A Subtle Introduction To The Oath-Takers

"When will we reach Guam Captain?" Asked Valeriano, sporting his signature mustache while wearing a dark blue uniform that is usually worn by generals of the Spanish Army, beside him is the Captain of the ship that he is currently boarding, Marco Niño, a man of tall stature of around 6'3, with a broad back capable of lifting heavy stuff and is similarly sporting a majestic mustache. The man spoke;

"We'll arrive at Guam at around one or two months depending on the weather, if this bright and sunny weather continues, then we'll be able to reach Guam at one month, but if we ever are unlucky and encounter a storm, then we'll be in for a ride and reach Guam after two months General" the captain said while smiling at Valeriano.

"That's way too long but we can't really do anything yeah? I just wish that Teacher is here to atleast guide me, I'm rather nervous Marco, because our report that our scouts gave us says that the entire Philippine Islands is under strict blockade by ships twice the size of ours, with Turrets that are bigger than ours based on their observation. I'm afraid that either the United States or Germany are behind this, for those indios certainly can't make ships like those from the reports" Valeriano frowned while reading the reports that are piled on his desk, his face shows confidence yet his eyes tells another story, displaying a hint of uncertainty behind them.

Unaware of his superior's dilemma, Marco shrugged off Valeriano's remarks and said;

"General, fear not! I'm pretty sure that our scouts only got overwhelmed by the enemy's numbers, they might not necessarily be correct about the size of the enemy's ships! As far as I know, the largest ships right now are probably only a bit bigger than my Henrietta, she'll probably be able to sink those ships with my maneuvers and your commands sir!"

"I truly hope that is the case Marco, because if the reports are true, then I'm afraid that we'll only be sailing towards our death" said Valeriano, still reading the reports on his desk.

"By the way Marco, how many ships and men will be the grand total of our fleet once we combine our forces with General Ferdinand of Guam?"

"According to the letters sent by General Ferdinand before we embark, he can give us 150,000 men that are fully trained for land combat and 50,000 men with naval expertise, his fleet is relatively small though, with only around 20 warships working, and 30 warships that are under repairs, he also has 10 working ships that are considered obsolete by the Spanish Navy, so if we spent some time repairing some of those ships that are under repairs while also willing to use those obsolete ones, then we can atleast get 60 ships capable of combat, but we probably won't have that much time to spend on repairing so we have to make do with 20 warships and 10 obsolete ships. Combined with our Army and Navy, we'll have 500,000 men, and 60 ships, 40 ships capable of naval combat while the other 20 are transportation and supply ships, But general, isn't this overkill? The Philippine Islands is notorious to house those indios, a bunch of savages that are not even capable of fluent Spanish! rumors say that they still eat using their hands and are not even wearing footwear to protect their feet! How can such people defeat an army of half a million with the support of naval ships? We'll just ravage those savages and bring them back to the stone age!" Said Marco, pride obvious in his face but a hint of scorn is seen in his eyes.

Seeing his subordinate's prideful stance and noticing Marco's scorn underneath his subservient gaze, Valeriano took a deep sigh and said;

How many times have the Monarchy sent fleets and men here just to end up not returning? Have you read the reports? Countless people lost their lives yet only one person returned to us, and that person was even sent back by those Indios personally as if to scorn us, I've only just returned from my post in Cuba to take a rest and be back to the Cuba after two months but I was immediately sent back to lead this resubjugation mission Marco. I was there when those indios delivered the man to us, I've seen their weapons yet I didn't see their ships! Nobody saw a speck nor a shadow! The only thing we saw was that they swam back to the ocean and never came back up, they can stay permanently under the sea Marco! Now tell me, how can we fight such foes? How can 500,000 men defeat what they cannot see? How can 60 ships help in that situation Marco? Tell me! I will listen" Valeriano looked his subordinate intensely, a sense of derision visible in his eyes with the occasional ticks, as if a machine that is broken, as if a doll that is near its imminent destruction.

Marco saw his superior's reaction and shut his mouth and just nodded, beads of sweat falling from his forehead, he hasn't seen the young general this panicked, even during the days when they were sent to war in the Cuban lands, he was always calm, composed and dashing, with countless medals and merits always dangling from his uniform, with a straight posture and a stout face, he was his idol and his mentor, the one who helped him rise through the ranks, Marco always thought that following Valeriano is the best decision of his life and that they will never taste defeat under his commands yet here he is, obviously panicking in the face of an enemy that is currently unknown.

Meanwhile, in Renaldo's camp.

Bonifacio and Nicanor are currently pacing around in the main tent, either brainstorming together or arguing about their strategies against the Spaniards that are coming, especially Bonifacio who is supposed to be on the way to liberate Mindanao, he has his sights on glory yet here he is, currently helping devise a plan to help against the onslaught of an enemy that outnumbers them by a huge margin.

Renaldo on the other hand, is sipping tea, chilling in the main seat, this is his way of solving such problems especially in his past life, because as a general, it is emperative to make big decisions in a calm environment, to remove rash decisions that might endanger your whole army.

After a few hours of thinking, a mosquito flew near Renaldo's ears, hovering as if telling him something.

Renaldo nodded and suddenly stood up from his seat, saying;

"All right boys, stop bickering and hear me out regarding my plan, then you can give your own opinions and help polish this plan of mine by chipping in some of your own ideas, just like last time"

Both Bonifacio and Nicanor nodded their heads and took their seats across Renaldo, letting him take the center of attention in their group of three.

Renaldo immediately grabbed the opportunity and started speaking of his plan.

"So, both of you knows that we can't delay our liberation of the South despite the incoming Spanish incursion, this is because we are following a strict timetable to prepare for a bigger stage a decade or two later, I won't delve much into the details on how I know this but I have connections from places far from here (LIAR!!!). So we are going to continue our southern liberation, this project will go under the supervision of Bonifacio, as we have discussed a while back. But his men will be reduced from half of our army to just around 50,000 men, they will meet up with the Mindanao chapter of our Order, they have around 100,000 men but are poorly armed compared to our main army, they are mostly using stolen M93s and some Lee-Enfields that we could afford to give them, they don't have our tigers and greyhounds and you won't be able to use them too because they will be crucial to my plan against the incoming enemies, I can only afford you the fact that each and everyone of your people will be armed with a complete set of a primary lee enfield rifle and a sidearm with three prototype bombs each, and a prototype artillery that can be used for long range bombardment, I can also give you 20 regiments worth of the armor used by the Northern Army's Bulwark Regiment, I suggest that you combine this armor with the deadliest combat force the South has ever produced, the so-called immortals, the Juramentados, make 20 armored regiments made up of Juramentados, choose the smartest and the most reasonable person out of all them to lead because they probably won't accept the leadership of someone that came from us. The Southern folks are proud people and they respect strength above all, are you up for this task brother?"

Renaldo gave Bonifacio an intense gaze, a gaze that reeks of bloodlust and expectations, because this is his time to shine...

Bonifacio returned Renaldo's gaze with an even more intense one, and nodded to signify his acceptance of the huge responsibility in front of him.

Seeing his reaction, Renaldo immediately turned his attention towards the map on the table in front of him, he will start his plans for the biggest and bloodiest challenge yet.