Chapter 49: Streets Swept

A sharply dressed officer in his formal uniform stepped from the sedan car with a grimace on his face for the smell of dead Goblin that his driver had just run over. "Greetings, it is a pleasure to meet you both on your debut mission. I am Base Commander Colonel Ryan, in charge of the purge of the town today." He greeted them, sounding much more enthusiastic and less professional than either Karl or Dana had expected. "Greetings, Colonel Ryan, but this isn't our debut mission, this was a training mission from the Academy, we're not up for graduation this year." Dana replied with a sweet smile that seemed to relax the officer even more. "Not a debut mission? Well then, I guess there is no need to plead for tickets to your inaugural event. But to have sent just the two of you for an incident of this magnitude is incredible. To think that a pair of Elites in training could be this powerful." He gushed. Karl didn't miss how the Special Forces team all rolled their eyes at his flattery, but with the enhanced peripheral vision, he didn't have to turn his head to see them clearly, so the man didn't notice that Karl's attention wasn't on him. "I have two hundred men scanning the town now in pairs. They shouldn't take long to do a door-to-door sweep and search every home, then we can return to the base to wait for one of the older Elites to come pick you up." The Base Commander informed them. "Sorry, Colonel. There are already arrangements in place to bring them back with our team. We will be extracting them to the Academy as soon as we have verified that the mission is complete, and the town is safe for residents to return to. Unfortunately, there will be no time for photo shoots or any publicity events this time, but I'm sure you understand. Security is paramount for the Academy, after all." That was when Karl realized what the Colonel was after. He was trying to make friends among the younger elites, networking to expand his connections in the future. It was probably part of his job as a base commander to be in the know about everything that was happening at higher levels, but it was a bit strange for both Karl and Dana for someone with that sort of influence to have an interest in them. With so many soldiers moving through the town, it almost felt like things were getting back to normal. There were people in the streets, hurrying about their business, workers with wheelbarrows cleaning up, even a fire truck had been pressed into service to clean the streets of Goblin blood, as the stench was becoming unbearable in the sun. But in the minds of the common soldiers, it only reinforced how terrifying the Elites were. These two were still students, and already they were tearing through entire Goblin Tribes that would have taken their whole unit to safely deal with. Everywhere they went, there were more Goblin bodies, and even Karl hadn't bothered counting how many of them Hawk had dealt with since they arrived here. All that really mattered was the number that were still alive, and when they could be finished with this assignment and go home to a proper meal. In the distance, at the town's garbage dump, a filthy fire was sending thick black smoke into the air as the soldiers used diesel fuel to ignite the bodies of the Goblins, purging them so they wouldn't spread disease through the area, and eliminating the worst of the evidence that monsters had actually overrun the town. From what Karl could hear on the radio in the Base Commander's car, they were instructed to clean up as much as possible so that the residents would feel safer when they returned, as if the disaster had been mostly prevented, not dealt with after the fact. It was one of the small political niceties that helped the people feel confident that they were being looked after, and in this case, it could have been much worse. If they had waited for the army, the Goblins would have looted the majority of the houses and caused massive amounts of property damage during the overnight hours. The Special Forces team leader observed the progress with satisfaction. "They will send a cleaning crew through in the afternoon, as it appears that the town really has been cleansed, but the soldiers will remain for most of the week, just in case. We can start getting ready to head back. Was there anything else that you wanted to make a note of before we leave?" "Yes, these herb packs, I want to either know what is in them, or bring one with me to analyze at the Academy. They seem to be an effective monster repellant, and it kept the Goblins from trying to go straight for us in the government building." Karl noted. The team leader opened the bag in question, sniffed, and then nodded. "I have the recipe for this. It's a pretty common pest deterrent, but the herbs for it only grow in a few areas of the country, this being one of them. I didn't know that it would work for Goblins, but it works very well on insect type monsters, as well as regular bugs." The local mosquito repellant deterred Goblins? Perhaps it just masked the scent of humans so that they didn't realize the area was inhabited. But if it worked, it worked, and Karl gave the team leader a thumbs up to signal that he would want that recipe later. "Excellent. Then we are off to the Academy. Base Commander, we will return this evening with a full report for you." The team leader announced. "Thank you, Major. I will look forward to the detailed exploits of these two outstanding trainees." The helicopter returned as they were speaking, and landed on the roof of the building, which was accessible through an internal stairwell that was marked "Smoking Area". "You look more excited now than you did when we arrived." One of the team members noted. "I've never been in a helicopter before." Dana and Karl replied in unison, then burst into laughter at their synchronized thoughts. "Well, we can change that. Hop in and fasten your harness. The Academy won't forgive us if you get injured on the ride home." The team leader informed them with amusement clear in his expression. "Yes, sir!"