After a 20-minute ride, the three of them arrived at the Western Border.

“Enjoy your day folks!” the jolly big man smiled brightly as Sophia and Charles exited the carriage.

Charles and Sophia were headed towards The Camps, large towering outposts stationed near each major border. These where the homes to many of the low-ranking soldiers in the Ferron Military.

“Okay then, time to get to business.” Charles entered one of the many Camps that are stationed near the wall. Unsurprisingly, all of them were empty except for the Trainees camp around 89 men where squeezed into the first floor. There are 5 ranks in the State Ferron military. Trainee, Cadet, Senior, Assistant General, and General. The last two being the hardest to achieve. Each rank is divided into four stages. Stage 1 being the lowest and stage 4 being the highest. Charles happens to be a stage 2 General, something most people wont reach in their lifetimes.

“Um hello sir, are you Governor Warren?” A large bulky man with a hefty frame towered over Charles’. His shaggy unkempt hair blocked Charles’ from seeing his face properly.

Damn at least we have one guy here who looks like he can put up a fight.

“Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Steve Balmore. I’m a Cadet, 19 years old.” The man’s voice was as intimidating as his build.

“Ha! Very good you’ll be my Assistant General for today.” Charles entered the cramped living space of the camps. Damn, there are a lot of people living here.

“Are there normally this many people in 1 floor?” Charles looked up at Steve waiting for an answer.

“Oh, uh yes!... I mean no! usually we are assigned to rooms but because all the stronger guys are out, we all decided to stick close together.” Stronger guys? Why didn’t the top brass think of bringing this behemoth along? Well I guess that doesn’t matter; they at least have to keep someone here to ensure all these kids are kept in check.

Sophia barged into the barrack and instantly covered her nose. “You guys need to do a better job of keeping this place clean. Anyways, I gathered some materials for you Governor Charles, it has been awhile since you’ve been on the front lines.” Charles’ snatched the paper out of the girl’s hands and began scanning through all the information.

“This is all bullshit!” Charles smirked “We don’t need this; we’re facing grade 1 Demons Sophia!” Charles’ threw the papers on to the ground and clapped his hands together. All the troops looked towards him at the same time.

“Okay then listen up! There are some stupid Demons just outside the border, were gonna go clean em up!”

“Yes sir!” all the troops got up from the many couches and chairs littered on the ground and headed towards The Camp armory. Many of these soldiers are going out for the first time, they are eager to make an impact and increase their ranks.

“Sophia you are coming too?” Charles looked back at the unsatisfied girl.

“I have to come; this is extremely unorganized” Sophia headed outside the room, deliberately slamming the door. Steve looked at Charles with a worried expression.

“Don’t worry, she’s always like that focus on getting ready.” Steve nodded before continuing his commute to the armory.

The first few troops finally made it to the front entrance of one of the many Armories. They waited patiently until Charles and Steve had caught up with them. “Where’s Sophia?” Charles looked around confused.

“She went to one of the watch towers to get more information from the scouts.” A Trainee who looked far younger than the others answered Charles.

“How old are you kid? When did you become a Trainee?” Charles could not believe that any one under the age of 14 could become a trainee.

The young boy answered reluctantly “Sir, I am 15 years old, and my name is Matthew Keel.” Matthew continued with what he was saying earlier, “Anyways, I agree with what Sophia said. This is far too unorganized; we should wait for her to come back.”

“Nonsense!”  Charles looked up at the rest of the troops. “Everyone, go inside and prepare to take on the demons. I want to see everyone in full uniform with all mandatory gear equipped!” State Ferron is the most industrialized out of the three empires on Earth. It is common military practice to have a State Issued Magic Assault Rifle (SIMAR), alongside a pistol and a sword each time you go beyond the border.

Sophia had finally arrived back with more information. Charles looked up at her and called her over. “Sophia, there you are! Get over here and check this out!” Sophia approached Charles as slowly as she could.

“What is it Governor??” the girl looked at the grinning man who kept striking different poses.

“Its been awhile since I’ve dressed up!” The man continued to check out his uniform until Sophia interrupted.

“Sir Warren, I have more information on our expedition.” The State Governor quickly snapped back to reality and rounded up all the troops in order to listen to what Sophia had to say.

“These Grade 1 Demons seem to have someone pulling their strings.” Sophia continued, “It looks like they are not planning to mindlessly attack the border like we originally thought. Where gonna have to go to their location and wipe them out instead.”

“Where exactly are they located?” Charles began to ruffle his hair.

Matthew, who had gone after Sophia, pulled out a map and pointed to their destination. “We have to head down this route.” He pointed to a long trail on the map which led to a densely populated Forrest.

“Ah!” Steve towered over his peers. “I know this route, it’s the same route my father takes to trade with the Kingdom of Bathoria.”

“Okay then everyone! We are officially commencing this operation.” Charles had a stern look on his face, the Trainees could feel the amount of experience the Governor had. “My goal is to bring everyone back home safely!” Charles led the troops to the border and contacted the Scouting Tower.

The Scouts opened the gate, shocking many of the Trainees. State Ferron was an extremely urban civilization completely closed in by walls. The lush green environment that the young troops had been exposed to is an extremely new experience.

“Listen up everyone!” Charles quickly ran in front of all the soldiers. “Don’t forget that we are in Demon territory now! I’m expecting all 90 of you to return safe and sound!”

“Yes Sir!” the troops saluted their general and prepared for the first ever expedition they will experience in their lives.