No Mercy, No Respite

[ALERT: Aether levels at 60% and dropping. Recommended against further use of explosive rounds.]

"Acknowledged, how many left?"

[ALERT: Of the 318 enemies, 177 dead, 57 wounded, 84 fleeing.]

"Target the ones able to fight, wounded or not." Nix said as she released another explosive shot, closing off the last route if escape and killing another 11 enemies. If it were her old world, she wouldn't have imagined fighting an army of this size by herself. Now though, thanks to the archaic way of forming up and giving orders, she was able to half the size of the army in just a few explosive rounds. Not to mention the equipment they held. The armor was not enough to defend against her rifle, and the shields a small group of mages tried to bring up at the beginning of the fight did nothing by extend the damage her first explosive shot did to their troops.

To her, it felt like she was fighting in the beginning of the Second War, when her army were first equipped with these new suits and had no worries against fire arms and most magics. Now, she had to worry about anyone getting away and reporting back about what had happened.

She quickly aimed and fired a few bolts at some that tried to retreat among the thicket, forcing the rest of the army to form a shield wall as a last ditch effort to defend themselves.

"Finally, giving up on running away." She muttered softly as she leaned against a tree and watched them for a few moments to catch her breath. Since the beginning of the battle, she'd been running non-stop to keep the enemy guessing. By now, she'd finally understood the limits of her new body, and how well versed this world was in the art of war. Their formations were for magical defense and minor to full-scale battles. They seemed to heavily rely on defense while mages either shielded them or fired a battery of magic down at their opponents. Simple, yet effective.

She was brought out of her thoughts as she noticed a few green lights from behind the ever approaching formation. They seemed to have formed the shield wall to walk over the injured and cover the mages that healed the wounded. Once again, it was simple and effective for an average battle on a normal scale.

Laying down, she used a root to steady her aim and eyed the source of the lights. After letting off a few explosive rounds to clear the soldiers, she fired some smaller bolts to kill the mages that barely survived the explosions.

[ALERT: Aether levels at 20%. Recommended to preserve resources.]

[ALERT: 233 dead, 67 wounded, 18 fit for combat.]

Upon hearing the report, Nix quickly stood up and walked towards the destruction she'd caused. Surrounding her were fallen and combusted trees, a mass of torn flesh and armor, scattered weapons, and begging being either asking for help or crying out from their injuries. None of which fazed her as she fired a few more bolts out. Three more fell before she swung her barrel around to fire a few more at a group struggling to recover. As they fell, she dropped her barrel and ducked under a Tiger-kin's halberd that aimed for her head. Swinging around, she dropped onto her back and shot the taller being twice in the chest and once in the cheek, making them fall in a groan. After another alert, she rolled to her right into a corpse, dodging a cross-bolt that landed where her chest would have been. Her HUD then warned her about her Mana levels, causing her to drop her rifle and pick up a fallen longsword that had been shot through by one of her bolts.

Quickly getting on one knee, she raised the blade to block the attack of a leather armored Goblin that had aimed for her head with a rough down strike. Letting out a yell, she pushed herself onto her feet, knocking the Goblin onto her back. She tried to get back up, but was met with a blade delving into the center of her chest. Once more, her HUD warned her, but she was to late to dodge the bolt that flew at her back. Instead of piercing her armor, it instead bounced off with a metallic whine and landed a bit away from her. Nix used the momentum the bolt gave her to fall into a roll, catching the hilt of a broken spear on her way back up to feet.

She was immediately met with an Oracian bearing down on her with a regular axe, dressed up in a cloth shirt and pelt pants. She leaned back and to the right, narrowly dodging the axe before bringing the spearhead up to pierce the bottom of the Oracian man's jaw and bringing the tip up to peak at the top of his grey hair. Her left hand caught the axe as it was let go before dropping it in the air for her right hand to pick up as she spun around. She used the momentum to throw the axe at the head of the Stone-Folk that had been firing bolts at her the whole time, piercing her face and making her crumble silently.

Three more took the opportunity to rush her, two with spears, another with a mace and shield, all from various directions. With the closest one being a female Goblin wielding a spear, she turned herself to catch the spear behind her back, using her arms to hold the length against her. She then forced herself onto her back roughly, breaking the spear and dragging the Goblin towards her to meet the other spear meant for her. The spearhead pierced the Goblins shoulder, making her cry out before Nix kicked her in the jaw. The mace wielding Elf tried to bring the head down on Nix's, only for her to catch the wooden hilt and pull him down over her.

As the Elf rolled over her, she grabbed the bottom of his mail-armor and rolled onto her feet, only to feel steel pierce her calf. The other Goblin managed a lucky stab a hole made in her armor from her other world, making her shout out and turn around quickly. She grabbed the Goblin by the neck and yelled out in rage, punching him in the face repeatedly until her HUD warned her of the other soldier getting up. Reaching down, she grabbed the Goblins waist, bringing it up to his neck and swiping the blade quickly across it as she let go.

The Goblin grabbed at his neck as air and blood flooded out, dropping onto his knees. She barely managed to drop down as well as the mace from before swung above her head, using the time to pull the spear out with an inhuman grown. Just as the Elf tried to swing back at her, Nix jumped up to tackle him onto his back. The man landed with a shout, dropping his mace as he hit his head on the hilt of a halberd. As her HUD let her know he was still alive, Nix quickly straddled his waist and stabbed the man repeatedly in the chest till his heart stopped, letting out grunts and growls as he did.

[ALERT: 214 dead, 57 wounded, 14 able to fight.]

[ALERT: Aether signs showing a healer among the ranks. Recommended quick disposal.]

[ALERT: User is recommended retreat and heal before continuing.]

The flood of alerts made her grit her teeth, quickly reaching into her pouch to pull out the last syringe she had. Though it wouldn't make up for the blood loss, it would hold her over till the end. As she stood up, she jammed it into her neck, turning to look at the other soldiers that stood on guard around another that was knelt down, trying to heal a partially wounded Beast-Kin. They were all terrified of her now, but found some hope as she had been injured before.

Nix's chest heaved as she watched them for a moment. The scene reminded her of her own soldiers from her old world, making her shake her head at her own foolishness. As the mage finished healing the soldier, they collapsed from lack of Mana, bringing up another alert.

[ALERT: 214 dead, 56 wounded, 14 able to fight, 1 out of commission.]

"Alright fuckers, let's end this." She muttered as she leaned down to pick up the mace and shield the Elf wielded. After rolling her neck, she started walking towards the soldiers while attaching the shield to her arm. Making sure it was on tight, she held it up to her face to guard her, rushing the soldiers now in a jog, then a sprint.