~Ducian HQ~
"You…"
Stephanie reads the bad report from the Frontline.
"What kind of incompetence is this?" She slams her fist on the table, making the papers jump. "We've been trying to take back those territories for weeks and now we're losing ground? How could our troops let this happen?"
"The one enemy was from Goryo, they're monsters. We lost five against only one and we had to retreat. The enemy is still alive. We need our elites to fight."
"Retreat? Are you kidding me? That's unacceptable! Our men died because of some Goryo monster? I don't care how strong it is, we mustn't run away like cowards!" Her face turns red. "I want a plan to go back out there and finish what we started. Now. Call that incompetent Parr to handle it!"
"Also, the DRS Senyavin sank... Our elites are all missing!"
"The DRS Senyavin sank?! What about our precious elites?! They were our best chance at taking back those territories!" She slams her fist again, sending the papers flying off the table. "This is a disaster. A complete failure."
She's basically screaming. "We need to regroup and come up with a new strategy, but first we need to know what happened to those elites. Find out who was on board when the ship went down. I want answers!"
Her expression turns cold.
"Liverpool! Give me back my legions!"
…
"Where are we?" Meisa squints her eyes.
The group disembark on a seemingly barren island.
"There's nothing here…." Meisa hops around exploring the island, which is mostly sand, sand, and more sand.
"Stop hopping around, you'll get sand on the baby." Ieri groans, holding an infant in his arms.
"That's your problem. In three years that kid will be ready to fight."
"Whatever."
"I found something." Meisa stomps on the ground, and the sound of metal rings out.
She grabs something that looks like a handle and opens the door.
"Oh my God, there are soldiers down here." Meisa yells out… at the stunned men inside the concrete bunker looking back at her.
Ieri is stunned as a blast of wind is heard from the distance.
Bang!
One of the soldiers brought out his short sword and slashed at her diagonally, making her block the incoming strike, but his right hand comes another short sword, stabbing towards her abdomen, forcing her to use her Aegis shield to block the strike imbued by another type of elemental magic these mainland buggers use.
Meisa is thrown off balance as she shoots off backwards, stumbling on loose sand as the opponent flickers to her location immediately, stabbing towards her.
"No introduction?? Nothing??"
She deftly avoids the strike by twisting her body unnaturally before spitting out a knife and using her tongue to make it parry another strike to the side of her head.
Flickering to the side to create distance, she ducks to avoid another strike to the side of her head and does a back flip to dodge as his sword stabs towards her.
"Elven sword technique, how frustrating!"
She uses it, doesn't mean she loves it being used on her.
The opponent has good leg work, and in a few moments dances his way to her front, striking her leg using his left hand, making her jump. His right hand strikes her sword as she parries him from the side.
As Meisa jumps back, she takes a moment to assess the situation. She's impressed by his skill, but she's not going to let that stop her. With a smirk, she shifts her weight from one foot to the other, ready to strike back.
The soldier charges at her again, sword swinging wildly. Meisa ducks underneath the first strike and then leaps up, twisting in midair to land behind him. She raises her short sword over her head, preparing to bring it down on his unprotected neck.
The soldier looks back and parries the strike with his sword, causing a small shockwave, he bends his leg and uses the other to kick towards her.
Meisa quickly jumps back, narrowly avoiding the powerful kick. She glances at the soldier's sword and notices a faint glow emanating from it. "Another magic-infused sword? This is getting interesting," she mutters to herself.
The soldier takes a defensive stance, his sword at the ready. "You're quite the fighter, elf. I'll have to try harder to keep you entertained." He lunges forward, this time he uses his sword to strike thrice at the speed of light, causing Meisa to flick away.
Meisa grins, impressed by his speed. "You're not bad for a mainlander," she says, readying herself for his next attack. The soldier laughs and shakes his head, his sword beginning to glow brighter. "I'll show you what we're really capable of."
Meisa narrows her eyes as she watches him closely. She doesn't like the way his sword is glowing brighter. "I don't think so," she says under her breath. She leaps back again, avoiding another strike from the soldier. His sword strikes the sand behind her, sending up a small cloud of dust.
…
"So I'm incompetent Parr huh?" She chuckles lightly.
"Don't be discouraged, Parr."
"Discouraged? Discouraged isn't even close to what I am," she says, her voice rising slightly. "I'm furious, and I want to know why we're losing men at such an alarming rate. We've got to get to the bottom of this before it's too late."
"It's because the Krall legion is too weak compared to the Goryo warriors. They're more skilled in Unarmed Kali than we are."
"I don't care about sword techniques or legions!" Alana exclaims, slamming her fist on the table. "What matters is winning battles! And right now, we're getting our butts kicked by those savages. We need to adapt, fast. Can anyone tell me how many Goryo warriors there are out there?"
"Ten."
"Alright, here's what's going to happen. Our next training session will focus entirely on hand-to-hand combat using their tactics against us. Every single soldier needs to learn these moves until they can execute them flawlessly. No exceptions. Am I clear?"