Rockets, missiles, and energy beams were unleashed from the ranks of the Resistance. It was as if the stars themselves suddenly came from the dark cosmos that surrounded the ranks of the enemy. Hit after hit, each projectile slammed itself into the shield that surrounded the position of the Reclamation Army. The entire enemy army disappeared behind the rising sea of flame. Even at the shield station's wall, the smell of smoke and the strange smell of ozone could be felt. Flames licked the edges of the humming shield, forming a half sphere before the forces of the state. Energy spheres were unleashed from the enemy ranks, running across the grounds and detonating mines hidden in the ground.
Then the Reclamation Army batteries started talking back. Aranea was unsure if this was because enemy forces had begun moving, because someone had received data from radar, or because someone panicked. But the flame in front of the shield was torn asunder as massive shells charged inside, bypassing the shield as if it were never there to begin with. Following the artillery rounds came fire from missile batteries located on three crawlers, massive mobile vehicles located behind the main base of the Reclamation Army in Chokepoint A. New explosions became visible among the swirling smoke on the horizon. Aranea felt violent shaking underneath her legs. And yet, even through this infernal cacophony, she could sense the strange tremors from before, slowly increasing in strength. The fiery hell of fire, explosions, and smoke was on the horizon, as the enemy continued to fire at the shield in vain. The state's technology allowed objects to leave the shield while blocking everything coming in at high speed from the outside.
This was the key word. Rapidly. The news was delivered via radio chatter. The enemy force was advancing. Through the rain of shells, explosions of missiles, and fire on the ground, enemy forces were moving out. The troops advanced on the state's positions, shielded by their own shield carriers. Here and there, shells bypassed the smaller shields of the enemy, maiming and killing some of the soldiers within. Beams of energy were unleashed from the land troops of the Resistance, exploding hidden mines across the enemy's path. Aranea looked at the foes in disbelief. No matter what else these people were, they were not cowards.
Aranea blinked when a text message came to her helmet.
"Sorry for being an asshole. If I end up dying, please ensure that they cremate my body, say sorry to my dad and mom, and please keep an eye on my pack. Stay safe." This message was from Olesya. Aranea quickly messaged her, asking how she was, but no other answer came from her friend.
A loud buzzing was heard when the numerous shields from the carriers came into contact with the main shield across the Reclamation Army’s positions. Despite the blinding light and sounds from explosions on both sides, the light show and buzzing sounds that happened as a result of this encounter dwarfed everything else. Places where enemy shield carriers tore through the shield of the state reminded Aranea of times when she looked directly at the sun, back when she was just a stupid cub competing with other children. The bulk of the carriers pushed through the shield, some of the mighty machines were blown up by the state's precise fire, but the vast majority of them pushed forward. Countless soldiers marched along with them. The warriors of the Bento tribe ignored the most grievous injuries, some of them lost limbs, some had their heads dangling from their shoulders. And still on they come, unafraid, cheering themselves up with loud screams. They were advancing directly toward the center of the Reclamation Army, to the place where Janine was making her stand.
The figure in the blue power armor marched before the forces of the Bento tribe. The shell pierced the shield above her and hit directly under her legs. As smoke cleared, Aranea saw that Jekaterina barely noticed this explosion, she advanced without stopping, her scythe in both hands. Followed by her royal guards, she marched toward the trenches. She was met with overwhelming fire as rows of soldiers rose from trenches, firing their weapons. Gunfire, discharges of energy weaponry, grenades… Everything was tried. The massive cyborgs near Jekaterina unleashed their own portable shields, overlapping and forming another bubble around the form of Jekaterina and themselves. Like the tip of a spear, they charged forward, breaking into a burst of movement from their slow advance. When Jekaterina appeared above the soldiers, the Reaper of Lies made a blinding motion, slicing through both armor and bones, leaving dead in her wake as she charged forward, seemingly uncaring about the countless foes before her. She sliced through the wall of the bunker, stepping inside for a moment. And at that moment, all life inside was killed, and she moved forward.
The tank, entrenched in the ground, took aim and fired at Jekaterina, but with a single swing of her scythe, she sliced both incoming projectiles in two. Cyborgs charged forward, hitting the tank with enough force to move it back, breaking the armored glass window and killing the soldier before it. Next came the swing of the scythe, a cruel strike that sliced through armor. People inside the tank screamed for mercy, and Jekaterina heeded their pleas, slicing the tank in half with a single great swing of her weapon, allowing the mighty vehicle's remains to fall as she moved on. People who surrendered were ignored by cyborgs of the Bento tribe, the soldiers in the forward trenches, meanwhile, were swarmed by enemies and were either taken apart or shot to death. Only those who surrendered were left alive. Flying drones arrived to rain death on the advancing enemy forces, but cyborgs from the heavy assault team merely threw their fists up, and energy was unleashed from their hands. The drones suddenly experienced a malfunction and began raining on the ground.
Aranea heard a growl on the Wolf Tribe channel as Janine moved out. This was not a growl of anger. No, instead it was a growl of anticipation, the warlord saw a target worthy of her notice on the field of battle. The large form charged forward, toward the center of the defenders. Jekaterina was like a knife that was slicing deeper and deeper into the body of the Reclamation Army. While other places held on, none could stand against her. No more. The warlord abandoned her post in the passage, charging at the single foe who could present a threat big enough to the state. Two guards of Jekaterina stood in front of the warlord, two enormous cyborgs whose power Aranea knew all too well. And yet they were nothing to the warlord. A single slice of the axe cleaved through both bodies, breaking through shields and reaching vulnerable brains inside the massive bulk of machines. While her guards fell to the ground, Jekaterina turned to face her new opponent.
The axe, known as the Taleteller, crashed against the Reaper of Lies. Two weapons from a bygone era collided and neither broke nor bent. An incoming boom of sound was heard across the entire battlefield. The incoming shockwave from the terrifying clash caused even cyborgs to move backwards, leaving traces on the ground. The cyborgs quickly recovered as Jekaterina and Janine still tried to match each other's strength. Their large frames moved out, aiming to kill the warlord. And then they backed off when ten new black forms joined the carnage. Ten shamans, personal guards of Janine for this mission, joined the combat, crashing into the massive metal forms. Smaller cyborgs were to them what normal soldiers were to giant cyborgs. Ants are to be crushed underneath their feet. And crushed they were. The heavy assault team of the Bento tribe came face to-face with shamans of the Wolf Tribe, and neither side would back down. Sounds of tearing metal were heard in the place where both opposing forces faced each other. Blood, oil, and sparks were splashed in all sides.
And in the middle of this, the leader of the Soultakers faced Janine. The Taleteller was telling his story, only to be blocked by the Reaper of Lies. Each swing of Jekaterina was matched by a hit from the warlord, and each cleaving strike of the warlord was blocked by Jekaterina. Aranea could not believe her eyes. They were evenly matched.
No. The wolf hag came to a realization. Janine was pushed back after taking a full scythe swing at the axe shaft, leaving traces in the stone ground. Jekaterina was stronger. Janine growled in approval, looking at her foe.
The warrior in the blue armor stopped. Her left hand reached for her helmet, removing it from her head and placing it on her belt. Her long hair was gathered into a tight knot behind her head. Jekaterina's face still had the same cold beauty as before. She was just like Janine now, also without a helmet. The warlord looked confused for a moment, seeing how Jekaterina took the scythe in her right hand. Instead of a double grip, she was holding it with one hand now, mirroring the way Janine held her own weapon. The cold, emotionless face looked at the foe before her.
This was a challenge. The soldiers nearby tried to take aim at Jekaterina, but only found their hands sliced off when the Soultakers’ leader moved her weapon with a blindingly fast speed, creating a trembling afterimage in the air with her weapon. The giant cyborg that tried to sneak behind Janine for a sudden attack, only found himself crushed under the warlord's feet, right after Janine turned around and sliced through his knees. Jekaterina could have easily tried to injure Janine during this, yet she patiently waited for the warlord to turn back.
A circle of free space appeared around Jekaterina and Janine when the two leaders faced each other. Two warriors used their two-handed weapons with a single hand. Their forms became statues for a whole two seconds as each opponent looked for an opening while around them the chaos of battle reigned. None was found by either of the fighters, and so they attacked each other. Even with the crimson eye of Aranea, she utterly failed to notice their initial movements. To her eye, they both became tornadoes of steel, one black, one blue, and crashed into each other, causing an explosion of sound that threw away the nearby soldiers, cyborgs, and shamans. Violence honed by centuries faced the cold perfection of Jekaterina. Janine was excited at the prospect of facing an equal opponent, yet there was just a look of boredom on her opponent’s face. Each cruel strike of the axe was blocked or parried, as if a spear the scythe was approaching, leaving small scratches on Janine's armor. With just one hand, Jekaterina matched the warlord blow for blow, the Reaper of Lies and the Taleteller failed to overcome each other. Janine threw her left arm forward to cover the enemy in the searing hot flame of the flamecaster, two red diamonds were moved above the flamecaster's barrel. Jekaterina grabbed Janine’s hand with her own, not allowing the weapon to be aimed at her. Both melee weapons were locked in a struggle between two fighters, not allowing Janine enough space to bite her opponent.
The warlord growled angrily and pushed, causing Jekaterina to take at least one step back. Jaws spread wide, releasing a roar filled with hate into the face of Jekaterina, hoping to stun her with sound long enough. Instead, the enemy used this very moment to push Janine back. Both opponents were now far away enough to use their weapons again, and a whirlwind of roaring steel and loud noise once again appeared between the two foes.
Jekaterina was strong. Aranea had never met anyone who was more powerful than she was. Was this a result of her power?
I am wrong. Aranea had understood. This was not power. These were the skills, polished to the very highest level. Supported by one of the strongest abnormal bodies that Aranea had ever seen in her life, the combination of innate talent, persistent training, and physical ability came together to produce such an incredible result. The wolf hag wondered if even legendary warlords like Alpha or Foulsnout could match this physical strength. What Jekaterina was doing right now appeared to be impossible, and it should have been impossible. Janine trained her right arm each day. She had been fighting since her birth. Before, only two opponents could stand up to the full force of her axe swing. Now the warlord has met a third person, someone who is far younger than her. The center of battle began to move south again, as Jekaterina was efficiently and calmly pushing Janine back step by step with mighty swings of the scythe. Jekaterina grabbed her scythe by the shaft, near the blade, and used it as a close ranged weapon now, closing in on Janine. The Soultakers' leader was still stubbornly not using her left hand.
Meanwhile, the attack of the Soultakers was slowing down. Initially, their hover tanks crashed into the ranks of Reclaimers, using their weapons to cleave the path for infantry. And yet, the soldiers of the state refused to back down, supported by the fire from artillery and from the nearby vehicles, they held their ranks. Flying UAVs moved from the skies, taking advantage of the fact that the enemy lacked an efficient air force.
The balance shifted the moment the man with the spear appeared in the air. He didn't jump. At one point, a swarm of drones was firing lasers and rockets at Soultakers, and then a man in plain clothes appeared among them. His massive sword spear moved, slicing through dozens of drones and using air pressure to swap others around. The UAVs immediately tried to adjust, tried to change trajectory, and fired at the new foe, but he disappeared. He reappeared atop one of the tanks, piercing the tank hatch with his spear and killing two soldiers inside. Aranea was looking directly at him and yet, once again, failed to see any movement. He simply disappeared again, reappearing in the trenches. This time he walked for some time, killing anyone in his path. The man vanished before taking a turn in the trenches, reappearing among the flying UAVs.
His involvement was small at first, but it was piling up as he killed and destroyed everything in his erratic path. The offensive of the Soultakers was resuming once again, approaching the level of front forces before the mountain range.
And then, it came to a grinding halt once again. The black form leaped from the eastern mountain range, landing on the ground in an explosion of sand. Then she charged forward, leaping over trenches and allied soldiers until she reached the front lines of the enemy. Warlord Martyshkina appeared among the enemy ranks. Unlike Janine, she wore full armor. She was standing between two hover tanks, her revolvers left holes in the massive armor of both vehicles. With just a single shot for each machine, she destroyed their engines, forcing them to lower to the ground. She charged forward, taking two more shots at the enemies before her. Unlucky members of the enemy infantry in her path simply fell apart as shots cleaved through them, killing people behind them. No shamans were with Martyshkina, aside from soldiers of the state in trenches around her, she was all alone. And yet, even alone, she was too much for the countless enemies around her. The warlord moved too fast for normal soldiers to take aim. Hover tanks were seemingly worried about hitting their own troops. This cost them when Martyshkina reached one of the shield carriers and shot away its hatch, breaking inside. The shield around enemy troops blinked and disappeared. The warlord charged back to her side of the mountains, while the artillery was already pummeling the enemy forces that were left in the open. Martyshkina slowed down her retreat, helping soldiers of the state retreat to a position further south.
It was at this moment that the man armed with the spear appeared behind her. It was a perfect strike. He appeared right behind her, his spear was already thrusting forward, aiming at the right side of the warlord, his blade was aiming to slice through the lung of the warlord.
Martyshkina once boasted that only friends could sneak up on her. On this day, her boast came to the test. And she passed this test. She ducked to the left, allowing the blade to pass between her right side and right arm. Then she pressed her right arm toward her body, locking the tip of the spear in place and aiming with her left hand behind herself. Before the warlord could even press a trigger, her foe disappeared. She turned around, seemingly relaxed, and the foe reappeared in the air behind her, slashing down with an overhead strike. Martyshkina bent backward and took the blow on the barrel of her revolver. The blade that sliced through the armor of the tank failed to pierce the weapon of the warlord and was blocked. The warlord's revolvers, unlike Janine or Jekaterina's weapons, were not from a bygone era. No, they were cutting-edge weapons designed by the state's top engineers.
The reason why they looked so outdated and only held six shots in them was quite simple. It was because of the vanity of the warlord. The second revolver went up, aiming at the enemy, only for him to disappear again, reappearing on the ground behind the warlord and making a thrust with his weapon. Aranea was sure that Martyshkina could not dodge from such a position, but the warlord proved her wrong when she jumped forward, evading the enemy's strike. The man smiled, and then his face changed into scorn when several laser beams were shot from the eastern mountain range. Most of them missed, but one hit the strange man in the shoulder, leaving a small, scorched mark on his skin. A weapon that could melt steel was not sufficient to pierce the muscles of this strange foe. The man disappeared, reappearing behind the warlord while she was still in the air. He moved faster. Anger and annoyance were in his movements now. His slash was blocked, but the force of the blow sent the warlord face-down into the ground. She rolled around and blocked another hit from behind. The two ended up going against each other in desperate combat, where a single mistake could end the lives of either of the fighters.
Meanwhile, the front line was crumbling. Flames raged across the front lines that led to the western mountain range, as the figure in the red cloak stepped forward, revealing a huge man in a crimson-colored power armor underneath it. He gestured with his arms, and a raging flame spread to the positions of the Reclaimers. Aranea thought that she saw how his body was torn asunder by shells and gunfire, yet each time he came seemingly unharmed from the raging fire across the plains. The forces of the Regulators charged after him, almost uncaring about their own safety. And yet they paid a terrible toll when drones were sent to the aid of defenders. Unlike Soultakers or the Bento tribe, regulators lacked effective weapons against drones. Most of the UAVs even managed to return to crawlers for resupply.
For almost an hour, the front line held, but eventually Jekaterina pushed Janine all the way back to the pass. Four shamans were dead, two more suffered grievous wounds and had to retreat. The cyborgs were gradually but steadily eliminating Janine's elite guards.
The warlord herself took a step back. Neither she nor Jekaterina were injured, yet the armor of the warlord was covered in slashes, while the armor of her opponent was still pristine blue. Gunfire, shells, and laser fire were fired all across the battlefield by both sides, yet these two were mysteriously fine, during their impossible duel, each of them dodged just in time to evade being hit by the chaos of battle around them.
Jekaterina threw her weapon up, grabbing it at the lowest point of the scythe’s shaft, and made a long slash, aiming to bisect her opponent. Janine took another step back, the slash missed the warlord's body by an inch, burying the scythe's blade in the ground. The warlord stepped on the scythe, holding it in place while leaving a cleaving blow against the armor on Jekaterina's left shoulder. Aranea was looking at the battle through the cameras on the warlord’s armor. To her eyes, the expression on Jekaterina’s face remained the same, as she made a backward hit that was blocked by the left hand of Janine, while the warlord left another slash across the armor of her opponent. Scythe's shaft hit the armor on the warlord’s left hand, leaving a dent, yet through the torn armor on Jekaterina’s right shoulder, a trickle of blood showed up. The leader of the Soultakers pushed forward, forcing Janine to step back. Despite the metallic jaw, it was clear that there was a smile on Janine’s face, the warlord was confident that she read her opponent.
Aranea thought so as well, before she saw something strange happen. Veins became visible on the temples of Jekaterina. The expression on her face still reeked of pride and boredom, but Aranea was sure that the enemy of Janine was now in a quiet rage, as much as it was possible for someone like Jekaterina. The Soultakers' leader struck once more. Her strike was not more elegant, there was no hidden technique behind it. Nonetheless, the strike was effective, leaving a cleaving slash across Janine's front armor, slicing through the skin beneath. The quality of Jekaterina’s attack was the same, she still used only one hand. And yet the following attack hit the mark, pushing Janine's axe back. Jekaterina simply put in more effort. With fear, Aranea understood. Up until now, Jekaterina never considered Janine to be a threat. She held back, wanting to kill the enemy with minimum effort. No more. A silent rage was now unleashed.
Janine was pushed all the way back to the defenses, coming to a halt just before the first trench in the pass. There was movement in the trenches, but both opponents ignored it. The giant cyborgs nearly reached the trench. Countless wounds covered the hide of Janine as she desperately tried to match the deadly ice storm of fury before her with her own attacks. Her skills, honed over centuries, were not enough on this day. Despite the fact that blood was splashing from Jekaterina's injured shoulder with each slash, she was stronger, and each strike was aimed to kill, slice, and maim. Janine tried her best to stay alive. But finally, Jekaterina pushed Janine's weapon aside, and the warlord fell on one knee, evading the hit that was supposed to slice her head off. With calmness on her face, Jekaterina raised her weapon over her head, aiming to slice Janine in two.
It was at this moment that seven forms of X-015 suits charged from the trench behind Janine. These things were lethal at such close range. Disruptors on their shoulders activated, unleashing wave after wave of sound into Jekaterina. She stepped back as soon as she saw them, but even she was not fast enough to outrun the weaponry of her new opponents. Her eyes exploded, and she reached for her face with her left hand, trying to shield her face in vain. The skin on her face cracked, her white teeth shattered into dust, blood poured from her nostrils and ears like a fountain. The suits charged at the cyborgs, closing in and engaging in melee before unleashing waves of sound at the enemy, cracking their armor and soft brains within.
Janine charged forward. Jekaterina somehow sensed her approach and made a swing, but lacking eyesight and hearing, she missed the moment, and the scythe harmlessly sliced through the air. Janine never allowed the enemy to launch another attack, her deadly axe crushed through the chest plate of the enemy's power armor, breaking through it and slashing through the vulnerable skin and muscles underneath. The weapon smashed through bones, and the body of Jekaterina was sent flying several dozen steps backward, crushing into the ground with the sound and force of an artillery shell. Her cloak was torn and left in tatters on the ground, as her body in heavy power armor slid across the stone ground, leaving cracked ground in its wake. The leader of the Soultakers was dead, no one could have survived this cruel strike. It was at this moment that Aranea understood something. The warlords were the ultimate warriors of the Wolf Tribe. But despite this, they were also leaders. And Janine won this battle as leader, she planned this sudden attack on her foe and trusted the forces of the state to carry it out.
Janine raised her left hand, pointing at the remains of her enemy. A torrent of searing white heat came from the flamecaster. The fire charged forward, eager to swallow everything in its path, the sand was turning into glass in its wake as it closed on the dead body…
The fire never reached the body. The torrent of flame was cut in two as Jekaterina stood up and sliced with her scythe. The wind from her slice split the torrent of fire in two for a brief moment. At this moment, Jekaterina used her scythe as a pole and leaped over the fire, landing among the X-015 suits. She took her weapon in both hands, turning into a blurring image as she hit suits around her, the blade of her scythe was slicing through both the metal shells of suits and the people within. When Janine finally attacked her, five out of seven suits had already crashed. Two warriors clashed again, and Aranea saw that Jekaterina’s black eyes were open and fully healed. No more blood was coming from the wounds on her chest and shoulders. With a tingle of fear, she remembered Kate’s words about how the priests failed to sacrifice Jekaterina. This was the power of the leader of the Soultakers.
A loud explosion was heard in the eastern mountain range, when the man with the sword spear abandoned his fight with Martyshkina and appeared near one of the artillery vehicles, slamming his spear into the engine, somehow detonating the whole vehicle. He turned around, slicing through soldiers. A wolfkin warrior nearby tried to open fire at him, but he simply grabbed her and bit off her head, biting through the steel of the power with incredible ease..
A cannibal. The Resistance allied themselves with cannibals. Aranea was filled with disgust and fear. She wanted nothing more than to appear in the eastern mountain range and help her friend. But there was no way now.
Martyshkina looked up in anger and placed her weapons into holsters, then jumped up and climbed atop the stone with incredible speed. Some of the Soultakers used jetpacks to join their commander, while others tried to storm underground tunnels below the mountain range.
Regulators reached the edge of the western mountain range. Despite heavy losses and despite the fact that Blaguna and her forces were still in the rear, their numbers were impressive. The figure in the green cloak stepped forward, reaching for something underneath the cloak. The man threw something forward, and large metal stairs appeared before the forces of Regulators, wide and long enough that they reached all the way to the cliffs. Enemy forces began to move forward.
It was at this moment that tunnels beneath the eastern and western mountain ranges were opened, unleashing fresh reinforcements supported by X-015 mechanical suits. The mechanical suits tore into enemy ranks, leaving a bloody mist around them as disruptors sang their deadly song of death. Steel, flesh, and bones were all reduced to dust, and lives were ending so quickly that enemies sometimes failed to recognize the attack.
Yasen rose in the air, the very air underneath his legs was trembling as he used his power. Kinetic blasts were unleashed from his fists, killing his own soldiers along with the X-015 suits. Drones tried to swarm him, lasers left burning marks on his armor, but a massive wave of force spread from all sides from Yasen when he spread his arms, simply swapping aside the drones from the air with his power. Despite this success, the Regulators' assault was slowing, however a large number of their forces were still climbing. The cliff-side towers were set on fire, but lieutenant Marveni Ursico had already recalled soldiers from them deeper into defensive lines the moment the strange stairs appeared.
The Regulators’ forces appeared on the cliffs. The shield station was about to test the assault of the enemy. And still, Aranea could sense mysterious tremors. But this time, she ignored them. The battle was coming to her.
