Frontier, Fort Whitestone.

After the Freelance Platoon received their sentencing, Spike promptly returned to his bed before he gets more of Doctor Simmons hell-raising. He had to fight all the medical personals to go out to his men getting their ass chewed, and he was too exhausted to fight them anymore. And besides, Doctor Simmons was very venomous about keeping him under observation at least for a few more days as he had only fully woken up a few hours ago.

Lying on the bed in his T-shirt, Spike soon found himself staring at the ceiling again as he reflected on his current predicament. And the obvious conclusion made him feel like shit. Like a total loser, he almost died again barely three months after the last one. The first one was because of complacency. The second time was out of pure stupidity. Even though he couldn't do anything about it now, he knew that his first death screwed his younger siblings in his former life because they no longer had him to support them. This second mishap almost screwed over the current hundreds of men and thousands of frontier folks. Not to mention, all the souls who are still waiting in the void.

Even if he didn't ask for this responsibility when he agreed to come to this strange world, it was his soul that had set this ability, so he only had himself to blame. Spike honestly wasn't complaining. He thought of this as life moving forward. Spike remembers what Major Profit taught him which he took to heart. 'Keep taking that step and move forward. Even if you fall flat on your face, you're still moving forward. So pick yourself up and take that step. And keep moving.'

As he was reflecting, a knock on the doorless doorway brought him out of deep thinking mode.

"Sir." Major Jung spoke from the doorway as he walked in. "How are you holding up?"

"Besides feeling stupid at my brain dead action, I'm fine. Thanks for asking." With a look of guilt on his face, Spike replied in a weak voice. "Are you here to give me a stern lecture about my lack of self-control Major?"

Major Jung stopped and observed Spike for a moment as if he was reading a book. Then he pulled up a stool to sit beside the hospital bed. "No, Sir. I don't need to advise you of things you already know yourself. I only came to check up on you and to inform you of the changes to our plans and future actions."

"Seriously?" Spike was surprised as he was expecting another venomous, poisonous, gentle lecture of pain, heavily laced with guilt.

"Honestly, Sir. I have made huge mistakes on how I should have supported you, Sir. I had quickly sent for Sergeant McQueen from your era to consult him about your behavior. Doctor Simmons had always been too busy as he is constantly overworked and medical being understaffed. So I've never had the chance and didn't think it was important until now — an oversight on my part. But after talking to Sergeant McQueen all afternoon and evening yesterday, I realized that I had lacked a certain degree of understanding of where you are coming from. We speak the same language and even share the country of birth, but it's very apparent that culture-wise, we are not the same."

"Well, we are like almost two hundred years apart Major."

"That may be so, Sir. But there isn't much difference in mentally from my era and two hundred years before me. As Sergeant McQueen explained to me about many things like internet, auto translators, and speed of information flow and... this binge drinking culture, in my era, we called that alcoholism." For a moment, Major silently stared at Spike, forcing him to look away in embarrassment. Then he continued. "And the increased speed of travel and communication has allowed faster changes in the future. That has caused massive social problems and benefits that have influenced you, which was beyond my understanding. So I also have much to learn to meet the needs of the future era soldiers you'll eventually summon."

"I see." Spike nodded in agreement.

"In any case, Sir, Sergeant McQueen and Corporal Bigzy with him will be reassigned to your platoon. Also, your Freelance platoon will pair up with Lieutenant Sheldon's platoon and be redesignated as the Honor Guard."

'I see. So I'm getting two babysitters. I suppose it's better than being locked up. Spike thought that he had that coming. "Honor Guard?" He added in surprise as his mind caught up.

"Yes, Sir. Let's lay down a good foundation now. Having an Honor Guard will bring prestige and dignity to you, Sir. Which makes us all look more dignified. Every nation in history had one, so we should repeat things that have proven to work."

Spike nodded in agreement. "That makes sense."

"Also, since we have about a platoon's worth of men down in medical, the expedition company will not be getting reconstituted at this time. Since you and your platoon will be joining the expedition, they'll make up for their shortage. Therefore, the units in Trimmor defense will be receiving all the replacements to bring up their strength. Plus, with you joining the expedition, they will have the benefit of being able to receive immediate field reinforcement. And I am hoping for you to score up to increase our personnel slots, and give us other options. So I'd like to keep you out there and hunting as much as possible SirSir."

'Ahhh, since I fucked up in the garrison, you're gonna keep my ass out in the field. But I suppose it's a goddamn good excuse to make me work overtime. Spike thought solemnly. "What about my magic training?"

"Captain Murphy already talk to the Marquess on your behalf, Sir. He said that until you can circulate your mana flow in all parts of your body, there is no point in teaching you the next step. So I believe you should continue your self-training as you move on the road. It will help you score more points SirSir by attracting potential targets. Instead of you looking for them, they'll come to you as your mana leak from your self-train." Major spoke calmly and meaningfully. "Honestly, Sir. After monitoring the current situation for a week and thinking about it. I believe the uneasiness the demi-humans are feeling isn't localized to only our area, but something much broader in nature beyond our immediate area. And our area is just a small part of the larger danger. So it would be behooving to us for you to keep hunting." Looking down at Spike's feet. "And I also think that keeping you active will help you to overcome your minor handicap sir."

"I see. It seems like you put a lot of thoughts over these matters."

"We are building a foundation for our future as we are proactively preparing for the worst Sir. I think from now on we should all accept the fact that everyone will be extremely busy for an unforeseen amount of time in the future. And I believe for our immediate security, having more combat resources is paramount to our immediate survival than your magic. Not only that, being proactive in the field and saving these isolated frontier people is a nice bonus. Don't you agree, Sir."

"Yeah. I agree. I also can't think of how my ability to use magic will outstrip the firepower of our guns and tanks. So when do you plan for the next expedition to depart?"

"Tomorrow morning sir. Every day we delay, another frontier settlement could be feeding the inhumanoids and monsters."

"So soon. Not that I'm complaining Major, but Doctor Simmons won't like that."

"He's a good doctor, Sir. But the fact that you didn't die when you should be medically dead, and you were able to walk out to formation this morning tells me that I should believe in your manatite."

Spike could only nod in agreement. "That reminds me. Have you asked the Marquess about what happened to me? About losing feelings to parts of both my feet and cheek?"

"Yes, Sir. I had Captain Murphy inquire about it. Apparently, his grandfather almost drank himself to death when both his first wife and daughter died at childbirth. And he had lost his ability to walk with both legs. But as he kept training his manatite, after he recovered from his depression, he eventually fully recovered after seven years. That's why I'm no longer worried about your recovery as it's a very minor issue and only a matter of time before you fully recover. Also, I want to keep you active as much as possible, Sir. I believe keeping you active will speed up your recovery." Major Jung said with seriousness to his tone.

"I see." Spike quietly replied as he looked at Major Jung. Through the entire conversation, he felt it was too proper. He didn't feel the usual satisfaction feeling that smugness, the Major usually gave off. After a moment passed by. "You angry Major?" Spike finally asked.

"Very. Sir." Major Replied, solemnly.

"Right... I'll properly apologize by never doing that again." Spike quickly replied with a severe look for guilt.

"Very good sir." Major Jung said as he gave a single nod. Then he handed Spike a stack of documents to be signed.

Spike raised an eyebrow as he looked over documents on top. "You sure about these promotion Major? I thought they were to be punished." Spike asked in Surprise.

"No choice, Sir. We don't have enough men to cover our expanding holds. And they are all frontier veterans now. We need skilled fighters who can shoot and lead. They have proven that they are terrible garrison soldiers, so we'll keep them out in the field with you for a while." Major declared.

"Isn't that kind of unfair for the other units?" Spike asked as he knew some of the other platoons hadn't had their chances to go hunting besides pulling security. And his platoon had been overworked.

"There isn't a single combat soldier who complains about not getting their chances to score against our enemies Sir. Because everyone knows that it's only a matter of time before they get their turn." Major stated as a matter of fact.

"Right." Spike acknowledged as he proceeded to sign off on all the promotions and supply requests.

"Also, a reminder SirSir. When you are in the field, please be mindful of the RP. We are isolated out here in the frontier. We are blind to the world and without first-hand knowledge of our surroundings in this world. We will never be secured enough without proper intel. So we need to return to Birsk by spring and start building an operational port for our ships and have enough RP to summon a good number of ships to support our goal. We desperately need to explore the coastal territory in the frontier and the rest of the Aiginous Sea. And we desperately need eyes in the air."

Pausing for a moment for Spike to process the information. "Also, we need you to start gaining actual command experience over the winter. So Lieutenant Moore's position will be the Honor Guard Commanding Officer as a 1st Lieutenant. And you'll take over his platoon as 1st platoon leader. And 2nd Lieutenant Sheldon will be the 2nd platoon leader. Eventually, you'll become the Honor Guard Commander when I think you are ready. As for the future composition of the Honor Guard, I like the current Expedition Company's mixed unit. All the combat officers are currently observing how the unit performs to make future recommendations. Something for you to look forward to."

"You sure you're not pushing me too fast, Major?" Spike said a bit excitedly. He knew eventually that this would happen, but not this soon. "I mean. I almost got myself killed by booze of all things." He added in embarrassment to his poor judgment.

"Your garrison soldiering may be questionable. But you've made some damn good judgment call during combat where it was needed. We, not just me, but the other officers believe that you are ready to take this step." Major Jung said encouragingly, then standing up. "Anyways, the decision is already made Sir. And I need to get going. We are understaffed, which has increased workloads for everyone. I'll stop by again later with more details. You should get some rest, SirSir. It may be a long while before you get to relax like this in garrison." Major Jung had that look of satisfaction with his last comment as he left the room.

Spike's eyes narrowed. Shit! What was that look at the end? Then Spike thought that look was more natural than the passive angry Major Jung. Spike decided to take his medicine this time to whatever the Major planned for him to dispel his worry. Then his mind drifted to commanding his very own platoon. A job he was pursuing in his last life. Before getting gun down like a bitch by a drug addict.

His very first command. The very thought stirred his heart to flutter. Even if it's less than half a platoon with the current situation, he wonders if this is what they mean when they say 'fuck up and move up.' Then he went back to signing off the requisition documents on the consumable resources needed during his more prolonged than usual absence from the base. Unlike when he only went out for a few days and returned to Trimmor outpost, which was quickly becoming a fort, and where the riders would run these documents back and forth between bases, this time, he will be gone for a while.

After Spike finished signing all the documents, he silently laid on the bed and decided to practice mana circulation. He didn't like the idea of wobbling as he walked for the next seven years. And for some reason, his mana regenerated much faster then what Marquess Daldia expected. So he wanted to gain access to magic quickly. Spike thought it would be pretty cool to cast some fireballs like when the Marquess demonstrated more than a few times.

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West Theolemor territory.

Sitting on her warhorse, Viscountess Margo Xebgiston, Lady of Fire, silently cursed as she gazed at the destroyed road and its surroundings. The ground thoroughly destroyed, that even the horses couldn't run across without causing many of them to injury. The road had many sharp-pointed spear-shaped tips protruding out of the uneven, loose dirt. Now mostly covered up by the snow. A distinct work of an earth mage.

Dozen warhorse and riders in the lead group had incurred injury running into many similar traps, the third time since it started snowing. It was already challenging to chase after the fast-moving large Stovkow war party. And these traps and injuries are making things very difficult.

What angered her the most was the despicable enemies killing all the civilians, in every town, villages in their path. From the children spared from each massacre, it's obvious why the Stovkow's pig was doing. By sparing the children, they were forcing her to choose between either abandoning them to die to the winter or take care of them and weaken her force chasing after them. The Viscountess didn't have enough resources to take care of every group of children she found. But she also couldn't leave them to die. She understood that these children would eventually grow up to join the badly needed Theolamors workforce. So little by little, her force and resource were chipped away to take care of the children.

As her eyes look towards the presumed direction of the hateful Stovkow war party, her heart burned with bitter anger as her current forces couldn't catch up to them in time to stop them. And it would take some time for the Theolamors in the east to build up enough military resources at a single rally point to hunt down the Stovkow army.

Silently, Countess Xibgiston hatefully stared at the presumed enemy's direction.

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Frontier, Fort Whitestone.

Facing the tired and grumpy looking men. "I don't care if you have to work all damn night. If you can party all night long, then you can work all night long. Shit happens and plans change, and we have orders to follow. So get all your asses moving and get the equipment checked and loaded before we march out in the morning — especially horses. If your horse dies from the cold, your asses are walking the whole way. Assholes and elbows. Now move faster!" Lieutenant Moore yelled out with justified anger. As of matter of fact, he had been yelling nonstop ever since they were ordered to prep for the long term field mission.

Everyone in the Freelance platoon clamped their mouths shut and obey. Avoiding eye contact with the Lieutenant as much as possible, they walked around the Lieutenant as if walking on thin ice. It was the safest way to prevent him from exploding and getting another ass chewing plus additional work. After all, Lieutenant Moore was the real victim here. He didn't even get to have fun at the booze-filled frat party but still got punished with the rest of them — the real victim.

Everyone took extra care on their warhorse. For this mission, everyone was going mounted, even Lieutenant Sheldon's light Infantry. It was done in consideration for the potential loss of horses and finding usable wagons in other settlements.

"Corporal Kirk!"

"Sir!"

"This wagon is for you and for all your needs to fulfill your new added mission to monitor what our commander consumes." Lieutenant Moore declared as he pointed to the only hardtop wagon in the convoy that was lined up by the main gate. The only thing they would need to do was get the horses harnessed and latch-up to the wagon in the morning to move out. "You'll have your work cut out for you with the lack of manpower, but suck it up like the rest of us."

"Understood Sir!" The newly promoted Corporal promptly replied. "Ahm, does that mean I can requisition whatever I need sir?" He asked, excitedly.

Thinking that Corporal Kirk was testing his new boundary, Lieutenant Moore almost snapped at him out of reflex. But then thought twice about it as it's only consumable foods and cooking equipment were pertaining to Spike. "Just use your common sense Corporal, and use the proper Item Code booklet provided by the logistics to write up your request form. Lord Phoenix can't remember every item code in the book." He reminded the Corporal.

Then the newly promoted Platoon Sergeant Young walked up to Lieutenant Moore. "Sir. I'll handle it from here. You have a meeting to attend to." He said almost apologetically as he was embarrassed about the drunken event that he was part of, as the highest-ranking NCO present.

With a slight frown on his face. "Right." He acknowledged as he wished Sergeant Rector hadn't bought the farm so soon. But he also understood that he needs to give the new platoon sergeant a chance to grow into his position. "Then I'll be off, Sergeant." The Lieutenant replied as he handed the checklist to him.

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Frontier, Fort Whitestone.

At the HQ building, sitting around a large table, the captains and the officers from the Expedition forces were having their last official meeting before moving out the next morning.

"Sir. Are you sure you don't want our Lord Phoenix for this meeting?" Captain Allen asked.

"Yes, Captain. I'm very sure. Our Commander is highly in need of some personal time to heavily reflect on his conduct. Besides, he needs to rest while he can, and he'll have you to fill in the details later on." Major Jung explained. "In any case, I've gone over your reports, and I'm not liking what's on it. However, I agree with your assessment of the situation."

Captain Allen's assessment stated that because Daldia township had already faced it's neighboring inhumanoids they were unlikely to face any more until the ones deeper within the forest push out to the settlements. As to how much time they have until that time, they could only speculate. However, the other frontier settlements up north didn't have the same privileges as Daldia township. And if something isn't done quickly, most of them, if not, all of the frontiers will become a ghost town, besides Daldia. And that is something nobody wanted, as they needed human resources to help build the infrastructure required to achieve their goals.

Every testimony from the rescued settlers has all said the same thing. In the last few weeks, all the settlements have been hit hard by the inhumanoids. And their local hunters and all the demi-humans have no idea what caused them to push into the human territories suddenly. But many inhumanoids never seen by the locals started to appear in numbers. If there were a single commanding inhumanoids that had subjugated the other inhumanoids and decided to push back the humans, that would make more sense. But there were no indication nor signs of any single large group, except for the goblin invasion force months back. And without exceptions, even the demi-humans from all the other settlements have reported the same strong foreshadowing feeling.

Major Jung spoke to Captain Allen. "If we leave things as it is, the humans in all of the frontier will be wiped out, and the inhumanoids forces will push into the Stovkow Kingdom. The frontier settlements that should have been a buffer zone for such events... damn fools in that kingdom really screwed the pooch. We all know what Lord Phoenix would want. So let's get about it and save these people. As for Stovkow's citizens, it's not our business unless it's an opportunity for our Lord to score some points." Then specifically looking at Captain Allen. "I want you to be mindful of that and try to steer our Commander away from getting mixed up with foreign politics."

"Yes, sir!" Captain Allen replied as the Expedition commanding officer.

"I've thought of many different scenarios." Then he pauses for a moment as he made eye contact with each captain. "But ultimately, the only thing we can do is react, and the best preparation we can make is to build up our defenses and hope the battle is taken at Trimmor away from the civilians. If and when the inhumanoids come to us, it could be us that gets slammed hard by a large inhumanoid force and we won't have the luxury of having our Commander to bring in immediate replacements. Lord Phoenix will have to monitor his personnel counts. Should we be overrun…" Making eye contact with Captain Allen. "Should that happens. I want to order you to abandon this place, but where would you go! If we can't take whatever assaults Daldia, most likely, neither will you. Unless Lord Phoenix brings in something more destructive, but your expedition forces will have civilians of your own to protect. At that time, you'll be the commanding officer Captain Allen." With the last comment, Major Jung stated that it's up to him to make a sound decision as he and everyone in Daldia would most likely be dead. Something everyone understood and accepted.

"Sir. Are you sure you want to send out Lord Phoenix? If things get difficult here, his presence will make the difference." Captain Murphy inquired.

"We can't keep him locked up in the fort. Looking at this from a bigger picture, every one of us knows that we are all expendable. But Lord Phoenix must keep scoring up for us to survive as a whole. If he had more personnel slots, we'd have more options. So we must give him the opportunity to grow, eventually, to get that option for us. Even if it means paying with our lives to buy enough time for him to do so, let's not forget that we were and are soldiers."

With seriousness, everyone more or less agreed. If things got desperate enough, and the situation turned bad, they'd all still be scoring up either way, which would extend their energy, thereby, buying more time to get recycled for another summoning.

Then handing a large satchel full of documents to Captain Allen. "These are requisition forms. Have Lord Phoenix sign off on them daily. We currently have enough food for about 60 days, for all the civilians and us. So you'll either have to be back before we starve to death. Or should our Lord score big, I expect for you to send reinforcement with civilians in tow with these supply requisition forms, so he wouldn't have to be back within that time frame."

"Yes, Sir. I understand your intent." Captain Allen solemnly replied.

"Also, in your absence, we've discussed your usage of the Mark VIII. It's essentially a mobile firing platform. And its ability to haul additional supplies by attaching a trailer also serves as a combat supply vehicle. How many Mark VIII would you recommend for the combined company with Infantry?"

Everyone understood that because of the terrain, the tactical advantage they have enjoyed so far would be limited if they were strung out all over the road. With current limitation, a combined company size with mixed organic units is proving much more effective than pure Infantry, Cavalry, or all armor units. The captain's believed that if they could form most of their units into a combined combat team, they would be able to take on the ogres even in an open field.

"Honestly Major, I'm still not sure on what number would be optimal as I've only had one Mark VIII for the expeditions. I think that two platoons of Infantry and two platoons of Mark VIII consisting of eight Mark VIII would be a good number to start Sir. And maybe adding a platoon of Cavalry would be optimal. Many times, when the road gets to snakey, we lose the Mark VIII's fire support from the front with lack of visibility. I thought that having them staggered within marching order would alleviate sudden flanking from those monsters." Captain Allen said.

Then nodding to Captain Allen as he thought about the matter. "Also, during your absence, Lieutenant Edwards will be in charge of all the Mark VIIIs. So He'll be promoted to 1st Lieutenant to reflect his new responsibility. And His armor platoon will most like be attached to Bravo Company, under Captain Pearson. I've decided that Mark VIII isn't needed for the border control. Simply put, Trimmor needs it more. So, before the end of today, I want you to deliver a requisition for four unmanned Mark VIII. The Infantry will have to go through an OJT and get trained up. We have to be prepared to fight in both Trimmor or Daldia. And having the Mark VIII will be critical to our survival."

"Understood Sir. I'll have the forms done and in Lord Phoenix's hand before the day is up." Captain Allen replied.

"We'll keep the fire going at our base Captain. But it's all your show now. I almost wish that our commander hadn't promoted me so fast so I could join you." Major Jung said somewhat regretfully as his rank prevented him from joining in on the fun. "Anything to add from anyone?"

Captain Gray and Murphy sat in silence. As much as they hoped for an additional replacement for logistic and personnel, they understood the greater need for more fighting men to defend their current holdings. But Captain Murphy spoke.

"Yes, Sir. Something important to logistics. But our original assessment of Lord Phoenix providing for 50,000 people was wrong. We weren't able to properly gauge his mana regeneration because he often trained his mana circulations. But our supply data is showing that he could support at least double that number. And probably much more. That number will only increase as he scores up. I thought Captain Allen should know this as he will be with Lord Phoenix."

"That's helluva info there Murphy." Captain Wraeth commented a little surprised. "He could practically feed an army now. I can't even imagine how large a support role he will play as he grows. He is a mobile city support." as he chuckled.

Rubbing his chin as he thought, Captain Allen, spoke as he slowly nodded and addressed Major Jung. "I'll do everything to make sure our Lord Commander maximizes his kill ratio, sir."

"Perfect Captain. Also, I've been thinking about your recommendation to nip any potential future problems arising from our Commanding Lords' romantic affairs. I want you to plant that idea during your journey gently. As per your recommendation, it seems the Far East Asian Culture offers us the best option. From the structure-wise." Major Jung said. As he loath the very idea that an outsider would control Spike, all because they had tits. And outsider who will never understand their plight, but would influence how their lives would be spent.