After we read those messages, Laura started commanding everyone to make a defence preparation for countering the enemy's raid. "Laura, do you know which site the enemy will attack?"
"In front of us?" I shook my head.
"The answer is at the back. Laura, I will guard the back while you should defend the frontline. Good luck and see you after this war ends."
"Yeah, you too." Then, I ran to the back side of the camp. If I am an attacker in this war, I will attack from the backside because there are many weak and inexperienced people there. They will lose a huge number of soldiers if I do that. That's why I want to protect the backside.
"What are you doing here? I thought you were on the frontline." Aifa said to me when she saw me go to the back.
"I am afraid if the enemy will attack from behind."
"Hmm. I thought General Khairi would be against this."
"I told Laura and she gave me permission."
"Okay, if you said so."
"So, what exactly are you doing here by yourself?" I asked Aifa when I was looking at the radio. As I waited for a few moments in the engineer tent, the outside started to become noisy. When I went to see what happened there, I found a few aircraft fighters raiding us from behind.
"On your guard!" I can hear a few soldiers saying those words. The aircraft unit that the Alpha Kingdom sent, destroyed a few of our tents. The situation became havoc after that attack. But, thanks to the missile launchers, a few aircraft fighters are annihilated and fall to the ground. Thankfully, no one was sacrificed in that raid. Then, the aircraft fighter raid is stopped. It seems that they are afraid to launch another raid.
As the situation got calmer, I said to Aifa that I wanted to see if there were any survivors from the aircraft that crashed. "What? You want to check on those aircraft?" I nodded. "You are insane. There might be a survivor who made a trap there."
"I'll go if you say so. I don't want our soldiers to be sacrificed for a mere trap. If there are any survivors, we need to apprehend them before the help comes."
"Why don't you want to listen to me? Ah, it's useless to warn you. If anything happens there, contact me quickly." She gave me a communication device. It seems like a walkie-talkie.
Then, I went to see the aircraft fighter that crashed. I tried to search around if there were any survivors there. As I searched around, I found that no one was there. I tried continuing to look around to see if there were any survivors around, but I found no one. Where exactly is the pilot? The cockpit is not open. How did they manage to get out without the cockpit open? Are they using a controller to control the aircraft by hand? I kind of wonder how they do it. Also, is the Alpha Kingdom really serious about this war? I still didn't see any humans besides that man.
After searching around, I communicated to Aifa that no one was there. "Are you serious about that?"
"Yeah, everything here is damaged. It seems this aircraft doesn't have any data that we can use. I need to return now."
"Ok. Make sure you come here quickly. It seems another raid is coming."
"Huh!" Suddenly, I can see a few robots getting out of the part of the aircraft that I went to earlier. Did they slip the robot into that aircraft to make it easy to infiltrate the country? I guessed their strategy was amazing. Then, when the second raid was coming, the Alpha Kingdom deployed a large number of robot armies, some from the air and some from the crashed aircraft. The robot was the same as when I fought in a duel before.
It seems no one is here right now. Did I only notice the pattern of Alpha Kingdom's strategy or do they want Sigma to figure it out? Are they testing us? I have to end this quickly. The robot raids make Sigma soldiers become frightened. The normal attack doesn't affect them too much. I was worried about the soldiers without the experience needed to handle the robot. I have to clear this area faster and join them quickly.
I used the bow and arrow with gunpowder to fight this robot. Thankfully, it still works. Their weakness is an explosion. After a few explosions exploded around this area, there is no robot that still functions around here. I quickly went to join the others to help them fight together. As I got to them, the robots were around. No one was there. I guessed I came here too late. Suddenly, someone grabbed me from behind and brought me somewhere, I looked at the person that brought me. The hand feels like a woman, wearing a hoodie and clothing that feels like I have seen before. She is Laura.
"Hey, Laura! Why did you grab me like this?"
"Shh!!!" She asked me to be silent for a while. Then, she brought me into a tent. In that tent, the sand was being dug, and it was kind of a secret space. As we entered that space, it led us to the underground room. I looked around the room. Is this a bunker? As we get there, I can see a few soldiers that are familiar here. They are here and safe. "All right, we have arrived." Laura said to me.
"Is this a bunker? Since when did this bunker have?" I'm kind of excited.
"Relax. We have to think back to the strategy to attack the enemy back. That's why I asked all of the soldiers to come here. We would not want to sacrifice anyone without planning." Then, she said to all of the soldiers here. "Guys, we need to plan how we're going to counter the robot from the outside. I want to tell you all about those robots. I think you all know that they are waterproof. So, we need to break them with the firepower we have. However, don't be in a hurry. Don't be scared and fight with what you have. Show them that humans are far stronger than robots. Show them the pride of our country." Laura gave a speech to all the soldiers there. "Who are the Sigmarians?" She asked them.
"Yes. We are!" The soldiers answered those questions. I should not disturb her as she tried to encourage the soldiers here. I walked around this bunker and met Aifa, who was checking the weapon. She tried to repair the weapon that had been broken. Some of it can be repaired. Some of it cannot be repaired because it is completely broken.
"What did you do with the broken part?"
"I recycle the metal and make a new one. Do you want to help me?"
"Sure, but I don't know how to do it."
"Huh! You don't know about this? This is the basics of military school." She looked at me with a puzzled face. Even though she said things like that, I still don't know any of it. "Ah, it seems your face told me that you don't know about this. Do you skip school?"
"Sorry about that." I skipped the question. What will happen if she knows that I'm a former prisoner? I should not let her know. That's the secret of why I'm a prisoner. Only Laura and General Khairi know. I don't think that he knows about me. Does he?
Then, Aifa taught me how to repair the weapon. I learned from her for quite a long time. She was a good teacher. Even though this looks hard, she taught me as easily as ABC. I think she has the talent to teach. After helping her repair the tools, I found that there was no one in the bunker anymore. It seems like only Aifa and me.
I stood up from sitting on the floor, asking her for a leave. "Aifa, I have to hurry to help them. I asked your permission to leave."
"Wait, are you sure about this?"
"What?"
"Do you think that we have a chance to fight them?" I nodded. "What makes you think so?"
"I know that we don't have any chance of fighting them in human versus robot. But, I think anything can happen in this war. Do you believe in a miracle?"
"Huh! You are naive. Let the Alpha conquer Sigma and you can be saved."
"This country will not be the same if it's colonized. Do you like to be colonized? I don't like being colonized. I hope that all countries can be independent and can be advanced through their own efforts. I have to go right now. Bye."
"At least tell me that you will come back alive."
"I can't promise you that, but I will try to stay alive in this war." Without waiting too long, I moved to the outside of this bunker while bringing a bow and a few explosive arrows with me.
When I was on the outside, I found that many soldiers had fallen. They were shot by the robot. How dare they do this? I checked on their pulses and found out most of them were still alive. Right now, I still have a lot of time to save all of the people here. They are still alive but only have a few more minutes left to survive. I have to heal all of them quickly, but how? I thought quickly and found out the result of it. I have to use a domain to give them an oasis blessing. It might use a lot of my energy, but it will be worth it. Before I was going to use the domain, many robots came towards me. I can see all of it from afar.
It seems I have to stop them first. If Laura is around, she can help me with fighting them, but she is not here right now. Maybe on the frontline. I hope she is still alive. I think it is the right time to use my secret weapon as they send all of their robots towards me. I talked to Mia as soon as I saw them in my range. "Mia, please contact Sphinx and tell her it is the right time to use it."
"Wait a sec, I am going to contact her."
"Make it quick." As Mia tried to contact the Sphynx, I could see that the robots were getting closer and were trying to aim at me with their guns. How long is Mia going to take her time? I am going to be dead meat here.
"Ah, I came back. She asks you to answer this riddle." Ah, in the troubled times she asked the riddle.
"Make it quick."
"There are two sisters. One gives birth to the other. And the other, in turn, gives birth to the first."
"Hmm... is it a day and a night?"
"He has answered it, Miss Sphinx."
"The force field shall be activated." Suddenly, an electromagnetic field just appeared below my leg and surrounded the whole battlefield area. A few moments later, the robots were stopped from moving and deactivated. It seems this electromagnetically pulsed EMP works pretty well for a machine. It is quite a dangerous thing if someone uses a pacemaker. It may cause them to get heart failure and have a higher death risk.
As soon as the robot problem is settled, I have to move on to the next one. I used the domain and brought the whole population on the battlefield to the oasis. As we entered the domain, I asked Skid to use the oasis blessing to save all the people here. "Skid, do you know how to use that skill?"
"I know, I have done it before in that village. Remember?" I nodded. "But, these people are too many and their injuries are quite heavy. Boss, are you sure you want to use it? You may not get up for a whole week or, worst come to worst, a month."
"Just do it. There is one word that I still remember, which is, 'and whoever saves a life, it is as though he has saved the lives of all mankind,' that's the reason why I wanted to save all of them. Even if they can be saved, why not save them?"
"If the boss said so, but the effect will be quite hurtful for you and you can't use our power for a while."
"Okay. I understand."
"Get ready. Oasis blessing." Suddenly, water from a pond in the oasis was sprinkled on all of the soldiers there. As soon as all of them get sprinkled with the oasis's water, their injuries were healed and they escaped death.
"They are saved." I am really thankful because I can see all of them are still alive.
"Boss, they were awake, I guess you should turn off the domain now." I listened to Skid's advice. As I turned off the domain, my body felt really numb. I can't move my hands and my legs. I fall down to the sand and my face faces the sky. I hope Laura looks at this. The sky looks so beautiful, with the light of the sun burning me. My eyes were going to close. As I closed my eyes, I could hear someone calling my name.
"Hulaif!!! Awake." Laura woke me up with her loud voice.
"Huh! Laura, what's it?" My voice is kind of slow. I felt really tired.
"Listen, we have won this war. That man returns to his country. No more raids for now. We have won the war." Then, Laura shouts out louder to make all of the people hear. "You know, it's quite a miracle that no one is injured."
"Oh, I see. Thanks to you, you made the commander run away."
"Yeah, but I left the soldiers behind and did not even back them up."
"It's all right. Everyone has their own role on this battlefield. You did the right thing. It's my fault that I came late. I should be punished for my actions."
"Where do you go since you came here late?"
"Sorry, I am a bit tired. Can you let me rest for a while?"
"No, I can't yet. You should keep awake. If you rest right now, I am worried you won't wake later."
"Then, can you bring me to the doctor to have a quick checkup?"
"Sure."
We won this war, and Kaez has fled the battlefield after his robots were deactivated. The Sigmarians felt relieved when the Alpha Kingdom was defeated and the war had ended. It felt like a miracle when no one got sacrificed or suffered heavy injuries. Although they had felt before, it felt weird that they were still alive and thought that was part of the miracle.
Laura picks me up and puts my right hand on her shoulder to walk. I leaned on her during that time. When she brought me to the doctor to have a checkup. Suddenly, someone came from behind and stabbed me. The blood spilt out of my mouth. It was red and still fresh. Laura became shocked looking at me and looked behind. She becomes more shocked when she realises that her classmate killed the one she was caring for. "Aifa! How dare you stab him?" Her voice becomes angrier. Then, she put me down on the sand, facing my face towards the sand. Out of anger, she wants to punch Aifa in the face with a strong blow.
Her punch got blocked by General Khairi. She started to be puzzled by the situation. "Stop, Laura. You're going to kill your own people."
"She killed him first."
"Hmm...he looks like he can't stand right now. Also, he just a mere former prisoner. I'm afraid that this is what he got after unleashing the power of the oasis's guardian." I can still hear them talking like that towards me. Skid only told me that I would just passed out for a few weeks.
"Huh! What do you mean?" Laura asked General Khairi.
"I observed everything in this battlefield with my own eyes. He has the ability to use guardian skills.
"Guardian?"
"That's a species for a man-eater that has evolved." Why did they keep talking when I was injured in front of them? It seems I have to move my body to make them aware. As I moved my body, I got stabbed for a second time in another spot.
"Aifa, why did you stab him again?" Aifa silence, Laura got mad this time. "Why did you silencing? Hey, answer me."
"He should be exterminated because he is a threat to us. The peace wouldn't come if he was with us."
"He is not a threat. He has saved countless lives."
"You can say what you want, he is in his last breath."
"Curse you. Hulaif, wake up! You should not leave me here. Didn't we make a promise that you would be by my side?" I could hear her voice was sad and she cried for a bit. I have to talk to her before it's too late.
"La... Laura, wherever I went, I promised I'd see you again. It seems my time has come. See you later." I could not feel anything more. Is this what death is called? My body became a pixel and disappeared from their sight.
-END OF VOLUME 1-