Karl rolled his eyes at the smug General.
“Well, I still don’t have a Royal Rank head as a trophy for my dorm room. I suppose a Frost Giant will have to do. A bit large for the display case, but such is life.” He answered while everyone else paused, not taking the bait as the General tried to goad them into something that would give him an excuse to put a black mark on their records.
General Orland, the Royal Rank General with the harsh voice, which Karl suspected might be due to a previous throat injury that was hidden below his collar and tie, gave him a knowing smile.
As always, when the Elites with bureaucratic titles met with the Mercenary Elites, it had turned into a dick measuring contest.
The battle hardened General knew full well that his smug counterpart couldn’t even keep up with the pace of their group, and he had likely never killed a monster his own rank or higher in his life. So, the easiest way for Karl to get a rise out of him was to treat the death of a Royal Rank enemy as just another trophy hunt.
And it was working.
“If it’s such a trivial matter, then I will be expecting to hear positive news of your success very soon.” The portly man replied.
“Good things take time, General. Like a well cooked meal, you must be patient until everything is just right. I suspect you’re familiar with that particular anticipation.” Karl agreed.
General Orland glared between the two of them and raised his voice for the first time.
“Enough. Both of you cut it out or take it outside to hold a combat trial. The mission has been demanded by the Central Government, and approved as necessary by the Bureau of Elite Development and the Army. Your combined team has been volunteered by regional draw, so I will provide you with the information that we have on the situation.” He insisted.
Then he said the words combat trial, the portly General turned his head away, no longer feeling like fighting, so Karl focused on the task at hand.
“He’s a spicy one, isn’t he?” The General seated on the far right whispered to Doug as General Orland began to outline the situation around the cavern where the Royal Rank Giant was suspected to be hiding.
“He used to be so humble and polite. I think he’s getting it from his bonded beasts. He’s got a Bloodbath Spider with him, and if it were up to her, there would already be someone shouting for a medic.” Doug whispered back.
Karl could clearly hear him, as could General Orland, but the others were both mages, and lacked superhuman senses.
The quiet General nodded without changing his expression. In a confined space, not even General Orland was likely to be fast enough to prevent a Commander Rank Beast like that from carrying out at least the first strike.
[What would they need a medic for? I’d eat his face without even needing to ambush him.] Rae chuckled in amusement.
Karl ignored her taunting to focus on the intelligence reports, and found that while the indicated spot was a fair distance from the border, there were no major forces or cities in between them and the site. At least that part had been well judged.
The threat inside the cavern complex under the ruins was unknown, but thought to be at least ten Commander Rank Giants, plus their Royal Rank leader. That would normally be enough to take out any team that the humans might send to try to destroy the summoning ritual, but there was no guarantee that they hadn’t saved a last batch of summoned Giants underground as well.
The reports said that it should no longer be active, as there hadn’t been any troops sent out since the volcano incident, but that was no guarantee.
“How long do you need to prepare?” General Orland asked once his briefing was complete.
Bob looked over at Karl and subtly shrugged. They were already intending on heading back to the battlefield, but they could tell the General that they needed a few days, or some particular supplies, before they returned if Karl wanted to delay a little.
“Just a quick restock of our hygiene and other supplies, and we should be good to go.”
They had been in the field far longer than usual, and it was normal to only carry a small amount of unscented soap and shampoo with you. But, with the warm Dwarven Village, they could wash regularly, so they were running out, and hadn’t been filthy until they crossed the ash plains to get here to the front lines.
“The supply tent is fully stocked with anything that you might need. Will you be leaving in the next few days?” General Orland asked.
Karl looked at Bob, and the older Elite’s face took on a deceptively innocent smile.
“I’m afraid that we have much to do, General. Once we have resupplied, we will be leaving again within the hour. If you could ensure that one of the wagons our team and the refugees arrived in is still available, we would appreciate it.”
The overweight General glared at the team with growing suspicion. There had to be a reason that they were rushing right back into battle after only recently having returned to civilization. But the part that he failed to realize was that they were more comfortable in their hidden camp than in the small town that the army had taken over as their base.
General Orland waved his hand toward the door. “In that case, don’t let us keep you. It’s a long walk back to the border, and you don’t want to be caught out in the ash overnight.”
Once they were well away from the command building, Tori sighed and turned back to glare at it.
“Are we the only Elites on the entire front? If they had already developed such a detailed plan, complete with routing and estimated numbers, they could have sent someone a week ago.” She muttered.
They likely had, and it hadn’t worked out for the last group, which was why they had such a detailed plan this time, but nobody wanted to say that out loud.
“Well, at least we will have plenty of soap and shampoo again. I hope that nobody took the time to shave because we’re about to go right back into the heart of the cold.” Doug laughed.
Ophelia took the nearly depleted smoke from his hand and finished it off with one long drag.
“At this point, I’m not certain whether my legs are hairier in this form or as a Werebear.” She joked.
The soldiers passing by did a double take when they heard that from the muscular berserker, who they hadn’t expected to be a shape-shifter.
The supply Sergeant gave a similarly startled look at the group as they approached. There hadn’t been anyone coming or going from the base in a while, they were only holding position near the ash, so new faces were an unexpected sight for him.
“What can I do for you?” He asked as Karl led the group in.
“Mostly hygiene supplies for everyone. Then one new multitool for me, and whatever the others need.” Karl replied, then shifted, so the man could scan the Commander Rank badge he had pinned to the tabard of his armour.
“Got it. Combined team with ten members in total, on official military assignment. That makes it easy, I’ll grab the kits while the Corporal takes the rest of the orders.”
The Sergeant disappeared into the back room before the Corporal on duty could even put his book down and realize that he had just been volunteered to take the orders of ten Elites in need of supplies.
Everyone had broken or worn out something during the trip, and this was their last chance to get it fixed before they headed back into the cold. Plus, as a military assignment, as long as the item they requested was regular military issue, they could just have it.
For the Clerics, that was bonus loot. They could replace any worn out tools or utensils and nobody would ask any questions. The army had some good stuff that the Clergy always wanted to have, lightweight and made for durability, but more expensive than what the Clerics were issued by the church.
“I have a list.” Lotus announced with a smile, passing over the running tally of damaged and worn items that her and Tessa had been keeping since the war started. If the Army was offering, the Priestess wasn’t about to hold back.
