Chapter 167 - Clash of the South

No one could say for sure the exact minute the battle started. It was hard to when the radio channels were jammed up with countless reports of approaching forces coming from the Ardent Cretins in the middle of the night, just like Kyle had predicted.

[Two platoons spotting creeping up along the walls!]

[Mortar squad shelling our position; we need backup, now!]

[There's an entire division running through the collapsed buildings in the north!]

Still, it was a lot faster than Kyle had expected, only a mere twelve hours after he had returned to the arcade. "Sound the alarm. We're under attack. Get everyone out there, now!" Kyle urged the vipers.

"MOVE, MOVE, MOVE! This is it, do or die! Not one step back!" Damian rallied the men one by one. The armory was flooded with recruits scrambling to get their gear. Armor and rifles were handed out like candy, even to those who were barely nine years of age, sent off to fight for the future of the sector. There was no distinction between who should fight and who shouldn't - the willing fighters were all already sprinting out to their designated locations.

The frontal scout outposts like the one manned by Ellie were fortified and reinforced with Seven Snakes fighters and newly invigorated enforcers, having just retaken the Magda hours ago. Bishop Vernette was also doing her rounds, trying to raise the morale of her enforcers. "The Seven Snakes is our ally. They helped us in our time of need, and now we shall help them!"

With the runway now completed, Aurtla planes were landing every fifteen minutes, doing continuous flights to and fro from the Culdao Peaks. Keith watched in awe at the sight of the large wyvern-like wings of the Aurtla landing in the street, a big grin on his face as he reunited with Niko and Monica. "This place looks like shit, what the hell have you guys been doing?" Niko complained at the sight of his usual favorite haunts reduced to rubble. The Lusty Arcian, the Seductive Serpent, and other businesses have all been wiped out, save for the pub in the basement of the arcade.

The two vipers from the Culdao Peaks led their contingent of hobgoblins and Seven Snakes members, tasked with bolstering the defenses. They managed to deliver more than five hundred troops from the Culdao Peaks, but it still wasn't enough to even the odds that were about to clash with them head-on. The late hours of the night saw skirmishes break out like wildfire all along the border, forcing the Seven Snakes to split up and hold the line as best as they could. Ardent Cretin squads tested the waters, prodding and trying to find a weakness in the gap, but the combined defense force was nearly impenetrable.

As for the Ghosts from Desham, they were still on the way, and the travel time was far longer due to the distance. Still, enough improved MK2 rifles made it into the hands of the veteran fighters, along with a surplus in railguns, explosive bunker-busters and poor arcia crystals that could be used as energy packs. Cobras were taught by the veteran Ghosts on how to use railguns in their squad, having minimal time to practice them. Still, this gave an edge to the frontline squads, allowing them to leverage the improved technology on the Cretins.

Kyle had the first batch of veteran Ghosts form up with him as the first roaming strike force, taking a hundred of them. Damian took another hundred veteran Seven Snakes fighters who had been fighting side by side, while Sasha joined the battle on the ground, also taking another hundred Ghosts and hobgoblins combined, some from her original task force in the Culdao Peaks, others from the Versian civil war. Adrian took Sasha's place in the stealth Aurtla, flying high reconnaissance. While Kyle was aware that the Ardent Cretins could jam radio communications, he needed Sasha's battle prowess on the ground instead of merely acting as a conduit for observation, especially if he wanted to push deep into Ardent Cretin'sterritory like a spear.

However, the three strike forces did not show their hand just yet, waiting patiently in the wings while the first few fighters on both sides clashed intermittently. Kyle surveyed the state of the battlefield with a clear mind. As more and more reports of new Ardent Cretin troops began joining the battle, he waited for the right time to strike. Even as lives were traded on the frontlines, Kyle didn't budge an inch, only waiting for one signal alone.

Just as the first rays of dawn started to peek over the horizon, another orange glow enveloped the South Sector followed by a massive shockwave that washed over the nearby districts. "Now, first battle group, push!" Kyle ordered with haste, the command relayed through the hierarchy to get the enforcers and Seven Snakes fighters to charge forward, pushing past their regular defensive line for the first time in months.

"CHARGE!" Alex roared as he led his squad and other Seven Snakes recruits on the ground, seeing the huge mushroom cloud in the distance balloon. "Push them, while the knights harass them from the other front!" More than five dozen Seven Snakes answered his rallying cry, rushing headlong into Ardent Cretin's territory. Enforcers too, joined the battle charge, buoyed by the surging morale.

"Bring the fight to them! YARH!" Ollie raised his rifle in a show of defiance, following Alex and the others. The street was basked in the light of dawn as pellet fire sung through the piles of rubble, men and women alike crawling through debris and fallen buildings. The battle began to intensify as brave soldiers on both sides clashed amidst the graveyard of houses and factories, vying for every inch of ground. Still, the courage and strength of the Seven Snakes were unmatched, easily routing the first line of Cretins while the enforcers provided backup, covering vantage points and any angles.

Cretin squads that tried to withstand the coming tide found themself outgunned, the railguns used by the cobras easily blowing apart any flimsy cover that they had. Explosions rocked the streets as chunks of apartment floors were blasted open in direct hits. Alex spotted a Cretin mortar crew launching from the top of an apartment complex, the mortar round sailing through the air and blasting an enforcer squad apart. "Railguns, blow the foundation of that apartment complex!"

In a coordinated strike, the five squads fired their railguns repeatedly, the barrage so sudden that the Cretin mortar crew had no time to escape. The series of explosive bunker busters eradicated whatever structural integrity the apartment complex had, causing the entire building to bury the mortar crew and other Cretins in seconds. The collapsing building slammed into the ground with a thunderous shockwave, kicking a humongous cloud of dust and smoke that masked the entire battlefield.

Before the Cretins could rally themselves again in the confusing chaos, the Seven Snakes were already within melee range, the brave fighters charging forward. In a mixture of courage, desperation, and belief, the Seven Snakes fighters fought with everything they could, Alex leading one of the pushes. He rushed into the smoke with abandon and clambered the collapsed apartment complex, immediately shooting any Cretin that was still struggling to get out of the mess. Shattered glass, concrete rubble and rotten wooden planks formed the battlefield as Alex's squad sliced through the first defensive line of Cretins like a thunderstorm.

Corpses littered the devastated street, some unburied from weeks ago as Alex stepped over them to get closer to the enemy. As they pushed deeper, the fighting got even fiercer, pellet fire now forcing them to keep low behind temporary cover. A sweeping barrage of pellets smacked into Alex's temporary cover made of rubbles, zings and zips kicking up dust, forcing him to stay low. His men were beginning to take hits, but thanks to the Aspis MK1 knight armor, the pellets did little damage apart from reducing the armor's effectiveness. Everyone was forced to lay flat on the ground and crawl to safety, slowing down the advance tremendously. Alex's squad and the others were now pinned in the center of the street, hiding in the wreckage of the apartment complex they had just collapsed.

"What the fuck is shooting at us?!" Bola yelled over the din of pellet fire and explosions.

"Over there, there's three wagons spread out!" Ollie screamed back, waving frantically in the wagon's general direction. It was the same design as the ones they had stopped the day before, mounted repeaters that were currently suppressing their movement.

"We need a distraction. Rico, knock down something!" Alex ordered.

"You got it, human boss." Rico grinned. He crawled faster than Alex would have expected a seven-foot-tall hobgoblin to, managing to get out of the central crossfire and into a nearby half-demolished two-storey building. Without hesitation, Rico stood up and clasped both hands together, slamming them in a hammer-striking motion toward a loose foundational pillar. What remained of the building crumbled down, and the falling rubble did not land anywhere near the three Cretin wagons positioned further down the street. However, the resulting wave of soot and smoke was just enough of a distraction for Alex to take his chance.

He swiveled his railgun to bear, aiming right through the smoke at the last known position of the wagon and firing immediately. The projectile shot forwards, leaving a swirling hole of dust in its wake as it slammed into the Cretin wagon head-on. It tore through the metal frame right into the engine, igniting the arcia fuel tank and sending the wagon bursting up in blue flames. The Cretins within let out ear-piercing screams as their bodies were engulfed in the horrible fire, trying to escape the burning wreck.

"It's down, it's down!" Ollie cheered.

"Don't celebrate just yet, there's still two more-" Alex started, but another explosion prompted him to peep back out from behind cover, seeing another squad having scaled a building and used a high vantage point. Their angle allowed them to take out yet another wagon, while the third and final wagon was already slowly rolling back, the driver shivering in his seat.

"Fall back, fall back to defensive line 2!" A Cretin officer yelled from the top of the wagon as the rest of the men scattered for cover under the overwhelming firepower of the Seven Snakes. "Wait for the reinforcements!"

"They are falling apart, strike now!" Alex ordered as soon as he heard the officer's cry. Battle shouts and roars of courage filled the air as Seven Snakes fighters leaped out from their temporary cover, charging forwards in an effort to break the Cretins down before they could get any more men. However, the Cretins were far from defenseless, the third wagon reversing and providing enough suppressive fire while the bulk of the Cretins moved to better positions. The third wagon somehow dodged all of the railgun fire that was aimed at it, the driver swerving left and right erratically. Explosions showered the Cretins in dirt and cobblestone from the damaged street.

"That fucking wagon!" Ollie cursed as he tried to get a good hit on the wheels, but the range was too far. Alex was missing his shots too, knowing that he didn't have unlimited ammo to try again. Instead, he bet everything on one more shot, this time aiming for an arctech sign perched high above the street. The projectile easily smacked the sign off its rickety hinges, plummeting it right into the retreating wagon. The impact squashed the Cretin officer on the mounted repeater, killing him in one blow as the wagon was rendered inoperable.

With the suppressive fire gone, the advance resumed in earnest. However, they had only made it just one more block when the air was suddenly filled with a signature whistling sound, the trauma kicking in for the Seven Snakes fighters and enforcers. "Mortar barrage, mortar barrage! Take cover!" Alex yelled, pointing at the trails of smoke drawing arcs in the skies towards them. Alex dived for the nearest sturdy cover he could find, which was the collapsed ground floor of a clothing store while Ollie and Bola scrambled along inside with him. The clothing store was devoid of any clothes or mannequins, everything having been looted over the war. Now, all that was left were empty racks and shelves, the space cramped into just a few meters width.

The three of them kept low as a shell slammed into the nearby building, taking out nearly a quarter of it, which collapsed in a thunderous crash. "Bola, get the point defense up now!" Alex roared as he motioned with his other hand to the other squads, prompting them to split up as well.

"On it!" Bola hurriedly pulled out a deployable device from his backpack, the device filled with point-defense engravings. With a grunt, he threw it out onto the street with all his might, the device sliding out into the middle. It immediately began to shoot at the incoming shells, forcing them to explode in midair. The resulting shockwave shattered whatever was left of the windows in the nearby shops and apartments.

"Adrian, do you read? Mortar came in from the direction of District 23, can you see?" Alex shouted into a radio strapped to his shoulder.

[Copy, beginning observation run now. Once we get a lock another Aurtla will do a bombing run.] Adrian's crisp voice echoed back through the radio's speaker.

"Hell yeah. Those new Aurtla is gonna show the Ardent Cretins what's up!" Ollie clenched his fist with determination.

"We'll hold this line while Adrian clears the way," Alex ordered. "Get some explosives ready, the Cretins might try to push back-"

A sudden explosive force erupted in the cramped clothing store, the very surroundings blasted into smithereens as Alex, Ollie, and Bola were thrown into a dizzying chaos. They dropped their rifles, a cacophony of explosions and other shouts enveloping the battleground as the street descended into a fearsome battle. Showered in wooden splinters, fragments of cloth, and dust, Alex spluttered out blood as he struggled to his feet, trying to find his rifle.

The moment he lifted his head, he saw a Cretin arctech knight step through the newly blown-out hole, their gazes meeting. The Cretin knight raised a rifle aimed right at the unconscious Bola, and Alex instantly reacted. With blood thumping in his ears and instincts kicking in, Alex abandoned his rifle that was too far away, instead pulling out a handgun. Before the knight could pull the trigger, Alex shot first, the pellet aimed at the knight's hand and jerking the rifle off-target. The impact knocked the rifle out of the knight's hand

With a roar, Alex charged forward, closing the gap in just two strides and catching the knight off-guard with a shoulder tackle. He rammed the knight into the ground, concussing the knight as he used his body weight to pin the knight down. The knight tried to throw a punch at Alex's face, forcing Alex to shield with his forearm, allowing the knight to roll out from under. The knight was about to recover, but before he could do anything else, Alex was already on top of him. Adrenaline running through his veins, Alex delivered punch after punch, his armored gauntlets pounding the Cretin knight's armor. He targeted the joints, kicking the knight's right knee inwards and causing the knight to let out a pained roar.

Alex grabbed the helmet of the knight, ripping it off to reveal the Cretin's already bleeding face. Without mercy, Alex clasped both hands around the knight's head, driving his knee into the nose bridge of the Cretin knight and knocking him out. Just as he was about to take a breather, a sudden armored arm from behind grappled his neck into a chokehold, a second Cretin knight entering the fray.

Alex gritted his teeth as he backpedaled against the wall as hard as he could, slamming the second knight into the rows of empty shelves. The sharp, jagged edges of damaged wooden shelves smacked against the knight's back armor. While it did not penetrate the metal plates, the force was still transferred to the body, causing the second knight to gag. In the split-second moment when the knight loosened his grip, Alex quickly wrenched himself free. Spinning clockwise backward, Alex sent his right elbow into the temple of the second knight's helmet. The blow sent the second knight sprawling to the ground, Alex not letting him go off easy.

With a feral-like quality in his eyes, Alex lifted his right boot, stomping down as hard as he could onto the groin of the second knight, who unleashed an ungodly scream. Alex panted from the exhaustion, having pushed himself to the limit to save Ollie and Bola. He was just a normal soldier, hardly enhanced or adept with the manipulation of arcia energy, and already his muscles were beginning to scream out for rest from the brutal battle. Just as he turned around, wanting to check on Ollie and Bola, he heard a distinctive click from behind. From the corner of his eye, he could see the first Cretin's bloodied gaze and the barrel of a rifle staring right at him.

Alex instinctively flinched while his heart jumped a little, ducking as two pellets shot out from different directions. The first knight let out a muffled bubbling scream, his throat ripped apart by a pellet. "Old man, you alright?!" Ollie called out from a prone position, still nursing a bleeding head wound from the impact.

"Thanks for saving me, but don't call me that, and watch the hole! I'll get Bola!" Alex ordered. Just as predicted, a third Cretin knight crawled in through the gaping hole in the store's wall, but he was instantly gunned down by Ollie. Ollie unleashed everything he had in the canister at the sight of any Cretin knight trying to enter, while Alex checked on Bola's condition. Not looking good. He's out cold. Even a health potion won't do much. 

Alex himself pulled out a stamina potion, drinking it to replenish his lost energy, while he rushed over to Ollie, pouring the health potion on the headwound. Unfortunately, some of Ollie's were trapped under the new growth as the wound was closed up. "Looks like you got a bit of hair under your skin now," Alex remarked.

"What?! I don't want hair in my brain!" Ollie exclaimed.

"Relax, we can carve it out later." Alex joked, trying to keep the morale up while he moved to haul Bola to a safer location. "Come out, we'll get out through the back, we'll go to the rear of the fight!"

Ollie nodded, getting up from his prone position and following Alex out the back of the store. Thankfully, a collapsed rubble had blocked off the alleyway from the Cretins' side, allowing them to easily fall back to where Alex assumed there would be resupply and a medical team waiting. However, as soon as they exited back to the main street, Alex noticed that the other squads were also falling back. He didn't need to ask any questions, the reason apparent from the Cretins' defensive line.

An entire platoon of Cretin knights along with two warmachines was moving slowly through the street, firing at any Seven Snake and enforcers that dared to peek out. The warmachines were all equipped with a strange turret featuring four separate barrels on the top in a square formation, the contraption, unlike anything Alex had seen before. However, as soon as the turrets opened fire on them, he knew that there was no way they were going to get past that.

The lower two barrels fired explosive projectiles, blowing the temporary cover that the fighters tried to hide behind, while the Cretin knights cleared the building bit by bit, regaining ground lost. Despite the carnage exploding all around them, Alex wondered why the top two barrels were not shooting at all. It wasn't until he heard the same whir of an Aurtla plane flying towards them from behind that he realized what the top two barrels were for.

[Doing bombing run now. Stay clear of the street.] Another Aurtla pilot announced, leading to cheers among the surviving Seven Snakes and enforcers. Alex instead shouted on the radio as he panicked from the turret now scanning the sky, as if it was tracking a bird.

"No, don't do it! They have something prepared!" Alex yelled, but it was too late as the Aurtla swooped in low for a close support bombing run. The top two barrels shot out a veritable web of high-velocity pellets at the Aurtla in a series of loud bursts that punctured the air. It shredded the flimsy wings of the Aurtla, ripping the delicate arctech engravings apart in a dazzling array of sparks. The Aurtla spun out of control, diving chaotically with the entire payload of bombs right behind the advancing Cretin forces, setting off a chain reaction that blew up a few buildings. It was a sight to behold, but it barely affected the Ardent Cretins at all.

Alex's heart plummeted at the loss of the Aurtla, while the other Seven Snakes were shell-shocked. "They were prepared!" Ollie cried out in horror as the battle still raged all around them.

"Get back to the defensive emplacements! Fall back, fall back!" Alex knew the fight was lost. They had traps and mines ready in their home ground, but pushing into two killer warmachines who could blast them wide open and take down any air support was suicide. The retreat order hit like a hammer, stunting the original courage and morale that the troops had.

As the Ardent Cretins came out in full force, each and every part of the battle line started to be pressured. Losses were replaced by fresh reinforcements from the rear, but it couldn't repair the damage to the morale. Alex gnashed his teeth in anger as he retreated to the forward outpost once more, the same one where he had met Ellie. The reports coming in were nothing short of abysmal.

[Taking heavy losses in Section A! We need backup, now, or we're doomed!]

[Where the hell are Baron Cain's knights and enforcers? Aren't they supposed to be sharing some of the heat?]

It feels like the whole Ardent Cretins' force is here. Were we too slow? Alex knew the plan - pull the Ardent Cretins on two ends, wait for a gap, and then strike with our full force into the gap. Alex knew he wasn't part of the strike force, he was supposed to hold the line. Yet it felt as if they were bearing the entire brunt of the blow. As the defense struggled to hold on against the onslaught of the killer warmachine that seemed to come from hell, Alex didn't even know if he could survive this battle. If I die here... Ellie...

The warmachine marched within range of the outpost, their turrets brought to bear on the second story where the radio operator was still desperately reporting their observations. Alex wanted to shout out for the occupants to get the hell out of there, but he knew deep down it was too late.

But before the explosive shells left the warmachine, Alex felt a sudden blur charge past him, a towering figure of metal and sheer will, the afterimages of the blue arcia streaking right past the defensive line. It was as if the armor it wore had grown wings that accelerated it to speeds unheard of, the wind trailing behind buffeting the rest of the fighters like a resurgence in faith. Everyone knew who it was, especially when the rest of the first strike force charged in from behind, left in the dust. Alex wanted to scream out in joy, but he knew he had a more important task to do. "Seven Snakes, charge with your leader!" Alex bellowed at the top of his lungs, the rousing cry repeated across the fighters as they rallied again behind Kyle.

Kyle's charge knocked aside a few Cretin knights, the overwhelming kinetic energy sending them flying into the sky. He slammed his spear into the front of the warmachine, his exosuit arm glowing brightly as he boosted his strength. He tipped the warmachine just as it fired two explosive shells, forcing the shells to miss the outpost by a large margin. Pulling out the spear, he ignored the pellet crossfire by the surrounding Cretin knights, acceleration engravings firing on all ends as his arcia crystal began to heat up. In a dance-like swirl, he weaved between the platoon of Cretin knights, his spear jabbing and slicing off the heads of the Cretin knights. Their armor stood no chance against the sharp spearhead, and those who managed to avoid the worst found themselves riddled with miniature explosions. The delayed blasts ruptured their organs, leaving smoldering husks in his wake as Kyle forged a battle path of carnage ahead.

"Adrian, update on the encircled knights," Kyle spoke with an unnerving calm even though it was in the heat of battle. His amber eyes emanated a cold sickness as he looked on the Cretins as mere weeds to cull, unleashing a savage eradication.

[Sir, you were right. The encircled knights and enforcers have been subdued. It's hard to say from above, but more than 50% of them might be dead. Half the district is leveled.]

Looks like Sebastian was smart enough to crush one front first. "Then we will have to form our own gap. Get the other two strike forces behind me, now!" Kyle re-focused his efforts on breaking the Cretins' will. As expected, his overwhelming firepower and strength were enough to send the Cretin knights scrambling for the hills while they attempted to avoid his wrath.

Buoyed by the presence of Kyle now leading the charge, Alex and the others followed suit, but were soon outpaced by the veteran Ghosts, first-generation fighters who had voluntarily agreed to join Kyle's new paramilitary organization. They formed the spearhead, diving deep into Ardent Cretin's territory like lightning. Before anyone had realized it, Kyle was already halfway across the first of three districts between him and the heart of the Ardent Cretins.

The defending Cretins were clearly caught off-guard, many of the logistical officers exposed and immediately shot on sight by the marauding Ghosts. It was shoot to kill, plunging the once-peaceful district into utter destruction as Kyle's Spear of Defiance annihilated holdout after holdout. Even as the Cretins tried to use buildings as cover to shoot at the incoming troops, Kyle merely closed the gap with the acceleration engraving, allowing him to immediately blow up the foundation of the buildings with relative ease. Victory after victory in skirmishes built a snowball, Kyle barreling down the district like a force of nature who no one could stop.

Seven Snakes fighters and enforcers alike poured into the gap, picking off the stragglers in a brutal firefight. It was a death chase, filled with screams and pleas for mercy that went unanswered. The fleeing Cretins attempted to evade their pursuers, but none of them had the mind to place any defensive emplacements or mines. Some tried to desert to the Central Sector, but even they were slaughtered on sight.

However, as Kyle reached the second district in his path, the snowball came to a grinding halt. Instead of finding easy pickings, an entire division of Ardent Cretins was already waiting for them. They formed a blockade of sandbags, warmachines and mounted repeaters that threatened to mow anyone approaching in an instant. Battle was joined immediately, with both sides opening fire. Unfortunately, the blockade also sported point defense systems, neutralizing most attempts by the Seven Snakes to blow up the blockade. Railgun projectiles were negated easily as well.

Alarm bells began to ring in Kyle's head, knowing that it would be impossible to mobilize this kind of defense if Sebastian didn't predict his actions. He took cover in a nearby building, which shuddered from the impacts of countless pellets and warmachine turret fire. "Hold! First battle group, fan out. First strike force, on me!" Kyle ordered the rest of the following Seven Snakes, splitting the force up and having them scatter into the surrounding buildings. "Where are the other two strike forces?" Kyle asked Adrian via arctech radio.

[Twe.... main force...too fast...] Intermittent static jammed the communications, preventing Kyle from getting a concrete answer.

"Sasha, status report? How long till you and Damian arrive?"

[Twenty minutes, but I'm hearing word that you're being flanked by two battalions of Cretins!]

If I wait here twenty minutes, we will be surrounded and finished off. “Prepare to push once I break the blockade! First strike force, hold position!” Kyle roared, earning the nods of the veteran Ghosts around him as the order was relayed down by those who could hear the din of gunfire. He peered out again, observing the dense fortifications that the blockade of Ardent Cretins had constructed. He knew he needed to strike lightning fast to catch Sebastian off-guard - the two flanking battalions were proof that Sebastian wanted him to stay here. "On my mark. One. Two. Three. Mark!"

He charged out of the building, pushing alone the entire division of Cretin while activating all engraving on the exosuit. The pellets seemed to fly past him in slow motion, while his sturdy exosuit activated defensive engravings that bore the brunt of shots. He closed the gap in just seven strides, each stride weaving through the battlefield as the turrets and mounted repeaters struggled to track him.

Kyle pulled back his arm, preparing to strike with the Spear of Defiance. With a thunderous roar, he thrust the spearhead right into the central warmachine, triggering an immediate explosion using half of the crystals in his spear shaft. The spent crystals were scattered as his acceleration took him skidding through the growing ball of flame that enveloped a good portion of the blockade. His feet dug a trail in the cobblestone street as the brilliant explosion bloomed behind him, casting a shadow as he recovered into a fighting posture, ready to continue the carnage.

However, just as he wanted to take a step forward, he could suddenly a strange vine wrapped around his entire leg, pulling him down. Before he could react, another three vines targeted each of his remaining appendages, locking him down into the ground as he was forced to stand still.

"I have to give it to Sebastian. He really knows you inside out like a book." A strange lady wearing what looked like an assortment of exosuit parts and other Galactic-Era equipment sauntered out onto the street, six other men and women following her out. "Don't take this personally, mage. It's just business. And you're my profit."