American Isekai - Chapter 190

June 2, 624


Our return to the outpost was difficult. Not because we encountered intercepting Scourge forces but because we hadn’t even counted our dead before we were forced to leave one battlefield for another. 

Nonnen was pissed, but because he was pissed I couldn’t find it in myself to be the same. It was starting to feel like a desperate situation. 

The Lancer Brigadier, whose name I learned was Jay, was working overtime trying to heal the wounded as much as possible and keep the critically wounded from dying. 

As for me, I was getting a read on the situation, tapping into channels and hearing the chaos. Major General Quill was also giving me reports, telling me the best places to approach from. He wanted us to come in and flank. Apparently, the situation wasn’t good, but wasn’t dire yet either. 

The Scourge was sieging the place with everything they had, spitting at our attempts to use tactics. The only question was how they managed to launch that kind of assault and keep it hidden from us. There was a gap in our information and such a massive oversight couldn’t go unquestioned. It was arguably more important than deciding what to do from here on out. 

Certain names filtered through my Mind Palace, a list being formed and suspects being set aside for when I had the time to worry about them. I wasn’t ignorant to the fact that this could be a betrayal. I just didn’t know, among the few groups of people, who was in the right position at the right time to do such a thing. 

I pushed it to the back of my mind as we pulled up to the battlefield. 

We had rounded the area so as to not arrive right in the backside of the Scourge army. We would just get overwhelmed if we did that. 

Instead, we formed detachments. The wounded went to take the long way around and try to enter the base without a fight. The rest would come up to the side and attack from there, whittling at the edge of the Scourge army and providing the outpost a bit of reprieve. Brigadier Jay would be our greatest weapon to that end. 

There was only one person who was diverting. 

Brigadier Nonnen would be taking two of his best Chiefs and striking at the rear of the army where the Bombardos resided. The base was being bombarded and that couldn't last for long lest our entire army get leveled before the main Scourge force could even break through the walls. 

I was worried about Nonnen, but we had just killed an Authority 10 so there shouldn’t be many more of those in the main army. He should be fine, especially if I got him at least one other Brigadier to reinforce. He would at least be able to escape if things went sideways. As for the two Chiefs going with him… it wasn’t my place to think about that. 

“I’m leaving things to you, Cooper.”

Nonnen spoke, the hatch at the top of the steed open for him to exit through. 

He gave me one last look. He was entrusting the tactics to me. I’d be directing what remained of the Snow Doves and Lancers, positioning them for attack. Things would be out of my hands after that but that didn’t mean it wasn’t an important decision to make. 

I gave him a salute. 

“You’ll have my best, sir.”

“I believe in it.”

He said that before slipping through the hatch. The entire Steed jolted when he jumped off it, and off he went. I could feel his already slim Aura get sucked in as he flanked the main Scourge force. 

I thought about the map in my head. Major General Quill wanted us to provide flanking support, but I wasn’t about to sacrifice the rest of these two platoons just so we could be a harassing distraction. We were weakened and I was betting on long term survival, not a short term blitz to get us through this. 

We had come out here with more than enough troops to take on the Scourge forces because we had the intel advantage. If Quill couldn’t make due with greater numbers and combat power, he wouldn’t be fit for his position and I’d take who I could and retreat. Such incompetence wouldn’t deserve my life or the lives of the people around me. 

I hoped Pollux was doing fine. 

I stood and stuck my head out the hatch Nonnen had left through. I could see the Scourge army in the distance and the three dozen bombardos at their rear. They were raining down hellfire on the outpost, sparse warlock barriers doing their best to defend. Not all projectiles could be defended against though, and infrastructure was already beginning to fall, dust clouds rising out from within the walls. 

The Scourge was besieging the outpost from one side, not yet having surrounded the place completely. I decided to bring us around to one of the clearer areas, a position near a gate that would allow an easy retreat if necessary. It was a weak point anyway, and somewhere that needed reinforcement. 

“Come in Brigadier.”

I talked into my Aerial, hailing Jay. 

When he responded I gave him the directions. Then with his command, we headed toward the target area. 

On approach, the warlocks from the Lancer platoon started raining down spells. We attracted plenty of attention but once we were near the walls, the knights jumped out and formed defensive lines. A few wounded, those who couldn’t fight well but weren’t critically injured either, were manning the turrets on top of the Steeds. They had insisted they stay with us and fight, and I was glad they were proving to be tough. The turrets were a good way for they to provide value without much effort. 

Fireballs and other air spells kicked out amidst the crowds of Scourge beasts, shredding many to pieces and fatally maiming others. When allowed to do what they did best, wide area spells and the warlocks that cast them were forces to be reckoned with. Against weaker enemies, they reigned supreme. They could take out dozens at a time and hold entire defensive lines alone. 

With all the sounds of beastly screaming and exploding spells, my gunshots didn’t stick out as much. Thankfully, I wasn’t too tired. I had more than enough in my tank to do some damage, especially since the bulk of this army wasn’t all that strong, at least not compared to how strong I was now. 

My multiplied Psyka pool was putting in work today. 

After we came to a stop I brought out yet another rifle. Not the Colt Commando that was good at shorter ranges nor the M40 that was designed for sniping, but the M21. 

The M21 bridged the gap between shorter range rifles and longer range snipers. It handled medium distance engagements which was perfect for my current situation. 

What made it a better option though was the semi-automatic fire rate and the 20 round magazine. That made it a precision shooter with a high rate of fire. It even had the same Redfield scope as the M40 had. 

I opened fire as soon as I could shoulder it. My Steed was positioned behind a few others, giving ample defense yet a good sightline to fire at beasts. 

I really wished I had been able to find some machineguns in my dimension. I had a feeling that one or two had to be within this 6th Star, but I didn’t have enough time to delve into the depths, even though it’s already been a high priority of mine. 

“Hold before the gate! Squads 2, 3, and 4, rotate spells! Squad 1, prioritize targets! Knights, hold your line!”

Brigadier Jay slated out commands and everyone obeyed, even though they had already fallen into their roles. Jay wanted to set them up for a drawn out battle. 

I just fired at my own pace, keeping my eyes peeled for all the changes around me and in the distance. My Aerial was filled with chatter, and occasionally I had to chime in and communicate with some of the Brigadiers I knew about, coordinating them with our efforts beyond the wall. 

After a few minutes, I saw one of the Bombardos explode. That was Nonnen, and he quickly killed five more soon after, within the next minute. It was then that I saw a Royal intercept him and do battle. 

I relayed that information to the other Brigadiers, and thankfully, one of them found the opportunity to leave the outpost and pair up with Nonnen. 

Another Royal appeared after that, along with a few Authority 9 Royal subordinates to combat the extra Brigadier. Of course, I relayed that information as well and managed to get another Brigadier out there.

That brigadier managed to kill another 6 Bombardos before a batch of Authority 9 Royals went out to stop her. Even then, the Scourge was running out of high combat power to meet us on equal grounds. 

We would win this battle. 

The two towering Auras pervading the battlefield were skewed in our favor. However, those Bombardos were doing heavy damage to the outpost despite their relative power being low. They certainly couldn’t match a Brigadier, even the most powerful ones, but it was designed as a mass killing machine. It wasn’t meant to fight strong individual opponents but level bases from afar, and it was doing its job well. There was still dust rising from the outpost, and the Bombardos were firing even faster under the pressure our Brigadiers put on them. 

Being alone with my thoughts, nothing but a reticle and monsters before me, I started getting pissed. Our operation out here was supposed to take at least another month and we would’ve gouged out the Scourge’s presence here chunk by chunk. We had every advantage, tactical superiority, and yet one move from the Scourge had thrown everything to the wind. They had ambushed our main force and their Bombardos were allowed to wreak havoc, the very thing that I had been trying to prevent from happening. 

Now our victory would be pyrrhic. Casualty rates would skyrocket, initial projections around 10-20% easily rising to a minimum of 60%, probably more depending on how much damage the Bombardos were actually able to do while we were gone. 

It pissed me off to no end because it shouldn’t have happened. We had prepared against something like this explicitly, knowing it was a possibility before we even left the Treehouse. It was an obvious tactic the Scourge would utilize if given the opening, and so we shored up our defenses. It was why we had so many patrols running around the clock. I had drafted up no less than 6 battle plans should the Scourge suddenly decide to attack. 

There was only one weakness that I knew about. 

It relied on our intel. We had to know what they were doing. The second that changed, we lost most of our advantages. 

The second we no longer had intel, they went and did this. It was almost predictable besides the fact that I couldn’t predict ever creating such a glaring and obvious opening. 

Perhaps I’d have to start factoring that in. Even more glaring than all that though was the fact that even if we had a gap in our intel, the Scourge shouldn’t have known about it. They had tested us before and we responded, sending the message that we had our eyes on them and that they couldn’t just launch a siege, or risk battling on unfavorable terrain and against overwhelming forces. 

But we not only received zero information on this Scourge attack, but they had timed it perfectly. Patrols were running at least every two hours and through every sector between us and the Scourge encampment. That wasn’t a big enough window to slip through, unless a patrol or two weren’t launched, or were wiped out fast enough to where they couldn’t send out a signal. 

I wasn’t willing to believe something so convenient. With every minute that passed I was trying to play out in my head exactly how this could’ve gone down, exactly how the Scourge could’ve moved everything they had without getting detected by any of our patrols. 

While I thought about all of that, the battle situation gradually snowballed in our favor even further. 

Jay’s spells were devastating, wiping out hundreds at a time, and he was casting dozens of them. Along with all his other warlocks, we actually managed to cut down the entire side flank of the Scourge army and advance further in, crushing them between us and the troops on the walls of the outpost. It was a meat grinder. 

However, the most important battle was occurring with the Brigadiers. We had 3 of them and they only had 2. It was a definite win for us. 

Unfortunately it would not be without a cost. The Scourge was always good at taking its pound of flesh whether it was losing or not. 

Perhaps it was through sheer coordination or perhaps one of the Royals was just that skilled, but I felt saw some particularly massive releases of power before feeling the shockwaves across the earth and sky. Some seconds later, I heard a scream on my Aerial. 

“Brigadier Finne is dead!”

It was Nonnen, and he seemed desperate. He had been locked in a battle with the first Royal to intercept him the entire time. I had been watching when I could, and the other Brigadiers weren’t even able to help him. 

That’s when Brigadier Jay yelled. 

“Stop advance! Regroup and hunker down! I’m going to reinforce!”

He turned back and gave his command before shooting into the air. However, that’s when several of us felt it. 

I wasn’t particularly sensitive to mana, but with my temperings I had gained the sense to feel it. And even I could feel a horrifyingly dense source of it begin to radiate in the middle of the Scourge army. 

Another Royal. 

“Nonnen move!”

Jay yelled again, right before I saw whatever spell it was activate. 

Hundreds of spell circles lit up above someone’s head, rising into the sky and calling down catastrophic power. 

I tried to see who it was, catching the faint details of the clothing the other Brigadier wore. It wasn’t Nonnen, even though he was nearby. 

“HAAAHHH!”

I heard a scream. It was from Nonnen, and with a single strike he bisected his enemy. Then he rushed toward the other Brigadier to help, Vigor turning his 4 foot long sword into a 40 foot long monstrosity. He tried to slice into the spell formation from a distance, but the beam came down first. 

It was so bright that I was temporarily blinded, a pillar of pure energy crashing down onto the planet. I could feel the tangible impact and heat warm my skin even beneath my coat. 

I closed my eyes and let them flush out the blindness, opening them back up at some point to try and look around. 

The area was scorched, vaporized, the dirt glowing with heat 50 feet around the impact area. My eyes fluttered back and forth, blind spots blocking some of my view. 

I could see Nonnen still, backed away, and Jay was flying over. He seemed to have spotted whatever Royal cast that spell. It didn’t put up much of a fight as it was slaughtered without ceremony.

The other Brigadier was nowhere to be seen, not the slightest hint that he had ever existed remaining on this world. 

We had lost two of our four Brigadiers to a lesser force. 

I thought about what this would mean for our combat power. There were currently only three other Brigadiers back at the Treehouse. We had a Marshal as well, but those guys weren’t easily moved. 

This was a catastrophic loss not accounted for in any of the projections for the first phase of Operation Breakwater. 

Not to mention that most of our troops were half blinded now. I was able to recover because my eyes were naturally far superior to normal ones, but it was only the knights who could also recover in a reasonable amount of time. The warlocks seemed stunned, fumbling around, which knocked out a large portion of our crowd control and wide area firepower. 

“FIGHT! FINISH THEM!”

Nonnen’s voice rocked the hills, and knights raised their weapons. Warlocks were cycled out, the ones behind the walls not having been blinded. Most troops were fatigued but now, there was nothing stopping us from eradicating the rest of the enemy. 

Brigadier Jay and Nonnen quickly finished off the remaining Bombardos before slaughtering the army from behind. It took pressure off the walls, and with all our knights deployed, we were able to sweep through them. 

It took about 3 more hours to kill the last monster. By then most troops had retreated for medical attention or rest. 

I went back with the Snow Doves and Lancers only after the battle was finished. We entered the gate, finding what looked like a junkyard with how destroyed everything was. 

Debris, bodies, limbs, lots of blood, and red smoke signature of the Bombardos that spread their diseases. I quickly put on my protective mask and hoisted the air bottles onto my back. I wasn’t about to breathe that stuff in. 

I looked around once everything settled. There was one building still standing, an outhouse. Everything else was leveled, including the headquarters building that had only been partially built, good for nothing more than establishing a war room and a place for summoners to congregate. 

Suddenly, I clicked my Aerial. 

“Envoy to General, come in.”

“...”

I got nothing back, looking down and realizing the entire channel was dead. I could name these channels and usually tagged them with key words, and the name was still there, but I was getting no signal. That meant the Node was destroyed. 

Everything was connected to that Node, which meant right now there were no communications going anywhere. It must’ve been destroyed with the last of the volleys. 

Thinking that, I suddenly merged every signal underneath my Aerial’s Node. That was when I got barraged by dozens of chattering channels, everything suddenly coming back online all at once, very channel regardless of level being on one line. 

I could actually hear some feedback from nearby aerials the soldiers were using, quickly going through everything and dividing up the channels according to who controlled them and what rank they were. It was chaos and I felt like this would be a good way to get things under control. 

Once it was done, I brought in all of the highest ranking personnel under one channel, at least those who were still giving off a signal. 

“All channels, this is Envoy. I need everyone to listen close. It’s chaos right now and the Major General is currently missing. We need to regroup and take a count. There’s currently only one standing building, the outhouse on the western side of the outpost. Everyone meet me there.”

I gave out that message and waited. Sure enough, most of the highest ranking soldiers and intelligence agents here conglomerated. It was slightly humorous that it was around an outhouse, only overshadowed by the fact that we had lost so many people so quickly. 

Nonnen and Jay arrived there too. Before talking with everyone, us three stepped to the side. 

Nonnen was tattered. Jay was the only one who looked fine, but it was clear that he was low on mana. His lucidity was wavering. 

I turned my attention to Nonnen. He spoke before I could. 

“We’ve killed all the enemies. We need to get back to the Treehouse.”

“I agree. We should figure out Quill’s status first though.”

“Sirs!”

We suddenly heard a shout, a bloodied Lieutenant Colonel running over. We looked at him as he heaved for breath and stopped. 

“Yes?”

“...Major General Quill is…”

He held up an insignia covered in blood, a Dragon with two pairs of wings, the insignia of a Major General. 

“We found him dead under some rubble…”

“...Thank you for telling us.”

I took the Insignia as Nonnen answered. 

“You can go.”

“Sir.”

He saluted before backing off, lingering in the surrounding crowd. Beyond we could hear the yells of healers and troops trying to render medical aid. 

As I looked down at the insignia, Nonnen pat my shoulder. 

“I need you to organize this mess. I’m sorry to put it on you, but you’re the most qualified. You know how Quill ran things. Can you do it?”

“...”
I looked around. It really was a complete mess. I barely knew where to start, but I had all the commanding officers here and I had a goal, which was to get back to the Treehouse. 

First thing we had to do was secure the lives of the wounded. I started with that, and an order of tasks started slotting into place within my mind. 

It was nothing I haven’t done before, except now there was nobody to give the commands. I just had to do it myself. 

I nodded. 

“I can take care of it.”

“Good. LISTEN UP!”
Nonnen yelled, everything going silent as everyone turned their attention to us. We were in the middle of a big circle of people. 

“Major General Quill is killed in action! Now, his assistant, the Envoy, will be the Commanding Officer! Under my authority, all shall listen to his orders! We’re going to get this mess sorted out and then get back to the Treehouse as soon as possible! Standby for orders!”

He said that, everyone remaining silent as he turned back to me. 

“What do you need me to do first?”

“...How much energy do you have?”

I asked back, getting a shrug.

“As long as you’re not asking me to kill another Authority 10.”

“We need to recon the area as well as the Scourge’s encampment, see if they’re really all dead. We also need to check the status of that company that we protected from that contingent. If you can’t do it I’ll scrape together a team to deploy.”

“No, I’ll do it. I’ll be back in an hour.”

He said that before shooting off. His steps left craters in the ground. 

After watching him for some seconds I turned back to the others. Then I remembered the red gas still lingering in the air. 

I turned to Jay.”

“Sir, can you clear out that red gas?”

“Yes.”

He waved, winds getting kicked up throughout the base and carrying the red gas with it. Within seconds it was all cleared out, solving a major problem rather easily. 

I took off my mask and exposed my face. Now I could properly give orders. 

I faced everyone, Commanders, Chiefs, Colonels, and what remained of the Intelligence agents, and I started delegating, just as Major General Quill had taught me to.