After dispelling Doombringer 3000 and Rain of Fire, Darius recast his Eidolons and ran towards the massive battle. Everything he needed for the fight was back in operation, except his ability to fly, but he was fine with that. After everything, he felt the strong need to punch some things right in the face. His bones and muscles ached, and he could feel that he was moving slower than usual, but it didn’t matter.

First Darius moved in to support the stone golem Aeon. It had clearly suffered some damage, with hairline cracks and chips of stone knocked off, but it didn’t seem to be hampered in any way. Piles of broken bones and pulped flesh littered the area around it as it continued to lay waste to the undead that had been sent after Darius.

Darius blasted several of the skeletons with his plasma cannon before he was in close. Moving like a wrecking ball, he crashed into the stupid monsters and cracked skulls with each swing of his fist. Putrid bits of rotting flesh and chips of bone flew everywhere, and even with the reduced defense rating of his Power Armor, they were all still too weak to deal any significant damage. Once that smaller batch was cleared, he and the Golem moved on to the greater army. With them being distracted by the burning griffon, Liam leaping around like a grasshopper on speed, and everything else going on, Darius locked onto a cluster of Draugr and fired off a missile. He watched is hit and detonated into a massive explosion of fire and force. Those it didn’t kill instantly were sent flying. They burned like miniature comets as they crashed into the ground dozens of feet from where they were standing.

Before he could get into range to fire Plasma blasts, Darius was able to launch another missile. This time he aimed it at the densest cluster of zombies and skeletons, without Liam, Akira or anyone else within range. Every single lesser undead were destroyed in the blast zone. Once Darius got within melee range, he fell into the zone and lost track of everything outside the range of his fists. He’d felt a grin forming on his face as he was able to let out the inner beast every man on earth had to keep chained up in order to fit in with the old world’s societal rules. Even when he had been in the ring, he’d had to keep it on a tight leash. But in that fight, with only monstrous beings that deserved to be utterly destroyed, he let himself revel in the pure violence of it.

Every now and then, he would feel Avery’s healing magic wash over him, healing his accumulated wounds over time, or even the instant healing of his teammates on the Path of Faith. He didn’t know how long the battle went on for, but eventually all the Draugr were eliminated, and without their control over the Zombies and Skeletons, the latter were much easier to mop up. When it had finally ended, Darius was exhausted. He’d ended up conjuring a chair with his Create Utility Eidolon spell and collapsed on it with a sigh. The others joined him, Jackson conjuring his own chair, and between him and Darius, they conjured enough chairs for the rest of the team.

“How’s everyone doing?” Darius asked once everyone had the chance to sit down.

“holy hell, that was a lot of them,” Sophia said. “I ran out of Ki, even the awesome power armor you gave me, supplementing it. I had to resort to using the rifle instead of my crossbow. I seriously need to stock up on scrap metal. I ended up having to take some of the metal swords the skeletons started carrying so I could feed my ammo fabricator, else I would have been completely useless out there.”

“Have you considered going for an energy weapon, like these plasma cannons?” Jackson asked.

“Don’t those run on your Power Armor’s Energy? I think running my Power Banks dry would be worse. I dunno, maybe for a backup or something. I’ll think about it.

“Hey, Darius. You still got my Nano Repair Module?”

“What? oh, yeah. I put it in my suit’s storage for safekeeping. Here,” Darius replied, then he pulled out the triangular device and handed it over.

“Thanks. You won’t believe how much experience I got. It's over five thousand. I’m level fourteen now! I think I’m going to upgrade this as much as I can with the points I just got. Only repairing fifty Durability points per day isn’t going to cut it. I mean, look at all of you. I know our power armor repairs itself over time while in storage, but that’s like a last resort, you know.”

“Sounds like a good idea,” Darius agreed. “Even after your repair for me earlier, I still lost more durability and took damage because my defense was lower. Wait! Did you say five thousand experience points?”

“Yeah, it was quite the boost. Didn’t you check your notifications yet?”

“Naw, not yet. Here, give me a minute. Yall can check yours too,” Darius said before clicking on the blinking icon in the corner of his vision.

Congratulations, you have helped slay:

Stolen novel; please report.

Draugr x40

Skeleton x100

Zombie x100

+4,085 XP

Congratulations, you have leveled up multiple times.

You have gained 3 new Levels.

Experience points to next level: 11,907/12,350

What the hell. Avery said he got over five thousand. Why’d I only get four? Feeling cheated, Darius focused on the experience gain summary and saw the actual breakdown of the experience each monster could give, how it was divided between all the combatants, and… his experience penalty. He only received half of the experience from each of the Skeletons and zombies. It called it a level penalty and apparently, if you were more than five levels stronger than the monster you killed, you get penalized on Xp. Five levels was half, but anything ten levels or weaker than he was wouldn’t even give him any experience any more. Well shit. At least those ugly Draugr mother fuckers gave just over six hundred experience each. With forty of them, even without the penalty, they gave more experience than all the lesser undead combined. Somewhat satisfied with the answers he’d found, Darius moved on to the next prompts.

Congratulations, your skills have increased.

Athletics +1 Rank.

Concentration +1 Rank.

Conjuration +1 Rank.

Evasion +2 Ranks.

Grapple +1 Rank.

Improvised Weapon +3 Ranks.

Pilot (Power Armor) +2 Ranks.

Targeting +2 Ranks.

Unarmed Combat +1 Rank.

+40xp.

Forty experience points aren’t much, but I’ll take it.

War Quest: Warmonger 2 Quest Complete

Quest Details:

The War Store provides essential resources and enhancements that can give your settlement a decisive edge. By making your first purchase, you will unlock the full potential of your War Points. Following this, you are tasked with executing three War Activities, which will both train your forces and disrupt enemy plans.

Objectives:

Access the War Store and complete your first purchase.

Complete three War Activities of your choosing.

Potential War Activities:

Eliminate enemy troops

Win a skirmish or battle

Capture an enemy outpost or settlement

Conduct a successful ambush or reconnaissance mission

Raid enemy supply lines or defend your own resources

Perform sabotage or rescue missions

Bolster troop morale or conduct training exercises

Objectives Complete 3/3

Successful reconnaissance mission x2

Win a Skirmish or battle x1

Rewards

500 War Points

Settlement Loyalty +100

Settlement Morale +100

Uncommon Bonus Reward: For defeating Enemy forces numbering more than 5 times your own, you have gained: +300 War Points

Rare Bonus Reward: For defeating Enemy Forces numbering more than 10 times your own, you have gained: War Chest of Resources.

Legendary Bonus Reward: For defeating Enemy Forces numbering more than 200 times your own, you have gained: Settlement Specialization Core—Military

Bonus rewards? Hell yeah. More war points are great. What’s a War chest and specialization core… wait, wasn’t that one of the options for my moderate perk? Hot damn, I get my power armor and the specialization core. I get my cake and eat it too! Now, what’s in this War chest? Darius focused on the reward, and a new window popped up.

The War Chest is a substantial reward filled with essential and rare resources, gathered to fortify your Settlement's war efforts. Inside, you'll find a vast assortment of 500 ingots of steel, 100 ingots of orichalcum, and 50 ingots of mithril, all critical for forging powerful weapons and armor. Additionally, 500 units of ironwood and 100 units of arcane crystals provide the materials needed for advanced construction and enchanting. With 200 units of Lunarite, 500 units of alchemical reagents, and 50 advanced war machine parts, you are equipped to enhance your military capabilities further. The inclusion of 100 rare beast hides and 11,000 units of general supplies ensures that your troops are well-prepared, well-fed, and ready for prolonged campaigns. With the addition of c30,000, you are able to not only pay your troops, you can supply them with anything else you may need to dominate your enemies. This War Chest is a strategic boon, offering the resources necessary to secure and expand your domain.

War chest Contents:

• 500 Ingots of Steel: A versatile and essential metal for crafting weapons, armor, and fortifications.

• 100 Ingots of Orichalcum: A rare and potent metal, ideal for creating powerful weapons, armor, and magical constructs.

• 50 Ingots of Mithril: A rare and lightweight metal, perfect for creating elite equipment that offers excellent protection without sacrificing mobility.

• 500 Units of Ironwood: A tough, magically resistant wood used in the construction of war machines, fortifications, and durable weapons.

• 250 Arcane Crystals: Crystals infused with magical energy, necessary for enchanting weapons, armor, and buildings, or powering advanced magical constructs.

• 200 units of Lunarite: A rare magical alloy used in the creation of powerful artifacts, siege engines, or special upgrades to buildings.

• 500 Units of Alchemical Reagents: High-quality ingredients used for crafting powerful potions, poisons, and explosives.

• 50 Advanced War Machines Parts: Components required to construct or upgrade siege engines, such as ballistae, catapults, or defensive turrets.

• 100 Rare Beast Hides: Durable, magical hides used for crafting superior leather armor, cloaks, and other war-related gear.

• 1,000 Units of Rations: Supplies to feed your troops during long campaigns, maintaining their stamina and morale.

• 10,000 Units of General Supplies (Food, Water, Basic Building Materials): Essential resources to sustain your settlement and army during extended conflicts.

• c30,000 Credits: System currency that can be spent through the System Marketplace to supply any other needs.