Calvin looked up at the blue barrier surrounding Olympus. It was almost mesmerizing the way it rippled in the air, distorting the view outside like looking through wavy glass. They only had roughly 12 hours before the protective shield fell and the ruins of Earth awaited them.
"How are the defenses coming along?" Calvin asked, turning to Seth.
Seth nodded, looking out over the walls surrounding Olympus. "The defenses are coming along well. We've got plasma turrets set up at 300-yard intervals along the entire perimeter."
Seth pointed to one of the turrets as he spoke. The sleek, metallic barrel was attached to a swiveling base. A faint glow emanated from the opening.
"We've also got autocannons spaced between the plasma turrets. Nothing made of flesh should withstand more than a few bursts. The downside to those is that they need to be stocked with ammo. I've got a process to have drones keep them topped off for now."
Along the wall, the autocannons sat ominously. Their twin barrels were aimed outwards, loaded with armor-piercing ammunition.
"For aerial targets, I'm working on some experimental lightning towers. They should discharge high-voltage lightning bolts and zap any flying monsters right out of the sky. I'm using the behemoth stones to power those."
Seth gestured to a few half-constructed towers scattered along the walls. They consisted of tall metal poles with Tesla coils mounted on top. The coils crackled with electricity as power flowed into them.
"Those are still a work in progress, but the basic design is sound. Between the plasma turrets, autocannons, and lightning, nothing should be able to approach Olympus by air or land once the shield drops."
Seth folded his arms, clearly satisfied with the results so far. The fortifications bristled with enough firepower to take on a small army. Or at the very least, hold one at bay.
"We've got limited manpower for now, so the automated defenses will be crucial. I'm feeling good about our chances when the barrier falls tomorrow. Similar defenses are going up in the other settlements. They're much smaller, so it's a bit easier to manage for them. We have a ton of space to cover. The ocean freaks me out though. I want to get plenty of defenses out that way too."
Calvin nodded approvingly. "Excellent work, Seth. It looks like you've got all our bases covered."
Tank spoke up, his gruff voice carrying a hint of concern. "Our biggest issue is manpower. We just don't have the numbers to patrol the entire wall and keep the city protected at the same time."
Calvin considered this. They were spread thin, especially with so many also focused on building up Olympus itself. "What's the status with the scouting drones? Have they found any other settlements or groups out there?"
Seth tapped on his tablet, bringing up a map overlayed with various markers. "The drones have located a few enclaves of survivors, here, here, and here." He pointed to three spots relatively close to Olympus. "No major settlements that we've found yet, but there seem to be a number of wandering groups without any real shelter. I also have sent drones out in every direction from the other settlements. I expect to have reports back soon."
"Then we need to get to those unprotected groups immediately," Calvin said, "They won't stand a chance out there. Seth's priorities are automated defenses of Olympus. Beef those up as much as possible. Too much is better than not enough. Tank, your priorities are getting watch patrols going, and locating as many survivors as possible."
Tank was already rising from his seat. "I'm on it. I'll take Reaper and Crash and assemble retrieval squads Seth, can you get portals up?" The grizzled soldier hurried off, barking orders to his men as he went.
Seth tapped a few instructions on his pad, ordering a set of scouting drones to pick up a portal grenade and head off. "They'll be ready in 20 minutes. Three portals, so prep three teams. "
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Twenty minutes later Tank stepped through the portal with Reaper and Crash right behind him. They were in a large, open field. The sky was a sickly green color and the ground beneath their feet blackened and charred. About a hundred yards away, a group of terrified humans were surrounded by a pack of wolf-like creatures.
These creatures stood on two legs and had thick, matted fur covering their muscular frames. Razor-sharp teeth jutted out from their mouths, dripping with saliva. Their eyes glowed a deep red. To Tank, they resembled werewolves from Earth culture. The humans were doing their best to fend them off, but they were clearly outmatched. Many bodies already littered the ground.
Tank quickly identified approximately 45 humans still standing and fighting for their lives. Several of the bulkier humans stood at the front, shielding the civilians behind them. One particularly large man, who was covered in grisly wounds slammed a hammer down onto the skull of one of the wolves, smashing it with a sickening crunch.
"Alright, let's move!" Tank ordered. He drew his autocannon and charged forward, Reaper flanked to the right, Crash to the left. The rest of their squad fanned out, weapons at the ready. Tank opened fire as he ran, spraying the creatures with the high-caliber rounds. The explosive shells tore through them, sending limbs and chunks of flesh flying. There were nearly two dozen of these werewolves.
Each blast from Tank's autocannon left devastation and destruction within the ranks of the werewolves. The first rounds struck and ripped them apart completely. Their bodies were reduced to pulpy masses of viscera on the earth below. These were not the unintelligent, brainless creatures from the tutorial, however. One of the wolves issued a series of grunts and growls, and the rest broke off from the charge. Tank saw what they were doing. The wolves had identified the threat and were working to encircle them.
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Crash did what Crash does best and that was blow shit up. He lobbed a trio of grenades into the rushing wolves, each of them detonated with a powerful incendiary explosion. The heat washed over the defenders as the smell of charred werewolf meat stung their noses. Smoldering piles of limbs and fur littered the area.
Reaper had taken up position on a hill behind where they'd arrived. He raised his Nightclaw rifle and picked off targets with clean headshots. The armor-piercing spikes had no trouble whatsoever piercing their skulls. The rest of the squad engaged the creatures in melee, hacking and slashing with swords, axes, and spears.
Tank saw one creature leap towards a little girl cowering behind her father. He swung his autocannon and fired just before it reached her. The creature sailed through the air, crashing to the ground with a sickening crunch. The girl was safe for now, although she'd been splattered in the remains of the creature, which Tank was sure would create some sort of horrifying trauma for her.
"Form up, protect the civilians!" Tank ordered. His men created a perimeter around the remaining humans, cutting down any creature that dared approach. Reaper continued providing overwatch, his rifle cracking as he dropped target after target.
Tank's autocannon thundered as he swept it back and forth, tearing great swathes through the creature's ranks. They tried to flank and surround the squad, but Tank would not allow it. He activated Suppressing Fire and sprayed into the creatures' flanks, preventing them from being able to spread out too far. He moved constantly, re-positioning to plug any gaps that appeared in their lines.
Finally, the last of the wolf creatures lay dead or dying. Tank moved towards the civilians. Many of them were wounded, some seriously.
"Are there any more of you?" Tank asked the man who appeared to be their leader.
"No, it's just us," the man replied. "We got separated from our settlement a few days ago and have been on the run since. Thank you for the rescue, we'd have been goners for sure."
Tank was about to respond when a blood-curdling howl pierced the air. He whirled to see six enormous creatures emerging on the edge of their sight lines towards them. They resembled the smaller wolf creatures in basic shape, but that's where the similarities ended. These monsters were the size of a bus, rippling with thick slabs of muscle. Their jaws could easily engulf a man whole.
"Reaper, take 'em out!" Tank barked. Reaper calmly settled his aim on the lead creature. His first shot with All-In punched cleanly through its skull, dropping it mid-stride. The other creatures snarled in rage, breaking into a charge. Reaper swapped rifles and continued firing. He had a few tricks up his sleeve and worked to get them out into the fight while Tank got the civilians through the portal. He released the orb that would call down an Ion strike upon the massive creatures. They were moving quickly though and would quickly escape the zone of impact.
Reaper flipped through his ammunition menu, a feature of his class that gave him different types of ammunition as skills. He selected his newly acquired ammo type Gravity Round and fired it at the center monster. This round had one single function. It would generate a powerful gravitational force at the point of impact, and draw everything toward it within a 30-foot radius.
As the gravity round pulled the wolves toward the center, Crash threw an ice-infused grenade to freeze everything in place. Searing bolts of plasma ripped through the atmosphere and brutally assaulted the massive creatures. One lost its head completely to a plasma round, and two others had limbs blown off, or sported a brand new hole completely through their bodies. They weren't all killed or disabled though and two made it through relatively unscathed.
The civilians had been sent through the portal, escorted by a pair of soldiers. Tank kept a few soldiers behind to cover Reaper and Crashs' retreat.
"With me!" Tank yelled as he ran to meet them. His squad formed around him. The remaining two creatures hit them like a freight train, slobbering jaws snapping left and right. Tank swung his autocannon in wide arcs, the heavy slugs staggering the beasts. His men hacked at legs and underbellies, trying to bring them down.
One creature clamped its jaws down on a soldier's torso, biting clean through armor and bone. It thrashed him around like a ragdoll before tossing the lifeless body away.
"Hold the line!" Tank roared. He ducked under a swiping claw and jammed his cannon into the creature's belly, pulling the trigger. The massive slug blew a chunk out of its abdomen, but it kept coming.
On his right, three soldiers were desperately trying to bring down the other beast. It shook off their blows and lunged, grabbing one in its jaws. Before it could bite down, Reaper put a round through its eye. The creature stumbled but did not release its prey.
Tank swung his cannon around, bracing it against his hip. He walked a sustained burst up the creature's side, shredding organs and bone until it finally collapsed, dead. The soldier wrenched himself free, covered in blood and saliva but somehow still alive.
At last, the final creature fell beneath the onslaught. The squad was battered and bloodied, but they had held. They took their battered and exhausted bodies back to Olympus.
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Similar scenes happened several more times in the coming hours. Groups of humans, fighting for their lives in the wild, untamed lands of Earth were rescued in the brink of time by the incredible godlike soldiers of Olympus. Tank and his crews brought back not only 127 more survivors to Olympus but also news of the locations of two settlements. Seth immediately got to work getting drones out there so they could bring them into the fold of Olympus before the barriers fell.
While Seth and Tank worked out the details of getting those settlements located and onboarded. Amy and Calvin prepared to hop into the dungeon. They wanted to at least get some exploring in before the barriers came down and with a few hours left and the hinky time mechanics of the dungeon they should have plenty of time.
They met up with Asher at the entrance. He'd had Seth's drones bring over a crate of Liara's potions and some food from Ambrosia. They would be going in without Marshall, so the extra healing was going to be very welcome. They'd briefly considered bringing him along, but if something happened in there, that would leave Olympus short their most powerful healer and that just would not do. Calvin and Amy would scout this alone and dip out if things got too much to handle.
"Hey Asher, we can leave the dungeon any time right?" Calvin asked. Realizing he really didn't know if that was possible.
"That I couldn't tell you. Most of the information I've read about dungeons seems to indicate that you can leave from the beginning or the end of a floor. I have no idea if something like your portal grenades would work in there."
"Well, I guess it's as good a time to test as any. Alright, it will be the two of us going in."
Freya gave a low whine. Calvin had already told her they would enter as a party of two for the rewards.
This changed however when Calvin placed his hand on the orb to begin their passage into the dungeon.
ENTER DUNGEON?
PARTY SIZE: 2
REWARD TIER: Platinum (Based on Party Size)
PARTY MEMBERS:
CALVIN HAWKINS
FREYA HAWKINS
AMY RIDGE
"Uhh… Asher, your dungeon is broken. It shows Freya in our party, but it's a party size of two."
Asher pulled up his dungeon control screen and shrugged. "Looks fine to me"
Alright girl, looks like you get to come along anyway. I wonder if the system considers you and I as a single party member because of our synergy.
Freya yipped excitedly and did a ferocious little spin in the air. It looked ridiculous now that she was a two-hundred-pound Aetherwolf.
"Alright, see you soon" Calvin waved at Asher.
With one final glance toward Olympus, they transported themselves into the dungeon.