She honestly had done her best to stay uninvolved. Really, she had. She had wanted to leave the defense to the Philippines and their sellswords and volunteers alone, and to be fair, they had been doing a respectable job thus-far. They had managed to inconvenience two of her old colleagues in a significant manner, baited out and defeated Huo Ren in pitched battle quite notably. Under nearly any other circumstance, that would have been the end of it, a glorious underdog victory of the home team. But now...
Blood soaked into the boiling earth. Ash filled the blackening sky. Nightfall was encroaching upon the Lingayen Gulf and the retreating Chinese fleet, but even with Second Lieutenant Noel's power to drive the enemy berserk, it would be useless when the only enemy that presently mattered was alone. To say nothing of the fact that the Snake was quite sure the terrakinetic didn't really consider anyone an ally. She was as liable to go on an even bigger rampage than not.
Aligned with the space between the city of Lingayen proper and the beach, pitch-black anti-air emplacements boiled from a tar-like lake of ooze, cyberpunk “veins” glowing with an internal emerald light and unerringly tracking the incoming artillery of the Chinese fighting retreat. With an ongoing cacophony of thunder, the sky was filled with shrieking molten steel, all of which deftly managed to evade striking the allied Lotus Squadron, even if sometimes by frightening inches. Fireballs erupted across the darkening sky, as missiles and artillery shells alike were stricken midair. Their speed meant nothing to the functional processing power of the world's greatest super-computers working in concert, guiding the prediction algorithm of the defense. Though the gun emplacements themselves were not fast enough to follow the shots alone, with sufficient calculation and magnified sights, the path of those shots was already determined the moment they left the Chinese ships.
Under the conditions of pure logic and physics, the assumption that the fired ammunition would not deviate from their determined paths, it was about the closest thing to precognition that she could manage. All of it through sheer processing power.
Lei Qingshe sighed, leaving the defense automated, a lingering instruction to regain her attention should it falter the last of her concern on that front. She turned her attention to the real problem, a tidal wave of earth, the massive golem leading it and the volcano far beyond them that the first two would be "stalling" for. To be honest, Qingshe quite doubted the volcano was even necessary at this point, but let it never be said that -for all her eccentricities- Tian Fei was not
thorough when it came to destroying her enemies and looking good doing it. If she wasn't such a piece of shit, Qingshe might even have been able to genuinely appreciate the showmanship.
However, the enemy had just irrevocably raised the stakes, in both a symbolic and possibly literal threat of extinction. Qingshe wasn't entirely certain how serious Tian Fei was about carrying through with the implied threat, but she had no intention of taking chances. The Chinese, by all rights, should want to capture the Philippines and its resources intact, both in terms of infrastructure and potential labor forces. That was the rational course of action. That's what she should easily be able to expect. It's what she
would have expected... before the Downward Descent got involved. Tian Fei wasn't just beholden to the Chinese. This confidence of hers... This overwhelming might. If Qingshe didn't miss her guess, then right now, Tian Fei was either already beholden to an infernal contract... or looking to prove herself worthy of obtaining one.
The genocide of one pesky little enemy nation would be a small price to pay for a second Noble Arm... right?
With her macro-micro terrakinesis, Qingshe had exactly zero doubts that Tian Fei could manufacture effects that would spread even beyond her typical range. If she wanted, the terrakinetic had no functional restriction against creating fault-lines whole cloth and fracturing the island nation into pieces. There was no reason that Tian Fei couldn't, at any time, decide to annihilate what would likely be the majority of this entire island and plunge it into the sea. The only reason she likely wasn't? The woman was an incorrigible sadist. She wanted to take her time, to leisurely pick apart her opposition, to drive true despair into their hearts, to crush their spirits long before she crushed their bodies. Oh, Qingshe knew perfectly well, the only reason the defense had a leg to stand on was that Tian Fei
still wasn't taking them seriously. Even with Qingshe there, a fellow A-Rank, the terrakinetic was unerringly confident. Did she have some sort of trump card up her sleeve, something prepared specially for the Snake? Impossible to say.
But that was enough wool-gathering. The time for observing was over.
Now was for action.
"Priority message:," Qingshe broadcasted through the allied Philippine channels, once in English, then again in Filipino. Her Chinese accent was as lilting as ever, but her tone had gained a serious edge over her normally playful voice. Simultaneously, her voice was echoed by the many serpent heads bobbing above her ooze, just in case anyone lacked a functioning communication device.
"For those yet unaware, the enemy has deployed a terrakinetic structure in function not dissimilar to a volcano. I do repeat, this is not a drill. Environmental hazards are imminent. Evacuation of non-Arms Masters and wounded is highly recommended."As she spoke, simple, glossy-smooth archways began to rise from the crackling ooze near anywhere she could find survivors. Although, they were less arches and more blank, tombstone-like structures, tall enough to slightly exceed the height of most adult humans. A layer of ooze glided up either side of the arches.
"Stride through the ooze of the provided arches to be furnished with appropriate environmental protection. While it won't save you from a dip in lava outright without the aid of a Noble Arm, at the least, you shouldn't be crushed by suffocation of ash or smothered by the heat alone." As a proof of concept, she "nudged" a few lucky guinea pigs through one side of the arches, and they came stumbling out the other garbed in a suit not unlike what a volcanologist might wear. The normal aluminum-y silver of the suits, however, was replaced with the perhaps by now expected black and green aesthetic of Qingshe's structures, and more notably, all the recipients' gear and weapons were left outside the suit, presumably because they'd be impossible to safely access otherwise.
While that was ongoing, Qingshe's slitted eyes narrowed upon the ruined western lands. Thousands of small but sensitive heat sensors already sprouted from her expanded shadow, earnestly casting their gazes across the lands bathed in unbearable heat for some sign -
any hint- of the terrakinetic's true location. It made little sense. Under these conditions, how was the terrakinetic not endangering herself out in that mess? Qingshe knew Tian Fei had no special defense against heat, so how wasn't she burning herself alive? She obviously had a pocket of cold somewhere, but just how was she hiding it? It had to be closer than expected by now. Qingshe was confident. Tian Fei's range was terrifying, but not dauntless. For Tian Fei to attack in the manner she presently was, using a remotely controlled golem vanguard, that would mean she would surely have to be getting physically closer too. The only question was: was Tian Fei muddying the waters? Qingshe might be able to triangulate her, but she didn't yet know the boundaries of Tian Fei's effect, not from her present position. Could she remedy that?
Broadcasting again, Qingshe stated,
"I need sharp eyes in the sky and some determination of how far the enemy's direct power extends. With the right angle, the inward flow of the lands should suffice for an approximation." Inhaling slowly and then huffing, she added,
"Moreover, as an immediate concern, for all those that can still manage to fight even now, your priority until the terrakinetic is located should be venting that volcano! She is building up pressure, and we need to release it yesterday and in a manner she'd not prefer." Firming her tone, she reluctantly spoke more demandingly, with the air of a commander.
"I don't care how you do it, but blow some holes in it! Get that lava flowing out the sides and not the top. And avoid venting it in the direction of the city, or Tian Fei will surely take advantage!""As for the golem and the wave..." A smirk quirked up her lips, exposing elongated incisors.
There were shrieks of displaced air, as several flickers trailing flames rocketed from her ooze, pealing through the sky and scattering, the projectiles splitting into dozens upon dozens of smaller projectiles... all of which promptly impacted the earthen wave and the golem with a sound like the world ending. A series of practically simultaneous detonations turned the near horizon into a curtain of billowing flame and sundered earth, the earthen wave reeling back from the missile barrage and the golem staggering back to an upright position, gushing great gouts of black smoke and oozing burning molten earth all over its surroundings. A shockwave of displaced air slammed into the surroundings, rippling out for over a kilometer in every direction.
"Well, feel free to contribute if you like, but I do believe I can hold the line for a while yet~."@Letter Bee@SkyHresvelg@Sniblet@Senhara@Conscripts@Gerlando@Nimbus@Aisede@Chiro@MagusDream@Creative Chaos@The Man Emperor@Landaus Five-One@The World
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