8: Something Unusual

Earlier That Day...

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yawn...

Still fatigued from the "chaos" that happened yesterday I entered the tent with a

drained expression in my eyes, I looked around the room to see Savier, Brax, Luna, Javier, General Lin, Johann, and Franz.

"You're late... " said Franz, with an annoyed look on his face.

"You guys holding out a party for my victory yesterday?" I smiled.

"Don't get cocky just because you beat me with your eyes closed, it was just a lucky strike," Franz eplied with a triggered tone.

"I kinda feel bad for you, considering the fact a 14-year-old knocked you out in front of everyone. Just so you know the soldiers around the camp are talking about your spiteful defeat." Johann replies with a mocking tone.

Franz clenched his fists and got up from his chair aggressively with a fiery look in his eyes.

"You wanna take this outside?"

"Take it easy " champ" you clearly haven't recovered from your beating yesterday I would hate to step on people even if they're down already," Johann replied as he smiled with his legs crossed.

"Get your act together you two, the General is in front of you don't you feel ashamed?" said Luna in an attempt to scold them.

Franz took a deep sigh and sat down on the wooden chair, ready to listen attentively.

"So, why exactly are we here General?"

The General paid no attention for a moment playing with his puppets and looked at Franz.

"Hm?"

Franz with a discontent expression leaned in to the General to knock on his forehead.

knock knock....

Franz sighs, "As I expected... The General personally isn't here."

"What do you mean he isn't here?" I asked unaware of the current situation.

"The General in front of us is nothing more than just a hollow puppet."

Javier sighs, "What do you even expect to happen? No one has ever laid eyes on the general to live another day."

Savier timidly raises his hand

"So... If the General isn't here, then who's that?"

"It's the General" Franz replied

"Even though he's not here, he's the one controlling that puppet."

"Why would the General choose to send a puppet though, couldn't he just personally go here?" asked Brax

"Pardon me for being late, and as for reasons why I can't personally go there right now is because I have matters to discuss with the King." The hollow puppet replied.

The puppet looks around the area with a lifeless expression,

"Shall we begin?" asked Lin

Exhilarating pressure enveloped the room as everyone nodded one by one with a serious expression.

"Well then, let's start with this... I placed multiple hidden puppets around the entire port, they will be supporting you for the charge, I also prepared some trenches for you in there how considerate of me no?"

"Charge?" Savier asked timidly

"Yeah, a death charge it's up to you if you die or you live I wouldn't care less about losing a few timid soldiers after all it's survival of the fittest in these lands."

After hearing those words Savier's legs become restless and he starts sweating heavily while biting his nails.

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The Present Day...

"Listen up you wimps, we'll be charging straight forth to hell!" Franz shouted

"Aren't we living in hell for almost a week already sir?!" Shouted the soldier with curly hair from among the crowd.

"Shut the fuck up or you'll be visiting Satan in no time! Listen up, I don't want any smarty pants, any dumbasses, and mostly any cowards do I make myself clear!"

"Yes Lieutenant!" shouted the battalion

Everyone grabs their rifles as they hop on to their respective carriages prepared to blitz forth to the port.

After a few minutes, they arrived at the port positioning themselves in the trenches waiting for the caines to attack...

I felt a slight gust of ash as we aimed our rifles in front of us waiting for the signal.

"When are they coming?" asked the other soldier as he aimed his rifle while drinking some booze

"They're probably scared that we're he-"

Shank!

In a blink of an eye, a shard was thrown at the man's left eye, his corpse now blankly aimed in front of him as the thundering claps of bullets spread across the battlefield.

"They're here, charge!" said Brax as he stepped out of the trenches and charged forth like a maniac with his bayonet pointed in the caines direction as he and the other soldiers charged forth to their demise.

Shing.... Thump!

Brax fell to the ground among the other exiles without their heads, I noticed Savier next to me breathing heavily as he pointed his rifle in his mouth.

"Bye..." Bang!

Blood splattered into my face as I wiped it all while looking at Savier's head crushed like a watermelon.

"Holy shit..." I aim my rifle at one of the caines eyes located at its pelvis as I pull the trigger killing the creature.

I continued to fire at the creatures while they slowly approached the trenches, Franz fired 4 of them simultaneously with his pistol and jumped out of the trenches.

"We're wasting our time here, come with me!" He said, as he swiftly reloads his gun.

"You got a plan of something?!" I replied while continuously shooting at the caines as they slowly closed into the trenches.

Screech!

The creature lunged in Franz's direction tackling him while he was reloading his pistol, he swiftly kicked the creature and stepped on his while he was down, he slowly reloaded his gun and shot the creature in his eye located at its neck.

I hear agile yet light footsteps approach our direction as Luna jumps right above the trench with his twin daggers gripped tight, swiftly decapitating the caines that we're closing in the trench one by one.

"Don't be a show off Luna!" Franz shouted.

"No time to cry about it, go to the lighthouse and get a better view of the situation from here and report it to Johann!" He said as he sprinted to the other trench to kill the other creatures located there.

The both of us sprint to the tower while shooting the caines standing in our way as we sprint to the abandoned lighthouse. We arrived at the large tower, with half its structure demolished.

We went inside the demolished tower to see a roundabout stairs with half its steps missing.

"How are we climbing this?" I asked while looking at the missing steps trying to find a way to climb this tower.

"Hey genius, you know the ins and outs here right?" I asked Franz as he was sitting down in stairs with his pistol in hand.

"I do..." He signals me to come over in his direction, and skeptical of his motives I still walk in his direction with my guard up relaxing my face to hide the skepticism.

"Alright, let's climb together." We simultaneously climbed each step while skipping the missing steps, till we were met with a large step to take.

"So... Is this where your plan takes place?" I asked Franz sarcastically while staring at him with a vague impression.

"Actually... yeah." He grabbed my hands and tossed me to the other step I slightly slipped while I stood on the metal floor, causing me to fall 2 stories up I barely grabbed onto the step as I climbed recovering from the fall.

"Are you fucking insane, I almost died!" I shouted while I stood on the metal floor, while Franz smiled and replied with a sarcastic tone.

"You're still breathing though... Anyways keep going on without me and don't forget to tell me when you're about to piss your pants."

I flipped him off as I continued climbing to the peak of the lighthouse, I cock my pistol

prepared on what lies on the peak of the lighthouse, but to my surprise, no one was there.

It's my lucky day today huh...

I sat at the edge to see a clearer view of the sandy port, I saw countless creatures and exiles dying from the chaos, I shifted my vision from the battle to locate a flank to the fort, but to my surprise, I noticed something near a demolished building with a half-destroyed sign which wrote, "Kleid's Hardware"

"Hey, Franz!" I shouted from the peak.

"What, you're about to shit yourself or did you find something?!"

"Tell Johann to find a house with a sign written Kleid's hardware written in it!"

"Klee's what?!"

"Its Klied dumbass, K.L.I.E.D"

Franz flips him off for a moment and immediately sprints back to the beach to find Johann,

Thud...

While he was sprinting he bumped into a hard rock, he looked to see what he bumped into and saw a caine... something was suspicious about it, it had no eye and no arms and no mouth, yet its wings were fully grown...

"What the hell... " The creature suddenly teleported behind him seeming as if it knew he was there Franz quickly turned back with his pistol aimed at the creature.

What the hell is with this thing...

It doesn't have any eyes, yet....

Franz takes a slight step back with his pistol aimed at his head, suddenly the creature front kicks his injured abdomen blasting him on the tree in front of him.

He's quick!

It suddenly blitzed in front of him in an attempt to stomp Franz, as he barely dodged the powerful blow.

I can't move... If I move he'll just attack, plus he's too quick for me to shoot!

Franz looks at his surroundings searching for a way to distract the creature,

I got it!

He grabbed a rock from the debris caused by the creature and threw it at the tree in front of him.

Boom!

The creature blasts off the tree destroying the path in front of him...

I knew it... he reacts to vibrations...

So what if...

Franz pulls out the grenade pin and throws it at the dusty ground...

Blitz!

The creature stood on top of the live grenade exploded exploded into little bits staining Franz's shirt.

Boom!

I see... they're easy to kill but killing them would cost a fortune...

When I get there I ought to report this finding to Johann

Franz painfully walks slowly as he looks for

the trench Johann was in.

A rain of gunpowder was being unleashed while he was looking for the trench, after a few moments he found Johann's trench and he jumped down it.

cough cough... "Johann!, I have something to report to you..."

"My my you look like you're in a poor condition, don't be shy sit down." he said with a concerned look busarcasticic tone, as hlookedks at Franz's bleeding liver.

"Now tell me what is it you want to let me know?" he asked with a curious tone leaning forward whiladjustingst his chair.

"Well, I need you to find a si,. " he said

"What sign?" After he asked that question quick thuds approach the trench.

Screech!

"It's called Klie- wait, watch out!" Franz pulls out his pistol aiming at the creature as it lunged behind Johann

...

Splat!

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Meanwhile Felizch...

"Can someone get me down here..."