Warfare's Ultimate Frontier 1 Read online

  Warfare's Ultimate Frontier

  Quasar Magellan

  MoonQuill

  Contents

  Title Page

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Chapter 51

  Chapter 52

  Chapter 53

  Chapter 54

  Chapter 55

  Chapter 56

  Chapter 57

  Chapter 58

  Chapter 59

  Chapter 60

  Chapter 61

  Chapter 62

  Chapter 63

  Chapter 64

  Chapter 65

  Chapter 66

  Chapter 67

  Chapter 68

  Chapter 69

  Chapter 1

  The End? Or Just the Beginning

  “I’m not dead?”

  Looking around with visible confusion, Baron Magellan found that he was no longer behind enemy lines, but was standing in the middle of a large, dimly lit hall filled with countless other humans, most of whom looked to be in sorry states. Some had visible gunshot wounds, half-smashed bodies, and some had small, malnourished frames. Perhaps they hadn’t eaten a proper meal in months or years.

  Baron suddenly realized — it was a hallway of the dead. He frantically looked down and touched himself all over, only to find a huge cavity in his chest.

  He finally realized what had happened. He and his men had been under enemy fire when a grenade had dropped into his corps’ position. Without hesitation, he’d lept onto the grenade and bear-hugged it to save his troops.

  He remembered hearing a blood-curdling cry, a female voice in his final moments.

  It’d belonged to the sniper of the team, a girl who had been ridiculed by everyone but Baron for joining what has been deemed a male-only occupation. She’d quickly proved everyone wrong as she’d gradually racked up her achievements through their many missions. Over the months and years, the two had spent many lonely nights together behind enemy lines and had gradually developed feelings for each other. The two had finally decided to give it a try after they returned to China from deployment.

  Her name was Roxi.

  ...

  “Come on, Baron! You can't die like this, not like this!” She screamed as she reached Baron’s body, tears pouring down her cheeks.

  “Ha…” Baron weekly replied. “Looks like the heavens have other plans for… us…"

  Roxi sniffed as she wiped away her tears. “Stop talking... Medic! I need a medic!” She urgently called out.

  She looked back at Baron. “Come on, you can't die like this! You’re amongst the best and brightest of the newest generation! You can’t die like this!”

  “Don't be angry, my love. If there is a god, then I will fight an army of angels to return to you, so... wait for me...” He coughed and wheezed, then slumped, never to move again.

  “No!” Roxi roared towards the heavens as a demented expression plastered itself upon her face. After releasing hold of her lover, she threw down her sniper rifle, dove atop an assault rifle, and bolted out of the safety of their position towards the enemy camp.

  ***

  Looking around, Baron deduced that his current place was some sort of afterlife processing chamber for the dead souls. There was an endless sea of people in front and behind him. The only thing he could think of to do at this moment was to just go with the flow of the crowd.

  After waiting for what seemed to be an eternity, he finally managed to get to the front of the line and hastily approached the person working one of an endless row of counters.

  “Hello there, I just want to know” Baron started,— but was startled when he saw who it was.

  “R-Roxi?”

  Chapter 2

  Experience of an After-lifetime

  “R-Roxi, how are you here?” Baron cried in disbelief.

  “Oh, hi. I'm not Roxi. I'm in this form because people tend to not argue with the person they care for most, and that makes all the difference when you work for one-year, nonstop shifts. Please sit down and place your hands on this crystal ball. Please hurry, you’re the last person I need to process until my shift is finally over!” The worker said ecstatically.

  “Yes, uh. Ok.” Baron snapped out of his daydream, sat down, then placed his hands on the crystal ball. The ball glowed a bright blue for a split second then died down to reveal a blood-red ‘four’ on its glassy surface. “Four? Is that good or bad?”

  “Oh, dear. In a nutshell, there are over fifty thousand planets that one can be assigned to. Generally speaking, the lower its number, the more competitive the planet. You’ve been assigned to planet four, the planet of military strategists. The people there are those who lived on the battlefield, experienced troop commanders. It’s hard to prosper in any of the first twenty worlds, but planet four is especially, how should I say… manipulative?”

  Baron thought for a bit, then responded. “Is it possible for me to return to Earth, now that I’ve died?”

  The counter worker looked through their documents. “Is that what you want? Well, you’re fairly lucky, then. Only the first five planets are allowed to send people back to Earth. Furthermore, you’re Chinese, yeah? The Chinese communities on these planets are quite powerful, already. But, it will be difficult for you to convince them to provide you with enough resources to win the Death Match Tournament. Of course, if you win, you can choose to return to Earth.

  “Very few choose to, though, since winning the tournament means winning the recognition and admiration of all others in your world. If you return to Earth, you’d lose all of that.”

  Baron nodded. “As long as it’s possible. Could we get started then, please?” He looked at her imploringly.

  “Still so polite, even after dying? Well, you’re not the first, but being polite to us workers does have its privileges. You’re hereby granted one simple request before being sent to planet four. Most people tend to want to see how their loved ones cope with their deaths. Would you like that?”

  “I see… then, could you show me what happened to Roxi after I died?”

  “But of course. Actually, since my shift is ending, I’ll accompany you until you’re transported to planet four. Follow me.” She smiled and led Baron to another large hall that contained countless screens, like televisions.

  “Can I get service over here?” She yelled into the void. A monitor floated over and after playing around with it a bit she turned to Baro
n and said, “Here you go.”

  “Thank you very much.” Baron focused on the television in front of him. As the screen focused, he saw Roxi hugging his corpse, tears on her face… and the many bullets that pierced her body.

  His body shook with anxiety and worry.

  “Fast forward a bit.”

  The screen skipped forward, then showed Roxi in a hospital room looking absentmindedly out a window. Clearly, she was no longer behind enemy lines and was most likely in a military hospital somewhere. A doctor walked into the room and approached Roxi.

  “How are you today, Roxi?”

  “I’m alright.”

  “I’m sure this doesn’t come as a surprise, but I’m sad to inform you that you’ve been deemed unfit for field duty. You’ll be taken back to China once the next supply vessels arrive. Once there…"

  The doctor continued to speak, but Roxi Blaze no longer listened as she stared blankly into the distance.

  ***

  “That's as much as I'm allowed to show you, unfortunately.” The worker said to Baron as he blankly stared at the equally blank screen.

  “No, no. You've done more than enough. Thank you very much, ma’am.”

  “Aww, I can see why your lady friend misses you so much. I bet you appreciated her well, heh?” She smirked.

  “Please don't say that with her face.” He solemnly requested.

  “Haha, alright, alright. Whatever you say. Now that that’s out of the way, it's finally time for you to continue to planet four. Follow me.”

  She led Baron to another large hall. This one housed five large portal-like constructs, each with a sign overhead. From left to right, the signs read: 1-5, 6-100, 101- 1,000, 1,000-50,000, and 50,001+.

  “Wow!” Baron exclaimed. He’d never seen such things before.

  “Since you’re heading to planet four, step into the portal to the left. Before you go in, though, make sure to talk to the portal master.” She pointed to a figure standing in front of the portal.

  “Is it possible for me to request something else before I leave?” He asked the Roxi lookalike.

  That depends, what is your request?”

  “C-could I hug you? I was never able to hold the real Roxi in my embrace, and I feel that I’ll need the motivation to take on my future challenges.” He said slowly.

  “Hmmm. Well, it’s certainly out of the norm, but I'm in a good mood, so why not.” She smiled at Baron and went in for a hug. Baron received her embrace and after a few seconds he reluctantly let go and moved toward the portal.

  “Thank you for everything.” He affectionately said. “Truly, thank you.”

  “I'll wait for you to go into the portal before I leave.” She said while waving him off.

  Baron continued to the portal until he stopped before the man standing in front of the portal.

  “Name?”

  “Baron Magellan.”

  “I see. Planet four, eh?”

  “Yes, that's what I've been told.”

  “Good luck, then. This planet is amongst the most savage. The few who climb manage to the top are absolute overlords there.” He warned.

  “I'll do my best.” He said, heeding the other's warning.

  “Good, now give me your left hand.” Baron reached out his left hand and the portal worker grabbed it and stamped a large "4” onto it.

  “Alright, off you go.”

  Baron stared into the depths of the portal.

  “Wait for me, Roxi.” He silently said to himself as he slowly stepped into the portal and disappeared into the light.

  “God save his soul.” The counter worker’s smile disappeared as soon as Baron was out of sight. She muttered under her breath as she left the hall. “A bad man will be born from the death of a good man.”

  Chapter 3

  The First Test

  As Baron stepped out from the portal he found himself in another room, full of smaller portals. Each had the name of a country next to it. In order, they read: Jordsand, Great Britain, China, Mongolia, and the United States of America.

  “Hm, I guess I should head into the China portal? But wait, Jordsand? I’ve never heard of such a country before.”

  Baron found this incredibly odd — he’d spend countless hours researching the strategists and generals of every relevant country of the past three thousand years. Yet, he’d never heard of a “Jordsand", nevermind any of its strategists.

  Perhaps it was a low-ranked, irrelevant country, then. But then, why was there a special portal for it? He thought about it as he stepped through the portal with China’s name next to it. A bright light flashed, and Baron fell unconscious.

  ***

  “Ah… what happened?” Baron muttered as he slowly rose from the bed he had been sleeping on.

  “Where am I?” He looked around in confusion until his sight locked onto another youth in the room, who was sitting on their own bed. How long had he been waiting?

  “Finally, took you long enough.” The youth exclaimed in a dissatisfied voice. He fell backwards onto his bed only to jump onto the floor.

  “Hello Baron. As the standard, I’ll give you five minutes to ask questions. After that I’ll conduct some tests to determine whether you are capable enough to remain here. So. Is there anything you want to know?”

  Baron started with the simplest of questions. “Who are you?”

  “I am Yue Fei, one of the elders of the community.”

  “Greetings elder, may I ask where I am?”

  “You are in the Chinese community headquarters on planet four.”

  “Well at least I'm in the right place. How do I get back to Earth? The counter worker said I had a chance t o return, but she didn’t mention how.”

  Yue Fei shook his head. “Ah, so that's your goal? Unfortunately, you’d have to win the Death Match Tournament to receive that privilege. It might be best to set your sights on an easier target. Although our Chinese community is quite strong, within the top three powers on planet four, we’ve never won that tournament.”

  “Not once? How many tournaments have there been? How often do they run the tournaments?” Baron asked, disappointed.

  “A tournament is held once every thousand years, and there’ve only been thirteen. The next one is in 455 years.”

  “If I win the tournament, will I be able to return to the moment I died?”

  “Not the exact moment, but I've heard you can be brought back somewhere on the timeline a few months after you’d died no matter how long you spend on this planet. Personally, I've been here for over a thousand years. Here, I’ll give you a piece of bonus information. If you belong to any strong factions like our Chinese, then you have the added privilege of not needing to eat. Unless you want to.”

  “You haven’t needed to eat in over a thousand years?!” Baron exclaimed in disbelief.

  “Alright, time’s up. It’s time to have a match, now. Be warned though, if you don’t perform up to our standards, I’m going to have to kick you out of here. You’ll be left to fend for yourself out on the streets.” He beckoned towards Baron as he briskly left the room.

  Baron mused for a second, then got up and followed in the youth’s footsteps. After a brief period of walking, the two walked reached a door — and there seemed to be a great deal of noise coming from the other side.

  The two paused outside the door, then Yue Fei turned towards Baron.

  “Your name is Baron Magellan, right? Welcome to the strategy room.” He pushed open the door without waiting for a response.

  “Let me show you what happens inside.”

  Once they entered the room Baron was shocked, this room contained some of the most model-worthy, beautiful people he had ever seen.

  “Haha.” Yue Fei laughed. “Not used to seeing so many attractive people?”

  “No.” Baron admitted.

  “You’ll get used to it. Everyone in the afterlife looks more or less like a model. Anyway, come over here and put this headset on.” Yue Fei handed Baron
a helmet of sorts.

  “What is this? And I still have some questions.” Baron quickly said as he held the helmet-like object with confusion.

  “I'll answer more of your questions if you can beat me.” Yue Fei said. He put the helmet on, and somehow disappeared from the room.

  Baron sighed, then put the helmet on his head as well.

  ***

  Baron's field of view quickly changed and instantly distorted to become something similar to a game interface.

  Yu Fei’s voice sounded in his head. “Since this is your first game, I'll go easy on you. In front of you, you should see an interface. Just pick a mode, location, and how many troops each of us gets to command.”

  “Alright, just give me a sec.” Baron said as he examined the interface.

  He pressed the “mode” option and a list of names popped up. Naval battle (WW2), air battle (WW2), trench warfare (WW1), guerrilla warfare, walled city siege (Ancient China)... the incredible list of options continued on and on.

  “Ooh, I'll pick walled city siege. I've studied that aspect of warfare quite a bit.” He told Yue Fei.

  “Walled city siege, hey? I am also quite good at that. Now, you have to decide if you want to be the defending side or attacking side.”

  “I think I'll go...” Baron paused to think. "...on the attacking side.” He pressed the attack button.

  “Oh? I didn’t peg you as an aggressive guy. Interesting. Now, let me explain the basics of this game before we get any further. This is what you would call a simulation match. The two of us will head to our respective sides and have one day to prepare a battle plan to fight the other with.

  “This is no ordinary simulation, though. This simulation is the closest you can get to a real-life war without actually killing anyone. The generals or strategists of each army, us, will lead each army. There are a few ways to win. You can force the enemy to surrender, rout their soldiers, complete a determined objective, or kill the enemy strategist.

  “One last thing, since the simulation is extremely realistic, you will have to pay close attention to your army’s situation. You will have to maintain your soldiers’ morale, their energy, and anything else that may affect their performance on the battlefield. Good luck.”