League Principality, Near the Shore, Out of The Nuclear Submarine, Amphibious Inflatable Landing Boat
1st Year of God, Monday, 4th Week, Month Of Noah.
The cold wind howled loudly as the ocean waves splashed aggressively against the speeding boat. Specialist Sergeant Riley felt a wave of nausea rise in his stomach, as the up-and-down motion of the boat they were strapped on making him slightly green.
The brisk air offered some relief, helping to suppress his urge to vomit. Riley and his team which are now named as "Team Epsilon" were bundled in simple homespun clothes and thick jackets, a necessary defense against the biting cold as the boat sliced through the night waters, guided only by the faint light of the twin crescent moons.
They had traveled for two weeks, and fortunately, they had encountered no attacks from the Sea Monsters. The few they did see were smaller, seeming to mistake the submarine for a larger predator and keeping their distance.
Furthermore Riley and Team Epsilon were not alone in the submarine as they were accompanied by another presence, though not a human one.
The third passenger was an elf, one of Melian's supporters and a survivor among the fleet that were captured by the Austronesian. His name was Polities.
When Polities was first captured by the humans, he expected the worst, knowing how his kind had treated them. But to his surprise, they spared him and the other elves who had been taken, despite the elves having been the first to attack. Polities silently thanked the Goddess Rasera that he had to follow only rules and laws rather than strict orders or a one-sided pact.
The humans offered him a deal that if he work for them, he would be paid, given proper housing, and cared for, but should he negate the agreement, all that was offered would be removed.
With his first payment, Polities treated himself to a delicious "Chiz-Berger,".savoring every bite.and throughly enjoyed it. He had heard that if he saved up enough credit chips, he could get someone to build a house for him like the ones owned by the wealthy! Not to mention, he also dreamed of getting a "tee-vee" set to watch all those "moo-bees," "dra-maas," and, of course, listen to music!
Eager to secure his place, Polities volunteered to support the human soldiers on their mission.
Though he isn't a skilled fighter, but Polities was a Level 9 Mage. But the most useful thing he has is that he is a mastery of Illusion and Spatial Magic, two extremely rare Magic Attributes that made him a valuable asset among Melian's group.
However, the only Spatial skills he possessed was only storing objects in a small Pocket Dimension that could only hold a hundred people, but his Illusion magic was top-Tier, powerful enough to deceive even a Transcendent Tier 1 being for just a moment
Right now, their mission is to infiltrate the Free Trade City of Aquarius, one of the largest and most densely populated cities in the Third Civilization Zone. It is very-well known as the central hub of commerce for the entire Zone and generated over twenty percent of the total revenue that they used to sustain operations, making it a hotspot of all kinds of trade and commercial activity.
Their objective is just like any other teams. Establish an intelligence network and identify potential rebellion groups rumored to be hiding withing the city.
Gathering basic information wouldn't be an issue, thanks to Polities, the elf traveling with them. His unique abilities would prove invaluable on this mission.
The major problem they have is entering the city. As the most prominent city in the region, Aquarius was heavily guarded, especially along its waterways.
Polites had briefed them on the city's formidable defenses. It was surrounded by hundreds of merchant ships from various nations. While many of these were wooden vessels, the true danger came from the Merfolk among the security forces.
Not only do they specialize in Water Magic that could threaten even to their Submarine, they even commanded countless tamed Sea Monsters, some of which had the power and strength of a Transcendent Tier-1.
The mission seemed nearly impossible for the special operations team, but Polities had a plan. He advised them to head first to the closest city, which is called the Coastal City of Hollowfall within the League Principality, another kingdom close to High Tarxan.
"Alright, boys, we've reached our destination," Riley announced.
His soldiers looked up ahead and could see the dark shapes of the trees looming before them and in the distance, pinprick spots of lights by the fires and lamps from the city could be seen in the dimly lit terrain.
Moments later, the boat reached shoreline, stopping a few kilometers from the city.
"Keep your eyes open. We're in enemy territory now and dangers could be anywhere," Riley ordered as he turned to his men. "Tavish, Price, Woods, Belinski, Mason, check your gear!"
The men of Team Epsilon immediately snapped into action, making sure their gear and carabiners were properly secured.
"One Ready!"
"Two Ready!"
"Three Ready!"
"Four Ready!"
"Five Ready! All clear! Good to go!"
Nodding his head, Riley gazed at the young elf, and his face suddenly flickered with a silver of envy, "You, elf, scout the area and find us some shelter."
"Alright, chief!" Polities replied, giving a quick nod before bending his right leg as a faint light enveloped his legs.
Boom!
In an instant, the ground quaked as Polities shot forward like an arrow, dashing into the forest at a speed that sent water splashing several meters into the air.
Witnessing this inhuman feat, some of the soldiers, seeing it for the first time, couldn't help but gulp in astonishment.
"Captain, this…"
"Shut up. There are some things you shouldn't question," Riley snapped in frustration. His eyes lingered on the spot where Polities had vanished into the trees.
'If we'd had this kind of help sooner, maybe my family wouldn't have…' Riley's thoughts trailed off as he shook his head helplessly. He glanced ahead just in time to see Polities emerge from the forest and gives a thumbs-up.
"There's a cave over there," Polities called out, and the group moved toward it, where they could seek shelter.
"Urgh, Captain, is there a very good reason why does command want us to work with these... knife-eared aliens?" one of the soldiers, Belinski, grumbled, glaring at Polities with disdain.
"Belinski, will you—"
"Oh, I guess your leaders have doubts about your little monkeigh skills," Polities interrupted with a smug look, clearly enjoying himself.
"You little alien basta—"
Suddenly, another soldier, Price, tensed up, cutting Belinski off mid-sentence.
"Something's here with us."
"Positions, people!" Riley barked, drawing out his rifle and spreading to the side of the dark cave. "No lights till my order!"
"Did you even check inside the cave, mate?" one of Riley's squadmates growled at Polities.
"Silent, Tavish," Riley commanded sternly. " Now get ready... lights on my mark!" He waited until everyone had taken up positions, using whatever cover they could find in the large cave tunnel. "Three... two... one, LIGHTS!"
At Riley's command, the soldiers turned their heads away, only keeping one eye open, including Polities, who had rehearsed this tactic with them before. The under-rail mounted 200-lumen white lights from.six pairs of rifles blazed to life, illuminating the interior of the cave as brightly as day.
A cry of pain and surprise suddenly screamed out as the creature with a head of an eagle and body of a lion with featured wings and pitch-black fur was blinded by the sudden glare of lights.
"Enemey conta-"
Shing! Spurt!
"FUCK!!!"
Before anyone could react, an extremely piercing and painful scream echoed when a [Wind Slash] whooshed through the air and a soldier's arm flew into the air.
"FUCKER TORN MY FUCKING ARM OFF!! SHOOT THAT MOTHERFUCKER DOWN!!!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Immediately after, a spray of bullets poured out like rain as muzzle flashes flickered in the darkness i. Rapid bursts. An instant later, a pained screech echoed through the cave as the Griffon, riddled with bullet holes on its body, pounced toward one of the soldiers in fury.
What was even more hair-raising was the green glow surging in its claws, amplifying the destructive power of its claws which is enough to split a human in two.
"Stay back!"
With a roar, Polities, his body radiating with surging Magical Energy, decisively pushed away one of the soldiers beside him and followed up with a powerful whip kick.
Bang!
With a deafening bang, the force of the kick send the Black Griffon crashing against the stone walls of the cave, the impact resulting in shaking the entire cavern and sending rock dust and fragments raining down from the ceiling.
Polities took the opportunity that the Black Griffin was disoriented and pounced on it again, going straight for the neck. With a sharp jerk and a bone-snapping crack, he snapped the neck of the griffin and dropped the limp carcass on the cave floor.
"Dinner is served! HAHA!" Polities quipped, grinning wildly.
"You little bastard! You trying to bring down the whole cave?" Riley shouted, his anger barely contained.
"Sorry," Polities chuckled, settling down with exaggerated care. "I got a bit excited."
"Yes, yes, we know!" Riley muttered, shaking his head as he dug into his backpack to unload supplies, including lamps and a vial filled with a white liquid, and moved toward the soldier who had lost an arm. "Stay still, Mason."
"Y-Yeah…" a soldier named Mason stammered, watching in awe as Riley poured the substance onto the stump of his arm. Before their eyes, a new arm began to grow, seamlessly regenerating.
"Well, I'll be damned. That potion's gonna spark a war between pharmaceutical companies when it gets out," Woods, another soldier, remarked in awe.
"Yeah, good thing its only known in the military," Riley murmured, then turned to Polities with a stern frown. "You can't just rush at a beast like that very recklessly."
"You underestimate me, human," Polities boasted with a smug tone. "You think my specialty is just being a Level 9 Mage, but my combat skills are equivalent to a Level 6 warrior, which is still enough to kill these creatures pretty easily."
"Yeah, sure," Riley grumbled, setting up lamps at several locations and lighting it up the cave fully. "Found anything else back there?" he called out to Price, Belinski, and Woods, who had been checking the rear of the cave for any more surprises.
"Oh, yes!" Woods yelled back after a moment. "Found some treasure!"
Everyone paused what they were doing and hurried over to see what had been discovered.
"Look, the griffin's hoard."
At the rear of the cave, a massive bird-like nest woven from tree branches sat nestled against the stone, and glitters of gold could be seen shimmered among the tangled wood. Riley shone the light from his rifle into the nest and reached in to dug out a gold nugget.
He whistled in admiration, "Damn, this is pure gold."
"Yup, nothing but gold here," Price called out from another part of the nest. "Seems like griffins have a thing for gold."
Woods snorted dismissively. "Amateurs! A proper hoard shouldn't just be gold! You need jewels, coins, and all kinds of treasure!"
"Woods, you don't even have a hoard, and you're not even a griffin," Mason pointed out, prompting the rest to burst into laughter.
"Mark my words! I will have one... someday!" Woods declared, tilting his head high with a haughty harumph.
"Sure you will," Riley said with a smile, before returning his gaze to Polites. "You guard the cave's entrance and keep any enemies out for now. Oh, and by the way, I heard that High Command is offering a quarter share of any treasure found during military operations. So, part of this haul is ours!"
"Holy shit!" Tavish exclaimed, eyes wide. "Seriously?"
"Yup. When we retire, we'll be set for life!" Riley grinned. "So make sure you guys pick up every piece of gold here and record it down."
"Fuck yeah! We're gonna be rich!" Woods cheered, breaking into a little jig. The others couldn't help but join in, their spirits lifted by the unexpected fortune.
After the excitement had died down, the men cut up the griffin and roasted the choice portions, most of which Polities eagerly devoured, and everyone settled down to sleep as the sun came up.
They woke up again, close to late afternoon with the sun hanging low and started their preparations to infiltrate this world's society.
"Alright," Riley said, gathering everyone's attention. "Before we can enter the Trade City, Polities, you mentioned you had connections with someone in this kingdom who can get us there, right?"
Polities nodded. "Yes, the city we're heading to is called Hollowfall. It's part of the League Principality, a neighboring country to the Kingdom of High Tarxan. Both nations are trading partners. Hollowfall is a coastal city, bustling with merchant ships that sail to other countries, mostly to the Free Trade City. My contact there can help us blend in and reach Aquarius."
Nodding in acknowledgment, Riley looked around his gathered men.
"Alright, you heard the elf. Our first stop is Hollowfall before heading to Aquarius. Once we arrive, we'll split into two groups and disperse into the population." He pointed to Polities and Mason. "You two are with me," he said, then addressed the entire squad again. "High Command has given us one month to gather as much intel as possible. I want stockpiles, military strength, routes, the latest maps, marching orders, and even the general sentiment of the population toward their leaders."
Riley's gaze hardened as he looked around. "I want everything recorded down in code, and above all, don't get caught. We'll rendezvous at the edge of Aquarius after one month. If you don't make it, we'll assume you've been captured or killed."
He continued, "If chances of being captured are very high, make sure all information and weapons are disposed of properly. The locals might not understand our technology, but let's not take any chances. There will also be a very low chance of rescue should you be captured, so make sure you don't get caught!"
"Alright, gear up. It's about time to move out." With a sharp clap of his hands, Riley signaled the end of the briefing and headed toward the cave entrance. Standing at the edge of the opening, he looked down the sheer drop of the cliff and pulled out a walkie-talkie.
"Epsilon Actual to Thunderchief, do you copy over?" he transmitted. Earlier, they had mounted a relay device on the cliff wall, establishing a communication network with a previous resting site to maintain long-range radio contact.
[-underchief, what's your situation report, over.]
"Team Epsilon has arrived within their designated location. We'll begin Operation Dagger in one hour, over."
[Thunderchief, copies that. Stay safe, and God bless.]
"Epsilon Actual, Roger and Tango Yankee, out," (*Tango Yankee means Thank You)
The squad had changed into simple homespun clothes and trousers, with plain leather sandals. Each carried an unadorned short sword and dagger, with a concealed holster for their silenced Glocks. Slung over their backs were leather cases holding either a shotgun or an automatic rifle, while pouches carried explosives and grenades. A small sling bag held other basic necessities for each men and foraged traveling documents, forged with Melian's group's help, were carried into simple scroll cases.
However, most important detail was their appearance. But thanks to Polities' illusion magic, they all have pointy ears, blending in seamlessly as elves… at least to the untrained eye.
However, their true test would be evading detection by anyone with significant magical sensitivity. Illusion or not, anyone who are Mana Sensitive won't be fooled of a human disguised as an elf even with illusion magic. To solve this problem, each man wore a small amount of Mana Crystals embedded in their clothing, helping them blend in with the magical crowd.
With everything perfectly set, Riley, his squad, and their elven companion Polities set their sights on Hollowfall, the first city in this world they would infiltrate, with the ultimate goal of liberating their kind.
"Alright, men, eyes front! We're in enemy territory now."