Chapter 86: | 086 | War For Liberation Part 5: Minokin
"This guy told everything without hesitation or delay."
"I don't know if I should be astonished or disappointed," Campbell muttered while standing over an unconscious plantation manager. There were bloodied parts of teeth scattered on the floor along with the face of the manager being battered beyond relief.
"Well, he did try to hide the location of this island's main manor, the home of the plantation's governor. It took some beating to get it out of him, but at least he tried to hide it." One of the Marines remarked while staring at the unconscious manager.
"So, what did we discover, Sir?" Another Marine inquired as most of them were busy guarding the surrounding windows and doors of the third floor while Campbell and a nearby Marine did the interrogation.
"Hmm… The locations of their fortifications have been accurately identified. The armories scattered throughout the island have also been pinpointed in this map." First Lieutenant Campbell uttered and took out a map.
This map was something the plantation manager owned and was given to the first lieutenant as thanks for the lovely interrogation.
"The first thing we need to target are their armories. As long as we destroy their weapon depots, it wouldn't be too difficult to handle their fortifications in Point A," Campbell uttered while pointing at the various armories on the map.
"Some of the armories are far from our jurisdiction since they reside in the far east of the island, so I'll be sending our intelligence to Bravo and Special Task Forces." He calmly explained to his fireteam.
"What about this place, Sir?" One of the Marines pointed at a peculiar location on the map. It was none other than the location of Servusarator's town.
"You're asking about the town and what we should do against them? Well, for now… We don't bother the town as things would become too complicated if we do so." Campbell thought of it as a bad idea to even think of handling a town on their own.
It was their military's job to do that, not theirs. They were merely infiltrators and the only thing they needed to do was butter up the defenses of their adversaries so that their hot knife could easily penetrate without much of a problem.
"Affirmative." The Marine nodded in understanding as he understood the troubles of handling a town. They weren't ordered to fight in civilian areas, and their job was to only destroy militarized fortifications.
It was up to the bulk of the Marine force to handle that kind of task.
"At any rate-" Before the first lieutenant could continue, the second task force arrived before the front door of the office with relaxed expressions.
"Sir, the second floor has been completely neutralized. We have discovered quite a lot of things inside of its rooms." The second lieutenant of the second fireteam reported to Campbell without much of a reaction.
"What did you discover?" First Lieutenant Campbell raised an eyebrow and wondered what kind of things the second fireteam had gotten from the second floor.
"Well… There's a lot in there. Many of them are whips, others are runic communicators, although it seems a bit crude compared to the one we got, and Lingua Gems. I have already designated them to be picked up later."
"After all, runic communicators and Lingua Gems are vital for our future operations." The second lieutenant calmly explained and noticed the map surrounded by Campbell's fireteam.
"So, what do we have here?" He inquired, wanting to know what they were planning to do with the map.
"The plantation manager has confirmed the locations of various fortifications and armories to us. We have marked them and are about to target the locations in about 20 minutes." Campbell responded to the second lieutenant.
"It seems we already got our destination, huh? What about Diego? Is the basement cleared?" The second lieutenant asked, wondering about the status of the first fireteam on the underground floor of the building.
"Not yet, there's a tough iron door impeding the intrusion of the first fireteam. Diego is having a difficult time opening it up." Campbell said while returning his attention to the map before him.
"A locked door? I have ke-" The second lieutenant was about to suggest using the keys they had discovered to open tough doors. But before he could do so, a Marine reported vital information to the First Lieutenant.
"Sir! The basement has been cleared. The first fireteam discovered no arms depot at the bottom. Instead, they found hundreds of hostages jailed across the underground floor."
"The guards have been taken out, but opening each jail cell is proving to be troublesome." With the conclusion of the Marine's report, Campbell slowly turned his gaze towards the second lieutenant.
Obviously, he heard of the words that escaped the mouth of the second lieutenant.
Meanwhile, in the underground basement of the building, Second Lieutenant Diego watched several figures standing behind thick iron bars. They stood higher than him with horns protruding from their heads.
The figures were none other than the Minokin.
Despite being hard to see under the cover of darkness, the lamp's dim radiance provided enough brightness to perceive what they were.
Even though Diego considered them as hostages of the plantation, their large bodies and overbearing appearance made it hard to consider them as slaves of the puny and weak humans.
'Unfortunately, I don't have the Lingua Gem. Otherwise, I would have already talked to them by now.' Diego shook his head in disappointment and glanced at his fellow Marine.
"Have they been called?" He inquired, to which the Marine nodded and calmly answered. "I already called them. They should be here."
Hearing the words of the Marine, Diego nodded and turned his attention back to the figures before him. They were different from the beastfolk refugees back in Crescere. They don't seem or look weak. It made him wonder how the plantation managed to enslave them.
"Second Lieutenant Diego."
Diego couldn't continue to entertain himself with his thoughts as someone called out to him. He turned his gaze towards the voice and saw the first lieutenant. He straightened his back and saluted his superior.
"Sir, we have cleared the basement." He reported without delay or hesitation. Information throughout the military would always need to be repeated. From superiors to subordinates, or subordinates to superiors.
"Good, are they the hostages?" Campbell looked at the figures in the cells brimmed with thick iron bars.
Short fur, enlarged muscles, protruding horns, and giant hooves. They resembled massive bipedal humanoid cows. Like the minotaurs of the former world. Mythical beasts of legends.
Though, perhaps a bit smaller. The Minokin before him were merely between 3 meters to 4 meters in height. But they were tall nonetheless.
Holding the Lingua Gem in his fingers, First Lieutenant Campbell decided to interact with the hostages. It would help them understand the United Navy and the differences between it and humanity.
"I am First Lieutenant Campbell of the United Navy. We are here to liberate you from your oppressors." His words echoed throughout the cells of the underground basement.
Only silence followed as though no one answered his call.
However, Campbell couldn't dwell on it as a rough voice sounded out from the cells.
"A human liberating us? You're a bad joker. Even tribe jesters could do better." It was deep and beast-like yet understandable as if the one uttering it was incredibly literate.
"Fortunately for you, I am not a comedian." Campbell furrowed his eyebrows gazing at the one that responded to him. It was a Minokin, far larger than most of its kind, standing over 4 meters.
"So, you aren't a comedian, huh? Did humanity experience some sort of civil war? Are its colonies rebelling against its central authority?" The giant Minokin questioned as it stepped closer to the first lieutenant.
Each of its steps was heavy, causing the floor to slightly tremble and crack upon contact.
"Unfortunately, humanity isn't in a civil war. The colonies aren't rebelling against Europa." First Lieutenant Campbell didn't make a single move and faced the giant Minokin head-on.
"As I said before, we are the United Navy."
"United Navy? I haven't heard anything about that name. Where did you come from and what the hell are you doing here in the sea of Terra?" The giant Minokin didn't stop questioning the first lieutenant.
"The only thing you need to know about us is that we will liberate you from your oppressors." Campbell squinted his eyes as the giant Minokin was too inquisitive for his liking.
"And why would you liberate us, oh liberators? Are you sure you don't simply need slaves to operate whatever you are cooking?" The giant Minokin brimmed with sarcasm, but its intelligence couldn't be underestimated.
"We don't need slaves. Otherwise, we wouldn't liberate you and simply destroy your owners." First Lieutenant Campbell uttered as he didn't want to continue conversing with the Minokin in front of him.
"I see… I guess that makes sense. But let me remind you that we don't have anything to pay for your liberation other than our bodies. We have no grounds to negotiate, and our future will be tied to your decisions." The giant Minokin expressed with a deep tone.
It stood in front of the first lieutenant and gazed at him with its bright amber irises. Its fur was black with massive horns protruding from its head and sharp tusks from its nose.
"You can think of your payment in the future. The United Navy only invests, so our profit will only be perceived in the far future. So, would you like to be liberated?" First Lieutenant Campbell remarked and opened the cell.
"I'd like to be." The giant Minokin smirked and stepped out of the cell.