A Chapter 12 Preparations(7)

  15th Blue, 2043. 9:23AM.

  Dugavu State Army camp, Outside Mazi City in the East.

  David Lutalo(POV)

  Getting myself out of bed had been a very troublesome endeavor. Yesterday had been a blast! Yet, it had also come with the problem of fatigue, soreness, and stinging pain everywhere an attack had made purchase on my body. Even now, standing before a military camp, whose walls, gate, concrete barricades and soldiers came in only two shades of color... A dark green, and the particular shade of blue representative of Dugavu state, was taking effort.

  "Whom did you piss off?" asked Dan Mpologoma, his beady little eyes filled with shadenfraude.

  I squinted at his face... "I simply got carried away with fun. You know how it is when something interesting walks up to you by itself, right?"

  "You should be thankful that no harm came to my citizens... You wouldn't have lived through the retribution that would have followed." said Luthor without even turning his gaze my way. I gazed at his back with a nameless rage building within. Did he look down on me? The urge to grind my teeth was stifled. Plus, what was with the spying?

  "Am not stupid enough to jeopardize my future in exchange for killing some worthless fool who would never reach my heights." I said with a ferocious grin. Even though he had spoken without any levity to his tone, I knew he would most certainly have done something if I had gone overboard. Years of battling alongside the man had taught me that he wasn't someone you could ignore. The moment he entered a room, you would know. Even if he stayed quiet the entire time, everyone would most certainly acknowledge his existence. Honestly, I had been envious of such an ability at a point, but now, it just didn't matter. I decided to focus on the surroundings more, though, not before having my lips curve upwards towards the glaring little golden haired girl. Did she have an inkling of the fact that all her actions towards me were deathseeking?

  Soldiers with constipated faces stood before towering iron gates. They wore dark green military attire, with blue stains. For some reason unknown to me, we had decided to ditch the bus a few meters away from the gate and approach on foot. Considering the fact that I wasn't in the best of conditions, every single movement conjured a wince out of me.

  The procedures for entry were pushed along due to the presence of Luthor himself, and within a few minutes, we had entered the military camp. It was busy. Every single constipated-looking soldier was moving with an urgency that signified purpose. Why was this military camp on high alert, as if about to confront some beasts? Could it be that they, just like us, were going to be setting off for Kisol? That was doubtful.

  "Sir! If you would kindly follow me, everything has been prepared!" shouted a soldier after doing the standard military salute. He had just jumped out of an open-roof offroader, looked young, and most of all, he had that look that I hated about anyone who admired Luthor.

  Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.

  "Luthor, are you about to wage war? Your soldiers look restless." prodded Ravena.

  "They are going to need to be on high alert considering that I won't be here for a few days. They are preparing for that eventuality. Chaos must not be propagated." he answered.

  So, he had thought and planned that far ahead. Great man indeed. I approved inwardly, though would never verbally acknowledge it. I yawned loudly attracting everyone's attention, yet only offering them a smile in return. I was tired! If they had thought that I cared about face, then they were in for quite the rude awakening!

  "What?" I asked Ril when her golden pupils lingered a little too long.

  "Nothing." she answered, though her expression said it all. That disgust made me narrow my eyes. Was there something wrong with Ravena's daughter. No! She probably hadn't gained any political acumen yet, like her mother. Ravena could smile softly when stabbing you in the back, but her daughter... She was on an entirely opposite spectrum, incapable of masking her intentions and emotions. A naive little thing!

  The military camp was a behemoth, taking us several minutes to even get to where we were supposed to be. My aching body had protested a lot during the journey making me lament the fact that we had ditched our transport so far away.

  "Couldn't the bus have dropped us here?" I finally let out my frustrations when we arrived at our destination, a massive dark green tent. I was panting, with sweat on my brow despite the gloomy weather.

  "There must be a profound reason as to why the bus was ditched. You of all people shouldn't be complaining. Or could it be that the swollen cheek and the busted lip are not the only problems with your body?" asked Ril with a sweet sweet venomous smile. Could I have been wrong? Did she have a mask of her own, just like her mother?

  "Little girl, you seem to be hell bent on opposing me... You wouldn't want to dissappear somewhere at a certain point in time, right? Cause, that would be such a shame." she flinched, and her smile disappeared.

  My words froze the surroundings as thick killing intent enveloped me from some of the others, yet my smile remained even as my father took a step to stand before me.

  "Come on, people! Loosen up! I was joking! But seriously though, the girl should keep her opinions about me locked away in her mind vault. After all, a guy's patience can be limited. Don't you agree, Ravena?" I asked while directing the full weight of my gaze at the golden haired older woman.

  "Ignore him, Ril. Focus on the important stuff." she said after glaring daggers at me.

  "Now, we're good." I said, plastering the most cheerful of smiles on my face.

  "Little girl, it's better if you possess enough power to mock others instead of relying on your mother's." said my father, his faint voice carrying over into everyone's ears.

  I had an urge to smile at this powder keg right before me. Though, we couldn't go too far. After all, we were in a military camp filled with soldiers who didn't give a damn about us. That didn't stop me from taking smug satisfaction in the fact that the girl appeared to be embarrassed and angry, yet she couldn't even spit anything back to me!

  "Our goal is Kisol. Mr. David and Chief Lutalo, it would be best that you don't jeopardize the objective for short term gains. Surely you wouldn't want to miss out on going to the continent, right?" Luthor's calm expression brought a frown to my face. It made me wonder what kind of event would cause the most intense of emotions to be painted upon that visage of his.

  "Of course, Mr. Luthor, but you also have to take into consideration the fact that we didn't start any conflict. The others did." I said, though, no one was brain dead enough to not have noticed that fact in the first place.

  "It was my mistake. It won't happen again." apologized Ril, surprising almost half the crowd as we entered the tent. Even I, myself, raised an eyebrow at that. She was most definitely a pure kind soul who had never tasted political shenanigans! Or, I could be entirely wrong! We will see!

  The moment we stepped into the tent though, everything from before was instantly compressed and dragged into the deepest recesses of my mind to make way for the excitement that flooded within as I gazed at the tantalizing spread before me.

  Luthor had been holding out on us! That was the truth that revealed itself to me the moment I laid eyes on the assorted weapons and accessories before me. From the cold to the hot, almost every single kind of weapon was here.

  "Look around, but you won't be allowed to touch anything! My soldiers will be giving you overviews and demonstrations."