Earth’s Doom Starts with… Me?

"Anyone who can pass this line may come with me."

General Zhang smirked, observing each one of us from where he sat. I looked around and saw the nervous faces of the soldiers. They started to murmur between themselves, looking reluctant to step forward.

"I guess nobody likes going on raids?" I whispered to Dmitri.

"No... Most of us feel honored to go on raids, as it's our duty and our citizens depend on us, but..." Dmitri whispered back, stealing a glance at the white-haired man, "the problem is him. General Zhang has a... Unique understanding of teamwork."

"Huh?" I looked at Dmitri with a confused face. Is that a fancy way to say 'douchebag'?

"Ah~ this is no fun if no one wants to come..." General Zhang sighed.

Everyone stopped murmuring and I gulped nervously. What is he going to do now?

"How about this... In addition to being a member of my team, I would also give you 1 million chroma."

Suddenly, audible gasps can be heard from everywhere in the vicinity.

"I-I'll go!" One soldier shouted, and he picked up his sword and shield while he took a stance.

"Me too!" Another soldier not far from him chimed in.

"Let's go! We just need to cross it a little!" And another one joined the cause.

"Hey Dmitri, is 1 million chroma a lot?" I asked.

"Yes. You can buy a small house with that..." Dmitri looked nervous as he gripped his sword tighter. His breathing got heavier and he seemed focused on general Zhang.

"...Dmitri, you--"

"Charge!!" The men charged forward at the signal. They had risen in number. I counted probably around 10-ish people?

General Zhang just sat there with a smile, totally defenseless. He had no weapon or armor whatsoever. He doesn't even seem ready to fight. What is he--

'Splash.'

Did I just hear a splashing sound?

'Thud!'

Everyone, including me, gasped loudly as all the soldiers who charged earlier were now laying on the ground. At first glance, they seemed unharmed. But for some reason, they've stopped moving.

"What was that!? Dmitri, did you see that!?" I took a step back as I felt the tension rose.

"Yes... How did he manage to launch his attack at that speed..." Dmitri stared at general Zhang, eyes wide open upon seeing the sight.

General Zhang just sat there, popping a new cherry-flavored lollipop into his mouth, "nice try~ next one please~"

"What was that attack!?" I tugged at Dmitri's arm, motioned him to retreat to the back lines.

"It was general Zhang's magic... 'Electric eel,'" he maintained his position, "he can morph his body into water and move freely, and his element is electro. A perfect combination." Dmitri gulped.

I see. So in that short amount of time, he managed to hit them with electric-charged water until they're unconscious. And without moving an inch from where he was seated, too. This man is dangerous. Every cell in my body is telling me to back away. I observed him, and opened his status window.

[Stat points: (Zhang Feng)]

[Strength: 60]

[Intelligence: 80]

[Agility: 75]

[Physique: 50]

I gasped. That high? This is not even a fair fight!

"Dmitri, this is bad, we shouldn't--"

"I will go, Chae."

"Wait--!" I reached out towards him.

"AARGH!"

Just before I finished my sentence and just before he lunged forward, another scream echoed through the courtyard. Another soldier had fallen to general Zhang's ruthless attacks.

"C'mon, this is boring... You guys are weaker than I thought. Hmm, how troublesome..." He scratched the back of his head, "I'll give myself another handicap. I won't attack unless you're 1 meter off from the line. I won't even go all out on you. Pinky promise~" He grinned from ear to ear.

"Dmitri, wait! You can't charge mindlessly! You've seen what happened to those soldiers!" I grabbed his arm, preventing him to go forward.

"I... I'm sorry, Chae, but I really need to cross that line. I have my... reason." Dmitri looked down.

I stared at his troubled face, and bit my lip, "... All I mean is, we should think of a strategy first, okay? I'll help you."

"Really? Thank you, Chae!" His face instantly lit up. Ugh, why did I ever agree to that unreasonable request? I blame his puppy-eyes.

"L-let's try attacking him all at once!" A soldier suddenly shouted, gaining the attention of other interested soldiers.

"Yeah, let's try a coordinated attack!" A reply came from another.

"Dmitri, let's retreat to the back lines now. We need a solid plan to win." I said to Dmitri, and he nodded. We walked to the back lines and observed those soldiers trying to attack with magic from various directions.

General Zhang really kept his promise. He only attacked those who came into the one-meter-zone from the line. He didn't even attack the mages and archers who attacked from long range.

"Should we also attack from afar?" Dmitri suggested.

"Not a bad idea, but probably not the best," I answered, "the objective is not to defeat him, but to cross the line. If we only attack from afar, we won't ever cross that line."

"Then how do we--"

"General Zhang! What is going on right now?" A familiar-sounding voice reached my ears.

A tall woman with a ponytail whose face I remember vividly walked towards the man who was sitting on the ground. How could I forget the first face I saw since I woke up?

"Ah, Jean-jean! What's up?" Zhang greeted happily, waving his arm in the air.

"Don't play games with me. I came to deliver a message from the headmaster, but what is this?" Jeanne asked him.

"Ah, careful! You're almost inside my one-meter-zone!" Zhang held out his two arms, making a 'stop' sign.

Jeanne looked around at the bodies of the unconscious soldiers and winced slightly. She pulled out her sword and pointed it towards Zhang.

"You're harming our soldiers. Stop this."

"Now, now, chill out~ I only made them unconscious, that's all!" He shrugged his shoulders.

Jeanne's eyes peeked at the bodies, and sure enough, the man wasn't lying. But she still wouldn't lower her sword.

"Don't misunderstand me, Jean-jean... I just don't want to bring deadweight into my party," he said, suddenly his expression turned serious, "I don't mind if you force me to bring 100 soldiers, but I won't be responsible for their lives." His creepy grin faded, and his eyes became stern.

Jeanne didn't reply. For a moment, the whole courtyard seemed to stand still. Nobody moved or talked.

"...I understand." Jeanne lowered her sword.

"Aww, I knew you'd understand me, Jean-jean~"

"Then allow me to participate."

'CLANG!'

"Whoa! Careful!" Dmitri grabbed my head and ducked with me.

Jeanne's sword clashed with Zhang's electric-charged sword made of water. The sparks from the electrical charge flew everywhere.

"Haha! Good, Jean-jean! I like your enthusiasm!" Zhang's maniacal grin came back on, and he struck continuously, producing more 'clang!' sounds and pushing Jeanne back.

"Ugh...!" Jeanne put her weight on her strike, and Zhang's water sword flew away.

She instantly took this opportunity to summon three floating swords, one on his right, one on his left, and the last one on his back. With Jeanne in front of him, there's nowhere to run from her attack.

'BOOM!'

The swords struck, and a cloud of dust obstructed our view. She withdrew her floating swords and stepped forward to cross the line.

Just as her foot was about to cross the line, her stomach was hit by something. Hard.

'THUD!'

"Ack--!!" Her body flew backward a few meters and crashed into the ground. Zhang emerged from the cloud of dust unscathed. It was him who had kicked her.

"General Jeanne!" I and Dmitri quickly ran up to her and caught her body.

She immediately got back up to her feet, and wiped the blood trickling down her lips.

"Are you okay, general Jeanne?" I asked.

"I'm okay. I was just careless," she replied, "now let me go, I still have to fight."

"Wait, general Jeanne! I have an idea!" I stepped in front of her, blocking her path.

"What is it?"

"...Can you make me a shovel?"

"Huh?"

--------

I gripped my newly-made shovel. It was surprisingly pretty light, even though it's a bit longer than a usual shovel. Is this the effect of general Jeanne's magic? Awesome.

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Jeanne asked me.

"Not really, but we can't really beat him in a direct fight..." I dug my shovel to the ground. Great. At least the ground here is suitable for digging.

"Let's try it then." Jeanne and Dmitri started running. Jeanne went to the left side, while Dmitri went to the right side.

While they go around to his backside, I took my shovel with me, charging into the frontline, joining the other soldiers who were trying to break through his one-meter-zone.

Zhang noticed me moving towards him among the soldiers, and a smile immediately donned his face, "little cub, you're here!"

I coated my shovel with fire, and swung it as hard as I could towards his head.

He dodged my shovel by turning his upper body into water and splitting into two before closing in again. I stepped back, and he hummed mockingly at me, "hee~ I expected more from you~"

I said nothing and launched fire projectiles towards his head.

"Hey, little cub, you know that didn't work, right?" He split his upper body again. But this time, I ducked and stabbed my shovel in his feet.

"I'm disappointed," his feet turned into water, rendering my attack useless and my shovel stuck on the ground, "is this the extent of your capability?"

'STAB!'

"What?" A single spear pierced his right shoulder from behind. Blood dripped.

He turned around, and Jeanne was standing behind him a few meters away.

"Ha! So this has been your petty plan all along?" Electricity began to spark around him, "too bad, it's a very lame trick."

Zhang turned his arm into water arrows, charged them with electricity, and threw them towards Jeanne.

'Pang!'

His arrows hit a translucent blue barrier. It was Dmitri's barrier.

"You said you wouldn't attack unless I'm inside your one-meter-zone?" Jeanne smirked.

"...Ck. My bad, my hand slipped~" Zhang rubbed the back of his head.

Suddenly, the air around us swirled at a tremendous speed. Jeanne had used her wind element magic to create a gust of wind. His watery body fluttered a little, unable to maintain a stable form.

I swung my shovel from behind him while faced Jeanne. He noticed my attack and immediately split his body into two.

"Why do you guys love attacking from behind so much? It gets old~" He said, now facing me.

"Don't take your eyes off me!" Jeanne's gust of wind became stronger, and Zhang's watery body started to flutter even more.

'Clang!'

Dmitri appeared from the right side, and his sword clashed with Zhang's sword.

"I'll take you on, general Zhang!" Dmitri shouted as they both exchanged clashes of swords.

Normally, Dmitri wouldn't stand a chance. But at this moment where Zhang's body is split and being stormed by Jeanne's wind, he might be able to hold on for a moment. Thank god general Zhang was just playing around. If he were really fighting, we'd already been dead in less than a minute.

"Over here!" I shouted and attacked him alongside Dmitri.

He turned around, and hit my stomach hard. I dropped to the ground.

'Thud!'

"Little cub, you shouldn't announce your attacks, it's counter-productive, you know?" He stepped on my unmoving body on the ground.

He left me on the ground and started to focus on Dmitri even though his body was split into many smaller parts. Dmitri held on using his barrier as much as he could, while Jeanne focused her attack on her wind, trying to scatter his body.

"Hahaha! Jeanne! Don't just stand there! Fight me!" Now that I no longer interest him, he turned his full attention on Jeanne.

"As you wish." Jeanne leapt forward and started attacking him alongside Dmitri. Their swords clashed and sparks flew. His watery body kept on changing forms and splitting, confusing the duo even further.

Perfect.

He thought I was unconscious. This is going along nicely.

I slowly, very slowly dragged my body towards the shovel I had planted on the ground near the line earlier. I glanced at general Zhang, whose attention was still fully focused on Jeanne and Dmitri.

Finally, I gripped my shovel and slowly stood up. I looked at the line, it was a bit over 1 meter away. He shouldn't be able to attack me even if I get noticed, right?

I extended my shovel and dug a small portion of the ground which the line was drawn on, without ever passing the one-meter-zone.

Suddenly, Zhang turned around, alerted by the noise I made.

"Little cub! You're still conscious?" Zhang was about to attack when Jeanne put up a wind wall between us.

"Don't forget your one-meter rule." Jeanne said.

"You--!"

"You're right, general Zhang. Announcing my attack is counter-productive. I usually don't do that." I said to him. Yes, it was just to make him hit me and pretend I was unconscious. I needed to sneakily steal this small piece of line.

I immediately lift up my shovel, with the little bit of ground that had a portion of the line on it, and put it outside his one-meter-zone.

'Tap.'

I stomped my feet on the small piece of line I've dug up.

"I've passed the line."