Kingdom of High Tarxa, New Tarxa, Near High Elven Ville, In A Forest, In A Austronesian Military Encampment.
1st Year of a New Age, Tuesday, 1st Week, 4th Month Of Jacob
"Take cover! Get down! Get down!" a man furiously shouted.
Hearing their commanding officer's urgent orders, all 15 soldiers immediately dropped to the ground and pressed themselves flat against the dirt. However, the man who exposed their location felt unfamiliar with the language and bewildered by their actions as he stood there frozen. Confusion clouded his mind as he watched the soldiers, unsure if they were surrendering before the battle even began.
'Are these really our benefactors?' he wondered.
He glanced ahead, where the battlefield was soon to erupt as the lights from the magical formations intensified. Humanoid forms began to take shape within the light, and despite the tension, the man couldn't help but be fascinated by the sight. But he reminded himself that he had to act carefully as he couldn't afford to offend the magicians, not while his family and fellow villagers were still in their grasp.
In an instant, the magical forms solidified, revealing the magicians.
"Here they come!" the commanding officer barked.
As soon as he said that, fifteen magicians now stood on the area.
"Fire!" the officer shouted.
The entire bunker lit up with gunfire as dozens of flashing lights came before the eyes of the magicians as they had just arrived.
"Ugh!"
"Gargh!!"
Two magicians cried out in pain before they could react as their bodies fell and hit the ground just as they were about to move.
If they were normal humans, none of them would survive and be shredded to pieces, but most of them had superhuman abilities and were protected by their passive magical barriers that allowed most of them to survive the initial onslaught. Many were able to find an excellent cover, some diving behind sacks of flour and using anything in sight to shield themselves from the assault.
The roar of gunfire shook the battlefield and filled the magicians with an unfamiliar dread. Never before had they encountered such a relentless barrage of attacks. Desperate to regain control, they began casting their spells. But each time they tried, another volley of bullets cut through the air and forced them to abort their incantations before they could unleash their magic.
The magicians were caught off guard. They hadn't expected their adversaries to wield such powerful forces. In their minds, the soldiers' weapons had to be magic of some kind, no ordinary tools could create such a devastating display of light and sound. The magicians struggled to comprehend the rapid-fire explosions and whistling wind they faced, convinced their enemies were using advanced combinations of light, explosive, and wind magic.
Yet, it wasn't magic at all, it was something they couldn't yet understand.
Meanwhile, the special operations soldiers unleashed a barrage of suppressive fire with their heavy machine guns and assault rifles while setting their weapons to full automatic.
The goal was to keep the enemy magicians pinned down and prevent them from casting their spells. The soldiers knew that unlike firearms, which could be fired blindly, magic required precision and visual contact with a target, and they couldn't afford to let the magicians have that chance.
"Frag out!" one of the soldiers shouted as he brought out a grenade and pulled the pin.
He started counting, and as it reached three seconds, he immediately hurled toward the enemy.
The explosion of foreign words confused the magicians. It was clear now that these enemies spoke an unfamiliar language, meaning they could be part of a foreign kingdom. The magicians, loyal to their nation, saw this as an unforgivable act of war and a potential coup or revolution being orchestrated by outsiders.
But before they could think about it further, a grenade landed directly in front of one of the magicians. At first, the magician's first thought was to try to grab it, but a sudden sense of danger made him leap back. However, he was still too late as a thunderous explosion rocked the area, tearing him apart.
Nearby magicians were thrown to the ground and were severely injured by the blast. The others watched in horror as their comrades fell, knowing it would take vast amounts of mana to heal such devastating wounds.
Meanwhile, the man who had summoned the magicians was cowering and paralyzed by fear. He had never imagined that the mysterious foreign soldiers could stand toe-to-toe with the magicians, let alone kill a few of them with ease. From time to time, he peeked out from his hiding place, and his disbelief grew as more magicians collapsed and died on the battlefield.
Wanting to observe more, he crawled to a better vantage point and stayed low to the ground. He began to understand that the strange weapons his benefactors wielded were like muskets, but faster, louder, and terrifying to look at.
Realizing they were overwhelmed, The magicians pulled out their Communication Magic Artifacts to call for reinforcements.
"First reconnaissance squad, reporting! The enemy is using repeating muskets! I repeat, we need immediate reinforcements! The enemy may be from another nation, though we are still not certain, but the likelihood is high!" one of the magicians spoke into the artifact.
In desperation, they crushed magic crystals, and within moments, dozens of magic circles appeared on the ground, forming intricate formations. The special operations soldiers, sensing the incoming danger, began to retreat in an orderly fashion.
"Commander, what about our temporary base?" one of the soldiers asked tensely.
The commander, feeling calm under pressure, replied, "We are compromised. Fall back to the beachhead and return to the submarine with utmost speed. Destroy anything we can't carry. We can't let them get their hands on the intelligence we have possessed, even if they don't understand our language. Make sure the base is obliterated!" He replied with a strong demeanor.
The soldiers ceased fire momentarily to ready their grenades. The magicians, sensing an opportunity, raised their heads from cover, but what they saw next was unexpected when several objects were flying toward them.
They instinctively fired their magic at the incoming projectiles, but to their dismay, many of these were incendiary and explosive grenades. The moment the magic made contact, a series of fiery detonations erupted across the area, engulfing dozens of meters of field in flames and several magicians were caught in the blaze.
As the magicians struggled to recover, the dozen magic formations they'd activated finally completed.
Reinforcements, around 100 magicians, appeared in the middle of the chaos. But instead of joining the battle immediately, they found themselves surrounded by fire, forcing them to summon water magic to extinguish the flames before they could engage the retreating soldiers.
The special operations unit, however, was already pulling back and moved quickly toward the exit of their base, knowing they had bought themselves precious time.
After the fire was extinguished, the magicians summoned a large mana barrier. A newly arrived magician, who appeared more experienced than the rest, sneered at her comrades.
"Idiots! You dare call yourselves magicians? You should've just summoned a mana barrier from the start to stop those bullets!" the captain magician shouted.
She had a point. Her mana barrier, which she formed effortlessly, withstood the barrage of gunfire from the 7.62mm rounds to the heavier .50 caliber shots. Even the grenades, which had caused so much devastation earlier, barely made an impact.
The captain, a Level 8 magician with enough mana to rival a battle tank, led the other magicians forward, confident that they now had the upper hand.
"Sir, our rounds aren't doing anything! We can't even retrieve the anti-tank weapons as they're stuck behind enemy lines! The new Magic Rifle shipment haven't been delivered yet either," a soldier reported in frustration.
"Do we still have that one AF-3 we borrowed from the other team?" the commander asked.
The soldier's eyes widened. Nodding quickly, he retrieved the AF-3 "Magekiller" Magic Sniper Rifle from his Spatial Storage bracelet in his wrist and prepared to fire.
"Take out that barrier!" the commander ordered.
The soldier, without hesitation, set up the massive sniper rifle and aimed at the advancing magicians, feeling their confidence swelling as they moved closer. The captain magician, smug behind her mana barrier, believed they had the advantage. But reality would be crueler than any spell.
BANG!!!
With a deafening bang, the AF-3 fired and launched a 30mm adamantine-core round at the barrier. At the same time, the sheer force of the shot knocked the soldier off his feet and sent him flying several meters back, likely breaking his shoulder from the recoil.
The captain magician barely had time to react as her supposedly impenetrable mana barrier shattered under the impact of the adamantine-core round. Her eyes widened in shock, but before she could comprehend what had happened, the round tore through her abdomen, bypassing her protective magic and leaving a massive fist-sized hole in her abdomen.
To the horror of the magicians, the bullet isn't finished yet as it continues on its deadly path and starts tearing through dozens of other magicians, shredding both of their mana barriers and flesh as though they were mere paper.
In an instant, over half the magicians were cut down by a single shot.
Miraculously, the captain survived, though gravely wounded. She quickly cast a healing spell on herself as her body trembled from the shock and pain. But her relief was short-lived.
Determined to avenge their fallen comrades, those capable of double-casting magic were daredevil enough to charge toward the retreating special operations soldiers and erect mana barriers as they sprinted forward. At the same time, they cast earth and ice magic to strike the soldiers down.
But their mana barriers, though strong, were no match for the focused firepower of the special operations team. Many magicians fell before they could complete their spells as their barriers crumbled under the gunfire barrage. Those who made it through managed to land a few spells, one ice spike found its mark by impaling a soldier and leaving him profusely bleeding.
The commander, assessing the dire situation, searched for a solution. His eyes scanned the battlefield, landing on several unexploded bombs near the remaining magicians. Without wasting a second, he aimed his assault rifle and pulled the trigger.
BOOM!!
A massive explosion sent shockwaves across the area. Dozens of magicians were vaporized in the blast, forcing the survivors to regroup and help their wounded. Despite their superiority in magic, the loss of so many trained magicians was a devastating blow, and they knew it would take months if not years to recover.
The special operations soldiers, seeing the surviving magicians starting to retreat, took the opportunity to disengage. One soldier grabbed their injured comrade and huddled him over his shoulder while the others laid down suppressive fire. They slowly retreated and stayed focused on keeping their exit clear. Once they reached a safe distance, they moved deeper into the forest.
The magicians, though enraged, gave chase. Just as they neared the entrance to the underground area, the commander of the special ops team positioned at a safe distance and pulled out a detonator for the numerous C4s that his men had already set up.
"Go to hell," he muttered before pressing the trigger.
Click! BOOOOOOOMMMM—!
The ground erupted in a deafening explosion, shaking the forest as the underground base was obliterated in a fiery blaze. Dirt and debris shot into the air as the earth seemed to cave in on itself. The explosion consumed everything within a 100-meter radius along with the remnants of their temporary base, their equipment, and many of the magicians underground.
Even as the team retreated into the forest, they didn't allow themselves to relax, knowing that the magicians could potentially survive the blast, so they disappeared into the trees and moved quickly but cautiously.
Back in the smoking remains of the underground base, a magical dome stood in the middle of the destruction. The captain magician, severely drained, had managed to summon it just in time to save herself and a handful of other magicians. As the magical dome faded, revealing the burnt landscape around them, the captain stood with clenched fists and fury radiated from her.
Of 100 magicians initially summoned, only 25 remained.
"Ten of you, find them!" the captain roared in fury. "Bring them to me alive! I will torture them myself!"
Without hesitation, ten of the magicians cast their physical-enhancement spells and boosted their speed and strength before sprinting into the forest, moving with inhuman agility. One of them leaped from tree to tree, while the others dashed around the dense forest like fast-moving predators.
"George, use your tracking magic!" one magician called out.
The magician, skilled in the art of tracking, muttered a quick incantation. His magic allowed him to detect any movement within a kilometer, and he quickly picked up the faint traces of the retreating soldiers.
"I found them! They're just a few hundred meters ahead!"
Hearing his words, the magicians increased their speed and moved skillfully through the forest like shadows as they felt their prey was within reach.
Meanwhile, back at the ruined base, the captain magician took her frustration out on the human who had led them to the soldiers. The man's desperate plea for mercy fell on deaf ears as the magicians believed he had betrayed them and used the artifact they'd given him to ambush them. The captain, savoring the man's pain, tortured him relentlessly before ending his life.
To vent her rage further, the captain issued a cruel order.
"Kill the rest of his village, except for the women. They'll be useful later. We'll sell them in the Slave Union after you boys are done having your fun while I'll finish mine."
Her voice was cold and merciless, with no trace of the regret she felt for the fallen magicians, only a deep burning desire for revenge.