A heavy thud echoed, followed by a desperate, cracked voice rising from within the headquarters of the 12th Unit. Someone was screaming, pleading for release: "Please… kill me… kill me."
Only a head remained of a body, with two arrows lodged in its eyes, yet somehow it was still alive, still crying out for the end of its suffering.
All around, others in the room laughed and chatted idly, some even dozing off, completely ignoring the tormented head as if it did not exist.
A man in neat clothing, wearing glasses and a long robe that signified his importance, stepped into the headquarters. He glanced at the severed, suffering head on the floor but ignored it entirely, continuing forward without a second look. Then he raised his voice and announced, "The 12thUnit has been drafted to war by order of the emperor himself. You must go."
The man who had just entered turned to face a black-haired knight standing before him. With a tone edged in contempt, he said, "Vice-Captain, you personally must go to the front lines." His eyes were filled with scorn as he spoke.
A slender blond man came out of a room and said, "There will be no need for that," and threw a message directly at the messenger.
While reading the message, the messenger started smiling and said, "As expected of you guys."
"While being in power, you avoid helping the weak. You run away and hide while leaving the weak on the front lines. Deadbeats and losers."
A short man said to him, "There's no need for all that." He seemed to be growing sad.
The messenger completely ignored him and said, "Since you already had this, why did I even have to deliver the message?"
The Vice Captain replied, "God forbid we want to see an old friend. No matter how many times we try to reach you; to talk to you, you ignore us. This is the only way we can get to you."
A huge man nearby added, "Why are you happy sending us there? It's getting really hard defending you, you know?"
The messenger answered, "Teddy, you just don't know these people well yet. I believe that, in no time, you'll be like me and leave this place."
The Vice Captain then said to one of the maids, "Come on, we need something to drink. Bring out goat's milk and give it to our visitor."
The messenger, clearly upset and angry, replied, "There will be no need for that. I'll be leaving."
The Vice Captain said, "Come on. Ever since you married that, that female, you stopped talking to us. You stopped hanging out with us."
The slender blond man said to the Vice Captain after the messenger left, "Sisi, I know you're hurt, but this guy is starting to get annoying."
Another man asked, "Sisi, who is that guy?"
The Vice Captain answered, "You newcomers don't know about him, but he was one of the early members who started this unit. He is my sister's cousin. He used to spend a lot of time with us, but ever since he got married, he has changed sides."
Sisi then told him to give him the note. After reading it, he smiled and looked at the slender man.
He said, "Thank you, Slender Man. With my position, it will be hard to avoid getting drafted. But with your reach, we can avoid conflicts."
Teddy then said, "Getting to bully weak monsters is no fun after all."
The Vice Captain added, "But we still have to go somewhere. We can't just stay here doing nothing."
Slender Man then said, "We will be going to your area. After speaking with my father, he told me this will be the safest place during the war. Your area will be safe, so we will be fine."
The cut-up head that was laying on the ground then said to him, "Sisi, are we going? If so, give me back my body. And please find my eyeballs, they're lying somewhere I can sense it."
Sisi said to him, "Go find it yourself. And we will not be going there to play. We still have to exterminate the monsters that attacked there. So, stay focused and don't get too comfortable."
One of them asked, "Which monsters attacked us again?" Slender Man answered, "Orcs, Goblins, snake men and others." Then the Vice Captain said, "The three Horsemen of Trash." This war will probably end very soon.
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The Twelfth Unit was founded by the Crown Prince of a great empire. Every special unit under the emperor possessed great power and far-reaching influence. Although the Twelfth Unit was the newest, they had just graduated from the Academy.
They quickly rose to fame and power. Now they were split into two teams: one heading toward the birthplace of the Vice Captain, while the other remained with the Crown Prince.
While traveling there, they encountered many monsters. That was no surprise, given the rising war between the human race and the monster race. However, compared to a special unit under the emperor, these monsters were mere weaklings. They were quickly wiped out, and the unit continued toward its destination.
"Is there anything to do there, CV?" the troll asked the Vice Captain.
The Vice Captain replied, "No. It's a town in the middle of nowhere. Just focus on exterminating the monsters, and we'll make something happen there."
The town soon came into sight. Blondie said to everyone, "It's a really confusing situation right now. Before the war, there was a lot of trade between humans and monsters. But now the monsters are betraying that trust and attacking humans."
A man carrying his own head said, "It's really ironic. We took them out of ignorance, out of poverty, saved many of their lives, and this is how they respond to us. That's what you should expect from monsters with no brains."
The Vice Captain added, "That's true, but don't kill every monster you see. There are still trades that benefit the Empire. Not every monster has started attacking humans. If we kill the wrong ones, it could hurt the Empire and create more enemies. So be careful who you attack."
As they approached the town gates, a group of knights on horseback rode out to meet them. A middle-aged man with black hair and looks like he is holding a fart said to them, "Nephew! You're finally here! Thank you for killing the monsters!"
The troll blinked. "Wait, that was all of them?"
Fatty added, "That was disappointing, just as I expected."
The Vice Captain ignored them and led the group through the gates. "Come on. Let's go to the castle. We'll rest and train. Tomorrow, we'll check if there are any monsters left."
Blondie said, "Yes. We should give them a chance, if we want a good fight after all."
The town was small, with only a few people walking its streets. They looked poor, yet a massive castle rose in the center, towering over everything else. That would be the Vice Captain's residence.
The middle-aged man followed them silently. Once inside the castle, they ordered the maids to prepare food while they went to train.
The Vice Captain removed his helmet and armor. Yellowish energy began flowing inside him, then radiating outward as he trained.
As the energy swirled around him, he sighed and shook his head. He had been training for three hours, and for three years he had been stuck at the ninth level of the Vital Seekers.
Few people could break past that level. Those who did were the true elite of the Empire. He knew he could reach it, but the long delay was starting to frustrate him.
The troll was knocking very loudly on his door.
As he said, "Sisi! There is something important. Something really fun. Come out and check it out."
This enraged the Vice Captain very much.
As he said, "Sound magic: Voice of the End," a loud shriek erupted from his room, so loud that the troll's ears started bleeding.
He broke down.
The Vice Captain opened the door and said to him, "Don't joke too much. Even if you were my friend, I would still kill you."
The troll started laughing loudly and said, "You're being too serious, it's just one day. Now forget about that, there is something really important going on. You should come." The vice-captain sighed and said "Okay, lead the way."