Magnus stood facing the main gate of Havencrest dical Academy. To his right, the spot where the rear convoy had gone up in flas; to his left, three pillars of fire lit the sky. The gunfire ca from that direction too.
No doubt about it - the Emberleaf Legion’s sweep team was over there. And they still hadn’t deployed any infantry vehicles; otherwise, the flathrowers couldn’t be used, and the crackle of gunfire wouldn’t sound like standard assault rifles.
So, sa setup as last ti - infantry only. But this round, they were ready. Magnus couldn’t pin down the number, but it had to be at least forty.
He thought fast. In a flash, he barked at Amber and the other female teammate with a flathrower, "Don’t kill them! Drive those things toward the gate, push them out!"
Their side had vehicles. No number of centipede-spiders could phase them. The enemy, though? On foot. Those creepy-crawlies swarming out would tear up their focus.
The two won moved imdiately. Magnus made another hand sign and dashed left, leading twenty more ard female fighters - assault rifles locked and loaded.
The centipede-spider swarm, scorched by fla, bolted straight for the academy’s main entrance. Just then, another earthshaking boom - second rocket hit. Two SUVs sent sky-high.
"Damn bastards!"
Magnus cursed, too late to stop it. The swarm had just spilled out past the campus gate when the three fire pillars outside dropped to one - two of them swooped in for the kill.
Magnus yanked a grenade from his belt. He and his team had made it to the base of the left wall, only a barrier away from the enemy.
He raised the grenade, signaled his people. Each of the twenty pulled out one too. Worried so wouldn’t know the ropes, he popped his in front of them - the girls mirrored him without hesitation.
Then he turned, raised fingers - "One, two..."
At "Three," Magnus hurled his grenade over the wall. The rest followed in unison.
Then, one final hand gesture. Everyone fell back fast. At ten seconds, boom after boom ripped through the other side. Wall was blown wide - chunks scattered everywhere.
"Fire!"
His shout tore through the air. All twenty-one rifles poured fire into the breach. In seconds, they’d emptied their mags. Magnus gave the signal - withdraw.
They fell back again, twenty fighters trailing behind him to the corner where the wall turned.
There, Magnus motioned a climb. Though six of the won weren’t Awakened, they were all trained troops. Scaling a school wall? No sweat for them. All 21 of them made it over the far-left wall, slipping behind the Emberleaf Legion’s cleanup squad. Quiet and steady, they crept to a better position. At Magnus’s signal, each squad mber pulled out a grenade and they threw in unison.
The enemy had at least eighty n.
Forty-two grenades rained down. Still not trusting the blast alone, Amber and another special forces soldier stepped up, sweeping forward with dual flathrowers. The firestorm roared for over a minute. Then - three sudden pops.
Magnus snapped a sharp hand gesture: stop!
Those pops were likely the fuel tanks on their own flathrowers detonating. If they kept going, even the auto-rifles and remaining grenades might be put out of commission.
When it was done, the team moved in to clear the battlefield, tense and alert.
"Watch out!"
Sophia bolted like a phantom. In a blink, she leapt ahead, grabbed Magnus, and dragged him into a dive. They tumbled away - not even five ters - before behind them, where Magnus had just been standing, a massive explosion tore the air apart. Two female soldiers were blasted off the ground.
Ears ringing, both Magnus and Sophia were hurled across the street, crashing into the opposite wall like ragdolls.
"That’s a WZ-10 attack chopper!"
Sophia wasn’t even sure he could hear her. Blood gushed inside her helt, but she clenched her teeth. She wouldn’t go down now. No way.
That Red Arrow-10 missile was just the start. The next one... she was certain it was aid at the fuel truck.
If that went up, everything within a hundred ters would be wiped clean.
Burning what’s left of her strength, Sophia staggered up and sprinted toward the blast site. She snatched a shoulder-fired rocket launcher lying nearby and roared, "Charlotte!!"
Charlotte was eight or nine ters away, still dazed. But right in front of her lay a rocket shell. She hadn’t noticed it until just now. Seeing Sophia with the launcher and hearing her shout, she knew what to do. She grabbed the rocket and sprinted over, loading it with trembling hands.
One shot. That’s all they had.
If this rocket missed - or if the launcher had been damaged - then it was over.
Sophia drew a deep breath, steadied it as best she could. Her fingers tightened... but there was no ti to aim.
With a sharp hiss, the rocket blazed into the sky toward the WZ-10. Both won held their breath.
But fate was cruel. The rocket grazed the back of the chopper - but missed.
Was that it?
Sophia and Charlotte collapsed to the dirt. Four blank eyes stared into the sky.
"Boom!"
The explosion rumbled through them. They slowly closed their eyes.
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