Chapter 156 - Battle of Tenar (2)

Chaos ruled on the streets of Tenar, burning wrecks of overturned wagons and smashed ration outposts littered the sidewalks. Opportunistic citizens scoured the wreckages for any rations available, while children cried and wandered about, looking for their long-dead parents. All around the smoky ruins of shelled and bombed buildings were loud echoes of wagon-mounted speakers playing through the city.

[ Please remain at home for your own safety. Anyone caught stealing or looting shall be treated as terrorists and dealt with accordingly. ] A speaker blared from the top of an armored wagon as Versian soldiers patrolled the main avenues of the bombed-out districts, while emergency services ran to and fro, helping victims of shelling and bombings from the Aurtla planes high above.

General Verian herself was on the ground, directing recovery efforts to the worst hit districts. "I need two more medical teams here, set up a temporary station in that square over there. You, send a squad of guards to make sure no one tries to steal the medical supplies!" She issued orders rapidly, herself helping out to unload crate after crate into the temporary relief tents meant to help Versian citizens. However, her radio suddenly came alive, and a panicked city garrison guard shouted on the channel.

[General, we have reports of convoys attempting to leave through the northern gate!]

"WHAT?! Who authorized the evacuation?"

[ Not sure, but they are threatening to shoot us if we do not comply! ]

"Under no circumstances are you to open that gate for any reason until I get there, understood?!" General Verian roared back into the radio, snapping her fingers to get the attention of a nearby officer. "Assemble two platoons right now and head to the northern gate. There are Versians trying to evacuate the city without prior approval!"

General Verian got onto a wagon with other officers, the wagon speeding through the rubble-filled streets as it swerved and dodged potholes. It took them five minutes to reach the reported location, where she spotted a long chain of wagons in a convoy, all of them labeled with the logo of Harrison Industries. She jumped off the wagon, readying her own handgun as she stormed up to the leader of the convoy, a man she knew very well. "Nox. Who told you you could leave the city?"

"Harrison's orders, ma'am. And as far as I'm concerned, his orders are above yours for me. You either open the city gates and let the convoy through, or we're going to have problems." Nox motioned behind him to the large city gate and barricades blocking the exit route.

"You can't be serious. You're leaving with an entire division of soldiers to Ulut?! If you joined us at the frontlines-"

"As much as I respect you, General Verian, you're not my employer. Harrison is. If he says retreat, I will retreat."

"So you're just a dog for hire."

"Same goes for you," Nox grunted in response. "This doesn't need to get ugly, Verian."

"President Mornero has already issued an order that no one gets in or out of the city, not while we're under siege! And last I check, Harrison is still a Versian citizen."

"Open the gates, Verian." Nox didn't budge, staring General Verian down.

General Verian didn't give an answer immediately, instead backing off while calling President Mornero directly. "Sir, Harrison's scientists and mercenaries are leaving the city? Do I let them?"

[ Are you insane?! We need their manpower and expertise to fend off the siege! Losing them would be tantamount to surrender. Stop them at all costs! ]

"Understood, President." General Verian nodded to herself, ending the call. "You two, round up as many guards as you can. I want this whole convoy surrounded." She ordered the officers nearby.

As she walked back to Nox, she could sense Nox already tensing up, preparing for battle. "Nox, relax. I've talked to the President and he's considering his options. Nobody needs to get hurt."

"Don't try to fake it, Verian. I know you're calling the other troops. You have five seconds to open the gate or I'm forcing my way through. Fiv-"

Before Nox could even begin his countdown, a sudden explosion incinerated one of the Harrison Industries Wagon, sending the cabin flying sky high with smoke trailing it from behind. Neither him nor General Verian could react to the ensuing chaos, a firefight breaking out as the wagon came under fire.

General Verian immediately stepped back as Nox launched an armshield strike at her face, the deadly poisonous tip threatening to immobilize her while he followed up with a left kick aimed at her ribs. Instead of the kick following through into bone and flesh, Nox felt a thud of metal, the grinning General Verian grabbing his leg and flinging him into the nearby storefront, crashing through a display window filled with defunct toys.

"Sorry, Nox. Orders are to stop you at all costs. Guess my men got a bit jumpy." General Verian cracked her neck, preparing to fight as she suddenly swerved to the side, narrowly dodging a poisonous dagger that shot past her face. "Looks like you got some new tricks."

"And you should get the fuck out of my way before I dismember you." Nox snarled as he pushed off a crate of toys that was pinning him down, his right arm shield missing the poisonous tip now.

"Big talk for someone who can't even live without his armor." General Verian taunted, only to see the enraged Nox charging right at her with abandon. They exchanged blows, General Verian's keen eyes making sure not to touch any of the poisonous tips, taking great care to avoid even the hidden blade locked within Nox's legs.

Just as Nox pulled back his arm to unleash a devastating strike, he felt a strong punch slam into his ribcage, the armor absorbing some of the impact. However, the force was enough to knock him off balance, rendering him incapable of fending off the incoming onslaught of rapid punches. He quickly activated the searing heat on the surface of his armor, the temperature skyrocketing. Unfortunately, General Verian was not deterred in the slightest, ignoring her smoldering knuckles as she continued to pressure Nox head-on.

"This heat is nothing, boy!" General Verian unleashed a flurry of jabs and strikes right onto the same spot, before finally breaking off a fragment of Nox's armor. The exposed ribcage revealed a sore and rotten skin festering with plaque, as though the chest had suffered some sort of terrible chemical burn that encompassed his entire body.

General Verian grunted as she kicked Nox further into the toy store, blowing on her scalded knuckles to cool them down. "Stay down Nox, I'll rather not kill you."

"Fuck you!" Nox spat a glob of blood and saliva through his half-broken helmet, his mutilated face beneath already showing as the engravings sputtered, unable to absorb any more kinetic energy.

"Suit yourself." General Verian lunged forward, repeatedly punching Nox's head in before slamming it into the ground of the toy store, cratering his shattered helmet into the checkerboard floor. Nox tried to fight back, only to earn himself five more punches right into his disfigured nose that knocked him out cold.

Dragging the unconscious Nox out back into the open, she met up with the same two officers from before while the firefight was still raging all around them. "Strip his armor and drag him back to the parliament's jail. Have we subjugated the rest of the convoy?"

The answer to General Verian's question came in yet another sudden explosion, yet another Harrison Industries wagon blowing up from an unknown strike. "Which soldier is attacking the wagons?! I want them captured, not destroyed!" General Verian bellowed over the din of the firefight.

"Ma'am, it's not us, it's another attacker!"

"What?!" General Verian finally spotted the other enemy through the confusion and chaos. The Ghosts, they are taking advantage of the confusion! "Stop them, we need the wagons!"

The northern district just in front of the city gate devolved into a brutal firefight as a three-way fight ensued, Nest vs Ghost vs Versians. The city gates shuddered under the blow of another explosion, an opening blasted open just large enough for wagons to escape through, albeit one by one.

General Verian was about to order for troops to give chase but soon noticed that the Ghosts were also stealing supplies from broken down wagons, smuggling them into the district. "Stop them! Get every Versian guard here now!"

"Ma'am, we can't do that! There are reports of attacks at the arcia fuel depots and other districts - if we bring the soldiers here, then we will lose our advantage elsewhere."

"Then get me the Volunteer Corps! I want this entire district surrounded from the top to the bottom!"

The resulting firefight laid waste to the surrounding buildings, setting them ablaze as more and more Versians lost their homes, having to flee the massacre that was spreading like wildfire. However, escaping families only found themselves stopped by the Volunteer Corps, who were basically roaming gangs of teenage bandits robbing them blind and leaving them for dead. An hour passed as General Verian vainly tried to reel back the situation, but by the time the fire had subsided, more than a third of the convoy had already left the city while another third was destroyed.

"Fifteen wagons are missing. The Ghosts have stolen them. Declare martial law in the city and lockdown every district! Everyone who isn't a Versian soldier or a member of the Volunteer Corps is to be shot on sight!" General Verian issued a city-wide declaration, mobilizing nearly everyone on the military roster. Squads swept the streets in a widespread suppression campaign in a bid to root out the Ghosts, while unfortunate citizens who were scavenging for food were targeted and labeled by Ghosts. Each of them was arrested and lined up on the streets, shot dead by shooting squads while their bodies began to pile up at the feet of President Johan's statue in the central square.

The lucky ones fled further away from the center, where they banded together and tried to resist the martial law. "The soldiers want us to return home for our safety, but we have no more rations at home, only for my wife to be shot while trying to get some! This is madness!" A Versian citizen wailed to the others who had escaped. "I don't care if I'm a Ghost or not - I want to live! And if fighting back for food is what it'll take, then I'll fight! Who's with me!"

Just like that, the citizens who suffered under the brutal suppression campaign were radicalized more and more, while opportunistic Ghosts sought out pockets of said radicals, handing them the very same weapons and supplies stolen from the Harrison Industries convoy. "Mornero was the one who captured and tortured Johan and Dekar! He is a warmonger and the one who started all of this!" The Ghosts spread the rumors through the city, sparking more and more bouts of uprisings. Workers and technicians alike refused to work any longer with the military, while other small groups of Versian guards completely switched over, dismayed by the brutality levied upon the people by the army.

To counter the rising tide of rebellion, President Mornero hurriedly issued a presidential address to rally the people together. [Fellow Versians, today, the war has reached the capital. Do not be swayed by those who claim to love Versia, yet attack our city in our time of need. There is nothing to gain by fighting amongst ourselves while the enemy is at our gate! I call on every loyal Versian to stand up and defend our rights. Those who sabotage us want us to be subjugated under the Yual Dominion! Stand up! Join the Volunteer Corps, and defend our city!]

The rallying call worked, with the more patriotic citizens taking up their personal weapons and bolstering the numbers of the Volunteer Corps. Neighbours became enemies, and long time colleagues fought on opposing sides as the chaos spread even further.

“Dogs of Mornero! You follow a false leader who is corrupting Versia from within! Surrender now!” The radicals and Ghosts hollered on loudspeakers captured from the army, attempting to crush the morale of the soldiers and volunteer corps.

“Fuck you! You just want to see us under Count Leon’s foot! If you like him so much, why don’t you go and suck his dick?!” A Volunteer Corp member taunted back, the clashes erupting all across the city becoming even more and more violent, disrupting the movements of the military more than ever as they got caught up in firefights.

The radicals were all armed to the teeth thanks to the supply by the Ghosts, going toe to toe with the military, running guerrilla attacks on patrol squads and district headquarters. Bit by bit, the Versian Army began to lose ground, slowly receding back from the outskirts of the city and concentrating in the center. President Mornero was losing his mind when a surprising announcement came in over the radio.

[Citizen of Versia, this is President Dekar, the true legitimate successor of President Johan. I do not shy away from the war to win Versia, unlike the cowardly Mornero who hides away in his parliament and his office. I stand tall and proud, leading the charge from the front. CITIZENS! ALL WHO ARE WEARY, AND TIRED OF THE WAR! RALLY TO ME, AND WE SHALL HERALD A NEW VERSIA!] Dekar roared from the top of a captured wagon, spotted easily by Versian scouts from afar.

"Capture him, capture him right now! Send all our men to take him down!" President Mornero urged General Verian frantically over the radio. "I don't care how many soldiers you need, take him out now!"

The Versian Army surged forward, concentrating on the district that Dekar had been spotted at. Yet they were faced with a throng of thousands of citizens shouting in unison, each armed with weapons as they flung rocks and bottles at the Versian soldiers. The Versian soldiers hesitated to attack until the moment a volunteer corp member was shot dead by a Ghost, all hell breaking loose. Cobblestones along the streets ran red with streaming blood as both sides fought to the death, jostling for supremacy and control over every single alleyway.

General Verian oversaw the suppression directly from the passenger seat of a wagon, while her mind was racing through the possible scenarios that the enemies had in mind. Dekar is the head of the rebellion. Yet he's showing himself blatantly for all to see. A single pellet could kill him outright, but he is still showing off... there must be a reason-

Realization dawned on her face, as she hurriedly slapped the driver of the wagon. "Bring me back to the parliament immediately, and recall all of the Versian commandos right this instant."

The driver immediately complied, speeding her back to the parliament's entrance, where she rushed back up to the President's office. "Sir, are you alright?"

"General Verian? What the hell are you doing back here?! You're supposed to be out there capturing that damned Dekar!" Mornero questioned.

"President, I believe that the enemy is aiming for a decapitation strategy. The attacks are too random, and Dekar is serving as the perfect distraction."

"What are you trying to say? Get to the point!"

"For every successful coup, the seat of power must be controlled quickly if the city is to be captured. As such, the attacks are a mere diversion - they are aiming for your head!"

"What?!" Mornero shot up from his seat. "Pull as many forces as you can back now!"

"Already done, si-" Just as General Verian replied, the glass windows of the office shattered as a mortar round slammed through, blowing up on the ground and blasting paper and weak wooden tables around in a swirling storm.

She instinctively used his speed to quickly push Mornero down onto the ground as a few more mortar rounds came in. The resulting fragments ricocheted across the room and threatened to pierce Mornero while she blocked a few stray ones with her own body, bearing the pain.

At the same time, the sounds of fighting had finally reached the palace, with explosions and gunfire rocking the area. [Sir, there’s more than five hundred of them here!]

“Fend them off!” General Verian hauled Mornero up to his feet, rushing over to the side of the room and pressing a button, revealing an elevator that led to an underground bunker. She did not enter with Mornero, instead sending Mornero down alone, while he readied himself to clear the parliament building. "Where are my commandos?"

"Enroute, arriving within a minute!"

As she stepped out of the office and entered the main corridors, the guards were already engaged in a fierce firefight in various other sections of the palace. The once grand hallways of the palace with lavish red paint were now riddled with pellet holes and residual soot from explosions, with the black stain creeping onto the ceiling with every fight. The government workers screamed and cowered under their desks, hoping to survive the fight while other ministers were being led by Versian guards to the underground bunker as well.

General Verian laid her eyes on the attacking Ghosts that were now charging down the hallway. "Stop them!" She roared, rallying the surviving guards and firing a few shots back herself. Her presence buoyed the morale of the guards even more, and the arrival of Versian commandos from the rear of the parliament helped to bolster the defense even more. Bit by bit, the attacking Ghosts were forced further and further back until they were pinned into the main entrance, the Versian guards entrenching themselves behind fallen luxurious furniture and ornate tables to serve as cover.

Before General Verian could command another push, a deafening sound erupted across the marble walls, an explosive round firing right at her head. She ducked instinctively, the railgun shot slamming into the wall behind her before exploding wildly, the shockwave disorientating the guards.

She tried to stop the ringing in her ears, but her eyes suddenly spotted the glint of a blue crescent blade slicing towards her neck. She raised her arms to block the incoming attack, stopping it dead in its tracks as her uniform shredded apart from the sharp edge to reveal an armored forearm beneath. Sparks glittered as General Verian felt herself sliding backward from the force, her eyes locking onto the lady wielding the crescent blade. "You!"

The lady didn't respond, immediately twirling the crescent blade to slice off the arms of a nearby guard who tried to shoot her. Just as the lady readied her weapon again, General Verian was already on the attack, shooting forward like a meteor with the force of a mountain, her fist slamming right into the shaft of the crescent blade head-on. The lady's knees buckled under the sheer force of the punch, the floor cracking beneath her feet.

"You think I don't know you, Sasha of the Ghosts?! You're the one who killed my father! I've seen you before, fleeing the scene!" General Verian roared, her face contorted in rage as she grabbed the crescent blade with her other freehand, trying to yank it free.

To General Verian's surprise, Sasha didn't relent, holding on firmly before shoving General Verian back into a stagger. Sasha leapt backwards, sliding behind a destroyed table and picking up a repeater. Without hesitation, she aimed it at the General and fired everything in the canister, the stream of pellets shooting right at her.

Instead of dodging the oncoming pellets, General Verian merely grinned as she took it head-on with her chest, the pellets bouncing off the armor hidden beneath the uniform. Sasha tried to find another repeater, but instead she saw an entire velvet couch being flung at her. She instinctively brandished her crescent blade, slicing the couch in half only to reveal General Verian's fist barrelling right towards her face. With no time to dodge, Sasha used her forearm to bear the brunt of the punch, her arms going numb from the impact as waves of jolting pain shot up her nerves.

Sasha leaped up to her feet, dodging yet another punch as she retreated to the side of the Ghosts, the surrounding Ghosts immediately targeting the General, with one of them even firing a railgun shot. Sasha half-expected General Verian to be gutted like a fish, but instead a glistening relic shield emerged, the explosive round detonating uselessly on the bubble-like surface.

"Pathetic. I’ve waited so long for this moment, but what can you really expect from someone who didn't dare to kill my father head-on?!" General Verian taunted. "If you have the guts, then face me like a warrior!"

Sasha merely cocked her head in confusion, instead leaping up onto a nearby ledge before dashing off into the hallway behind, bypassing the defensive lines that the commandos and guards had set up. "Coward! COME BACK HERE!" General Verian roared, giving chase to her. However, Sasha was simply too fast for her, forcing General Verian to take out a strange vial filled with glittering sand, swallowing its contents. Fiery rage coursed through her veins as her muscles enlarged, her vision clouding with a battle trance unlike any other. With a single leap that cracked the marble tiles, she lunged forward at a surprising speed that even caught Sasha off-guard, forcing Sasha to stop and block the incoming blows.

The sudden increase in combat ability was too much for Sasha to bear, Sasha pushing herself to the limit to block each incoming punch. It was like fighting a wild monster, except the wild monster was sapient enough to fake moves and feint attacks, forcing Sasha's mind to run into overdrive. Each of their blows caused cracks in the surrounding walls and floors, Sasha slashing furiously with the crescent blade at every opening she had. As she narrowly ducked under General Verian's punch, she spotted a clear opportunity to strike, raising the crescent blade high above before slicing it down in a killer slash toward the shoulders.

Unfortunately, the blade cut deep into the flesh but stopped short of the bone. Instead, General Verian yanked the blade out of her shoulders, tugging it with a force that sent Sasha sprawling onto the ground. Before Sasha could get up, General Verian's foot was already above her head, preparing to stamp down. Sasha rolled out of the way and resumed a fighting stance as the furious stomp left a crater on the floor. Her eyes darted to the crescent blade that had been snatched from her grip, now in General Verian's hands.

"Nice weapon. But as long as I live, you're not getting anywhere near the President." General Verian grinned, the veins on her face bulging from the battle potion while her eyes burned with adrenaline.

<Shue, Yul, Uryag, Golus, Kiear, Samki Polwa Erix> Sasha didn't back down, flexing her fists as glowing arcia lines began to snake down her arms, empowering her strikes with a sinister red glow, forming rings like a ceremonial bracelet.

"So you can talk after all." General Verian snorted. "What a surprise. I'll write that on your tombstone!"

The two charged at each other, locking heads in an intense battle. With a strong upper kick, Sasha accurately targetted the weak point of the wrist of General Verian's hands, forcing the General to drop the crescent blade while she followed up with a series of direct palm strikes, each sending ripples through the body of General Verian. The tremors caused the General to choke, her own blood seeping out from her mouth, nose and ears as her organs were ruptured by the empowered strikes.

General Verian collapsed to one knee, panting heavily as she tried to wipe the blood streaming down her cheeks, only to see a knee from Sasha smashing into her face directly, her nose caving in while she was sent tumbling. Crashing into the wall, General Verian could only watch on as Sasha resumed her original goal, picking up the fallen crescent blade and walking towards the presidential office.

No,no,no! Not like this! General Verian glanced back to the main entrance, seeing her own men get pushed back. "Men, now's the time! Do it!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, her words carrying over the fight.

The Versian commandos immediately took battle potions as well, ignoring whatever injuries they had accumulated and fighting with the valor of heroes. The battle trances made them more ferocious than ever, preventing the Ghosts from even gaining a single inch of ground.

Still, General Verian still wasn't going to be able to stop Sasha like this. She fished out yet another vial that somehow had not been crushed in the fight, popping the cork and drinking it again, letting the surge of the battle potion envelop her once more. The pain on her face disappeared, and she felt herself more invigorated than ever, her bloodied vision clearing up. "THIS ISN'T OVER!!" She roared out.

Sasha turned around, expecting to see a half-dead General Verian. Instead, her eyes widened as she watched the body of General Verian mutate violently, her arm twisting into a monstrous elongated reddish arm lined with spikes, while half of her head had been transformed into a ghastly reddish demon-like visage, yellow slit-like pupils glaring at her. Before Sasha could react, the elongated arm lashed forward, the spikes gashing across her right leg in the blink of an eye.

"HAHA! TRUE STRENGTH!" The intoxicated General Verian reveled in her newfound might, lashing out again with the elongated arm at Sasha. Sasha frantically raised her crescent blade, blocking the blow as the force had her skid backward more than five meters.

Sasha dropped to one knee, panting as her head shuddered from the blow. She mustered all her strength to raise her crescent blade again, but the third attack knocking it cleanly out of her hands as it clattered to the floor far out of reach while her own body sprawled onto the ground.

"Father, I now avenge you!" General Verian roared, raising the elongated arm. But instead of slamming it down on the incapacitated Sasha, the arm instinctively lunged behind the General Verian, bending over in a disjointed fashion. General Verian turned around to see her arm held in place by an armored man's iron grip, the spikes on the elongated arm hardly leaving a scratch on the glowing blue arcia lines accentuating the black metallic armor.

"I wasn't expecting aliens anytime soon. Certainly not the parasitic ones." Kyle muttered under his breath as he tightened his grip, crushing the elongated arm with a copious amount of blood gushing out from the new stump. The moment General Verian recoiled back, Kyle closed the distance in three large strides, stabbing forward with the Spear of Defiance in three locations, spent crystals clattering to the floor.

Before General Verian could even launch a counterattack, the delayed explosions from within blasted her body parts into smithereens, ending her disfigured life in a shower of blood and gore.

MG404: [System Message | You killed General Verian (Mutated) | +5000 EXP ]

Impressive amounts of EXP. Kyle bent down to pick up the empty battle potion vial that was still on the ground, inspecting it.

MG404: [Item | Violet Demon Mutation Potion | Imparts rage at low dosages, chance to transform race and class at higher dosages| Warning: Irreversible.]

Violet Demons?! Kyle kept the vial, having no time to worry about the implications of such a potion. He quickly ran up to the wounded Sasha, healing her slightly with the Necklace of Healing and handing her a health potion.

[Sir... the guards?]

"I've dealt with them," Kyle replied as the rest of the attacking Ghosts joined them in the hallway.

[...Count Leon's knights! They are-]

"Dead. I've killed them all in the catacombs." Kyle smiled. "Count Leon still thinks we're on his side. All that's left now is capturing Mornero and Harrison."

Kyle let Sasha recover outside while he and the other Ghosts entered the president's office, though they found nobody there at all. "Search the bookshelves, look for any unique mechanisms." They turned over every piece of furniture and bookshelf, checking the walls and seams for any hidden nook and cranny before one of the Ghosts finally found the secret elevator door.

"Hold the parliament. Get Dekar over here safely, and secure every known bunker in the parliament. I want all ministers gathered and tied up by the time I'm done." Kyle ordered, bringing two other Ghosts with him down into the elevator, prepared for any traps.

As soon as the elevator reached the bottom, it opened to reveal an underground hallway, guarded by two Versian commandos. They barely had a chance to shout as the two Ghosts shot them right in the head, their bodies collapsing with a soft thud as Kyle walked past without care, opening the door at the end of the hallway to reveal a frantic Mornero holding a handgun to his head in a stocked bunker room.

"So this is it. You'll never take me aliv-" Monero's words were caught in his throat as a sudden gust of air blasted past him, Kyle using the acceleration engraving to close the gap in an instant. Kyle grabbed him by the collar, lifting him like a ragdoll and slamming him against the wall, forcing Mornero to drop the arctech pistol. The other two Ghosts swept the rows of stocked supplies on metal shelving, ensuring that there wasn't anyone else.

Mornero gagged, coming face to face with Kyle, though Mornero’s face still remained defiant. “Do it! Kill me!” Mornero spat through bloodied teeth.

“After everything you have done to us? Oh, you're not going to get off that easy. And I think my friend Dekar has a lot of things to say to you.”