70 Guests in the Nigh (1/2)
The patients continued to enter one at a time. Each soldier was around the same height of 2 meters. Ray had wanted the superhuman battalion to be as consistent as possible in capabilities.
As Ed continued the surgeries, he got sidetracked by other issues. One soldier unknowingly had cancer. Another soldier had a surprisingly well-hidden injury in his leg. Yet another had a heart murmur they were likely born with. Ed simply melted the problem areas and replaced them with new flesh. This caused the initial two-day estimate to expand to three days, as almost half the soldiers had some hidden health problems. He needed these soldiers in top condition. They would likely be the most important factor in deciding the war.
Soon, all the surgeries finished. Ed returned to his quarters and entered a deep sleep.
”Kekeke.” A shadow laughed. ”We meet again.”
'Are you kidding me?!' Ed groaned internally while staring at the empty white space. He sighed while rubbing his forehead. ”What do you want this time?”
”Nothing I want.” The shadow replied.
”You're not going to hold our last meeting against me?” He questioned.
”Of course not. Nexus is a place of business first and foremost. Our disagreement was resolved by a third party. Forgive and forget. I'm not the type to hold a grudge.” The shadow moved closer, wanting to wrap around Ed's body, but he stepped back to avoid it this time.
”Kekeke.” The shadow laughed again. ”Don't you want to hear why I called you here?”
Ed frowned. ”You know, I read a psychology book recently. You move closer to others and make them feel trapped. This uncomfortable closeness makes others more likely to spill their secrets, so I'd appreciate you keeping your distance.”
”Tsk.” The shadow harrumphed. ”It's not like I ever successfully tricked you into giving my any useful information for free. Anyways, I'll get to the main point, as I've got other meetings tonight. As thanks for the manullium, this magnanimous shadow has decided to pass you a free warning. The assassins will arrive in one hour. They were paid quite well by Governor Bustion. As for your survival odds...” The shadow teetered left and right while thinking a moment. ”I'd say you stand about a 5% chance of winning. Good luck!”
The dimension shattered apart, and Ed woke up in his room. 'Assassins huh? If it was a few days earlier then I might worry and come up with some tricks, but that's hardly necessary. I doubt Governor Bustion has gotten the news of our newest battalion yet. Still, there's no chance of hiding it until the start of the war. No time like the present to put it to use.”
He calmly got dressed and slipped on his Harmony mask. Leaving the room, he walked past several apartments and knocked on a door.
”Yes?” Ray answered, wearing nothing but a pair of boxers.
”Prepare the new battalion for their first battle.” He ordered.
”Battle?!” Ray's eyes widened in surprise. ”But we've barely gotten any training in? The newer guys have only trained for a few hours in total while the older ones have only trained for a couple days.”
”The enemy comes to us, not us to them. We don't have the luxury of choosing this time around. You've got less than an hour before they arrive. Be fully prepared within 30 minutes.”
”Alright.” Ray nodded. ”I'll get dressed and get the orders out.” He picked up a mana-radio off the wall and spoke some orders into it. The soldiers would mostly be ready before he would even get there.
Ed left the building and walked into the dark and silent night. Beams of light radiated from the moon and reflected off his mask and eyes within the darkness. He calmly enjoyed the view while waiting for Ray.
A few moments later, Ray arrived. ”Let's go.” He said as he began jogging towards the training field.
They soon arrived at the training field, which was outside of the main base. It was an empty field consisting mostly of dirt and some patches of mud. Some targets and obstacles were also setup around the field. The 200 superhumans were already lined up in perfect formation. Twenty rows with 10 soldiers within each row.
”LISTEN UP!” Ray yelled loudly. ”We'll be facing our first battle in just a few moments! We don't know the number of the enemy not anything about their powers! However, we do know they're assassins sent after our glorious leader, Forge! Naturally, they should have enough strength to carry out their mission. That is, if they're not expecting us. We'll kill the enemies and prove our worth to Harmony!”
”General!” A chorus of voices rang out as the soldiers simultaneously saluted.
The large group stood silently within the darkness. Not even a whisper existed as they anxiously waited. Some clenched their hands in nervousness. Others had burning excitement within their eyes. Ed calmly watched the skies.
”What makes you so sure they're coming from the sky and not the ground?” Ray questioned.
”I'm not certain.” He shook his head. ”However, it's what I would do if I was an assassin that assumed my target didn't know I was coming. It's faster to travel in the air than by ground. It provides a completely free range of movement in all directions. It gives a height advantage. It allows for easier escaping. Basically, the advantages are far too numerous to give up. They could also attack from underground, but then they're screwed if they fail the initial attack. It'd be very hard to escape in that scenario.”
”Oh.” Ray nodded in understanding. ”What if they can't fly? Not many espers can?”
”Then the governor underestimated me drastically.” He smiled. ”In that case, your men can just enjoy the show.”
Suddenly, Ed spotted 5 figures far in the distance. He could only see the vague outlines of their bodies within the darkness. As they got closer, the moonlight allowed him to see their actual appearances.
An esper with short white hair was glowing with a white light. The light carried his four teammates behind him. The left-most esper had red skin and an ogre-like body. He even wore tiger skin clothing to complete the look. The woman next to him was a charming beauty with long black hair and a black dress. The right-most esper was a bald monk with black skin. However, it was not ordinary black skin. It was darker than pitch-black. The dark night appeared bright when compared to him. The final esper had no particularly distinguishing characteristics. He looked like an ordinary person you would meet anywhere, his face completely forgettable. However, he carried a strange metal box on his back.
”Looks like the show is about to begin.” Ed grinned. ”I'll go greet them first. If things go south, then I'll head over here.”
”Got it.” Ray nodded. ”Be careful.”
Flames blasted from his feet as he shot into the sky. He flew forward several hundred meters and waved at the arriving espers. ”Hey! You guys are finally here. I need to catch up on my sleep, so let's get this over with.”
The leading white-haired esper frowned. ”How did you know of our arrival?”