Chapter 15

One Punch Execution

The Valley of Buendia is a peaceful land filled with green life and herbivorous creatures. Though there are still monsters here, these monsters are very rarely seen as they are not only rare kinds of monsters, they are also quite high ranked so nobody disturbs them.

In this valley, with its southwestern side having the weirdly green capes of Banahaw Mountain and the Northeastern side the Taal Peak, situated 130m above sea level and was blessed with fertile lands, abundant resources, unexplored and undiscovered dungeons, and many nearby forests nested by dragons and high ranked undiscovered creatures, was a 100sq. km land of life and energy.

On the east side was a pass, The Great Humming Road, going through to Taal mountain range, having a geological formation that is lower than the Taal Peak itself, and a water fall the same as the Angel Falls somewhere in the southern sides.

Then somewhere smacked in the base, is the mining city, esteemed Xargoal-6, dealer of Elemental Stones and one of the three of Terroa’s only manufacturers of the S-class Equipment Enhancement Item, Orontium.

Tens of kilometers away from this city, going on a straight line towards the west horizon, is the Fortress of Mooran.

Mooran, the keeper of number 6 of 11 of the world’s only Lightstone Mines. There’re supposedly five guilds who can guard this fortress against anything, monsters or dragons, or according to the game’s storyline, against the aliens, but occupation of this fortress is by Quest, so only those who found the quests scattered all over the planet may occupy the fortress. It may differ from their respective quests’ goals but the sole idea was to occupy the fortress.

The wall of Mooran stretches a long straight line of three layered 50m high ironwood wall. With the stretch extending exactly from north to south and its Command HQ inside the castle that protected the mine.

In this castle is the Command HQ of the Sylphs, one of the recognized Powers of the eastern continent.

On their [email protected] screens, along with the cry of the speakers and reports from the Signal, Logistics, Intel, Personnel, and the Warship Accounts Officers, rang on the room filled with machines and blinking holo-panels.

The operators who were busy people, combed and swiped their monitors and delivered the messages to the Guild Master who was looking unbelievably on the main hologram screen up front. It’s because if there really are something that should surprise anyone right at this instant, that would be the Miranda’s tactics.

Technically, Warships in Terroa can be piloted and commanded by either users or NPCs.

With that setting, the unconfirmed identity of the captain of the Miranda showed the unpredictableness of a human player and the stout resolution of an NPC on his decision.

The Miranda, with its light armors and averagely powerful close to mid ranged Bloodymary and Blastoise cannons, had a twisted idea of receiving all the frontal attacks from the incoming TGG reinforcement. From the back line of defense towards even beyond the frontline set up by the Amaya and Acala of the Three Sisters, the Miranda took all of the damage from the bombardments and the sniping, and paved a way for a chance of a surprise attack.

Everything that the so called Captain Newgate from the Miranda said to convince Captain Nash was also heard from by the command HQ and that would explain the reason for the stiff face and the anxious expressions on the faces of everyone inside.

In the video of the war images was the Miranda, with ten or so Grappling Beams from the aft attached to the bow of the Missouri, who’s slipstreaming behind it.

As they all watched the video with amazed anxious gazes, their ears were tied on the communications line.

[Eos Shields at 58% and still dropping!] Yelled an Operator from the Miranda’s command bridge. [BM4 is down! Hull damage at 14%! Warships Jones and Jackal incoming fast! Distance 47km and closing! They have deployed grappling arms sir! ]

[That is not good. Continue the anti-air fires! Hey Knight Ship! What’s with the long silence?]

Then as they listened to the sounds of reports, all of the people in the room momentarily froze as they heard Nash’s voice.

[I really think that this is a bad idea!]

[Don’t be such a wuss now, young captain, just hold on until you fix that damn cannon up! Don‘t waste my freaking sacrifice. Their forces are too great if this doesn’t succeed then Terroa will have to face demise!]

[That’s not what I’m worried about! Engineering! Where is Lohan?]

[I’m here captain.]

[Captain! Why is the vice captain in a thermal suit?]

[Don’t worry about me, Mister Gibbs, if I were you, I will prepare myself to an immediate evac in case I do succeed with this mission.]

[I don’t want to hear those words from you, Lohan. And if you’re planning on really doing it, then bring a damn T-Device!]

[You know that it’s not gonna work, captain. The EM-Field will interfere with the teleport system. Or do you want me to end up with my hand on my butt?]

[Enough with the jokes!]

[I’m quite serious, captain. That’s why I’m already preparing myself for the impact.]

[Captain! He’s planning to enter the reactor core’s operating room…should I be stopping him?]

There was a silence before Lohan’s voice came back on the communications link. [Captain…please…]

SIGH.

[All hands. Prepare for an immediate evac. Mister Gibbs, start the energy transfer of the battery to the reactor core.]

[B-But…]

[You heard your orders, Mister Gibbs.]

[Y-Yes captain.]

[Don’t worry captain. I will handle this.]

“Captain Nash.” The communications link broke the audio barrier and Guild Master Matsuri’s voice rang on the Missouri’s comms.

[Yes commander?]

“You…” He closed his eyes and let out a sigh. “You make sure to evac all crew members and prepare to be surrounded by air and ground units.”

[Already ordered that sir.]

“Good. Then make sure you come home.”

[Yes sir.]

The video showed two ships. The leading ship fired simultaneous shots with almost no cooldown between short and mid-ranged fires. Advanced air units from the TGG fell one after another and the armor piercing rounds took down the frontline forces.

In the right screen beside the main monitor was the zoomed image of two warships with grappling arms and cannons firing volleys of lights on the Miranda.

The white ship with red and few colored paints had its shields concentrated in the front.

[Knight Ship! The enemies are really serious about physically taking us down! We won’t last much longer in this state!]

Then Captain Nash yelled out. [Engineering!]

[95% percent complete sir!]

And the sound of someone panting, shouting, and is partnered with the sound of something hard hitting a thick metal bar echoed along the sounds of explosions.

[97%!]

And the audio from the Miranda rang with explosion and a smoke came from the front side of the ship.

[Knight ship! 20 seconds until our shields collapse!]

[I’m trying! Weapon Controls! Give me the trigger!]

[98%!]

[Lohan!]

Everyone in the Command HQ held their breaths as the moment that will change the flow of the war came to their hands.

BAG!

The sound of something hard hitting the thick metal on the audio rang and an electric buzz clouded all the speakers. No sound came after that, instead, there was just the scream of Lohan’s voice.

[Captain!]

As the speakers sounded with all the reports, the silhouettes of the approaching enemy warships came to be seen in both the monitor panels.

[99%!]

[All hands! Abandon ship!]

As the order was given, escape pods began to fire out from the Missouri’s body. Inside the command bridge, the crew pressed their own switches and their consoles became their seats that automatically became part of an escape pod and was ejected on the base of the ship.

Only Captain Nash was left on the once noisy Missouri command bridge.

Then the captain of the Miranda shouted, [Now!] as the ship rolled to the left and escaped, along with something small thrown up to the sky. The surprised enemies tried to change their courses but the light that came with the Missouri killed everything upfront.

[FOR LOHAAAAANNN…!!!]

The line was cut and a pillar of bright light came in instantly. Jones and Jackal was caught in the line of fire and exploded right on the spot. The evading Camarilla 30+km away tilted just in time to avoid direct impact but parts of its body was still caught in the fire.

Still, along with everything in its path; the Cyclone escorts, the Jones and Jackal warships, including the Hugo and the Camarilla’s right side and two of its wings’ thrusters, were caught in the blast and exploded.

Black smokes came from the distance but in closer range, the Missouri, with its unique Knight Theme and unique purpose and design, came to be filled with black smokes and exploded from within.

Parts of it scattered and a long trail of smoke began to fall like a burning meteor towards the left side of the battlefield.

In the room filled with the Command HQ’s crew, it was Guild Master Matsuri who remained standing. He had been saluting the moment he saw the explosion and upon seeing his action, everyone else in the room did the same.

After two seconds, he spoke. “Scan the area. Find out if he made it out alive.”

The operators rang with their busy sounds.

No answer.

And as the large debris of the Missouri came falling from the sky, suddenly, the camera caught something.

[What is that?]

“Huh?”

Everyone looked at the monitor. As the zoomed blue clouded and ambient sky focused and fixed the captured images, something small and black cut the smog and the clouds above.

[Bio-signature confirmed!]

“Who is it?” Asked the confused Matsuri.

[I don’t know sir but whoever he is, he’s falling really fast on purpose!]

In the camera’s view, the clouds parted as if split by a large invisible sword. Then that someone made two halos in one second intervals then another halo after the third. There was a halo in the air that expanded wide, a result of entering subsonic speed that pushed away the smokes as it passed through his one kilometer fall.

In terms of human attainable speed, that someone had just entered a 800kph powerdive. The halo was the result of his effort to increase the speed of his fall.

[Th-That’s a 90 degree drop sir!]

“That crazy suicidal bastard! Who is he?!”

[Eight seconds to impact! He’s not slowing down!]

“Damn! He’s planning to attack the people on the ground! Warn our troops! Stay away from him!”

[Estimated landing site…on the TGG frontline!]

[Two seconds to impact!]

***

“Huh? What the…”

“Hey, what’s that?”

“Something’s falling!”

“It’s coming this way…”

The TGG troops looked up an saw a large beautiful ring in the sky, expanding ever widely that separated the clouds.

The view was beautiful that the TGG momentarily thought it was some kind of effect of the war. But then those people, at the next moment, was forced to log out of the game along with a message on their visions…

[You are dead!]

[Game Over!]

***

BOOM!

The impact came along with a lightning strike. The thundering roar was so loud that the act momentarily caught the attention of everyone in the nearest 2km of the entire battlefield.

Cramer saw how that something landed in the midst of the TGG troops. The lightning strike and the thunder that exploded like a large bomb about a kilometer away surprised everyone, even the forces of the Masked Org!

All eyes were focused on that direction as the light and of course, the thunder, had made everyone jolt in shock. The dust of cloud wasn’t as strong from his location but the tremors still reached him and this had a clear effect on the weak hearted individuals.

‘What was that?!’

‘A skill?! Is that a skill?’

‘Something just fell from the sky!’

‘Is there an event happening at the same time?’

‘Who’s side is that attack?’

***

[Something…Something just fell from the sky and annihilated three whole platoons of our forces sir!]

“SYLPHIADORA!!!”

The angry roar echoed on all the corners of the now red and yellow blinking dimmed lit command bridge of the Camarilla. The red indicators of warnings had their span of attention and the panicking staff and officers were busy trying to maintain the unsteady descent of the Flagship Camarilla.

“ORDER THE ATTACK! DO NOT CONSERVE ANY RESOURCES! DO NOT SAVE YOUR BULLETS! USE EVERYTHING YOU HAVE TO TAKE THEM ALL DOWN! KILL THEM ALL!!!”

As Elsass screamed in fury, in the main screen of the command bridge, the view of the crater surrounded by misty dust and clouds of smokes from the impact shows a silhouette of a person standing right at its midst. And all around him in his immediate vicinity were the dead burnt remains of those unlucky enough not to escape his attack.

But despite the shock, the fear, and the astonishment of all those around him, someone from the back ranks of the first frontline divisions initiated an attack towards the culprit of their force’s misalignment.

That person, on the label on their holograph in the middle of the locator chart table, had a very peculiar name. She was one of the 30 Dark Spear users that they had hired but was actually the only one alive left.

And thus, even within his angry heart, Elsass gave his all out support for the esteemed FlowerLord of the northern lands.