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Chapter 163: Trench Warfare
🕑 Added 2023-11-27 16:11:01 +0000 UTCBetween the guardians of Ghost Reef and The Sapphire Armada’s invasion force, the latter were the first to falter. Coop and the phantoms were barely getting started, fully prepared to launch an extended campaign in the defense of their settlement, but the invaders hesitated before continuing their efforts to assault the mysterious fog. From their perspective, Coop’s Fog of War blanketed the entire main island of Ghost Reef, obfuscating the entire landmass, presenting their opponents with an unconditional advantage. Casting spells into the massive domain was ineffective and attempting to traverse through the mists had resulted in no progress whatsoever. It seemed as though the invaders in charge had come to the conclusion that continuing to assault the fog was a losing proposition.
Searching for methods of circumventing the fog pushed the forward squads to the east end of the channel and into the mangrove forest instead. It didn’t take long before the Armada fully abandoned the idea of breaching the island through the murky forest as well, finding the marshy ecosystem even more daunting than the channel between the two islands. The mangrove forest, with its natural obstacles, exacerbated by the influence of the assimilation had them reeling. That left them trying a third option, wading through the shallows, far off the western shore, away from the lighthouse, so that they would hopefully wrap around and emerge on the western beach of Rock Key. Admittedly, Coop also believed it was their best shot, but if wading across the reef right up to the fort would have worked in the first place, they wouldn’t have needed to unload the troop transports on the opposite end of the island chain. Even before Coop had arrived, the defenders of Ghost Reef had repelled the invaders when they tried to navigate across the reefs to assault the fortress.
The constant wavering of the Sapphire Armada’s invading force had resulted in stalling the squads that followed behind the initial groups. While the forward attackers poked and prodded at the main island of Ghost Reef, finding setbacks at every turn, the rest were stuck waiting for new developments to make room for their march. Those that couldn’t witness the forward assaults rehashed the same mistakes as the initial squads, pressing further into the fog than they should and half-heartedly testing the mangroves, or they followed their predecessors as they waded out to the reef. In the meantime, others had begun fortifying the second island while those even further behind settled in for a longer conflict between two maritime powerhouses. The assault was transforming from an exercise in overwhelming a smaller settlement with their massive numbers to an extended campaign where they had to fight for every inch gained. They should have known it wouldn’t be so easy to sweep the fortified enemy away when the naval bombardment had failed to crack the defensive measures of the small island settlement, but they had fully committed when they launched their massive armada from their home port.
At first, as the squads waded into the ocean while seeking an alternative to crossing the channel into the mists or fighting through the mangroves, they probably believed that their maneuver would be a successful one. Coop’s fog didn’t actually extend all the way to the fort any longer. It was now concentrated on the channel between islands and both of their shores as it had been drifting south for the duration of the conflict. From offshore, the invaders could see that they had an opportunity to bypass the misty domain with a wide detour. But nothing on Ghost Reef would be easy for enemies of the settlement.
The first problem appeared when the Primal Kites started ambushing them. While the Constructs weren’t strong enough to defeat more than one person at best, the fact that the troops were constantly being bombarded from underground killed any momentum they had gained from adjusting their strategy. The sandbars they were using to navigate the reef were full of the annoying ambushers and they had no method of detecting the monsters before they were upon them. The soldiers had suitable numbers to overwhelm the individual Kites, preventing the creatures’ dodges from becoming truly dangerous, but that didn’t prevent the monsters from taking a few shots with their magical ranged attacks and leaving the fighters with preliminary injuries before even reaching their true opponents on the walls of the fortress. The eruptions of sand and water were enough to kill their morale as they had no way of telling if it was a deadly explosion or the beginning of a short monster encounter.
Ancient Piercers had already done a number on their initial assault, but at least the massive enemies were visible among the trees, giving the soldiers a chance to organize and face down the regular, if abnormally high level monsters. The Sapphire Armada had some experience facing down powerful monsters, but the straightforward battles with upfront monsters were in short supply on Ghost Reef. The Rippers had also made an appearance, crashing into the invaders from above, using their horrible lashing tongues to drag themselves onto individual victims when they least expected it. Then, the mangrove forest turned out to be teeming with Primal Serpents, cruising beneath the surface of the water and aggressively pursuing those who splashed too near their spawn areas. After all of that, the Primal Kites attacked them from underground as well. They were being assaulted from the trees above, from underground, underwater, and everything in between. Even without Coop’s Fog of War allowing him to listen in on their grumbling, it was clear that they had already had enough of Ghost Reef, finding the natives of the tropical paradise shockingly inhospitable.
And that was just the monsters. Coop’s spears continued to crash into them from above, exploding onto the sandbar like missiles, forcing the soldiers to split their attention from the submerged ground to the skies, as if knowing the projectiles were coming made any difference. The spears traveled at excessive speeds, breaking the spotters’ vision by flying above the clouds before shooting straight down. From below, they could only hope to spot the needle-like point seconds before it landed. The rush of wind as the tip of the spear tore the air and the thump of the wet sand being pierced beneath the waves was a periodic and traumatic occurrence.
Before they escaped the edges of Coop’s Fog of War, the phantoms had recycled some of their squad-based tactics from the siege. They formed groups of 20 and raided the flanks of the Armada’s army, teleporting in, dropping a coordinated strike of point blank area attacks in their midst, then teleporting back into the mists. The rapid strikes never gave the invaders a chance to organize proper counter attacks and the flexible nature of the phantoms’ movement abilities meant that the rapid assaults could happen almost anywhere. More than a dozen of the raids could occur simultaneously, creating havoc among the Armada’s troops.
Changing their position so that the mists were no longer between them and the settlement also exposed the invasion to the naval defenses of the fortress walls, but without the ability to use their planned countermeasures. Wading through the ocean, they had no cover. Trebuchets and cannons blasted them from hundreds of yards away, destroying feeble personally summoned shields with ease. The extreme range of the casters and archers meant that the Armada’s troops were completely exposed without their own navy to run interference.
Once another artificial storm started brewing, unnaturally isolating itself directly in their path while blasting the ocean with jagged lightning bolts that blinded them with flashes and caused their hair to stand on end even at a distance, the squads that had taken the initiative to lead the army into the ocean were turning to retreat. The entire campaign had turned into a nightmare. Others who would take their place in the front didn’t even bother, already exposed to the dangers of the island and not willing to take their chances. In comparison to the rest of Ghost Reef, the coconut palm grove with its charging Ancient Piercers and wispy mists actually seemed like the safest place.
Of course, they had dallied in Coop’s territory for far too long. A full day of their 200,000 troops being chipped away as they tried to reorganize their assault meant that their numbers were being diminished. Night was approaching, and Coop’s Fog of War had continued its steady progress until the second island was now within his domain as well. Streams of moonlight flickering between palm fronds highlighted the thickening mists until the Armada’s squads were having trouble coordinating with each other.
In their final ploy, the soldiers attempted to transform the second island into a stronghold. A forward base to withstand the abnormal resistance presented by Ghost Reef. They erected the siege equipment they had planned to use once they were in range of the fortress, but instead placed it all along the rows of coconut palms. Layered shields buzzed into existence and large alien slingshots were assembled within the protective wards while the soldiers used abilities to dig trenches in the sandy ground.
The Sapphire Armada’s ground assault had been reduced to roughly half its original size and it seemed like they were abandoning their original goal of conquest in favor of surviving as long as possible. While a cornered enemy would be a dangerous one, Coop and the phantoms weren’t worried. In fact, the Armada was digging their heels in the worst place possible. Fog of War had crept across the island long before they completed their stronghold. It was a simple matter to bring the fight to them. At best, the invading squads had only isolated themselves into individual pockets that would be outnumbered by a coordinated strike of all of the phantoms at once.
Coop liberally used Legacy of the Mists and his phantasms tore through the enemy forces, truly haunting the island under the darkness of night, spawning from all directions and turning the Armada around without a clear frontline to concentrate on. The mists drifted in waves that belied their density, tricking the Armada’s soldiers into thinking they were on the edges of the foggy domain when they were right in its midst. As bursts of mists revealed ancient warriors twice their level and with many times more attributes, they fragmented into tiny holds only occasionally reinforced by the rest of the army that traversed the island chain as those on the outside of the domain continued to stream inside.
The phantoms also entered the battle, following the lead of Coop’s Legacy ability, but retaining the perimeter rather than causing the same chaos as the ghosts. The fort was always at their backs, preventing any chance push from getting through their defense. They diligently swept sections of the hastily built stronghold, tearing down unused armaments and destroying the giant gears that encircled orbs and manually generated the blue layered shields. They were clearing the island, pushing the army back one section at a time. While the invaders were chasing their tails in the night, the phantoms destroyed the primary threat that the invasion had brought. The siege equipment was the first to go. After the largest weapons were gone, the fortress would be uncontestable.
Once the priority threat was dealt with, the phantoms were forced to clear the island trench by trench, but the primary battle was essentially over. The Armada had broken in the face of Ghost Reef’s natural defenses almost as much as the efforts of the residents.
“Champion.” Alaric’s tinny voice spoke as they finished clearing a half finished bunker that had been dug deep into the sand and approached yet another siege shield. The barriers buzzed with energy, but only presented a strange tingling sensation, like his whole body was polarized, when they walked through them. So far, every mana shield he could remember encountering had really been a proximity shield instead of a true barrier, preventing projectiles but not personnel from passing through the perimeter.
“Yes, Captain?” Coop prompted distractedly after summoning another pair of phantasms to flank a phalanx of soldiers that protected a nearby sandy bunker, awaiting a handful of phantoms that had snuck behind enemy lines and prodded at the entrance within the billowing mists.
With Presence of Mind he watched them leap through a mana shield and catch the squad by surprise, deep within the invading force and away from the perimeter. The Armada still hadn’t adjusted to the fact that the phantasms could appear anywhere within the mists. He was sure the fact that the phantoms could personally teleport compounded their confusion, and made it much more difficult to decipher the skills of those that the soldiers faced. Within the mists, the phantasms were indistinguishable from the ethereal residents. Really, only their ancient equipment gave them away, but anyone close enough to decipher such details had bigger problems to deal with, mostly involving survival.
“The enemy capital ship is returning to the edge of the shallows near the last island.” Alaric stated calmly, though Coop had no idea how he would know. He wondered if the Guard Captain had some connection with the entire settlement’s territory or if his aura abilities were just that advanced.
“I guess they’re ready to call it quits. They’re preparing for a retreat?” Coop wondered absently as he monitored his phantasms to see if he needed to create reinforcements anywhere. In the back of his mind, he was marveling at the discipline the Armada maintained. He had expected more appeals to accept their surrender, but they had yet to reach that point. The only explanation he had was that they were failing to take a proper accounting of their enemy thanks to the ethereal nature of the battles and the obfuscation of the battlefield.
“I suggest you take the ship.” The Guard Captain proposed. “The phantoms can handle the remnants of the invasion, especially now that their offensive has been completely broken. The enemy Champion is among those on board.”
“Oh?” Coop raised his eyebrows.
Another Champion appearing was a surprise and something of an opportunity. He could completely remove the Sapphire Armada from Earth, though he wasn’t sure if he really needed to be quite so ruthless with an already defeated enemy. He had half a mind to let them retreat, calling for his forces to dissolve back into the mists and return to the fort, but the Armada had gone too far in invading Ghost Reef’s territory. If the conflict had played out in a different manner, and Ghost Reef was on the verge of complete defeat, he was confident that they wouldn’t take it easy on them. Jones had advised that they were well passed half measures, and Coop accepted that fact. Besides, even if Coop took over their flagship, that didn’t mean negotiations would be off the table. He would just have an even better starting position if that’s where they ended up. Marcus would be so proud of his fledgling political instincts.
“A complete defeat is the only way to ensure you are not leaving a weakened enemy an opportunity to come back stronger.” Alaric continued, espousing a familiar opinion when it came to these conflicts as Coop made his decision.
“Alright, I’ll take their boat and present it as a gift to our Pirate Admiral. I wonder what she’ll do with it.” Coop expected Kayla to tear it apart in disgust, but maybe they would learn something from the alien ship.
He swapped to his shield and spear and a dozen phantasms disappeared leaving their opponents spinning around in confusion while wondering where the next attack would come from. Stepping heavily in the sand to plant his foot, he launched his ethereal weapon into the air. The spear flew through the night sky, invisible even to those who were watching closely for the missiles, anticipating the destruction they brought when they came down.
“Take it slow and make sure we don’t lose any phantoms. We’re still aiming for a flawless victory.” Coop directed the Guard Captain while the spear continued its trajectory.
“As you wish, Champion.” Alaric responded with an emotionless metallic rumble.
Coop mistjumped while the spear was still high in the air, easily clear of the battlefield, far above the third and fourth islands. For a second, he was high in the night sky, higher than he had ever been. Looking down, the Ghost Reef island chain extended beneath him, like a broken chain curving westward. In the distance beyond the reef, the enormous ship loomed in the darkness, surrounded by a handful of the damaged battleships. He tightened his torso and leveraged his overwhelming attributes to throw the spear while he was still in the air with just his upper body strength, aiming directly for the main ship.
