Last Era

Chapter-04(Part three) Selection Tests III...

This plan worked well so far for the first two matches...and they all followed a 2 to 3 offense-defense formation. But .....Our current opponents were different.

That was only natural since winning three matches in a row based purely on raw fighting ability was too wishful. The aim of these tests were centered on strategy making and countering situations while possessing next to no information at all.

Around mid-way across the entire area we came across three individuals...their formation was different.... A 3-2 offense- defense style...

My very frank opinion was this to be a more effective strategy and I would have like to do it this way but a more defense oriented style suited our team.

Three guys each, separated from the other with roughly half a meter gap in between. They walked with an air of confidence, their eyes constantly shifting examining every detail as they moved.

Hmm...a guy with a slightly large build much like Keller from our team was walking first with a shield materialized in his right hand while keeping an inactivated shield-device in his other hand....

The one in the middle held a shield and gun and the last guy....held two guns....

A weapon arrangement different from the default setup... they knew as well...

So this team has also figured out most of the things as us.....

Another gimmick to our weapons was that we can easily use the weapons of other members from our own team,...but it needs to register itself at the beginning and once it did the weapon can't be used by anyone else, not even the original owner.

But we went for the initial setting aiming for a more balanced strategy.

My lips stretched to form a light smile...the disturbance I felt in my heart now was a more pleasant one unlike before. I really....wanted to have a good fight...and these people in front of me would satisfy that wish...so I smiled.

I was outside the range of our guns.

In this world of absolute silence where once we regained control of our senses any small movement will sound as if it had been amplified through speakers... and this particular group had effectively erased all signs of tensions from them, breaking the mental barrier erected by this world.

My hunch told me that if I moved closer than this then they'd notice my presence. So I signaled to Chester who was further behind to retreat behind further and I turned back myself.

I didn't decide to regroup and then take them but I just wanted to slightly change the way to approach them.

*****

We moved back quite a lot and waited for them to come...and at the rough distance of about five meters their figures entered my vision from the shadow of the trees...yet to notice our presence.

Like before I circled them from the left and had Chester to take the front, additionally I left behind a small distraction but I didn't hope for them to fall for it, if they've not completely countered their anxiety then the chances for them falling for it remains.

.....as climatic as I want it to be, it's simply my head gear along with my shield peeking out of a dense cluster of those too well illuminated leaves.

They moved further in and their distance was just a few meters from Chester. I was already within their gun range. I didn't move and kept my breaths short so my position wasn't discovered.

They kept moving then....they stopped.

"........!"

Their eyes sharpened and focused forward...from their view they saw a piece of the head gear and the edge of the activated shield device.