The E-Brigade is stationed in an old castle outside London, which was built in the 18th century and belonged to Barthomello. It was originally planned as a military facility. The vine-covered exterior walls and the layered Gothic architectural style are just disguises. In fact, there is a different world inside.
The ground buildings of the castle serve as offices and accommodation for the team members, while the training grounds and various special general workshops are hidden underground, covering an area five times that of the above-ground area.
Shinji once thought that the three-story and seven-room workshop in his basement was already grand enough, but it was still dwarfed by the base of the E-Squadron. And this was only the tip of the iceberg of Barthelmero's power. He wondered how shocking the underground facilities of his own family were.
In the assembly area of the first training ground, which is the largest of all the facilities, all four teams and six officers of the E Brigade, a total of 25 members, were present.
The four teams are arranged in columns in the order of Wands first, Grails second, Swords third, and Pentacles fourth. The team codes come from the names of the four major card suits in the Minor Arcana of the Tarot.
Each team has different focuses. The "Scepter" team is good at wide-area annihilation, the "Holy Grail" team is good at protracted warfare and defense, the "Sword" team is good at attacking, and the Star Coin team is good at rapid response. Of course, this is only relative. No matter which team it is, they all have strong combat effectiveness and comprehensive qualities.
The members of the team are named in the manner of the One of Wands and the Two of Wands, and the captains of the teams have corresponding Major Arcana codes. The captain of the "Wands" team is coded as "King"; the captain of the "Holy Grail" team is coded as "Pope"; the captain of the "Swords" team is coded as "Justice"; and the captain of the "Pentacle" team is coded as "Hermit".
In addition to these four people, there are three others with major Arcana code names, namely: Loreleya's adjutant, "Chariot" who drives a helicopter to assist Shinji in his mission; "Judgment", the inspector responsible for enforcing military law; and "Death", who is now standing in the position that should have belonged to Loreleya, wearing a cloak and holding a scythe.
"I believe that Chariot and Judgment have already informed you in advance that Miss Lorelaya will need to leave the team for a while because she will inherit Barthomello's 'Source Seal'. Before she returns, I, the 'God of Death', will temporarily take over the position of 'Captain'."
Having said this, Shinji paused for a moment and quickly scanned the faces of everyone below.
The members of the E-Team are all under 30 years old, 60% are male and 40% are female. Some of these young people frowned secretly, some had no expression on their faces, and some looked at him with a look of scrutiny... However, no matter what they thought of the new "Team Leader", none of them said it out loud, which showed their good discipline.
One of the rules of the E-Brigade is that you must not speak when the superior is speaking.
Shinji secretly praised in his heart, but remained expressionless, even though he was now completely wrapped in a cloak and his face was not visible.
"Perhaps you will doubt me, a person whose background is unknown and whose face you can't even see. Some people may also question my qualifications. How can a guy who has just joined for a few days lead us? I know all this and I can understand it. Those who can stand here are elites, and elites always have some arrogance."
"To be honest, when Loreleija asked me to be the acting captain, I refused at first. It's because leading a unit, especially an elite unit, is very troublesome, and I am a person who is afraid of trouble. So, I decided to solve the trouble once and for all."
"Listen to me, everyone. I'm going to give you one chance today, just one chance. From now on, there is no superior or subordinate here, and there is no class distinction. You can speak freely, whether it's making suggestions or just starting to curse. I have a straightforward temper. If you offend me, I will usually curse back or hit you back on the spot, so don't worry about my revenge afterwards. That's all."
"Captain, this..." The "Tank" standing behind Shinji on the left was hesitant to speak.
Shinji waved his hand, signaling that Tank didn't need to say anything: "You can start asking questions now."
"I'll go first." The man standing behind Shinji on the right raised his hand.
He is the oldest member of the team, 29 years old this year, a member of the Barthelmero family. He usually has a blank expression on his face, wandering around the station in a fussy tuxedo, exercising the supervisory and law enforcement powers granted to him by Loreleija. He is "Judgment".
"Please go ahead." Shinji turned his head.
"The captain must have his own reasons for appearing in this image, but it is really hard to tell whether he has any aura or any characteristics."
"Your Excellency the Inspector is right."
"What if the enemy disguises himself as the 'God of Death'; Your Excellency's appearance..."
More than one person echoed this.
"I have to show up like this because I have to. The young lady understands this and allows me to hide my appearance. After the meeting, I will let Judgment and Chariot see my appearance. As for you all, please remember my armor. Each piece of armor on me is unique and no one can imitate it."
At least now that there is no Holy Grail War and Shirou no longer has the last name Emiya, Shinji has this confidence.
"Hmph, let's assume for now that your weapon is unique, but how can you guarantee that it won't be taken away by others?" someone whispered.
"Hehe." Shinji laughed softly and asked, "Why do you think the young lady wants me to be the 'captain'?"
"... ... "
"You won't tell me? You don't know, or you know but don't want to admit it? No matter which one it is, you can't deny one fact—I, the 'God of Death', have enough strength. The principle of the E-Team is 'strength first'. If you don't accept it, you can come and try to challenge me. Whoever can beat me will have the right to be willful."
Shinji raised his sickle and pointed the blade at each team one by one.
"What? No one challenged me? I've already said that today is your only chance. If you miss this chance, I'll punish anyone who dares to disobey me!!! If one of you lacks confidence, I allow you to form a team with no more than four people, including two officers. If there are more, I can't guarantee your personal safety."
These words were extremely arrogant. After being stimulated by such words, some people finally couldn't help themselves.
"I'm here!" A young man in his early twenties walked out from the end of the fourth squad "Star Coin". "Let me make it clear that I don't doubt the captain's ability, I just don't like your attitude. I, 'Star Coin Four', and the entire 'Star Coin' squad except the captain, challenge the 'Captain'."
The other three people who were named first glared at their teammates in dissatisfaction, then looked at their captain, and when they saw that the captain did not respond, they nodded in agreement.
Shinji picked up the "Snake Hunting Scythe" in his right hand and waved his left hand: "Everyone else, step aside, let's start now."