Chapter 45 - Developments

"Dissappointing". A sigh escapes me and I can only look at them with a look of dissappointment. My first squad, the Imperials and the women only squad, the Valkyries.

I had meticulously crafted a plan with such a thought that even in the event that they failed to follow through it. They would only have suffered a few minor or griveous wounds.

But not only had they not worked in tandem as I wanted them to. They had gone to the point of hindering each other.

Right now they are weak and stupid, I mean I hadn't expected much from my troops, since they have only been trained for about a month.

But to defy my order and cause a casualty count of three is just unbearable. Its so unbearable that I am sitting on the supply cargo, tapping it with my finger, with each tap causing them to feel my anger spread in the surrounding, chilling down the atmosphere.

I can't even decide how to punish them since this was the consequence of inexperience on the part of the Valkyries.

Not everyone is a psychopath like me and honestly my bottom line is way higher than most beings. But chasing perfection is in rooted with the existence of man and I was at its most nearest.

Perhaps that is why I wanted this expedition to end smoothly and go as I wished. Well at least the casualty count did not exceed more than three.

The Valkyries were given the task of covering for the Imperials and later on join them for the decisive ending.

But these girls though lacking in training nearly killed the Imperials, with their mental state nearing collapse after their first kill.

The Imperials instead had to dodge freindly fire and aggrieved they chose not to cover or warn the Valkyries during the second round of crossfire.

In this way 1 Imperial died gunned down by freindly fire and two Valkyries died in between the crossfire.

I who had been watching patiently from afar had to immediately lie down, use my rifle and provide support for both sides. I was shocked that the situation could devolve in such a way so easily.

The women were right now shivering and nearly collapsing. The men had dark looks because they hadn't lost their comrade to enemies but freindly fire.

One woman was sobbing, stuttering, incessantly muttering out 'Sorry, I am sorry'. She was the trigger jumpy girl that caused this incident and survived barely.

Damun then stepped forward and said "Commander". Though he gulped down his fears due to the anger I was showcasing, he still stood on and said.

"Commander I believe the Valkyries are not ready for any battle oriented events for now. If we hadn't improvised and followed through your plan roughly, then the entire team might have lost their lives".

Another man stood up perhaps sensing my intent to listen to their opinions, he was one of the veterans that had reapeatedly stood neutral in all kinds of events that kept on transpiring.

"Commander, the Imperials are not too keen on working with the Valkyries as they are right now. It is hard to trust your back to someone who could mistakenly end the life of another comrade".

I had contemplated this for a while and said "Not everyone here was once a soldier who could kill. This is the first event the women have faced where they could consciously choose the death of another being. Being harsh on them for such reasons doesn't sit well with me and our time and situation right now simply doesn't allow the loss of any kind of manpower".

They were iffed by this reasoning but no one could really give out a really good reason to cut down manpower. Although the mistakes were made it was only due to inexperience and it wasn't really unexpected for their first kill.

We had just expected them to hold more mental strength than they showcased. In such a way our first raid as a team amounted to three casualties.

Our entire trip back was somber and the remaining surviving Valkyries drowned in training. As if to lament or demand punishment for their crimes, they zealously trained.

All according to kekaiku. The trigger was dealt, do you really believe I would allow new comers to cover for the Veterans. Thats like giving a child a gun and asking him to not pull the trigger. Though the trigger escalated it did deal the damage I wanted.

After a few weeks we again went to raid down Amestris supply cargo and this time no mistakes were made. The Valkyries had become battle hardened bit by bit. To the point that they actively participated in the raids. Many a times outshining the males themselves.

The best Strategist I had right now was Damun and he was drowning in the books and training I was giving him. He was going to be the Special Commander who would wield my authority on the event that I left.

In a sense he was my legacy in this world. He wasn't smart nor strong but he was quick witted and did not hesitate to ask questions, even as foolish as they may be.

He wasn't absorbing knowledge that was just given, he was thinking of practically applying them. So I gave him all the Raid missions to co-ordinate. This was not only his homework but also his exam.

In under three months, our amounts of raids started exceeding 18. It was to the point that we had become an invisible obstacle to the Amestris supply cargo, hindering their potential to reach out to their outposts, rendering in huge amounts of casualties and loss of manpower.

We suffered a casualty count of seventeen in all of the raids. But with the increasing accomplishments our group was making, there came a steady influx of rebels or survivors, vying for a chance to save their homeland from the traitorous nation of Amestris.

This way we were able to keep our trained groups minimum head counts. At first many of them disregarded the Valkyries and all of them paid dearly for that. After all their instructor was a female demon that never lost stamina since I laid eyes on her, Jane.

Jane is the vice captain of the Valkyries with their Captain being Sam, who was silent and hollow all the time. Damun is a special troop, a Strategist.

The Imperials had their own vice commander the Neutral Veteran Kain. He stood on that post through his decision making skills and honestly his way of making decisions disturbs me.

He calculates the gain and loss to move or stay still, it is not really appreciated but it has saved the group a few times so they don't underestimate the Old Man's wisdom so much as they think, though the man is only 32.

Their Captain is a young a.d.u.l.t who has shown tremendous potential in War centered activities, formation warfare, guerilla warfare, etc. His name is Zake and he is honestly the most talented man under me and could probably even rival Damun.

The woman Sam seems mysterious and hides her real strength and knowledge, just like a poisonous viper on the standby. Always ready to strike but never giving out their thoughts and actions.

With all the possible simulations of the results I had made in my mind, four stuck out the most.

One, Envy, he might be sent to our side to spy and seek us out. Enrage us, fan the flames to keep the war progressing. Their magic circle would finish all the more better if they could take my form and prolong the war. That would mean, right now I was in the most danger.

Two, Wrath could be sent to negotiate and stage a betrayal act and continue the war on moral high ground. With this event even if we wanted to, we wouldn't be able to back out.

Three, some of the Alchemists will surely be stationed in the cargo supplies from now on and raiding such monsters will not be easy for both the Imperials and the Valkyries. I will have to step in, and this will lead to two more possibilities.

If we successfully hunt down the Alchemist, since capturing them is a pipe dream right now. We will truly become priority targets for elimination.

Or if we only raid non Alchemist stationed supply cargos. It will send a message that we aren't able to fight them and traps will become easier for them to plan.

I am assuming that even right now they are planning to trap us with a titled Alchemist to showcase their power. Although Fuhrer Bradley : Wrath listens to the Dwarf in the Flask most, he still regards Amestris' wishes and reflects on them.

This makes him the most human homunculi. But his humanity could be a mere obligation at best or a kingly image he keeps at worst.

Four we need time, if we have enough time, our reputation will keep on increasing and the influx of hot blooded youths, those with a vendetta, patriotic madmen, etc will surely swarm to join my side.

There is a fifth possibility though and its slim. I mean what are the odds that a huge rebel group would suddenly disband and come under me. So I call it an insanely slim chance.

But right now the only thing I am doing is co-ordinating these raids. With my inhuman calculation I could see three to five different alchemists inside each supply convoy.

This conjecture was made after seeing Amestris openly flashing out their plans and not being more secretive as before. When it came to supplies Amestris really likes to take advantage of the storm, by this I mean war, to navigate through or a time when the rebels are busy l.i.c.k.i.n.g their wounds.

But since my intervention this has become a major pain in the a.s.s to them. For them it was really as clear as day that I was a third party and one that was gaining momentum.

After all the rebels are always busy trying to fight and recapture bases. While I was more into looting supplies for ourselves and progrressing than being at the forefront fighting the war.

But since from now on all cargoes would likely have an alchemist it was going to be hard searching for one that didn't. Titled or not they are beasts in a war. A bomb with pinpoint accuracy is what I would like to say about them.

So I brought out all my cards and convened a meeting. Damun was by my side, the table in between and both the commander and vice commander of the Imperials and the Valkyries were present.

"I have called you guys to notify you guys of something". My tanned skin, red eyes and silver hair making me look like a delinquent and my devilish grin made the atmosphere feel cruel.

The commanders were relaxed and most probably thought of it as a notification to start raiding again as before. But today would shock them entirely.

"We are commencing with the plan". At once the rooms residents perked up their ears.

Kain went ahead and asked "Are we really ready for that plan, Commander ?". Zake was like a real General, it would not matter to him as long as the plan had a chance of success.

Damun was also probably astonished after all he understood the kind of threat what we were planning to kill really was. He was the strategist of this camp after all.

"Master is it time, I am not sure if I could plan for such a task". He was not ready to ensure this plans success but one day he would be.

"I will plan their end and you guys will follow. Prep your guys for the day after tommorow, we leave at dawn".

My calmness ensured that the entirety of my camp kept calm, after all I ensured a few miracles. Now it was time for a real miracle, this was time for a hunt, the hunt of a living beast.

"It is finally time to hunt an Alchemist".