Chapter 301: Launching the offensive

Alicia was also present, but she was dressed in a beautiful black dress. Looking at her, Lucifer couldn't help but wonder. 

How was this girl planning to fight in a dress like this? They weren't going to ballroom dancing. It was a war. 

"Is that what you're going to fight in?" Lucifer asked Alicia, amused.

"Do you have a problem with what I wear?" Alicia asked in return, frowning. 

"No problem at all. Just curious. I thought you would wear something that's easy to move in," Lucifer answered casually. "Whatever suits you."

The only person who wasn't present here was Cassius. 

Raia was calm, collected, his every movement oozing with power and authority. He soon gazed at the sky, noticing a bunch of black dots appear on the horizon. 

Over time, the dots turned bigger, outlining their figures. They were helicopters, carrying their foes--the APF!

The APF group was approaching from the East of the city as the intermittent sounds of the helicopter rotors soon filled the sky. 

Ten kilometers… eight kilometers… five kilometers… two kilometers… as Raia observed their approach, he muttered, transmitting his voice to everyone, "Target is approaching through the air. Sorcerers, take aim. The moment they are in range…."

"Shoot them!" He finished his sentence. 

As per his commands, the Sorcerer Class Variants prepared their long-range attacks to take on the unaware APF squads, utilizing the advantage that they had at the moment. 

The group of Sorcerers scrambled as they took up positions while the warriors stood around them as a defensive maneuver. 

"Max, bring it out," Raia suddenly said as he raised his hand to his left. 

A member of his level five team stepped forward. It was a man who seemed to have dark green hair. His eyes, on the other hand, were pitch black. 

Lucifer wondered what Raia wanted the man to bring out. He was really curious. 

Just as Lucifer wondered what was going to happen, the green-haired man made a circle with his fingers. As his circle was finished, something strange happened. 

It seemed as if a Spatial Portal had opened, which was as small in size as the portal which was created. 

The red-haired man inserted his hand inside the portal. 

Lucifer saw the man's hand enter the portal, but it didn't come out from the other side, which was strange. 

Where did the hand go? It seemed like the portal was a gateway of some other space that he couldn't see. 

The man soon brought his hand out of the portal, but his hand wasn't empty now. He was holding what seemed like a sheath. There also happened to be a sword inside the sheath, which Lucifer couldn't see. 

All Lucifer saw was the sheath and the hilt of the sword. 

'Is this the sword that Raia uses? Why does he keep it in a different space? To protect it from being stolen or what? Something seems strange here,' he thought, frowning. 

Looking at the long yet slender hilt of the sword and the shape of the sheath, Lucifer felt like the sword inside was probably a katana too. But it was longer than the one carried by Tristan.

The green haired man handed the sword over to Raia. 

"After so long, I guess it's finally the time for us to fight together," Raia said, smiling. 

He unsheathed his sword, holding it in his right as it began to hum due to the sheer strength he emanated. 

Then, followed by a mild grunt, he swung the sword by aiming its face in the direction of the swing, riling up intense winds that quickly spread throughout the town, kicking up dust. 

The ground also seemed to be destroyed, which created even more dust everywhere. 

The dust soon masked the ground going as high as the height of a single-story building. It hid all the people in the town within. 

Raia swung his sword a second time, causing the dust to begin circulating through the town in an erratic motion, preventing his foes from being able to pinpoint the position of his group. 

Every movement of Raia stunned Lucifer. His control was so good that for a moment, he even wondered if Raia was actually using his sword or if he could literally control the winds like him. 

While Lucifer was getting surprised at the things he was discovering, Raia transmitted another message.

"Warlocks! Hide within the buildings but stay right below the terrace. The moment the helicopters are attacked, pincer them from the opposite side," he commanded like a War General who had everything planned. 

His command was silently executed as the groups dismissed, spreading through the town as they took up hiding positions, joining with the ones that were already in positions. 

In the meantime, the sorcerers began to charge up their attacks, taking up positions as they braced themselves, intending to shoot as many attacks as possible at the first opportunity.

Finally, the helicopters of APF began to fly over the town. 

The wind generated from their rotors further made the dust cloud chaotic. But because of something Raia had done while he slashed, the dust cloud didn't vanish. 

Even though the group of helicopters arrived over the town, no attacks were launched as the Variant Uprising members were lying in wait, intending to obtain a better target. Soon, most of the helicopters had come in range.

The APF group was alarmed at the scene of the town covered by dust, intending to scout the place first before engaging in a war. Even Varant was frowning as he noticed the situation outside. 

"Why is there dust everywhere? What the heck is going on? We can't see anything on the ground!" Geni exclaimed as he noticed the strange phenomenon in the city. 

Unfortunately, before the helicopters could circulate the town, numerous attacks flew out from the dust cloud, heading straight at the helicopters. 

"As you said, something is wrong. As for what that is, I think I have a general idea," Varant said, shaking his head. "We have fallen for a trap."

The attacks consisted of projectiles of rock, fire balls, ice spikes, sand bullets, glass blades, water hail, etc. They headed straight towards the helicopters as the APF group was alarmed at the sudden attack. 

"Protect the helicopters!" Varant commanded firmly. His command was shared in all the helicopters. 

As per commands, APF immediately retaliated with their own abilities. But, instead of using any projectiles, they unleashed area based abilities, intending to shield the helicopters. 

Those with any barrier or defensive abilities instantly cast them. 

Unfortunately, they couldn't tide through the attack. First of all, they were caught off guard, and they didn't seem to have much time.