ALL NOVEL Chapter 10: New Loot
William and the rest of the party burn the corpses of the remaining wolves and bones of the former Flesh Hounds. Normally, adventures would retrieve the remains to turn it to the guild for small reward but as of now, their priority is to return to the army and report about sudden hellhounds ambush.
'When we get back, I should check my inventory to see what I got. If I'm guessing it right, the stronger the monster I defeat, the better loot I will get. So I hope I get something good from Flesh Hounds.' William thought to himself as he took the rear guard within adventures. If there are any monsters or bandits, William will be able to find them thanks to his helmet sensor.
The Space Marine's helmet is built with filters, auto senses and various visual protection such as blinding lights or darkness as it allows the wearer to see in night vision, infrared and ultraviolet ranges.
It only took one hour for the party to find the army as they were taking a break without any incident. William and Gale went to find Sir Dolven to report about their scout mission and what happened. It only took a few minutes when two men found Sir Dolven as he was walking over and talking to his soldiers. It was a sign of good leadership, who cared about his troops even though Sir Dolven himself is a noble and commander of the Order of Black Flames. There is something you can respect from the man only by the action instead of the use of words.
"Sorry to interrupt your inspection but we have an urgent report," William asks casually, while Gale freaks out due to the way William talks to Sir Dolven.
"William, I heard that you went on a scouting mission ahead of the army. I see you have already met Gale, so what is the report?" Sir Dolven spoke with interest and causal tone as he didn't seem to mind the status difference.
Gale stepped up to give the report, "During our mission, we encountered another party fighting wolves. When William and my party help them to kill the beasts, some of them turn into hellhounds. We manage to kill them and burn the body but I'm afraid we are already facing the enemy influences even before entering the vampire territory." When Sir Dolven heard hellhounds, he showed great concern and confusion as vampires tend to use necromancy, not demonic sorcery.
"Are you sure it was a hellhound, not undead wolves used by the necromancers?" Sir Dolven asked as he looked at both Gale and William (Well, his helmet).
"We are sure wolves were dead before they turned. But when we killed them, they turned into dust as only their bones remained." William explains and describes more in detail without giving away the influence of Chaos Gods. If they learn about Chaos Gods it will only welcome them into this world with more demons and nightmare monsters much scarier than typical monsters.
"If somehow vampires managed to obtain the power of demons, we are in trouble. But the second army is already ahead of us and if we don't meet them in time, we will lose the war before starting the first battle. We will continue with our schedule but I will make sure we prepare for possible ambushes from vampires." Sir Dolven said and ended the meeting as he now had to gather his lieutenants for new information.
"For now our job is done. William, we will go back to the front after we take a short break. The other party can't go since they have two people down due to injury. I'll get you before we leave." Gale said to William as he walked away to find his party members.
'I guess I have time now to go over my loot.' William found himself in an isolated area to relax and go over the new inventory.
'Let see, bolter rounds, more rations, first aid kits, repair bots… oh this is new.' With excitement, William checks the new items as he clicks it for more detail.
[Oath of Loyalty (Purity Seal ) x1: To symbolize the first victory against minions of Chaos, the Emperor awarded you with a Purity seal. Grant the user better leadership and loyalty from allies.]
[Support Order (Artillery Bombardment) x1: "Infantry win firefights, tanks win battles, artillery wins wars." An old saying from an Artillery Officer. Grant the user an ability to call down bombardment from Basilisk, a mobile artillery platform armed with a massive earthshaker cannon.]
'Holy crap, these two are very useful items. Didn't know I can get support ability just like COD killstreak reward.' With new items and supportability, William equipped the seal into his armor and artillery order in his helmet display which appeared on the top left side.
Now, William is certain that he can obtain more than just ammunition and battle gear from defeated enemies. The stronger the enemy, the better gear or ability he will earn but that all depends on luck.
After organizing his new and old gear, William equips himself with a bolter pistol, power sword, and three grenades, the standard equipment William prefers as he wants to save ammunition for bolter and flamer until a real battle happens.
When it was time, William met up with Gale and others to continue their recon mission. The army continued their march without any incident throughout the day and expected to meet the second army outside of the vampire town right on schedule.
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Outside of City of Deron, Four Days Later,
"Battalion, halt!" With loud command, Sir Dolven stopped the army when they arrived at the second army's base camp right outside of the City of Deron. With the first part of the mission done, adventures took a breather as they completed the main quest of the special quest. For the second part, adventurers can participate in the military battle as mercenaries for additional reward and opportunity to gain fame but for Western Eagles, they won't join as they specialize in escort.
"William, it was nice meeting you. We hope we can hang out next time and join you for a monster-hunting quest." Gale said to William as his party started to gather their equipment and supplies.
"Oh, you guys are not staying?" William asks Gale with surprise.
"The thing is we have an escort mission to the capital next week. So we have to go now if we want to make it on time. I know you are going to stay for the second part of the quest so here is my advice. 'Don't be a hero,' you only live once and there is no point of reward if you end up becoming undead." Gale explains and advises William as he grabs his backpack to meet with the rest of the party.
"I will remember that," William said as he smiled as he was not wearing his helmet at this moment. With that, Western Eagles left the camp to meet their new client in the nearby town to start their escort mission.
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That Evening,
William is requested by Sir Dolven to attend the war meeting as a guest of Sir Dolven and the only adventure participating in tomorrow's battle. After Western Eagles left the camp, the other party decided not to join the fight as they were the only group left and there is a difference in war effort if they join or not. William on the other hand gladly decided to join the fight as he wants to gain more loot and extra reward from the second part of the quest.
"William, before the meeting starts, I want you to stay quiet. The commander of the second army can be bit… prideful." Sir Dolven gave a warning as they are the only group in the meeting tent.
"Sure, I guess. If I may ask, why do you ask me tha…" Before William could finish his question, a group of heavily armored knights came to the tent as the person leading the group spoke out loud.
"OK, let's start this meeting. I have vampires to kill and a region to conquer for my father." A young blond man with gold and red armor said as he put his helmet on the table. Meanwhile, Sir Dolven and his followers only sigh as they already knew this would happen.
"William, meet Sir Benton Pius Amadeus the 4th, the Crown Prince of the Alderim and Commander of the King's army." Sir Dolven introduces the Crown Prince to William as everyone in the tent bow down to show respect.
"You gotta be kidding me, a freaking crown prince is in command of this war?" William whispers to himself as he stares at the energetic prince as he starts to regret not leaving with the rest of the adventures.