It’s Ti I
The mood in the room changed palpably. Major Thompson and Simon’s expressions darkened, and the Doctor gasped while Osho’s gaze turned sharp.
’Already?’ He thought. It had barely been an hour since he’d left they left the convoy. So not only was the Tide moving a lot faster than he’d thought, but the fact that it was able to destroy an entire Outpost in that ti spoke volus of its lethality.
Moreover, Osho worried for the convoy, and whether or not it would reach the Citadel in ti.
Major Thompson seed to notice this, though, and said calmly.
"Don’t worry, your classmates reached the Citadel not too long ago. They are safe, I can guarantee that." Osho let out a relieved sigh, but his relief was short-lived as he rembered their predicant.
"Osho, you stay here and wait for your beast to wake up. Simon, follow to the control room." Just like that, Osho was left alone in the room with the Doctor and Gale.
He turned to the dical practitioner who offered a stiff smile in return.
"Well, how about you tell about your exercise in the wilderness for a bit?" He offered, and Osho stared at him for a second before shrugging. He needed a distraction from his constantly churning thoughts anyway.
___
Major Thompson and Simon along with the soldiers who had relayed the ssage quickly entered the control room, and needless to say, the place seed quite hectic. Orders were being thrown around and reports were being made at a concerning speed. However, the most glaring thing was the main viewing screen and what was on it.
It was currently looking down on the remnants of a large structure that was being trampled by beasts. What remained of the Jordan Outpost, that is.
The fortified structure had all been reduced to rubble, the walls and armants ripped apart. There were so dead beasts, but it was clear that they’d been overwheld not long after the confrontation began. As for the soldiers within them...
Major Thompson felt a faint pang in his heart as he watched the beasts munch on several corpses. Of beast and Man alike. His eyes narrowed as he imdiately yelled, getting everyone’s attention.
"Soone bring up to speed. What happened?" There was a brief silence before the female handler from before quickly ca up to him.
"The Tide suddenly accelerated not long after you left. We presu it was due to the Harbinger getting injured and calling them forward to assist it. As a result, the Jordan Outpost confronted them far faster than we’d initially calculated, and... they were overwheld." Her voice was somber and the Major nodded.
"Show the recording." A mont later. The main viewing screen changed to show what happened just a few minutes prior.
The large Outpost looked like a small island that was about to face a tsunami, looking utterly insignificant in the face of the tide that was made up of thousands of beasts.
The Major watched silently as the Outpost began its resistance. The automated weaponry going to work while the beast Tars did their best, the ones specializing in lee fighting up close while being supported by those who specialized in ranged attacks.
They resisted for a bit and killed quite a few, but it was rely a drop in the ocean, and in no ti at all, they were simply overwheld, drowned in the massive wave of monsters that wasted no ti in feasting on their flesh. It was appalling, to be frank.
Major Thompson was silent for a mont before asking.
"Any visual on the Harbinger?" Hearing this, one of the Handlers, specifically, the one in charge of the viewing device answered loudly.
"It seems to have retreated into the tide to recuperate. We aren’t sure what it did, but whenever we try to observe it directly, there’s so sort of interference that makes it virtually impossible to get a proper look at it. So the best we can do is judge its actions based on how the tide behaves, and from what we’re seeing..." The Handler took a breath. "It seems angry because the Tide seems to be in even more of a frenzy than before." He explained and the Major’s frown deepened.
"How long until they reach the Citadel?" He asked.
"Roughly 30 minutes sir." Another answered.
"How are the preparations going?" Major Thompson asked after taking a breath.
"The walls have been secured, and besides our military, a large amount of Beast Tars have also volunteered and joined the fight. Our calculations show that all of this is enough to fight off the Tude for at least a day. This duration will only increase as we get more things in place. That is, however, under the assumption that nothing unexpected happens." The Handler added the last part with a hint of skepticism. It seed like they didn’t believe everything would go smoothly, and the Major couldn’t bla the man one bit.
"That’s fine. What about that plan? What is the progress?" He asked again with a nod.
"The preparations for Phase One are a little under halfway complete. They should be done by the end of the day. The preparations for all the phases will take three days at most." Another handler.
"How long do you reckon we can last without reinforcents, and how long do you think it will take before reinforcents arrive?"
"A week at most for the forr. A week and a half for the latter. In other words, if the plan doesn’t work the first ti, we are screwed." The Major fell silent, that didn’t sound good at all.
’Well, it’s not like we have much of a choice in the matter. Whether we like it or not, we have to make it over on our first try.’ Major Thompson thought before turning back to the screen which now showed the large army of monsters rapidly closing in on that side of the wall. He sighed.
’I’m getting too old for this.’
___
Blossom Citadel, Eastern Wall.
The air here was always pretty tense. The soldiers were always on high alert, and while many doubted there would be an ergency which required their attention without the knowledge of the Observation Center, it was better to be safe than sorry. This world wasn’t safe, so one couldn’t get complacent no matter what they were up against.
Today, though, the tension had spiked by several notches, and the reason for this was palpable.
Strong winds blew across the walls as the distant black clouds crackled with purple lightning. The eyes of the beast Tars, both those who were soldiers and the volunteers that were either on the walls or at the base of them, were tense and alert as they all stared in that direction.
So of them were polishing weapons, nding armor, or simply interacting with their beasts. But without exception, they all faced the direction of the dark clouds.
By now, all the defensive equipnt had been activated. All the turrets on the walls and in the ground had erged, their automatic scanners constantly searching for the slightest but of aggression. The landmines had all been triggered, each of them capable of dealing a devastating blow to any creature of the Adept rank and below.
Moreover, several magic formations within the wall had been activated with a myriad of effects, the most palpable one being a circle that increased the ambient Mana around the wall, allowing those on it to regenerate their resources faster, while on the ground, there were several formations created to cause all sorts of debilitating effects on any hostile creature that approached. There were also several traps in the mix, formations put in place to enhance the effectiveness of already existing defenses, like making pullets penetrate easier or shields to block better.
Then there was the massive do that surrounded the entire Citadel. This was the Bastion-Class All-purpose Barrier, or the B.C.A.P Mark-6, which all Bastion class Citadels obtained upon their creation. It was made to last for a long ti as the formation used in its creation could absorb the atmospheric mana to allow it to sustain itself for a longer ti as well as increase its durability.
All in all, the asures in place were a lot, and if it were any other ti, the soldiers would feel a bit relaxed, but no one relaxed. Not this ti.
Fredrick Jason stood at the base of the wall, slightly behind the other Beast Tars as they all waited.
He wore so decent equipnt, things he’d been using for a while now which consisted of Synthetic armor and a multipurpose smart helt, a utility belt that housed his sheathed weapon which was an extendable spear, so high power grenades, potions, and so other things.
’How vile.’ He thought as he looked up. The distinct touch of corrupted Mana was strong and he could sense it easily. Not to ntion, the combined weight of so many beasts and their Auras seed to have a tangible effect on the world as it felt like he was gradually being crushed by an invisible pressure.
Despite this, though, he wasn’t concerned. In fact, he was barely worried.
Not that he didn’t think the beast tide wasn’t dangerous, he knew it was. But he was confident in his ability to retreat. After all...
’After his evolution, Hydro has beco sothing else.’ He thought and smiled behind his helt.
He was keenly aware of a few people within the crowd of Beast Tars, and he was keenly aware of the fact that they were there to kill him.
But.
’I think they are about to be surprised.’ He chuckled internally.
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