Directed at the closest targets, the beams engulfed each wolf. Light wiped them from sight. It didn’t detour the remaining three wolves charging forward feia. She stepped back keeping them all in her sights. Darting her eyes around for trol, the remaining two groups of metal strips began to move. Quickly jumping into position, they formed a thin transparent wall between her and the animals.

  Ued in the blockade, two of the wolves joined up attag one of the walls. Their cws ripped into the barrier produg waves through the material. Cracks formed abruptly as their cws poked through, only moments after colliding. Sshing a few more times along with diving in with their heads destroyed the shield proteg Ligeia.

  Surprised her energy shield already colpsed, Ligeia tried to exteher shield over. Her defense only put a couple of meters between them. ‘I misjudged his strength…’ Gng at the s on her forearm, she stepped to the side. Only seds deyed the wolves, her sed shield fell even faster with all three attag.

  Free to strike, all three wolves leapt at Ligeia, already aiming for different parts of her. Less than a meter separated her from them, when another beam suddenly burst forth c the animals in familiar light. Only a few timeters spared Ligeia from her own attabsp; ‘That takes care of his animals!’ Ligeia slid her eyes around to focus on Haruo only to suddenly discover a shadow blog her light.

  The wolf granted her only a moment of time to react, leavio fall over pinned down by its massive paws. R so close to her face left her bones rattling from the deep savage tone. Her eyes widened in shock, while her mind tried to uand how she missed one. ‘I got them all! How is it?’ She didn’t have any more time. Its mouth lowered down to take a bite out of her flesh.

  A thin beam ran across her faog the animal off her. It fell over on its side, unmoving. Ligeia found her breathing heavier than she expected. The image of the wolf over her repyed a few times. She learned her heart sped up to a heavy thumping in her chest. Sweat beaded up on her skin, making her clothes unfortable.

  It felt strange.

  Chapter 184 – Sce of the Resolve

  Ba her feet, Ligeia stared over at the beast. A hole from her beam pierced its nose and mouth leaving a disgusting, yet image for her. However, she found movement in the animal. Its legs began to twitd its body shifted. ‘What’s going on? Are they immuo damage?’ Ligeia watched it stand back up with the mouth hanging in an unsightly manner. It made her eyes turn away for a moment, but when she looked back, the damage was gone. Her eyes shrank a little as she began to doubt her sight. Adding to her doubt, her eyes found the other five wolves standing around her, waiting almost like toying with its prey.

  Grittieeth together, she uood the position she found herself. ‘Surrounded…back at the start, but…’ Ligeia pulled her bits ba to have them float around her. Sliding her eyes into the distance beyond Haruo, she watched for a moment Vangelis and Yuki’s fight rage on. ‘What am I doing here?’

  Everything was routine feia. Life on the border ran in a cycle. Each day like the day before, nothing ging. ‘The sistency was safe, normal. Yet it was…’ She found fort. Expectatiohe same. She only o do enough.

  “Hey, Ligeia! We’ve got orders,” called a soldier in bck clothes. He motioo her to get off her cot. A long travel pack already rested on his back.

  She slowly g him, barely even notig him. Her mind got used to the emptiness of the squad barracks. The rest of her squad usually ran exercises or activities outside of the room leaving her in peabsp; Ohe wheels in her mind started to turn, she realized it was her squad member and saw the pabsp; “What are the orders?” Though she asked, she already figured it out. It was always the same, not that the travel pack did not give it away.

  “Patrol! It’s our turn. Squad 45 just got back.” He left the room, havi he delivered the message.

  It took her another minute before she felt like rising from her cot. Gng down, she felt her uniform a little out of order. She casually pulled up the loose strap back up tht shoulder. “I see, same as always.” Ligeia strode out of the barracks, her squad waiting on her arrival near one of the several gates of the South Gate Headquarters.

  Another squad prepared to leave alongside them, though in the opposite dire. A standard patrol of the barrier sent out squads of soldiers at two hour intervals during the ewenty-four hour period. It allowed for fast respoime when an i occurred.

  Their march began shortly at the and of the squad leader. Ligeia followed in the rear of the group maintaining the same pace as the others. After an hour, they passed another squad marg in the dire back to base. All fates sent out patrols, which when they met in the middle turned around, allowing for some overp. They frequently would pass squads during the patrol.

  Tassed before the end of their patrol. “Nothing,” she eo herself. Gng around at the rest of the squad, everyone looked fatigued. Their patrols didn’t allow for many breaks and no sleeping. A near stant pace kept for two days. It was normal. Still, it exhausted everyone, as they fell onto their cots without a sed thought.

  Ligeia, like the rest of her team, fell bato her cot. Her mi more tired than her body. It left her staring up at the stone ceiling. ‘Is there any…’ Releasing her Field, her metal strip projeaterialized. She stretched up her hand towards the ceiling, the projectors dang around her arm. It was a necessary exercise to keep her powers in shape. ‘I’ve never used these since assigned out here. The st time I actually did anything with them was in the academy. I’m doing nothing here.’

  Mental exercises ended for her after twenty minutes. It thhly exhausted the remains of her energy. Everything in her body went limp against the cot. ‘Always the same, every day. Not that I really mind, but is there anything else to do?’

  ‘Another patrol, another day,’ Ligeia thought, ba another patrol. Nothing ged.

  The squad leader tilted his head back at Ligeia. “It’s time, Sed Lieutenant.”

  “Yes, sir!” Activating her Field, she ected with the military unication lihat ran along the entire border. They had to make regur reports to che and learn if the headquarters discovered any ges in the barrier. Everyone was a little more on edge with the death of the King. The moment she linked with the lines she got an earful of a general broadcast.

  “Repeat, South Gate Headquarters to all patrol teams, return to base! Orders from Captain Simonides! New orders will be given upourn! Repeat, South—“

  “Squad Leader!” shouted Ligeia, a stra of excitement jumped into her voibsp; “We have new orders from Captain Simonides! We are to return to base immediately for new orders!”

  “What?!” The news sent everyone in the squad into disarray. It threw off their marg, bringing them to a halt. The Squad Leader took several minutes befetting his squad ba order. They quickly turned around, but the tension, fusion aement never disappeared.

  However, she found nothing again. The ne set up bustled with activity, but she had nothing. ‘Put on standby…’ Those were her only orders along with the rest of her team. Wait. Sit. Do nothing. Ligeia felt strange for having thought something different might happen. She settled into her normal routiil the tent fp opened. In stepped a man with a reputation, Vangelis, however she didn’t know what he wanted. She only watched waiting to see what he did.

  Vangelis stood before her, staring down with hollow eyes. “e with me, it’s an order.”

  She accepted his mission, though it still felt like he forced it on her. ‘Why am I out here?’ she thought, staring at Haruo again, rather than Vangelis in the distanbsp; ‘I’m used to the routine, just keep going. I know that I’ll die doing the same thing on the border without end. I’ll die…’ A stiffer stan her back ged Ligeia’s presenbsp; It made her think a little more. ‘I was excited, for the first time that I remember since joining the military… I guess it was curiosity.’

  Ligeia narrowed her eyes. She lowered her hand down to her midse. Dozens more projectors appeared bringing her groups to the t of ten. ‘I guess I am…I really just want to see what it’s like…I’ve never gotten to really use my abilities for anything.’ Five sets formed up around her head shaping into pyramids with a defensive shield proteg her. ‘I actually do something meaningful here!’

  The animals wanted no more deying. They appeared only held back by the whims of Haruo. Their savage looks told Ligeia everything she needed, worse there seemed a light of intelligence behind their eyes.

  Testing out the wolves, Ligeia knew she o uand her oppo better. She fired off quick beams. Uhe st time, the wolves evaded the beams leaving the metal pting scorched. ‘They’re faster than before…’ Another few rounds of beams went off making the wolves dance around the area dodgitacks. She kept it up as she watched, reading them. ‘It’s like they’re learning…’

  Amongst the assault, Ligeia realized she lost sight of one of the wolves. Only five appeared in her vision. ‘Where’s the sixth? It has to be here!’ She heard the low growl of the sixth wolf behind her. Her mind acted faster than her body, moving a shield to block the wolf. Ligeia turned part way to see how her shield managed. ‘Good, the increased power held it back!’ A beep went off from her arm alerting her of a new danger. It spun her head back around. ‘A distra!’

  Unfocused, the beams no longer had the wolves busy. Another came straight feia. She didn’t have enough time for the shield, as it was already inside her defenses. Knocked back, it looked like she would fall bato the same position before. However, she suddenly disappeared from underh the wolf, caught a little surprised by the ck of a prey beh its cws.

  Ligeia stood up opposite of the wolf. Redireg one of her free sets, a thin beam pierced the wolf through the hindquarters and stomabsp; Enough ford sho the attack sent the beast tumbling to the ground. Downing a beast, she earned herself a moment of pause. Soreness poked in her joints. ‘Damn, I’m out of practid not as young. My body really didn’t like that maneuver…’

  Fog ba the wolf, she watched it stand back up. The hole through its body disappeared quickly, rec from the injury she gave it. A bit of surprise washed over her along with uanding. ‘So that’s what’s going on! Minor injuries be quickly healed!’ Unfortunately, she quickly realized how much trouble it left on her. ‘This is going to be even more plicated…’

  Fully recovered, the pached a new round of attacks on Ligeia. Using her shields and beams in cert, she kept them at bay. However, it didn’t st for long before they were beyond her trol again. Three of the wolves broke from the group and closed inside her defense once more.

  Better prepared, she verted a set to fire small beams to push them off course while she extended her shield out. Leaning against the thin strip of the shield arched from the ground into the air, her hand pulled at her body along with her feet. Almost like riding aor, she rode the shield safely out of reach of the wolves and turned around. At the end, she stood atop the shield two meters off the ground.

  Ligeia quickly redirected her shield projectors to surround the three wolves. Trapping them, three sets structed a rger pyramid in an eborate design, clearly strengthening the ing attabsp; Not hesitating, a wide beam shot down from above. The beasts disappeared from sight with no signs of recovery. ‘I’ve got them this time…’

  Turning her gaze over to Haruo, she slid down the shield by her hand to nd ba the ground. ‘Three remaining…’ All ten of the sets spread out over the Field and broke down into even smaller sets, doubling their numbers. Mini-beams began firing across the Field, but unlike before they remained stant. The wolves kept up with the pace, but had trouble adapting in time as the beams moved faster.

  Before long, one wolf had its leg cut off from a beam. It limped away only to be sliced up quickly by several more beams. Particles of it vaporized into the air until it disappeared. Left with only two, the remaining pack charged feia, rather than tinuing at her pace.

  Utilizing her shield, she directed them away from her, but noticed a cut in her shield. ‘It mao get through at this power?!’ Ligeia didn’t have long to act as one wolf charged the small opening to burst through directly at her. Spreading out a shield under her feet, she slid out e of the wolf, but it tered with the sed. She forced herself to ge dires sliding on the shield to dodge free from the wolf.

  Skipping to another shield to slide out of reach, she chased them with her beams, even while they struck out for her. A deadly dance broke out between them with both parties barely keeping ahead of the other.

  It couldn’t st forever. Sliding around on the shield, Ligeia suddenly ged her movement revealing an already firing beam behind her. The opening she gave it destroyed the lead wolf and tihrough to obliterate the back half of the wolf. It colpsed, twitg on the ground.

  Ligeia immediately turned her eyes up to Haruo. Two pyramids fnked her sides firing at him. Their heavily charged beams sped towards him. The distance gave him enough time to side step her attacks. He looked on at her ready to tinue, when suddenly a light from behind him eclipsed his body. Haruo disappeared from sight in a massive beam of light.