[Ties]Campaign 4

A large group of cadets with one faculty stood on the academy's training field. The group was divided into two distinct smaller groups. The distinction lay primarily on their appearance and, when it comes right down to it, their race. One group was made entirely out of Perlasians, and each one of the older cadets had intense hatred in their eyes. The target of their hate was none other than a young man of similar color, but with red eyes, and was surrounded by Eskurs and one Perlasian woman.

While the older generation of cadets held contempt, the younger cadets with them first had no idea whose group to join, but still joined the other Perlasians in the end. The Eskurs only sided with the red-eyed Perlasian man out of reverence to his name: Skaria.

"How in the world did it come to this?" groaned Carlos, their assigned faculty, "I'm just glad HE didn't mind this dispute."

"Lighten up, teach, " said Malachi, "At least, with this, we get to see whether or not I'm fit to take charge of this ragtag group of rejects."

"Could you not voice out your harsh assessment of your classmates, Skaria?" replied Carlos as he let out a sigh, "Whatever... Patrick Bryant, you're in charge of your group since you did barge back in and voiced your complaints. The two of you, and your groups, will have a mock battle against one another. If Skaria emerges victorious, he will be your squad leader. If he doesn't... Well, I hope you'd be willing to lead this class."

Patrick was silent, busy glaring daggers at Malachi. After a while, he turned around and brought his group with him for a strategy meeting. Malachi shrugged and turned to his new companions: five Eskurs.

"Well, I've introduced myself before, " said Malachi, "And I'm pretty sure you're only following me because of my name... So, who are you all? Except for Levi and Dinah, of course."

The first of the three Eskurs stepped forward and made a bow. A tall Eskur male with moderate build greeted Malachi.

"Greetings, Child of Skaria, " he said, "I am named Reuben Skostra. It is a pleasure to serve under you."

Malachi kept his poker face, but deep within, he became ever more curious about his name. Malachi nodded at Reuben and turned his gaze to the one next to him, an Eskur woman, who directed a smile at him.

"I am Genevieve Skolora, " she said, "I hope you don't mind if I call you 'Young Master,' yes?"

Malachi couldn't resist raising a brow and looked at Arlianne beside him. Arlianne noticed his gaze, but merely shrugged in response.

'I hope she doesn't end up fully servile because of this, " thought Malachi, ' "Young Master," huh? When was the last time Arlianne last called me that?'

Malachi nodded as well at Genevieve then placed his gaze on the last Eskur, another male. The last Eskur bowed towards Malachi, like Reuben, and introduced himself.

"I am Isaac Skrima, " he said, "Please do not be alarmed by our humility towards you, Child of Skaria. Judging from your reactions, your Eskur parent hadn't told you of your heritage, no?"

"Rather sharp, aren't you?" commented Malachi.

"I've been told that often, hahaha." replied Isaac, "Please treat us well."

"Likewise." agreed Malachi, "Now then, let's go to the armory and get sorted out. From there, I will formulate a plan to beat the others."

Levi suddenly interrupted Malachi.

"Hold up, Malachi, " he said, "We are severely outnumbered here. The entrance exam was one thing, but we are going up against a group that vehemently hates us. What do you plan to do with just seven people?"

"Just go to the armory, all right?" replied Malachi, "I'll see what each of you will be bringing, and I'll think of a way from there."

In their armory, the same weapons they used in the entrance exam were lined up with a few additions. Additional weapons were found stacked on top of one another: blunt swords, wooden shields, wooden mauls, and modified armor.

"These are Steam Knight equipment?" wondered Malachi, "The knight suit is just plain armor, though."

"Young Master's entrance exam didn't have this, yes?" asked Genevieve, "the academy also makes cadets train using Steam Knight equipment. Of course, for mock battles, we just have the armor and weapons unlike tournaments and live combat."

Malachi saw that Isaac deftly put on the Steam Knight equipment with practiced movement. In less than a minute, he was a hulking chunk of iron and wood, seemingly capable of fending off any attack.

"How fast can you run carrying all that?" asked Malachi, "Depending on your answer, your position may vary."

"The training models are lighter than the combat models, " answered Isaac, "From here to there, around thirty seconds?"

Isaac pointed to a nearby tower. From where they stood, the tower was 40 meters away. Covering the distance of 40 meters while wearing cumbersome equipment, Malachi was impressed.

"Not bad, " he commented, "I suppose you've been wearing this since long before, huh?"

"Approximately three years, if I remember correctly, " added Isaac, "Enough time to build up stamina and muscles to carry all this."

Malachi nodded repeatedly. After leaving Isaac, he went towards the others to inspect their equipment. Levi picked up a repeater and a handcannon, like before, and Dinah chose a crossbow and a fusil. Reuben and Genevieve both got repeaters and fusils, instead. Satisfied, it was Malachi's and Arlianne's turn to choose their equipment. Arlianne settled for a crossbow and a repeater, but Malachi chose to bring two handcannons and one wooden shield instead.

"This thing's pretty heavy, " commented Malachi, "Just perfect for what I intend to do."

Seeing this, Levi was the first to react.

"I see, you plan to do what we did in the exam, " he said, "A knight shield is much easier to wield than a container plate."

Curious, the others inquired Levi about what he meant. Levi found no fault in answering and shared his experience with Malachi. Afterwards, gazes of disbelief were met and voices of laughter erupted.

"How... How insane!" cried Genevieve, "Young Master, that will bring a surprise to many people! I can't wait to see the reactions of the others when they meet us."

"Should I forego the armor and imitate you?" asked Isaac, "Thinking about it, I can carry the shield easily since I've been training for a long time. A powerful defense with high mobility, impressive."

"Are you sure about that, Isaac?" verified Malachi, "You're free to imitate me, but only if you're sure about your decision. Naturally, I already have a plan in my head if you ever do."

Isaac shrugged.

"It won't hurt to try, " he said, "Let me just get rid of this armor."

After finalizing their equipment, Malachi and the rest gathered around a table provided to them. On the table was a map of the area where they will be conducting their mock battle. On the map, not only were the locations of their bases were shown, even the obstacles and trenches were shown.

"All right, we are seven in total, but I have two things in my head, " explained Malachi, "First plan is to have two groups of three people advance forward. Naturally, each will have one with a shield to protect the front. The last one would just run like a mad bull all over and distract the enemy. Attracting their attention, and diverting their fire. The runner will need to be fast and nimble, able to sprint at full speed while dodging and turning."

Malachi looked around to see if anybody had a question. Seeing that there were none, he continued to explain the other plan.

"The second, however, will have three groups. Two groups of two, and one group of three. The two groups will have a shield and a shooter, each, while the group of three will circle around and act independently. I say 'independently' because the two shield groups will be the ones doing the distracting. The goal of this mock battle is to subdue the leaders of either group, that's me or Mr. Bryant. With me carrying one shield, all attention will fall on me, effectively distracting them."

"That's a rather dangerous plan, Malachi, " commented Arlianne, "Knowing you, though, you'd still do it."

"That's why I'm sharing it with all of you, Arlianne, " said Malachi, "Even if I'm the leader, I need the squad's understanding to put a plan into effect. I plan to work with all of you, as efficient as possible, and I don't want anybody saying, 'this isn't what we talked about!' or declaring, 'I don't know what to do!' right in the middle of the fight. This is, rather, these are just the general strategies. I will still need to iron out the kinks by sharing it with you all. So, any ideas, suggestions, or misgivings?"

"Who will be going with who, then?" inquired Reuben, "I can see that both you and Isaac will take care of the shields, but who will be escorting either of you and who will be in the independent group?"

"I will be trusting Arlianne with my back. For Isaac, any volunteers?"

"I'll do it, " said Reuben, "I've been with this guy since I got here, and I can pretty much support him as intended."

"Guess that leaves Levi with a harem, " teased Malachi, "Aren't you glad, Levi? Two flowers are going with you."

"Shut up, Malachi, " bit back Levi, "Get serious, why don't you?"

"Oh, but I am, comrade, " replied Malachi, "Saddening, though, seems like Levi isn't interested in either Gene and Din... Hey, I made it rhyme. Ow?! Arlianne?!"

Arlianne hit Malachi's head.

"Like Levi had said, " she scolded, "You need to get serious. Especially if you want to push through with your plans, Malachi."

"Plans?" wondered Dinah.

Malachi made a playful smile.

"That's a secret~" he said, "You'll see in time, though."

Without another word, they finalized the plan to tackle Patrick's group.

///

"This should be easy, " commented a Perlasian cadet, "We have twelve guys here, and only seven of them."

"Shut up, we're going up against a Skaria, " said Patrick with a heavy voice, "You have no idea how badly this kingdom had suffered during their so-called 'uprising' years ago. Even of they had lost in the end, even if they are fewer in number... Never, ever underestimate them. You got that?"

Patrick looked into his fellow cadet's eyes and said what he needed to before leaving to check on the others with them. Seeing Patrick's distancing back, the cadet chatted with another cadet next to him.

"Hey, what happened 20 years ago, anyway?" asked the cadet, "I only know what I've read in books, but was it really that bad?"

The one he asked also seemed older than the rest. When he heard the question, his eyes seemed to look back into the past. Eyes filled with sorrow, regret, and anger. Seeing this, the younger cadet went silent, and didn't ask further.

"We should get ready, " said the older cadet, "The appointed time is getting near."

The two cadets went to their positions to engage Malachi's group.

///

At the same time, at a far away tower stood Carlos with one other visitor. It was an old man wearing a formal military dress.

"Hohoho, this is getting exciting, " said the old man, "Who do you think will emerge victorious, eh?"

"Your Highness..." said Carlos.

"Ah, drop it, " interjected Eleazar, "Just call me 'Headmaster' instead. Calling me 'Highness' is just too stuffy."

"Er, right, " commented Carlos, "Well, Headmaster, it would be fine not to make a game out of this. Even if he is your grandson, I can't be playing favorites here as a teacher. Also, aren't you worried about his very presence here in the academy? Knowing how the war progressed years ago, those scars haven't healed yet."

"Oh, worry not, " said Eleazar, "Even if he is the grandson of my former enemy, that old man was still my friend. Without that fact, we wouldn't have ended the war years ago."

"Of course, Great Hero King, Eleazar the Red." said Carlos, "By the way, how is Master Graham and his family faring?"

"Those three? They're here within the academy, " declared Eleazar, "I couldn't leave them to rot in the palace, after all."

"I suppose I should visit them from time to time, then, " said Carlos, "Ah, the mock battle is starting. Well then, Headmaster, if you'll excuse me."

Carlos left Eleazar on the tower, and went down to the announcer's podium. Stepping up, he announced the beginning of the mock battle.

///

"Take care of the left side, Arlianne!" shouted Malachi, "Isaac, move closer to the left! Reuben, take out that fusilier on the crates!"

"Intercept that bastard!" roared Patrick, "Don't let them advance any further! You, flank to his right, and take him out! He's gone this far to the front lines like food on a silver platter!"

Just a few minutes from the start of the match, the two groups had already clashed. Malachi and Isaac, the ones carrying the shields, were surrounded wholly by Patrick's squad. The ones with them, Arlianne and Reuben, were busy defending their flanks.

"Isaac, drop your body more!" ordered Malachi, "Let the shield cover more than half your body as you move! Reuben, flanker on your right!"

"Malachi! I'm reloading!" shouted Arlianne, "Target on the left!"

Malachi heard her, dropped down to cover themselves with the shield, and pulled out a handcannon to intercept an enemy. With just a flick of his wrist and the pull of the trigger, the flanking enemy had to dive for cover.

"Any time now, Levi, " he muttered under his breath, "Any time..."

...

While there was an intense firefight between Malachi and Patrick, Levi and his team was busy circling around the perimeter to flank Patrick's group. Dashing from cover to cover to avoid being seen, he and the other two made their way towards their intended positions.

"Looks like their hate for Skaria runs deeper than I thought, " commented Levi, "I can't help but worry for that bastard."

"You sound like you've known the Young Master for quite some time, " said Genevieve.

"Just that we've lived in the same village for seven years, " explained Levi, "Never thought Lady Bashia was a Skaria."

"Lady?" perked up Dinah, "Then his father was a Perlasian? Who would, in their right mind, fall in love with a Skaria?"

"I wouldn't know, " said Levi, "What I do know is that sometimes two men would visit from time to time. Apart from that, I would surmise one of those men would be his father. The two were also secretive about it, judging from the clothes they wore each time."

Genevieve and Dinah nodded in understanding.

"Hmm, this is too easy, " commented Levi, "Is everybody gunning for Malachi?"

"Isn't it better for us?" asked Dinah, "We get to safely take out Patrick."

"Only if they don't notice our absence, " argued Levi, "Dinah, take a nest up their and spot for targets."

...

"Hey, aren't there supposed to be seven of them?" asked a cadet, "I only see four."

"Hmm? You're right, " said another, "Hey, someone tell Pat about this!"

A lone cadet ran back to Patrick with this information. Malachi saw the lone cadet and thought in wonder.

'Did they finally notice?' he thought, 'Took them a long time. Time to mix things up.'

...

"Is that right?" said Patrick holding his chin, "Should be the two girls and that new Eskur boy. All right, get three of the guys to hang back and patrol the perimeter."

As soon as they received the order, three cadets left the front lines and fell back. Malachi saw this as well, and turned to look at Arlianne.

"Looks like they've finally noticed what's up, " he told her, "Time for a change of plans."

Arlianne nodded and prepared herself. Malachi then turned his attention to the other shield group.

"Isaac, Reuben!" he shouted, "Follow my charge!"

Isaac and Reuben were surprised and looked at the situation before them. Over the distance, they could see the figures of three cadets falling back. Thinking back on Malachi's order, they also realized what happened.

As soon as Isaac and Reuben nodded, Malachi raised the shield and carried it with both hands. Like before, during the exam, Malachi tilted back the shield like a plow.

"Rush them!" he shouted.

Two shields suddenly plowed forward, followed by two shooters that provided covering fire. Their sudden charge flustered the front line into scrambling to intercept them. The sudden change in movements created momentary chaos that let Malachi reach a lone cadet.

"Shield bash!" cried Malachi.

He slammed the shield he was carrying into the dumbfounded cadet and sent him flying. With one knocked away, Malachi continued his charge and sent one cadet flying after another. After four cadets, his momentum slowed, and he threw his shield towards another group of bunched up cadets with great vigor. The shield slammed onto another two cadets, knocking them out.

"Five down, seven left!" announced Malachi, "Onwards!"

Isaac followed suit and slammed his shield on another cadet. With his years of training with heavy equipment, the cadet was sent flying further than Malachi's hit and the cadet landed on another cadet who was busy reloading a repeater. Only two cadets were left standing and were backed to a wall. The sight of four pairs of red eyes staring at them sent shivers down their spine.

"I yield!" declared a cadette, "I give up, don't shoot!"

"I-I-I also yield!" declared the other cadet. It was Tyler, "D-d-don't shoot!"

Malachi saw their surrender and sighed.

"All right, all right, " he said, "Get off the zone, now. Oh, and bring your buddies, too. Tch, I wanted them to cry."

"Malachi, " called out Arlianne, "get a grip."

"Yeah, yeah, " replied Malachi, "With this, though, I have seen the strengths and weaknesses of those we've fought with and against."

...

"The front has fallen!" announced a cadet, "Pat, we're alone!"

"Damn! I should have joined the front instead, " cursed Patrick, "How were they taken out?"

"More than half were pummeled with shields, Sam and Tyler surrendered."

"Filthy cowards, " commented Patrick, "The young know nothing, nothing at all!"

"Calm down, Pat!" scolded another cadet, "Look, they're here already!"

"Raaargh! I'm gonna kill him!" roared Patrick.

Patrick wore knight armor and was wielding a large wooden maul. Without notice, he charged forward like a lumbering armored giant. Each of his steps audibly thundered on the field, and his companions panicked into providing support.

...

"Guess they noticed what our plan was, " said Genevieve, "Let's do a pincer attack while Patrick's raging against Young Master."

"All right, we attack on three." said Levi, "One... Two... Three! Go!"

Levi, Genevieve, and Dinah went out of hiding and flanked the remaining cadets. With their sudden assault, the remaining enemies had to split their attention between Malachi and Levi. Patrick, too, had enough awareness to notice the others' attacks reaching them. Using his shield, he protected himself and one cadet behind him. The other two cadets had to scramble for cover in order to not get hit.

"Give up, Mr. Bryant!" ordered Malachi, "You are surrounded with nowhere to go!"

"Silence, you damned child!" roared back Patrick, "I will not yield, I will not surrender, I will not succumb beneath your feet!"

"Pat! Get do—ugh?!" a cadet was about to pull Patrick down, but was shot by Dinah's crossbow.

"Rage clouds the mind, Mr. Bryant!" shouted Malachi, "You should know well enough not to let your emotions interfere with your mind in a battlefield! Your hatred for my ancestry was the beginning of your defeat!"

"Shut up!" roared Patrick, "My brothers and sisters, my friends and family... Unforgivable... All are unforgivable!"

Patrick left his companions and charge Malachi alone. Ignoring the interception fire he received from the Eskurs, he arrived before Malachi with his maul about to smash Malachi. However, Malachi was faster than Patrick's heavy equipment. He dove forward through Patrick's legs and shot his back. Unfortunately, there was a shield hanging on Patrick's back that deflected Malachi's shot.

"Hey, you damned turtle!" taunted Malachi, "You're too slow for this rabbit!"

"Graaaahhhh!!" roared Patrick as he twisted his body to face Malachi, "Die!!!"

With the momentum from twisting his body, Patrick's maul carried enough kinetic force to smash Malachi. Again, though, Malachi rolled away to avoid getting hit. The maul smashed the ground and left a depression where it hit.

"I don't need to duel with you, " said Malachi, "All forces, focus fire on Mr. Bryant!"

Malachi fell back to avoid friendly fire. Once he left Patrick alone, all of his companions subsequently buffeted Patrick with a rain of bolts and bullets. Patrick had no choice but to defend himself until the end.

The firefight lasted for a full minute before it ended. When it did, everybody ran out of ammo, and this gave Patrick the initiative to resume his attacks. Once he stood up, though, he felt someone holding something metallic to his neck.

"What? Who?" He said in surprise.

"Checkmate, Mr. Bryant." said Arlianne.

During the firefight, Malachi ordered Arlianne to go behind Patrick. Everybody else moved around to avoid hitting Arlianne, and Arlianne shot Patrick from the back as she approached. Since Patrick was busy defending against everybody, he had no leisure to take notice of what else was happening around him. With just the impact of the bullets on his armor, he had to roughly guess the situation.

Once the gunfire stopped, Arlianne was already directly behind Patrick. As soon as Patrick relieved his defense, Arlianne stuck a repeater to Patrick's neck. The feeling of heated metal on his skin shocked Patrick and forced his surrender.

///

"Well, no wonder you're all in Class 13, " said Malachi, "How the hell did you all get through the exam?"

Malachi looked at the ragged state of his fellow classmates. The Perlasians that went against him all lined up before him. Carlos was also present and stood next to Malachi with a clipboard.

"I guess that is that, Skaria, " said Carlos, "You all had a chance to redeem yourselves. A chance to avoid following the orders of a... Skaria... but you all failed. Patrick Bryant, I hope you no longer have any qualms about this, and I hope you won't get into worse trouble afterwards."

"... Understood." affirmed Patrick hesitatingly.

Carlos nodded.

"Well then, Malachi Skaria, " he added, "With this, you are now Class 13's squad leader. Take care of your classmates."

"Roger that, teach, " affirmed Malachi, "All right, trash heap of rejects, back to class!"

The Perlasians of his class glared at Malachi, calling them a "trash heap of rejects," but dejectedly followed orders because of their loss. Carlos sighed before following them back to their classroom. As they left, they passed by another class going to the field. The class they passed by avoided them, and moved further away.

The other class was led by a young Perlasian woman with waist-length hair. Malachi and this young woman met with their eyes before leaving one another. The young woman stopped marching, her class stopped as well, and asked a nearby cadet a question.

"That was... Class 13, right?" asked the young woman to a cadet, "Who was that?"

"Lady Alexa, that was the applicant of rumor, " answered the cadet, "A child of Skaria, Malachi Skaria."

The young woman, Alexa, slightly shivered when she learned Malachi's identity. She looked back and watched Malachi's disappearing figure as he turned to a corner. Alexa also found that he was being followed closely by a young woman, Arlianne.

"The girl was said to be his fiancée, " added the cadet, "I had heard her name was Arlianne. Lady Alexa? What's the matter?"

Alexa froze on the spot when she heard their names. Being called out by the cadet, she shook her head and turned around.

"No, it's nothing, " she said, "Let's get started with training."

Alexa led her class to the field to begin their training. While the rest were doing exercises, she found another part of the field being cleaned up. Approaching an academy personnel, she asked a question.

"What happened here?" she asked.

"Class 13 had a feud or something, " answered a personnel, "Seems like they were divided on the issue about who the squad leader should be. In the end, that half-Eskur led his squad to victory, judging from how ragged half his class was."

"Is that right?" She said as she looked back at the academy behind her.