Milan's expression hardened.
The lost Invalids suddenly grew focused once more. Whereas they hadn't had any direction in the past, they could now see their targets.
Miles hadn't expected such a thing to happen. He had thought that his ability was infallible. He had considered the possibility that his ability could be ignored by some powerful existences with stronger minds. But, he hadn't ever thought that it would be possible to dispel its effects on others in this fashion.
In truth, this lack of preparation could only be blamed on Miles himself. Ultimately, any Force based ability was reliant on Force to manifest itself – obviously. In such a case, this meant that a greater Force could always force it to collapse.
One might think of how scared others were of the Dream Abode in Brave City and assume Dream Force to be infallible, but this couldn't have been further from the case.
The reason even Emperors without the appropriate affinity didn't dare to approach the Dream Abode wasn't because of the Dream Force alone, per se, but rather because of its sheer quantity.
The Abode represented a vast store of Dream Force. Even Leonel, with his talent, couldn't even begin to deplete it during his breakthrough, let alone someone without an affinity to speak of, or a person with a much weaker affinity like Miles.
However, if Leonel were to try to replicate the abilities of the Dream Abode himself – without its support – he would end up dying from exhaustion before he could cause the likes of Anared or JIlniya to feel threatened.
And in such a case… How could the stores and strength of a Variant Invalid not absolutely crush someone with a mere S-grade ability like Miles?
The white wolf stood at over five meters tall, its majestic coat and mane whipping about beneath its strength.
Its low growl crawled over the battlefield, sinking into the hearts of all those who heard it.
At that moment, the 12 guards around the Variant Invalid all shot forward at once. Their reserved auras surged out like a tidal wave, each and every one of them carrying an ice type ability. It was clear that the Variant Invalid had hand selected its guard and not a single one of them was below the SSS-grade.
'Shit.'
This was the only word Milan could think of. He could feel that the engineers had begun to panic. Any speed they had gained from growing comfortable plummeted. Whereas it might have only taken them 10 more minutes to finish before, now it wouldn't be surprising for it to take another half hour.
At such a pace, they were screwed. Even if it was just ten minutes left, they would be doubtful to finish.
Miles watched all of this from the top of the city walls, his gaze turning steely. This was likely his final chance and he couldn't act rashly either.
"Order the retreat." Miles said after some deliberation.
The Commander sighed a breath of relief. He had expected Miles to close the gates and leave them all out there to rot. This would have been very much in line with Miles' usual actions.
However, Miles knew that he was on a short leash. As much as he didn't want to risk the city by leaving the gates open for a second longer, if he abandoned them outside without even trying, any prestige he had managed to scrounge up would collapse once again.
"RETREAT!"
The scrambling engineers felt as though they had heard the most beautiful word to ever exist. They didn't hesitate to abandon their work. In fact, they didn't even bother to pack everything back up again.
They rushed to the sides of the trucks that brought them here, clamboring into the open trunks and hanging off the sides to the best of their ability.
Many of them started screaming for the drivers to go before the rest of their colleagues even stepped forward. It was clear that in such a mind state, the 30 minute deadline was far too optimistic. They had already lost all will to fight.
At that moment, the 12 ice guards had reached Milan's vanguard. Having no choice but to protect the retreat of the engineers, they manned the rear.
Milan's large belly flexed once again, his strength pouring out and forming another shield of Force. Veins popped across his forehead as he layered the shield again and again. He knew that against such enemies, just one was far from enough.
His ability might have been similar to James', but James' ability was of the A-grade while his was C-grade. Though in the past year Milan managed to progress it to the B-grade… what was that in the face of so many SSS-grade threats?
BANG!
Milan's efforts were shattered in the blink of an eye.
Raj slammed his feet to the ground in an attempt to slow their approach, but the ice guards reacted even faster, a sharp Ice Elemental Force surging around them as the froze the ground beneath their feet solid.
No matter how hard Raj tried, he couldn't seem to cause another earthen wave. He could only raise his assault rifle and begin to fire madly, the recoil of the hefty gun causing his fat to undulate once again.
"We'll cover, retreat!" Milan roared.
He, Joel and Raj unloaded their clips.
They no longer cared about reserving supplies or their strength. Their only thoughts were of covering for their teammates. Among those who had been forced to join the army as a veil of protection from Miles, there were a few so young that Coach Owen hadn't even allowed them to see the field. Yet now, they were thrust into the middle of war.
"Dammit, rookie! If I can see your face instead of you hauling ass within the next second I'm gonna put a bullet in your kneecap!" Milan roared.
"Forget a kneecap, I'll lodge one in your ass if you don't make it to the gate in under five!" Joel barked right after.
They might haze these rookies and give them a hard time, but when it came down to it, it was their role as seniors to protect.
They could sense the hesitation of their teammates, but not everyone could stay behind. What would be the point of their decision then?
The three shooed them away, their roars being half drowned out by their rain of bullets. It didn't matter if they worked, all they cared about was slowing them down by an extra minute, an extra second, an extra step.
"Fuck, since you like the cold so much, go to hell!"
Raj ripped a grenade from his hip and bit the pin off. He threw it with all his might, watching as it rebounded off the iced ground and toward the ice guards.
"Raj, hell is hot." Joel mumbled.
"Fuck, that just means these damned popsicles'll be melted into a puddle of their own piss!"
The three men laughed, their bullets never stopping.. In the back of their minds, they seemed aware it would be impossible to retreat with everyone else.