Chapter 165 - Return of the King

Baron Cain stared blankly, his mouth agape, trying to find the right words. He alternated his gaze between the crashed coffin and the staggeringly large exosuit, a design he had never seen before. "Where the hell have you been, and how did you get your hands on that? I never seen that, not even from the Legions in Tryas." Baron Cain blabbered, his voice still jittery from the close shave with death.

"Our time would be better spent trying to get out of here. I have two dozen soldiers distracting the Ardent Cretins right now." Kyle helped Baron Cain up, supporting him with a heavy metallic arm. He helped Bishop Vernette up too, who was still far too stunned to speak.

"How? The whole district is crawling with them, distracted or not. And I'm sure as hell not climbing that riverbank wall any longer." Baron Cain huffed. "And I bet you can't even contact your other men, seeing as the radios are all being jammed."

"Not a problem. Sasha, do you have eyes on us?"

[Crystal clear, sir.] Sasha's telepathic voice rang into Kyle's head. Baron Cain and Bishop Vernette merely glanced at each other with dumbfounded looks as Kyle continued to seemingly speak at thin air.

"Escape route?"

[There's a nearby patrol, complete with wagon. Down the alleyway, make a right, and you'll see it. Five guards.]

"Understood." Kyle bent down to pick up the dropped handgun, handing it to Baron Cain. "You know how to use this?"

"Of course, you dimwit. I have countless handguns!" Baron Cain snatched the handgun away with a scoff. "You think I bought the Oriental Bloom just for decoration?"

"Yes." Kyle didn't wait to see Baron Cain rolling his eyes, instead approaching the crashed coffin. He ran his hands along the side, pulling out an Aspis MK2 Repeater from a side holster and handing it to the still half-dazed Bishop. Baron Cain's eyes widened at the much larger rifle in the Bishop's hands, complete with the arcia crystal modification along with four full canisters.

"That's preposterous. You would give her a rifle, but me a handgun?"

"For someone who has a lot of handguns, you sure complain a lot." Kyle quipped, but he too yanked out another Aspis MK2 repeater and tossed it to the Baron, who nearly fumbled it. Kyle himself grabbed a railgun from within as well, and Baron Cain wondered just how many guns were in that coffin. "Let's move. There's a patrol with a wagon nearby. We're going to steal it."

Kyle didn't give them time to raise any objections, the two forced to follow his leads as they snuck down the narrow alleway. Kyle's large exosuit scrapped the walls slightly, the corridor a little tight. Still, they made it to the end just fine, reaching the main street. They came to a stop just before the sidewalk, hiding behind the corner and stacking alongside Kyle, backs against the wall.

Kyle glanced out from behind his cover, peeping around the corner to see a slow-approaching wagon owned by the Ardent Cretins. A mounted repeater was on the top, a crude porthole carved through the roof where a Cretin manned it while standing on the backseats. Apart from him and the driver, there were three others scanning the various alleyways, their rifles at the ready as they fanned out, flanking the wagon on both sides. Kyle estimated they would come within range in just under a minute, motioning for the other two to hide.

They scrambled, finding piles of trash and other refuse to take cover behind, while Kyle found a large enough crate, using it to block any sightlines of his bulky exosuit from the entrance of the alleyway. Kyle waited patiently, while the voices of the patrol squad came within earshot.

"I'm telling you, I saw something fall out of the sky! The sky is fucking falling!" One of the patrol squad asserted.

"All that mind twisters you nicked from the Seven Snakes got you fucked up, idiot." His other squadmates laughed at his expense, while Kyle ducked just as one of the patrolling Cretins checked the alleyway. The Cretin felt that the layout of the alleyway was a little suspicious, but he didn't care enough to investigate any further, continuing to keep pace with the slow-rolling wagon.

"Better here than at the frontlines. I wouldn't want to be fighting either the knights or the Seven Snakes. I thought we were winning the war, but now we're battling on two ends!" Another patrolling Cretin complained, his voice overwhelming the sound of the trio moving in the alleyway, preparing to pounce.

"I take center. You two take the flanks. On my mark." Kyle ordered, the three of them tensing up as they gripped their weapons tightly. "One. Two. Three. Mark!"

They jumped out onto the street, firing without hesitation. Bishop Vernette and Baron Cain each found their targets, nailing the two flanking Cretins with ease, shooting a single pellet that killed them on the spot. Kyle fired his railgun twice in rapid succession, killing the last Cretin on the ground and the Cretin manning the mounted repeater at the top of the wagon. The final projectile burst the Cretin's head wide open like a crushed watermelon, the thuds and sounds alarming the driver.

In an instant, Kyle charged at the wagon, catching up to the driver's door. The driver tried to send a warning through the radio, but Kyle's armored fist smashed through the window, grabbing the driver and yanking him out. The shards of glass raked along the driver's body, eliciting a final cry before Kyle ended his miserable life with a single powerful slam, the driver's face cratering into the cobblestone floor.

MG404: [System Message | You killed Ardent Cretin Driver, +50 EXP]

Kyle ignored the worth of the driver's life, immediately ripping the driver's door out and taking the helm. The other two scampered in, huddling in the backseat while Kyle floored the accelerator, turning the wagon around in a wide circle. The wheels bumped over the corpses of the dead Cretins as they barreled down the street back the way the wagon came.

[Sir, I'm seeing a lot of movement! Three squads converging on your location! They must have had a failsafe that triggered some sort of alarm!]

"I'll handle it. You two, put on your safety straps." Kyle ordered.

"What? I'm not some filthy peasant who's never been in a wagon before. Who even wears them in the back-" Baron Cain complained while still wearing the shoddy warehouse worker garments. However, the sudden lurch of the wagon sent his face flying forward, smacking into the headrest nose first. He couldn't even groan in pain, not when the wagon began to swerve left and right erratically. As soon as he found a grip on a nearby handle bolted to the frame, he had no more fight left in him, immediately sitting back down and strapping himself in. Yual protect me, I might just die from his driving first! 

***

An eerie silence hung over the air in the streets of the South Sector. There was a certain feeling – a tension so tight one could reach out and pluck it like a string. Even the kids who used to play among the piles of debris, mimicking fighting with their guns, were nowhere to be seen, hidden away by their parents in bomb shelters dug deep into the ground beneath the buildings. Not everyone had taken refuge with the Seven Snakes, some preferring to tough it out in their own buildings.

However, the districts of the Seven Snakes were not better off either. Countless buildings and investments were wiped away over the last few months of the siege. Derelict apartments, cratered schools, piles of rubble that once used to be popular cafes and workshops were all reduced to a silent graveyard. It was in this heavy air of despair and hopelessness that the people of Raktor struggled to survive in, scavenging through the ruins of fallen factories and businesses coated in dust, the whites of their eyes reflecting the feral and callous nature of their surroundings.

A dull thud from a distant district sent a slight tremor through the buildings, the people living within barely flinching. “Shhh, dear. Just let the storm pass.” A mother whispered to her baby, both of them covered in grime and sweat accumulated over the weeks: lack of access to proper utilities and water exacerbated their already worsening situation. As they hid in the basements right under the street, only the tiny pitter-patter of footsteps from afar could be heard through the walls. Everyone around knew what that meant: wherever the soldiers went, the fighting would soon follow.

Observant eyes watched from every angle, tracking the movement of the soldiers through the murky air rife with soot and dust. Only the emblem of the Seven Snakes strapped on their shoulders contrasted with the beautiful yet bleak scenery, some of the watchers recognizing the leader to be Alex.

He moved as quietly as he could on the street, each step measured and silent, the soles crunching against loose rubble and broken glass scattered about. His squad of seven hugged the walls of a collapsed housing complex, keeping a sharp watch on any vantage points looking down on them around the street. They spotted the observing watchers who had their eyes locked on the lone hobgoblin accompanying their squad.

"What the hell are they still doing out here? Don't they know that it's super dangerous here?" One of his seven men muttered angrily to himself, only to earn a side nub from Alex.

"Shut up, Ollie. The walls have ears here." Alex chided. "If they caught you saying that, they would lynch us in a heartbeat."

Next to Ollie, another kid scoffed audibly. "And how would they even hear? Do they have a radio? They probably get jammed most of the time out here, being this close to the Ardent Cretins."

"Just keep your thoughts to yourself, Bola. Once we're back in base, you can say anything you want." Soon, Alex reached one of the rare few standing doors, knocking gently on the door in a pattern and whispering urgently through a gap in the door, light from within evident through the splinters. “It’s Alex. I’m here for your resupply.”

The door quickly swung open, with Alex motioning his squad to get in as he scanned the area with his rifle, covering their entry before closing the door behind them. “Took you a while to get to the front.” A young female Seven Snakes fighter remarked. “Was about to run out of pellets to shoot.”

Alex couldn't believe his eyes, lowering his rifle in shock. "Emily...? What the fuck are you doing here? Shouldn't you be back in base with the others?"

"What? Why can't I pitch in?" Emily pouted. "There's more to me than just being a cute face."

"Yeah but..." Alex didn't know the right words to say, his heart clenching up slightly at the thought of Emily dying in the war. "It's just safer at the back-"

"And you think you're safe as well out here? You know how worried I was whenever you would leave the arcade?" Emily shot back.

Alex was about to retort when he spotted the excited faces of Ollie and Bola looking at the two of them expectantly, as though they were watching a soap drama play out in real life. Even the hobgoblin was invested, giving Alex a big green thumbs up. "Urgh... we'll talk about this later. Let's just get in first."

Alex shuffled his way to the living room of what remained of the housing complex. It was two stories tall, and the side of the wall that had been collapsed was shored up with defensive concrete and sandbags, built over months. Emily was just another rotation in a long list of scouts stationed in this intermediate supply outpost, many of whom never survived.

"Well... how was the trip?" Emily started with a nervous tinge, unsure of what to talk about as Alex's squad began to filter in.

“It was harder this time. Had a few roaming Cretin squads trying to probe past the frontline.” Alex shrugged while his squad mates dropped off the heavy backpacks they were carrying, filled to the brim with explosives, arctech equipment and ammunition.

“So I’ve heard. They’ve become more daring in the past week.”

Alex merely nodded his head, understanding what she was referring to. The collapse of the tunnel network has emboldened the Ardent Cretins, resulting in far more skirmishes. Even stricter rationing has been applied, causing morale to drop significantly. Both of them knew the end was coming, but had no way of knowing how it would go. All they could do was follow their instructions and hope to Yual that everything works out.

“Well, I’ll call the squads in now one by one for a resupply. The first one will be here in fifteen minutes, I’ll sign off, and you can go.” She left his squad to their own devices, heading upstairs.

Alex agreed, taking a seat in the dilapidated dining room, a husk of a former loving family. He could see where the bombs and fighting had eroded the paint, shaking off the flimsy wallpaper. Cupboards filled with memories shattered on the floor, a picture of the family stained by water and dirt. He couldn’t recall the last time he saw his house; that district had already been lost to the Ardent Cretins.

He glanced at Ollie’s panting face as his squad sat down; the fourteen-year-old kid was clearly exhausted from the long trek from the arcade to the front. “Hey, get him some water. Just a cup.”

“I’m fine.” Ollie waved his hand as he took a few deep breaths. “Just need a breather.”

Alex sighed, pulling out his own water flask and tossing it to Ollie. “Don’t waste a drop. It’s hard enough getting some around here.”

“Stop acting tough in front of Ellie, bossman. It’s too obvious!” Bola interjected, causing the squad to laugh out loud as embarrassment filled Alex’s face.

“Shut up, idiots,” Alex murmured as he glanced around to see if Ellie had returned from upstairs.

A metal-wrenching sound suddenly erupted from the kitchen next to the dining room, almost causing the squad to whip out their weapons. Alex relaxed the moment he saw that it was the hobgoblin who was attempting to work the tap.

“Roca, stop destroying the house!” Ollie groaned, complaining out loud.

“If you want water, there’s a working pipe up here!” Ellie’s voice wafted down from above, and the squad members all turned to look at Alex immediately.

“What’s wrong?” Alex squinted his eyes. Why are they acting so weirdly?

“Idiot, this is your chance! Show off your charm! Are you really going to argue with her and not fix it?” Bola nudged Alex with his elbow, his brows raised in an obvious hint.

“Seriously? We’re at war now?”

“And we will be for the next few fucking months at this rate – it’s now or never!” Ollie followed up, nodding his head vigorously.

“Weren’t you dehydrated just now?”

“Watching my boss squirm is a far better form of hydration. Now go up before she starts to wonder!”

Alex groaned as he got up from his seat, irritated by the obvious shit-eating grins of his squad. Even the hobgoblin had the widest smile on his face, one Alex had not seen before. “Fine, fine.”

“While you’re at it, flex your muscles!” Ollie joked even more. "That usually gets the girls in the slum to calm down. Not that I have any."

Alex carefully stepped up the stairs, avoiding the broken wooden panels before reaching the next floor where Ellie was in a room, handling the radio communications. Consistently audible chatter could be heard across the various channels while Ellie took note of every single one, even those overlapping as she jotted down quick notes in short form. A few bursts of interruptions could be heard, the Ardent Cretins jammer relatively close by.

[District 27 small skirmish. Requesting backup.]

[Frontline Section E low on ammo. Requesting resupply.]

[Spotted a warmachine in use by the Cretins – moving down Monto Road.]

“Not looking too good for us,” Alex remarked as he looked at a map hung up on the wall, marked by Ellie, who was listening to the consistent reports. She served as a frontline radio coordinator for the various squads now at the frontline, fighting tooth and nail on a daily basis against the Cretins while shoring up defenses, entrenching themselves.

“Yeah, it isn’t. At the rate we’re going, we’re going to lose everything we’ve gained in the last month. The lack of supplies certainly doesn’t help. However, I heard rumors that there's trouble brewing in Kregol. Besides, the boss is coming soon, isn't he?”

"Yeah, he's in the Culdao Peaks now. Shouldn't be long before he's actually in the city." Alex agreed.

"I heard he always makes a big entrance, like he always appears just in time to save those in need, just like a superhero. How do you think he's going to show up to us?" Ellie turned, her short blonde hair trailing in the air as she turned to face Alex.

Despite the grime and soot on her face, Alex was still enamored by her beauty, evident even through the unflattering uniform. Her visage and smile reminded Alex of a time long past when he still had a happy life with his wife.

“Alex?”

"Oh! Yeah, well I bet he'll swoop in like a king or something. Maybe a parade of sorts, a little heroic speech before charging off to save the day. Still, it would be nice if he did that earlier rather than later. I heard the Culdao Peaks are completely cut off, tunnel and all. I don't even know how he's going to make it in."

“I’m sure the boss will find a way to route the goods in. We’re a gang, remember?” Ellie chuckled slightly, with Alex instinctively smiling in response. "Kyle always finds a way in." She continued to write down reports, even while listening intently to Alex's words.

“Yea… yea. You’re really good at this.” Alex murmured embarrassedly, rubbing the back of his head. "How the hell can you listen to both me and the radio?"

“I spent a lot of time listening to customer complaints back then. Finally, could put it to use now, I guess.” Ellie smiled, almost instantly brightening up Alex’s world.

"Yeah... sorry about all I said downstairs." Alex smiled sheepishly. "I just... I just had one too many losses. And when I think of just how dangerous it could be out here..."

Ellie stood up, grabbing Alex's hand and clasping it tightly. "I know. It was probably one of the hardest decisions in my life. Except becoming a presenter. That was weird."

"No, no, not at all. You are perfect for the role. People love listening to you!" Alex assured, his mind going into overdrive as he looked down at his hand still held onto by Ellie. By Yual, is this it? I've... I've made it!

"That's the thing! People just see me as someone who just talks, but there's only so much I can say..." Ellie let go of Alex's hand, flopping back down onto her chair with a sigh. "Do you know how many times I've told injured soldiers and citizens that everything is going to be okay? It feels like a lie sometimes, telling them that the Seven Snakes and enforcers will keep them safe. Look at us, we've been pushed to the brink. The arcade is just a few blocks down that road, and if this line gets pushed any further back..."

Another chirp of the radio prompted her to write down the information again, Alex still reeling from the fact that he had held hands with someone other than his daughter in recent times. Ellie groaned, resting her hands in her hands as she continued. "I just felt like I needed to do something real, something tangible instead of just talking. Damian suggested this position, and it was something I could really do, you know? Not like those fake light-capturer shows. Something that has value."

Note to self: kill Damian after the war. Alex didn't let his anger show on his face, instead nodding in agreement with Ellie. "That's good, but everyone in the Seven Snakes knows you've done enough. If you were to die..."

"Stop talking about me dying, or it being dangerous. Whatever you feel now, I have felt for every single time you do these supply runs." Ellie snapped in anger before her rage subsided rapidly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to get angry, I just..."

"It's fine, all fine. Look, I'll be out of your hair in fifteen minutes, just like you said. We can talk again back at base after your rotation-"

“Oh, right. The water! Come, let me show you.” Ellie got up and grabbed Alex’s hand, leading him into the toilet. “Behold, one of the real tourist attractions of the South Sector – a working shower!”

The sight of a working tap out this far from the mall nearly made Alex forget Ellie was still holding his hand again for the second time. “By Yual, how the hell did you get it to work? I thought the entire water distribution system was down?”

“Well, I guess we got lucky to find a house that was still working!” Ellie presented the shower again with a flourish, in a ‘ta-da’ sort of movement.

“Wow…” Alex murmured to himself before he finally realized that Ellie was still holding his hand tightly, not letting go. As he gripped back firmly, a soothing, calming feeling fell over him, one he had not felt in the last two months of the war. If he had the power to, he would stop time right here and now, savoring the moment. I must be out of my mind, falling in love at the front lines.

An awkward silence fell between the two of them, Alex unsure of what to say. He wasn’t a novice in relationships, but right now, he felt like he was ten years younger, back to his teenage years.

“So… is this the part where you show me your muscles?” Ellie teased.

“You heard that?” Alex couldn’t stop grinning as the two of them got closer to each other, more than just their hands touching each other. Before Alex could take his chance and lean in for a daring kiss, seven sharp bursts of statics erupted from the radio room loud and clear, startling the both of them out of their trance.

“Shit, I need to get that.” Ellie wore a sad smile on her face as she left Alex alone in the toilet, rushing over to the radio room with haste. Alex didn’t begrudge her nor Damian for that this time around – seven bursts was the indication of an emergency order from command. He followed her over, wanting to see what had gimped his chance at love, but the sight of Ellie’s confused expression as she held the receiver to her ear quickly wiped away that thought.

 “What’s wrong?”

"This doesn't make any sense. Damian is saying that the boss is coming."

Alex's mood brightened up tremendously as if Yual himself had descended to save them. "The boss is coming? He must be coming from outside the city! Wait, why aren't you happy?"

"That's the thing, Damian is saying that the boss is coming from the Ardent Cretins' district in a captured wagon along with the Baron and Bishop! And he's coming down this street!"

"Isn't that a good thing?"

"Alex, think for a second. A captured wagon with the boss inside, barreling down right to us, with two VIPs onboard!" Ellie shot back.

Alex's lifted mood dropped as hard as a rock in water when he realized what was about to happen. Instead of showing despair to Ellie, he faked a brave smile, giving a thumbs up. "That just means he's bringing the party to us."

"Except we're the only ones in the area who can respond."

"How long do we have?"

"Ten minutes."

Alex didn't bother trying to impress Ellie anymore, launching himself down the stairwell three steps at a time and shocking the rest in the living room. "The boss is coming, and there are a lot of angry Ardent Cretins chasing his ass. And we're the only ones nearby who can save him. Get up!"

The squad instantly kicked into action, Ollie downing his glass of water in one go and readying his weapons while Alex continued to order. "We need to find a way to cut off the chasing Cretins without killing the boss. Any ideas?"

"We could put some destroyed wagons in the path, shift them out of the way when the boss comes, and then back again," Bola suggested.

"Too slow, the wagons are going to be speeding past us."

"How about we collapse one of the nearby buildings, or drop rubble down?" Ollie pointed out. "There's a few unsteady remnants that we can collapse onto the road in an instant."

"Great idea. Ollie, Bola, Roca, you're with me. The rest of you, cover the vantage points and bring everything you need with you. We're going to rain hell on everything that's coming."

"Alex, are we fighting this alone? What about the other squads?" Ollie asked as he slung a heavy backpack filled with tools on his back. "Are they coming?"

"Ellie will call them in, but you know it's going to take more than ten minutes for them to even get within shooting range. This is all we got. Now move!"

Alex worked with his squad and sprinted out onto the streets, the men following their training as they scanned the various windows. "Over there, that building. Doesn't look occupied." Ollie pointed a finger at an opposite housing complex that was still half-standing. "No idea how we going to collapse them. We don't have any timed explosives on us."

"Then we'll have to bring it down manually. Find out where the weakest point of the building is!" Alex spread out with the other three, checking all of the remaining load-bearing pillars and structural walls of the hollowed-out housing complex. Ollie spotted a few strays hiding out in the rooms, using his own rifle to scare them away.

However, the two kids had no idea how to determine the best part to collapse the building, and Alex hardly expected the hobgoblin to have learned that either. He ran his hand along one of the pillars, looking up and trying to guess the weight distribution of the house. "This is exactly why I told both of you to join the trade school with my daughters! You would have learned this before the war began!"

Ollie rolled his eyes as he met up with Bola who shrugged. "Two kids out here fighting a war, and we're still getting scolded. All is right with the world once more." Bola lamented in a sarcastic tone.

"Shut up. Roca, over here!" Alex called out. "We only have three minutes left. When I give the signal, you smash this pillar from the outside in. Not inside out, you understand? Once you break it, you need to run like Yual himself told you to, you hear me? Otherwise, you'll be buried by the rubble."

"Loud and clear, human boss." Roca nodded. "I'll run like your human king told me to."

"That's not..." Alex was about to complain when a loud explosion erupted in the distance, signaling the imminent arrival of what he could only deem as chaos. "Ollie, Bola, get to a defensive cover. This might be the biggest Cretin force we've seen yet."

The squad dug in, finding nooks and crannies in the surrounding buildings and rubble, while Roca stood at the ready. Alex's radio crackled to life, Ellie's worried voice coming in. [One minute! Damian said he'll be on his way, but it's going to take him ten minutes. Just hold out that long.]

"Easy, we got more than enough pellets to dish out." Alex nodded, aiming down the sights of his repeater as he mounted it on a flat piece of rubble, lying flat in a covered nest of stone and dirt. Sure enough, just as a minute passed, he could hear the signature whir of a wagon approaching fast. He watched as a wagon missing both its doors turned the corner in the distance to enter their street, racing down the rough terrain as its wheels wobbled unsteadily. Already, a few of the spokes were missing, and Alex could see the long flowing hair of the Bishop fly freely out of the driver's seat. At the top of the wagon was a strange armored man, swiveling the mounted repeater to aim right behind the wagon. Is that Kyle?

A split second later, another Ardent Cretin wagon popped up around the same corner, in hot pursuit of Kyle's wagon. Ollie let out a burst of laughter near Alex, unable to control his joy. "Biggest Cretin force? There's only one-"

Ollie was forced to eat his words as more than a dozen Ardent Cretin wagons turned around the bend, blanketing the background of Kyle's wagon. Each of them sported a mounted repeater, manned by fanatic fighters who showered Kyle's wagon in a withering storm of pellets. Alex didn't stop to ask himself how Kyle's wagon survived this long, instead shouting into the radio as hard as he could. "Fire everything! EVERYTHING!"

The squad was more than happy to comply, opening fire immediately on the chasing wagons from the distances. Kyle himself was on the top, firing the mounted repeater non-stop at the chasing wagons.

One of them attempted to pull up, but Kyle shot the driver dead through the glass window, railing his body with dozens of pellets. The dead driver's wagon swerved off to the side, crashing into a half-broken lamppost and bursting into flames. Kyle was about to choose his next target, but a sudden ditch in the street threw the entire wagon off balance, the Bishop unable to control the car anymore. They were sent hurtling through midair, still a distance away from Alex's squad.

"Roca, now!" Alex roared

"But they not here-"

"It takes time to fall. NOW! That's an order!"

Roca grunted, flexing his arms and slamming both his palms into the pillars as hard as he could. Cracks appeared along the seam of the concrete as the hobgoblin roared out, but it wasn't enough. Before Alex could step in to help, Roca let out a battle cry and charged right at the pillar with his full body weight, finally crashing through the entire pillar.

Alex watched as Kyle's wagon narrowly slipped past just as the collapsing housing complex fell down in mere seconds, blocking off the entire road. The chasing wagons immediately hit the brakes, but the front ones were going too fast, slamming right into the new pile of rubble and blowing up their own engines. To Alex's surprise, the Cretins didn't give up, immediately scaling the pile of rubble and charging over the peak. "OPEN FIRE!" Alex bellowed, the squad unleashing a barrage of unforgiving death in the form of pellets.

The Cretins were caught off-guard, more than a dozen instantly dying in the harrowing crossfire out in the open. The smarter ones clambered back over the pile, rejoining their men and beating a hasty retreat. Alex let out a sigh of relief as he watched half of the Cretin wagons begin to retreat. "Hell yeah, we've beat them back!" Ollie cheered as he joined Alex out in the street. "Us! Me!"

"Don't get ahead of yourself. They are only retreating because they don't have proper support. They'll be attacking soon enough! Go back to your position while I talk to the boss." Alex warned, making sure his squad didn't budge an inch. No one knew when the Cretins would be attacking again, but he wasn't about to let his guard down. He approached the crashed wagon, its engine and wheels wrecked by the momentary flight through the air. Leaning against it with an outstretched hand was Baron Cain, who was currently busy emptying his guts from the disorientating ride. As he met the gaze of the armored exosuit, Alex immediately performed a salute. "Welcome back, Boss!"

"Good to be back, Alex. Where are the others?" Kyle asked.

"Damian is on the way with backup, he's bringing the whole force over." Alex explained, trying hard not to show his internal elation. He knows me by name!

"Belay that order. I want all the vipers and cobras present in Raktor to gather back in the arcade. Send a message to Keith and ask him to send over a new wagon, and begin clearing a large street."

"A large street?"

"One big enough to fit five wagons along its width. The weapons factory's street would do."

"Yes, sir, I'll send it over the radio." Alex saluted.

"One more thing." Kyle stopped Alex before he went to relay the message. "Make sure to tell the rest I'm back."

"You got it, boss." Alex nodded with excitement, immediately running off back to where the overjoyed Ellie was still waiting in the scout outpost. He tuned the radio dial to the broadcast channel, hurriedly speaking quickly into the microphone.

[Kyle has returned to Raktor. I repeat: Kyle has returned to Raktor!]