OLD-WORLD EXTRA

Chapter 197: An Expected Betrayal

Chapter 197: An Expected Betrayal

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"Flash Step."

Emir carried both Lyra and Emma as they disappeared from behind cover and reappeared right next to Alex's convoy.

They both got off him and soon got to work.

Lyra's usage of her Shadow Veil ability hid them from their enemies.

So they easily got around to every cruiser, planting bombs underneath each one.

Just as Emir planted the last one, the sound of gunfire around them quietened down.

They grouped up once again, and Emir carried them on each hand.

[Disable their shields.]

A few moments went by, and then came Lyra's reply:

[....Done.]

[Trigger the bombs just after I chant.]

[Uhn.]

"WE DID IT, SIR! HE'S DEAD! THEY'RE ALL DEAD."

Emir heard someone scream from far away, most definitely talking about their holographic bodies.

"....ORAAAAAAAAAAAAHHH!"

"OOORRRAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"OOORRRAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

"OOORRRAAAAAAAHHHHH!"

And their roars of victory followed, echoing all around the trio.

"Let's give them some bad news, shall we?" Emma said while ramming her head against Emir's side.

He chuckled and chanted:

"Flash Step."

They landed at the rock formation once again, nearing a massive pillar of stone that stretched to the sky.

A loud boom resounded behind them, but they cared not for it.

Emir threw Emma away while delicately placing Lyra on the ground.

Emma gazed at him with annoyance and sounded a "Humph!"

The duo ignored her and looked back at Jack, who was nearing a screaming soldier. Whoosh!

The bladed end of his staff cut through the man's head, severing it from his shoulders.

His head plopped on the ground, upside down...

It was quite a comical sight.

Both Emir and Lyra chuckled at such a scene.

Jake and Emma looked at it with disgust, however, as they were not yet used to the act of directly killing another.

The now-composed team then walked closer to Emir until they stood directly behind him.

Same as how the holograms once looked.

They watched as the survivors got out of the wreckage, one by one.

Out of the many cruisers before them.

Celestials.

Only Celestials could've survived, and the group knew that.

So they prepared themselves for battle, waiting for their enemy to attack.

And attack they did.

Six of them rushed forward, each with a different weapon, all aiming at Emir's heart.

The first female Celestial shot out many bolts of ice, directly towards them.

"FIRE WALL!"

But they met Emma's wall of fire that appeared between the two groups.

Emir used that small window of opportunity and raised his finger, aiming directly at three of the opposition.

"Aether Blast 10 percent."

A torrent of Aether rose out of his finger, tearing a hole through the wall and engulfing two of the three he aimed at.

The last one managed to survive, using his already-chanted Aetheric Bulwark.

'Their captain?'

Emir knew him to be a knight, so he immediately planned how to deal with him.

After making a few small gestures behind his back, he surged past the flames and unsheathed his twin swords, presenting them to his enemies.

Lyra, Jake, and Emma separated from each other as they all headed deeper into the rock formation.

They had left their leader behind.

And said leader was now directly in front of the Knight, his swords cutting through the air in an arc towards the man's chest.

His twin swords were deflected as the Knight parried them to the right with his great sword.

Emir used that deflection to fuel his next attack as he spun on his right heel, delivering a swing towards the Knight.

The Knight quickly brought his sword to meet Emir's, but before he could reach them...

His neck was torn through by a spear-like Aether construct.

Emir proceeded to kick the knight in the chest and pick up the construct that was embedded in

the ground.

"I'LL KILL YOU!"

"DAMN YOU!"

"YOU BASTARD!"

He looked to his left, spotting the approaching celestials, who showed extreme fury at the

death of their captain.

Two looked to be either Gun Mages, Rangers, or Technomancers, and the last appeared to be a

Zenith Warden.

Emir immediately knew which target to pick and used his Aerialis Aspect.

He then altered his augmented suit, which powered up his strength even further.

His stance then swiftly shifted as he threw the spear directly at the Warden's heart.

Whoosh!

It reached the woman in under a second, entering her Aether core in one moment and exiting

the other.

Her teammates couldn't even react as the woman herself died without even knowing what hit

her.

"I'LL FUCKING KILL YOU!"

"AAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

Even after seeing their Warden's fall, his two victims didn't stop their charge.

They were expecting a fight.

Blood for blood.

But he only raised his right hand, showed a piece sign, and said:

"Bubye."

Emir disappeared from where he was and materialized deeper in the rock formation, joining

his friends in their game of hide and seek.

He climbed up and perched himself atop a stone pillar, watching as their angered adversaries joined formations of three cohorts.

The two survivors of the last group he killed joined the last cohort, making them a total of

eight Celestials.

[We've got a lot on our hands~.] Emir sneered while looking to his left.

He saw the outline of his three companions, hidden behind walls, only due to their shared

neural channel.

Lyra was alone in the middle, while Emma and Jake remained together further to his left.

[Emir, will you go for the eight?]

[Yep. Lyra, you deal with the six; Emma and Jake will deal with the last; they look to be the

weakest.]

[We can hear you, you know?] Emma commented with a giggle.

'Oh yeah, it's an open channel.'

Emir let out a chuckle and said:

[...It's true, though, and I can bet that you'll struggle more than me and Lyra.]

And as always, Emma took that as a challenge:

[We'll see about that.]

But unusually, Jake, someone who always shut down Emma's wildness, joined in on the bet.

[If we incapacitate our targets first, what do we win?]

Emir shook his head.

[My dear friend, the fact that you said 'incapacitate' already means that you lost.]

[True-.] Lyra giggled slyly from the side.

[Just tell me!] Jake pressed on.

[Let's see.... Well, I can buy you guys E10 suits if we live through this and IF my plan succeeds.]

Jake telepathically scoffed.

[You'll be benefiting from this in the long run, but I'm not about to say no to a gear upgrade!]

[Me neither!] Emma added excitedly.

[Good. If you guys want that, then make sure to survive, yeah?]

[UNDERSTOOD BOSS!] They replied in unison.

[Approach your targets after Emir's signal.] Lyra ordered as she set herself in position.

As did the others, hiding away, waiting for the moment to strike.