Briefing - Part 2

Arguna military utilized an abandoned rural airstrip as their temporary Forward Operating Base that would span throughout the entire course of the operation. The place has been deemed very strategic because of its close proximity to Eerie Island, the operation's primary objective.

It was dawn currently, the sun has begun to peek from the end of the eastern horizon. The base was now in the full operational capability as thousands of Arguna soldiers and marines were busy readying themselves.

On the airstrip, confined to the base's northern section, rows of jet fighters, transport planes, and various other types of aircraft could be seen littering the spectacle; some were merely parked, few were being taken care of by the engineers, while others were warming up their engines in preparation.

But new additions will be added to the airstrip as several VTOL aircraft painted in dark colors were flying in low-altitude from the east, and slowly approaching closer.

Meanwhile, Cordelia together with several soldiers were waiting for those aircraft's arrival right in front of a hangar. They have been informed that the contingent from Violet Global Security has included a few high-level rankers, particularly the Amethyst Queen herself.

She was one of the most illustrious rankers originating from Gaia, not even the White Sage can compare to her in terms of popularity, reputation, power, and strength. Her contributions to the increased of Gaia's reputation in the eyes of foreign worlds' inhabitants were enormous.

It was a blessing and great honor for Arguna to have such a formidable ranker willing to personally come into their country in order to help them. Thus, there was a need for Cordelia to welcome the Amethyst Queen and her contingent personally.

Not long, Violet Global Security's aircraft finally arrived at the base, hovering dozens of meters above the ground. Below them, the ground crews were busy signaling those aircraft, guiding them on their descent.

Ziing!!! Ziing!!!

Loud engine noises reverberated, while dust and winds were scattered everywhere.

It didn't take a long time for those aircraft to touch their designated landing spot and shutting off their engines.

Afterward, more than 20 people emerged from within each aircraft. Almost all of them were clad in black outfits and wore faceless masks. With a great stride, they proceed uniformly and confidently to where the host was waiting at.

Even from afar, Cordelia and the soldiers near her could feel the overpowering aura that those people in black radiates, showing that they were not to be trifled with.

Cordelia's eyes were shining brightly as her gaze fell upon a woman who was surrounded by the people in black.

Just like her comrades, that woman also wore a faceless mask, but her attire was completely different. The violet robe draping her body was so exquisite and unique, though it didn't do a good job in hiding her extremely voluptuous figure. But that doesn't mean the robe wasn't well matched with the woman. On the contrary, it fits her really well, especially when it combined with her light purple hair that was fluttering due to the winds as well as the subtle albeit powerful pressure radiating from her, making the woman's entire appearance to be absolutely enchanting and mysterious at the same time.

Cordelia didn't exactly know why, but she couldn't take her eyes off that woman. Even though she never met her biggest idol directly, she was sure that the woman she saw now was precisely the Amethyst Queen. Cordelia can't think anyone else who has the appearance that can perfectly match the description of the queen, except for that woman.

It's like it can only be her alone and no one else was qualified.

Cordelia stepped forward as the Violet Global Security's people were getting closer.

"Lady Amethyst?" She then asked with a cautious tone, her face also turned nervous. The thought of the woman in front of her now was most likely being the real Amethyst Queen almost drive her crazy.

"I am." The woman in purple robe replied shortly while nodding. The way she spoke was so leisure and relaxed, but her voice carried a strong hint of authority and ultimate confidence.

Cordelia nearly had a breakdown at that moment, but she was able to recollect her mind and hastily performed a ranker salute before speaking again, "Welcome to Forward Operating Base Lantern, Lady. My name is Cordelia Cassar, Lieutenant General in Arguna Armed Forces, and the overall commander of this operation. On behalf of my nation, I would like to offer you and your people our utmost gratitude for accepting our call for help. Thank you."

The Amethyst Queen waved her hand and calmly replies, "Don't mention it, General. Gaia is my homeworld too, after all. It's normal for me to not want it to get conquered by foreign worlds' invaders. That's why I've brought my best and finest subordinates along with me today."

Hearing that, Cordelia starts to sweep her vision across the Amethyst Queen's subordinates.

She counted 24 people in total, and she could feel the overpowering strength leaking from each of their bodies. There were at least 15 Platinum-class experts, 6 Titanium-class, and 3 rankers with unknown cultivation levels.

Her pupils were dilated upon landing her gaze at those three rankers; one man and two women. All of them had a cold and unapproachable aura that gave people dreadful feelings. Unfortunately, Cordelia was unable to see what they exactly look like as the faceless masks completely hide their faces.

But what makes her really shocked was the fact that she was also unable to discover their cultivations!

Just like she couldn't feel the Amethyst Queen's cultivation. But that was understandable since the Amethyst Queen was a famous peak stage Diamond-class expert and it's impossible for someone weaker to probe the cultivation of the stronger expert.

Cordelia herself was a peak stage Titanium-class ranker, which also makes her one of the strongest individuals in the Arguna Republic. It's extremely rare for her to stumble upon this kind of situation. Only twice she experiences it before, the first was when she met a Titanium-class while she was still at Platinum-class a few years back, and the second one was when she met the White Sage an hour ago.

'I've heard the Amethyst Queen has several Diamond-class subordinates. It must be them, then.' She talked to herself inwardly.

Noticing her gazes, the three people simply nods to her without uttering a word. In turn, Cordelia gave them a ranker salute.

Although she was initially shocked, that feeling was immediately replaced by a sense of relief. The Amethyst Queen has brought a formidable force with her. This kind of strength was enough to swiftly obliterate any countries within Gaia, even Arguna won't be able to survive if they were attacked by them.

Thus, Cordelia's confidence has increased to a whole new level because of it.

An excitement appeared on her face as she spoke, "I look forward to fighting alongside you, Lady Amethyst. May we proceed to meet the rest?"

The Amethyst Queen nodded, "Sure, lead the way."

"Alright, this way everyone."

Next, Cordelia along with her men led the Amethyst Queen and her subordinates towards the conference building where the Consul of Arguna and the rest were waiting at.

***

"Old man Damian… It's good seeing you here." Said Helena with a slightly teasing manner, shortly after she finished greeting the Consul and the other people.

The White Sage gave her a smirk, "Lady Amethyst! The sight of you… it is as if the sun has arise earlier than we expected. If only you're not wearing that mask…. Eishh, what a loss to the world."

"Shouldn't you flirt with someone at your age? You should say those words to Sky Tearing Witch, it might have a better effect than telling it to me." Helena spoke cheekily.

"No, no, no. That old woman is too sensitive. Can't even take a single joke and always want to pummel all who teases her. I still want to live, thank you very much."

The rest of the people within the room were speechless from witnessing the interaction between the two.

Both of them were among the apex powerhouses in Gaia. One was well known to be someone with incomparable wisdom and knowledge, who always maintain aloofness in front of worldly matters, while the other was someone who was extremely domineering and capable of achieving many great accomplishments.

It was surreal for the rest to see these "monsters" interacting like normal individuals.

Helena had known the White Sage for almost 5 years now. Even though she wasn't a part of the Rankers Association, the relationship between the two was truly good. In fact, when they first met, the White Sage had tried to invite Helena to become the Association's member but was refused because she didn't like the constraint and the rules that would restraint her movement if she joins. Besides, she had a big ambition, building and managing her own forces was more beneficial to her compare to joining someone else's organization.

Helena was especially more cordial with the White Sage than the rest of Gaia's five Diamond-class rankers. He gave her the impression of a genuinely kind and knowledgeable man, even though privately, he was a bit eccentric.

The old sage once had the opportunity of seeing Helena's true appearance without a mask on while she was in her Amethyst Queen persona. From then on, every time they met, he always teases and flirts with her just like earlier. He didn't mean anything by doing that though, it's just a friendly tease and nothing more.

"Anyway, let's proceed to our original mission. The operation will begin at 0600 hours, right? It's only an hour left before the time's come, so I suggest we should immediately get down to business." Helena said as she looked towards everyone.

Cordelia opened her mouth, "Lady Amethyst's right. Our briefing earlier is not over yet. We still need to discuss other matters concerning the operation. We also must inform the enemy's composition that we have gathered from our intelligence's source and plan an appropriate countermeasure to deal with them. If the Association and Violet Global possess other intel that we have no idea about, please think of sharing them now. Any kind of information, no matter how useless they are, can still provide an insight for the upcoming operation."

Upon hearing both of them, everyone within the room nodded their heads in agreement.

"Hmm, let us continue then…" Said the Consul, urging people to resume the briefing.

After that, the room was quickly filled with an intense and serious atmosphere as a heated discussion unfold.