Julius’ POV
Lian’s older brother and sister were sent to a medical tent under high supervision since they were rebels.
Empress Cai led Julius and Lian through the temporary command center tent. The table was fully occupied with many members from the American Mage Federation. Everyone inside the tent has a screen to view the situation in the Gulf. Multiple carrier ships were en route to the Louisiana coast.
It was only recently that the American Mage Federation got access to a few dozen missiles, installed with nuclear warheads. Today would be a launch and strike test.
“Have the launchers been set?” Julius asked.
“Yes, sir. Three are ready.”
Julius went to a control panel and clicked a few buttons. The main screen popped up, displaying the total ammo of the new portable C-RAM air defense system. A prototype at best, and also, the system needed a test. He went to ask the individual responsible for controlling it in this entire mission.
Empress Cai and Lian talked while Julius and the controller went through the checklist and lights.
After a few minutes, Julius headed to the long table where all the seats were occupied. Julius stood behind one of the seats, beginning to talk. “The rebels are out there. From the multiple rifts that were opened, I have a feeling we might have to deal with thousands…Way more than in Colemond.”
Empress Cai turned to him. She still had the tension on her face, and Julius still felt her qi was a little hot.
“I don’t know why you drained the entire body of water, but okay…Yes, we noticed that too. A few command units are ready to defend the mission,” Empress Cai said, turning to the screen. “And they’re about to clash with them.”
“Who’s going to watch over the siblings?”
Empress Cai glanced at Lian. “Me. I’m staying put. The medical and I will keep watch of them. Other than that, everything should be in order.” She turned her attention to the table. “Is that right, comrades?”
The table nodded, followed by an accepting gesture.
Before leaving, all the last-minute checks were performed. All protocols and logistic checks were checked. Afterward, Julius and Lian departed the tent. When they got outside, an alarm whirred and echoed.
BRRRTTT!
Rapid red laser-like bullets fired into the night sky. An explosion erupted, brightening the night sky for a brief second. Julius’ eyes zoomed in and saw a couple of burning cloaks descend.
“Two kills,” Lian muttered. “So this is how your air defense system operates.”
“It is one of them, but now with more ammo, it can be more pristine.”
Kaboom!
New Orleans’ tallest building was shaved. Its three highest floors and the ceiling were engulfed in flames. Barely a thousand feet tall into the sky. All of that was gone, dropping back to the nine hundreds. Julius and Lian flew to the sky and went at multiple times the speed of sound. They arrived in the central business district.
Cars were speeding everywhere. Julius’ feet felt the ground shake violently like an earthquake. Glasses shattered, bringing a rain of shards to the street. Sounds rang in his ears, forcing him to press them hard. He clenched his jaw so hard that the mouthplate involuntarily formed. His jaw muscles calmed after it was on.
Lian was exerting her aura, disintegrating all the glass shards that were raining down on her.
Julius followed suit, unleashing a bulb of energy. Electricity was cut as power lines were stripped. Sparks flashed through the glass of multiple street lights in the vicinity.
The block went dark until a huge circular portal hovered above. Thousands of feet high, opening like a gate at the entrance. Thunder roared as lightning bolts struck everywhere nearby.
It came out of its circumference. An electrical trap indeed. Julius and Lian flew up for a better view. They saw one bolt disintegrate everything it touched, withering it into dust. There were no specifics. From rocks and concrete to panicked people, they perished in a blink.
Anything and anybody inside the circumference of the portal’s reach was trapped.
To the horror of Julius, he then saw people fall through the portal tens of thousands of feet high. He squatted until his knees and feet were tense. Bright light illuminated around his boots.
“We are going to have to break that wall.”
“Whatever it takes,” Julius muttered, then launched to the sky. Lian trailed behind him.
With his eyes aimed at the wall and the rain of people, Julius cast 火 on his knuckles and punched through the magic barrier. Like bursting the bubble, he protruded. The flames sped and rampaged through everything in seconds. Bits of the barrier tried to escape the flames but exploded into blitz.
The buildings within a few blocks felt the abrupt pressure. Soundwaves tore through the ceilings. Concrete broke down into dust. There was nothing else to comprehend. Now, those buildings within a few blocks were completely exposed from above.
Julius saw that a few people were falling right in his flight path. He articulated his legs like pushing on the brakes while driving. With a little time to spare, his arms reached out and grabbed two out of the three.
Lian swarmed like a fly, grabbing the third person. Julius steered hard left, following her. A few of the mages were already deployed. The two came across one, who directed them to one of the many safe spots outside of downtown.
Julius was following Lian and the mage as they traveled through the entrance gate. His left arm felt warm and sore. When he glanced over, he saw the lady he had rescued was high…on adrenaline. And when he got a better look at her face, Julius saw it was all soaked in blood. Her yellow, fierce eyes shone, and her hair was emitting loads of smoke as if it were a factory.
The smoke hit Julius’ face, causing him to cough violently. His body reacted, and qi burst from his body. The mage, who led Julius and Lian to the safe spot, took the lady out of Julius’ left grip and the guy off of his right.
Julius continued to cough, only to find himself feeling wet. He summoned a dose of pills and liquid, taking it all in one gulp, much to the displeasure of others. Lian sprinted to the clinic for a spare bed for the lady she carried.
Looking at the ones who were staring, Julius wondered what was wrong. “Did I spook y’all or something?”
“Sir,” a nurse replied with her green eyes shining, “you could’ve choked.”
“No worries,” Julius responded as he strolled to the clinic.
He sprinted down the long hallway, screeching his feet when he was about to hit a dead end. It was by timing that there were enough beds for the three, because now the clinic was declared fully occupied.
The lady that Julius saved was rampaging on the bed. A reckless embodiment of chaos was limited moves away from destroying the mattress. A few medical mages had to restrain her. Julius watched her, analyzing her vitals. Lian was behind him, across the hall. She was watching the lady she rescued. In comparison, hers was calmer and mellow.
Julius checked with Empress Cai over the phone for details of the portal. He pressed the phone to his ear while staring at the lady. She was still crazy in bed as the mages were raising their power through the multiple spells inflicted.
Rumble.
“What’s the situation over there?”
“Not good at all. And why are you still at one of the safe zones?! I need you out there.”
Julius was still watching the lady’s chaotic interaction with the mages as she couldn’t lie still. “Lian and I got potential candidates, that’s why.”
A brief pause. “The mages there can keep records. You two should come back outside now. The more manpower…the quicker to resolve this problem.”
Julius shook his head, not wanting to leave just yet. He partially turned to Lian, and she was doing some mage healing work. “Give Lian and me two minutes.”
“Two minutes?! Fine! But it better be worth it over the candidate.”
The call ended.
Looking at the lady, Julius fired a grand spell right at her, ending the fiasco. It affected the mages who were calming and apprehending her to the bed. In the next second, the spell ended. And finally, the lady’s insane adrenaline came to a fizz like opening a can of soda. She simmered down and passed out asleep.
The three medical mages resumed their work in relief. Julius felt their qi calmed down after the lady fell asleep. He backed away from the front of the bed and headed to Lian. Her hands were gloved and soaked in liquid that was continuously dripping to the floor. Julius aimed his head down to view the floor, and a puddle was right next to her.
The puddle grew by each droplet, and because Lian was focusing on the lady she rescued and not him, Julius fired a beam, evaporating the puddle.
She turned around. “I’m busy.”
Julius nodded. “Yeah, I know, but we have to get back to downtown. It’s getting worse, and we have about a minute left.”
He knew she was aware of it. Lian continued to assist a medical mage for the next half a minute. Afterward, she burned the gloves, sanitizing her hands. She let the mage do her thing and sprinted with Julius out of the clinic.
When they exited the safespot’s premises, the night sky was unwelcoming and haunting. The terror and demonstration from the portal in downtown New Orleans had reached here. It wasn’t even ten minutes since.
This isn’t good. Julius turned to Lian while pointing to the nearest end of the threatening cloud. “Shall we strike it from here?”
She turned to him. “We’d better amplify our powers to clean through.” Her black aura rose out of her shoulders, turning the area a few feet around her into black sand.
Julius watched her go for a massive jump. Sand blew up to his face, causing him to cough.
He exerted his qi, wiping all the sand away. His Skoltor System had the altitude numbers rolling as he was scanning Lian’s trajectory. Following her move, Julius went for a giant leap.
One breeze into the air; he was right by Lian’s side. He then summoned Valence at full power. A glare from the blade made him notice something new. Other than the glow of his qi, it didn’t appear much different until his glance at the ground floor thousands of feet below.
Like the sunrays touching the floor from the almighty sky, the bluish glow from the ground took Julius by surprise. Lian then pointed at the stubborn, dark clouds, which received the same reflection of light.
Electric sparks flashed from the edge of the blade, and a bulb of energy was forming at the tip.
[Skill Count: 80] + 1
What could be coming for Julius as he and Lian were only seconds from touching the clouds?