Fifteen minutes later, we found ourselves back in the conference room I was in earlier. The five of us were sitting on one side of the table, with Fleet Commander Andrews and Professors Dawn and Harris on the other. To my right was the wall, where a map of the UK had been pinned, marked with various symbols, showing enemy troop movements in red – pretty much all concentrated towards the north and east – as well as British troops and evacuation centres marked in black. There were also multiple yellow circles dotted around.

  Captain Davies stood to the side of the map, a wooden pointer in his hand. “This area here will be where we set up base. We’ll be headquartered in Warminster.” He was pointing to an area about fifty miles away from Portsmouth – further inland, towards the west, surrounded by yellow circles. “We have significant British Army presence in the area, including tanks, so we’ll be well defended.

  “Now, the problem is,” Captain Davies looked at me, “or the opportunity, depending on how you want to look at it, is that we’re looking at an area of roughly ten to eleven miles around Warminster, in all directions, teeming with hostiles that we need to clear. It’s like that across the country. Population areas being cut off by monster spawns and other changes to the terrain.

  “The army personnel there have cleared the immediate area surrounding Warminster and are clearing a path towards the southwest, so civilians can be evacuated. The areas to the north and east are being monitored at the moment, but it’s going to be our job to clear the southern side and make a path from Portsmouth to Warminster.

  “We have thirty-six personnel for this mission. The other fifteen members of my troop and twenty Royal Marines. Then there’s the five of you and a team of eight scientists.” He looked at Kian and Charlotte. “Your families will be evacuated to Morocco.”

  “Is that where all the civilians are being evacuated to?” Kian asked.

  “No. Most are being taken near to the ports and airports where we have control.”

  “To send them abroad?” Kian asked.

  “We’re working on agreements with other countries to help take our civilians in,” Fleet Commander Andrews answered.

  “So, they’re refugees basically?” Kian replied. “It’s that bad?”

  “It’s a contingency,” Andrews said. “We’ve managed to slow the enemy’s advance for now, and we have plans in place to retaliate, but it would be foolish of us not to have contingency plans in place. Much as you might not think it, no government works without its people. It would be remiss to not save as many as we can.”

  “All the more reason for us to get on with it, and take back the country,” I said.

  “The plan is to drive up to around fifteen miles from Warminster,” Captain Davies continued, “and then we’ll be on foot, clearing the road and surrounding countryside. It’s very simple. Kill everything on sight, all the way to Warminster. Once we’ve made it to Warminster, we’ll regroup with the army personnel there, and we’ll set up a base to defend you.

  “Be under no illusions though. You’re a HVT and if I were the other side, I’d be planning to take you out with small, specialised teams. Holding the flag, a hundred and fifty miles from enemy lines is very, very risky and not advised.”

  “Wherever the flag is held will be at risk,” I replied.

  “But you won’t be.”

  I looked at the Captain. Then at the Fleet Commander. I smiled, understanding how their concerns mimicked my own from their perspective. All this time, I’d only been interested in my personal survival and that of my friends and it was a pleasant coincidence that that would also ensure the best outcome for Earth. Their concern was also for my survival and through it, gaining the time and knowledge to defeat the enemy. Maybe create those perfect soldiers they wanted. They didn’t realise yet that I was the one who would win this battle for them. I hadn’t realised it for a long while. Or maybe I hadn’t wanted to.

  “The flag makes it easy for me to be tracked, but I’m a target for multiple reasons. The quest for the gem itself. Being the Champion of Earth. I doubt having the flag is going to make that much of a difference to enemies finding me. Truth is, I’m never going to be able to rest easy ever again.

  “If it’s as you say it is, then clearing around Warminster will at least allow us to become what we need to be, and then at least we’ll have a chance.”

  “I put my neck on the line here, to give you what you asked for,” Fleet Commander Andrews said, across from me, “but you need to listen to Captain Davies. His team volunteered to be the ones to look out for you, so don’t put them in danger because you think you know better.

  “You might be the Champion of Earth. These guys are there to ensure you live to understand what that means.”

  I nodded at him, then looked to Davies. “When do we begin?”

  “Now.”

  ***

  Thirty minutes later, Kian and Charlotte said goodbye to their families – Kian, stoic as ever and Charlotte holding back tears. Kian’s family had little issue in leaving, following his older brother’s lead and that tight hold he had on their every move. Only his younger brother gave a cautious glance back as they were led to a waiting vehicle to take them to the airport.

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  Tom and Mary were more reluctant, hating to leave Charlotte but understanding it was for the best. Both of them and her brother made tearful goodbyes, before they also walked to their waiting car, as we went to meet the rest of the team coming with us.

  Captain Davies was going to be part of the five who were joining us and introduced us to the other four members of his SBS Troop that would complete our ten-man team.

  All four were male and looked not that much older than me. Sergeant Hill, standing only slightly shorter than Captain Davies, had a similar trim to his hair and no beard, with a more tired-looking paunchy face. Trooper Jackson, the only black member of the team had a shaved head like mine, and was of a similar height, though built like a mountain. In fact, the granite-like appearance seemed to be a running theme, the last two members – Grant and Stevens – seemingly carved from the same rock as Davies.

  Both were just over six-feet tall, but Grant had trimmed blonde hair and specks of blonde stubble – I could imagine he didn’t have problems with the women. Stevens on the other hand had a face that – look, it was perfectly fine, but plastic surgery existed for a reason.

  Professor Dawn also joined us, along with a young lady, maybe in her late twenties, or possibly early thirties.

  “This is Sara,” Professor Dawn introduced her. “She’s a final year PhD student of Biomedical Science.” Sara had that golden-brown skin often seen on those from the Mediterranean or North Africa. Maybe even Latin America. She was slightly taller than me, slim, with black hair flowing to her waist and a face with delicate features. She was dressed in a pencil skirt, white blouse and wore white trainers.

  The four troopers led the two scientists to two waiting military jeeps, with all the equipment and gear they needed. We were going to keep our two SUV’s, with Captain Davies joining us, but before we set out, he had us show him how we handled the weapons we had. After a quick five-minute show, he was quite impressed, given our lack of training.

  “It’s good. At least your competent enough,” he said. Then he pulled something from behind his back and handed it to Kaelyn with a wink. It was her knife, and she smiled like a child being given candy. She really did love that knife. “We’ve had some gear put into your cars for you guys. More ammo. Night-vision goggles. First-aid kits.”

  Around us, the rest of the teams were also getting into their jeeps, ready to move. Two of the teams consisted of ten marines, two scientists, with the last team consisting of the remaining eleven SBS soldiers and two scientists.

  “You all ready?” Davies asked, and we all nodded. “Let’s head out.”

  ***

  It was almost ten at night, when the cars stopped and we all got out. We actually stopped closer than planned, about ten miles out from the town, having not encountered anything. But that was as far as Davies was willing to risk it. He ordered the soldiers to walk the rest of the way through the surrounding countryside, whilst our team of ten would walk in front of the cars as they slowly followed behind.

  With the moon missing and no light, we had to use the night-vision goggles as we walked in silence along the two-lane road, Davies and the other four a few metres ahead of the five of us. There was a lane for either direction but with no other cars around, the vehicles behind us used both, their headlights off and the low hum of their engines the only sound in the air. Lining both sides of the road were the shadowy silhouettes of bushy trees, behind which were the teams of soldiers in the fields that we couldn’t see.

  I glanced at my friends, as we walked, but all of them were focused on the road ahead. Watching Kaelyn on the end made me smile as she tilted her head this way and that, fascinated by being able to see in the dark. The good thing was that none of us seemed anxious, nor scared. Not even Carmen. There was just a determination to move forwards. That’s how it felt.

  It didn’t take long before Davies held his fist up and the five of us stopped. Kian held his own fist up, signalling the cars behind to also hold. I could hear the soft crackle of the walkie talkie in Davies hand as I tried to look past him to see what was up ahead, but there didn’t seem to be anything there. Not anything I could see anyway.

  The crackle of the walkie talkie stopped, and Davies came back towards us.

  “Be ready. The guys on our right have found a herd of deer. They will engage when I give them the go-ahead.”

  “How big are the deer?” Carmen asked. It was a good question given the wolves we had already faced.

  “About twice as big as they should be,” Captain Davies replied. “We’ve had reports on these. They’re aggressive against native populations. They’ve been cannibalising the local deer and taking over the territory. We’ve heard about cows, sheep, mice and rats among others doing the same thing.”

  “Looks like the animals have their own war like us,” I said with a chuckle. “Do we need to go help them over there?”

  I needn’t have asked. The soldiers in the cars behind us got out, weapons ready, and the guys on our left side emerged from the bushy trees and made their way over to the right-hand side.

  “They’re setting up to make sure any that try to run come our way. It’s our job to take care of those.”

  I was about to protest – make it clear that my friends and I needed the experience, but Davies held his hand up to stop me. “You’ll get plenty of opportunity over the coming days but right now, it’s about being as efficient as possible as we clear the road to Warminster.”

  I nodded. He had a point. We weren’t soldiers. Not yet. Best to follow their lead and take care of the stragglers. Davies had us take positions behind the vehicles, so we’d have some cover, but with a clear line of sight to the bushy trees. Once we were all lined up, rifles in our hands, magazines at our sides, he grabbed the walkie talkie at his waist.

  “Your clear to engage when you’re ready.”

  As he said the words, I placed a [Gravity Circle] about ten metres ahead of me, and the [Frost Circle] next to it, and waited.

  Maybe ten seconds later, we heard the sounds of gunfire on the other side of the trees, like a fireworks show that had gone out of control, the cool spring night booming with the crackles and pops, sparks of gunfire visible through the gaps between the bushy trees. I wondered whether we could have done this more quietly. Maybe have Kaelyn pass through and silently cut throats, but at the same time, all of these soldiers needed to earn SE coins. We all needed to get stronger.

  Those of us on the road held our breaths as we waited. We could hear a small rumble – well, feel it vibrating through the ground coming closer to us. I blinked my eyes several times like you do when you know you’ll need to keep them open for a while. My finger hovered on the trigger as the rumble grew.

  We heard the snapping of branches before we saw the deer emerge, frantically smashing through the trees and coming straight for us. About ten of them, one directly in front of me, trapped in the [Gravity Circle], though it could move very slowly. It seemed confused, eyes wild with fear, even as it tried to understand why it was struggling to move. I felt sorry for it. Ironically, more than I had with Nathan’s goons. Those two knew what they were doing, killing all those people back in the house. These deer were just following their nature. There was no right or wrong for them. Just life.

  I pulled the trigger, emptied my mag and watched it drop. The others went down just as quickly and as soon as it had started, it was over. These were not powerful beasts. No more powerful than the wolves. But it was easy when you had trained soldiers and a plan that worked.

  I got the loot notification in the corner of my vision. Then another notification. One that made me smile.

  [New Rank Acquired]

  LitRPG | Mythic Fantasy | Military Strategy | Kingdom Building