Counter-Assault

"Get in formation, let them see you are waiting, show them your faces to these fuckers!!" A loud voice shouted to the troops under himself, but it wasn't the only shout coming about and it definitely wasn't the loudest. But the students under this leading student were only hearing his voice, his shouts and following the 'orders' of showing themselves to the enemy, who should already be more than capable of looking at them from a few kilometers away.

There was a long line right before where the barrier that their Chief in Commander had set up not too long ago, with the amazing resources from the mines nearby. It consisted of all 40,000 students and leading students in the northwest and another 40,000 of such in the north. They weren’t placed together, meeting one another at a certain point, and even left an open gap between each other.

However, instead of filling that gap or at least showing that they were taking precautions and had their tools already, just standing with their arms to their sides and in formation, the 80,000 troops as a whole simply let their faces and front bodies be shown to the enemy charging at them.

Their uniforms were there, obviously not armored or at least enhanced, but they could indeed provide a tiny bit of assistance if infused with one’s Powerful Energy. Their hands free and their chins up, their eyes looking directly or low at the incoming huge amount of armored cars. There seemed to be almost 400 armored cars on both sides coming towards their base, but even then… the students’ glares towards such was filled with defiant hatred.

“These are the people who are trying to take you down, just because you are not under their feet already…” - “They have invaded our home, the one we haven’t even gotten a chance to see for ourselves and it all has already entered war, forcefully!” - “... because they are coming to get it all from you, from our hands, from everyone!” - “Let’s at least give them the chance to see the eyes and skin of those who are going to take them down, let them see who are the ones who will vanquish them back to their warring lands!”

The many voices all around, all shouting and of the leading students, encouraged the students who were already bravely standing so ‘defenselessly’ behind the base’s perimeter, its barrier. And those very few who still didn’t have their chest sticking out and their backs impossibly straight quickly got to feel their bodies being filled with valor and bravery, the sight of their fellow students also helped them get used to it as well.

… trckrr, trckrr, trckrr, trckrr, trckrr, trckrr, trckrr, trckrr, trckrr, trckrr, trckrr, trckrr, trckrr…

The sound of motors roaring in their direction was finally clearly heard, even among the shouts who slowly became more silent and lesser among both lines. The leading students who heard the motors so nearby they could hear the more than 700 armored cars coming, turned around after taking a look at the students who did have a change of expression but remained standing with their backs fully straight and their chests sticking out while facing the nearby enemy.

Turning around, they also faced the incoming, charging enemy still hidden within their own armored cars, and their chests could be seen heaving up and down, slowly calming down as their backs straightened more than fully and their chest stuck out.

From the backlines of each line, with 2 for each defensive line, Ciemnosc’s teammates were standing with just the very same kind of stance. But being right at the back of even the defensive line’s rear didn’t made them look nor feel cowardly, the troops right before them had the straighter backs, a sensation which seemed to slowly spread to the vanguard of the defensive line slowly with each minute of silence that the big bosses spent; also in silence.

Fatima and Leen were at the northern defensive line, while Missa and Gallah were at the northwest defensive line. Each line had 1 of the strongest and most capable 2 teammates in Ciemnosc’s team, thus also known as the most capable leaders of the base just below Ciemnosc but above everyone else.

With each of them at their backs, the students, the troopers; felt the pride of having their base’s little heroes protecting them, even if it was just another sensation before the battle… or during.

Boom boom boom boom boom boom boom…

But the bombing from before at their protective array formation was still going, on their backs, while the enemy at their front seemed stoic when charging right at them. If this was the base from even just a few weeks ago, it should’ve surely been enough to get the students to have a problematic mentality in the middle of ‘before the battle’ situations.

But not just due to their training and their recent victory, it was also the knowledge that their big bosses were right on their backs that made the noises trying to ‘attack’ their backs feel safe and secure, there was nothing that could scare them off in this way.

“Hold!” Missa yelled as the students were beginning to barely move on their spots at the images of the armored cars just being a few hundreds of meters away from their current position, the northern defensive line still had a few more kilometers before the armored cars could get close.

The students, even their leading students, became calm once again and were no longer all fidgety on their spot; even if it was barely any movement from their bodies standing still. There was a calm that suddenly surged in their chests, and their minds cleared with Missa’s shout, they watched as the armored cars closed in faster and faster; faster!!

…trckrr, trckrr, trckrr…- TRRCCRKKRRR TRRCCRKKRRR TRRCCRKKRRR TRRCCRKKRRR TRRCCRKKRRR TRRCCRKKRRR…~!

“...” Missa was about to shout once more, to calm everyone down, but she noticed that they were all fine and it was only her and Gallah who felt their hearts heavily pounding, watching the few hundreds of armored cars rush into their people!

For a single, flashing passing moment, they felt as if they wanted to quit, just give up and make sure everyone would be getting out of this alive. But for just a moment.

Whoooshhh~~... PAM- crash! Crash crash crash crash~!! Pum, pam pam- craaaash~~!

It happened when they least expected it, even as they were very well watching, except for the northwestern defensive line who were too seriously and hatefully glaring at the incoming enemy from their side.

The armored cars who looked like behemoths trying to devour the little lives of the students on the defensive line made improvised, last minute changes and diverted their direction straight towards the gap which these ‘war-less’ inexperienced, ignorant students had created.

But before they had the chance to start attacking all around and begin massacring these futilely attempting students, they found themselves completely overtaken by the- mere, most simple and incredibly casual shocking impact of the armored cars to the light green glowing barrier that appeared only after a dozen armored cars crashed right into it!

The first dozen of armored cars to crash were completely incapable of expecting it, and the result was that they were all turned into scrap metal that was only getting worse and worse from the following tens of armored cars still coming to crash right at their butts. There were armored cars a few more tens of meters away who were doing their best to stop, their involuntary drifting through the snow and in the same direction as the rest showing the disorder they fell in right away.

The armored cars who had their total size reduced to less than even half their length for some immediately began to become thin and flattened by the rest of the incoming, thereon crashing - armored cars that if the first dozen of enemy troops weren’t killed in that one first crash, then the second and next batches of crashing armored cars did the job to end their lives.

“Hold!!” On the northern defensive line, just as the armored cars rushing into the northwestern barrier somewhat began to react, Fatima’s shout echoed all around and in the ears of the students before her from below their chins from their communication devices; for the enemy on their side was now just a couple of hundreds of meters away from the barrier.

On the other hand, in front of the northwestern defensive line, the armored cars that involuntarily drifted through the snow and into the light green barrier, whose thoughts were all of the snow very much likely to help them absorb the damage was nowhere as difficult to traverse as it was before; but there were still many other armored cars from behind who came to ‘help’ push those at the front as if they weren’t already in so much danger of dying like the first batch of armored cars.

It was in such simple ways that the armored cars that were trying to stop, drifting around just like the first batch of armored cars not having enough time to discover the barrier’s existence before rapidly dying, some slowly doing so though; that the second wave of tragedy struck the enemy troops inside of those enemy armored cars…

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CRASSSSHH~...

It was a spectacle for the northwestern defensive line’s troops who looked on with their eyes as if they were capable of making their enemies suffer more the worse they looked at them with such emotions slipping from their solid irises and shaky pupils. Not an ounce of mercy, let alone pity, was seen or felt in the pair of eyes of every trooper.

Meanwhile, at the northern defensive line under Fatima and Leen’s direction, the enemy armored cars were now slightly aware of the weirdness of the other side, as they were now barely seeing the many disastrous images of armored cars yet of the students in front of such and around it not even moving, still looking at the front or their sides to watch the armored cars ‘suffer’.

But that was not enough to stop the rapid movement of the armored cars, nor of the ones leading the charge and the assault, as they simply continued forward and just ‘told’ the rest of the armored cars through the not even stable mobile intranet to be careful of any sudden movements.

And so, the northern defensive line, which was growing excited and couldn’t help but want to join in the moment the enemy armored cars came charging over at their carrier instead of growing too nervous or afraid like those in the northwestern defensive line; Fatima’s loud and really stern shout was to keep the quickly growing restless troops at ease.

And though it was efficient, Fatima’s shout, the eyes of the students under her command still had eyes desiring to join the fight and start massacring the enemy together!

It just so happened that at the beginning of this week, the next batch of miners had to be changed, and so most of the tens of thousands of veterans were sent back to ‘training’ their physical and mental condition back to the mines, leaving only very few thousands veterans among the troops; which were now about to defend the base with their lives and weaponry.

Booom booom booom… boom, booom… booom… boom… boom… … … boom.. … … … …

From their backs, as the northern defensive line was beginning to experience the same exhilarating sight of the eastern unnecessary war-addict fuckers getting crashed into the light barrier that suddenly appeared wherever they clashed right after and into each other’s armored cars’ butts; blood streaming or even imploding from some armored cars as barely audible tragic, tired and sad dragged on cries echoed.

Some of those cries stopped whenever another light crash was done to the butts of some armored cars, while others who were trapped in a little hill of such armored cars died out on their own; and slowly.

And as the students barely contained themselves from yelling out in excitement, schadenfreude and abusively; the leading students looked at each other before nodding while the booming sounds to their barrier slowly… came to a halt. Then, the few leading student spokespeople turned around, stepped towards both big bosses on their rear and stood in front of them; awaiting.

“...” - “...” // “... “- “...” Fatima and Leen at the northern defensive line; Missa and Gallah at the northwestern defensive line. Both divided teams looked at each other while the booming sounds were becoming not only lesser but also barely audible, and nodded to each other with their eyebrows seriously drawing a little bit of a frown.

“Come out, bastards!” Meanwhile, at the front of the barrier, but way at the rear of the armored cars who crashed and couldn’t move anymore. Enemy troops were getting out of their armored cars, ignoring the few shouting voices coming from their own armored cars as they faced the troops of students, who looked back in return but now in a more peaceful and quiet manner.

“Come OUT!!!” - “Cowards, face me now, fight me!” - “Stop hiding, are you so afraid?! Come and fight us, bastaaards!”

The yelling wasn’t stopping; it made, in the end, some students start taking ‘to charge’ positions and begin tensing their muscles. Just as they have trained, each selecting their most efficient-to-attack target and in cooperation with their own smaller unit teammates, while the teammates of other teams were already targeting another few on their own without needing communication.

It wasn’t a perfected strategy, but from the looks of it, both divided teams of Ciemnosc’s team had satisfied eyes as they watched these students getting ready without being told to as if they were kids, before the 4 of them opened their lips slightly and began to let their voice echo through all communication devices.

“Attack now! Our backs are covered, now defend our Chief’s efforts and clean our front yard, in his name!!”

“HAAAAAERRR!” - “Grwaaaahhrr~!!” - “Graaawwlllr~!!” - “For our Chief, for our fellow students, for the academy!” - “For the Chief!” - “For ourselves!” - “For the west!!!”

STOMP, FWOOSH STEP STEP, DASH~.

There was possibly nothing that existed in the world to stop the troops from rushing out of the barrier and carrying such intensively high and unbreakable moral, as soon as they escaped from their ‘fiery beast constraints’, their entire beings were encompassed with a murderous instinct sipping into the eyes to the hearts of the enemy!!

Those that were out and mocking the troops, seeing the tens of thousands already rushing out and moving towards all of the armored cars as if they were just made out of cardboard tried to turn around and escape into their ‘mini fortresses’. From a few dozens to even a couple hundred of such enemy troopers were rushing back with their whole might, but it was already too late!

Blood spilled, arranging the snow away as it melted with how hot it was compared to outside, and coming from cultivators close to the Conflagrate realm, their blood was the hottest compared to any other below such a realm. Melting the snow, their limbs followed suit, falling sprawled all around while most of the troops ignored them and just followed the actions they’ve practiced like madmen and madwomen like locusts through a tiny farm.

Ignoring the corpses and even still living but dying cut off bodies of said enemies outside their armored cars, the troops went over all around the enemy armored cars, their movements insanely coordinated as not a single team seemed to clash with another by accident. It did come close to it, a few times here and there, but always ended up with either one or both teams in question slowing down.

That slowed down the sudden counter-charge, but for several seconds to half a minute at last, it did not make a single team or student stop on their tracks; as everyone followed their role.

It was simplistic yet marvelous to witness; just like an acrobatic arc in circuses. From the team, formed up by at least 6 students, 2 of them would rush at the front and 1 that was the only one at the middle of the group would jump, the rest who were at the rear would move to the middle, which would naturally become the rear once the one in the middle, or pair, jumped into the air.

The one jumping would throw several balls at the armored cars, who had an aspect of dull, sickly mix between dark and ordinary green, the dark green color making the ordinary green look bright and alive even. Such things would be silently activated by the cultivators at the rear, who looked as if they were preparing a curse of the hells below before passing them over to the one in the middle.

They just needed to place their left handed index and middle finger together and hold the balls with the rest of their left handed fingers while also infusing it with their Power Energy from their right palm as their right hand held it against their left palm.

When in midair after the jump, the person in the middle would throw those green balls to the armored cars’ holes, do their best to avoid and hope that the projectiles of the enemies inside said armored cars won’t disrupt the trajectory of the green balls or explode them midways to the holes.

There was more than 1 team doing such a thing to every single armored car, who remained on their spot, confident of defending themselves whilst having not a single detachment outside of their ‘mini moving fortresses’. Due to the unexpected move from the troops, the enemy troops inside the armored cars were late to act and couldn’t do much other than accidentally foil their plans for a bit, but still, all of the enemy armored cars had their holes suddenly exploding with a dark dull green color, suddenly becoming fully covered by a goo that was dangerous to even just touch.

The moment that the enemies poked at the goo with even just their weapons or clothes, they became instantly attached to the goo, while their Power Energy infused into their weapons was only making small cracks at the goo. It was effective… but the adhesive properties of it were so strong that it made them believe only Mortal graded weapons could deal with it at the very least!

Yet, before they could find another way to get rid of the goo, they either noticed their armored cars getting really warm or too damn cold below the levels that they were already feeling prior the start of the battle even as the motors warmed part of the armored cars when rushing over here.

“AHH! What is this? It can’t open! Let me out, let me out… LET ME OUT-AAKAAAH…!!” -”HELP, no please, let me out, AAAAH…” - “It hurts, ah fuck! Fuck!!”

Before long, the enemies inside their armored cars understood they were being cooked alive or being sculpted into ice itself. The ones from the latter option had it better, they couldn’t tell what it felt like physically and mentally to slowly and then suddenly rapidly have their bodies melting down from the heat!

Yet, and once again, not even knowing why; the entrance/exit of their armored cars were… also probably glued with that goo, they could only deduce that, while the heat or coolness increased inside their armored cars and they slowly lose their lives or consciousness; it was good luck if it was they got the second one before the first one.

And indeed, just as soon as the students from each time in the middle who jumped fell down, they retreated from the armored cars and hurriedly backed away, while those at the front and the rear either brought flaming tools the size of an ordinary car with their hands covered by very thick gauntlets and some even using a chestplate made specifically for resisting environmental states with a thickness half of that of the armored cars.

Carrying those huge tools over, they directly placed them below or on top of the armored cars, slowly and careful not to break them as they were really heavy and could break, making a more or less inoffensive but messy explosion. As soon as those things either go down under the armored cars or are attached to their rooftops, they either begin spraying properties of ice, or a heat so impossible to stop that even the thick armor of the armored cars is helpless against; even more so due to their non-upgraded versions.

Melting and freezing began; teams took over teams as some finished their job and continued their work, but from the small quantity of such incredibly potent but fragile tools, those teams who had already used theirs could only protect and assist the other teams that had not and were selecting their own target.

It only took several minutes for the enemy armored cars to seemingly respond, however, finally giving some fight back to the troops dashing almost with ease through the snow towards them; all the enemy troops could do was to either defend themselves or try to help the other enemy armored cars nearby - all while trying to retreat to save their skin however.

Casualties began appearing on the troops’ side, while the casualties on the enemy troops were already quickly growing capable enough of filling a large hill over just a quarter of an hour. It was just the beginning; just the beginning.

…