Chapter 401: First Phase

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. 

Behind these two, several of Leonel's teammates stood having regrouped. The aura they all exuded was suffocating. 

After years playing beneath Leonel's leadership, their sharpness was refined to inconceivable levels. Even now, facing enemies the likes of which they never had before, they still moved as one. 

All this time, Miles was forced to lay low. Dealing with his own problems, when could he have had time to cause trouble for Leonel's teammates and friends?

However, it was impossible for the former Royal Blue squad to know of this. Having lost their connection to James, their understanding of the nobles had plummeted. As a result, they took pre-emptive action to protect themselves. 

Though they were still a bit young to do so, they all joined the army. No matter how bold Miles was, he wouldn't dare to casually take action against service members. The backlash he would receive in doing so would be far beyond anything he was enduring now. 

So, here they were, facing the opening gates of the Fort, their auras resonating as one. 

In a distant corner of the city, Yuri watched all of this in silence. No one had time to bother with a teenage girl after Aina and Leonel disappeared. In fact, she remained in the same home within the core city she had once shared with Aina. It was as though everyone had forgotten about her. 

She waited patiently, seemingly knowing that Aina would be back to get her eventually. 

BANG!

The Gates suddenly stopped moving. 

"CHARGE!"

Milan's voice billowed, his belly rumbling with an inconceivable strength as he projected an air of confidence. 

The troops of about a hundred shot out like an iron ball out a barrel. 

Joel lowered his halberd to the ground, pulling out a handgun from his waist he fired. His gaze tinged a slight red as he mowed down Invalids with a cold efficiency. 

If a football fan saw him in his current state, they'd roar out that Headhunter Joel had returned. 

Every one of his bullets travelled through an Invalid's head, his speed causing one's heart to tremble. 

Milan stood at the helm of the troops, his chest and belly flaring outward. A towering energy shield appeared before their vanguard, protecting them from all sorts of long-range ability Invalids. 

A third of Leonel's teammates stepped forward. He was a man even larger than Milan. He stood a full head taller, but his body didn't ripple with muscle like the latter's. In fact, any ripple it had could only be described as undulating fat, waving about his body like a tsunami. 

This teammate had brown skin and a red line down his forehead. He was the left tackle of the Royal Blue football team, the protector of Leonel's blindside, Raj.

He stamped down a foot hard causing the ground to undulate. At that moment, the thick sheets of ice shattered, clearing the path of slippery death traps and causing several Invalids to lose their footing. 

"Forward!" Milan roared. 

From the top of the city walls, Miles watched all of this with narrowed eyes. The truth was that he didn't even know who these men were. In his mind, he was only thinking about how to bring such a powerful squad under his control, having no idea why such a squad was formed in the first place…

Miles placed this thought to the back of his mind. It was time for him to act. 

"First phase is complete. Commence with the second!"