The group spent a few minutes observing how the Oregon[Dalki] camp operated, checking if there was anyone in charge. After all, the Oregon[Dalki] they had encountered so far had been moving in scout groups, yet the ones present had yet to charge into the Shelter. It was almost as if they were waiting for something… or someone.
'They have ten of those black ships that look capable of flight. Why are there so few of them? Will the mothership land once they have taken over the Shelter? Are those ships just used for emergencies?' Archer[Quinn] wondered as he looked at them.
The ships were quite small but they looked agile and fast. He estimated that no more than three humans would be able to fit inside. As for the Oregon[Dalki] with their larger bodies, it appeared to have been designed for a single pilot, perhaps two if two smaller ones squeezed together.
'The outer shell is supposed to be so hard, that the human race was unable to take it down in the last war, but surely there has to be something inside powering it up. I guess in the end I'm just going to have to steal one of the ships and go with the flow.'
In total, Archer[Quinn] counted around two hundred Oregon[Dalki]. While this number was far from the tens of thousands of people in the human Shelter, for them it was quite a large number. Besides, if numbers alone could deal with that alien race, humanity wouldn't have suffered as much as they had in the first war.
'I could use Shadow cloak, but there are a few dozen two spiked Oregon[Dalki] among them. Once I steal the ship and set off, they'll just immediately pounce on the ship and bring it down. If I take care of them first, then I could use my soul weapon. As long as there's no more strong ones I should be able to fight them all.' Archer[Quinn] started to go through his options.
'It would give me a great exp boost, but how long would that take? By that time, they might have already taken over two more planets...'
"Use us!" Iree insisted once she noticed Archer[Quinn] earnestly thinking about their next step.
"You just need to steal one of those ships to get to the mothership, right? As long as we're not fighting in hopes to win but to survive, I'm sure the ten of us can help you achieve that goal!" While Iree seemed determined to give up her life, the rest of her group didn't look as confident.
"Are you expecting to sacrifice yourself?" Archer[Quinn] asked.
"Of course." Iree answered without hesitation. "In the grand scheme of things we're just ten lives. Everytime we go out to hunt, we have to deal with the possibility that we might not come back. Now that the Oregon[Dalki] are here, we would have risked our lives anyway. All of us who have agreed to accompany you were aware of that."
"All of us have families and friends back at the Shelter. If we can trade our lives to give you a chance so that they survive, we'll gladly do so. My only regret would be not seeing the look on those Oregon[Dalki]s' faces when they realise that they have messed with the wrong group of people!"
Once Iree spoke about saving their loved ones, even the ones behind her all nodded as they found their resolve.
"... fine, but I don't need you to sacrifice yourselves. As you said, it would be a shame if you didn't get to enjoy that look on their faces. I just need you guys to cause a distraction and hold out for a little while. I'm able to use my shadow abilities from quite a distance away, so as long as you stay in my line of sight I should be able to protect you for a while longer, and bring you with me." Archer[Quinn] said.
Iree never had hope she would come out of this, if she did she just needed to see it as an extra. As confident as Archer[Quinn] was, she didn't want false hope. Before setting off Archer[Quinn] had touched each one of them.
Soon, Iree and her people had formulated a plan around their set of abilities and they began their distraction. They appeared on the outer perimeter of the Oregon[Dalki] camp with a bang.
Each of them had activated their blood weapons attacking a line of Oregon[Dalki] in front of them. Blasting them away. Soon after, they started to use their abilities for defensive purposes and had gotten into a special formation. A turtle like the shape of the Romans of the past.
The Oregon[Dalki] were now paying attention to their group, allowing Archer[Quinn] the chance to make his way to the unguarded ships via Shadow cloak. With all the noise, he didn't even have to worry about his footsteps making any sound, so he ran at a great speed. The longer he took to reach one, the more likely it was for Iree's group to die.
The Oregon[Dalki] ship had the shape of a jet, only a hard black exterior as if it was the outside of a volcano. Bumpy rocks and a strong reinforced glass pod where one could enter. Opening up the hatch, Archer[Quinn] hopped inside.
'Great, it looks like it's at least the same type of controls as ours.' Archer[Quinn] found out with relief, as he started to pilot it. The jet-like ship quickly took to the sky. From his elevation he could see the Iree and the others in the midst of being overwhelmed, their defence down, and the Oregon[Dalki] ready to pounce.
A group of ten Oregon[Dalki] all dived in. At the same time Archer[Quinn] flew over to their location.
[Skill Shadow on activated]
Now that they were in his line of sight, Archer[Quinn] could activate his shadow, rising in front of them. The Oregon[Dalki]'s punches turned into almost nothing, powerless as they hit the shadow but it took quite the toll on Archer[Quinn]'s MC points. He wasn't able to protect Iree, Yag and the others for too long, otherwise he wouldn't have enough to to deal with whoever was left in the mothership.
'Archer[Quinn], what did you do?' Iree pondered, staring at the shadow in front of them. They soon readied their weapons again, and when the shadow fell back down, they all struck at the Oregon[Dalki] in front of them. Each strike fed their weapons with more blood, boosting their power even more.
'I have to get them out of there, the higher spiked Oregon[Dalki], are moving to the front.' Reaching out his hand, Archer[Quinn] started to use his Shadow lock on them one by one. The first to go was Iree, followed by Yag, and they continued to disappear In front of the Oregon[Dalki]'s eyes.
"What is going on?!" A two spiked Oregon[Dalki] cried out, as he charged forward at one of the humans. It was a bust of energy, and using all its strength, It punched one of the humans in the stomach lifting them in the air around thirty meters high. The woman's body had gone limp in an instant, and when she fell on the ground she was unable to stand up.
Archer[Quinn] used his Shadow lock on them while in the ship, it was a bit more difficult, and he was only able to cast the skill slowly on them. He was unable to reach all in time. Soon, another woman had lost her life, this time to two Oregon[Dalki], who had attacked her from both sides. Alas, as the last one on the ground, there had been nobody to save her.
Now that the intruders had been dealt with, the Oregon[Dalki] became aware of a certain someone who was flying one of their ships. With the way it was moving, and with no orders given they knew it had to be an enemy.
One of the two spiked Oregon[Dalki] used its strong bulging thighs to jump towards and while it had reached a remarkable height, Archer[Quinn] had moved up higher, making it fall back to the ground. Before Archer[Quinn] could move towards the mothership, though, he would have to deal with the other nine ships that the Oregon[Dalki] were in by now.
'I have to do something!' Archer[Quinn] looked up, and gathered Qi in his fist. Just enough, and threw a punch hitting the hatch above him, shattering the glass. Then standing up and fighting against the wind resistance, he placed his hands out, bringing out his allies from the Shadow space.
Iree was slightly perplexed to find herself in the front seat and the wind wasn't helping with that. Meanwhile Archer[Quinn] stood in the empty space between the back of the small ship, and the seat.
"Pilot the ship while I get these guys off our tail!" Archer[Quinn] shouted and before she had a chance to say something he had already hopped to the back of the ship. The foremost Oregon[Dalki] ship had already gotten relatively close. Archer[Quinn] quickly threw out his leg and a blood crescent kick flowed.
Once it hit the wing, it sliced through half of it, yet it was enough to make it fall off balance and crash into the ground beneath. Seeing the others get close, Archer[Quinn] began to fire off Blood swipes from his hand, hitting them.
He didn't need to destroy the ships, just make sure they would be unable to fly again.
"Archer[Quinn], where do we go? I don't think the ship is just going to open up for us!" Iree shouted, as the two fo them were soon approaching the back of the large mothership.
"Just keep going forward! When I say jump, just do it!" Archer[Quinn] shouted back.
Iree wasn't sure what his plan was, but she had been ready to lay down her life for Archer[Quinn], so she wouldn't question him now. Full force she went to collide into the mothership, and the others seeing this decided to pull back. If they did the same then the ship would simply explode once they crashed.
At the last second, Archer[Quinn] grabbed Iree and encased the two of them in shadow slowing down their velocity. Getting rid of it, Archer[Quinn] grabbed onto the outside holding on to the uneven bumpy surface of the mothership.
Finally, using his Shadow travel, he entered through the substance of the Oregon[Dalki] mothership, and the two of them found themselves inside.
"Now, let's take this damn thing down!"
To be continued........
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