, significantly limiting visibility.

He was surprised to find insects and small animals there, from rodents to birds. Whichever felt his aura dropped unconscious or fled. Shen felt sorry for them but not enough to risk his life for their safety.

That made him wonder: where did the pre-war planets come from? Did they all have life on them? How common was life in the multiverse, really?

Shen quelled such thoughts and centered himself when he was about to go through the point that would be the halfway threshold in the volcano zone.

He lacked information about how large each zone was, but he assumed at least neighboring ones with the same "A-B" letters in the name wouldn't differ widely. And as expected, he saw the first enemy not too long after.

An Inspection revealed its race.

| Thunderlord (D) | 299 / 399

The thunderlord—injured, though Shen saw no signs of it—was a bunch of unceasing vertical lightning bolts half again as tall as him. It had no limbs or face but wore dark blue plate armor that floated in a way that "created" three sets of armored arms. There was nothing inside them that Shen could see, but he didn't use his aura to confirm it.

The armor went to the floor like a robe instead of producing legs, floating half a foot above the ground, where Shen could see the lightning which the thunderlord was made of.

The helmet was fully closed, though it had a cast face. Maybe due to the race's name, it had a kind of crown imbued on the helmet.

Shen was hiding in a bush, which he had entered with great care to avoid making any sound. He had seen the enemy, but they hadn't seen him. He could probably swiftly dispatch the thunderlord.

Instead, he went around it and moved deeper. This was a scouting mission.

Five minutes later, he assumed that the thunderlords were either stupid, being commanded by stupid overlords, or much stronger than the average D-rank. There was only the sporadic, lonely defender here and there all the way to two miles to the teleportation circle.

The circle was in a clearing and tightly surrounded by three lines of thunderlords for a total of a hundred beings. This place was incredibly under-protected if they weren't stronger than the average D-rank drow.

That was good—and Shen would do nothing about it right now.

His scouting mission in that zone was done. Time for the next one.

Shen returned quickly to the volcano. Although it might be safer to scout another enemy zone coming from an enemy area, he also wanted to test how well they were defending against drow infiltrators.

So, he moved into the forest again, this time to another zone.

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