20:00 AT, Day Sixteen | Fort Uri Liv

  Boom

  Boom, Boom

  Boom x10

  The first shells hit the plasma-shield. The siege of Fort Uri Liv has begun, again.

  This time, it's us on the defensive. Along with around fifteen hundred soldiers (13 of which are now great-level!), thankfully we managed to draw in a local patrol that was preparing for the next fort attack, just in the nick of time.

  Ray, suited up in a ghostsuit, stands next to me, looking ultra cute. Railgun in hand, belt loaded with plasma grenades and health packs, with a smirk that says ‘if you mess with me, you're gonna get klacked up real bad.’

  “Ray, are you ready to make some things go boom?” I say, as another shell rains down on the shield, punctuating my sentence.

  “So long as it's the enemy exploding, more explosions are always good in my opinion.” she says, a manic tone in her voice. Maybe it was a bad idea to give her highly deadly explosives. Oh well, far too late to reconsider my life decisions at this point. I've got the cutest girl in the universe as a girlfriend. So what if she likes explosions and generally causing chaos, that's a boon in my opinion. Especially when I have her as a battlefield asset.

  “Thats what I like to hear! You go out there and give those quartet fellows a nice dose of explosions. I'm sure they will appreciate it.”

  “Of course, darling. I must do whatever my super duper cute and awesome genius of a boyfriend commands, as is my duty as a soldier!” She says, with perhaps a bit too much enthusiasm for a soldier about to march into a hellscape of a battlefield.

  All around me, I notice the other assembled high-ranking soldiers. The great-level Itokin all have a similar glint in their eyes. Perhaps it's a trick of the trade, in order to reach this level, you've gotta be a little insane. It reminds me of my fight with Uri Liv. Whatever that girl has been through, it wasn't easy. I bet she went through something serious to develop a fighting style like that. Or, perhaps she is just a natural psychopath, though I highly doubt it. Especially considering she was once a pretty normal chef from what I understand.

  I address the crowd, “Alright folks, I think it's time to start the plan. You all know what to do. Let's wrap this up by dawn, shall we?”

  “Pro Luce Lunae!” Everyone says in unison. Apparently someone started saying it and it caught on. Roughly meaning ‘for the light of the moon,’ I think it's quite fitting, and cool.

  We all set off. Naturally, Ray gives me lots of hugs and kisses beforehand.

  I launch into the air and rise high into the sky. My goal is very simple: find out what the heck is going on, and blow everything up.

  I run my hands over the plasma grenades and anti-armor satchels on my belt. A large smile appeared on my face, and a manic glow appeared in my eyes.

  These Quartet losers are going to regret messing with us.

  I approach the army that is just outside our clearing. They have knocked down a massive portion of the forest just to move their army. How rude, disrespecting nature like that just won't do. We are the only ones allowed to cause large scale destruction.

  We just have to hold out until our secret surprise is ready. Then the real large-scale destruction can begin.

  I get a notification that AA guns have locked onto my position. It appears that I am finally in range, too bad for them that I have a gun as well. While engaging dodging (dance) maneuvers, I pull out my pistol.

  The neat thing about plasma charges is that they have quite a long range if you have a height advantage. I lower myself closer to the ground and do what I am calling fighter starting runs on their infantry.

  The system racks up my kill count. 5, 10, 15, 20. It goes higher and higher with every pass. After a few runs, I begin mixing in a few plasma grenades. Turning my starting runs into a carpet bombing program. Naturally, I also mix in my {Lightning Bolt} skill whenever possible. Carving large holes in their backlines as I pass.

  Slugs, rockets and flak whiz past me. Some of them plink off my repulsor shields. A couple lucky shots manage to penetrate my armor. But, my armor quickly seals itself up and my wounds begin to heal.

  A drone I have up near the front shows me that the rest of the forces have begun their charge out of the fort. Now, typical military wisdom would say to remain in your fortified structure and endure the siege. Slowly whittling down the enemy while waiting for reinforcements.

  But, that wisdom doesn't apply when you've got a bunch of abso-klacking-lutely insane commanders and troops. Ones with fanatical reverence for their leaders, and no permanent consequences for death beyond a bit of pain and currency.

  As I watch, I see many of the Quartet’s forces run away, trying to preserve their lives when they get injured. Meanwhile, our troops charge straight in, fighting until the last point of their health depletes. Then, respawning into new vessels, re-arming themselves and charging right back out onto the battlefield.

  The narrative has been taken without permission. Report any sightings.

  Ray and I have decided to call this defensive tactic, duck and stab. After a pet duck that we had back in our elementary school. Stabby the duck always liked poking us with its beak. It had no regard for consequences. Unfortunately, he was eventually taken away, only to be replaced by a new duck. The new duck also had a poking tendency, thus was named Stabby II.

  However, this stabby had a new idea. Instead of mercilessly poking at any child that dared to approach, it chose Ray and I to be safe. We were allowed to pet and feed it without it being aggressive towards us. Unfortunately, it was eventually replaced.

  The next stabby, stabby III, was a bit tamer than previous stabby the ducks. It allowed a few more children near, but for some reason, it still hated a few specific ones. It didn't last nearly as long as Stabby II.

  Stabby IV took a different approach. It stayed in its corner, running away as much as possible from anyone that approached. However, whenever someone did manage to get to close, the pokings ensued, relentlessly. Similarly, Stabby IV met a similar fate to all its predecessors.

  Stabby V was the longest lasting by far. She lasted nearly a year. The strategy? It randomly chose students on any given day to poke. But only a couple each day. It acted nice and warm to everyone else. It became a sort of meme amongst the class, and Stabby V lasted the longest.

  Unfortunately, Stabby V was lost to a rare disease. After that, the school gave up and just gave the class to a family of hamsters. In fact, I believe that the lineage of hamsters is still alive and kicking to this very day.

  May the various Stabbys forever rest in duck heaven, with plenty of young children to poke to their hearts content. This revolutionary strategy can be in remembrance of all of their valiant deeds in making Ray and I laugh as children ran away, terrified of the stabby ducks.

  I can't see Ray’s group, because they are cloaked. But, periodically armored tanks and mechs just randomly explode, seemingly out of nowhere. I can only guess that it is their work, the shadows effortlessly moving through the enemy, causing chaos.

  The initial wave of the Quartet is starting to thin. I estimate around one thousand of their soldiers dead or running for their lives. What fools. We lost about eight hundred vessels, but they were all quickly replaced by simply purchasing more from the market.

  It's definitely an expensive way to fight, and not something we can do often. Plus, it only works when we have a defensive structure, as carrying that many vessels to an active battlefield would be a pain.

  But oh kek is it effective.

  The duck and stab strategy, in tandem with my bombing runs, Ray’s chaotic nature, and Rigar’s exo-mech squadron. The Rest of the Quartet forces don't stand a chance. Especially when our secret weapon is finally ready.

  Though, I spot a very scary looking pair of entities appear on the battlefield. It's almost like they appear out of thin air, just behind the line of heavy tanks that was a part of the main force.

  [Over Comms] “Hey Ko, you see those behemoths too, right?” Ray says, talking about said entities. They stand nearly twenty meters tall, and are absolutely covered in cannons. I also think I see a faint mobile plasma-shield generator flickering off of its shell.

  I don't know how exactly to describe them, but imagine them like giant turtles, hulking and made out of metal with a lot of guns pointing in not nice directions.

  “Yep, I see them. What the klack kinda budget did they give to Geo and Brian? Those things are massive. Each one must be the cost of hundreds of exo-mechs. Also they must've built them manually. They must have spent this entire time building them, I can't see any other way.”

  “So uh, can I go blow them up?” Ray asks, sounding all innocent and cutesy. But I know that plastered on her face is a real devilish grin, just hoping that I’ll say yes.

  “I’d like to say yes. But I don't think anything but our special weapon is going to pierce those thick shells. They have some form of shielding over top. I think we should focus on taking out the other chaff while we wait for it to fully align itself.”

  “Klack you, with your reason and logic. Fine, I'll blow normally sized stuff up instead. Can let all the people back at Arce Lunae take all the credit for the explosions.”

  “For sure, it's gonna be a real spectacle, one for the ages.”

  “By the way darling. You're really cool.” Ray says, and then cuts the communication line. That girl, she will be the death of me. After all, there is no way anything else could possibly kill me for real.

  I focus back on the battlefield, staring at the plumes of smoke where various explosions have gone off. The maniacal grin settles back on my face and I go back to work.

  Wave after wave of the soldiers fall. On both sides. Several of the great-levels join in the action, only to be mobbed by a bunch of lower-levels, or taken out by our own great-levels.

  I spot the command post, a heavily armored moving platform. This time, it seems they have a copious amount of anti-Ko defenses. How rude, it's like they don't like my visits with fusion bombs strapped to my back. I thought we were like family.

  I wave my hand at the contestants. It seems they are all here. April notices me and waves back, smiling. It's not like we hate each other or anything, though I would like to nuke that Rao guy at least once. Unfortunately, the nature of this trial forces us together, to test our skills I suppose.

  All in efforts to find those that are suited to lead humanity into the future. One full of prosperity and happiness. If that party just so happens to run an entertainment company, that's just a bonus I suppose.

  I wonder how our idol groups are doing. They must have had a few more concerts by now. Maybe we will return home just to find that they have outgrown us in popularity, that’d be hilarious.

  A communication channel with Linda opens up, “Milord, the special surprise is aligned and ready to fire at your command. May the light of the moon cleanse the filth from our doorsteps, pro luce lunae!”

  A smile appears on my face. Those soldiers have no clue what is coming.

  I'm sure that whatever force they manage to retain will be easily conquered by Ray and I. With the help of our friends of course. So, bring it on.

  End of Chapter 104

  Next: Chapter 105 | Clouds Ablaze

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