Chapter 258 - The Failed Plot
Ever since the death of Presider Crostfree, the Pioneers were all facing a reorganization. Under Pridgeon's command, several new orders were issued, which improved on the security of the Pioneers and Presiders due to the sudden attacks and mysterious deaths of the Bringer of Change and the attacks made by the Lost Primordial and against the group who were believed to be against the Lost Primordial.
As such, a protocol was established to protect Pioneers in Australia. Pioneers could use no Aragarian techs for communication, and they would only use technologies known on Earth. An established code was set. Bringers of Change would contact one another, but this line is something that Presider Pridgeon could listen into.
However, in this protocol, Pridgeon could disconnect the line so that the line will not route to any Pioneers and to himself in fear of being discovered.
If that protocol is activated, the line will randomly route to random phone lines. This will also serve as a signal to the Pioneer that no support will be granted as his position is already compromised and aid cannot happen.
The Pioneer heard through his Planteds working for the military of the approaching threat. He was informed and immediately requested for back up. But now, he could only grit his teeth in anger as he heard the voice prompt offer him amazing deals that sounded too good to be true. After all, who could provide loans in a time of crisis? Not to mention the fact that many of the residents are not necessarily residents of the city and may have been refugees driven to the Central cities of Australia.
"Sir?" One of the Planteds asked as he could see the grim expression of the Pioneer.
"We are abandoned. We do what we have to do. We take the blame for being the Lost Primordial. Our enemies could be the Lost Primordial, or we could have been wrongfully accused. We fight back." The Pioneer could only sigh in defeat. He knew his death was approaching.
The reserved platoon of soldiers and Exoskeleton that this Pioneer commanded all went to their assigned positions. They wore Exoskeletons, which were more advanced than what the Australians used in war. They continued to monitor the sightings of the six Exoskeletons and began to improve their defenses. Lioncourt had already given Chester the instructions to leak their findings, which would help the Pioneer prepare for the attack.
And so, several sentry guns were deployed on the large park that was right in front of the complex's main building.
But as this continued, Lioncourt sighed as he knew that his attention could not be fixed on the six Exoskeletons.
"As expected. The diversion is here." Lioncourt frowned.
"What diversion?"
"They don't want us to know what's happening inside that complex. So it's coming. Several companies of soldiers will now attack the different sides of the city. That's why I had your men position themselves on those positions. They should be coming... right… about... now!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Several explosions occurred almost in synch with each other.
Several large Armored Carrier appeared. These were designed to be like mobile bases that commanded the group. It perched right outside the city and would send attacks towards the city but continued to move further or nearer to avoid getting attacked by ranged weapons.
It was also armed with air defense systems that stopped incoming rockets from approaching.
Several companies of soldiers could be found approaching the cities as the Armored Carrier shot suppressing fire on the city walls.
"There more than what I anticipated. Either this enemy is overly cautious, or they were expecting great resistance. But by the looks of it, the enemy knew that they would be facing an army." Lioncourt voiced his thoughts.
"Maybe because they know that the Lost Primordial would waltz in the headquarters and threaten the General not to send his army." General Chester answered back with a sarcastic expression.
"Me? No. Impossible. But it sounds like you're right. That is what makes it strange." Lioncourt wondered.
"Who knew about me? I cut ties and disappeared from society just as Progenitor instructed…" He thought to himself.
"Deal with the Exoskeletons near the complex. This army is just a diversion. Tell your men to hold the line. From the looks of it, none of the soldiers beyond our walls are skilled as the six inside the city. Those six Exoskeletons are far more terrifying than the armies. Just do it. Wait for my signal." Lioncourt gave his orders.
Chester followed but continued to grit his teeth. More than ten Armored Carriers were positioned outside the city. They were all placed in a unique position that the city could only provide limited air support to the ground troops. The possible actions he could take were only a few, and all of them were risky. So he decided to follow Lioncourt.
Lioncourt began to personally oversee several soldiers' commands as the General had to do one more important role.
The soldiers that were attacking the city were identified as Australians. He began to communicate with the Australian soldiers that were attacking them and demanded that they stop.
The General had been trying to explain his actions to these companies' Captains, but none of them responded. Chester increased his threats and sent emergency pings to other Generals. But surprisingly, one of the Generals suddenly called him back.
"I can't believe Jamie was right. You are a traitor. Luckily, I did as she instructed. Why else did you not send your armies as was ordered? She already sent me a report. She said that a strange elite team of soldiers were able to bypass your defenses? Good luck with dealing with them, Lost Primordial." The line immediately disconnected.
General Chester's expression was so ugly that he began to roar at Lioncourt, who was ignoring him and kept his eyes focused on the sightings of the six Exoskeletons.
Soon, several other Captains declared that they knew General Chester was working for the Lost Primordial and that their General had given the order to kill him. Several broadcast reached the cities asking the soldiers to surrender and to free the civilians.
Nathan, who was one of the Twelve Disciples, stood outside one part of the city and gave his orders.
"Remember men… It could happen anytime. Don't panic and try to do it as we discussed before." He gave his reminders and waited with great anticipation. His Unlocking was not at his highest peak as he remained focused.
The sudden broadcast confused most soldiers and the Civilians who were nearby, beginning to rush out of it, wanting to get out of the city.
Jamie was also experiencing the same circumstances.
At that moment, it happened.
Lioncourt used his powers and manipulated the movement of the soldiers that were positioned outside of the city. He also secretly aided the civilians to escape the city.
"I'm sorry. But your deaths are necessary for this battle." Lioncourt apologized as he did it. But not a trace of guilt weighed in his heart. It was like he was giving these civilians the due courtesy necessary.
And when many parts of the city were unable to contain the panicked civilians, the gates were opened, and the civilians finally found a way to escape.
The weapons that were being telekinetically controlled by Lioncourt launched a rocket towards the civilians.
On several parts of the city, the same thing was happening. The escaping civilians found themselves as targets for the coming rockets.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The attacks were broadcasted and shown all over the city, shocking the civilians. Many near the gates immediately went inside the city and ran towards their houses. No one could tell just how many civilians died on those attacks.
"Hmm?!" Lioncourt, however, was shocked at the reaction of the soldiers.
The soldiers that shot the rockets were not killed. And while that attack was malicious, it should have sent the approaching armies into panic and confusion and would have caused them to kill themselves. But now, Lioncourt can't do it. After the first soldier launched the rocket, most of the soldiers dropped their weapons almost immediately.
Lioncourt could no longer make a subtle telekinetic attack to force the other soldiers to kill each other.
Besides, the soldiers were outside of the city and were beyond his control.
"What's going on? Did they know about my techs?" Lioncourt frowned and immediately sent one of his mechanical bugs to move closer towards the soldiers. His bugs could fly faster than regular flies and at max speed could move as fast as 60 kilometers per hour.
Soon, the discussion was now in range.
"I can't believe it… The Lost Primordial… He's so cruel." A soldier muttered.
"Men, as you can see, we are dealing with an evil far more terrifying. We know that they have technologies that have advanced magnetism that can force us to shoot each other. And I warned you all and taught you how not to kill each other. I made sure that you will always keep your safety on when not shooting. But I didn't expect that they had a way to make rockets attack remotely!" The Captain, Maddie began to express hatefully.
The soldiers were already made aware of their enemy's possibility of using magnetic or programmed attacks that will trick their Exoskeleton suits or guns into shooting at each other.
"The Lost Primordial had a choice. He could have used that rocket to kill us all, but instead, he used it to make us look evil. Instead of killing the Captain of this troop, he used it to kill civilians! I order everyone this new command, do not ever point your guns to an ally!" The Captain shouted.
The soldiers took these commands to heart. It would be dangerous if they accidentally killed each other.
"Do not worry about that technique! It's complex and will probably eat a lot of energy! Just like that weapon we captured, it takes time! So we will use this gap to infiltrate the city!" The Captain began to give off various commands as all armies began to attack the city.
Lioncourt's expression turned ugly.
General Chester had just disconnected against one of the Captains who personally called them to insult Chester and commended General Chester for his cowardice of using civilians.
"Did you do that?!" Chester roared at Lioncourt.
"No. They have the same technology that I have. That's how." Lioncourt's expression was just as ugly as Chester's.
"You can't be…"
"Do you understand why I was hiding? Just like Richie, who you once had the opportunity to study, I did my best to hide myself because I don't want to end up like that kid! Ever since he was found out in the Underworld, he has been a weapon that was experimented on and used. Of course, Richie grew so powerful that no organization could touch him. He decided to stay in Australia because of the environment that I had made for myself! It had very little involvement in international affairs or the Underworld. That's why he allowed the government to hire him!"
Chester was silent but could not help but be amazed at what Lioncourt knew.
"Focus on defending the city. At least with this, the citizens can be protected easier. I hope those attacks will make them more compliant. I'll put my attention on those six exoskeletons. They are within range of the complex."
Chester nodded but remained suspicious at Lioncourt. A part of him believed that Lioncourt made those attacks.
Git Godlike slowly approached the area.
"Remember what he said. We assume that that man knows our location and that the government has already locked on to our position. Trace… What are your thoughts on the battle plans of the enemy?" Cronus was addressing Misty Wedgers using a new title to hide their own. They spoke at a speed that was faster than what most humans could understand. The frequency they used were also different.
"They should be wary of fighting us. That person should already have estimated our strength and would have determined a precise way to kill us."
"So sniping or a weapon that could blow up an entire block."
"That's one possibility or a series of weapon attacks, an elite team… But I doubt they would send Dawn against us."
"Alright. Then we proceed as usual. Hebron, maintain a position in the center. Provide sniping support for everyone. All Guy, I want you to create a perimeter and a detection field. We need to be made aware of any weapons launched directed at that complex. Fist and Kite, follow me to battle. We do what we do best."
Twister, who was renamed All Guy in this mission, fired his weapon. He carried the most diverse sets of weapons that contained almost every weaponized version of the various Paths that the Seeker's team could gather.
Misty Wedgers went ahead and scouted the location. But suddenly, several attacks were made even though she was trying to avoid getting detected.
The Exoskeletons in the Megalus complex let out powerful bullets that could pierce through the thick pavement and hard steels.
Misty had to escape and retread to avoid being struck and even used one of the sound barriers in her suit to block most of the bullets.
Misty returned to her team and made her report.
"They are ready and use weapons more advanced than the Australian army. It uses Enigmatic Magnetic Pulse, which makes the attacks nearing our rail guns in power. But, they have the advantage of being able to shoot it consecutively.
"As expected. But this will be easily stopped. Once All Guy sets up those beacons and creates our EMP field, it would be easy." Cronus smiled. The Twelve Disciples had practically taken over several bases. With that, they leaked Australia's techs to Seeker's team, who was able to reverse engineer it and create countermeasures against EMP.
Twister activated the beacons that were positioned all over the area. The beacons produced an electromagnetic charge. At the same time, it emitted a sonar pulse that allowed the two weapons to detect everything within a few kilometers of their area. It also disrupted the EMP.
"What's going on?!" The Pioneer in the complex shouted as their techs could no longer detect the movements around the complex.
Paul Anthony, who was addressed as Hebron, had already finished his preparations. He found a targe immediately launched his attack.. This sniping attack was also another terrifying weapon.