Reincarnated with the Country System

A cold wind moved through the half-finished camp, stirring embers from the central firepit and rattling the makeshift perimeter stakes.

Kain awoke with a start.

For a second, he didn't understand why. His body ached, his mind still groggy. But then he heard it—distant screaming, faint but sharp. He sat up. Around him, silhouettes moved through the dark. His Exo Knight suit rested beside him.

Across the camp, the others had stirred. ISSD soldiers and paladins alike were gathering, whispering, glancing westward. Smoke curled into the night sky from the direction of the settlement.

Veyers rushed over, rifle slung on his shoulder, breathing heavy.

"Sir, what should we do? There's something happening in the village. Screaming, fire. Looks like an attack."

Kain stared toward the horizon, watching the glow grow brighter behind the trees.

"Scan it. I want full details. Now," he ordered.

Veyers turned and spoke into the device clipped to his chest. "Initiate recon sweep. Wide-band optical, thermal, and seismic. Focus on non-human heat signatures and mass movement patterns."

One of the auxiliary drones, previously tucked into a corner of their tech tent, activated and whirred into the sky. Its rotor blades made barely any sound thanks to muffling enchantments that no longer worked. It moved clumsily, its AI struggling in the absence of Bernardian satellite support or divine augmentation.

Then Raihan arrived with a few paladins.

"We need to help them," he said, his tone resolute. "We waited three days for them to come speak with us. This... this is the right time. We help, and they might help us."

Kain didn't answer immediately.

He stared at the sky, then at the fire again.

"I agree in principle. But I don't send my people into unknown territory against an unknown threat."

Another scream tore through the night. It wasn't distant anymore.

Veyers returned with the data. "Sir, scan confirms eight large entities. Approximate height, between 3.5 and 4.2 meters. Movement speed—fast. Heat signatures abnormal. But…" He paused. "There's no sign of magic. They're not divine or enchanted. Just... monstrous."

Kain's eyes narrowed. That changed things.

Raihan stepped forward. "If they're not magical, then they're biological. Flesh. Bone. Muscle. Things we can kill. "

Kain then said after a while of silence. " Ok, Prepare everyone"

Kain turned toward his Exo Knight suit.

The rear chassis panel was slightly open, and the HUD lights inside flickered dimly in low-power mode.

He stepped toward it.

"Activate combat entry mode," he said.

A soft chime replied. The suit's back split open with a pressurized hiss. Foot braces lowered, aligning themselves with the ground.

Kain climbed up and into the frame. His boots locked in. He gripped the harness bars.

[BIOMETRIC LOCK CONFIRMED]

[INITIATING FULL SEAL]

The suit's shell closed around him — torso, arms, helmet. The last thing to shut was the faceplate: a skull-shaped visor with a crown ridge.

[STATUS: STANDBY – POWER: 42%]

[WEAPON SYSTEMS: ONLINE – AMMO: PARTIAL]

[COMM: LOCAL LINK ONLY]

....

Meanwhile, in the settlement...

A man, broad and strong, swung an axe with both hands at the creature charging him. It was four meters tall, shaped like some twisted fusion between a panther and a reptile, its black skin leathery and ribbed with bony plates.

The axe hit its side, cutting deep—but not deep enough. The creature let out a guttural shriek and swung its tail with brutal force. The man was flung like a ragdoll into a wooden wall. Bones cracked.

Another villager, torch in hand, shouted, "Fire! Burn them!"

They threw torches at one of the beasts. Flames licked across its flank, and it howled in pain. But it didn't slow down. With unnatural agility, it leapt onto the rooftop of a hut, setting the thatch alight with its burning body. Then it pounced down, crushing a young boy and biting another in half with its serrated jaws.

The most terrifying thing was that it was not alone and there were three other creatures with it.

One tore through the livestock pens, chasing screaming villagers. Another rammed its body into a storage shed, collapsing the structure. A woman threw a spear at it, but it snapped the weapon midair with its jaws and swiped her aside.

And worst of all, they showed signs of coordination.

They weren't mindless beasts.

.....

Scene Change

The walls of the settlement stood ahead—timber, thick, spiked, but burning in several places.

Kain's HUD tracked several breaches already punched through by the monsters. Smoke drifted through shattered planks. Screams echoed from within. Shadows danced through fire.

"We breach the west gate," Kain ordered.

"Won't the locals mistake us for enemies?" Solas asked.

"They already do. Doesn't change our mission."

The Exo Knights approached the gate. Instead of smashing it, Kain gave a signal.

"Controlled charge."

An ISSD operative planted a breaching device. Moments later—

BOOM.

The gate blew inward in a shower of wood and flame.

Then they all entered.

.....

Torch-bearing villagers fought desperately— pikes, farming tools, hunting spears. The monsters were too fast, too strong. Their hides soaked in blood, half-burned and still moving with terrifying precision.

A woman screamed as one of the beasts—the largest—lunged for her child.

Crack.

A rail spike shot through the night.

The creature's skull exploded mid-pounce, its black ichor splattering across the walls.

Kain's rifle smoked. "Engage."

His team surged forward, splitting into pairs. Blue muzzle flashes stuttered through smoke and fire. One Exo Knight lifted a child with one arm, shielding them behind composite plating while his partner fired over his shoulder.

The villagers saw them—these towering armored giants with skull faces—and screamed again.

"Devils!" one man shouted, stabbing blindly at an ISSD agent who tried to pull him to safety.

The knife glanced off reinforced armor.

"We are not your enemy," the agent said through gritted teeth, grabbing him by the collar and dragging him away from a collapsing wall.

Raihan shouted "This is not a raid. We are here to fight for you. Drop your weapons and retreat to a safe place. Defend nothing but your lives."

Some listened.

Others didn't.

A young man threw a molotov at Kain. It shattered against his chest with a flash of flame.