"West Group Five found nothing. Over."
"West Group Seven found nothing..."
"West Group Twelve found a small Rat Swarm. Preparing to engage. Over."
"North Group Three found nothing. Over..."
Hellfire advanced along the winding valley. At the center of the column, Femi, Jack, the Berserker, and the other commanders walked together, holding Otherworld Leaves and listening to the reports coming through them.
Reconnaissance Airships tracked them from above, while the Ranger Legion split into twenty groups that reached into the Graypeak Mountains like feelers. They wiped out small Rat Swarms and drew larger ones toward the main force.
That tactic flushed out the rats hidden deep in the mountains without forcing the Hellfire Legion to run all over the place.
"This thing is incredible!" The Berserker stared at the leaf with naked envy. He had only heard of mages in elite Mercenary Companies establishing mind links, and those worked over just a few hundred feet. A single leaf could relay messages from one or two thousand yards away!
"Are you selling it? I'll buy it!"
Magic Cannons were useless to him, and Magic Muskets were only good for playing around with, but the Berserker genuinely wanted a leaf.
"Not for sale. Emperor Annan only gave them to us for testing."
"Will it work inside an Anti-Magic Field?" Jack asked. The thing was a perfect match for the Rangers.
With the leaves, they would no longer have to relay information through Flag Signals from the Reconnaissance Airships. The entire Ranger Legion could move as one.
"Don't know. We'll have to test it, but probably," Frank said.
"I can't believe our technology has come this far!" Jack marveled. "It wears out too fast, though. It's only been three days, and the range has already dropped by half."
Femi knew about the Otherworld