System, are you messing with me? - Chapter 30: Chapter 30

Assembled on the deck of the biggest space ship the military base had to offer, hundreds of eager and less enthusiastic soldiers stood to wait for their next orders. It would only take a little less than one hour to finally arrive at their destination and thousands of skilled warriors were already gathering together to prepare for the swarm of Sphinx.
On top of the third army, the elders seemed to think it nesessary to include the fifth, second, first, ninth and tenth army for the mission on Samadon as well. That's why there were people pressing against each other left and right, even though the ship was easily tripple the size of any other transportation they had.
One of the many people on deck was a lone soldier, standing in a dark corner, as far away from the others as possible, just staring out at the whispering mass. A deep frown marred the otherwise handsome facial features of the youngster and a frightening ruthelesness burned inside of his eyes.
Luckily, no one was paying attention to the exclusive man, otherwise at least one or two would have been able to recognize the disheveled black hair and gloomy expression as the wanted criminal the soldier really was.
The corners of Wu Kang's lips turned down even more when his sweeping gaze finally settled on the two most prominent figures in the middle of the mass. A tall man with short black hair, a musculous body oozing strength and the aura befitting of a general and next to him a slimmer youth with shining blue eyes, very pale skin and a gentle smile on his face as he looked at his companion.
Wu Kang couldn't quite comprehend why the General would pay that slut Yang Quan so much attention or why their comrades looked at the two happily flirting men, because it couldn't be seen as anything else, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.
It seems that Zhou Feng would need to do a lot of reforming in the military as soon as the woman takes charge.
The low beeping sound and the red flashing from the sirene over their heads quieted down the low murmuring of the soldiers and broke of Wu Kang's straying thoughts. Every soldier straightend their back automatically when the heavy doors of the ship slid open to reveal the vast open space of Samadon. A few hundred meters away the faint outline of small shrubs and rocks mark the beginning of the nest.
Though no Sphinx were yet in sight, even when all the occupants of the space ship left their metalic haven to gather in their specific teams.
"You Know what to do."
Unnoticed, a young soldier leaned into the space of Wu Kang and whispered lowly into his ear, so that the rest of the surrounding people couldn't listen in.
"Zhou Feng. Sweetheart. You don't need to worry. I will get it done immediately."
"Good. Don't disappoint me again."
Without waiting for Wu Kang to reply, Zhou Feng plaster a wide smile on her face and stalked over to the majestic figure of general Sun. A few other soldiers turned their head in her direction when she walked past but only roled their eyes in annoyance when they recognized her.
Wu Kang watched his girlfriend grin cheekily at the other man and start a one sided conversation before he turned around himself to sneak past the many groups of soldiers.
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Shu Ning carefully placed his arms around Sun Zhilong's neck and pull the other's ear closer to his mouth. Hot breath lightly skimmed across the sensitive skin of the General and a barely noticable shiver travelled down the man's spine.
"Where do you think he is going?"
"I don't know. But it won't be anywhere good."
"That's for sure. We should be careful."
Sun Zhilong glanced pointedly at the female still standing at their side. The corner of his eyes twitched slightly at the carefully hidden interesst in her expression. The woman still wore an innocent smile on her face but her body had visibly moved in their direction as soon as the two stuck their heads together.
"We should be wary about her as well."
Shu Ning nodded in understanding and released his hold on his partners neck with slight reluctance. The other teams were already long gone to take position at the east, north, west and south of their space ship and only the fifth army and them were left in the immediate surrounding.
"Attention soldiers. It is time to make use of all that training that you have been doing this entire time. The elders have chosen all of us to protect the place eveyone here calls their home and I hope that is motivation enough to show all your best cards and return to the base as winners and heroes. Our team and the fifth army will be responsible for protecting our space ship that will also be our base of opperation. Miss Zhao is inside on standby to treat every injured comrade but that doesn't mean you should overburden her. So stay save and watch each others back. I want as many as possible to return to their waiting family."
Silence followed the booming voice of the General, but even without any words being said between the soldiers, everyone could see a scorching fire burning inside each others eyes and a deep determination settle in their straightning spines.
Before the quiet could last too long though, a collective yelling of "Yes, Sir!" ripped through the calm atmosphere.
"Squad one will be positioned right in front of the space ship. Squad two will deal with the injured and squad three will defend. The Fifth army will support our third squad. Have a few of your soldiers joing squad two as well."
Sun Zhilong looked over all of the soldiers to make sure they understood his orders before snapping his gaze to the General of the fifth army who had stayed silent the entire time. A serious look passed over his stern features when he nodded at the trusting eyes of his rival.
It would have been a shock for most of the military that the fifth general just accepted orders from the other, but most of the people currently witnessing their interaction knew about their history and didn't even bat an eye.
It was known to all that the Leader of the fifth army couldn't stand Sun Zhilongs presence at all, because of idiotic jealousy. The two of them entered the same army after they exited the academy and grew up to be the best two man team the military had ever seen. They could have even been called friends back then. But that harmonious comradery didn't last long, as it could be seen early on that Sun Zhilong's strength had more potential than his team mates. So it was not much of a surprise when he broke every record and took the ranks in a storm. The General of the fifth army could never forgive the other for leaving him in the dust though and just like that this silly rivalry ocured.
Still, even with the animosity between the two of them, as soon as they entered a battlefield, they would automatically return to the two well known mates from the past.
Shu Ning had been a bit worried when he found out that the third and fifth army were supposed to work together but after seeing the other general rearange his own people to fit in with sun Zhilong's, all thoughts of potential infighting left him.
Suddenly a deep rumble passed through the dry ground underneath their feet that made the loose stones on top tumble over each other. The wind around the Soldiers picked up speed as well and swept around their ears as if to announce their agitation.
Every military person knew what this meant and their hands automatically moved to grab the handle of their swords at their hips to prepare for the incomming storm. A cloud of dust could be seen in the distance where a huge amount of Sphinx were on their move towards their position.
Shu Ning had a difficult time guessing the approximate number of creatures that hastily stomped their way but it could easily be a few thousand. Way more then he or the two Generals have expected because the ninth army was supposed to intercept most of them from that direction.
"Sun Zhilong. There are way too many."
"Hmm.  The north, east and south are still clear and only the west have an influx of Sphinx it seems. Something isn't right. If most of the creatures stayed behind with the ninth army then the amount of Sphinx attacking from the west could very well reach a million."
Sun Zhilong furrowed his brows in thought as he surveyed their situation all the while warning bells blared inside of his head.
" I think so too. It's like all the Sphinx from Samadon assembled at a spot in the west to attack us as a group. But the creatures never work as a team or have shown any sort of intelligence before. I have a bad feeling about this. And if my guess is correct, then we have a huge problem."
Shu Ning chewed absentmindedly on the inside of his cheek as he watched the first Sphinx clash with Soldiers of the third army. A horrifying cracking sound resonated on the battlefield as the muscles and bones of the creature's limbs twisted and swung to slash at the human bodies intercepting their way. The monsters pressed forward with undying dilegence even when their arms got cut off or their stomach ripped open and in just a few minutes they created an open path straight through the battlefield.
"What are you thinking of?"
"Sun Zhilong, do you remember the blue moon?"
"The blue stone from the Sphinx nest?"
"Yes, exactly that. If I am correct, and god do I hope that I'm not, then Wu Kang snuck into the Sphinx nest to get his hands on the blue moon for exactly this purpose."
The General's eyes widened in realization and a dark killing intent passed through his eyes. If Shu Ning's guess really did turn out to be true, then Wu Kang's action could only be called treason agains humanity.
"Wu Kang and Zhou Feng need to be dealt with as soon as possible."
"We will report this matter to the higher up when we return. That is, if we manage to return."
Shu Ning sighed in resignation as he took one last glance at his partner who was gazing back at him with a complicated expression. The both of them didn't know what would be happening from now on, so they tried to comfort them selves with the face of the other before joing the battle field as well.
"Let's go then. The others need us after all."
"Promis me, that you will stay safe."
A desperate need to reassure Sun Zhilong rose inside of Shu Ning's chest when he saw the terrified look the other gave him, yet he knew that no words in this world would be enough to erase that expression from his lover. So Instead of making empty promises neither of them cared about Shu Ning grabbed the front of the others jacket and pulled him down for a forceful and bruising kiss.
Their teeth clashed together quite painfully and the General almost lost his footing from the sudden pull on his jacket but after gathering their bearings the both of them instantly stuck out their tongues to explore their partners mouth. Neither of the two wanted to think that this moment might be their last.
The screeching of a nearby Sphinx made the lovebirds hastily jump away from each other. Just in time as a sharp claw sliced the air where they had stood just seconds before. With a quick glance towards Sun Zhilong Shu Ning made sure his lover was unharmed before brandishing his sword and jumping onto the leg of the monster.
A quick sweep of his weapon seperated the offending limp from the creatures body and with a high pitch scream it fell to the ground, thrashing around for a second more before ceasing all movements. Shu Ning didn't have any time to catch his breath though as another Sphinx was on him again as soon as the other fell to the ground. This time he went directly for the monstes heart and ended it's life before it even got a chance to retaliate.
Shu Ning quickly swept his gaze over the battlefield while sidestepping the sharp teeth of a Sphinx and then ducking underneeth another ones pointed nails. There were way too many of them. The whole battlefield was filled with those creatures and it was almost impossible to make out any of their comrads in between the huge bodys of their enemys. It was less a war and more a one sided slaughter that would not end in their favor.
The only hope now for the third and fifth army to survive this hell was for the backup to finally arrive and help them out, but even after five hour there was still no sign of other forces joining them.
Shu Ning hastily wiped away some of the green mucus from his face that was almost dripping inside his eyes and struck down another two Sphinx in quick succession before looking to his side where the General was fighting.
"We can't continue like this. Backup still hasn't arrived and our numbers have already been halved. There are too many."
Another creature sreeched in agony when Shu Ning stabbed his sword inside of it's stomach, but not even a second later another two heads appeared at the same spot.
"I know. I doesn't look good for us. Something is blocking our communication device, so we need to send someone on foot."
Sending someone to inform the other groups in person would only work though if there were no Sphinx intercepting on the way and the other forces weren't caught in the same situation. On top of that It was very unlikely that their exhausted comrads could make there and back before it was too late. Sun Zhilong knew that of course but didn't see any other chance as there were way too little humans and way too many Sphinx for them to win this on their own.
"ZHILONG."
The General was just pulling his weapon out of a mutilated Sphinx when the yell of his lover ripped him out of his deppressing thoughts. Right behind him the creature that had looked dead to him just a minute ago stretched out his razor sharp nails to impale it's hand right inside of his heart. The Sphinx was way too close and fast as that Sun Zhilong would be able to dodge the limb in time and for a second time seemed to slow down.
The nails steadily advanced on the man's chest and just before they could penetrate through the uniform someone ran straight into his side and threw him onto the ground. A groan of pain came from above him and shortly afterwards the metalic smell of blood.
"You alright?"
Shu Ning hissed in agony when he slowly stood up again. The skin on his back felt like it was burning and he could feel something wet slowly seep into the shreds of his clothes. Every movement that pulled on his injury hurt and it was more and more difficult to keep the pain off of his face.
"Yang Quan? No..."
The General's face paled when he saw who it was that protected him and blatant fear settled inside of his stomach. With trembling hands he carefully grabbed the arms of his lover to help him stand up on his feet and then turned him around to see his back. Four long gahes travelled from Shu Ning's right shoulder towrds his hip bone and the blood dripped down from the wet fabric hat was clinging to his back.
"It's alright. No need to worry now. We have time for that later."
Shu Ning gently pried of the hands of the General that was still gripping his arms and turned to face him. A stormy look passed through the man's eyes and his lips were tightly pressed together, but he still slowly nodded in understanding.
There were still Sphinx swarming in on them from all sides and after looking around it was obvious that they have lost sight of their comrads and were now completely on their own. The two of them didn't know when exactly that happenned, but after thinking about it some more it was easy to guess that it was Wu Kang's doing.
"Yang Quan. Are you able to move?"
"I will be fine. I will be able to go on."
"All right. Hold out. We will look for a place to rest and recuperate for a bit before joining the fray again."
"We can't the others are waiting for us. We need to go back. I will be fine."
"NO. I will not loose you. As it is we will only die on our way there and be no help at all."
Shu Ning sighed in exasperation and went to pick up his sword again. A grunt escaped his closed lips from the pain, but he did well to ignore the injury for now.
"Let's go the. I know a place where we can go. It is a cave that shouldn't be far from here."
The General nodded in thanks and moved his sword towards his right to bloxk the incoming attack of Sphinx. Slowly but steadily the two of them fought their way through the mass of monsters towards their destination and once they spotted a hole to slip through the creatures they started to run.
The air burned inside of Shu Ning's lungs as he gasped and panted when they finally reached the small opening in the stone wall. His head was feeling slightly dizzy from the blood loss and his back stopped hurting a while ago. His whole body was feeling numb and it was difficult to even just stand on his trembling legs. So as soon as they were both safely inside of the cave, Shu Ning weakly dropped to the ground and wheezed as black spots danced in his view.
"Yang Quan. Yang Quan. YANG QUAN!"
Shu Ning twitched in surprise when Sun Zhilong suddenly yelled right next to his ear and tiredly opened his eyes to look at the other.
"Yang Quan. Don't sleep you hear me. Stay awake for me."
"S kay. N't worry. M fine."
The General almost couldn't understand what his lover said because he spoke way too silently and slured his words, but as long as the other spoke at all and didn't close his eyes anymore he was happy.
"Good. I'll treat your injuries then. You should feel better after wards."
"hmmm."
Shu Ning watched as Sun Zhilong carefully took out his emergency kit and started dressing the gashes on his back.
"Yang Quan."
"Hmmm."
"Would you marry me?"
"Huh????"
"If we manage to make it out allive of this war then I would be very happy if you would be my wive."
"You mean husband."
"Yes. Be my husband Yang Quan. I love you. You are the most important person to me and I will promiss that that will never change. I will love you till we are old and gray and I will love you in our next lives. I love you Yang Quan. Will you marry me?"
Shu Ning was lost for words for a second and only gawked stupidly at the other man. He didn't know what he should think for a moment, because getting proposed at in a life threatening situation was not romatic at all.
"Sun Zhilong. Are you certain this is the correct time and place for this? On top of that, we have only been a couple for a day."
"Maybe. But I know that I love you and if this is the only opportunity that I have to propose, then I will take it."
Shu Ning carefully hefted his heavy body into a sitting position as soon as Sun Zhilong finished his treatment and leaned his head onto the others shoulder for support. A soft smile raised the corners of his mouth without his notice and a warm feeling spread through his body.
"All right. All right. I will marry you, you impossible idiot. I Love you."
In this moment only the two of them mattered. The horrors of the war were forgotten, the pain of their tired muscles were gone, the coldness was replaced by the warmth of their hug and the time stood still.