BXBX NOVEL Chapter 165: D-day
Cedric sighed to himself as he wore his uniform. It's funny considering that there are only a handful of people in their batch who could tell when the day begins or ends in this place.
The dark and gloomy atmosphere of this place was misleading. It gives the impression that time doesn't move. He wouldn't be surprised if there were people who genuinely think that not even a day has passed since they got here.
Cedric was one of the few people who was sensitive to the flow of time. He even uses it to his advantage and his means, so how could he not tell?
Today marks their 6th day here, and today is also when they will be gathered to go on their first patrol as Cadets.
Deciding to leave most of his stuff, only packing rations and necessary supplies, Cedric mentally ran through the list of his preparations to double-check, just in case he missed something...which was a bit unlikely considering how sharp his memory and attention to detail was.
Once he confirmed that he had everything he needed and that he was ready to leave, Cedric let out a long breath. He shook the jitters away from his body and allowed serenity to settle down.
Sufficiently prepared and calm, he stepped out of his room and went downstairs.
He scanned the apartment complex to check on his squad. Some of them were praying, others were panicking, and a few were writing a few words in their journal.
Cedric refused to see more than that, opting to leave them some privacy despite already intruding on it. For him, it's good enough to know that his squadmates felt it too. That means that he did not waste his time training them.
He also didn't need the alarm at this point. He didn't need it yesterday too. The squad has been conditioned by his daily routine that their bodies automatically move as soon as he wants them to. They were primed and ready, Cedric did all he could to prepare them with what little time was given to them.
The rest is up to fate.
Ten minutes later, the squad gathered outside the complex. Everyone's packed and ready for the mission. Nobody was late, the last one to arrive was even two minutes early. Still, Cedric allowed the whole 10 minutes to pass before talking.
"This is it." He said, breaking the tense silence. "We're about to go on our first trip on the other side of this wall."
Cedric wasn't facing them. He stood with his hands against his back as his gaze scaled the 1000-foot-tall wall separating them from real hell.
"I'd like to tell you to remain calm and don't be nervous..." Cedric paused and leveled his gaze, "...but I've no right to do that. I can't tell you what to feel, I'm not you. What I can do, is to tell you what to do as your Squad Leader."
Cedric faced them wearing a face of grim determination.
"We will finish this patrol intact and alive. We will return to this apartment complex, we will rest, get cleaned, eat, and train all over again. We will do this all until our time here ends and we return to civilization. That's what we will do. Disobey and I will hunt you down even if you go to the deepest pits of hell, am I clear?"
"Yes, Sir!" The entire squad replied vigorously.
"Alright. Let's move."
Just like that, Squad #1 marched towards the Mission Center. It's too late to feel the jitters now since they're already moving, and even if they do, there's no stopping this.
Still, Cedric's words lit up a fire in them. They desire to complete this mission alive and intact to return to their home and families. It might be but a plume of fire right now but it gave them enough warmth to push on and face the uncertainties of their task.
The Mission Center wasn't that far from the apartment complex. In fact, it's just right next to the exchange center, so they didn't need to go that far.
Their squad was the first to arrive. Quite fitting since they were called Squad #1, but that's not really the point here.
Due to the harsh but effective training that Cedric put them through, the squad immediately discovered that they were being watched. Cedric noticed this and inwardly nodded in satisfaction.
'Yep, I trained them well.' He inwardly thought, feeling a bit smug.
Yet despite discovering the attention, with others even tracing it to their source, the squad did nothing. They acted as if they didn't notice it at all. Cedric taught them how to respond to things like this, and his rule was:
'If there's no killing intent, there's no reason to be alarmed. Keep observing them back and act as if you don't know they're there. If they made any move that could be interpreted as a threat, respond in kind and don't hold back.'
'If they were conscious enough to attack, they are conscious enough to know the consequences of their action. We won't be blamed for protecting ourselves considering where we all are.'
So, the squad just chilled there. They were in a stand-by formation as they waited for others to arrive. Cedric guessed that all of the freshmen should be here first before something happened.
They didn't need to wait long until the others arrived. The next after them to arrive was Squad #3 - Isabella's squad. They were followed shortly by Squad #5, then Squad #2...
One by one, the squad groups arrived, slowly but surely filling up the mission center. There's a tense silence around and sounds of whispers being shared amongst groups.
Eventually, everyone was there. And that's when the Knight Captains and Army Officers showed up.
Cedric briefly scanned them, trying his best to make it as subtle as could. He could tell that some of the Knight Captains and Officers were discontented while the rest were indifferent.
Their very own, Captain Silverwing, however, seems to be in a good mood somehow. Maybe it has to do with their squad being the first to arrive. Who knows?
Also, Instructor Orion was there. But he was standing behind the army personnel, making himself somehow inauspicious. Whatever's up with that, Cedric can't tell, and it's probably not important to anybody right now.
"Alright, Cadets! This is it! You're all going on your first patrol!" An Army Officer announced, causing some of the cadets to shudder in fright.
"Follow your respective Knight Captains. They will brief you on your task. Move!"
Cedric's and Silverwing's gazes met as soon as the officer concluded his words. Silverwing blurred and appeared in front of them. He tilted his head to the side wordlessly and turned around to walk away.
"Let's move, Team." Cedric uttered softly and authoritatively.
His squad followed his lead, marching behind him with a disciplined and steady gait.
The difference between their atmosphere from the rest of the squads was clear. Some people who were close to some members of Squad #1 nearly had a whiplash due to how different they were acting all of a sudden.
Some of the Knight Captains exchanged glances subtly, even including some of the Army Officers, whatever those glances met was only privy to them. But some did notice other Knight Captains looking a bit peeved.
Back to Squad #1 and Silverwing...
The group followed their captain into a large room. Behind the doors was a massive transmission array, the likes they had never seen before, not even Cedric.
To their shock though, as soon as they entered the room, Silverwing suddenly erupted into an uproarious laughter. Cedric and the squad blinked at him, confused as to why he was suddenly acting like this.
"Whew...my bad, kids. I'm just happy because you've given me a lot of face just now, Ha!"
Silverwing shook his head and cleared his throat. He then gestured at the transmission array and said:
"This Transmission Array is reserved for my Platoon, since you're under me, you will be using this too." He explained, "This will transport you directly to the other side of that wall."
"The Eastern Great Wall spans for a couple thousands of miles. There is only a single gate and that is always occupied by soldiers bombarding everything that's trying to get in. The attack is non-stop, Demons do not need rest and certainly don't feel exhaustion, so live bombardment never ends there."
"Because of that, we hardly use the gates to go out. The only ones who could are the Lord Commanders and people with higher authority than them. That's why we use Transmission Arrays to send people outside."
"Your mission is simple." Silverwing's expression turned serious here. "You get out of there and observe the situation. Compile a report of everything that you see. The more detailed it is, the better."
"You will stay there for 8 hours. During that time, unless an emergency happens, don't expect any type of support from me, or us. I will only move if I determine that you are in grave danger, even then it will take me some time, so you better not rely on me too much."
"Come closer, brats. I'll show you the area of your responsibility..."