I Refuse To Be Fate’s Puppet - Chapter 57

Before the battle started.

Arata and Tallis were in a small building off to the side. There were a lot if different tools and weapons that could be utilized by the students, but because of time restrictions, there usually wasn’t enough time to set those things up, so they were largely ignored by most students. Arata and Tallis weren’t most students. They had come up with a plan to build some useful gadgets. Arata was, in large part, only needed for the initial steps in making it, whereas Tallis could set it up with the help of his soldiers. Tallis looked to Arata and Akari.

“One more time. What are your missions?”

Akari spoke first.

“Engage the enemy and keep them preoccupied. Draw their attention while siphoning them off when needed.”

Tallis nodded and turned to Arata. Arata grinned as he brought his hands up and raised his index and middle fingers, bending them as he spoke.

“I am ‘Scouting’.”

Tallis and Akari grinned. Tallis nodded.

“Let’s finish this quickly so we can cheer on the others.”

“Yes sir.”

Present.

Akari was currently in the midst of a battle. She had drawn out soldiers from the other three groups and had turned this strategic battle into one of brute strength. With her overwhelming numbers as well as her own fighting prowess, the opposing soldiers were getting slaughtered. However, the soldiers weren’t doing much fighting and so none of them had died. They were simply preventing anyone from getting the drop on Akari as she tore through the enemy soldiers. The students that were present realized that she had pulled them into her battle, so they needed to fight her in this way, otherwise she would just slaughter them as they retreated.

Akari had held a standstill battle for a few minutes where no one could retreat and a few soldiers were dying. The enemy soldiers were attacking each other, but a large majority were just doing their best to handle Akari. At that moment, Akari received the OK from Tallis and Arata. Everyone was in place. The soldiers behind Akari suddenly went serious as their demeanor changed. They roared as the charged into battle. Akari was previously the only one battling as her soldiers just defended her. But now they were on the offensive.

The others realized how many soldiers they had now, their numbers were overwhelming in comparison to the soldiers they had brought. Adding them to the already rampaging Akari, the enemy students and soldiers knew that they were in trouble. So they called for reinforcements. Messengers rushed back to their bases. Akari grinned as she watched the messengers leave.

Back at their base, Tallis grinned as he watched the Messengers leave for reinforcements. Just like they had planned. He also noticed that one of the three classes didn’t send back a messenger. Instead, a large chunk of their soldiers broke off from the four way battle and headed in the direction of their base. Tallis chuckled to himself. He had already seen their scout and pretended to not see him, letting him go inform the class.

“Come. Bring your soldiers and see how far they can go.”

Tallis ordered his soldiers into position. They spread out into the forest that surrounded the base, each going to their designated spots. Then they waited quietly. Tallis had his eyes closed and was looking through the eyes of all the soldiers in the forest. He could see the enemy advancing. They had around 250 soldiers. The scouts and soldiers stayed hidden as the enemy entered the forest. Tallis began muttering numbers to himself.

“Divided into 5 groups of 50. 50 in Section 8. 50 in Section 13. 50 entering Section 18 in 4 seconds. 50 moving from Section 23 to 24. 50 on standby outside the forest. With their current speed, when the 50 enters Section 15, trigger the attack. This will cause a moment of shock and hesitation, where the groups will have stopped in Sections 11, 20 and 27. If the outside group retreats, we will let them go. If they enter, we will use the same method to deal with them.”

Tallis had his soldiers move swiftly to the necessary positions and they waited again. A few minutes later, a group of enemies neared a particular soldier. He felt Tallis give him the order as he inserted his Energy into the device in front of him at the same time that other soldiers activated their devices. Flames burst from the device as the fire created a large wall which connected to other flames that had burst at the same time. The flames created a cage around the group of soldiers.

This was the same device that Arata and Ryouma had used. He had made them using the Sato Clan techniques and then Tallis used his Clan’s techniques to modify them slightly. Arata didn’t have enough time to make them completely which is why Tallis finished them. Due to the time restraints, Arata was unable to have the gems have a Trigger Device. A Trigger Device was what Trap Specialists used to activate multiple traps or Trap Formations from one point, like how Ryouma used in the Forest Drake’s nest.

The version that the soldiers were using currently, however, needed there to be a simultaneous activation from each of the devices. But that wasn’t a problem as they had enough soldiers to activate them all. The soldiers then dropped the devices after they activated them and ran away. In the other areas in the forest, the soldiers heard and sensed the fire wall erupting with power and all looked in the direction of the flames. Perfectly on cue, 3 more fire walls burst up and surrounded the shocked and terrified enemy soldiers. Again, after activating, the soldiers all retreated back to the base.

The enemy soldiers withing the fire cages began panicking and attacking the wall, trying to break free. Tallis, on the other hand, was calmly counting down with his eyes closed.. The fire cage was based on the Sato Clan techniques. What would come next was based on the Diamont Clan techniques. The flames grew hotter and hotter, making the soldiers panic more. The device suddenly glowed bright, sending a wave of Energy through the wall.

Tallis opened his eyes as he watched the cages of fire close in, burning everything inside before completely disappearing. Everything and everyone one within the cages were burnt to a crisp. There were now for giant hexagon shaped patches in the forest where the trees and everything had been burnt to the ground. There was a scout at the edge of the forest that Tallis was using to see what the outside group would react.

A student was amongst them as he stood in fear. He hesitated before taking his soldiers away and retreating. Tallis grinned. Fear is always a powerful thing in battle, and now the seed was sown. He closed his eyes again as he communicated with Akari and Arata. Akari laughed as she hit another enemy, sending them flying into another soldier. Arata grinned silently as he and his group of soldiers were hidden by the enemy base. He then saw a group of three soldiers run into the enemy base. The messengers had arrived.

Arata waited for a further 3 minutes and then a large group of soldiers exited the base, most likely heading to Akari for battle. Arata counted how many were leaving. Tallis received the information and calculated quickly. There were currently 200 soldiers from this class by Akari. Another 200 were currently leaving the base. Tallis guessed that there were another 1 or 2 outposts similar to what Arata had taken out, which was another 30-60 soldiers, assuming they were using them. If the scouts are taken into account, at average most classes usually have around 20-30 scouts, Tallis estimated that there was most likely around 80-100 soldiers defending the base. Arata had taken a few of them out in the surrounding area.

As the leaving group was off in the distance, Arata decided that now was the time to strike. 60 of his soldiers spread out around the forest, staying hidden. 10 of the soldiers followed Arata. These 10 soldiers looked different to the other soldiers. They were high ranked soldiers and 10 was the maximum amount that you were allowed for this exercise. Not many would get them as it would be a waste, but they were crucial to Arata’s plan.

They were Assassins. Killers in the shadows. Perfect soldiers to accompany Arata. Arata and his team of assassins snuck into the base. It was an easy infiltration for them as they immediately went to work on finding the locations of all the soldiers and the lead tactician for the class. Arata found him standing on the wall. He activated his Shadow Awareness to scan the base. Assisting the assassins that were rushing around silently and invisibly.

They found where each of the soldiers were and the ten soldiers went to work. Picking off the soldiers one by one. Hiding the bodies with extreme efficiency. Arata knew that this would not be as easy if there were more soldiers here. But only 90 soldiers in such a large base? It was basically the perfect hunting grounds for the assassins. Arata, however, stayed hidden. Watching the student.

The assassins had disposed of around 20 soldiers before another soldier discovered a body. The base went on high alert and Arata made Tallis order the assassins to retreat. There were now guards protecting the student, while the rest of the soldiers were searching the base. This was a good time to reveal himself. Arata came out from where he was hiding and rushed at two of the soldiers. He slammed into them, absorbing their Energy as he pushed them aside and redirected the Energy he absorbed into a third soldier.

The remaining three soldiers all attacked Arata, but they were quickly and easily dealt with through Arata’s Vitality Bestowal. The student stared in shock as the six soldiers that were guarding him were disposed of in a matter of seconds. Arata looked at the student with disdain, his arrogant persona once again revealing itself.

“Log off or die. You choose.”

The student knew he couldn’t beat Arata as he hurriedly logged off, counting as a death. Arata walked over to a flag on a pole. He tore it down. Another flag began to appear on the pole, replacing the torn down flag. A large number 7 was emblazoned on it. There was instantly a loud voice heard through the entire battlefield.

“Class 7 has taken control of Class 5’s base. Class 5 soldiers will gain a 20% decrease in strength and Class 7 soldiers gain a 20% increase in strength.”

The Class 5 soldiers fighting Akari felt their Energy being drained, while Akari and her soldiers felt a burst of Energy within them. Akari charged with new vigor at their enemies. Tallis signalled Arata’s soldiers to storm the base. Now that Arata had destroyed the flag, the base was now theirs. And the Class 5 soldiers were now weakened, so they were dealt with easily by Arata and his soldiers. Arata sent a message back to Tallis.

“Base secured. Shall I move on to the next base?”

Tallis smirked.

“Go ahead. Judging from the retreating messengers from Akari’s battlefield, I have a rough estimation on where the next base is. I’ll guide you there. But first, check the maps on the table for me.”

There was a map of the battlefield on the table, similar to the one Tallis had. There were markings where the outpost Arata had destroyed was, and there were two more just like it. Tallis communicated to him.

“Just avoid the outposts, although I doubt that they will be there much longer based on Akari’s current state. Move to the next base.”

Arata sent back a confirmation. He didn’t see the point in protecting the base, so he left and quickly headed in the direction Tallis was leading him. Akari had pushed through the waves of soldiers to find and defeat one of the students from Class 5. With the weakened soldiers, Akari easily broke through them to take him out. The remaining Class 5 student panicked as he ordered the soldiers to protect him as he tried to retreat.

Akari had a predatory look on her face as she charged after him. Light burst from her as she became a streak of Light, cutting past the soldiers and appearing in front of the terrified student. As she struck at him, he logged off and vanished before he was killed. Another voice was again heard by everyone.

“Class 5’s Strategists have been defeated. Class 5 has been eliminated by Class 7. The remaining Class 5 soldiers will be removed from battle. Class 7 soldiers receive a 20% boost in speed.”

The teachers that were observing the battle were stunned. As were the students in the stadium. This was such a domineering and overwhelming strategy. Headed by some insanely powerful students. The teachers were completely shocked by this display of power and teamwork. They blended so well together and controlled their soldiers seamlessly.

In the stands, Aasim had a curious look on his face, while Jolie just looked stunned. Eamon was standing up with a burning look in his eyes. Excitement written all over his face.

“This is Class 7. Amazing!”

All the seniors in attendance were thinking the same thing as they stared at the class with hungry eyes. There was going to be a big fight over the students of Class 7.