"Well this brings back memories, haven't used a normal spear ever since then…" Leo thought.
{Due to the lack of time for preparation we were given these standardized gear as a stand in, even now as I pour my aether in it, it feels unstable.
Our weapons haven't even been repaired so there was never a choice really…but it's the least of our worries currently.} Leo ran across the rubble and debris with a spear in hand.
He looked to his right and in the distance the horns of a goat was visible above the standing buildings.
Running alongside him was Caesar with his aether released and a sword in hand, and a few horses with soldiers armed with guns and bows.
"Over there" said Caesar as he changed directions going through a little alleyway, and Leo followed suite.
"Hey! We can't go through there!" one of the soldier men said as he stopped his horse, the path was too narrow.
"Get through another path and meet up with us!
Or go assist another group, that's an order!" Caesar screamed as a reply.
"An order?! I'm a corporal can you do that?!" The soldier said in anger receiving no response from Caesar, after a brief moment he questioned one of the men beside him.
"Can he do that?" He asked all confused. "I don't think he can…or is it because he's a royal" he muttered as a consolidation to his previous words.
"Leave it be, let them do what they want to…those kids are monsters anyway they're just going to meet their kind.
Let's go, lives are on the line." Another soldier replied.
"True…they were keeping up with the horses…" the one complaining muttered, then followed up with a gulp of air.
–
Leo and Caesar burst through the end of the pathway only to be met by the sight of another in the distance.
"Should we split up?" Leo came to a halt, with Caesar joining him.
"Yes, I'll go to that one you take the other…try to hold out until backup comes or maybe try to take it out of town if possible" Caesar replied.
"Sure, but It's going to be hard to properly conserve our aether with these lackluster gears, be careful." Leo said to Caesar with a worried look.
Caesar closed his eyes then exhaled, breathing out his feelings of unease and worry piled against each other…"of course I will, be safe out there as well." he clenched his fists and raised it up.
[Tap] Leo replied with a bump. "Sure" then he set off towards the goat using his aether for mobility.
Now his body was coated in aether itself, his pupils turned black and at his exhales smoke escapes, on one hand a ball of fire and on the other a spear coated in aura whose tip glowed red.
His sole focus was on the goat that had also caught wind of his presence, now locking eyes with the boy.
[Bleet!]
The tiled streets of concrete shook at the goat's loud scream, although not as loud as the one that served as a call earlier in the day, it was a pain to the ears.
Leo coated his ears with aether, with his world now black and white a scream wasn't going to stop him. "Let's do this, just as I prepared for." He clenched his spear even tighter.
The goat lowered it's head and began an immediate charge at him, it would only be a matter of seconds before their battle began.
***
The agreement the generals had come to with Heimer, was for him and the special unit to deal with the goats with their reward being their temporal release of a year.
They now had a year to prove themselves innocent, with Gustev and Ricia remaining captives till the time for their trial.
The royals were treated differently; Lana was released but wasn't part of the deployed force, with Ren having been already released a day earlier for reasons unknown and he was also absent.
–
A large amount of wagons were departing away from the town's vicinities yet they nearly paled in comparison to the number of horses riding towards the town pulling catapults, wagons, and hosting armed men.
At the very back of the group were the horses of Heimer and general Malcolm who was in uniform.
Malcolm had an unpleasant look on a face, with a cold sweat on it as well, he looked like he was holding in words. "Why did you force me to come along!" he spoke albeit in a furious manner.
"A heretic like me is unfit to command these forces.
You're the top of the chain of command after all you should be more fit to command them!" Heimer said to him.
"You are the head of warfare, why would you refuse to lead without bringing me along?!" Malcolm's face flared up.
"Head of warfare, I'd like to see that person for I am nothing but a glorified commander." Heimer replied in a sarcastic manner.
"You brute…" Malcolm muttered. "You sent off those greenhorns first.
If you trusted them enough to do that then is aether really that capable?"
Heimer frowned a bit "I can tell the thoughts he's having, but it's not like I haven't as well so there isn't any difference.
Actually there is, since I've gone ahead as far as to enact it." He now made his horse go even faster. "Yes it is."
Malcolm gulped, with a smile on his face…"How much so?" He asked.