Reorganization And Flash Siege!

More than 12 hours passed since Heian Ciemnosc entered the second City, now under the army. Before 2 transporting ships took flight to the enemy's third city, some tens of thousands of kilometers before the border with the Imp Eye Sub Division, the army witnessed changes to their numbers. Since the sub-commanders had become fewer in number, and many troops were felled, no more Spirit Rebirth realm cultivators were promoted to sub-commanders. And there was a change to the number of student troops the sub-commanders had.

Thus, every sub-commander had slightly more than 12,000 troops under their command. After The army was reduced by a fourth, the commander and the commander would only use 2 transporting ships to siege the third City. Lionel left Zi Ye behind to recuperate from his severe injuries. Among the many who survived, Zi Ye was one of the few who were the most exhausted. After all, most of his Power Energy storage was sent to Cari so he could continue fighting and standing in the last battle. Zi Ye would be defending any incursion or skirmish to the second City.

The enemy cultivators hadn’t actively harmed the civilians in the City after all, so there wasn’t as much unrest here as in the first City after it was conquered. Of course, only Cari and Lionel commanded their transporting ship forward, this time with Cari’s having the Concealed Ornament Team inside it. When Heian Ciemnosc and his team returned, they didn’t hide. Everyone could see them again, and nobody was brainless.

However, they were an army and not a sports group of sorts. Although they grew dissatisfied and even detested their commander’s doings, they still went to their own things, changing the enemy cannons into their own models. After preparing, like creating more tools and recuperating, some even breaking through, they were ready to fight again, but not without the Concealed Ornament Team. They made their mindset known to their superiors, from their team leaders to sub-commanders.

However, Lionel had already turned over a new leaf, temporarily and because of benefit. The Concealed Ornament Team became very well respected. Only now did they understand the importance of this team and the need for several strong and skilled small forces in their army. Some of these teams approached the CO Team members, asking for advice and help. What surprised them was that the team members didn’t refuse and even advised these teams without being stingy.

Of course, they didn’t give out their tactics, strategies, training regimen, etc. They simply helped those teams by setting different possible mindsets and elaborating on the objective that a powerful team should have. It wasn’t a route without troubles and casualties. Only the best might survive, and those who chew more than they could would unavoidably fall. With this, the CO Team showed they weren't just trained to be excellent killing machines following their team leader’s orders, but also wise and didn’t want the army to collapse trying to become magnificent teams.

Heian Ciemnosc wasn’t seen much, but it was said that everything was being discussed with him at ‘the table’ as they recuperated before the subsequent siege. And this time, seeing the commander wasn’t giving any sudden notice of the 15 hours changing to a lesser waiting time, the army was relaxed. Even more so when they saw the Concealed Ornament Team step into the transporting ship with them.

With 75,000 student troops in each ship, it wasn’t crowded, and they rapidly reached the enemy’s third City in less than 10 minutes. The Cities weren’t that far from each other, but the first and the second Cities were nearer to each other. The third City was the closest to the Sub Divisional border and far away from any other City, with the second City being the nearest within the Care Sub-Division but still far away.

At a speed slightly less than maximum, the transporting ships quickly traveled through the enemy’s territory, bypassing many mountains and smallish organizations without the arsenal to try shooting them down. Ignoring these small fry that would be taken care of slowly after the 3 Cities became the army’s, they arrived before their destination. However, instead of barraging the enemy’s barrier's weakest spot or slowing down to let their troops land on the ground, the transporting ships continued flying forwards and at the same speed.

… Whoooosh, whoooobobooooboooshhh~~.

The 2 transporting ships came into the enemy’s view atop the third City’s walls long before they arrived. Such gigantic vessels could not be mistaken for a cloud or enormous Second Step Fauna taking a stroll. The enemy became alarmed but kept themselves at bay as they felt less pressure than when they heard the reports about 4 transporting ships overwhelming their fellow in the other 2 Cities.

“?!” - “Quick, tell the governor!” - “What the hell are they doing?” As they watched the enemy come close to 300 km from the City, the enemy saw something and suddenly grew confused. Some ordered their troops to go back and inform, while others observed with careful detail and wondered what would come next.

In the skies, 2 transporting ships flew in a single line. Cari’s was at the front and thousands of meters above the ground level. While Lionel’s was a couple thousand meters lower and behind it, keeping a short distance behind Cari’s transporting ship and to its right. At this moment, every main hangar had 75,000 student troops behind their main hatch, their Power Energy out and connecting to the floor as they wore severe and ruthless expressions.

They had been baptized by the enemy’s cruelty to themselves, and even as they suffered greatly, it taught them a harsh lesson. In one of them, Violet was in front of the Concealed Ornament Team, her left hand gripping Esteban’s hands tightly as he returned the favor. He was right behind her and wasn’t shy, showing his extended arms below his chest. Her gaze was powerful and impenetrable. Even the fellow troopers nearby felt they would be smashed down if they looked at anyone behind her accidentally immorally.

With such determination, the rest of the 75,000 troops were forced to steel their hearts and become more serious. At this moment, they felt the weight on their bodies. It wasn’t being ‘taken care of’ by the gravity array formations as it should have been.

WHOOSHAAAAASSSHHHHH- PAH, WHOOOOOOOOOOOOSHHHH… From an outside point of view, Cari’s transporting ship suddenly dived down, its gigantic body looked as if about to crash into the sand of the desert with its nose breaking away. But just as the wind slashed to the sides and behind it on its trail, it unexpectedly rose back up and went at maximum speed, soaring into the skies!

The wind seemed to be broken apart, everything turned deadly silent, and if this was a Fighter and not a semi-spaceship with many traveling functions, they would’ve all fallen at a significant speed without being able to save the Fighters. But Lionel’s vessel behind Cari’s was instead receiving benefits, as its pace was increased even without using the smallish engines behind.

Meanwhile, Cari’s transporting ship was like a beam of light rushing into the heavens. It soared until it was 5,000 kilometers above the ground level, still a far distance away from any Middle Kingdom’s spatial territory. It then began to fall. Its target was the enemy’s third City!!!

Whiiiiiiiiiiiiiiss… “!” Suddenly, the enemies atop the walls were astounded as they watched one of the ships begin plummeting from the sky! Their figures became frantic and nervous, visible even from a distance by the hidden cameras of the ship. The student troops watched with relish but remained silent, with facial expressions filled with seriousness. Some even had a face as if this was nothing and they would have to fight with their lives on the line, even if it was a weaker opponent amidst the battle.

Meanwhile, as the enemy panicked, the lowest superiors were telling their higher seniors the news of about to be crushed by a fucking spaceship! And Cari’s vessel continued to drop, seemingly without the intention to stop. Lionel’s transporting ship only raised a few thousand meters above Cari’s previous altitude. Its speed wasn’t increased directly, but the disappearance of wind helped it have a much easier time flying forwards.

With Cari’s ship going at maximum speed still, it returned to 1,000 km above the enemy’s third City in just a few short seconds. The City’s self-imposed governor and everyone else looking up into the sky could only continue to stare as they watched a meteorite-sized vessel seemingly going kamikaze against them. Nobody from the enemy’s side imagined this would happen. Weren’t they supposed to be the ones sacrificing themselves?

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…sssttlleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee~~... FUTOMP- pah pah pah… WHOOOSHHSHSHHSSUUHSHHHH…

There was no time for any more thinking. The transporting ship nose-diving towards the City would obliterate everything. The enemy was already aware of how resistant the armor in those vessels was, and no cannon could single-handedly penetrate it. The enemy cannons could also not aim so high into the sky while the transporting ship was aiming towards the center of the City.

The vessel flew lower and lower until ¼ of the City was thoroughly enveloped by its circumference… it stopped! Cari’s transporting ship suddenly went up, the same as before. Its nose-diving posture changed to one soaring into the heavens! There was seemingly no damage whatsoever to the vessel, but it did take a few seconds for its thrusters to rotate it and let it face the sky once more!

Slide, slide, slide- pheesh pheesh pheesh, whistle whistle… As it soared back up, and the enemy’s hearts beat crazily for a while, they saw the ship’s underside, witnessing as hatches suddenly opened one after the other! The cultivators were barely reacting, looking at the boxes covered in simple wood and some measures so it wouldn’t open beforehand when one of them landed on the City’s barrier.

Boom… boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom boom…

“!!” The enemy felt their skin numbing and their scalp lightless as if they had lost their head. Without caring about anything else but fearing their safety, the superiors shouted and commanded the enemy cannon teams, “Shoot them! Detonate them in the air! Don’t let them break the barrier! Aaaah! Goddammit!”

But the enemy cannon teams were helpless. They could just turn around and start shooting at the City, or it would land on citizens and civilians, making their fight hopeless, losing everything. The enemy could do nothing but watch as even the simple wind movement from the more abrupt ship’s changes also damaged the barrier and had those boxes fall with even more speed and momentum, their explosive power enhanced.

In the sky, Cari’s transporting ship didn’t soar again. It did a head-over-heels maneuver and overflew Lionel’s vessel as the latter approached with the same speed but more momentum than ever! Its machine guns started rotating, and suddenly, the enemy had a horrendous premonition!

Whiiistle… whiiistle… whiiiiiiistleee, whiiiistleeee… Just as they were becoming relieved, the Academy’s transporting ships would be forced to retreat as their barrier was still standing. The enemy’s third City heard something above, illuminated by the City’s lights under the night sky… ampler boxes made of metal began filling. Each one was as large as a 2-story building. Even the City’s governor could only look up and think of his family, his cultivation path, and his choice… one that he didn’t feel was wrong because virtually everyone else also took it. But this would be his result.

BOOOM… BOOOM… BOOOM… BOOOM… BOOOM… BOOOOM… BOOOOOM… …

Scintillating flowers of light and flames painted the City right outside the barrier, the bluish-thin dented and convulsed as if turned into gum. Everytime a giant metal box fell on the barrier, it immediately went off with a bang, and the entire city rumbled with smallish quakes. But as more quakes formed, the City began to shake, and light posts fell like droplets in the rain. The streets and buildings started shaking, and the barrier above their heads suddenly opened. But there were no more metal boxes falling from the sky!

Before the City governor and anyone within the City, in general, could guess how this happened, they saw another metallic ‘behemoth’ appear from the south! It would fly above the City, fearlessly, without a care about the enemy below!

“SHOOT IT DOWN!!!!” The City governor growled in hatred. He even pointed at it as if it had some meaning and kept doing so. But as the ship came closer, only a few seconds since the barrier disappeared, it rotated! Lionel’s vessel underside faced the sky, and the machine guns unceremoniously pouring bullets atop the City walls. The objective was merciless and cruel: to destroy the enemy cannon teams and break the upper part of the City walls! Everything!

Taradaradaradaradaradaradara… taradaradaradaradaradaradaradaradarada…

“AAAAH!” - “Nooo, please save me!” - “Ah, aah, aaaaAAAAHH!” The enemy cultivators atop the City walls weren’t expecting such vulnerability. The moment the barrier fell, everyone inside it felt incredulous. And when the transporting ship overflew the City, they only thought that they couldn’t target it or their shells would start falling before even coming close and landing on the city. So when they began being massacred by those powerful, top-notch machine guns only Second Step organizations or higher can afford, they didn’t even know how to run anymore!

Oh, but it was different on Cari’s side. After he maneuvered to fly over Lionel’s vessel, the transporting ship flew 7,000 from the City, lowering to let its student troops finally descend. Though the enemy simply saw Cari’s vessel go up, down, and again up and retreat, it was different for those in that ship. They went through the fun of the gravity array formation deactivating and seeing all those boxes come out their vessel as they soared and fell, especially the huge ones.

They also had to keep themselves standing in the hangar. Even the Spirit Formation realm students found it difficult, let alone those of a lower cultivation base. But they resisted through it without raising their voice, except for a few. All students below the Spirit Birth realm were to be in bedrooms and hold themselves to something, whatever they could. But some insisted on forming part of the army and remained in the hangar. After the gravity array formation was off, those few Conflagrate realm to Ashes Apperception realm students held themselves to the contraptions for keeping Fighters or small-sized spaceships held tight when the gravity array formations were deactivated.

So not only were some students being flung around nonstop, but the wooden and metal boxes that fell on the enemy’s third City had also fallen through several hatches over the course of soaring and nose-diving. In the night, even with the cultivators’ sight, so high into the sky made it difficult for them to see. But even if they did, what could they do? They didn’t have machine guns or turrets in this Sub Division’s Cities.

All in all. Everything was a success, and the enemy’s barrier was depleted, with Heian Ciemnosc’s calculation and Cari following his instruction to the letter. The barrier was broken, and the City wasn’t directly harmed. If there was a collapsed building or someone tripping and falling on their forks, knives, or their fingers on their eyes while eating and the City was shaking, it wasn’t them.

While Cari’s transporting ship descended and allowed the student troops to set foot on the battlefield, they saw their commander’s vessel in the distance obliterating the City’s walls, but too distracted and rapidly assembled their cannons as soon as possible. It was only one sub-commander taking all the people under him in charge of the cannons this time, while the rest was to urgently rush into the City and finish off the enemy!

The Concealed Ornament Team wasn’t one of the teams left behind but one of many at the vanguard, fighting right behind Carti’s team. They were leading other teams but weren’t entrusted with commanding them. The CO Team was simply directing the way first. Like this, several thousand units within a sub-commander’s group rushed in unison towards the City. There was no hole yet, but as the cannons were assembled, they immediately bombarded the City walls one after the other.

Even as the Concealed Ornament Team had no commanding power nor role in this battle except its own team, Violet felt the pressure as she couldn’t help but feel excited and overwhelmed at her first time leading without Heian Ciemnosc. When she was close to the City wall, there was a fast flying object noise followed by a ‘boom’ as a hole opened 200 meters away from where she stood. It was a small hole, enough for dozens of student troops to go through at once.

“There!” Violet shouted and rushed into the City hole. The team followed her instantly, not wasting more than a second reacting. The other teams hesitated for a few seconds before one advanced, chasing after the CO Team, creating a chain reaction and causing everyone to follow Violet’s leadership. And in less than a minute, like a spearhead, the Concealed Ornament Team pried open a path within the City filled with enemies.

Though the other teams and groups under the sub-commanders also made a killing, the Concealed Ornament Team had the lead in being the fastest and deadliest. The teams following behind the CO Team were glad to not have taken too much time hesitating, joining the fray, fighting shoulder to shoulder with the most prominent team in the army, feeling like generals smiting the filth of the world down!

… High in the skies, as Lionel’s ship was now overflying the battlefield and retreated to where the Academy’s army cannon teams were and descended to let the student troops set foot on the sand, his medallion heated up, and he seemed to look at Cari’s back as he made blood splutter everywhere wherever he went. His eyes were hurt, but his visage was calm, collected, and cold. He finally closed his eyes, and a line appeared in his mind. ‘It’s a price to pay, I suppose.’

Lionel let his heart calm down. His eyes revealed shock, then terror. Before long, he shook his head, and his eyes turned glowy as if praising something he couldn’t comprehend and was wary against. After thinking for enough time, according to his mind, he ordered his transporting ship to continue as instructed and join Cari’s transporting ship to eliminate all enemy cannon teams and incoming reinforcements while hovering above the City.

Lionel prepared to go out and fight in the battle. Suppressing Heian Ciemnosc was one thing, but managing his army and commanding it at war was another. Even as the cannon teams were set at the rear where they came from, they would move constantly and kill off the incoming enemies from other Cities and settlements nearby. Even then, the transporting ships had to continue overflying the third City still in the enemy’s hands, rotate and fly with their bellies skywards, and raze down any potential threat to the foottroopers.

…