Army of the Damned

VOLUME 4 Chapter 4

Bright and calming, Threa's morning sun warmly kissed the farm the Countess had found herself walking around. Her ears bombarded by the orchestra of cows, pigs, and chickens as diesel tractors loudly worked around the vast acres of cropland. Its massive aluminum silos having conveyor belts traveling far into the nearby railroad as cars would occasionally pass by the country road.

Waltzing into the back of a farm holding a pair of folders, the place sat the very edge of the Men of the Woods informal territory, the Vampire strutting about without having the need to hide her fangs and ears would peek in the stables, politely asking the groomers for a man donning a full set of plate armor and as if everyone knew what she was talking about, she was lead directly to the rear where upon stumbling upon the enclosed space, a tall man in full set of Black Steel Plate gets thrown onto the thick concrete wall.

"Junior! No! Bad horse!" With a blow of the nose and a neigh, Jackson shrugged his head as he collected himself, standing up and brushing his back and feet. "M'Lord, I've come to hand you a report." Taking the folder, she couldn't fully make out his face as he was in full plate armor, the great helm covering most of his eyes. "Is it about the .50 caliber bullet that was shot at your friend or something else?"

"Lady Louise is not a friend. She is but a Junior of mine in University and a good acquaintance." Sighing, he looks down on the folder. "Uh huh, what is this?" reading through the document, his eyes perk up. "Rostock's attempt has been... a mild success at best, M'Lord. The Men of the Woods will continue with their plans."

Fastly closing the document, he looks up and straight towards the Vampire. "Looks like Maltese was already committed. Welp, good for us. They'll be busy there, and we'll be slowly making our case Mueheheheheh... How is the news with the guy who made the robots?" She then hands him another document, making the man sigh. "Oh, they already found the dude?"

"Yes, M'Lord and I recommend you return to the Rostock Operation Folder and look at the photos." lifting an eyebrow under his chainmail headwear and the thick coif underneath, he looked at the previous document as Alana slowly approached Junior, both of her hands open. "Oh... who are these two pretty boys?"

"They're... acquaintances of mine." As she touches Junior, Jackson couldn't believe how calm the horse was. "Huh, that Mare usually hates females. Good on you." Patting its nose, the black horse that was taller than her lowered its head, blowing its nose at the Bloodsucker. "Uh huh... they are looking for you. Should... I be concerned?"

"Hmmmm..." as her hand reached into the horse's neck, she felt a sudden rush of energy, making her dodge the kick of Junior. Standing straight up, she brushes herself as the black mare threw water towards her. Wetting her gown. "Not really, M'Lord. I'd like to just tell you now incase we encountered any of them." Closing it, he nods his head before handing the folder back to her. Kneeling, he observes her red gown. "Maaan... hah. Junior can be like this when it's washing time."

Making clicking noises with his mouth, one of the stable doors opened, coming out was the Black Dragon Bahamut. "How's the hay?" The flying creature was not smiling, keeping its head down, it peeks in the washing area. "Not good, Master... What is it?" pointing at the Countess, the Dragon blows some steam into her as he begins patting her head. "Are you still feeling down?"

"Hm. Master, are you truly sure about restricting my powers? If I could go even a bit all out a few days ago, I could've easil-" With a show of his finger she silences as Jackson lifts her head up and wraps it around him. "There, there... I know it was a failure, but failure breeds lessons. The lesson here was to prepare for anything." Turning to Alana, she merely nods her head as she hugged the two folders around her chest.

"If anything, I am quite happy you and Augustus didn't go all out. That... could've been very bad for everyone." Blowing a fume of hot steam, Bahamut's head just rests inside the wash station, occasionally licking her snout as she is petted and kissed endlessly by the man. "Come on, something this small won't kill me, Bahamut." Her eyes suddenly light up, the two staring at each other's very souls. "With the things I've survived, I'll survive this too. We'll go back home, adventure again and eat good food." Violently rubbing the area on top of her eyes, his hand moves to the space between her large and sharp metallic horns.