NOVEL FROG Chapter 128: Heavy Rain
Thunder, gunfire, and continuous explosions grew loud in the distance as Crisis continued fighting for the Cloudstar base. Both ravagers and omens were using all their forces to break into the base in hopes of claiming it, and while that constituted the main battle, the situation up in the mountains wasn’t too different. Despite most of the ravager army going down to the field, a large fraction remained on their side of the mountains, continuing to build a bridge to get across the gap. They were persistent; their spirit to fight was unwavering, even when getting hit from afar, with zero options to fight back. They kept pushing and pushing, though it seemed like they couldn’t make any more progress after their last charge.
While the ravagers struggled to gain ground and reach the first line of trenches, EchoForce ran around aimlessly, trying to find a way to the provisional omen base. Even though the narrow trenches were all connected and they no longer had to expose themselves to the gunfire above, the team was quickly lost and couldn’t even tell which direction they were facing. It didn’t help that they were getting closer to the omens’ front line, and passing by them seemed impossible since they were covering every spot on the field. But with Cookie leading the squad and using the sound of gunfire as a reference, they tried to avoid getting near any omen as long as possible, though they were running out of paths.
–You don’t know where we’re going, do you?– Tricky asked Cookie in a belittling manner, and even though he seemed unbothered by the demeaning comments, he began losing some confidence upon failing to find a direct path that could lead them to their objective. Despite everyone staying back at the latest intersection with two adjacent trenches, he continued exploring to the left before quickly turning back when he spotted some enemies at the end.
–It should be somewhere over here… I don’t know, they didn’t explain where it was…– Cookie replied, slightly nervous. The rookies stayed in the intersection with Tricky and began pondering hard after seeing Cookie give up. It looked like they were very close to the sounds of the enemy nearby, yet they couldn’t see past the many corners of the dark trenches. Instead of continuing to run around blindly, Chappy had a thought and tried to find another way to guide the squad by poking his head over the trenches.
–Let’s just take a peek… Nope, bad idea…– Chappy said casually as he took a peek, only to be immediately forced back in when he saw a never-ending line of omens all aiming in his direction. They were still shooting at the ravagers far behind, but the bullets were flying so dangerously close to his head that Chappy could only get a split-second glimpse before taking cover. However, his attempt sparked some incentive in the other rookies, and with quite a few paths to take, it was just a matter of taking the time to explore them all, so they tried.
–Maybe over her-...– Zoey suggested as she started walking to the right, where she quickly came across a corner. Shade and Ace followed behind, but when they turned the corner, they were surprised by a group of omens charging at them. It appeared that they weren’t targeting them at first, but once they bumped into each other, a fight broke out immediately, with Cookie, Tricky, and Chappy forced to run over to them to help fight.
Zoey was tackled accidentally by the omen leading his group, but after the shock of running into the enemy, he and the rest didn’t hesitate to open fire on the rookies. Luckily for her, Shade pulled her back while Ace tried to defend them as best as he could. Since the omens were carrying guns, Ace’s first instinct was to kick the first omen in line, knocking him back into his teammates, before running away with Zoey as they both hid behind the corner, leaving Shade behind, though he didn’t try to hide and ran straight at the omens instead.
In total, four opponents weren’t enough to scare Shade, and with one already on the ground, he fearlessly charged at the omens without holding back. His first attempt to strike made the omens step back, and while he got them on edge, it was clear he couldn’t take on a three-versus-one as soon as he swung his sword. Regardless, Shade didn’t waver and fiercely stuck the omen closest to him before the others could shoot, and before following up with a swift kick to disarm one of the soldiers, Cookie and Chappy came from behind to distract the omens. The two used the trench walls to wall kick and boost themselves to the omens, striking before they could kill Shade, who didn’t even flinch upon the omens firing and continued hitting the first enemy he struck.
Chappy went straight for the kill, pouncing on his target, who was already down on the ground, where he stayed low, while Cookie used his strength and bigger size to knock down the other two, aiming at Shade with a double punch. And to not be left out, Shade grabbed the omen before him, dragging him up to stare him into his frightened eyes, discarding his sword so he could instead bash his head on the omen’s skull, knocking him out immediately. Even though it left Shade a little stunned, he laughed at the omen with a wicked grin before turning to his teammates and picking up his sword like nothing happened.
–Are you okay?– Zoey asked as she peeked out of the corner with Tricky and Ace, and to their relief, the boys were not only fine, but they were as vigorous and eager as when they started the day after a quick brawl. But they didn’t just gain excitement for their small victory, as Cookie soon spotted the first line of omens right in front and saw a tiny portion of a structure found far ahead. The enemy was standing above the back wall of the trench intersecting the one EchoForce was in, and while it was menacing to have them so close, they couldn’t see much inside the trench due to the darkness, so Cookie signaled the team to stay low and quiet.
–Yea, we’re fine. And it looks like we’re right next to them, the base should be over here…– Cookie replied nonchalantly, lowering his voice to a whisper while pointing out the nearby omens. The rookies were surprisingly calm about it, despite having the start of the omen army right in front of them. But since they went unnoticed, they didn’t hesitate to follow Cookie as he cautiously approached the end of the trench, where what seemed to be a small bunker resided right below the ground the first line of omens was standing on.
–Let’s go this direction and see if we can get in through some of th-…– Tricky whispered, trying to suggest something to Cookie as she crouched next to him. He was paying more attention to the omens to make sure they didn’t spot them, though he absent-mindedly agreed with a nod. But suddenly, both he and the rookies had to focus ahead instead of listening to Tricky, as all the omens began running away, prompting EchoForce to look around and find the source of the chaos. To their dismay, the path ahead was now clear, and they wouldn’t have to deal with the omens for now. But they weren’t their biggest concern anymore, as they soon realized when they looked back.
–What… Is… That?...– Saint asked in a quivering voice, petrified upon staring at something he couldn’t even comprehend. Even Nitro was in disbelief of what he was seeing, although he seemed to reach much faster and instinctively stepped back to cover, but he was just as dumbfounded, if not more, by the fact that he did seem to recognize what they were going against. It was completely foreign to Saint, but for Nitro, once he saw the three large, makeshift tanks roaming around outside the Cloudstar base and heading to the omen army on the west, he knew they were in grave danger.
–Since when do they have tanks?– Nitro muttered to himself fearfully, increasing Saint’s anxiety as he stared at him, looking for answers on the other side. He wasn’t just concerned anymore; he was distraught to see such a strong reaction from Nitro, and even though he couldn’t figure out what those large metal moving boxes were, he quickly realized it wasn’t something he should stick around to find out, which was justified when everyone on the wall alongside him started panicking.
–THEY STOLE OUR TANKS!!– a frightened Cloudstar yelled at the top of his lungs from the west wall, alerting everyone below, even Frost and Kiwy, who took a bit longer to realize what they were yelling about but then saw Nitro, Saint, and all of the Cloudstars on the wall run for their lives.
The firm barrier between the courtyard and the hellish battlefield no longer seemed to guarantee their safety anymore, as it only took one shot to destroy the top of the wall the Cloudstars were standing on. It was one small but powerful explosion that destroyed the top half of the wall, cracking throughout and reaching the north gate. Cloudstars were sent flying in all directions, with only a few landing on the safety of the wall or the scaffolding towers behind, while the majority plunged to their deaths right before their teammates’ eyes in the courtyard. Nitro and Saint were lucky and reacted fast enough to start running to the stairs before the spot they were standing on suddenly vanished as well with another explosion. A single tank shell was significantly more destructive than Nitro’s grenade, with the blast creating enough force to spread bodies in the air everywhere as if they were dust.
But with the first shot serving as a warning of what was to come for the Cloudstars, they froze in place until the red mist of their fallen soldiers washed over them, hitting them with the realization that they were trapped inside the base. They didn’t have to deal with the enemy any longer; they were all alone in the empty courtyards, and despite having reclaimed their ground, it was as if the Cloudstars had set up their own trap, as they had no choice but to wait inside.
As soon as the tanks shot at the wall, the Cloudstars started running for safety, trying to hide inside the headquarters buildings in the center. Frost and Kiwy stayed in the courtyard while waiting for Nitro and Saint to climb down the stairs with the rest of the Cloudstars. The squad took a moment to think of what to do, and once they were all on the ground, Saint and Nitro tried to run inside too. They couldn’t even say anything as they were catching their breath, waiting impatiently for Frost to react or give an order. The latter was almost as shocked as them, yet he seemed to have something in mind to fight back.
–We have to run back! We can’t let them take down this wall, or we all going down!... Everyone else, hide!– Frost shouted to his squad as they tried to escape before rushing back through where he came from. The Cloudstars didn’t question his order for a second and took the warning seriously, taking shelter inside the headquarters. Nitro and Saint had to be told twice as they apprehensively stopped running away to follow Frost, who was already running back with Kiwy through the west courtyard. Despite having cleared out the area, running alongside the left walls came with the risk of getting blown up, something the Cloudstars on top of the walls and in the watchtowers realized quickly and tried to flee before another shell hit them, blasting a chunk of the upper wall and scattering debris all over the courtyard.
Frost and Kiwy were way ahead, but Nitro and Saint took their time to run through the hazards as they had to dodge falling pieces of the wall and Cloudstar corpses. Once they crossed the pathway to the south, they found Frost and Kiwy trying to get Candy and Panda’s attention, with some of the injured Cloudstars already on high alert from the distant explosions. However, what caught their eye were all the omens that were trying to breach the base suddenly stopping and retreating. The enemy was seemingly running away, perplexing Panda and unsettling the injured Cloudstars even further.
–What happened? Why are they leaving?– Panda asked in utter confusion, but he was still focusing on firing at the omens without taking his eyes off his targets to pick more off. Even though he was distracted and couldn’t turn around, he started figuring out what was going on once he heard the tanks’ roaring engines and their nerve-racking tracks, though he only realized this once Frost came over to check on him and Candy.
–They trapped us, they stole the tanks, and n-...– Frost replied as briefly as possible, but even when he tried to be concise, Panda couldn’t help but cut him off after his loud machine gun prevented him from hearing him clearly.
–They stole what now??– Panda asked aloud, both shocked and slightly skeptical, already having an idea that was disturbing him but not being fully certain. However, he didn’t need Frost to clarify, as right after making his question, the tank shell hitting the right side of the broken gate and spreading dust and rubble everywhere answered all his doubts immediately.
–Ohhhhh, I see…– Panda muttered in bewilderment, letting go of the trigger to stand still and take a moment to reassess their current situation. He could now glimpse one of the tanks shooting at the east wall; it was getting closer to the entrance, and so were the omens on foot, who were waiting for the opportunity to get in the courtyard again. Panda froze for a moment, but he didn’t stick around to find out what the omens were going to do and just ran back to the crowd of injured Cloudstars as the rest of the squad tried to get them to safety.
–We gotta go inside…– Candy asserted anxiously after composing herself upon seeing the incoming threat. She frantically looked around to ensure every Cloudstar was aware of the situation, helping some walk inside the building behind them, which unfortunately had a long hallway with a direct line of sight of the omens outside. Despite this, Crisis brought all the Cloudstars inside the headquarters, where they tried to run as fast as possible to take cover before they lost the south gate, where hell broke loose. However, even when they couldn’t face the enemy outside, Frost didn’t allow Crisis to run away, and instead of running with the Cloudstars, he ordered the squad to hide in the first cover spot they found, which was found halfway through the corridor leading to the building, but it was still too close to the entrance for their comfort.
–Alright, we should be fine here, right? We’ll just wait it out– Saint asked insecurely, looking at all his teammates to see if they agreed. They all had another idea, including Candy, who seemed apprehensive to admit it, though she didn’t have to worry, as Nitro was already a bit excited about it.
–Yea, but we gotta take care of those tanks, and, you know what that means…– Nitro replied distractedly, focusing more on what was going on outside the gate and trying to get a closer look by stepping out of cover. He began approaching the south courtyard without minding his surroundings, and while Frost didn’t seem to mind about his wellbeing, Panda quickly noticed a new threat as he was right next to Nitro and had to pull him out of danger, though he couldn’t really believe what he was seeing at first.
Just like Crisis thought they had reached safety, EchoForce was also very close to an advantageous position that could lead them to the omen base. They were about to reach the small bunker ahead, and while there weren’t any omens around, they were under attack as well. Chappy was the first to turn around and see the ravagers coordinating a long-range attack directed at the omens, but they were about to get caught in the crossfire as hundreds of arrows poured down, getting closer to the frontline and EchoForce, forcing them to run away.
–Get down! In there!– Zoey yelled at the squad while pointing at the bunker after the first arrows landed behind them, prompting everyone to rush inside to avoid the now heavy rain of projectiles that turned into a continuous stream, covering all the trenches and surrounding area. Even though they were only arrows, the sheer amount matched the frequency of the actual raindrops, and while they couldn’t see it, the strategy seemed effective against the omens, who perished one after the other once the arrow rain caught up to them.
EchoForce took shelter in the bunker, where there wasn’t much room for them, but at least they got to remain alive and watch outside as the ravagers slaughtered omens from afar. However, Crisis found themselves in a similar situation, as the ravagers on their side also unleashed a rain of fiery arrows after gaining ground with their customized artillery. They had pushed back the omens far enough to get into the perfect distance to begin attacking the base, not even realizing that the omens weren’t inside anymore when they engaged. The ravagers didn’t aim nor bothered to confirm casualties as their artillery could cover every square foot of half the battlefield, even reaching the tanks on the west side. But since the courtyard was the most targeted area, after Panda pulled Nitro and saved him from a flaming arrow, the squad had no choice but to wait and rethink their strategy.
–Come on!! Them too??– Nitro exclaimed after almost catching a fire arrow to the knee. The sudden and explosive tank shots already had him startled, but almost dying from the arrow rain straight up infuriated him to the point where he was about to blindly shoot grenades over the wall. Candy and Kiwy calmed him down, but Panda and Frost refused to sit around and accept the fact they couldn’t do anything to fight back since it was impossible to step foot outside without flaming arrows or wall debris raining down on them.
–What are they doing??– Ace asked in distress, trying to peek out of the bunker but only seeing arrows pouring and blocking the way. Despite remaining safe and unnoticed by both enemies, the rest of EchoForce turned impatient but started panicking with the enemy getting closer and surrounding them, and it didn’t help that they were all squeezed together. Tricky was the most uncomfortable and tried pushing Shade and Chappy away, though only to move her backpack with the EMD away from them. While they all tried to remain inside the bunker, one of them either felt inspired by the chaos around them or couldn’t deal with claustrophobia, as Cookie stepped out of the bunker once the arrows stopped raining for a moment.
–Now it’s our chance… I got an idea, just wait…– Cookie said with the smile of a brilliant realization. Before any of his teammates could get a chance to argue or pull him back, he peeked over the trench to see where the omens were running, and instead of going in that direction, he sprinted the opposite way, seemingly backtracking right through where they came from.
–There goes our leader…– Shade quipped pessimistically, seemingly giving up his spirit to fight as he dropped his sword and stared at Cookie running away in the distance. The others seemed intrigued by what he was plotting but started sharing the same sentiment once another wave of arrows was released.
Since the ravagers were aiming farther away, Cookie managed to dodge the new wave of arrows. But after leaving his teammates’ field of view, they could only speculate about his whereabouts or whether he would return alive, although the consensus was almost immediately negative. And just like them, Crisis was discouraged from leaving their position, with the endless arrows filling the courtyard and the tanks scattering to cover more ground before approaching the wall to destroy the base’s defense.
–It’s fine, as long as we stay in here, we should be safe…– Candy tried to comfort everyone, but as reassuring and positive as she sounded, the Cloudstars farther back couldn’t help but focus on the rest of the squad, who all tried to figure out ways to get out and fight before it was too late.
–Yea, but the others are going to break in at any minute now– Panda replied with great concern, remaining composed and alert, but he struggled to think of a way to protect his team other than just holding his shield and standing between the omens and everyone behind him. However, with Frost taking a good time to hear exactly what was going on around them and imagine an approximate position of the enemies, he finally opened his mouth to execute his plan, but not without a begrudging look of disapproval.
–We gotta get rid of those tanks… Alright, you know what to do…– Frost ordered without hesitation, though Nitro didn’t try to hear him at first despite his assertiveness; he was too scared to go out with all the arrows raining and chunks of walls flying.
–I can’t go there alone! There are like three of them…– Nitro exclaimed combatively, raising his voice to Frost, who almost smacked him hearing such disrespect, but he actually heard him out and considered the argument. Surprised by his reaction, Nitro stayed back and tried not to draw his attention as Frost pondered momentarily. He wasn’t convinced, but after looking at Panda, Kiwy, and Candy, he realized everyone was on Nitro’s side, so he complied with a sigh.
–Fine, I’ll go…– Frost responded reluctantly, leaving Nitro immensely relieved, though he was still nervous to go out and fight. But with Frost’s assistance, Nitro quickly built the confidence to take care of the tanks, and right as he and Frost were about to leave, Saint stepped forward.
–Me too… We each take care of one, right?– Saint claimed, still a bit hesitant but showing an amount of determination and will that was enough to convince Frost to let him join in an instant. However, his inclusion did seem to worry Candy, who tried to stop Saint from going. But before she could reach him, Panda stepped between them, and after giving her a reassuring nod, he turned to Saint, Nitro, and Frost to offer his support.
–I’ll cover you…– Panda asserted, just as resolute and courageous as the other three but more encouraging and trusting to ease their worries slightly. They seemed more comfortable with him backing them up, so with all four ready, they didn’t even look back at Kiwy, Candy, or the Cloudstars, and as soon as they could, they stepped out of cover to confront both ravagers and omens.