Objective
The different companies that had been sent to this terrible place all had a singular objective.
It was assud that the hidden Realm beyond the Realm gate held many resources, but following that sa vein, there were many dangers, which usually hovered around the potential benefits.
As such, this training the soldiers were going through had that idea in mind. And so their objective was to retrieve a special/rare item which was in this region.
That also ant that this massive white plain that was making Titus feel like crying was only a single region his master had created to train his soldiers. For this occasion, it was frost-based.
Titus had joined a bit later than others so he hadn't seen most of the other regions. That said he had caught sight of the region dedicated to fire and he wasn't sure if he'd like that any better than what he was currently going through.
Anyway his company was ant to rendezvous with the other companies and they would rge, and then they would all go and retrieve the objective together.
Even so...
'Just the environnt is beating us up this much. And it's safe to assu that the special item will be protected by sothing even more dreadful.' He resisted a sigh. The thoughts just made him feel empty.
Regardless, he decided to close his eyes and get so rest. Braving the terrible cold and powerful winds for hours on end was bound to drain one, especially since they were doing so with their bodies, and they couldn't even enhance themselves with energy as everyone was doing their best to manage their energy and would only use it when they had to.
They were already spending energy to keep the effects of their equipnt active, and while the energy cost for this wasn't a lot, it was still continuous, they had to be careful.
The only one among them not constrained by this was the Dragon as he was basically in his elent and didn't need to worry about the cold. So it wasn't using any equipnt like that.
Around an hour passed before the Blizzard finally began to disperse, and whatever was hiding within its depths disappeared also.
The barrier was covered in a layer of snow from the Blizzard, but it was easily shaken off to reveal the outside, which was the sa. Bright sun in the sky that offered no warmth, and pure white in every direction.
Titus got up and stretched his sore body, and his n were doing the sa. The dragon hadn't moved from its original spot and rose, and in a few minutes, the company was set and ready to continue the journey without Titus' instruction.
Saying they were well rested would be a severe overstatent, but at the very least they had gotten so rest. And they were ready to continue the journey. And so they did.
The barrier was taken down, and the group was again on their way.
***
'Finally.' Titus sighed in his heart.
For the second ti since they began this gruelling journey, a change had appeared in the otherwise constant white space.
And it was once more man-made.
In front of them, a large earth platform that was about ten tres tall stood firmly. And from what he could tell from where he stood, it was at least a few hundred ters in diater.
It was crude and whoever created it seed to have no intention to make it look pretty, but it served its purpose. And from their position, they could make out small figures moving around on the platform as well, they were people.
Stifling his excitent, Titus and his company walked over. And they soon reached the base of the platform where there were already a few people waiting for them. Each clad in similar equipnt and masks.
The person in the lead of this group was quite big, but their face was obscured by a mask similar to the one Titus and his n wore.
Without a word, the man walked forward, and Titus quietly walked forward to et him. They stopped when they were directly in front of each other, and there was a tense silence, then a small chuckle.
"You managed to brave the cold. Well done little brother." His voice was muffled, but it was still unmistakable, Han.
Titus smiled behind his mask and the two brothers shook hands.
"I was getting worried you guys got taken out and that we were just marching to find ruins," Titus said and Han probably smiled behind his mask.
"Sa here. We weren't sure you or anyone else would get the ssage we left behind. But we still decided to wait a little longer. Good thing we did. Co on, I'm sure you're tired of trudging through snow." He beckoned Titus who in turn beckoned his n and they all ascended the stone platform.
'Haa~' Titus sighed inwardly. He never realised how much he loved walking on flat ground until now.
And judging by the way his n moved, it was probably the sa for them.
The platform was the base of a sprawling camp. There were lots of tents and even more soldiers, and Titus estimated there to be at least 700 people, give or take.
That said, most of them were stationary, only stepping out to collect sothing before going back into their enchanted tents that were able to resist the cold.
After contemplating for a mont, Titus decided to tell his n to set up their part of the camp and rest, and then he followed his brother.
"How many companies are together like this?" Titus asked curiously and Han answered him without turning his head.
"9." He said simply. It sounded like a lot, but one needed to rember that each company had s total of 250 soldiers when the expedition began. So the fact that there were only around 700 n instead of 2,250 spoke volus of the lethality of this place.
Titus nodded silently before asking again.
"And our siblings?" At this, Han answered with a bit more amusent.
"Ah yes, they're here. That said, Felicia is quite irritable. As it turns out, she doesn't like the cold." He said with a small chuckle and Titus almost chuckled as well. He hadn't seen his sister in cold conditions like this before so he had no idea that the cold made her irritated. That said, considering how she never wore clothes that were too light and always stayed in warm spots, it wasn't too surprising.
Soon, the two of them arrived at a tent that was significantly larger than the other and stepped inside.
There, Titus saw 8 different people seated around a table and they were all discussing intently. And among them, he recognised his two siblings.
They certainly had seen better days. Curtis looked paler than usual and Felicia had a snappy look in her eyes. But they were fine at least.
When they stepped in, everyone turned to look at them and Titus removed his mask and goggles.
"Ah, so he made it." The first person to speak was a familiar figure. It was Aisha, the beautiful elf looked as elegant as always, though the months of braving the cold had certainly done its number on her. This was her true body, and it was a clone that was handling the affairs of her sect and helping Christopher in his information gathering.
She wasn't the only familiar face though. Titus recognised the green Dragon that went by the na Zephyr, and the powerful Oni General Benimaru who looked better than most due to his secondary Affinity to water and ice.
The last two were people he didn't recognise. A demihuman that belonged to the wolf tribe, and a female Centaur that seed bored.
Felicia and Curtis had their eyes light up a little when they saw Han escort Titus inside, but they kept their faces calm.
"You did well getting here." Felicia said with a nod and Curtis humd in agreent.
Titus just smiled and went to an empty seat Han pointed him to before taking his own.
There were no pleasantries nor were there any enquiries on how his journey had been. Instead, the group went straight to business.
"To give you a brief rundown of what's happening currently. After our groups rged, we gathered the information we had and after moving for a bit, we finally found our objective." Curtis explained and Titus expected as much, but he still Sat up slightly when they told him they had found the objective.
"The place is in an underground ice cavern we found by chance as well as mrs Aisha's assistance. Though our objective is farther inside." Hearing this, Titus smiled, though it didn't reach his eyes.
"The fact that you haven't retrieved it and ended the mission... sothing is preventing us from getting it, right?" Hearing this, there was a collective sigh.
"Why yes indeed." Aisha held a similar smile on her face and sighed.
"Actually, it's sothing we're sowhat familiar with." Hearing this, Titus raised a brow and she continued with a grim smile.
"It's a clone of Sir Lenax." Hearing this, Titus blinked, then sighed, then groaned.
'Now that's just perfect.'
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