Bandit had his eyes set on the destroyed bridge, in the wee hours of the morning. Having seen no activity from the other side over the last two days, has already made the Reserve Guards become compliant and more laidback than ever before. But not him, not since Jamal and his little rebellion force decided that they could waltz into their lands with ease. He was a bit surprised at how stupid they thought they could be in crossing the bridge with little resistance. Such pitiful fools.
"Bandit. It's time to switch watch." another soldier moved to his side, before taking control of the fixed binoculars set over the bridge.
"Alright, you have fun out there. Don't let your guard down." Bandit gave her a quick nod.
"Sure, Bandit." she replied one last time, before returning her focus back to the position.
Moving through the trench network, Bandit still had little worry about their surveillance, considering that they had dozens of spotters situated around the river. That didn't even take into account the several hundred troops still keeping watch from within the network itself, as the rest of them were resting or recuperating from the prior day's work.
They had been working on creating a makeshift airfield to bring in some Ariocasters about two miles away from the network, as the lack of air support was becoming apparent to the higher-ups. Thanks to powers, it was relatively simple to devise and create, and mere hours before the first squadron of six Ariocasters landed down and ready to assist in the conflict to come. But Bandit had little care for any of it, as he confirmed the news that he would soon be able to return to the capital in the afternoon. All these years just waiting for a chance, and here it finally came. It was all he ever wanted.
...
Meanwhile, the woods on the other side were filled with several thousand troops from the coastal city of Port-O-Bea with a clear sight of the destroyed bridge. The only exception was the divisions were turned perpendicular away from the sight and facing much flatter land. However, it would be greeted with bigger wooden bunkers and extensive trenches. The risk was going to be ever greater, although leading the assault would be the Viligantes of Power, as they were well ahead of them.
"This is going to be it." Jamal took a calm breath, "We all understand what to do?"
"Once we cross, you and Leon will attempt to clear out the bunkers ahead, while the artillery we have will suppress the positions behind. Meanwhile, the rest of us and the assigned divisions will try to spread out and take as much land as possible before they figure out what's really going on." Sera was the first to say.
"A bit simplified, but that's the gist of it."
"You ready?" Hops eyed Alice, who flipped through her book one final time. "Can you do it?"
"I'm sure of it," Alice shot him a smile, "Don't worry about me."
"The bridge that we'll need to cross." Leon moved from behind and next to Jamal's side. "I think we're good."
"And I've clarified everything with the squad leaders and commanders and it seems that we are good to go." Heskins gave Jamal a thumbs up.
"Okay, Alice. Let's get it going." Jamal's skin began to spark about, "Time to kick some ass."
Giving him a nod, the woman moved closer to the river edge, but still within the treelines. They could not see or identify any nearby positions that had their sights on this particular location, as Alice started muttering an incantation.
Slowly, the book close to her side began to glow a bright white, as the sight caused many of the troops on their side to stare in awe. There was no doubt however at the increasing chance that Youden's troops would be able to see the light and reveal what onslaught was yet to come. Luckily for them, only a few seconds later did the book begin to turn dull again, as thick wooden logs were being embedded across the river itself, already cut for Alice to begin transferring through the air. She, in theory, could have created them in thin air, but the consumption of energy would have still been quite risky, especially in her condition.
"Wow, not too bad." Alice took some deep breaths, as the last logs were set together so that the bridge wouldn't collapse and big enough to begin bringing in more equipment to the other side.
"Thanks, Alice." Jamal had his appreciation to give, "Now men, let us charge!"
Roars of assurance followed as they all began to move over the recently created crossing. Jamal was already completely ignited and flew over with ease, with Leon extending his aura at an estimated tenfold of his original power. In his sight, Jamal could see the shocked face of dozens of Reserve Guard members, as he pressed on with fireballs of his own. A loud crash followed behind, and a quick look behind showed Leon holding his fist up with shards of wood lifted into the air of where the nearest bunker was.
More shots began to erupt around them, as the first group of their army began conversing through the trench network, where bloody fights took over. In perfect timing too, just as the few tarrs in the area were starting up to respond to the incursion, their artillery began striking behind enemy lines, either slowing down or damaging any vehicle or personnel in its vicinity. Jamal was feeling too good about the current sight, as he landed back onto the ground. Spinning towards a section of trench that was still untouched, the man fired a blast of flames towards the charging Reserve Guards, their screams of pain drowned by the crackling of fire.
"Hey, Jamal!" he heard an unfamiliar voice call for his attention.
A quick backflip off of one hand revealed to be a young man not in any of the gear that their army usually wore, and was instead what was common among the Reserve Guard. The real noticeable thing the person had was a dark object where their left eye would have been, and holding up a signature Youdenian rifle.
"I don't really know you." Jamal returned the gesture, aiming his hand toward the soldier. "This some type of death wish or something?"
"Nah, you should be asking yourself that. Thinking that you'll be able to conquer us while we trying to sleep. Really?" the other man couldn't help but laugh, not noticing Hops about to kick him to his knees. "Even though I am the one and only Bandit, you'll pay for every inch."
Just as Jamal was about to watch the scene unfold, Bandit readjusted the way he was holding the weapon, as he was now holding onto the barrel before slamming the butt of it across Hops's face.
"Ow! What the fuc-!" Hops staggered back, holding his nose. "I should kill you for that one."
"Should we?" Sera flicked a line of blood off her blade, as she moved in front of Hops. "Not much of a threat here."
Those words gave Bandit a strange response to his predicament, as he started laughing again with several members of the Viligantes starting to surround him. That was not too ensuring, as Jamal's flames were quick to extend their aura about him. Holding himself together, Bandit released his weapon as the team could see his clothing begin to shred apart.
"Don't just stand there, stop him!" Jamal pointed to the duo on the other side.
Getting the hint, Sera started absorbing the power of the blade with any aura slowly coming about her. Hops didn't wait for her to finish, as he attempted to tackle Bandit, although he leaped out of the network, causing Hops to crash into the dirt floor. Jamal did notice the stranger appearance of the man, as his skin was turning more scale-like and his facial appearance was somewhat in between a lizard and a human.
"You seem terrified." Bandit hissed out, before pulling out claws where his fingers should have been.
"Where's Brat when you need him?" Jamal could not be more surprised, as the figure screeched a loud roar.
.....
Brat, who was currently in the form of a gorilla, managed to slam his fists down onto a defeated Reserve Guard, while Fonda was right behind him and protecting him with three mind-controlled members, shooting down any other Reserve Guards that moved their way.
"Y'all doing good, I'm impressed." Heskins was mowing down the enemy alongside them with his rifle, "I wonder how's Jamal going?"
"Probably fine, we're doing our part!" Fonda flicked her wrist, forcing the controlled members to follow next to Brat.
Up ahead, the pair could see Leon smashing his way through the fortifications, and a few of their own vehicles moving ahead past the trenches and onto open terrain. The remaining forces on the other sides of the network were really beginning to press towards their exposing flanks, as the city's artillery kept holding them off from crossing without losing mass casualties. The surprise was fading away by each moment, as those closest to the enemy could see the dozens of tarrs rolling towards them, as well as a few aircraft flying above.
"You got to be serious." Heskins had to put the weapon down in surprise, before wasting no time firing at the incoming Ariocasters. "Get down!"
Fonda didn't waste any time at all, as she was quick to get those under her control to grab Brat and bring him down, before the aerial bullets began to lay waste onto anyone that was exposed. Out of all times they could have used someone like Jamal or Alice, but both of them were in other placed doing who really knew what. This could force quite an unneccessary change, unless something changed for the better.