War....Again, Again...For Real This Time
Jay moved ahead of the group with his team of Rogues and scouted the path ahead. Their job would be to get inside, remove as many traps as possible, then remain unseen and cause as much chaos as possible during the battle to come. Jay truly enjoyed playing his role as the master of stealth and subterfuge for the guild, finding others who also loved the thrill of the challenge that came with sneaking and spying to ensure the beginning of the battle went as far in their favor as they could make it.
They ran silently through the streets, keeping to the shadows, as they made their way to The Master's base. The trip there was completely uneventful as implementing the mana collectors seemed to have reduced the number of random monster spawns in the area. Combine that with the teams that were hunting monsters every day for XP and the streets were finally beginning to remain mostly clear.
Reaching the walls of the base, Jay and his team, once again used their grappling hooks to climb up the wall and down the other side. Beginning this time right next to the gate, Jay and his team quietly removed the barricade that was placed on the inside of the gate and took out the bar locking the doors in place. With that removed, when the others arrived all they would need to do was push the gates open to enter.
"Alright, now we take out the barbed wire and watch for traps. Everyone ready for what we have to do?" Jay asked his team as they prepared for phase two of the plot.
Nodding their ascent, they prepared to move into the base.
After Jay and his spies took off, Kiera moved out as well. She had added two more members to the team of snipers and they had been working hard for weeks to be ready for the attack. She was proud of the progress her team had made and felt confident they were ready to help out on the rooftops. She had scouted out three buildings surrounding the base that would allow them to have eyes on the proposed battlefield from all angles.
At Tom's insistence, Kiera had made sure that every member of the team had purchased and equipped silencers for their rifles to remove the muzzle flash and quiet the shots to make it much harder to find their positions. Taking it one step further in splitting the team into three locations, she was confident that even if they could find one of the locations the others could continue to fire down on the enemy.
She took the teams out every day for the last week and drilled them on the fastest routes to the sniper points to ensure when this time came, they would be able to split off and make it to their positions without hesitation. As they had in the training, they reached the first location, and without a word, the other two teams split off for their respective buildings. Kiera placed herself in the second building to ensure that at least two of the locations were set and ready before the battle began.
She reached the second building and sprinted inside and up the stairs. Setting up on the rooftop she got in place and pulled out her rifle, preparing the sights for firing down on the enemy. Tina was with her and when they were both prepared, she nodded to Tina who pulled out a small mirror and when the sun began to rise, she flashed the mirror toward the first building, then the third. A small flash from both directions told them that the other teams were in position and ready as well.
Looking through her sights again, she almost missed them but managed to find Jay and his team hard at work inside the base. Once Tom was ready for the assault, their portion of the plan would commence. Making a silent wish, Kiera hoped her new friends would all come back to her and that she could protect them.
Tom led his forces on foot at a walk through the streets. Derek helped organize those present into teams to stick together for party XP and bonuses. With no reason to rush to the base, they continued at a normal pace to give the others time to prepare for their arrival.
There was an almost electric tension in the air as everyone held their weapons at the ready, prepared for whatever may come their way and eager to do their part in helping those whom The Master held captive in his base and prevent any others from suffering the same fate. With a steely determination in his heart and a fire alight in his eyes, Tom moved with sure steps, knowing he was doing the right thing.
They moved through the city like a silent angry mob, ready to do battle for what they knew was right and nothing would stand in the way of their mission. The team saw several small groups of goblins scampering away from their advance far off in the distance, not willing to face such a large crowd of well-armed fighters on the streets.
As the sun rose over the tops of the buildings and lit the world in a soft morning glow, the crowd continued to advance on their objective. The light almost sparkled off of some of the metallic armor worn by those in the group making their team shine as they marched onward, their righteous fury bolstered by a common goal that many had felt drawing them to Vanguard. This would be their chance to show that they truly believed in this cause and the guild itself.
Nearing the gates, Tom stopped and turned to his people. Looking out across the gathered fighters, Tom felt a sense of pride that so many had chosen to come with them. He would never force someone to fight if they weren't ready, despite what Brian believed after his dungeon delve with them.
"You all have chosen a path that might lead to death. But it is an honorable death of our choosing. We have seen the oppression at the hands of The Master and it has awoken a fury in each of us that can only be quelled by righting this wrong against our fellow humans. It's one thing to use the power of necromancy to control the dead and force them to do your bidding, but to enslave and remove the free will of those still living and force them to do things against their will is an offense we cannot forgive." Tom spoke to those assembled.
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A rousing cheer of agreement came from those standing with him.
"Today we will right that wrong and end the nightmare these people have been forced to endure. We will bring them justice and ensure this cannot happen again. Today we fight for what we know is right! FOR FREEDOM! TO PROTECT THOSE WHO CANNOT PROTECT THEMSELVES!!!" Tom yelled the last of his speech out over the assembled crowd.
Shouts of agreement came from the crowd and carried over the area. There was no way The Master couldn't hear the cries of an angry crowd outside his gate. Tom wanted him on the defensive. He wanted The Master to feel that same sense of dread that his victims must have felt when they realized what was happening. Knowing that after their last encounter and The Master's brush with defeat at his own hands, Tom knew that The Master would begin to feel fear and anger and would hopefully make mistakes in letting his emotions control his decisions.
Turning back to the base, Tom stepped forward. As he did he heard an explosion from inside the base and looked up to see a cloud of smoke rising over the walls in the distance.
"Fucking shitstains!" Jay swore as the explosion went off at the end of the barbed wire he was holding, causing him to jump back in alarm.
They had been rolling up the barbed wire on wooden rods they had brought with them and as he pulled on the barbed wire to straighten it out, something had triggered at the end of the wire.
"Well, no sense in being secretive now. Get those wires out of the way whatever the cost!" Jay called to the others now that the element of surprise was gone.
The others began pulling their wires as well, setting off more explosions in the process. Zombies began rushing out of the main building as well as from the other locations around them.
"Fuck. Nevermind, time to meet up with Tom! Make a dash for the gate and then do what we do best!" Jay switched tactics and they dropped their bundles of wire to make a strategic retreat.
No one questioned Jay as they quit what they were doing and made a run for the gate. Several Zombies darted out in front of them to block their path. Jay held up his right arm and fired two smoke pellets from a weapon attached to his gauntlet and when they struck the ground a cloud of smoke appeared at the zombies' feet.
Scattering to move around the threat, the zombies were left feeling their way through the dense cloud as they avoided them in their dash for the entrance. With the gate coming into view ahead of them, Jay could see Tom shoving the doors open and the group of fighters with him preparing to enter.
"This is about to be a whole lot of fun," Jay thought aloud as he ran toward the reinforcements.
"Idiots!" Kiera said as she watched the first explosion go off through her rifle's scope. "That asshat is gonna get himself killed."
Kiera continued to watch as zombies began to appear from every conceivable hiding spot in the base. They charged at Jay and his team, who had wisely decided to quit while they were ahead and made a break for the gates.
Tom's team had arrived and was preparing to enter the base as well. Despite the sudden explosion, followed by additional explosions once they lost the chance to continue, the plan was still intact. As Jay and his team retreated, a group began to follow them. Kiera aimed and fired off a shot at the one closest to Jay, its head exploding in a shower of gore around it.
More zombies went down as Kiera's team continued to support Jay in his retreat. A new set of zombies appeared in their path and Kiera sighted on the first one when a cloud of smoke obscured her view.
"That sneaky bastard. Way to go, Jay." Kiera said in a barely audible voice as she cheered him on.
Soon, they met up with Tom's forces and she could see them almost disappear to move into the next part of their plan.
"Be safe," Kiera whispered as she began to look for targets to pick off in the battle that was about to begin.
Tom shoved on the gates to open them. If everything had gone according to plan so far, they should be unlocked and ready for them. They moved inward and Tom breathed a sigh of relief that this part of the plan was going as expected. Putting all his weight into the doors, they opened further and others began to push as well to create as large an opening as they could.
As they began to enter the base, Jay came rushing toward them with zombies in hot pursuit.
"FOR VANGUARD!" Tom yelled out over the battlefield holding his greatsword up in the air.
The others bellowed their replies and charged into the base. Tom led the charge toward Jay and his team and as they passed him, Tom swung his sword at a zombie following behind, taking its head off in one clean motion.
Setting his sights on the larger contingent of zombies coming behind the first few, Tom didn't stop running and crashed into their ranks attacking with a huge horizontal slash, catching four zombies at once. As he made contact, he activated his tattoo of strength and the power surged through him. Cutting through their bodies like butter, Tom lashed out like a wild animal as he fought to kill as many of the creatures as he could.
Able to wield his weapon one-handed with the added Strength, and with so many of his team rushing in as well, Tom summoned Bron with his other hand, and with a nod to each other, they began a deadly dance of weapons through the mass of zombies that continued to grow around them.