Chapter 141: Was it Over?

Chapter 141: Was it Over?



General Harper stood over the tactical display, his eyes narrowing at the shifting icons representing the armored units closing in on Valeria. The battle had raged longer than anticipated, and despite their best efforts, the witch had proven far more resilient than expected. Her dark energy barrier had thwarted the combined might of Abrams and Bradleys, and though they had landed a few lucky hits, it wasn't enough.

His fingers drummed against the control panel as he replayed the footage of the Hellfire missile striking her midair. She had been vulnerable for a moment-distracted, her barrier momentarily down.

"That's it," he muttered under his breath, eyes flicking between the tactical data and the live feed. "She can't maintain that barrier and attack simultaneously. We overwhelm her and break her focus. The moment her shield drops, we hit her hard."

He turned to his officers. "Order the engineers to lay mines across the beach perimeter. If she breaks through the second wave, we need to slow her down-and contain her movements. Deploy Claymores and anti-tank mines along the approach. We make this terrain her enemy." "Yes, sir," one of the officers snapped to attention before quickly relaying the orders. Harper's mind raced as he considered their next move. She was powerful, no doubt about it, but her power came at a cost. Every time she exerted herself-every time that dark energy surged it took a toll. They had seen it; her regeneration was slowing, her barriers flickering.

"Get me a status update on the second wave," Harper barked, his eyes fixed on the tactical display. "I want those tanks repositioned for maximum coverage. The moment she drops that barrier, we hit her with everything we've got. No hesitation."

A flurry of voices echoed through the command room as orders were given, the ground forces shifted into position, and the engineers began their work

***

Meanwhile, inside the dark wall, Valeria was slowly regenerating. Her breathing was steady, her body mending, but her confusion grew. The relentless barrage had stopped-abruptly. She could still sense the mortals' presence outside her barrier, their vehicles rumbling, their weapons primed. Yet, they had ceased firing. Why?n/ô/vel/b//jn dot c//om

Well, she couldn't see outside due to the thick well obstructing her view. That was the con of the spell that she had cast to protect herself.

General Harper watched the tactical feed closely. "Keep the pressure on," he ordered. "We've got her pinned. Don't let up!"

The constant barrage was working. Valeria's regeneration wasn't fast enough to keep up with the relentless onslaught. Every time she tried to muster more power, the next round of fire forced her back down, her dark energy barrier flickering with each impact.

But even in her weakened state, Valeria wasn't finished. She slammed her hand into the ground, her eyes glowing with fury as she summoned a wave of dark energy to push back the assault. The force of the blast knocked several Bradleys off their tracks, flipping one over as it crumpled under the impact. A few tanks were forced to momentarily pause, but Harper quickly ordered them to realign.

"Move in closer!" Harper barked. "She's not invincible-get those tanks into position and finish this!"

The Abrams tanks advanced, their massive barrels rotating to lock onto Valeria's position. Despite the chaos around her, Valeria began to lift herself up, dragging her body with her arms. Her lower half was still regenerating, but the process was painfully slow. The damage from the mine had been severe, and she knew she was running out of time.

"They're learning," she muttered under her breath.

Harper's voice came through again. "Fire everything we've got. We end this now."

With the order given, the tanks unleashed another barrage, their cannons booming as shells rained down on Valeria.

Valeria, her body barely holding together, summoned the last reserves of her strength. She knew she couldn't take much more of this. With one final surge of power, she let out a scream, sending a shockwave of dark energy across the battlefield, knocking back the nearest vehicles and momentarily halting their assault.

With those machines disabled, Valeria relished the momentary victory, little did she know that there was still a machine from above.

"This is Spooky-1, target on sight," the pilot of the AC-130 reported.