The Martial Artists were ready to leave at any given time, but the military wasn't nearly as flexible. This was because of the differences in the logistics of the two groups. Martial Artists had very low logistics in general. They merely needed to prepare their uniforms and masks and other necessities such as potions, before getting ready to dispatch.
And soon, they did.
The Martial Artists immediately rushed out as they sprinted toward the Sekigahara Confederate, they were each on extremely high alert. After all, the Sekigahara Confederate's territory was just around the corner. Although it wasn't a long time away by carriage or horse, that meant nothing to Martial Apprentices, especially to Martial Apprentices of as high a grade as they were.
The tension in the crowd was high. This was their very first time fighting an even battle. No longer would they be able to secure a dominant advantage thanks to the quality and quantity of Martial Apprentices.
No.
This time, they were fighting against equals.
Death was inevitable. It was absolutely impossible for them to get away with very few to potentially zero casualties.
That fact weighed on the air, burdening it.
Yet it wasn't the only thing that was.
Rui's concentration was so fierce that it distracted other Martial Apprentices around him. He focused his mind into a sharp lance, as he gazed forward.
"Their Martial Apprentices have been dispatched." Rui declared loudly as he counted them with Seismic Mapping. "There's sixty-three of them."
This was a grim number. Sixty-two high-grade Martial Apprentices were more or less the same as the size of the Martial Apprentices in their assault group.
It seemed that the predictions of the strategic department were spot on. The Sekigahara Confederate would indeed rather avoid war in their territory. They had more to lose. Not only would their territory take damage even if they successfully repelled the assault team of the Kandrian Empire, but also the closer to their territory they fought in the
"The siege tanks of the Kandrian Royal Army are trailing behind us at a distance" Rui further announced.
The siege tanks were much slower than the Martial Apprentices, especially in an environment like the Serevian Dungeon.
Although it seemed counter-productive to begin a battle without them, it was much more detrimental to reduce their speed to travel along with them. It simply gave the Sekigahara Confederate more time to prepare a more concrete response to the assault team heading their way.
"There they are," Rui whispered as they entered everybody's field of vision, bringing along with them a grave sense of danger that one would naturally expect from dozens of highly powerful Martial Apprentices.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Many Martial Apprentices from both sides, including Rui, launched long-range attacks. The many attacks collided against each other in the middle point between the forces, the sheer energy in those attacks shook the very air.
Soon, they made contact.
BAM BAM BAM!
The Martial Apprentices began exchanging waves of attacks at each other.
RUMBLE
It was as though the very dungeon was shaking under the onslaught of the sheer power that the Martial Apprentices outputted.
WHOOSH
BAM!
Rui casually dodged a swift and powerful round-house kick as he rushed in.
BAM!!
A tremendous Flowing Canon crashed into an opening that was inherent to the roundhouse kick. Rui had used the perfect counter while launching his most powerful strike. The sheer power of the strike was far beyond that of any of his normal strikes. It was boosted with the power of Outer Convergence, Flame Breathing, Vital Pressure, and Adamant Reforging that had strengthened the flesh of his fist. His momentum was also driven by Parallel Walk, Wind Breathing, and Balanced Direction.
"ARGH!" The man grimaced as the strike propelled him into the air and into the distance.
BOOM!
Before Rui could even launch Tempestuous Ripples, a powerful projectile with an incredibly high momentum crashed into his opponent, launching him further away.
Rui didn't even need to turn back to figure out what that was. The siege tanks had arrived, making haste. Yet they didn't fire down at the Martial Apprentices fighting because they weren't able to selectively hit only hostile Martial Apprentices when they were all mixed together.
However, they weren't aiming to.
The only true goal of the assault team was the loss of assets on the side of the Sekigahara Confederate.
And that was what they would do.
The elevation of the canons atop the siege weapons raised higher.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
They fired cannonballs with incredible momentum. Each cannonball whizzed through the air at speeds that made it hard to even perceive for normal humans.
They fired not at the enemy Martial Apprentices, but at the fortified wall of the Sekigahara Confederate in the distance.
The best part about the siege weapons was the sheer distance over which they could project attacks of immense power with very little loss in power due to the drag of air that would dampen their power. Their design was highly aerodynamic and cut through the air with remarkable speed.
BOOM BOOM BOOM!
Despite the distance away, the sound of the cannon balls slamming into the highly durable fortifications was loud and clear. Rui rejoiced inwardly as he heard debris falling with his Seismic Mapping. The attacks from the siege tanks were at least effective.
What he hadn't expected was an even greater number of cannon balls to come flying back from within the territory of the Sekigahara Confederate. The barrage of cannon balls crashed into the many siege tanks that had accompanied the Martial Apprentices. Like the siege tanks of the Kandrian Empire, none of the cannon balls struck the Martial Artists. The siege weapons couldn't specifically target only Kandrian Martial Apprentices just like the siege cannons of the Kandrian Empire couldn't, they lacked the accuracy and the precision to accomplish such a feat.
But instead, they could attack the greatest threat to their security, which weren't the Martial Apprentices, but the tanks that were chipping away at their fortification.
