Bro, I'm not an Undead!

Chapter 1273: The Stark-Soul Order Moves Out!

"Let's be quick now!" Pherdanta shouted.

Her Granted Star Armament seemed to emit a cold radiance, the moving stars etched onto its dark shell shimmering with every rise and fall in her emotions.

The Commander of the Stark Troops had opted to attach the plaited skirt from her previous armour onto this new one. It looked like an umbrella opened from her waist; it made it hard for her to carry her two new swords at her side, thus, she placed them on her back, stacked laterally. Her high boots, also livid with stars clapped against the pavement tracing its way from the Empyrean Hatcher.

The other Unlimited Stars were standing all around Pherdanta, some making sure the Troops they would be taking with them were all accounted for.

Grim, who was combing the mane of grizzly ebony fur around the shoulders and collar of his Granted Star Armament stood with Yuyui and the creature Bubbles. The two Unlimited Stars had paired with each other because they were deeply familiar with the others' fighting style. Savast, a Cluster beast with a brand of Granted Star Armament that covered all the way up to the edges of his head and over it with an odd helmet that sprouted seven luminous horns, stood beside Baddan. These two also had good synergy in battle.

Kenno had been paired with a being whose presence had more than a few of the Stark Troops stiff and nervous. It was an unnaturally tall creature with pasty, pale skin and hollow sockets. His hair was pale, thin and long, reaching past his jaw. He was not adorned in the Granted Star Armament like Kenno. Instead, he wore the same suit of armour Skullius had bestowed upon him when he was born; the chest plate burned, reflecting light from a brand on the creature's chest that spelled his name.

ARAEYN DERAGIN EXONN - He that rebels against order.

Skullius had called for the Apostle to join the troops while he was addressing how they would sweep through Aigas in the Hatcher. A simple mental command had done the trick perfectly, and the Apostle obeyed.

Ever since Skullius reached the Fourth Tier and had his 'Vehement Bone Nullmancer' Class advanced to 'Nullmancer', the Apostle's favourability towards him had risen and he listened to orders without qualms. As Araeyn was destined to rebel against him in the end though - as was his Flaw - Skullius wasn't sure if racking more favourability points with the Apostle would continue to keep him in his service. But that was a problem for another time.

The next pair was Red Rage and Kintar. Though the Apostle wasn't familiar with Kintar at all and she unfamiliar with him, Skullius had judged that the two would work well together. Red Rage's current arsenal, in the Hybrid Warmoth's opinion, completed Kintar's. The short, oval-faced woman had had no problems with the pairing. She was interested in seeing what Red Rage was capable of, though, she would have preferred it if Araeyn was her partner. The only one to be storming off with a portion of the Troops on her own, was Pherdanta. With her new Hidden Class, Skullius felt she would be especially efficient on her own. [Infinite Sword God: Primordial Sword] had already begun to bud within her body.

The Stark Troops, 134 in all, were split between the pairs and Pherdanta.

"Alright. Everyone keep in mind exactly where you are going. On the journey to your positions, make sure you wipe out as many enemies as possible. If they are Carven or Cluster beasts, there's no need to hesitate. If they are experts coming in from different times in Aigas' past, restrain them first and find out if they can be reasoned with. If it's impossible, don't bother. Go for the kill. The Starmations are at your disposal. Don't forget you have them."

"Yuyui and Grim. Make sure to be civil. Master already expressed how delicate the situation with the beasts is."

Yuyui and Grim nodded.

Their objective, other than culling the enemies, was to rendezvous with Erlton the Herald. Skullius had given Yuyui something that could help with getting his attention. As Erlton had said that the guardian of the Tremur Forest, Karima, was going to be gathering aid from guardian beasts from other Sacred Forests, Skullius thought Yuyui and Grim might be able to help gather these allies and direct them to assist the Stark Troops in stabilising the situation in Aigas.

"Savast and Baddan?" Pherdanta said.

The two beasts nodded.

Taking advantage of Savast's overwhelming Mind Casting abilities, the pair was to enslave as many feral Cluster beasts as possible and unleash them on the Carven. Skullius had encouraged the two to look for Clusters over and under the sea. His experience beyond the Central Boundary taught him that the most dangerous Clusters appeared under the sea, unseen and undetected.

Pherdanta's eyes landed on Kintar and Red Rage.

"I knooooooow. Be civil, diplomatic and whatnot," Kintar said with an eye roll. Her task was also delicate. She was to go to Emeradis and help defend it. However, Skullius had also tasked her with attempting to pacify the nation. The devastation Skullius had caused to Emeradis during his battle with his alter was immense and he intended to go there a little later himself to talk to whoever governed their nation. Before that, he wanted Kintar to gain Emeradis' favour.

As for Kenno, Araeyn and Pherdanta, their tasks were rather simple.

They were to defend Pelian and rescue as many people as possible.

Additionally, while taking advantage of Araeyn's powers, they were to isolate enemies that were too strong for them to beat on their own; Divine experts in particular.

Skullius was hoping that if any team was to encounter Boron, it should be Kenno and Araeyn's team. Aside from Pherdanta's company, they had the highest chance of encountering him, should he acquire a new vessel earlier than expected. If Araeyn could trap Boron in a Null Remnant, that would be perfect.

Skullius didn't send any troops to Maqi because he didn't think they'd take kindly to any help. Besides, he was going there himself. His alter had left a mess for him to fix there.

As for Opungale, for now, it was relatively safe, judging by the possessed Skullius' memories.

Because of Maqi's invasion on Opungale more than a week ago (in Aigas' time) the High Family, Queen Embrell and her husband, had seedified every Sif on the continent for their own safety; every Sif had been turned into a seed, and it would take at least a fortnight to plant them and restore them to humanoid form.

Skullius had discovered that this was why his battle with his possessed self had never steered towards Opungale. The continent was hardly 'heavily populated'.

"Alrigh then. I doubt that I need to emphasise the severity of the consequences if we fail. We have finally been granted a name, and if our first mission as bold experts named with dignity ends in failure, well... we would have disgraced not just our Master, but his confidence in us. We are the Stark-Soul Order. Let's own that name and give it a fitting weight. None of you are to waste either your life or your death!" Pherdanta declared.

Everyone silently agreed. The Stark Constellations on their foreheads crackled with Ju`wtte.

"Let's move out," she said.

Kintar floated forth and used the large ivory key, jabbing it into the empty space ahead. Ju`wtte sparked everywhere, creating a gateway to Aigas.

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