Training #4

The heated discussion did not deflate, not even a smidge of it could be seen, and the scribes and strategists present in the room started to get really uncomfortable. Two sides of equal attitudes were strongly adamant about their choice of action, and the surroundings witnesses became victims of their non-explicit jabs at each other.

Elias was forceful in his relentless attempts of siege-warfare, while Kaiser opposed him, while also expertly hiding his true objective. Being Olivia’s fiance had taught the commoner high-society politics, and unfortunately Elias, he was good at it.

“You are not listening to me Elias, this monster is nothing you have ever seen! We cannot afford to experiment with the lives of real soldiers!” The knight growled back. “If I give up now, the kids will be used as cannon fodder!” Kaiser thought grimly, “They are still incapable of taking another one’s life! If we were to force them in a life and death situation– They will absolutely fail!”

“Foolish– Your age is making you soft, Kaiser.” Elias clicked his tongue, throwing a condescending sideways glance at the Knight, “All of the soldiers and knights within the army know of the risks! They have been taught to savor every bit of food they ate, as it may be their last!” The graying man shot back, “You, most of all, must understand this, Chief Knight.”

“Damn it.”Kaiser opened his mouth to reply, but he couldn’t. Closing his mouth, Kaiser could only huff in annoyance as he had been had. “Is there no other way!?”

“You have grown way too soft, Kaiser. What a pity.” Elias sighed, turning to the strategists, “You all must see that this argument is futile, therefore I will propose a vote. Raise your right, if you vote for me and the other for Kaiser. Time is of the essence.”

Olivia frowned from the back, watching as a brave few raised their hands and the others following suit. Despite Kaiser’s efforts, no one voted in their favor, and that was because of the Strategist. She shook her head dismissively, praying for the safety of the rest of the children.

“It is unfortunate, but the council has decided.”

Elias smirked smugly at his landslide victory. He refused to count the right hands raised, and turned to the defeated Knight. “As you can see, it has been decided.” He concluded, his ego and pride being inflated like a balloon. Elias faced the strategists once more, “If there is any among you with objections, please come forward, or hold your peace as we discuss our form of attack.”

“They all voted in favor of me, I doubt there would be any that would challenge me.” Elias sneered in his mind, “How dare a commoner boy go against me–”

“I object!”

The words rang loudly in the room, the sound reverberating in Elias’s head. He doubted if his ears had started to fail, but as he faced the source of the young voice– one of the Heroes, dressed in black— his annoyance almost outgrew his professional mask. “H-How dare you!”

Akiro raised his left hand, his right arm holding documents and scrolls. “--Or more accurately, I have something to propose, Sir.”

His victory trampled, the strategists fumed internally but he hid it with a forced smile. “What is it, child? Is there anything useful for you to add?”

“I do,” Akiro smirked proudly at him, “And with your experience, this solution of mine can be refined even more.”

Elias chewed on his inner cheek, motioning with his hand to come forward. A challenge to his seat, to be more precise. “Well? Come now, we do not have all day.”

Kaiser watched as Akiro stepped forward into the spotlight, but not without sending him a reassuring nod. The older knight only raised an eyebrow in response, but he kept his peace. Elias on the other hand had crossed his arms and was leaning on on foot, tapping impatiently with the other.

Akiro stepped into the center of the room and set down the items in his hands. “Before I begin, I would like to introduce myself. I am Akiro Hiroto, one of the Summoned Heroes, and a student of Kaiser.” He said, bowing courteously, “Then let’s begin.”

Akiro picked up the top-most item from his pile, opening the scroll after reading the title. “Last Hunt– a documentary. This is the recorded document of the ‘last’ Worm-Hunt.” He pointed, “In this selection is everything we need to defeat the sandworm.”

Kaiser raised an eyebrow, looking at the obscure writings on the scroll. Despite his extensive knowledge of languages, he could not read it. “Is that a forgotten language?”

Akiro voiced that fact in an interest-catching way, succeeding as some had leaned in to listen better. “However, It is imperative that you listen closely as the knowledge within this scroll is useless unless you understand why they work.”

The assassin unrolled the scroll further and began to read, “The first step for hunting sandworms is forcing them above the sand. Again, we all are aware that they are fearful of sunlight, yes?” A wave of soft yeses or nods replied to the question, and Akiro nodded. “Good, there are three ways to force the sandworm out of the sand; One, you hunt them at night; Two, you force them on shallower sand; or Three, you bait the sandworm out.”
“Then the answer is simple! We shall wait for it at night.” Elias interjected, already getting impatient.

“Good, it’s working.” Akiro smirked. “That could work, however the younger a sandworm is, the more common it would hunt at night instead of preserving its strength.” He agreed with Elias, “But, this form of hunting does not work on older, more mature sandworms.”

Elias reeled back, backtracking in his steps as he realized his mistake. “I suppose, however, it would be best to assume that this particular worm is quite aged and more mature.”

“That is correct, thus option one is off the table.” Akrio said, raising three fingers and lowering the ring finger. “Due to the size of the monster, the second option is also redundant as a sandworm with a diameter of thirty-meters would be impossible to force on shallower sand– especially around Oasis City’s, as the edges of its foundation rest on the same exact circumference of solid rock.”

“So option three is the only choice we have.” Elias hummed, getting less and less agitated and more thoughtful. “How do you suppose we lay a trap for the giant?” He asked, still skeptical but open to other ideas. “With such methods no longer at our disposal, my methods are the most fitting.”

“Exactly as you say, Elias, Sir.” Akiro carried on, nodding submissively at the man, “But that is where my proposal comes in.”

The man smiled, “Well, do continue, I am intrigued.” Elias hummed appreciatively.

Akiro put his right hand on his back, putting away his smirk as he did. “We will then use our troops to lay a trap, bait if you will, to gather the attention of the sandworm are they hunt more accurately with sound instead of sight.”

“Shame, Kasier, boy– your own prized pupil betrayed your own ideologies. How saddening.” Elias nodded, glancing at Kaiser, who looked like a bottle of wine, ready to explode. The man who was opposed so strongly by the knight felt pride and satisfaction swell.

Akiro turned to the table, pushing away documents to make way for the map spread out on its surface while also motioning for the crowd to lean in closer. “The trap we will lay out for the monster will be as follows…”

Two weeks followed from the meeting, and the sandworm’s presence still haunted the people inside the walls. But the army was on the move, the economy jumped starting as orders and commissions were ordered out to the remaining present.

Blacksmiths, whose forges were cold, sprung into a frenzy, and the clanking of hammers against metals rang perpetually through the hours of each passing day. Akiro himself had commissioned a weapon.

Systems of groups, hired and paid handsomely by the military, were all mustered up in legions ready for action at the drop of a coin; and overseeing them were the Heroes specialized in melee combat, while the mages were posted atop the walls to support the military’s official Mage legion.

With all the preparation and construction, the modifications to Oasis city had been completed; and the Army was ready to spring the trap meticulously laid out for the monster.

“Look alive!” Olivia barked, her voice harsh, loud, and almost grating in a way– effectively scaring many of the mages and Heros within her ranks. “Takumi! Be ready! Just like we practiced!”

The class’s resident manga-connoisseur nodded obediently, fixing his glasses and letting it sparkle from the sun’s heat. “Yes ma’am!”

“Good. Takumi, Keiichi, Takeshita– Prepare yourselves!” Olivia called, the three springing into action.”

“[ Tomigura Takumi, ice mage, Lvl 32] [Onishi Akiko, Paladin, Lvl 39] [Sasawa Yaso, Archer, Lvl 43] [Matsumura Shigeko, Priest, lvl 29] [Kenji Kinote, Tanker, Lvl 42] [Yamazaki Toshiyuki, Martial Artist, 43] [Nishimura Hitomi, samurai, Lvl 41] [Hashimoto Mari, Magic Gunner, Lvl 40] [Okuda keiichi, Earth mage, Lvl 34] [Isa Tsukiko, Healer, 29] [Yastuke Kenji, Support mage, Lvl 32] [Takeshita Eri, Fire mage, Lvl 36] [Shimizu Sango, Healer, Lvl 29] [Haruto Itsuki, High Knight, Lvl 42] [Tahara Maki, Wind Mage, lvl 38] [Tahara Kasumi, Lightning mage, lvl 37] [Hamasaki Masashi, Berserker, Lvl 52] [Teramoto Toshio, Ninja, lvl 47] [Furutani Ryuta, Tamer, lvl 37 ] [Matsuko Rei, Alchemist, Lvl 25] [Kagiwara Tsukiko, Dark mage, Lvl 32] [shinomura Mitsuko, Light mage, lvl 33]” Akiro reminisced perfectly, listing out the levels of his own classmates as he looking up the wall. “I’m a little behind, but I’ll catch up eventually. After all, levels alone cannot dictate one’s ability.” [ Lvl 39 ] [ ATK: 198 / STR: 75 / DEX: 187 / SPD: 147 / DEF: 19 / INT: 100 / MANA: 225 ]

“What was that?” Kaiser tapped his shoulder, “I think you said something.”

Akiro blinked, turning to his teacher and squinting as the sun was high overhead. “U-Uh, nothing. I’m just rethinking the battle plan. Why do you ask?”

Kaiser shook his head, smiling softly as he did. “It’s nothing serious—” He dismissed, “But since you're the commander of this operation, I figured you’d be nervous.”

“Not really, but neither are the troops thanks to Ayama.” He pointed.

Akiro turned his gaze to the side, watching Ayama mingle and joke with the infantry, greatly boosting their morale. If it were a consolation, Ayama felt responsible to cheer up the troops labeled as cannon fodder.

“Heh,” Akiro smirked, thinking back on how much Ayama had lectured him on his plan and it only took Akrio to explain his true intentions for the Hero to gasp in awe.

Kaiser smiled at the boy too, “He really does have that effect on people, doesn't he?”

“Yes he does.” Akiro agreed, but the smile soon disappeared from his face. “Why are you really talking to me, Sensei? You’re beating around the bush.”

The older man chuckled, his shoulder plates shaking as he did. “You really are sharp.” Kaiser complimented. “I just wanted to tell you that whatever happens to this battle, it is better to be dishonored than to be killed.”

Akiro sharply turned to his teacher. “Are you telling me to run away? Just in case things go terribly wrong?”

“Yes,” Kaiser replied curtly, “That is exactly my point. This is dangerous—”

As the words partly left the Knight’s mouth, the ground rumbled in the distance, dunes of sand being displaced slowly but surely– coming closer and closer.

Rmmmm….Rmnnngggg……Rmmmmngggg….

“Well that’s that.” Akiro huffed, taking the wrapped article in his hand and securing the satchel he wore on his person. “We can have this conversation at another time, Sir.”

Kaiser cursed, frowning sharply at the incoming threat. “Fine, but you understood me, yes?”

Akiro spared the worried adult a confident smile. “Yes, sir!” he saluted, before turning to the mustered militia behind him. “At the ready!!” Akiro yelled loudly, his hands coned around his mouth to amplify the throat grating volume of his voice.

The Mages mixed in with the Knights gulped nervously as they stiffened into an orderly position, the sound of their impending demise slowly getting closer.