Beyond the Apocalypse
Chapter 129: Brigadier General Mitchel

Chapter 129: Brigadier General Mitchel

A young man with an imposing figure clad in black leather armor, a bone shield on his back, and a machete on his waist stood in the center of a small town while dozens of soldiers and hundreds of civilians moved around him. The armor covering his body might have been leather. Yet, its resilience was higher than standard metal, and its ability to absorb and dissipate energy was higher than even the best Kevlar.

This young man was none other than Mitchel, Grand Marshal Anglius’ right-hand man. Like the middle-aged man who rose from general to Grand Marshal, Mitchel’s military rank rose from first lieutenant to brigadier general.

That level of rise would never happen in the Continental Country’s military, but the people who stand on the rise of any kingdom are bound to have a meteoric advance.

Of course, if Mitchel did not have the abilities of the rank, no matter how much Grand Marshal Anglius liked the man, he would not have granted him the title, and Vlad would have never given him his blessing. However, the young man proved his worth and bravery during the clash with the high demonic horde, being at the forefront of the battle and killing dozens of demonic beasts while guiding squads of soldiers.

Brigadier General Mitchel’s eyes were focused on the crater in the middle of the town, where blood spread everywhere. This scene seemed to be the aftermath of a missile that had landed in the area, killing a massive beast and destroying everything around it.

If it were before the apocalypse, the young man would have thought the responsibility fell on a military weapon, but the world had changed, and he knew that there were life forms capable of this destruction.

’Who could have done this?’ Mitchel could not help but wonder about who was responsible for the crash. He had been sent here under orders of Grand Marshal Anglius to take care of the town’s survivors.

According to the Grand Marshal, the threat to the people had already been taken care of, and his mission was simply to bring back the survivors to the military base. However, he was also told he should not question these people regarding the events that led to their salvation, as that involved high military secrets that he had yet to gain clearance to obtain.

One person came to Mitchel’s mind when he thought of a person who was capable of such destruction, but according to what he was told, he and his little cat were at the military base doing experiments.

’Ahhh, whatever. I should not burden my mind with this sort of question.’ While his curious nature urged him to try and find out what happened in this place, Mitchel would not disobey a direct order based on a whim.

"General Mitchel!" A woman clad in leather armor appeared next to Mitchel. She adopted a military stance, only speaking after the young man signaled for her to do so. "We have already secured all the survivors and harvested all the resources from the town. We are ready to march at your signal, Sir!"

Mitchel turned his focus from the crater to the soldiers and civilians already in formation. He had brought forty soldiers, all of them already Warriors or Mages. As for the civilians, there were over seven hundred.

Rescuing survivors was normally an exceptionally troublesome task as they were usually weak and malnourished, making it very hard to move with them. However, the people in the town had spent the last month eating very nutritious food, so they were all at peak strength.

Of course, there were still those for whom a month-long journey would be too harsh and would slow down the entire group. The Xaos Kingdom enforced ethics and humanity, so leaving them behind was not an option, which is why there were seven chariots present here.

Two of those chariots were full of non-perishable foods and other materials on the Silent Wind Military Base’s wanted list, while the other five were full of elders and children. Normally, there would be animals for this task, but no such beasts were in the base, so the ones pulling those chariots were soldiers.

Each chariot carried several tons of weight; an average person would grow tired in minutes. Still, the ones in charge of pulling were all Level 2 Warriors, with strength and stamina even higher than a bull, so they would have no problem with the mission, especially if they took turns pulling among the soldiers.

Seeing that everything was in order, Mitchel nodded and turned to the young woman. "Let’s go. It will be a long journey back home, and we should take advantage of the daylight."

The young soldier nodded to Mitchel, and she returned to the military formation, which immediately began to advance.

Mitchel glanced at the town one last time, making sure everything was in order before taking a tiny gem full of runes from his pocket and focusing on it, making it glow. "Brigadier General Mitchel reporting. We are marching back to the Silent Wind Military Base with the survivors and the goods."

A few seconds after relaying that message, the communicator gem glowed once more, and Grand Marshal Anglius’s voice emerged from it. "Good. Report to my office when you are back. I have another task for you."

"Yes, Sir!" Mitchel acknowledged the command and stored the communicator gem in his pocket before marching to the back of the group, his eyes sharp as he made sure that no one was left behind.

While the mountain path was the shortest to the Silent Wind Military Base and the one the force took to reach this place, it was too harsh for ordinary people, so they would be skirting the mountain.

That path would be longer, but since they would not constantly have to wait for people to regain their breath, as they would in the mountain, it would actually take less time to return to the base.