The ambush failed.
It was the mildest way to describe what transpired in that battlefield.
A more unrestrained observer would comment that the ambushers had their butts kicked, stomped, grilled and served back to them on a plate with pretty flowers on it.
Over three thousand of our frankenstein mechas were still standing when our victory cry finally resounded for five full minutes completely unabated.
It was a glorious victory!
We were untrained first graders with weaker mechas deliberately sent into an ambush by our seniors set up and disguised perfectly as a mecha movement class.
Five thousand frankenstein mechas got ambushed by five thousand solidly stronger practice mechas… And won!!
We were meant to lose the battle and taste the bitterness of defeat, but instead, we smashed our enemies to pieces!
"You guys really showed up this time." The instructor said with the broadest smile I had ever seen as soon as the final mecha crossed the finish line with his downed buddy in tow.
His name was Instructor Fuiyooh.
Yes, Fuiyooh.
Nobody knew what his real name was, not even Bruce Pang.
Of course he was made fun of mercilessly by his co-workers and students alike. But he seemed to enjoy being made fun of, so all was good.
He was an excellent mecha pilot, and receiving his compliments at that moment felt really good.
We knew we did well, and we basked in the awesomeness of his praise like so many little sunlight-starved kids sunbathing for the first time.
"Movement techniques, top notch. Fighting techniques, mostly okay. Strategy, top notch. And above all, your ability to read in between the lines… perfect! Fuyoooo!! I am really impressed!" Instructor Fuiyooh cried out in deep approval and clapped happily like a little boy.
We all laughed at the ridiculous sight of a perfectly handsome and muscular middle aged man with a twirly mustache applauding us so enthusiastically.
He was standing atop an open mecha cockpit and was speaking through his mecha's speakers. Four other instructors were spread out all around us, while five other instructors were rounding up the second graders and probably preparing a massive scolding for them.
"As always, there are many standouts among all of you, and some blockheads as well. Your class instructors will break down your performance soon and give you feedback on what you did well and what you can improve. But for today, all of you can take the rest of the day off!" Instructor Fuiyooh announced.
"Hoorrraaaay!!!" My schoolmates screamed joyfully.
"Long live Instructor Fuiyooh!!" Came the fateful cry from one of the students.
"I hereby declare today's lesson a complete-"
BOOMMM!!!!!!!
A massive explosion suddenly erupted from underneath Instructor Fuiyooh's mecha!!
I remember very distinctly the look of horror that was on his face as he was flung out of his cockpit and sailed through the air.
For some reason, he wasn't killed by that explosion even though his mecha was more or less disintegrated by the massive explosion.
He must have some sort of safety device that allowed him to survive that horrendous blast.
But even though he was physically fine, he must have been completely and utterly horrified by the significance of what just happened to him.
Enemy attack.
And upon ten thousand kids in half broken mechas with only nine instructors left to protect them.
BOOM!! BOOM! BOOOM!!
Three more explosions rang out.
Six instructors left.
"Sheera!!" I whirled around to shout at Sheera Lin. In an instant, I knew that the brilliant mind which won us the day's ambush would be our only hope to survive the real ambush.
"Eliana, Elise, to the wings, be ready to move on my command. Victor, lead the rest into a defensive square formation around our downed mechas." Sheera Lin said calmly. "Justin and Sherry, get three Hammer Squads each and prepare to engage the enemy."
As usual, Sheera did not hesitate to put any of us into harm's way. For her, the most important thing was achieving her objectives.
In that particular case, her objective was very simple. Save as many kids as possible in the next few minutes and wait for backup to arrive.
And if it took the death of five thousand kids to save the other five thousand, then so be it.
"ALL OF YOU SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LISTEN IF YOU WANT TO FUCKING LIVE THROUGH THIS DAY!" I instantly bellowed with all of my strength and quickly relayed Sheera's instructions.
As I was doing that, the enemy continued their sneak attacks on our instructors.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!!
Three more explosions rang out in quick succession as our enemies ambushed three more.
Only three were left.
"There are only three of them." Sheera Lin quickly concluded. "And only blue mechas. We can take them on if we can locate them and get close to them."
I nodded and continued to gather my three Hammer Squads. Only around five hundred Hammer Squad members were left, and I was splitting them up into two.
However, at that moment, my heart was already sinking.
The enemies were very obviously targeting our instructors. That could only mean one thing.
They weren't on an assassination mission for me or any of the top students in that battlefield. If they were, they wouldn't have bothered killing the instructors first, and would have gone for their targets immediately.
No, those weren't assassins we faced that day. We were faced with butchers who wanted to wipe us all out.
The remaining three instructors were over in the second graders area, and were already in full emergency mode.
They knew that the enemies were targeting them, and our best chance at survival was if they could defeat all three ambushing enemies in one fell swoop.
"Bastards! All three are cloaked and wield stealth rifles! Triple threat formation now!" One of the remaining instructors shouted loudly.
The other two instructors quickly obeyed and they proceeded to execute a very risky maneuver by taking to the skies in three different directions to achieve a threefold purpose.
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