The stupor only lasted a few seconds. The Guko's technology was clearly incredible, but Khan couldn't think about that after understanding that the battle would arrive soon.
"Get inside," Lieutenant Pouille ordered. "I'll drive the ram behind the enemy lines, but everything will become quite messy once we get out. Our priority is to bring the Stal in the open to expose them to the rest of the platoon."
"Do we have to follow a battle formation?" Clara asked as the squad started to enter the truck.
"We barely have information about the actual settlement," Lieutenant Pouille admitted. "I've chosen you because of your battle experience. We'll have to improvise a lot, so try to remain close to me."
Khan suppressed a curse as he took one of the seats on the right side of the vehicle. It didn't take a genius to understand that similar missions would typically require days spent inspecting the target and preparing suitable battle tactics. However, his group barely knew where the settlement was. Everything felt too abrupt, but he couldn't ignore HQ's direct orders. He had simply ended up in the wrong place at the wrong time.
Lieutenant Pouille took one of the front seats and turned the vehicle on. A series of lights lit up before a few holograms appeared in front of the soldiers. One of them acted as a camera that depicted the truck's surroundings, while the others led to different functions. Khan tried to study what he could, but the map that appeared on the top-right corner of an image attracted the entirety of his attention.
The map depicted the camp's current position. Khan only had to compare that picture to the images seen during the breakfast to understand how long it would take his platoon to reach the Stal's settlement. It seemed that the mission would start in less than five minutes.
"Don't worry too-," Delia began to say while turning toward Khan, but she felt unable to continue after inspecting him.
Khan had already drawn his knife, and his face had grown cold as he kept his eyes fixed on the map. Delia had initially wanted to reassure her young companion, but she realized that her worry had been pointless. Khan appeared tense, but an expert eye would be able to see how he was perfectly calm. His figure expressed pure readiness.
Except for Lieutenant Pouille, the other soldiers in the vehicle noticed Khan's behavior and let it affect their mindset. No one spoke or cracked jokes. Everyone fell silent and prepared themselves for the imminent battle.
The seconds spent inside the truck felt like hours as the group kept their eyes on the dot moving across the map. Only Lieutenant Pouille knew when the vehicle would leave the camp, but the soldiers didn't care about that. The entirety of their focus was on the reinforced doors at their sides.
Someone took a deep breath when the dot on the map crossed the river. Khan didn't know how the camp had overcome that hindrance, but those thoughts lasted in his mind for mere seconds before vanishing. The flow of mana had already taken control of his senses. He was ready to lose himself in a battle.
Lieutenant Pouille eventually pressed one of the labels depicted by the holograms before voicing a calm announcement. "The settlement is less than a minute away. Prepare the rifles and gather in the second hangar. If everything goes well, we'll bring the fight to you."
The Lieutenant closed the channel before pressing other labels. A series of clanging noises managed to echo past the vehicle's thick surfaces as the soldier activated some functions of the camp. Ecoruta's bright morning light began to seep from a side of the metal wall in front of the truck as an unfamiliar entrance started to open.
Then, everything suddenly changed. The wall slid open in a single second, and the truck shot forward. The vehicle was so fast that Khan didn't have the time to inspect the changes in the environment recorded by the cameras. He only saw a series of short metal buildings growing closer.
The Stal's settlement was as simple as possible. The metal buildings were highly similar to the human camp, linking their architecture to the Guko's technology. A few short barriers encircled them and created simple protections for troops armed with rifles or similar weapons. In theory, a frontal attack appeared unfeasible.
Lieutenant Pouille barely touched the menus as the truck approached one of the barriers at high speed. Two-headed figures appeared from behind that defense and began to fire bullets made of mana toward the vehicle, but they appeared as nothing more than azure flashes on the cameras.
"Brace for impact!" Lieutenant Pouille shouted as belts came out of the seats and fastened around the soldiers on their own.
The truck crashed on the barrier a few seconds after the warning, and the soldiers inside it felt it. No technology could make Khan and the others ignore that violent impact, but the belts kept them safe and still.
The barrier couldn't do anything against the vehicle. The truck even ran over a couple of unlucky Stal as it continued to advance inside the settlement. Khan used the cameras to count how many aliens would try to approach him from behind, but a series of cylindric items suddenly appeared on the ground and rolled toward the metal fence before exploding.
Similar scenes appeared on the other areas recorded by the cameras. The truck released bombs on its own and transformed its surroundings into a fiery environment. The Stal that had tried to approach the vehicle directly burnt, but the flames didn't manage to hide the shadows of other tall figures charging from behind them.
The settlement was big enough to contain a couple of platoons, but that according to human standards. The Stal were far too big to fit so many soldiers, so Khan guessed that his group would be only slightly outnumbered. The issue was that eight of them would have to face the aliens on their own for a while.
Lieutenant Pouille pressed on one of the holograms, and the truck changed its course to crash into a building to its right. The violent impact made the building's metal walls cave in, but it didn't pierce them. Yet, the belts suddenly unlocked after the event, and every thought disappeared from Khan's mind when he saw the door next to him sliding open.
"Follow me!" Lieutenant Pouille shouted while jumping out of the truck, and the soldiers followed him.
Waves of mana invaded Khan's senses as the scorching air caused by the many fires around him reached his nostrils. That chaotic environment felt familiar and helped his peculiar mindset. He could immediately locate many Stal approaching his position, but the Lieutenant had no intention to fight there. The soldier charged toward the initial barrier, and his underlings followed him.
Two Stal jumped past the flames to appear in front of Lieutenant Pouille, but the latter promptly bent forward and slammed his palms on the aliens' waists. Khan almost snapped out of his unique mindset when he saw the two huge opponents flying away in different directions and disappearing from his sight.
The Lieutenant's incredible battle prowess couldn't claim the squad's attention for too long since more Stal jumped past the flames and voiced growls to alert the entire settlement about their enemies' location. The aliens didn't even wait for their companions to arrive as they charged ahead and tried to encircle the human group.
The soldiers didn't need orders at that point. Their priority was to reach a spot that the rest of their platoon could target from the safe position outside the settlement. They couldn't waste time in pointless battles that would only worsen their situation.
Two Stal charged toward Khan, but he ignored them since Lieutenant Pouille sent his opponent flying away again. He wouldn't fight when he had the chance to continue that tactical retreat.
The other soldiers shared his thoughts, but those in the backlines couldn't avoid the Stal. Ian and the man standing next to him raised their arms to defend against the incoming punches of the aliens, but the impact made them slam into their companions.
Ian crashed on Khan's back, but the event didn't take the latter by surprise. Khan had sensed the arrival of his companion, so he had bent forward to improve his balance. He even grabbed Ian and made sure that he landed properly after sliding off his back.
The other man wasn't as lucky as Ian. He fell on Delia's back, but the woman required the entirety of her concentration to remain on her feet. She couldn't spare seconds tending to her companion's situation, so the soldier ended up falling on the ground. He straightened his position in no time, but that short delay was enough to make him fall prey to the Stal behind the group.
The flames began to disperse in those seconds since they didn't have anything to burn. Tall figures appeared behind them and continued to charge at the escaping group. Still, Khan disregarded them as the entirety of his focus went on the two Stal standing in front of Lieutenant Pouille. He could sense that they were both as strong as his superior.
Lieutenant Pouille tried to deliver the same palm strikes that had sent the previous Stal flying, but his two opponents managed to cross their arms before the attack could hit their torsos. Khan sensed a massive amount of mana exploding in front of the soldier's palms and engulfing the aliens, but the latter only took a few steps back before charging ahead again.
The underlings couldn't advance when their superior was stuck in a battle, and that delay in their escape allowed many Stal to gather around them. Ian, Delia, Clara, Khan, and the other two soldiers saw a barrage of punches and thick arms filling their vision. The aliens didn't hesitate to attack, but their reactions were equally fast.
Khan ducked to dodge the four punches flying in his direction. He had the chance to slide between his opponent's legs in that position, but he decided to straighten himself after going past those thick arms to cut the alien's belly open. A torrent of blood spurted out of the long vertical injury inflicted with his glowing knife, but he didn't allow himself to relax since the Stal mustered its remaining strength to close its limbs in a tight embrace.
The Stal's physical prowess was scary. Khan's opponent wasn't a first-level warrior yet, but its level was only a half-step away from that realm. Khan didn't dare to try his luck in that situation, so he ducked again before kicking one of the alien's legs.
The alien lost its balance and began to fall forward, but Khan's jumped to his right to approach the Stal busy fighting Ian. He had no intention to enter another battle, but he needed a foothold to dodge the tall figure that was about to hinder his path.
Khan kicked as soon as his foot touched one of the alien's arms to push himself over his first opponent. His action ended up creating an opening for Ian, who used his right elbow to deliver a rising blow capable of expressing the entirety of his physical strength. The impact lifted the Stal from the ground and made dark blood spit out of its mouth.
Khan landed on the ground only to notice that the two companions in front of him were busy with other battles. He had the chance to help them, but more Stal were approaching him from the group's sides. Dealing with those opponents wouldn't get them out of that troublesome situation unless they took care of the main issue.
Khan didn't have the time to establish deep relationships on Ecoruta. He didn't know how his companions would react to an eventual order coming out of his mouth. He wouldn't even be surprised if those soldiers decided to ignore his idea to attack the two powerful Stal together, so he took the matter into his own hands.
Lieutenant Pouille had been impeccable during those seconds. His opponents were as strong as four second-level warriors, but he could compensate his inferior physical strength with his spells. The soldier could release shockwaves with every part of his body and enhance them through specific moves that usually involved palm strikes.
Four arms flew toward the Lieutenant's left side, but he pushed his left hand forward slowly. A massive amount of mana came out of his palm and hindered the incoming blows so much that they didn't inflict any injury when they landed on his shoulder and torso.
Instead, the other Stal had joined his hands to deliver two descending blows that seemed to carry enough power to shatter the reinforced metal of the truck. However, Lieutenant Pouille used his free arm to punch the first attack and created a shockwave that pushed the alien back.
That scene was incredible. Lieutenant Pouille appeared in complete control of his battle, but his right arm didn't come out unscathed from the exchange. His tight sleeve had exploded, and bruises had appeared on his skin since he had to endure part of the force discharged during the impact.
The Lieutenant knew that he couldn't last long against such powerful opponents, and every second wasted in that situation only made more Stal gather around his group. Mana started to accumulate right below his skin as he prepared to use one of his trump cards, but a peculiar scene forced him to interrupt his actions.
The Stal on the left had lifted its arms to deliver four descending blows that made use of its scary size, but an azure light suddenly ran behind it and made it arc its back in pain. Lieutenant Pouille immediately seized that chance to place his palm on the alien's exposed torso and launch a shockwave that made some of its internal organs explode.
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Author's notes: I need a couple of hours for the second chapter.