章節 11: The hunt
Kaboom!
A massive explosion was ensued by a big fireball rising. Using special guidance and aiming systems, it was a confirmed direct hit. No one could have survived that. No one should have survived that.
Kassam heard the blast, and like many others, he too thought it was the end of him. The brave creature he had brought along seemed to have flown too close to the sun. Alas, now it had gotten both of them killed.
In his heart though, there was no regret. She lived, and that was what mattered to him. Seeing that she'd been bought a couple of minutes, she could run away. Kiel was smart, she would choose to flee, his love would remain in her heart.
The blast of the cannon sounded.
The next moment, Kassam experienced a heatwave, as though the sun was bearing down on him, ready to crush him.
This was followed by a sudden and powerful gust of wind, so powerful he was tossed forward like a rag doll.
Despite all this, Kassam kept expecting the worst to happen, but after microseconds turned into seconds, it still hadn't happened.
Looking back, Kassam saw a translucent shield exuding a golden hue covering them both. Lost for words, he turned to look at the giant, who was racing towards where he'd landed.
"Get up!" Chege yelled, then remembered that the creature couldn't understand him, so he raced to it and picked it up.
"Target still moving sir!" The hovercraft pilot reported, turning its massive frame in Chege's direction. He still didn't dare go any closer, and right now he was tracking them with his equipment.
"I knew it!" Back at the base, all those listening in were shocked, but at least they had their suspicions confirmed. Earlier, during Chege's breakout, it seemed as though he was in an unconscious state. Many had even hypothesized that the golden barrier was the one controlling him. Now he was lucid, active and in a battle, if ever there was a time to call out his shield, now was it.
"Major, give it everything you've got!" Sir Anyang's orders were cold. Even Doctor Keshi shivered as he said them. In her heart though, she was delighted. The giant they had sort to destroy wasn't so easily taken down.
There was always some disdain many scholars had for soldiers and those that would use brute force. Now seeing them beaten in their own game, she forgot they were on her side. Perhaps this would knock down the hubris a few notches.
With Kassam in his hand, Chege struggled as he moved forward. While Chege didn't have to worry about the actual blast, the resulting shockwaves were overbearing and would make him stumble and fall. The cannon blasts on the hovercrafts were powerful and effective. The cooperation between the 3 hovercrafts made evading the shockwaves a nightmare, especially when the one he was carrying was so easily tossed.
By now Chege was raging mad. No one liked to be ganged up on, especially when the enemy was stronger or more superior than them. Chege especially didn't like being bullied. Having suffered through it as a boy, he would almost always vehemently lash out. Though this had gotten him in trouble a couple of times, it also discouraged all would-be bullies.
Grasping hold of his bow and arrow, he knew they wouldn't cut it. They were weapons of precision, dealing damage from afar. Now he needed a pure assault weapon. Something he could use to deal damage.
Without even borrowing, Chege grabbed Kassam's spear. He then started signing to Kassam. What he was asking was whether the spear could come back, but Kassam understood that he was being borrowed, which he quickly nodded.
Mustering all his strength, Chege held his weapon sturdily. He had never been a good spearman, most of the time he'd end up missing his targets while practicing. Interestingly, that was how he ended up in archery, which at the time was seen as being weaker than wielding a spear.
A hovercraft was made up of 3 massive turbines atop 3 powerful engines. Each of the turbines was flexible, mounted on a joint, making maneuverability in the air easier. The blades were made of extremely hard but light metal alloys, to maintain buoyancy.
Moreover, the hovercrafts were more than a mile out, which was more than the estimated range of Chege's arrows, or so they thought. Having encountered Kassam and his gang more than once, they were familiar with the spear. In their minds, it posed no threat at all.
That was until they saw the glint of the morning sun as a fast-approaching object came their way. Having been thrown by hand, none of the state-of-the-art technology could help, and the pilot's reaction time was not as fast.
Before they knew it, alarms started sounding on Hummingbird 043. The pilots were scrambling like crazy, trying to get a handle on the situation.
"Come in Hummingbird 043, what is your sitrep?" From one of the other hovercrafts, they could see smoke coming from one of the engines.
"Engine 2 is unresponsive, getting no reading," Came the response.
"Hummingbird 043, Return to Base right now, have it checked out."
"Yes sir, returning."
"Well, pull it back." Chege was looking at Kassam, who at the moment wore a complicated expression. It had always been his desire to hurt the little monsters, put them in the same place they had put his glorious race, yet he had never found any way .to achieve that.
He couldn't even hurt their armor. Yet in one day, one person had come in and overturned his entire reality. Using a bow and arrow, he was able to put down the metal soldiers, and with his spear, he had hurt the flying constructs. Smoke could be seen rising.
Seeing the emotionless expression on Kassam's face, Chege gave up on getting the spear and ran off, running deeper into the forest. As a hunter, he knew he was in the kill zone. He needed to get to a place where the conditions were favorable for him, and having traversed the forest the previous day, he knew just the place.
"Sir, Target moving West bearing 303, headed towards Quadrant 4 Sector 3."
"Comms, Navigation, report possible destinations."
"That's Hellrock valley, Sir."
"Why the hell did we name it that?"
"Sir, there are many rocky outcrops all over the valley. Perfect place for an ambush if you ask me."
"Who's ambushing who?" This was said with a laugh, but the soldiers listening in got the message clear. They were in for a hard fight. One of the most fundamental differences between warriors and bandits was that bandits prey on the weak, fleeing from the strong. Warriors, on the other hand, dare to take on those who are as strong or stronger than them.
They may have had an easier time fighting the creatures, but their blood boiled for the hunt. Finally, an enemy worth taking seriously. Time passed quickly, and soon, a voice was heard over the comms.
"Entering Hellrock valley now."
"Shields Up!"
"Plasma shield engaged."
"Comms, Navigator, Status."
"Status unchanged, monitoring."
Like a net, the hovercrafts send their censors across the entire valley. Using all manner of radiation sensors, the 2 massive equipment flowed across the valley, scouring every blade of glass. The last hovercraft had flown home
Dong!
Alarms blared, but no arrow got through.
"Contact Front!" One of the navigators in Hummingbird 013 shouted.
"Contact!" The soldiers yelled as they engaged. The machinist in the hovercraft went to work, targeting the blips on the screen. In a split second, all the turrets went crazy, rapidly firing at the targets.
This time, they were not using Laser cannons, but incendiary bullets. With explosive tips and highly flammable gas contained in them, they were the perfect bullets to use against the target. They meant to obliterate the fiend's defense by raining fire on it.
Chege had to admit, he was overwhelmed. Each of the incendiary bullets that hit his defense made him struggle to stand. The flaming gas that was emitted penetrated his barrier, causing him to cough heavily.
Sometimes you've got to know when you're beaten. Dashing like crazy, Chege sort to escape the barrage of attacks coming his way. Since he didn't know how powerful the shield that was on him would last, he wasn't taking any chances.
"Target running, do we pursue?"
"Of course pursue, are you retarded?" From another hovercraft, the major yelled through the comms as he watched them engage the target. For once, they had found a weakness. He hadn't been sure if this plan would work, but not it seemed as though they had uncovered a way to put it down.
Chege was very familiar with the area. Additionally, he was not weighed down by having to carry his traveling mate. Light as a deer, he pranced around the valley that was more like a canyon majestically. Though there were still some shots that rained on his shield, he managed to hide most of them.
He was fast, but so was the hovercraft. He was extremely agile, but the hovercraft turrets had a 360-degree range. Given how close they were to each other, there was no way he could kite efficiently. It seemed as though he had finally met his match.
Never one to be discouraged, he had something left to try. He had been disappointed to discover that his arrows failed to penetrate the shield. There was one last gambit he wanted to try but he hadn't found an opening, yet. Not that he was relying on fate or destiny, he had a plan, one that needed him to be pursued.
Diving into what looked like a rabbit hole, only 10 times bigger, Chege disappeared, but not from the equipment tracking him. They could see his heat signature somewhere near the surface, so he wasn't deep enough.
Gliding the aircraft, the pilot made the main turret aim directly into the cave. The Machinist pulled the trigger.
Boom!
Just like that, the underside of the hovercraft exploded. This was the region directly below the main turret magazine, which caught fire as well. The ensuing explosion ensured that there was no one left alive as the hovercraft went tumbling down.
Silence. Utter silence. The soldiers in the last remaining hovercraft were frozen as they watched their comrades go down in such a fashion. They couldn't believe that the hovercraft had been so easy to deal with. What's more, it had gone up in flames without warning.
They knew the kind of defenses the hovercrafts had. The forcefield shield around it could even withstand the force of a plasma cannon from a spaceship, let alone an arrow. Just what had transpired between the 2?
Major Kenji's mind was broken. He didn't understand just how quickly the tables had turned on him. As a commander, he had to set aside all such thoughts and lead his team, they were counting on him.
"Bury him!" It had been a grave order, but one that was welcome. Almost immediately, the turrets and cannons on the last remaining hovercraft started raining on the hole's entrance. In under a minute, the cave had been thoroughly destroyed. Any hole had been sealed up, but still, the sound of gunfire was unceasing.
"Set her down on the left of Hummingbird 013. Alpha Team, move to secure crash, the rest of the war party, come with me to confirm the kill."
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