He pulled out the status sheet for the Mammoth. He had to be sure of how much damage it had suffered and where it needed repairs. It would allow him to know what places to take care not to get hit again.
"Thankfully, the legs weren't hit." He sighed in relief as he saw that most of the damage had been spread evenly around the main body. It would be troublesome if the area meant for locomotion had received damage.
"Do you need my help?" Leah walked up to assist him. "Of course. You can help me begin minimal repairs on the ship. Both of us don't need to remain here to steer the Mammoth." "Oh." Leah had a somewhat disappointed look as she turned to leave.
Nathan watched her back as the door closed, he sighed. "I need to keep as far away from the fighting as I possibly can. She is way too fragile to be here." So far Leah's reaction to the tests hadn't been the best, even for Nathan.
It made him wonder why she insisted on being a Guardian. Her grades were indeed passable but her character was just too timid for the battlefield. Not like he was any different, though.
But he had a purpose, something that pushed him to try, even with his glaring mediocrity. He could only guess at her purpose for coming. "No need to bother with that now." He quickly got to work.
[Systems activated. Mammoth ready for travel.]
[Locomotion will start in… 5… 4… 3… 2… 1.]
The engines seemed to kick to life as the Mammoth jerked up.
***
Outside, Elena watched those assigned to the Mammoth take their leave with their Spies moving ahead. "I wish you guys good luck." She muttered.
Seeing as the Mammoth was about to leave, she could only do her part and hope for the best. Just then…
"Elena, they are reacting." It was from Indra. She turned to find that the Arachnids had lost interest in them, moving towards the Mammoth to ensure it did not escape.
"Tch, let's begin." She unleashed her breathing technique as tachyon flowed through her mutated veins. For a moment, her hands seemed to light up with streaks of blue.
Indra nodded as he also prepared for combat. Without an exchange of words between them, they moved at the same time.
***Boom***
They exerted a certain force against the ground on their feet as they dashed forward. The wind seemed to part for them as they moved towards the Arachnids.
"Come with me," Reyes remarked to Celeste as he led the way with the latter following behind. He was aware of the fatigue that Celeste felt he would only ask for assistance fire. He would take up the burden on himself.
Gary and King moved out as well, following after Indra and Elena in a bid to cover their backs. Doug and Viola got to work as they ran across the battlefield, dropping objects the size of bottle covers into the ground.
These objects came alive as legs sprouted from their bodies and they burrowed into the ground. This was the trump card that Elena hoped in. She never planned on cutting down all enemies.
It was an impossibility to do so due to how wasteful they had been during the first part of the battle. They could only make up for earlier blunders with one move that would end the fighting.
As the Arachnids attempted to resume their bombardment of the Mammoth, Carlos and Ruben moved to block them. They were the squad's Heavyweights.
Carlos, a black-haired teen with tanned skin and a reasonable amount of muscle as well as a nice face, held onto a hammer with a pointed edge at one end.
Ruben was a baldy, by choice of course. He had a round head and a short stature. This in no way made him someone to look down on as he could be likened to a short mountain with his ripped physique.
He made use of an ax. They joined forces and ruthlessly attacked the Arachnids. Due to the sudden attack, Jeremiah and Freya were a bit late to their posts, of course, they quickly made up for it as they rushed over.
In a moment, the battlefield became chaotic again.
***Boom***Boom***Boom***
Nathan used this opportunity to escape from the valley. Their squad archers, Seraphina and Tiana made themselves comfortable at the top of the Mammoth, using the elevated position to scout the area around.
Things moved according to plan as the Mammoth soon successfully left the valley behind. Due to its sheer size, it was unable to move too fast but Nathan made use of its long legs to cross great distances in a single step.
He was doing a good job as the pilot of the vessel. "Everyone, prepare to withdraw. Doug, Viola, Arm the bombs and prepare to detonate."
Elena said into her communication device, mowing through an Arachnid. "Watch out," Gary remarked as he moved to her side just in time to block a surprise attack.
He countered with his fist, charging it with enough tachyon as he punched through the Arachnid, destroying it in one blow. "Hah, there was no need to get all worked up. We can handle these guys."
Jeremiah felt a little cocky as he fought. The danger of the Arachnids had been exaggerated by Elena, that was his honest thought. There was no need for an elaborate plan, just a show of strength would be enough to deal with them.
A full minute later, "Fall back!!" The order to retreat came through. It wasn't an easy task though, especially for Elena and Indra that had intentionally put themselves in the middle of the action.
They would be the first ones to fall back. Gary inhaled deeply as he activated a full body shield around the three of them. It was a strenuous task to keep such a thing active, so the other two kept as close to him as possible.
King, on the other hand, had to watch over their Artillerists, Sandra and Chelsea.
Sandra made use of tachyon-powered SMG rifles to mow down the Arachnids while Chelsea held a single Charge blaster that dealt extreme damage with each shot fired.
They seemed to be enjoying themselves amidst the carnage. King had his work cut out for him as the ladies intentionally moved away from him. For some reason, they had engaged in a bet to see who would bring down more Arachnids.
They were indeed a bit extreme in their actions. Of course, They were not about to disobey Elena's order so they made their way out of the valley.
"Time to go." Reyes picked up his Sniper. He had succeeded in downing over twenty Arachnids, making use of the Quickfire option available for his gun.
Of course, this lowered the strength behind each shot but this wasn't exactly a tactical battle where each shot had to down an opponent. He was merely providing back up and he did his job wonderfully.
This allowed Celeste to rest up. She had done her part anyway. He helped her carry her Sniper as well and both made their way over to regroup with the others.
Elena fell back in the direction that Nathan had escaped in, and the Arachnids followed after. She felt a bit worried about this. "If the Arachnids follow us out of the valley, wouldn't the while plan crumble?
"Do I have to sacrifice a squad member to allow the others to escape?... Damn it, maybe I made a mistake. I should have thought things through thoroughly." Her nerves began to crack, this showed clearly in her movements.
Just as she was about to lose it over her incessant thoughts, a calm voice sounded over the intercoms. "Hey, are you guys out of there yet?" "Nathan… What's going on?"
"Don't worry, everything is okay on this end. We are roughly a hundred meters away from you. The Mammoth is currently parked, awaiting your arrival."
"What are you talking about?.. I told you guys to head over to a new safe spot. Are you flaunting an order from your Herald?" "Nope, but if I go beyond a hundred meters of the valley, my plan to help you guys would not be able to work."
"…What are you talking about?... What plan?" "Just take it as an addition to your plan. It came as an inspiration. Anyway, you guys should quickly leave the valley." Nathan sounded calm and collected on the other end. It was clear he wasn't joking around, the confidence in his voice unmistakable.
"… I'll trust you." She said as the intercoms went off. They had made their way out of the valley with the Arachnids following after them. There was no way they would remain in the valley without something keeping them.
Their target was Elena's squad and the Mammoth, after all. Just as Doug was about to bring up the issue, a surprising thing happened.
"Hey, dimwits, what the hell are you doing over there?... Weren't you sent to take care of this?" They were familiar with that voice, it was Nathan.
It was then that they saw it. It was the Mammoth and it was currently standing in the middle of the valley. The sight astounded everyone present. "What the hell is going on?"
They watched the Mammoth leave, so how come it was right back in the middle of the valley?... "Nathan, is this your plan?" Elena wondered.