Kingdom of High Tarxan, Near A Forest, Near A Beach Head, Out Of The Nuclear Submarine, Amphibious Inflatable Landing Boat.

1st Year of God, Friday, 3rd Week, Month Of Noah

Weeks had passed, and during that time, most of the special operations officers that were being carried by the Austronesian People's Empire's nuclear submarines had arrived at their designated locations. They firstly began the operations by disembarking from the nuclear submarines and speeding through the shorelines. They had to make it quick so that they wouldn't be seen by any other people.

From that point on, their movements had to remain unseen, forcing them to blend into the shadows. After the officers disembarked, the submarines immediately submerged back into the water, lying in wait for their return.

The submarines were to remain on standby, prepared to come to the special operations officers rescue if needed. Each vessel was equipped with ballistic missiles and research equipment, which meant they had another purpose and that was to provide immediate aid if the Empire was discovered by the outside world.

Basically, they would roam the seas and when information about an imminent attack against the Empire is received, they are to take action immediately and to sabotage enemy supply lines.

Additionally, the submarines were tasked with researching the topographic area of the surrounding oceans. That is, to identify a potential location for resources to mine, and to gain a clear picture of the maritime environment.

In their bid to enhance the submarines' capabilities, the Austronesians abandoned much of the stealth of the nuclear submarines, as they believed the neighboring races have no way of detecting submarines even a few meters below the surface, let alone at greater depths.

Thus, most, if not all, the stealth equipment of the nuclear submarine was downgraded or removed to allow for more components to be attached.

Interestingly, the surrounding nations relied on a form of radar designed to detect magic. However, this worked to the Austronesians' advantage, as they were entirely devoid of mana, rendering these magical radars ineffective against their fleets and formations.

This information was given by Floria Melian Shelberry. The people who asked her were indeed shocked at her honesty, which made everything much easier for the Austronesians.

Another advantage for the Austronesians came from the presence of a few elves accompanying Melian, who were scholars well-versed in mana and various other magical topics. The young enthusiasts and seasoned experts in the Science Department and Research Institution were thrilled to embark on new research involving this world's magic.

After weeks of intensive study, the engineering team within the Science Department developed a groundbreaking invention to aid the Austronesian Empire in this world.

And that invention was a device capable of detecting signs of mana within a certain distance and measuring its Magicule Levels.

This innovation allowed the Austronesians to easily assess the threat level of magical beings they might encounter in the future. Moreover, they integrated this technology into a new satellite, which had been constructed long before the New Year Tragedy, and launched it into space.

The satellite, which would be named as the “Mana-Monitoring Satellite”, was now capable of detecting and measuring Magicule Levels in various regions around the world, providing a strategic advantage in navigating and understanding the magical landscape.

Back to the previous topic, the Austronesians couldn't stay too complacent, and so the entire fleet was still on alert, though they now have some time to take some room for a breather. This allowed them to install and modify some components of the nuclear submarines to provide the empire with more advantages against their soon-to-become adversaries.

The proof why they could trust Melian is because of the fact that the invasion fleet she brought was indeed a ship of the line ironclad. Which means that these nations' technology lagged behind even the ironclads of the American Civil War in their world. Thus, the idea of a radar based on electromagnetic waves was too far fetched for these nations.

Furthermore, the nations of this world heavily relied on magic, a dependency that could lead to their downfall. This shortsightedness provided the Austronesians with a strategic edge, enabling them to launch surprise attacks against the established norms of this world.

However, the Austronesians faced a limitation. Since there were not enough nuclear submarines, they weren't able to send each one towards every nation of this world.

Additionally, Melian revealed an intriguing detail about the existence of "Civilization Zones." Apparently, the zone they were in was the lowest tier, known as the Third Civilization Zone.

This concept was somewhat similar to the terms of the past world of the Austronesians, where terms like Third, Second, and First World Countries were used.

However, one stark difference in this world was the pervasive presence of slavery, and it is present in every inch of the society of this world.

No matter how advanced or modern a nation appeared, they all have a common mindset of those whom with magic were deemed superior, while those without were considered inferior, more or less like dogs, and were denied the same rights and treatment as even those with the slightest affinity in magic.

"Commander, it is finally time to set out and gather information about our surroundings," Nathan said.

Boarding an Amphibious Inflatable Landing Boat with nine other men, Angelo looked back at Nathan and smiled wryly while the splashes of water were being splattered all over them.

"Indeed, it is time for us to gather information for the benefit of our glorious people's empire," Angelo replied.

Right now, each soldier wore green raincoats that covered most of their body to protect them against the heavy rain, with their battle armor and military uniforms hidden within it.

"Though these missions of ours are an immensely tough one as we would need to not be discovered by anyone. How are we going to enter the cities?" Paulo curiously asked.

Angelo glanced at Paulo, realizing he shared the same concern. Despite the uncertainty, their duty was to protect the Empire's interests, taking any necessary actions as long as it is beneficial to the Empire would be good.

"Let's just leave it to our God's will. Whichever happens, as long as it is for the benefit of our Empire, is our mission. Do not hesitate to unleash hell if we are to be discovered. After all, our lives take priority. According to the briefing, we are just to gather as much information as possible as we leave. Even if the Empire were to be compromised, the higher-ups already expected an attack after the demon invasion. Thankfully, it hasn't happened yet. We are the citizens of the Empire. If we die here and our bodies are tarnished and humiliated, the ire of millions of people back home would not forgive our adversaries and demand retribution. I'll say we are not meant to die here," Angelo said.

"Roger that, commander!" all the soldiers replied in unison.

After a brief moment of silence, they arrived at their destination, which was the shoreline. They immediately disembarked and deflated the inflatable boat, and packed it up. They hastened towards the forest, while minding their own flanks and surroundings.

“Rain and foggy. This is not a good sign,” one of the soldiers remarked.

“You’re right…“ Angelo responded to the young soldier. Fully aware of the mission's risks, he knew it was essentially a suicide mission for humans like them in an environment filled with dangers that even an armed soldier won't survive.

To prepare, he had equipped each soldier with heavy machine guns, high-calibre rifles, and four armor-piercing shells.

Angelo looked at the puddles on the muddy ground and then at the mountains, shrouded in mist and clouds under the misty rain.

“Perhaps we should take shelter first. This weather is not suitable for a survey,” he suggested.

Taking out a tablet, he pointed to a red circle on the map display. “The Mana-Monitoring Satellite recently built by the Science Department measures Magicule Levels in a given area. Based on our location, this area has a lower mana density, meaning there aren't many magic beasts or humanoids with magical abilities here.”

“What happens if the area has a massive amount of Magicule Levels?” one of his soldiers asked.

“Then there might be a large number of targets or a powerful one, unless they are capable of hiding their aura. That’s why command sent us to an area with low mana density, same as the other teams,” Angelo explained. “According to the map, there seems to be a village nearby. We should be able to rest there for the night.”

“Didn't the command say we shouldn’t be discovered?” Paulo asked.

“By humans in isolated settlements, yes. The Elf Queen assured us they wouldn’t snitch on us unless they had no choice.”

Nodding, Nathan agreed, “Sounds good. You veterans have a wealth of experience, I won’t try to ignorantly take command here.”

Hearing this, the Colonel could not help but shake his head and responded half-jokingly, “You shouldn’t say that. Our military follows the principle of respecting the strong.” he said, looking at the rest of the soldiers and issued orders, “Head north. We’ll find a village not far from here where we will settle down. Remember, don’t trouble the villagers too much. We’re just staying for the night and gathering some information along the way.”

“Copy that, commander.”

“Commander, can we at least have a bite now?” Marco asked.

“We can once we reach the village. It’s only a ten-minute journey on foot,” Angelo replied.

Looking at the narrow road that could accommodate only one or two people side by side, Nathan stated with a bitter smile, “This is what mountains are like!”

Hearing the soldier’s exclamation, Angelo could not help shaking his head, and glanced at the soldiers behind him, “Leave a few people to guard the station, the rest of us will go to the village,” he ordered.

“Copy that, sir!” the soldiers responded in unison.

Nodding his acknowledgment, Angelo issued a few more instructions. Then, as if remembering something, he shouted, “And one more thing, remember to bring those ‘things’ with you.”

“Commander, do we really need to be so cautious? Those things are quite heavy!” Marco complained.

“Heavy?!” Angelo's face darkened with rage. Staring at the young soldier as he emphasized, “They might seem heavy, but once you lose your life, you’ll understand what real heaviness means.”

With that, he walked to one soldier in a huff and puff and took an iron box from him. Inside was a modified rocket launcher with armor-piercing rockets, which was specifically designed to tackle the most dangerous beasts.

He had even witnessed such a weapon obliterate a tank like butter.

Tanks and armored vehicles were not permitted on this squad mission, so man-portable projectile launchers came into use. However, considering their terrifying recoil, which could shatter an arm, these weapons were generally used as a last resort.

Of course, armor-piercing projectiles, which primarily rely on the kinetic energy of the projectile to penetrate and destroy the target, posed a significant threat to magic beasts. After all, the strength of a magic beast lay in their robust defense, that was capable of ignoring ordinary bullets and rockets. But just with one shot, an armor-piercing rocket could tear apart the resilient defense of a magic beast, unleashing tremendous kinetic energy that could shatter its innards.

In general, there were not many magic beasts that could withstand this fearsome weapon.

‘No beast can stay alive after a shot… except for those few…’ As if Angelo had thought of something, his face suddenly darkened.

It was not the first time he and his squad participated in dangerous missions. The last mission he commanded was during the New Year Tragedy.

‘But that time…’ Sighing, Angelo suppressed the untimely emotions rising within him.

Even a month had passed after that tragedy, he still couldn't shake the memories of his men screaming, the sound of flesh tearing, and the monstrous roars of demons echoing in the air.

“Let's move.”

————————————————————

Under the dark sky and drizzling raindrops, the world seemed to have been covered in a layer of gray, decreasing the visibility of ordinary people.

Heavy footsteps resounded amid the pitter-patters of rain as a group of a dozen people marched orderly, treading the water-filled, muddy ground, slowly approaching the village. However, before they could reach it, they heard sorrowful cries.

“Oh, my dear granddaughter, why did you leave us so soon?”

“How can you die before us? How will we old couples go on?”

As they listened to the loud yet mournful cries, Nathan and Angelo exchanged glances, their expressions slightly changing.

“Something must have happened,” Nathan said as he rushed forward.

“Nathan, wait!”

Seeing his partner close in on the entrance of the village, Angelo groaned and decided to follow him.

When they reached the village, they found Nathan standing behind a large crowd gathered in front of a small house, mourning and crying.

As the other soldiers arrived, the villagers turned their heads, facing the newcomers with strange and curious looks.

“Um… hello there.”

“...”

The isolated villagers eyed the soldiers' raincoats with suspicion, likely wondering if they were bandits planning to pillage a insignificant village like this.

Angelo chuckled nervously. “Uh, hi. We are travelers, we mean no harm, and I have several questions—"

Before he could finish, an elderly man with significant white hair walked up. Despite his old age, his posture remained upright. Following him was a few younger men with farming tools.

Seeing this, some soldiers cautiously raised their guns, but Angelo raised his hand to stop them, giving his men a glare before looking back at the approaching men.

“Hello there. Can I see who is in charge here?”

Confused and paranoid expressions formed on the villagers' faces as they exchanged looks, silently debating whether to trust him.

“Um, it is important. We are friendly.”

“Yeah, we mean no harm. It's not like we're gonna rob your entire village and burn it,” Marco joked quietly, but Paulo elbowed his rib, causing Marco to wince in pain.

After a moment of silence, the elderly man stepped forward and introduced himself. “I am the chief of this village,” he said, still suspicious of the group.

Angelo nodded, accepting the peace offer. He then took off the raincoat that covered his head, revealing his human ears, which surprised the village chief.

“You are human. I didn't expect our kind would roam around these dangerous parts. Are you from some group? A mercenary group?”

“Oh, you can say that. We come from a very faraway land. We’re just traveling around these areas and here to gather information about something. We’re on an important mission and need a place to rest for the night. We promise not to cause any trouble and will leave at dawn.”

The old man studied Angelo and his men for a moment, then nodded. “Very well. You may stay, but keep to yourselves and respect our mourning.”

“Thank you,” Angelo replied, bowing slightly. “We appreciate your hospitality, and… um…” Angelo paused, glancing at the crowd gathered at the small house. “Old man, tell me slowly, what has happened?”

Another sigh escaped the village chief’s lips. He wiped the moist corners of his eyes and bitterly narrated, “My two unfortunate granddaughters, though one of them is adopted, were attacked by a Magic Beast, a Blue Snake, when they were returning home late at night. One of them died from the poison, and we buried her just a few days before you arrived.”

As he spoke, the village chief could not help but choke up.

“Well…” Marco's lips parted, but no words came out. He wanted to say something, a joke maybe, or something about killing the magic beast, but consoling a grieving elder was a whole other thing for him.

On the other hand, Angelo had some experience in such matters. He stood up, walked to the elderly man, and patted his shoulder, comforting him. “Old man, please accept our condolences.”

Angelo seemed to remember something and asked, “Did you kill that beast? If not, we’ll go and kill it tonight, offer it as a sacrifice for your granddaughter.”

“Oh, you don't need to do that.”

Angelo raised an eyebrow. “Why not?”

“Because we killed it.”

Feeling surprised, Angelo guessed they had some strong weapon or a magic artifact that even normal humans like these villagers could use to kill a Magic Beast on their own. If so, what was it?

Repeatedly nodding, the old man managed to squeeze a smile on his wrinkled face. “We villagers beat that snake to death with sticks.”

Angelo:



“...What?”

“We beat it to death with sticks,” he repeated.

“...With sticks?”

“Yes,” the chief said with a nod. “It took a lot of us, but we managed. The beast was slower after it had bitten my granddaughter. We were able to surround it and beat it to death.”

‘...So they're saying it was just a regular ass venomous snake?’

Then, the strange silent atmosphere was cut off when the old man hurriedly added, as if he had suddenly recalled something, “But it was because my granddaughter has swallowed that Blue Snake’s gall that she has not woken up yet.”

“Snake’s gall!?” A furrow appeared on a puzzled Angelo's brow.

“Oh geez,” Paulo sighed. “I've heard of this before. It is similar to my hometown in the mountains, where there is a saying that if you get bitten by a venomous snake, eat its gall to detoxify,” he explained and tilted his head as if he knew about it a little. However, the twitching corner of his lips betrayed his thoughts.

‘Who knows who came up with the idea of eating snake gall for detoxification? It’s too absurd. Even snakes themselves could potentially die from their own venom. So, how could snake gall detoxify anyone? If that was really the case, after humans got bitten by a snake, they would kill it right away no matter what and eat its gall. If that happened, this practice would have caused snakes to go extinct ages ago.’

Apparently, the old man seemed to saw through Paulo's thoughts and choked up even more as he added, “I also know that it’s a folk remedy, but at that time, my granddaughter was at death’s door, and her entire body had turned blue…”

Before he could finish his sentence, the old man broke into tears, recalling something.

Angelo, Nathan, Paulo, and Marco looked at each other before a sigh escaped their lips in unison.

If things really came to that point, everyone would grasp at the last straw to save the victim. It was just human nature and it was understandable.

“Old man, how about I take a look?” Looking at the sobbing old man, Angelo could not help but suggest.

“Well…” Looking at Angelo’s young face, the village chief hesitated.

“Don’t worry, old man, this guy is quite awesome,” Nathan candidly added. “Don’t let his young age fool you, he’s my superior. If I weren’t a few years older than him, he would be addressing me as ‘brother,’ and I would be saluting him every time I saw him.”

“Uh…” The corner of the old man’s eyes twitched as the wrinkles on his brow creased together into a furrow.

But after a moment, he took a closer look at Nathan, who was exuding a sense of righteousness, and picked up the smoking pipe, sighing. “You folks finally found shelter in our village for the night, and now you’re still troubling yourselves… haaa…”

Saying so, the old man took a step and headed toward the bedroom within the small house.

The bedroom was not big, probably around twenty square meters. Besides a table and a chair, there was a large bed, and lying on the bed was a girl.

She was not very old, but still an adult probably around eighteen or nineteen years old. She looked quite clean, and she had the type of beauty that grew more appealing the longer one looked at her.

The most surprising part about her was the cat-like ears on her head. However, a hint of pain was visible on her pale face, as if she was enduring something.

“Yo, Nathan, it’s a cat girl, like you always wanted,” Marco cheekily said, prompting Nathan to roll his eyes.

“Shut the fuck up, Marco.”

“This is my unfortunate granddaughter, adopted though, who has been unconscious for three days,” the old man said, glancing back at Angelo and the three other soldiers while the rest were outside. “Gentlemen, if there’s any way, please help me. Even if it costs me my old bones, I’m willing to pay,” he pleaded.

“Stop, stop, stop. There’s no need for this…” Angelo said, lifting the bowing old man and tactfully pulling him aside.

At this point, if anyone could find a solution, it could only be the team’s medic.

When they entered the bedroom, Nathan heard a beeping noise, which came from the mana-detecting device on his wrist. Checking it, he was surprised by the reading.

[Magicule Levels: 312]

“She has mana.”

Looking at the pale young girl lying on the bed, Nathan was momentarily captivated by her beauty but quickly shook his head and refocused.

Despite lacking mana himself and not being able to sense it like most inhabitants in this world, he could tell that her body was surrounded by Magical Energy, and this colorful and mystical power seemed to be desperately trying to heal her.

‘According to my studies with this new mana research, people with mana can resist most disease, poison or other negative effects on the body. No wonder she has survived for three days, the mana is slowing the venom down. But with her mana so depleted, she might not last much longer.’

Thinking of this, Nathan stepped forward and pulled out a vial from his pocket, a vial he had always kept close to himself.

It was a Mana Potion.

While it looked like an ordinary Mana Potion, this vial was, in fact, created through the scientific research of ordinary humans!

Through painstaking research, the old fogies at the Research Institute and Science Department had managed to extract mana from the air to produce it.

This one vial could replenish the mana required by individuals with mana for a short period of time. Except, this excellent potion was highly toxic to non-magical beings.

At this moment, Nathan had concluded that the girl before him possessed mana. Otherwise he would not have taken out the Mana Potion.

In the slums where these people lived, they couldn’t afford even the cheapest Mana Potion, which is enough to solve their problem.

‘If I replenish her mana, it might push back the venom and possibly rid her of it.’

————————————————————

Watching Nathan tend to the unconscious girl, Angelo turned to the Village Chief, who looked increasingly worried.

“Don’t worry, old man. My friend here has a PhD and is a graduate from medical school.”

“What?”

“Ah, sorry, you didn’t know that.”

Decided to forget what he meant, the village chief had something in mind, “...Young sir, while I do appreciate your help in healing my granddaughter, I had another request.”

“Sure, go ahead.”

The Village Chief hesitated before speaking, “Well… there’s been news that the border security of this kingdom has suddenly weakened, which resulted in a number of magic beasts entering our lands. We lost a few villagers to these beasts a week ago in the mountains.”

“So you want me and my team to kill them?” Angelo asked.

“Y-Yeah, but I swear I will pay—”

“No need for payment. Just provide us with the information and shelter, and that’s enough.”

“I… understand.”