Shattered super-soldier

[Killing over a thousand soldiers still seems a little excessive…]

[That’s because it was, that was the whole point, Aea crunched the behavioral data for the entire army over almost 6 hours to target all the moral and command structures as well as all further political adversaries]

[I get that, all I am saying is that using too much force will cause blowback, even if they are playing along for now]

[That’s fine, as long as we stay on the current development track we should be able to stomp anything they throw at us]

Alina nodded, the two were walking side by side tailing around 200 meters behind the defeated army that were matching back East where they came from, speaking of the defeated army Aea, really had manged to shatter their will to fight completely and turn them completely docile, it also helped that the 30 accompanying battle androids cleared out any hostile life that approached the remnant army, with the current marching speed they would reach Fort Adam at around noon the next day

“Today’s match have been completed, make camp”

Matthew’s voice echoed out as the day's march ended, it was still a few hours before night fell, and even given the time it would take to set up the encampment and prepare for nightfall Matthew was still giving them about an hour leeway since they had covered more distance than he had expected over the last 4 days

[...Expand the 2nd surveillance premiere another 5 kilometers out]

[Confirmed, Fire mission assigned to Rail-001, Rail-002 and Rail-003, 35 high endurance surveillance drones will be deployed in 7 hours]

Alina, that had sat down on her favorite chair, spoke out on the local net and overwrote Matthew’s order

[Send me a capacitor first, I would like to be topped up before we reach the fort tomorrow]

[Confirmed, tasking Rail-001 for delivery]

Matthew let out a sigh as he turned around to face the direction of Basecamp as he waited a few moments before the capacitor housed inside the 240mm shell casing that raced across the sky for a few moments before deploying braking fins and Matthew snatched it out of the sky as it passed above him, he turned around again as he opened the container and took out the single use capacitor and handed it to Alina

[Your drink, my lady]

Alina received the single use capacitor which glowing blue core quickly crumbled before it shattered and collapsed as its internal power capacity was depleted, a few moments later it was reduced to slag metal which Alina handed back to Matthew

[Thank you, Matthew]

The slag metal was quickly broken down as Matthew looked back towards the surrendered army that was in progress of making camp, they looked like automatons going through preprogrammed motions, looking at this Matthew was inclined to admit that he might have gone too far

‘...But if it stops another bigger war from happening, then their sacrifices will be worth it in the end’

-

Upon gazing at the pale gray stone fortress, Matthew could at once see several ways to topple it completely with his current arsenal, still a feeling in the pit of his stomach kept him on his toes

[...I don’t like this… Warm up the rail cannons for hammer strike]

[Orders received, Rail-001 and Rail-003 tasked, loading high density rounds]

The match had been completed, and the remaining 321 soldiers had been gathered around a hundred meters in front of the gates to fort Adam with Matthew standing in front of them with his arms crossed waiting for someone from the fortress to come out to negotiate, Alina were further back hovering in the air around half a kilometer out, she was directing the surveillance drones keeping a close eye on everything that happened in and around the fortress

[I don’t see anything completely out of the ordinary yet, there appears to be a few nobles gathered in the central part of the foretress, but I can’t really say anything else without direct line of sight… They just received your message, a dozen guards and 3 or 4 nobles are moving towards the outer walls now]

Matthew waited patiently, he appeared relaxed, but he knew he would be the first to be attacked if something unexpected happened so he kept up his guard, a few minutes passed uneventfully before a reinforced door opened besides the heavy fortress gates and a messenger walked out, Matthew waited for him to approach as Alina informed him of the identity of the nobles that were waiting to receive him on the other side of the wall

“Major Matthew Rockwell, the Lords are ready to receive you”

While Matthew hadn’t announced his name to the people of the fortress, he and Alina had long assumed that the surrendered army or the current hostages they held were using some sort of mystic power or item to communicate with the rest of the Willmir empire so being addressed with full name and title was like a strategy of subtle diplomatic intimidation

However, Matthew only showed a small grin on his face still hidden behind his armor as his modulated voice sounded out

“Lead the way, steward Levi”

It was only a slight twitch on the old servant's face, but along with all the biological readings, Matthew confirmed his greeting had the intended effect, a not-so-subtle diplomatic jab back at the Willmir empire, as the old steward led the way, the two entered the walls and emerged at the courtyard on the other side

“This sure is a grand welcome”

The courtyard itself was unimpressive, light brown dirt stomped hard and flat by routine training drills and mock battles, more than a hundred knights stood in fully armed and armored behind a large stone table with 3 people sitting, on the far flanks of each side sat two scribes with quills inkwells and paper ready to document the entirety of the meeting and negotiations, the Western region Marquis, Elias Maitner sat in the middle of the long table and watched Matthew as he approached, as he was about to address Matthew he cut the Marquis off and addressed him first and cut to the chase

“Lord Marquis, I am here to negotiate the release of the 321 surviving soldiers of the most recent unlawful entry into Trerubic Empire territory as requested”

The knights didn’t appear to take kindly to Matthew’s blatant disregard for the Marquis, but the man himself didn’t look too bothered and signaled to the scribes to continue recording and spoke after a moment

“Major Matthew Rockwell, I have been assigned to handle this matter by the Emperor himself and such I speak with his full approval and the might of the entire Willmir empire, any perceived—”

As the Marquis continued speaking, Matthew once again cut him off

“Please, there is no need for you, Lord Marquis Elias Maitner, The tiger of the West, to speak in such diplomatic language, I was informed you were a man that spoke frankly and honestly, as such I would like to speed the process along”

The Marquis’ political smile hardened slightly, nevertheless he didn’t lose his cool

“Then what do you propose, Major?”

“The 186 draftees first, their ransom shall be voided as a favor of good will, but the standard rate stated in the 4th grand Southern satellite war of 5 silver pieces will be applied to the 76 mystic knights regardless of rank, the remaining mercenaries and other parties unaffiliated with the Willmir empire will be assessed individually, is that acceptable?”

The extended knowledge Matthew showed of historical treaties that wasn’t exactly common knowledge within Willmir Empire appeared to have its extended effect, the Marquis and any other noble or statesmen who were to read the transcripts that were being recorded would now be sure that a large spy network were present in the Willmir empire

Of course there was no such thing, this was the result of the Neurological data which Aea was still crunching

‘Not that I feel inclined to correct them on this, since it's exactly the result we need to continue to grow uninhibited’

“I have no problem with the purposed terms, the ransom fees will be paid at the end of the negotiations”

Matthew and the Marquis continued to hash out the details of the ransom fees over the next few hours and by the end Matthew had secured a payment of 700 silver coins, of course the monetary value of the coins was not what was valuable to Matthew and Alina, it was the metal itself they were after

“I believe this concludes the first rounds of negotiation, we also have another inquire we would like to make of the Trerubic Empire regarding a lost expedition”

Matthew kept his silence for a few moments before he spoke

“Ah yes, we do have another 18 mystic knights in our holding cells, however I have been directly ordered to seek greater compensation for these mystic knights due to their transgressions prior to capture and accumulated cost of their medical treatments”

The Marquis narrowed his eyes slightly, he perfectly understood Matthew’s statement which was basically ‘We know you want these people back, so make it worth our while’ so he probed Matthew for more information

“I understand, but I can’t pay a ransom for a prisoner whose wellbeing I can’t confirm”

“That won’t be a problem, I have prepared for a method to speak directly with them”

Matthew passed the order to Aea

[Send the prepared package]

[Package fire mission assigned to Rail-002 arrival in 42 seconds]

The Marquis remained silent as he waited for Matthew to present this method of communications, but after the seconds of silence stretched and Matthew hadn’t elaborated, he finally asked

“So, how do I access this method of communications?”

Matthew didn’t answer, he simply raised his hand and caught a metal cylinder that came flying with amazing speed and promptly placed it down on the negotiations table where the metal cylinder opened up

“This device will allow you to communicate with the prisoners at your dissection”