The sun crept over the horizon, its golden rays filtering through the crystalline barrier protecting Olympus. Calvin stood atop the city's walls near the dungeon, surveying the bustle of activity below. In the twenty-four hours since receiving the behemoth hunting mission, Olympus had become a whirlwind of preparation.
Tank strode up beside Calvin, his autocannon slung over his shoulder. "Morning, boss. Patrols are doubling down on the outer perimeters."
Calvin nodded. "Good man. What's the status on those dungeon teams?"
"They've been cycling through non-stop," Tank replied. "The time dilation effect is a game-changer. A few hours in there translates to mere minutes in Olympus."
As if on cue, a shimmering portal opened near the dungeon in the distance, disgorging a battered squad. Marshall's healers rushed to tend to their wounds as they staggered through, eyes haunted by whatever horrors they'd faced. Calvin headed down to meet the newly returning crew.
"Rough one?" Calvin asked a nearby soldier.
The man shook his head wearily. "Just... endless. Wave after wave of undead legions. We cleared three levels before calling it quits."
Tank grunted. "Experience is experience. Each run makes them stronger for the battles ahead."
Down below, the city thrummed with industry. Artificers toiled in Seth's workshops, crafting arms and armor while enchanters imbued them with magical enhancements. Merchants haggled over rare materials brought back from the dungeon, and recruiters welcomed a steady influx of new arrivals.
"It's like a Renaissance," Calvin murmured, surveying the vibrant tapestry of Olympus's growth.
Amy appeared beside them, daggers sheathed at her waist. "You boys catching your breath?"
"Just admiring the view," Calvin replied with a smile.
Freya bounded up, wagging her tail enthusiastically. Amy scratched the wolf's ears, eliciting a contented whine.
"She's been restless," Amy explained. "Wants to get back in the action."
Tank chuckled. "Don't we all? But this preparation is crucial. We can't afford to underestimate these behemoth bastards."
They lapsed into contemplative silence, watching the rhythmic ebb and flow of Olympus's daily life. Despite the looming threat, there was a sense of hope, of humanity reasserting itself in this strange new world.
A piercing howl shattered the tranquility as Freya abruptly tensed, hackles raised. A massive portal yawned open nearby, and a bloodied squad stumbled through, half-carrying their fallen comrades.
"Medics!" Tank bellowed, his voice a whip-crack of command.
Calvin and the others rushed to aid the battered survivors as healers converged. One soldier, a young woman Calvin recognized as Tracy, clung to his arm with desperate strength.
"Tomb..." she rasped, eyes wild. "Tomb of the Nameless King. An army... rising."
Her words dissolved into anguished screams as Marshall worked feverishly to stabilize her wounds. Calvin exchanged a grave look with Tank and Amy.
Deeper in Olympus's heart, Seth's workshop rang with the clamor of industrious labor. Sparks flew as he directed a team of artificers, his massive frame dwarfing the machinery surrounding them.
"Easy with those power couplings!" he barked at one worker. "We can't afford any volatility."
On the central platform rested an immense cannon, its baroque design bristling with arcane embellishments. Seth stepped back, wiping his brow as he surveyed their progress.
"This bad boy's gonna kick some ass," he declared. "Concentrated essence blasts with enough kick to flatten a behemoth."
One of his assistants, a fresh-faced young man named Torin, peered up at the imposing weapon. "You sure it'll work, sir? Seems... excessive and complex."
Seth snorted. "You clearly haven't tangled with these overgrown horrors yet, kid. Excessive doesn't even begin to cover it."
He activated a holographic display, reviewing the cannon's schematics. Acquiring the materials had been a nightmare, scouring the most treacherous reaches of the underworld dungeon. But the payoff would be glorious.
"Once we integrate the focusing matrix, this baby will be ready to put some hurt on those bastards." Seth grinned wolfishly.
As the artificers resumed their frenzied work, Seth allowed himself a moment of pride.
Flames danced in the forge as metal sang its age-old song of creation. Hammers rang against anvils, each blow shaping raw potential into sleek, deadly purpose. Sweat beaded on the weaponsmiths' brows as they toiled ceaselessly, for their work would spell life or death on the coming battlefield.
Nearby, enchanters traced arcane sigils with practiced flourishes, imbuing blades and armor with eldritch might. The air crackled with mystic energies, a heady scent of ozone and possibility.
In the distance, hulking constructs took shape under Seth's watchful eye as he orchestrated the assembly of his crowning achievement – a colossal arcano-cannon powerful enough to shatter a behemoth's hide. These would be mounted along the walls for now until Seth devised a way to make them portable. Nothing would be getting past the walls.
As the sun began its inexorable descent, Calvin gathered his inner circle for final preparations. Freya nuzzled Amy's hand, sensing the tension thrumming through her human companions.
"Our scouts have pinpointed the targets," Calvin began without preamble. "Three lesser behemoths scattered to the east, with two full-grown monstrosities prowling the western shoreline."
A murmur of apprehension rippled through the group. Tank's jaw tightened, already strategizing their assault.
"Hitting them simultaneously is our best option," the veteran soldier advised. "Prevents them from regrouping or reinforcing each other."
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"Agreed." Calvin's gaze was steely. "I'll lead the eastern strike force, while you handle the western targets."
Amy arched one slim eyebrow. "You're separating us?"
There was an undercurrent of worry in her words, one Calvin didn't miss. He offered her a reassuring smile.
"For this initial sortie, yes. We'll need to split our heaviest hitters. But I promise..." He reached out, giving her hand a comforting squeeze. "We'll reunite before taking on the biggest threat."
The weight of the coming battles hung over them all like a shroud. But in that moment, they were a bulwark against the darkness – an indomitable vanguard of humanity's resilience.
As the sun slipped beneath the horizon, bathing Olympus in a fiery glow, Seth straightened from the cannon's final adjustments. The weapon had been painstakingly calibrated, every circuit and conduit optimized for maximum lethality.
"She's ready," he declared, voice hushed with reverential awe.
The artificers and armorers gathered around, eyes shining with mingled trepidation and pride. This instrument of destruction was their defiance given form, a challenge flung into the face of the behemoths that sought to grind them underfoot.
Seth clapped his apprentices on their shoulders.
"Get some rack time, people. Tomorrow, we get this bad boy mounted."
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The following morning, soldiers and citizens alike gathered at the newly constructed artillery tower, a towering structure that dominated the eastern wall. At its peak, a massive arcano-cannon loomed, its sleek metallic barrel reflecting the morning light.
Seth stood beside the tower, a look of pride etched on his face. He had worked tirelessly with his team of artificers to forge this powerful weapon, imbuing it with the latest advancements in Olympian technology. Beside him, his apprentices made final adjustments, their hands moving with practiced precision.
"Today, we test the might of Olympus!" Seth bellowed, his voice carrying across the assembled crowd. "This cannon is but the first of many that will defend our city against the behemoth threat."
A hush fell over the spectators as the cannon's crew prepared for the inaugural firing. With a series of intricate motions, the arcane mechanisms whirred to life, charging the barrel with raw, elemental energy. The air crackled with anticipation.
Calvin, Amy, Tank, Ian, and Reaper stood at the forefront of the crowd, their eyes fixed on the cannon. They had witnessed the devastation wrought by the behemoths firsthand and knew the importance of this endeavor. Each of them would soon embark on a mission to hunt down and slay the monstrous creatures, armed with three of Seth's artillery drones for support.
As the cannon reached its peak charge, a deafening boom echoed across the city, sending a shockwave rippling through the air. A brilliant beam of energy erupted from the barrel, streaking across the sky like a comet before detonating in a brilliant explosion on the distant horizon. The ground trembled beneath their feet, and the crowd erupted in cheers, their voices mingling with the lingering rumble of the blast.
Calvin turned to his companions, "That's what I'm talking about!"
Amy nodded, her blue eyes alight with determination. "Get a few more of those up and Olympus will be covered."
"We're on it." Seth said. "We'll need more behemoth cores to power them. I've got one more core."
"That shouldn't be a problem after we take on these next five."
With the night closing in, the hunters of Olympus made their final preparations. Weapons were checked, and supplies were stocked. As darkness fell, they assembled at the portal anchor, ready to kick some behemoth ass.
Calvin turned to face his comrades, his voice carrying the weight of their mission. "Tonight, we hunt behemoths. We scout first, then we decide if fighting is worth it. If there's too much to handle, bring your squads right back here and prepare to head to the next one. Tank was right about engaging them separately, but we do not sacrifice people to do it."
With those words, Calvin nodded to Seth who activated the first portal drone. Calvin, Amy, Freya, and their squad filtered through. Followed by three menacing artillery drones.
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Calvin crouched behind a rocky outcrop, peering down into the valley at the towering behemoth in the distance. His heart pounded with a mixture of dread and exhilaration. Even from this far away, the sheer size of the creature was staggering.
"Brace yourselves," he murmured to his companions "This is going to be one hell of a fight."
The behemoth lumbered across the blasted landscape on four thick, trunk-like limbs, its humanoid upper body swaying with each ponderous step. Standing nearly eighty feet tall, it dwarfed the ruined buildings around it. A ridge of bony plates ran along its spine, from which writhed a nest of sickly gray tentacles, whipping and coiling like a tangle of starving serpents.
Its head resembled a nightmarish fusion of insect and reptile, with a elongated jaw lined with serrated fangs and compound eyes that glittered with a soulless malevolence. As it moved, the behemoth's body rippled with strands of ropy muscle, twitching beneath layers of armored plates and leathery hide.
Every aspect of the behemoth seemed purpose-built for dealing death and destruction. He swept his gaze over the area, scanning for potential hazards or strategic advantages.
The terrain around the creature was a jagged maze of half-toppled skyscrapers and shattered roads. Mounds of rubble and craters pockmarked the ground, likely the aftermath of the behemoth's passage. Plumes of dust and smoke drifted on the hot, stale breeze, obscuring lines of sight.
"This urban environment could work for or against us," Calvin mused. "Lots of cover and obstacles to maneuver around, but also potential for collateral damage if we're not careful."
He gestured to the soldiers. "Fan out and find defensive positions. I want crossfire lanes established and overwatch in case we need to fall back."
As the squad dispersed, Calvin turned to Amy and Freya. The sleek Aetherwolf crouched beside them, ears pricked and eyes narrowed, every fiber of her being focused on the behemoth.
"We need to draw that thing's attention away from the others so they can set up," Calvin said grimly. "Get ready to hit it with everything you've got the second it spots us."
Freya's lips peeled back in a lupine snarl.
With a deep breath to steady his nerves, Calvin rose from cover, spear at the ready. The behemoth immediately swiveled towards the motion, those pitiless compound eyes locking onto Calvin's form.
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Tank and his squad of elite Olympus soldiers materialized from the shimmering portal, their armored boots crunching on the sun-baked sand. The salty ocean breeze whipped at their faces as they surveyed the scene unfolding before them.
Towering cliffs of jagged, weather-worn rock lined the shoreline, casting long shadows across the beach. In the distance, a colossal behemoth lumbered forth from the churning waves, its grotesque form unlike anything they had ever witnessed.
The beast's massive bulk dwarfed the surrounding cliffs, its hulking frame easily the size of a city block. Thick, knotted muscles rippled beneath layers of armored plates as it dragged its immense weight across the sand. Four limbs thicker than redwoods supported its titanic body, each one tipped with wickedly curved talons that left deep furrows in the beach.
A myriad of pulsating nodules and fleshy tendrils protruded from its bloated torso, undulating with a sickening rhythm. Rows of jagged spines ran along its hunched back, each one serrated like a blade and dripping with a viscous, corrosive ichor. The behemoth's head was a nightmarish amalgam of bestial features - a gaping maw lined with countless fangs, multiple lidless eyes that swiveled in all directions, and a crown of writhing tentacles.
As the monstrous creature pulled itself fully onto the shore, Tank's grip tightened on his autocannon. A cold knot of dread twisted in his gut as he watched the behemoth's thrashing tentacles rip through the sand, disgorging wave after wave of smaller, but no less horrific, creatures.
These wretched spawn scuttled forth in a churning tide of claws, fangs, and barbed tails. Eyeless monstrosities with gaping maws full of hooked teeth. Lithe, serpentine horrors covered in bony plates. Hulking brutes with hides like armored tanks and malformed limbs ending in wicked scythes. An entire army of twisted, mutated abominations poured forth from the heaving mass of the behemoth's grotesque womb.
Tank steadied his breathing, his finger hovering over the trigger of his weapon. Crash and Reaper took up firing positions. The rest of the Olympian elites fanned out in a defensive semi-circle, weapons at the ready.
Tank positioned the artillery drones along the cliff's edge. They were loaded with massive explosive ordinance, courtesy of Seth and his magic runes. The plan was simple. They would level every heavy weapon and ultimate skill down toward the monstrosity and its spawn, then they would unleash hell all at once. With any luck, they would defeat it before a fight even began.