Chapter 176 - Crushed

The battle formation that everyone facing Julie took was quite simple. Alys and Barret stood up front and as far to the edge of the designated arena as they were allowed. They were in this location for one reason, to slip out of the perception of the enemy. As scouts it would be their job to scout ahead for dangers, traps and enemies but in a situation such as this their only goal was to land a sneak attack if the opening appeared. If they could land the decisive blow while the others held down the enemy they could consider their job done.Rosalind and Bernard stood as the Vanguard, just like when they had faced the rose and koi in the cave chamber. Of course they had experienced so much more since that time and were now far more calculating in their actions. They fully intended to carefully probe Julie's limits while protecting the others.Jien and Olivia were acting as Knights, maintaining a short distance from the pair of vanguards. Though Jien was acting as a Knight he also held the responsibility of a Controller in keeping the unit acting in the best possible manner. Olivia had always found herself to the position of Knight, lacking the desire to play defensively and instead aiming to strike down those that got in her way swiftly. Like the others she had learned a lot during their years of training, refining her fighting style again and again.Andrew stood a safe distance behind Jien and Olivia, holding his his wooden staff firmly, sweat already matting his forehead and his knuckles white. He was behind several layers of defenses and yet couldn't help but find himself very nervous. This could be considered his first ever real fight in the span of his whole life. He trained to heal those, under the banner of his Goddess and had never picked up a weapon beyond his staff, and only ever then because his father demanded he train in it at least to the most minor of degrees.At the back of the formation was Robyn, standing firmly with a slightly giddy smile on her face. All she could think about was the fact that this was her first time fighting and that it was going to be interesting. She had always been larger and stronger than the other kids around her. Her parents in turn asked her not to pick fights, but knowing that others would make the choice for her if she didn't have some type of deterrent they had her train, mostly in the form of muscle training, to build a physique that would ensure others would think twice about trying to bully her.Lesley stood as the second Rearguard by Robyn's side. Robyn was tasked to do her best to defend him so that he could focus on creating openings with well aimed shots. If he could create the opening for the scouts to end the fight then he would truly feel accomplished. He took a few slow deep breaths to steady his mind and body before drawing two blunted arrows from the quiver on his belt.Seeing that her opponents were ready, Julie smiled an almost predatory smile, lowering her body into a full crouch. She placed the shield with it's bottom nearly touching the ground, hiding all of her form beyond her eyes and the top of her head. Her grip on the shaft of her spear was gentle and yet firm, as if not wanting to put any strength into it but not wanting to lose her grip.The man refereeing the match saw everyone was in position and stepped to the edge of the arena. He raised his arm without a word and then swiped it down as the signal for the match to begin.Seeing the signal Julie rocketed forward with speed that nobody facing her expected, her form low to the ground, mostly hidden from view. She was headed directly toward Bell and Rosalind, as if challenging their very position as Vanguard. This allowed both Barret and Alys to slip past her, using their own unique forms of camouflage to try and slip out of sight.It wasn't until she was just outside of the range of Rosalind's polehammer that everything changed. Julie pivoted at a sharp angle turning her back to the opposition and bolted toward where Alys was trying to sneak at a distance to fire a blunted arrow. Before anyone knew what was happening the girl was on Alys' position like a predator on prey. Her body torqued with such force that they could see the tight packed muscles under her uniform, her spear shooting forward like a comment and ramming into Alys' sternum.The force of the blow knocked all of the air from the short girls' lungs, causing her vision to swim and ultimately go black as she could not seem to take in enough oxygen. The scout's body abruptly crumpled onto the others' spear and then was shoved off in an unceremonious movement. The attack had been fierce and perfect to counter what had been planned.Unfortunately stopping her momentum for the blow had left her open and Barret had snuck up to capitalize on the moment of focus. His soft steps making it to her side and his dagger making to strike at the nape of her neck. However, before he could manage she swung her shield out to intercept his blow before striking back with short thrust of her pear aiming at his throat.She had crushed one part of the opposition and reset their current strategy in just a few moments into the fight. Jien was beginning to understand where the girl's confidence was coming from.