True Battle II
A few moments ago…
Jacob had just taken in the surroundings with his overclock working at 5x when he noticed the situation of the man defending the woman with a flaming spear.
His gun quickly made its way into firing position, only for him to realise something belatedly.
He had no idea how to use a gun!
He had never fired a shot before in real life, he hadn't even read the theory behind shooting stances or about the gun's mechanical workings.
He quickly called upon analysis to help him.
To his surprise, it sucked up 10% of his mana right off the bat. Luckily it quickly produced a guiding yellow outline similar to his combat system.
He got into the stance which vaguely resembled that of a police officer and noted a cone of broken yellow lines extending from his gun's barrel.
It didn't take a genius to figure out these lines were the predicted bullet paths.
It seemed that his lack of data meant that analysis could only provide a general prediction.
He aimed his shot towards the spider-wolf's head, fully intent on ending the creature as quickly as possible.
His reason for targeting the beast was simple, its agility had already caused a large amount of destruction. This meant that killing it could kill 3 birds with 1 stone. The first was obvious, the beast would no longer be able to fight and cause additional casualties. The second was the morale the warriors could get from defeating a powerful enemy.
Jacob knew little about battle, but a common theme in many books depicting large battles was morale.
If an army, battalion, or any fighting force had high morale they would fight harder, longer, and more ferociously.
His final reason was due to the spider-wolf's speed. He assumed that for the creature to be capable of moving quickly, its body would be light. Therefore, its hide wouldn't be thick enough to mitigate the impact of his bullet.
He had no idea exactly how much power his gun had so he chose to be cautious.
*BANG* the shot rang out, revealing a disappointing scene.
He had missed, hitting the beast's leg instead of its head.
Jacob slowed time to 8x as he thought of his next move.
"STAB IT BOY" He shouted out in the same authoritative voice he had used when speaking to the fox-man.
He would have taken another shot at the creature, but its head had been buried in the dirt road during its tumble, placing the brave boy between Jacob and the beast.
He realised that since the creature had been stunned, and since the young man was there already, he may as well finish it off.
Jacob stood there for a second of real-time as silence rang out.
He was still in 8x.
In those 8 seconds, Jacob realised that the whole battlefield had begun to pay attention to what had happened, alerted by the gunshot.
He realised that this was an opportunity, he was centre stage, all eyes on him.
But what exactly could he do?
He couldn't just charge in and help fight. His brief look with analysis had already revealed that most of the warriors were at a higher combat proficiency than he was, and even they were being pushed back.
Not to mention he lacked their armour and weapons made for melee fighting. Jacob only had a pistol and knife.
If he were to put it into the terms of his combat system, they were 1 level higher than beginner, whatever that was.
He realised the only thing he could do was try to increase their morale in the hope that renewing their energy would help.
But what exactly should he say?
He didn't know enough about who they were to make a rousing speech, nor did he have the time.
He couldn't even speak of his own past or say that he would lead them to victory because he didn't know who he was and had no idea how to command a group of trained combatants.
Eventually, he decided to be short but impactful, relying on the only three pieces of information that he gathered that held any reliability.
It all stemmed from his conjecture that they were the 'purist' faction.
He knew nothing about the faction's intricacies or beliefs, but the name gave away a core element.
Purity.
Whether it referred to bloodlines, clear-mindedness, or even just cleanliness he didn't know. But he was willing to be it was important to the people in the faction.
"WE ARE HUMAN! WE ARE PURE! WE WILL SURVIVE!" His shout echoed throughout the battlefield as he raised his gun in his best attempt at a rallying pose.
Considering he came up with it on the sport he was proud of his basic chant.
And apparently so were the warriors, as they roared out and began fighting with renewed vigour.
***Back to the present…
Jacob moved briskly towards the front line, his hands raised as he prepared to shoot another bullet.
He noted that the guidance of his ability had shifted slightly, and the many bullet predictions had condensed to a third of their original number.
It seemed his ability had already taken the data of his first shot and was giving more accurate information because of it.
He had also slowed his overclock down to 1.5x as he wanted to conserve mana.
Another shot rang out as the knee of a bear-like creature crumpled.
This time Jacob hadn't missed, he was worried that targeting the head of such a large, mutated creature wouldn't be lethal. He aimed for the joints since after dealing such a sudden blow the warriors would be able to finish it quickly anyway.
But he also knew he had to target the more dangerous creatures to maintain the current momentum he had in battle, not to mention it would have a better outcome on the overall battle.
Noticing the bear's inability to put weight on its leg, the warriors exploited it and quickly killed the beast.
"DISPERSE, ASSIST AGAINST THE WOLF TYPES. CARLOS, KEEP THAT BLASTED BIRD OF OUR BACKS!" Another voice called out.
It was one of the men who had been battling the bear, now free to give orders.
His armour was similar to the other warriors, the only differentiating factor being a red sash running along his body.
Clearly he held the position of commander, or at least captain.
Or was it corporal?
For a moment Jacob regretted not growing up in America. Growing up in rural Australia meant he had no idea which military ranks were higher than others.
"Situation?" Jacob enquired, doing his best to keep his act up.
If someone who knew Jacob were to see him now, they would be deeply surprised, even if he were in his original body.
His back was straight, his gaze clear and his posture full of purpose and discipline. He had the air and aura of a military man. Almost to the point of exaggeration.
In reality, Jacob was simply putting his acting skills to use, and he was in fact exaggerating his idea of a commanding general somewhat. But he figured that more was better than less in this situation.
"The beasts began attacking nearly 30 minutes ago sir. We do not know why the protective effect has failed but the beasts seem to only be able to enter from the path." The man answered instantly, informing Jacob in the most succinct way possible.
"Total casualties are 4 warriors and 7 servants. The houses were totalled when the servants tried to use them as shelter. We have evacuated the rest and gotten most to safety but-"
"Good. So, in your opinion how do we end this stalemate, or do you believe we should flee?" Jacob cut the man off.
He wanted to maintain control over the conversation, while simultaneously getting advice from the man.
His best method of doing so was the phrase his inquiry as a test of the man's commanding skill.
"…" The man was silent for a moment, his eyes briefly flashed with annoyance at being cut off.
"Sir, I believe we have 3 options. The first is to flee, in this case, we would have to hope that the other factions have the leeway to assist us, but it would cripple our negotiating power. The second is to destroy the source of the beast's sudden incursion. These beasts are probably being compelled to attack therefore by eliminating its source the beasts will naturally retreat, or at least stop replenishing their forces. The final option is to endure the siege and hope that the beasts either stop or that the other factions can assist us."
Jacob stood for a moment, but almost immediately made his decision.
"We will hold this location".
The first option was tempting but would increase his exposure to other people and factions at an uncomfortable rate, allowing them to potentially see through his oddities.
As for the second option… He didn't even consider it.
He knew next to nothing about this world, the forest that surrounded the cabins, or what could have caused the beasts to attack.
"Sir, if that is your decision…" The man seemed to hesitate for a moment.
"May I ask where the Cog of Protection is?"
Jacob's heart raced for a moment before he gave his planned response.
"Humph. Did you believe my late arrival was the result of simple negligence?" He answered.
The warrior seemed confused for a moment before realisation came across his face, followed by… Rage?
"What happened to Michael?!" The man cried.
This reaction surprised Jacob.
He had deliberately answered in a way that alluded to them dealing with unforeseen circumstances, the easiest conclusion to draw was that they were ambushed.
"Cog Michael will not be joining this battle" Jacob stated simply, glaring slightly at the man.
He tried to maintain the vagueness of his original answer, hoping for the nosy warrior to fill in the blanks himself.
The man seemed to be stunned once again before he regained his earlier demeanour.
"Apologies sir, I only ask because the fruit of thorns would give us a substantial advantage and only Cog Michael is authorised to use it without due course" the man explained hastily.
But he couldn't fool Jacob so easily, it was obvious that what had happened to the protection Cog had a larger impact on him than was normal.
"Who would you believe to be next in line in terms of aptness for its use?" Jacob enquired.
The man hesitated before saying.
"Sir, while I believe to understand the implications of this question, I will ask to avoid misunderstanding." The man turned deadly serious.
"Are you clearing the unauthorized use of a thorn Mentisahrrow?"
A second passed as the man looked straight into Jacob's eyes, the echoes of the battle around them seemed to fade within the serious atmosphere.
From Jacobs's perspective however…
'What the hell do you mean by that? What kind of nuclear-style forbidden weapon is the Mentisahrrow? Christ, I need more information, for now, I'll do my best to answer vaguely.' Jacob thought to himself as he cursed his lack of knowledge.
"Look around you. Do you see these beasts? Do you hear the roaring of your allies, or the screams of the servants as they flee? I no longer wish to see these things, and for that purpose I will do as I deem fit" Jacob answered.
His ability to pull speeches out of his ass was truly one of the few things he could rely on.
"…Understood sir. I believe I am the best choice to handle the thorn fruit" He answered solemnly.
"With it I can make a wall of living thorns to fortify our front line against the beasts, increasing our chances massively. However, I didn't get the chance to mention something to you sir" the warrior said.
"Then do so now" Jacob answered.
"I mentioned 11 casualties so far sir. However, there are a total of 8 people currently trapped in one of the half-destroyed homes. They have been injured in the destruction, but we believe the beasts haven't found them yet as they seem intent on attacking us. If I create the wall of thorns now, they are certain to succumb to their wounds before the beasts leave." He finished.
"Very well then" Jacob's eyes closed as he considered the possibilities.
He opened them and gazed at the battlefield.
"It seems a rescue is in order".