Chapter 21 Chapter 1 Enemy

Major James Polis, commander of the 5th Battalion of the Marine Airborne Corps, was nicknamed "Stump" by his subordinates (unofficial title, of course, it was impossible for Major Polis to hear).His short stature, stocky build, and muscular build undoubtedly played a large role in earning him the nickname.The Major is in his thirties, but still in top physical condition.During the annual inspection of senior military and political officials to the base, Major Polis always invites as many recruits as possible to risk their heads. Fell to the ground (According to legend, a recruit once stole a tank and drove directly towards Major Polis. According to legend, when the tank hit the major, he remained motionless, as if rooted, and the tank turned over Upside down.) Those who followed Major Polis early in his enlistment knew the true origin of the nickname.It comes from the classroom, not the locker room.

"James Polis, your imagination is comparable to that of a tree stump!" an instructor joked. The name stuck with him ever since. The instructor's comments—and the nickname—didn't bother James one bit, and in fact, he wore a number of medals as he proudly accepted the nickname.He believes that his lack of imagination is an important factor in his success and success.It was a reassuring thought to the men he led that Major Polis was the sort of orderly commander whose roots were deep in the firm soil of doctrine; What position will Liss take on any issue, as long as the matter is within the scope of the regulations and regulations, then Major Polis will stand on it without hesitation, and nothing can shake him, even the most Legendary tank.If there are no rules and regulations, then...

However, this is just a talk, and James Polis has never encountered a time when he did not have rules. until now. The lack of imagination in Major Polis's personality--indeed he had no imagination at all--was one of the main factors in his selection as commander of Simharlen's army for the expedition.High-ranking government officials have described this eccentric world with information provided by two individuals; one known to casino goers as a sorcerer, and the other known only to certain secret government agencies Man, that is Joram.Some of the high officials could hardly believe what they heard, and decided to send to Simharon a man of guts, coolness, and tight logic, who must survive without losing his mind.

It is not difficult to see how they came to this decision, which undoubtedly had some merit in itself.Unfortunately, this decision turned out to be disastrously wrong.Although anyone who comes from a safe and secure technological society will inevitably be shocked to the bone when entering the thrilling and frightening world of magic, a general with a rich imagination may be flexible enough to deal with those amazing and frightening worlds. sticky situation.However, Major Polis was not this kind of person. For the first time in his life, he felt pain, like a solid stump being pulled out of the soil cleanly.He was paralyzed hopelessly, with all his roots showing, which was enough to make people feel miserable.

"Major, may I make a suggestion?" Captain Colin stammered. "I suggest we get the hell out of this place." The captain was about forty-five, a veteran of the toughest tank battles on the Outer Frontier.He was taking out a cigarette with a trembling hand at the moment. The cigarette fell to the floor, and he took out another one, but it was broken into two parts nervously, and finally he simply put the cigarette case back in his pocket. Major Polis looked gloomily at his men, who all nodded solemnly.Except for one, he wasn't listening at all, shivering in his chair. "You suggest we retreat..." the major howled.

"I just think we should get out of here before we lose our lives and our heads are still awake, so as not to be like..." Captain Colin stopped suddenly, and glanced at the trembling captain beside him. Major Polis sat behind his standard-size metal desk, facing his company commanders who sat in standard-size metal folding chairs.At this time, they were all gathered in the command center of Major Bosley's standard specifications, and the plastic yurt above their heads was designed according to the latest standards.A series of yurts of the same type, some larger, such as supply yurts, restaurant yurts, and some smaller, yurts for residential areas, dotting the landscape for miles around.These yurts can be dismantled in minutes, and entire battalions can be boarded in hours, leaving the nightmarish world far behind.

Major Polis rested his hand on the metal table.The table top reassured him, that cold, solid, unyielding… what?James Polis wanted to search for the right word: Metallicity?Strong, unyielding metal?He doesn't think "metallicity" is a term, but it does describe what's on his mind.He only needs an hour or two to leave here and return to a world made of metal... He put his hands on the table, clasped tightly, and scanned the table carefully to see everything on it; from a green teapot with an orange lid (he didn't remember when it was brought in, now he The last thing he wants to drink is tea), to a stack of papers neatly stacked next to his standardized field computer.The Major was a little nervous, not realizing what he was doing, his knuckles began to tap on the tabletop, and his eyes turned to a small transparent plastic window attached to the plastic yurt.

As night fell, it was as dark as hyperspace, and the moon and stars were hidden behind the black curtain.Polis pondered, his face becoming more and more gloomy.I don't know if this is a real night, or one of those many horrible magical nights.Fear enveloped him and his subordinates like a huge, suffocating blanket.He glanced at his watch quickly to check the time, but it was twenty-four.They were only here for forty-eight hours. Forty-eight hours, those senior military officers estimated that it would take such a long time to subdue the inhabitants of this world.The inhabitants are reported to live somewhere south of the Middle Ages.Forty-eight hours, James Polis was supposed to send back the message that everything was under control, that his army was taking the major cities, that negotiations for peaceful coexistence could begin...

But forty-eight hours.Half his men were dead, and more than half his tanks were destroyed or unusable.As for those who survived, probably a third of them were no better than the trembling captain.Major Pollis gave him a weary glance, making a mental note of turning the man over to the medical staff after the meeting and declaring him unfit to command operations. For forty-eight hours, he thought they were safe enough hiding in the mountains, but he always had an uneasy feeling: he was being watched, invisible eyes were watching him. Staring out the window, Major Polis' ears were listening to his captains.For the hundredth time, they described with vigor and strained voices all the events of the past forty-eight hours, so that no one could doubt it, and anyone who didn't believe him would rush to explain it to you.Floating on the ocean of their words, James Polis saw a fragment or two of doctrine or regulation drifting past in his mind, and he staggered to catch them, to cling to them, but they Always sinking, but he was very helpless, constantly sinking...

The major was so lost in the black sea that he didn't even notice that another man had crept in. The others didn't notice either.This may be because the man did not come in through the gate of the command center, but only manifested in the yurt.He was a tall, broad-shouldered, handsome man in an expensive cashmere suit with a tie at his throat.The attire was queer for a battle, but if his attire was queer, his manner was even more queer.He might have been lounging in a bar, waiting for dinner in a fancy restaurant.He calmly smoothed the cuffs of his white shirt, and the jeweled chain buttons on his wrists were shining.He regarded Major James Polis calmly.A thin plastic ID card with a photo was carefully inserted into his suit pocket, with his name printed in red letters on it: Manju, and a simple word: consultant.

Although the man kept quiet to avoid being noticed, he didn't try to hide his presence either.The officers turned their backs to him.Major Polis, still absorbed in his own problems, was still staring at the table.The newcomer listened to the descriptions of the lieutenants with great interest, and flicked his ID card with his fingertips from time to time. His fingers were surprisingly slender and elegant!When he was playing with the small card with "Consultant" printed on it, he was smiling, and seemed to think that all this was very interesting. "At the time, we were attacking Stone Fort, where we...as we were asked to—" Captain Colin's voice was sharp and stinging. "Round up the reptiles. One of my tanks caught one of them, a woman, watch out, a woman." The captain's tone grew darker. "They saw this green sticky thing start to crawl into the hatch, and before they knew what was going on, this... this sticky thing gnawed into their skin! They started to glow, just Like, within a few minutes, it becomes...they're a quivering pile of green jelly..." "The little boy turned into a wolf right in front of my eyes! Jumped on top of Langkin and knocked him down, and before I could move, I slit his throat. God save me! I will never forget Langkin's screaming for the rest of my life ...what can I do? Run? Yes, I fucking run! I keep running, and the thing is puffing on the back of my neck. And I hear it..." "We shot at it, but it must have been thirty feet high. We should've been throwing fire sticks at it instead of lasers. It ran over with one foot! That's it for Medec and Heys .We couldn't drag the bodies out of the wreckage of the tank..." "A man in a white robe, like one of those bloody pictures in Sunday school books, jumped up and attacked my men with a sword. Yes, a sword! They were going to split him in half with a displacement pulse gun— — Bang! They fired, and the sword—” "- reflected the light back?" "Reflex, shit! It sucked the light dry! I saw the weapons, every gun was completely drained, but they were recharged before the battle. We could have used it for a month without recharging Light. The guy in the white robe is doing the same thing to the tank. Really..." "I saw it with my own eyes, I swear! All the soldiers in the tank reported that their instrument readings were like crazy, and then everything died! And the guy in the white robe was holding that sword in his hand and screaming. Zhan blue light, standing in front of them, the last thing reported by all the soldiers of the tank was a blinding light... Then there was an explosion... There was a hole in the ground, and the tank exploded in half and fell to the ground -" The trembling captain suddenly said: "Two halves, one half is human, the other half is horse, their hair covers their faces, but I can still see their terrifying eyes and horseshoes—sharp horseshoes..." Suddenly the captain jumped up. "They're kicking Jameson! Stop them! Oh, my God! They got hold of him - ripped both of his arms off! He...he's alive! God! His yelling! Shot! Let him! Tell him to stop barking! Tell him to stop!" the captain covered his ears with his hands, whimpering. "Take him out!" Major Polis finally came back to his senses, he raised his head and ordered. The rest of the officers stopped arguing and fell silent, careful not to look at their collapsed colleague.The major opened his mouth to call a sergeant whose office was in another, smaller yurt attached to the main yurt, and it was then that he realized that there was someone in the room, beside him. An ID card that says "Consultant" is attached to the expensive suit. In an instant, Major Bosley felt his whole body go cold, and he almost trembled as badly as the poor captain.The captains noticed their commander's eyes suddenly froze, and saw that his hand that had been tightly gripped on the table became weak, so they all turned their heads hastily, and saw that man was staring at them , so they turned their heads again—a few moved a little slower, especially Captain Colin—and looked at their commander uneasily. They have lost faith in me.thought James Polis sadly.But how can I blame them?I have lost confidence in myself and everything around me!He cast a reluctant but irresistible glance at the still weeping captain.If it goes on like this, I'll be as crazy as Waters... I've got to pick myself up again. He forced himself to straighten his back, clenched his chin, puffed his cheeks, and raised his voice: "Sergeant." The door opened and the sergeant entered. "Sir?" "I ordered that no one is allowed to come in. What is this person doing here? Did you leave your post without authorization?" The sergeant looked at the man, his eyes widened immediately, and his face turned yellow. "No, sir! I didn't let him in, Major, I swear! I—I didn't leave my post all night, sir!" The man with the advisor badge laughed. James Polis felt a nervous urge to step forward and pound the neat, white teeth of that smiling face down his throat, which was tied in a silk tie.But his hand just twitched and was forced into a fist.The Major knew perfectly well how he had gotten in, having seen him play the trick hours before.But it's no trick.Polis reminded himself.It's not magic that freaks kids out, shakes their heads in wonder, it doesn't happen in a mirror, it's real, at least not unlike anything in a world that feels unreal. as real as anything. "Well, never mind, Sergeant," the major murmured, noticing that his captains were starting to get more nervous. "Call the medic." He pointed to the hysterical captain. "Command, he is no longer suitable for command, I will promote Lieutenant... Lieutenant..." James Polis blushed. In the past, he was always proud that he could remember the names of all the officers under him, as well as most of them. Newly recruited soldiers.But now, he couldn't recall the name of a lieutenant who had served under him for more than a year. "Damn it! Whoever comes, tell him to report to me." He glanced at the visitor. "Half an hour later." He added coldly. "Yes, sir." After the guard finished, he turned and walked towards the gate. "Sergeant!" the major yelled. "Sir?" The guard turned around. "Take this pot of tea away! You know, I never drink this stuff, why is it here?" The sergeant looked at the pot of tea suspiciously. "I didn't take it, sir." The words came to his lips, and he swallowed them back.He looked at the sullen major, picked up the teapot and went out, muttering, "I'm sorry, sir." He took the handle of the teapot and took it outside to his office. "You are welcome, gentlemen," said James Polis wearily, and it was only the rules and regulations talking, not him.Had he had the choice consciously, he wouldn't have said a word. "I will consider your suggestion. Disband." The captains stood up, making the sound of metal scraping the plastic floor, and they filed out in silence, without saying a word—a bad omen.thought James Polis. Gently tapping on the computer, he pretended to focus on what was on the screen, but in fact he didn't know what he was looking at. He didn't want to talk to any of them anymore, didn't want to force himself to face them, didn't want to watch their eyes.He felt that the eyes they looked at him made him a little more uncomfortable than the cold eyes from the side of the road.He also knew that they were exchanging glances with each other, full of questions and confused. What should he do?Is it a request for reinforcement ships?Or is it retreat?What was his order anyway?Of course, rumors had spread that the Major was no longer in command of the battalion... they were in fact being commanded by that magician in Manju, who had been in control from the moment the situation turned bad. Major Polis heard the sergeant outside shouting into the field phone for the medical officer.They've also been having problems with their phones, which the technicians told him probably has something to do with the eerie, energy-filled atmosphere here.A captain, probably Colin, took poor Waters and led him out, and when everyone was gone, the sergeant—telephone still in his hand—kicked the door shut. "Tell me, what do you want?" The major howled loudly, but his eyes were still fixed on the computer screen, and he didn't even want to look at anyone. Manju came and stood in front of his desk, the magician's eyes wide open and gleaming with disarming charm.His skin was tanned, his face was cleansed, and his hair was thick and thick, tied in a bun in the center of his forehead and pulled back in a trendy style.His silver-gray hair matched his healthy bronze skin, which glistened in the still light.He put his fingertips on the metal tabletop, lowered his eyelids, and looked over the bridge of his beautiful nose at the major with the thick neck and square jaw. “Rumor is that you want to retreat?” said the man, his voice befitting his appearance—a deep, magnetic baritone cultivated through years of performing in front of live audiences. "So what? I'm still the commander here!" Major Pollis was furious and slammed the computer down. In doing so, he realized that he had been staring at a document he wrote several months ago. He cursed himself in a low voice, and when he turned to face Manju, his hand was burned again, so the curse became louder! "What the hell!—Sargeant!" he raged. But there was no answer, and the major rose from his chair, strode angrily to the door, and flung it open. "Sergeant!" he roared. "That damn teapot..." However, there was no one outside.The major picked up the field microphone and put it to his ear. The noise and some strange sounds from it almost deafened him.Obviously, the communication has also been paralyzed. The sergeant must have gone to find the medic himself.The major was about to curse again, but this time he restrained himself, but the words he swallowed were hot as if they were going to burn his insides.He squeezed his throbbing stomach tightly with his hands, stomped his feet, turned his head and walked back to the office—without looking at his guest—slumped into a chair, staring angrily at the orange-covered and green teapot . "Damn it! I told him to take this thing out, but why did it come back again!" "You did," replied Manju, famous in all his spheres as a circus magician.He sat on the table smartly and looked at the teapot with great interest. "You did," he murmured. "No, don't touch it!" He stretched out his long-fingered hand to stop the major who was about to grab the teapot, thinking about how to dispose of it—as for what to do after grabbing it, the major himself Not sure, but he did consider throwing it out the window... Manju's strong hand clasped Polis's wrist tightly. "Let us discuss your planned reckless retreat," said the magician lightly and cheerfully. "You say reckless—" "Yes, recklessness. Not only for your army career prospects - and you know I will not be unaffected - but for your own life, and the lives of your men. No, no retreat, Major." Blushing with anger, James Polis struggled to free himself from Manju's hand.However, Manju was still smiling.And with the cracking sound of bone shattering, it also brought the major's painful inhalation sound. "You are strong, but now, I am stronger than you!" Manju's hand continued to clamp Polis' wrist tightly.The enraged major grabbed the magician's arm and, using his legendary strength, wrenched Manju's grip as hard as he would bend the laser gun on one of his tanks. "Forty-eight hours ago, I could have crushed your chicken-claw-like leg bones in two!" Polis cursed, gnashing his teeth, staring angrily at the magician.He hoped this would conceal his panic. "This is your...magic!" he spat out the word. "Yes, Major James Polis. This is my... magic!" Manju muttered in a strange language, and then he raised the major's hand. James Polis screamed, and jerked his hand - or what was his hand - out of the magician's grasp.The magician let go with a laugh, and the major sank back into his chair, staring in horror.His hand is gone, replaced by a chicken paw!At this time, there was a sound of "clacking" obviously coming from the teapot, which immediately attracted Manju's attention, but the teapot immediately became quiet again, only a wisp of light smoke rising from the spout. "Turn it back!" Polis gripped his wrist tightly, and the chicken feet on his hand twitched convulsively. "Take it off!" His voice became sharper, and finally, he was speechless. "Then don't mention the retreat again!" said the magician grimly. "Damn it!" Polis's forehead was already dripping with cold sweat. "We lost! We can't beat this... this..." He couldn't find the words. "You heard my men too! Werewolves, giants, and a man with a sword that drains energy..." "I heard what they said." Manju said with a serious face.With a wave of his hand, a folding chair automatically moved forward, opened and arranged behind Manju.Manju sat down comfortably, smoothed the creases on Cashmere's trousers, continued to look at the major, and the major's eyes were still fixed on his suddenly mutated hand. "I've heard about the man with the sword. Frankly, that's the only thing I'm interested in, don't be afraid to be like that." The magician waved his slender hand, said another strange word, and then the major's hand returned to its original shape.James Polis examined it tremblingly and rubbed it excitedly to make sure it was real.Then, wiping the cold sweat off his upper lip, he squinted and looked at the magician with horror. "Cheer up, Major!" snapped the magician suddenly. "Of course, you know the identity of the man holding the sword." The major propped his elbows on the table and buried his military-style head deep in his hands. "No." He said feebly. "I have no idea……" "It's Joram." "Joran?" Polis immediately raised his head. "But they told me he remained neutral—" The major stopped suddenly, the corners of his mouth twisted in pain. "I see! If we don't slaughter his people, he will remain neutral." "I think so." Manju shrugged. "Frankly, I've always been skeptical that he'd really let us conquer the world without taking any precautions against us, but he's played the role pretty well enough that he might as well be left out of the game, he, in fact , which increases the stakes considerably." The magician's two white front teeth bit his lower lip lightly, which was a habit of his, which made his handsome face appear ferocious, or, in James So it seemed to Polis, who watched the magician with a sort of morbid fascination. "Joran must have got his Dark Sword back," said the magician, pausing for a moment, tapping his cheek with the tips of two index fingers at the same time, and saying, "Damn it!" Although he was a little excited, But the voice was soft and restrained. "We have to find some metal ore of that kind to analyze it! The Stone of Darkness! According to him, this ore can absorb energy from this world, and now it seems that it can also absorb the material energy in our world. " "Think about it, Major!" Manju put down his hands, straightened his tie, and adjusted his cuffs. Obviously, this is also a habitual action. Ore that turns energy into itself! Whoever masters this weapon wins the war! Not only this world, but any other world, any world we want to conquer! Now, Major, how long will it be, Can reinforcements arrive?" "Reinforcements?" The major blinked his glowing eyes. "There's no reinforcements at all! We're an expeditionary force, and our mission is... well, it used to be—" His voice cracked. "peaceful." "Yes, there was peace, we wanted to negotiate with them, but we were violently attacked, and our soldiers were brutally slaughtered." The magician said without emotion. "That's your game, isn't it?" James Polis asked dully. "That's the game." Manju opened his hand. "Led by Joram, he lured us here first, and the people of this world were prepared to attack us without warning as soon as we arrived, and we fought back as a matter of course, but now we are trapped here , we need reinforcements to save them." "And then, once the reinforcements come, they're under your control, like mine, like me!" said James Polis in the same dead, unconcerned tone. "Then, I will order them to kill all the men, women, and children in this world. Of course, the catalyst saints must be excluded, because, as you have seen yourself, they can help me increase my magic power." "That's genocide!" The major blushed with anger and panted heavily. "God! You are saying that you want to destroy the whole world of human beings! Why?" "Why?" The magician smiled charmingly, as he wove the camouflage dreamcloth that dazzled audiences all over the world. "Isn't that clear? I'll be the only one with magic. Me, my son, and my daughter. That reminds me that I'll need a few more beautiful young women for my Have a child. I will choose it myself. With magic, I and my family will be the masters of the entire universe! At that time, no magician will survive to compete with me!" "I won't listen to you, I'm going to denounce you! I'm going to stop you..." James Polis cursed at him viciously, but the words froze on his lips quickly, because the magician had already stood up slowly. stood up -- with one finger -- and pointed unexpectedly at James' right hand. When the major saw it, his face immediately turned pale, and he hastily withdrew his hand and hid it under the table. "When we talk about the taming of man, Major, I suggest you remember that I need only a few simple mystical words to crush you, completely and completely, bone by bone! Does it mean that the human body has More than two hundred bones? I forgot, I have never been interested in living things, but I believe that it should be an extremely painful way to die." "My men will not kill innocent people indiscriminately—" "Oh—but they've already done it, Major Polis," interrupted the major with a shrug. "Your people are very afraid of the people of this world. Didn't Joram say something very interesting? 'They are afraid of what they don't understand; they will destroy what they are afraid of!'" After a few battles like today, they will want to eliminate these mages even more. Now, let me ask you another question about the reinforcements, how long will it be?" Major Polis licked his lips. Before he could speak, he swallowed hard several times before saying, "Seventy-two hours, at least." The magician shook his head thoughtfully. "Seventy-two hours! I'm afraid that would be of no use. It's too long, and the mages will attack us before then, and Joram will certainly prompt them to do so." "Not even your magic power can make it faster, Manju!" James Polis smiled wryly.Say it all at once. "We had to get the message out, but now our communication network is down. Although the star base is on alert, they have to mobilize equipment, supplies and food, and then board the ship. Then, there is still a voyage. If you want, It can turn me and my men into chickens," he added, flushing with anger at the sight of the bronzed handsome face of the magician. "However, that won't speed things up!" The magician stared at James Polis, but the major stared back fearlessly.There will always be a limit to how far you can push a person. Clay figurines still have three parts of their temper, so don't push people too hastily—even if they are already vulnerable.Apparently, the magician had pushed him to the limit. "Then we need to stall for time," he said calmly, turning away from the pursed-lipped major who was dripping with sweat. "And, first, we must get that sword!" sighed James Polis, resting his elbows on the table, and buried his aching head in his hands. The magician frowned and pondered. He lowered his eyes to look at the teapot, but he didn't notice that under this man's scrutiny, the teapot suddenly became very quiet and obedient. The spout stopped breathing, and the gurgling sound inside also disappeared. up. The magician smiled. "I have an idea!" he murmured. "Peace...we are here for peace...as you said, Major Polis." He reached out and raised the teapot with orange cover and green body. "Right now, all we need is someone to get our message across to someone—someone who is pious and holy. If our cards are right, this person will no doubt be very eager to help us. .”