Chapter 100: Chapter 99, Kodi’s Death
Kodi’s actions had obviously attracted a lot of attention.
But due to the previous detour and interspersion, he had secured an advantageous terrain. When he burst out, many of the enemies were facing away from him, and there were no covers in between to protect them.
Seizing the moment, Kodi and his subordinates killed a significant number of enemies with fierce gunfire.
This even included two enemy mages.
One mage was killed by a volley of bullets before he could react, as he failed to adjust the direction of his Storm Shield; the other did manage to react but was taken down by concentrated fire from several soldiers.
In a matter of seconds, multiple soldiers had emptied a magazine, shattering the Storm Shield and killing the person within.
Lower-level enemy mages, with insufficient strength, could be broken and killed by ordinary bullets.
But afterwards, when the enemies recovered from their initial shock, Kodi and his team’s situation deteriorated.
Especially since this flanking charge had depleted their ammunition after eliminating a number of enemies. Some soldiers were positioned to ensure their magazines still had firepower, but a lull in firing was inevitable for the others while reloading.
Not only were they taking incoming bullets, but also a wind spell from an enemy mage was hurtling towards them.
One soldier was hit in the leg and fell to the ground, only to be further struck by multiple bullets, which ended his life;
The wind spell went off-course, exploding at the edge of their formation, but still claimed the lives of two soldiers.
Despite Kodi’s best efforts to lead the team to cover, by the end of it, only four remained by his side.
This was within his expectations, and Kodi remained calm.
Frontal firepower drew attention while he led a squad on the flank, striving to inflict maximum damage and continue drawing focus.
Next, it was up to Tadeusz.
Leading another squad, the time had come for them to launch their assault as well.
The number of enemy mages left among their foes was down to three. If Tadeusz could achieve results similar to Kodi’s squad, they would have little trouble winning this battle.
It was best to also ensure as many survivors as possible to retain their fighting strength.
If they, Kodi and Tadeusz, could then drive their troops like steel nails into the enemy’s rear, with the front-line troops launching an attack under covering fire, they would be able to achieve a victory against the odds, taking back the supply carts from the Cultists and rioters!
As he thought this, Kodi heard gunshots and screams not far away.
Tadeusz had launched his attack as planned!
But the next moment, Kodi’s brow furrowed tightly.
The sounds seemed off.
Too distant.
He couldn’t help it and glanced sideways, only to see an unfavorable situation.
It appeared that Tadeusz had been exposed before they could initiate their planned assault and was now under enemy attack, caught in disarray.
Kodi realized he couldn’t just wait for the outcome.
He looked to the four soldiers on either side of him.
Their expressions were somewhat panicked.
Even though they were chosen as the most excellent and steadfast warriors, they were essentially trapped deep within enemy lines, surrounded by adversaries, and morale was inevitably shaken after nearly half their team had just been killed.
Kodi knew he needed to say something, “We’ve come this far, we must disregard life and death. Do we even have space to retreat now? Victory is our only path!”
“Let’s go! Take down the remaining enemy mages, victory belongs to us!”
With that, he charged out of the cover.
The remaining four soldiers, either genuinely moved by his words or simply acting on instinct, followed closely behind.
One soldier stayed in the rear to provide covering fire, striking at the enemy attempting to attack his comrades, while the other three, under Kodi’s leadership, attacked the sorcerer who was advancing on Tadeusz with his back turned to them.
The sorcerer was instantly trapped in a dire situation, with enemies in front and behind, and no possibility of dodging to the side, as it would expose him directly to the firepower from ahead.
The overwhelmed sorcerer was shot dead.
But the remaining two sorcerers were a tough problem.
The pair, back to back, were behind a pile of rubble from a blasted building. The shattered construction debris served as cover, shielding them from direct gunfire; whether it was Tadeusz’s side or Kodi’s, they could only attack the enemy directly facing them, and the enemy’s Storm Shields were also open towards them.
What made things even more difficult was that around these two sorcerers, there were a significant number of armed thugs guarding them. Their fire was mainly directed towards Tadeusz’s side, suppressing the commissar from advancing.
Quickly assessing the situation, Kodi took two actions.
A grenade, with its pin pulled, was tossed toward the enemy by him.
The explosion of the grenade killed several armed hooligans and also caused the two sorcerers’ Storm Shields to tremble violently.
Then, anticipating the enemy’s counter-attack, he dodged to the side, indeed avoiding an incoming wind shot.
The wind shot sent the two warriors beside him flying.
Kodi, half-crouching and kneeling on the ground, endured the pain of a blade of wind slicing off a piece of his facial skin and, in an awkward pose, fired ferociously at the sorcerer facing him.
The already quaking Storm Shield, under the fierce fire of the G9 rifle, flickered incessantly, clearly on the verge of collapse.
The sorcerer, along with several surviving armed thugs, had their attention completely drawn by the man in the black coat and red hat.
Bullets flew at Kodi fiercely, forcing him to hide. He was shot several times in the torso, but fortunately, the hard plastic vest he was wearing under his coat protected his vital parts; being shot in the shoulder, in the leg, or even having an ear shot off… these were all minor issues now.
The gunfire he drew away created an opportunity for the two surviving soldiers.
Both of them fired all the bullets in their new magazines at the sorcerer. Even if only half the bullets hit their mark, they were enough to shatter the Storm Shield.
The one a bit further away, who had run out of bullets in his magazine and wanted to duck back to reload, was hit in the head by a bullet and died instantly.
The closer one, the last remaining soldier, dropped his rifle and threw a grenade.
But the grenade didn’t have the desired effect, as it was blown away by an evil wind.
The sorcerer with the broken shield was terrified at this moment.
He had been distracted by the man in the red hat and had almost been swept away by this assault.
Restarting his Storm Shield would take time, and if a grenade was lobbed at him, he feared it would be the end for him.
Enraged, he even summoned another wind shot, hurling it at the soldier who was trying to reload to attack him, sending his body flying like a torn rag, only then feeling relieved.
Having dealt with this one, he could finally shift his target and deal with the red-hatted man who was barely clinging to life.
Huh?
Where was that red hat?
Looking up again, he saw the red-hatted man, dragging a wounded leg, climbing on top of a piece of building wreckage that served as cover and jumping down.
On his person, two grenades already had their pins pulled.
The sorcerer’s eyes widened, but by then, it was already too late for any action.
With a thunderous explosion, the shockwaves and shrapnel from the two grenades took the life of the Storm Shield-shattered sorcerer and, by chance, the life of the other sorcerer facing Tadeusz’s squad with his back to Kodi.
It also took Kodi’s life.