Hazard Lands Revenge

Chapter 3 – Base

Author’s Notes – For metric users, sorry, but I’m tainted by the American system. Chapter is a bit on the shorter side, since I got stuck reading Martial God Asura, sorry. Thanks for reading.

Any similarities between this novel with the real world, other fiction and events are purely coincidental.

Enjoy!

--* Fenlei City, Linda Blvd *--

“With all due respect colonel, I don’t think we can just join the military like this,” Nik stated.

“Hahaha, don’t worry, currently, we’re in a drafting period, so all officers will have to recruit at least ten personnel. You

guys are my first three, you should feel proud!” the colonel chortled, his scarred face filled with glee.

Tired of arguing, Nik stayed silent, and quietly followed the man as the other two trudged along.They have spent all of their energy to try and dissuade the man to no avail.

The group of four walked at a brisk pace as they traveled along the abandoned streets. The stench of iron filled the air, coinciding with the smell of rotting trash and pollution. Avoiding pools of blood that dotted the street, the group walked farther into the city. Three pairs of eyes focused on the metal wall standing just beyond the block.

“Sir, is that where we’re going?” Nik took notice of it as he stared in wonder. The metal wall extended for miles, almost obscuring the whole horizon. As the company approached, the three students noticed several figures patrolling the top of the wall.

“Yep. Welcome to the Fenlei Military Brigade Headquarters,” he said with pride.

As they approached, four men walked towards them, fingers gripping their pistols. Though, as soon as they recognized the Colonel, saluting arms flew into the air.

“Welcome back Colonel…” one of them greeted, a mane of white hair hung at his back, “your squad?”

“Tram… They’re dead, intel was wrong. The plant turned out to be a Stage Three, they had to sacrifice their lives to destroy it,” he replied bitterly. The intel reported that a Stage One plant had appeared within the gardens of the Griswall Manor. Who would have thought that it was two stages above what was reported.

“My condolences to you colonel,” Tram replied as a wave of sadness filled him.

“Well, for now, we have three new recruits, hehe,” a faint smile replaced the bitter look in the colonel’s face.

“Hmm… I guess they’ll fit right in with the brigade. Be sure to inform the Office and the Commander,” Tram examined the three, a look of pity in his eyes. Noticing it, Nik and the other two felt a chill in their spines.

“Welcome to the Third Tribulation Brigade youngsters… Good luck,” a man carrying a sword welcomed them. Nik did not register the words; instead he stared at the sword and pondered: ‘What the hell did I get myself into’.

--* Fenlei City, Fenlei Military Brigade Headquarters

As the group of four entered the wall, they were met by sounds of gunfire. In front of them was a massive courtyard, which separated the wall from a massive fortress-like building. Dotting the courtyard were masses of soldiers. Several carried large weights that seemed to crush down upon their bodies, while others laid prone on the ground, shooting targets hundreds of yards away.

“This is the Third Tribulation Brigade, a collection of 5000 soldiers who live and train everyday to partake in difficult missions assigned by the National Army Counsel. Commanded by Colonel Myers Brown, the Brigade has seen success in countless missions, and continues to grow more and more influential. Though, as of recent days, its power has been diminishing due to constant warfare against the mutated plants and animals,” the Lieutenant Colonel finished his monologue; three pairs of eyes stared at him strangely.

“What? You want me to keep quiet while you three stand there like fools looking at my Brigade?” he puffed, taking much offense from the stares.

‘Really. What have I gotten myself into?’ Nik sighed in his mind.

Ignoring the hundreds of training soldiers, the group of four continued their way down the courtyard, which surrounded the fortress.

After a few minutes of walking and gawking, the group had finally reached the building. Before them was a large open gate where many soldiers busily moved to and fro. Just like a lobby, various soldiers stood around, talking amongst themselves, while others were busy moving to wherever.

In the middle of it all was an elderly looking man, who seemed to oversee the whole room.

“Sir! Lieutenant Colonel James Lambert reporting in as ordered, Sir!” the colonel sounded off. The three youths stood stiff behind him.

“Ahh, Lieutenant Lambert, how was your mission?” the elder greeted.

“Sir, the mission was a failure. The squad was completely decimated, it turns out that the plant was, in reality, a Stage Three,” James noted, sadness returned to his voice.

“A Stage Three… I doubt the Library could have mistaken a Stage One with a Stage Three…” the man pondered, a look of worry conquered his face.

The colonel lowered his voice into a whisper, “Sir… I suspect that this may have been sabotage.”

“Indeed, we can’t let go of that possibility. For now, introduce these three youngsters,” his eyes scrutinized the students.

“Sir, these three will be be joining us today as Privates. The squad found them trying to escape from the plant,” James explained.

“Nik Morris,” the red-eyed boy saluted.

“Jasmine Griswall,” the crimson haired girl introduced herself.

“Hudsonn Moulic, at your service,” he smiled a goofy grin.

“Hmm. Welcome to the Third Tribulation Brigade, privates, I’m Colonel Myers Brown, from now on, you’ll be living and training with us. When you become Private First Class will you be eligible to partake in missions. For now, we’ll get your living quarters ready. Howard! Get over here, we got new recruits,” he explained just as a massive man walked over to the group.

“Sir!” he saluted, a strong wind surged forth as his arm disappeared from his waist to his head.

Hudsonn lost it, “Colonel, seriously, what is going on with this brigade? First nine soldiers summon a black hole, then there was that weird guy was carrying a katana at the entrance, and now this guy summons a surge of wind with a salute. Explain,” he demanded from the golden eyed man.

“Well, just call me James; getting called Colonel is confusing whenever we’re with the actual Colonel. Anyways, I’ll explain all that tomorrow, for now, just follow Howard to your living quarters,” he replied.

Hudsonn frowned, but followed the man anyways. Nik and Jasmine followed in tandem.

…

“This is where you three will be sleeping. Seeing as you guys aren’t carrying anything, we’ll be supplying you three clothes, food and water for a week. After that, you’ll have to earn your own keep,” Howard explained, then promptly left.

“Wait! There’s no other room for me to sleep in?” Jasmine panicked.

“You sleep with them. We don’t have the space to allow someone sleep alone,” he rejected.

“Fine… You two better not approach my bed by two yards,” she glared at the two boys.

“But… but… That’s more than half of the room!” Hudsonn exclaimed.

“Too bad, if you even go near my bad…” she glared with bone-chilling eyes. Nik simply stood there, examining Howard as he walked away.

‘To summon wind with a swing of an arm. Chant an ancient scripture to create a black hole. Unusual weapons… What exactly is this brigade?’ he pondered.

…

As the three of them lied down on their beds, Nik, Jasmine and Hudsonn were thrust into deep thought.

“To think that just after a normal day at school, three of our friends… died,” Hudsonn suddenly spoke.

“Hm…” Jasmine assented. Perhaps she was the one hit the most. Along with her friends, she had lost her only sister, her manor and every one of her servants. From the pinnacle of society to a grunt in the military; it was a radical change.

“…” Nik stayed silent, his thoughts still caught up on the strangeness of the brigade. He recalled what the plant had called the soldiers. ‘Mystics’.

It was a military secret kept by the World Nations to hide their true military strength. Should the other two superpowers attack, they would be met by the powers is mysticism. Ripped space, massive tornadoes, summoned tsunamis and other arts, the World Nations keep Mysticism as a trump card.

“For now, I’ll go to sleep. The colonel will explain, hopefully,” Nik closed his eyes, letting the darkness take over his consciousness.

Mysticism (An excerpt from “Worlds Nation Army Branch,” a guidebook given to all Private First Class Soldiers)

Over the course of human history, many have thought that magic was an impossible event, and that magicians of the time were simple illusionists tricking the masses. This however, was disproven after the Descent of 2020. Though only a select few had witnessed it, the event was documented accurately in the National Coalition, the predecessor of the World Nations. It is unknown whether the E.L.E.C and Frozin superpowers had any records of the event. In summary, several individuals across the world had been bestowed a strange aura, capable of being manipulated by the human will.

This was the creation of the first few magicians. Many of those individuals however, were murdered; the massacre was comparable to a miniature Salem Witch Trials. Of the people who were bestowed the magical aura, only six of them had survived in the World Nations; it is assumed that all magicians, or Mystics, in the E.L.E.C and Frozin superpowers were completely wiped out.

The magicians that did survive were capable of controlling their aura. They were able to summon forth large-scale natural disasters, create objects from nothingness, which completely overturned the science of the universe, and even summon creatures from other dimensions (See page 65 on Summoning). As time passed, it has been observed that people who were near the magicians for long periods of time developed the aura as well, though it was a bit weaker and had less control, though, through training and cultivation, newly born magicians recovered the aura’s strength.

As of the recent 2043 Military Statistics, there have been reports of over one hundred thousand hidden Mystics in the World Nations Army Branch.

Profile #10473

Name: Nik Morris

Age: 17

Gender: Male

Height: 5’7

Weight: 153 lb

Ethnicity: Classified

Family: Classified

Occupation: Student (Grinn Shai High)

Description: A brown haired boy possessing red eyes. All forms of information concerning him has been classified or deleted by the upper branch. If the subject does anything strange, please report to the Colonel. Currently inside of the Fenlei Military Brigade Headquarters as a Private Recruit.