The relationship among the players on the battlefield was complex. While Ursa hated the Xyrans from the core of her being, it was the opposite with the Precursors.
The Precursors had treated Ursa and her species with respect. On the other hand, the Xyrans had eliminated them, humiliated her and finally trapped her in a quest for others to claim victory.
It took another Precursor, Ashton, to save her from that hell even though he was a mere tribrid back then. However, she did not know that Ashton's greatest enemy was no other than a Precursor.
She didn't know it yet, but she will soon, and that's when the actual test of her loyalty will begin. But for now, Ursa's enemies were before her, ready to be devoured by the creatures she had formed a great bond with.
The Xyran infiltrators turned to face this new threat, uncertainty in their eyes as they raised their weapons. However, their attacks proved to be fruitless, as no matter what they did, the resilient wolves refused to die.
The Xyrans would shoot them, but the wolves would only stay down for a moment or two before resuming their attack.
Magic was Wraith Wolves' only weakness, and the infiltrators had no magic to combat these creatures, and they were quickly overwhelmed by the relentless spectral onslaught.
As if that wasn't enough, the Gryphons from above kept piling on them and dropped grenades over the Xyrans using talons. If they ran out of grenades from the sack attached to them, they attacked the Xyrans the old-fashioned way.
Irina and Verina watched in awe as the tables turned in their favour. A sense of triumph and gratitude towards Ursa replaced the fear that had gripped them only moments ago. Had it not been for her, they would have died for sure.
The Wraith Wolves swarmed the infiltrators, their otherworldly howls echoing through the battlefield, drowning out the cries of the defeated Xyrans.
However, Gryphons weren't immune to the Xyrans as the wolves were and had to take caution. But even then, they were continuously shot in the skies.
"You should take the man and leave!" Ursa called to the twins. "Take him to the safe zone, and I'll ensure no one follows you there."
Saying so, Ursa instructed four wolves to accompany them back to the safe zone where Laihud, Ava and the rest of the medic team were treating the injured.
"Are you sure?" Irina asked Ursa as they placed Alucard over the beasts.
"I've never been more sure of anything in my life," Ursa grinned. "Now go, your old man doesn't have much time left."
"We won't forget about the help," Verina said as they took off.
"Sentimental beings..." Ursa shook her head before turning her attention towards the Infiltrators. "Now then, how would you like to die? We have three options: Chewed to death, torn to shreds and tossed around till dead. Feel free to try as many options as you'd like."
***
Ashton hovered in the sky filled with smoke, dust, and charged debris of falling ships, looking around for a trace of the Xyra mothership that had disappeared while he was dealing with the smaller vessels.
"Tarik, you there?" Ashton contacted the person in charge of the orbital cannons.
"Sure am!" Tarik panted.
Tarik was gasping for air, even though all he had to do was execute the program responsible for firing the cannons.
He was working tirelessly to change the targets swiftly, ensuring no friendly ships were accidentally hit in the crossfire. Ashton shook his head as he realised why Tarik was panting.
"You really should have enlisted the AIs to assist you with this task," he suggested. "Either way, do you know the mothership's whereabouts? If I can locate and eliminate it, we might gain the upper hand in this battle."
"Affirmative, it is... right above you!"
As Tarik's words echoed in Ashton's earpiece, he sensed something heading his way and immediately flew backwards. The following moment, there was a loud explosion as a massive energy blast struck the ground, vapourising a third of New Lycania.
Ashton felt lucky, but when he saw the massive crater below him, he was enraged. In the blink of an eye, hundreds, if not thousands, of people died, and Ashton was even more pissed now.
Before he could do anything about it, the Orions fired countless shells at the mothership, but even that wasn't enough to bring down the massive vessel. It was then Tarik's voice echoed once again in Ashton's earpiece.
"You might want to back off a bit now," he said.
"Why?" Ashton asked about Tarik's odd suggestion.
"Because I don't want you to get caught in the explosion."
Ashton's eyes then went to the orbital cannons in the distance. The towering mouths were pulsing with energy. Tarik was overcharging the cannons and had trained their aim on the mothership.
"This is the sole method to incapacitate it," Tarik explained. "A colossal EMP pulse should render the ship inactive, and gravity will do the rest. Nonetheless, this will deplete the cannons' energy, so you must remain vigilant against hostile vessels attempting to target you."
"You sure it'll work?" Ashton still had doubts about the plan as it was quite a gamble. "We are risking the cannons on this."
"I have run the simulations. It was successful 87.55% of the time."
"What about the rest?"
"Do you even want to know that?" Tarik chuckled over the radio.
"Fine, let's do this," Ashton said as he switched to their allied channel. "Everyone, back up! A huge blast is on the way! I repeat, back up now!"
This order made the captains very confused. Nonetheless, most of them were bound to listen to Ashton as he was their leader, and the rest were used to obeying orders as a soldier, so they quickly did as they were told.
Before the Xyrans aboard the mothership knew what was going on, Tarik unleashed the emp wave on them. The ship tried manoeuvring out of the harm's way, but it was too late.
The blast hit the mothership right in the hull. The shields around the ship flickered before disappearing as the engine lost power. Without the engines to support them, the vessel immediately crashed through the skies toward the ground, forming a crater as dust shot into the sky like a fountain.