Chương 66: Chapter Sixty-Six: The Fog of War

Whatever expectations I had about the war have been unfounded so far, and the cyclical push and pull of the ongoing battle become no more distressing than an ocean's tide withdrawing in the morning to come back later the same day. Even with my mind wandering, my technique only continues to refine itself with every kill.

Every now and then, I keep myself entertained by changing my projectiles' makeup, testing over and over again to see what kind of bullet works best against armored opponents, speedsters, ranged-attackers, and every other variant of Freylith I spot within the sea of oil and blood that covers practically the entirety of the ground now. The pollution caused by the countless corpses has become a hindrance to one side now, as more and more bugs are forced to climb their dead brethren to continue the assault.

This allows our front-liners to take another precious second to breathe before diving directly back into the tireless horde. Even with the sun well overhead by now, there is still no end to the wave of shiny husks rising from the earth. Taking another quick scan of my surroundings so as not to be caught unawares, I confirm my safety before checking on my teammates for the first time since we began fighting.

With my senses fully focused on the monsters ahead and my own attack efforts, I find myself having filed away my group members as just faceless friendlies; the same moniker I use for the NPC recruits as well. Pulling a portion of my attention away from the action, I am surprised to find barely any of Squad Five assisting the front line at my side. Adjusting my fire deeper into the enemy line for a moment so as not to hit any of our troops, I fully look around and take in my fellow Fallen's positions.

As of now, only Angus, Nikki, and most surprising of all: Benny, are still standing on the edge of the platform alongside me and peppering the bugs with interesting ranged attacks. The younger, curly haired teenager next to me doesn't even acknowledge my gaze as his hands whirl through the air to endlessly weave and activate all sorts of mana based inscriptions he seems to have carved into the air.

One could say the boy is in his element, as his station far away from the ground action allows him to take all the time he needs to weave strands of mana in complex looking spells that hang in the air like a control center. In one instance, I watch as Angus's index fingers run in a zig-zaggy path across a purple magic circle hovering to his side, activating some sort of mini-array that envelops his figure in a mana barrier.

In the next second, a stray Freylith stinger crashes against the wall faster than my eye can track, and Angus doesn't even flinch at the attempt on his life before activating another web of lines that blast concentrated mana arrows back in the direction the stinger came from. His growing network of inscriptions seems to have some sort of accumulation effect, as the longer the fight goes on, I expect the better his defenses and attacks will become.

It's a bit shocking especially since when I had first seen the boy fight during the spars, Angus's performance was truly terrible. I guess in this easily defended position with free reign over time and strategy, the teenager can truly shine and show everyone that they were wrong to underestimate him. In fact, I almost suspect that his close proximity to me has also been purposeful.

Now that I'm really thinking about it, at some point during my time in the fight, I stopped blocking attacks altogether after they had abruptly stopped occurring entirely. It would seem that this wasn't the case at all, but rather that Angus had been filling in any random gaps the regular barrier mages failed to fix quickly enough. No wonder I feel like I've had so much free time recently. Now I feel a bit bad about not thanking the guy earlier.

For now, I shrug off the slight guilt and turn my attention to the other two ranged supporters who seem to also be benefiting from Angus's spells. Nikki stands to the slightly younger boy's left, where she rarely moves as sharp blades of wind form before her figure and wreak havoc on the bugs below.

It doesn't seem like she can produce such efficient attacks at all times like myself or Angus, yet I watch as her blades target important moments in the fight to lash out and incapacitate a monster before it has the chance to exploit the weakness of any front-liner. Even with her body not moving an inch, I can see her eyes move at superhuman speeds, tracking all sorts of feedback from the battle in an instant through her <Process> skill.

Even though someone like Angus or I might be out scaling her easily in pure kill count, her hand on the scales of this fight seems to be equally as important as she continues to save probably hundreds, if not thousands of lives by now through her analysis led cover fire. And last but certainly not least stands the most unexpected yet interesting sight of all: the platinum blonde haired eight-year-old holding hands with Nikki while delivering horrible destruction with his <Telekinesis> skill.

I can barely even believe it despite it happening right in front of my eyes, but the elementary schooler seems to be much more suited for this difficulty than I would have ever expected as tens of mana-infused ammunition is constantly plucked from a pile nearby and sent flying at dizzying speeds toward the roaches ahead.

It would seem someone has identified Benny's attack prowess earlier during my time zoned out, and now a small mountain of the ammo I had lugged around for Kira is sitting at the boy's feet waiting to be used. I honestly have no idea what his second skill <Pact> does, but it would seem that whatever other skills and class the boy has, allows him to act as a living ballista just like the ones being operated by the other recruits.

The only difference between them and the eight-year-old is that he has a much shorter reload time, resulting in him acting almost like a one-man artillery unit. Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. Some part of me wells up with pride while watching the kid turn into the very thing parents used to be terrified of happening after their kids play too many video games.

Benny has become miniature arcade shooter, and the monsters are no match for the power of his tireless psychokinetic prowess. Tearing my gaze away from the cool ass kiddo, I make sure to boost my fire rate even more while allocating another 20 points into PWR. By now, I can feel my muscles attempt to cramp underneath my horribly unbalanced attributes, yet the rate at which I pump out mana and radiation is enough to alleviate any symptoms before they have the chance to settle in.

I have no clue how many levels I have gained, and I am more than a little scared to check, especially after seeing how much more powerful my teammates have become since the wave started. The fact I've been able to sink 30 free points into PWR so far without issue means that I've at least gained 10 levels, yet somehow, I doubt that even scratches the surface of how much I've gained so far.

Before checking on the rest of my group mates who I spotted behind me earlier during my scan, I take a second to peak at my notifications just to get a taste of my current gains. < Mana Construct Lvl. 11 -> Mana Construct Lvl. 12 > My heart skips a beat, and I immediately close my notifications. It might have only been a peak, but the one line I managed to see already is enough to fill me with fear and glee. It can't be this easy right? It's too scary. I know something has to be coming to ruin the free farming.

Wait. What if something already did happen? Letting my constructs fire blindly for a bit, I fully turn around and take in the scene before me to make sure all of my group mates are still alive and well. My brief bout of pessimism seems to lack any real evidence while I finally lay my eyes upon the moving figures behind me. Sara, Henry, Vince, Wade, Kathryn, Sandra, and even Pawl are still on the platform, alive and well. It would seem they have set up a mini campfire where a small pot bubbles with heated rations.

Glancing around, I find similar camps scattered around the entirety of the walls and platform where various troops rest and recover. Something in my gut revolts at the sight, and I can't help but look at my teammates with some measure of disgust. I mean, even Benny- a child- is still putting in his best effort to fight the wave. How are these higher leveled, not to mention adult, troops allowed to fuck off while the rest of us defend them tirelessly.

Breaking away from my station for the first time since the war began, my improvised mana-mini-gun is left hovering near the edge of the wall to continue its labors while I step away with my Flare Loop still attached to my back. For some reason, my movements feel sluggish and my semi-permanent construct slacks behind to the point I am forced to use <Mana Control> to make it follow my lead. Ignoring the odd new weight of my storage unit, I move toward the camp where the rest of my group awaits.

"Look who's finally taking a break! I'm surprised you haven't pissed down your own leg with how long you've been standing there." Sandra welcomes me. The angry buzz of my annoyance at the slackers gives way to a tiny ripple of confusion at her words.

"What are you talking about? Shouldn't you guys be helping out? I realize we need to save some of our energy, but that's no reason to be lazy." I state resolutely while looking around for Tobias. I don't want to be a tattletale, but how the hell is the commander allowing his troops to screw around at a time like this?

"Unclench Rambo, Tobias is in the command tent taking a break right now. He said we could start taking shifts. The worst is over now." Wade relays instead of Sandra while stuffing his face with what looks like some sort of stew.

"The worst is over? Do we not remember the freak show line of bugs that appeared before the battle? How could he be sleeping when we haven't seen them since the start of the fight? It's only been a few hours- we need to remain vigilant unless you all want to die." I reply with a hint of desperation. Do they seriously expect the wave to end this way? I admit I've been getting bored, but there are still dangers lurking beyond the wall.

"Sebastian, it's been almost twelve hours now. No wave in history has lasted longer than sixteen. Even if this wave is more dangerous than the others, we can still hold out for an entire other day if needed. That's why we are taking a break right now, just like you should." Vince says while standing like a watchman in front of the camp. At the very least, the man seems to have not dropped his guard, but I find his words ridiculous.

"What are you talking about?! This isn't the time to be resting. We should be getting as much strength as we can to face whatever this place has in store for us! You all can't seriously be stupid enough to believe it ends like this, right?"

"That's enough. I understand why you are worried, and I appreciate you taking this seriously, but this is the time at which we need to rest. More levels won't help us if we are too exhausted to use them when the time comes. That's why we have been taking shifts. Wade tried to get you to take a break multiple times, but you haven't listened." The wind is quickly taken out of my sails as I search for something to say. Has it been almost half a day? But it feels like we only just started a few hours ago.

How could I have zoned out so much? As my emotions simmer down, my stomach grumbles painfully and I feel my muscles not responding as quickly as they should. Have I seriously been fighting for so long? It doesn't feel real for some reason. Soon enough, with no target to focus my anger toward, I find myself being handed a bowl of stew and guided down to a nearby seat by Sara. Looking up numbly, I meet her eyes and she gives me a small smile while motioning for me to eat.

Without saying a word, I begin to inhale the food in my hands. In moments, it is gone, and for some reason I can't even remember what it tasted like. My mind feels so foggy and the people around me almost don't seem real as I let my body rest for a bit while drinking some water and eating more food.

Even with my surroundings engulfed in a haze, I still feel more awake than ever, and regardless of how much time I spend sitting with the others, I do not stop feeding mana into my constructs or the Flare Loop hovering just outside of my eyesight. Words sprinkle against my subconscious like a gentle rain, yet I hear none of it and continue to live in my own little world of bloodshed and battle. I understand what the people around me are saying…

But I think they are all underestimating just how dangerous this place is.