“More than anything, though, what stands out as something the rest of us have no hope of replicating is how they can manipulate their joints at will.”
“What?! By ‘joints,’ you mean all of them, not just their arms and legs?!”
“Well, not quite all of them. Apparently, they can’t disjoin their spines…”
If they could disjoin their spine, that would exclude them from the dictionary definition of a vertebrate! I know snakes are extremely flexible, but even they can’t pop out their joints!
Snakes on Earth had foldable jaws that could open horizontally and vertically, allowing them to swallow prey whole. When they did so, their ribcage would expand, and their skin would stretch, which was why they could consume creatures larger than themselves.
And you’re telling me that the snakes in this world can also pop out their other joints at will?! Which joints?!
I was stunned into silence more by the mysteriousness of the snake tribe’s biology than by the covert nature of their job. Seemingly oblivious to my deep shock, the commander-in-chief went on to share all kinds of information regarding the snake tribe.
With their ability to pop out their joints, they could easily escape if they were tied up and slip through the narrowest of spaces. Using their high-performance sensors, they could determine the number of enemies and their locations. And, on top of everything else, they were almost impervious to starvation.
I suppose that part makes sense; snakes don’t strike me as an animal that burns a lot of energy to survive.
But it’s strange… All the snakes I’ve seen in this world so far looked pretty much the same as snakes on Earth… Well, except for the fact that they were all bigger than anacondas, of course. But this all sounds like an entirely different species!
I don’t think there’s any tribe of beastpeople more shocking than the snake tribe. If there is, somebody really needs to sit God down with a biology textbook for some remedial studies.
For the most part, God seems to have used earth animals as a basis for the animals here, but now and then, I run across an animal so far removed from anything we have on Earth… I really can’t let my guard down!
Take feliances, for example: their body is a cross between a fox and a raccoon dog, with giant wings stuck on their back. Even the “provisional mammals” known as platypuses, who are born from eggs but drink their mother’s milk, don’t have wings!
I would very much like to ask God what Earth animal he based feliances on!
We peeked into several offices before coming to a meeting room—or perhaps I should call it a meeting hall? Seats were set up in a fan-shaped arrangement facing a raised platform with several maps hung on the wall behind it.
“This room is normally used for meetings, but when necessary, it’s also where we hold war councils.”
I asked the commander-in-chief for permission to examine the maps on the wall up close and was surprised to see how detailed they were. There was a map of the entire continent of Larshia, maps of each country, and the rest were of the Linus Empire.
I examined the map of the Kingdom of Gaché and found it was every bit as precise as the one in the royal palace’s library. Of course, even more detailed maps existed, but as a matter of national security, they could only be viewed with direct permission from the king. I had a feeling that this map toed the line of violating peace treaties between our two countries; that’s how detailed it was.
“Incredible!”
“We rarely have any reason to use any of these maps other than those of our own territory, but…” the commander-in-chief said, trailing off.
I followed his gaze to a map that seemed newer than the others but was covered in handwritten markings. This was a map of Icoux and the Alliance of Nations.
The commander-in-chief explained that the areas shaded red were “danger zones” where the national government had lost all control, leading to a deterioration of order and rendering those areas lawless territories. Icoux actually didn’t have as much red shading as I would’ve expected, but nearly half of the territory making up the Alliance of Nations was shaded red.
Just how many countries have already fallen to ruin? And how many of those citizens, who should’ve been living happy, simple lives, had already journeyed home to be with the Goddess before their time?
It filled me with an intense feeling of helplessness.
“Just like the Kingdom of Gaché, we are working to eliminate Runohark. We will not fail—we will restore peace to this continent,” the commander-in-chief vowed passionately as if trying to lift the sense of despair that had settled over me.
“Yeah!”
They were probably working on some kind of plan that involved cooperation between the countries. I didn’t have the slightest clue what I could do to help, but nonetheless, I felt committed to doing my best.
“Come to think of it, what is this flag?”
Daux and Marie had been examining the maps alongside me, but it seemed a flag that was hung on one of the walls had caught their attention.
I had a feeling I already knew the answer to this question.
“Oh, yes. That’s the army’s flag, which incorporates the emblems of all the divisions of the army.”
There were so many emblems that it was impossible to count them all. But this wasn’t exactly surprising—the Linus Empire encompassed approximately half of the entire landmass of the continent of Larshia, so, of course, there would be a large number of troops.
“There are this many divisions in the army?”
“As a whole, we are known as the ‘Linus Imperial Army,’ but to make things more manageable, we’ve divided the country into five regions, each with its own military organizations.”
Despite the fact that the structure of the army was probably a state secret, the commander-in-chief kindly drew us a simplified diagram explaining how it was set up.
First, the country was divided into five regional divisions. That was the same as in our country. Each regional division was further subdivided into squadrons, troops, and units. For example, there were ten units in one troop and eight troops in one squadron.
The only group outside this structure was the pride of the Linus Imperial Army—the Dragon Corps. Apparently, the Dragon Corps answered directly to the commander-in-chief.
“What squad is Lieutenant Perry in?” I asked.
“If I remember correctly, Perry is in the Central Region, Imperial City Defense Squadron, First Imperial Palace Defense Troop.”
That’s so long! I bet he trips over his tongue every time he has to say his full title! And it turns out he’s not just a low-ranking lieutenant; he’s in charge of an entire troop!
…Now I’m more convinced than ever that it really is hard having such a huge country.
“If we don’t move on now, we’ll run out of time. I’ve prepared the teleportation spell, so please follow me.”
“Teleportation spell?”
“The wyverns’ barracks can only be reached by teleportation or flying.”
What? I thought the wyverns’ barracks were located inside the army’s headquarters…
We followed the commander-in-chief, who led us to the room that housed the army headquarters’ teleportation circle. It was even larger than the one in the royal palace. We were, as usual, a pretty large group when you added all our bodyguards and attendants, but with this massive teleportation circle it seemed like we’d all be able to travel in a single trip.
“All right, let’s go visit the home of the wyverns.”
I’m excited to see what kind of wyverns we’ll meet today. All of the retired wyverns were very calm, and, well… Honestly, they mostly just seemed sleepy!
Oh, I hope there are baby wyverns!