Chapter 87 – The Attack Begins.

Chapter 87 – The Attack Begins.

One week later.

"Alright, everyone." Herlex looked at the other members of Libra who were standing around a large table. "Tomorrow marks the start of Operation Droid Army and the beginning of the end of the Japanese government." He smirked. "They considered all of us misfits, outcasts, and losers. Some of us were even discarded by our families for no other reason than because our appearance changed." He looked at Elna. "And tomorrow.... tomorrow, we'll show them just what we misfits can do. We're all here for different reasons, but the thing that binds us, the thing that makes us work together as a team, is the desire to see this world burn."

His little speech caused the members to cheer.

"It's finally time for the real fun to begin!" Armalthy smirked.

"Let's make Nagoya burn to the ground!" Spellhauser cheered. She was originally from the city and was looking forward to causing as much destruction as possible.

"Let those government bastards who threw me away burn in the fires of hell!" Max cheered.

"Finally, some real action!" Merkyul yelled. "No more hit and runs. We'll hit them where it hurts."

"Fuck them all!" Sabia exclaimed.

"It is not the destination so much as the journey!" Skipper commented.

Everyone was riled up and ready for war. But in the corner, Alice sat quietly. She was looking forward to tomorrow's attack, but chose to stay quiet. Her puppets would kill many people if they were unleashed as planned, and while she wasn't having second thoughts, she was worried about what Akagi would think of her after this.

{Will Mama be mad?} Alice thought to herself as she squeezed Floofy who quietly squeaked.

Of course, Akagi would never be upset with Alice for following her desires and doing what she wanted. She'd already told Alice as much, but the young girl was still worried. Tomorrow would bring many changes, and she was worried about what might happen. For no matter how much she hated this world, losing Akagi wouldn't be worth it.

Once they finished their meeting, Herlex and Alice descended into the underground portion of the base for an inspection of the puppets. Normally, constructing a facility this massive and complex should have taken months if not years, but magic made things much easier. Not to mention their backers granting them an extraordinary amount of supplies and equipment. As they stood on a gangway overlooking the neatly aligned army of puppets, Herlex let out a laugh. "Look at them, five thousand soldiers, all created by you. With thousands more well on the way. They're very impressive Alice."

"I'd hoped you'd be pleased." Alice smiled as a new batch of puppets entered the gathering area from the foundry. "With Imperial's help, I'd say they're my finest work."

Herlex grinned as he watched them march in sync as they took position, their boots giving a loud snap on the ground as they took their spot in the order.

"Magnificent, aren't they?" Alice smiled as she looked down at them.

Each puppet soldier looked like a metal doll. They had no face and no distinguishing features, save for a small number placed on their forehead. They were little more than toy soldiers, but make no mistake, they were dangerous. Each was outfitted with magical firearms and body armor, both products of the crafting team's dedicated work. What they lacked in Imp's genius, they made up for in sheer numbers and willpower and Imperial was no slouch when it came to design.

Libra's numbers had swollen due to their string of victories, and they could count no less than thirty members of the organization. With several talented mages and craftsmen, they'd turned this mountainside into their base in no time. Alice ordinarily couldn't create such a large number of puppets this quickly, but the crafting team had discovered some ways around her ability's limitations. As a result, the forges deep in the base had been running non stop creating these metal puppets and the weapons they would use. They might not be that powerful individually, but in these numbers, even players would need to be careful.

"Tomorrow, your puppets will march on and attack Nagoya, and all those people who treated us as little more than a nuisance will be silenced." Herlex looked at her. "Are you happy? I know what those people in Nagoya did to you. How they threw you away, how they let you be taken by those people. Won't it be nice to make them suffer as you had?"

Alice hugged Floofy as another company got in position, shifting its rifles into order. "Un." She nodded. "Lets make them pay." The hospital Alice had been experimented in was in Nagoya, and while she'd already killed most people involved, she'd held a grudge against those in the group home that allowed her to be taken. While it wouldn't be a priority target, there was a chance that a few puppets might wander down a certain street where they lived. And well, Alice was happy to let coincidences be coincidences.

Herlex was excited, for the first time since Libra's creation, he felt that things were finally coming together. It didn't matter how many people died to him, only that chaos would reign. He'd long since given up on trying to reform this world or change it, now all he wanted was destruction.

Tomorrow, Nagoya would burn, and with it, the fate of not only Japan but the entire world would change forever.

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6:30 AM January 16th, 2059.

Dawn had just broken over the city of Nagoya in Japan, the usually busy streets were quiet, as people had become reluctant to travel due to Libra's activities; though the roads still had some cars on them. The most recent Libra attacks had left their marks on the city and a few ruined buildings could be spotted along with craters from the battles between the RRT and the terrorists.

"For now, just worry about escorting the puppets, let them do most of the work. Focus on taking down heavy equipment when it pops up."

Alice gave her orders. "If any other player or RRT member shows up, switch priority to them."

"Sounds good, it would be nice if I got a bit of action." Spellhauser laughed as she disconnected.

"This is Max. I've breached point 3B and will begin disruption of command and control as scheduled." Max said. His smile could be seen even over the radio.

"It's probably too late to stop a call for help, but taking them down will ruin their ability to coordinate. Don't focus on individual soldiers, handle infrastructure and comms equipment. Officers should also be dealt with immediately." Alice explained.

"Engaging now." Max said as he dove into a building, going radio silent.

"Looks like everything is going according to plan." Birdy grinned and looked down at the street where the puppets marched. Countless people had already died in the invasion, and countless more would. The sand had drained from the hourglass and the time for battle was now.

{I wonder how things will play out?} Birdy thought to herself. {Will they be able to drive us back? Or will the city be destroyed? Either way, my Lord's goals will be served.} As screams and explosion echoed through the city it was clear that today would be a turning point in the war. {I suppose all that's left is to see if our wildcard will act.}

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<Superbia POV>

Superbia was cleaving through the puppets as fast as she could. While they were tough and their weapons dangerous, they were no match for her as long as she paid attention and avoided their fire. Though unfortunately, the sheer number of them meant that saving civilians wasn't an easy task. Aoi told her to prioritize her own safety and focus on dealing with the puppets themselves. Civilian lives were important, but they couldn't afford to lose Superbia.

*ZAP**ZAP**ZAP**ZAP**ZAP**ZAP*

Magical rounds zoomed by her as she deftly moved out of the way. Her speed kept her safe from the puppets rifles, but the slow civilians were no match for them, as they high temperature magical attacks scorched whatever they touched.

"Hiya!" In a flash, ten more soldiers went down, only to be replaced by even more.

{Dammit! At this rate, I won't be able to respond to the other two attacks!} She cursed the situation in her mind but continued to cut down the puppets, but it seemed no matter how many she destroyed they just kept coming. "How many of these fucking things are there!" She roared as she slammed her weapon into the ground causing a massive explosion around her destroying a large number of puppets. She couldn't fire off such attacks at random. Since if she did, any nearby civilians could get hurt, so her combat ability was limited in this urban area.

"A little upset, are we?" A voice rang out, and Superbia sensed danger as a dagger barely scraped her shoulder.

"Nice miss, Grim." Another voice laughed.

"I'd like to see you do better, Gim!" Grim exclaimed.

Superbia looked around frantically trying to spot the two of them before her eyes focused on a nearby rooftop where she spotted two small goblins pointing and laughing.

"Hey, she finally found us!" Grim smiled. "Good job!"

"Took long enough." Gim gave a hardy laugh before the two jumped down in front of Superbia.

"How's it been, princess?" Grim smirked. "Long time no see, what's it been, two years? I see you've gotten stronger since the last time we faced. Though I don't think that's going to matter in the end."

Superbia knew these two Goblins quite well, and their history was not a happy one. Superbia glared at them, her eyes filled with hatred. "YOU BASTARDS!" She dove forwards towards the two of them. The first PVP in Nagoya was about to begin.

Spoiler

Gim!

Grim!

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