Their approach was as silent as they could make it, before entering the Firestarter's territory. From there they gave up all pretenses of stealth. Ringing the doorbell as they broke down the front door.
Mark linked them up, but this would be the longest distance he had ever tried to maintain so he just kept it to their five leads.
The plan was a two-pronged attack, with Mark and Daphne as the rescue team, while Karter, Sam, and Jonathan would start the offensive. Once they had confirmed that their people were safe, Mark and Daphne would join up with the main force.
As they broke off into the Firestarter's territory, the sounds of a thousand sets of footsteps announced their arrival. Their frontal assault did not go unnoticed as their order flooded the streets.
Neither did the Firestarter’s response.
The riders were the first to show up, followed shortly by the Aura users. Many of them wielding tools or simple improvised weapons like chains and metal bats. Small but intense fights broke out all across the frontline in an attempt to halt their process.
Karter had classified their riders as cavalry, and as such, he adapted their advance with this in mind. Their Aura users lugged around huge concrete barriers, they had pulled from the surrounding roads and threw them out as obstructions. Caster’s implements the same effect with spikes of earth and ice while providing minimal artillery.
This didn’t stop their rider's advance but it made a hell of a difference. The Firestarters could barely slow their march. Their strategies relied heavily on their bike's mobility, so when they had kidnapped their people, they had made this a defensive battle.
Karter did not hesitate to make use of this weakness, at the halfway mark he sent the greenlight down the link.
‘Alright! It’s time! Mark, Daphne godspeed!’
As if practiced, almost half of their main force split off down a completely different route, charging toward a seemingly less populated area.
Mark led their flyers from the sky, as Daphne ran their ground forces through the streets below.
Davis, Donny, and Andy were near the front. Marks healers were part of the attack, but their role was accomplished from the rear.
Mark noted the lack of resistance the moment they changed directions, at this stage if this was a setup, then they would have to deal with whatever the outcome.
They kept traveling and sounds of battle carried from amongst the nearby buildings, echoed through the concrete jungle.
Then the sounds of revving engines could be heard as Mark could see motorcycles running parallel to them. Mark called for a defensive formation, but the bikes just kept on going. Racing to overtake them, which they did so with ease. At that moment Mark saw the supposed underground parking that their people were being held in. The sounds of one engine, in particular, were a cut above the rest as it broke from one of the side streets in front of their charge.
Mel sat on the back of the thing grinning maliciously. Behind her more bikes rushed to fill the space as they rapidly built an obstruction. Their numbers were growing by the second, quickly becoming comparable to their own. This looked to be a majority of their riders. They must have realized what Mark and Daphne were after, so they sent a group to interfere. Their speed probably made them the best choice in this scenario.
Mark landed beside Daphne as she gave the order to slow, his voice reaching out to riders beyond.
“I’m offering you all a single chance. Abandon the Firestarters and get as far away from this territory as you can. If you do, you may live”
Mark’s voice carried across the road, void of emotion.
Mel was the first to laugh but it sparked a cascade of howling fits from the people in front of them.
Pulling herself together Mel wiped a tear from the corner of her eye.
“Gosh, Mark you are a tough one, huh? I was pretty sure you were dead when I ground you across the pavement like roadkill! But to answer your proposition, no we won’t be doing any of that. We still have the upper hand remember? I can only assume since you headed straight here because we have a mole, or better yet, a rat. But, like, we already have people there, one call, and your people could be dead. So why don’t we all just calm down and wait here until Kenny sets off the fireworks!”
Mark stared at her, she was bluffing, he didn’t doubt she had people on the way, but at this stage, there was no waiting, no going back. They were here and regardless of the outcome, this would end tonight. Mark sent a message through the link to Karter, warning him about a possible ‘Fireworks’.
Less than a second had passed since she had finished giving her speech and Mark raised his hand, giving the order.
“We’re pushing through! Don't hesitate, make them regret threatening our loved ones!”
One of the things Karter had done was to make sure that anyone who volunteered for the rescue mission got preference because no one would fight harder than the friends and families of the kidnapped.
When Mark made the call, hundreds of shouts tore through the night, filled with fury and purpose.
Their charge was so sudden that Mel hesitated for a second.
Shots were fired, as chunks of concrete and spells were launched at the Firestater’s exits, mainly the side roads where they could escape for cover.
A few reacted in time dodging down the alleyways, but those who were out in the open got mowed down by Davis’s team of riflemen.
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Mark dropped a screen of Force over their charging frontline, as the Firestarters returned fire from behind their bikes.
Protective spells dotted the battlefield as the return fire devolved into an all-out firefight.
It was not pretty or organized, just two groups trying to destroy one another.
When they engaged it was initially a stalemate. The cover provided by their bikes turned out to be bullet and spell-resistant, but as they advanced the Firestarters were slowly losing ground.
Many riders attempted to board their rides once more and take off, Davis did his best to prioritize them as targets, but in the confusion of battle, many managed to flee.
Time went on and their Order quickly took the upper hand. This meant that there was very little resistance as Mark pushed them forward through the Firestarters blockade, but then the ones that had retreated just moments ago circled back, having built up momentum.
Unfortunately for them, the same tactics were employed and the road quickly became a minefield of ditches and spikes. Mel was a force to be reckoned with, in terms of raw power there were people above her, but what made her a problem was the skill with which she maneuvered her bike. The woman used her ride like an extension of her body, capitalizing on the speed it provided her. Charging into their blindspots, her whip cracked against unprotected fighters and then slipping away.
Ranged attacks came crashing into Mark's screen from all over. Any abandoned bikes they passed were destroyed, which was harder than Mark expected.
Mark watched their surroundings with two spears of dirty iron floating above his shoulders, as those that were left circled like vultures, looking for a way in. Their speed ensured that catching them before they could retreat was difficult.
Still, Mark kept them advancing as he watched the bikes move through the streets narrowly missing one another.
As they weaved in and out of each other, Mark heard Daphne shout a warning from their left, it looked like Mel had finally gotten tired of waiting. Turning to meet the threat Mark saw Mel once more charging at full speed toward them. She had found the weakest point of their defense, only this time she had gathered over twenty riders to charge with her. If they hit, the shields would crumble in that area, and the losses would be huge.
Mark reinforced the area with his barrier, but as he did so he watched the approaching bikes.
Motorcycles nowadays are not made up of iron or steel alone. Instead, they were mostly made of aluminum, however, Mark could feel it, the closer they got, the more it came into focus, steel made up the frames of every bike here.
Manipulation was always easier than Manifestation, so stepping forward Mark reached out and attempted to take control of the steel inside the approaching machines. At first, it was slippery, or more accurately difficult to pinpoint, but soon enough Mark snagged the metal. With a sharp upward tug, over ten of the incoming bikes, including Mel’s, were launched into the air towards one another. They smashed together, warping and groaning into one huge ball of twisted metal, which Mark quickly let drop. This then acted as another obstruction, causing the remaining riders to abort their attack at the last second.
Mark was panting from the exertion of the maneuver, but he had seen Mel and most of the other Aura users abandon their rides midair, escaping unscathed.
Mel was already up and cracking her whip at anyone who charged at her.
Daphne moved to engage with Andy and Donny at her back, but getting within range was made difficult by the reach of Mel’s weapon and the speed with which it moved.
The other riders moved to block them but Donny removed any obstructions with his ax. Using the window, Daphne blurred into action, ignoring the Aura-infused whip cracking against her defense in favor of planting a fist in her stomach.
Mel was down in seconds and when Daphne went for the killing blow, Mark saw that Mel had pulled out a wicked-looking blade and plunged it under Daphne’s ribcage where her amour was weakest.
Mark saw the blade approaching her and didn’t even think, pulling a thin rod of sharpened steel straight from the ball next to him and sending it forward as fast as he could.
But, not fast enough to make a difference, the blade was too close and his manipulation too slow. Just when Mark thought it would hit, Andy’s Aura exploded into the street for just a moment, but with it, both Daphne and Andy himself accelerated to incredible degrees. She managed to abort her attack and move out of the way of Mel’s blade, and Andy knocked the weapon from her hand.
Mark’s spear charged forward unperturbed by the events that just took place and plunged straight through Mel’s chest, destroying her heart in the process.
She collapsed to the ground, her last vicious act cut short, even as the golf ball-sized hole through her body began to bleed.
The moment Mel died, uncertainty rippled through the Firestarters, but Mark did not let up. Edging his people forward they push through the remainder of the blockage with ease. The path they carved through them left many corpses in their wake. Mark left those who tried to flee from their territory, but those who ran towards their home base, who tried to rejoin their main force were cut down without pause.
The carnage left behind was sickening, but Mark pushed it from his mind. There would be time later for thought, now they acted.
Arriving at the underground parking saw minimal resistance, which they removed too.
After a cursory look, the building had been fortified with just about anything they could get their hands on. Mark called out to the people inside and slowly the barricades were dismantled from within.
Jude snuck out and very hesitantly approached them.
The blood and battle on them seemed to scare the already very timid man.
“I kept my promise, they are all safe, come see for yourself”
The barricades were dismantled completely and they were let in. True to his word all one hundred and four men and women were safe. The fighters who had worked hard to save their loved ones rushed inside.
When Mark found Daphne he pulled her aside and drew her into his arms, it was to comfort her but also reassure himself that she was safe. That had been a close call, Make didn’t know what he would have done if Andy hadn’t been there.
Andy’s Aura manifesting was the direct result of all his hard work. He still needed to test it but it seemed that his Aura could speed up himself and those around him, Daphne described it as the mother of all adrenaline rushes, when Mark had tried to thank the guy, he had just smirked happily and said.
“No problem fam, you’ve both already done so much for me. I’ve got you guys”
The night had been long and it was still only halfway done. Mark bundled up all the injured and non-combatants and sent them home with half of their remaining fighters as protection.
Jude and his people were a different story, Mark gave them two possibilities.
“Jude you came through for us, so I’ll offer you and your people a choice. First, leave this territory and get as far away from us as you can, and don’t come back. Or second, work with us. Join The Order of the Sage, and help us to make a difference. If you choose the second option, know that I still need to keep an eye on you, so you won’t leave my sight until all of this is sorted. I won’t ask you to fight but you will remain in the area with us. You and yours have five minutes to decide.”
Jude looked at Mark as if he was surprised Mark would make the offer.
They gathered up to converse while Mark assessed the strength of his remaining force. Daphne was much better than him at this, and by the time their five minutes were up, she had them back in formation. Jude had chosen to stay with almost all his people.
Mark nodded emotionlessly at their decision and they set out towards the next battlefield.
They had not even taken a step when the evening was illuminated by a burst of brilliant orange flame, reaching over the tops of the buildings like a beacon.