Chapter 283 - Magantae’s Gamble
The Whale and the Behemoth's sudden battle forced the WGP to dive down towards the water to avoid the battle.
The Commanders carried their Admiral and defended the incoming attacks that erupted as the two opposing forces battled.
Shockwaves and explosions followed them even as they descended. The rest of the Caliphate army had to retreat as they couldn't find their footing from the attacks of the two majestic creations.
Powerful bright spear-like weapons that moved like lightning emerged from the whale, and the many grains of sand would block and devour the solidified lightning energy, which prevented it from moving.
The Form of the Golem was one reason why no nation had dared to attack the Caliphates in its region.
As long as there was sand, the Caliphates would rule.
Even with the many techs provided in Charles' ship, Vender could only do so much as he has not studied how to use this ship in detail.
Aside from that, there were many attacks that he couldn't use, as the energies it would release would garner attention and investigation.
But through his Unlocking and the auto-pilot systems that Lennox has programmed his ship to have, the ship was able to stand its ground against the Behemoth.
The WGP Commanders had dived down and moved towards the location of where their ship was. But even when they were underwater, the raging attacks and explosions that both monsters were using made their dive a dangerous one.
"Admiral. What do we do?" Commander Drinths asked. They were trained to act decisively and do what the Admiral would do. But now, they didn't know what to do. All they were doing now was hiding under the battle. If it weren't for this African vessel, they would have already died.
She looked around her, and her hope was crushed. This battle was an epic failure. She not only failed her mission but now their ship was discovered! Looking at the state of the vessel, Magantae knew that the ship was near to sinking.
"Re-retreat. We need to survive. We have failed." Magantae spoke.
The Commanders felt as if their bodies froze at those words. She had never sounded so desperate in all of her life. The only time that she admitted defeat was when she secretly fought against Lowengren and the Warfreakz team a few years back.
But that defeat gave her an obsession. After all, it was just a game. But this defeat delivered a grave blow to her pride and ego.
The Commanders retreated deeper into the ocean and further away from the battlefield. They headed towards the location of their ship.
Magantae was enraged at her stupidity. The enemy had used Vender against them. She knew where she made a mistake. They showed concern and even wanted to save Vender and the enemy trap them. They sent a soldier with a powerful weapon to pretend to be Vender. The sounds of General Vender's scream continued to resonate in her ears even as they had fled.
"I'm General Vender." It was a very open-ended statement. And the tone of these words sounded as if it was struggling or bracing himself from such pain.
"I'm an idiot. I believed the enemy." Magantae regretted her actions.
"Since when has he become such a figure in my heart?" Magantae silently thought. Her mother made the mistake of loving someone, and now, she was falling into that trap.
"Fleet Admiral! General Vender has communicated with me! The moment I got up the shore, I sent a signal towards the base because I thought you were there! But he found it! He taught me how to use the metallic cubes!" A transmission was sent. It was from their vessel!
"Sa-Say again?!" Magantae was stunned at what she heard.
"General Vender! He managed to escape! He was betrayed! The enemy had already detected us even before we attacked, and when they saw Vender, they decided to play along instead of killing him outright! They wanted to lure us out! They tortured him and recorded his voice to fool you! But Vender was still successful in planting those cubes and destroyed a big portion of the base! He managed to get out!"
"How?" Commander Drinths couldn't believe it.
"The Lightning Rod! He has one, remember!? When that last bomb exploded, the electric energy attacked the location where he was being held! It killed everyone around, and it also set him free! He's back! He's working on destroying the base and plans to lure Joab Barak and kill him! The Caliphate General is in there!"
Magantae couldn't believe what she was hearing. Just when she felt so guilty in letting her emotions get bested, now, it seems that her decision to save Vender was right.
"He has left one metallic cube and said that it is already armed! We just have to twist it, and it will explode after three seconds! It's hidden inside a medical facility on the West Wing of the base! He has also positioned the lightning rods all over the place! If we detonate it, we can level the base!"
"Admiral. Allow us to complete the mission. You need to go back and recover-"
"Admiral! Vender has important information for us as well! Intrik isn't the enemy! It's his Commanders!" The Commander added.
A small explosion suddenly occurred near the area where the vessel was.
"Argh! It's the Commanders!"
A strange Exoskeleton could be seen hovering over the waters. It shot a strange green blast that exploded out.
Suddenly, several weapons began to shoot out, and several green explosions could be seen.
Magantae was alarmed at the level of radiation that the small explosion released.
"Admiral! The Commanders are here! Just as Vender said! I had to risk being detected to send this signal to you! Vender also said thank you. I have to dive, Admiral! I'll rendezvous back in thirty minutes! Please complete your mission! There are greater things at stake in this battle that I can't explain! You have to-" The line was cut.
The ship began to descend and disappeared as the unknown Exoskeleton dove down to chase it underwater.
"Commander! Wait!" The Commander tried to communicate.
"Enough! If you try to send any more signal, the enemy will find our location!"
Magantae ordered.
But suddenly, a torrent of attacks was shot from afar, and it landed near Magantae and the Commander's current position.
"Those bastards!" Magantae cursed.
"Admiral! Don't talk! You'll open your wounds! We retreat! We are out of the ship! Those Commanders made his preparations well!" One of the Commanders ordered.
The group retreated towards another location, and the attacks that were aimed at them began to shoot randomly.
"They lost our signal. It must be the Dune World!" One of the Commanders deduced.
Magantae was trying to calm down.
"That idiot! He dove so fast!" One of the Commanders cursed.
"He didn't know! He doesn't know our current scenario! He did the right thing. That vessel just received an attack from a Gehanna Piercer. And now, the Commanders are trying to acquire it! If that vessel falls into the enemy, we lose!"
"What's our option? How possible is it for us to succeed? We just escaped that base, and now, Vender wants us to go back in there? Maybe it's a trick!"
Magantae gritted her teeth. She knew she made a mistake when she got ambushed by that imposter. She was stabbed because her heart believed it was General Vender.
Her mind told her no, but no matter how much she tried to employ mind over matter, the matters of the heart were something new to her.
"It can't be a trick! Remember, he did fool the Caliphate into using the weapons against them. This was his plan when he got captured! He fooled the enemy into thinking they could use the lightning weapon against us. But look at how much of their base was damaged! We've confirmed the dead in their army! It wasn't a plan to lure us. Vender fooled them! My mistake was that I immediately believed that imposters words!" Magantae spoke up. Her words commanded dignity and firmness.
"Now General Vender is trying to make up for his mistake. He never thought that he would be betrayed. That is why he said thank you. He must have seen our efforts in trying to save him. What is the path to survival?" Magantae asked. She dared not make any decisions now.
"Gender Vender!" Commander Drinths suddenly exclaimed.
"The crazy African person?"
"He has a tech that can match a Behemoth Golem! If we could contact him! He might agree to send us inside! He did save us earlier!"
"Yes, he did! But then he immediately made us the targets of the Behemoth! That guy is incompetent, that I am even wondering how he has managed to stay alive until now!"
"Yes, he made us take the heat for a, but it was to activate the weather tech that he had! He immediately moved forward and clashed with the Behemoth, which gave us the chance to slip away!"
"You want to contact that nut-job?"
"Do we have a choice! Intrik's Commanders think we are losing and have even found our vessel! They are currently chasing it and are waiting for the Behemoth and this Gender to finish their fight! But they still haven't taken account of the secret actions of General Vender! General Vender still have more of those lightning-rod dildos! We sent in a few, and he must have only retrieved some but left the rest!" Commander Drinths explained.
"We can still win this battle and succeed in our mission if we destroy the base! This is our only option! We don't have a vessel! If we retreat, Intrik's commanders can hunt us down."
The other Commanders were silent.
Magantae didn't say a word but gazed at the silhouette of the large blue ship above waters that would offer them their salvation.
"We can't sneak in in this fight! We can only evade detection if we stay underwater! The moment we go above water, or the moment we try to head back to the base and reach the shores, the Caliphate will find us!"
"Then we ask Gender Vender for help! He might have the techs to do it!"
"I am not putting my life in the hands of that crazy person!"
"We have to. Drinths is right." Magantae finally explained.
"We have to be as close to the Behemoth and the Whale-Ship. Their battle is distorting the sensors, and with it, we can sneak back into the base! General Vender and this Gender guy can be our hope in being successful. Those Lightning Rods can destroy this base and even kill a Commander! Intrik hates my guts, but if he is loyal to the WGP, he will side with us and even help us! We just need evidence! At most, he will just claim the glory for himself and put us to shame! But with the WGP at stake, will this be a concern to you, Commanders? We will be unnamed and possibly humiliated, but we might save the WGP!"
"Our shame for the WGP!" The Commanders chorused.
"Then we sneak back in! Commander Drinths. Try to communicate with that whale-ship! He already revealed his broadcast signal. Try to contact him there and ask for help!"
Magantae paused but didn't want to let any pained voice out. The wound she had was taking a toll on her, and she was only bearing it because of the drugs and the Exoskeletons recovery system that had activated.
"On it!" Drinths moved towards the surface and tried to communicate with the large blue ship.
Magantae and the rest remained on the deeper part of the sea.
"I hope this gamble pays off! Vender... Please be alright." Magantae's thoughts trailed off even during such chaotic circumstances.
Meanwhile, deep underwater, the vessel of the WGP had stopped on a deeper part of the sea.
"How did you know how to pilot it?" Charles asked. He had just entered the vessel wearing the powerful suit that he used.
"It's an advanced method of using my Zone. I just know what to press and do." Alean chuckled.
"Scary." Charles shook his head.
"That suit is powerful! I can't believe Lennox! It's been a few months when you left, and he already had the ability to use remake this? He weaponized form of Meng's Desolation in such a short time!" Alean praised as he observed the various blasters of the Exoskeleton.
"Looks like using the voice-changer was enough to fool the WGP Fleet Admiral. Or is it because You've gotten better at lying that Magantae and the Commanders did not suspect anything?"
"I am with Lowengren." Alean rolled her eyes.
"Yeah. I still can't believe his plans…" Charles sighed.
"Anyways… You up for the next part? Are you sure it's safe for you to go out there?" Charles asked.
"Yes. But I need a new suit! I can't use a WGP. I'm sure this vessel has a place where suits can be created."
"Oh. That's easy. Lennox gave me a powerful A.I system that sort of has his personality. Most of the techs and weapons in the Kyogre was just developed recently. Let me just upload Lennox V2.3."
"What?"
"Oh. The Kyogre is the name of the ship I was on. The same ship General Vender is piloting."
"No. The thing you said after that."
"You mean Lennox V2.3? It's Lennox's own A.I system based on himself. He sends me an updated patch once in a while."
"Lennox V2..3? Updated patch?" Alean marveled.