w

C1140

BAM!

A loud dull sound reverberated through the air as a bulky, dark-skinned man slammed his hand on a stone table in front of him, breaking it. An exasperated roar followed, clearly venting the frustration he was feeling.

"Is this all the alliance can spare?! Five ungraduated young acolytes!"

General Kobe, a saint level fighter in charge of the Nexus colony, was furious when he finally met Emery and his friends. The man didn't even try to act nice and hide his dissatisfaction about the alliance's decision. In fact, he went a notch further.

"We have sent three of our magus and hundreds of our elite soldiers to the frontlines and this is all they sent for us!"

Minister Otto quickly stepped in and tried to defuse the awkward situation by asking the general to mind his conduct in front of Emery and the others, who were the official envoys of the Magus Alliance.

Seeing the situation, Julian voiced his opinion in a careful manner. "General, we assure you the alliance would not just send anybody to this mission. Please don't let prejudice rule your judgment and let us help in the trouble you're facing right now."

Under the Minister of Science's persuasion and Julian's words, General Kobe returned to his seat, closed his eyes and took a deep breath, before ordering one of his lieutenants to give the summary of the colony's current status quo to Emery and the others.

[Nexus Colony 01]

[Population: 5,250]

Reading the data provided, Emery learned that the Nexus faction had a total of 3 colonies on the planet. Roughly five hundred miles separated the three colonies from each other, with dozens of outposts scattered across the borders between the colonies. Ninety percent of the people living in the colony were faction workers as well as their families.

Their tasks were mainly building new facilities and maintaining the water supply and Sun Panels which generated the energy needed for the faction.

In the past year since the main army of the faction departed from the planet to join the frontlines, the people living in the colony were having a difficult time, as they had been constantly attacked by the so-called rebels.

In fact, there were three such incidents just in the last week and, even though all three were only minor skirmishes from the rebels, they were still enough to claim dozens of lives.

"Since then, we have tightened security levels in all three colonies and kept our distance from the planet's natives."

Hearing that, Emery was reminded of the group of the poor-looking people he had seen earlier. Recalling their appearance, he couldn't help but ask his question. "My apologies, General, but the natives I saw at the gates seemed somehow harmless"

Evidently, those words once again irritated General Kobe. "Harmless, you say? No! You're wrong!" Gritting his teeth in anger, the man stared at Emery, "Those rebels blend in among those natives and when you least expect they will put a knife on your back! Many of my men died because of their cunningness!"

Realizing the people of the Nexus faction were in dispute with the natives of the planet, Emery couldn't help but recall the situation on the Andora planet, where the indigenous people also had the same issue.

As if he knew what Emery was currently thinking, Minister Otto said, "Please understand our relationship with the natives has been mutual for hundreds of years. They provide us with manpower, while we share the resources we create: food, water, medicine, even education. This cooperation is beneficial for both parties; after all, we are here to stay."

The general was quick to back up the minister's remarks by saying, "That's right. This situation is all because the rebels have poisoned their minds and destroyed the trust between us."

At this moment, Julian stepped forward saying, "That is what we are here for, general. Point us in the direction and we will deal with your rebel problem as quickly as we can."

Although it was clear the general was still skeptical, he didn't outright show it this time and just nodded his head. A moment later, the information on the screen turned into the details of the mission.

"From our calculations and the information we have a dozen possible locations of rebel bases. Unfortunately, we don't know exactly which base this man is at."

As General Kobe spoke those words, the screen changed once again and showed an image of a middle-aged man with a short haircut and tanned skin along with several lines of information.

The man whose photo was shown was the leader of the rebels, named Stildar Quartermain. He was a Crescent Moon magus-level figure and a fugitive of the Nexus faction. He was also the same person who was allegedly said to have stolen the Replicator.

Apparently, the rebels liked to hide among the local settlements, wrecking havoc using the cover it provided. That being the case, sending an army would only serve to warn and send them back into hiding. Either way, the general had a limited number of soldiers at his disposal. Hence the dilemma.

Moreover, apart from the rebels, the colony still had another, no less serious problem to deal with on the planet, which took the group by surprise when they heard about it.

"Orcs!?"

The yellow planet the Nexus faction used to be a battlefield between humans and elves hundreds of years ago and it had also been reported to have several orc sightings. And apparently, in the last few weeks the number had increased dramatically until there were incidents of the vile creatures attacking the outpost.

General Kobe marked the location of the attacked outpost and the settlements where orcs were sighted on the map. He also told the group about a certain ex-marshal who could assist them in finding the rebel leader.

Shane Quatermain, the brother of the rebel leader and a retired Nexus lieutenant, who was currently living among the natives.

With all that being said, the general ended the briefing by saying, "This is the problem we are dealing with here." Gazing at the group, he spoke in a serious tone. "Please prove my prejudice wrong."

Nodding his head, Julian spoke in a confident tone. "All right, general. We will quickly make our preparations and deal with the situation."

After leaving the general's place, Emery and the others decided to have a meeting of themselves to analyze the situation and information they had.

To be continued