Fighting Solo

"Are you sure that the new guy will be able to defeat the mechanical plant all by himself?" Mirjena asked Alex with a hint of doubt in her voice.

Her question was valid. Regis had fused with the mystic element just two weeks ago and didn't have much time to increase his physical stats. And he had also spent all his time meditating instead of training in combat rooms.

"Regis will be able to handle it." There was surety in Alex's voice. He had fought together with Regis for nearly ten hours. He was sure that Regis could take on the 'crippled' mechanical plant all by himself.

"Alright if you are so sure then..." Mirjena agreed. They had the liberty to escape if things went south plus, the subsidiary mission wasn't her concern.

"Let's begin then."

As if sensing their presence, the Asceptus bot turned around to face the group. It did not move towards them and instead waited in its place. Alex, Mirjena and Avner walked forward towards the bot while Regis followed a few steps behind them.

The bot waited for them and slowly moved backward as if inviting them into the area that was under the range of the mechanical plant. This was the worst-case scenario, but also the one they had planned and prepared for.

Regis separated from the group and pointed the nozzle in his glove at the mechanical plant. The gloves locked onto their target while the others moved towards the Asceptus bot.

Regis was the first to enter the range of the mechanical plant and was immediately targeted by all the chains that swung towards him like whips. Regis slid away while shooting from both his gloves in rapid succession. He had learned that both his gloves had a very short cooldown period between two successive fires, so firing together at the same time was a bit inefficient. Instead, firing one after the other was a better option.

The first beam had corrosive properties and immediately blackened the part where it hit. The second beam was an electromagnetic pulse that was especially effective against mechanical creatures. The mechanical plant froze for a brief second before regaining its movement.

'Clangg!'

Regis heard the sound of metal hitting something solid. From the corner of his eyes, he could see Mirjena, the tank of their party engaging at close range with the Asceptus bot. He focussed back on his battle and fired at the Mechanical plant.

The idea behind their plan was that the algorithm of the mechanical plant assigned threat percentages to everyone within its range and then attacked based on it. But if Regis were to have a very high percentage compared to the others, all the attacks would be directed towards him, but to do that he had to ensure that at any instant, the mechanical plant could not afford to deviate its focus away from Regis.

Regis dodged the chains that were aimed at him and shot three consecutive shots at a chain that was aimed towards Alex's group. He shot once again, this time at the main body of the mechanical plant.

The mechanical plant immediately withdrew the chain and coiled it around its main body.

'Combined with the damage from earlier, the damage shouldn't be too far from reaching the threshold.' Regis prepared himself mentally to face the berserk mode of the mechanical plant.

"Regis, the petal facing towards your 8o' clock should be one of the hidden weapons."

An EMP beam immediately hit the said petal which gave out a slight buzzing sound before emitting a black smoke. Regis did not turn towards Alex and focussed on the target before him. As if raged with the loss of one of it's petals, the plant began flailing the chains towards Regis at an increased speed, sacrificing the accuracy in the process.

But Regis had no time to calculate which attack would hit him and which would not due to the sheer number of chains targeting him, so he dodged all of them altogether. Regis continued this series of shooting and dodging for a few minutes when Alex warned him about another hidden weapon.

Regis immediately targeted this hidden weapon.

'Buzzzzz!'

Black smoke emerged from the hidden weapon and Regis could see visible streams of current emerging from the hidden weapon and moving through the body of the mechanical plant. The damage from this shot was also the damage that finally took the cumulative damage above the threshold.

The mechanical plant paused for three seconds straight, the longest pause it had since the beginning.

'Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep! Beep!'

An ominous feeling crept into Regis' mind when he heard six different beeping sounds coming from the surrounding area. At this moment, it wasn't Regis who acted the first, it was Alex.

Alex immediately dashed towards a point where his mask had reportedly recorded a sudden leap in electrical signal and slashed his dagger with all his might. The dagger tore through the outer layer of the small device before destroying the internal circuits and shutting the device down for good.

"One down, there should be five more." Alex's voice registered in Regis' ears and he regained his focus. Alex had taken care of the hidden weapon that could cause interferences in their battle against the Asceptus bot. Now, it was up to Regis to deal with the other 'now not hidden' weapons and the mechanical plant itself.

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The door reading Major Arbrit Klesen was pushed open and two men in military uniform entered the office.

"First lieutenant Blach reporting sir."

"First lieutenant Arian reporting sir."

The two saluted their superior before proceeding with their reports.

"All the cadets are currently in the war simulation exercise and the forcefield has been reinforced. No one should be able to bypass the barrier and go inside without us taking down the barrier. Also, the company lead by Captain Howert will be securing the perimeter."

Major Klesen nodded at First Lieutenant Arian's report and gestured Blach to continue with his report.

"Sir, five of the ten companies will start moving as soon as you order them, and two more which have been stationed at the lookout points will join us during the march. They are all awaiting your orders." First lieutenant Blach finished his report.

"Alright, I will contact the sub-HQ and notify them that we are starting. They are eagerly waiting to see if how profitable investment made in this planet is. Notify all the companies that we will be setting out in fifteen minutes, so all of them should be ready by then. Also, put up the barriers of the Base and the incubation facility."

The two first lieutenants saluted before leaving the office to carry their superior's orders. The door of the office closed after them and Major Klesen immediately stood up from his chair. A man suddenly walked from behind the chair and sat down on it. No one except for Klesen knew about how long the man had been inside the office, standing in plain sight but invisible to everyone except Klesen.

"How is the preparation on your end?" The man asked.

Klesen looked at the man who had deep blue hair, long pointy ears and a crack in his forehead.

"This battle shouldn't take too long, but the other matter is what concerns me. We still need some time before the first general's plans can be put in action, but the number of hindrances is increasing by the day. Gaia-Mil processed the activities of all the people in this camp and has predicted that there are at least ten spies that have infiltrated this camp."

"Given time, I am sure that we can neutralize all these spies without any backlash, but this sudden Asceptus attack and many other factors have delayed the action." Major Klesen reported in detail.

"The first general's plans will be put into action starting the next year, so there is enough time, but are you sure that the information about this planet's secret has not been leaked?"

"Yes sir. All those who were on the list of Gaia-Mil have been kept out of this battle and the only ones who know about this are sure to keep their mouths shut about it. The soldiers taking part in today's operation will likely not be able to guess it as well." Major Klesen replied.

The person sitting on the chair nodded.

"It does look like that your victory this time is assured. But this will only be the first of the multiple wars that will come to this planet. Be prepared to face a stronger wave next time." Speaking his part, the figure vanished once again.

Klesen walked to the side of his desk and pulled out the drawer which had been unlocked by his superior before vanishing. Inside, there was a small holowatch.

Klesen put on the holowatch and tapped on the screen. A small human shaped projection suddenly appeared to be hovering above the screen.

"Authorization granted… Activating Dolos system… " The projection spoke in a mechanical voice before disappearing.

Klesen tapped on the holowatch once again.

In a forest that was present in the opposite hemisphere of the planet, a synthetic beast modelled after a reindeer was slowly moving through the grass. It suddenly jerked up and stopped moving. A stone had suddenly emerged from the ground before it.

At a different location, a tree had suddenly grown an extra branch, while at yet another location, a rock was replaced by a small stone.

All sorts of unnoticeable changes were taking place all over the planet.

"Now we are good to go." Klesen took a deep puff from his cigarette before accumulating all the smoke in the room into a spherical ball which flew out of his room and dispersed.

"All companies get ready for a strike on some unwanted intruders." Klesen's voice echoed through the entire camp.