April 29th, 629

Umara’s steps hastened as John walked through the Line. All around her, she could hear the sounds of echoing chatter and rolling metal.

Troops all around were either repairing enough damage to the wall so that they could at least function normally and restore supply lines, or were mustering equipment and kickstarting the tanks.

She felt the collective Aura of Iron Legion bristling. The climaxing intensity of the previous battle, which was being called the Battle of Heaven’s Fire, had already simmered down over the past two days. However, it was clear that this was only the beginning.

The atmosphere boiled with righteous retribution. A recent report said that around four thousand troops had been killed, the first to die after the Line was built. While any General throughout both the Church and Kingdom would say that a mere four thousand in exchange for over three million Scourge was an exchange rate unprecedented in human history, Iron Legion soldiers believed otherwise.

Each life was far more valuable. Iron Legion had a small combat-capable army of no more than eighty thousand. Every soldier was important and was treated as such. Vast amounts of wealth were spent to ensure that no soldier would die meaninglessly, and that every soldier would be capable of eradicating a thousand times their number.

Iron Legion didn’t tolerate a mindset like the Kingdom, who threw away hundreds of thousands of lives and then cared for nothing more than redistribution. Therefore, four thousand lost lives was unacceptable.

That it occurred at the hands of a Sovereign only made it slightly more understandable. But that didn’t make it any more bearable for anyone involved.

Now, Iron Legion was about to demand another pound of flesh. Three million kills weren’t enough to satisfy. It was merely the expectation, and that was predicated on little to no Iron Legion deaths. Now that they had lost comrades, they were demanding more.

And John Cooper intended to oblige. He always had.

Umara remained by John’s side as they moved through the garages. They passed by dozens of Superheavy Tanks, and that was just what was within the wall.

Soon, they had left the interior and exited to the front of the wall. There they found the rest of the soldiers and vehicles mustering for deployment.

As well as literal hills of corpses.

Harvesters actively pushed mounds of corpses like snow plows. Despite that, the ground was still covered in a layer of ground meat and blood. The Blood Thorn was still growing and eating, overtaking some acres of ground and growing up the wall as carnivorous vines.

Thousands of vehicles were lined up and prepared to roll, every single one freshly stocked with weeks of supplies necessary to operate in the field. Superheavy Tanks divided each unit, all of them flanked by medium tanks, armored transports, and turret trucks.

The amount of armament being moved was mind boggling. Umara had seen the reports of similar things happening near the other hardpoints. This mustering was a majority of what the entirety of Iron Legion could bring to bear, only essential units being left behind in the Line for logistics and recovery.

They were going to hunt down the fleeing Scourge forces. Unlike most though, Umara knew that John intended to do far more.

“General Gaffney.”

John found the General near the Command Tank. The man looked ragged, yet the gleam in his eye was sharp.

“Commander. First Brigade is almost ready to move.”

“Good. I just wanted to walk through. It seems like everything is in order.”

“As much as it can be, sir. Your troops are eager to roll.”

“As are you, it seems.”

The General just nodded, John inspecting the tanks around them.

Umara recalled a recent conversation of theirs. John had personally conducted recovery efforts across the wall in order to regain order. Many people had died, and those jobs had been vacated. Troops needed to be moved around so that essential jobs were filled, but even more importantly, someone needed to give direction.

John hadn’t slept at all since he had first stepped foot in the wall after the Sovereign started moving. Even after the battle concluded, he had gone straight into work. Even now he couldn’t actually see with his eyes, his Aura and mind the only two things he was relying on to navigate the world.

Umara wished he would get at least a night of sleep, but she also understood that in John’s mind, the battle hadn’t actually ended. He was fighting his own battle, and both of them knew that as soon as he rested, he’d go into recovery mode. At this moment, he couldn’t afford taking that time off, not with his army in disarray.

Not to mention the coordination efforts to muster everyone for pursuit. Chief Ironheart hadn’t even recovered from the last battle and yet John was pulling him along. Like most of the other troops, both John and Ironheart would be rolling with the tanks and living the field life for as long as their pursuit was active.

Umara was going to be with them, as were all the Desert Eagles. Nearly all of the special teams were leaving the Line, intent on continuing their efforts, just aimed at different targets.

They had already received the gear and ordnance from Wonderland. Umara had gawked at some of them, thinking them overkill at first. Then John told her what they’d be used against, and, she realized they’d barely be enough.

She watched John nod at what was around him.

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“Keep up the good work General. I’m gonna make the rounds. Let me know when we’re ready.”

“Yes, sir.”

The General saluted and left to enter his tank, Umara raising her head as John turned to her.

“Care to take a stroll?”

“Of course.”

She smiled and linked with his arm, the two heading to other tanks.

For the next couple hours John bounced between squads and assisted with their ongoings. Doing maintenance on tank interiors, checking armor, configuring ordnance, checklisting supplies, and all of the other menial tasks the surrounding troops were carrying out.

He also spoke to them, answered questions and gave his insights. John seldom interacted with the troops on a personal level, primarily because he simply didn’t have the time to. Those at Sector 4 got the most opportunities to speak with him and even they didn’t get to so much as see him most of the time.

Now though, Umara watched as so many troops jumped at the opportunity to converse with him. John’s renown had spread far and wide, especially in Iron Legion where people could feel the effects of his influence. He was nothing short of legendary, the most powerful summoner to ever live, the icon of humanity’s potential, the face of fear the Scourge couldn’t stand against.

He was a celebrity strolling through Iron Legion ranks, and to Umara’s dismay, so was she. John Cooper’s wife had already been known for her incredible spells, stories circulating about her battles in Sector 4. There were few people who hadn’t seen what John called “her layzor beam” which she used to kill a behemoth in front of the wall.

Hundreds of soldiers wanted pictures, all of them taking out their Aerial, standard issue or otherwise, and surrounding the couple. At some point, a line was formed and it only grew larger with every minute.

Entire platoons and companies were moving up to get pictures before long and only scurrying away when their commanding officers started yelling.

Then, when General Gaffney finally lit the green light, the troops dispersed, and John retreated to one of the transport vehicles reserved for him and the Desert Eagles.

As some of the superheavy tanks started to drive forward to take point, Umara turned to John and commented.

“I’m surprised you let them take your picture. Not that your face isn’t already everywhere.”

“Well, it’s of no consequence now.”

“What do you mean?”

Umara’s steps slowed as John’s did. He stared at her with a soft smile.

“This is it, Umara. For Iron Legion.”

“…I don’t follow.”

“When this campaign is over, Iron Legion is going to dissolve.”

“…What makes you so sure? Who could possibly dissolve this army after all you’ve accomplished? Not to mention that Ironheart has made himself known as a Sovereign. You’ve been running the news and papers like crazy these past two days with the success in the recent battle. Everyone knows what you’ve done, so I can’t rationalize how they could touch you, let alone take down Iron Legion.”

John was silent for a moment, lighting a cigar and blowing some smoke.

“As soon as we step off here, Iron Legion’s fate is sealed. It’s not a matter of if, but when.”

“Explain.”

“We’re too good at what we do. I’m too good at what I do. Iron Legion is too successful under my leadership, and they can’t have that. They’re going to do something. I have my ideas about what, but I won’t know for certain until it happens. They’ve gotten smarter with their aerials. Most of the Third Claw just doesn’t have them anymore, so I’m having trouble spying on them, and I’m not going to risk my agents for intel.”

“I don’t believe they have the power to take you down if you don’t want to be.”

“Well, you’d be correct. They don’t.”

“…You’re going to let them.”

Umara muttered, scarcely believing what was being said.

“You’re going to give up this army to the Kingdom?”

“Of course not, dear.”

He sighed, pulling Umara into a wide hug. She accepted it, confusion across her face.

“I didn’t mean to alarm you. I just… I can feel it coming. I know something is coming. Something is gonna happen, somewhere, sometime. Ever since we won the battle, I felt the symphony shift. The crescendo has passed. I just don’t like that there’s an end. It doesn’t even annoy me anymore. It’s just… saddening.”

Umara suddenly calmed in his arms, realizing what he was saying.

She looked up, reaching over and stroking his face, bringing his gaze down to hers.

“It’ll be alright. No matter what changes or how the symphony shifts, we’ll figure it out together. Let me be your one constant. That much you can rely on.”

“…Yes, you’re right. I can hear you too. Constant, but so harmonious.”

He smiled fondly at her, the two exchanging a kiss before continuing their walk.

That’s when Umara decided to broach the topic.

“By the way, what’s with this ‘symphony’ you keep talking about? Ironheart told me about your mentions of it.”

“You mean you don’t hear it? But it’s all around us.”

“No, I don’t hear it. There’s no musical sound that my magic detects either. Are you sure it’s a symphony you’re hearing?”

“Of course. Nothing else around us could possibly be so harmonious, so organized. I’ve always reveled in its sound.”

“Always?”

Umara looked up at him, seeing him return the gaze.

“John, you’ve never mentioned it before. Are you trying to say that you’ve always heard this symphony?”

“Of course. All my memories are filled with its presence…”

He smiled while gazing off into the distance, then slowly came to a stop, the look on his face frozen.

Umara just watched him think, her concern growing.

“That’s… weird, right? I’ve never talked about it before, but I talk about it now. There’s no reason I would’ve hidden it… Did I only just start hearing it?”

Umara’s face fell, seeing the confusion on his face.

“John… are you okay?”

“…I don’t know. I can’t remember when I started hearing it, nor when I didn’t. I may have logged some things about it a few weeks ago, but it was vague so I couldn’t know if that was when it started. I thought others were able to hear it. Is that why General Gaffney needed to be told to sound the alarm?”

Umara remained silent, feeling something in her stomach drop.

He looked at her.

“Am I going crazy?”

“…I think you’re just sensing things other people can’t. Maybe it’s the Great Barrier. Or it could be a new way of understanding something. I don’t think you’re going crazy though. At the very least, I don’t think we should jump to a conclusion about something we don’t understand.”

She spoke carefully, John staring at her for a long while before nodding.

“I guess you’re right. Now, let’s go join our friends for this hunt. I’ve been waiting for this moment for a long time.”

“Mm.”

She smiled and followed, the two boarding the transport with the rest of the Desert Eagles.

And they followed the formation of Superheavy Tanks, kilotons of armor rolling across the gored battlefield under the command of their General and Commander.

Their first target: the remnants of the defeated Scourge army.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep