The Innkeeper



Despite having the Silent Wanderer for a long time, Lex had never actually spent much time in it. He had familiarized himself with it, sure, but that included nothing more than a simple tour. He also did not know how to pilot it yet, although it was certainly on his agenda. Cirk, however, had piloted it in both simulations and in real life, although in person he did nothing more than simple systems checks.

Although compared to other ships the silent wanderer was tiny, in reality it was quite big. It had four-bed rooms, a kitchen, a large storage area, a main hall and a cockpit where only two pilots could enter. If they decided to cramp people inside, up to 30 people could fit inside the Wanderer but any more would be problematic. This was also why he made preparations to send the soldiers back via teleportation rather than taking them back through his ship.

With not much else to do, Lex joined Cirk in the cockpit, where he was busy turning the ship on and preparing for launch. The platform it was parked on was already moving, so by the time the ship finished its startup sequence, it would be ready to go.

Although everything was proceeding smoothly, or so it seemed, Lex did not drop his guard. At the first sign of trouble, he was ready to pull those bombs out.

"If there are no problems, and we move at maximum speed, how long will it take us to reach BGY-987?" Lex asked, his eyes still trained on all the guards outside.

"If there are no hurdles and everything goes smoothly, with the Silent Wanderer's Hyperdrive systems, we can reach it within nine days. An ordinary ship would require two weeks at least."

Lex pursed his lips but said nothing. Nine days was a very long time. He hoped nothing amiss would happen. He was already doing the best that he could. Amidst the cold fury that reigned in his mind at the moment, a tinge of sadness briefly appeared.

Twenty minutes later, the ship was completely turned on and had been brought into the launch formation. Silently, true to its name, the ship rose into the air, and then launched into the atmosphere. Within just a few seconds, it was already out of sight. The more incredible thing was… it also escaped all their radars!

The stealth technology on this ship was more advanced than ordinary military ships used even by the alliance.

The celestial elf finally turned his gaze from the ship to the dwarf.

"Just tell me who put you up to it," the elf said, not bothering with the gimmicks. For putting the entire base at risk, whoever the instigator was, they were in for a world of trouble.

Before the dwarf had time to confess, the celestial also ordered a detailed report on the planet Lex had investigated. Apparently, there was something wrong with the situation there. If an outsider noticed before them, it would be an embarrassment to them all.

*****

Within the fort, Luthor was meditating with his eyes closed when he heard the Innkeeper's words.

"The enemy probably knows help is coming. Prepare accordingly."

The instructions were simple, but a flash of light shone through Luthor's eye. Since the battalion deployed the mech, both Luthor and Z needed to rest for they had been exhausted much more than the rest. It could not be helped, both of their individual abilities had been used to power the entire mech.

This in itself was not a problem, but Luthor felt very dissatisfied only sitting and defending. He was basically allowing the enemy to do as they pleased. For a time, such a strategy made sense, but now that they were in contact with the Midnight Inn, they could take greater risks. Especially now that the enemy might know reinforcements were coming, allowing them to continue setting the pace of this war would be a mistake.

Looking at it logically, the Innkeeper's words were a warning to protect themselves. But in Luthor's ears, they were akin to a go ahead for what he was thinking.

Slowly and deliberately, Luthor stood up, allowing his muscles to flex and stretch as he fixed his pose. His joints cracked, and he rotated his hands and stretched his legs. When he was ready, he stepped out of the room. Although not much had changed, the aura around Luthor was a lot more intimidating than even when he was wreaking havoc on the battlefield.

"Gerard, call a meeting with the elves and minotaurs. Also, have the battalion prepare for deployment."

The reliable old man only nodded, though he moved his hand through his own hair, ruffling them. No one knew what the action represented, and the man did not explain either. After all, he was just reminiscing about the feeling of having the wind blow through his hair. It had been a while since he drove a golf cart.

Since Luthor had not been silent, his words had been overheard by many others who were around the area. While the battalion had unwavering faith in Luthor, the others became restless. Whether they wanted to admit it or not, they were depending on the battalion for a majority of their defense. If they left, the fort's defenses would be compromised to a large degree.

Only a couple of minutes passed before the two leaders made their way to Luthor, confusion and concern clearly painted on their faces.

"How is everything going?" he asked.

"It's going fine. Just as you predicted, there was no gap in the attacks, and new waves continue to come every thirty minutes even now. But we're holding on for now."

"Good. The fort has been reinforced multiple times and you have a bunch of formations in place as well to support you. You should be able to hold out on your own for a while. The battalion is heading out."

"That's absurd! You'll die!" the elf exclaimed, startled.

"No, we won't. Sitting around is not really our style, and letting the enemy plot uninterrupted is also not good. Moreover, one of my scouts reported another group resisting the Void Dwellers. We're going to go out, strike the enemy, and bring back those other survivors."

The two tried to protest or change Luthor's mind, but it was already made up.

Luthor did not need to explain to anyone besides the battalion, and since the battalion never questioned him, he did not bother to explain at all.

Standing on the fort wall, Luthor looked at all the battalion members once. In some he saw fatigue, in some he saw excitement. Some of them looked fresh, as if they had just taken a nap, while others looked like they were in serious need of a rest. But no matter what, none of them looked afraid, or hesitant for that matter.

"There is an enemy targeting us," he said simply before turning to look out at the horizon. "The Innkeeper has already sent help. They are on their way. The only question is, when they arrive, will they find us hiding out in a hole like cowards, or will they find us out there fighting?"

His words were not loud or forced. He had spoken calmly and turned before receiving any response at all. But the response he was looking for was not one of words, anyway.

When the battalion took their first step behind him, the ground trembled under their uniform stomp.

As the battalion began their march, it was not just their stomping that shook their ground. An aura began to rise, not from individuals, but from the battalion as a whole. It was an aura of a wrath tamed, of a fury held back, of a monster waiting to be unleashed.

In front of them a tear opened and a fresh wave of Void Dwellers poured out, before they quickly began to pounce towards them. Yet the soldiers of Midnight did not stop or hesitate, but only started to march faster, until they almost entered a run.

When the two sides met, it was not a clash, but a clean slice. Without losing any momentum at all, they cut through the Void Dwellers and approached the tear. But instead of releasing more Dwellers, the tear closed as if afraid of the battalion itself.

But none of them showed any pride in such a minor victory. As they had done so many times before already, this time they did not march out to gain small victories, but to change the tide of the war.

Luthor set the direction. They were not heading towards the Marzu first, who were the only other survivors on the planet. No, they were going towards where the demons had gathered. If the enemy was trying to build something, then they would knock it down. If there was going to be a monument on this planet, it would only be made of the corpses of their enemies and nothing else. 

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