As John ran back, he saw one of the retreating people in front of him step into a small hole in the asphalt, yelp in surprise, and stumble. He didn't fall, but from the way he now moved it was obvious that he injured his foot.
Probably an ankle, John thought from the desperate hobble. Two of the others stopped, but seeing the approaching Rothounds on their tail they shook their heads and continued running.
"Wait, please! I can't… please!" The man begged, but John understood their dilemma. They had only a couple of seconds to spare, and going back to pick him up could probably lead to them all dying.
Luckily for him, the guy was lean and slightly below average in height, and as John ran by, he grabbed him in the princess carry, and brought him through the line in time. An older lady gestured to a place on the side to place him and started inspecting the severity of his injuries moments later.
"Thank you, I will…"
John tuned him out and climbed up the wall from the other side, retaking his previous spot.
The first hounds already crashed into the prepared line, but Marcus used his bolstering ability and made sure the line held up, protecting the whole formation from the most dangerous impacts successfully.
John immediately used the space to skewer an incoming hound with his javelin and also observed the damage his stiletto and wisp did to the second Alpha.
Out of twenty-six hounds, only eight made it all the way, and the defenders' great cooperation ensured a quick victory.
Only a single defender got wounded by a nasty bite to his thigh, but the same older lady was already tending to his wound. The bloody tears slowly closed up, leaving behind only small pink scars, and a few seconds later he was once again standing on his own.
Huh, she must have a healing ability.
"John, the next wave could be even more powerful than the massive skeletal beast so we need to hit it early and hit it hard. Come," Marcus spoke behind him, moving around and also calling others who could be crucial to the success of their defense.
Loud cheers suddenly burst from the east, indicating a probable success of their defense, which was soon followed by similar cheers coming from the west.
Hearing that, the defenders steeled their resolve and prepared for the—hopefully—last attack.
A massive monster stepped through the portal a minute later, but there was one glaring complication.
The whole thing was covered in rotting flesh.
[Rotfiend Fatebreaker]
Yep, yellow name, same size, same weapon, but the fleshy variant.
He had to give it to the System, it knew how to spice things up.
Leaning back with a wild grin, he whipped his javelin forward and willed for both minions to engage.
The javelin flew in an arc, impacting the front of its bulging body, and burying itself over three feet deep.
At the same time, the welcoming barrage of abilities rained down on the grotesque form, eliciting a deep pained howl.
It burst forward, quickly gaining momentum and forcing the advance groups to scramble backward.
Hmm, it moves faster than a deathfiend, but is also much more affected by the offensive abilities, John observed.
His spear came back, and he repeated the throw, watching as it sank deep into the monstrous flesh.
Hmm, javelin isn't the best against massively sized creatures covered in fat and rotting flesh.
As it passed the halfway point between the wall and the portal, the disabling abilities came into play.
Arian, the wheelchair-bound man opened up with his trump card, and the monster got surrounded by dozens of golden chains, losing its mobility for the next thirty seconds.
That made it a sitting duck, and be quickly whittled down under the constant barrage, and shortly after, a bright yellow ball of ash shot out, heading toward one of the people on the balconies on the opposite side of the street.
All in all, the overwhelming number of people proved an insurmountable obstacle, and the lack of innate resistance against the common affinities became the beast's undoing.
A sudden flash of green light immediately followed by a foot-wide beam coming from the portal made John frown, but then laugh out loud. The cheering of defenders quickly died down, and everyone watched the new development in scared fascination.
John, already seeing a similar thing happen before, only waited and as he expected, the beam hit the central of the massive corpse, set it on fire, and forced the rotting flesh to slouch down in front of their eyes. In a matter of seconds, a pristine skeleton was all that remained, and a sudden flare of pale-green flame brought a second chance to bring revenge on the pitiful defenders that delivered the creature's demise.
Not wasting time, John's stiletto struck the inside of its still-burning skull, and he even chucked his javelin for a good measure.
That throw proved precisely as ineffective as he guessed, making only a small chip in the ribcage and getting stuck inside the complicated skeletal structure.
Oh well, it's only a matter of time.
"Fall back! Let the wall buy us time!" Marcus commanded with his deep voice, and the people lined up in front of the wall rushed through the gate and into the safety inside. "You as well, don't repeat the situation from the first day," he pointed at the people arrayed on top, making them nod and also retreat back.
Marcus was the last to go through, and he turned toward him as he passed by, "John, you got this."
If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
It would take a couple more seconds for the Deathfiend to reach the wall, but its towering form was already looming behind it, eating up the remaining distance with long, hulking steps.
John watched as someone lobbed a chunk of green ooze that arced over the wall, splattered over the monster's right shoulder blade, and started to bubble.
"Hey! Wait for the signal!" A feminine voice berated someone behind him.
In the meantime, the golden lines slowly formed a complicated pattern over the monster's skull, showing the first hints of its incoming defeat.
"How much longer," Marcus asked with a hint of impatience in his voice.
"Ehh, somewhere between fifteen and thirty seconds?"
Leaving with a grunt, he went to organize the line of defenders that formed twenty-five meters behind the wall.
As it reached the wall, it repeated the same breeching tactic it did before, and after planting its forelegs it lifted its club high into the sky.
"Shields at ready!"
The force of impact from the colossal weapon supported by the massive arms and bolstered by gravity created a terrible crash that was loud enough to make everyone wince.
Small chunks of the wall shot out in all directions, but because no one was too close and the majority was holding up their shields, there were no injuries this time.
Oh fuck, what if it tosses the club, John suddenly realized, and pushed his way through the people around him.
"Hey Marcus, be careful. It might throw its weapon into the crowd before it dies!"
"I know, I'll have them spread out after it gets closer."
Another loud boom followed by a rumble of falling debris echoed between the buildings, and the monster began squeezing through the opened gap."
"Now!" Marcus yelled out, and dozens of abilities were unleashed at once.
What are they doing?
John observed as the abilities rained down on the slowly moving monstrosity, robbing it of all of its momenta, and stopping it halfway through the gate.
Smiling, he had to admire the idea—however futile it might be. The majority was focusing on its front, but a couple of people were trying to either glue, freeze or encase its sides into the walls, making it stuck in between.
Feeling immobile, it ominously clapped its jaws, leaned down, and planted its club into the ground. The force it exerted must have been huge, because the entire side of the damaged wall groaned under the strain until it broke, freeing it, and letting it stumble through.
Well, that actually worked much better than I expected. It should be done in only a couple of…
Marcus's loud shout interrupted his thoughts.
"Spread out and maintain distance! It is almost over."
He was right because it only covered ten meters before a bright golden flash claimed the entirety of its top half.
[Congratulations! You have successfully survived the final wave of the Relentless assault.
Points:
Zombie: 1
Skeleton: 2
Skeleton knight: 25
Skeleton commander: 100
Rothound: 25
Rothound Alpha: 100
Rotfiend fatebreaker: 1250
Deathfiend fatebreaker: 1250
Your contributions:
Zombie: 264.38
Skeleton: 2.56
Skeleton knight: 4.37
Skeleton commander: 0.93
Rothound: 0.72
Rothound Alpha: 0.35
Rotfiend fatebreaker: 0.09
Deathfiend fatebreaker: 0.89
Total points 1749.4
Note: You can spend your points at any shelter by touching the center pillar. Those who will not claim their rewards in time would have them randomly assigned instead.
Time remaining: 5:22:47]
Huh, that is interesting, the footnote strongly implied that all survivors should group up and form shelters instead of remaining on their own.
"John now's the time to talk. Follow me," Marcus gestured to the side.
"Hmm, sure. What do you want?"
"Let's get somewhere quieter first."
He led John away from the celebrating crowds, and toward their command building, but John noticed more than a few people keeping an eye on him.
"John, we aren't stupid," Marcus began as they stepped inside. "When you left and the fourth wave, the only one you didn't participate in, ended after the Alpha… people started asking questions. It became very apparent that Mira and Tom knew more than the rest of us, and they decided to come clean."
Seeing John about to retort, he placated his response. "Look, I don't blame you for using us to earn the kills, especially after finding out you were the one who gave Tom the card, to begin with. However, there is a big difference between understanding and approving your actions, so I must ask you now to make a decision. Will you officially join our shelter, use our benefits, and become someone we can truly rely upon, or will you leave and look for your place elsewhere?"
Seeing his sincerity, John gave it an actual thought. He could understand his concerns. If he wasn't there the first time, the deathfiend wouldn't have killed anyone. Did he know beforehand? No, he didn't know something like that was going to happen either. Besides, he still remembered that first group talking about hard times, and truth be told, it wasn't below him to use others for his own benefit as well.
Funny how quickly the perspective shifts.
However, exactly like Marcus said, he could also understand them, but he couldn't agree with them either, so he replied with a sad shake of his head. "I can't. I understand your concerns, but I need the freedom to do what I do best. I'll take my leave right away, and maybe visit later, after we all had more time to get used to this craziness."
Grunting, Marcus nodded, "I thought you might. If you want, you can use our pillar to collect the rewards before you leave. I am not going to sour our relationship with petty revenge. Also, be careful about Mark, he was very unhappy when we outvoted him on the way to handle your situation."
"Thank you for your offer, but I think it's better to take my leave. Let me repay your warning with one from me. I found out yesterday that the beams of light can only be seen from the city district the shelter is built in, and there can be more shelters around us than I thought. Also and more importantly, not all have to be friendly."
Seeing Marcus's stunned expression, John laughed and patted him on his shoulder. "Good luck Marcus, and tell Tom to consider buying the emporium."
He dipped around him, leaving him completely bewildered and standing there by himself.
Heading out, he passed through the gate undisturbed and headed back into the dangerous street outside.
Seeing movement at the end of the street, he slowed down and focused on his hearing.
"He is coming, get ready!" A male voice spoke in a half-whisper.
"Told you the coward will try to run immediately," another agreed.
Hmm, now that is interesting.
Willing his wisp to fly high up and his dagger to float close to the houses lining the left, he pulled out his club and shield, and walked forward, pretending not to notice anything amiss.
As he was about to reach the intersection, six people stepped out from the left street, and the man in the middle was wearing a familiar weird black garb.
I think that's Mark.
"Marcus gave you a choice to join our shelter… you refused… I'll offer you something else, and I hope you choose differently. Or else…" Mark left the rest unsaid, but the threat was as clear as the day it was said in.