11 Situation in Glaud

Although I do not believe in God, I could say that my fight with Aurelius a year ago was God-given.

Ever since then I've been roaming the wild.

A pleasant vacation if you ask me.

Nothing special happened. Except for my visit to Glaud.

Glaud is a small city-state on the Pangras-Landyg border.

Well, it is actually quite big compared to states I've read about. Like the ones on a small planet called Earth in the Milky Way galaxy.

Anyway, Glaud itself has more than nine hundred million inhabitants. Its state is in possession of nearly a hundred small villages and towns.

All in all, it's not bigger than Argos Medius.

I got there after three months of roaming aimlessly through the uninhabited areas of Pangras.

This is my story from back then. In real time.

"Where are you from, young man?" Asked an old bureaucrat who is sitting behind a desk.

"I don't have a motherland anymore. Do you need more information?" I asked seriously.

"No. It is okay. We have had quite a big influx of such people lately. But if it wouldn't be too troubling for you, I need to put something in here." He said apologetically.

"I'm from Oryth, south Pangras. But I have somewhat of a grudge with the Gargoyles so I went for a vacation." I shrugged. It doesn't matter anyway. Glaum doesn't have diplomatic relation with any of the surrounding Empires. It is very self-sufficient and non-militaristic. It doesn't even have a serious army, actually.

"I've heard of a situation with that city not too long ago. Quite ugly. So you're really homeless then?" He asked in a heavy voice. One could easily tell that he really understands the situation.

"I passed out when they attacked. I don't know much except the reports of it. But why is it so important?" I sighed.

"We offer a free half a year stay for those who lost much in the last few fire exchanges in the region. The respective countries usually have some rather silly solutions for the problem. I know because I too have passed through that hell. Although my town was firebombed fifty years ago. The big guy just said if you lost your home just move to another town." He said with a tear in his eye.

"I'm not planning on staying here for long. I can offer many services to anybody, but I want to see how this world works before I do that." I explained.

"Then stay here, young man. Use these free six months to meet new people from the region and hear their weeps. That's the best way to learn such a thing. Because the world is people, not places. I can help you find a job if you want to. I mean, you don't have much to lose. And if you wish you can stay longer since life expenses are not too high here. We are an enclave that is extremely self-sufficient after all. Not many things are imported."

"I know how to kill. It's my forte. But I can do pretty much anything that not many would. I've been in three different militaries for my not so long life. Although only one actually had a complete acknowledgment for my work."

"I actually need a helper here. Hehe. It's not just paperwork. I sometimes get former assassination experts here. So the state formed an organization for those people. They went out of their way a lot for that because even the Anonymous were put down when they asked to open a branch office here. But those kinds of organizations usually bring trouble from the outside, so the Marshall forbid it. Now the state organization is in existence to help those who only know how to kill. They usually do police work and such things. Interested?" The old man smiled.

"Sure, why not. I'll stay here and see what I can learn. I could maybe even help with some interesting things I've noticed on my way here." I shrugged.

"Good, then I'll just write you in as a consultant for police affairs." The old man smiled again and wrote to me in his book. When he came to the name section he stopped, scratched the back of his head and asked:

"What should we call you, young man?"

"My name is Shorty. May I know your respected name, sir?"

"Call me Lucy."

I nearly choked on my own laughter.

"Ain't that a female name?"

"Hmm?" He looked amused. "Most people can't believe, some have more dishonorable reactions such as insulting and bullying an old man. My full name is Lucifer Victor. And I am a former general of Landygian Armata Strigoi."

"Doesn't ring a bell." I never heard of such a group or whatever it is. Must be powerful if he boasts with it.

"Hehehehehe. Of course, you do not know about us. We are the sole reason why this little land wasn't swallowed by any of the surrounding Empires. This is our land. Armata Strigoi is a Ghost Army. No man ever defeated us on the field, and we kept our discreet way of life even now while out of commission." He explained in an unsteady but proud voice.

"So, you're an old wolf then?"

"Wolf? Nah, I was known as Devil in Rising in my youth. Now they just call me Lucy or Old Devil. Ain't that interesting, heh. If you live up to my age, you'll know what I'm talking about." Lucifer spoke with heavy nostalgic voice. The years hit him hard.

After a month of peaceful life in the city of Glaud, I have met an interesting man.

A man in a grey uniform with a shiny metal mask with some red on it.

'A Nameless here? Who would think that he would be crazy enough? Well, am I not the police. And ain't entering this place forbidden for them ever since then?' I thought as I started walking towards the Nameless.

He then did something that not too many people would do.

He took out a grenade, unpinned it and tossed it into the crowd.

A loud bang that followed filled the air with shrapnel. Dozens of people were wounded and many died instantly. 'Somebody paid them for this. Nobody does such things out of the blue.' I thought as I took out my pen and transformed it into a rifle. I looked around but I couldn't see the perpetrator.

~Das Dach, das dach~

A voice echoed in my head. This time I couldn't understand what it's saying. Then I figured.

Roofs.

The moment that thought came into my mind a bullet hit me in the shoulder.

'So they are after me. Bitches.'

I ran for cover. While running I could hear bullets ricocheting off the ground most of them just behind me.

'What is wrong with these guys? They can shoot a sparrow in the eye at a distance greater than ten kilometers. And they cannot shoot me from like fifty meters away? Are these real deal or some sort of school shooters?'

I wondered.

"Halt or the next bullet will end up in your head, Max!" Yelled a female voice.

Anna.

I just can't shake her off, huh. Well then, let's play.

I stopped and turned around. At least twenty Nameless stood there keeping me on sight.

"Whaddaya want, Anna? You remember what happened last time we met, don't you?" I scoffed.

"Yeah, I do. A whole SF squad was annihilated and you were captured." She said.

"And then I left the branch office like a free man, killing a close co-worker of yours in the process. You think that a squad can do what one of the best in the branch couldn't. What you couldn't?" I mocked.

"This time it is different. This isn't a squad. It is much more than that. I brought a whole branch from Argos Medius for this job." She said.

"So you do not believe that your people are good enough to assault me one on one? You just dishonored your whole organization." I continued my mocking session.

"You little..." She started but was interrupted by a voice from behind.

"Ha, looks like he brought you down little girl! Hahaha."

It is a man who welcomed me to the police.

Captain Munch. A man who hates assassins ever since they murdered his whole family on behalf of some small landlord.

"Who are you old idiot? Keep out of this, or you'll regret being born!" One of the Nameless warned him.

"I'm the head of police. And when I'm done with you murderous scum, I'll go eat lunch." He barked.

The Nameless laughed.

"You think that your weak police force can stop a hundred assassins, you old fool?"

"No, ordinary police cannot succeed. But Armata Strigoi is something different, child." The old man Lucy said. He just appeared near me out of nowhere.

"What is that?" One Nameless said.

"Yeah, you think that we would be afraid of some miserable countryside organization?" Added another one.

"We are not some fucking rednecks, you stupid excuse for an assassin." Munch smirked.

"We are the Immortals of Landyg. We are that army who swiped clean the battlefield at Corsco seventy years ago. Most of us are new recruits now. But we still are Armata de Strigoi."

"Hah, you old fool that battle has been so long ago that it even isn't in history schoolbooks anymore. Hahaha. And yet..." Anna started mocking them when Lucifer stopped her:

"It would never be put in a book or anywhere where the general public could read it. That was a covert operation, dumbass." Lucy scoffed.

I have read a book that was trying to completely analyze that battle before I came back to Gronos, so I knew a couple of facts about it. But Armata Strigoi was not mentioned in it though.

"Even if it was magnificent back then, it has been seventy years from then. No matter how powerful you guys were..." Anna tried to make him leave by talk. But Lucy stopped her.

"Well then, if you think that we are old and weak from our standby stance for all these years, then beat us. It should be easy, right?" He smirked. What he did next was unimaginable. Well not really unimaginable, more like you would think of that solution of the problem at first.

He put on a helmet that covered his whole head and pressed a button on it.

He disappeared.

The Nameless soldiers were flabbergasted.

"Where is he!? Turn on the infra-red! Find him and kill him!" Anna kept yelling the orders to the rest of the assassins near her.

"Hahahaha. So, you think that it is easy fighting the army you cannot see, then try for yourself and tell me how it is." Captain Munch laughed as he disappeared together with the rest of the police forces that were there.

Immediately after their disappearance blood started spraying out from the Nameless assassins. The soldiers of Armata Strigoi were killing them like sitting ducks and they couldn't do anything.

Fifteen minutes after, there were only three assassins left standing out of the starting number of nearly five hundred.

"We surrender!" Said one of them while rising his hands in the air. He ended up with his brain on the ground.

"You can kill all of us but we shall not yield to a bunch of old men." Anna said calmly after killing her colleague.

"No problem." I said while piercing one last assassin with my spear. The one next to him swung his sword at me but was brought down by an invisible bullet.

I turned around to see if I still had anybody to kill.

Only Anna was left.