Chapter 162 - Incident at the magic academy (4)

"What the hell is that!?"

"Proof I made the correct decision, let's keep mo-"

Having her hunch proved correct even before she could express it fully, Jessica was cut short by a deafening explosion made by something hitting the gigantic golden dome which had formed around the magic academy. Just after she had left the academy grounds Jessica had felt a massive surge of mana in the surroundings, and witnessed how the barrier had formed, recognizing some of the runes that maintained the formation as being ones exclusive to angels.

"MOVE!"

Shouting over the high pitch ringing that was almost deafening her, Jessica grabbed the closest knightling by the arm and started to run towards cover. Almost throwing her student down in a ditch the knight instructor turned around and started running back towards another one of her dazed students, but then the second wave of railgun artillery hit. The first rounds to hit the barrier was the flechette rounds, large containers filled with countless metal darts, they shattered against the barrier about 300 meters above Jessica and her students. Then a split second later came the semi armor piercing high explosive incendiary, which impacted also impacted and detonated, showering the surrounds in shrapnel as they also failed to penetrate the magic shield. Last to hit was the large rounds of high explosive, they had the most noticeable effect on the barrier as it shifted slightly and vibrated due to the immense shock wave generated by around half a ton of TNT equivalent explosives detonating at the same time.

"F.U.C.K!"

Shook by the massive explosion above her Jessica was knocked to the ground as she lost the last of her hearing, cursing loudly as she dug her face out of the mud. Suppressing the loud ringing in her ears as she tried to find her bearings and locate the last knightling, but when she looked around she found that her surroundings had changed. Arm long metal spikes with small fins at the end had pelted her surroundings, digging deeply into the ground all around her, the first of which the knight instructor noticed was right in front of her face when she freed it from the dirt. By some sort of sheer and truly absurd luck had Jessica nor her students been caught in the crossfire and managed to escape from the academies surroundings that were steadily turning into a warzone. 

-

SECOND WAVE SPLASH CONFIRMED, ASSESSING EFFECT ON TARGET… SUPPRESSION INEFFECTIVE.

With thousands of eyes in orbit above the academy, damage by railgun artillery was immediately spotted and adjusted while the effect on target was noted for further encounters.

TASKING H DETACHMENT, SENDING FIREMISSION.

Finding the first bombardment ineffective due to the targets defences ICI switched up tactics, instead relying on a unit that was way closer to the academy. With orders received the railgun carriers of H detachment changed their loaded ammunition from normal high explosive to ultra high velocity kinetic projectiles normally used to crack open grav barriers, or bunkers. With APFSDS ammunition loaded the railguns switched from their ballistic trajectory, instead opting to aim directly towards their target as their supercapacitors hummed in a way that could be confused with excitement, or bloodl.u.s.t.

FIREMISSION RECEIVED.

TYPE: ANTI BARRIER.

TARGET ACQUIRED, LOAD HV-APFSDS

RANGE TO TARGET: 22.559 METERS.

FUSE: NULL.

ANTI GRAV BARRIER MODE 11, 82.1% CHARGE.

FIRE AT WILL.

With a scream of air escaping from their barrels the Guardian-G097 railguns let loose their armor pricing titanium alloy penetrators, the penetrators shed their sabots right after they left the barrel that disintegrated as the projectiles flew towards their target like streaks of lighting. After traveling for a few seconds the rounds hit their target with a grouping smaller than 10 centimeters, and without issue they tore straight through the reality breaking power of mana. Fragmenting after penetrating something hard like they were designed to, the tungsten alloy rounds showered the academy with shards of metal that travelled at speeds in excess of mach 6, doing very little actual damage.

RE EVALUATING EFFECT ON TARGET… STRIKE INEFFECTIVE, MOVING TO SUPPRESSION OF TARGET.

QRF TEAM #2 ONLINE, CONNECTION TO HIVE MESH RE ESTABLISHED.

QRF #2 REQUESTING BEACHHEAD, REQUEST APPROVED. 

LANDSCAPING.

While making sure that the H detachment kept suppressing the area ICI split its attention as the first quick reaction force breached the upper atmosphere, ending its communication blackout enforced by the layer of superheated plasma that had been surrounding it doing the first parts of re entry. Now in a denser part of the upper atmosphere the water drop shaped craft started slowing down rapidly with the use of a mix of air brakes and drogue shoots, as a shookcone of water vapor formed around it as the landing craft entered subsonic speeds. 

FINAL APPROACH, TERMINAL NAVIGATION NODE LOCKED 5 BY 5. COMMENCE LANDING.

Finding that it was precisely where it needed to be the landing craft opened like a lotus flower, increasing its aerodynamic drag even more, slowing it sufficiently so no parachute or boosters were needed to land the craft and its military spec and robust payload. 

TOUCHDOWN CONFIRMED, GRID HIT 5 BY 5. 

Like baby spiders crawling out of their nest, countless Reaper drones gathered their equipment from the tightly packed shell that had carried them to their target location. Without Dax or any other humanlike creatures in control the drones under the sole and direct control of ICI moved… Differently. Without the subconscious commands that was normally laced into their movements the Reaper drones and accompanying fire support vehicles moved more like a colony of ants than soldiers, like the collective had completely trumped everything.

QRF TEAM #2 ON STATION, MOVING TO BEACON. 

COMMAND CONFIRMS ALL, GROUNDING PRIME DIRECTIVES:

#1. ENACT EXTERMINATUS TO ACHIEVE 100% COMBAT EFFICIENCY.

#2. RECOVER DEEP STORAGE UNIT CONTAINING MASTER LEVEL CODES FOR OVERRIDE.

OPERATION LEVEL BLACK, NO OPERATIONS PLAYBOOK. ALL UNITS ARE WEAPONS FREE, SHOOT TO KILL, MAINTAIN 90% ACCURACY.