Beginning of Mission

When he received the message, he quickly called his troops. Already learned their lesson during their time together, the elites of the Barony quickly went to the field, where he would give them a briefing on their mission.

 "You should already guess why I called you here," the men whispered a bit, though Ryker could hear somebody say, about freaking time. Frankly, Ryker could relate to that man. 

 "Yes, we finally received our first and likely final mission," his words caused some of them to be confused. Ryker decided to clear the confusion. "Our mission, should we accept it, will be to attack the Fortress Town of Elas, or its new designation, Fortress City Elas,"

 This caused a great commotion among his men, and Ryker could understand their reaction. The Fortress Town was the first place to fall, and the most fortified forward base belonged to the Esel Barony. 

 The Esel had spent plenty of time and resources to turn the small town into a powerful city, with powerful formations and elite guards protecting the city. Attacking them, even with a large army would be a hard-pressed, and likely, losing battle.

 However, Ryker could understand why the higher-ups believed they could succeed in the, frankly suicidal mission. The number of elites in his group already reaching one hundred people. With 10 at the Genesis Core.

 Not to mention, they didn't remain idle while waiting for the mission. Every single one of his men had taken the time to train and cultivate to raise their strength even higher so they could handle whatever challenge or mission the higher-ups threw at them.

 They also are capable of using a battle formation. The combined might of the entire group could unleash strength equal to a 1st Stage Genesis Source expert. Maybe even reaching the 2nd Stage.

 With him, they could said to possess the strength of 2 Genesis Source experts. Meaning, they likely could handle whatever obstacles and plans the enemy had installed for them. The higher-ups were also generous with his group, as everyone had received high-ranking weapons suited for them.

 This resulted in his group being the strongest group belonging to the Mariz Barony, capable of even contending with an entire army. The only thing they need to do is complete the hard, but not impossible mission.

 "Listen, men. The higher-ups had already given a lot of benefits to you, so you could do this mission and survive. The higher-ups had already made the preparations, along with giving us our plans and objectives for the assault. 

 The only thing we need to do is complete the mission. We are probably the most well-equipped and strongest force in the entire Mariz Barony, so I don't want any excuses and buts, except for yours at the Fortress City the day after tomorrow, you got me!?"

 "Sir, yes sir!" they answered, the fire seemed to be burning inside their eyes. Ryker smiled, with his men motivated, he reckoned they would do their best to complete the mission. He took the slip and looked at it again, anticipation flashing in his eyes.

-x-

During the time of their assault, the group had already camped outside of the city. They had moved to the outskirts of the city a few hours after they received the mission, namely to scout the area and confirm some of the intel they received.

 "Captain, looks like all of the intel given so far is correct. There is no discrepancy, yet anyway. That might change when we attack but we couldn't prepare for anything," one of the men sent to scout gave his report.

 Ryker nodded at his words. While they could prepare for a lot of things, if the enemy hid a trump card, they could not do anything about it as they couldn't try to scout some of the locations without being revealed.

 "If there are no complications, proceed as planned," he ordered his men. The elites nodded, not wanting to cause any sound if unnecessary. The elites spread out, heading towards their target with silence and precision while Ryker remained at his spot, watching the Fortress City for any possible threats emerging from its bowel.

 "I hope this operation will go smoothly,"

-x-

 His worry seemed unnecessary as the elites had all given him messages that they were already in their spots, waiting for the right moment to strike. Ryker watched carefully as he tried to determine the best possible time for their attack.

 When another group of soldiers exited the Fortress, Ryker waited patiently until they were out of sight. When they were far enough to the point he couldn't even see them with his enhanced eyesight, he sent a message to his troops.

 "Commence the operation,"

-x-

 While the guards of the fortress had been patrolling the area per usual, they had gotten a lot more incompetent, simply walking on the walls without paying needs to their surroundings. Then again, the fortress has remained in their hands for nearly the entirety of the war. Plus, most of the fighting happened further in the Mariz Barony territory.

 So, their negligence towards the fortress surrounding was to be expected. And their downfalls. 

 Less than a minute after sunrise, approximately an hour after the army had left the fortress, an explosion rocked the fortress, sending the entire wall shaking from the force alone.

 "What was that?!"

 "Enemy attack! Enemy Attack! ENEMY ATTACK!" one of the guards managed to yell out before dying to a blade piercing his throat.

 The guards tried to move and avenge their fallen comrade when the attacker unleashed his aura. Normally, this wouldn't stop the guard but a group of Genesis Formation experts with a single Genesis Condensing expert trying to kill a Genesis Foundation expert is funnily bleak.

 This resulted in the massacre of the group of guards before the expert disappeared from the area, off to hunt another group.

 Similarly, this happened all over the fortress, as groups of guards were slaughtered by Genesis Foundation experts. Of course, there are Genesis Foundation experts guarding the walls but they cannot be everywhere.

 Not to mention, a single Genesis Foundation expert of Esel Barony often finds themselves being defeated by one Genesis Foundation expert of Mariz Barony. Sometimes, the Esel's elites even find themselves outnumbered 2 to 1, or if their luck is even worse, they will be met with a Genesis Core expert.

 While this may seem to be an overwhelming advantage to the Mariz Elite Group, the forces inside the fortress began to launch their own counterattack. Having the home advantage, they could easily communicate, not to mention that the Fortress City also has experts in the Genesis Core realm.

 Some of the unlucky members of the Mariz Elite Group met with these experts, resulting in their swift death. In half an hour, the situation had devolved to a stalemate, with no sign from either group wanting to give up.