Chapter 280 I’ll Return
It came with the sound of skittering. Like an onrushing wave of water, vibrating the ground as it approached with millions of tiny earthquakes.
Van woke up with a start. Feeling the earth even through the floor of the wagon he was resting in. Already sounds of alarm were ringing out as people fled to their battle stations in the hope of living through whatever onrushing torrent was out to get them.
He soon joined them, quickly changing into his battle gear. Donning a form fitting armor given out to him during the first week of his new stay with the seniors, and mentally reaching out to all his girls and making sure they were wide awake and ready.
Getting out of the wagon he clambered onto its side and flew up the ladder to stand on its roof and peer into the distance. What he saw terrified him.
“I fucking hate bugs…”
An army of cockroach like monsters with deep red eyes and rust covered bodies swarmed towards the wagon train in the tens of thousands. All of them the size of large dogs or bigger with sharp pointed legs and strange claw-like appendages meant for grasping and tearing into flesh.
It didn’t take long for people to begin shouting orders. Flares flew into the air, brightening the dark sky like burning red eyes, revealing the oncoming horde. Soldiers ran to their formations as archers and mages climbed on top of carriages and wagons. A few seconds later new orders were yelled and the archers began firing out towards the incoming wave of monsters. At first a drizzle, and then a shower, with the occasional fireball or frost lance thrown in for good measure.
“FIRE!” Engineers shouted to their comrades as they pointed the ballista towards their enemies and flung large spear-like bolts. The giant sized arrows flew through the air, and upon landing their runes activated and they detonated in electric or fiery explosions.
But the roaches seemed to care not one bit for the loss of life around them. Instead they pushed ever forward with the weight of their numbers until reaching the first line of defense.
“THEIR ALREADY AT THE PALISADE! READJUST AND FIRE!”
Another wave of bolts showered the roaches. Bug guts splattered and flew in every direction.
More orders were yelled and mages began to chant, empowering the mana shield that protected the caravan and making it shimmer with new found power. The bugs after dealing with the palisade crashed into the barrier and began trying to climb on top of it. The sight of so many creepy crawlies swarming the only thing between them and you was nightmare inducing to say the least…
Van rushed towards the center of the camp and joined the mages empowering the barrier. He then began to add his own energy to it, he had a lot of mana to spare, and with him helping, the shield became stronger and the mages felt less drained, allowing them to conserve their energies for later.
The soldiers lined up around the outer layer of wagons as the roaches began to dig under the barrier once they realized they couldn’t clamber over it or claw through it. When they did they hit a few mines placed there just in case of emergencies, but that only slowed them down…
Van felt the deaths of a few of his girls through his shared link with them. Karmine, Kella, Ashina, Adela and more were fighting with everything they had to kill as many bugs as they could before they were overwhelmed. The silver ranked vampire knight yelled orders alongside Eliza as they stood on top of one of the wagons. Rearranging the formation of troops and directing the next salvos of arrow fire whenever necessary. When a particular area was under too much pressure. The knight would rush in to alleviate the situation before returning to the wagon and issuing new orders once more.
The sounds of battle and death carried well into the night. Even for him, it was a hard fought battle to help empower the barrier that protected everyone and stopped the larger part of the roach horde from simply overrunning them. Hours passed and he felt his girls grow tired and slowly die one by one. Their deaths made him feel helpless as he was unable to move from his spot, chanting alongside Jynx and the other mages to make sure the barrier stayed up no matter what. Even as a few of them began to titter on the brink of exhaustion, with two of them simply passing out before giving up on their duty.
When daybreak finally arrived, the horde turned to scattered from what little light that seeped in through the constant dark clouds of Alcray. But relief was not so easy to come to the people who fought tooth and nail all night for their survival. Instead they were left to pick up the pieces of their comrades that were not eaten by the roaches while clearing the land of the piles of bug corpses. Burning and stabbing what remained of them to make sure they were well and truly dead.
It took all morning to count the dead and piece all the bodies. Later the vampire knight and Eliza had come to the conclusion that they had to turn back. This one night alone had seen a senior die and almost half of their forces gone.
Over a thousand troops had left for the wastes. And in one day, little more than half that was gone. Van himself left with about a hundred and twenty troops. Only thirty remained… And while bruised and a little worse for wear. At least, Kella, Karmine, Ashina and Adela were okay.
The caravan slowly turned around and began their trek back home. A two week expedition to help clear the wastes of monsters had ended in one day.
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“What’s this for? Van asked as Eliza handed him a silver medal.
It was the morning of the next day and they were back in the canteen. A wave of clapping was heard from the seniors as their leader handed over the medal.
“This is a medal for exemplary service in the midst of battle.” Eliza said.
“But… I didn't do anything, I just stayed in the center and helped power the barrier.” Looking confused and feeling like this was too much for the little he did.
Eliza shook her head. “I heard it all from Jynx and the others. If it weren’t for you, we would all be dead.”
Now he felt even more confused. “But all I did was help power the barrier. What else could I have done to warrant a medal?” Feeling very undeserving of such an award.
“That’s where you are wrong Van. If it weren’t for you, the barrier would have fallen and we would have all died. Jynx and everyone else said so.”
“But-”
“Just take it!” Jynx said, walking up to him. “We were on our last legs. If it weren't for you we would have all collapsed under the weight of those monsters. And if that were to happen, then the barrier would have broken and we would all be dead. You earned this.”
There was a nodding of heads from the crowd of seniors, all in agreement with Jynx’s words. A few even thanked him for his help in healing the injured right after the battle and saving even more lives.
“I… Don’t know what to say…” Not sure if it still was right for him to have such a thing.
“Just keep it for now. You never know when it will come in handy in the future. A symbol like this can give you some nice perks in a few well known stores and establishments. And this was something not only we but even our knight escort agreed on. At this point, it would be rude not to accept it.” Eliza explained.
Van looked down on the medal. Still on sure if he had the right to such a thing. But accepting it for now since it was clear they were not going to let him not keep it. “Alright… I’ll hold on to it for now…”
“Great! Now that’s over, let’s get ready for the party tonight!” Jynx said in enjoyment. “Were going to get so fucking DRUNK!”
There was a small cheer, though a bit hollow. It was clear the party was more for the dead that departed than just for the fact they were able to survive the ordeal they went through. He wasn’t going to complain though. He understood the need to let loose and cope after the bloodshed and horror that just happened.
The school also gave them a week off from their patrols and drills, not to mention their vigil for the dead they were planning. Plus another month or so for their other duties that required their troops and such. Just the thought of going through that again any time soon made a chill run down Van’s spine. But it was their duty to do so, and while he wished he could never step foot into the wastes again. If his platoon was going, so would he… There was no way he was going to let people die who he could save just because he was afraid. That just wasn’t him…
More importantly, he will take this lesson to heart. As much as he didn’t like to see himself as some sort of sex object. It was made clear to him more than ever why this world views males more like cum banks than anything else. It was because of the massive amounts of death that could happen at a moment's notice. Which meant that he was going to do what was necessary to help increase his chances of survival. Not just for him, but for those he cared about.
Which meant a whole lot of fucking and breeding…
He wasn’t looking forward to it. But now that he had his platoon counting on him, he couldn't simply let them down…
“Van, you okay?” Hardass asked him.
He hadn’t realized it, but he had been staring into space while everyone else had moved on and grabbed a bite to eat. He blinked his thoughts away and shook his head. “I’m fine… Just a lot to process is all.”
Hardass nodded and patted him on the shoulder. “Unless you're a monster, it doesn’t get easier... But we have to remind ourselves that we are still living, and for the living, we have to live for… Never forget you have your wife, your lovers, your friends, family, classmates and now your platoon. We're there for you, so make sure, no matter what, you are there for us. Not in helping us fight monsters or anything like that, but by simply living, because that’s the best thing you can do for them. Live.”
She moved away. “I’ll see you tonight at the party. Some of the girls want to talk to you personally and thank you for everything you’ve done. You don’t have to come, but it would be appreciated.”
Van watched her back as she walked away. After a while he came to a decision and looked around for Scar. finding her he walked up to her as she put her drink down noticing his approach. He stood there awkwardly for a moment before he took a deep breath and finally decided to talk to her about what was on his mind.
“Umm Scar… About not helping out in the… Breeding stuff… I think I want to change my mind. I don’t want to change the fields I've chosen, but I do want to help out in replenishing the troops we’ve lost.” He hesitated. “If that’s okay…”
Scar raised a brow at that, but slowly nodded. “Of course it’s okay. I can arrange for a few meet ups if you want. There are a few soldiers we’ve been wanting to breed for a while. There is also the matter of stress relief, if you are interested.”
Van thought about it before nodding himself. “Yes, I'll help out there too if necessary.”
“Thank you Van, I'll arrange a schedule for you. Now that we have that out of the way…” She leaned in, her eyes appraising him. “What can we do for you in return?”
Van took a deep breath, wondering if he really was that easy to figure out. “I want my girls to be trained harder and given better equipment. Sure they are a few that are clearly above the rest. But I couldn’t help but notice that the rest were… Lagging behind compared to everyone else's…”
Scar agreed. “Yes, I noticed that myself. But is this really all you're asking?” Tilting her head.
Van nodded. “I’m not that greedy.” He hesitated. “But I may want more from you and the others in the future. I simply don’t know what I need now, but that could change. For now I just want to make sure my girls don’t die so easily anymore. Each and everyone of them is important to me.
Scar held his eyes for a good long while before nodding. “Alright, I’ll make sure everyone pulls their resources to give your girls the best training and equipment we can afford. In exchange you help out with breeding and stress relief. Is that fine with you?”
Van nodded. “Yes, that’s fine with me.”
The two shook hands.
“I think I’ll be seeing you soon Van.”
“I’ll be seeing you soon Scar.”
After that Van went to his room to rest. He told Luna everything, not keeping a thing from her. She quietly listened and didn’t judge him for his decision. She simply accepted it as fact and silently hugged him to show him her support.
Van napped for the rest of the day. When a knock on his door woke him up.