IX Mines, Rides, Shouts, and Cries -1

Hierd didn't get even an ounce of sleep, though he was accustomed to not sleeping, that night was for a different reason; tidying up. The huge amounts of uniforms were single handedly put inside German WW2 bags with the blankets already put on. He put in it unloaded lugers, five magazines for it (he of course did not include them for the ones who already had the luger).

It took Hierd the whole six-hours of the night till dawn's first ray of sun to finish. As he had too put the bags and swords on a wooden wagon, but seeing that the wagon was (as he puts it;) "SO FUCKING HEAVY!" He decided that, he would too introduce this world's first automobile.

"Mr. Fucking voice, let me get a... Military World War 2... Transport truck." 

[REQUEST GRANTED: M35 MILITARY TRANSPORT TRUCK]

"That worked? That wasn't even specific enough..."

And indeed, as if it was there from the very start, the truck appeared right before his eyes. "This is going to scare the fuck out of them, but seeing as Naturvege and Alrife had already read the book, then I won't see a problem with them OVER-OVER reacting."

The keys were already inserted and he didn't bother to fill it with gas as it should be full already. He very loaded the back with all the bags and swords from the wooden wagon (he had also put at the back, mines). And after he was done, he got inside the driver's side. 

"Haven't touched a car in what seems like forever!" 

He switched on the car and felt the roar of the engine. He pushed his foot on the pedal, and had slowly rushed ahead towards the chief's backyard, being careful not to hit the wooden fences and any other obstacle in the way. 

"I don't want to show this thing to the villagers yet, maybe in a more formal announcement, not yet. I'll get a way outside the trees and towards that fucking field."

-SWITCHING OVER TO ALRIFE-

It was dawn, no, it was twenty-five minutes after dawn. The footmen were all lined-up, the new and the old, the cold of the morning was overwhelming but as they knew the captain would bring comfortable wares, they waited in silence (however the footmen from Ridge village were not as faithful to such silence). 

Seeing as the sun reaches ever closer to the sun's primal peak, the four squad leaders had the itch of waiting and they had all lined-up at the front.

"Where is the captain!?" Jeane took the liberty of questioning first.

"I don't know, we don't know, nobody knows!" Heduc said. "We should just wait for the captain, he might be bringing two wagon's worth!"

"IF SO," Jeane exclaimed; "THE POOR CAPTAIN'S BEEN CARRYING ALL THAT WEIGHT WHILE WE WAIT DOING NOTHING, LETS FIND AND HELP THE CAPTAIN!"

"Calm down, everyone." Alrife stopped Jeane from saying in more further. "The captain should, as Heduc said, be right around the-"

*BEEP BEEP BEEP

"WHATS THAT SOUND!" Naturvege exclaimed, all of the footmen looking behind them, where the sound came from. "ITS HEADING RIGHT TOWARDS US, MEN, WEAPONS READY!"

They hadn't saw the outline of the moving object but took from the beep's getting ever closer, it was an immidiate threat. 

"I WILL TAKE THE FIRST SHOT!" Heduc shouted, whilst running towards and pulling out from his holster his registered Luger. "MEN! READY YOUR KAR98KS!"

The new recruits, as they had no such guns were commanded by Alrife to back away. 

*BOOM

The shot of Heduc's luger, after hearing the shot, the iron hunk moving towards them stopped abruptly in its tracks. After Naturvege was readying himself-up he looked at the silhoute of the supposed 'monster' coming at them, when he noticed something. 

"Alrife!"

"Yes?" He replied while still keeping his luger pointed straight at the mass from afar.

"Doesn't that look similar to those... Kars... We saw in the book...?"

In sudden silence, one that lasted an awkward amount of time, Alrife, Naturvege looked at each other. "Is that..."

"THE CAPTAIN!"

"WHAAATT!?" Jeane exclaimed in amusement, the rest of the leaders followed suit.

"EVERYONE! EVERYONE! PUT DOWN YOUR KAR98KS, THATS THE CAPTAIN!" 

Heduc, having been the one to fire at the thing. Had his heart in violent pulses. He ran, as fast as he could've ever towards the now identifed 'wagon.' But, before he could get five meters towards the wagon, a tall, black silhoute straddled out of the door it came out of.

"Ca... Captain!?" Heduc shouted to him. The rest of the leaders were catching up to Heduc.

Indeed, it was the captain. His eyes looked terrified, as such would one if he was that near to death.

"Please... Please don't shoot at me, ever?" He was sweating. 

"Yes, yes! Yes of course captain!" He exclaimed, bowing ever low to the ground.

Hierd had his group of people surrounding him with tears flowing down their eyes, Jeane crying the hardest. "Please, please, I am not hurt, just startled." He reasurred them.

-A MINUTE OF APOLOGIES LATER-

"Good Morning, everyone, and too the to the new people we have." Hierd said. "I'm sorry for the rather distressing shouts from our leaders, and too my unannouced... Introduction."

They nodded, unsure what else to do. "Let me introduce to you our Army's new vehicle... The M35 Transport Truck." 

The old footmen stood in awe of the thing, whilst questioning in their minds how it even runs, how it functions, and how fast it is, and oh so whatever questions would could probably conjure about a thing they've yet to see before! However, the new ones from Ridge Village were balling in questions like an unruly mob. 

"WHAT IS THIS INVENTION!" 

"THIS WILL RIVAL THE USE OF THE COMMON HORSE!"

"THIS BREAKS CHIVALRY!" 

To break the questions. "YOU ARE IN MY ARMY! MY COMMAND!" Hierd shouted. "CHIVALRY WILL BE A THING OF THE PAST! AND MAN SHALL WITNESS THE DAWN OF INVENTIONS!" 

They went silent.

"Now, by its name." Hierd continued his past sentence. "'Transport' means to carry people, things. This is faster than a horse's maximum speed and because of that, we can very swiftly bring our men to places where men are needed!" 

*Ahhh

They all stood in awe. "Alrife, please, help." Hierd said to him. "We're to distribute the goods for our men."

"Yes, captain!" 

Hierd and Alrife made their way towards the back of the truck, Alrife admiring the wonderful shiny metal imposed on its whole body. At the back, Hierd had Alrife set-up the boxes and scabbards at the ready and shouted for the leaders. "Please bring your men here! In orderly fashion!"

"Yes, captain!" 

The new ones were to be done last the old footmen first. And of course, started from Heduc's to Hierd's group. The men admired the backpack at first, but as they opened and looked intently the suit from within, they admired that even more so! With the holsters and the lugers, the men equipped and put them onto the leather belts they were given. 

When at last the men of Venit Ille were done getting their's. Naturvege signalled Ridge's men to follow suit. After admiring the quality of the bag, they opened and realized that their uniforms differed from Venit Ille's. To which when the first who recieved the bag and inspected their uniforms and too admired the gun, came and questioned to Hierd.

"O' captain." He started. "The uniform I was given is different from the other's uniforms, is this a mistake?" 

"No," Hierd said. "Ridge village's populace will wear another kind of uniform, because I wish for your village to become scouts!" He had increased the volume of his voice so that the rest of the line of Ridge men heard him and his reasoning.

"Ah, thank you. Captain." He went away on his own regard. 

The line continued and the ones who finished and inspected their wares were beyond confused by the metallic 'boomerang-shaped' thing that came with the bag. But of course, when the line of men was finished (the squad leaders didn't get theirs yet). Hierd addressed the Ridge men's concerns, with a demonstration.

He went up front the then organized columns of old and new footmen (the old ones were at the right the new at the left). "To the men of Ridge village; what this," He held his Luger. "Luger can do is more than what any bow can do."

He turned around and looked at the field, he aimed at the target closest to him. 

He fired it. The boom and that ringing 'plak' defeaned the footmen, but had phased the Venit Ille's footmen. 

They stood silent. With this, Hierd took it to speak. "You will train with the Luger, and the sword. Your instructor will be my assistant; Alrife. I will not want to hear even one complaint from you all! For if you were so much as to say one disgraceful thing, your worth in my Army is as low as pig-feed!" He shouted, giving fear into the minds of the Ridge men.

He called for his squad leaders to stand infront of him in a horizontal line. "These excellent people will be your leaders! You shall not ignore their orders! You shall not deface their pride! Doing so is reason for your death!" 

Hierd gave them their own backpacks, of which Hierd told them to suit up at that moment. 

"Uh... Captain?" Jeane said. "Where?"

"Please go one at a time at the back of the truck and come back."

They nodded. 

-AFTER 5 MINUTES-

They had worn their SS uniform (with the symbolism removed). The black trench coats they wore had stroke the men to a fantasy never before. It was very much so stylish and looked very much so to be warm. It had already the insignia put on it btw. They stood in the same formal line as before, of which, when they settled. "I will be applying the iron cross! This shall signify the start of the four brave men who will guide themselves and their men into battle without no such thing as fear!"

From the first, Heduc. He pulled out the first iron cross, it had a pin to which with it he punctured the uniform's left pocket. "Thank you captain."

From the seocnd, Jeane. He pulled out another cross and pinned it exactly as he did for Heduc's. "Thank... You... Captain..."

From the third, Gelmund. He pulled out and pinned it on his left pocket. "Thank you... Captain!" 

Then lastly, Verdel. The one who had been least interactive. He pulled out the last iron cross and put it on his left pocket. With tears coming out of his eyes; "THANK YOU CAPTAIN!" 

"Now, now, a leader shouldn't be seen crying." He comforted Verdel. 

"Let us give the four men you see before you a round of applause!"

*CLAPPING!!!!!!!

As the crowd's clapping died down. Hierd continued on his sentence. "As Auferstehen creeps up ever closer, shall too is battle! I do not want my men to be one of impudence, and impatience. For in battle, we wish for order! We wish for command! This day, and for the day the monsters shall come, remember, that with I, that with your leaders... We will be victorious!"

*MORE INTENSE CLAPPING!!!!!!!

"All shall go home for now!" He continued. "Please wear your respective uniforms, and by noon, your presence is needed! Now, go!" He shouted at them, to which they jogged away from the hill, all had jovial faces and were talking with their fellow friends. 

The four leaders were still standing, Verdel, crying still. "Mustn't you all go and rest?" 

"We will, captain." Said Gelmund. "But it seems that me, my comrades, and even Alrife is interested in the capabilites of this... M35 Chureruk? And surely, captain, this isn't that weapon you had promised, is it?" 

"It is not." He replied. "You answered right. The real weapon is hidden further inside the truck. But we shall reveal it's effectivity whence noon shall strike, shall too I explain the capabilites of both the truck and my weapon." 

"Then, we are to go captain..." Heduc said.

"THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU...!" Verdel cried out, Jeane patting him on the back and reassuring him of the award he had got. 

They went away with the crowd of footmen, and towards to their homes. Alrife came last but Hierd stayed to set up a line of mines. 

-BY NOON-

Not one wanted to be late, not one wanted to be too early. But as they saw the sun nearing the crux of its daily journey, they, like a horde of business men heading to their daily shifts at the office. Walked out of their wooden houses with suits that made them look like rich nobles. The Ridge men were clad in the brown Philippine Constabulary outfit, their sword fitted to their belt along with the holster on it. The women, the children shreiked at the galiant looking men, and the men admired the fancy suits. 

Seeing their men, the chief, along with his assistant Friedrick. "Such decorated rich-looking soldiers. One could mistake them as the Empire's galiant knight commanders!" Hadi said.

"Such indeed, such indeed." Friedrick replied in agreement. 

Meeting at the main road. The brown and the black of the Venit Ille's footmen clashed. It looked as if ink was splashed onto the wood of an artist's table. The women, men, and children were greeting them more so saying their byes to their relative who was a soldier. It was as if there was a parade and there was a defined outfit for each and every one. 

But before they could go to the field. The squad leaders had organized theirs truly whilst Alrife held the Ridge's strong thirty men. They were instructed by them to organized in proper order. Ridge village had yet to do formations and so Heduc helped Alrife with how. 

The sun was nearing ever closer to that midpoint, and so, without wasting time, they headed towards the hill once again, Venit Ille's squad coming first then Ridge's platoon of men led by Alrife. They all saw the truck parked next to boxes which seemed to be cracked open. 

"Stop!" Heduc shouted as they reached the point where they were set to be stationed. The other squad leaders followd as such. Alrife had too told his platoon to stop, there was some difficulty with the communication but all-in-all they had stopped and assembled neatly. 

"Captain! We are ready!" Jeane had stepped forward and shouted with a stern face. She stepped back into her column. 

Hierd came out of the truck's back and with it a wooden box. He placed it on the ground before announcing; "I will now introduce a new weapon that army will use!" 

"So it should be that the four would pick two guys?"

"Leaders?" He gestured to them. 

They moved out from their column and called the names of the ones who they chose (such names that the author has not bothered to say). Hierd hadn't picked for his own squad's two men, but the the four had. And when the four duos were stationed front. Hierd said; "Each duo will be assigned three men from the Ridge platoon. This in-turn will make four more squads. And I will name it the Artillery platoon. 

'The Artillery platoon!?!' They said en masse.

'Two new platoons in a single day?'

"With the graces of the newly formed artillery platoon, they will provide both support and will prove to be one of our army's most 'destructive' of forces."

'Destructive of forces!?' They were startled. 

"What is more-" seeing his 'interuption' he interjected; "Forgive me. Captain, what do you mean that is our army's dangerous force?" Alrife said. 

"I mean is that they can rumble the grounds of the earth, deliver molten lava from the sky!" 

"I tried explaining in the good ol' ooga booga way." 

They shrieked. 

He had the duos placed to his right until he was to pick from Ridge village. 

"You all shall witness the first of the weaponry that the squad shall use in combat!" 

He pulled from inside his coat a green oval (a grenade but the soldiers so more so a green oval). "This is a grenade!" He pulled the pin and immidiately threw it as far as he could've threw it towards the firing range behind him. 

He backed off and waited for...

"3! 2! 1--!"

*KABOOM!