'Initially when you picked me up, I thought that you were a person that had devoted his life to slaying as many aliens as you could. Now seeing you in a team with three other women, I have a lingering feeling that your gift isn't just about killing. HAHAHA!' Michael's sword laughed in his head, causing him to sigh.
'How did this happen?' He wondered, aside from him, there was Victoria, Ava, and Amelia in the offensive team, specialized in dealing with the Elite tier aliens.
'I'll tell you how. You are a natural-born woman magnet! There is no other way to explain it!'
Telling himself that it was just a coincidence, Michael dismissed the sword's words before observing the distant horizon.
The trail of aliens had finally caught up. Hundreds of Higher tier aliens with a strength rivaling the average captain as well as dozens of Elite tier aliens mixed in caused the common soldiers to shiver in their boots.
"Is this the end?"
"Stop being such a downer! If Lady Victoria stands, so are we!"
"But even so, she is just one person, and there are dozens of Elites. I am beginning to have second thoughts."
Michael observed the soldiers calmly. Unlike them, he wasn't fazed by the number of foes. He had lived through much worse. But he couldn't exactly help them elevate their mood. Just recently being appointed captain, he was in no position to do so.
While he was mentally preparing himself for what was about to come, a distant voice drifted into his ears.
"Behind me is one of the waves of aliens that are ravaging across the whole Triton. It's important to not forget that such sights are not unique to this base in particular, as each human headquarters is experiencing such assaults. The question is, would humanity prevail against the new threat, or will we lose access to Triton, cutting communication with Neptune entirely?"
With such a large battle about to break out, it was only natural that reporters had arrived in all of the Triton bases, competing with one another to record the most epic encounters.
"Prepare!" Victoria's voice boomed across the vicinity, silencing all chatter in an instant.
Putting her hand down, she commanded.
"Open fire!"
Upon the command, the ears of the surrounding soldiers began to ring. Tens of thousands of rounds of ammunition were fired every second, unleashing a true hellfire on the alien threat.
BOOM!
As if the sun itself had gotten closer, the scene brightened up under the numerous bullets and shells.
'It has been some time since I smelled gunpowder in the air.' Michael mused.
Naturally, since the aliens were in their range, so were they to the aliens. They didn't hesitate before returning the hellfire with one of their own.
"Activate the energy shield!"
However, before their projectiles could reach the humans, an enormous blue sphere appeared, protecting the whole human army. The energy shield stopped anything from coming in while it allowed for anything to go out.
"As things stand, the shield will exhaust all of our available power in an hour." One engineer reported to Victoria after seeing the spike in their energy use.
She nodded before turning to the gathered captains.
"Our job is to get rid of the Elite creatures. Since they are too powerful to be damaged by the common rounds, the aliens would use them as tanks, rendering our rounds useless. I trust that all of you will fulfill your duty and report to me alive after the battle." Her voice was heavy with authority, leaving no room for disobedience.
"Glory to Mankind!" They saluted in unison.
"Glory to Mankind!"
Victoria threw a glance at the three people that were about to come with her. Since Bryce was busy organizing the Heavenly Pact and their efforts, he couldn't join them. Not to mention he was primarily a ranged unit to begin with, so he would only slow them down. The same was true for Leo.
Seeing her team's nods, Victoria dashed toward the alien threat.
Michael, Ava, and Amelia didn't hesitate, breaking into a sprint after her.
Michael's heart began to beat faster once he left the safety of the energy shield. From now on, he wouldn't be able to return until the shield was turned off or until it ran out of power.
Under the orders of the captains that had remained, the common soldiers redirected their rounds, making sure not to hit the ones going to face the Elites.
"We must not linger on an Elite for long! At most we can afford to spend two minutes on each one. Otherwise, we will be too slow. If they reach the common soldiers, it's over!" Victoria reminded.
Her team didn't need to be reminded. They knew perfectly well that if the outer line fell and they were forced to retreat to the middle, many lives would be lost in the withdrawal.
Roar!
The first Elite alien that saw them roared in anger. Breaking from its role as a tank, it dashed forward, eager to meet its challengers.
Amelia was the first one to act. Her left cybernetic arm extended forward like a whip, taking firm hold of the being's leg. A second later, both of them lit up like a lightbulb. She had sent an electric wave to course through the monster, beginning to fry its insides.
"Now that is one handy cybernetic that I wouldn't mind having." Michael chuckled, unbothered by the death happening around him. With the use of Dash and Blink, he appeared next to the Elite's leg before burying his sword deep within.
Ava was just one step behind. Lifting her huge hammer, she hit Michael's sword, adding more impact and causing the leg to be sliced completely.
"Good work." Victoria called to them before reaching the staggered threat and carving its head.
"Onto the next one!" She shouted before dashing towards the next closest threat.
Ava and Amelia didn't hesitate and followed. Meanwhile, Michael's eyes glimmered when he saw the Elite being.
"To think that this time it's cooked. It seems my prayer has been answered!" He proclaimed before taking a bite of the being. He had been unable to last time since he didn't find the opportunity, but now it was another matter.
[Elite alien meat consumed: +20 Skill Points gained]
[Elite alien meat consumed: -50% due to second use: +10 Skill Points gained]
[Elite alien meat consumed: -50% due to third use: +5 Skill Points gained]