บท 21: 20: Beasts
"Kill them all!" Loki's voice boomed all over the corridors of the spaceship, sending shivers down the spines of his soldiers. His voice was domineering, steering their gazes. The soldiers stood tall; weapons ready to slash through the hides of the beasts. They took deep breaths filled with determination before charging into battle as the doors slid open.
The monsters were in large packs, their hideous bodies hitting the spaceship with madness. But the Asgardians were four times more and took advantage of their numbers; working together to slowly wear down the monsters before striking the final blow. The sound of iron claws clashing against the Asgardians' weaponry reverberated across the desolate wasteland, startling a flock of ravens into taking off in fright.
As the battle raged on, the battalion commanders saw that time was running out. It was hot, very hot as if the sun was just a few kilometers away. Grey ash floated in the air, blocking the horizon. The dark ground was crackling with lava jumping out of the holes. The air was tainted, giving one trouble for breathing.
"Quickly kill them! No time to rest!" they barked; with loud voices freezing even the monsters as if they were part of the commanders' army, their eyes eying the raging battle with years of experience. They knew that the soldiers were in a precarious position, with no time to lose.
The cries of the monsters continued to ring out across the battlefield, but the soldiers pushed forward, their determination unwavering. With each final blow, the creatures fell to the ground, defeated.
The battlefield was quiet once more, save for the heavy breathing of the soldiers and the distant cawing of the ravens. The victory was hard-won, but the soldiers knew that they had succeeded in their mission.
Only a few minutes were needed to kill all the monstrosities, but still many had ragged breaths, their heart pumping more than ever showing their veins, while their heartbeat became erratic.
"Everyone in!" The soldiers ran back into the spaceships, whose doors once again opened. Some of them fell unconscious as they finally could breathe pure air.
"Every commander to the meeting room," Loki's voice once again spread throughout the spaceship, giving his orders. "The unconscious should be carried to the medical bay, as well as everyone who is on the verge of unconsciousness. Sorcerers with knowledge of healing spells are to go there and help the medics."
Quickly, all the ones needing attention were transported to the medical bay. There are two healers in Loki's army, and they alone with one sorcerer had to take care of the twenty injured. It sufficed to say that they had a rough night without any sleep.
In the meeting room, around a round table stood 14 people, 10 commanders, 2 Advisers, and Loki and Osi. "Are there any casualties?" asked Loki with a serious voice, ignoring greetings and going directly to the point.
All the commanders shook their heads, indicating that there were none. "None, however. We have many unconscious soldiers. It seems like they have never trained to hold their breath for long. And because of the difficulties of breathing, they breathed too strongly, making ashes go into their lungs." Commented the commander of the second legion.
The commander of the third battalion nodded. "Yes, It appears that they will need more training to handle the different types of terrain they may encounter.
"I propose that we choose a planet with terrain that is better suited to our training needs. We should stay there longer to provide advanced army training. I have remarked that many do not have the capabilities to fight with their comrades." Interrupted one of the advisers.
The other people in the meeting room nodded in acknowledgment of the idea. "Yes, I will ask for such a mission next time talking with the Allfather." Accepted Loki. He then turned his head toward the second adviser. "Do we have gas-masks or something against the ash?"
The adviser fidgeted with the blue screen in front of her, before responding, "Yes, unfortunately, only twenty."
Loki frowned. "Why are there so few?" he asked, his voice louder than before. Gasmask should be obligatory for the entire army!
"It is a difficult equipment to fabricate," she responded, sweat forming on her skin as she looked onto Loki's harsh gaze.
"What can possibly be so hard to make about gas-masks?" Asgard was much more advanced than Earth, in the 21st century, and even they could easily produce more than 200 gas-masks.
"I do not know sir!" she respectfully said, her back straighter than usual. "It just seems like back at home they did not have many gas-masks in other things."
Loki massaged his forehead in dissatisfaction. "After this mission is over, I want a complete check-up of what we have and if there are many things missing, I'll personally talk with our distributors."
Osi took the head of the discussion, seeing that Loki had a grin of ridicule on his face. "We should explore the surroundings, to find something about the monsters, as we have almost no information."
"As we have only twenty gas-masks, I propose that only a small group goes," advised one of the commanders.
Osi shook his head. "Loki can easily cover a small group of twenty under his illusions."
The commanders looked at Loki, asking for confirmation. Loki was brought back from his thought by their gazes. "...Yeah, no problem," he responded after a second.
The conversation carried on as they deliberated over the problems and what actions they should take. After much debate, they agreed that out of the twenty individuals present, seven should be appointed as commanders. They reasoned that having a strong command structure in place would provide an added layer of security, and therefore, at least three of the commanders should remain behind in case of an emergency.
As for the group that would venture out, it was decided that three sorcerers, not including Loki, would be among them. The remaining members consisted of elite soldiers from Loki's army, all of whom were skilled and battle-hardened.
"Let's make those beasts suffer for hurting our comrades!"
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