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Palmian-Misr Border. October, 64 A.U.
Operation Breakthrough
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After Pommeline and Ames rejoined, the team would wait not a second beyond 5 minutes before getting the flag for launch.
Their plan of attack was something they did back at Chason base. With Misrian troops bunkering inside the tough border walls, the attacking elves would be stalled in a tight group outside. That tight group would be a prime target for a bomb run.
There was a difference however as they would only send Ames and Loclynn for the bomb run in anticipation of magic armor Adders joining right after. Pommeline and Kyle who were the long ranger of the team would watch for any incoming magic armor and would nip the problem in the bud.
"Plan is as good as the execution," people who say it are full of themselves. They don't even consider external factors. No matter how great a plan and its execution is, it won't mean anything once the situation goes wrong.
And if you consider Murphy's law, then SOMETHING will go wrong.
For the team's plan that day what went wrong was, strangely enough, their allies.
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Loclynn and Ames launched after Pommeline and Kyle. They passed the two on their way to the battleground. The team flew in a reverse V position with Ames and Loclynn on points, which was the exact reversal of the normal finger four formation.
"I sensed a group outside of the border... But I barely sensed anyone inside the border wall!"
"Damn it! They finished them that quick!?"
"No..."
"Pixy 4, what do you see?" Kyle was the first to understand Ames's high visual perception inside the Pixy Team.
"Elves and humans, fighting outside the wall."
"""!!!"""
The Misrian border patrols had decided to attack the gathering elven force rather than wait for the backup from Valfreyja.
Not only the move was stupidly risky with no guarantee their troops would be able to defeat the elven troops, but it also messed with the Pixies' plan. If there were allies close to the elven army, bomb run would be too dangerous to execute.
"Misrian Border Patrol! This is Pixy 1 from F.F. Valfreyja, where are your troops? Get them inside the wall!"
"Negative, Pixy 1, we can't let you take all the fighting. We're helping."
"NEGATIVE! We cannot do a bomb run with your troops close! GET THEM INSIDE, NOW!"
"NO! YOU GET DOWN THERE AND HELP MY SOLDIERS! Aren't you supposed to be stronger than those damned elves!? I won't pull my men back! If anything happens to them, it's on YOU!"
"What!? Neagti- Wait, what the hell? They cut the line."
Their stubbornness knows no bounds it seemed. The team was going with the thought that the Misrian had swallowed their pride and asked for help. But in reality, they were gung-ho on using Team Pixy to score an easy victory under their name.
As a young nation, the Misrian military had never fought against elves in any capacity. That was the reason for their stupidity in thinking their forces were equals. The truth is, that one trained elven mage can be compared to three trained human mages.
You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version.
The Misrian troops sent all their force, mages or not.
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"What do we do now, Capt?"
"We follow their instruction."
"WHAT!?"
"I got new info. The underline is, we got to get inside the wall as soon as possible. Magic armor Adders going to arrive soon. We don't have the time to haggle with them, if all else fails, we'll cross the border without authorization. But for now, let's hope you can finish the fight before the Adders show up."
They need to follow the captain. He had a convincing argument, even giving an escape option for the Pixies. So there is really no reason to deny his command.
"I will stay here, the rest of you get to the ground."
"Yes, ma'am!"
---
BRUG!
Three out of four Pixies descend to the ground. They landed behind the Misrian's line. Using their rifles and magics the Pixies helped maintain the line.
But such a flimsy line made from a handful of men would never hold 200 elven mages. Still, Misrian Troop's Captain rather called for closer combat than escaping inside the wall.
Ames led the troops with Vawln's speed. He jumped and then used his thruster to fly with his feet only centimeters above the ground.
Before the foremost elf was even able to cast his spell, Ames's rifle's barrel was shoved inside the elf's face.
Crack!
Brain matters of that elf and the one behind him splattered onto their comrade's face.
Ames touched the ground with his right foot leading. On his right, the elven mages were ready to unleash their barrage of spells. Ames redirected his momentum sideway to body-check the elf with his shoulder. The sheer weight of him in armor combined with his enhanced strength was enough to knock the elf out.
With his back on the right side of the elven line, Ames shot his rifle to trim the left side.
Now the one on his back wanted a piece of Ames. Not if Loclynn and Kyle had a say in the matter, though. They arrived slightly later than Ames but still way ahead of the Misrian troops.
Loclynn protected Ames's rear by ramming himself into the line to disrupt it. He shielded Ames from a spell using his own body. But his defense boost spell raised the magic armor's defensive rating through the roof.
CRACKA CRACK
Kyle controlled the left side with rapid-fired spells. He used lightning as it was easier to control (lightning doesn't explode with contact). It was also still faster than the normal attack spell Ames and Loclynn used.
"THE TYRANT'S HERE!" Drowned by the scream and the curses of the elves, Ames heard one of them. He took a peek at the voice's source to find an elf pointing his finger at him.
Ames didn't understand what they meant specifically but knew danger was imminent. He grabbed the nearest elf and used her as a shield to create hesitation.
BOOM!
"AAAH!" The shriek of the female elf rang inside Ames's ear.
Her comrades showed no hesitation at all. Maybe they understood that she would die either way, but normally one would hesitate before shooting a soldier from their own side.
"PIXY 4!?"
"I'm fine..." The attack staggered him a bit.
CRACK! BOOM!
"PIXY 1!?"
"I can't just stand and watch! I'll help as much as I can!"
Pommeline shot an exploding round outside of the melee, nearing the back side of the elven army. He shot even further back so only the edge of the explosion touched to group.
It announced her presence which was unknown until then, but also gave enough distraction for Ames to fully recover from the stagger.
"Moving up!"
Ames pulled his spellblade, pointed it forward, and then jumped. Ames closed in on the elf that shot him, but in the last second aimed his attack at the one next to that elf. His target who was moments from firing his spell tasted the nothingness of spellblade inside their mouth.
Rather than pulling it out, Ames forcefully swung the spelblade toward his original target. Being taller than his dead ally, the elf's throat was slit open.
"There's no magic armor here!" Ames confirmed. The trick they saw on the base remained on their mind. Ames had to check if any Adders were hiding inside the infantry groups.
"I don't sense anything in at least 20k."
But Pommeline was wrong. Unlike a radar, her sense covered a spherical space. This means by having a high difference in one axis, someone could get closer on the other two axis.
---
Nemo used that theory to break through Pommeine's sensing magic.
"Looks like you are right, genius."
"Please, Your Highness, everyone can think of this solution. Rather than saying I'm right, we got this far because of the other side's carelessness."
They had watched the battle from a safe distance and noticed Pommeline's position along with the ground troops. She was flying quite high above the battlefield.
By staying as close to the ground as possible, Nemo and Deuvr gained the difference in z-axis (height) against Pommeline. So they could get closer to the battlefield without alerting Pommeline. At least not until they were close enough to attack.
"Let's take down the Tyrant!"