THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 120: 120. THE WAR HEADQUATERS

Up close, the octagon was even more humongous. It rose from black stone, each of its eight walls angled like a shield facing a different direction of the realm.

”Each side represents a War Division,” Lotaga said as they approached the entrance. There were no windows on the lower half of the floors. Only observations like slits. The top level is ringed with signal braziers. The octagon made the central pentagon look like a nice building. It is callous, and the stone bricks that were used to make it made it look like it had been carved out of stone rather than actually being built. The central pentagon of the Galka War Academy might have been a military barricade, but this was a must have been built to withstand even year-long sieges.

”General Felunko is the war general here, but there are two other generals, General Seika, the elite squads general, and General Koya, the Special Unit Squads general,” Lotaga explained as they got closer and closer to the octagon.

”Isn’t Salka Squad an elite squad?” Ulekai asked.

”Well, of course, I can’t be in a squad that isn’t elite with my skill.” Lotaga bragged.

”Just tell us what we need to know. I wonder why Salka put you on his squad.” Kaka shook his head. The only answer could be that a member of Salka’s team died because teams were made in high school and only separated or shuffled in if need arose in college, but college was all about perfecting individual skills and team skills.

”The war headquarters is made of eight main wings, as you can see. Each wing is headed by a commander or division leaders, just like we have those back at the academy. First is the Intelligence Wing, they oversee fields like Spy networks, Interrogations, Enemy movement tracking, Political monitoring, Threat prediction, and decoding intercepted messages. N’varu, you might fit here. You seem to me as someone with enough patience to watch an enemy and read between the lines.” Lotaga added, and Sagiri and Nvaru’s eyes locked. Sagiri had always felt like N’varu acted like a spy of some sort, and he did not expect someone who seemed as careless as Lotaga to see it too.

Lotaga was observant, and it was better if no one underestimated him. He in fact, was just as dangerous as any member of Squad Salka.

”The second is the Tactical Planning wing. They deal with Battlefield formations, Strategic sacrifice calculations, War simulations, Resource allocation in combat, and Offensive/defensive modeling. They answer the ”How do we win?” question, and they turn information into action. Kiuga I must say the captains on this wing are going to be fighting for you to join them when you graduate.

”The third is the Logistics & Supply wing. I must say that this is the most important wing and backbone of each army. It is their sole purpose to keep warriors alive. They handle Food distribution, Weapon production, Armor transport, Medical support routing, and war funding management. Without them, warriors have no proper support, they starve, and they lack weapons. If I were a strategist I know I’d hit them first because without them, armies collapse. Banga, you might land here because of your skills in war weaponry innovation, and zoliath you too, since you recently developed a love of becoming a healer, perhaps from seeing your comrade have a close brush with death, you will most likely join this team in the future, too.

The fourth is the Beast Containment wing. This wing deals with controlling and neutralizing non-human threats. They handle captured creatures, War beasts, Experimental weapons, Monstrous outbreaks, and Rare entity suppression. You dealt with the gravescale, so you know what I am talking about. Sagiri, you and squad Salka dealt with the muddy water scorpion. Compared to those two beasts, some of the beasts contained underground of this wing make those two seem like house cats. I might say the two from Bami, with their savage tendencies, are well fitted to deal with such creatures.”

The last part might have been meant to bring a rise out of the two, and it did, as both made irritated noises under their breath.

”Don’t compare me to the asakana, we chimera have order,” maita gritted.

”Only the weak and the cowardly cling to too much order,” Kaka shot back, and everyone sighed. It was as if Lotaga wanted the two boys to be at each other’s necks all the time.

”What do you mean some beast under the fourth wing makes the grave scale seem like a house cat?” kiuga asked what everyone was burning to know.

”You will see soon, though I doubt you will be allowed,” Lotaga said, and everyone visibly shuddered. who wanted to even go closer to a creature that was way more dangerous than the gravescale.

”Just tell us about the other wings. I don’t want to imagine I’ll be sharing a roof with such dangerous creatures.” Ulekai shuddered, and no one thought he was exaggerating this time.

”The fifth wing is the Border Defense wing. I guess that term is self-explanatory. These squads are placed along the borders, especially where Tagayia borders other countries. They handle Border Patrol units, Wall defenses, Early threat response, Frontier forts, and Rapid reaction battalions. They are the first line of defense. Most of you will be assigned here after you graduate, so you can taste the real battle. Ulekai, you will fit here because you are the most fearful. You will have to fight your fear on the frontlines.” Lotaga said, wiggling his eyebrows at Ulekai, and the boy turned as white as a ghost.

”The sixth wing is the Internal Security wing. As the name suggests, they control inside threats. They handle Treason investigations, Officer monitoring, Loyalty testing, and academy infiltration checks, just like what happened at the academy. They must still have ongoing active investigations. They leave no stone unturned.” He paused dramatically before he continued. ”They also deal with Internal assassinations (if necessary). Bukata and Zazarie make sure you get on this one so you don’t join Ulekai on the front line. Lotaga teased Ulekai again, and he turned green as if he wanted to throw up.

”I have to say I was on this team for one month and I was too lazy to follow through with investigations,” Lotaga groaned, and no one was shocked.

”Of course you were,” Maita said with an eyeroll.