CHAPTER 17 - Vanguard

One month after the invasion

Ikathia

It's been a full moon since we invaded this new world under the orders of our leader. We don't know how much time has already passed. We only brought here the bare minimum and we already noticed significant differences on the length of days and the cycles of the moon compared to those on our home planet.

We didn't expect much from this manaless planet at first, we joined the expedition as the vanguard of our future conquest of it. Forced by decree of our planet owner to do its bidding, and here we are, exiled, isolated and waging war against unknown odds.

We already knew how it was going to be before coming. Having to choose between dying by the hand of our so-called guides dispatched by the emperor of the north or following them into what will probably be our graves.

With no other choice to make, we choose to believe that the newly discovered planet was our best shot. The guide only told us that the whole planet was ruled by a single race, for us, that was something unimaginable. We couldn't even wrap our heads around the fact that they were sending us against a race so superior, but we knew better. We were but a mere fraction of an isolated part of the continent where we thrived, we may have amounted to something there, but in the grand scheme of things we were nothing but a fly.

Our tribe was forced to be one of the "chosen ones" as they called them, to be sent head first into battle far away from our planet with no way back. We were no more than cattle sent to the slaughter to buy time for themselves, to somehow weaken the enemy while "freeing" space in our already overcrowded planet. It was just a good way to say that they were culling our numbers for their own profit, but we, my tribe, were determined to survive.

Now we find ourselves in this place stranded, yet a lot more hopeful that we were at first. We thought we would be obliterated the moment we crossed into this world, but far from the truth, it was the other way round. For once we were lucky, due to the scarce amount of guides that the northern emperor was willing to send to supervise we joined hands with a few more tribes before going through. One of those being the Orcs of Greed, named like that by their treacherous acts committed in past wars chasing riches.

We were as apprehensive as and doubtful as joyful of them partaking in this endeavor with us. They may be what people say about them, yet their might is indisputable. Being known by their displays of brute strength due to their knowledge of ancient runes. They were once a force to be reckoned with, and even though they might have fallen from grace, their spirit and strength stays unmatched by their orcs counterparts. 

We had already decided to follow along, taking a laid back attitude and let them take the spotlight. They started by sending out the weaker tribes first, blindly assuming they will all die. Just like that, the weaker tribes were forced to march first, like the opresed ratmen or those rejected for good for nothing inhabitants of the holed mountain. Each one of them is dumber than the one before, yet they are numerous, a lot more than both us and the Orcs of Greed together. 

They would never listen to us in normal situations, but even their low intelligence didn't free them from the fear of the guide who coerced them all to come all by himself. Both groups started rampaging through everything that crossed their paths, killing thousands and thousands of those beings called humans.

Our tribe followed the orcs, which in turn were following the little creatures. The displeasing monsters did most of the job, massacring all humans on their path till they cleared all the obstacles in their way and then rushed into the wild, following their instincts to run away from both the guide and us I guess. 

Our turn came up, and it was awfully easy to take care of the humans left behind, all of them were a lot weaker and intimidating than what our leaders made us believe they were. We took care of any stragglers and after that we decided to stay put and build a camp, but not after parting ways with the orcs.

We were told to make sure that the humans didn't retake any territory once we conquered it and it was such a good excuse to stay safe that we were gonna do our best for as much time as we can. 

Today after all of that and a whole moon cycle of preparation, I, Ikathia, leader of the Tribe of Iron Skin , am invited to a conclave hosted by the leader of the Orcs of Greed. 

"Throld, I am leaving for the meeting. You are in charge of the tribe while I am away." I call out to my second in command who is already ready for battle with both his large swords on his back, ready to accompany me to the conclave.

"I need to follow my liege to the conclave, I can't let anything happen to our leader if they Orcs try to ambush you on enemy territory." Seems like I did a good job choosing him for his intelligence. 

He is totally right, it has a high probability of it being a trap. Their tribe never liked being ordered around, even less their current leader. Taking into account that this time they are not getting anything and they are instead being forced, they will probably take the chance to riot against the emperor now that we are out of reach in this new world.

"You are definitely the most suitable for your position Throld. You are right, it's likely to be a trap indeed. That's the reason why I will be leaving alone for the conclave, our tribe is going to need someone like you with a good head on their shoulders." The moment I say that a lot of members voice their disagreement with my decision, but it's useless.

"I already make my decision, you just need to obey. Serpa will follow me from afar and will bring back you the news, whatever they might be." 

"You too, Xarx, I won't be needing a bodyguard anymore." I will try and safe every single life that I can, that's the least I can do now that I am leaving them.

"Sorry my liege, but as your bodyguard I will follow you anywhere you go, no matter the circumstances." 

"..." 

What a stubborn bastard, just the same as when I met him. Guess that's it, let's hope that Throld is not the last leader of our tribe and we will flourish once more somewhere else. Me and my tribe weren't strong enough to go against the will of our superiors and this is the result, it's so boring. 

Everything going on is all happening thanks to the decisions of that damned owner of our planet and yet no-one does a single thing. It's so frustrating seeing all these lives that are lost just because of a single person. 

"Just you wait,someday…, someday, you darn bastard will burn in hell…" I can't help but mumble as I depart.

Leo

It's been a couple of days since we started with our building project and today we finally finished it. So far we got everything that we will be needing for now on to practice. We got an archery range with wooden targets for bow, crossbows, throwing knives and even to practice spears throws. We got another place to practice shooting too, but in that one we got metal plates instead of the wooden one which is going to be used as a shooting range for actual guns with lethal ammunition, even though for now we got none of it.

Lastly, we built a field where we can gain some real experience in combat, be it fighting against one another or just by ourselves. It consists of different environments each one next to each other where wooden targets and mannequins are placed in strategic positions that rotate each day. 

So far we got an urban area with lots of obstacles, a plain one where there is not much cover and a forest area where some things are camouflaged and you need to stay on your toes as if you were putting your life on the line to see each possible threat.

To summarize, we did a pretty damn job. We just needed a little bit more time to expand the area thinking about the future where more people are gonna be using them, that's all. We already tried it too, I had some "sparring" matches against a few of the other members that helped build it. It was pretty underwhelming, the match, not the place itself though. 

I tried it after on my own and it's perfect to improve your decision making and maneuvers. The forest area in particular it's the best one, you need to cover yourself from enemy attacks as best as you can while you try to spot your enemies in between the foliage. I practice my throws with the knives too while testing it, and it helps a lot to get better at it.

That being said, I already wasted enough time. I was only able to keep track of the other things I needed to do as a side project, thing, that from perspective, I dont like at all. I haven't found anything on the last test subject either, but I did keep up with the physical aspects of my training and it starts to show a bit. I am starting to see my body getting in an even better shape with each day ever so lightly, probably thanks to training while using qi.

'It's time to keep exploring and doing my job.' 

I leave the base at the dawn of the next day to hunt again for supplies, be it loot from monsters or devices that survived the destruction done by the monsters. The goal that I set for this week is to procure enough electrical and construction supplies to improve our base, not forgetting to bring back any food I can scavenge. 

For a while all goes as planned, I set off from our base at dawn with a destination at dawn. I get there and clear up the area of any monsters, then I load everything on the vehicle and explore a little bit while taking care of any monsters in sight. I even took care of a similar group of lesser orcs too. I did always make sure however to avoid the groups that were too much for me to take care of such as the bigger groups of the spiky hedgehogs or the bigger groups of lesser orcs. 

Three days passes

"Jackpot again!" I cheer as I open the warehouse of the police station. 

I thought that it would be already emptied, yet it is full to the brim with things, thank god that I decided to bring one of the bigger vehicles this time around.

I load all up on the trunk and start backtracking the path I followed to get here, it is kind of tight to squeeze in with my current vehicle, but nothing too hard. These days there have been less and less monsters. The only ones that I keep seeing in regular intervals are the armored panthers, guess they are the strongest out there for now.

I can't stop thinking about the reasoning behind such a thing, there is no way that all the monsters disappeared in such a small amount of time. I myself have the opinion that something is going on, and after asking for different opinions at base no one came up with something that made enough sense.

I arrive at the end of this road and stop for a second to clear a little bit of the path where I came from. It is an intersection that has a lot of cars blocking the road with only a little opening in the middle to go through. However, the moment I arrive I feel something off, the hole in the intersection is gone, blocked by a few more cars that have been clearly pushed there by someone.

For a second I rethink my options. 'Should I flee with the car? No. If I am the target they would have already prepared for that, if I am not the target they will probably just question me or try to rob me at most… probably'

I have no information, yet I now i will manage somehow, I just pray that they don't own any guns or I will be fucker as fuck for real this time.

I step out of my vehicle while scanning the surroundings as fast as I can, yet with no results. I make a clear straight line to the new car that is blocking the path just as if it were an unexpected obstacle. I get to the car blocking the way and I discover that it still has the keys inside so it is still probably functional. I get in and move it out of my way carefully, yet nothing happens, no one pops out, nothing moves and everything stays the same. 

I don't let my guard down, yet I can't help but think that whoever put that car there already left this place. I get inside my car and start driving off still looking around but seeing nothing. 

I pass the blockage and still nothing, I start picking the speed and still nothing and finally I get back on track.

*Crash*

Out of nowhere a silhouette I am very familiar with crashes into the hood of my car making it stop at once. I luckily am able to react super fast and let myself crash through the windshield and slip by him in between his legs before he splits the whole car in two. Hopefully I hadn't put on my seatbelt back just in case.

The crash hurt, and I mean a lot. However, when I notice the whole car splitted in two in a vertical line right down the middle I am certain I took the lesser evil. 

"Fuck." I prepare to run for my life when I see that we are not alone. 

All around me, orcs like the ones I've been killing these days start to appear. They are behind me, on my right, on my left… All of them are creeping out from the shadows towards me. One of them even seems to be signaling me while he grunts and lets out weird noises that seem like some type of language unknown to me.

Then there is that guy. He just cut the car I was riding a moment ago in two with an ease that sends shivers down my spine. 'I can't win, I need to run.'

I know the moment he gets to touch me I am dead, that's why I start running simulations in my head. How, just how can I escape this encirclement alive. The big guy that nearly kills me is staying there frozen while looking at me with rage. I can even somehow distinguish the emotions in his eyes.

I have no idea why he is even more angry than the other ones, but it doesn't matter, first things first. He's got two large swords that look terrifying, he has some weird symbols in his face that probably represents some kind of status or something similar. Lastly he is a little bit thinner than the other guys, which in turn probably makes him even faster, lovely.

*tap*

*tap*

I have yet not thought of a way to leave the encirclement when he starts walking at me ever so slowly. ' I can't panic… I need to think of a way.'

*tap*

*tap*

*tap* 

'There must be a way…'

*tap*

As he gets closer I dont have much of a choice, so I act.

*Swishhh* *Swishhh* 

*Clank*

I try to create an opportunity for me to run so I throw two of my knives at him. It's a pity to lose them so early on, but I can't help but use them. I miss one of them by a few centimeters, but he is forced to block the other one that was going right at his face. 

The moment he starts moving his arm up to parry the knife I boost my lower body as much as I can without hurting myself to be faster than these guys. 

'Time to make a run for it.'