"Sir! It seems that the local pack is on the move to Radzig's manor tonight," a voice reports from behind Jin.
"What? Didn't your scouts tell me that they won't be attacking until next month?" Jin turns around to look at his underling, a tall man named John. The night sky and hood hid John's face so that Jin couldn't see his expressions. However, Jin could still see that John's boots were shaking a little as he reported back to Jin.
"Yes, that's what they reported to me too. However, just a few hours ago, Henry sent me a letter with his bat stating that the werewolves were on the move. He said that they were most likely seizing Radzigs manor today and that he would track their movements secretly," John proceeds to take out a letter from his satchel and hands it over to Jin.
As Jin reads the letter to confirm what John is saying, he asks, "Has there been any more news from Henry?"
"No sir. We haven't heard a word from him since the letter he sent. It must've been at least 2 hours now since the werewolves set out."
"I see," Jin pauses for a few seconds to think about his next course of actions, "tell every squad leader in camp to get ready for combat. We'll have a briefing in 15 minutes and come meet me in my private quarters once you're done."
"Yes sir. I'll take my leave now," John quickly turns around and rushes out of the tent to relay the information to the squad leaders.
Jin paces around the small tent while planning a strategy in his head. The tent was called the "command station" but had only a few chairs and a large table on it. On the table, there is a large, detailed map of Radzig's manor. The surrounding territory is also included on the map such as the woods, roads, rivers, towns, and a few other manors that belonged to other lords. There were a few markers on the map that indicated the werewolf, vampire, and human forces.
Jin takes a few of the werewolf markers from the woods nearby and repins them onto Radzig's manor. He stares at the map as he continues to think about the strategy.
'Not much information is known right now. Our scouts have told us that there are around 12-30 werewolves in the camp but I'm not sure if all of them have left for Radzig's manor or just a small team left. We haven't heard anything from Henry for a while now so he may be captured or dead. We also don't know why they suddenly decided to attack so early... unless they found out that Radzig was planning on ripping them off from the very beginning.'
Jin continues to ponder about the situation until he heard someone clearing their throat.
"Ahem, I have relayed the information to all 5 squad leaders. They're getting their units ready for combat and will be reporting to the mission briefing in a few minutes," John reports to Jin as he enters the tent.
Jin looks up from the map, "Good, follow me to my private quarters."
"Yes sir."
Jin walks out of the command station and John follows him. Outside the tent, the two of them can see squad leaders rushing around and giving orders to the normal grunts. Everyone was relaxing since it was quite late at night and nobody expected any combat tonight. However, their peaceful night came to an abrupt end as they scrambled to find wear their armor, get their weapons, and find their other squadmates.
Jin continues to see his men rushing around to get ready for combat as he walks to his private quarters which is another tent with two guards in front. His guards were both already in their combat armor which is made from a mix of black leather and thin iron plates. The armor that each soldier was issued comes with a hard leather breastplate, thin iron gauntlets, boots, and a cloak with a hood attached to it. All pieces were dyed black to provide stealth at night. His two guards also carried a spear and they were a part of his own personal squad.
"Sir!" His guards straightened up as Jin approaches them.
"At ease," Jin tells his guards as he walks by them and into his tent. John follows quickly behind Jin. There was nothing fancy about Jin's quarters; he has a sleeping bag, table, armor stand, and a chest inside. There weren't many decorations that can be seen since the camp was only a temporary one. Jin walks up to the armor stand and quickly puts his gear on. Although he was the commander, he didn't receive any special treatment or armor. The reason why is so that the enemies would have a harder time distinguishing who the leaders and higher up were.
"Are you ready?" John asks from the entrance of the tent.
"Not yet," John approaches his chest by the sleeping bag and takes a key out from his pocket. He unlocks the chest carefully and looks inside to see two sheathed swords lying there. Vanji characters are engraved on the blade and hilt of each sword. Jin picks up the sword on top which was a little longer than the one on the bottom.
The moment Jin's fingers touch the sword, the characters on it light up and illuminates the room in bright red light. Power surges out from the blade and enters Jin's body. He could feel the supernatural strength contained in the sword trying to rush out even though it couldn't. Jin attaches the sheath to his side and the sword stops glowing. Jin felt the power subside as he turns around to look at John.
"Take the second one in there," Jin picks up and the second blade and tosses it to John.
"Isn't this an Okami blade?!" John catches the blade and examines it with curiosity and shock.
"Yes, it is"
"Are you sure I can have such an honor?!"
"Of course. You've served me for 14 years now and left your family behind. You have proven your loyalty to the royal family. They authorized and created an Okami blade for you after I requested it. You need to finish the ritual before you can use it."
"Of course," John uses the blade to slice his palm open and blood drips onto the blade. The blade absorbs the blood and the dark Vanji characters on it slowly turn red. As blood continues to drip onto the sword, the characters continue to glow brighter and brighter until suddenly a rush of icy air explodes from the blade.
Jin grits his teeth as the icy air force him back a few steps. Frost creeps along the floor and the table turns over and crashes onto the floor. The temperature drops significantly as his two guards run into his tent only to be sent back out from the pressure.
Slowly, the cold pressure lets up and the frost stops spreading along the floor. The characters are still glowing but not as brightly as before. Every time someone forms a blood contract with an Okami weapon, there is almost always an expulsion of power. Usually, the power that is released during the ritual shows the element of the weapon along with how powerful it is. The more destruction that the weapon unleashes during the contract, the more powerful it would be.
"Sir," one of his guards gets up from the ground, "What was that?"
"John formed his first contract with an Okami blade. You've never seen one before have you?" Jin helps the other guard get up.
"No sir."
"It a powerful weapon crafted by the royal family weaponsmith. I'm not sure how the process works but it's made from a special mineral along with a werewolf's core. Vampire blood seals the contract and the weapon is bound to the owner. You might get one if you distinguish yourself in battle."
"Yes sir, I'll try my best."
"Should we get going now?" John asks Jin as he sheathes his new Okami blade. The red glow from the sword fades away until they couldn't be seen anymore.
"Yes, it seems as though everyone is ready now. Let's go," Jin walks back towards the command station, and his men follow him.