Chương 19: The Vanguard Extraction

The heavy, steel-reinforced ramp of the Beacon military transport dropped with a synchronized pneumatic hiss, hitting the damp earth at the absolute boundary of the Emerald Forest. Ahead, the ancient woodland rose like a massive wall of dark jade, the dense canopy swallowing the morning light and casting long, shifting shadows across the forest floor. The air here was heavy with the scent of crushed ferns, wet soil, and a faint, lingering static charge.

The residual signature of the automated defense network humming miles behind them. Doctor Bartholomew Oobleck bounced on the heels of his polished boots at the very edge of the ramp, his movements a blurring series of micro-twitches. In one hand, he held his signature thermos, the steam rising from the lid in rapid, broken wisps. In the other, a high-speed research scroll flickered with real-time ecological data.

His green hair caught the dim light as his head snapped from left to right, his glasses sliding down his nose only to be pushed back up by a lightning-fast twitch of his index finger.

"Fascinating! Truly, an unparalleled botanical window we are witnessing today!" Doctor Oobleck rattled off, his voice a manic, machine-gun delivery that immediately caused several of the fresh, clean-uniformed First-Year students to blink in sheer, unadulterated confusion.

"Gather round, gather round! Step completely off the transport decking, please, time is a luxury we do not possess! As Professor Peach explicitly detailed in your syllabus prior to our departure, today marks the precise transit of the Autumn Equinox, the singular forty-eight-hour atmospheric window wherein the Aura-Lily undergoes its rapid, dust-absorbent subterranean bloom!" While the students, especially the first years, are trying to comprehend the rapid-fire speech, Doctor Oobleck continued.

"Because this particular flora relies entirely on high-density, unrefined subterranean Earth Dust veins to catalyze its nocturnal photosynthesis, it remains utterly invisible beneath the topsoil for three hundred and sixty-three days of the year! If your tracking sensors are not calibrated within the next twelve minutes, you will be searching for ordinary weeds!" A nervous, collective murmur rippled through the block of thirty First-Year students.

They stood in pristine, unblemished standard-issue Beacon combat uniforms, their eyes wide and their hands gripping their basic firearms and training blades with a white-knuckled intensity that screamed of fresh academy enrollment.

"Excuse me, Professor Oobleck?" a young first-year boy named Toby asked, raising a hesitant hand.

"Are we sure the sensors are calibrated for this specific--""Doctor!" Oobleck interrupted instantly, his head snapping toward the boy as he jabbed a finger in the air.

"Doctor Oobleck, if you please! I did not spend years defending my dissertation on ancient Remnant ecology to be mislabeled, young man! And to answer your query: yes, the sensors are tuned precisely to the elemental frequency of unrefined Earth Dust, provided you don't drop them in the mud!" Toby shrank back slightly, his face flushing red.

"R-Right. Sorry, Doctor Oobleck."

"No time for apologies, only extraction!" Doctor Oobleck zipped right back to the edge of the ramp, taking a massive, boiling-hot gulp of coffee without breaking his rapid-fire rhythm.

"Now! A critical point of administrative and survival protocol! While it is a statistical fact that the immediate perimeter surrounding the reconstructed Beacon campus has been entirely vacuumed of standard hostile life-forms, owing, of course, to the highly unorthodox, localized deterrent effect of our new Special Campus Security Consultant, you must not mistake the courtyard for the wilderness!" Hearing what he said reminded Team RWBY and JNPR of what happened back then.

They were there when Saitama single-handedly destroyed the Wyvern, one of the most powerful Grimm that has been recorded in history, and a flock of Nevermores too. Ruby, especially her, will never forget what the fist can do since she is the one who seen it clearly at the closer distance after Cinder.

"The Creatures of Grimm are driven by instinctual avoidance behavior near our walls, yes, but deep within these uncharted sectors, the territorial density remains highly volatile!" Doctor Oobleck warned them.

"We are talking about alpha-class Ursai, mutated Beringels, nesting Deathstalkers, and migratory flocks of Nevermores that have nested undisturbed for centuries! They are hyper-aware, they are hungry, and they do not recognize campus identification badges!"

"So we're basically acting as live bait while they pull weeds?" Yang Xiao Long asked from the cargo partition, leaning back with a dry smirk as she rolled her shoulders, Ember Celica humming on her wrists.

"A highly reductive but tactically accurate assessment, Miss Xiao Long!" Doctor Oobleck pointed his thermos dramatically toward her.

"Which brings us to the dual-layered nature of today's excursion! As Headmistress Glynda Goodwitch mandated on day one, theoretical knowledge without immediate, high-stress field application is a disservice to the kingdom!" Doctor Oobleck turned his gaze toward the new students.

"Therefore, while the First-Years execute their botanical extractions under live-fire parameters, our returning Second-Year vanguard, Teams RWBY and JNPR, will be undergoing their official advanced tactical combat evaluation! They are not here merely to watch. They are your operational shield, your squad leaders, and your extraction coordinators!"

"Jaune Arc, your team will close the rear gate! Ruby Rose, secure the vanguard! Protect your charges, Second-Years! First-Years, follow your leaders!" Doctor Oobleck commanded.

"Move out, move out, move out!"

"You heard him, guys," Ruby called out, her silver eyes flashing with readiness as she unlatched Crescent Rose from her back.

"Let's show them how a second-year team handles the forest!"

The column of students moved into the dense undergrowth in a highly structured, tactical diamond. Team RWBY spearheaded the advance, their new silhouettes cutting a sharp, professional contrast against the chaotic green of the forest. Ruby Rose moved with a fluid, low-profile stride at the front, her new white asymmetric blouse catching the stray beams of sunlight filtering through the leaves, her tattered red cloak trailing behind her like a crimson warning flag.

Her silver eyes were hyper-focused, scanning the treeline while her fingers rested lightly against the mechanical frame of Crescent Rose.

"Keep your intervals at five paces, guys," Ruby called out to the freshmen behind them, her voice carrying a newfound, authoritative calm.

"If you see the ground glowing faint orange or yellow, that's a subterranean Dust vein. Let us check it first before you deploy your extraction trowels."

"Easy for her to say," whispered an incoming First-Year girl named Chloe, her hands shaking as she held a pair of dust-daggers.

"Look at how fast she moves. I can barely see her feet."

"Focus on your own footing, freshman," Weiss Schnee commanded from Ruby's left flank. Weiss looked regal yet deadly, her high-collared blue and white dress shifting elegantly as she stepped over a fallen log, her rapier, Myrtenaster, held at a perfect low-guard position. Her sharp blue eyes didn't look back at the girl, but her posture was an absolute academic boundary between the students and the dark treeline.

"If you trip over a root because you were watching my leader, the Grimm will have you before you can draw a single sigil." This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.

"Ignore the ice queen, kids, she's just practicing her teacher voice," Yang Xiao Long called out from the right rear, her open brown leather jacket catching on a thorn bush before she casually ripped it free with a flick of her wrist. Her orange scarf fluttered over her shoulder, her violet eyes burning with a sharp, predatory alertness.

"Just keep your eyes on my sister and the big guy with the shield. You do that, and you get to go home for dinner." In the center of the formation, Blake Belladonna moved like a ghost in her long white coat, her black sleeveless top blending into the shadows cast by the massive ancient ferns. Her cat ears beneath her black bow twitched continuously, analyzing every rustle of dry leaves and every distant bird call.

"Three targets moving along the upper ridge, two hundred yards out," Blake reported, her voice low and even over the team's comm-link.

"They're tracking our scent. Standard Beowolves. Not aggressive yet, but they're building a pack."

"Let them try," Jaune Arc said from the center-rear, his deep voice anchoring the formation. His reinforced white chestplate gleamed through the shadows, his dark brown tactical vest shifting as he adjusted the heavy grip of Crocea Mors. The crimson sash tied neatly beneath his belt, a direct homage to Pyrrha's enduring presence, brushed against his thigh as he stood as a physical wall between the freshmen and the deeper forest.

"Team JNPR, close the rear gate. Nora, Ren, keep the perimeter tight."

"On it, leader-man!" Nora Valkyrie shouted, her practical white sleeveless top stark against the dark foliage as she rested Magnhild across her shoulders, her layered black combat skirt swaying as she walked with a disciplined, heavy step. Lie Ren moved in perfect silence on the opposite side, his long, dark green tailcoat flowing behind him as his silver-accented sleeves shifted with the ready posture of StormFlower.

"The wind is shifting, Jaune. The negative emotion from the freshmen is acting like a flare. We have less than a minute before contact." Pyrrha Nikos closed the distance to Jaune's side, her bronze armor catching a sudden beam of light through the canopy. Her structural, flexible bronze cuisses flexed over her dark combat trousers as she adjusted the heavy weight of Milo in its spear form.

Her high, practical braid swayed against her shoulder as she looked down at Toby, who had dropped his tracking sensor into the dirt in a brief moment of panic.

"Breathe, Toby," Pyrrha said, her green eyes filled with a warm, steady confidence as she knelt slightly, helping him pick up the device with her gloved hand.

"Keep your knees flexible, your center of mass low. Your weapon is an extension of your arm. Trust your training. And remember, we are right here." The boy looked up at the legendary Invincible Girl, his chest heaving, but the raw, steady calmness in her voice seemed to act like a physical shield against his panic. He nodded quickly, wiping the dirt off his sensor.

"Y-yes, Miss Nikos. Thank you."

"Contact! Twelve o'clock high! Scatter the freshmen into defensive grid beta!" Doctor Oobleck's voice blasted through the trees from his vantage point atop a massive boulder, his scroll logging the tactical deployment at hyper-speed. The canopy exploded inward. Three massive, heavily armored Ursa Majors crashed through the thick foliage, their bone-plated masks stained with old moss, their crimson eyes locked onto the cluster of terrified First-Years.

Behind them, the heavy, rhythmic thudding of the earth heralded the arrival of a massive, silver-backed Beringel, its long arms tearing down ancient oaks as it roared, a shockwave of pure malice echoing through the ravine.

"First-years, get behind the rock line! Now!" Jaune roared, his shield expanding into its massive broadsword sheath configuration with a heavy metallic clack.

"JNPR, hold the line! Pyrrha, take the center!" Pyrrha moved instantly, her bronze cuisses launching her forward in a low, powerful sprint. Milo transformed into its rifle configuration mid-air. She fired three precise, Dust-enhanced rounds directly into the lead Ursa's eye sockets, the kinetic impact forcing the massive beast to halt its charge with a guttural shriek. She hit the ground in a smooth slide, her shield, Akuou, catching the swipe of the second Ursa with a deafening ring of steel.

Without losing momentum, she used her semblance to subtly polarize the beast's bone armor, flipping the massive creature over her shoulder and slamming it into the dirt.

"Nora, now!" Pyrrha yelled, her high braid whipping through the air as she recovered her stance.

"Hammertime!" Nora screamed, bouncing off a boulder as Magnhild transformed into its massive grenade launcher configuration. She fired a volley of pink-trailed explosives directly over the heads of the cowering freshmen, the detonations blowing the legs out from under the third Ursa Major in a shower of black ash and dirt. Meanwhile, Team RWBY engaged the massive Beringel.

Ruby dissolved into a storm of rose petals, her white blouse a blurring streak through the green forest as she reappeared directly above the gorilla-like Grimm. Crescent Rose swung downward in a massive, gravity-assisted arc, the heavy blade biting deep into the Beringel's shoulder armor. The beast roared, swinging a massive fist that shattered the ground where Ruby had stood a millisecond prior, her speed leaving nothing but petals behind.

"Weiss! Pin its lower joints!" Ruby commanded over the comms.

"Already ahead of you, Ruby!" Weiss replied. She drove Myrtenaster directly into the earth, her asymmetrical skirt flaring as a massive, intricate white glyph expanded beneath the Beringel's feet. Spikes of solid ice erupted from the magic circle, trapping the beast's legs in reinforced glacial pillars. The Beringel thrashed, its massive muscles straining against the ice, cracks immediately spider-webbing through the structure.

"It's breaking free! Yang!" Blake shouted. Blake used Gambol Shroud's ribbon to hoist herself between two trees, her white coat billowing as she fired continuous shots from her pistol-sword to distract the beast's upper eyes. Yang came in from the blind spot, her rugged brown jacket open, her violet eyes completely melting into a burning, furious crimson.

"Hey, big guy! Look at me!" she roared. Ember Celica detonated with a double-barreled blast, the recoil driving her forward like a rocket. She slammed her fist directly into the Beringel's chest plate, the kinetic energy from her stored semblance exploding outward in a massive shockwave of yellow fire that shattered the ice pillars and sent the five-ton Grimm crashing backward through three massive stone pillars.

"Incredible! Perfect utilization of environmental containment and kinetic redirection!" Doctor Oobleck cheered from his perch, his glasses reflecting the fire as his fingers flew across his scroll.

"Second-Years, maintain your operational sectors! First-Years, do not stop your extractions! The dust-vein is highly volatile!" In the center of the chaos, Toby was on his knees near a glowing yellow root, his hands shaking so violently he couldn't align his extraction tool. A stray Beowolf, having circled around the main skirmish, lunged from the thicket directly toward his exposed back.

"Toby! Watch out!" Chloe screamed from across the clearing. Before the beast's claws could touch the boy's uniform, a blur of dark green tailcoat cut through the air. Ren appeared instantly, his StormFlower blades intercepting the Beowolf's jaws in a shower of sparks. With a calm, measured breath, Ren channeled his Aura through the blades, firing a precise point-blank burst into the creature's chest before executing a fluid, spinning crescent kick that hurled the dissolving carcass away from the boy.

"Keep your hands steady, Toby," Ren said, his voice entirely flat, his breathing controlled despite the adrenaline of the field.

"Your squad leaders have the field. Complete your objective." Toby looked at Ren, then at the massive battles raging around him. The flashing glyphs, the roaring hammers, the absolute, synchronized perfection of the upperclassmen who had survived the Fall of Beacon. A sudden, deep spark of determination cut through his fear. He gritted his teeth, forced his hands to stop shaking, and drove the extraction tool directly into the glowing earth.

"I... I've got it!" Toby shouted, his voice cracking but resolute.

"I'm pulling the root now!"

"Excellent! Keep the line tight, everyone!" Ruby yelled, her scythe spinning in a defensive wheel as more crimson eyes began to gleam from the deeper darkness of the forest outskirts.

"We're just getting started!" Suddenly, the ground started to shake. The First Years almost lost their balance.

"W-What is happening?!" asked one of the freshmen. They were about to face a life-death situation that tested their Huntsmen and Huntresses' spirits.