Chapter 118
Left Hand of God 10
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One of the basic sleight of hands in large scale warfare was the ‘more soldiers = more danger’ formula.
While this was technically true, there was this thing called ‘quality over quantity’ strategy used to abuse this.
The defenders of Atlantis did the right thing when they met the 8500 strong of Sheriff with the largest amount of soldiers they could muster.
What they failed to realize that the unit from the south, namely Juno’s unit, had packed more of a punch than expected.
They thought that a mere 3000 soldiers and 20 Land Dragon Riders were enough to stop 2500 soldiers comprised of 170 trolls, 8 flaming bull riders and the rest being either gunners or melee fighters.
But most importantly, they severely underestimated how powerful Juno, Bob and Shale was.
Juno was already self explanatory.
Quite simply, she was unmatched in every aspect of front line combat…. Except ranged combat.
Bob was an extremely large troll that could actually go toe to toe with a Land Dragon and win. It would be an extremely bloody and very close duel, but his regeneration and general toughness allowed him to outlast one of the most rugged beasts that walked the earth.
Shale and his Chariot of the Damned weighed the same as a heavy tank and moved as fast as race horses. His cavalry charge was akin more to an out of control steam roller. Armor or no, everything on his path was destined to be pancaked very very badly.
With so much power in one spot, the southern defenders soon realized that they needed so much more to stop Juno’s unit.
After shattering the southern defenders, Juno’s unit moved to flank the forces that were fighting against One-Eye.
One-Eye’s forte in war was attrition warfare.
He hunkered down on a high value area, namely the Atlantis Armory, and dared the enemies to come and get it.
From there, his durable units fought the disorganized Atlantian military into a bloody stalemate.
What happens when the exhausted defenders of Atlantis suddenly gets hit in the flank by the most powerful army in the invader’s forces?
Either mass rout or violent dismemberment.
It didn't take 3 minutes to obliterate the defenders in One-Eye’s front.
Last but not the least, was the main battle led by Sheriff.
That particular battlefield was in complete and utter chaos.
There were no battlelines because everyone was fighting everywhere.
Be it inside buildings, alleys, sewers, everywhere!
While Sheriff was doing a fine job fighting a battle where his forces were outnumbered, the presence of a particular unit has allowed the defenders of Atlantis wreak havoc on the battlelines and forced Sheriff’s forces to avoid wide open spaces.
In the middle of the chaos were 50 Land Dragon Riders that tore apart anyone that got near them.
At the helm of that unit was a beautiful woman at her late 30’s to early 40’s in a green skin tight suit. The most interesting about this woman was a golden trident that controlled water
“Aquarius. Took her long enough” said Juno while riding on Bob’s shoulder.
Aquarius was an S ranked Superhero from Atlantis. She had your typical combat based superhero abilities such as super strength and extremely high endurance.
The thing that sets her apart was the ability to breath underwater and to swim really really fast.
Juno forced a ground war on Atlantis in order to avoid this advantage.
“Alright gentlemen! We’re in the final stretch of phase 2! All we need now is to beat that bitch and take her fancy fork! GIVE HER HELL!” roared Juno through the coms.
Juno’s forces slammed from behind and carved a bloody path towards Aquarius.
Due to the scattered battlefield, the defenders of Atlantis that tried to block them was brutally trampled into the ground.
Naturally, Aquarius noticed this and commanded her Land Dragon unit to turn around and charge towards the newcomers.
Before the Atlantians could start their charge, a storm of bullets and armor piercing rounds rained upon them from every direction.
While the Land Dragons would take minor damage from such a barrage, the riders themselves would die from the hailstorm.
Knowing this, Aquarius raised her trident and out of nowhere, a massive sphere of water surrounded the group. It spun around and deflected all projectiles that tried to pierce through
This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.
However, the real power of this sphere was that it acted like a grinder that shredded everything it touched
One stupid troll actually tried to go through the sphere of water like a badass. A second later, the poor fool was missing his entire upper body when he tried to dive into the sphere.
However, the sphere was actually a positive to Juno
The protective barrier caused Aquarius and her unit to slow down considerably due to the channeling nature of the magic. They also had to make sure that Land Dragons within also didn't touch the barrier lest they’d meet the same fate as the stupid troll.
Lastly, the barrier actually obstructed the vision of both sides.
The set up was perfect for Juno to make her move.
“Bob, throw me at the water sphere.” commanded Juno.
“Okaaay.” replied the every jolly Bob while stepping on a few defenders.
Bob gently grabbed Juno and hurled her with all of his might.
Aside from being larger than most trolls, Bob has a special ability. His throwing skill was off the roof.
Juno has not seen Bob miss when he threw something at it.
She can't help but be very jealous of Bob’s ability.
As she was about to make contact with the barrier, Juno’s body became transparent and harmless went through the wall of water.
“SURPRISE BUTT SEX!” roared Juno as she swung her at Aquarius.
As expected of an S ranked superhero, Aquarius was able to block the blow at the very last moment.
The momentum from Bob’s throw and her overall strength was so great that the Land Dragon Aquarius was riding skid back 5 meters.
Thanks to this sudden attack, the water barrier dispersed allowing a tidal wave of bullets, smelly trolls and madmen with pointy sticks to rush in.
But this did not matter to Juno for she was finally up against someone a bit more competent.
With weapons locked to each other, Juno decided to have a little fun.
“So. I heard you can talk to fish. I wonder if that would save you from me?” asked Juno in a mocking manner.
Aquarius pushed Juno off of her, right into a soldier that was able to sneak on to the dragon.
Juno blocked the sword from behind with her mace, back fisted the soldier in the face before her mace crushed his head.
Juno immediately dodged to the side as a blade of high pressure water was sent her way.
She used the dragon’s scales as hand grips to dodge the water blade Aquarius was firing off every time she swung the trident.
“Stop ‘trying’ to hit me and hit me already!” roared Juno as she lunged at Aquarius
Juno unleashed a barrage of blows that seemed impossible given her unwieldy weapon. And this was while on top of a moving dragon.
“Come on S ranker! I’m getting bored here!” roared Juno while letting lose one devastating blow after another.
Aquarius defended herself from Juno’s assault. Despite her best efforts, a few hits were able to slip through and spilled a bit of blood.
Driven by desperation, Aquarius channeled power into her trident and unleashed a blast of water that threw Juno off the dragon and into the second floor of a building.
Juno skid on the floor before skillfully landing on what seemed to be a sofa
Juno wasn't hurt by the blast, but she did get wet. It was a bit uncomfortable
Aquarius left her stead and chased after Juno.
The Atlantian stopped about 10 meters away from Juno and spoke…
“I thought I was just hearing things, but now I’m certain. Juno Saiga, what are you doing here?” asked Aquarius in anger
“Well well well. A famous S ranker remembered little old me. I’m honored~” mockingly replied Juno as she took of her helm.
“ANSWER ME!”
“No need to shout. Sheesh. To answer your question, I’m here to kill that thing you have sealed underneath the city.” replied Juno, much to the horror of Aquarius
“W-why do you know that?!”
“It doesn't matter ‘why’, what matters is I offer a win-win solution. I kill that thing = Atlantis no longer has to live with the burden of guarding that monster.”
“Are you insane?! That monster is unkillable! It took the ancestors of Atlantis everything they had to seal it! How can you, a young girl barely out of her teens, know anything about killing the unkillable?!”
“*sigh*.... I knew you’d refuse. That’s the reason why I started this invasion.” said Juno as she put her helm on.
Quite suddenly, the air felt like it went deep below subzero temperature.
Aquarius’ battle hardened instinct screamed desperate warning telling to run from Juno as fast as she could
This greatly confused the S ranker.
Juno wasn't exuding vast amounts of power, yet it felt like Aquarius was facing off against a feral Land Dragon.
But before the superhero could decide what to do, Juno’s words kicked off her demise.
“And besides… what makes you think I know nothing?” said Juno before lunging at Aquarius like a hungry beast
Aquarius quickly prepared herself to receive the powerful strikes she has grown accustomed to the last few minutes, but was shocked to discover that this particular attack had absolutely no power behind it.
Aquarius noticed her mistake too late as one of Juno’s hands lets go of the mace and lands a disturbingly powerful jab.
This rattled the superhero, causing her to momentarily loosen her guard.
Juno punished this mistake by delivering another jab before smashing Aquarius in the chin with her mace.
Aquarius slammed into the ceiling, and before gravity could pull her down, Juno user her mace to volleyball the S ranker through the floor and into the basement of the building.
Aquarius rolled to the side, and not a second later, Juno’s shattered the ground with a violent downward swing.
Aquarius jumped to the floor above and made a desperate retreat.
The superhero now understood why she suddenly felt instinctive fear against Juno.
Juno was literally trying to kill Aquarius.
Anything prior to this was Juno playing with her food.
While she couldn't comprehend how Juno, who was still powerless, could use both magic and chi based enchant, Aquarius didn't have the luxury to find the answer.
Abusing her head start, Aquarius ran into a tight alleyway where there was only one way in.
She channeled all of her power into the trident and prepared her stance.
The moment she saw Juno, she unleashed her the trident’s killing move.
She threw the trident. Out of nowhere, a violent maelstrom of water and lightning spilled out of the trident, ripping and tearing everything that came close.
Juno was able to set up a magic barrier at the last moment, but the trident brutally smashed through it.
Juno threw her mace at its path, but that too was obliterated out of existence.
Before the trident could hit Juno, she did a matrix dodge, turned transparent and grabbed the trident by the shaft before being dragged along its flight path.
The trident didnt like being touched by anyone other than Aquarius and began spewing a storm at Juno.
However, something weird happened.
Juno’s transparency began to spread over to the trident.
After a few seconds, the trident calmed down and became silent.
It was as if it recognized Juno as its owner, much to Aquarius’ horror.
“HAHAHAHA! You fool! You just gave me exactly what I wanted!”
In similar manner to Aquarius, Juno channeled power to the trident and threw it at Aquarius
Shock, confused and betrayed.
This was the last thoughts in Aquarius’ mind before the trident went through her gutt and ripped her body apart.
Juno calmly waltz towards the dismembered corpse, grabbed Aquarius’ surprisingly intact head and spoke to it.
“Dont worry my foolish friend. I will fulfil my promise and kill the monster sealed in your homeland. I will ‘free’ your people from this burden and allow them to live in peace…… MWAHAHAHAHA *cough* *cough* *cough*..... Hmm… My evil laugh needs some work.”
Juno began parading the battlefield with what was left with Aquarius in full display.
The sight of the head of their champion broke the morale of the Atlantian and destroyed their will to fight.
The city began to surrender to the invaders.
Phase 2 was now complete.
Time for Phase 3.