"Copy that," Torvan replied.

Tatehan turned to the rest of the team.

"Lyra, Riven, you're with me," he said. "Everyone else, cover Torvan's team. Make sure those bombs get planted."

The soldiers nodded, splitting off into their assigned groups.

Tatehan, Lyra, and Riven moved deeper into the fortress, toward the core.

The corridor leading to the core was wide and dimly lit, lined with glowing conduits that glowed with energy.

They were halfway down the corridor when the enemy appeared.

A man stepped out from the shadows at the far end, he was tall, broad-shouldered and clad in heavy black armor. His helmet was angular, almost predatory, with a red visor that glowed faintly. In his hands, he held a massive energy blade that crackled with electricity.

He planted the blade in the ground and crossed his arms. About Six men in high tech armors holding powerful looking guns surrounded him, their faces covered in really cool looking masks.

"You must be the one leading this pathetic assault," the man said, his voice deep and amplified through his helmet. "I expected more."

Tatehan stopped, his hand instinctively reaching for his sword still in his inventory.

"Who are you?" he asked.

The man tilted his head.

"Commander cherak," he said. "Sent by the Obscuron to lead this mission."

Tatehan was surprised. For some reason it was shocking that the man had to announce himself without hesitating.

He had asked them question: 'Who are you' not hoping for a reply but now that he got one, he didn't know what to say.

The Obscuron. The warlord who wanted Mars under his control. The man responsible for so much death and suffering.

And he wasn't even here.

Tatehan felt a bitter realization settle over him. The Obscuron was too big, too powerful to handle this himself. He sent people to do his work. People like cherak.

As this realization dawned on him, he realized more.

Someone that controlled the whole west of Mars should be some sort of Emperor in way, someone who only went to large battles, someone with many battle commanders who did the work for him. People who seized cities and attacked lower settlements in his name.

"The Obscuron's too much of a coward to show up himself?" Tatehan said, his tone mocking.

He knew what he had just said made no sense but he needed the battle commander with the name cherak, standing in front of him, to tell him more.

This was some sort of ragebait. The obscuron wasn't a coward to not have come here, instead he was actually being Smart. To him this would likely be a small mission and he wouldn't want to get himself in it.

Cherak laughed, a cold, humorless sound.

"The Obscuron doesn't waste his time on insects," he said. "That's what I'm for."

He pulled his blade from the ground and activated it. The energy surged, crackling along the length of the weapon.

"Let's see if you're worth the effort," Cherak said.

And then he charged.

Tatehan would have used his Heightened perception to make everything seem slow so he would really analyze the coming of this powerful man, how to act, maybe find some weak spot he could easily hit his chakram on and get him down.

But then, he had already used the ability before, some moments ago, a act that had saved him from being hit.

Tatehan quickly summoned his shadow forged blade and countered the hit of the man attacking him.

Cherak moved with terrifying speed, his energy blade slicing through the air wildly and devastatingly. Tatehan barely managed to dodge the first strike, the blade missing his head by inches and carving a molten gash into the wall behind him.

Tatehan retaliated, hurling his chakrams at Varak's chest. The blades struck true, but they bounced off the heavy armor with a metallic clang, barely leaving a scratch.

"You'll have to do better than that!" Varak roared, swinging his blade again.

Riven and Lyra took on the six fighters around them, Lyra used her ability very effectively and Riven was doing quite alright, her ability to be able to predict moves before they hit helped her alot as he dodged attacks like some god. She was a good fighter too.

The six fighters fought well too, they seemed to be of more higher ranks than the ones fighting outside, they fought like pros, putting up a good fight against Riven and Lyra.

Tatehan activated his gravity manipulation, increasing the gravitational pull around cherak.

The man staggered, his movements slowing under the sudden weight.

But he didn't stop.

With a grunt of effort, Cherak pushed through the increased gravity, swinging his blade in a wide horizontal slash. Tatehan ducked, the blade passing over his head, and rolled to the side.

Lyra and Riven joined the fight now, having successfully defeated the six fighters together, they now flanked Cherak from both sides. Lyra activated her Void Step, disappearing and reappearing behind him, her blade aimed at the gap in his armor. Riven fired her explosive rifle, the rounds detonating against Cherak's shoulder.

The explosions rocked him, and he stumbled.

Tatehan saw his opening.

He lunged forward, activating his kinetic absorption. His fist glowed with stored energy, and he drove it into Varak's chest with everything he had.

The impact sent Cherak flying backward, his armor cracking under the force. He slammed into the wall, the metal denting from the impact.

For a moment, there was silence.

Then Cherak stood, his armor sparking, his visor cracked.

"Not bad," he muttered.

And then a bullet bolt tore through his helmet, and he collapsed.

Tatehan turned to see Riven lowering her rifle, smoke rising from the barrel.

"Nice shot," Tatehan said, breathing hard. He wasn't sure if the man died but it looked like it.

Riven grinned.

"Thanks."

They moved quickly toward the core.

But as they reached the chamber, Tatehan's comm crackled to life.

"Commander!" a voice shouted, panicked, desperate. "We're taking heavy fire! We need backup!"

"Where?" Tatehan demanded.

"East platform! We're pinned down!"

Tatehan cursed, looking at Lyra.

"Go," she said. "I'll plant the bomb."

Tatehan hesitated, then nodded.

"Riven, with me," he said.

They ran.

The east platform was a warzone.

Enemy soldiers had the strike team pinned behind cover, fire raining down from elevated positions. Two bodies lay motionless on the ground—Dane and Kira, among the soldiers Tatehan had spoken to the night before.

Dead.

He had given them hope only for them to come and die.

It felt sad…

Tatehan felt something cold and sharp twist in his chest.

Rage.

He didn't think. He just acted like he had got bitten by some mad insect of something.

He activated his gravity manipulation, focusing on the four enemy soldiers firing from the elevated position. The gravitational pull around them increased tenfold, and they screamed as their bodies were crushed under the sudden, impossible weight.

Their armor crumpled like paper, bones shattered, blood sprayed across the platform…,bloody stuff!

Within seconds, they were reduced to paste.

The remaining enemies froze, staring at the carnage in horror.

"Fall back!" one of them shouted.

But Tatehan didn't give them the chance.

He charged, summoning his chakrams, spinning them, his rage fueling every movement. He cut through them with brutality, his mind focused on one thing:

Make them pay?

When the fighting finally stopped, Tatehan stood in the center of the platform, breathing hard, blood dripping from his chakrams.

He saw no sign of Riven, perhaps she was fighting not too far from here?

He quickly ran over to where the large core that powered the fortress was, he looked at it and then wanted to sigh.

This should have been the plan, if somehow they could get this thing out, the fortress would stop working.

[Core only powers fifty percent of the half completed fortress]

[Fortress can still be in the air without it]

Tatehan read the message that appeared on his retina.

'Oh…'

So their plan was smart after all.

Tatehan summoned his Devastator cannon, shooting at the stuffs that held the core, they exploded, the core falling…

He immediately caught it — really large and heavy stuff. He summoned it to his inventory immediately

[Unknown powerful core acquired!] Appeared across his retina.

"Hell yeah," he muttered under his breath.

This mission was some really good one after all.

He now decided to look for Riven and after ten seconds of finding, finally saw limping over to him, clutching her side. Blood seeped through her armor, nothing life-threatening, but enough to slow her down.

"You okay?" Tatehan asked, his voice laced with concern.

Riven nodded.

"I'm fine," she said. "Not so serious I guess."

Tatehan's comm crackled.

"Final bomb planted," Lyra's voice came through. "We're done. Let's get out of here."

Tatehan nodded.

"All units, evacuate!" he shouted into the comm. "Get to your boots and Skyblades! Move, move, move!"

The strike team scattered, activating their hovering boots and launching into the air. The Skyblades roared to life, their engines flaring as they lifted off the platforms.

Tatehan grabbed Riven, helping her onto her boots, then activated his own.

They shot upward, the fortress falling away beneath them.

Behind them, the bombs detonated.

The explosions tore through the structure in sequence, support beams collapsing, platforms crumbling, the entire fortress beginning to fall apart. Fire and smoke billowed into the sky.

Some of the Obscuron's soldiers managed to escape, their own Skyblades like vehicles launching from the wreckage.

But most didn't.

Tatehan watched as the fortress collapsed, a grim satisfaction settling over him.

They'd done it.

And then something slammed into him from behind.

The impact knocked the wind out of him, his vision blurring as he was suddenly yanked upward at terrifying speed.

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