Both Leavery and Maik were called upon to testify as to the efficacy of Auric functions and effects. Maik had thankfully had the better part of an hour to cultivate before they were called upon in the meeting and had ample Chi to demonstrate auric effects with. With the addition of the new skill Chi force projection the Chi instructor was further able to present a direct Chi skill effect without needing to heal a wound, though that was yet another demonstration Maik performed for the gathered audience.
Most of the people at the meeting were curious to see what the famed Chi instructor was capable of after all, though not because they were all devoid of Chi skills themselves. All of the vets had at least the Mind & body skill sense several of them had already been Qigong practitioners before magic was a thing and those from the Protestant Methodist Church also had Chi skills but theirs seemed to be more faith oriented. Similar to Darell Smalls actually.
Still, it seemed that what set Maik apart from the others was that they had been experimenting with Qigong as a means of cultivation, like in the stories the teen loved and drew inspiration from. This had helped the Maik to expand and extrapolate new Chi skill at an exponential rate to far surpass others who had supposedly been practitioners for decades.
Finer detains were gone over about the Neon Lights but ultimately a vote was held to determine the most pertinent course of action. Should they chase after the enemy now or wait until morning. A none too small factor in the decision was the fact that all the members of the Medical department were both finished healing the injured and had recovered most of their Chi by now. This was also probably part of why the mayor was calling for the vote now at 5:30, rather than an hour ago when the last of those in attendance had arrived. Of the seven groups represented in this meeting 5 voted to start the chase now while 2 voted to wait and it was decided. The chase was on and orders went out for everyone to saddle up. 91 combatants, 10 support staff and 26 medical staff began the hunt.
The allied convoy started by making their way around, taking the back roads to the upper scare suburbs. They were burning both gas and batteries to keep both engines and flash lights running while they advanced but none seemed to care given the earlier atrocities committed that day..
They made their way all the way around to the fronts of the housed which had obviously been hit and thankfully they were empty of people, and pets strangely enough. Though there was some blood here and there, usually where some door or window had been forced open.
Things only got stranger when they found an ominous looking bamboo grove with multiple corpses stacked between the stocks, both animal and human, but sense they already had a quarry to chase the grove was given a wide birth. Aside from that it quickly became obvious that every yard sheds had been broken into and many a riding lawn mower was reported as being missing. Zolinski nodded after the details had come in. "Cleaver. riding lawn mowers don't use any electronics so they all probably still work just fine. Still, that's hardly a valid means to transport equipment. Is it ?"
Someone from The Gators explained how it was common for riding lawn mowers to have a hitch on the back for small trailers. "Such a trailer could easily transport up to 4 men and some equipment if they sat on the side walls." He was sure that was the case because the tail gates of riding mower trailers was detachable so that you could lay longer items down in the bed of the trailer and he had already seen 2 such tailgates left behind in the sheds his team had checked but no trailers.
With recon of the local area wrapped up they determined that the Neon lights were probably able to maintain a pace of 25-30 miles per hour with their present transportation and that they were probably headed back to the series of houses that made up their home base, if not there already. Zolinski hadn't counted on them procuring transport so quickly after ditching their vehicles back at his former base. This brought up the former objections to risking a night time attack as from back in the meeting.
Still the decision had already been made to go after the Neon Lights and the convoy advanced at a measured pace, light searching the dark, every corner, every nook and every and every hiding place for any signs of an ambush as they advanced through the early night.
Norson voiced his concerns with their present situation. "There going to see us coming from a mile off with all these lights. Too bad all the night vision gear stopped working."
The mayor nodded. "Night vision gear ? Yes that would need electronics to work wouldn't it. Its regrettable but there's no point bemoaning what we don't have. Are your men ready for what we will be facing ? I have already lost 9 men today and that was with the miraculous magic healing provided by The Trilogy." He frowned and then his face turned to stone. I'm not counting the base camps losses, of course."
The vet regarded the mayor with a critical gaze as he responded. "We are thankful for the knowledge you have provided. and respect the price you paid to earn that information. We are ready."
Not long after, the front scouts suddenly became agitated, one of them stating they were sure they had seen something move. After double checking the map Norson decided they were close enough the area under the enemies control that if the Neon Lights sent out an intercept force then they were close enough to encounter it. He clicks the walkie talkie strapped to his chest. "Alright people. Possible contact. Disembark and get into formation."
First, 4 fighters to a fire team. 3 fire teams to a squad. 3 squads to make a platoon and most of 3 platoons to form a company. They were still a militia however, but just under half of the troops here had some military style training, many of them having been reserve for the national guard that were supposed to be picked up by that convoy the Neon Lights hit earlier in the day.
This allowed them to quickly assign temp ranks and arrange formations before they had left out and even now that they were in the field they were mostly maintaining coordination. Maik was astounded by how fluidly this band of, so called militia, replicated the look and feel of a professional military unit. Then again, the fighting hadn't started yet.
1st Platoon stayed with the convoy, operating the vehicles and heavy lights wile 2ed Platoon fanned out on the left while 3ed platoon advanced to the right, both 2ed and 3ed platoons moving to secure the houses and check for ambush.
Maik was with the 3ed platoon, the lilins ability to sense the enemy by aura projecting Chi sight being just deemed too valuable to keep the Chi instructor back with 1st Platoon. It didn't take long before Maik detected the presence of another aura field and the lilin swapped the auric effect of calming over to sending just long enough to let the platoon leader, a member of the Black Pumas named Jamal Hanners. <"Detecting an aura field up ahead. fairly strong too.">
The lilin had been burning through Chi at a rate of 100 calories every 14 seconds to maintain a startling number of Chi skills. Maik had 3 different auric effects going at maximum range, Chi sight, Magic resistance minor, and a calming effect to combat any panic. Maik further was using Chi projection to spread out another layer of magic resistance minor, though the range of Chi projection wasn't as great as the lilins aura projection skill, sense it was still at capable. Upholding all these effects was too much for Maik until they boosted their intelligence stat to handle it all. For the other 2 stats Maik Chose to boost strength and durability. Before the battle got started for real the Chi instructor glanced at their Character sheet to verify everything as a last minute check list.
Name : Make Alphonse Daley
Species : Human / Race : Tier 6 - Lilin Bio-morph
Level : 5
Age :18
Gender : Hermaphrodite
Height : 190 Centimeters
Weight : 80 Kilograms
Master : Stanford Francis Boyd
Strength : 104 + 57 = 161
Flexibility : 113
Dexterity : 138
Endurance : 105
Durability : 99 + 54 = 153
Intelligence : 157 + 86 = 243
Smarts : 179
Wisdom : 141
Perception : 152
Charisma : 127
Chi : 299
aura : 214
Special traits / tier 4
Adaptive physique – Capable
This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.
Supernatural Charisma – Intermediate
Enhanced biological resource processing – Intermediate
Magic sense – Beginner
Enhanced soul connection – Beginner
Special traits / tier 5
Flesh molding – Capable
Minor regeneration – Beginner
Skills / 3ed Tier
Bio chemistry – Intermediate
Calculus – Beginner
Mind & body connection – Intermediate
Aura projection – Intermediate
Magic resistance minor – Capable
Stills / 4th Tier
Chi body infusion. - Intermediate
Chi projection – Capable
Sending – Capable
Minor healing – Intermediate
Chi sight – Intermediate
Auric effect – Intermediate
Cultivation, Chi – Capable
Skills / 5th tier
Chi binding - Beginner
Chi Item infusion - Beginner
Chi Force projection - Beginner
Maik focused on the intelligence stat for a moment and didn't feel that it was based on I.Q. The lilin certainly didn't feel like they had an I.Q. of 157 all the time but that was something for another time. Now it was time to focus.
3ed platoon leader motioned for the troops to prepare. One guy pulled out an air soft grenade and chucked the thing over the roof of the house to land in the back yard. A moment later there was panicked yelling right after a soft bang as members of the Neon Lights panicked when they though an actual explosive had gone off near them.
The platoon advanced with force. 2 squads going around the left side of the house and one squad, including Maik going around the right side. Shots were fired at anything that moved and for just a few precious seconds they totally had the initiative. Then something happened to a large swath of the troops from the 2 squads that had went around the left.
There was a gust of air and Maik knew that the illusionist wasn't playing around. The whole front half of their left flank crumpled under the enhanced mental assault despite being ready for it. Their fellows in the rear moved to cover for the troops who had been taken out of the fight, providing covering fire and advancing without hesitation.
Maik's squad on the right flank was still advancing but the element of surprise had already been used up and close quarters combat quickly advanced closer to melee range. However these soldiers had learned for the previous encounters and used concentrated fire to keep the enemy at a distance for several long seconds. That was until Maik sensed some of them up in the trees.
Maik hadn't even been searing up there, the lilins Chi sight focused forward to locate the illusionist before they could unleash any more mass debilitating attacks. So it was only when the warriors in the tree started moving in mass that the Chi instructor even noticed them, like movement at the corner of your vision.
They were already dropping down from above by the time Maik managed to send the message out to everyone around with an auric effect of the sending skill. <"Look out above you."> Not everyone had a warrior descending upon them but for those that did Maik's warning meant the difference between life and death, even if magical healing was available back at the convoy.
The Allied forces of the various militia had the upper hand, at range. With their superior tactics, discipline and fire power they could have won fairly easily even with how many of them were being taken out of the fight by mental attacks. That is, if they had maintained distance.
The troops reflexes were sharp and they quickly trained their weapons skyward to meet the new threat. Many of the surprise attackers took between 1 and 2 rounds before they reached their targets but seeing as how it usually took 2 too 3 rounds to put them down many of Neon Lights warriors still managed to attack and the squad was thrown into chaos.
Maik dropped the rifle. It would be more of a liability at this point but the lilin had come better prepared this time. Now Maik wore a pair of protective glove with knuckle plates. The added protection allowed Maik to go all out with Chi empowered attributes, striking 2 warriors before the lilin felt a wave of auric function spread over the group.
The next moment the illusionist emerged from behind a tool shed and the gust of air spread over the group right after. The mental attack broke right through the first layer of magic resistance minor in the auric projection. The second layer that were projecting through Chi projection is partially holding but some of the attack is still getting through.
There were 3 people outside the range of the second layer of protection and they started suffering hallucinations. They wailed in anguish, their cries echoing out in the dark while they fought to keep their heads with the aid of the auric effect of calm. The others only let out grunts as a quick bout of dizziness of nausea struck them. Maik was fine as the lilin also had their personal magic resistance minor skill to act as a third layer of defense.
That fact that the squad wasn't crippled by the mental attack made all the difference in the next few seconds as the Neon Lights main force advanced with abandon. The allied forces opened up on them but it wasn't a one sided affair in their favor. Several of them were already down. The Neon Lights warriors were firing their own weapons as they advance and even when the squad started sending mass fire their way, the warriors didn't back down.
The 2 groups collided and by the time they did the numbers were about even. Body armor went a long way towards saving the laves of those in Maik's squad. As for the melee Maik was pretty much the only being on the battlefield that could empower 3 attributes at the same time. This coupled with Chi sight allowed Maik to move back and forth along the front line, delivering aid where needed. This usually meant aiding a soldier who was getting pressed and delivering multiple finishing blows.
Another round of cries echoed from the left flank and the lilin looked over just in time to see the majority of the troops that had still been standing start going down. No doubt the result of another wide spread mental attack. Jesus. How many times can that mother fucking pull off such a devastating area attack ? We need to take him out. Now.
All the auric effects except for Chi sight were dropped and Maik stopped using Chi projection to provide the extra protection as well. Diverting stat boost from intelligence to Dexterity. We are a go to advance.
Someone hollered to the lilin from behind but Maik couldn't spare them the attention. The Chi instructor was about to do something stupid and they needed to maintain complete focus as Analytical and Creative gave over primary control to Primal and they advanced.
As Maik suspected the illusionist had guards. These guards had been taking pot shots at the allied forces while their caster had been coming out from behind the tool shed but otherwise staying back to protect their V.I.P. Using Chi sight Maik quickly moved with the control afforded by enhanced agility and legs powered with enhanced strength to duck weave and dodge their way through the suburban back yard that was this battlefield.
Bullets whizzed past when the guards finally caught sight of the rapidly advancing lilin. 2 shots, 4 shot, 5 and then Maik was within range. A fist flew forward while the lilin used Chi force projection. a full 45% of the already Chi bolstered and strength enhanced punch traveled the last 6 feet (2 meters) to knock the lead guards weapon out of his hands.
Light suddenly shown over Maik's face but Primal refused to allow the lilin to flinch away and as the last couple feet (1 meter) were closed between them the guards face contorted into abject horror after looking into Maik's eyes.
Maik collided with the man, half punching and half shoving him into one of his fellow guards. In the next second Maik ducked under the wild spray of bullets sent his way from a 3ed guard, darted forward to upper cut the frantic gunman in the stomach on the way past and make it to within arms reach of the illusionist.
The colorfully dressed man looked just as half crazed as Maik imagined given the manic yet smooth voice that came out of the radio earlier that day. One empowered right hook delivered through an armored glove shattered the mans jaw at the same time that Maik felt a hard thud strike them in the back. Thankfully the ballistic vest should have stopped the bullet and Maik's empowered durability seemed to be helping them take the impact in stride.
Another bullet struck the lilin in the back before they could grab and whip the illusionist around to use as a shield. The guards didn't stop shooting though and their had been more guards on the other side of the caster. Maik was surprised that they still received so much energy when the illusionist died but the armor on Maik's back was taking more rounds. The lilin didn't want to give the guards time to start aiming for their legs so Maik heaved to toss the body at the guards now ahead of them before dodging to the side and then rushing the guards that had been behind the lilin.
Thankfully this was about the time when Maik's squad had finally caught up to them and the guards had a lot more to worry about as a fire team rounded the corner and started lighting them up. Within the next 10 seconds this group of the Neon Lights were no more but the look that Jamal was giving Maik when their eyes met startled the lilin as the man actually took a step back. "... What ?"
The thin faced black man just shook himself and refocused on the sounds of battle still raging over where 2ed platoon was. "Nothing that can't wait. Yo still good to continue ?" The 3ed platoon leader was eyeing the lilins vest where it had clearly taken a few hits and all the blood coating Maik's garb, mainly around their fist.