As the molten metal rained down upon her, Lieutenant Frost's eyes gleamed with excitement.
Displaying her inhuman agility, she began to weave and dodge through the hail of scorching pellets with a fluid grace. Each movement seemed calculated and precise, as if she had anticipated the trajectory of every single projectile that was shooting in her direction at frightening speeds.
Captain Ionheart, taken aback by the lieutenant's supernatural prowess, tightening the grip on his weapon in frustration. He had hoped that his devastating surprise attack would bring a swift end to the confrontation, but it appeared that Lieutenant Frost was more than a match for him.
Thea, meanwhile, watched the intense battle from a safe distance, her heart pounding in her chest. She couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at the extraordinary abilities of the two combatants, realising the gap between them and herself. Even so, she was filled with determination to support her lieutenant in any way she could, if an opportunity presented itself.
As Lieutenant Frost continued to evade the captain's assault, she spotted an opening in his defence. With a swift, powerful motion, she lunged forward, aiming a devastating blow at her opponent with her armoured fist. The captain, surprised by her speed and sudden change in motion, barely managed to raise his shield in time to block the attack.
The resulting impact sent a visible shockwave through the battlefield, stirring up dust and debris in a large area around them. The two titans, locked in a fierce struggle, pushed against each other with incredible force, neither willing to give an inch.
Suddenly, the captain released his grip on the bulky gun, which crashed to the ground with a thunderous thump, sinking several centimetres into the hard soil. Then, he swiftly drew a chainsword from a compartment built into the side of his armour, and with incredible speed, swung it down at the lieutenant's incoming fist, the chain on the sword revving with vicious intent.
In yet another dazzling display of reflexes, Lieutenant Frost narrowly evaded the whirring teeth of the chainsword, her fist still arcing toward the captain with unrelenting force. Upon connecting with the captain's shield once again, she skillfully used the rebound to create some distance between them. With an agile backflip partially powered by the force of the rebound, she landed about ten meters away from him.
"Playing dirty, huh? Not that I expected much else from a freak!" she taunted the captain, before crouching into a low stance and pulling out two brutal-looking, serrated combat knives from hidden sheaths inside her boots.
With her signature manic grin, Lieutenant Frost lunged towards the captain, her knives slicing through the air in a blur of motion. The captain responded with a guttural roar, swinging his chainsword to meet her relentless attacks. Sparks flew as metal clashed against metal, the sound echoing across the battlefield.
Thea, still in the trench, watched the fierce exchange with awe. The sheer power and speed of both combatants were beyond anything she had ever witnessed. She realised that this battle was on a completely different level, one she couldn't even begin to comprehend.
She wasn't alone in her stunned awe, though. No fighting occurred within a roughly 500-600 metre radius around the two combatants, as the entire battlefield seemed to hold its breath. Soldiers on both sides simply watched the ferocious duel unfold before their very eyes, their actions frozen in stunned awe.
As the two titans continued to clash, their movements became a symphony of violence, each strike and parry perfectly choreographed.
The captain tried to gain the upper hand by unleashing a flurry of chainsword attacks, but Lieutenant Frost danced around them effortlessly, her knives slicing through the air with surgical precision.
Despite the intensity of the battle, Lieutenant Frost maintained an air of confidence, as if she knew she had the upper hand. Her eyes gleamed with a predatory hunger, a desire to win at any cost.
Suddenly, with a swift and unexpected movement, Lieutenant Frost slipped past the captain's defences by contorting her body mid-air in impossible angles, her knives leaving deep gashes in his jet-black armour. The captain howled in pain and rage as he staggered back, his chainsword faltering for just a moment.
Seizing the opportunity, Lieutenant Frost pressed her advantage, launching a relentless series of attacks that pushed the captain further and further back.
The captain, now visibly struggling to keep up, desperately tried to regain his footing and counter her assaults. However, the shield that had been so useful to him in previous battles had now become a hindrance, slowing down his movements considerably.
In an act of frustration and defiance, the captain flung the colossal shield at Lieutenant Frost. She deftly avoided it, and then, spinning around, grabbed the edge with both hands. Using the momentum from her sideways dodge, she hurled the colossal shield right back at the captain.
Not anticipating this turn of events, the captain failed to dodge the shield in time. With a thunderous crash, the colossal shield collided with the mid-section of his armour, leaving behind a significant dent and a network of cracks.
The impact sent the captain flying several metres backward; however, he managed to land back on his feet, sliding across the ground before coming to a halt.
"Ha… I admit, I underestimated you, Lieutenant Frost. I wasn't expecting to encounter someone like you in this Emperor-forsaken corner of this barren planet. Your abilities are far beyond what I thought possible on this battlefield. You must be reaching the upper limits of what the System allows for this one, no?" the captain inquired, taking a moment to regain his footing and composure.
"Well, you know what they say: A lady never shares her statistical improvements, System score or System-sanctioned abilities... or something like that. I'm pretty sure someone said something like that at some point," the lieutenant replied, her tone dripping with mockery.
Captain Ionheart clenched his fists, obviously irritated by Lieutenant Frost's continued teasing.
"Enough of this!" he roared, summoning a powerful energy field that pulsed around him, causing the cracked and dented portions of his armour to glow ominously. "I'll show you the might of the 37th Legion!"
His chainsword roared back to life, as he charged at Lieutenant Frost once more, each strike faster and more powerful than before. The lieutenant, though still seemingly in control, had to become more focused and deliberate in her movements to counter the captain's relentless assault.
Thea, still watching from the trench, felt a surge of fear and admiration. Lieutenant Frost seemed to be dancing on the edge of disaster, her entire being pushed to the limit. And yet, there was something graceful and mesmerising about her performance.
The clash between the two warriors intensified, the sparks of their weapons striking each other illuminating the battlefield like a violent ballet of death. Soldiers from both sides continued to watch, their own battles momentarily forgotten, as the outcome of this duel could potentially change the tide of the entire front.
Just as it seemed like the duel would never end, Lieutenant Frost saw an opening. With a swift kick, she knocked the chainsword from Captain Ionheart's grip, sending it spiralling into the air. She followed up with a series of rapid, precise knife strikes that found the weak spots in his armour.
The captain staggered back, blood seeping from his wounds, and fell to his knees. His breath was heavy and laboured as he looked up at the lieutenant, who now stood over him, knives at the ready.
The captain held his head high, in spite of his severe injuries, and his metallic voice echoed over the battlefield once again: "Though you may have bested me in this battle, don't think you've won the war, whelp. The Stellar Republic will never yield to the likes of you. Mark my words, Lieutenant. The consequences of your arrogance will doom you and the rest of your marines!”
With a fluid motion, Lieutenant Frost drove both of her knives into the helmet of the defeated captain, pushing him to the ground. As he fell, she released her grip on the knives, leaving them embedded in the captain's helmet as his body slumped lifelessly to the ground.
With a graceful twirl that belied her bloodied and rugged appearance, she turned towards the UHF trenches and flashed a peace sign with her right hand. Adding an uncharacteristically cute wink in Thea's direction, she topped off her performance.
Her act was met with a thunderous cheer from the UHF side, as thousands of marines roared their triumph into the dust-covered sky.
As Thea cheered along with the marines for their triumphant champion, she suddenly felt a pang of intense dread and danger in her chest that instantly caused her blood to run cold.
Frantic and wide-eyed, she looked out towards Lieutenant Frost, who was still standing in the middle of the no-man's-land.
"GET DOW—", before she could finish yelling her warning, the entire battlefield turned white.
In that instant, a cataclysmic explosion erupted from the dead captain's body, engulfing everything within its rapidly expanding radius. The force of the blast rippled through the air, flattening anything that stood in its path. The ground shook violently beneath them, as if the very earth itself was rebelling against the devastation.
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The heat of the explosion reached the UHF trenches in less than a second, vaporising anyone who had not instinctively ducked behind cover, as if they had been hit by a concentrated beam of plasma.
The shockwave that followed hurled everyone who had managed to duck under the cover of the trenchline more than a hundred metres away from the trenches, in the direction of the twelfth trenchline behind them.
Thea found herself violently hurled through the air, her ears ringing from the deafening roar of the explosion. She was airborne for more than three seconds before finally colliding with the ground.
Due to the force of the explosion and the angle at which she had been ejected from the trenches, her body retained significant momentum. It bounced off the dirt-covered ground multiple times, accompanied by the sickening crunches of breaking bones, before finally sliding to a halt about fifty metres outside the twelfth line of trenches.
Unsure whether to be grateful for maintaining consciousness for once, Thea was acutely aware of her entire body screaming in pain. Instinctively, she knew that, at the very least, she had suffered multiple broken ribs, as breathing had become nearly impossible in an instant.
Lying broken on the red-brown dirt of the no-man's-land between the two lines of trenches, she could see the remnants of her previous position.
As the radiant white light emitted by the explosion began to fade, a gigantic mushroom cloud towered over the battlefield, a testament to its sheer destructive power. The landscape of the hill and the no-man's-land, where the captain and the lieutenant had fought, had transformed into a desolate wasteland.
It was now littered with debris from both UHF and Stellar Republic forces. The explosion had ripped a massive crater into the hillside and completely annihilated the trench lines on both sides of the battlefield, up to 300 metres away from the final resting place of the captain. Further destruction could be traced up to a kilometre out to each side, as both forces were reeling to get the situation under control.
As the dust began to settle, the chaos of the battlefield slowly gave way to the urgent calls and commands of officers and soldiers trying to make sense of the devastation. Medical teams were hastily dispatched to tend to the wounded and recover any survivors they could find amidst the wreckage.
Thea, lying broken and battered in the no-man's-land, was struggling to stay conscious as her vision blurred and darkened. Her shallow breaths were laboured, each inhale feeling like half a dozen daggers were piercing her chest.
A team of medics from the UHF trench line behind her caught sight of her motionless form and raced towards her, carefully navigating the treacherous terrain. As they reached her side, they quickly assessed the severity of her injuries and began administering emergency first aid. One medic applied a spray-on bandage to her wounds, while another injected her with painkillers and a coagulant to slow the bleeding.
With Thea now somewhat stabilised, the medics worked together to gently lift her onto a stretcher. They moved cautiously back to their trench line, keeping a watchful eye on the smouldering battlefield for any signs of hostile activity. Upon reaching the relative safety of the trenches, they hurried down the zigzagging corridors to the makeshift field hospital that had been set up in a reinforced dugout.
Thea's vision was blurry from pain and the aftereffects of staring into the blinding light of the explosion, and her ears continued to ring, making it difficult for her to understand what was happening.
Although she realised she had been transported somewhere and given some kind of painkiller, as a soothing warmth radiated through her body, muting the agony wherever it passed, she remained uncertain about her current situation.
She felt skilled hands moving over her body, removing shattered pieces of armour and carefully working to free her head from the crumpled and smashed remains of her helmet. Despite her confusion and discomfort, she was grateful for the careful attention she received from the medical team tending to her injuries.
As the medics continued their diligent work, one of them produced a small syringe filled with a shimmering, iridescent liquid. The medic gently injected the substance into Thea's neck, close to her windpipe.
Within moments, Thea felt a strange sensation as the ice-cold liquid in the syringe began to work its magic. It swiftly travelled through her respiratory system, dissolving mucus, debris, broken bones and any other obstructions blocking her airways. Simultaneously, it repaired any damage it encountered, knitting together torn tissues and promoting rapid healing.
Her breathing became easier and more natural in an instant, also clearing up parts of her vision as a side-effect, as she finally managed to breathe a few deep breaths of air. With each deep breath, Thea's vision grew clearer, allowing her to take in her surroundings.
She found herself in a dimly lit, underground bunker that had been converted into a makeshift field hospital. The red-brown dirt walls were lined with shelves stocked with medical supplies, and the air buzzed with the sound of medical equipment monitoring the vital signs of wounded soldiers resting on nearby stretchers. The atmosphere was tense yet focused, as the medics and medical staff worked tirelessly to save lives and treat injuries.
Having addressed her most critical injuries, the medical team proceeded to the next steps of Thea's recovery plan. They carefully applied regenerative nanogel to her broken bones and lacerations, which would accelerate the healing process and minimise scarring. They also fitted her with an exoskeleton-like brace to support her fractured ribs and spine, providing her with a semblance of stability as her body healed.
As the final parts of the brace were fitted onto her, one of the medics produced another syringe, this time filled with a shimmering golden liquid. He injected it straight into her chest, close to her heart. Thea felt its effects almost immediately.
It was as if a veritable fire had been lit inside her, making every part of her body gleam with energy. She could easily move her arms and legs again, as if none of the injuries she had suffered previously had ever existed.
The medic who had led the recovery efforts on her smiled underneath his mask, though his expression remained serious. "You're good to go, Private. Get out there and give 'em hell," he urged. "Our forces are still reeling from the explosion, and we need every able-bodied soldier out there. Those freaks are likely to recover before we do, as they’re the ones that planned this all out."
He paused briefly before continuing, "Your weapon was a broken mess from your tumble, so they left it out there. You'll have to find someone else's, but with the casualties around here, you shouldn't have much trouble scavenging something. Now get out of here—we need the bed for others.”
Dismissed just as abruptly as her entire experience with the explosion and the following medical treatment, Thea hesitated for a moment, taking in the sudden change in her circumstances. It had only taken the medic team around ten minutes to get her back on her feet from a condition that Thea had assumed would take months to recover from in normal circumstances.
She could not help but feel like a punching bag from her overall experience in the Deep-Dive Simulation. She had likely spent more time laying somewhere half-broken than she had actively fighting the Stellar Republic’s soldiers.
Slowly, she got up from the field-bed, her renewed strength surprising her. With a mix of determination and apprehension, she made her way towards what appeared to be the exit leading to the trench lines, ready to rejoin the fray.
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Twenty minutes after the explosion, the medic's prophetic words indeed came to pass.
Thea had managed to scavenge a standard-issue laser-type assault rifle and a small bandolier of energy cells from a fallen marine in the trenches. Now, she found herself lined up next to half a dozen other marines at the front of the trenches, ready for whatever the Stellar Republic had to throw at them once again.
As she surveyed the devastated landscape beyond, it became immediately apparent that the Stellar Republic had been vastly more prepared for the explosion and its aftermath than the UHF forces. The Republic's troops moved with remarkable efficiency, swiftly regrouping and coordinating their efforts to break through the disarrayed UHF lines.
The gaping crater that now occupied the area where Thea's squad had once manned their stretch of trenches presented an excellent attack vector for the Stellar Republic's forces. The UHF found it nearly impossible to mount a coordinated defence without a fortified position against the superior numbers of their adversaries.
Hordes of Stellar Republic soldiers surged through the no-man's-land, swiftly closing in on the vulnerable opening. The UHF's attempts to repeal the onslaught were meagre at best, with only sporadic gunfire managing to reach the advancing enemy forces from the few positions that had managed to recover.
The Stellar Republic's forces relentlessly pressed their advantage, their well-coordinated assault quickly overwhelming the beleaguered UHF defenders at the eleventh trench line.
Despite the UHF soldiers' valiant efforts to hold their ground, they were no match for the sheer force and rapid advance of their adversaries. One by one, the UHF's fortifications fell, and the tide of battle surged inexorably towards the twelfth trench line.
In the no-man's-land between the eleventh and twelfth trench lines, chaos reigned as UHF marines frantically attempted to retreat towards the relative safety of the higher fortifications up the hill.
Some managed to navigate the treacherous terrain and reach the twelfth line's trenches, their faces etched with exhaustion and relief. However, many others were not as fortunate, ruthlessly cut down by the relentless hail of gunfire from the pursuing Stellar Republic forces.
As the desperate scene unfolded before Thea, the high stakes and urgency of their future defence became all too apparent. The hidden bomb's devastating effect on the UHF's battle plan weighed heavily on her mind. She couldn't help but recall the captain's last words, warning Lieutenant Frost of her arrogance.
Thea considered that, given the lieutenant's superhuman physicality, she might have been able to dispose of the body in time to prevent the explosion, had she been more attentive.
However, Thea couldn't fault the lieutenant for her actions; after all, no one could have anticipated such a devastating trap hidden within the captain's body, designed to trigger upon his death and powerful enough to obliterate the UHF's defences entirely.
This ruthless tactic seemed fitting for the Stellar Republic, forcing Thea to grapple with the reality of facing such a formidable, yet shameless enemy.
It appeared that no tactic was beyond them, no stratagem too ruthless, and no trap too dishonourable.
The Stellar Republic's forces prioritised victory at all costs.
Thea briefly wondered if this approach was as heinous as everyone believed. Victory was, after all, the ultimate goal of every skirmish, every battle, and every war. Ensuring victory in each conflict seemed logical to her. However, she couldn't help but feel appalled at the level of ruthlessness and utter contempt for their own soldiers' lives that the Stellar Republic had displayed in this battle.
The balance between achieving victory and preserving one's own humanity weighed heavily on Thea's mind as she confronted the harsh realities of war. However, recognizing the need to focus on the present, she pushed these thoughts aside for the moment.
Her attention returned to the unfamiliar weapon in her hand and the steadily amassing forces of the Stellar Republic across the no-man's-land.
They occupied the recently devastated and conquered eleventh line of trenches, and Thea knew she had to remain vigilant and prepared for the incoming attack of the enemy soldiers.
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Five tense minutes passed as more UHF marines joined the ranks at the front of the trenches, weapons at the ready.
They were a mix of refugees from the eleventh line, like Thea, recently recovered marines from the nearby field hospital, and fresh reinforcements from the rez-pods and resupply stations within the main HQ's tunnels. Side by side, they prepared to face the incoming charge from the Stellar Republic.
From Thea's limited vantage point, she estimated there were roughly two hundred marines around her, a lot fewer than those who had defended the eleventh trench.
The UHF had focused significant efforts on holding the Stellar Republic at that line, aware that the twelfth and final lines lacked a locational advantage, making their defence inherently more difficult.
The explosion that had torn a massive hole in the UHF's fortifications had also dealt a significant blow to their overall war strategy. The ramifications of this setback were evident in the tense atmosphere that now pervaded the trenches, as the marines braced themselves for the battle ahead, which was undoubtedly going to be more vicious than anything they had faced on this battlefield so far.
Suddenly, the Stellar Republic's lines surged forward, spilling over the top of the trench lines and into the no-man's-land between them.
The mass of bodies swarming towards the UHF's lines resembled a relentless sea of flesh, making it impossible to distinguish individual soldiers amid the chaos.
As the UHF marines in the trenches opened fire, the battlefield erupted into a cacophony of screams, explosions, bullet impacts, and the distinct hiss of lasers tearing through flesh. Within seconds, the entire battlefield was shrouded in a crimson mist as hundreds of soldiers succumbed to the withering firepower from the UHF lines.
Despite the UHF's withering firepower cutting down the Stellar Republic's soldiers at an alarming rate, it quickly became clear that their efforts wouldn't be enough to halt the enemy's relentless advance.
The sea of soldiers continued to surge unyieldingly towards the UHF trenches, a seemingly unstoppable force bearing down on the beleaguered defenders…