THE LAST KEEPER

Chapter 217: 217. HAMMER FORMATION

”Kill him!!” the captain of the squad yelled. The seventh and fourth wing squads are much larger than the other squads because they deal with anomalies. Whether humans or beasts.

The killing intent in the place surged to an unbearable height and merged with Sagiri’s. It made the place already starting to smell like death, cackle with the energy of the impending death. Only one of the two sides was going to make it out alive. The seventh wing squad was not going to stop until they captured or killed him. Their first two attempts to capture him had failed, and now they had clearly lost the upper hand to capture him, so the only thing to do was kill him. He had already killed ten of their thread weavers. It was only natural that they resorted to more extreme measures.

The squad was made up of a hundred and twenty warriors. They were further separated into smaller units of ten according to their specializations. The thread weaver unit was already gone, but there were eleven more highly trained units left.

The second unit is the Long-Range Suppressors squad. The unit falls at the far end of the formation. They specialize in long-range fighting and are the last line of defense to make sure he doesn’t escape. The third unit is the close-quarters combat unit who engage in direct combat. The Fourth unit is the heavy assault unit who engage in high-threat situations. This unit and the close combat squad would be the ones to make most contact with the enemy. The fifth unit is the nullifiers unit. They are equipped with special equipment like the wailing innovation that almost tore Sagiri’s ears off. That was not the weapon they had, and they would offer support as much as possible to reduce the strength of the anomaly. The sixth unit is the ward innovators. Their duty is to make sure the battlefield does not expand too far, and they work closest to the long-range squad.

The seventh unit is the trackers. It was their duty to track anomalies and any magical signals. They must have been the ones to find Sagiri, but they are useless in battle. In dire circumstances, they would have to fight, however. The eighth unit is the stealth operative unit. They must have been the ones to clear the area and make sure no civilians were caught in the crossfire. They also must have been the ones to catch Lira. The ninth unit is the aerial support unit, and just like the thread weavers, they were at the moment weaving threads of their own further out, making sure he would escape through the air. Some anomalies and creatures in the fourth wing could fly or shoot through the air for long distances, like Sagiri. The tenth unit is the tactical command. They oversee battlefield strategy, communications, and synchronization of all units to ensure seamless execution of containment protocols. They were the heads of the smaller units.

The eleventh unit is the extraction, and just like their name, their duty is to transport anomalies back to the war headquarters. The last unit, of course, is that the combat healers and Sagiri still had mixed feelings about killing those. They are mostly from the east, and they managed to remind him of Rusha. Perhaps he could leave them with a few broken bones as a reward. They provide immediate medical support to operatives and ensure captured anomalies remain alive for research and interrogation. Their role was pretty harmless, but anyone who worked in the seventh wing was not innocent.

”Hammer formation!!” The captain of all the units gave the command again, and the units fell into tight formation.

The hammer formation is airtight, and just like its name, it’s made to crush the enemy. The Hammer Formation is a coordinated assault strategy designed to overwhelm and capture a high-threat anomaly through synchronized pressure from multiple directions. Rather than relying on brute force, it combines suppression, containment, and close-quarters engagement to drive the target into a controlled ”impact zone.”

The formation is not to be underestimated at all. It is deadly, just like a hummer, and its structure is the same. The Anvil is the Frontline Engagement unit, which includes the Close-Quarters Fighters and Heavy Assault units. Their purpose is to engage the anomaly directly, forcing them to remain on the defensive and limiting their forward movement. The Hammerhead Flanking Strike includes the Stealth Operatives and thread weavers. It is their duty to strike from the sides at precisely timed intervals, exploiting any openings created by the Anvil. Their strength was now weakened without the thread weavers, and they were the weak link of the formation.

The Haft of the hammer is formed by the Long-Range Suppressors and Aerial, High-Ground Support. Their purpose is to maintain constant pressure from a distance, limiting Sagiri’s escape routes and weakening his defenses by using their Suppression bolts, sedative rounds, and precision fire to herd the target. The Binding Core of the hammer formation involves the Nullifiers and Ward Engineers units. Their purpose is to create a containment field around the battlefield, dampening Sagiri’s abilities and sealing off escape paths. They deploy nullification barriers and wards that tighten as the formation advances. Lastly, the Tactical Command, Trackers, Extraction & Medics would coordinate the operation, monitor the anomalies’ power fluctuations, and prepare for immediate containment once he is subdued.

The squad fell into position in mere seconds. Sagiri could have attacked before they completed their formation, but where was the fun in that? His madness was growing by the second, and the sight of blood brought him bad memories. The combination made the darkness inside of him grow enough to cover the entire place. He was not fighting the darkness in him anymore, and he let it swallow him.

At the forefront, heavily armored fighters advanced in a steady line, shields interlocked, weapons raised. This was the Anvil, designed to meet Sagiri head-on and deny him any forward escape. Behind and between them, Nullifiers planted compact barriers into the earth. As each device activated, a faint hum spread through the clearing, and the air grew dense, pressing subtly against Sagiri’s senses.

It was time to let the darkness inside of him have what it wanted. It had dared to take him over, and he had fought it in the past, but now, as his left pupil darkened just like that day in the woods when manchild and his squad had come for him, he let himself get lost in the violence. It was time to follow Senrakis’s advice and rain terror. And to do that, he did not need any distraction of self.

High above and further out, silhouettes shifted into position along the treetops. Long-range suppressors leveled flaming arrows.

”Squads in formation!! Initiate Hammer Formation!!”