Maiden Battle (part 5)

Gin scooped sand with his blade and hurled it at his target’s face. The enemy deflected the attempt but it bought enough time. An ally grabbed the foe by his arms, leaving an opening for Gin. He took the opportunity, using a fallen body as leverage, piercing the mage’s chest.

But the enemy’s muscles were packed. They clenched onto Gin’s blades, preventing the strike to go further. The enemy elbowed the allied mage, breaking free from his hold. Gin retracted his blade with difficulty. If it weren’t for all his training, to land a clean strike on a tree, Gin would have been open for a counterattack.

The enemy turned his back on Gin. After that feeble attack, he was no longer considered a threat. He focused on dealing with the ally that held him down. Gin just smirked in response.

Perfect.

Gin detached an INS from his belt. He activated the mechanism, then aimed it right at the mage’s heart. He pressed the mechanism in the second chamber. The mage collapsed with a spherical hole through him.

‘Thanks,’ the ally said.

Gin didn’t respond. His focus was on the next foe. With their numbers advantage, the offence group worked in packs. Gin was the outlier, helping the packs one by one. But, even with the numbers advantage, it still wasn’t enough. The juggernauts’ strength came from squadron’s W inability to deal a finishing blow. Even Gin had to rely on his gun INS.

An ally flew into Gin, causing both to tumble. Gin collected himself only to see a mage running at him. He barrel-rolled out of the first punch. But the target wasn’t him.

A new plot of land was stained red. Gin watched as his ally got crushed under the blow. That could have easily been him. Now the mage’s attention was on Gin. His allies were occupied and couldn’t come to help. He had to handle it alone.

Gin took out the gun INS once more, activating the mechanism and aiming at the mage. He fired but missed his target. The recoil was still too much. He then gripped the gun with both hands, making sure not to falter this time.

The enemy charged at Gin, making himself a bigger target. Gin fired, landing the bullet straight through him, but the mage continued his attack.

Gin sidestepped then duck, dodging a right hook in the process. He skipped backwards, building some distance between the two. He aimed for another shot, clicked the mechanism and – nothing.

‘Tsk. Out of ammo,’ Gin mumbled to himself.

Gin took a few more steps backwards, assessing the damage he dealt. The enemy was at a stand-still. He didn’t move from his position. Blood trickled from the hole his opponent’s chest. It continued to flow until a silver pellet dropped from the wound.

Gin’s eyes widened. The same bullet that killed the previous juggernaut was stopped entirely and ejected as if it was nothing. Just how much have humans evolved to shrug off such an attack?!

The mage closed the wound then attacked Gin once more. He dodged the first strike; deflected the second with his shield. The deflection echoed through his arm. Pain It was almost as strong as Varunel’s punch, that shattered his bones. Gin knew he couldn’t take any direct hits. He leapt to the side, keeping his distance, looking for an opportunity.

Water grazed Gin’s thigh. He knew where it came from and cursed his naiveté. He was so focused on his opponent, he forgot to be wary of friendly fire. The area throbbed but the adrenaline soon nullified the pain. He decided on his next plan.

Gin took the initiative. He used his inferior height to duck out of another swing. He struck out, jabbing the enemy’s hip. Before the enemy could react, Gin retreated a few metres and out of range. The wound he inflicted was slowly closing.

Gin went in for another attack. He aimed for the torso this time. The opponent lashed but Gin was too quick. He dodged the hook, side-stepped into position then uppercut the mage, piercing the chest area and retracting in one clean motion.

Gin retreated to a safe distance then attacked once more. He leaned back, avoiding a roundhouse kick by millimetres. The enemy was off-balance. Gin took his chance and sent a flurry of stabs in return.

The process continued. Retreat. Dodge. Attack. Repeat. Gin slowly built up the damage to the point that the enemy’s regeneration couldn’t keep up. He infuriated the enemy, like a mosquito that could never be caught. Gin had no means to deal a finishing blow on a conscious enemy, but the mage collapsed from the constant loss of blood. Gin walked up to the enemy and sliced the neck, making sure there was no chance of recovery.

Gin looked around. Somehow no one had him as an immediate target. It allowed a rare chance to take a deep breath. Both ally and enemy forces were in a deadlock. Fire, water and fists collided in this bloodbath. Neither side gave the other the chance to take the advantage. The allies were holding out but the juggernauts weren’t falling down. But what irked Gin was the lack of enemy fire.

The ground shook, taking everyone by surprise. Thunderous sounds echoed across the battlefield. The foolish turned to look. The lapse in concentration from the enemy only lead to their demise.

The ally forces started to push the enemy back. The offence group’s first chance at winning boosted everyone’s morale. They gained an extra burst of strength. But that died down as quickly as it rose.

‘Enemy reinforcements incoming! Two-thousand strong!’

The shout sent a shiver down everyone’s spine. They were beating the enemy by the skin of their teeth. They struggled with three-hundred and now they had to face another two-thousand? Was the enemy fire elementals finally joining the fray in melee combat?

Out of fear, the offence group backed off, inviting the enemy forwards. They were losing ground.

Gin looked up and saw the change in the tinoo’s formation. Reinforcements had arrived. But instead of cowering, he just grinned a manic grin; the same one he put on when he dealt the first blow onto that unsuspecting stealth bestial. He was excited. He could sense his group’s urge to run, but that soon changed when the first screams were heard.

The enemy juggernauts were as equally fooled. They neglected the weakness that almost everyone possessed: their exposed back. Without mercy, they were cut down by those they believed as their allies. They believed in their squadron W’s cries of terror.

Everything changed. The enemy had twice as many mages to deal with. They couldn’t cover all their weak points. Their attention was split between even more foes. It was perfect for squadron W.

Gin weaved in and out, slicing the juggernauts one by one. The stabs weakened the enemy. His allies handled the rest. On the contrary, there was no teamwork from the enemy; only a bunch of individuals that lost to those weaker than them.

The enemy fell like flies. As they died, the offence group’s forces freed up more and more. Outnumbered and outclassed, the AAA’s forces depleted until none of them remained alive.

Gin dusted off the sand that had mixed with the blood around his eyes. He stared in front of him. He knew what happened. It was according to plan after all. The slope that the battlefield began with no longer existed. Instead there was a massive chasm. As he walked closer, he saw that inside was a mountain of bodies where the enemy fire elementals once stood.

Gin, with a few other allies that had joined him, peered further into the hole. Beyond the corpses, he saw several tunnels, just like he saw in the maps. From them, mages emerged, waving to their fellow squadron members above.

An emphatic victory would have been an overstatement. They struggled, fought and some even died. In the end, that didn’t matter. It was still Squadron W’s win.