Chapter 401: First Phase (1/2)

Miles stood atop the Royal Blue Fort walls, taking a deep breath. To him, the air felt fresher than it had in a long time.

Though he was a youth used to warm weather, there was something about this heavy snow that made him smile.

At that moment, Miles suddenly felt a cold shiver tremble his heart. His eyes snapped in a certain direction, only to find a blue-eyed Variant looking toward him, a quirky smile curving its lips. The look in combination with its inhumanly white skin and hair made Miles' gaze narrowed.

This Invalid was teasing him?

All this time, the Variant Invalid had never made a move to attack personally. It stood at the back of the army casually observing everything from afar.

Of course, this wasn't for lack of attempts by the Fort. However, any targeted assault toward the Variant Invalid seemed to always lead in failure. It simply had too many guards around it.

The most powerful warriors of this Invalid army were all definitely concentrated around this white-skinned Invalid.

”Begin the bombardment sequence.” Miles maintained eye contact with the Invalid as he barked out this order coldly.

In truth, he wasn't the commander of this mission, but he took charge. The general that was meant to act the head and the soldiers beneath him wouldn't dare to ignore his commands regardless. Since that was the case, he exuded an air of superiority, speaking with an undeniable air of leadership.

The canons whirred to life. Due to the situation, they had deployed the Force Disruption Towers in the outer city as well. Compared to the past, their weaponry couldn't even be compared as night and day.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

A volley soared through the air, leaving a trail of black smoke and burning winds in its wake.

Thousands of Invalids were taken out with every shot. It would have been a massacre that chilled the hearts had it not been for the fact these mindless beasts didn't even seem to register the fall of their comrades. They only continued to listen to the orders of their leader, charging forward without thought of fatigue, pain or unwillingness.

However, the point of this volley wasn't to wipe them all out to begin with.

”Open the gates.”

Miles issued his second command seeing that they had cleared out enough space.

Beneath the city wall, a troop of soldiers stood with hardened faces. This was the first time a legion was being sent out to deal with the Invalids directly, how could they not be serious?

Among this troop, there were a few familiar faces, though.

Within the vanguard, there was a large man with sharp features. Despite his large belly, his body exuded a solid and powerful feeling. He was the kind of man who rippled with muscles despite the fat that covered most of his body.

This man was Milan, Leonel's Center. Anyone who understood the rules of ancient game of American Football knew how close the relationship between a quarterback and his center was. However, it had already been almost a year since the last time Leonel had seen the big guy.

In that time, he had grown. Milan's usually jovial smile was nowhere to be seen. His gaze exuded a cold light, the same cold it glowed when he faced the defensive line of the opposing team on the football field.

Beside Milan there was a second familiar face.

He was a tall black man wielded a halberd with a two-meter-long polearm. He had had not just a few battles with Leonel during their practice sessions back at Royal Blue Academy.

While Milan's jovial laughter was nowhere to be seen, Joel's kind gaze had vanished as well. He looked like a hunter prowling tall grasses for his pray.