Chapter 518 - Halo

Leonel sent a gaze toward Aina only to find her already looking back toward him. With a light nod, they shot forward as one, there steps light and in sync. 

The remainder of the troops continued to advance slowly. Though they exchanged some glances about the oddity of it all, they didn't make any other movements. Something like a commander taking the vanguard was practically unheard of, at least in Earth's modern history. 

However, Leonel had made his plan to them clear. A count of 250 wasn't a lot, especially in a war of this scale. Where their benefit lay is in the fact they were all elite warriors, all capable of battling two to three on their own. In such a case, not only was such a forest the best terrain for them, but it also presented a unique opportunity to flip this war on its head. 

Leonel's lips moved, but no one seemed to hear what he said at all. However, several hundred meters away, the North West squad had already jumped into action. 

…

Despite the high sun, the forest was still drenched in shadows. From below the high canopies, it felt more like a cloudy day than anything else. Unfortunately, unlike a cloudy day, the forest floor was quite humid. Any normal human of the Third Dimension would be leaking sweat by this point. 

Luckily, though, Earth was still in its infant stages as a new Fourth Dimensional world. As such, the harsher climates of a world at this stage had yet to come to fruition. However, even still, the hot temperatures were slowly creeping upward and breaking records that had withstood the test of centuries, while the cold temperatures were doing the same. It wouldn't be long before Earth began to face extremes it never had before. 

While there was this bad news, though, there was also good news. In this transition period, Zones wouldn't begin to appear just yet. So, Earth had a small level of reprieve. But, it might have been exactly because of this that Terrain chose to attack now…

At that moment, on the humid forest floor, a group of seven moved forward cautiously along their patrol path, their senses on high alert. They wore red robes accented by bright yellow flexible armor. The design made them look like small boiling suns of their own, but judging by the small beads of sweat falling down their brow, this had little to do with their affinities. 

The lead of the seven men suddenly snapped his head in a certain direction, just in time to see a small orb of light land in their midst. 

A hint of panic colored his features. But, just when he was frozen in horror, the small globe of light pulsed, sending out a halo that covered a ten meter radius. 

Without hesitation, the lead scout pulled out a talisman and ripped it. 

The talisman was torn in two, causing a flare of flames to light it quicky. The sparks coalesced, concentrating into a bead and shooting up into the skies. 

But, just as it was about to break past, it rammed into the halo of light. 

One would have expected a bang, but the reality was much less fantastical. The spark fizzled out, drooping back down to the ground as though it had run out of oxygen to fuel itself. 

The lead scout's eyes widen. He opened his mouth and roared at the top of his lungs. His shout was so loud that the six that followed him covered their ears, clenching their jaws. 

The lead scout relaxed when he completed this action, his unsettled emotions resting into a sneer. He slowly pulled out twin daggers that rested on his hips. 

He felt that everything was over now. Now that they knew that Earth had indeed sent reinforcements, it would be a matter of absolute ease for them to be surrounded and killed one by one. 

Earth didn't have technology anymore, so sending in reinforcements through the air was almost impossible. There was no way they had aerial units prepared already. And, even if they did, there was no way they could match the units Terrain had scouting up above. 

So, they would have no choice but to send ground troops. But, in such a thick forest, how many could they really send? 

If they were smart, they would send a small unit of elites with a few trump cards. That orb of light was clearly one of Earth's trump cards, but it also displayed Earth's naivete. 

There was more to contend with than just tools. If Earth couldn't come up with methods of countering a variety of abilities as well, they would be finished. 

This was the perfect example. They were prepared to stop their signal flare, but they had no method of stopping his shout. 

The lead scout's sneer deepened. 'What a fledgling world. It's clear you don't deserve these lands, so we'll be happy to take it off your hands.'

It was at that exact moment that Leonel and Aina appeared. They weaved through the trees, one wielding a great sword and the other flipping his palm to take out a pitch black bow. 

Aina continued to shoot forward while Leonel leapt up agilely. His feet rebounded off the tough bark of the trees, sending him flying upward. He left a trail of gold in his wake. And, for but a moment, his arms seemed to have unfurled into the wings of a bird. 

Behind her beautiful icy blue-white mask, Aina crossed the final barrier into the halo of light, her sword trailing behind her like the tail of a comet. 

'A little girl? Is this a joke?' The lead scout almost couldn't rein in his laughter. 'Fine, I'll pry that little mask off you and see what kind of beauty it's hiding.'

Leonel lightly stepped onto a branch over 15 meters above the ground. With swift motions, he nocked 6 arrows at once, a cold, calculating glint in his eye. By the time Aina prepared to swing her sword toward the lead scout, he had already pulled his bowstring back. 

Even after reaching the Fourth Dimension in his physique, Leonel could only pull his bowstring back just over 50% of the way, displaying the furious strength of this bow quite clearly. But… 50% was still almost overkill. 

SHUUUUU!

Leonel released six arrows at once just as Aina swung her sword toward the lead scout. 

At that moment, the lead scout's expression finally changed. The difference was too stark, how could he miss it?

In one instant, he couldn't hear the whistling of Aina's sword or the shocking charge of Leonel's arrows. But in the next moment, it barraged his senses as though they wouldn't allow him to focus on anything else. 

'No…!'

Unfortunately, it was too late for the lead scout to understand that his first instinct should have been to run.