Predators in the Storm II

"MOVE, MOVE, MOVE!!! The target has presented himself! Orders from higher up say that he's wanted dead or alive, preferably alive!! Only dead if absolutely necessary!"

"YES SIR!!"

Large amounts of soldiers, equipment, and magical machinery were being mobilized at alarming speeds. They all belonged to the most elite of elite within the Royal Army, who were under the direct command of the Royal family and the Emperor.

These imperial soldiers have been stationed within the central structure of Kassio for months now. The mayor allowed them to hide out here until they could complete their objective. They've been silently lying in wait, searching desperately for the Dragon Slayer.

Now that the threat level of Draconic Genesis skyrocketed with the appearance of a transcendent, they couldn't afford to fail this mission no matter what. The country's diplomatic relations with the organization were at stake.

While everyone was uniformly rushing to get deployed, a young squire entered the fray and headed for the highest commanding officer.

The squire performed the Alvestine salute as he addressed his superior, "Reporting to Captain Usman!"

The Alvestine salute was more commonly used by military and nobility and it had a few meanings behind it. You were supposed to cross your forearms at a forty-five degrees angle downwards in an "X" with your fists clenched tight.

Because it was impossible to wield weapons while saluting, it was a sign that the recipient was being wished peace and prosperity. However, this was the viewpoint of the nobility and common folk that used it, but not the military. To warriors, this salute represented crisscrossed blades, ready to behead their countries opponents at any moment to prove their unyielding and burning loyalty, like an executioner.

The man who was barking orders and currently in charge of the mission halted what he was doing to divert his attention to the squire.

He was a middle-aged man of medium build and above-average height with neat and short brown hair. His complexion was caramel-colored so the upside-down "V" shaped scar in the center of his face had a much lighter shade of skin tone. This old battle scar forced his eyes to constantly squint so he always looked serious and scary, making others feel as though he was exuding killing intent even when he wasn't.

The Captain waved off the soldiers he was addressing to carry out their orders. He looked at the squire in the eyes, "You may proceed."

The young man flinched and suppressed his fear under the Captain's unsettling and squinted gaze, "The target has been confirmed to be privately speaking with Kassio's Guild Leader of the Adventurers Guild!"

"Good, and our stealth operatives are in place for plan A?"

"Yes sir!"

Captain Usman's forces consisted of exactly eighty soldiers who were exceptional knights, archers, and wizards who all had the noble blood of Barons. He was a Viscount and the oldest out of them all so he was their senior in every way. Each of his subordinates brought along their own proteges to do the menial work such as carrying luggage, maintaining logistics and equipment, and upholding communications.

The Royal army was different than the other armies five armies of the Alvestine Empire. The requirements were much higher and ridiculously strict. Typically, a Viscount would be a Lieutenant and a Baron would be a Captain in any other army, but here, they were close to common soldiers. This was because the country wanted the Royal army to be made up of only true nobility and above. The squires couldn't officially join the army until they had higher status and greater experience.

Captain Usman also possessed eighty soldiers, which heavily strayed from the norm of fifty for your average military captain. This was because he was an extraordinarily accomplished individual, so he was allowed to expand his forces.

He was even on par with a Warlord as a skilled A~grade archer. His subordinates were all B~grades, which was practically unheard of in any of the six armies. His unit was one of the greatest in the country.

They were the Empire's pride and joy. But why was the Empire deploying such a highly respected and powerful unit? This was because when "slayers" were involved, it leads to several unpredictable factors.

For instance, a Dragon Slayer, if given enough time, could take on some of the powers of what they killed, maybe even some of the genes. This applied to others such as Demon Slayers and Exorcists (Spirit Slayers).

To kill monsters, one must become a monster.

Usman's thoughts trailed off as he remembered some specific facts from the target information, 'Reports stated that the slain dragon in question was of extremely unique origins, so the Dragon Slayer could potentially have a high threat level if he gained its powers. Thank the lord I mobilized all of my forces.

So long as the target hasn't reached the S~grade, which is highly improbable even with the boon of a dragon, we should be able to handle this much. This wave of nobility that's coming in is certainly not making things easy for us...'

.....

It took a few minutes for the entire unit to get fully prepared. It was astonishing how they managed to get so much done in such a short amount of time.

Now that everything was ready, all the soldiers stood at attention in a uniform formation, shoulder to shoulder. The different class types all stood together in their respective sections. The warrior and berserker soldiers were the most abundant and occupied the center. Then there were separate sections for mage types and range types. There were also around five stealth/reconnaissance/assassin types but they were out monitoring the target so they weren't present.

Their equipment was similar in style to the Royal Guard and Warlords who constantly protected the Royal family, but far less ornate and complex. The materials used were also leagues behind Blood Mythril, called Scarletium, but still unimaginably strong nonetheless. The mages that had less armor plating equipped used the Empire's trademark material, Phoenixsatin, which was still used by the other soldiers but less frequently.

The six armies tended to use colors to differentiate from each other. The Royal army was red, gold, and sometimes pink and rose gold. As a consequence of this color scheme, which stuck out like a sore thumb on the battlefield, they were more often targeted. But this made them even more experienced than others, weeding out the weak who couldn't handle wearing such prideful and dangerous colors.

"ATTENTION!!"

As Captain Usman thundered, the soldiers did the military version of the salute which was slightly quicker to execute. Their movements were precise and with deadly efficiency.

"As you know, the objective is to catch the target, Kyren the Dragon Slayer, dead or alive. For those of you who are curious, he is to be used as a bargaining chip for peace between our country and the recently revealed hidden organization, Draconic Genesis..." He let his words sink in for a moment as he slowly scanned the crowd, trying to convey his hidden meaning. He then said in a proud but secretly grim voice, "WE FIGHT FOR THE EMPIRE!!!"

"FOR THE EMPIRE!!"

From the moment the Captain mentioned Genesis, they already knew of the full magnitude of this operation. They were all mentally quaking in fear and dread as they remembered recent events. They were all present during the initial appearance of that transcendent bodyguard, and their tempered intuition and survival instinct that they've honed for numerous years, decades even, screamed at them that something was seriously off with that monster still floating in the sky. It was as if the power that was displayed was only the tip of the iceberg...

They couldn't let their beloved country go to war with them, no matter how small the possibility or reason!!

"Plan A is to utilize stealth along with abduction, and assassination if need be. If that goes haywire, plan B is to use shock and awe tactics(1). Keep civilian casualties to a minimum and watch out for any abnormal dragon abilities or mutations." Captain Usman made a swift gesture with his hand and stared off into the direction of the Adventurers Guild with a determined expression, "Be ready for anything and... move out!!!"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

In the neighboring building of Kassio's guildhall, three individuals sat around a dark room with two of them manning the window. They donned specially made assassin light armor of the Royal army, which was purposefully darker in color scheme to make it easier to escape detection.

Their hoods were up and they were on the edge of their seats, ready to move at a moment's notice.

"What do you think he's doing in there? And why is he so close with the Guild Leader?"

"Yeah, I noticed the Guild Leader's assistant personally greet him... It's weird for a supposed 'newbie' to be so friendly with the guild's higher-ups. Should we report this?"

"No, we will observe for now until we have something we can go on."

The "target" and the Guild Leader were currently in the head office of the guildhall so they were unable to use any of their senses to know what was going on inside. Every Guild Leader had specialized offices that utilized numerous overkill anti-detection magical arrays and circles, so no mortal could know what was going on inside.

"It's just..."

"What?"

"Something's off about all of this."

"....."

"Do you think something will go wrong with the operation?"

"I... don't know."

"How about that hooded girl the target was with?"

"I've checked and she's only a B~grade."

"Are all the other possible exits being monitored?"

"Grisha and Tom are elsewhere, keeping an eye on the other exits and within the building, so we're good there. He can't possibly leave the building without us five stealth operatives noticing."

"See? Nothing will go wrong."

"...But don't you feel like we're being played into someone's hands?"

"Ahaha, you think one of the most promising military units of the Royal army... no, the entire empire can be easily manipulated!"

"..."

"Of course not!"

"Yeah, how would that be possible?!"

The imperial assassin who kept voicing her doubts to her comrades stayed silent and observed the building more intently. There was nothing wrong though so she could only suppress her anxiety and shaky thoughts, 'What are they doing in there...'

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

About an hour earlier, before the Empire's forces noticed them, Kyren and Maya were making their way to the Adventurers Guild at a relaxed pace.

Since they were getting farther away from the safer and more peaceful zones within the city, the tension in the air was rising at a noticeable rate. People who wore their respective faction uniforms seemed to glare at other parts of the street where other factions glared back as if they were opposing social cliques. Unaligned civilians quickened their pace so they could escape as soon as possible. It was as if the heavy threat of a fight occurring was treading on thin ice.

The most comfortable people would have to be Maya and Kyren. They completely ignored the surrounding intensity and created a joyous air around them that disrupted the tension. Nothing could pose a threat to them so why would they worry?

Other faction members were unnerved by them. They wished to single them out and chase them away for ruining the mood, but their bodies and instincts didn't allow them to make a move.

Kyren's [Patron of Destruction: Complete Annihilation] active aura title was active and an indescribable sense of impending doom towered over them. He currently seemed like a measly C~grade, but the others knew better.

It was much smarter to just let them pass without foolishly getting disturbing them.

The aura he was using was the least catastrophic out of all the aura abilities he owned, so he'd rather use this as a deterrent while avoiding any unnecessary attention.

Maya's curiosity got the better of her and she just needed to ask, "So why are we heading to the guild?"

"Hmm, to call in some favors from an old friend and something else."

"Oh?"

"It's nothing much..."

"*Sigh* Mysterious as always....." An unexpected surge of bravery appeared deep inside of her and she peeked at him and added in a low mumble, "Speaking of mysterious, exactly how strong are you?"

Everyone's been avoiding this question since the day he returned from his brief period of training. They've all been deathly curious but always hesitant to ask.

"What do you want me to use as a scale?"

"Eh?! Your open to tell me your secret?"

"It's not really a secret, you guys just never asked."

She grumbled and then looked away as she thought hard for a moment, "You're obviously no longer a mere mortal, so how many low~grade behemoths can you handle at once?"

"And this is if I go all out and I'm fully equipped?"

"Sure."

"Then thousands, maybe tens of thousands."

Maya nearly coughed up blood at his casual answer. Low-grade behemoths were the equivalent of a T~grade powerhouse. He was technically saying that he could obliterate the great heroes and absolute monsters like Ulysses... a couple of thousand times over.

If this was a joke, it wasn't funny.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

1: Shock and awe) (technically known as rapid dominance) is a tactic based on the use of overwhelming power and spectacular displays of force to paralyze the enemy's perception of the battlefield and destroy their will to fight.