CHAPTER 85: Change of Plans
Army Reserve soldier Chad Alvarez climbed down from the wall. He passed off the odd weapon he had been using to the man replacing him since their shift was changing. After the [System] had come, the US Army had been drawn into action and all Reservists were brought in.
For two weeks his unit had been sent around playing support for the region. They helped law enforcement, tried to provide peace keeping in rowdier situation, and followed the orders of investigators as they tried to locate where the invaders would be coming from.
Two days before the invasion, orders had changed. All regional units, both active and reserve, were brought to Hopkinson, Kentucky and told to hunker down. Even though they had been helping reinforce a rising river, their orders had been to leave everything and come.
Two days of nervousness and uncertainty. Two days of people telling each other about their families, praying that they would be ok. Two days of near constant drills and supply prep. Everyone had been on edge.
Then the general had arrived along with 100 Special Forces. That was unusual. That had put everyone on edge even more. There were over 20,000 soldiers at the base, plus support staff. Rumors had it that no other single base had stockpiled supplies, munitions, and soldiers as this one. No one knew why.
Then the invasions hit, and it became crystal clear why.
The world became chaos. Death visit throughout the globe. However, Chad had no time to pay attention to that. Survival came first.
In the first two days after the invasions, they lost 5,000 men. It was a miracle that they survived at all. It was only through the command of the U.S. General on base and the Special Forces Detachment Commander that they were able to get organized and keep their nerve.
The Special Forces were a blessing. They set up traps, used the base layout, and fought with the fury of the gods to keep the invaders out of the base. However, every week brought them more casualties and forced them to pull back further into the base.
At first, they were attacked by doglike things. Waves by the thousands. The beasts were blind and had little intelligence, yet that didn’t help the humans. They were pure feral instinct, rushing the base and using any available opening to get through.
The outer fences couldn’t contain them. Windows couldn’t stop them. They could climb on the walls sturdy enough to support their weight and dig through rock. It took entire magazines of bullets in the right places just to take out a single one. Buildings became unsafe due to how easily they were infiltrated.
Remembering the long claws and the weird net like mouth caused Chad to shiver in dread. Dust that the beasts released would cause men to go blind and distort their hearing. Their resistance to bullets made each one a terror to put down. The sheer volume of the beasts reminded him of the worst zombie movies, except these things could move fast.
That had been their first invader experience.
They held on against these dogs for two days. The only reason they lasted that long was thanks to the officers near instantly providing them with the information they needed. Flashbangs and grenades were used to distract, stun, and herd the beasts so the men could get through them.
Information on how to level up and distribute their stats were also given to them. The increased physical stats quickly made the battles more manageable, at least when they weren’t drop dead tired from the constant fighting.
Even with all the casualties, the leadership did a masterful job guiding the battles. Any time a unit felt like they would break under the pressure, a group of the Special Forces would show up, wreck the beasts, and then move on to the next place where help was needed.
The Special Forces didn’t fight with guns either, which surprised him. They fought with either squiggly shaped knives that penetrated the tough hides easier than bullets, or with the claws of the beasts they were fighting. Somehow the long claws had been shaped into handles, with a rough grip wrapped around the base.
Classes were also more balanced among the Special Forces. They always had a [Support] for healing, and one or two with a [Mage] class, even as those tagged as mages fought with their hands. The normal soldiers and reserves were [Warrior] heavy. Chad himself had gone with a [Mage] class with the assumption they would be needed, even if he had been mocked for it in the beginning.
The way the leadership was managing things, it felt like they already understood what they were facing and what to do about it. That gave the men some confidence as they wore themselves down due to combat. Fortunately, while the waves were large, there were a few hours of breaks in between each one. Rest, food, and rotating combat had become essential.
Four days they fought the waves of dog beasts, the Terrenidons. Those waves consisted of levels from 2 to 5. All the soldiers were leveling too, getting stronger and more capable. The initial terror from the assault had lessened until they felt numb to it.
Friends and comrades fell. Some were healed and others died. Occasionally a man would break, going insane from the perpetually desperate situation. They would rush into the mass of monsters while hollering, not to come out again.
Chad wasn’t willing to give up. Out in the world he had two brothers and parents. If even this force couldn’t hold up, then what hope did they have? He also saw how the men with wives and children would weep during their respites. They had no hope of their families surviving and either gave in to the despair or formed an insane belief that surviving here would allow them to protect their families.
Unfortunately, after four days the waves didn’t cease. Instead, the waves became larger Terrenidons, now between levels 6 and 12. The soldiers were all leveling at a steady rate, but the jump in difficulty became another mental hurdle.
At level 10, Chad didn’t think the new waves were harder than the previous ones. There were fewer per wave and every soldier now had weapons made from the claws which could injure them more easily, but going from easily killing thousands to needing to use tactics to kill hundreds became too much for the exhausted combatants, and they were once more pushed back.
The army constantly retreated further into the army base due to being unable to hold the buildings. Everyone took shifts that should have been for rest to move supplies to the bomb range. All but the largest explosives and firearms were abandoned, having found them ineffective.
The bomb range was large. Large enough for big explosives. Big enough to test vehicles on it. It also had a solid 15-foot-tall wall around it with only two entrances. There was open space far around it to view the monsters charging them. This was where they set up. The rest of the base had been lost.
Chad was confident the wall could be climbed or breached by the monsters charging them. The wall was sturdy by Earth standards, but he now knew the difference between that and [System] empowered beasts.
A full week of fighting the dog beasts led to more levels and strength. Once they began to get comfortable again, able to fight almost on autopilot, the Terrenidons were replaced by bearlike beasts in the level 11 through 15. Oddly, the more difficult ones were level 2 or 3, seemingly lower levels but much stronger. The officers explained that they had evolved. Their levels had re-started from zero.
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Every one of these evolved monsters required a group to take down. They didn’t have weapons able to slash their hide, only the claw weapons for stabbing, and those weren’t long enough to make fatal wounds on the bear monsters.
More exhaustion built up. More numbness that caused men to stare at their own death as they were cut down. Constant healing required for those who survived the constant quills that should have been fur on the beasts.
Two weeks passed and there hadn’t been a single full night’s sleep, bath, or real meal. Water and food were rationed as no one knew how long this would last for. All the corpses of the bears were carried by a group of scavengers to the center of the bomb range, where they were cut apart. Tough and unseasoned meat was distributed for eating. The hides were made into pants and jackets, protecting the soldiers from minor injuries.
A few longer weapons were made from the bones of the beasts too, mostly long spearheads attached to metal rods. Chad wasn’t sure how they were sharpened down, but each section of the wall was given a few of the spears, as unwieldy as they were.
The officers were also telling people things to do to guide their own evolutions. They had made Chad fight with a fan of all things, blowing chemicals on the monsters. He thought it was absurd, a sign that the joke about Military Intelligence being an oxymoron was true. Except that when it came time to evolve his own class, he had the option for a [Wind Mage], which he was told to take.
The spells of the [Wind Mage] weren’t especially useful so far, but he could make a weak barrier and create enough air pressure to shift moving objects. Not enough to stop the bears’ clawed swings, but enough to shift his own men out of the way, provided they were already in motion. His ability to move the air also became very desired as the stink from the unwashed fighters and rotting monster bits polluted everything. At this point a breath of fresh air could bring a smile to even the hardest man.
Two weeks passed. Then a third, followed by a fourth. Chad couldn’t believe they were still going, that there were this many monsters in the world. He couldn’t imagine many surviving and felt like this base only stood thanks to the efforts and advance knowledge of a U.S. General and Special Forces. Of the 20,000+ they started with, less than 11,000 remained, packed into that field. Living and dying with constant combat.
After five weeks and so many levels, the fighting had become routine. The monsters had stopped getting stronger around level 14 of what the officers called Tier 2. Every single person remaining, including the general and his support staff, were around that level too. The Special Forces were even higher as they would make excursions outside of the base to scout for the source of the invasion.
Then it was announced. The invader base had been found. The Detachment Commander would lead 5,000 men to assault the base. They would take artillery, tanks, slow but sturdy transport vehicles, everything that might be useful.
Chad had been left behind. His skills weren’t strong enough and he was thankful for it. Especially when, after three days, only a few more than 200 of those 5,000 men returned from the assault. Those that returned were much higher level, especially the Detachment Commander and his higher ranked officers, but with fewer troops to defend their field, there was no hope left.
Moods fell. Attitudes rose as conflict became more normal, especially among the Special Forces. People had taken to remaining silent at all times, just taking their shifts in the violence and then their rest.
Some of the items looted from the base they had assaulted did make the defense easier. Such as the metal tube that Chad used. Those with high Intelligence stat and magic power could shoot elemental energy from the tube, much like a gun except the projectile was made of magic and benefitted from skills and buffs, unlike bullets.
The frequency of the waves also decreased, giving them more time to rest. Unfortunately, the leveling of the troops slowed as well. The monsters were now a lower level than the humans, even if they could still tear them up.
More weeks passed until it had been two months. Chad wasn’t even sure how he knew. Days and nights were the same. Time passed with no changes other than the temperature dropping, which he barely noticed in the heat of constant combat and death.
Like always he passed his tube weapon off to another caster, then sat on a pile of sandbags to eat his hard to chew monster meat. His eyelids were heavy as he let the world around him drop away. Then a roar passed through his section of the wall unlike what he had heard before. He sat up and looked.
His instinct told him to go over to the wall to see what new death was coming, but his training and months of fighting told him to wait until he was called upon. He didn’t want to get in the way or to become a casualty of whatever new thing was appearing.
“It’s called a [Feral Behemoth],” someone on the wall shouted down to a runner. “Level 0. It looks stronger than Tier 2 and big! We’re gonna need reinforcements.”
A young soldier ran to where the leadership tents were. They recorded and cataloged every monster, every skill, and every choice the men had and told them exactly what to take and where to use their skill points. Soldiers were shifted around to create better synergy amongst the skills and to create units stronger than individuals.
There was a bustle of activity in the tents and then a single man came out. He was shirtless and muscular without being too bulky. Even Chad had to concede how attractive the body was, feeling both jealousy and shame at the though. The man wore combat boots and pants made from greenish blue skin from some frog monster that had attacked another part of the wall.
For weapons he had two bone spears on his back. At his belt was a squiggly knife and a fine, single edged long sword, probably taken from the base assault. The man walked with confidence even as fury shown in his eyes.
When he reached the wall, the man planted his feet and in an act of superhuman strength he leaped over it. The next fifteen minutes were a combination of screams, howls, screeches, and shouts. Some of the noised cause Chad’s nose to bleed, even sitting away from the wall, and one human sounding roar filled him with terror.
After the fifteen minutes the man came jumping back over the wall. He was missing one spear, and the other ones was now half as long. The sword was intact but bloody. The man’s skin was bleeding all over. His previously torn pants were in even worse shape.
The man came over to the sandbags and sat down near Chad. He brought with him a large chunk of meat, oozing with a thick brown blood. Chad watched as the man nodded to him then tore off a chunk of the raw meat and began eating it. The man’s skin had a reddish tint to it before and now it was calming down even while his breathing became steadier.
“You don’t need to cook that?” Chad questioned after the man had taken several bites, chewing each bite only enough to swallow it.
“I have a skill. It increases my recovery with bloody meat. Kind of gross but helpful. Besides, my class tends to burn more calories than the other ones, so I need food after almost every fight,” the man explained with his mouth full of meat. “It’s gross but I’d rather not deplete our rations.”
“Is that how you were able to fight the monster by yourself?” Chad continued the conversation as the man didn’t seem to mind the questions.
“Yes. My class is quite a bit stronger than others and more resistant to damage. It’s sometimes safer for me to handle the difficult monsters solo. Though I do appreciate the support of the mages and rangers,” he answered with a nod of respect to Chad’s class tag.
Chad took a moment to look at the man’s tag. Clearly, he was one of the Special Forces. His tag was “Berserker [22].” It must be rare since Chad hadn’t seen it before.
“I’m sorry to ask, sir, but do you know if we have plans other than just to sit in this field?” Chad was nervous as he asked. He didn’t want to overstep his rank, but even his mentality had worn down over the weeks. He could barely remember his family anymore as all his thoughts were regarding what the next monster would be.
“Actually yes, we just had a change of plans. Detachment Commander Rexus told me that scouts have returned. There are fewer monsters and invaders in remote areas, and quite a few people out there. Military bases and cities were hit the hardest and we have no confirmation that others survived. It’ll be announced soon that we’ll take a week to plan and gather all usable vehicles, fuel, and supplies from the rest of the base. Then we’ll form a caravan to take the long way around, picking up civilians and helping where we can.”
“It’ll be nice to actually have a goal other than survival, but where will we even go?” asked Chad, frowning while imagining ending up in some mountains to hide as the world crumbles.
“The general already knew of a place. He said that city was preparing more than any other. We’re still hearing phantom radio signals from the area even if we are too far for communications, meaning they’re probably still standing. It’ll take a while, but we’ll head there. They should have more leveled soldiers, defenses, and supplies for us to join up with.”
“A whole city?” Chad gasped. He couldn’t believe that a whole city could have survived what this base had.
“Yeah, Jackson in Tennessee. It’s why the general chose this base for his stand. Close enough to rendezvous with Jackson should they survive, or to provide a safe haven for them should their troops need to retreat. Currently it looks like we got the raw deal.”
“That’s good news. I hope they’re still standing,” Chad said then laughed. “Hope. It seems so long ago since I felt that.”
The man nodded in agreement and then shrugged.
“Anyway, it’ll be announced soon, so keep your head up and the walls unbreeched.”
“Yes, sir. Thank you! I’m Chad Alvarez, part of the reserves,” Chad introduced himself with his first smile in a long time.
“Nice to meet you, Chad. I look forward to surviving this war with you,” said the man as they shook hands. The berserker’s thick, calloused hands were still splattered with blood. “I’m Gregor. Gregor Munstean.”