Chapter 4 Part 2 of 3 (Patreon)

As they got off, artillery units continued upwards.

Rugrat felt the walls shake with their artillery cannons and spells.

Through passing arrow slits he could see the battlefield, explosions cleared the ground, he could see where the accelerators had hit, burning the ground where they passed and a cone of destructive force through the enemy lines, stone and trees beyond.

Ravagers of all varieties charged around obstacles and attacks.

Spells were focused upon pure destruction, nothing fancy here. The Ravagers were being thrown back, the elements thick with their deaths.

They stopped at a casting balcony and series of windows.

“This is us, fire at targets of opportunity, call out devourers!” Niemm yelled.

Rugrat found an arrow slit, a thought and earth element melted the arrow slit into a firing slit.

“Devourers! Shit, they’re thick!” Niemm fired on several demi-humans that shed their human form, growing in size, shields of elemental energy destroying attacks aimed at them.

“They’re going for the breaches,” Rugrat yelled, firing five shots as fast as he could pull the trigger, aiming at a fire element devourer, imbuing his shots with water to overpower its defense.

Railcannons rat e of fire shot up as destruction traced the devourers. Two missiles hit the ground, leaving a crater and killing two, wounding the others as the area around them turned into a ball of destruction.

“Change targets, they’re dead,” Rugrat yelled, feeling the wash of elements from the Devourers.

He reloaded his rifle, picking out Ravagers closing with the wall and ranging back further.

Sworn started to flee as their devourers were targeted and killed.

Three devourers launched themselves toward one of the city’s Frigates. Spells tore through the sky, from several directions, the Devourers broke through them and crashed into the ship, tearing into its sides. The crew and the devourers savaged one another before the first devourer dropped, the second fighting inside the frigate which shook with the destruction and plummeted from the sky, crashing into buildings. Groups rushed the Frigate to kill the beast.

Sworn were fleeing the city in droves, Rugrat shot them as they ran. Then all of the Ravagers broke.

The Alva Corvettes engines howled as they surged forward surrounded by Sparrow wings.

Their PDC howled and cannons raked the Ravagers, quickly heading off into the distance. Follow them back to their tears.

A few minutes later and the wall fell silent.

“Must have killed the one in the Frigate.” George said.

Niemm walked up to Rugrat and tapped him on the shoulder. “Lieutenant General Yui wants to you meet him at the main command center.”

Rugrat pulled out his map.

“Four and six, you’re with Rugrat, George you go with him too.”

Rugrat traced his route, memorizing it.

“We’re moving.”

They jogged up to the fourth wall and Rugrat jumped off of the wall. George regrew his wings and the others used mana manipulation to surround them.

Rugrat checked the map, the command center was built like a square pillar, covered in arrow slits and landing platforms.

Aerial beasts came and went with flying people

Rugrat and his team came into land at the large armored tower’s landing platform.

“Star emblem,” A guard said. Rugrat presented his, getting a raised eyebrow at its level, before it was checked.

“You’re free to go in.” The guard snapped to another. “Take them to the mission hall briefing room.”

“Sir!” He braced and indicated for them to follow him. They weaved through, people of all kinds and dress filled the halls, from merchants and civil servants to association members and soldiers, all part of this fight, or seeking something from the command staff.

Rugrat spotted Yui, wasn’t hard to miss the stars on his shoulder or the Alvan armor.

“Briefing is through here.” The guard indicated to large double doors and an auditorium with a large map on the rear wall.

“Thanks,” Rugrat pulled off his helmet and Yui did the same as they walked in.

“Seems that the city is eager to press the advantage while they have it, tear clearing mission,” Yui said as they walked inside.

“Corvettes?”

“They’re searching them out right now, few hits.”

“Quiet!” A man yelled, thumping the bottom of his spear on the stage.

People quickly moved to the bannisters, there were no seats in this auditorium.

Kay’Renna walked out, looking tired but no less determined or beautiful than Rugrat saw her last.

“I am Kay’Renna I am the Mission Hall’s liaison for this battle.” She looked through the stands and picked out Yui and Rugrat.

“Alvans, your corvettes and Aerial forces headed out over the wall, what is their situation?”

Rugrat looked to Yui. “Miss, they are scouting the area to find out where the tears are located. They move rather quickly and should be able to get away if they run into issues. May I share our discoveries.”

“Please, our mission as most of you have guessed is to clear out the tears in the area.”

==========

Event: Tear Clearing

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Requirements:

Searching and destroy Shattered Tears around the city. Kill Shattered Present.

==========

Rewards:

Experience

Mission points

+2 star mission

Rewards may be increased based on performance

==========

“That is per tear you close, experience and mission points will be given out on what you personally contribute.”

A few markers on the map suddenly updated with dozens.

Kay’Renna looked back at the map.

“Looks like we know where we need to go now.”

Yui raised his hand. She indicated for him to speak. “We can link the teleport formations here to the formations that are on the Corvettes, teleport in ground forces and give the warships coordinates to transition to.”

As he talked, one could see the corvette’s path, updating with tears dotting a twisted valley. New markers appeared denoting Devourers.

“Scouting force under attack, diverting away, will move to observation height.” Rugrat and Yui’s devices flashed with the message.

“Well that saves us from having to ride out there,” Kay’Renna grinned.

“Okay, first we will have Mission Hall groups teleport through the Alvans ships, once that is done, the warships will transition over and rain down mana fury upon the tears. We’ll sweep through the destruction and grab some beers.”

There were some cheers and laughs.

“Warship commanders, talk to Dorian,” She pointed to a man who raised his hand. “Coordinate the transition offset, I want you to be ready to fight as soon as you transition. Ground force leaders, you will get a teleportation pad number and a number. Get your people organized and to that teleportation pad, when your number is called you go through. Lets move now. Longer we wait the more Ravagers we have to deal with!”

She nodded to the room and headed back the way she had come.

A woman with the Alvan Fleet patch moved with other warship leaders towards Dorian.

“Well, looks like the hunt is on,” Yui said.

“One of the biggest hunts I’ve seen.”

***

“Corvettes in position!”

“First Ground Teleportation!” A teleportation pad flared to life the first Alvan took off at a sprint, the line running behind him as the sky brightened, the Alvan fleet transitioning to cover the Alvan corvettes.

Warships disappeared in the distance as the first line of Alvans disappeared and another group ran up to the teleportation pad as it stopped glowing.

Groups ran through and moved up, going through the second third and up.

Rugrat gripped his rifle tighter.

“Seventh Ground!”

The formation lit up and the line shifted, pounding stone as they stepped on the teleportation pad, there was a moment of disorientation, but they had trained for it.

Rugrat stepped on metal, inside the corvette following the white arrows and jumping from the ship. It hovered above the ground, the forest had been flattened around it, engines spooled and ready to ignite at a moment’s notice.

Rugrat ran with his group and into the sparse forest, thinned by Shattered lines of advance and attacks.

He could hear the shimmering hum of mana cannons charging and firing as they hit the tree-line, the underbrush smacking their legs and hitting their clothes as they came through to the other side to the rear of the firing line. They stood upon a hill looking down into the Valley filled with Tears.

Warships were arranged in a U facing the tears, raining down carnage upon the land walking their attacks into the region of the tears.

Devourers launched from the ground or dove from the sky, to be met by Aerial mounted forces or Mage teams held in reserve to deal with them.

Ground forces created a line along the ground. Rugrat and his team moved up behind them and followed it along towards the other side of the line.

Teleportation pads brought up more Heroes every second.

“This is us!” Niemm yelled. “Team one here, roll down, five meter spacing behind me.”

They created a line, turning to face the enemy. Rugrat dropped to a knee mana blades cutting a fallen tree apart as he used the stump to aim. He fired at movements in the trees, killing Shattered missed by the warships.

“Prepare to advance!” Niemm called.

“Up and forward, fifty meters, keep inline with the person to your right and left!”

The line pushed forward rapidly and stopped, laying in their attacks.

Several missiles dropped from the sky, hammering grouped Tears and Shattered.

“Another fifty! Move!”

So they advanced, the Warships raking the enemy and thnning them before the ground forces ranged weapons finished off what remained.

The line started to grow quiet as they could pick out shattered moving in the ruin instead of a random breeze or someone else on the line shooting at a tree.

It was an extermination as they cleared through another treeline they found the remains of a small town it twisted and boiled with Shattered.