Sounding out the specs of the Raynaxes he had command over and temporarily ignoring the fact that he should not have access to such knowledge, he continued racking his brain on the best way to utilise his resources.
Nineteen Raix units was a formidable force but sending it out against close to four hundred heavily armed mercenaries and expecting a victory was a stretch.
At this moment, his best bet was to once again use the fatigue built up from climbing ten floors to his advantage and launching guerrilla attacks on them with the Raynaxes.
There is still the issue of the guns to deal with.
The Raix energy shields are strong but I highly doubt that they’ll be able to hold against sustained enemy fire.
“Milady.”
“Yes good squire?” Noire immediately perked up upon being addressed.
“What are the limits of your barrier magic? How many can you shield effectively.”
“Ah, we-well I can hold a maximum of eight barriers at any one time, but the more I create the weaker each one gets. Umm my strongest barrier can protect about twenty people at once if they cluster around me.”
“I see, how good are they at blocking against multiple impacts at the same time? Can it be overwhelmed by too many attacks at different points?”
Shaking her head, Noire answered in the negative.
“No squire, my barriers only require that I provide the flux to it. The spell itself distributes the energy evenly so I don’t have to focus on holding the barrier, it won’t break unless I run out of flux or truly massive force is applied.”
“I see, if it comes to it, can I count on you to create a barrier to protect yourself and the professor from their guns?”
“Of course I-wait GUNS?”
“They have four Imperial siege tanks parked outside this tower, if they have those I see no reason to believe that they aren’t packing conventional firearms.”
“Then what about you and Sir Geahart?”
“We have our own way of dealing with them, the main thing is that we keep the both of you safe, while I don’t believe they will actually fire on you since they want you alive, stray rounds might go in your direction. As soon as they come up set up the barrier, better safe than sorry.”
“I… I… yes of course.”
Turning his attention to the entrance upon hearing a small hum, Leon was pleased to note that the designated ‘A squad’ had finished their work.
Excellent, A squad is done and… so is B squad. Time to get to work.
“A SQUAD, B SQUAD RENDEZVOUS WITH C SQUAD ON THE LOWER LEVELS. HIT AND RUN TATICS ONLY, TARGET THOSE CAPABLE OF SHOOTING BACK FIRST! YOU HAVE YOUR ORDERS MOVE!”
As one the Raix turned and flew through the veil, ready to regroup with their brethren, Leon watching them go with a studiously blank face.
It's showtime.
-*-
“What the hell are these things! Shoot them, SHOOT THEM!”
“My legs! I can’t feel my legs!”
“Mama, mama I don’t… want… to… di….”
“ARGHHHH! IT BURNS! IT BURNS!”
Screams filled the air on the fifth level of the tower as the Iron Wolves ran into heavy resistance.
Their front lines were literally being melted by flying metal hell spawn.
Confusion had spread through the ranks and people were firing indiscriminately at anything that moved.
Denzel’s heart fell at the rapidly deteriorating situation.
This. Is. Why. We. Send. In. Scouts.
The climb had started out easy enough.
As per the reports from the first wave, there was no resistance. No monsters, no traps, no nothing.
As soon as they made it to the fifth floor though, it was like flipping a switch.
Initially empty, eight flying monstrosities made of metal had come flying down the stairs firing red beams of death everywhere.
Anything hit by those beams burned away, armour, flesh, bone, all of it.
The floor was pockmarked with scarring wherever the lasers hit and noxious fumes were being emitted from the melting floor tiles.
More than a few who hadn’t been hit had already sickened and were on their knees.
Bitterly cursing his incompetent commander for landing them all in this situation, Denzel sharply twisted his head to the right, just barely dodging a shot that would have melted his face.
He winced as he heard a garbled scream from behind him, the man not having the fortune or skill to evade and now suffering for it.
Taking a deep breath, Denzel raised his Styx rifle and opened fire on the offending machine.
Swearing as he saw his shots hit a shimmering barrier around the thing and dissipate harmlessly.
Dropping to the ground to dodge the counter attack, he tried bringing his weapon to bear one more time only to find his aggressor had already moved on to menace someone else.
Looking at the weapon in hand, he swore a steady stream of curses. Finest craftsmanship and engineering from the Empire indeed.
Damn thing couldn’t do a thing against these infernal monsters. The supposed best flux rifle in existence completely useless, none of the flux rounds were connecting at all.
Grabbing a terrified mercenary, he shook him and shouted to rally the others. To Denzel it was vital that they focus fire on one machine at a time instead of spraying the room in a panic.
The man’s eyes were wide and bloodshot with fear, he was scared out of his wits by the world burning down around him and Denzel gave up trying to get him to comply soon after trying.
Letting go of the man to repeat the process with someone else, Denzel could only pray that those he got to would follow his instructions.
Fury surged in his veins at how everything had gone completely pear shaped.
His fears had been realised, the targets had found a way to use the tower against them, and they were now paying for the hubris of one megalomaniac.
“Who in God’s name sends four hundred men into an enclosed space all at once? This room is the barrel and we’re the fish.”
A large fraction of the men were still below, trying to push their way up, the veil of darkness preventing them from knowing about the massacre happening above their heads.
The flying death machines and Allant’s men picking off anyone making a break for the door didn’t help things in the least.
A loud cheer rose above the din for a brief instant, drawing his attention.
One of the Raynaxes had been brought down by concentrated gunfire and the men were celebrating their kill.
Those cheers turned to screams of terror shortly after as the surviving units redoubled their efforts to make up for the loss.
“So those bastards can be killed. Good. There’s still the problem of the number of people on this floor to deal with though.”
Truth be told, in his opinion, the sheer number of people on the level was the biggest problem they were facing.
Close to two hundred had been packed into the room and more were still pouring in from below.
In theory, their numbers should have given them the advantage against their attackers, two hundred against eight, no contest.
But the reality was that their numbers were a severe handicap.
The enclosed space was boxing them in, with the lack of space to manoeuvre, most were stuck standing in positon.
Some couldn’t even raise their weapons as the bodies were pressing too closely together.
The dead, dying and the wounded added a whole new dimension to the problems plaguing them.
Not only were they a bad hit to morale, their fallen forms were hidden obstacles to the men who were too focused on the enemies overhead to pay attention to what’s on the ground.
With the floor being slick with blood and fumes inducing nausea, many a man failed to retain their footing and fell, some immediately blasted by the Raynaxes, never to rise again.
Friendly fire was also an issue, by this point Denzel could no l
onger tell who was taking out Allant’s opponents and who was simply firing indiscriminately at anything that moved
While all this was hampering the Iron Wolves, the Raynaxes had no such problems. Armed with superior mobility and freedom in the ‘skies’ they were flying circles around the mercenaries.
Given the target rich environment they were racking up an impressive amount of hits and the toll just kept getting higher.
As another bolt of crimson blasted by so close he could smell his hair being singed, Denzel gave up trying to rally any kind of effective resistance.
The place was too chaotic for that. Instead he resolved to simply adding his own firepower to whichever target was being shot at the most.
Lifting his rifle and sighting one, he squeezed the trigger for an eight round burst.
The sharp cracks of his weapon discharging went unnoticed by the combatants as the cacophony of the melee drowned them out.
The results however were not missed if the cheer that went up was anything to go by.
Denzel was inordinately pleased to observe the results of his marksmanship.
The first five bullets were nullified by the shield around the death machine. The remaining three on the other hand went straight through with no resistance, impacting the Raynax full on.
The damn thing started smoking before it exploded into a shower of sparks and scrap metal before dropping to the floor.
“THESE THINGS ARE NOT INVINCIBLE. PICK A TARGET AND FOCUS YOUR FIRE ON IT. THEIR SHIELDS WON’T LAST FOREVER!”
““““““HOOH AAAH!””””””
With that rallying cry, the Iron Wolves began their counteroffensive.
It was a bloody affair.
Despite doing their best to group up and coordinate their attacks the Raynaxes were determined to prevent that outcome and harassed any group that came close to succeeding.
For many, the flash of crimson was the last thing they ever saw.
Against all odds, they managed in the end to mount a proper resistance against the machines and four more joined the scrap heap.
Seemingly unwilling to sustain further losses, the surviving three retreated up the stairs, leaving the mercenaries to enjoy their hard won victory.
Well that's that for now I guess.
Taking a look around the place, Denzel’s mouth set into a grim line.
But what a price we paid for it. Lord help us, what a price.
Once the ecstasy brought on by the victory had worn off, the shock and horror began to set in.
Already Denzel could see that more than a few of the men were about to break down from the carnage, especially the ones who had the fortune or misfortune to stand next to someone who got hit.
Being painted red by their comrades in such a way was not a good thing to experience.
“THOSE STILL STANDING TEND TO THE WOUNDED! MOVE THE FALLEN TO THE SIDES, CHECK YOUR WEAPONS AND REGROUP!”
“Tend to the wounded? Are you out of your mind Denzel? The captain’s orders are clear. Charge and destroy all opposition then we bring the girl to him. We don’t have time for this, we will move now.”
A short stubby man in a set of mismatched armour challenged Denzel’s orders with a sneer on his face. Soulless black orbs burning with an insane light stared into Denzel’s own.
Great. Just what I need, one of Allant’s pet dogs challenging my authority.
Returning the sneer with an equally malice filled one of his own, Denzel shot the man down while resisting the overpowering urge to just shoot the man.
“Ay, I didn’t see you there Ackerman, I wonder, is it because you’re too short or because you’re too busy hiding behind the real men of the Iron Wolves… as usual.”
“WHY YOU LITTLE, I’LL-”
“YOU’LL DO NOTHING LITTLE MAN! Allant made me commandeer of this operation… not you. As such you will follow MY orders understand? Otherwise, I’ll have you shot. You know what? Go ahead make, my, day.”
Pointing his rifle at the unsightly coward with his finger resting on the trigger, a sinister smile had appeared at some point. Denzel relished in the power he held over the thorn in his side.
Gnashing his teeth in barely contained rage, Ackerman held his trembling fists by his side before trying to skulk away, ostensibly to plan Denzel’s slow and painful death.
Calling out to Denzel, the midget tried threatening him.
“This isn’t over Denzel! Allant will hear about this, about how you threatened your own loyal men and directly countermanded his orders to charge. He will have your head for this.”
“Threatened? Oh no, I never threatened anyone, I’m just reminding everyone here of the proper chain of command. And to countermanding his orders? Why I’m just modifying the plan as the situation evolves. You know the old adage, no plan survives first contact with the enemy.”
“Those excuses will not-”
“Excuses? Hmm I hardly think making a plan to prevent total annihilation is an excuse. We’ve already lost close to a hundred on this floor alone, that’s not counting those incapacitated on the first assault. If each subsequent level is like this one, there won’t be any men left to reach the eighth level, let alone the tenth.”
Baring his rotted teeth in a grimace like smile, Ackerman made a half-baked attempt at putting the insufferable Denzel in his place.
“Heh, I wonder who Allant will believe huh, his good friend or the worthless second in command of the dearly departed Fareux. You are nothing more than a filthy sheep and I am a wolf, once Allant sees this I’ll be the one to take your head. What a trophy it will make.”
“To take my head you need to be able to reach it first short stuff.”
As Denzel fired off that insult, his macabre grin grew wider yet.
“And where do you think you’re going?”
“To my post sheep. Where else? You brain dead as well?”
The grin grew wider.
“Well wolf pup, your post is no longer at the back.”
“What?”
Ackerman stopped in his tracks as he heard that statement, spinning around he immediately tried to clarify what he’d just heard.
All the while there was a sinking feeling in his stomach, as though he had dug himself a very big hole.
And now someone was about to fill in that metaphorical hole
“You opened my eyes to an important fact. Alpha wolves lead from the front no?”
“Yes, and your point? I am most unimpressed by your efforts to stall.”
“Since you have so boldly declared that you are a wolf, as a sign of my generosity, I will allow you to ‘lead’ from the front.”
“What?”
“Of course command will still be mine, but you get to march at the head of the Iron Wolves like the role model you are. Everyone else will follow behind you. Think of all the glory you’ll have by being the first one through the veil. Allant will surely reward you for your strength.”
“WHAT!”
“Oh come now Ackerman” Denzel continued in a bored tone, grin still fully splashed across his face.
“I know you’re not deaf, you heard me just fine. You are a wolf are you not? I thought you’d be jumping at the chance to lead the men. Isn’t that why you’ve always wanted my job?”
“THIS IS AN OUTRAGE! YOU CAN’T JUST-”
“Oh but I can, and you will. One, this is an order, two, a true wolf will gladly jump to the front, three….”
At this, Denzel’s malice filled smile became one of victory.
“To refuse… is to show weakness. And that makes you a sheep… doesn’t it?”
The sound of guns cocking filled the room that had gone silent partway through the exchange.
Turning around, Ackerman’s face paled as he found himself staring down the barrels of no less than fifty guns.
“And you my dear little midget, should know better than anyone else what we do with sheep. So the question is, are, you, a, sheep?”
“You… you…
you can’t do this! This… this is treachery, TREACHERY. Allant will never allow this.”
Ackerman voice had become so small that just hearing it filled Denzel with glee.
“Ah see here’s the thing. Before we entered this tower, I did feedback to the captain that we would likely suffer heavy casualties… like we did here in fact. You wanna know what he said to me in response?”
“W-w-what?”
“We. Have. Reserves. Guess who’s been pulled to the frontlines from the reserves now? Hmm? Go on, I’m waiting.”
“You can’t do this… YOU CAN’T!”
“Hmmph, as acting commander, it is my prerogative to shift men to where they’re needed. And I have decided you should be leading the pack in so to speak. Unless….”
“Unless?”
Ackerman pipped up with a hopeful tone, so much so that Denzel had to subtly pinch himself to avoid breaking out into laughter.
You who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of sterner stuff.
“Unless you don’t want it of course. In which case you would be considered a deserter and the men around you would be more than willing to educate you on what we do to deserters. I can tell you this, it will be slow and… you will feel every moment of it.”
“….”
“No objections, excellent, take your place at the head of the formation then. And just so you know, if you run, that makes you prey.”
Victorious smile on his face, Denzel gave himself a pet on the back for successfully eliminating one of Allant’s sycophants as he watched Ackerman slink away to the front with all the grace of a coward walking to the gallows.
Under the watchful eyes of so many with an axe to grind with him, he would not be escaping his fate any time soon.
One down, only forty-nine to go.
Smile faltering briefly at the sobering thought that his ranks were still corrupted, he waved aside the few congratulations he received from the men.
Denzel chose to focus on sorting through the fallen while ensuring that the men continue to train their weapons on the stairwell.
This entire tower was enemy territory and there was no telling when those machines would return.
As it turned out, such precaution was well-warranted, part way into their recovery efforts, a second wave of five Raynaxes struck and promptly flew into a hailstorm of flux bolts.
Opening Moves (The Lion Knight Book 1) Page 17