The march ended at the abandoned camp. With the support troops pulling up the rear, and night upon us, the Duke refused to continue on. I wanted to continue, as did the other adventurers. Most of the troops seemed to be of the same mind as well, but most of the scouts and the leaders had concluded that there would be a large-scale battle once we reached the town Hembree had governed.

I had already forgotten the name.

Regardless, I decided to camp with the Duke’s expedition if only because of Renel’s and Hembree’s nagging. Something like “Things were odd.”, or “We need to stay in the event the goblins tried to sneak up on us.”. I couldn’t argue with that logic. Even I had started to become antsy. Maybe that was why I wanted to finish this - I didn’t like being on my toes.

They were eventually proven right as the night went on. Scouts had intercepted several stealthy orcs. They were deemed “Assassin Orcs” - a unique evolution apparently. One that seemed to have cast a larger shadow over us from how the Duke and the Guild observer, someone who appeared with the support troops, seemed to treat this event.

Word among the adventurers was that this meant that this proved there was a King or higher entity. Which, in their own words, was far worse than a General. I began to take this more seriously than I had before.

The end count for today’s cores ended with me was about 2,020p. Given the amount… There really wasn’t much I could do but either bank it or continue with kinetic weapons. I could upgrade my claws or monowire, though the modifications in the 2k or below range would be a downgrade.

I opted for buying a decent sling for the AR15, a full auto-trigger, and two 60rnd magazines. Along with 1,000 more rounds.

[Receipt:

Unity Full-Auto Drop-in trigger group (Free safety conversion kit included) -200p

Star Munitions 5.556x45 55gr 1,000 loose box - 600p

P-MAG 5.556 60rnd DRUM magazine - 260p (x2/130)

Star Inc 2-point sling - 30p

Total: 1,090p

Remaining balance: 1060p ]

Before I slept, I topped off each magazine, made sure that all mag pouches held their respective magazines, and loaded one 60rnd magazine in the AR – Which in fact, now made it an M4 I guessed. It wasn’t spec-for-spec, but it was a select fire carbine now. Past that, I attached the sling and stuffed the last 60rnd drum in the backpack.

With that, I ended the night in the company of the Snow Badgers and Hembree; along with a few other fresh-faced adventurers, and the Duke at one point.

The next morning came with a light snowfall. Visibility was not hampered much. However, Duke Reverie suspected it to get worse later on. I took him on his word as the formations assembled. Along with the snow came reinforcements. Nearly 200 more soldiers and 34 more adventurers joined the formation in the middle of the night. The soldiers looked no different than the civilians I saw back in town. The only difference was the tabards emblazoned with the Duke’s crest: A prowling leopard.

No siege equipment was brought either. Per Hembree, the town had no actual walls or the like. It hadn’t needed it as the monsters that prowled the area lurked elsewhere, rather than fight against the humans. And cattle was non-existent. The only use this town had was that it had a dungeon and it mined. What it mined? No fucking idea. I tuned out doing the rest of the meeting.

All I needed to know was that the soldiers would attack from the south, southeast and southwest. Forming around the Duke (South), Viscount Henry (Southeast), and Hembree (Southwest). The Duke asked that I join his division. I opted for Hembree because I was already annoyed and he wasn’t exactly pleasant to be around.

Thus, the attack was settled.

Hembree also had all the adventurers, since they wanted to follow the Snow Badgers. Who was following me. As such, the divisions had been evened out by moving soldiers around. I was delighted to see that the soldiers I fought alongside on the ridge stayed with us. Though, by the time we noticed, we had already gotten in position and Hembree began our briefing.

“I had already given the Duke the details, so that only leaves telling you lots,” Hembree said as he gathered all the officers, including me, around as he made poor lines in the snow. “Town square centers around the dungeon. Its entrance will be in the heart of the bigging stone building. The road to the mind will be to the northeast road out of the square.”

He drew out the main roads before he drew a square at the center. He continued. “The mine is of no concern right now. We suspect they had left this alone and will most likely take refuge in the center of town. All the center buildings are three-story stone constructions. Easily defensible, though it had sustained damage in the initial attack.”

He made Xs where the divisions were stationed. Afterward, he drew arrows that ran up the main roads. “We’re to push our respective sides and clear as many buildings as we go. Adventurers will man the spear of our push and the soldiers will clear the buildings for them. Are there any complaints?”

Renel raised her hand. “Why are the adventurers at the head of the charge?”

Hembree acknowledged her with a nod. “I figured the adventurers would rather fight in the open rather than in the close spaces.”

“We can do both,” Renel suggested. “We have three tankers and three front-liners. The front-liners can handle the tight spaces, so we’ll just need some spearmen to back up our tankers.”

Hembree considered this then nodded. “Let’s do this. I will take all the help we can with clearing. The Duke wants us to strike hard and strike fast. We can’t push deeper without clearing the buildings around us. The buildings are no more than two buildings deep until the center. By then, the divisions would more or less meet to make clearing the town’s center easy.”

“When do we expect to hit their leader, or whatever we’re calling it,” I asked.

“We don’t think we’ll meet them until we delve into the dungeon itself,” Hembree answered. “If you do, send word so we can reform ourselves. If its a general, we can most likely win. If it’s a King or more, we must retreat with all haste.”

With that, we waited for the signal.

In the distance, a large fireball flew out from where the Duke was supposed to be and crashed into a large barricade.

I activated the UAV and the tablet and slightly enlarged the map in my HUD. All friendlies appeared as blue triangles and the enemies as red triangles.

Hembree shouted out. “Go!”

And it kinda fell apart from there.

The adventurers charged forward while Hembree and the soldiers stayed in a formation. I elected to stay on the edge of the Hembree’s formation. Right side edge as I had before. The Snow Badgers had taken up a similar shield-wall formation on my left. We weren’t a part of the formation but hung off the right-most edge of it. We would collapse behind the first line once we got to the first row of buildings.

Hembree had shouted for the adventurers to fall back into formation…

Small figures appeared on a few low roofs. Their appearance was followed by arrows falling from the sky and down on the charging adventurers. Renel cursed under her breath - something about “Fucking F-ranks,” and then something about their lack of combat ability. I was more focused on keeping in lockstep at Yang’s side. He continued his job as my shield again.

I fired a few shots at one figure in my line of sight. The figure dropped on my fourth shot. It turned into an X on my radar.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

The charging adventurers retreated back towards the formation. Five of the leading adventurers had been struck and six more lay wounded. The distance from the forest to the town had been about 200 meters. They died around the 100-meter mark. Their bodies were in different positions with arrows lodged in their vital areas.

Once we reached the halfway point, arrows began to fall on us.

Yang repositioned his shield while I took measured shots. They were far easier to hit at this range than before.

Renel tossed a large fireball into a section of rundown wooden buildings that could have been slums. Flames splashed over the roof before it poured over the edge and beyond my sight. The flames died out a second later. It took out more archers, and their deaths were confirmed as more Xs. Two minutes later, we reached the town proper. The road was large enough to fit two large wagons side by side.

The formation split into three columns, the largest ten people wide down the main southeast road. It was wide enough to fit two wagons side by side. The side roads appeared to be two-three men wide. Most of the adventurers followed the main column, and at the rear. I disregarded them when I looked back to see our makeup while I fell in behind the front line. filed down the main four ten wide while those who couldn’t fit either filed out into the side roads or into the formation.

The adventurers who’d run like idiots disappeared into the main formation. I fell behind the first line, which ended up of soldiers and the three tanks from the Badgers. Spearmen fell in behind them and kept their spears pointed out between the first line, stabbing at the little green monsters as they charged at us.

Once we pushed past the first rows, we established that they did not need to be cleared. They were the poor buildings. They could be cleared by moving the drab clothes and wooden shudders to peer in. It took us less than four seconds for each building to clear. Goblins within always jumped out and were promptly dispatched.

It was only until four buildings in did we slow down.

“Form teams and clear the buildings!” Hembree called out as he directed people.

A few soldiers handed off their spears and dawned their short swords. Different from those previously agreed, the adventures did not step up. Instead, they seemed to have kept to the back now.

“Idiots,” I spat and directed Yang to enter the closest building with me.

Renel tried to stop me, but I was already through the door before she could.

It was a sort of shop. Of what kind, I didn’t try and figure it out. Things had been scattered, and they were blood splatters on a stairway on my right. A counter was opposite the entrance. Yang’s mantis blades struck out with a metallic Sshting!.

A goblin flung itself out from behind the counter with a screech toward Yang. The robot sent it flying into the ceiling in took pieces as it backhanded it. Another raced towards me as I was distracted by the first. It lunged at me as I brought my barrel up, but I side-stepped it since I wouldn't make it.

I wasn’t fast enough. It managed to grab my barrel and take me off balance. I instinctively pulled and held the trigger down as we both crashed into the floorboards. The gun went off. It lit the room for a split second, disorienting both of us. Yang executed the monster with a stab to its temple as it tried to recoil away.

Before I could recover, one more landed on Yang’s back. It slammed its crude dagger into the robot’s neck. But it only slipped off as Yang’s right arm twisted over and grabbed the goblin’s head. Yang gripped it, cracking its skull from the pressure, and ripped it off his back before he slammed it into the floorboards. I finished it off with two to the chest… I suspected that hadn’t been needed from how blood seemed to pour out its head.

I flicked the rifle two auto, cursing that I hadn’t earlier. I kept an eye on the right side again while Yang cleared behind the counter and the backroom. Nothing was there. Yang then took the lead and headed up the stairs fast. I followed behind slower.

On the second floor, Yang barreled past two open doors. Five goblins poured out afterward. I opened a burst into their backs. Three fell while the last two were quickly swept up by Yang. Two of the goblins I shot laid sprawled out on the floor. The third struggled to get back up. It’d been hit in the lower spine and seemed to have lost control of its legs. I switched to semi and put it out of its misery.

We finished clearing the rest of the building after not finding a way up to the roof. The UAV didn’t extend into the building, so I assumed it acted as an actual visual confirmation.

Total time - 12 minutes. The UAV ran out without being actually useful…

We stepped out into the clusterfuck. Somehow, goblins had flanked our column, and the Adventurers were in a panic. More goblins pushed our front, and several began to leap into our formation from the second story of the next building.

I ordered Yang to handle the rear while I played Duck Hunt with the jumping goblins after I switched back to auto. Blood and dead goblins fell over their own kind as I let out barely controlled bursts into them. It took a few minutes to get the situation under control.

Once control had been regained, the frontline managed to part slightly. Renel slipped into that crack and threw a spell forward.

“Reaching Flames of the Nether~!” She cried out.

She turned her hand flamboyantly for a moment. A cone of flames erupted from her index finger and roasted the goblins to our front alive. Unlike her previous spell, it didn't last for a split second on contact. Instead, she seemed to be an unending fire akin to napalm flying out. 3Everything the flame touched erupted in flames. Only once did the monsters stop moving did the flames die out.

“What the fuck are you guys doing!?” Grimes screamed at the adventurers behind us.

In their defense, they looked like teenagers. Most of them looked younger than me, whereas the Badgers were clearly older than us. Despite this, I had to admit that they shouldn’t have come if they were going to be dead weight. 3

From there, we fell into a rhythm.

I and Yang cleared the right row of buildings, and a small team of soldiers cleared the left. Yang and I were the slowest by double their time. But by the third building, we found our stride as I dropped the second 60rnd magazine before we exited, loading a regular 30rnd magazine.

Three buildings away from the center, our speed got down to a nearly flat 5 minutes for each building. We had connected with Duke Reverie’s men, though I had no clue if they had connected with the Viscount’s men. Regardless, Yang and I no longer had to clear buildings by the last building.

A pressing concern was the lack of Orcs. In none of the buildings did we encounter any. The fear of going against those truly inhuman monsters had picked at the edges of my mind. No word of them had reached me either.

“Orcs!” Someone screamed from our rear.

I screamed at myself mentally for ruining it.

Deep warcries sounded out from among the buildings. Another wave of goblins pincered us and several soldiers crashed to the floor near me, taking down several cowardly adventurers. An orc landed next to me. It faced opposite of me and tore into two other adventurers.

“Help!” One cried

“Let me go! Mommy! Mo—” The other cried out before his neck had been snapped.

My heart lurched as I heard their childish voices… They really…

I aimed center back, and pulled the trigger. Its body jolted forward. Blood splattered out before it dropped face down onto the two it’d just killed. The soldier’s it’d thrown out of the second story were dead as well. Once it began to fall I let off the trigger. The bolt was locked back.

Cursing, I dropped the mag in a hurry and loaded a fresh magazine. Yang was caught up with three orcs who’d attempted to blindside me from the alley.

He stumbled backward. I sidestepped and unloaded down the alley. Bullets ripped through the orcs. The bolt locked back again to my terror. Their bodies fell. I felt myself fumbling another mag out to the floor along with the empty one.

I managed to load another one as Yang intercepted one that came out from the first floor of the building next to us. Its warcry reverberated through me, stalling my brain for a moment as another barreled through the front line. My brain was torn between the two and I froze.

Fire splashed over the other and Renel screamed. “Mercy! Get your shit together!”

I snapped to the one Renel had flamed. It screamed in pain as it tried to swipe at her. She’d flung herself to the floor. The monster tripped over her before it withered on the floor as she throw out a ball of flames at its ass. I let out two better-controlled bursts into its back. It went limp a few seconds later.

I helped Renel to her face.

“I don’t know where they came from!” Renel said in a panic.

“Mercy!” I heard Hembree.

He appeared behind Renel as the front liners regained control.

“Here!” I said. I had nothing else to say and that was the only thing I could think to respond with.

He gave me a quick look over and then pulled us into the building. “I think the orcs flanked us by hiding on the mountainside of town.”

An orc flew through the window, landing on its back. We all snapped to it when Yul jumped through the window after it. He let out a cry as he brought his hammer down. The thick-muscled monster let out a yelp just before its brain was splattered across the floor. Bits and pieces of brain and matter had strung outward in a crescent moon pattern. I was just glad that the smell of gunpowder overpowered every stench so far.

“Get back in the fight, lads!” He get a heart laugh before he exited the building through the door.

I stared out the doorway and saw that the monsters were falling back to the dungeon already. Mainly, less than 10 orcs. It seemed that it was only our end that had taken the biggest hit. Outside Renel and her team, I didn’t see any other adventurers…