Elena was not one to be overly dependent on another person. She believed in her strength and the fact that she could make wonders with what she had.
But still, the feeling of having someone reliable by your side, even for the strong, was something that was welcomed. It allowed her to not forget why she fought.
She wasn't a one-man army, instead, she was the leader of a group and that group would support her in every way possible. It was something that she hoped for deep down.
This was why as she stood, panicked by the sudden attack, Nathan's words to her were welcomed with open arms. She could not believe that it would be the weak link in her squad that would be the reliable one but that was how it looked.
Firstly, it was the escape room challenge. Now, he kept his cool while others panicked. She felt respect for him. Of course, she would not let his trust in her go to waste.
Thus, she moved. Even as the ship rocked and she panicked, she steeled her nerves and dashed toward the weapon room. There was no way she would allow this to frighten her.
"I will protect my team."
***
Nathan smiled as he watched Elena leave, he followed behind her. His destination was the control room of the Mammoth. If he could get control of the ship, he could help steer them from danger.
For now, they had to focus on defense if they wanted to survive the surprise attack. Jeremiah was the first to recover as he watched Nathan leave with Elena.
A fire burned in his heart as he gritted his teeth and rushed out as well. Just like that, each of them began to make their way toward the weapon room.
Due to not wanting to leave her all alone, Reyes helped Leah as they headed to the control room. He knew that was where Nathan was headed.
***
Outside the Mammoth, there were a total of over sixty attackers. They were Machines with eight metal legs and a plasma gun mounted on their back. They were roughly the size of a normal human being and their weapons packed a punch.
They currently had the Mammoth sealed in a circular formation. Each Machine charged up its blasters and sent attacks at the Mammoth.
If this attack continued, the Mammoth would soon fall under their combined attacks. It was only a matter of time.
***
Nathan got back to the control room and rushed to the cockpit. "Thunder, pull up the control manual for the Mammoth." [Aye sir.] Came the curt reply.
A blue screen appeared from the watch and he scanned through it briefly, while also studying the layout of the control panel before him. It took him a minute to nod his head in satisfaction as he went ahead to push some buttons in quick succession.
***Wuwuwu***
A sound was heard after which a mechanical voice spoke. [Mammoth shield mechanism activated. Shield durability: 80%.]
"So low already?... This is crazy." Nathan felt worried but he still reigned in his thoughts. At least, he had bought the others enough time to put themselves in order and launch a counteroffensive.
"I hope this is enough."
***
Meanwhile, Elena was the first to get down to the weapons vault. After a simple scan, it allowed her entry into a spacious room filled with weapons for all ten classes. She did not have time to admire things as she quickly scanned through and found what she was looking for.
She rushed to a side of the room and grabbed a sword. It looked a bit different from conventional blades in design as its blade had been hollowed out. There was a space between the left side of the blade and the right side.
There was nothing at the center. At first glance, it looked rather fragile. But of course, things were not always as they seemed. She slowly breathed as she held the blade hilt with both hands.
She inhaled deeply and then exhaled. She did this for five breaths before she opened her eyes. At the same time, formless energy flowed from her and into the blade, activating it.
***Shwing***
The sword made a brilliant sound as it began to glow a bright blue. At least, its edges. Elena studied it briefly before nodding in satisfaction. It was time to head out.
She turned around and was about to leave when Jeremiah came running in. "You are heading out alone?" "You guys catch up."
She remarked after which she dashed out. She was heading for the exit. Others came rushing in as they charged to pick up their weapons and join her.
At that moment, the attacks on the ship seemed to have lessened as the notifications about damage had stopped and they no longer experienced turbulence. It was a welcome relief.
Then, the mechanical voice informing them about the activation of the shields was heard and they realized that Nathan must have done something in the control room. They owed him once again.
Jeremiah scoffed as he rushed to meet up with Elena. At the entrance of the Mammoth, Elena stood there with a smile on the corner of her mouth.
"Thank you." She muttered as she moved to the side and tapped on a panel. There was a sound of wheels turning as the entrance began to slowly lower itself down.
[Shield durability: 35%.]
The shield for the Mammoth was not equipped to survive prolonged periods of bombardment. Thus, it was understandable why it had already been compromised so badly.
Once the entrance was fully opened, Elena did not hesitate for another second as she sprinted down. She took a glance over and caught sight of one of the attackers. Above its head, she could see a name.
[Arachnid blasters.] She cringed at the cheesy name. Just as she saw it, the Machine also spotted her as it shifted its blaster to aim at her. Without warning….
***Pew***
Elena watched as the plasma shot towards her. That's right, she watched the beam approach her. She was not at all fazed. She had just picked out her first victim.
She planted her feet into the place she was standing and jumped up. She used this to dodge the beam as well as make a quick beeline for the Arachnid.
It switched its blaster to her and shot again. This time, she was unable to avoid the attack. But this was of no consequence. Since she was unable to dodge, then she would block. It was that simple.
She swung her blade and in one single motion, cut the beam in half. Throughout all this, Nathan watched from the control rooms with eyes and mouth agape in surprise.
He gulped a bit of saliva as he could not help but muse. "She deserves the title of humanity's strongest talent." Just then, Reyes came in with Leah in tow.
"I knew you'd be here." "Leah…" Nathan's attention was momentarily removed from the screen as he rushed to aid her. She looks a bit pale. "Sorry I had to trouble you," Leah spoke in a mellow tone to Reyes.
"It's fine. Take care. I'll go join the fight now." Reyes turned to leave just as Nathan remarked. "I don't think your help would be needed in this scenario.
Reyes looked back in curiosity. It was then he saw it with his own eyes.
***
Elena cut the beam in half and cut three more that followed after before she got within range of the Arachnid. "Festival of blades: First dance – Retaliation!!!" Her blade moved like a crescent as it glowed brightly.
She cleaved the machine cleanly, into two halves. There was some struggle, but ultimately, the machine fell to the ground. One down, fifty-nine more to go.
Just as she was about to move, a second Arachnid aimed its blaster at her and was about to fire when all of a sudden…
***Whirrr***
It sounded like air itself was being split apart as the whirring sound was heard. Elena turned around just in time to see a spear pierce through the Arachnid, after which it exploded into bits and pieces.
Elena covered herself in tachyon to protect herself from the shrapnel. Once the smoke cleared, she released her defensive posture and looked towards the ship to find Jeremiah standing at the entrance with a smirk on his smug face.
"You can thank me later." He yelled with Elena shaking her head. "I wonder how long it would take him to realize that he made a terrible decision, throwing his weapon away like that."
After Jeremiah arrived, it didn't take long for the others to come out. Their first battle in Perfect World was going to show all those that watched the strength of the Red Wing Thunder Squadron.
Once Jeremiah realized that he needed his spear back, he had to beg Gary to cover him as he rushed to Elena's side. Of course, her side was mostly clear as she had gone ahead to finish off two other Arachnids.
She was like a god of combat as she seamlessly made mincemeat of her enemies. This was in part to the powerful martial arts she practiced which was said to be one of the best sword-based arts created by the pioneers of cultivation.