Unbeknownst to Phoenix and Sylphid that another event was taking place around the same time that Jaegers were currently launching at, these two could be seen on the battlefield in the darkness of the night. A loud tring of striking metal struck Phoenix's ears, following another ear-curdling death woes.
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has killed their first Jaeger.]
[Ding! You have Leveled Up! 65 -> 66.]
"Ugh, this rotten smell...", I uttered softly, seeing my Glistening Moonlight pierce through the body of a Jaeger, ending his life right then and there. But hey, that's the battlefield for you. And who else would Phoenix be but me? It's sort of a moniker I've adopted since I've started to take assignments from Rutger, the leader of Zephyr. For some reason, he promoted me into a Captain, so if I wanted to lead a corp of my own, I could!
I took a moment to see a figure clad in red armor no longer moving near my feet. It was then a white-haired girl approached me by swooping downward. This person is known as Sylphid on the battlefield. But people probably know her more as Fie Claussell, Rutger's adopted daughter, haha!
"First kill?", Fie asked, acting as if she was already used to it. Well she was. Seeing no reaction from dead Jaegers, she definitely experienced her first kill already.
"Yeah. First time seeing blood too, for the most part. That's not my own, that is. Until now, I'm pretty sure I haven't killed anyone yet.", I replied, still feeling a bad taste in my mouth. Well, apart from my own, and Roselia's blood. I've drunk hers back at Nemeth Island. But that was like eating a golden apple versus rotten flesh. I didn't feel too disgusted by this dead Jaeger. It felt mild at most. So perhaps I'm more used to this than I originally thought. Or maybe because I have Child of the Progenitor equipped that my reaction to this isn't as bad as others would have it? I'm not sure.
"Fightin' monsters is different. They don't really leave corpses behind, unlike we humans do. Once you get your first kill, that's when the real battlefield begins. It's either kill or be killed out here. There are no in-betweens.", Fie said, simply answering me.
Well, Fie is right about that. No other way around it. Monsters just go "poof", and only leave behind drop items. If it's an actual person, it's just like the real world. They become corpses.
Continuing along our attack, Fie used her agile speed, and saw one red-clad and one black-clad Jaeger approach us. They were about to open fire until Fie reappeared behind them. That's right, behind them. Fie is known as one of the quickest characters in all of Trailsverse. With a single flick of her gunblade, it pierced through the black-clad Jaeger's chest with zero resistance. Pulling the blade outward, a pool of blood splattered onto the ground.
The black-clad Jaeger's eyes turned wide in shock as pain spread throughout his body, only to see his eyes turn lifeless, and collapsed with a "thud". Continuing along, Fie did the same motion, she killed the red-clad Jaeger next. One additional red-clad Jaeger came in as backup, but Fie moved swiftly, and pierced the chests of both of them. All three Jaegers slumped over in a pool of their own blood.
[Ding! With the help of your Party Member Fie, you have felled three Jaegers!]
[Ding! You have Leveled Up! 66 -> 67.]
Oh right, did I forget to mention that Fie was totally fine forming a Party with me? Just three Jaegers were killed, and I already leveled up again. She formed a Party with me back on Nemeth Island thanks to that Instance Dungeon III, so after I proposed the offer, she accepted it without hesitation. And considering Fie is a girl, I have True Harem Seeker equipped, so I get to earn more experience than usual!
I saw how Fie moved just now. She acted without hesitation. She is younger than me by two years, to which I turned twelve earlier in the year with it being S1198. So that meant Fie was ten now. But she already knows how to move on the battlefield. She was trained to do so by none other than the Jaeger King. It is exactly as Fie stated, it's kill or be killed out here.
Seeing me take a moment to observe the result of this battle, Fie's lips curved upward into a smile. Guess she took notice of this.
"You're doing well, Naoto. Looks like you've overcome the first step. It's a lot to swallow, I know.", Fie happily said.
"Haha, well this is the first, actual battlefield I've been on. It's quite exhilarating to say the least.", I responded.
It was true. I could feel the blood pumping in my veins. It was the adrenaline from risking one's life to fight others. All the while I was being empowered by my Equipment, Stats, and Level. Even while on the battlefield, the grind doesn't stop~
Until now, I've accomplished quite a few Quests. My stats are far beyond a normal Level 67. It feels like I'm Level 250 already and I could go against big powerhouses. However, while I may have the Stats to back that up, I still lack the practical application to apply all of that. That was the main reason why I chose to become a Jaeger, even if it is just temporary. And amongst the known Jaeger corps, Zephyr is the one who is most laid back while doing things.
I've been steadily gaining experience since I've returned to Liberl, and I think I'm becoming more and more ready to tackle Phase 1 of the Vermillion Trials. Its requirement is Level 100, and I still need 33 more Levels to meet that requirement. I hope to tackle it before I begin my studies at Jenis once S1203 comes around. Only four to five years at most!
At this time, I saw another unexpected Gamer Notification come through after reveling in the feeling of Leveling Up again.
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has earned the recognition of Fie, a promising Jaeger. Your Favorability with Fie has risen to 50%.]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has successfully rescued the friends of Gamer Naoto's newest partner, Sara Valestein. Favorability with Sara Valestein has been unlocked.]
[Ding! Gamer Naoto has become acquainted with the Northern Jaegers.]
Seeing these Gamer Notifications come through, I inwardly smiled. That's right, since half a year ago, Rutger's mission that's going to earn Zephyr a couple million Mira has officially begun. As you can see, I am now at the border of Northern Erebonia, currently donning my Phoenix moniker. Things happened, and not only did I come across the Northern Jaegers, I came across another prominent character in the Trailsverse, Sara Valestein! She's a beauty like none other. In my opinion, she's on the same level as Claire Rieveldt.
But to avoid any ire, I'll gladly keep those thoughts to myself, haha!
Going back to Zephyr's mission, we are now partnered up with the Northern Jaegers, those purple-clad Jaegers who were just about to get their asses beat. Yet we came along, and managed to prevent them from being killed. They were under imminent attack by not only Nidhoggr, but also the Red Constellation. Seeing these red-clad Jaegers put a bad taste in my mouth, considering they were the ones who attacked my home several years back.
The battle had begun. It was quite large-scale already, all residing within the darkness of the dusky night. Normal North Ambrian citizens don't even know that such a massive battle is happening right underneath their noses.
With everything that happened, Sara came to us, and thanks to her speed, which might be even faster than Fie's and that's saying something, Sara took her squad and reached out to us at the same time. Back to the present, we successfully fended off the first wave of Nidhoggr and the Red Constellation on this rocky and craggy terrain.
It was then we all heard the sound of a whistle, coming from one of the Northern Jaegers.
"Phew~ You really saved our asses back there. We're one of the scouting squads and I didn't think we'd get this swamped.", One of the Northern Jaegers said, revealing to be the second man of the group.
Seeing the battlefield momentarily clear, especially the very tall crag that now had a few dead Jaegers who tried to shoot us from a distance, the surviving group quickly approached us, as did Sara. She too no longer detected any enemies nearby.
"I hate to admit you're right, Marty, but for once, I agree. And that's saying something.", The first man said.
"Hehe, you can say that again, Captain.", The girl Jaeger said, letting out a laugh. None of them sheathed their weapons as they approached us. I shook the blood off the blade of my rapier, but we kept our weapons out too. Fie took this moment to arrive beside me.
The three closest Northern Jaegers removed their helmets. The first man appeared to be in his twenties who had small purple strands of hair that accented his blonde hair. The second figure appeared to be in their teens, a few years older than us. She had pale purple accents that curled upward along with her bangs. As for the third man, he had cerise-colored hair with orange eyes.
"I lead this squad that you just saved. Sara here is also a member of it. The name's Talion, but you can call me Tal. The girl next to me is Iseria, while that poor bastard beside us is Martin. But you can call him Marty.", Talion said, introducing himself as the Captain of this squad before us.
"H-Hey! What'd I do this time, Captain?", Marty retorted, which only earned another giggle from Iseria.
"Likewise. I'm just glad we were able to get in contact with Zephyr. Thanks for that flare earlier, Captain. Without that, you all would likely be dead right now.", Sara said, glancing at the Northern Jaegers. That's right, Sara should still be a part of this squad before me, huh? I wonder, has she earned her "Purple Lightning" moniker yet?
"So you two ended up being the fastest to come to our aid, eh? Zephyr seems to be teeming with talent, lately.", Sara said while looking back at us. "I wouldn't mind doing a speed match with you sometime, I'm quite confident with how fast I am, haha!", Sara continued with a laugh.
"I'm game. Just name the time and place.", Fie said, and decided to play along. I couldn't help but laugh hearing this while Talion shook his head. He sighed.
"You three realize those snakes and reds could send out reinforcements at any given time, right?", Talion responded as he observed our conversation.
"Haha, but they haven't yet, so what's wrong with a little respite? Still, it is good to know who we are fighting side by side with. Like Sara said, I'm Phoenix, and that's Sylphid. We're with Zephyr. We have our allies along the way, so it's going to get more chaotic soon. And well, you guys have backup too, right?", I asked, doing a quick introduction.
"That's right. Several groups are on the way. Papa's squad is leading them. We just need to find out who all is at play here.", Sara said, nodding her head.
Meanwhile, while we were experiencing a short lull during the ongoing combat between several Jaeger corps, toward the opposite direction where several trees could be seen surrounding the road that led to Dnieper Gate....
Barely any noise could be heard as a dull wind passed by. But if one had the ability to sense any presences nearby, many could be seen hiding within the trees' foliage. They were calmly observing the rocky and craggy terrain that laid in front of them, but it was still quite the distance out. More toward the front, Jaegers both clad in black and red could be seen, which meant they were cooperating. For now. They observed the outcome of the skirmish that just took place.
As those scouts continued observing, one sole figured next to one of the trees currently watched on with what appeared to be an orbal viewing telescope. As this figure used it by covering one of their eyes, if one traced their path, they were currently observing the boy clad in a dark green outfit. Armor that belonged to Zephyr. He had violet hair and golden eyes.
The figure observing this boy also seemed to be out of place. After all, it was a girl who was a couple years younger than the boy, appearing around ten. More closer to Fie's age. A smile appeared on her face. While she might be young, she had the same red-clad armor the rest of the Red Constellation presently wore. It didn't cover much of her body either, for that matter.
"So that's the loser who offed Dolphy, huh? Shame he didn't finish the job. Left one nasty scar on his eye.", The girl said as she continued to observe the violet-haired boy.
Hearing the girl say that, a huge ogre-like figure approached her, and revealed a wide grin on his lips. He had a literal mane of red hair, just like a lion. He was crazy, and wild. People who come across this person call him the Red Ogre.
"So that brat decided to partake in this battle, eh? Guess the years did him well. He didn't bat an eye when he killed a Jaeger. I like him.", The Red Ogre said, still grinning.
Hearing that, the red-haired girl beside him giggled.
"Hehe, it's rare for someone to receive your praise, Daddy. Well, how about it? Can I fight him? I hear he's called Phoenix around these parts.", The girl said, asking the question of the day.
"Hmm...", The Red Ogre replied, and didn't give an immediate reply. He could see anticipation in the girl's eyes while trying to come to a decision.