As the ship they were on drove through the endless sea of clouds, Magus Aruka walked up to the control panel and checked the remaining time until the stargate could be reused.
“We will reach the outpost in 12 minutes and after that, we only have 35 minutes to destroy the stargate.”
The number made Everyone tense up. That was certainly a tight timeline.
With the assigned leader, Magus Bex no longer with them, the group needed to settle on a strategy on how to stop the stargate. The female magus then used the radar on the ship to check the current situation of the outpost.
A slight change to her facial expression occurred before she spoke.
“Based on the information we had gathered before our departure, there should only be one Half Moon dark elf magus, Kasin, and about a hundred saint-level figures present on-site.”
The magus stopped for a second before continuing, “However, the ship’s radar had just scanned a group of elves who seemed to have just arrived and joined the defense of the outpost. So we will need a change to our plan.”
The said group of elves was apparently survivors from the first elven Cruiser that crashed on the ground.
“How many are there?” Stildar said, asking the most important question.
“Around fifty, with 3 Crescent Moon elven magus among them.”
Everyone’s face changed when they heard Magus Aruka’s words. Those numbers definitely added another layer of difficulty to the upcoming mission. Even though their group also had three magus, all of them knew that they were not comparable to the elven magus.
“This means that there are four elven magus; three Crescent and one Half Moon at that. No matter which angle I looked at it from, we are clearly outnumbered. This is just straight-up a suicide mission!” Stildar concluded.
Silence fell within the ship as everyone was presented with the cold and harsh truth.
A moment later, the burly Magus Mason stepped in and calmly spoke for the shaken soldiers to hear.”We cannot afford to cancel this mission. If that stargate sends more elven troops, it will really be the end of our Nexus faction.”
Magus Aruka turned to look at Emery and Julian and then said, “This is the mess we have brought upon ourselves. Are you two sure you still want to take part and risk your life in someone else’s war?”
The Roman gazed at Emery, and without the slightest hesitation, the latter said, “We are currently fighting the elves, so this is our war as well. So yes, we will take part in this.”
Magus Aruka seemed satisfied with the answer as she nodded her head. Right after, Stildar chimed in, “Great answer! Let’s not be afraid. We will charge in and give them hell!!”
Shaking his head, Julian heaved a sigh and said, “It’s not about bravery. We simply can’t afford this mission to fail. That’s why we have to make sure we are completely prepared before taking action!”
With the limited time they had, the group held a short discussion to come up with a plan for carrying out this mission – one which would give them an extra chance of success
***
A few minutes later, a Nexus ship could be seen descending above the South Outpost and swiftly dropping several explosive tubes at the place. Those destructive projectiles landed without anything stopping them.
Kabooomm Kaboommm Kabooomm
The opening salvo from the Nexus ship managed to destroy a few of the defensive turrets of the place. However, soon enough retaliation came from the other side. The ship was being shot back with multiple laser beams and received heavy damage.
What followed was three magus Stildar, Aruka, Mason, and two dozen saint-level fighters jumped out from the ship and rained down multiple high-tier spells to destroy the remaining turrets.
The commotion quickly caught the attention of the elves. Three magus elves who had just arrived and their group of saint fighters quickly walked out of the facility, ready to fight the intruders.
Facing the group of dark elves, Stildar announced loudly, bubbling anger showing in his words.
“You elves can get the fuck off our planet!!”
The dark elf did not seem to be affected by those words. With his calm demeanor, he said, “You humans have gone to the trouble and come to offer your lives… Kill them all!”
More than a hundred dark elves fought, took out their curved blades, bows, and spells, while the human saints brought out their firearms ready to shoot.
As the battle between the saint individuals started, the magus from both sides also began to clash with each other; three against three.
At the same time, a swirling portal appeared on the other side of the outpost.
From within, three people – Emery, Julian, and Bardock – came out. The three of them would sneak into the facility with one goal in mind – destroying the stargate. Thanks to Stildar and the others for creating a diversion, the first step towards their goal was completed.
However, before they stepped into the second step, Emery knew that there was still one who was still on guard. Entering the facility, the group met the said person.
Magus Kasin who apparently confirmed to have a cultivation level of Half Moon. It’s no wonder it was very hard to fight him last time.
As if the dark elf had expected his arrival, the magus smiled when he saw Emery.
“We met again. Finally, we can conclude our unfinished fight.”
Disregarding the magus’ words, Emery told the two beside him “Go, I will handle this one”
Julian nodded “You hang on, Emery. I will definitely succeed!”
The dark elf magus quickly realized what the group was planning to do and immediately tried to stop Julian. However, the attack he threw was stopped by a barrier of void that had been created in the area. His eyes proceeded to shift to the only possible culprit, and answering the gaze was a string of words.
“Your opponent is me!”
“Ha! Hahaha, after the last fight, you still dare to fight me alone?” Magus Kasin said. “Human stupidity and arrogance can’t cease to amaze me”
However risky the situation was, this was the plan the group has decided on.
While the three magus were distracting most of the elven army, Emery’s group would sneak in and carry out the mission. Even though the fight seemed unbalanced, all they needed to do was buy time until Julian and Bardock managed to destroy the stargate.
It definitely looked like a high-stakes plan since the entire plan hinged on Julian and Bardock’s hands, but the group unanimously concluded that this was the one with the highest probability of success.
On the Julian side, after passing the magus, he had managed to reach the second inner area of the facility where the formation underlying the stargate was placed. There were several elven saints on guard and Julian quickly took out his hammer and the new shield.
“As planned, I’ll protect you while you prepare the explosives. Let’s do this quickly!” said the Roman to his companion.
While Julian intercepted some of the saints who were charging at them, Bardock quickly got busy attaching explosives to the formation’s vital points. But then, Julian suddenly felt a bad premonition.
His gaze quickly wandered around the area to find out the cause. His eyes then glanced at Bardock, where his eyes widened. A figure had unknowingly appeared behind the engineer, and without him noticing, it stabbed him in the back with a dagger.
“ARRGGGHHHH!!!” Blood splattered and the rebel engineer fell helplessly to the floor.
Julian was swiftly anxious as he realized the figure that came out from the shadow was another dark elf magus.
With blood dripping from the dagger, the elusive fifth elven magus glanced at the Roman and mockingly said, “You human didn’t really think that we would leave such an important place unprotected, did you?”