The battlefield was chaotic. Blades clashed, plasma bolts streaked through the air, and the ground trembled beneath the weight of colliding warriors. ECHOs fought with ruthless precision, weaving between their towering foes with a mixture of agility, skill, and sheer firepower. 

The Chimerian elites, undaunted, met them head-on, some wielded crystalline weapons and some plasma weapons which hummed with energy as they swung with bone-crushing force.

…

Leo ducked under a massive plasma hammer, the weapon barely missing his head before it slammed into the ground, sending up a shower of molten rock. Without missing a beat, he twisted his body and fired his sidearm point-blank into the Chimerian’s exposed side. The energy bolt struck true, searing through the armor’s weak joint.

The Chimerian roared in pain but didn’t collapse. Instead, it lashed out with its tail, a segmented, bladed appendage that lashed toward Leo like a whip.

Leo’s instincts kicked in. He activated his thrusters, dodging sideways in a blur of motion. The tail struck the ground where he had stood, carving a deep gouge in the dirt.

The moment he landed, Samir was already in motion. He blurred past Leo, his twin plasma swords igniting in a crackling arc of green light. He moved with inhuman fluidity, ducking under another Chimerian’s glaive and slicing through the alien’s knee joint in one smooth motion. The Chimerian elite staggered, its massive frame faltering as it tried to recover.

Samir didn’t let it. With a powerful upward slash, he severed the alien’s head from its shoulders.

Before the body even hit the ground, Leo had already engaged another enemy. This one wielded a twin-bladed plasma staff, spinning it with deadly precision. Leo blocked the first strike with his arm shield, then retaliated with a vicious counter, his plasma sword slashing diagonally across the Chimerian’s chest.

Sparks and blood flew as the elite snarled in pain. But it wasn’t down yet. With a snarl, it kicked forward, its immense strength sending Leo skidding back several meters.

“Persistent bastard,” Leo growled, shaking off the impact.

Samir reappeared at his side. “Switch?”

Leo nodded. “Copy that…On three.” Leo knew Samir was faster than him and he could take on the opponent, so he left the opponent to him.

The two lunged forward in perfect synchronization. Samir took on Leo’s opponent, his plasma blades flashing as he outmaneuvered the lumbering Chimerian, while Leo spun around and engaged another enemy, this one carrying a jagged energy axe.

The Chimerian swung its weapon in a deadly arc, but Leo saw the opening. He ducked under the attack, rolling forward and driving his sword deep into the creature’s gut. The plasma blade burned through thin armor gaps and flesh alike.

The Chimerian spasmed, its axe slipping from its grip as its body convulsed.

Leo twisted the blade before ripping it free.

Samir landed beside him, flicking blood off his weapons.

“That’s four each,” Samir noted.

Leo huffed. “You counted?”

A massive roar cut through the air. They turned to see another wave of Chimerian elites advancing.

Leo sighed. “Looks like we’ll have to beat our record.”

Samir smirked. “Let’s do it.”

…

High above the chaos, Elena perched on a rocky outcrop, her rifle nestled against her shoulder. Her crosshairs swept across the battlefield, tracking movement with predatory precision.

The weaker Chimerians grunts were pushing forward in numbers, attempting to overwhelm the ECHOs through sheer mass. They weren’t as strong as the elites, but there were too many of them.

She exhaled slowly.

Whizz.

A sniper railgun bolt punched through a Chimerian’s skull, dropping it mid-sprint.

She adjusted her sights. Another target.

Whizz.

Another down.

The grunts were beginning to notice their numbers thinning. They turned their weapons in her direction, firing blindly at her position.

Big mistake.

Elena remained perfectly still, barely shifting her position. The plasma shots slammed into the rocks around her but failed to pinpoint her exact location. The adaptive camouflage of her armor kept her hidden in the shadows.

She took another shot.

One of the grunts aiming at her suddenly dropped, its head a smoking ruin.

Another.

And another.

Elena worked methodically with the other snipers spread around the battlefield, prioritizing the ones getting too close to the ECHO units. They picked off the ones trying to flank, the ones calling for reinforcements, and the ones attempting to flee.

Her kill count was rising rapidly.

Just as she was going for another kill, she noticed something from the corner of her vision.

She rolled to the side just as a Chimerian leaped onto her perch, a plasma blade slicing through the space where she had just been.

The grunt was faster than the others. It had tracked her movements.

Elena didn’t panic.

She dropped her rifle, drew her plasma knife, and lunged.

The Chimerian snarled and swung again, but she was already inside its guard. Her blade found the gap in its armor, slicing through the softer material under its ribs.

The alien gurgled, blood spilling from its mouth.

Elena twisted the knife.

The body slumped forward.

She exhaled sharply before retrieving her rifle. More were coming.

Her HUD flickered as Arthur’s voice came through.

“Elena, what’s your status?”

She smirked, leveling her rifle once more.

“Still killing.”

…

Everywhere, ECHOs clashed with Chimerian warriors. The ground was scorched with plasma fire, the air thick with the scent of burning metal and blood.

Somewhere in the fray, an ECHO engaged in brutal close combat with a Chimerian wielding twin plasma cleavers. The soldier parried one blow, twisted to avoid another, and then countered with a vicious strike to the alien’s throat, his plasma sword severing the head cleanly.

Another ECHO fired an electromagnetic railgun, the high-velocity projectile tearing straight through two elites before they even realized what hit them.

The battle raged on, neither side yielding.

And in the distance.

More Chimerian dropships were descending.

…

Arthur moved through the battlefield like a storm given form, his sword cutting through the chaos with lethal precision. He didn’t seek out fights, there was no need. The ECHOs were holding their own, engaging the Chimerian elites with brutal efficiency. But when one of them was in danger of being overwhelmed, Arthur intervened like a ghost, striking down threats before they could land the killing blow.

Because of this, so far, there have been no human casualties.

His keen senses kept him aware of the battle’s shifting tides, eyes scanning the fray for any signs of danger his soldiers couldn’t handle alone. He spotted Leo and Samir moving in perfect coordination, cutting down elites in tandem. He caught glimpses of Elena’s sniper fire thinning enemy numbers from her perch, her shots precise. All around him, ECHOs fought like the elite warriors they were.

And yet, war was unpredictable.

Arthur’s attention snapped to his left as his instincts flared, an ECHO soldier locked in a fierce duel against a Chimerian wielding a massive plasma glaive. The ECHO was skilled, matching the alien’s brutal swings with precise parries. But what he didn’t see was the second Chimerian sneaking up from behind, a jagged plasma dagger raised for a killing blow.

Arthur moved.

He didn’t have time to close the distance, so he did the next best thing. His eyes landed on a nearby boulder, nearly a meter wide, half-buried in the dirt. Without hesitation, he grabbed it and hurled it forward at supersonic speed. 

The air cracked as the boulder became a lethal projectile.

Boom!

The rock slammed into the sneaky Chimerian with a deafening impact, blasting it away on contact. The shockwave sent dust and debris flying, and even the ECHO and the other Chimerian staggered from the force.

Arthur didn’t stop; he shot forward, closing the distance in seconds. The ECHO, momentarily disoriented, didn’t see the remaining Chimerian recovering, its plasma glaive swinging in a desperate arc.

Arthur arrived first.

With a single, decisive strike, he drove his plasma sword straight through the alien’s chest. The Chimerian twitched, eyes wide with shock, before Arthur twisted the blade and yanked it free. The alien collapsed lifelessly to the ground.

Arthur turned to the ECHO, and his gaze immediately locked onto the soldier’s left arm.

Though he was able to block most of the attack with the boulder, it seems he was still a bit late to intervene.

The arm hung limply at his side, a deep gash running from the shoulder down to the forearm, exposing seared flesh and the damaged circuits of his combat suit. Blood dripped steadily onto the dirt.

The ECHO, despite the injury, didn’t falter. His stance remained firm, his breathing controlled. He was trained to keep fighting no matter what. But Arthur knew that if the wound wasn’t treated immediately, it would compromise the soldier’s efficiency, or worse, put him at risk of dying on the battlefield.

“Soldier, retract your armor on the wounded arm,” Arthur ordered, already pulling a metallic tube from his spatial orb.

The ECHO did not hesitate. With a quick command, the armor on his left arm retracted, exposing the wound fully. The damage was bad. The plasma glaive had nearly severed muscle and tendons, under normal circumstances, even advanced field medkits wouldn’t be enough to restore full functionality.

But Arthur wasn’t using a normal medkit.

He pressed it against the soldier’s wound, injecting the serum directly into his bloodstream.

The reaction was almost immediate. These serums were developed by Dr. Conrad Elrich using his regenerative ability as a base. And every ECHO carried some with them for situations like these.

The torn flesh began to mend itself, muscle fibers knitting back together at an accelerated pace. The raw, charred edges of the wound faded, replaced by healthy, regenerated tissue. The soldier exhaled sharply, flexing his fingers experimentally. Already, sensation was returning to his limb.

Arthur watched carefully. “You’ll be fully healed in five minutes. Avoid using that arm for now, but after that, you should regain complete functionality.”

The ECHO stared at his rapidly healing arm before looking at Arthur. “Thanks for the assist brother.”

Before he could say anything else, another explosion rocked the battlefield. 

Arthur turned away, eyes scanning for what it was. He saw a few more dropships descending some distance away from the battlefield.

Seeing the number of Chimerians increasing by a lot Arthur contacted the command post, “Command this is Lt. Arthur, requesting for backup. Our coordinates are…”

There was a pause on the other side for a second, “Command to Lt. Arthur, the base is under heavy attack! We are unable to send any reinforcements immediately. Retreat is advisable!” 

There were sounds of explosion on the other side of the connection and Arthur knew he cannot expect reinforcement for now. He looked towards the Chimerians coming out of the dropships, there were at least three commander level Chimerian. He knew there would be casualties if they stayed here.

“Affirmative!”

He immediately passed the order for retreat. And all the ECHOs started to retreat towards where the VTOLs had landed before. But Arthur knew the Chimerians would catch up in no time so he decided to stay back and buy some time for the retreating soldiers.

***

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