As soon as the captains and soldiers caught a glimpse of him, they all saluted unanimously, captains and soldiers
"Sir! Major! Sir!"
Their Salute almost shook the ground they were standing on.
"At ease soldiers, captains." His voice sounded with almost an echo.
"Major, what is the purpose of this gathering? There are a total of 16 platoons here, each consisting of around 40 to 45 soldiers of various ranks," inquired Mor'vas. "We are going after a young boy, not a seasoned warrior."
"Ah, Captain 'Vas… How's your leg?" asked the Major, his voice tinged with amusement and a touch of disgust.
Mor'vas however didn't find this amusing in the least, but he had to swallow his pride due to Scal's rank. A Major was a rank above him, and although they were only one rank apart on paper, the difference between them was as vast as that between a rat and an elephant.
"It's better now, sir," Mor'vas conceded.
"Soldiers!" roared Scal at the top of his lungs. "Do you know why you're here today? Do you understand your mission?"
This was the question on the mind of every soldier below the rank of captain. While they knew their task was to apprehend a hostile individual, this particular individual was a male, under the age of 18 years, with nothing particularly noteworthy to his name. That wasn't the entirety of their briefing, but it was the only part that mattered; everything else was as useful as a witless child tasked with doing taxes for a bankrupt millionaire. Nonetheless, they couldn't help but wonder what kind of crime a child could have committed to warrant such an extreme response from the 'The Order'. Even the captains, who were briefed separately for this mission, shared an intrigued look.
"Our target for this mission is a dangerous individual, someone who cannot be allowed to roam freely," Scal emphasised the importance of this mission with an eerie voice. "By the orders of Baron Viscount Arroal and Senator Nemus Scal, the target must be captured, dead or alive."
"Man, they're really hyping up this whole affair as if it's a mythical quest," yawned Mosvey. "Sometimes, they need to take a step back and relax."
"You're aware that the Major doesn't appear in person unless it's a matter of the utmost importance," Loran added.
"I have to admit, it does seem rather suspicious, What did this child do at the 'The Academy'… it surely couldn't have been so bad, right?" pondered Brahn.
"Soldiers! Gear up!" ordered Scal
The soldiers quickly lined up in rows of 10 one behind another per platoon as they surrounded the building.
The soldiers did a firm salute once again as the cloaks they were wearing started to close in on their skin, like a skin tight tracksuit. An outer layer of liquid metal surrounded the suit as it formed an armour plating on the suit while also forming helmets for each of the soldier. All the suits were pitch black in colours with the armour plating being the same, the only bit colour that their suit had was their corps badges which indicated their corps, speciality and soldier I.D.
Each platoon's suit had a unique touch according to their corps, where the explosion corps had multiple explosives and their respective attachments attached to their vests, the stinger core had syringe like retractable claws at the end of their gloves which were directly connected with all sorts of deadly poisons.
The suits equipped by the captains were significantly different even compared to their own corps member, to begin with they looked way more bulky with heavier armour plating and they all had what seemed like a crest of varying designs and colours on their chest-piece at the place where their heart should be. These were their unique crests, This was the proof of their Powers as Crests, in a league of their own way above initiates.
However the one who looked the most unique of them all was Major Scal, his uniform was much bulkier and well armoured than the soldiers' however it was also much sleeker than the captains'.
"Soldiers!" Scal roared his voice directly sounding in the ears of the the soldiers thanks to the intercoms.
"ADVANCE! IN THREE! TWO! ONE!"
As soon as he finished the countdown in swift motion every soldier and captain present slammed their foot against the ground as they shot up towards the roof of the building at blinding speeds. The soldiers and captains all seemed to inbuilt propulsion systems In their suits, like jet-packs it helped them fly… to some extent at least, the time which they could be airborne was limited to 3 hours with not that amazing of a speed, higher speed and acceleration was certainly a choice however it would reduce the flight time severely. The flight capabilities of Lower rank combat suits were limited compared to one that higher ranked officers like Scal used.
The building was massive not just in height but in width too, around 100 soldiers could easily be situated on this roof but most chose to stay afloat, or in case of some specialists like assassins and snipers they took an appropriate vantage point. The only ones on the the roof were 8 captains and Major Scal himself.
But as soon as they landed Scal, the captains and everyone else felt something, almost as if the pressure in the air seemed to change.
'Domain of the Obelisks? It seems that the one whom we were supposed to ambush, ambushed us'
And in front of Scal stood three hooded robed figures, their faces covered by the hoods and their robes a a deep shade of blue. Basking in the scattered moonlight that broke through the cloud now and then their robes fluttered in the heavy wind and rain that had turned into a thunderstorm.
"Scal…" spoke the one in the middle, his voice full of disdain and devoid of any fear.
"Is this how you address your good old teacher, Rudely calling him by his last name? It seems you are lacking in education… don't you see we are here to arrest you. For your crimes against the 'The Order' and 'The Academy'." Scal declared, his tone absolute.