Chapter 2: New member. Part 3: Trump card

- January 15, 2020 -

 - Evening -

"Wonderful, a mistake made over ten years ago and still everyone laughs about it. Talking about you two, Ky, Q.Minh. I just recovered and emerged from a five-day coma, planning to return home early at night to create a surprise, then...", V.Minh said before falling silent.

"Calm down, it's just...", I tried to reassure.

 "I forgot we lost our beacon; we are the 'surrounding area' to Yunnan Province of China," Truong chuckled in frustration.

 "I don't know anything!" Q.Minh blurted out.

 "Come on, we just defeated a whole division, there's no reason we can't defeat 15 more divisions!" I confidently declared.

 "Are you crazy!? The military sending another 1000 soldiers to fight against 220,000 Orcs? And they're armored in steel!" T.Hai interjected sharply.

 "There's nothing left in the Northwest area except for our town, it's obvious what the target is," H.Anh slumped against a concrete pillar.

 "V.Minh wants to know how the fence around the town was breached?" Q.Minh asked.

 "22 Orc divisions, each one over 3 meters tall, muscular, breaking through the fence isn't easy...", H.Anh replied.

 "Just now, the old officer told us to stay put, fighting 1 against 220 is already a lot, should we join?" Dat leaned against the wall, asking.

 "They won't let us join..." Truong said.

 "But we could break the rules!" I suggested.

 "Break the rules? That's something those late, rebellious troublemakers like you would say!" Truong sighed.

 "Sooner or later, we'll still face the Orcs," V.Minh said.

 "I know!" Truong glanced at V.Minh.

 "So... anyone have any ideas to deal with 220 thousand Orc soldiers?" I looked at everyone.

 "Hai can use wind magic to spread gasoline on the Orcs, then I'll cast Fireball to burn as many as possible," V.Minh raised his hand, saying.

 "But then it'll be hard to put out the fire afterward, it might even spread further. It's not advantageous for us in the long run and minus 1000 eco-friendly points," T.Hai frowned.

 "Or maybe you all contribute your mana to me, I'll cast lightning magic to zap all the enemy?" Truong raised his hand, saying.

 "Losing 50% of mana is shortness of breath, 60% is muscle pain all over, 70% is headache and muscle pain all over with temporary blurred vision, 80% is unstable standing, 90% is paralysis of the lower body for a few days, losing 100% mana is deep sleep like me!" V.Minh objected.

 "Okay, okay, that won't work, this won't either, what do you guys want then!?" H.Anh asked in frustration.

 Everyone looked at each other, puzzled.

"You guys, I have an idea..." I said.

"You have an idea?" Truong squinted skeptically.

"Speak!" Dat and Q.Minh urged.

 "Let's lure all the Orc soldiers into the town and blow it up!" I said.

 "No! No! No! That's against the Party's intentions and a waste of effort!" Q.Minh objected, "You guys wait for me to finish learning Summoning Magic..."

 "Wait..." Truong winked, then turned to me and V.Minh, "Or..."

 "Contribute Mana to Q.Minh!!!" all of us, me, V.Minh, Truong, Dat, T.Hai, and H.Anh shouted.

 Q.Minh fervently wrote on the ground where we stood in a circle summoning magic. We also cast Mana Transfer to give him more Mana, hoping to summon something useful. The remaining six of us continued... studying. T.Hai studied Chemistry, Truong studied Physics, V.Minh studied all the humanities subjects, H.Anh and Dat studied English, while I struggled to draw a picture of tonight.

 "Hey, you, wasting 9 days to outline the KN incident must be really tough, right?" Q.Minh looked at V.Minh, saying.

 "No, I studied new lessons in the regular curriculum in 7 days, the remaining two days I just started investigating," V.Minh shrugged.

 "You're leaving the town unattended for a week?" H.Anh said.

 "So?" V.Minh replied calmly.

 "Many people have died..." H.Anh said seriously.

 "Oh... I'm using the 'baiting strategy' to distract the Orcs..." V.Minh replied awkwardly.

 "How did you manage to stand against Adaon in sword fighting? Where did you learn that?" I asked.

 "Fought dirty," V.Minh looked at me, answering.

 "Fought dirty?" I was astonished.

 "At least I'm still the MVP of that battle," Truong said, "Ultimately, I survived."

 "You're skilled already..." Dat said, "I wonder how Serinos is doing now?"

 V.Minh shuddered.

 "Why are you asking about her? If she wants to go, let her go," I replied.

 "Did V.Minh hassle Serinos to that extent?" T.Hai teased.

 "She's probably still haunted by the time you two got close..." Truong teased V.Minh.

 "It's terrifying..." V.Minh replied.

 "It's a shame, but it's okay, at least I still have Hydromie," I happily summoned Hydromie.

 And Hydromie gradually transformed into Serinos, now taller (175 cm) and more mature, while I stood there in amazement. V.Minh clung behind Truong, Truong now aimed an MP3 gun at Serinos, H.Anh fell onto Dat, and they both rolled on the ground a few times, T.Hai jumped up a tree branch.

 "Hello, teammates~" Serinos smiled and looked into V.Minh's eyes, the one who tried to hide behind Truong, "Wow, seems like everyone's reaction is a bit too much~"

Trường acted swiftly, firing his gun first. Serinos wasted no time, casting a spell to create a high-pressure water stream to both block the bullet and destroy the gun. H.Anh advanced from behind with a spear ready to strike, but the nymph reacted swiftly, casting another spell to imprison H.Anh within a tight water vortex, leaving only his head exposed. Tôi and T.Hải took turns casting Ice Strike and Harsh Hit to counterattack. T.Hải also used Poison Shoot to launch a toxic dart in a curved trajectory for added surprise. Serinos then cast a spell to create a thick and sturdy ice wall to block all our magical attacks. As the shield began to sink, she swiftly cast another spell, conjuring two sharp ice blades in her hands to attack the two of us. V.Minh unexpectedly appeared from thin air (using Invisible to approach), attempting to restrain Serinos from behind (though it was likely ineffective), casting Dark Repel in her mind to push her away a few meters backward before retreating. Đạt, having received the total mana transferred by Q.Minh, cast Pour Water to launch a large, powerful, and swift water stream at Serinos. Trường seized the opportunity, casting Spark to jolt Serinos and maintain the containment. H.Anh followed up by casting Hemstitch to bind her tightly. Serinos, now unable to resist, surrendered, and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

"If only you could perform like this when fighting Orcs, that would be great! I still stand by your side! I came here to help," Serinos exclaimed angrily.

"Oh, so we just fought our ally?" I exclaimed in surprise, with the remaining six of us hiding behind me, eager to hear the explanation.

"Of course not!!!" Serinos replied indignantly.

"Why did you come back then?" T.Hải asked cautiously.

"This town has been sealed by me, I can't leave, that's all!" Serinos replied, almost shouting.

"How did you increase your power so quickly?" I asked, lowering myself and inquiring.

"I killed ten thousand Orcs, the troops have advanced here," Serinos replied.

"You killed ten thousand? Why didn't you finish them off?" Trường asked.

"My mana is only enough to do this!" Serinos replied reluctantly.

"And does your mana exceed ours?" H.Anh asked further.

Serinos nodded.

"So there are still 210 thousand Orcs advancing into the town, and Serinos's mana is only enough to kill 10 thousand, magic doesn't seem very effective, right?" Q.Minh remarked.

"I have a new plan! Follow me!" T.Hải insisted, and then passed over the bridge, heading towards the frontline where 1000 soldiers with modern firepower were facing 21 thousand mechanical Orcs (both male and female, towering up to 3 meters, with dark green skin, light green hair, protruding teeth, muscular physique), and we followed suit.

"Hey, wait, don't leave me behind!" Serinos cried out.

The eight of us (including Serinos, somehow she managed to slip away) stood on the rooftop of a two-story building, witnessing the battle between 1000 soldiers and 210 thousand Orcs. The Orcs charged like waves, overwhelming but held back by the firepower of the Vietnamese People's Army. Over the past six days, reinforcements had been sent to the town, along with tanks, artillery, and a sophisticated defense system with two fire-based weapon systems and numerous helicopters and fighter jets, significantly enhancing the defensive capabilities.

"But the likelihood of victory for the Vietnamese People's Army still depends on the firepower they brought," Trường handed us a piece of paper with some notes he had written.

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1000 soldiers (including 100 personnel for logistical support) / 70 thousand regular Orcs

1200 firearms of various types (K-67, TT-33, K-59, and AK-47) / 120 thousand Orc cavalry

78 T-54 tanks / 20 thousand mechanical Orcs

56 towed howitzers M-46 130mm / 10 thousand Orc Shamans

17 Zil-131 military trucks

30 M-114 155mm howitzers

6 Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets

3 Mil Mi-24 Hind helicopters

200 RPO Shmel flamethrowers (single-use)

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"How on earth did those Orcs manage to breed 120 thousand horses to ride? And they even advanced from Yunnan!" Minh asked. "And did Hai send our beloved equipment request to my Inventory yet?"

As bullets rained down like a storm towards the Orc horde, the towering green-skinned figures kept advancing.

"I've done it! But I'm worried about the countless Shaman as well!" Hai replied.

Sukhoi Su-22 jets were firing missiles from above, while a mystical magic barrier with a hexagonal pattern was actively blocking everything, even the aerial forces were being countered by the energy spheres launched by those Shamans.

"I know, but look at that Orc horde, it's like the Mongol army. Those Shamans are mixed in with the regular Orcs and the cavalry. No matter how many times..." Truong said.

A portion of the Orc horde reached the bridge, while the rest of the vanguard were crossing the river.

"Forget it, let's fight to find out!" I chanted the Ice Strike spell, creating five massive blocks of ice aimed at the Orc horde. The magic barrier successfully held up once again.

Explosions continued as the magic barrier kept being bombarded by artillery shells and tanks.

"I'll transfer Mana to Minh to summon some powerful creatures. Hai, Anh, transfer Mana to Minh as much as you can. Minh will then cast spells to weaken or destroy the magic barrier even further. Dat, Ky, transfer Mana to Truong so he can cast lightning spells against them as much as possible," Serinos stepped forward and led Minh away, leaving the rest of us to handle the situation as she suggested.

The Orc horde had crossed a quarter of the bridge, with the remaining portion reaching the middle of the river.

"That plan sounds reasonable, let's do it, everyone," Dat said.

Hai and Anh transferred more Mana to Minh. Minh then cast a spell (Without Hesitation) to consecutively create five fireballs with a radius of 10.2 meters aimed at a specific point of the magic barrier. The first two fireballs landed, causing the barrier to crack heavily. The next two fireballs hit, breaking the barrier. The final fireball crashed down, causing a massive explosion.

A huge crater with a diameter of about 97 meters and a depth of over 150 meters was created. The collision incident had shaken the Orc horde. A shockwave swept through us, but since we were far away, the impact was significantly reduced.

"Oh, wow, so you've killed 5000 of them," Truong stared at the crater, saying, "200 were killed directly by the collision, the rest died from flying debris, shockwaves, or high temperatures," he concluded.

The old officer standing at the frontline smiled.

"Still, there are over 200 thousand left!" I said in surprise, not expecting that the explosion and the subsequent energy release would have killed fewer than anticipated.

Thousands of projectiles were launched towards the Orc horde, from bullets and shells to tank rounds, rockets from helicopters, and fighter jets. The first wave of Orcs fell like wheat to the scythe.

"Be glad, for now, our military has not killed anyone due to that magical barrier," H.Anh reassured me, but we noticed the Orc Shamans gradually reconstructing a new magical barrier. "Act quickly, Truong, Ky, Dat," H.Anh urged us.

The sounds of cannons, guns, and rockets reached our ears like a cacophony, yet we had prepared to mitigate their negative effects as much as possible.

The three of us nodded. Dat and I transferred almost all of our current Mana reserves to Truong. Truong cast a spell, Spark, killing even more enemy soldiers. I witnessed thousands of them fall, including some Shamans. We managed to maintain the initiative, but everyone was exhausted, mainly due to our dwindling Mana reserves, as meager as the average salary of a public school teacher in Vietnam.

"I wonder how you knew the entire plan of the Orc horde to attack the town, um, part of the town where V.Minh is?" Q.Minh asked.

"I tricked a gay classmate of ours, saying that in the cultural center where KN is located, there is a six-pack handsome brother, tall, handsome, like a Korean male idol. I even fabricated and slightly edited a photo, with some noticeable flaws like lighting. Somehow, he believed it and came to inquire. And the guys there, who are generally prejudiced against LGBT, got into a quarrel, causing KN to be distracted. I seized the golden opportunity and stole his plan," V.Minh replied.

"LGBT!? Ew, disgusting," T.Hai grimaced.

"Don't discriminate against LGBT! They are still human beings!" Dat retorted angrily.

"Men loving men, women loving women...," Q.Minh continued T.Hai's line.

"As society progresses, we're breaking down stereotypes. Love is the connection between individuals, not to be hindered by prejudice," H.Anh replied.

I smiled, nodding in agreement.

"I also don't have a negative view of LGBT...," V.Minh said.

I nodded, silently thinking, somewhat disappointed: "At least V.Minh isn't prejudiced against LGBT..."

"...And somewhat positive," V.Minh concluded.

I continued to silently muse, somewhat disheartened: "Well, at least V.Minh isn't prejudiced against LGBT..."

"What about that gay guy and the girls' group?" I asked, also to rescue V.Minh from this difficult moment.

"They are still alive among the 1000 survivors after all that," V.Minh affirmed.

"Don't you guys see anything strange?" Truong looked at everyone, asking.

"What's strange? The gay guy or the girls' group?" I asked.

"Hey... does anyone in our group identify as LGBT? I'm straight, just so you know," Q.Minh asked.

"I'm straight," I replied.

"I'm straight," Dat replied.

"I'm straight," T.Hai replied.

"I'm straight," V.Minh replied.

"I'm straight," Truong replied.

"I'm straight," H.Anh replied.

"Oh, forgot, what did you want to ask, Truong?" I nudged Truong.

"If the mages train properly and aren't taught proper magic education like us, why can we still defend the town for another half month? How come other places have been overrun?" Truong said.

"We don't know yet, they have a lot of tricks up their sleeves. For example, baiting KN into this town and hunting down mages like us, that's a clear indication of the enemy's cunning," the young officer (the one who spoke with the old officer earlier) appeared beside us, replied, then a loud explosion rang out, "And the intensity of the war. That could be the main reason."

"Where did you get that from? Why aren't you at the frontline like everyone else?" I asked in surprise.

"I was ordered to command the rear defense line. At first, I thought it was a bit excessive. But..." he handed us a photo of an Orc knight fallen at the location surrounding the battle with the Zombie army, we were curious, surprised, and shocked to see the photo.

"As you can see, they know how to flank from behind, and they could have succeeded if the command wasn't vigilant," the young officer continued, "The frontline is tense, so some forces from the rear line were sent, but 80% of the rear line forces remain in their positions," the young officer said.

We nodded.

"Our troops still haven't completely broken through, do you guys... want to join?" the young officer continued, his gaze distant towards the Orc army advancing on the other side of the bridge.

"Yes, sir!" we all replied in unison.

"Good! Do you guys have ranged weapons?"

The officer threw for each of us six short TT-33 7.62x25mm pistols and some magazines. We followed him and his team of 8 armored soldiers, wearing bulletproof vests, bulletproof helmets, carrying rectangular shields, and AK-47 rifles. We climbed over the fence, descended the steep embankment, and approached the riverbank. The older officer, also the commander, saw and signaled the standard platoon to prepare to charge, silently questioning why he hadn't informed the young officer about banning the kids from interfering in this battle.

"Crossing the river is quite dangerous, you guys should rely on my comrades," he said to us.

"Hey, what did you just say?" Dat, next to V.Minh, turned back to ask, those two were walking on the river surface as if it were any other road.

All of us were astonished, gaping in awe.

"It's just the Water Walking spell!" Dat chuckled.

"Hurry up and cross!" V.Minh urged.

"Come on, wait a bit, you two stay there!" the young officer waved, swimming across the river, followed by four of his comrades, while four others swam and carried us on their backs.

After everyone was on the shore, we took cover under the bridge, the officer waited for the right moment to act.

"If you infuse the magic into the guns, the bullets will have enhanced magical effects," V.Minh whispered to Truong, H.Anh, H.Anh, Dat, and me.

The platoon waited for a while longer, and then the young officer signaled for action. He threw a smoke bomb ahead, thick smoke billowing out. All fifteen of us charged forward, three soldiers on the left flank along with T.Hai and H.Anh continuously firing at the Orc warriors, three other soldiers on the right flank along with Dat firing at the Orc Shamans, two soldiers at the rear protecting us from any surprise attacks from behind, while I and the young officer advanced forward, gripping our guns tightly. He shot down any Orcs in sight, and I continued to shoot at them with freezing bullets thanks to my magic to ensure their complete defeat. On both sides, Dat cast the Pouring Water spell to create discomfort for the enemy and the soldiers took advantage of the opportunity to swiftly eliminate the foes. Truong fired his gun, simultaneously casting the Knife Throw spell to increase damage. H.Anh and T.Hai added poison to their bullets with H.Anh's Poisonous Fumes and T.Hai's Poison Shoot, Poison Burst, and Poisonous Air spells.

The platoon led by the officer charged forward, following the path we had cleared, not forgetting to eliminate more enemy forces along the way.

As Q.Minh and Serinos were still summoning something useful, and now they were not done yet.

The one-sided battle unfolded, we, the platoon, and the officer's squad felt like we were about to win, then the Orc war machines appeared.

They were armed with machine guns and flamethrowers, covered in thick armor. One of them fired a few shots, injuring several soldiers and causing chaos. The medics, including a courageous female medic, rushed forward trying to evacuate them, but in vain. The Orc soldiers had surrounded us and charged like hungry wolves. The platoon tried to fight back, with reinforcements attempting to assist, we also tried to cast offensive spells. Thousands of enemies fell, but the enemy still swarmed like ants, advancing relentlessly, and the platoon began to get separated.

With only about 10 aircraft, helicopters, and fighter jets armed with various types of weapons, they steadily bombarded the enemy, then switched to machine guns, eliminating as many Orcs as possible. The Orc army, with its large size, attacked even tanks, artillery, and military trucks, hunting down every soldier. The enemy was regaining the upper hand too quickly, and our casualties were mounting rapidly in a short time. The older officer handed his family photo to the young officer, instructing him to open the way for the medics and us to retreat. Thus, the entire platoon continued to fight until the last breath, and ended with another large explosion, briefly halting the Orcs' onslaught. We didn't look back one last time, just ran as fast as we could.

The six of us simultaneously cast Magic Barrier to create a magical barrier similar to the Orc Shamans' around us within a 20-meter radius, lowering the Mana level nearly to zero, and retreated while launching attacks when there was a chance. Truong cast Electrical Impulses to neutralize some of the enemy's mechanical units. H.Anh cast Leaf Rain, launching hundreds of metal-hard leaves towards the Orc warriors. T.Hai cast Poison Leak, releasing toxic liquid equivalent to several barrels. The ordinary Orc soldiers continuously used their axes to fiercely attack the magical barrier we erected. I used half of my remaining Mana to create a thick layer of ice under our feet with Ice Wall (instead of Freeze). Our fast and agile companions still had to maintain balance.

When we reached the bridge, the medics and us were separated. We successfully cut off the enemy's pursuit by climbing onto the roofs of several two-story houses, thanks to V.Minh's Shadow Point. The medics would regroup and return with reinforcements, but the enemy would quickly advance to the location of over 1000 remaining civilians. The eight of us jumped over the roofs of the houses, landing safely also with V.Minh's Shadow Point, and took refuge in an abandoned shop. Serinos and Q.Minh always followed us. A skinny, pitch-black monster, tall and tens of meters tall, with long and sharp claws, wearing a bear skull as a helmet, engaged in fierce combat with the Orcs, successfully holding them back.

The eight of us stood in awe of the creature's strength.

"What did you summon and where did you get it?!" I said.

"Wow, I can only summon standard stuff," Q.Minh said proudly, puffing his chest.

"Look at how skinny it is!" V.Minh wrinkled his nose, squinting and mocking.

"That's because you guys used offensive spells that drained the Mana nearly to zero within a 20-meter radius around you, didn't you?!" Q.Minh retorted sharply.

The monster used its sharp and massive claws to tear through dozens of Orcs in one swipe.

"And what about the traps of the big green ones?" Dat taunted.

"Shut up!" H.Anh replied.

"The Orc army has suffered significant losses too...so we've destroyed too much in one night...the surrounding areas should also have successfully defended themselves, shouldn't they?" Truong pondered.

"Maybe it's because of the distribution of Fantasy races towards each place in the world..." V.Minh said.

"And the difference in strength as well..." I added.

"Alright, let's stop the nonsense. The enemy still has around 100-120 thousand troops... we should..." Serinos glanced outside as the Orcs began to retreat, the sky starting to brighten, and the summoned beast they were fighting began to dissipate into nothingness. "What in the world is happening out there?"

"I've just used Scout multiple times, this is the latest post-battle report," Trường explained.

"It's a battle, not a 'post-battle'," V.Minh corrected, narrowing his eyes.

"Alright, alright! Enough nitpicking!" Trường rolled his eyes.

"We're temporarily safe now, let's head home!" T.Hải suggested, leaving their hiding spot and heading straight home.

"Let's go!" Q.Minh agreed.

The remaining members also followed suit, the rays of light shining down on the streets littered with debris, damaged buildings, and deserted alleys. The Navad team of seven, plus Serinos, walked quietly, step by step, back to their stronghold.

"That's odd, isn't it? A Vietnamese team with Hebrew-style names?" Serinos, looking soulless, pondered.

"I like it," I immediately responded.

...At V.Minh's house...

- "Hmm, so that's 5 parts dead, not 3 parts, right Trường?" V.Minh remarked.

- "Just a guess, the statistics could be different," Trường replied, "I have another chart."

- "Where is it, show us!" I said eagerly.

- "Here's the chart," Trường said, showing us another statistical chart he had prepared.

- "Our military is carrying up to 80%! That's truly impressive!" H.Anh exclaimed. "But why is V.Minh carrying 5% too!?" His expression turned surprised.

- "Five fireballs are heavier than a truck..." T.Hải recalled.

- "Oh... I remember now..." H.Anh scratched his head.

- "What about Q.Minh and Đạt?" I asked.

- "Those two went to sleep already, we were burning the midnight oil last night..." Trường answered.

- "Then let's all go to bed, I'm exhausted..." I said, walking into the room and lying down to sleep.

Trường, V.Minh, T.Hải, H.Anh followed suit and went into V.Minh's room to sleep.