NOVEL FROG Chapter 122: Keep Them Away
Sneaking their way between the ravagers and omens fighting all around, the Heartaches and rookies tried dodging any conflict, which was easier now since they could just weave their way out of the swords. It was hard to look past their enemies, but with the Heartaches ignoring the confrontation, the rookies had to resist the urge to get some kills for themselves as the omens began struggling. The ravagers quickly overpowered the enemy since they had the advantage in close-range combat, resorting to throwing the omens to the ground to strangle them, though they ended up rolling in the mud like animals.
But while most of them were slaughtering each other, the team couldn’t run past all of them since there were more enemies ahead, still waiting in the bunkers to catch them by surprise. Crisis already appeared to have a strategy to deal with them, though, as Frost ordered Panda to be first in line and keep his shield facing forward to block the incoming gunfire while they continued advancing. Everyone formed a line behind Panda, and they began noticing the lower frequency of hiding spots on each side of the pass. Now that they were reaching the top, there was less danger to face head-on, but they could hear more gunfire and a completely different battle taking place right above.
The team was almost as high as the adjacent mountains, only a few meters shorter, where they were still able to see more clearly the back and forth of the omens and ravagers above. But as they had to focus on the front, Crisis stayed in formation and prepared to tackle the last stretch, riddled with omens. The Heartaches were following closely, with the rookies catching up shortly after, right as the team split in two. Crisis stuck to the left mountain while the rest stayed on the right, and without saying a word, they slowed down the pace to sneak up on the enemies waiting nearby.
There hadn’t been a bunker in a while, but some faint arguing from the omens ahead could be heard, so the team stayed quiet to get the drop on them. The rookies were confused as to what was going on but quickly figured out the move when they saw the leaders of each respective team getting into an offensive position. Before the enemy could see them, Crisis cleared the way for Nitro to quietly roll a couple of grenades into the omens’ safe spot on each side.
The first two holes turned into death traps with not enough time to escape, but after blowing up, all the omens ahead were alert. Crisis tricked the omens into giving away their positions as they all cocked their rifles and aimed their sights down the middle of the pass, sticking the barrels of their rifles to get a better angle. They managed to hold fire as they waited, but their coordination was useless when Crisis and the Heartaches rushed at them, focusing on the hiding spots found at foot level first.
Agnus and Kayden stuck close to the mountain wall to approach their target. Their footsteps alerted the three omens waiting inside, who frantically aimed up to shoot, but they couldn’t see anything. Kayden and Agnus stood on both sides of the hole before crouching at the same time and grabbing the omens’ guns after sticking them out. Quickly disarming the enemy, the two attacked as fast as possible, trying to get a few stabs in before being spotted. And while the two omens on the opposite side got a glimpse of the two sneaking up on their teammates, they were already under attack by Crisis.
Before the omens could even shoot, Panda and Frost pulled them out of their hiding hole. The latter used one blade to hook his target out and slice him up right away with the other, while Panda just stuck his hand inside the bunker to grab the other by the throat. After pulling the omen out forcefully and lifting him with a tight squeeze on the neck, only to then slam him down on the mud, Panda moved on to the next targets, as his strike seemed to have been deadly enough to kill.
The rookies stayed behind while the rest of Crisis and the Heartaches moved up to the other holes, choosing to watch the action instead of participating in it, even though some looked eager to be a part of it. Zoey watched Saint anxiously, who, alongside Nitro and Kiwy, attacked the next set of bunkers, getting a kill with Kiwy while Nitro blew more omens with his hand grenades. Her attention shifted to Tricky and Candy, who still managed to cause harm despite staying back, mainly by sharing Candy’s low-caliber pistols.
Ace and Chappy were more impressed by Panda and Frost, who did the most with their approach. Panda covered the entire squad with his shield to let everyone advance before helping Frost pull the omens out. But the rookies seemed more fixated on Panda after seeing him kill several men with his bare hand, not even having to use the two. They were more amused to see both squads run up to the omens and scare them out of their bunkers to kill them mercilessly outside. But Shade got excited when Panda failed to instantly kill one omen with a neck snap, and he tried to run over to finish him off before Cookie held him back.
–No, save your energy, they got it…– Cookie ordered and prevented the rookies from joining the fight. Ace and Chappy let out a dejected sigh, but once they noticed how much effort and coordination Crisis put into killing omens, they seemed relieved to be able to stay back and watch. Even Shade complied and watched the omen Panda left alive to try to crawl back to the bunker, only to then realize he could barely move one arm before accepting his fate.
However, Cookie kept checking back to see the ongoing fight between the ravagers and omens, which appeared to be coming to an end. They were forced to keep moving and stick close to the rest of the team as they cleared their way through the last section of the pass. They hurried up, now relying on Nitro’s grenades to quickly destroy the bunkers and force the omens to come out for the rest of the team to take them out. Frost, Kayden, Zayn, Agnus, and Kiwy led the group, competing for the most kills since they were the fastest at close range. They were eliminating every incoming threat instantly since the omens were now deliberately coming out to have a better chance to fight, but there were still some left behind for Panda, Saint, and the rest of the team to finish off.
The rookies kept their distance from the action, not only for safety but also to keep a close eye on the conflict behind them. It looked like the ravagers had gotten the last laugh despite all their casualties, as they had cleared their section of any omens. But now that they had come out victorious, the only ones standing in the way between them and the top of the pass were the team. So, before they killed the last remaining omens, the rookies began running to get ahead while the rest stopped fighting.
They had reached the end of the pass, leaving a wall of dead omens behind to stall the ravagers, but they were still in direct line of sight, though not for long. After a long way up, they could barely see the destroyed gate at the bottom of the fog closing in on the gorge, though they could see some light that indicated that it was still burning. Only a couple dozen feet above was the other battlefield, but they chose to ignore it for now since they had come across a split. A large rock formation was found right in front of them, forming two smaller passages that appeared to lead the same way but also creating a small island that the enemies above were trying to use to get across the gap to the other mountain.
Either path took them forward, exactly where they wanted, as the open area ahead housed their allies' base. However, they couldn’t really see past the crest, as there were rows of omens filling up both ways. The enemy had their back turned to the team, appearing to guard both paths to prevent anyone else from reaching the base, but they seemed busier trying to shoot other targets out of the team’s sight. This prompted them to stop running and stay quiet, gathering behind the tall rock and splitting the pass to take cover in case the omens turned around.
–What now?? We flank them??– Saint asked in confusion, growing a little nervous to have the enemy so close. Luckily, the hard rain made it almost impossible for the omens to hear them, though even the own team couldn’t hear him much, especially the rookies. But with everyone understanding the issue they had to deal with now, they tried to assess the situation as quickly as possible.
–There are still more?? How are there still more?!– Chappy exclaimed in disbelief after seeing that paths were blocked by omens. He had to check if some omens from the bunkers had run away, but when he looked back, he saw all of them lying dead in the mud. That’s when he realized there were in fact more enemies for them to fight, but there were even more waiting past the ones in front as they could hear lots of movement on the open battlefield.
–Wait, let me call…– Frost finally responded after seeing the team’s collective confusion, and even though he was slightly distressed, he managed to remain levelheaded. Crisis formed a circle around him, with the Heartaches forming another behind, though most of them stuck to the sides of the rock to peek at the omens in the paths, with Nolyn, Faye, and Ignatius staying behind with the rookies to check on the ravagers.
Despite the anxiety brought by what they stumbled upon, the rookies stayed quiet like the rest and tried to get closer to Crisis to listen better as Frost pulled out Panda’s radio. The signal was almost as bad as earlier since they were farther and higher away, though it helped that they weren’t as enclosed as before. The feedback was completely drowned out by the rain, so Frost and the team could only wait eagerly to hear a voice, growing agitated at the sight of the ravagers heading up the pass as well. Despite still being too far away, the enemy was catching up, but after almost a minute of tense waiting, Frost finally connected with Indie and didn’t waste time to report.
–We’re in the split and about to reach the base. How close are you? Should we wait an-...?– Frost asked right away with a slight desperation, which spread to the rest of the team since they noticed the stress was getting to him. Thankfully, he regained composure when Indie began speaking before he could even finish the question.
–No… just… to the bas-… p-provide as mu-… assistance as possible… -mens… surround-… -e base… more… coming… mountai-… yo-… -ve to be quick…– Indie responded loudly, but her voice was constantly cut off by the unstable signal, though she still sounded naturally agitated as if she were running out of breath. The rest of the team couldn’t make out much, but Frost kept his ear close to the radio to figure out her instructions, already reconsidering the plan with more apprehension than obedience.
–More will be coming in from the mountain if we let them, then. We have to take them out as well…– Frost argued with uncertainty and irritation as he could barely hear Indie until he almost smacked the radio in anger after the signal was lost. But as the rest of the team formed an idea of the conversation and seemed to disagree heavily with him, Tricky grabbed the radio out of Frost’s hands to tune the frequency and get a clearer signal.
–NO! Just stick to the plan, ther-… no need… risk it. Backup will-… there soon!– Indie ordered assertively, also growing frustrated but now being clearer after Tricky fixed the signal. But despite restating her order, Frost couldn’t help but ignore it and continued plotting other ways to take care of the situation as he took a moment to reevaluate the situation. He looked up at the top of the mountains, seeing the gunfire being exchanged from both sides, especially the left, where the omens were supposed to come from. After seeing that the top wasn’t too high up, he came to a realization that drove him to pick up the radio immediately while his teammates watched worriedly.
–It isn’t too far from here, right? It’s just up the mountain?– Frost asked stubbornly, concerning his squad, as his curiosity and persistence seemed to give them the worst idea. They seemed to know what he was thinking of, but even though he was very determined, the fact that he was considering an alternative ultimately left the entire team upset and fearful. But since he refused to end the call without arguing first, the others could only look at each other in collective doubt while trying to eavesdrop.
–Yes…but I know what you are thinking. Don’t do it! Focus on… help our alli-… get- t-the base…– Indie replied, being understanding at first but becoming disgruntled and maintaining her stance. She was just as adamant, but after raising her voice a little to impose her decision, she waited attentively for Frost’s response. After more consideration, the team started to notice a slight chance of expression on Frost’s face as he continued to reevaluate the objective, and before he could respond, they picked up on what was on his mind.
–The way I see it, we won't win if we don't take out their line of communication and supplies... We'll get both bases, trust me…– Frost assured in a smug whisper, with a slightly hostile undertone as he regained his confidence and tenacity. This time, some of the spite towards the omens was displayed in his eyes, with everyone from Crisis, except Saint, noticing what was driving him to deviate from the plan despite not hearing it explicitly.
–No, don’t you d-...– Indie tried to contend, stressing her words threateningly, but she couldn’t really dispute now that Frost had made his mind up. The signal was cut again, but he rudely hung up on her before turning to the team, who all stared at him eagerly, waiting for an order that most of them seemed to dread beforehand.
–What is going on?? Where are we heading?– Ace asked with a nervous smile to hide his fright, sharing the doubt with the other rookies, who were the most confused and only now hearing what the team was discussing after making their way into the inner circle. But alongside them was Cookie, who managed to figure everything out solely from Crisis’ reaction as they were all staring at Frost dubiously.
–Oh no, you are about to do something stupid, aren’t you?– Cookie asked skeptically after one simple glance at Frost’s eyes, which managed to tell him everything. He didn’t feel the need to respond, leaving the rookies in doubt, but Cookie’s question still prompted an explanation.
–No, letting Nitro blow up that gate was stupid, but we needed that bit of fun…– Frost replied lightheartedly, getting a prideful grin out of Nitro and some chuckles from Panda and Tricky, but everyone else only grew suspicious and anxious, especially when they noticed Frost staring back at the ravagers in the distance. They were making their way up the pass, slowly but surely. Even when they all appeared tired or wounded, they still looked like a threat big enough for the team to be concerned and demand a proper explanation soon with their impatient stares.
–Now, I need all of you to listen closely and do as I say, this is important…– Frost added, turning more serious and tactful in his speech, garnering everyone’s attention as they all got closer to listen carefully to him lay out the plan.
–We’re going to form three teams. One has to head to the base and provide support for our allies. The other has to go up that mountain and distract the omens at all costs… We need to stall them as long as possible until backup arrives…– Frost ordered bluntly, already causing more doubt amongst the team when he pointed at the top of the mountain on their left. He was prudent but looked past their worries when he took a moment to observe the team’s reaction. But out of all of them, Saint seemed more focused on something and saw his opportunity to clear his doubt.
–And what about the other one? We have to block the pass and keep them away, or backup won’t be able to make it up, right?…– Saint asked slightly timidly, bringing up a concern that prompted everyone to turn to him for a second. But Frost immediately responded with an affirmative nod and drew the focus back to him, as he didn’t hesitate to share the role of the third team.
–Exactly… We need some to stay here and guard the pass. More enemies will be coming, and we can’t let them block the way, or else our own soldiers won’t be able to come help us. There aren’t many left, so it should be simple, for now… We’ll see if more show up, which they will, so stay alert and clear the pass…– Frost elaborated calmly but with consideration, though it still sparked uncertainty in the group, especially among the rookies. Crisis remained calm, except for Saint, who couldn’t help but look back at his friends and girlfriend unnervingly. Luckily for them, it looked like the squad who would take care of protecting the pass was already chosen, and Frost didn’t even have to pick them.
–We’ll stay here and block the way… As long as they don’t bring those artillery machines, we should be good…– Zayn assured with conviction but not much worry, speaking for all the Heartaches, who looked worn down from all the fighting but nonetheless agreed with his decision. Crisis was surprised to see their commitment, and they made sure to show their appreciation and gratitude, although Frost kept it very brief as he continued explaining.
–Great… Only ravagers should be coming this way unless the antipunks fail to fight them off back there, but I doubt it. Still, your squad staying here is crucial for the backup to arrive, and it might just well keep us from dying up there. Make sure to keep checking those bunkers, though they are connected with larger structures inside the mountain and might be able to protect you if it gets too heated…– Frost responded with a slightly reassuring but cautionary tone, which inspired some confidence in the Heartaches but prompted more questions from Saint, who couldn’t stop thinking of every detail as Frost revealed more of the plan.
–Is the omen base connected to the bunkers? If so, we'll just through there– Saint asked curiously but still quite embarrassed speaking up against Frost and interrupting him. Saint's optimism prompted Frost to reconsider his answer, and he was luckily a lot more receptive and patient with his questions this time.
–Maybe, probably not. They’ve set up a temporary base on top of the mountain, it's nothing too big to take down. We do need to get a good look at it before attacking, that’s why I’m sending a few of you to check it out. If they are truly coordinating and sending reinforcements through there, I'm going to need you to take them out as well– Frost responded casually, pointing in the rookies’ general direction since they were standing next to a bunker. But they soon realized he was addressing Ace and Shade specifically, with the latter only agreeing silently with a nod while the former panicked.
–But there’s a whole army up there! How are we supposed to distract them if we get shot as soon as we show up?... And what should we do when we get there? How can we take them out??– Ace asked frantically, turning increasingly agitated and distraught as he looked up at the mountain. Zoey and Chappy held both of his shoulders, but they failed to calm him down. Even they were unnerved by what was waiting above, but since Ace couldn’t quiet down until he got an answer, they weren’t even able to process it correctly, only irritating Frost faster.
–You really ask a lot of questions…– Frost muttered disparagingly, turning to Panda and Nitro, who tried to keep a straight face, though they ended up worrying Ace more. The rookies turned suspicious as well, but they remained silent as Frost looked around to keep everyone in check before taking a breath with a cheeky smile.
–But I get it. You must keep the ravagers away to get close while at the same time using them as a distraction to run past the enemy lines. Afterward, you only have to block their route on the west, and for that, well… We’ll blow them up…– Frost revealed with increasing excitement, almost as boastful as Nitro, to which everyone reacted similarly. There was confusion at first and disbelief in the method he proposed taking out the omens at the mountain. But the more they doubted, the more convinced Frost seemed, to the point where his devious smirk became contagious, at least for the rest of Crisis. The rest of the team couldn’t resist for longer, and their apprehension quickly turned into awe and excitement for a moment until everyone now appeared to be on board with the plan and looked forward to executing it.