Chereads / A skeleton's journey / Chapter 59 - One-sided battle

Chapter 59 - One-sided battle

[Night Raid's base]

Najenda: We have received orders from the higher ups to make an attempt on the Jaegers. As such, they have already planted a false lead in the East to make them split up and we'll set up an ambush in the West.

Tatsumi: This doesn't feel right boss...

Chelsea: Hmm? Is there something that we missed?

Tatsumi: Don't you see how it's odd that the legion knows exactly where we are but we haven't heard anything from them?

Mine: I think all that time spent with Esdeath made you a little paranoid.

Najenda: No he has a point...I'm willing to guess that they're waiting for an even bigger opportunity to strike...SUCH AS THIS MISSION!

Akame: We can't decline it either boss, hq has spent a lot of resources setting it up and we need to deal some form of damage to the Jaegers not to mention the Elite Seven that has recently joined them.

Lubbock: Doesn't Su have a trump card miss Najenda?

Najenda: He does but i doubt it would be close to enough to deal with the legion's elites combined with the Jaegers.

Tatsumi: What if we only needed to deal with the elites?

Bulat: Are you thinking what i'm thinking?

Tatsumi: What if we play on the defensive and let the Jaegers engage the elites, eventually they would sustain enough damage that complete our objective and we can pick off the elites considering their lack of numbers.

Najenda: That is indeed viable though it really depends on our luck, if Esdeath happens to pick the West side then we're severely outmatched...

Akame: What else do we have left but hope? This is all or nothing now. I just hope this isn't the day i'd have to say goodbye to Kurome.

[Time skip to the valley]

The Jaegers have gotten words of Night Raid sighting and has split up into two groups. Esdeath with Guy, Najasho, Green, Run, Wave, Tsukushi and Gin took the East while Seryu, Bols, Remus, Kurome, Natala, Cornelia and Poney got the West. The West group approaches the area to see a random scarecrow blocking their paths. Natala went up to inspect it but immediately reels back as he senses a smidge of killing intent from afar. That came from Mine as a Pumpkin's shot nearly hit Seryu straight in the chest if not for Kurome knocking her out of the way at the last second. Just then Susanoo bursts from the scarecrow locking weapons with Cornelia briefly before being able to overpower her and knocks her back into a boulder. The rest of night Raid reveals themselves, ready for a massive fight as the Jaegers regroup as Kurome summons Death Tagool. As Night Raid have anticipated, the legion has indeed showed up. Death Tagool prepares to blast its laser beam before it was abruptly stopped by a humongous gale. Both parties turn to the source to see two of the legion elites standing upon the same giant suit of armor they saw from before.

[With Esdeath]

Esdeath: We're almost there, stay vigilant everybody.

Najasho: *sniff* Blood...THEY'RE HERE!

Run: *flies above the trees for a better view* What the...

In a clearing ahead of them was what's left of an ambushed, hundreds of mercenaries laid dead on the ground drowning in their own blood. The culprits were none other than the small army of 86 paladins and 12 phantoms. Esdeath draws her rapier as the air got colder and they brace for combat.

[Back with the West side]

Ieyasu: Well i'll be, i didn't expect the Jaegers to be here as well.

Spear: No matter, the lord's wish shall be done regardless.

Kurome: Death Tagool focus fire now!

The undead beast charges up another shot but stops all of a sudden. Everybody was confused why it just froze halfway through before to their shock, Death Tagool's body crumbles into a hundred pieces. 2 Armored figure drop from the sky with their swords flaming, one blue and one orange. Just by looking at them, people could already that they're not human as one of them was what could only be described as a winged demon made entirely out of fire while the other reeks of death and ashes. The sheer energy radiating off of them clearly states that they're not to be trifled with. Just as Najenda thought things couldn't get worse and curses herself for jinxing it as a third figure falls from the sky wearing a black robe with their only features visible being Spectator and a golden gauntlet resembling a dragon's head. If the raw power sensed from the 2 before was a mountain than the new figure's energy signature is the equivalent of a continent.

Yosif: Well well well...Ain't this a happy gathering? Just like sheep to a slaughter.

Poney: Who are you bastard!

Yosif: Why i'm the leader of the legion dear, the ringleader as you may say.

Najenda: Bold of you to assume that your people can take both of us on.

Yosif: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Oh that's rich!

Remus: W-what do you mean?

Yosif: The entire statement miss Najenda just said. I don't need my people to take you on and i KNOW that you stand no chance. They're just here in case some stragglers decide to weasel their way out of the massacre. Let me show you true strength...HAH!

Everybody pales as Yosif seemingly teleports to Bulat side and punches him into oblivion before once again appearing by his side in a blink of an eye and slams him 10ft into the ground. Just like, hundred man slayer Bulat has bitten the dust. Lubbock futilely weaves Cross Tail only for the strings to break as Yosif casually walks through them completely unfazed. The Jaegers now fully acknowledge Yosif as a massive threat stars working together with Night Raid to take Yosif down. Bols engulfs Yosif in a sea of flames as Mine keeps up her suppressing fire with Remus. Yosif was once again unaffected by any of the above as he releases his own flames from the gauntlet that devours Rubicante's attack. Kurome unleashes the rest of her puppets as they all get annihilated by a storm of earth spikes within 5ft of Yosif. Yosif was fully aware of Akame delivering a sneak attack but he intentionally let her do so to add more intimidation. Murasame cuts through the robe cleanly as Akame breathes a sigh of relief. Kurome notices how Yosif shows no sign of dying and yells for sister to quickly dodge only that it was too late as Yosif now holds Akame by the throat before kicking her into Tatsumi. All of this suspense has fully charged Pumpkin as Mine grips the flaming hot sniper and unleashes a gigantic laser disintegrating the surroundings. 15 seconds pass by and Najenda was more unnerved at how the elites show no reactions whatsoever to Yosif receiving that attack point blank. All it did was destroying the robe revealing the bone armor beneath along with Yosif's bright scarlet pinpricks where the eye sockets are. Still exhausted from using Pumpkin, Mine wasn't able to move as an arm made of stone reaches out from beneath to get her. Remus seeing this panicked and pushed her out of the way and took the attack instead as it drags her into the ground. Poney has to resist the urge to cry or vomit as several sickening crunches soon follow. Koro's berserker is barely able to withstand Yosif's punches with chunks after chunks of its body blown up in mere seconds. The damage was getting to close to the core so Seryu has to pull him back. Leone's instincts almost failed her as she was forced to dodge a barrage of fireballs forming out of nowhere with one grazing her legs. The fight was one-sided despite the huge difference in numbers and Najenda has learned one important lesson...The ringleader is even worse than Esdeath! She watches Cornelia getting squashed between two stone walls and glances at Yosif showing absolutely no hints of tiring anytime soon. Susanoo's trump would only serve as distraction at this point and she wracks her brain for any possible escape route away from this monstrosity. Then the solution revealed itself...She has heard the Jaegers heatedly discussing something and picked up that Bols was planning to self-destruct Rubicante so the others can escape. Not wanting to miss this chance, she orders everybody to take cover with Susanoo grabbing Bulat dragging him into a crater nearby. Yosif seems surprised at the turn of events but no one knew that he was secretly smirking in his mind. He focuses more strength intot he stone walls crushing Cornelia to finish off much to the Jaeger's dismay before Bols detonate Rubicante. KABOOOOOOM! The elites hid behind the iron golem as Victor and Sergei also conjure minor shields to lessen the blast. Once the dust clears, they could see an orb of pure darkness in the center of the blast zone. The orb dissipates revealing Yosif completely without a scratch on the inside as he openly laughs at the success of his mission. It was also at this time that the nearby bushes rustle as Sayo and Spear walk out carrying an unconscious Gilberda and Chelsea. While everybody's attention was drawn to the fight and how the noise from it blotted out nearly everything, Sheele and Sayo were able to sneak up and subdue Chelsea and Gilberda who were setting an ambush for the Jaegers after the fight. Just then a phantom also swoops down dropping Bols off. 0 Casualties and 5 more additions to his captives, Yosif would've smiled like a madman if he still has lips.

[Later at the East side]

Wave: RARRGH!

Wave has just finished off the last of the paladins by kicking its head off as the remaining Jaegers regroup next to Esdeath. Despite her powers, she couldn't manage to quickly finish them off without using an AOE attack that would have seriously hurt the others. So she had to individually kill each one using her rapier and the occasional ice spikes. The entire valley is now filled with ice, Run's feathers and a thick layer of dust from the bodies of the phantoms and paladins. None of them was horribly injured with Run being the worst off having parts of his wings scorched. Guy's ears perk up as he hear notice multiple people approaching their locations and alert the others. What came from the woods though was the rest of the Jaegers though a little bit less.

Esdeath: Report!

Kurome: G-general, we l-lost Cornelia, Bols and Remus!

Esdeath: It's the legion isn't it?

Seryu: Precisely! Did...

Esdeath: yes, they also made an ambush for us here even going as far as eliminating Night Raid's bait. Have any new foes shown themselves?

Natala: Their leader has shown himself with his two strongest. One of them was a mass of blue flames inhabiting a suit of armor with wings and the other seemed to be a knight made of ashes. The leader was what concerned us...He wielded 2 teigus at once.

Gin: 2-2 Teigus!

Esdeath: I see...I do not blame you for your defeat for you were quite outmatched in that situation but tell me...what of Night Raid?

Poney: They were forced to retreat but i'm sure the legion has also cost them a lot by foiling this mission.

Esdeath: Did you catch what the leader looked like?

Kurome: He wore pitch black bone armor with white cloth and a skull mask.

Esdeath: I think i might know who that is though i really hope it isn't the case.

Najasho: Do we have a suspect general?

Esdeath: We do and you'll know in time, if HE'S the one behind it all then we frankly stand no chance of victory.

Seryu: S-Surely you're joking...r-right?

Esdeath: My dear Seryu, there's a lot you have yet to witnessed. You haven't seen the glory of true strength...

Total inventory:

Grenade launcher

Venus Magnum

Ascended Wraith set

Primordial's wrath: Damascus

Almighty Five Sights: Spectator

Diadem of supreme arcane might

15 copper 53 silver 38872 gold

Current familiars:

- Sergei the Armor Demon

- Victor the Soul Of Cinder