Others could argue that Harken had made the wrong decision to sacrifice the recruits of Cresent, and their arguments would most likely be valid too, but they were not the commander at the head of the camp.

Harken was.

And unless the commander of Origin, who held all the power over the military on the planet, objected, his words were law, and they had no choice but to follow, despite their reservations.

For the soldiers and instructors were nothing but blades, the latter being sharper the former, and the purpose of a blade was to execute orders, cutting down whoever and whatever stood between him and his objective, for his will represented that of Cresent and the military who bestowed upon him such power.

But a blade beset with emotions and reservations was bound to be a blunt blade, a blade that would cut no one but the hand that wielded it, destroying itself in the process.

Thus, they carried out their duties as blades without reservations, cutting what stood between the commander and his goal.

That being the horde of beasts flowing through the collapsed wall.

The soldiers surrounded the commander, holding his life above that as they hacked at the beasts, which tried to tear them to shreds, sacrificing their lives to stem the flood of beasts, fighting against the current with their blood soaked, battered and cracked weapons, while the occasional flash of their rifles and laser guns appeared, finishing the job where there melee weapons failed.

The commander was like royalty being ushered to safety, away from a devastating storm that sought to take them all to the jaws of death, but even a royal would wet their pants in this situation.

He was protected, but only physically. The constant roars of the beasts, the gruesome sights of beasts clamping their jaws shut and open, desperately trying to tear at his head, only for it’s fangs to pierce the skull of the soldier in front of him, his head popping from the force of the bite, raining blood and brain matter on his face. Some head ever slipped into his mouth.

Harken was no newbie to the battlefield. He had partaken in a few, but they were nothing like this.

His journey to his position could be called smooth sailing compared to what he was experiencing firsthand right now.

If he were to survive this, it would be his goto tale to tell. Unfortunately, Harken wasn’t in the state to think of such things. His body slowed down, and wearied by the weight of his thick official attire soaked with the blood of his soldiers and enemy beasts alike.

The only thing keeping him from the literal jaws of death besides the thinning wall of soldiers was the two instructors holding the rear.

Exerting themselves, they made it so that the number of beasts that managed to slip past them was something the wall of mortal, non-awakened soldiers could barely handle.

By no means were they supposed to be able to handle any beast, as the lowest Grade 1 beast was always stronger than the highest Grade 1 human.

Over the years, exploring the nature of the awakened, the military had determined that they were too few to be brought into loyal service.

The normal humans, even the trained ones, the elites, and the cream of the crop, were simply too weak to handle the dangers that came along with galactic expansion and building an empire the size of which they currently ruled.

But, several decades of research by both human and awakened scientists had allowed humans to touch lightly upon the field of gene manipulation.

The insights they attained from that discovery allowed body modifications on suitable humans, allowing them enhanced physical abilities of their own.

A super soldier of sorts and the military had been the first to land their hands on such tech, taking it as an opportunity to raise a force that could downplay and possibly directly counter the awakened whose numbers were rapidly increasing.

Alas, that wish of that was thought too far ahead. For they had dreamt of something even the current generation of scientists had confirmed was possible, but were impossibly far away from achieving.

Still, they had managed to fill their ranks with super soldiers who wouldn’t die immediately upon reaching the battlefield.

Alas, here it was in plain sight for them all to see.

The immense weakness of their proud inventions who barely lasted a few hits from Grade 3 and 2 monsters in this overwhelming situation.

Only the awakened could survive the onslaught of enemies without being killed after two hits. In front of these beasts, the soldiers basically had the durability of paper.

But several papers stacked on top of each other were enough to get the commander close to the third wall, where the density of beasts weren’t as high.

The wall ahead had a single collapsed section, like it had been attacked by the same beast that had brought the wall Holland, and the rest of the recruits defended till their last breath.

But this wall had been toppled by the soldiers and instructors he had sent ahead of time to clear the path.

A job they were performing poorly at, according to Harken’s standards.

Harken broke free of the human wall that had lost almost all its layers, welcomed by one of the 2 instructors stemming the flood of beasts that tried to surge through the opening.

The method used was similar to the dome, blocking the beasts out, no matter how hard they pushed and clawed.

It was a sight that would have sent shivers across Holland’s spine had he been present and not buried beneath the rubbles of the wall.

"Can we break through?"

Harken wiped the still wet and sticky blood off his face, peering into the sea of beasts in front of him, his deep voice masking the terror he felt within.

Alas, his eyes were resolute, and his mind was made up, unlike the beasts streaming forth from the front, the ones that had circled back here were limited, and there was an end to them, an end that didn’t lead straight to the jaws of their leades who could kill him with a single gaze.

The sea only appeared endless.

It was not.

His raised his head up, looking at the pulsing blue dome that covered the small space and the broken part of the wall, and then to the troops he had withdrawn from the battle earlier.

"I need not say many words, for we all know why we stand here. Why we were selected! But to serve that purpose, we must first survive that which stands in front of us."

"Crescent has fallen, and it may appear as though the future has fallen with it. But we possess the skill and experience to forge a new future, given we survive this first!"

Harken’s deep and calm voice gave life to his words, stirring the hearts and minds of the soldiers who remained, stripping them of the guilt they had felt from abandoning the recruits, and convincing them that it was for a greater purpose that they had now been duty bound to fulfill.

Alas, not everyone believed the string of bullshit the commander had spouted to paint himself in good light.

The instructors watched on in silence, each one battling with silent voices of their own, but their retained their status as blades.

Sharp blades.

Whatever consequences the commander was to face would be seen when they arrived at Origin.

"Let’s go!"

Harken raised his fist, and the soldiers roared in response.

"Do it!"

He looked towards an instructor who stood next to the wall with a metal box embedded with controls.

The instructor pushed down on one, and the dome that had protected them slowly withdrew, expanding outwards from the sides of the wall all into the sea of beasts, pushing them aside and back, creating a small pathway for them to pass through.

Immediately, they burst into movement.

Two instructors took the lead while the soldiers arranged themselves in a way that put commander Harken at the center and the last two instructors to cover their rear.

The giant unit formed of different bodies didn’t waste time rushing through the path that started vanishing not long after, enduring the din of battle as they plunged into the sea of beasts the two instructors and soldiers at the lead tearing a path across the beasts, but the body they had to move was too immense, too slow, even while moving at their fastest.

But like blades, they fought and offered their neck to being down the enemy in front of them, all believing that they were working towards a goal greater than themselves.

"I sense a signal!"

On the other side of the sea, Kieran and his company had arrived at the edge, the head of the company alerting them that they had sensed the life signals of multiple humans huddled together amidst the squashing sea of beasts.

That was the only signal they needed as all three companies plunged in, tearing a path to the signal in an orderly and methodical fashion.