Chapter 1162: Earth and Sky - The Unstoppable Advance of Ultramarines!

A few moments ago,

SEISMIC DISTURBANCE DETECTED.

[Brace,] Sergeant Cassian said as his HUD lit up, the ground beneath his feet quaking as it gained fissures.

In the very next moment, with an uncontrolled and unnatural might, the earth erupted, spewing geysers of lava.

The explosion not only felt volcanic, but it also carried the strength of one.

Despite knowing it was coming and bracing for it, the Ultramarines were thrown in different directions like twigs, their figures crashing onto the vast plain hundreds of meters apart from each other with loud THUDS.

Cassian ignored the flickering HUD as he surveyed the battlefield.

VISUAL CONTACT LOST — the warning notification read, showcasing the rough directions of the rest of the Squad.

And then the voice boomed.

"Do not allow them to regroup!" the Witch roared. "Surround them! Kill them! Kill every last one of these Muggles!"

This scale of Magic had not been part of the intelligence briefing, Cassian noticed, getting up.

Had Lieutenant Varro learned of this Witch’s capabilities from the Pillars, Squad Aegis would have been briefed accordingly.

Which meant this was one of those unpredictable variables that Strike Force Invictus needed to solve themselves.

Acceptable, Cassian thought.

The enemy was going for an obvious, presumed weakness within the Squad by trying to prevent them from regrouping and concentrating the attacks after singling them out.

Let her know that it was a futile endeavor, then.

[Astartes...] the Sergeant commanded, wielding his Power Sword in his left hand, his right hand carrying the Bolter. [Toward Alpha.]

...

Momo, marveling at her genius and the display of her might, was smiling with satisfaction.

Separating the group of ten had been a must, she had decided.

It was clear that only one of the Muggles had the means to block the Killing Curses using some kind of field.

It must have been the technology Dumbledore had been keeping most secret, even from the top echelons of the Order of the Black Phoenix.

And, seeing the result with her own eyes, she couldn’t even fault the guy.

Nothing could block a Killing Curse.

There had been no Charm that could shield one against it.

So, it was natural that if these Muggles were sent by Dumbledore, he would have sent them with the technology.

The question was — why did only one carry that technology?

Were there limitations on how to use it and who could use it?

Regardless of the nature of the restrictions, Momo had confirmed in the blink of an eye that once she separated the soldiers, they wouldn’t be able to block the Killing Curses anymore. At least, that would be the case with nine of them. Once they were dead, she would easily take care of the tenth one as well, snatching the technology for herself.

Sadly, moments passed, but the smile on Momo’s face only shrank instead of broadening.

She could see it from here, standing atop the cliff.

The flashes of curses — not only the Killing ones, but of all kinds.

Yet...

The ones getting butchered were still her Death Eaters.

BOOMS rang out, deafening ears, as the ten soldiers, instead of slowing down, tore through Wizards, Witches, Giants, Goblins, and other Magical Creatures.

Fear.

No... Not merely fear.

It was hesitation, brought on by a lack of confidence... confidence in themselves, in each other.

Every Death Eater wanted someone else to cast the first Spell; someone else to step forward; someone else to make the first move before deciding on what to do next.

And hesitation lasted merely a heartbeat...

A heartbeat was all those armored giants needed.

That hesitation gave those ridiculously fast giants enough time to rain hell down on dozens of people nearest to them.

Their weapons held such superiority, especially at close range, that they obliterated magical shields—almost all of which were hastily erected in panic after that single heartbeat of hesitation.

In fact, Magical Creatures like loosely controlled Werewolves were doing much better... in dying a brave death.

Worse, the little Dragons Voldemort’s army held became useless as well, unless she decided to burn her own men to death along with the armored soldiers. Given that they all had survived the earlier attack instead of becoming ash, who knew if another such attempt at burning would even work?!

Then there was a vague feeling in Momo’s heart — a woman’s intuition, perhaps...

The ten soldiers, scattered across the bloody battlefield, were... coming toward her.

Had she...

Momo licked her lips, hesitating to ask the question to herself.

Had she made things easier for the armored soldiers by separating them?!

Because before, at least, even if people were dying, they were still concentrating all their attacks on the ten of them; they were still slowing down their advancement.

Now, in scattering the soldiers, she had also scattered parts of her army.

Not to mention, Momo had thought that as the armored giants tried to regroup, it would create further weakness in their actions.

But...

"They are not even trying to regroup..." Momo mumbled.

And, with those words, the High Priestess heard the hesitation, panic, and fear in her own voice.

The Grand Witch within her quashed that fear by biting her lips and drawing blood.

Coming for her?!

"Haha..." Momo laughed, raising her Priestess Staff once again, magic coming alive in her surroundings. "Know my wrath. Sky!"

...

"Avada..."

Cassian heard the word loud and clear.

Yes. Simple-minded and smothered use of magic, as predicted.

Cassian didn’t aim at the Wizard casting the Curse. Not when more such Curses were being flung at him from all directions. Aiming at any one of them would only make the targets retaliate faster in panic.

Instead, Cassian took a measured step to his left, dodging a few Curses, and kicked a group of Goblins, sending them flying into the air.

Then, with one swipe of his Bolter, pressing the trigger, he made them explode, raining their blood and innards on the casters.

That was it.

That was all it took for most of the Wizards to pause midway through casting the Spell.

Cassian rewarded that hesitation by planting his feet into the ground and rushing forward with a boom, beheading a dozen men, women, and creatures using his Power Sword.

It was then that the word SKY rang across the world.

BAROMETRIC DISTURBANCE DETECTED.

CRACK!

Cassian looked up and found large patches of blackness in the sky, ten in number, all rumbling with thick bolts of lightning... all towering right on top of him and his brothers.

In return, the Sergeant had only one command.

[Brace.]

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