n

n

n“IT RAN OUT OF AMMO! GIVE IT TO THEM!” Our lieutenant said, and our group of about twenty-five people all raised their heads above the thin trench line and shot as many bullets that we could produce.

nSlowly, I raised my head above the trench line with Cy and Findir right next to me, Aisa still adjusting, and Bella in a squad of mages that were helping to funnel the opposing side into a singular spot.

nWe could only hope that she would survive, as providing her support right now was utterly impossible.

nLuna was also in that squad of mages but was used as a support due to her illusion magic that has improved over the past few weeks.

nSsssssss

nI looked through my scope and shot a few helmets, but none of the bullets were enough for me to claim a life.

n“HE RELOADED! GET THE FUCK DOWN!” The lieutenant shouted again, and we all soon ducked, just barely managing to dodge a hail of bullets that rushed past the air above us.

nDespite it being the beginning of winter, we were sweating profusely due to the humidity created by blood and the heat of our endlessly shot bullets.

n“I can’t… I-I can’t… This is nowhere near like the previous battlefield-“

nBOOOOOM

nAisa didn’t have time to complain as an explosion ripped apart half of our platoon, causing us to funnel backward, out of the trench we were in and down the little mole tunnels created in between each trench.

n“EVERYONE WITH A GRENADE! THROW THEM INTO THE TRENCH NOW! THEY’LL BE RUSHING IN! THIS IS OUR TIME TO COMPLETE A COUNTER ATTACK!” The lieutenant shouted, but his rash decision was about to get us killed.

nEverybody threw their grenades into the trench, and a few soldiers with missing faces exploded the mini-explosions.

nTheir bodies disappeared into ash that wafted through the air like a sea breeze kicking up a pile of sand.

n“DON’T CHARGE BACK IN! DON’T TRY TO RECLAIM THE TRENCH!” I shouted, and this saved everybody’s life as they hesitated from lunging back in.

nBOOOOOOM

nAn array of magical explosions destroyed the trench into pieces.

nA few magicians stood at the top of the trench, glaring down at us while creating another few sets of magical attacks.

nSome were blue balls of magic, and some were disks of fiery destruction which were tossed into the mole tunnel we were in.

nWe had already retreated backward, but the frame for the tunnel was now collapsing into itself, threatening our lives with the force of nature.

n“RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN! RUN!” The lieutenant shouted, and as we made a mad dash to the other trench, the crumbling rock from above us quickly followed after.

nThe magicians knew which trench we were going to now… but thankfully, we had our own set of magicians.

nAll twelve of us managed to make it out the other side into a muddy trench filled with dead bodies and hundreds of soldiers lying their backs against the sturdy trench walls.

n“WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU ALL DOING! GET UP AND FIGHT BACK!” The lieutenant shouted, invigorating most of the soldiers, but the ones who had already lost their minds just sat there, hoping for a swift and painless death.

nSoon, I peeked out the top of the trench and saw Bella and Luna with their lieutenant fighting off the group of mages we had just encountered.

n“Aisa… Come on. Just aim for their heads,” I muttered, but Aisa was now crying, hugging her sniper even harder than before.

nIgnoring her, I looked through the scope of my sniper, locked onto a handsome head stained with blood… and shot.

nMy bullet pierced straight through his skull, killing him instantly.

nBut, getting the other ones were a bit harder as the explosions and magic attacks were messing up my vision.

nUs being kind of close to them as well didn’t help either.

n“When can we use our weapons?” Cy asked, the adrenaline slowly taking the wheel of the boy’s mind.

n“We’re not wearing our armor anymore. Remember, we are enlisted and don’t have any special privileges such as armor… Going out there is a death sentence. I muttered before quickly ducking down, “You’ll be littered with holes before you can even activate a skill.”

nA trail of bullets whistled above my head as I laid my back against the trench wall, right beside the balled-up Aisa.

n“I’m never doing this again… Somebody save me,” Aisa continuously muttered.

n“*sigh*… Come here,” I muttered before embracing her with a warm hug dampened by the humid atmosphere.

nShe cried even harder into my collarbone as she hugged me back, letting go of her sniper and pouring out all her feelings into the red mud below.

nFindir came behind her and slowly rubbed the top of her head with his thumb, quickly draining out all the white noise around her and calming her down.

n“It’s alright. I know this isn’t easy, but you have to adapt… A proper sniper adapts to any condition they are in,” I whispered into her ear as the magical explosions slowly calmed down and eventually, the only ones heard were very far into the distance.

n“Fuck… That’s a lot of damage to the magic platoon,” I heard a nobody soldier mutter next to me, and all of us froze.

nCy took a look first, and his pale and sweaty face told us everything we needed to know.

n“Bella is severely injured,” Cy muttered, and soon the magic platoon jumped into our trench, where some of the healers began to heal Bella.

nA decent chunk of the left side of her torso had been completely ripped off, and if it weren’t for the healers, then her organs would’ve already spilled out.

n“It’s a miracle she is still alive,” One of the healers muttered as they increased the output of their skill.

n“Did you manage to get rid of the other magic platoon?” I asked the lieutenant, who was also being treated as a chunk of her forearm was completely black and burnt.

n