novelnext [364] 4.85 The Second American Civil War III
[364] 4.85 The Second American Civil War III
Having now realized that our attacks can and will pierce through the flimsy shielding the Legion’s scientists have been able to engineer, the four remaining pilots break out of formation and begin dogfighting maneuvers in an attempt to ultimately bring down our relatively undefended conventional aircraft.“Permission to break formation and engage in combat,” Hank asks through the mental link.
“Permission granted, and lethal force is authorized. If possible, I ask that you try to spare at least one of the pilots’ lives so they can be brought in for questioning. Otherwise, tactics are at your discretion.”
Hank’s plan spins off to the side and then accelerates to supersonic speeds. As a series of concussive explosions shakes the plane, I’m again extremely grateful for both these ear plugs as well as the fact that my body’s high [Vitality] resists the massive vibrational pressures put upon it. Chloe grimaces for a moment, but adjusts quickly.
I remain in the center of the formation as Hank does his best to harass the enemy fighters. Meanwhile, Chloe tries and mostly fails to hit them with [Scouring Light]. She can’t get in close range long enough for her to bomb them with [Radiant Purge], now that they’ve all witnessed that her attacks can and will fry their ride and bodies alike in mere moments.
Ultimately, we’re at an impasse. With their cluster missiles exhausted, they are forced to rely on a combination of [Ether Bullets] and conventional arms fire, all of which I can shield without too much cost.
However, four-on-one, Hank is unable to make any headway. His craft is superior to the ones the Legion’s soldiers are using, and he’s able to augment the plane’s capabilities with his [Darkness] magic for more stealth and defense. But numbers and well-honed squad tactics mean he is forced to break off his attack and take evasive maneuvers every time he gets in position to attack.
“I’m coming in as well,” Kristil’s voice says in the line. “I managed to convince the good Major.”
I’m not even going to ask what her particular brand of ‘convincing’ entailed, although I do find myself wondering between volleys of machine gun fire exactly how she plans to deplane and join us in the skies above eastern Kentucky. Another deflection and I have my answer. She seems to have melted off one of the windows, jumped out of the plane in plasma form, and then moved through the air like a streak of ball lightning towards me.
By instinct, I raise my weapon to block, only for her to pass right by me in a blaze of electrical energy.
Damn, she is fast. The expression ‘greased lightning’ comes to mind, as within seconds, she’s already on one of the fighters assailing us. Unlike Chloe, however, her attacks don’t just melt through the shielding. She slams what seems to be a fist of violet energy toward the hull, only to be rebuffed. She continues attacking though, screeches of static and rage meeting the thumping of momentum being shunted aside in an array of translucent hexagonal scales.
And she seems to be having some success, too. I’m not sure how long she can remain in her plasma form, but I also know that even the Ether accumulation networks I designed and that I imagine the Legion uses are limited in their efficacy. There’s only so much ambient Ether that can be absorbed, and any given material only conducts it so well. The innate resistivity of the material creates friction and heat, which will eventually cause the same sort of cascading failures that Chloe caused a minute earlier.
And it is working. The barrier is growing weaker, and if only I or Chloe or someone else could step in and finish the job.
“Hank! Coordinate with Kristil! Try to get that bogey down. We make this a three-dog flight and I think we’ll have a much easier time of it!”
“I’ve got it!” Kristil shouts.
“No,” Nicholas chimes in. “You all need to coordinate your efforts. This isn’t the time for ego trips.”
Kristil grunts through the connection, before finally sounding a disgruntled “Fine.”
“Roger,” Hank says, “although I might have some trouble with that. Sera? Do you have a way to use one of your buffs on me at range?”
“Yes, Hank! If you and Kristil can get in close, I can hit you both with the same cast.”
“Copy that, Sera!” Kristil actually seems excited now. “I know you’ve gotten a lot better since the last time we saw each other, so go on, show us what you can do!”
As soon as Kristil and her dance partner for the evening reach a spot right above Chloe and me— now back to hovering above the lead aircraft of the convoy— she disengages. While in midair, she reverts back to human form and dives headfirst toward us, gaining more and more speed.
Meanwhile, Hank, seeing the maneuver, flies in close, pursued by another fighter. Chloe rises up with shining hands, preparing to intercept. She currently doesn’t have [Celestial Fire] charged up, but they probably don’t know that. Judging by the way the man pulls up upon seeing those blazing hands, this pilot at least does not.
I ask Nicholas to open a link with as many people as he can, anyone who might be useful in the battle or defending the planes from within.
Once Hank and Kristil are both in an optimal position, I take one deep breath and let my magic fill my voice. “To arms! To arms! Let’s bring these sons of bitches down!”
With the power of [Valkyrion’s Rally], I’m able to give all of my allies in range— including those linked to me via the [Mental Link]— a significant boost to all of their combat parameters. The next moment, a manic grin bursts forth on Kristil’s face as she leaps off the back of the plane and retakes her plasma form, while Hank’s plane becomes enwreathed in a layer of pure darkness that blends seamlessly into the night sky and which strains the mind to look at.
I return to my barrier duties, while Chloe again takes a familiar stance, one which I’ve experienced twice before. This time, her golden wings are fully outstretched, matching mine which radiate a pale, silvery glow.
“Miss Mortensen,” Nicholas says. “Miss Jacobs has withdrawn from the fight and has gone nonresponsive. Has something happened to her?”
“Nothing bad. She’s charging up an attack. We’ll need to buy her two minutes.”
“Two minutes? That’s insane! What kind of an attack needs a full two minutes to charge?”
“One that’s completely undodgeable and unblockable.”
“Undodgeable and unblockable? That’s ridiculous! I’ve never heard of such a–”
“I promise you, N– Major Richardson. I don’t exaggerate with something like this. Unless these assholes have seen this attack before, and I doubt they have that kind of intel. So let’s buy Chloe some time. If anyone else is able to join the fight, now’s the time.”
“Understood. Captain Morris, are you finished with your task? Can you assist the main battle?”
“Yes, Sir,” Alana says.
Now that he mentions it, it is a bit strange that Alana hasn’t been in the fight already. Maybe she’s been casting some protection spell or something. I don’t really know where exactly she’s taken her classes since reaching Level 64 and the second ascension.
As if to answer the unspoken question, she continues. “Apologies, Sera, that it took so long to join the fight. Seems a couple of our men were actually working for the Legion and decided to wait until the fight started to cause trouble. I’ve incapacitated them both now, so— fingers crossed— we won’t have to worry about any more moles in the midst.”
“Excellent work.” Nicholas chimes in.
I suppose it really is hard to tell who’s friend and who’s foe in this conflict. Had things turned out differently, had it been Nicholas or more likely Clara who decided to do the dirty and use Mom as a hostage, then maybe Chloe and I would be on the other side of the fight. Hank too, I’m sure. Their relationship is still strained, but I know the two love each other very much.
One of the two smaller planes’ doors opens for a fraction of a second, just enough time for my fellow sister-in-arms to fly out. Clad from head to toe in shining silver armor, carrying a single sword glowing with the light of the full moon, and with wings at her back forged of starlight, Alana takes to the sky and immediately begins her assault. Her own battle cry is lower, deeper, and louder than my own, and while her [Speed] is not quite my equal, her build is far more kitted out for direct physical combat.
She slashes at the air in rapid succession, shooting beams of moonlight with each strike. Like Kristil, she is unable to completely overwhelm the fighters’ defenses. However, the alacrity and ferocity with which she attacks means that she is able to accumulate several solid blows on each, to the point where one of them is forced to back off.
A minute has passed and Chloe is still completely motionless save for the subtle rise and fall of her breath. And worse, my [Ether] is about to be tapped out. I hate to do this right now, love, but it’s better than us all having our flight cut extremely short.
Triggering [Lifecast], I begin the process of converting my own vital energy into [Ether]. It feels nothing at all like I’d imagined when I first got the Skill. Rather than causing an accumulation of injuries as I’d expected, it’s more like a gradual weakening of my body. I feel less, very much in the same manner that I feel more and greater after having gained a level. My vision clouds and becomes less acute, the tone of my muscles fades, my body becomes heavier and it’s more of a challenge to keep myself on the plane and moving with the flight.
“Are you okay, Sera?” Alana asks.
“Not really,” I respond. “Do you by chance have a healing spell you can use on me?”
“Just the basic one. Sorry, I’m like a one-third healer in my new [Paladin of the Stars] class.”
She taps me with the spell. It’s only good for about a thousand points of [Health], but it’s enough to buy us all a few more seconds. She casts it three more times in succession, then pulls out a [Greater Healing Potion] and jams it down my throat as I continue to maintain the barrier.
“What’s wrong? It’s like you’re getting worse rather than better!”
“New Skill. Drains [Health] to supplement my [Ether]. Your magic… helps, but only delays.”
“How much longer?” Another cast.
“Only about ten more seconds.”
“Then I’ve got this. You rest.”
“But–”
“No, Miss Mortensen,” Nicholas chimes in. “Captain Morris is right. Your vitals are already failing fast and we can’t guarantee that this is the last of them. Better that you stay here where healing magic can still revitalize you, rather than risk incapacitating yourself long-term.”
“Fine–” Though I still don’t like leaving the outcome of the battle in others’ hands, I’m again forced into it.
Alana coats the entire plane in a pale glow as she stands beside where I’m now kneeling and heaving for breath. The attacks from the three remaining fighters— Kristil finally downed her partner— are unrelenting, but every bullet and blast they fire disappears into the light.
Except, disappears is the wrong word. This is some variant of Chloe’s [Saintess’s Sanctuary] spell, only instead of absorbing attacks with her [Ether] and draining her mental fortitude, the damage is inflicted directly onto Alana’s body.
A trail of blood oozes down her nose, then she coughs up and spits out a wad of blood and mucus. Her knees buckle for a moment, but repeated casts of her healing spell keep her in the fight. Damn woman, calling me self-sacrificial while pulling a stunt like this.
I grit through the connection to Alana, but Nicholas is the one who shouts me down. “No, Miss Mortensen. You have done enough. Captain Morris knows her limits and will not exceed them–”
“But–”
“I know you do not trust me and I will not try to change that with words, but she is being very precise with how much damage she’s absorbing. Besides, I believe Miss Jacobs has just about finished with her Skill.”
And sure enough, Chloe has. Her eyes, normally the color of caramel, now glow with a rich golden light that extends to her hair and most prominently to [Lumen]’s blade. Her eyes lock onto one of our assailants. And then she’s gone.
An instant later, there’s two wings of golden light high above us, and the wreckage of that same jet fighter, now cleft in twain, sparking, then exploding.
“An undodgeable, unblockable attack indeed,” Nicholas says. “And the damage is catastrophic. Just what kind of class gives rise to a Skill like that?”
If only he knew the truth.
The remainder of the battle is less a fight and more a rout. Hank and Kristil each secure one more kill and then, a battle that lasted for minutes which felt like hours, is finally over.
[You have slain five humans (Levels ranging from 55 to 58). Calculating… You have gained a boosted 135,000 Experience. (Experience gain dramatically increased due to external assistance.)]
[Level: 82; Experience: 12,062,204; To Next: 196,161]
[Current Stats: [Health]: 4,567 / 19,381; [Ether]: 351 / 14,452]
[Current Stats: [Strength]: 439 (Base: 169); [Speed]: 437 (Base: 168); [Vitality]: 517 (Base: 199); [Mind]: 627 (Base: 241)]