Plans Unfold

"Druids, try to slow that thing down! Barbarians attack the legs! Mages, aim for the head to keep it distracted!" Derek shouted orders over the battlefield as he bent down to heal another wounded fighter.

This fight was not going how he had hoped. The monster was just so big and its defense was insanely high. They were doing their best just to keep people alive and the monster at bay. Wounded were being brought back to a central location for healing and then sent back into the battle, but it wasn't a sustainable strategy. They needed to do something big soon.

"I wish Tom was here with his Final Flash spell. That would really come in handy right about now." Derek grumbled to himself, a soft glow emanating from his hands and covering the body of a man who had a broken leg he received from getting too close and being flung away with a sweep of its arm.

"If big and flashy is what you need, we could always use the undead strategy," Chris mentioned, standing near the back helping to coordinate efforts on the battlefield.

"What's the undead strategy?" Derek asked, ready for any input at this point that might help them.

"You and the other Clerics have holy magic. So do the Paladins. It's the bane of undead existence. If we can create an opening for both classes to strike at once, it should do a tremendous amount of damage. The mages can hit the head with spells to disorient it, and then you all run in, strike, and retreat. That should give the other fighters a chance to move in after for some cleanup." Chris explained. "Not saying it will kill it, but it should give us an advantage."

"Good plan. Let's get the word spread to the others and give it a go. You spread the word and let me know when we are ready." Derek agreed readily, not having a better strategy.

Chris darted off to get the plan to the other Clerics and Paladins. He ordered another member of the team to spread the word to the mages to be ready with big spells. Derek finished healing the man on the ground and stood, offering a hand to help him to his feet.

Surveying the battle, they were holding a line with shields and making quick attacks, but not any real progress on a monster so large. As the word spread of the new plan, Derek watched as specific members began to move back while other fighters took their place on the front line.

Derek knelt by another wounded fighter while he waited for the final preparations to be made. He extended his hands and a white light enveloped his hands then extended to the woman on the ground. It spread over her body and her injuries began to heal. When he had finished Chris returned.

"We are ready. Give the word and we will begin to execute the plan." Chris reported with a salute.

"Right. Let's do this." Derek said, standing up and pulling a mana potion from his inventory, removing his battle armor helmet, and downing it feeling the warmth spread through him as his mana replenished itself.

Taking off at a jog toward the front, Derek equipped his shield and mace, feeling weird to hold the extra armor when wearing his battle suit. He needed it though for his more powerful holy strike, which required him to hold a shield for maximum power when using his skill.

The skill was called Defense of the Faithful and was a powerful holy attack that emanated from a defensive item and an offensive item at the same time to deliver a power strike imbued by the power of his deity. Paladins had a similar skill, he had found, called Smite the Wicked, but it didn't require the use of a shield. Combining those two against the undead was a sound strategy. He wished there was a turn undead spell he could use as he had in tabletop games he used to play before the apocalypse, but this would have to do.

A loud horn sounded from the back of the battle and the mages released huge offensive spells in unison at the undead monstrosity. They all hit it in the upper torso and head, causing it to stumble backward a couple of steps. As the spells struck, Derek powered up his skill and a white light surrounded him, blazing with the righteous fury of his deity against the taint of the evil alignment of the undead creature.

"DEFENSE OF THE FAITHFUL!" Derek shouted as he leaped into the air and toward the monster.

Similar calls were shouted as every Cleric and Paladin used their greatest holy skills at the same time. The front line of the battle was bathed in brilliant white light as the Clerics began to glow and beams of white light fell from the heavens onto the Paladins. Covering its face with its arm to block out the brilliance coming from the fighters before it, the creature was blinded by the combination of magical attacks and shine from the skills. Every Cleric and Paladin was now launching themselves at the Hulk and raining holy strikes down on it.

It screamed in pain as it was knocked to the ground, smoke rising from its stunned form on the ground. Druids immediately began casting Grasping Vine spells to tie it down and attempt to immobilize it before it could regain its feet. Struggling to get free, but being in an awkward position on its back now, it bellowed a cry of frustration that shook the air.

Barbarians and fighters rushed forward to attack its limbs in an attempt to further cripple the beast. Jay and his team also peppered the undead behemoth with smoke bombs to obstruct its view and disorient it. Bards began playing a song from the back of the battlefield that spread like water rushing through a valley, buffing everyone on the battlefield.

Squirrel grew to his largest size, roughly the size of a school bus, and pounced on one of the creature's arms, pulling at it like a tug-of-war rope, keeping it from being able to free that arm from the vines. He shook his head back and forth wildly as he tore at its skin with his teeth.

Derek used Inspect on the creature and saw its health was still at about fifty percent. Hanging his head slightly, he rushed in to deal some of his own damage. This was going to be a long battle. He only hoped Tom was having better luck than they were.

Ever since the creatures had melded together into the Hulk form, their ability to provide backup had been reduced to almost nothing. They could fire down at the monstrosity for a pitiful amount of damage, but the beast just seemed to shrug off their attacks, if it even noticed them at all.

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"This sucks!" Tina commented after firing a shot at the monster. "We aren't doing anything to help."

"We have a job to do. We don't know what will happen next and need to be ready. Hold your position." Kiera ordered, still looking through the scope for an opening to help the team.

"Kiera, do you have an update?" Brian's voice sounded in her head.

"We can't do much at this point. It's too big. But we don't want to abandon our position if we might be needed." Kiera replied mentally to his communication connection.

"Let me see if there is something we can do. Hold on." Brian said and then went silent.

Kiera continued to take potshots at the giant undead creature as she waited. Tina looked over at her with a small bit of hope. They would be forced to stay in this spot if Brian hadn't gotten that item in the dungeon. Both were grateful for the option to relay messages around the battlefield quickly, but Kiera did not envy Brian having to keep up with so much information.

"Okay, Derek agrees that there isn't much that can be done from that position. His orders are to get into the base and have your grenade launchers ready." Brian spoke to her again.

"Excellent. Can you relay the orders to the rest of my team? Tina and I will head out immediately." Kiera replied.

"On it," Brian replied and then went silent.

"We make for the gates. Get your grenade launcher ready. Time to join the fight up close." Kiera said standing up and storing her rifle in her inventory.

Derek had never been so happy to hear Brian's voice. Kiera and her team were almost useless at this point in their current capacity, so having the extra bodies and firepower up close would better suit their situation. He was now back at healing those who had been injured during the fight. The Hulk had managed to get back up and was now wrestling with Squirrel who had nowhere near the creature's power but was far more agile. It had become a game of trying to pin down a slippery weasel that the monster and Squirrel were deadlocked in.

With the cooldown times on their skills, they weren't going to be able to make another large holy strike like that again for quite some time. They needed to use another strategy. Derek was hoping Kiera could help with some extra firepower but wasn't confident that would be any kind of edge for them.

Derek was racking his brain for something to use as a stopgap and was running out of options. For now, they were playing a defensive game, and they were losing. The monster was too strong. They were managing to keep it at bay, but only barely.

"Tom, wherever you are, you need to hurry the fuck up. We can't do this all day." Derek grumbled to himself as he healed another man from his injuries.

He was beginning to feel fatigued from the constant use of healing magic as well as the attacks he kept using with his battle armor. Being one of the few with any ability to stop attacks from the creature, plus his healing abilities meant he had been wearing two very draining hats the entire time. Nearby, the ground was littered with the mana potion cans he had consumed. Realizing he was down to his last three potions after his last respite, he was trying to use them sparingly to allow his mana to regenerate naturally.

A short while later, Kiera appeared at a jog. She ran over to him and hugged him.

"I'm so glad you're still okay. What can we do?" Kiera asked after letting him out of the embrace.

"Try to do whatever you can. Those Grenade launchers should come in handy. Buff when you can, don't get hurt. We are in a bit of a stalemate that we likely won't win. Just hoping Tom can come through for us." Derek explained, trying not to make it sound too bleak but aware of the reality of the situation.

"Thanks for not sugar-coating it. We will do what we can." Kiera replied, putting a hand on his shoulder before jogging off to join the battle.

Derek heard explosions in the distance and knew that Kiera and her team were stepping in with some much-needed firepower. Moving to the next person needing healing, Derek sighed loudly through his exhaustion.

"Everything alright, Derek?" Chris asked, concern evident in his voice and face.

"I'm just running low on energy. This is taking a lot out of me, and I'm running low on mana potions." Derek replied, trying not to burden him with his issues, but feeling the need to release some of his feelings.

"We have more potions. I brought extra to be passed out to the mages. You are welcome to as many as you need. Without you and the other Clerics, we would be in a huge bind in this fight." Chris said, pulling another potion out of his inventory and handing it to Derek.

"You really thought of everything, didn't you Chris?" Derek chuckled as he took the can Chris had offered.

"I try to be prepared. We knew this was going to be a big fight, so I have plenty of healing potions as well. In case we get overrun with healing needs." Chris smiled down at Derek as he removed his helmet and chugged the potion.

"Any other ideas for this fight? Your last one was a rousing success." Derek asked as he returned his helmet and continued healing the man lying on the ground in pain from broken ribs.

"Not just yet, but I'm monitoring the situation looking for any opening we can take advantage of," Chris replied looking out at the fighters and the hulking figure of the undead monster. "Something will come up. We just have to be patient and careful."

"As soon as you do, let me know. We need to try something." Derek said as he sat back from healing the broken ribs, trying to rest between healings.

"You got it. I hope Tom is doing okay." Chris said with a grave expression.

"Me too, Chris. Me too." Derek replied.