'Uh.. war.'
Sy contemplated while observing the minimap. Actually, they were not randomly spawned in some area. There was an objective.
Multiple skirmishes dotted the battleground. In the west, a decisive battle was ensuing, which they were coincidentally heading into. That place was where their advantage lay. Most of their team members were concentrated for the decisive battle whereas the enemy team's members were scattered across the map.
As such, the opponents will win the skirmishes but lose the overall battle. However, they could quickly finish their own personal wars and then rush to the main battle. This was the issue that Sy was pondering.
It was impossible to gather other team mates into their side as most of them were already losing the skirmishes while the bulk was engaged in a pitched battle. He and Eran would have to intercept the enemy mechs that will try to reinforce their outnumbered team mates.
The west was riddled with huge cliffs, and there were only a few courses that one can access to reach the place where the decisive battle was ensuing - unless they were flying mechs.
He marked a certain spot in the map. The place was located a few more kilometers to the north, an entrance to a narrow valley that could provide a quick and direct route to the battle. He predicted that most of the enemy pilots would choose it as going to the south or north would take a lot of time to accomplish. By the time they arrived in the battlefield, it would already be over.
There were some other narrow passes in the central plains, but they were like a maze. One could get lost within it without an accurate mapping in the area, some even led to a dead end.
"Eran, I think we should hold this position." Sy pinged the location in the team's minimap.
The scion abruptly stop practicing a certain move which Sy pulled off earlier, and studied the place. After a few minutes, he stated, "I haven't seen the terrain yet. We should go check it out first."
With that, the two continued north.
Enemy mechs were disappearing in the minimap as their skirmishing team mates were eliminated one by one. They would have to move faster if they hope to outrace enemy parties trying to access the pass.
The duo sprinted through the rough landscape, jumping over the protruding sides of huge embedded rocks in great haste.
After a dozen minutes, they finally arrived on their destination. To their right was a huge flat expanse while to their left; elevation of giant rock cliffs towered over them. They could see the canyon a few hundred meters ahead. Furthermore, there scanners were blaring with activities. They were only a few kilometers from the main battle.
As soon as they reached the entrance of the canyon, Sy began to wander into the plains while Eran followed in curiosity.
After some time moving around, the scion inquired, "Uh.. shouldn't we be looking for a defensive position inside the valley? I believe on top of the cliffs would be the best location to hold something against numerical superiority."
Sy's mech halted before a fissure on the ground. A smile appeared on his face while he explained, "If we defend inside the valley, the enemy team could use the twisting corners of the pass as cover to close the distance. They'd overrun us in no time."
"I see." Eran nodded after a careful thought, "How about an elevated position?"
"That would be an ideal place to take." Sy answered," But even if we managed to climb on top of those cliffs, we will become sitting ducks from flying mechs. The place where we can maneuver are shallow, and there are no covers."
"So, what are you suggesting?" The yellow haired man was even more intrigued now.
"We defend here."
"Huh?" A perplexed look appeared on Eran's face. They were half a kilometer away from the entrance of the canyon, and were standing on flat ground with no defensive cover in sight.
"Most of them will come from the central plains. They would eventually appear in the open ground - a killbox where we would eliminate them without any resistance." Sy's mech pointed into the open prospect, "The earlier waves would be consisted of lighter mechs so we won't be having any trouble with their armor."
"But, Sy!" Eran protested, his yellow mech pointing on the ground where they stood, "We're also defenseless in this position."
"We have this." The grey mech pointed a few meters in front of it.
The yellow mech walked forward and looked down. The confused look of its pilot's face gradually changed into an enlightened one. With a chuckle, the scion urged, "Well, we should start digging before they arrive then."
---
There was another spectator watching the two men - silent even now. It was Mina.
Just like Genevieve, she was late to the party, and only managed to begin watching the two when they were running from two heavy mechs. After they successfully did, they went north.
The duo discussed things down to the tiniest detail. They were more on thinking than acting. This was proven when the head of Eran's mech was almost torn to pieces by a lone sniper.
They have the tactical awareness to identify the foothills as a place for ambushing, and innocently just talked about it like they were discovering something interesting instead of acting on it.
It was bad. They don't initiate something and will always be on the receiving end. Shoot first, ask questions later. That's what soldiers do. Their life was on the line, and they will have to act first before the enemy did.
Nonetheless, Sy managed to impress her by an impossible shot. A lot of questions were left unanswered from that flashy performance.
The good side about the two was that they were paranoid. They don't take risks. Only their complacency to talk things out endangered them. Well.. they should figure that out. Both of them were intelligent creatures, after all.
With her privilege as a special user, Mina could see the overall picture of the battle by accessing the minimap. She realized that the two knew about it and the most tactical move was to join the main army.
However, the two did something unexpected.
They went to a route that could potentially become a place where scattered opponent skirmishers would swarm in great numbers.
That's the first time they took the initiative. Well, that's because it's a strategic move as they were more on thinking.
Mina saw only one end to this. They would heroically try to hold the pass for as long as possible.
Initially, she thought that the duo would try to climb the cliffs or defend inside the canyon, but something similar to that of earlier scenarios occured. They moved toward the open ground and started to discuss things, as if inviting someone to eliminate them. Mina almost pulled her hair off while watching them nonchalantly talk.
But what happened next utterly shocked her. They entrenched themselves.
'What?'
Although, when she thought about it, 3rd gen weaponry were not as effective as that of the 4th and 5th. The earth would still prove to be an effective cover against energy projectiles in the lower gens.
Mina was watching them with great interest now. The two would become a menace in the battlefield. She shuddered at the thought of soldiers being clumsy, but knew the crucial points in a battle.
She recalled the time when she began to watch them with a soft smile. However, that smile froze when she remembered that they were talking to someone.. someone who was not in the match! Who was that person? Her chest felt heavy.
---
"Comfy, right?" Sy said while his mech stood inside the crescent slit trench with only its head popping out in the open. They did not want to make the fissure wider so they only smoothened its rough edges, while they dug deeper on its shallow parts using the metallic hands of their mechs. Who knew that the collosal war machines were actually good for digging?
"I feel safe, actually." Eran responded, warily glancing his mech in every direction. When they were digging, Sy had told him that most of the threat would be coming from the front. A few parties could emerge from the north, while in the south, the only threat were the two heavy mechs they left on the ruined facility.
"Don't be paranoid. We're in good and reliable cover here." Sy's mech tapped the mound of earth in front.
[You two are already too paranoid, hiding all of your mech's body inside the earth.]
Genevieve jokingly said. She added:
[Or did you two just dug your own graves?]
"Don't jinx it, Genevieve!" Sy shouted, noticing that Eran was demoralized by the statement.
[Genevieve!? What the hell!?]
Another voice entered the conversation. It was Mina.
Sy's eyes flared wide, feeling a chill run down his spine. With his quick thinking, he found something to act as a distraction, "Contact! Enemy mechs ahead!"