The Astral soul system-Chapter 186: Generals I-XII
Jade look back at the room where Neo was and was considering whether to help in the fight or go stay with him but unfortunately that decision was already made for her as she saw robots approaching her.
Her back was to the large entrance in the room so she couldn’t retreat,or Neo would die.
Gritting her teeth, she kicked her shoes together and her feet immediately started moving forward,her shoes gliding on the ground.
Another beam was shot at her but she crouched, creating another portal in front of her and directing the attack somewhere else without slowing down.
She reached the closest robot and swung with all her might, slicing through one of its legs. She kept going past it despite not finishing it and when another robot fired a ranged attack, she created another portal, causing the attack to hit the robot she’d left behind, finishing it off.
Jade took a deep breath, steadying herself, remembering how Zyro had taught her to use her ability
’Control and defense, control and defense , control a-’
Her mantra was cut off as she thrust her sword forward, her feet not stopping as she pushed the machine back with her sword plunged into its chest, kicking it off before retreating.
She held her sword in front of her as her eyes darted back and forth,a strange blue hue in her sclera
She suddenly twitched and noticed something moving towards her at high speeds, swinging het sword to intercept it.
"Damn, you’re good!"
A gust of wind slammed into the robot she’d stabbed, blowing dust in all directions and scraping it.
As the dust settled,Gary was revealed standing in front of Jade,her sword grazing against his throat cautiously.
"Hey,hey! It’s me, remember?"
Jade immediately snapped out of it, pulling the sword back. She’d reacted instinctively before she’d seen him.
"Sorry,i-"
"No problem. These things are weak but there’s tons of them. You need some help?"
Gary asked with a smile that relayed his feelings perfectly.
Jade didn’t know how to reply, looking back at Neo in the room.
Gary seemed to understand and just chuckled,a large silver warhammer appearing in his hands.
"Let’s get it done"
Jade watched as Gary jumped freely into the battle, unsure how to feel.
Zyro had said that they’d worked out their issues and Zen wasn’t one to keep grudges. Plus, he’d never actually hurt her before so she had no reason to be scared of him.
Taking a deep breath, she was about to go when her body reflexively leaned back, dodging an attack she hadn’t seen coming.
Moving immediately, she charged at the robot, taking it apart in a matter of seconds.
’That was...’
Shaking her head,Jade made up her mind to stop being distracted. Gary could take care of himself but he couldn’t protect himself and her if she got hit.
She once again activated her shoes, sliding and gliding through the battlefield with glacier’s edge while Gary rose mini tornadoes left and right to blast through his opposition.
Looking at him now,he seemed much more level headed than when he fought Zen , and yet strangely less powerful.
It wasn’t just here this was happening. Throughout the entire base, students were banding together out of necessity despite their low numbers and the lack of teachers. They had actually put up a decent defensive line, pushing back the automatons, but it didn’t look like it was gonna last long. Not all students were like Jade and the major families’ children with either power,skill or equipment. They were still just first years.
At another corner, Ben, one of Virgil’s best students who had gotten into a fuss with Zyro was leading some of his fellow students, spearheading the attack personally, his tonfas slamming into robots left and right with the speed and force of a hurricane . He was injured, with hands covered in his own blood,but standing strong.
**********
Maximilian’s halberd made it’s way into another robot, digging into it’s mechanics. The mental countdown he’d kept finally hit Zero again and he activated the active skill, immediately destroying the robot.
"How are we doing?"
He asked, charging for another robot.
Ava was behind him,in front of a computer next to what looked like a robot that had been kept as intact as possible with the wires plugged into her computer,her fingers flying through the keys and her eyes glowing while the computer moved at speeds impossible for a normal human to even begin to grasp what she was doing.
"I’d be doing better if you stopped distracting me"
She said without looking back.
"Hmm. That’s why I couldn’t take them over"
She muttered thoughtfully as she worked.
"They divided the network into multiple smaller ones,headed by a more intelligent but archaic operating system. They each operate on a different frequency relative to their respective command centers"
At first, Maximilian had no idea what she meant but after thinking for about five seconds it clicked.
"You mean they’re in formation? Like these are just foot soldiers so they have no CPU but the respective generals command them"
Ava nodded.
"These things only have recievers hardwired to receive ONLY from them. Take the generals and these empty shells will fall over"
She suddenly smirked
"Gotcha!"
"What?"
"I’ve located the generals in command. I’m sending the locations to the remaining students capable of active combat as well as instructions.... That’s odd. Three of them have already been destroyed...and they aren’t even in the base"
Ava’s brows furrowed but she didn’t have time to think about it.
She suspected that this was done specifically to counter her ability, however whoever it was attacking them,they’d severely underestimated her if they thought they’d made her useless with such an ineffectual scheme.
The robot on the ground suddenly whirred, powering up.
She watched it with indifference. It didn’t move or even react, just standing there silently.
Her computer suddenly started reconfiguring itself until it made the shape of what looked like a video game controller.
"If i can’t control you directly,then I’ll turn your own design against you"
She said, taking a few seconds to get used to the controls before throwing it into the battle.
At the same time, Diane, Xavier,Jade,Gary,Ben, and every single student recieved a message on their watch, telling them about the generals.
There were approximately seven of them and they were the keys to ending this whole nightmare. They were also much stronger than the foot soldiers in every single way so it was advised for them to move in groups.
An attachment held the locations of these generals, showing them exactly where they needed to go.
Diane and Xavier glanced at the screens,then at each other and without another word, started running in opposite directions.
Using the channel Ava had opened, they both reported that the two closest generals to them were covered.
"This is Diane Leonel. I’ll take General I"
"Xavier Void, General II is as good as taken care of,go after the others "
The channel seemed to burst into discussion at that.
"Aren’t they the kids of the Void and Leonel families?"
"Their last names are Leonel and Void. The fuck do you think, moron?"
"Does that mean the information is legit?"
"It must be, right?"
Another voice appeared on the channel.
"Gary storm is heading towards General III. Over"
"Gary too?!"
"Should we help them?"
"Do you think we could do anything to help?"
"The message said to move in groups
Gary glanced at Jade and gave her a nod.
"You should go towards IX . I’ve seen you fight and no one in our class can do it like you"
Seeing that she still seemed uncertain, he put his hands on her shoulders rather firmly.
"Listen. I’m sorry but we don’t have time. You have to do this "
Jade nodded hesitantly, before opening the channel.
"J-jade Callisto here... I’m heading for General IX"
"Jade Callisto?"
"Who the fuck is that?"
"Never heard of her"
"Wait. Isn’t she that the low level crybaby from Aurora’s class?"
"What?! The hell is she going to do?"
"This damn low level is going to ruin everything "
"Hey bitch! Sit down and keep quiet if you have nothing to spit but nonsense "
Gary was about to tell off whoever that was when someone beat him to it
"Quiet! All of you. If you think you can take one of them on alone, you’re welcome to take her place or even go after another,idiots!"
Gary sighed, calming down a bit and seconded that, his voice gruff and intimidating
"Jade Callisto is with me. If she says IX is covered then it’s the same as me saying it’s covered. Got it?"
"Same here,you fucking pussies"
Diane’s voice rang out
"Good luck, Jade "
Xavier replied, showing he also supported her.
Maximilian’s voice suddenly appeared in the channel
"It seems Generals I-IX are taken care of. The remaining three still need to be taken care of"
The entire channel went silent. Although he didn’t say it outright, Maximilian had basically implied that he considered this the game plan, and no one was willing to speak up against all four of them if they decided to back Jade.
Gary gave Jade a supportive smile, lightly nudging her shoulder
Eventually another voice rang through the channel. It was the voice of the person who’d silenced everyone insulting Jade
"Ben graham here. I’m taking a small group and myself towards General X. Over"
Ben graham. Currently the best first year student in Virgil’s class.
Another voice cut into the channel
"General XI will be taken by Maximilian Hunter and Ava Ryder"
It was Ava’s voice
"Once finished with your battles,if you’re still able to fight gather against XII and finish it. The remaining students should split up,a group should keep holding back the foot soldiers and another should help take down XII"
Ava concluded before cutting communications.
"Something bothering you?"
She asked Maximilian
"It’s just... Zen, Zaria and Sable. They’re three of the best we currently have yet the attack started after they were all outside. Same with Neo in his coma. I’m just worried we aren’t the only ones that gained insider information on our opponents "
He said, glancing at the robot that was now under her control
"It’s old news that we’ve been compromised. To what extent is what we should be think I of. Wait...you said three of them?"
Maximilian nodded
"Same number as defeated generals"
