Disastrous Victory (3)
Heian Ciemnosc observed through the monitor as the machine guns fired with absurd speed. They were supposed to be much faster than this and capable of decimating a City's walls like nothing. Only a spaceship can withstand these bullets without an array formation or shield protecting it. But machine guns against First Step were very limited. All of them were equally powerful. Just their speed made them excruciatingly different from one Step to the other.
Though there was supposed to be gravity annihilating the bullets with their length and weight, not smaller than twice an adult's body, the shots coming from the front machine guns didn't move towards any angle and directly hit the same spot repeatedly. The ones from the rear were curving a little. But it was clear this was done by the machine guns' specialties as the transporting ship kept facing the same place and didn't maneuver. This wasn't space, and something going wrong meant 200,000 dying. Besides, most First Step students weren’t good enough to manage a spaceship like a veteran.
Dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun dun… taradaradaradaradaradaradaradaradarada….
The machine gun’s bullets, raining on the enemy’s first City, descended onto them, sounding like sharp explosions whose sound expanded over 20,000 meters. There was an initial wait of a few seconds before the shots could reach that far, but it wasn’t that long before they did and thundered back into the student troops’ hearts. This was also Heian Ciemnosc’s first time hearing a top machine gun shooting within a Kingdom, not from the vibrations it made in a spaceship.
Though the fire rate was much slower than the Third Step top machine guns from the Crimsonbreaking Faction’s Carrier, they were so impressive as he could follow each bullet with his 16,000-meter Spirit Sense range. It was fantastic finally to see how these machine guns worked and what their ammunition did to the world. Heian Ciemnosc was sure that if this was a Second Step arsenal and properties, the air around the line of fire would be distorted, and a couple cracks from breaking space itself would appear every few minutes.
The bullet’s speed was also much lesser than the top Third Step machine guns, but they could only shoot less of them with each shot. But the student troops, new to this kind of arsenal, including Heian Ciemnosc’s CO’s, were overwhelmed by utilizing just 4 machine guns. This was only Cari’s transporting ship. There were 3 others behind and positioning themselves as Cari’s vessel slowly advanced forward while firing at one spot only.
Just as the sharp rain of bullets fell on the enemy first City’s barrier, the transporting ship was lowered just over 100 meters above the ground with its front leaning low and its rear slightly up so the rear machine guns could shoot at a better angle. Another one appeared from behind and started shooting at the same spot. Thus, these two transporting ships fired at the barrier, and accelerated simultaneously. They could reach the City in half an hour at this speed.
The troops in Cari’s transporting ship became almost scared when they heard the second one start firing. They knew this was the procedure to start the siege, but they were too new to the sound of ‘so many’ machine guns firing at the same time. For sure, most students didn’t know how many of these even a Low-class Destroyer would have.
The barrage of bullets continued, the barrier began to quiver, and the rest surrounding the City had its energy mobilized to concentrate on the spot the machines were aiming. However, it wasn’t long before the third and fourth transporting ships showed. At that time, the small fleet advanced at an eminent speed, with a calculation of reaching the accorded distance in just a couple minutes. They kept firing at the enemy’s first City before stopping at 10,000 meters.
“... In 50 seconds, all students must prepare!” A voice coming from the center of each transporting ship sounded within them. Cari’s transporting ship was at the front and already stagnant in the air. The rest were to its right and above it. The one above was the commander’s transporting ship, and it was still 5 kilometers up in the sky with its left side facing the barrier, its machine guns still hard at work.
“All troops!! Get ready!! You will jump down in less than 30 seconds!” The voice sounded again, and all 3 ships nearest the ground started opening their main hatch. The students could see it as they each sent their Spirit Sense to check their bodies and armor. They didn’t have to ask another person to check their bodies like citizens do, at the very least. Heian Ciemnosc and his team breathed slightly heavier, but their eyes were wide open as their pupils slowly shrank.
“... Jump down in 10 seconds!” There were no troopers below the Conflagrate realm. Everything was ready, and only the order remained. Heian Ciemnosc’s team was positioned at the rear left. But his army fraction was the vanguard, so many were ready to do not only the most challenging load of work but also to help each other so they wouldn’t die. One protects another, and another covers the other.
“Go now!!” The voice spoke again, shouting as silence seemed to invade everyone’s minds, but everyone also moved forward and jumped from the hatch!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh… The student troops from the 3 transporting ships floated downwards to the ground. The desert ground and lack of flora never became this unimportant, as their minds were filled with what they had to do. Their hearts steeled as they landed on the ground and began taking arsenal pieces one after the other.
Stomp stomp, stomp… thud, stomp- clank clank, bzzzhhh~... While the student troops descended and started organizing and assembling right below the transporting ships. From the distance, the enemy atop the city walls looked and pointed at them in confusion. They had such an advantage with their altitude and machine guns’ range, so why would they send their troops down? Of course, the transporting ships had enough ammunition for the war, but it wasn’t unlimited.
They could only prepare and wait for the enemy student troops to come closer and bombard them with their few hundred cannons. But whatever those troops were doing made the enemy troops in the city uneasy. Only a few minutes passed by, and the transporting ships were already going back up. They continued firing at the same spot even as their student troops settled down and were now returning up into the sky.
The enemy waited, their cannons and their ammunition more than ready. Previously, they had no advantage or the range to strike those ships down. But they could enjoy massacring their foottroopers at any given time. They weren’t so confident in their defensive barrier. It was a mix of many things and depleted Powerful Stones like crazy, even more now that it was finally being used. The Academy’s army surprise attack was unexpected, and that was true. But it also boosted the enemy’s morale.
“... Advance! Everyone’s ready. Let’s welcome our fellow students and show them how it’s done!!” Heian Ciemnosc’s sub-commander shouted and encouraged everyone. The troops around him charged forward, carrying those cannons forth under the Spirit Rebirth realm sub-commanders and their second-in-command. Heian Ciemnosc’s medallion shone a little as he received orders from his immediate superior before glaring at Violet.
“Ge on it! If we don’t fire more shells than anyone else, team leader will discard us!!” Violet’s valiant voice shouted, and the CO’s battle cried along the team’s new members, “HUOO!!”
Step, step, step, step, step, step… Marching!
Heian Ciemnosc’s Concealed Ornament Team 55 hurried to the front, leading the other 50,000 troops like a widespread V-formation. Seeing him rush forwards didn’t motivate the other student troops. They just thought they were crazy! But the Concealed Ornament Team continued stepping forward and, in no time, reached the 9,000th meter mark. As they did, Heian Ciemnosc looked at the cannon’s sole panel for a few seconds before giving an order. They were the first Team to bring their arsenal towards the front and start preparing!
Step, step, step. After giving the order, Heian Ciemnosc no longer remained behind his team’s arsenal and walked before it. After 100 meters, he stopped and looked at the sky above the enemy’s first City. It was night, and the commander wanted to start the operation at night simply out of courtesy for the element of surprise. There was no sense to that since there were barely any citizens within each enemy City, but it was the big boss’s orders no matter what.
The enemy was still not shooting. Heian Ciemnosc could only commend their discipline. They might be rogue cultivators and ‘rebelling’ organizations, but whoever was in charge of this Division wasn’t a simple person trained within the Blackotia Kingdom. After all, besides the Wrath Nihility Academy, every other organization was peaceful and practically new. None had the Academy’s warring experience.
Pum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum… … … boom, boom, dun dun dun dun dun dun…
Heian Ciemnosc’s clothes fluttered, his jacket stuck to his back, and his Academy uniform aggressively flapped forward while his dark coat did so back and forth. His coat’s sleeves and lower end charmingly added to his charismatic image. His Team shot the cannon’s 15 rounds at once. It didn’t surprise him, and he continued to look up. But he could hear the explosions several minutes after his team’s cannon fired away.
“!!” - “...” - “!...” - “...?!” A variety of reactions came from the same army 10,000 group. Most were astounded that he was already bombarding the enemy, and some thought the team was undisciplined. But they saw their sub-commander glance in the Concealed Ornament Team’s direction before raising his chin proudly. The other student troops were motivated and rushed to the front to reach the 9,000-meter mark.
“...” Above the army fractions, the commander’s transporting ship began floating down to let its 50,000 troops join the battle. Lionel was in video transmission with those 3 other transporting ships. He looked at Cari’s after the sounds of their student troops’ cannon was heard. The situation below them was clearly seen, and as the battle progressed, they could move forward and take in more terrain to observe.
“...” Cari was silent as he looked at Lionel through the transmission. Lionel said nothing. His chest heaved up, and he looked back at the City. The atmosphere was somewhat heavy.
… … pum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum, pum… … … … … boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, boom…
Below, as the other student troops reached the 9,000-meter mark, the enemy’s cannons had already started firing and aiming at the student troops coming closer to their range. The enemy was immediately surprised when they heard and saw the similar arsenal and shells the enemy was firing, but that only served to fuel their newfound indignation. As they shot with hatred and wished they could destroy those cannons with a single shot, they were ordered to fire at the 50,000 vanguard student troops. They could finally vent their feelings!
Hence, Heian Ciemnosc watched as hundreds of shells came at them while the other teams around and behind him positioned and prepared to start firing at the enemy’s first City. Nobody dared to go farther than that since it was the enemy’s extreme range, and only they had their accuracy lowered as their cannons were still secure to be mostly accurate. Even with the jealousy from earlier and the prospect of earning the most merit points, the student troops followed instructions to the letter and didn’t risk themselves unnecessarily.
Tara- dara - dara - dara - dara - dara - dara - dara. Above, Heian Ciemnosc looked at the machine guns on the transporting ships. From 4 of which 1 changed its trajectory and began using a single bullet to detonate those enemy shells in the sky. It wasn’t an anti-projectile turret, so it wasn’t utilized best. But against these enemy cannons’ shelling. They were much faster. Even just 1 bullet could detonate several enemy shells.
Furthermore, since the enemy’s cannons were 9,000 meters away, more or less, they became so big that some cannons’ shelling clashed against them in the air before proceeding to head towards the same spot the machine guns had been firing at. The enemy was left speechless after 15 minutes. By then, 150,000+ troops were firing cannons and defending from the enemy shells however they could.
The enemy watched as most of their shells detonated in the air and didn’t even arrive before the Academy’s cannons.
Pum, pum- ste- pum pum, whoosh… Heian Ciemnosc looked in the sky and finally went into action. He raised his right arm straight towards the sky as his Claws Out showed before making a little run and jumping into the air. With his bodily strength impulsing him, he soared 150 meters in the air. He didn’t have to worry about the other cannon’s fire line since they were widely separated in case one got caught or an enemy shell landed between cannon teams.
Just as Heian Ciemnosc was just a few tens of meters below his team’s cannon’s fire line, he created shapeless dark limbs before whipping them to form circles surrounding the fire line. Thus, 6 dark oval screens in total were formed around his team’s fire line. 2 at the upper and lower sides and 1 below and above. Right after, 16 2-story building-sized enemy shells came towards him in the air.
… pshift, pshift, pshift, pshift- boom, boom, boom… Heian Ciemnosc didn’t comment or give the enemy shells another glance before calmly floating back down. As he did, the dark oval screen began shooting from within, like a portal, shapeless dark limbs that rushed to the enemy shells. Extending over 300 meters, they collided with the gigantic enemy shells. They exploded, sending whatever little peaceful air remained between the City and the 225 cannons firing at it.
The other teams were impressed with this ‘pseudo-Art’ and looked at Heian Ciemnosc’s dark oval screens with intrigue. But most Spirit Rebirth realm cultivators didn’t have an Art that allowed them to form protective measures or was defensive in the first place. But that wasn’t all Heian Ciemnosc did to secure his team and their cannon.
Step- whoosh- pum pum pum- slashhhh. Boom, booom, boooom… Heian Ciemnosc would occasionally step up and jump into the air again. But he wouldn’t always soar high into the sky. As other enemy shells came close, their destination allowed them to avoid the dark oval screen’s shapeless limbs. Heian Ciemnosc jumped to meet them head-on several tens of meters above the ground level but hundreds of meters away from his or another team.
With Claws Out still active, Heian Ciemnosc spat a sizable ball of dark Power Energy into the air. He then lifted his left leg, folded it, and kept his right leg extended. His right arm folded backwards, and his right hand faced the incoming enemy shells. Slashing at the air with that dark Power Energy ball, 5 dark claws 5 meters long were formed without a complete body to meet the incoming enemy shells. After slashing at them, the part connecting with the projectiles disappeared along their explosion.
The rest of the claws’ structure kept slashing forwards through the sky, meeting a few other enemy shells and saving a few cannon teams from being bombarded by them nearby. In the end, traces of those claws, large enough to obliterate dozens of enemy shells each, dissipated into the air. By then, Heian Ciemnosc returned to stand before his team and observed the battle as it continued.
… dun dun dun dun… … … boom boom boom boom boom boom…
The situation continued to be a stalemate of one side bombarding the other. But the only ones with casualties were the Academy’s army. The enemy was protected by the barrier. It wasn’t only that. The Academy’s cannons were firing at one spot only. And while that was preoccupying to the enemy, they suffered no casualty, unlike the army, for it was bombarded nonstop. A few enemy shells kept landing near the teams, and fewer landed directly on them.
The commander’s transporting ship had long sent its troops down and joined the fray. 300 cannons against the enemy’s 300 cannons. But the Academy’s side still faced a few thousand casualties despite each cannon team consisting of at least 1 Spirit Rebirth realm cultivator preceding it. Everyone, except for Heian Ciemnosc’s, of course. There were many casualties, and those that didn’t suffer enough were delayed, with the enemy shells hitting a hundred meters away or a little more.
The gigantic shells had too much range when at their maximum. Even if they could deviate a lot and land several kilometers away from the extreme wings of the army, some still had accurate precision and destroyed some cannons after several close hits. From 300 possible cannons attacking the City, they were lowered to 227 in just a couple hours. Sub-commanders gave immediate green light to the teams to assemble another cannon and continue firing.
Heian Ciemnosc’s team never lost their cannon, and although they had no one to protect their cannon from enemy shells, be it a Spirit Rebirth realm cultivator or an idle team or various… His dark oval screen, shapeless limbs, and Claws Out were enough to defend them. He was in charge of avoiding any enemy shell landing near their team lest it disrupt their rhythm.
Quite a few hours went by until there was a change to the monotonous repeating actions between both sides…
Pshiiiiiiiiif---- BOOOOOOOOOOOMMMM~~~- WHOOSH WHOOSH, whoosh whoosh whoosh…
Suddenly, the spot they had been firing at with 3 of the transporting ships’ machine guns and over 200 cannons had a change. The barrier protecting the Ciy remained, but there was a difference in the spot where they concentrated their firepower. Heian Ciemnosc immediately felt as if a click had been switched. He felt as if pure energy had taken disgust at the world in that spot, and the barrier no longer repaired itself anymore, leaving a wide 400-meter hole within that barrier and the City’s walls open!
“... All troops, the enemy’s defenses are done! EMply your array formations and charge, and meet the enemy head-on! Exterminate them!!” A few seconds later, after the waves of air and dust reached the army, forming a gigantic cloudly mist over tens of kilometers between the enemy’s first City and past the Academy’s troops. The second-in-command of the Academy’s army spoke to their troops!
“...” There was a sudden silence. Everyone could see within the cloudly mist of dust and dirt hundreds of meters before them. But they couldn’t see farther than that. Slowly, the troops caught their breath as some carried corpses and incomplete ones to the back. The ones in charge were also slightly mentally tired, but they let the troops have this moment and would only force everyone if they didn’t move in a while.
“AAAAAHH!” One student troop finally shouted, he didn’t look back at his team, but they also took their weapons out and began charging at the enemy. The enemy couldn’t hear their noise, it was nice to shout, and it even commenced the chain reaction the sub-commanders were waiting for.
“Chaaarge! Get those motherfuckers!” Another student troop’s team leader shouted and led her team right behind the first one. Then, more and more joined them. When too many teams began charging ahead, they formed a group under their sub-commander and charged together. They moved like worms in the misty sand with a mind of their own and without further instruction from their sub-commanders.
In less than a minute, the entire army was mobilized. Several ten thousand troops grouped and charged together towards the enemy’s first City! Their thought was only one: ‘this City is just the first one, we will take everything back!!’
…
