Action

In an improvised bed, Alyssa regains consciousness. She is confused, but she observes her surroundings and sees a soldier from the regiment with their back to her.

"Please..." Alyssa said in a weak and low voice. "How...long did I sleep?"

"You slept for eight hours. We found you in time. From the crest on your backpack, you are part of the Aurora squad, correct? " The soldier's calm voice is reassuring, and Alyssa feels immense relief.

"Yes, my name is Alyssa Balta. I am my squad's support specialist. We were ambushed while en route to find out if there was a bandit stronghold in the area."

"Only you survived?"

"I don't know, we executed an emergency tactic where our squad separated into pairs so that the enemy can't easily eliminate us. Unfortunately, my squadmate who was traveling with me was killed."

"My condolences, Miss Alyssa. Can you stand up? Our squad would like to know as much as possible about what happened to your squad."

"Yes..." Feeling a sharp pain in her right shoulder, she gets up with difficulty.

"Your shoulder wound was deep, fortunately, we have the necessary resources to treat the infection and make the necessary stitches to close the wound. However, you will continue to have this pain for a few weeks due to the severity of the wound and the infection."

"This pain is the least of it, I'm happy that my efforts were not in vain."

The soldier offers her a shoulder to lean on, leaving her foolish pride aside. Alyssa accepts the help and walks out of the tent to meet the other members.

"Thank you for bringing her to us, Manila. Welcome, I hope the circumstances of our meeting were better, but we need your help to understand. Woltur said, extending a map over the rocky floor.

"It's my pleasure. If you hadn't shown up, maybe I wouldn't be here. The situation is catastrophic on our part." She points to a point on the map where a known road passes through the forest towards the southern border.

"My squad was ambushed approximately here, it had only been twenty minutes since we entered the forest to go to the rendezvous point."

"I see, do you know how many attackers were there during the ambush?"

"Unfortunately, everything happened quickly, and the terrain did not allow us to identify our attackers. Our commander, Baruk, ordered us to execute our emergency strategy, with the smoke grenades we spread out in pairs so that at least one of us could return to the central camp."

"I understand. I want to say my condolences for the loss of your companion, at least I assume he didn't make it since we only found you."

"What kind of strategy is that? We weren't taught that during training." Julienne asked curiously.

"This strategy is not something developed by central command but something I created because most squads in our regiment have low defensive power."

"Isn't that a cowardly method?" Vivelle said.

"Our objective is to comply with orders when this is not possible due to factors beyond our control, our obligation is to inform central command so that the situation can be resolved appropriately. This strategy is only used as a last resort."

"Ignore Vivelle, she doesn't know what it's like to have your life at risk and make difficult decisions." Manila replied with a disapproving look.

"What did you say, you.."

"Silence, you two!" Woltur interrupts Vivelle before the situation becomes more uncomfortable. "Thank you for the information, Miss Alyssa. Two of our squadmates will escort you to central command so you can carry out your mission."

"I would like to participate in your operation to ascertain the situation of the bandits' stronghold."

"I'm sorry this won't be possible, you have a mission to complete, and we need you to inform the central command that reinforcements will be needed. We will just watch the area and try to find out the location of the stronghold."

"I can help complete the mission!"

"Miss Alyssa..." Manila interrupted.

"I understand your apprehension and anxiety about your squadmates, however, as Woltur said, you have a mission to fulfill, and if by some misfortune we fail, the death of your squadmates will be in vain."

Alyssa tries to argue against it, but she knows she is wrong; the priority for the good of the regiment is the success of this mission, even if it means the death of her comrades.

"Vivelle and Julienne, you will accompany Alyssa to camp." Woltur said with authority.

"Why me? I'm a good choice to help with the search." Irritated, Vivelle complains to Woltur.

"No matter what you think in this situation, I am the leader of this squad, and now we have a new mission that needs to be completed. You and Julienne are excellent escorts, and that is why I chose you. This is not a request, it is an order!"

"Arrrgh! You're annoying! I can't wait for this mission to end!" Vivelle leaves the group irritated, heading towards the improvised tent.

"Ignore her actions, despite this shameful display, she is a good soldier when assigned to a mission." Woltur said to Alyssa.

"It's okay, I understand her frustration, the escort mission can be considered easier and less challenging than the search and rescue."

With everything decided, the group splits to complete different missions. The search group will split into two small groups and infiltrate the forest in the direction of the ambush.

The first group is made up of Woltur, Caristo, and Quaaren. Manila and Elzen make up the second group.

To avoid a new ambush, the groups will stay away at a safe distance from each other. A whistle is given to each member to be sounded in case of emergencies or ambushes.

Marching carefully and paying attention to their surroundings, they make their way to the objective.

"Do you think they're still alive?" Elzen asked.

"I don't know, there is a possibility, but we never work with a very positive outlook."

"I love your positive attitude, it brings hope to our hearts." - Elzen smiles mockingly.

"Facing reality is the best way to avoid being disappointed. If we find someone alive, it will be an unexpected reward."

He laughs at her seriousness in responding to any subject. A sharp whistle echoes through the forest. The first group has found the enemy.

Elzen and Manila run towards the whistle, the sound of combat getting louder and louder as they get closer.

"...full archers to the northeast in the treetops!" Woltur alerts about hidden enemies.

Arrows are fired from the trees towards the three soldiers defending themselves from the attack of five bandits.

"I'll take care of the archers, you surprise the attackers." Manila said, quickly climbing one of the nearby trees.

"Behind you, idiots!" A voice from the trees sees Elzen approaching with his sword.

Distracted by the warning, one of the bandits has his abdomen pierced by Quaaren's Halberd, with a precise cut, Elzen opens a diagonal cut in the chest of another bandit, who immediately falls dead.

"Don't kill everyone, we need information!" Woltur said, using the blunt part of his weapon to hit his attacker's arm.

"You have to make this harder, huh?" Elzen complained

"This is not a problem." Manila's voice comes from the direction of the trees where archers were hiding.

Two bodies fall from the trees in a short space of time, both with a deep gash on their backs. Her battle ax spins through the air and hits the skull of the bandit fighting Caristo.

"You need to keep one of them alive, Manila!"

"I know! I'm working on it!" Another body falls from another tree, this time with an arrow through its throat.

The last bandit falls unconscious from the tree where he was hiding, and the ones left are killed by the others.

"Excellent work, Manila! Caristo tie this bastard's hands and legs! So we can interrogate him when he wakes up."

Slowly descending from the tree, she surprises everyone, an arrow pierced through her left thigh, two arrows stuck in her right shoulder, and a wide cut on her left arm.

"Manila!!" Elzen runs desperately to help her.

"I'm fine...I need to rest a little..." She said, dispensing the help when it reaches the ground.

"You are not well!" - Ignoring her words, he helps her sit down. "Where do you keep your potions?"

"They're...in my backpack...but don't worry, I already told you."

"Don't be stubborn, Manila. What you did was excellent for the mission, but you can't be careless with your body like that. We need you to be alive at the end of the mission." Woltur approaches them.

"None of my wounds are fatal, and if they remained free, we would have casualties."

"That's not the point, Manila!" Elzen shouted.

"These injuries can leave you with scars or even deformities.

"That's part of...a soldier's life, isn't it?"

Her words were true and made Elzen unable to respond, but Woltur knelt next to her and looked directly into her eyes.

"Do you care a lot about the procedures and hierarchies of the regiment, correct?"

"Yes."

"Excellent, so when we started this mission, which of us was chosen as the squad leader?"

"You."

"Perfect, so as the leader, I can give you whatever order you follow, correct?"

"Yes, correct."

"So from now on, I order you to take a little more care of yourself, even though your actions had good results, you should trust that we will be able to maintain our positions and help you too. You could have taken a little longer and been more careful, so these injuries would not have happened."

"But I didn't say I didn't trust..."

"If you acted the way you did to avoid us being targeted by the enemy, it means you don't fully trust our battle skills."

Not knowing how to respond, she lowers her head in shame.

"You don't need to feel like that, you helped us and I thank you, but from now on think about yourself too, if you had made a mistake in your movements for just one moment, one of these arrows would be in your throat." - Woltur stands up, shakes off the dirt that has accumulated on his knee and then smiles at her.

"Elzen, take care of Manila. We will make a temporary camp somewhere nearby. When we finish interrogating the prisoner, we will come and get you two. Stay hidden and alert, we are still in enemy territory."

Both respond positively to Woltur's orders. Elzen helps her get up and go to a large bush where she can hide without any problems.

"I didn't want to make you worry."

"Well, you failed at that, because I worry when you get hurt like this."

She smiles, still feeling the pain from her injuries.

"Can you pull the arrows from my body, please?"

"I wouldn't like to, but yes, you can, do you want something to bite?"

She shakes her head and prepares herself. Elzen holds one of the arrows, counts to three, and removes it in a single pull. Intense pain starts permeating her body. With a nod, she asks him to continue removing the arrows, with each one, the pain only worsens.

Taking Manila's backpack, Elzen takes out one of the potions and gives it to her to drink.

"Close your eyes now, and try to get some rest."

"I can stay awake, my wounds will close soon."

"It's okay, you stubborn girl, I'll stand guard and you get your energy back."

She smiles and closes her eyes, snuggling into his shoulder. A smile appears on his face, and then with his left arm, he wraps it around her shoulders.