"The 2nd team will be Ishtar, Freyja, Satis and I. We will be called Hamr. After the Alpha is dead, Hamr will break off to begin Operation Paper. One of our own is in the hands of vampires on the 32nd floor. Hamr, Delroy, Pixie and two others will rescue her."
My words caused a stir in the room. Especially when the others heard the details of the rescue mission. Van, who had been with Sirens when we found out about Evelyn, asked the question everyone wanted to ask.
"We have soone out there, my lord? Who is it? We barely got past the 11th floor. How did they get in so deep?"
I gestured to Joshua, who pulled out a {Honey Trap} vase. Those who knew from before controlled themselves, but the rest like my vassals, Bernard, Krishna and even Gareth drew a blank.
I grabbed the Soulgear and activated it before putting it back on the table.
"This soulgear is {Honey Trap}. It is a support-type soulgear that acts as an undead lure. Anyone who has fought by my side should have slled it by now."
"Indeed. I have Lord Limitless. A beautiful young girl had this ability. I think her na was Evelyn. She was said to be from a powerful adventuring party. I cannot rember the na of her group.
Their leader was quite capable. Is this a new device inspired by her ability?"
Unconsciously, Gareth confird what I had already said. That this Soulgear was indeed from Evelyn Flowers, a Phantom Adventurer from the Nightdarts.
"No, this device is not a new type of soulgear. It is the sa as the one you are probably familiar with. This Soulgear replica was made from the remains of a Phantom. Her na was Evelyn Flowers. Nyda over there is her sister. I will let her explain the details, but know this.
"Evelyn Flowers helped Hellsend take its first steps. I owe her. And now she needs to be saved. So Operation Paper will have Hamr wrap around our comrade and bring her back to the 24th floor. Oh, and I also plan to kill so vampires while I am at it.
Bernard and so of the Hellsend mbers suddenly raised their hands. I pointed at him and asked what he had to say.
"My lord, permission to join Hamr for Operation Paper," the big man asked.
"Denied, Hamr will consist of my group, Delroy and Pixie along with Leo and Nyda. I will not be taking anyone else. I need all of you here to defend the battlefront."
At my words, the other people lowered their hands. Nodding, I looked at my {Vassals} and gave them my encouragent. After all, jumping headfirst into enemy territory was not sothing they were prepared for. Continue your journey on empire
"Delroy, Pixie. I believe you have been training while I was away. This would be your first battle as my {Vassals}. Unfortunately, I need your skills, so I have no choice but to take you with ."
Not a second later, they both stood up and saluted .
"Yes, my lord. Pixie Richards Sta-... P-Pixie Richards stand ready." The child tried to announce, biting her tongue in nervousness.
Stifling a laugh, her Jamaican bouncer also declared. "Delroy Baxter, ready and waiting, Brutha!"
Nodding, I motioned for them to return to their seats. Though they were slaves, as they were my {Vassals}, no one looked down on them. They seed to have settled in while I was gone, as I could see Claire and Yvonne teasing Pixie like big sisters.
I gestured to Leo and Nyda before continuing. "These are Priority 2 adventurers Leo Armstrong and his {Kindred} Nyda Flowers. In addition to leading the branch of adventurers that will be housed on our floor, they will be joining for the first ti on this rescue mission. Nyda, Leo. Please brief my officers."
"Greetings, everyone. I am Nyda, and this is my {Kindred} Leo. As you may have guessed from my last na, I am in fact Evelyn's sister..."
The two adventurers introduced themselves before beginning their explanation. Naturally, it was about what we would be facing during our rescue attempt.
Many tried to question the details of how we were going to rescue her sister when she had already been declared dead. Even beyond that fact, her soulgem had already been replicated.
This further increased the likelihood that this was a fool's errand. Most of the 2nd Andnt tried to help the couple answer the questions, but those who understood the situation beca suspicious.
Wil, Tildi, Bernard, Eva and Krishna were the most vocal. They didn't like the idea of diving into the 30s just to retrieve a corpse. When Nyda tried to explain, the room erupted into argunts about the purpose of Operation Paper.
Increasingly annoyed, I pounded my fist on the table. The bang silenced everyone. When I confird that I had the attention of the room, I stated bluntly.
"Evelyn is one of us. As such, I will co and get her. If any of you were in her situation, I would do the sa. So everyone just shut up and move on."
Despite my obvious lie, I noticed my officers nodding in agreent. What I said wasn't a lie, but it wasn't the truth either. I wanted to save Evelyn, not for her sake, but for mine. I wanted Delroy to invade her brain for information.
In other words, the sole purpose of this operation was to get information about who created the soulgear from Evelyn's soulgem. When her explanation ended, Leo and Nyda returned to their seats.
I once again introduced the last two people standing in the room.
"After we recover both Evelyn and the 24th floor, we will proceed with Operation Rock. Simply put, a city in Africa has gone to shit because of demons. I do not know how powerful the bastards are, but I will be going there to murder the lot of them.
"Amari will be my contact for this part of the operation. Mia is his {Kindred}, and while she is married to him, her battlefront remains in Europe. As such, she will serve as a liaison between Hellsend and Europe. Both are very capable and were part of my enlistnt."
"What? Soone else survived your enlistnt, Nigga? I heard the details from Yvonne. That's wicked, brother! If these cats roll with Limitless, they have to be badass niggas!"
"Survivors of July, huh? I heard there were only 9 octads. So apart from six of the Sirens and the lord. Those two must be the last Octads of July," Phillip nodded in understanding.
I nodded in agreent and continued. "Yes. By Operation Rock, I expect the day to have changed. If more ti passes, we will use the ti to fortify the 24th floor. Otherwise, Hamr and Anvil will reunite and head for Kismayo, Somalia. I have no idea how long I will be there, but take steps to prepare for my absence."
Krishna then raised his hand to ask a question.
"Smith, John. Interfering with another Reaper's battlefront is frowned upon. Therefore, anyone who moves between zones without proper docuntation is considered a rogue. Why is Africa asking you to help them deal with their demons? Aren't they coming in two months?"
Wil also expressed his concern.
"My lord. Normally, unless authorized by a Revenant, appearing on another continent is considered an act of war. Are we really going to risk going to war with Africa for the demons? What does Hellsend even get in return?"
Not really minding Wil's brutally honest observation, I smiled before answering.
"I get to beat the living shit out of demons in Africa without any repercussions. That alone makes the trip worthwhile. And no, no matter how many of you ask, I will only be taking Vela's wolves. Finding a demon to beat up is hard after all."
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