Idle Mage: Humanity's Strongest Backer
chapter-149

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[A/N: Ashton would be rewarded for taking down the Chaotic Warzone and for killing the 1st Sphere Angels and Noble Demons, once the System goes online again.

...this is mainly a reminder for myself, lol.]

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Location: Edge of Madness

Date: 3rd of March, Year 9027. (One week after Ashton laid waste to the Chaotic Warzone.)

Time: 11:07 am

Under the harsh glare of the sun and the decrepit air of their surroundings, several soldiers marched with stern faces.

They wore military uniforms that made them stand out. They also held weapons in their hands as they vigilantly surveyed their surroundings. The group consists of two males and two females. They moved in a formation that allowed them to pay attention to the four cardinal directions.

"...smells bad here, it's too hot here, it's too bleak here, I hate it here." One of the male soldiers grumbled as he surveyed south, covering the backs of his comrades.

The others rolled their eyes upon hearing his words and refused to say anything.

They're used to this guy's whining at this point so they didn't comment. Plus, paying attention to his complaints would just stress them out, and being out in this rather dangerous place, any disturbance that would put their guard down would prove fatal, so they do their best to not let themselves be swayed by this guy's mood.

"It's about time when the usual sightings were reported." The one who's marching up front, leading the team, spoke. "Any of you see something? They say it's around here."

"Negative, Captain." Both the female soldiers replied.

"It's no for me, Cap." The other guy replied, his voice sounding rather playful.

The captain sighed and shook his head. Yeah, he really doesn't have the energy to scold that guy so he might as well not say anything.

"We'll hold this position then." He stated, "Jane, Olivia, help me with setting up the concealing formation. Harry, you stay on guard. Please do your job properly."

"Aye, aye, Cap." The man named Harry saluted before doing his job. Meanwhile, the girls helped the captain to lay down the formation.

Their mission lead them to survey the sightings reported at the Edge of Madness -- the area that separates the Last Bastion from the rest of the world.

This place is steeped in both kinds of corruption; black and golden ones. Barely any life exist here and those that do, are mutated beyond recognition. As this place was very close to Humanity's territory, this area was often patrolled by Federal Soldiers to maintain order and respond to emergencies should the need arise.

From the orders of their supervisors, it is said that some sightings of demons occurred around the vicinity where they're currently in. They were then sent to investigate whether those claims were true and they've been given orders on how to respond based on the situation they'd find themselves in.

Once they were done setting up the concealment formation, all squad members entered it and took a moment to rest. They sat down and began drinking from their canteens, wiping off the sweat that accumulated from their journey here.

"...hail military uniforms." Harry playfully whispered as he made himself comfortable. "Thank you for being resistant to corruption, allowing little ol' me to sit down and rest my pitiful legs. Ah..."

"Harry..."

"I know, I know." Harry cut off the woman named Olivia before she could continue, "Stop being so dramatic, yes I get it. I know...I just don't feel like doing it."

"Inconsiderate asshole." Jane sneered on the side as she bit off a portion of her military rations.

"Honest, is the right word, sweetie." Harry clicked his tongue as he retorted, "I am irritated and I'm not ashamed to say it. If you three are easily bothered by my honesty, then I guess our supervisors hadn't instilled enough military discipline in you all. That's not my problem."

"Harry." The captain gave him a hard look which made Harry stiff, "Shut it. This isn't about our military discipline, this is about you being an obnoxious asshole which is not helping. Now, shut the fuck up before I report you for insubordination."

"Tch." Harry's unconvinced but he shuts up anyway.

Judging by their captain's attitude, Harry didn't doubt that he'd definitely do what he said if his patience was tested. Typically, Harry wouldn't be afraid of this threat but nowadays, since the world has gone to shit, this threat is as effective as a death threat, and dying is something Harry doesn't want to experience anytime soon.

Captain Dennis sighed inwardly. Truth to be told, he didn't like using his position to discipline his squad members. Due to the nature of their work, he wanted to have a rather amicable relationship with his comrades to promote teamwork.

Unfortunately, there would always be people like this guy who are a little full of themselves. The best way to deal with them, from his experience, of course, was to let them experience the weight of the law pressing down on them. So far, it's been effective. Though it isn't something that Dennis liked to do, he had responsibilities to fulfill. He can't mess this up or they're all going to die.

After their short break, Dennis gathered them up and they went into a formation once more. This time though, instead of walking aimlessly, they just held their current positions and observed their surroundings, keeping a lookout for anything that might be worth mentioning.

This is generally what they came here to do. They're not here looking for a fight, they're just here to observe and report their findings. If they see anything worth mentioning, they'd report it back. If they didn't see anything, then they'd report it as is.

Either way, so long as they return home alive, they'd be paid for their services. So in truth, this mission should be easy.

"Captain, I have a question," Olivia asked whilst in position.

"What is it?"

"What exactly was 'sightings' supposed to be?" She said, "I mean, 'demonic sightings' are pretty cryptic, no? Did they not give us any descriptions or...anything helpful at all?"

"They did, but it's not helpful at all," Dennis replied, sighing ever so slightly as he did so. "They said that they saw a black silhouette moving extremely fast. This silhouette apparently likes to dart all over this general area we're in. That's all they said..."

"My, how detailed..." Harry sneered from where he was.

"That's...they sent us just because of something like that?" Jane sounded flabbergasted.

"I believe they did, yes." Dennis sighed, sounding tired and so done. "Alright, let's stop talking about this. Let's just do what we're supposed to do."

The others groaned but said nothing in the end. Dennis was just as helpless in this. Truth to be told, if it weren't for the promised reward, he wouldn't waste his time here.

This mission sounds rather mundane, to be honest. It's completely below their caliber so it felt like they're just wasting time here. Yet again, since the rewards are rather attractive for such a mundane mission like this, Dennis still ended up applying for it anyway.

He can't be blamed, he needed some supplies and resources. The others do too.

Then, about an hour passed by when all of a sudden...

"Possible Hostile alert." Olivia suddenly said. "I think this is what has been reported."

Dennis moved from his position and arrived next to Olivia, meanwhile, Jane and Harry remained in their position since they weren't given orders to move yet.

Dennis and Olivia started at the target and just as it was reported, it is indeed a black silhouette darting all over the place like it was possessed.

"What does it look like to you Olivia?" Dennis asked.

The girl squinted, looking closely, a faint film of light was noticeable in her eyes.

"...I could barely make it out but...it looks like a Beast Demon. A Sabertooth Cat, I suppose."

"Eh? How did something like that end up here?" Harry's inquiry sounded in their ears. "Usually all that we see here are just Skeleton Demons or Flesh Biters. How did a Beast Demon appear?"

"How are we supposed to know?" Jane retorted.

Harry clicked his tongue and murmured: 'Whatever.'

"Are you sure it's a Sabertooth Cat Demon?" Dennis looked rather pensive.

Olivia nodded and said: "More or less. It was moving too fast for me but I could still make out most of its body. I've seen them on records before so I shouldn't be mistaken."

"Okay, things just got more complicated." Dennis released an exhausted sigh. "Just to be clear, you only see one right?"

"Yep. Just one."

"How many horns?"

"Three pairs," Olivia replied. She could feel everybody stiffening up because of that.

"Okay. Then I guess we just leave it be for now." Dennis decisively stated.

"...would that be okay?" Olivia looked at Dennis with a complicated expression.

"It should be." Dennis nodded, "This is above the missions' pay grade. We can't deal with a fully matured Beast Demon with what we have. It might seem a little cowardly to stay behind cover but -- shit!!! Be careful everyone!!"

Out of nowhere, the Sabertooth Cat Demon suddenly swerved and appeared like a ghost not too far from them and pounced.

The squad was barely able to react when it sank its maws onto the formation, shattering it in one bite, leaving the squad completely exposed and forced to fight for their lives.