章 42: Attack on Vale

Ruby and Weiss were assisting Goodwitch in capturing the White fang goons that had been let loose in the streets of Vale. They were currently near the walls that separated Vale from the horde outside. The grunts were trying to bomb it and blow a hole in the wall. Weiss was throwing walls of ice to reinforce the walls and using her glyph summons to beat down the larger groups of grunts. Ruby was on a roof next to her, sniping stolen paladin's joints and servos to stop them from advancing to the wall. The longer they held the wall, the more likely they would be victorious in the end.

Ruby reloaded before feeling a tremor that shook the surrounding area. She also heard the yells of huntsman on top of the wall who were using heavy weapons that were mainly used to snipe any large Grimm like Nevermore. Seeing that Weiss was handling the White Fang situation, Ruby dashed up the wall using her semblance. She landed next to Goodwitch and saw enormous Elephant and Mammoth Grimm battering the wall heavily. Mostly unaffected by the heavy weapons fire being rained upon them.

"Damn it! They'll break through in minutes at this rate!" One of the Huntsmen said as he shook along with the wall.

"Hold them off longer! We need time to clean up the White Fang and flying Grimm already inside!" Goodwitch commanded as she looked to Ruby.

"Miss Rose, you're supposed to be down with Miss Schnee defending is against the White Fang agents in Vale.." She said sternly.

"I know! But Weiss has it handled with her summons and.. I think I have an idea! Your semblance is telekinesis right? Well you too got powered up by magic.. See those wrecked Paladins below us? What if we rigged them to explode with the dust bombs the White Fang are trying to blow up the wall with and you can throw them down like a catapult!" Ruby excitedly advised her, causing the teacher to stop pacing and consider the idea before nodding.

"That's a good idea, Miss Rose. Go, arm the fallen paladins with the dust bombs and I will take care of the rest" Goodwitch gave her a nod as Ruby flew back down next to Weiss.

"Weiss! You know which dust combinations are most volatile. I need your help in arming the fallen paladins so we can launch them into the horde outside!" Ruby exclaimed in a hurry.

"Only you would come up with such an unorthodox plan.. Yes, I'll mix the dust and you can plant them on the paladins. Just cover me while I work and defend the wall" Weiss nodded at her leader.

Weiss got to work, starting to take the bombs off the unconscious and incapacitated grunts while Ruby, determined not to kill them, used her scythe's weight and the blunt side to knock them out. She was zipping throughout the area, sending grunts flying with every enhanced and heavy swing. She surely broke a few bones but that was inconsequential compared to how many lives were currently at stake.

Once Weiss finished, she returned to commanding her summons, driving the White Fang in the area back since they lost more than sixty percent of their manpower this side of Vale. Ruby got to planting the bombs on the paladins and finished just as she saw visible cracks in the wall following an earth shaking impact. She immediately whistled aloud and grabbed Goodwitch's attention, who was coordinating the defense on the wall.

Nodding, the teacher inhaled deeply and picked up eleven armed Paladins and raised them up to the top of the wall. That's when Ruby saw a flying Grimm bee-line towards the teacher. She used her semblance again and got up fast enough to shoot it in the protected headplate, making it change direction mid-lunge and hitting the top of the wall next to them.

"Miss Rose.. Keep it off me while I focus, please.." Goodwitch grunted out while focusing solely on her semblance.

"Understood!" Ruby replied before looking at the strange flying Grimm.

It looked like a hybrid of a deer and a man. Its arms were long and its feet were hooved. It pulled out a greatsword and dug its claws into the top of the wall before looking at Ruby. Ruby transformed Crescent Rose back into scythe form before dashing at the Wendigo. She slid under the first fast horizontal swing before pivoting her body to its side and swinging the scythe at its head, which it parried with a powerful swing of his plated arm, sending Ruby sliding back.

He was immediately fired upon by the other hunters once Ruby was a distance away. Sniper rounds, Assault rifle rounds and ballistae hit him repeatedly. Though his armor defended him well, he was sufficiently staggered and that gave Ruby time to hit him in the knee with an explosive dust round that made him buckle.

Taking the opening, Ruby rushed forward and swung Crescent Rose in an arc that soared towards his neck. But he seemed to expect that. His eyes gained a new pattern as he ducked it and headbutted the Huntress in training before rushing at the Huntsmen shooting at him. Nimbly avoiding the projectiles, he slid in and hit them all with the Devil sword. The demonic aura flashed and all of their aura shattered. They were thrown off the wall on both sides with a lucky one landing farther away on the wall still. Though he was heavily injured.

The Wendigo turned back to Ruby and Goodwitch and exhaled slowly while glaring at them.

"No!!" Ruby lamented at the likely dead Huntsmen who were helping her but focused on the incoming Grimm, using her semblance to get away from fast and powerful sets of strikes by the Wendigo before firing at him repeatedly.

The Grimm just kept coming though. It flipped through the air and came crashing down with a powerful swing Ruby managed to block with the shaft of Crescent Rose. Though it cracked the top of the wall and she suffered a not insignificant hit to her aura. She angled the weapon and fired to his left, getting out from under his Greatsword before swinging rapid combos at him, determined not to let him hit her again. Every time he did, she used her semblance to quickly move somewhere else and score another hit on him.

He got lucky after the fourth time and swung where he thought she'd move to next. She blocked it with Crescent Rose but it bent under the sheer force of the swing and her aura flickered from the lingering demonic aura and the painful impact with the floor of the wall's top.

The Wendigo, seeing the opportunity to kill Goodwitch and kick off the invasion, sprinted at her as she was finishing the placement of the paladin bombs. He was blocked by a towering ice wall and skid to a stop, turning around and seeing Weiss rise up on an ice pillar in time. Growling, he ran at her next. He slashed a summoned pack of Beowolves in half and was closing in on Weiss.

"No! Weiss!" Ruby cried out, seeing Weiss' eyes widen at the momentum of the monster charging at them.

Ruby's eyes glow silver and she focuses on a technique Neo had showed her when she fought that guy who took over Jaune's body. Silver power focused into her scythe and enlarged the blade into a silver glowing crescent resembling the moon. She reared back and swung up as he charged at Weiss. He stopped right on time to narrowly avoid being bisected right then and there. Though he wasn't unscathed either. His right antler had been cut off like a hot knife through butter. On top of that, he suffered a shallow cut made diagonally across his torso that bled a black substance that sizzled under the power Ruby displayed.

That's when they heard an explosion below. Goodwitch had thrown the paladin bombs below and killed quite a few of the horde. All of the Grimm used as battering rams had almost been killed right there. There were just two left out of the original ten.

The next thing the Wendigo knew it was falling off the wall, down into the Vale side. It quickly used its wings to glide but flying icicles and sniper shots ruined that plan and he fell into a nearby alley.

"Whew... that.. was crazy.." Ruby sighed in relief.

"Goodness.. you almost died up here, Ruby! What were you thinking, fighting that thing alone?" Weiss scolded her in clear worry.

"It was either that or.." Ruby trailed off, looking at the injured but still alive Huntsman.

"Fine.. but you should have called me up!" Weiss huffed.

"Ehehe.." Ruby scratched her head awkwardly.

"I hate to deny you of a break, girls but that thing likely isn't dead and is loose in Vale.. I have it from here. Go hunt it down and kill it" Goodwitch ordered as she helped the Huntsman up.

"Understood, Ma'am" Weiss nodded and pulled her leader onto the ice pillar she used to get up before traveling down fast.

"I see your power's really effective on that thing.. you almost one shot it" Weiss commented as they ran towards the alley they saw him fall into.

"Neo explained it to me. She said it's like an Anti-Grimm weapon.." Ruby commented back as they turned and saw a ruined alley.

"Can you use it again? It's going to be hard to kill it without that.." Weiss looked around cautiously with her partner.

"Gimme a few minutes.. it took a lot out of me" Ruby sighed.

"Oh.. g̴o̴o̸d̵,̸ ̸n̷o̶w̶ ̴I̸ ̶d̵o̷n̷'̸t̶ ̵h̶a̸v̴e̶ ̴t̸o̵ ̶w̵o̷r̶r̵y̶" They heard a distorted, disgusting and almost oily sounding voice above and made a quick decision to jump back as a now scarred Wendigo landed in their previous position, hooves crushing the pavement and sending concrete flying.

A few pieces hit them and before they can defend themselves, the Wendigo grabs both of their heads in his large claws and slams them into the ground before swinging them around and hurling them out of the alley. Their auras shatter and their bodies are afflicted with cuts and bruises. Weiss and Ruby cough violently as they pick themselves up.

"Weiss... ungh.. you okay..?" Ruby groaned.

"I can move.. You?" Weiss returned the groan.

"Not for long" He spoke before full sprinting at them and narrowly misses bisecting them both with a sliding horizontal slash they both duck.

"Silver eyes.. kill her.." He growls in a feral manner before readying his blade.

Ruby got ready to defend against the monster as she and Weiss quickly stood up. As soon as he charged, she tensed and got ready to react. That's when she heard music. It was loud and attention-grabbing. So it was no surprise the Wendigo turned to look at the source, just in time to see the grill of a transport tuck slamming into his face and being sent flying through an ice cream store, 'Dairy King' at a hundred and fifty kilometers an hour.

No sooner than it started did the music shut off and the truck came to a screeching stop. Neo came out of the driver's side in a black jacket, tight jeans and all black Nike shoes. Black Airforces. She had on aviator sunglasses too, which she tipped down when looking at Ruby and Weiss.

"Sorry I'm late. Things are crazy all over" Neo shrugged and pulled her scroll out, calling a Bullhead over.

"Neo..? What..? You.." Ruby was shaking her head, mouth agape and looking at her and the now collapsing store.

"I'm calling you guys a Bullhead. Jaune will be able to heal you well enough to fight again and restore your aura. Go help the rest of your team. I got this" Neo assured them.

"Okay.. What's with the getup?" Weiss asked, still massively confused.

"The drip makes me strong.. Now wait here. I'm gonna catch a body" Neo winked and proceeded to walk towards the store.