Chapter 142: Facing the planned attacks!
Out of the shadows emerged Adrian, his eyes blazing with an unbridled fury that seemed almost otherworldly. He was not alone.
Beside him, Nyala stood with an equally deadly glare, her expression one of steely wrath, a warrior primed for vengeance. The agents couldn't ignore the fierce energy radiating from the pair; they looked like the embodiments of vengeance, unstoppable and ready to destroy anyone who dared to stand in their way.
Agent Wali, a level 4 Agent leader in Rhemon's messed up ranking system, commanding his team of level 6 agents, took a step back, his cold, calculating gaze assessing the situation. He regained his composure, masking any flicker of fear with an indifferent smirk. 'its just this guy!' he surmised.
After all, his men had prepared for an encounter with Tessa, not Adrian, the so-called "poser boy" who had decided to show up instead.
"So, you came?" Agent Wali sneered, his voice laced with derision. "Forget about going back. You should have brought your goddess along; maybe then you'd stand a chance."
Adrian didn't waste time on words. The moment the mockery left Wali's lips, Adrian raised his hands, summoning raw solar energy in a burst of radiant light. He was accustomed to calling on the eternal flames, but this time, he drew from something new—a lesser form of energy that had been growing within him. It was as if the sun itself had blessed him, the power coursing from within rather than from an external source.
With a flick of his hand, beams of concentrated solar energy crackled in his palms, intense and deadly. Adrian unleashed a blast toward one of the agents holding a restrained civilian, and the beam sliced through the air, hitting its mark with brutal precision, leaving him as an empty shell.
The man who was restrained spoke after noticing Adrian's attacks, as he got half-excited with hope bubbling within him and a smile tugging at his lips. "Bless the moon goddess… she sent her right-hand man to save me—"
His words were cut short by an irritated agent's furious fist. "Shut up," the agent spat, as he slammed his fist on the restrained man, but the agent did not even get the chance to complete his actions before Adrian's beam of solar energy shot through his chest, leaving a smoldering hole where his heart should have been.
His last moment was spent looking from Adrian to Agent Wali in disbelief, before his body crumpled lifelessly onto the cold, hard ground.
The remaining agents froze, a collective shudder rippling through them as they took in the devastation. Adrian's rage was palpable, his attacks relentless, and they were clearly no match for him. Agent Wali, however, maintained his composure, his voice a cold command.
"Prepare the salt ammunition and bullets."
The mention of salt weapons sent a warning flash through Adrian's mind. Only the SSG-agency knew that salt could weaken his body and that of the other aliens from Kaelria—a vulnerability he had taken great pains to conceal.
There could be a mole amongst those close to us, or could it be –Rhemon himself, or Ashley Duve or Ikehara, but why would he–Rhemon want to expose a weakness that also affects him? Unless– he isn't affected by that weakness like Tessa – Adrian concluded in his assumptions, and a new layer of anger surged within him.
Yet, even as his mind raced with suspicion, he didn't relent in his assault. His movements were fluid and deadly, taking down agent after agent with beams of scorching solar energy. He danced within the onslaught of attacks. Dodging bullets like one would floating balloons, each bullet slipped past him with speed and precision, but he was faster.
Nyala was at his side, her spear flashing as she fought off three agents at once. She moved with deadly precision, her strikes as swift as they were fatal. Against the level 6 agents, she was a whirlwind of death, but the sheer number of enemies pressed them both. As she embedded her spear into one agent's abdomen, Adrian covered her, sending a beam through another agent's chest just as he lunged at her.
Together, they cut through their enemies, but the agents were relentless, swarming around them like ants in a sugar bowl. Every time one fell, another seemed to step in his place, and before long, a fresh wave of reinforcements arrived— eighty more agents joining the fray, since 40 agents signified a single unit, therefore, 80 means— a double unit which was meant to overwhelm them by sheer numbers.
Nyala leaped, thrusting her spear through an agent's abdomen and drew it out quickly, then she spun, ready for an incoming attack, and then expertly slicing open the neck of another with a single fluid motion.
Adrian continued covering her, firing solar beams that left agents missing vital pieces of their bodies, usually their chests or heads. The ground became littered with bodies, the number of fallen agents rising from thirty to sixty, then eighty, yet Agent Wali remained unfazed, his expression suggesting this was all within his calculations.
Then, a new batch of salt ammunition arrived. Adrian's senses screamed danger as he felt the new threat looming. Salt, the one substance capable of causing him true harm, now loaded into bullets and weapons aimed directly at him. The agents' advantage had just increased significantly, and he knew he had to adapt, to find a way to counter this threat—or face destruction.
Adrian's fists clenched, his mind racing. The sun's energy pulsed within him, but he'd need more than strength now. He'd need strategy, a plan to outmaneuver the agents even as they prepared to unleash the one weapon that could truly hurt him.
The air grew taut, the anticipation almost electric. And then, Adrian moved. He surged forward like a force of nature, light and fire in his wake, ready to face whatever hell awaited.
The barrage intensified, bullets raining down with unyielding force as a fresh unit of 40 agents charged into the fray. Their guns fired in a relentless rhythm, each shot like a hammer blow against Adrian's senses. Amid the chaos, one bullet grazed Nyala's arm, slicing through her skin and drawing blood.
Nyala winced, instinctively clutching the wound. Although she wasn't vulnerable to salt like Adrian, she was still human—flesh and blood—and each bullet held the deadly potential to tear through her if it struck in the right place. She wasn't an alien; her resilience had limits, and Adrian knew that.
His mind raced as he watched her falter, the blood staining her arm and seeping through her fingers. She was skilled, and her spirit was indomitable, but the sheer numbers against them were overwhelming. Adrian clenched his fists, a surge of protective rage igniting within him. He couldn't let her fall here. Not like this.
A quick decision sparked in his mind, and he acted on instinct. Summoning the another wave of solar energy from within him, he pushed out a fierce attack, blowing the agents surrounding them to smithereens, temporarily buying them time to catch their breath.
"Nyala!" he shouted over the cacophony of gunfire. "Stay close to me!"
Without waiting for a response, he moved to her side, raising his hands to release bursts of solar energy toward the advancing agents. Each shot was precise, a controlled explosion of light that targeted the agents with deadly accuracy. He focused on thinning their numbers, creating a path through the enemy ranks.
Despite the speedy escape, another bullet struck Nyala, this time grazing her shoulder. She gritted her teeth, her gaze fierce as she continued to swing her spear with relentless precision. Adrian admired her resilience—she wasn't backing down, not even when her own blood stained the ground beneath her feet.
But he knew they couldn't sustain this much longer. Their numbers were growing, and the salt bullets were becoming an insurmountable threat, draining his strength and limiting his options. He needed a new plan, something that would turn the tide of the battle before they were overwhelmed.
Scanning the surroundings, Adrian noticed a cluster of rocks not too far off, forming a natural barricade. It wasn't much, but it could provide temporary cover and buy them the time they needed. Gritting his teeth, he took Nyala's hand.
"We're moving!" he shouted, his voice firm, commanding.
With one last burst of energy, he released a blinding flare of solar light, temporarily disorienting the agents closest to them. In the brief lull, he pulled Nyala with him, sprinting toward the rocky outcrop. They reached it just as the agents recovered, their bullets slamming into the rocks behind them, sparks flying as the salt-laden rounds struck the stone.
Breathing heavily, Adrian leaned against the rocks, his eyes scanning the field as he calculated their next move. Nyala was at his side, her breaths ragged but her grip on her spear unwavering.
"We can't keep this up forever," she said, her tone as steady as ever despite the pain etched on her face.