Impact

The convoy took off again and now they were not expecting to make any more stops until they reached a temporary military camp just at the edge of the blood Savannah. The steady vehicle which Casimir sat in was now much louder since none of the cadets was asleep. He looked at his communication device to find it was just a few minutes after noon. Area 22 was very far from the capital, the closest city to the military encampment was Koba.

Matilda, who was sitting to his right, was conversing with one of her companions so that meant Casimir could not interrogate her. It was a cause for mild frustration but he decided to ignore it. If she did not want to say more then there might be ramifications for doing so that he might not have been aware of. Or maybe she simply just did not feel like it. The thought that that could be the reason irked him to no end, but there wasn't much he could do about it. In her eyes, she probably thought she was doing him a favour.

Casimir considered it far from a favour, given the number of things he was already worrying about, the addition of another cryptic message to the already brewing pot of problems was bound to cause an eruption or two. She had unceremoniously added to his problems and he was beginning to like her less for it. In short, she had spoiled his mood.

To his left, Oscar for once was not bickering with Michelle but rather seemed to be having a civil conversation. He was too tired to listen in so instead he sat quietly and returned to his own devices.

The journey to the blood Savannah meant he would have the opportunity to finally put his fighting skills to the test. He did plan to use the Dance of Deidamia when he got the chance. Ideally, when that came he'd be wielding the silent bastard sword, Tranquility. He was yet to see the devastation the tier 3 blade could lay on whatever was subject to its assault. He was also hoping that with time and practical use, he would finally see a breakthrough in his understanding of the Dance of Deidamia.

He closed his eyes. He had grown tired of the background noise so he decided the best course of action was to fall asleep. That also depended on if he could actually fall asleep. His mind wandered back to his favourite officer, Officer Evelyn. The short brunette had been especially helpful to him during his time in the military. Much of it he was aware of was favour because he was outstanding as a cadet. He had received so much unsolicited advice from her during the two months they had been working together and he suspected she had made it so for him to be a part of the squad that she would be in charge of.

It was not that hard to understand why. Casimir was, although not by much, the most impressive military training in recent history. Before him was a cadet nicknamed Morning Dew. He didn't understand the nickname nor did he pay it any mind, all he knew was that his first name was Michal. He had been in the military about eight years before Casimir and was probably in his mid twenty's now. He also asked Officer Evelyn about Morning Dew but she said she didn't know much about him and that the year in which he graduated was when she had joined the military. Because of that Casimir was able to deduce that Officer Evelyn would be around 24 years of age at this current point in time.

While his mind was occupied with his beautiful and professional commanding officer, within the cockpit there was a bit of turmoil.

°°°°

Officer Evelyn had always been composed when commanding and leading cadets during their campaigns for the last group she had taken however, now here along with the rest of the captains there was trepidation and they were faced with a serious dilemma. Several abyssal creatures were making a beeline on the trail ahead to intercept the convoy and Lieutenant Banks was doing her best to usher out instructions to the officers following her before they met the horde.

She was unsure what had caused this, they all were. Usually, abyssal creatures did not move in hordes unless they were of the same species and existed as so in their own ecosystems. The other possibility was that a rift had opened up nearby. The problem with this was that the trail along which they were currently traversing was adjacent to the Sherith Canal and if she looked to her left she would see the mighty river.

Through their communication, an instruction finally arrived from the command vehicle. She heard Lieutenant Banks bark out instructions.

"Vehicle three and vehicle four push on, officers make sure to keep your cadets close to you and under your watch. We cannot plough through the horde so we will have vehicles three and four form a barricade and disrupt their charge. Vehicles six and seven stay back and form a barrier we shall retreat behind it should we be overwhelmed. Vehicles one and two disembark your vehicle same time in seven and four and be on standby ready for dispatch vehicle five with me, we shall vanguard with vehicles three and four and provide cover for them to disembark when they form the wall and disrupt the Charge. Get ready to engage."

Officer Evelyn rushed to grab a hold of the walkie-talkie that connected to the back cabin of her vehicle.

"Cadets listen up, prepare for battle blood savannah came a bit early this time, we are engaging with a hoard of abyssal creatures shortly. Summon your armour and your respective weapons and any charms that may you may wish to use get ready to engage. Brace yourselves for impact."

Then there was silent tension, a calm before the storm before all hell broke loose.