Nylbar, one of the eight skymasters, was going through the monthly report of Nova Zephcross, standing next to his chair in the meeting hall. After all, he was assigned by the supreme skymaster with the duty to keep the disturbances of Zephcross in check, which meant that he had to eliminate threats like Volants in the four great skyreachers—namely Xytide the Northmost, Voxish the North, Imperos the South, and Desphon the Southmost—that formed Nova Zephcross by assigning missions to the several Legions created for this duty only.
In front of him sat the Masters of all the Hazard Combat Force Legions that were not on duty, so only three, and each with one commander of their Legion accompanying them. Master Telky of Legion 14 with Commander Valkian of her Legion, Master Myoxes of Legion 16 with Commander Myexish of his Legion, and Master Ulrak of Legion 17 with Commander Dririn of his Legion. In the presence of these accomplished leaders, the first topic of discussion would be…
"The Shrinegate that appeared in Welkis," Nylbar said, putting the stack of papers on the table, turning their attention toward the video screen. "There is no urgent matter than this at hand."
The introverted but just Master of Legion 17 raised his shaking hand before speaking, "Um… What about…Sonas? It's on the skybranch of Imperos only a single level beneath Welkis… Shouldn't we check out the activity of Volants in the capital city? Since…the last time we busted the skyshard dealers there, we found the resource in quantities of thousands."
Myoxes snorted loudly, such a large man could hardly do otherwise. "Quantities. It sounds funny near the end." Comments like these reminded everyone that he was only large in purely a physical sense.
Telky cleared her throat, keeping her golden eyes focused on the screen. "We're having a serious discussion about the future of the innocent civilians here." She didn't move her eyes. "If you think there is anything funny about that, you can get out of here."
"Cold as always," Myoxes said with a chuckle. "No wonder your hair's silver."
"What made you laugh at Ms. T, huh?" Valkian said coarsely. "And what was that last remark? Just because she's a stunning woman does not mean you can laugh at her."
Myoxes thinned his eyes in confusion. "What are you talking about, little guy?"
Telky sighed. "Sit down, Valkian." She still kept her eyes on the screen. "Forget about his reason for laughing, because he did not do that to begin with—and definitely not for the fact that I'm a woman."
Valkian sat promptly, looking straight on. The redheaded fellow was really lively. "Yes, Ms. T!" he said enthusiastically. "I apologize for being so foolish, but I'll still serve you without a second thought!"
Telky gestured at Nylbar to continue, ignoring Valkian.
"Sonas is indeed facing a little turmoil," Nylbar said, brushing his green bangs, "with illegal trades going about and the Volant Baru being in the center of it all. But he's nothing in comparison to what Welkis is facing right now.
"Delayed action can mean anything from loss of an opportunity to get precious resources like skallo to…the death of millions. We have to immediately take action on the Shrinegate that appeared in Welkis.
"And for that, I'm assigning you all to conquer it. Head to Welkis. Enter the Shrinegate. Conquer the Grandshrine. We can exploit its resources after the monsters that guard it are taken care of. A Shrine is a hub for Etherbeasts, so Welkis needs protection from them. And who is it going to be to protect the people in chaos if not the Hazard Combat Force?"
"Fluck yeah!" Myoxes said loudly, slamming both fists on the table around which they were sitting, almost breaking it. "This is the kind of mission I'm built for! Count me in, Skymaster!"
"Language, bro," Myexish said, eyes on the screen of her handheld gaming console. "Curses distract me." She was Myoxes's younger sister. Both had tan skin and curly black hair. Imperosian.
"I understand the objective, Skymaster," Telky said with a nod. "But how are we going to divide our troops? Are we to raid the Grandshrine as separate parties or in a collaborative assault?"
Ulrak twiddled his thumbs, the messy purple hair on his head hiding his spectacled eyes. "Thanks… I also wanted to ask that…"
"Good question," Nylbar said, pointing at the video screen. "You are going to divide your individual Legions into two groups: an attack group and a defense group. The attack groups are going to raid the Grandshrine while the defense groups are going to stay outside the Shrinegate and eliminate the Etherbeasts trying to enter it. I don't want a single casualty by Etherbeasts in Welkis. Most people won't have seen one of the bigger ones in person, only amplifying the danger those creatures bring. But more than that, the defense group also has another job.
"To stop Volants from raiding the Grandshrine by capturing them before they enter the Shrinegate."
"Do you think Zephcross has the level of Volants strong enough to raid a GRANDshrine?" Myoxes asked, resting his face on his right fist, the elbow of which was planted on the hand rest of his chair. "I can see Volants of Zephcross trying to raid a regular Shrine, but a GRAND one…not so much."
"We're here to eliminate danger before it even occurs, Legion Master Myoxes," Nylbar said, leaning on the table with both hands wide apart. "Our job is not only to destroy the danger that shows itself, but also to destroy the danger that hides. If there is even a 1% chance that a Volant squad is going to show up to raid the Grandshrine, one of the Shrinegates of which has opened in Welkis, we have to be prepared for it."
Ulrak raised his hand before speaking, "Can we make it so that instead of us dividing our individual Legions into two groups…we can simply divide the three Legions into either an attack group Legion or a defense group Legion."
Telky acknowledged the suggestion with a nod, turning her head toward Ulrak. "That works out even better in my opinion. In the first plan, if an Etherbeast gets through the defense groups and enters the Shrinegate, it will have to be dealt by the attack groups. That is not a problem on its own. But the meaning of an Etherbeast getting through a defense group basically means that the skyguards of that group failed to stop the Beast, dying in the process. This is a problem.
"But if an entire Legion is focused on stopping Etherbeasts from interfering with the raid, their Legion Masters spearheading the operation, protecting the people of Welkis and the areas that surround it in the process, there should not be any casualties—among the people OR the skyguards."
"Stunning!" Valkian clapped, smiling widely. "1 million points to Ms. T! Clearly she's the smartest person in this room. Let's follow her to the ends of infinity. Who's with me?"
"Please shut your mouth," Myexish said as she rubbed her little nose, playing on her handheld. "I'm trying to win this game. Your voice is distracting me."
Valkian leaned sideways, trying to look at the game she was playing. "Which title is it?"
"Skymon," Myexish replied. "Delta Cloud version."
"Aren't we just thinking a little too much here?" Myoxes said after he yawned. "It's just a bunch of dumb little animals. My skyguards will deal with the ones that approach the Shrinegate, while my commanders and I deal with the ones inside of it. Simple, effective, less wordy."
"I would've given that suggestion a thought if it were a regular Shrine we were talking about," Nylbar said with a shake of his head. "But since this is a Grandshrine, Ulrak's plan makes a whole lot more sense. Good job coming up with it, Legion Master Ulrak."
Ulrak flushed, trying to his face by tucking his chin. "Thank you…Skymaster…"
"So let's discuss which Legion will play the role of an attack group and which one will be a defense group," Telky said, pulling Valkian by his collar to bring him back into his seat. "Personally, based on the abilities that my commanders and I possess, we'd be much better if we raided the Grandshrine, since once inside the Shrinegate, it takes much more than raw power to survive."
"Was that a jab at me, Telky?" Myoxes said, grinning. "Then how about we find out what raw power can actually achieve by making a deal? How about this: we enter the Shrinegate at the same time and act as different groups. Of course, because we're both on the same side simply by being skyguards, we won't compete by fighting each other directly.
"We'll compete by racing to the center of the Grandshrine. The one who gets there first is the winner."
Telky did not remove her eyes from the video screen depicting the ripple effects of the appearance of past Shrinegates. With them, the Shrines always brought nothing but chaos. Etherbeasts would soon be a common sight in Welkis and so would be Volants. Shrines were like a flame to which the forces of chaos were attracted like moths. That was why it was today's main topic of discussion. An urgent problem to be solved.
"Stop this, Myoxes," Nylbar said with a sigh. "You'd two would be much better off if you simply cooperate with each other."
"It's on," Valkian said firmly. "Don't regret it later on, Legion Master Myoxes!"
"Say that to your own Legion Master, little guy," Myoxes said, turning away with satisfaction. He liked competition. But much more than that, Myoxes enjoyed achieving those things effortlessly that people worked extremely hard for.
"If you two are raiding the Grandshrine…" Ulrak said, not making eye contact with the other two Legion Masters. "My Legion can act as the defense group…"
Nylbar reached for his chin, silent in thought. Then he finally spoke, "There could be a massive misbalance if we go like this. I do not doubt your competence, Legion Master Ulrak, trust me. I'm just making sure to turn what we have by our side enough to protect the people in danger. And having a single Legion as a defense group…" He trailed off.
The door to the meeting room creaked open.
"This guy…" Myoxes said, rolling away his eyes.
"Kindly forgive my intrusion, Skymaster," the newcomer said, approaching the table. "But I just returned from my mission and wanted to ask if you needed me."
"Let's not act like we don't know that you overheard everything we talked about, Legion Master Texal," Nylbar said to the Master of Legion 19 that showed up in the meeting room just now. "But now that you're here, I appoint your Legion as a defense group along with Master Ulrak's Legion 16. I'm sure you know the context already."
Texal grinned, bowing gracefully. "I accept the mission, Skymaster." The man's mustache had very long ends and he had no eyebrows. He was a shade lighter than Myoxes, but darker than Valkian. He had his hair split in the middle, always slick wet.
"He gives me bad vibes," Valkian said. "Negative points for his creepy grin."
"Alright, the mission had been assigned," Nylbar said, leaning away from the table. "Legion 14 and Legion 16 will put their combined efforts in raiding the Grandshrine through the Shrinegate in Welkis with the singular objective of conquering it.
"While Legion 17 and Legion 19 will assist them by not letting any potential threats—like Etherbeasts and Volants—enter the Shrinegate and dealing with them outside of it to save the people throughout the city and its surrounding areas. Any questions?"
"No, Skymaster!" the others said in unison.
"That's great, Legion Masters," Nylbar said, finally sitting. "You are dismissed. Protect the people. Conquer the Grandshrine."