The spear gave birth to a bright pillar that destroyed everything it touched. The cannon was three-meter tall and had a barrel larger than a man's head. A container of mana stood under it, and a series of round gears allowed it to tilt left, right, up, and down. Yet, the red-purple glow destroyed half of its structure, turning the weapon into nothing more than a pile of metal.
Khan's group had remained relatively hidden from the entirety of the enemy army. Multiple trucks had crashed on the trench or other spots of the frontlines, and the defensive formation of Stal covered a vast part of the area. Yet, the red-purple pillar claimed everyone's attention, especially after they could witness the result of the spell's destruction.
The chaos of the battlefield took a deep breath during that second of amazement. Khan could hear the world gasping and hesitating to inspect his spell before going back to its messy state.
The situation was far from ideal. Khan and his companions were in the middle of the enemy lines, past the trench, with Stal on every side and multiple weapons placed everywhere. Most of the aliens had to focus on the incoming army, and the cannons couldn't aim at the soldiers out of fear of friendly fire, but the area remained a pure mess.
Khan's group didn't know where to move. The explosion of the chaos spear had attracted the Stal's attention, but that diversion had only managed to buy a few seconds.
The Stal tasked with the protection of the cannon showed their anger when they turned toward the human group. Some even threw away their rifles due to their desire to kill the attackers with their own hands.
Meanwhile, some Stal came out of the trench to join the hunt for the humans. The path behind Khan and the others was relatively empty due to the bombs launched by the truck, but aliens were quickly filling it to pursue the invaders.
There wasn't a proper way out of that situation, but Khan and the others didn't need to escape. Their task was to create a diversion and wait for their allies to arrive.
Khan moved before his companions could say anything. Stal were jumping on the surface to approach his group, so he shot toward the trench. The channel could be a trap if the aliens encircled it, but remaining in the open was simply too dangerous.
The first soldier was still busy dealing with the two powerful aliens. He was using a martial art that made him able to deflect most punches flying in his direction. Something would normally hit him due to the sheer number of limbs aiming at him, but the trench prevented the Stal from working together properly.
The water spell had pushed the weaker Stal away, creating a space where Khan could jump. Still, he would end up in the middle of two groups of aliens while also hindering his companion if he went in without taking care of the threat.
Khan sprinted toward the two powerful Stal. He didn't jump. Instead, he dived for the first head that appeared in his view while his glowing knife pierced forward.
The Stal turned one of its heads while Khan was in the middle of his dive. The glowing knife was about to reach its neck, but its left arms rose to deflect the attack.
Khan didn't need to think or calculate the speed of the Stal's movements. He was usually faster than those aliens, but his opponent was a second-level warrior that had to perform a simple gesture. He could sense that his attack wouldn't reach its target.
The [Blood Shield] covered Khan's left arm right before the alien could hit him. A massive force fell on his limb when the Stal touched him, and his feet inevitably left the surface.
Khan found himself flying toward his right inside the trench. He slammed on the wet ground and rolled a couple of times before stabbing his feet in the mud and straightening his position.
The strong Stal ignored its companion and turned toward Khan. It appeared pissed that someone as weak as him had attempted a sneak attack. Meanwhile, Khan stared at the alien while a series of figures began to approach him from behind.
That was exactly what Khan had wanted to avoid, but his mind didn't have room for regret or curses. His left arm felt numb, and jumping out of the trench would only put him back in the rifles' trajectory. He had to deal with one of the threats now, but the waves of mana couldn't help him there.
Khan closed and relaxed his right hand. He could launch a spell, but the chaos claws were too dangerous to use against an opponent far stronger than him. The chaos spear was out of the question too. His aim wasn't terrible, but he would only fall prey to his own destruction in that situation.
As for the Wave spell, Khan had developed a way to limit its size, but his control remained poor. He risked hitting the soldier fighting against the other powerful Stal.
The decision became obvious in less than a second. Khan began to turn to deal with the Stal approaching him from behind. He was ready to unleash his spell to open a path and run away from the powerful alien, but familiar masses of mana suddenly approached his position and made him stop.
The other soldiers in Khan's group jumped inside the trench and stood at his sides. Two second-level warriors landed at his left and faced the powerful Stal, while the others arrived at his right to help him with the weaker aliens.
"That was a nice shot!" One of the soldiers exclaimed.
"Do you need to rest after something like that?" Another soldier asked while raising her guard to protect Khan.
"I'll be fine in a few seconds," Khan lied as he massaged his left forearm to disperse the numbness that afflicted his limb.
Battles exploded around Khan. The second-level warriors on his left worked together to fend off the tall alien trying to make its way forward by swinging its fists.
Even when working together, the two second-level warriors weren't a match for the Stal's physical might. However, one of them condensed the light in the area to create two swords that sent bright flashes toward the alien. The attacks only inflicted superficial injuries, but that was enough to keep the Stal at bay.
The other soldiers had started fighting against the weaker Stal on Khan's right. The trench worked in their favor since they could fight side by side while the aliens had to come forward one by one.
The group had successfully created a safe spot inside the enemy trench, but Khan didn't come on the battlefield to watch his companions fight. He waited enough to make his lie stick before jumping on the right wall and sprinting forward to reach the line of Stal.
The punches flying toward his figure grew easier to sense as time passed. Khan learnt to filter out the information that his mind didn't need. The bullets flying across the battlefield disappeared, and the same went for the Stal in the distance. He focused on the aliens in his range and the rifles targeting him as he waved his knife to cut what dared to appear on his path.
Limbs, chunks of flesh, heads, and blood flew in front of Khan as his sprint continued. The alien first-level warriors could react to his movements, but they couldn't stop them.
The punches that tried to interrupt his advance turned into gore that flew through the air. The heads that entered his range lost their connection to their necks. Khan had to interrupt his sprint only when one of the Stal decided to jump on him to block his way.
Khan kicked the wall to push himself at the bottom of the trench. The alien tried to turn after slamming on the diagonal surface, but a red-purple short sword suddenly stabbed its waist and turned its internal organs into a shattered mess.
The Stal fell to its knees, but Khan didn't even look at the scene. He turned and saw a series of aliens glaring at him as they held their severed limbs or patches of missing flesh.
Khan charged toward them. The first alien had been the last to react, so Khan could run past it while opening a large cut at the base of its back. The second Stal had lost one of its heads, which made it unable to stand properly and allowed Khan to deliver a killing blow.
The third alien had lost an arm during Khan's offensive, and it seemed to have every intention to make him pay. It spread its limbs when it saw its opponent moving forward, but it suddenly lost sight of him. Then, a sharp pain spread from its groin and made it fall on its knees.
Khan slid under the alien and kicked the following opponent while standing up. The fourth Stal had only lost half of its hand during his offensive, and the attack barely managed to make it move. Yet, Khan continued his assault by sending his mana forward.
The alien revealed a confused expression as it stared at the foot placed on its torso. It had felt something, but nothing seemed off, so it soon moved its attention back on Khan.
'Is it too weak?' Khan wondered while pulling back his leg and charging forward.
Khan had to test the effects of his normal mana sooner or later. In theory, his energy already carried the innate destructiveness of the chaos element, but that feature appeared too weak to hurt first-level warriors.
The discovery reassured Khan, but he didn't think about that for now. He had partially confirmed that his mana wasn't dangerous in its normal form, but he still had to deal with his opponents.
The Stal punched Khan with its four limbs, but the latter ducked to dodge the attack. His knife flashed above his head, and two forearms fell together with a rain of dark blood.
The alien growled in pain, but Khan didn't stop. He ran under the severed limbs and reached the Stal's waist, where he stabbed his knife before jumping.
The Stal's torso opened into two parts as Khan kept the sharp membrane active and pushed it forward. The alien could only fall on its back as a trail of blood followed its movements.
Khan found his companions staring at him while wearing proud smirks after killing the last alien. His gaze couldn't go past the soldiers, but his senses allowed him to understand that the battle among second-level warriors was still ongoing.
"Change!" The soldier in front of Khan shouted before crossing him and shooting after the other Stal approaching their position.
Khan quickly grabbed the soldier and pulled him back. The latter and his companions shot confused glances at him, but he explained himself by pointing at the barrier above the trench and voicing a few words. "They are here."
The confusion on his companions intensified before a few battle cries resounded in the area and explained what was happening. A series of soldiers peeked out of the barrier and began shooting at every Stal they saw. Some even jumped inside the trench to move behind the enemy lines.
"Forward!" Lieutenant Leville's voice resounded from behind Khan's group. "Kill them all!"
The battle cry made many soldiers jump inside the trenches to approach the groups of aliens defending weapons or other specific positions. The same went for some of Khan's companions, and he didn't hesitate to follow them.
The true nature of the battlefield became clear after Khan stepped on the surface again. The human army had fallen on the Stal, and fights had started everywhere. The tanks still shot bullets from time to time, but they aimed them at areas that didn't contain members of their species.
The cannons continued to fire large bullets aimed at the tanks, and one of them eventually shattered under that relentless offensive. A second quickly followed, which forced the Lieutenant in that team to order an assault at those weapons.
Khan didn't have a precise role in that battle. He had never seen anything messier in his life, and his mind lost itself in the violent waves of mana that filled the area. His senses improved with each bullet or attack dodged. Chaos was everywhere around Khan, and he danced among it.
