Chapter 159

The Lion’s Fountain Plaza was swept away by torrential rain after decades.

With a sudden downpour accompanied by lightning, the people wandering in the plaza ran about, uncertain about what to do.

Unfortunately, it does not rain in Vittorio Dungeon. A dark ceiling blocks the sky where it should be. Instead of water, lead falls.

Bullets, bullets, and more bullets pounded the ground. The Violet Brigade unleashed their firepower, ready to dump all the ammunition stacked in their inventory.

“Attack, attack! Shoot them all!”

“Fire until the barrels melt!”

A thousand Violets sprang into action. Five infantry companies of Violets emerged from the buildings and alleys around the plaza, establishing a siege formation. The flight squadron took to the skies. The artillery unit finished its deployment.

While the enemies were disoriented, we detonated mines to throw them into confusion before launching our assault.

The rain of lead is fair. It spares neither monsters nor humans.

“Stop right there! You reserve honeycomb bastards!”

132, part of the first company standing by the window, mounted the tripod of a machine gun at the window.

As the charging handle was pulled, a bullet from the belt stretching out of the ammo bag clicked as it was sucked into the chamber. I pulled the trigger. I had no intention of doing aimed fire. It was meaningless!

-Ratatatatat!

The countless streams of bullets fired from the machine gun pelted the plaza. The riflemen also belched fire.

“Graaaah! Aaaah!”

There were no places to hide in Lion’s Fountain Plaza; the enemy was now faced with two choices amidst the chaos caused by the recent improvised explosive attack: either lie flat on the ground or brace for the bullet storm while accepting the diminishing Ether Protection.

Of course, we had no intention of offering them a choice for retaliation. The command center firmly summoned the artillery unit behind the tactical map.

“Artillery Unit 1! What’s the number of V-1 rockets?”

“About 200 rounds, and we’re assembling V-2s, so stand by!”

“Good, the accuracy is decent, so keep firing like that!”

Over the plaza, behind the buildings, the priest rockets, trailing flames, rained down like meteors.

As the enemies’ responses dwindled due to the artillery assault, 15 hang gliders descended beneath the ceiling.

The primary goal of the flight squadron was to secure air superiority, the secondary goal was to support ground troops!

“Those annoying birds. Get rid of them!”

The command center tapped the red dots on the map. The gunners in the back seats of the powered hang gliders shot down jets that couldn’t escape in time.

By the time they looked up in bewilderment, it was too late. Violet guided bombs dove toward the top priority target.

“Here, head here! Take out the Vanguard first!”

“I’m going!”

The fourth unit from the command center tapped the map. The 890 and 891 units that had dropped from the hang glider flew to the designated spot.

The Vanguard appeared in the sights of Unit 890. Those guys rallied their subordinates and faced both the monsters and us simultaneously.

“Die!”

Just as the guided bombs entered their final phase right before colliding with the bastards, a spray of flak flew through the air.

The Violet guided bombs that were intercepted exploded in the sky.

“Ugh, agh! They were intercepted!”

As I surveyed the scene in confusion, I noticed that the mages had regained their senses and had deployed barriers all over the place, activating interception spells to block our assault.

Rockets and grenades were also blown apart in mid-air by the flak. The hang gliders hurriedly maneuvered out of the sky.

“Damn it! Is that the Vice President’s doing again? Look over there!”

Amidst the enemy ranks stood that very Vice President.

Surely, he must be commanding the other mages. The Magnavis guys rallied for a counterattack, relying on their barriers and interception spells.

“Aaaaah! Those bastards! Our believers! Graaaah!”

Even the monsters and zealots we had just dragged along were of no help now.

Noxterra was melting away under the Vanguard’s assault, and the monsters were perishing. The leader of the zealots had disappeared.

Even the surviving zealots were fleeing.

“Tsk, useless!”

Indeed, those guys were elite troops. To not be running away in this state and to organize a counterattack…

I’d expected some resistance, but I didn’t think they’d be this tenacious.

“Hey! Just run away already!”

I realized now that annoyance and admiration could coexist as emotions.

“This won’t do. Sniper team, Levi. Get ready to fire!”

The high-caliber sniper rifle and combat rifle squad waiting on the rooftop turned their barrels.

Levi’s ballista also aimed at the enemies. Gunners armed with captured electromagnetic rifles finished setting up for their attacks.

“The brigade command center relays! For now, fire at will, and when I designate a target, focus your fire!”

The assault squads of each company, waiting behind the encirclement, moved. Some wore exoskeletons captured from the federal army.

The standard bearer, carrying the last regiment’s flag, got ready to wave the banner from the back.

“Assault Team, prepare!”

The Violets in the front row injected the remaining black ice into their thighs. The enhanced exoskeletons were ready to activate.

“The command center relays. We’ll charge as soon as the simple psychological warfare is over!”

One hang glider returned to the skies, carrying a large speaker and amplifier, along with hastily churned-out makeshift flyers.

“Begin!”

“Oh, God.”

The Vanguard commander let out a sigh unconsciously. Even he, an atheist, was now inclined to seek out a god given this situation.

“There are enemies everywhere!”

More than 70% of what lay before him was enemy territory. Gunfire rained from the windows inside the buildings surrounding the plaza. Rockets flew down from the sky.

“We must retreat!”

“Retreat? Where to? We’re surrounded!”

No escape route was visible. The path leading towards the forward base was blocked by an approaching horde of zealots and monsters.

This must be due to the recent trickery caused by the Vision Prism.

Considering the weakening of their barriers and Ether Protection, he approached and fired fireballs.

A floor of a building went up in flames. In retaliation, the enemies fired anti-tank rockets and grenades.

“Don’t overreach! You are our only hope here!”

“Damn it, this is horrendously awful. It could truly be the work of the Obsidian Legion.”

The commander gritted his teeth. He couldn’t believe this was all just a massive trap. Blinded by artifacts and signal devices, they’d stumbled into a death trap.

They were an army. A combat unit made solely of Awakened. They moved faster than the Non-Awakened and displayed tenacious vitality.

Could this really be just an ordinary Clone Creation Ability?

Over the wall, poorly made rockets flew incessantly, and things that resembled gliders appeared, dropping bombs.

Even a tank, where they’d gotten it from was unknown, appeared.

Although it only served as a blockade now, those loathsome bastards trampled over their subordinates.

“I can’t believe they’re using clones like this.”

Lera pointed to the sky. A person’s silhouette exploded after being hit by an interception spell. Instinct and decades of experience moved his body to deploy a barrier.

“I guess I should give you some praise. Well, it is an effective method of attack.”

As the tactics went beyond common sense, the Magnavis members shook their heads, and suddenly, a sharp beep pierced the air.

-Ah, ah! Mic test!

Amidst the gunfire, a voice clear as day made everyone glance to the sky. A lone enemy hang glider that had fled returned, blaring proclamations.

-Surrender! We know who you are! The Federation and Academy city authorities have already prepared to report you! Drop your weapons!

At the sudden enemy declaration, the members were bewildered. Lera raised her right hand with a dumbfounded expression.

“Did they really think that would work?”

Just as they were about to drop the hang glider, the speaker blared out a shocking revelation.

-Hey! This is Lera Veleston! Fifth year of Polaris Academy! Vice President of the Student Council! What are you doing here!

In that moment, her expression crumpled as if she’d been flattened by a sledgehammer.

“H-how do you know that…!”

“Alright, now’s the time. Charge!”

“Irene, let’s go!”

“Okay!”

Irene and the assault team charged, covered by suppressive fire, into the enemy formation. The orange-haired guy and his subordinates immediately counterattacked, but perhaps due to shock, his face was still stuck in astonishment.

“Oh, they won’t faint from just this. Then let’s charge!”

Waving the banner enthusiastically, the standard bearer slightly increased our running speed. The reaction speed also grew faster.

With the effects of Irene’s Unique Ability, the drug, the speed of the exoskeleton, and the buff from the flag combined, the assault team rushed the enemies faster than they could fire at them.

“Hello! We know exactly what you did at the academy last summer!”

“How…? Who are you!”

Though they were the enemy, I empathized briefly with the guy’s bewildered expression. Imagine how shocking it would be if someone suddenly shouted your name and personal details from the sky.

I realized why the Student Council president had been so smug. Watching the enemy’s panic at having their identity revealed was actually quite entertaining!

Adela, who had been drawing her bow on the rooftop, showed a subtly changed expression.

“…That person is an academy student?”

“Yeah! Sis, that guy isn’t just an agent. He’s part of the Student Council! He’s doing something like undercover work!”

“My, I never thought there’d be such a strange academy…”

As the drugged assault team charged furiously into melee combat, the hang gliders provoked the enemies in between the battles.

“What are the Magnavis Vanguard doing here? I’ve captured everything! I’m going to post it online!”

“Hey, you junkies of the Vanguard! Did you just see your subordinates go flat?”

Right after those words, a Violet from the assault team was torn apart.

“Kyaah! I know what you and the principal did under the desk!”

405, wielding a sword at the front lines, also tried to provoke the enemy.

The Vice President shot me a look, seemingly somewhat dumbfounded.

“I know what you did last summer with the Student Council president at the hotel! Hehe!”

“Shut your mouth!”

Suddenly, Lera reacted fiercely and lifted her staff.

“What’s with her? Why is she suddenly angry?”

“Kyaaaaah!”

The Violets were swept aside by the lightning whip. The propaganda hang glider also burned and fell.

“Ughyaaaaah! Even hiding the truth with your hands won’t work…”

-KABOOM!

I saw the guy in the fishbowl helmet hit the Vice President’s shoulder hard.

“Damn it, what are you doing? Don’t get caught up in their bluster. Shut up!”

The one who seemed to be the leader was relatively calm. He focused on the battle despite our continuous provocations.

Sadly, he was right. This was, after all, just bravado. Operations and black operations by clans could quickly be erased from public attention or online platforms.

That’s why killing them all is the best option.

“The command center relays! Self-destruct now!”

The Violets engaged in melee combat rushed toward the mages.

“Drop it now! It’s a self-destruction!”

The quick-witted ones kicked us away or pushed us down, but the slower ones got caught in the explosion.

“Ughhh!”

A Vanguard was hit directly by the blast and staggered. I charged in with my Brain Spear.

“Take that!”

With a bang, the enemy’s head flew off. Now, only four remained.

The command center ordered concentrated fire.

“Hahaha! You human scum, vanish!”

One by one, the heavy gunfire from the combat rifles, the bullets from the sniper rifles, and Levi’s ballista bolts concentrated on the targets.

Each time a Violet in the command center clicked on a red dot on the map, the Violets concentrated their rifles on a single target.

“Kalia! Tie that guy up!”

Kalia, following the assault team, swung her chains, ensnaring another Vanguard agent. I clicked on the guy on the map again.

“Ugh!”

The agent, pummeled by the high-caliber sniper rifle and heavy bolts, died on the spot. That makes three!

“See, our strategy works!”

The concentrated fire nullified the barriers and interception systems. The members were slaughtered one by one, becoming honeycombs of death.

Seeing this, the shocked Lera and the other mages activated interception spells with more vigor.

The interception spells began to block even the smallest bullets.

“Oh dear, what a hassle. Gunners, concentrated fire! Get V-2 ready!”

The Violet artillery unit responded with increased firepower against their efforts. Gunners with electromagnetic rifles lined up and pulled their triggers.

“Ah, aahh!”

One mage fell to the ground, bleeding from his eyes and nose.

The result of overtaxing his calculations to stop the barrage from the electromagnetic rifles.

Rockets flew down once again. This time, the bigger ones mixed in. The V-2 rockets.

Those who had pushed their calculations to the limit lost their chance to intercept the rockets.

The hang glider squad returned once again.

“OMG. No, don’t…”

“Yes, do!”

While the team members fell back, the assault team continued to hold onto their enemies. Seizing the opportunity in the chaos, Unit 506 pushed ruthlessly into the enemy ranks with the power of drugs and enhanced exoskeletons.

Target: the Vice President.

“Take that!”

Unit 506 thrust the Brain Spear sharply. The guy hurriedly raised his left arm, but it was too late.

The tip of the Brain Spear stabbed his left arm.

-KABOOM!

“AAAH!”

As soon as the Vice President lost his left arm, he dropped to the ground. Just as Unit 506 was about to finish him off, a Vanguard agent tore Unit 506 apart.

“Damn! I couldn’t finish him off!”

“I guess there’s nothing we can do. Flight squad, finish it up!”

While they held the Violets and Magnavis members, the hang glider squad flew in a line over the enemies.

Countless home-made explosives poured down like rain from the inventory.

“Start carpet bombing!”

The plaza was engulfed in flames.

“Ghh, ghhh…”

Lera, who lost her left arm, groaned in pain. She saw countless metal chunks dropping from the hang gliders flying above her. They were indeed explosives.

‘It seems I’ve failed.’

Just as she was about to close her eyes in despair, a rough hand picked her up.

“Veleston, you should somehow hold on, right?”

“What?”

The Vanguard commander forcibly activated the device on her back. The cloaking device activated.

“Go tell the Grand Mage. We have failed. The clan must prepare for those bastards. You must return alive!”

“…!”

In the next moment, Lera found herself flying towards the outskirts of the plaza. The moment she hit a corner, the plaza erupted in flames.

“Oh my God…”

She clutched her severed arm and crawled into the darkness, struggling.

After a wave of explosions passed, a 30-year veteran of the Vanguard rose, covered in wounds.

‘With this, that guy should have somehow escaped. No, he must escape.’

He searched for his comrades through telepathic communication. The communication was silent. He belatedly realized the comms device was broken.

He called out for his allies in his own voice.

“Is there anyone else alive? Is it just you?”

“…It’s just me.”

Bittersweet at the reality that only one comrade remained, the commander gazed forward.

Numerous armed forces, a wave of clones, was approaching him.

“Damn.”

He removed his shattered sealed mask. The face of an elderly man was revealed, spattered with thin, complex electronic devices and wires.

He assessed his condition. There was little magical power left. His physical condition was a wreck. Even if left alone, he wouldn’t survive.

Suddenly, the man thought.

How did this godforsaken chaos, this witch’s cauldron of a battlefield, come to be?

A lack of firepower? A numbers problem? Had they been blinded by artifacts, failing to predict the enemy’s ambush?

No, that was not it. From the start, perhaps they had never held the initiative in this witch’s cauldron.

The true master of this chaotic battlefield had been that wave of black clothed figures from the very beginning. They had simply been toyed with.

The master of the cauldron was that girl standing right in front of him.

‘So, she is the witch stirring the cauldron.’

With that thought concluded, the last two Vanguard agents burned their last reserves of magic to cast their spells.

“Come at us, you cockroaches! We are the guardians of the arcane. The Supervisor of All Magic and Sorcery. We are the vanguard guarding the depths of the Magnavis Group!”

The Violets raised their weapons instead of responding to the dying words of the mage.

In an orderly fashion, they prepared to execute a firing squad.

-Tatatatata!

The last enemies fell forward with a thud. A tank rolled over them.

“What did they just say?”

“I don’t know! Just confirm the kill.”

Rugilinn’s iron fist came crashing down, trampling over them. The agents were flattened between the tracks.

The command center declared a ceasefire.

“Begin tidying up the battlefield!”

The battle had come to an end.

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