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C251 - Fire

A few sunrays managed to seep past the narrow openings above the group and woke up some soldiers. Khan opened his eyes only to notice the slight hesitation and fear in his companions' expressions. Everyone knew that a tough battle was ahead of them, and anxiety inevitably spread.

Delia woke up as Khan began to move to check his state. The woman had fallen asleep next to him, and she had ended up using him to support herself again, but she had chosen his left side since she had noticed her habit.

Khan didn't mind Delia's behavior. His group was in a mess, and many soldiers had always fought behind trenches or in safe environments. He would allow her to rely on him if she needed that. He only hoped that she wouldn't get the wrong idea about the nature of their relationship, but those thoughts didn't last long in his mind.

Khan confirmed that his skin had mostly reached a stable state. It still hurt at times, but it didn't hinder his movements, which was enough for him.

"Who has the phone?" Khan groaned while scratching the corners of his eyes.

One of the soldiers on the other side of the group stood up and avoided stepping over the map drawn on the ground to deliver the phone and the severed hand to Khan. The man held the gory and smelly limb with two fingers and tried not to look at it, and similar disgust appeared on the others when they saw him walking among them.

Khan ignored those reactions and quickly unlocked the phone before reaching the human battle plans and projecting them next to the map through holograms. Then, he used his device to inspect the Stal's tactics, and some soldiers imitated him.

The map, the holograms, and the images on the screens showed some differences, but they remained relatively similar. Still, Khan preferred to use the original source to be more accurate when deciding his next move.

The group had already decided to attack the nearest trench. Still, they had yet to pick a path to get out of the canyon. The map on the ground couldn't possibly show all the possible branches of the structure, so the soldiers had to rely on the information obtained from the Guko for that.

The Stal's knowledge of the canyon wasn't as accurate as many hoped, but it prevented the soldiers from being completely lost in that environment. Khan could quickly find a few possible paths that led to the nearest trench, but none of them seemed better than the other.

"Do we pick randomly?" Gloria asked after reaching Khan's conclusions.

"One of the paths leads closer to the trench," Khan sighed, "But the map becomes unclear in many areas that involve it. I think we should use one of the large ones to avoid getting lost."

Khan and other soldiers had kept track of their movements inside the canyon, and the map helped them pinpoint their current position. They only needed to cross a few branches to enter one of the largest passages of the structure, and missing it didn't seem possible.

Of course, a larger passage meant less cover from potential projectiles, but Khan felt ready to take that bet. Everything about that mission was risky, with the greatest of them being remaining in the canyon for too long, so that option sounded like the most reasonable plan.

His companions' silence was enough to express their agreement. That event also made the soldiers stand up to prepare for the imminent march. Many of them wielded their rifles and adjusted their dirty military uniforms before waiting for Khan to give orders.

"Do you want me to redo your bandages?" Delia asked during the preparations.

Khan glanced at his companion. Not much of her uniform had remained after taking care of his injuries. Delia appeared willing to go further and remove the fabric that hid her waist, but Khan shook his head.

"It's fine," Khan reassured Delia. "Your bandages are perfect. They are still firm after these hours."

"Still," Delia continued, but Khan interrupted her by placing a hand on her shoulder.

"It's fine," Khan repeated while showing a fake reassuring smile. "We got this."

Delia felt able to hear the lies in Khan's voice, but she chose to believe in him anyway. She would have become a guinea pig for the anti-mana project if it weren't for him, so deciding to rely entirely on him turned out to be relatively easy.

The other soldiers had initially tried to avoid staring at Delia and Khan since they felt that the situation required some intimacy. Still, they ended up fixing their eyes on Khan after his confident statement. Many couldn't see through his lies, so it was easier for them to trust in him completely.

"Let's go," Khan ordered after tying the severed hand to his belt and storing the other phone in his pocket.

His confident expression transformed into a cold face after crossing his companions to lead them through the canyon. There were only twelve of them and nine rifles. The enemy platoon would probably have more than twenty-five Stal, and settlement with reinforcements was nearby. Khan's hopes relied on the surprise effect, and he planned to make full use of that advantage.

The group would approach the trench from behind the barrier, and the Stal were tall enough to be perfect targets from that position. However, the soldiers would have to reach that area in broad daylight, and they would be relatively in the open after the initial attack.

Attacking at night would have normally been better, but the group knew that taking the trench on their own would be hard. They had to rely on the allied fire from the other side of the battlefield, which required daylight.

The attack also had to be relatively swift since the arrival of reinforcements would put an end to the soldiers' escape. Dying in battle would become the best option at that point since they knew what fate waited for them if they allowed the Stal to capture them again.

Khan revised the plan countless times in his mind as he led the group across the canyon. It was almost impossible to get lost with so many eyes keeping track of the path, but his lack of worries in that field didn't allow him to reach better conclusions.

The battle would be a mess that featured many variables, and Khan tried to play them in his mind. The Stal would crouch to hide in the trench after the surprise attack, making them virtually impossible to hit with the rifles. That phase would require a distraction capable of forcing them to peek out of the channel, and Khan knew that he was perfect for that role.

Khan obviously didn't like the idea of charging on his own toward the enemy trench, but the situation didn't give him other options. He wasn't as good as his companions with a rifle, and he couldn't let the Stal drag the battle until reinforcements arrived.

Khan didn't explain his intentions to his companions, but he felt that everyone had understood them. The lack of enough rifles forced him to make use of his speed and close-combat experience.

The soldiers advanced quickly, and no one dared to speak. Many were hungry, thirsty, and exhausted, but they pressed on anyway. The recent events had steeled their determination and had removed most traces of inexperience from their minds, turning them into reliable soldiers.

In a way, Ecoruta had served its purpose for Khan's group. The surviving soldiers weren't the same troublemakers or clumsy kids who had earned a ticket for that ruthless planet. Fighting on the trenches had already started that process, but it had taken them that crisis to transform completely.

The group had to march for a few hours before reaching their destination. A relatively steep passage that led toward the surface unfolded in their vision and made their expressions darken.

Hesitation naturally spread among the group now that the battle was so close, but Khan didn't let that feeling stop him. He stepped forward and tested the passage while paying attention to his senses. The area felt empty, but he decided to climb on his own to check what his sensitivity to mana couldn't reach.

A simple gesture was enough to make the soldiers remain at the bottom of the canyon while Khan climbed the frail passage. His light steps didn't cause any reaction to the ground under him, so he became able to peek at the surface in no time.

The barren plain didn't change. Khan only noticed a few solitary bushes that had no leaves during his inspection. As for the Stal, he saw the vague shapes of a settlement to his right, and faint azure lights flashed in a distant spot in front of him.

Everything felt closer than Khan had expected. The map had been quite detailed, but he had needed to see the area with his own eyes to gain a clear idea of his situation.

The Stal's battle plans had informed the group that the trench didn't have vehicles, but the same didn't apply to the settlement nearby. The aliens had a tank and a few armored trucks that could make them reach the frontlines in mere minutes.

Khan returned to his group and inspected their faces. That probably was a good time for an inspiring speech, but he only had bad news to convey.

"The settlement is quite close," Khan announced. "We won't have long before the reinforcements arrive."

"So?" Delia asked before fear could take control of the group.

"So, nothing," Khan explained, deciding to make his tactic clear. "We reach the trench, kill as many Stal as possible, and keep firing to cover me. I'll jump among them and make sure that you can hit their heads."

"I will also go," One of the soldiers without a rifle exclaimed. "It's pointless for me to remain in the backlines."

"Some of us will die since we don't have any cover," Khan declared. "Still, we can't let our fire grow weaker. I need you two to pick your fallen companions' rifles and keep killing while I'm among them."

The man and the woman without rifles couldn't say anything in front of those words. Khan looked at them for a few seconds to confirm that they had understood their role before turning toward Gloria.

"I need you to pay attention to the second-level warriors," Khan ordered. "I can endure a blow or two, but defeating them inside a trench and in my current state is a bit hard."

Some soldiers frowned. Khan was saying that he would have a chance against second-level warriors in a different environment. They could accept that he could hold his ground for a few exchanges, but killing those strong opponents was something completely different. Still, they remained silent to avoid ruining the group's concentration.

"I can't tell first-level and second-level warriors apart from that distance," Gloria admitted.

"It's simple," Khan responded. "If they are alive after fighting me, shoot them."

Many would consider Khan delusional or extremely arrogant, but his group had already seen him jump inside a trench. They knew that he was speaking out of confidence.

"I don't know what's the ideal range for the rifles," Khan eventually said. "You will decide when to stop."

A series of nods unfolded in Khan's vision, and he took them as the signal to start the mission. He turned, and everyone followed him.

Climbing the passage turned out to be hard for the soldiers without suitable techniques, but the group eventually made it out of the canyon and half-crouched to begin their advance.

Ecoruta's warm sun shone on the group as they moved toward the azure flashes in the distance. They were slow, but that was fine for now.

The enemy trench eventually appeared in their sight and made them lower their heads even more. A platoon with more than thirty Stal fired from behind a barrier and ignored everything behind them. Bullets even flew above them, but they rarely hit something.

Khan and the others silently decided to accelerate. The whooshing noises covered their steps and allowed them to get close to the trench quickly, and they advanced until Clara spoke. "I can hit them from here."

A series of "me too" resounded among the group and made it reach a common understanding. The soldiers lay down and pointed their rifles at the trench, but they didn't pull their triggers yet.

"Make sure to aim at different targets," Khan whispered, and exchanges of gazes happened among his companions. Once everyone was ready, he whispered a soft "fire" that a series of whooshing noises and azure flashes didn't hesitate to follow.

Nine bullets flew forward, but only eight hit their targets. A few even failed to inflict deadly injuries and allowed the surviving Stal to voice angry growls that alerted the entire trench.

The Stal stopped firing at the human trench on the other side of the battlefield and turned, but more bullets flew in their direction. The soldiers had used that change to fire again and kill more aliens, but the loud growl that followed that event put an end to that trend.

The aliens quickly crouched inside the trench and made it impossible for the soldiers to aim at them. The Stal limited themselves to raise their rifles and fire blindly, and some of those bullets ended up flying relatively close to the group.

"I'm going," Khan announced as he began to stand up. "Don't stop firing for even a second, and try not to hit me."

Someone chuckled, but Khan didn't hear that. Thoughts disappeared from his mind as he sprinted forward and immersed himself in the currents of mana that flowed throughout the battlefield.

To be continued