C201 - Hesitation
Khan instantly realized that his worries had become true, but he felt powerless in that situation. The shout had managed to surprise him too, so the newly arrived Niqols completed their attacks by the time he understood what was happening.
Blood filled Khan's vision. The newly arrived Niqols' group featured thirty members, and almost all of them managed to find a suitable target. Large cuts opened on many human throats as the aliens' sharp fingers stabbed them. Khan had never seen that technique, but his knowledge allowed him to understand its functioning during those short seconds.
Brandon, Kelly, Helen, and Veronica managed to dodge the incoming attacks, and the same went for a few more recruits. George, Felicia, Paul, and Ryan weren't in the Niqols' range, so they didn't have to deal with any threat. However, everyone else suffered from the sudden offensive, and most of those injuries ended up being deadly.
Khan didn't know the recruits as well as the students, but he had forced himself to learn everyone's name. He had even instinctively studied their behavior due to his social paranoia, so he could claim to be everyone's acquaintance. Still, most of them fell to the almost dry ground as their hands reached their throats in desperate attempts to close their large injuries..
The event had been a one-sided slaughter. Khan had expected the new Niqols to be relatively unfriendly, but he would have never predicted them to attack right in the middle of the wild. He believed that they would have tried something sneakier after reaching a safe place, but the reality had turned out to be far different.
Everyone seemed to freeze while many of the injured recruits fell to the ground and died in the following seconds. Most students didn't know how to react to that scene, and the other Niqols didn't feel the need to attack again right away. The most surprising aspect of that scene was Iris' death, which arrived only an instant after the rest of the humans.
The recruits who had dodged the incoming attacks or had succeeded in salvaging their vital spots were the first to scream. Their terrified voices forced everyone to snap back to reality and made them accept the nature of the situation. The newly arrived Niqols had almost killed most of the humans in the group.
Khan jumped back while lifting Liiza and drawing his knife. The three squad leaders and the surviving recruits did the same, and the newly arrived Niqols imitated them.
A strange scene formed. The humans and the servant stood at two opposite sides of a small battlefield at the forest's edges. Instead, the stunned students remained among the two groups, but they turned toward the other aliens as they prepared themselves to fight.
"[What did you even do]?!" Ilman shouted as his wide eyes moved among the servants and the corpses on the ground.
The humans didn't say anything, and even Liiza and Havaa remained silent. The two girls were the only Niqols who had retreated with the humans, but they waited for the other aliens to answer Ilman before deciding what to say in that situation.
"[We did what our species should have done a long time ago]," Zura stated without showing the slightest tinge of regret. "[The alliance with the humans has made us forget our ways. We must sever this connection to reclaim our old values]."
"[What nonsense is this]?" Ilman complained. "[Our species has gained immensely from the alliance with the humans. We have managed to let go of the most brutal aspects of our past without losing power]!"
"[How do you describe this situation then]?" Zura asked while waving his hand to point at the two groups and the marsh expanding at his right side. "[Our ancestors knew about the sunlight, but we didn't bother to study the old knowledge due to the trust in the new ways. The Niqols' blood spilled during the crisis on your hands]."
"I'm tired of this idiocy," George snorted before stepping forward and leaving Havaa's tight embrace. "You killed our companion, so you are our enemies."
George was livid. His eyes tried to remain on Zura, but they often fell on a corpse standing a few meters from his position. Natalie's lifeless face revealed pure terror and confusion. She had died without understanding what was happening around her.
The other recruits shared the same anger. They all had friends and companions among the corpses on the ground, so their emotions were about to burst out. Khan even felt how many of them started to move their mana to prepare techniques or spells.
Khan felt angry about the sudden turn of events. The servants didn't only kill many recruits. They had also endangered the overall survivability of the group by removing many of its members. Still, he didn't let his emotions get over his head.
The three squad leaders shared the same mindset. They held back for a very simple reason that Khan had considered as soon as he saw the students remaining at the center of the battlefield. It was unclear whether the young aliens would side with the humans or the members of their species.
"[I am ashamed of being part of your same species]," Ilman eventually announced while raising his palms toward Zura to prepare for the battle.
The Niqols around Ilman imitated his gesture. The students had only needed that small input to decide which side to take. That choice felt even easy since they almost had no connection with the old ways.
"[Do you dare to raise your hands against the older generations]?" Zura asked as a disappointed sigh escaped his mouth. "[Do you really wish to side with the humans even after what happened during the previous crisis? Did you forget how many young Niqols died due to the political schemes of those hideous parasites]?"
A wave of hesitation spread among the group of students. Every Niqols suspected that the humans had kept the knowledge about the solar wind a secret to maximize their potential gains. The higher-ups of the Global Army had never admitted anything, but the political silence that had followed that event was a clue that the aliens couldn't ignore.
The students had ignored that clue during the journey toward the forest, mainly because they knew that simple recruits didn't have much power over those political decisions. However, they couldn't help but hesitate when they had to choose whether to fight members of their species or not.
"[What are you doing]?" Ilman questioned while turning toward the Niqols around him. "[They have just committed an act of treason against our political allies. Don't show any hesitation]."
Ilman's words did little to help those undecided Niqols. The truth of the situation was undeniable. Except for the envoys, the humans behind them had probably been aware of the solar wind, but they didn't do anything to warn the aliens. The recruits might have had no power over that matter, but that didn't make them innocent.
"[Your words are pointless]," Zura chuckled. "[Doubts have already seeped into their minds. Just step aside and let us end them. No one would suspect us with Nitis in this state]."
"[I would know]!" Ilman shouted in a resolute tone.
Ilman couldn't betray his feelings about the matter. He didn't ignore that the humans might have helped with the solar wind, but that was a completely different topic. He remained focused on the present, on the servants who had assassinated many recruits.
Khan had remained focused on the conversation, but a soft pull diverted his attention on the girl in his arms. Liiza was also staring at the two groups of Niqols, but she had instinctively tightened her grip on Khan's robe when she understood that the situation could lead to an ugly battle.
Only a third of the human group had survived the sudden attack. That would grant a numerical advantage to the servants if the students decided to step aside.
The servants weren't weak either. Many of them were adults with power similar to first-level warriors. Moreover, their techniques were unclear. They still abided by the three major fields taught in the academy, but they were different from the palm strikes usually deployed by the students.
Liiza actually feared what would happen if a battle were to unfold, and Khan understood her feelings by a simple glance at her worried gestures.
'We might lose even if the other Niqols were to help us,' Khan thought before glancing at the knife in his hands, 'Unless I've become as strong as I think.'
"[Do you want to step aside]?" Khan whispered while showing a sad smile toward Liiza.
Liiza raised her worried face before her eyebrows closed into a frown. "[I won't remain out of this]."
"[We fight then]," Khan announced before leaving a quick kiss on her lips. "[Your spell can turn the battle in our favor. Make sure to use it wisely]."
"[You are planning to go in there on your own, aren't you]?" Liiza asked as her frown deepened.
"[You know that they can't catch me]," Khan said while wearing a confident expression.
Liiza didn't like the idea of remaining in the backlines while her man jumped in the middle of the enemy group, but their abilities almost forced them to take those roles. Her frown deepened even more, but her face eventually relaxed.
"[We won't hesitate to treat you as enemies if you keep blockin-]," Zura voiced a threat, but a surprising event suddenly unfolded in his vision.
Zura had missed Khan and Liiza's quick kiss, but he didn't overlook the long one that followed their whispers. His strange reaction made everyone look past the students and focus on the couple exchanging that intimate gesture before the battle.
Surprise inevitably spread among the servants. They had seen how intimate Khan and Liiza appeared during their short travel together, but the couple had never exploded in such evident expressions of their feelings. Still, that long kiss removed every doubt. Liiza and Khan were in a relationship, and their feelings also seemed incredibly deep.
"[Yeza's tribe is doomed]," Zura heaved a disappointed sigh, and the servants behind him showed evident disgust.
Khan and Liiza completely ignored that reaction. They exchanged warm smiles and soft words that no one could hear after they separated. Then, Khan turned toward the servants and took faint steps forward to approach Ilman and his group.
George, the squad leaders, and the other humans instinctively followed Khan. They quickly created a simple battle formation that made sure to highlight their innate talents.
Khan, Paul, Brandon, Kelly, Veronica, and George ended up on the frontlines. They were all ready for battle, but they stopped when Khan reached Ilman.
"[I would understand if you decided not to fight with us]," Khan exclaimed, but a series of snorts promptly resounded among the students.
"[Nonsense]!" Ilman shouted.
"[Don't try to protect us]," Azni uttered. "[We are in this together]."
"[I can't believe someone could be so vile to commit an act of treason during a global crisis]," Doku commented.
Other comments resounded among the students as Niqols stepped forward to join the humans. The fact that Khan had tried to give them a way out of that situation only reminded them of the friendships built during the past months.
Those students couldn't betray their feelings, and most of their group soon joined the humans. Only a few Niqols unwilling to fight against their own kind remained on the sidelines, but the numerical advantage moved on Khan's favor anyway. The issue remained the sheer power of the servants, but the squad leaders didn't hesitate to address it.
"You all should focus on the weak ones," Paul ordered in the human language since most recruits didn't know the other. "Let us handle the other leaders."
Paul looked toward Khan to wait for his nod, but the latter didn't react to that gesture. Paul wanted Khan's help, but he appeared unable to hear anything.
Cold thoughts had started to fill Khan's mind now that the battle was imminent. Many servants were staring at him due to his previous kiss with Liiza, and some still had blood falling from their fingers.
Those aliens had killed many humans. They had dared to betray their political allies during such tough times. It felt unfair to die at the hands of those aliens after surviving many packs of monsters, but Khan didn't focus on those thoughts.
The images of Istrone reappeared in his vision, but they didn't manage to make Khan sweep away the coldness that was invading his mind. The servants would probably punish Liiza for being with him. They might kill her or worse, so he stopped caring about how bad he might feel after the battle.
Istrone's events had brought Khan to tears, but he didn't feel any hesitation now. He was ready to deploy deadly attacks against the Niqols. He felt able to kill like never before.
"Khan?" Paul called as the silence between the two groups became deafening.
The squad leader wanted to plan a simple battle tactic before charging toward their opponents, but Khan had already decided that he wouldn't be a part of that. His figure disappeared as soon as coldness filled the entirety of his mind, and one of the adult servants lost her head.
To be continued