17 The Fourth: Part 1

"So…what happens now?"

Alexio asked his father while they walked out of the council room together.

"First, you need to take my gift, remember?"

Alexio had forgotten all about that due to the recent events. Alexio, being a descendant of Richard, was most compatible, after his own body no longer was.

"Yeah…that too, I guess."

"Well first of all, you need to report to the research division right now. I passed Ava on the way and she told me to remind you that they need some feedback for that overclocker you were using. After you're done there, you'll be heading to the main assembly hall for Lord Deberius' address to our forces. I may be the one who made the decision but it's the council who has the final word on the proceedings hereon."

" How can he possibly address this to the people without-ah, never mind. I know he's good with words. Say, you said we'll be joining our fellow fighters on the frontiers, right? But how? It's only because of us that the Kridora can't outmaneuver the Andra kingdom with a pincer attack or something of that sort, right? If we just go and brawl on the frontlines, won't we be vulnerable to surprise attack from more directions?"

Richard smiled and placed his hand on Alexio's head, ruffling his hair.

"Look at you, all big brain and stuff. Don't worry, you've done well so far. Now let the adults handle the rest, all right?"

"All right."

Alexio headed to the research department where Ava and her subordinates were tweaking around with tons of equipment. On seeing him, they brought over a black overcoat just like one he wears on the battlefield. It was still undone in a few places and some new components had been attached as well.

"Ah this one looks cool as…wait. IS THAT THE DESIGN I ASKED FOR?"

On the back of the coat, the mark of the king had been embroidered in silver with straight geometric patterns extending to the arms and front.

"Think of it as a gift for all the good work aboard the Diablo. Now, onto the questions. The dispersion device for your tendrils; does it have to be on the hands?"

"Huh?"

"We were installing new features and ran into a problem with the fitting. The diffusion barrier can only replace your tendrils if you can't use them anywhere else."

"Oh, I can. Where will you install it? I'll need a little practice with the new spatial arrangement. And it just so happens, we're headed to the frontlines in the Andra."

"On your back. I'll take that as a yes. When we'll be heading to the drop ships, you can collect it from me."

"Understood. I'll be heading to the main assembly."

After a few minutes, Alexio arrived in the assembly hall where a crowd had already gathered. Lord Deberius, head of the council, was to give his orders to all present personnel. Most of our infantry was inevitably engaged in fighting all around the Kingdom, thus the commanding officers attend the assembly in their stead and would relay the same to their forces. Everyone was bickering amongst themselves. Alexio spotted Riku and the other Templar members in the front corner, looking intently at the stage. Out of the corner of his eye, Leonid spotted him and waved with a smile on his face. A few moments later, a man in white overcoat with black stripes stepped onto the stage and the assembly fell silent. Deberius cleared his throat once and spoke in a clear and confident voice.

"I must keep this address short as now, pressing matters are upon all of us. After much discussion and analysis, we have decided to implement Lord Richard's project Fade Out; details of which will be shared subsequently. However, due to certain reasons, the entire plan will not be revealed at once. I request you all, to indulge my selfish request. As you are all aware, Lord Richard has…fallen victim to his own gift and is no longer at the peak of his strength."

At the mention of his condition, Alexio could only grit his teeth and look to the ground. To this day, he couldn't understand why his father had been born with a power that now prevents him from acting further.

"He and most of the Templar shall remain in this kingdom and continue as before. The first step in implementing this plan is, the unification of all adept fighters at our disposal."

At the mention of the adept, the entire assembly erupted in discussions and confusions. After silencing the discussions, Deberius continued.

"They will form a rapid response team that will act independently of the council or the King of the Andra. Therefore, for that reason, the left wing of our defense line will be joining the Andra on the frontlines!"

The officers immediately began countering this decision.

"Wh-What are you planning, sir? If we leave the mountains wide open as such, the Kridora will be free to flank us from that side. Whatever you're planning, it's going to fail before we do anything!"|

"Silence, everyone!"

The room fell to total silence. Even in distress, nobody thought of speaking over Deberius.

"We are leaving the flank open because I believe we can hold them off long enough for this plan to proceed to the point we'll no longer need to. The end goal of this project is…We have to take back the first kingdom! The Forst!"

Everyone could only look in complete confusion at Deberius as he finally revealed the end goal of this project.

"I'm sure most of you must be confused as to why we have to. But more than my words, you must trust Richard's merit, do you not? He has brought us many victories before his untimely departure from the frontlines."

Everyone nodded in agreement as someone shouted from the back,

"Oi! Can you like, not make it sound like I'm dead, Deberius?"

A few laughed as Deberius once again cleared his throat to continue.

"As I was saying, his achievements can't be ignored. So on his merit, I ask you to trust us. We will be sending the left wing to take on the Kridora on the frontlines in the Andra Kingdom. And when I say adept, I do mean *All* of them."

This time, Deberius was looking directly at Alexio who only nodded back with a sly smile. Satero, an officer in the left wing asked his senior, Datero, of the exchange between the two.

"Ey, why was Lord Deberius looking at Lord Richard's son right now? As far as I'm aware, he's a support type. But then who's the fourth adept warrior?"

"You're not wrong about him being a support type. True, his abilities, are best used partnered with someone. But if you really haven't seen the fourth adept warrior, you're in for a treat when we get to the Andra."

At this point, Deberius had resumed addressing the assembly.

"In exactly three hours, the officers and their commanded forces from the left wing shall be taking flight to the Andra with the cruisers. It will be a long journey so make sure of taking care of business while you can. Also those with the authoritative headbands from the ambassador, are advised to wear them. Adjourned!"

Satero was still wondering about the fourth adept warrior.

"Strongest among them all, huh? Well, that'll be a sight to see. "

***/////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////***

(Few hours later; somewhere above the capital of Andra Kingdom, in a dropship)

"My lady! They've broken through the defense line! I now sense multiple artillery units advancing towards the city walls!"

"What?"

"Crown, come in! The Kridora have broken through the defense line before the reinforcements can reach us! Multiple artillery units are now converging on the city! Repeat! Multiple artillery units now converging on the city! Orders?"

"Fairy 1-3, this is Crown. You're in luck. Backup is headed your way now. ETA 7 minutes."

The lady who was causally eating now perked up.

"Backup? But the reinforcements weren't due in another 20. Who exactly is coming here?"

"The rally from the Tredje kingdom. You will be briefed when this situation is dealt with."

"Really?!"

But by this time, the Crown command had cut off the channel. Throwing the sandwich she had been nibbling on for quite some time, the lady veered towards her overcoat hanging on the side wall.

"Wait! What are you planning to do?"

"Heh. If it's them backing us up, shouldn't everyone who's available join the battle? Anyways, I'm tired of sitting here looking at this boring map and your boring face. Pilot, veer this drop ship towards the city walls, where our people are currently pinned. And open the Hangar Bay when we get there."

"Understood. Heading towards the city walls now."

As usual, the pilot was completely ignorant of the constant pleas of the officer and in complete agreement with the lady.

"Alright. Time to have some fun, Alexio."