In a defensive outpost of the ravaged capital city of the republic of Lechia, the last surviving soldier of an outpost, a communication officer, was trapped in grave circumstances.
He was on the ground under the darkness of the night, gazing at the newly arrived individuals who he could only conclude as the enemy kriegers, the survivors of the Romanus offensive.
From the looks of it, his death was near.
'Is this it?' A questioning thought was trapped within his silent and cold mind. Under his gas mask was an emotionless expression. No fear escaped his face despite his shaking body. Somewhat strange and appalling, yet interesting at the same time.
"This city was the planned rendezvous point."
"And here you are wasting a lot of your time dealing with them, Amon."
"Along with many foolish others, you are introducing your existence to the Imperium."
A lady-like voice escaped from one of the figures hidden in the night. It was somewhat seductive and calm, clearly pointing towards the Krieger assassin who brought massacre to the defensive outpost.
The Krieger assassin didn't have that much reaction to the lady's words and indifferently replied. "I don't want you to tell me what to do. Besides, I'm still not satisfied with what happened in Romanus."
The assassin named Amon seems to be hot-headed despite sounding aloof, signifying the events of the Romanus changing the mindset of a supposedly calm assassin.
He wasn't satisfied with the republic's loss in the Romanus defensive. The loss was the hammer in the anvil that brought about the fall of their government, with only their military personnel left to fend for themselves.
"Why are we even staying here to begin with?"
"We already lost the war. Staying here would make the Imperium kriegers start a campaign on hunting every one of us until no one is left alive." A soft voice from a young girl said, and it was entirely different from the seductive voice of the lady.
"I have the same thoughts. I'm sure that all of you know the power of the Imperium kriegers. They are monsters that we can never fight against." Another republican Krieger voiced out.
The remaining republican kriegers had already lost their determination to fight against the Imperium. All hope was lost, and there was no chance of winning. What they were doing in the falling capital were ignorance and idiocy.
Foolishness was the implication of their emergence.
"Don't be cowards you bastards!" A tense voice yelled out loud towards those who wanted to retreat from the falling capital city.
The republican kriegers turned their gaze to the one that shouted such words and saw Belial.
"Belial, the idiot that stopped our kriegers from retreating. I thought you died, when were you here?"
"Don't tell me you left your soldiers to die in that bridgehead? Quite cowardly of you, don't you think?" It was sarcastic words remarked with a hint of disgust. It came from a hidden figure amongst the republican kriegers with the name Astaroth.
"Astaroth, you sh*t! I'll kill you after we behead the so-called God Emperor of the Imperium bastards." Belial declared with clear arrogance, while Astaroth did nothing more but chuckle at the man's ignorance. "Haha, good joke. It seems that what had happened in Romanus wasn't enough for a wake-up call."
"Come back to reality, we don't stand a chance."
"I agree…" Another lady with a somewhat cold voice was spoken out with a tone of agreement.
"Don't forget that every one of us lost against that man. Just because you live by sacrificing the lives of your soldiers, doesn't mean that your strong Belial."
"Tone down that ignorance and arrogance of yours." A lady conveyed such words though colder than the seductive one. It came from none other than Python.
"I'm not going to lie, I agree. I don't know where this guy gets his confidence."
"While I'm far from satisfied, I am not delusional." Amon agreed, as one of his comrades was a foolish muscle head. Foolishness to fight against those monsters would be nonsense.
"Now, what do we do, Python? Why did you make the capital city as the rendezvous point to begin with?" The girl with the soft voice questioned, wondering why they were within the falling capital of the republic.
It wasn't a good idea to stay at a location under siege by their mortal enemies.
Python then looked at the girl and calmly replied. "The reason why this was picked as the rendezvous point was because of the last document I picked up from the director."
"It talked about the last and final plan."
"So, shall we discuss more about the last plan given to us by the direction?"
Hearing Python's words, each republican Krieger nodded in agreement and understanding. Even the arrogant Belial forced himself to silence and was participative in hearing the director's words.
Python took a deep breath before starting the discussion.
"The director wants us to infiltrate the Imperium and lay low for a short while. We start our plan after the preparations have been completed. But until then, we will be disconnected with each other and every one of us will be on our own."
"Gather power, wealth, and influence in the meantime. Connections in the interior regime of the Imperium would be helpful."
"In any case, never get caught and if any of this plan gets leaked. Expect a fate worse than death." Python coldly warned after the explanation of the director's plan. She apathetically looked at every surviving republican Krieger, which sadly only numbered 12.
"I'm here to remind, that before the start of the plan. The director expected a lot from everyone of you."
"You are the daggers of the republic, and be sure to take that responsibility to heart," Python announced as the rowdy republican kriegers saluted in reaction to her speech and replied simultaneously.
"Understood, for the republic, Death shall meet its enemies!!!"
"Good, a signal will be sent for the right time and moment. I'm sure that all of you can understand it."
"On the meantime, our insiders will give you the starting point to build power."
"Be sure to conquer the conquerors." A smirk emerged on Python's face as she turned her gaze toward the communication officer.
The soldier who had survived the massacre of Amon, the assassin.
The communication officer flinched in response to the cold gaze of Python. He was on the ground, hearing the detailed plan of his enemies. He knew what inevitable fate he would fall, so no fear emerged on his face despite his shaking body.
Python slowly walked towards the communication officer and stood in front of him. She crouched before the last soldier of the defensive outpost and uttered. "Hmm… What do we have here?"
"You were somewhat hard to notice, but still is noticeable."
"What shall we do to you, little one from the Imperium?"
Python questioned while narrowing her eyes toward the communication officer.
The republican kriegers turned their gaze to the last soldier of the outpost at the same time. The pressure from their bodies was already making it hard for the officer to breathe. But that didn't stop the officer from speaking.
"Why are all of you alive?"
"You all should have died in Romanus, everyone made sure of it."
The communication officer questioned in denial of the truth before him. How were they alive? The imperium Kriegers should have taken care of them in that bridgehead. Everything should have been going well for the imperium military afterward.
So why?
"Interesting question you have there. Curious about how we are alive, Hmmm."
"Even we don't know the full reasoning of our survival. We simply survive that grave ordeal."
"But there is one thing you can be sure of, you wouldn't be able to survive this one."
Python's lips raised as she stopped crouching and returned to the republican kriegers behind her. Amon stepped forward and uttered before disappearing in thin air.
"I'll take care of it."
After Amon's words, the communication officer felt a light-headed feeling out of nowhere. He then noticed his perception leaving his neck, signifying that his head was falling to the ground.
The communication officer was beheaded in an instant and immediately died.
Such was the fate of those within the crusade, whether they were allies or enemies.
But soon, some will meet their fate.
*BANG!!!*
A loud thunderclap sounded out of nowhere, lightening the heavens and creating giant shadows for the imperium warships.
All of the republican kriegers except Python flinched upon hearing it. From the looks of it, some traumatic ideas regarding lightning seem to be ingrained in their heads.
"I-It's impossible for him to be here, right?" The lady with the seductive voice asked with a wry smile. No one knew how to answer her question. After all, it was that dangerous guy.
"I'd rather not deal with that guy." Amon shook his head as he was hesitant to fight that guy again on the battlefield. He barely got away with his life with the help of his comrades, who sacrificed themselves to buy time.
Why would he willingly throw himself at that guy?
"Unfortunately for us, it is possible." Python calmly asserted and continued. "His arcana is something that shouldn't be underestimated. After all, he is one of the few men a bit below to the God Emperor of the Imperium."
She turned her gaze towards the heavens and didn't stop. "Besides… He's about to make contact with us again."
Python's words made everyone jolt as the girl with the soft voice feebly asked. "Are you sure about that, Python? Is he coming?"
What the girl had asked were the questions trapped in every republican Krieger's mind besides Python. They wanted to be sure if that man was heading in their direction.
"Do you think I'm someone that would joke about this stuff?"
"I'm serious with what I say, so I advice all of you to retreat." Python coolly suggested while republican kriegers immediately started their retreat from the capital city.
Amon was about to escape like the others before noticing Python staying behind.
"Oy, Python. What are you staying here for?" Amon questioned as they still had enough time to retreat from this place.
Python looked at him and answered. "We don't have enough time, especially when fighting against him. I'll have to stay back and buy time for all of you to escape."
"A-Are you sure about this?" Amon wanted some clarification after hearing what Python had uttered. It was unbelievable as Python was akin to the leader for them. Losing a leader would be a great loss, especially after the republic's fall.
"You don't need to ask me for my determination, so go." Python quietly chuckled as if she had heard a good joke. She wanted Amon to retreat like the others, but a short while later, she continued.
"And regarding the signal, I will not be the one giving it. So be aware of the things happening in the Imperium." Python's lips raised upward as she prepared to face the incoming monster.
"Okay, for the republic." Amon nodded before disappearing into the darkness of the night.
Seconds passed as silence enveloped everything, thunderclap kept echoing in the distance as Python quietly stood on her spot. *BAM!* It didn't take that much time for a lightning bolt to land right beside her, and what emerged from the bolt was a man, a young one.
"Python, It's been a while." The young man gave Python a smile as electric arcs formed around his body. He wore a military uniform suited for generals with its onyx-black color and badges.
A tailor-made symbol was created for each of the generals within the crusade, standing below the dragon of the Imperium.
Python gazed at him and replied. "Astarte…"
One of the four horsemen of the Imperium crusade, the horsemen of pride, Astarte.
He was a handsome young man with silver hair and blue sapphire eyes. His skin was pale white, while his body was slightly buff. Proven confidence was emanating from his body as he slowly walked towards Python.
"Another round with you, eh?"
"Well, that doesn't sound bad."
Astarte sighed as a lightning bolt formed under his hands.