Chapter 223: Chapter 223: You Don’t Have It

December 8th, 625

Every day brought more battles. More companies and battalions to save, more Hog Riders to topple, more Royals to kill, more Scourge to exterminate.

It only got worse by the day.

“We’re dropping hot!”

“All ready!”

I pulled my bolt into open when the calls came, feeling an impending sense of danger. We were in our helicopter transport and dropping altitude fast.

I suddenly got up, rushing to the helicopter's back hatch and tapping the switch to open it, punching in an override and banging it with my fist.

The hatch flew open 300 feet above the ground as I turned back.

“Knights, drop now!”

“Chiefs first!”

Nonnen commanded, the Chiefs rushing out and jumping out even as the helicopter continued to lower. Nonnen went after them, Amira staying behind.

“Air warlocks drop!”

The Chief in charge of that group moved them forward, the warlocks jumping when we were about 200 feet in the air, hovering down with their magic.

I turned to Umara.

“5th Squadron, drop!”

“Let’s go!”

Umara simply ran forward, shooting out of the helicopter with the rest of their squad.

That’s when the sense of danger got stronger.

I turned to the rest.

“All drop! Now! Go!”

I started grabbing and throwing people out.

That’s when I saw a large Scyther shoot out from beneath the biomat below with my Aura. It went for the rotor, slicing the entire assembly into two and sending the helicopter spiraling.

“Jump out!”n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

I was already on my way out, my body flying through the hatch, chest to the sky. On the way down I looked up, eyeing the Scyther falling with the helicopter and raising my M240LWS.

I squeezed the trigger and let off a round, the bullet tearing through its body and killing it outright. Then I activated my boots and flipped, orienting myself and letting off its air magic, slowing my descent.

I landed cleanly on my feet, hearing the helicopter crash behind me. Even as that happened I did an assessment, finding that most of our troops had made it out. Some were buried in the helicopter though. Thankfully it had retained its shape. The defensive enchantments and the relatively low altitude meant that they were all alive. A bit battered, but alive.

I spoke, my voice entering both hearts and minds.

“Squad 3, defend the helicopter! Get our men out! Everyone else, form the line! Get those troops safe!”

Right after I said that I saw the entire side of the helicopter get sliced into pieces and blown off. Amira emerged, the rest of the troops behind her.

I looked away, “Nevermind helicopter! Calling for transport!”

I kneeled down and brought up my Aerial. The sense of danger was still there, which meant it wasn’t the Scyther making me anxious.

“Envoy to Mother Bird, come in.”

Polly’s voice was a comfort, “I read you, Envoy.”

“Our helicopter has been rendered inoperable. I will retrieve the Mana Engine assembly but we need transport if you want us to remain capable of rapid response, over.”

“Copy. Stand by.”

There was silence for a while as I jumped over to the helicopter and found the Mana Engine housing. I quickly broke it open and ripped out the assembly, retrieving the Crystals and the cradle they were in, stashing it.

When I jumped off Mother Bird came back.

“Negative, Envoy. We have no available transport at this time. Shifting the Snow Doves off of rapid response. Your new objective is to secure the remainder of 8th Battalion and head west to reinforce 3rd Battalion’s forward supply post. Is the Pathfinder’s helicopter still operational?”

“Affirmative.”

“Send them back when your battle is over. I will task them with bringing the Steeds. Until then, you are to remain at the supply post.”

“All copy, Mother Bird. Additional request. I want recon northwest of our position. I’ve got a bad feeling.”

There was another moment of silence.

“There are no aircraft in the area at this time, Envoy. Last aerial sweep was 14 hours ago and clear of any uninformed threats. I advise-”

The line suddenly cut out. I looked down at my Aerial, finding all the channels dead.

That wasn’t good. It meant there was another group out here and they had an advance party, which meant the main group was either massive or powerful. Neither was desirable.

I turned my Aerial off completely, looking out to where Nonnen and Amira were fighting with three Authority 10 Royals, the Chiefs around them attempting to support while fending off Authority 9 Royals.

It was a powerful force, but we had an injured Authority 10 warlock within the battalion we were assisting who was casting support spells and relieving some of the burden. It was better than being dead weight.

After getting a read on every ally and enemy, I went dark and shot off with the help of my boots. Everyone was establishing positions but I had a feeling we’d have to start moving sooner rather than later.

I reached the rear of the Scourge’s lines where Nonnen, Amira, and the Chiefs were fighting. I made sure to stay hidden while forming a telepathic link with Nonnen.

[Nonnen, status change.]

[What is it?]

He was relatively calm in his response. That meant he had these enemies under control. Nothing was desperate yet.

[Aerial comms cut out. There’s likely an advance party for another Scourge force coming in this direction. We have no aerial support either.]

[I’ll assume you’re on the mark. How bad is it?]

[If we stay here we’re in the shitter. We might survive but the battalion, injured as they are, won’t.]

[Are you saying we need to retreat?]

I could see his eyes glance in my direction. His Aura was still sharp, but that made me wonder why he wasn’t feeling the same anxiety I was. Was his sheer power and confidence blinding him to any level of threat below him?

Maybe that’s why he wanted me to give him my assessment all the time. I could see the things he couldn’t.

[I want to do recon, but yes, right now that’s my advice.]

[Copy. I’ll call it. Take 5th squadron and get eyes on the incoming force.]

[Negative, I can go by myself.]

[Take 5th Squadron,] He snapped back, [And if you’re feeling generous, buy us time. Can you handle that?]

I paused, thinking about the large risk of doing that. If that force had higher combatants then we’d be screwed in a fight and I’d be dragging my friends into the fire.

But, on the other hand, we didn’t need to fight them head on. Evasive tactics would allow us to escape at any time while stalling the entire force. So long as there wasn’t a hidden Authority 11, we’d be able to handle ourselves.

So long as I decided that I could trust the evasive abilities of 5th Squadron.

I quickly did some risk analysis in my Mind Palace, weighing the combat attributes of each person in the team and placing them against the oncoming force based on the level of power and danger I was feeling.

Then I weighed the risk of allowing the force to advance if I was the only one holding them off with hit and run tactics. Given the time it would take Nonnen and Amira to incapacitate or kill their current enemies and the effect I’d have on the speed of the incoming force…

I nodded.

[I’ll take care of it.]

[Stay alive.]

Our connection cut, my feet taking me to where 5th Squadron was.

My telepathy remained connected to Umara at all times in battle, so I spoke my words while heading over.

[Umara, disengage and bring your squadron to the helicopter. New plans.]

[Does it have to do with that bad feeling I’ve got?]

[Yes. Hurry.]

I glided over, getting there just before Umara arrived, taking no more than 30 seconds. They were quick.

I came out of stealth and kneeled down with them.

Jaya smiled.

“What’s the plan, boss?”

“We’ve got an incoming force. The advance party is already in the area and jamming Aerial comms. The Snow Doves are about to call a retreat with 8th battalion, and it’ll be our job to carry out force recon. We’ll head out, get eyes on whatever is coming, and buy time.”

“No eyes in the sky?” Harsha asked, making me glance at her with faint disapproval.

Umara spoke before I could, “If there was, we wouldn’t talking about recon. Lead the way, John. We’re with you.”

“Good. Remember, we’re there to stall, not fight. Keep your mobility, buy time for Nonnen and Amira to kill their enemies. Once they’re free, we’ll move to crowd control as they occupy the higher combatants. I’m trusting that you all can handle evasive tactics against a Brigadier-class Royal.”

I looked at Jaya and Harsha. I sensed no hesitation, only confidence from Jaya. But Harsha was another story.

As soon as I felt the worry in her Aura, I spoke.

“Harsha, I want you to stay here.”

“Excuse me?”

“You’ll sit this one out. I’m making the judgement that you can’t handle this fight. I want you to stay behind and assist in the retreat instead.”

“Hey, I don’t-!”

“Hang on!”

Umara stood between us before Harsha could get defensive. She turned to me.

“John, Harsha is on this team because she meets the standard. We operate as a group. Why is she the exception?”

I stood, putting my M240 away, “I’ve judged that her attributes aren’t suited toward the evasion required to survive focused attacks from an Authority 10. I don’t have the time to explain more. I’ll go ahead and get eyes on our enemy. Take 10 minutes to discuss what you need to. You know what will be demanded of you all and you have my opinion.”

I activated my stealth and disappeared, using my boots to make haste in the direction of the incoming force.

I trusted Umara, and she trusted me. But I was putting her in a difficult situation. She was the squad leader and it was her job to handle Harsha. I wouldn’t overstep, but I would give my opinion. Everything else was up to her.

My job was clear though. With or without them I needed intel urgently. That would make or break everything else.

……

Umara watched John disappear, thinking for a few seconds before turning to the others.

“You three, head out with him.”

“Copy.”

Feiden nodded, the three shooting away with their movement abilities.

Umara turned to Harsha, looking her dead in the eye.

“I’m going to trust you, Harsha. Trust that you understand that half of this job is self awareness and a clear judgment regarding your enemy. So disregard John. Can you handle an Authority 10?”

“...I wasn’t under the impression that any of us could handle an Authority 10. Isn’t that why we’re supposed to be evasive?”

“That’s the wrong answer, Harsha.”

Umara sighed and stood, Harsha gritting her teeth.

“You would trust him over me?! We haven’t been working together a week!”

“He’s a summoner, Harsha, one of the most powerful in history. I’m not sure if you realize that, but either way he’s more than smart enough to make an accurate evaluation of your abilities.”

“I think you just want to drive me out! I know I’m not as skilled as the rest of you, but I’m still in special operations and I can handle myself. I get that he’s your boyfriend and I know that you were all in the same class, but that doesn’t mean you can just toss me to the side!”

“I’m not tossing you to the side,” Umara rebutted, her Aura taking glances in the distance and following John’s connection to her. He was only getting farther and she would prefer to be there when he got active.

She focused back on Harsha, getting irritated, “It’s my job to place each person within my squad in a position that they’ll at least be capable of surviving. I don’t want your pride leading to your death, because you’re right, you’re not as skilled as the rest of us. You don’t have our level of mobility, and while you’re plenty robust, you still can’t hold up against an Authority 10.”

“Yes I can!” Harsha declared, earning a skeptical eye from Umara.

But she held her ground. Seeing that, Umara looked away and off into the distance.

“Fine, Harsha. Since you’ve said so, I expect to see that level of performance. I just hope you understand that this isn’t a situation where anybody will have the leeway to bail you out.”

“Would you say that to your friends? Your boyfriend?”

Umara turned back toward Harsha, anger painted on her face.

“Don’t scrutinize me about things you know nothing of. I trust them precisely because I know they won’t fuck up, because putting themselves in precarious positions puts the rest of us in just as much jeopardy. We understand that, and are self-aware enough to realize our limits and keep ourselves out of shit situations. I hope you prove to me that you have the same sense with the trust that I’m giving you despite my boyfriend’s advice. Let’s go.”

Umara ran off, Harsha letting out a sharp breath and following close behind.

They slipped behind the enemy’s lines and arrived on top of a hill where Feiden and Jaya were kneeling and keeping a low profile. Tana was somewhere they couldn’t see.

“Where’s John?” Umara asked, knowing he was off in the distance looking for the enemy.

Feiden motioned with his chin, “Out there. He said he saw a few Scouts already. We’re waiting for his report before doing anything.”

“Alright. Jaya, prepare your best. Depending on what he says, we’ll be treading a fine line. Don’t hesitate, don’t spare.”

“Copy copy.”

The cute girl gave a half serious salute.

A few minutes later, John appeared at their sides, startling Jaya and Harsha.

He glanced at Harsha before turning back to the others.

“We’re handling this one. It’s a mobile force of about 700 enemies. Six Red Bombardos, 200 Hog Riders, 30 scouts plus 350 escorts, and about a hundred Authority 7 and 8 combatants. Their top end power consists of 17 Authority 9 Royals and a single Authority 10.”

“Fuck…”

Jaya cursed. Even Umara was frowning, yet John already said he wasn’t backing down.

“We have about a minute until they reach this position. Umara, I leave your squad to you. I’ll be flanking and drawing them back. If I can grab that Authority 10 I will, otherwise you all need to focus on evasion. I’ll slaughter their forces if the Authority 10 doesn’t want to focus on me.”

“Copy.”

“I’ll be in touch. Prioritize safety. We only need to delay. Weakening is secondary.”

With those words he vanished, excising himself from their minds and all other conscious perception.

They could hear the rumbling of the approaching Hog Riders and the menacing Aura of the Royals bearing down on them. The anxiety was high, but all of them knew that as special operators, they had little room to back down from a fight, especially one where they need only evade and stay alive.

Umara stood, looking down from the top of the hill and seeing the force approaching, finally making eye contact.

Umara knew they had seen her when the Authority 10 focused its Aura on her. All it did was wash over her though, applying just enough pressure to help her sharpen up.

Her Foci appeared above her hand, Feiden twirling his spear, ribbons of Vigor trailing off the blade. Tana remained invisible, Jaya cracked open a can of solution, and Harsha raised her shield.

The entire force was looking at them, bearing down with their malevolence, but scarcely believing that such a small force was really intending on facing them alone. The Authority 10 snickered in humor, the rest of the Royals taking large strides as they brought out their weapons.

Then they all heard the noise, explosions cracking from behind.

They saw a lone figure with a weapon that spit out red streaks at obscene speeds hardly noticeable by their eyes. The figure slaughtered a group of scouts before tearing into their back lines, two dozen falling before any could react properly, the figure gliding across the ground while firing.

The entire force halted as the hail of piercing red projectiles brushed over other concentrations, hundreds dispersing as five of the Authority 9s broke off to pursue the lone target.

Before they could take two steps though, the figure disappeared.

Then more explosions came, but not from behind.

Umara brandished her spells, dumping mana into three large arrays and concentrating the spell circles in order to launch two conical lances into the enemy lines. They all converged before exploding in a massive wave of fire that washed over half of the monsters, all of the Hog Riders among them. Flames clung to hide, torching them and inflicting enough pain to disorient and scatter, sowing chaos.

Then, Feiden flashed forward, appearing by one of the Authority 9 Royals and driving his spear through its neck. Then his blade flickered, his arms snapping to the side as space shifted, his blade decapitating another Royal of the same strength right next to his first kill.

Two of seventeen down.

Feiden zipped away, veins popping out of his forehead as his arms throbbed, barely held together under the sheer strain of what he pulled off.

Yet he smiled even as he grit his teeth, keeping his eyes on the Authority 10, not sparing any energy on making sure he could escape at any given moment.

It was a grotesque thing, standing on two legs like a normal bipedal, but sporting three arms like a mutated freak. It looked like it took some blood from the Anarchy bloodline but deviated halfway. Half its face looked melted, it had two eyes, one in its normal socket, another on the side of its head, and its entire body was covered in wrinkly skin.

It spun around, looking between John in the distance, who began to evade the Royals, and the group in front of it.

One was far and a weak summoner, the other was closer and not strong enough to resist.

It seemed to make a decision as Feiden tensed, looking at the girl holding a shield, the most fearful, the slowest, with half decent armor and weapons that might afford her lifespan a few more fractions of a second.

With a step it suddenly brought out a hammer, winding it back, its eyes locked on Harsha. Its target was obvious but it needn’t play games with prey that couldn’t resist.

It spoke through cracked and jagged lips, its voice like sand paper.

“I will melt your brain and drink it from your eye sockets.”

Harsha had no time to respond when the Royal swung its massive hammer with scarcely believable speed. The momentum carried its body across the gap between them in but a second.

Its foot planted right before it collided with Harsha, the girl having reeled and retreated in anticipation. Just before the break in momentum the Royal twisted its body and then used the planted limb to transfer the energy and deliver the strike.

Harsha watched the hammer come down on top of her shield. She angled it and her body to deflect, the hammer’s reach forbidding a full dodge.

Then the hammer came down, carrying such force that it dug into the shield and sent a shockwave through Harsha’s body that outright broke her arm and shoulder. Then it cleaved into the metal like a blade and broke off the bottom half of the shield, barely missing Harsha’s forearm.

Then the hammer impacted the ground, the magical power behind it dispersing the force across the land and cratering it for two dozen meters.

The Royal took a step forward and swung its arm once more, the hammer coming out of the ground and right back up like it weighed no more than a few pounds. Harsha barely brought down what remained of her shield on instinct, using Vigor to move her arm despite the breaks, the hammer slamming into it and sending her flying into the distance.

“HARSHA, GET OUT OF THERE!”

Umara’s scream echoed across the hillside as Harsha flew. Then, the spell before her completed.

A two stage lance manifested from the cluster of spell circles. The first stage flickered into a dense ball of fire, which exploded and launched the second stage at speeds surpassing sound.

The second stage then impacted upon the Royal after it raised its arms to defend. The tip of the lance disintegrated on the Royal’s forearm, taking off several layers of hide with it, allowing the body of the lance to drive in an orb of swirling space.

The orb managed to shred through the flesh and hit bone. It was then halted in its tracks, the rest of the lance formed of dark fire collapsing onto the orb and shattering its integrity.

The result was an explosion of space, the laws of physics rapidly reforming reality, but not before the Royal’s forearm was warped into particles.

“Fucking freak!”

Umara cursed. All that and it took off one arm below the elbow. That was one of the best spells she could produce, the pinnacle of her armor piercing arsenal.

The Royal was sufficiently pissed now though. It turned to her with bloodshot eyes, lunging at her with a scream.

While it flew though, Feiden appeared beside it. Thinking he was going to attack, the Royal planted and swung its hammer with its two remaining arms. Feiden simply zipped away though, not so much as stabbing with his spear.

Then he appeared again, behind it, making the Royal swing around to hit nothing but air.

He continued to harass the Royal with his close presence. He didn’t attack, but he was always within reach, vulnerable, far weaker than the Royal. They both knew it but the Royal couldn’t kill him if it couldn’t move fast enough.

Yet after only half a minute, Feiden zipped away and started panting, his legs trembling slightly.

Tana appeared by Harsha, who trembled as the pain of her shattered arm overwhelmed her. Her adrenaline was the only thing allowing her to walk.

Tana spoke coldly, “You need to retreat. Take another hit like that and we won’t be able to retrieve a corpse.”

“I’m fine! I’ll go back in! Just give me a few seconds!”

“No. You’re out of this fight.”

Tana grabbed her armor, preventing her from trudging back to the fight, ripping her right back to where she was and looking into her eyes.

Harsha grit her teeth under that gaze. It held no pity or anger. Just disgust. Tana’s disdain was palpable, her Aura doing nothing to hide it. She wanted her to see it, wanted her to know how little she wanted her there.

“You don’t have it, Harsha. And I won’t let you distract them and put their lives at risk. Remove yourself or I’ll cripple you here and drag you back.”

Tana let go with a small shove, Harsha stumbling back as shooting pains went through her chest. She felt a few broken ribs, and yet her anger was starting to overwhelm even that.

Harsha seethed, the sword in her hand shaking.

“I hate you. Ever since I arrived you always looked down on me.”

“Yeah, I did. You take on more than you can handle out of pride, all despite knowing exactly where your limits lay. That’s dangerous to my team. So remove yourself, before I do it for you.”

Tana motioned toward the rest of the troops retreating in the distance with her chin. Harsha’s breathing heaved, overwhelming rage washing through her mind, emotions clawing their way up to the surface and threatening to burst out as tears.

She saw those cold eyes, holding naught an ounce of sympathy. Tana was even more prideful than she was, holding contempt for anyone she considered lesser than her, whether they were stronger or not.

Harsha turned, only her legs unharmed, the only reason she continued to be mobile as the adrenaline faded.

“Fuck you.”

There was no response as she trudged away and popped a recovery pill into her mouth.

Tana turned back to the fight, seeing John continuing to tear through dozens at a time. The Royals attempted to attack him but he was always able to evade. None of them were able to see through his trickery disguised as invisibility.

Not even her.

She shot back down to where her squad was harassing and evading the Authority 10.

In her mind, her loathing for Harsha grew stronger.

She couldn’t allow herself to get that weak. The issue was that she was closer to Harsha’s weakness than she was to her squad’s strength.

But unlike Harsha, she would die before becoming a burden to her squad. She had once given her life to give them a chance at survival, only surviving because John had kept her heart going for hours before receiving help on pure chance.

She may not be strong enough to become the asset that she should be, but she would never become the burden that Harsha was.

She appeared by the side of the Authority 10, slashing out with a short sword, catching its attention before it could attack Jaya.

Her anxiety screamed at her, demanding she find the path to get stronger, engraving the fear of failure into her bones lest she become complacent and lose everything.

Yet she forced herself into these impossible battles anyway. She would improve or she would die. One way or another, she would remain someone they could trust, or she would die and get out of their way.