Orlando – Part 2

Ed left the Mayor's building. Chimeras were locked in combat with espers all over the place. As their anger increased, so did their strength. Their tough scales and quick movement was a new experience for most of the opposing espers. Traditionally, most espers preferred long-range combat. The occasional close-quarters combatant could easily be ganged up against and struck down. But here, the chimeras were in their own squads, and they fought without the slightest fear of injury, as if they were operating only on their most basic of instincts.

Unfortunately, the chimeras had one huge weakness. They couldn't fly. Ed noticed the lack of air support and took to the skies himself. He charged towards an esper that was firing orbs of bright light down at the chimeras. A ball of darkness appeared in Ed's hand and he hurled it forward. The enemy esper noticed and countered with his own white orb. The two opposing forces released a small shock wave. The elements dispersed in all directions. Some of the dark element landed on the esper's body, causing it to sizzle and bubble. He howled in pain as he fell from the skies, the acid-like mana continuing to corrode his body on the way down.

'Mm.' Ed nodded in satisfaction. 'I should mix up the elements I use more often since I have all of them now. He spotted another esper in the air, wings of lightning flapping behind her. Ed aimed towards the woman and activated the earth-mana battery. Small chunks of rock appeared in his hand and fused together into a larger rock. Then he shot it forward. The woman shot two streaks of lightning towards the rock, but barely did any damage. The rock continued shooting towards her. She frowned and flashed away, easily avoiding the projectile.

'Earth is good against lightning in general, but it's too bad she's so fast.' Ed sighed. 'Where did she even go?' The woman had completely vanished from sight, seemingly having decided to avoid strong opponents.

Ed Focused his attention back on the battles below. The casualties had grown on both sides, but the chimeras were clearly winning. He could see flames and smoke in the distance, quickly traveling towards the center of the city. The heat warmed his cold-blooded body, causing his muscles to relax slightly. The slightest hint of smoke burnt his nostrils.

Soon, the superhumans arrived, appearing from the surrounding flames. Some of them were sweating and shaking, likely caused by the side-effects of being forced to use adrenaline shots in a desperate battle. 'I really need to come up with further improvements for them.' Ed sighed to himself while shaking his head. The chimeras were clearly the superior creation between the two groups. They had barely lost 10 percent of their combat forces in this battle, and that percentage represented mostly weaker chimeras. Meanwhile, it looked like at least a quarter of the superhumans had died.

The enemy espers were beginning to group together into large squads. Even after losing half their forces, they still had over 100 espers available. Ordinary soldiers were also gathering in mass, but they were mostly focused on putting out fires and saving citizens. They could hardly make a difference in the current battle. If they were prepared beforehand in formations with steam tanks and mechs, then maybe they could help defeat Harmony, but it was too late for that now.

Suddenly, the lightning-winged woman appeared again, standing in front of the army of espers. She frowned while facing Harmony's forces. "I take it you're Forge?" She questioned. The surrounding flames cast dancing shadows upon her face and body, making her appear all the more menacing.

"I am." Ed nodded while smiling. "I don't recall seeing you in the book I got from Nexus. I'm guessing you're from out of state?"

"I am." She easily agreed. "However, I stand with my Orlando brethren and have been put in charge here. You stand no chance now that we've gathered up like this. Surrender peacefully."

Ed went speechless for a second as his mind processed the demand. 'Is she crazy?' He studied the woman carefully but could think of no cards the Orlando Hunter Association had in their favor. Finally, he spoke aloud the thoughts that were loudest within his mind. "You're joking, right?"

"You'd be a fool to think you can win!" She replied confidently. "We, of the Hunter Association, have never lost a battle!"

'Ah, so she is crazy.' Ed nodded in understanding. 'Maybe shell shock from the war? The Hunter Association hasn't fought in a formal battle in... ever? They only sweep sinner gangs and go mutant hunting.' He shook his head and sighed. 'Many pointless deaths will come on both sides from continuing this battle. I'd prefer not expending my forces.'

He slowly looked over the opposing espers. Most were stuck on the ground, as he had previously eliminated the flying espers attacking the chimeras. The superhumans had likely eliminated the rest of the flying espers near the city walls. Ed straightened his posture and folded his hands behind his back. The flames from his feet held him steady in the air. He shouted towards the enemy, "To those of you who do not wish to throw their lives away, you may surrender. I will recruit you into our army as temporary forces until the end of the war. Then you'll be free to go."

The opposing espers began whispering to each other, weighing their options. Most espers were inherently selfish and would choose the winning side. Fleeing was no longer an option, for both sides would likely strike them down in such a scenario.

"Humph!" The lightning-winged woman snorted. "Do you think you can persuade us with sweet words? If anything, it should be you who is begging to surrender peacefully!"

Several of the nearby espers looked at their commander, their eyes filled with doubt. Clearly even they thought she was a bit off her rockers.

Ed held out his hand, all fingers pointed towards the sky. "We have superior air support and ground forces. I will count down from five. Anyone who has not surrendered by then will be eliminated with extreme prejudice."

"Five." He said while folding down his thumb. The opposing espers continued whispering to each other.

"Four." He continued as lowered his index finger.

"I'm switching!" A chubby esper on the ground yelled as he began traveling through the no man's land between the two sides.

"YOU DARE?!" The lightning-winged esper yelled as lightning snaked out from her wings, shooting towards the traitorous esper.

Ed immediately flew in front of the lightning and fired two streams of water. The lightning exploded into a series of smaller bolts upon contacting the water. Then the energy dispersed, doing no damage to him. "Three." He said while folding down his middle finger.

That seemed to be the straw that broke the camel's back, for nearly 20 percent of the enemy forces charged forward, obviously intent on switching sides. The lightning-winged esper appeared shocked by the betrayal, as if she truly never expected it.

'I guess this is what Dupe meant by corrupt and weak leaders rising through the ranks.' Ed sighed. It was obvious that this woman had no talent warranting a high rank in the military, and yet she had been promoted to leading one of the two most important cities in the Florida war. She was likely the daughter of someone important in the Hunter's Association; or perhaps a government official's child.

Ed counted the espers that switched to his side. '25 in total. That's about all I can afford right now with my current supplies. Finally, I'll be able to start my third and final plan.' He lowered his hand in a quick chopping motion. "CHARGE!" He yelled as he flew forward, leading the forces from the front.

The opposing espers seemed shocked by the sudden attack. Several of them screamed in horror. One esper trembled as he pointed at Ed, "You still had two seconds left to your countdown!"

"I changed my mind." Ed responded nonchalantly as his scale-covered fist formed a spear shape and slammed straight through the esper's head. He pulled his hand out and shook off the blood as the esper's dead body fell to the ground. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw something strange. Turning around, he watched Ochre grab Ash by the feet and begin spinning in circles. Soon, he hurled Ash into the air with all his might.

"GAHAHAHA!!!" Ash laughed madly as his surroundings sped past him. He was like a flaming meteor traversing the skies as he flew straight towards the lightning-winged esper. His arms wrapped around her as the duo fell from the sky, creating a small crater in the ground as they landed.

The lightning-winged woman was covered in blood. Ash headbutted her, causing her skull to cave in and killing her. He lifted his blood-covered head and grinned, showing off his pearly white teeth. However, his teeth were slowly transforming, growing longer and sharper.

'Looks like there's still potential growth in abilities for the chimeras.' Ed thought as he watched. 'Ochre and Ash are much better than I ever expected.' He turned to look at the superhumans fighting in the air. They stayed in formation and blasted flames down upon the enemies, retreating and pressing forward as needed. 'Eli is less impressive in comparison, but at least he has good control of his forces. They seem to respect him.'

Ed sat out the rest of the battle. The combat experience would be more beneficial for his men, and he hardly needed the experience. Instead, he kept watch on the batch of 25 espers that had surrendered. It was nearly an hour later when the battle finally finished. Most opposing espers had been killed, while a few managed to escape. The ordinary soldiers were still busy putting out fires all over the city and didn't even seem to be aware that they had already lost the battle. They had the far more pressing concerns of rescuing friends and family.

"Forge!" Ochre and Ash saluted as they stepped forward. "The enemy has been defeated. The chimeras lost 40 soldiers, a total of 20 percent of our forces. However, these were our weaker members, so our overall combat abilities have not been drastically affected."

"Mm." Ed nodded.

Eli stepped forward and saluted, a downcast look on his face. "The superhumans have suffered 50 casualties. 25 percent of our forces."

"You've done well." Ed replied. "You lost most of the forces in the early stages. Once we gained air superiority, you had almost no further deaths. You should be proud."

Eli glanced back towards his men and the burning city, tears in his eyes. His voice was hoarse as he spoke, "I could've done better." A gleam appeared in his eyes. "I'll do better next time!"

"Sure." He agreed. Seeing that the battle was won, he yelled his orders towards the men. "Help put out the fires and save the citizens. Order the surrender of all ordinary soldiers and confiscate their weapons. If they resist, kill them with no mercy. Once the city is secured, setup patrols along the walls. We'll be using the Mayor's office as our temporary headquarters for this city."

"SIR!" The men all saluted as they got to work.

"What about us?" One of the surrendering espers asked in a trembling voice.

Ed smiled. "All of you, step forward one at a time."

The first esper stepped forward. Ed placed his hand on the esper's head for a brief moment, and then waved him away. The esper made a confused expression as he stepped back, for he had felt nothing happen. These steps repeated for the other 24 espers.

"Congratulations." Ed said. "You have all officially been drafted into the Harmony army. I have implanted lightning mana-batteries in all of your heads. You can think of it as a mana-collar, but without the manullium."

"Mana-collar?!" Several espers yelled in shock and fear. Some others seemed confused, seemingly ignorant of what all that entailed.

"Relax." He responded calmly. "I'll take them out after the war ends. Besides, you're in luck. I only have a single mission for all of you, and it even takes place in Orlando. Admittedly, the mission is extremely dangerous, but some of you will probably survive."

"And if we refuse!" One esper protested as he pounded a fist into his palm, seemingly ready to battle to the death.

"Simple really." Ed replied. "The mana-batteries will activate automatically in a month and kill you, so I don't recommend running away. I can also activate them manually. Anyone that refuses will be killed instantly."

He pulled out a remote from his pocket. There were 30 switches on it, for he still had a few spare batteries. He eyed the protesting esper and looked back down at the remote. He flipped the switch next to number 17, causing a small wave of mana to exit the remote.

"AGHHH!!!" The protesting esper's body shook violently as it fell to the floor. Foam formed in his mouth as he died. The crowd of enslaved espers stared in shocked silence at the dead esper.

"Oh, it probably didn't hurt that much." Ed commented offhandedly. "The human brain can't really feel pain. The shaking was likely just from the lightning hitting his nerves, and the scream from shock. Honestly, it's a pretty painless way to die."

The espers shook in fear. One of the braver amongst them stepped forward. "What do you want us to do?" She questioned.