We run towards the new walls and get between them, grouping up into pairs of two. I take point with Derek, ready to lead the charge. Carter and Cedric follow behind us, prepared to switch us out in case we get tired or need the extra muscle. The rest of the fighters are behind them, leaving Pops and Emily to bring up the rear.
I’m far from healed after that last battle, my health barely a hair over half full. But what choice do I have? The longer we wait, the more fighters will die. The more fighters will die, the bigger the chance the central hold will fall.
And if that happens? I don’t even want to think about the loss of life that would take place.
So I push myself. Past the pain, the fatigue, and the fear. I run with Derek, killing the occasional monster that jumps over the walls at our sides. The path is mostly clear at first, as the vast majority of the creatures are drawn into the safe zone by the commotion near the center.
But it doesn’t stay that way for long. A handful of monsters start giving chase from behind, and the new ones joining the horde from the surrounding countryside enter our narrow corridor from up ahead as well.
I stop everyone for a heartbeat and we reorganize. Emily and Pops get pulled in the middle of our group, leaving melee fighters to guard our rear as Derek and I clear out the front. We get into countless small battles as we advance, bleeding for every inch of ground we cross.
The tight space works both for and against us. On one hand, it keeps our flanks safe. On the other hand, both Derek and I have bulky weapons that are hard to swing with so little room. But with no other choice, we’re forced to learn and do it fast. We avoid horizontal swipes, going for vertical slams instead.
By the time we reach the half-way point, which is about two hundred feet out, the walls look like they’ll crumble at any second under the assault. Monsters start poking heads and limbs through the packed dirt, biting and slashing at us as we pass. I swipe at them with the crowbar and pummel them with the sledgehammer, but even though I force a few to pull back, others quickly take their places.
We won’t make it, so with a heavy heart, I get ready to give the order to retreat.
“Pull away from the walls!” Someone shouts before I get a chance to.
I turn to find Mike riding towards us on Luna. He holds out a hand, forming two new blueprints inches away from the existing walls. These extend from where we are and all the way to the end of the corridor. We do as he says, forming a line in the middle as the new walls form around us.
“The hell are you doing here?!” I yell as Mike nears us.
“Fucking run!” He yells back. “The walls won’t hold for long!”
I’m not happy about this. Mike isn’t a fighter, he wasn’t supposed to be here. But we don’t have time to argue, so we take off running again. The space is even narrower than before, funneling us into a single file line.
At the front of that line, I take care of the monsters that jump over the walls. When two or three of them come from up ahead, I duck and let Cedric take care of them with his plasma lances. They’re highly effective, able to pass through and kill up to five monsters at once. At the far back of the group, Mike brings up more walls to plug the corridor and stop any monsters from pursuing us.
As much as I don’t want to admit it, his presence is a godsend. We take a lot less damage, and we move much faster than before.
We reach the end in minutes, bursting out of the corridor into more or less clear countryside. The no man’s land filled with trenches and obstacles is behind us, as are the hordes. Only the boss is left out here, standing tall on a nearby hill.
Unlike the Marrower or the Acid Skunk, the bear doesn’t surround itself with weaker minions. It waits for us all by itself, which I take as a bad sign. The damn thing already survived an impromptu space launch, and this looks like just another show of confidence.
“What’s the plan?” Mike asks, pulling up next to me.
I wasn’t counting on his presence, so he’s in the dark about any specifics he doesn’t need to know. I look around, trying to decide how his skills might help before I answer. The bear boss is up on that hill, surrounded by a handful of abandoned houses. It’s a mostly open field, too much space for Mike to try and wall off.
“Keep your distance and try to trip it up,” I end up saying. “It does these charge attacks, so if you see it attempting one of those, try to slow it down or cut it off.”
Mike nods. Everyone else already knows their roles, so we get to it.
Derek, Carter, and Chris split up from us, going around in a wide arc to keep other monsters off our backs. While Derek is a sturdy tank, he’s not ready for a monster this strong and I won’t let him risk his life just to soak a couple of blows.
Pops and Cedric are to keep their distance, pelting the boss with ranged attacks. Emily doesn’t have enough arrows left to join them, but I have something else in mind for her. I remember that song of regrowth buff she used on me during the last boss fight.
“Was it a healing buff?”
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She nods.
“Do you have any others?”
She nods again, clutching the bow to her chest.
“Okay, I’m counting on you to use them and keep me alive. Can you do that?”
She nods and whispers, “partners.”
I smile and put out a hand for a fist bump. “Partners.”
She wraps her knuckles against mine, then she pulls out the arrows she has left. Only seven of them, but she shoots them off above our heads. The arrows start curving through the air as Emily guides them with her hands, taking sharp turns that cause them to whistle.
Emilia Faust - Level 24 Arrow Conductor has cast Song of Regrowth.
I can hear it this time, a mellow tune composed of whistles and whizzes that fills the world. It almost sounds like a lullaby, distant and tinny. My healing picks up, and while the boost isn’t huge, any percentage is welcome. The others layer whatever buffs they can on me as well, giving me every advantage they can provide. I have seven of them active at once, anything from protective buffs like Derek’s Iron Skin and Cedric’s Coronal Shield to something called Swift Feet for movement speed and Righteous Fury to give me more strength.
I give the signal, and I rush the boss first. That’s my role, I’ll hit it with high speed slams and momentum enhanced ground pounds. The others wait close-by for the boss to get stunned, then they’ll jump in to do some damage themselves.
I climb the slope, and as soon as I get within range, I use analyze on the bear.
Bruin - Level 7 Wave Boss.
Health: 577/1360.
Mana: 50/50.
Status Effects: Groggy.
It’s pretty low already, not having healed from our last encounter. But I can’t get overconfident, that’s how I lost Karen to the last boss. As the terrain evens out, I trigger a full length dash. Bruin howls as I zip past it, slamming the sledgehammer in its side. Ribs crack and I get a little bit of frenzy, then my momentum carries me away before the boss can retaliate.
I dig my heels in, tearing a long ditch into the dirt as I come to a stop. Then I turn around, trigger another dash, and I hit Bruin once more. I repeat the maneuver a few times, trying to gauge how much damage I’m doing and get a feel for its reaction time.
The boss is slow, but it’s resilient. Damn near impenetrable. Even though I’m putting the equivalent of a high speed car crash behind every blow, I’m only chipping away at its health. The sledgehammer that has served me so well this far now groans with every strike.
I’m surprised it’s even held out this long, and I know it can’t take a lot more punishment. But it only has to last through this one last battle.
After yet another attack, as I run past Bruin, it lets out a roar and gives chase. I can feel it pulling in ambient mana, using a skill of its own to pick up speed.
“Mike!”
“On it!”
Three blueprints spawn back to back in front of me, but I trip and slow down a bit too fast. Mike miscalculates the split second timing and gets the walls built before I pass them. I turn on my heels, hitting the barrier with my back. It groans and cracks, collapsing against the force. The second wall crumbles as well, but the third holds, bringing me to a full stop.
Bruin still barrels towards me, picking up speed as its enormous feet slam the ground.
I take a deep breath, load a ground pound into the sledgehammer, and I take off towards the boss with another dash. We clash and the shockwave of my skill explodes, throwing Bruin back a few feet. It lets out another angry roar as it staggers, and I blow past it with a short dash, delivering another hit.
“Sorry!” Mike shouts.
“No, that was good! Keep that up!”
“What?!”
“I have problems stopping, you can help with that!”
Mike’s eyes go wide as realization flashes across his face. He nods, and the two of us join forces to keep the pain coming.
“Pops, Cedric, you two can join as well!”
The two get into position, and we get the show on the road. I zip in and out with dashes and ground pounds, using walls from Mike to stop and turn around. Pops and Cedric throw lead and plasma at the boss when I’m not around, doing more chip damage that starts adding up ever so slowly.
The buffs on myself come and go, and the others keep reapplying them. I hit the boss with another high speed ground pound that finally does the trick, knocking it down on its ass and inflicting a short stun.
“Charge!”
The others come in, hitting the boss with improvised weapons and skills. They only have around ten seconds to pile up the damage, and I keep an eye on Bruin’s stun timer. When only three seconds are left, I give the order for them to retreat.
They run away so fast that a couple of them drop their weapons.
“Cedric, switch! I’m tapped!” I shout as I myself retreat.
Cedric nods and runs towards the boss. Just as it starts recovering, clambering to its feet, Cedric gets in front of it. In the next moment, the man explodes as he activates coronal mass ejection. The rest of us have to avert our eyes, and even fifty feet away, I can feel the heat giving my backside some light burns.
I put some distance between myself and the battle, then I collapse to my knees. Each dash, each ground pound, each forceful stop have done damage to me as well. I’m down to a quarter of my total health, covered from head to toe in pulsing bruises. Every joint in my body feels stiff and swollen, especially my hands and knees.
I don’t even try to count the broken bones and torn or pulled muscles. Too many wounds, too much pain, but I have no choice. Even though the system healing is fast, it would take me too long to get back to full health.
Cedric buys me as much time as he can, going toe to toe with the boss. I watch him weave between claw swipes and paw slams, delivering his own cuts with his plasma lances. Even though his class is called a solar mage, seeing him in action gives me more of a paladin feel.
“Jack, switch back!” He yells after a few minutes. “I’m tapped!”
I get to my feet, crack my hurting back, and I dash back in for round two.