Chapter 159: Operation Start

"Operation Start." Nathan commanded, and Via quickly came out of the tent and sent a projection of 'Go' to the sky, signaling the soldiers to enter the nest.

Kai looked at Via and watched how effective she was. If it was a battle on the surface, Kai could somehow picture how she projected a number to tell everyone they moved into phase one or something.

This allowed them to gain a unison movement from the army without using the radio. And this mission gave them a chance to see what kind of power both of them had when they were together.

Kai didn't say anything and listened to the footsteps. Just like their initial plan, the people began swarming the Underground Nest. Surprisingly, Eagle Group, AKA Isabelle's group, was one of the leading ones.

On one hand, the small space of the tunnel would make her at a disadvantage. On the other hand, she could actually float a little bit to snipe most of the enemy, providing support. This would even get more effective in some wider areas.

Outside, Isabelle smiled after receiving the signal. She couldn't help but mutter. "He is already becoming a strategist on this big scale mission? It's frustrating."

"He just becomes a favorite of the General, nothing more." The elder twin, Eva, snorted.

"You can't say that, Eva. The previous head of the Graham Family isn't that foolish. Considering his previous achievement in Cuba, it's easy to picture why he would become the strategist." The younger one, Eve, rebuked her.

"You are right. Without his own power backing him up, the famous Nathan Graham wouldn't let him take the command." Isabelle nodded while entering the cave.

The cave was made of limestone, looking very solid and sturdy. Although it was dark, they had some sort of light already.

She looked at Eva and nodded.

"Fire Light." Eva activated a magic circle and summoned a red-colored ball from within. The ball glowed brightly and lit up the room.

Isabelle nodded to her before turning to their partner in today's mission. It was a five people group from the army.

However, Isabelle didn't say anything. Instead, he looked at a middle-aged man with short blue hair and a strict face. "Teacher Gran."

The middle-aged man turned out to be their teacher or advisor. He nodded to Isabelle and turned to the army. "Nice to meet you. We are going together, so I hope we can get along. I will be joining you guys in the front while my students will be the support, is that alright?"

They only had an introduction because they didn't know who would be paired up with who. The entrance was indeed big, but the tunnel itself could only hold around ten to fifteen people. It was equal to three to five magical beasts considering they were not as big as those sea creatures.

"Yes. Pleasure to meet you." The captain of their group nodded and shook his hand. "We are fine with that. I hope this mission can be a good experience for the students since they are the future of our army."

Gran nodded with a smile. They proceeded with caution, crossing this whole dark tunnel.

They knew the tunnel wasn't big, and twelve people were only a measly number from the actual six thousand. However, they needed to separate themselves into five small tunnels right from the start.

The three hundred people were suddenly divided into sixty five-person groups, and they would go together with another group to make a platoon. There was a difference between the student group and the army group. Each group had five people other than the student group because their teacher was considered as extra.

Before them, three platoons already marched through this tunnel in succession. Isabelle and the others arrived at the first larger area.

The size alone was quite big, around thirty-meter in diameter. She felt like it could fit more than thirty magical beasts around here. The proof was the ant corpses scattered around the room.

However, they also found two human corpses in this area. Isabelle shook her head and closed her eyes, looking away from those two corpses.

At the end of the room stood eight people panting. It only took a second for Isabelle to realize they were the first group that was coming here.

They encountered those monsters first and unfortunately died. After all, they were outnumbered at least one to three, forcing them into a disadvantage.

"The fourth group has students, huh…" One of them muttered and furrowed his eyebrows.

"Good work, all of you." The captain of Isabelle's group said.

"The second platoon is leading the group right now, and your group's turn might come sooner or later. Be careful in the front," said the first platoon leader before glancing at the corpses. "I will take care of the dead bodies and send our… friends… to the surface to get a proper burial."

The captain nodded and said, "We are moving."

Isabelle and the others couldn't say anything other than moving forward. Isabelle looked at her teammates and swore she would protect her teammates.

Just like the first one, they kept finding sacrifices from the soldiers. Isabelle could understand Kai's plan by sending wave after wave of soldiers. It might be a cruel plan, but was the only one that had the least casualties and fastest speed.

They could certainly send sixty people in succession and fill the room like before to kill the enemy. It might get fewer casualties, but the soldiers would exhaust themselves together. On the other hand, with sending the soldiers by waves, Kai could conserve the next group's energy by working the front group to the bone.

However, this plan allowed them to advance much faster and with little casualties. It was an annoying plan, but no one actually refuted it.

Of course, Kai would actually have the same experience like this later.

Isabelle continued advancing through the tunnel, meeting the second group along the way. Just like before, they had two casualties and warned them they would be next after this.

As a former top 10 group, Isabelle and her teammates had gotten used to this kind of situation. The tension didn't make them nervous. Instead, it allowed them to focus.

Even the captain complimented them in his heart.

It was only after walking for a few minutes, they suddenly heard the sound of battle.

"!!!" The captain said while looking at the next room a bit far from them. "There is a battle ahead. We will assist them. Keep your eyes peeled, and don't let any of those monsters sneak attack you."

"Understood." All of them nodded and ran toward the next room while taking out their weapon.

They entered this forty-meter radius room and saw nine people fighting fifty monsters at once. Most of them were ants, while they could see a few earthworms.

"Engage! We are supporting the third platoon."

Upon the orders, the five soldiers and Gran immediately came to the front and engaged a close combat fight. On the other hand, Eva and Eve went to the side, waiting for the right time to unleash their magic. The other two protected Isabelle from the magical beasts while she shot all these magical beasts.

Of course, Isabelle knew she would have a short range of vision due to the tunnel's size. That was why she didn't bring a super scope with her. Instead, she only brought a red dot sight and was planning to shoot them down without it unless necessary.

Although she could use some guns or handguns to fight, she still used her sniper as it had already become a part of her. She kneeled on one knee and straightened her back, getting into a shooting position.

Her vision stumbled into a big three meters high ant that was trying to bite a soldier. She took a deep breath and shot right on its head.

"Bam!"

The bullet pierced through its head in a split second, and blood splashed toward the soldiers and other ants. Yet they acted like nothing happened and continued to fight.

As for the saved soldier, she only stared at Isabelle and nodded her head before entering the battle once again.

A flash of surprise appeared on the Eagle's group, wondering what kind of will kept them fighting. Even though she almost died just now, she quickly got up and charged at another ant.

Isabelle's mind jolted and said, "We can't lose to those guys, right?"

"Obviously." Both men nodded. The ice guy, Tommy, slowly walked forward. "I'm joining the twins. Shield brain, you better protect our leader."

"Of course, leave it to me."

Isabelle smiled and pulled the handle on the right side of her weapon, and a bronze cartridge with some blue lines popped out and fell to the ground. If Kai were here, he would look at the bullet with great interest because the blue lines were the ones that exactly increased the power of her shot.

Isabelle paid no heed to the bullet and aimed at the second target.

She became peerless support in this area because she got some distance from the magical beasts, allowing her to kill them without worry.

Bullet after bullet popped out, and each shot killed a single enemy. Although she needed to lower her fire rate to make sure she didn't hit an ally, she could still kill a fifth of the enemies, and they could kill all the magical beasts in five minutes.

Isabelle took a deep breath and rose from the ground before changing the magazine. "Good work, Isabelle."

"Yes, thank you." Isabelle nodded before looking at the soldiers who were raising their thumbs to her.