[X] Yes
"Honestly, the biggest obstacle is going to be eluding Britannia's surveillance." You wave your hand, the Dark-Green Fangs coming to attention. "Luckily, with our forces it is easily doable."
"I'll pass." Rakshata replies. "Hunting zombies is not my favorite way of spending evenings."
"Uhm, me too." Nathan raised his hand.
"Alright. The rest of you want to come?" Seeing them nodding you turn to the cultist. "Assemble all summoned demons and the men that can fight. Take weapons and equipment from the crates in the laboratory."
"Zero, I would like some of that for my girls too." Yelena asks.
"Of course." You reply.
{====}
The Shinjuku Ghetto. Since the battle that took place there one month ago between the Britannian army and unknown terrorist forces the area has been off-limits to everyone who isn't a soldier. Officially, it is due to structural instability. The reality of the matter is that the ghetto, when the sun set down, becomes part of a chthonic realm of shadows and death. That, and the fact the dead rise to assault and drink the blood of the livings, shows how Britannia should have taken containment measures very seriously.
It
should have. But exactly because it didn't the small force of roughly fifty individuals managed to sneak through the gaps between the patrols of soldiers.
Your guts churn when you set foot into the Ghetto. Looking up reveals a huge red-tinted moon, the stars dull as if seen through smoke. You can't pinpoint how, but even the air feels
wrong.
'What an unpleasant place.'
"I know, right?" Seyrun says.
"And the Underworld proper is even worse. I know because I have been summoned there some times. There is no satisfaction in killing the dead."
'And isn't that an oxymoron?' You think before shaking your head. You have come here for a reason, and wasting time would do you no good. You turn to look at your assembled forces.
Milly is again wearing the Peronelle Kasr, Jikhs the Chernobaalim walking next to her and looking around with sharp eyes. Kaguya is flanked by two rifle-wielding bodyguards wearing tactical armor. Akito is armed with two staked-shaped tonfa, while Leila is spotting a set of new magical gloves.
Akio is, obviously, armed with the Jade Goremaul. Yelena is followed by her girls, who replaced their normal guns for Hellcasters. Nadir has his sword.
Followed the Anhules, the cult's demons and the cultists themselves.
"May I have your attention?" Nadir suddenly asks. When he sees that everyone is looking at him he continues. "Some things you ought to know if we are going to fight in a Shadowland. First, in the Underworld living people like us cannot regain Essence. We can do it while we remain within the Shadowland, but at half the normal rate. So, those who can use Essence, keep in mind to use it with moderation. It is of the utmost importance that you don't let your reserves run empty." He points in the direction they came from. "If we decide to go back before the night ends, something I fully recommend, when we cross the Shadowland's borders we need to spend Essence in order to return to Earth, or we will enter the Underworld. Those of you who cannot use Essence, you will need to have an Essence user bring you with them when they cross."
"Thanks for the info Peer Nadir, this will surely prove useful." You compliment him.
"Boss, we have company."
"Like, right now." You turn around, your cape fluttering up in an appropriate dramatic way, and behold the new obstacles to your perfect world.
They are, quite bluntly, eerie. There are both Japanese and Britannian soldiers, skin and clothes pale with sunken eyes and the empty gaze of a corpse. What's worse, is that all of them have a clearly lethal wound on their bodies like bullets holes or crushed heads. Yet they still move, skulking forward with the unstable gait of a drunken beast.
Somehow, you regret never watching a film about zombie.
"Ugh, gross!" Milly comments with a disgusted tone and a hand covering her mouth, a gesture copied by Kaguya.
"Those are all Hungry Ghosts." Nadir walks next to you, sword at the ready. "This is good, because they're easy to deal with. But they are the weakest type of ghost: the others are stronger...and
intelligent."
You hum in understanding. The ghosts in front of you are only a dozen, but many more are surely waiting ahead. And, beside fighting them, you also need to search for possible clues. This, you realize, is a good opportunity to consolidate your authority: by taking command and successfully guiding your forces you can show your worth as a leader and establish your fame as the best candidate to take command.
You only need a plan.
[] Write-in.
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The expedition will be over in the next 1-2 update. This means you can make a general strategy, like taking formations and the like.