67 Unexpected Enemy (2/2)

Ed hurriedly opened the window and jumped down from the 20th floor of the building. Flames blasted him forward as he rocketed downwards towards his friend.

”MORDY!” He yelled as he landed. ”What the hell is this?!”

Sounds of gunfire rang out as the soldiers fought back against the attacking espers. Their training was already being put to the test. Steam mechs exited from various garages and blasted streams of water and fire towards the espers. A steam tank rolled out and fired, causing a deafening sound. Ed felt his ears buzz as a result. The projectile slammed straight into one of the invading espers, blowing them into nothing more than chunks of flesh.

”I'm sorry.” Mordy sighed while shaking his head. ”But I have my own circumstances and goals. Just hand over the manullium and I'll call off the attack.”

”Nexus bribed you to do this?!” Ed replied in shock.

”Right.” Mordy nodded. ”So, what will it be? Fight or surrender?”

”I'll naturally be handing over nothing.” He glared at his friend. ”You should know you don't stand a chance against me.”

Flames from the nearby fighting quickly lit up the dark night. Mordy's green eyes looked menacing as they reflected the flames. He glared into Ed's eyes. ”You overestimate your own abilities.” Streams of black acid shot upwards from all over his body. Even the air was corroded as the acid passed through it. The various streams converged towards Ed from all directions, allowing no chance for escape.

”Humph!” Ed snorted. He melted the ground and disappeared beneath it. His powers were no longer as slow as in the past, thanks to his hard work at cultivation. His powers still weren't well-suited to offense, but control of the battlefield was as natural as breathing air to him.

A 10-meter-wide dome began to form from the ground, rising to cover Mordy. Mordy could have easily escaped, but he didn't seem to mind it. ”Is that all you've got?” He laughed. ”It'll take a lot more than this to defeat me, Ed. I excel at combat in enclosed places like this.”

”That's only if I enter the enclosed space with you.” He replied. ”Interesting thing about small enclosed spaces like this. It makes it easy for me to manipulate the gas to have high concentrations of oxygen.” As soon as he finished speaking, a blast of flames entered the earthen dome. An explosion rang out as the flames instantly spread through the whole dome, causing cracks to appear on the dome's ceiling.

Mordy was trapped inside, being scorched by the heat. His black acid mixed with the flames, causing them to turn black and release poisonous fumes. Anyone that went near the dome would likely die from inhaling it. He calmly walked towards the wall of the dome and corroded it away. He was completely unharmed as he left the dome, much to the surprise of Ed.

”You've certainly become hard to kill.” Ed smiled.

”Same goes for you.” Mordy returned the smile.

”AGHHH!!!” A voice interrupted them. They turned to see a fatty running from an unfamiliar white-haired esper.

The white-haired esper shot spikes of ice towards the fatty. ”Haha! Run fatty run!” He yelled.

”Husky...?” Mordy gasped in surprise upon seeing the familiar face.

”Ah, right.” Ed nodded. ”I recruited him a while back. Still not quite sure how I feel about it.”

Suddenly, the fatty spun around. He took a deep breath, causing the air to be sucked into his stomach. His body grew taller and leaner. Bulky muscle appeared all over his body. ”DIE!” He yelled in rage as he threw a fist towards the white-haired esper. A strong gust of wind travelled from the fist, sending the white-haired esper flying backwards.

Cracking sounds rang out after the attack had finished. Several palm trees had literally bent in half from the wind before snapping. The white-haired esper slammed into a building. Blood dripped down from his head, seemingly dead from the impact.

”Holy shit!” Mordy yelled in shock. ”That's Husky?!”

”Ah, his powers were supposed to be some kind of weird wind buff.” Ed nodded. ”It's stronger than I thought. He'd make for a tough opponent.”

Ed glanced around the surroundings. Many soldiers had died in the attacks. However, most of the invading espers had also died. Only the stronger ones like Mordy remained. Harmony wasn't easy to invade so casually. Even if they were lacking strong members right now, they still had quantity and military-grade weapons.

”GAHAHAHA!!!” An enraged Ray could be seen sliding across the ground, a trail of plasma being left in his wake. He jumped straight towards a group of three espers, his body surrounded by a silver glow. When he landed, lightning snaked out onto the three espers, shocking them dead before they even knew what hit them.

”General!” Some nearby soldiers screamed in a mixture of shock and joy.

Ray glared at them. ”What the hell are you waiting for?! An invitation?! Kill them! Kill them all!”

Suddenly, a stream of fire shot towards Ray from behind. He casually waved his hand, glowing with a silver plasma ball, and deflected the fire away. He raised his other hand and a stream of plasma fired into the distance. A scream rang out as the fire esper was melted to the ground, making him look like burnt roadkill.

”It seems that Phantom really underestimated this base.” Mordy sighed while shaking his head.

”Mm.” Ed nodded. ”Where is he? Not joining the attack?”

”No, he had other things to attend to.” Mordy looked unwillingly at the many dying espers on their side. ”RETREAT!!!” He yelled towards them. The espers glanced at Mordy, seemingly unwilling to leave, but they soon started escaping from their enemies.

”Your side lacks military discipline.” Ed commented. ”It's only natural you lost.”

”So that was the case.” Mordy nodded. ”We had the advantage in espers and still lost so miserably. I'm convinced.” He turned around and began to walk away.

”I'll be coming to Phantom for an answer later!” Ed yelled towards him. ”I'll be damned if I let that son of a bitch stay in my city after this!”

Mordy waved his hand without looking back. Soon, the enemy was gone. Only the damage remained.

'That was convenient.' Ed smiled. 'I should thank Nexus. They sent real combat training to my men so early. I'll be sure to repay the favor in the future. It was odd how many espers they had though. Just what is Phantom planning?'