The set out of the gates in the two tankers and several armored vehicles carrying the squad of thirty. They had enough food for several days, and water was the same. They arrived at the end of the road. The trees were tall, but had large gaps between them. The biggest problem was their blindspots.
Bradley hopped out of the truck with his crystals ready, his gun out, and began charging up a crate of bullets with magical energy. Luckily the cost was compared to the object's size and not its weight otherwise Bradley would’ve been put out quickly.
“Devin since me and you have the most experience I want you with the classless squad as their pseudo tank. Kathy I want you there as well as they are the ones most likely to be hurt since their damage output is dependent on how well my magic spell works on bullets. Ben I want you at the back covering from long range, and I want Betty back there too to cover for the engineers. I want Kevin with me as my physical support, and Don, I want you centered to where you can cover the front and back squads if necessary. If you’re firing towards a classless or an engineer do not use your AOE spell. I think that goes for the structure. Everyone, follow me in.”
Bradley and the crew slowly began marching inwards. A few goblins approached slowly, unsure of how to handle the numbers. One was about to call out when Ben from the back sniped it through the face.
Bradley deconstructed the corpse using his spell, and slotted everything into his inventory just in case, including Ben’s arrow. The Classless squad stationed right behind Bradley sprayed bullets and crippled the other two. Bradley even gained xp since it was his magic that was used. The bullets didn’t seem to penetrate the goblins but they did enough blunt force to kill them after around 10 shots to the body.
“Good job, let’s keep this pace up, make sure those who need to restock on ammo move towards the center for safety. If the ammo runs out please let me know and I can charge some more shells.” Bradley continued marching forward with Kevin on his hip.
“I bet you never thought you’d be trudging through a goblin forest did you Kevin.”
Kevin nodded, “No sir, but it's thanks you we can hopefully keep those in the city safe.”
Bradley sighed, “I don’t think what we are doing is for the good of the people, it’s so USDC and the other companies don’t lose control. But either way, we need water so let's get this done.”
Bradley was decent at managing the group as they marched forward even with his lacking power. Whenever goblins were spotted, the engineers were migrated towards the center, and those with skills were spread out. The goblins were dealt with, and Bradley would dash over, deconstruct and collect the corpse, and they would continue marching.
Slowly the sound of water running by was heard. “It seems like we’ve successfully made it to our target destination. Engineers stay centered and set up camp, everyone else be on guard for now.”
Quickly tents were laid out, and a few fences were produced from inventories to begin work. “Ben, Devin, Kathy, and around half of Squad 2 please maintain positioning around the engineers as they rest at camp. Everyone else with me, we will begin securing our exit fencing.”
Until sunset Bradley and his crew slowly marched back towards the way they came, and began setting up metal fences along the path. Once it was clear it was getting dark, they marched back towards the group.
Betty spoke up, “Sir, why did we leave that gap open? Wouldn’t it be better to seal it off completely?” Bradley calmly stated, “If we don’t leave a gap then they might begin busting our fence in random places, but if we leave a hole for them to easily get to us without injury, they will be funneled right to our damage dealers. Goblins aren’t idiots, they have a structure, family, etc. They are smart enough to gather by the hole and rush us. Which is exactly what I want.” Betty and the rest agreed, and began chatting.
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When they arrived at camp they noticed an air of discomfort.
“Did something happen?” Ben approached, “It's not just goblins out here, we might have bigger problems. A curious goblin walked up and a wolf just snatched it off the fence. I fired at the wolf and hit it, but it seemed to have only pissed it off. I think we need to be extra wary tonight.”
Bradley sighed, “So goblins attack at day, and wolves attack at night. That’s a bit terrifying. Alright everyone, gather up. I’m going to organize the watch now.”
Bradley sighed exhaustedly and went to discuss with the engineers. “Once the sun comes up it's up to you guys to get us out of here quickly. We’ll quickly manage the fences and get to the point where we can set up the full station, so begin laying the hose.”
The engineers nodded, and Bradley continued, “I want all of you to say Status, even if you have before. I need to make sure all of you aren’t normal squishy humans. If shit goes bad, you guys should be able to defend yourself with your skill names and your weapon if you aren’t classless, and if you are you should still have a chance to run.”
The engineers shuddered and agreed. Most of them hadn’t used the Status window out of fear, but an order was an order. “If any of you have a melee based build go to Squad 1. If you’re classless stay here and rest, and if you’re not sure what you are please inform Ben and he will help you. That’s all for tonight, once you’re done get your rest.”
Bradley went to bed soon after.
The moons shined bright between the trees, creating bright patches across the environment. Ben stayed on high alert, using his passive perception skill to its limit. He’d been leveling it constantly, and now he could see well in the dark at a sizable range of around 30 feet. His hearing was also a bit better. He wouldn’t fail his first real RPG mission. He was determined. The breeze blew as if there weren’t monsters out here trying to kill them.
With that thought he heard a group of footsteps coming down the walled corridor Bradley had set up. “Squad 0, Squad 1, group up!” Ben positioned himself, and focused his magic into the crystal, waiting to fire until he could see the approaching goblins. A glimpse appeared, and he fired. Piercing through several goblins. Devin had prepared his spear, Betty was stationed in front of him, Kathy was set with her shield and sword on his right. Don was stationed next to Ben, and Kevin was next to Don. The only person not there from Squad 0 was Bradley.
Bradley woke up to the sound of a yell. He quickly pulled out his pistol from his inventory and exited his tent. He saw everyone fighting at the corridor, but noticed quick movement out of the corner of his eye. A wolf had just jumped the fence and entered the main camp area, and no one practiced enough was able to deal with it.
“Wolf!” he screamed out, then yelled out, “Grease!” For a beast that big. Just as tall as Bradley on all fours, he figured greasing the entire beast would be his best move as to limit its movement. The wolf lost its footing, but slowly managed to lurch forward. “Firebolt!” He summoned his fire, and launched it at the beast, but it seemed to have taken the blow easily. The beast slowly began to adjust itself back up. Bradley began firing his pistol at full power. Each shot penetrated a little, making the beast bleed, but not putting it down. Bullet after bullet drained Bradley who had spent most of his magic making bullets for the rest of the group.
He glanced back and noticed the Squads too busy with the goblins to be able to help him. His funnel was working, but there were just far too many. An engineer popped her head out of their tent. “Strengthen Person!”
A buff, it gave a feeling of physical power. This beast was far too defensive when it came to magic. The Beast finally gained traction once again, and Bradley charged at it. He jumped up, “Grease!” “Catapult!” Bradley launched his fist into the beast as it opened its mouth. His arm flew at 80 miles per hour. His shoulder, elbow, and wrist were dislocated. Most of his bones in his right arm were shattered. Bradley’s arm was cut open and bleeding from scraping against the teeth. The beast’s head was punctured from the roof of its mouth through the top of its head.
“Deconstruct!” “Deposit!”
Bradley stuffed everything he could get from the beast. He wobbled, and collapsed on the floor.
He fainted.