District 42-Chapter 120: Quicksand
While the vanguard was being got in a trap in the depths of the complex, the rearguard of Freygar’s group was passing through hard times as well.
The initial plan was to make them split into smaller groups and give chase to the prisoners that would probably be spread through the complex and running. Differently from the vanguard, they had not a leader or someone to coordinate them in each group. It was an action that depended on the competence of each member individually.
Of course, work like that was bold and even risky to some extent, but not when your enemies were apparently so weak and unorganized, and even more knowing that the inmates would do the same thing among themselves, even though they had less power than the Ridires.
However, just like the vanguard, they didn’t take so much time to realize the mistake they did. The warriors were underestimating their enemies all this while. It was clear that Casper’s capacity to lead and guide them to reach their goals was incredible, but one could just guess how far he could go trying to make a bunch of invalidates fight against trained Ridires. Freygar had thought on it, the leaders as well, everyone.
Blindfolded by their own convictions, they could not have the discernment to act like elite warriors as they should, and they got trapped perfectly, wandering on corridors that filled with groups of prisoners everywhere ready to slaught them at any time.
It was a turn of tables so sudden that it was difficult to believe. The hunters became prey just like Casper predicted.
The rearguard had lost already half of their personnel. The moral of the troops were decreasing, and the hope as well. If they were got into something like this, there was no guarantee that the others weren’t. Probably, all the Ridire troops could be stuck at that dead zone that Casper made, without the option to return, and with the uncertainty of survival if they kept going forward.
The only part of the formation that still was untouched was the middle guard, where Freygar and Anton were. With the pace they set, it would take a bit of time until they could catch up with the vanguard, but soon they would step and go deep at that mousetrap, and there wouldn’t be a return after that point.
Casper had organized the prisoners strategically, so they could move freely through that part of the complex and prevent the enemy’s troops to retrieve, forcing them to walk further into it. It was the same concept as quicksand. The more they struggled to get out, the more desperate they got, and the more distant they were to save themselves.
And stopping at the end of that cruel trap, was Casper. Now he was operating the master key again to monitor what was going on through the corridors where he had settled his comrades.
Until that point, they were doing very well. It was an outcome that the White warrior wasn’t expecting at all. The number of casualties was minimal, and those people kept following his orders precisely.
It was hard to believe, but after passing through so many hard times throughout that day, they had learned that the only way to stay alive and fight back was to be as efficient as their enemies.
The soldier was as meticulous as he could while distributing them. He paid attention to details that could easily pass unnoticed, but that made a huge difference, anyway. Things like making the groups with equal distribution of power, but maintaining always the prisoners who were more well acquainted with each other, or that passed more time struggling together in that escape. The familiarity with one another was important to make them built that synergy they were having right now. Casper prevented the ones that held a grudge against someone to be in the same group. Their individual skills were taken into consideration as well, and so on.
It was a level of organization difficult to achieve in a situation of extreme pressure like that, and not even Casper could absorb the results completely, as amazing as it was.
His group was acting as a complementary group, and that was another motivation as to why he was using the master key to access the cameras of Halden. If something went wrong in an action that the prisoners choose to take, then they would move as quickly as possible to help them.
The soldier was also serving as the eyes and ears of that operation, saying the movements of the Ridires, their positions, and numbers. He had also activated the Communication network of Halden, and now the signal was stabilized. However, it meant that the Ridires could also contact themselves, so it would be a threat just if one of them tested their communicators again, which was unlikely.
"Ok. The battles are balanced to our side. The Ridires have even more casualties each time. The harmony, efficiency, precision, and care in this operation are probably as perfect as it possibly can be with inexperienced people... This tactical level is awesome. We can do it if we keep up like this." The White warrior had named that operation Quicksand, and it was clearly being a success.
Casper wanted to wipe out the Ridires from the rear and vanguard before the middle guard could catch up. He was talking about minutes, less than 5, so it could be perfectly done. 4 minutes had passed, and unfortunately they would delay thirty seconds or so, but it was a reasonable margin of error.
"Ok, we are missing just one more group from the rearguard. The vanguard is nearly gone by now, as well. The next seconds will decide how the next moments of this operation will go, we need to be precise." He spoke, through the communicator. "Alfar, Olaf, be prepared for the arrival of the Middle guard. The others keep up with this same pace since the Ridires don’t have the opportunity to organize themselves well. We need to take advantage of their confusion."
As Casper predicted, the inmates were able to finish with everything in a matter of half a minute. The soldier felt relieved and accomplished as well. He celebrated briefly with the prisoners from the complementary group, with a huge smile on his face.
All this while, when he was coordinating them and doing his best to be careful and avoid huge casualties, Casper had held his breath at didn’t let it go until then. His heart was beating incredibly low by that point, his mind was clear and sharp. His attention to details amazed the people that were beside him, as well as his sense of leadership.
However, when everything ended and he could breathe again, his body just relaxed all at once and he felt exhausted. But it was just for a second, he knew that it wasn’t entirely over. The middle guard, which had the Aesir and Anton, was still marching towards them.
The soldier was sure that Freygar had put the best warriors with him in the middle guard. It was a good strategy, due to the fact that Casper would need to fight one, or both, the rearguard or the vanguard. Of course, his comrades would be harmed at this point, and their energy was nearly gone; after all, although they weren’t the best, those warriors in the rear and vanguard were not ordinary at all.
So, when the middle guard finally could catch up with the rest, there would be no way that they could win a battle against Casper’s team, and they would be annihilated all at once.
The White warrior, satisfied, stretched his arms and returned to operate the master key, changing the cameras to spot the course that the middle guard was taking. They were about to step inside their trap.
"Even if you are clever to make this kind of plan, Freygar, you aren’t counting on what I have prepared for you here..." He thought, finding it amusing to see that they were doing something about the movements that Casper had supposed they would.
...
While Casper was adjusting the last part of his ongoing operation, Anton was walking beside Freygar. He heard every single thought that Casper had, and knew that he was going to trap them at some point. All the details of that operation were at the reach of the middle-aged man.
It was difficult for someone to be always concerned about his ability to read minds. Humans could stop think for some time, but it was nearly impossible to find someone who could control it fully. The strength in Anton’s power was lying in the fact that humans were dependent on their brains, their thoughts, and their reasonings. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶
If they stayed in the range of his ability, Anton would be capable to see, feel, touch, and control everything. That’s why Project Mimir was considered the most dangerous project of Halden, and not the Svartalfheim or any other.
Freygar looked briefly to Anton, approaching him.
"So, did you see something out of the normal, Anton?" He asked.
The man thought for some while, his eyes darting around, but never meeting Freygar’s.
"No. I saw nothing..."
