Night fell at the edge of the forest, three kilometers west of Lunaria Town.
A hundred figures emerged from the forest one after another.
They wore dark gray, close-fitting combat suits beneath dark-silver mechanical exoskeletons. Their helmets were fully enclosed, with pale blue streams of data flickering across the visors inside.
On each person's right shoulder was the emblem of the United States of Amika's Augmented Corps:
A silver sword encircled by a golden gear.
"Mission location confirmed."
The captain at their head briefed the others over the comms: "Location: the area surrounding Lunaria Town in southern Loran Kingdom."
"Primary objective: use the town ahead as the strike site to test the firepower and system compatibility of the new augmented equipment."
"Secondary objective: locate experimental subjects in the town who possess a Unique Formula and bring them back."
"Deploy in an offensive formation. Keep all communications open. Begin the mission!"
"Understood!"
Their acknowledgments sounded inside their helmets, and they marched toward the town in perfect step.
They had not gone far when a soldier checking the detector in his hand gave a startled grunt and hurriedly reported, "Captain, the equipment has detected an anomalous mana source ahead. It doesn't match the data from a week ago at all. A new mage may have appeared at the strike site."
A new mage?
The captain stopped short, brows drawing together beneath his helmet. He immediately turned to the scout beside him. "Report the status of the Flying Eagle Surveillance Projection!"
The scout adjusted the exoskeleton on his arm and tapped it several times. An image appeared before his eyes. "Captain, the surveillance formula shows a Nickfolk merchant caravan entered the town at 6:23 this evening. The mana readings are... extremely mixed, but they're definitely not ordinary merchants."
"Damn it. Why now...?"
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