Finding the crates I wanted was simple. They were helpfully marked with U.S. Army logos.
"Regroup! Together now."
"Corner them. Put yer back into it!"
"Nadim, where are you?"
All this shouting and excitement. It was hard to believe they were locked in a stalemate. It appeared the last dwarves remaining were part of a batch that worked well together.
"Crowbar, crowbar, crowbar... aha! Crowbar."
They left it sitting out. Silly dwarves.
I moved around the crate prying the top open with a satisfying creak and pop. The wood slid off easily, revealing a hay-filled box with divided sections. Sitting patiently in each mini cubicle were round explosives. The grenades fluttered their long lashes at me.
"Maybe later."
I tried to imagine what kind of box the army use for brand-new shiny weapons. Quickly popping open a larger box, I found a package of AK's.
"Illegal arms. Bullets sold separately."
Looking more closely, there was a flash of silver hidden near the edge.
This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it.
"Ohohoho~ Sneaky fuckers."
The battle was wearing thin. Other than Zoey, and Specs who watched helplessly from the watchtower after running out of bolts, everyone else was running out of breath and on the back foot. Aaron, Mei, and even Nadim were viciously fighting off the stalwart dwarves with all they had. Alice was reduced to throwing rocks; I couldn't see Lucas anymore.
Their teamwork was decent for a cobbled-together squad, but they couldn't measure up to trained warriors. If the dwarves had even one more man, a half-decent archer, or spears, the fight would be over. As it stood, their reach was the deciding factor.
And my gun.
[You popped a dwarf. 15 points.]
[You popped a dwarf. 24 points.]
[You popped a dwarf. 20 points.]
[You popped a dwarf. 22 points.]
...
The kickback was insane. Why would anyone ever use a desert eagle?
[You popped a dwarf. 20 points.]
Half of his head caved inward and flew out the back of his skull like confetti.
"Ho-o-ly Shit. That's why. Fucking effective, that is."
The dwarves were too disadvantaged. When the last two turned their backs to run me down, they encouraged attacks of opportunity from Mei and Nadim.
[You killed a dwarf. 12 Points.]
[You killed a dwarf. 16 points.]
I shamelessly stole their kills. I'd already relinquished the ones in barracks to Mei's fire. I deserved these.
Good thing there were eight of them. I think I ran out of bullets.
It just went to show the superiority of guns in the early game. Dwarves weren't allowed to use any earth-specific weaponry unless they had a relative class, so any human who had a gun was only limited by the amount of ammunition they carried. Guns didn't work so well on monsters, bosses, and most evolved. In fact, after the first layer, they were garbage unless they were altered in some way.
But dwarves and humans? Easy pickings.
Blowing the literal smoke from my smoking gun, I felt like a badass.
"Lucas. Lucas? Stay with us Lucas."
Well, that sounds grave.
I took a moment to watch the barracks burn and then strolled away to retrieve my well-earned loot, wiggling my fingers like a kid in a candy store.