Reed City was at war. It was immediately apparent from the moment the five of us appeared through the Teleportation Circle. The large building we appeared in was crowded with people, many holding large sacks or backpacks overflowing with personal belongings. I could see a half dozen people being carried out of the building on stretchers, and the few guards in the building were ushering all the people out of the building.

“Move away from the Circle! All refugees must leave the building! All able-bodied individuals are required to report to Captain Clark! Move!” The shouting soldier’s voice was hoarse, and the five of us quickly left the building.

Stepping out of the building that housed the Teleportation Circle, I was astonished to see even more people.

The Reed City square was full of people. Some people were in makeshift tents, or lying on blankets, others were standing in the plaza, glancing around fearfully.

“Gather here if you can fight!” A familiar voice called. I led Uman and the others towards Captain Clark.

The man wore a full set of E-rank armor made from monster hide. His longbow was slung over his shoulder, and his face and hands had dozens of small, raised, red lumps that twisted his face in an awkward expression.

But he held himself with confidence.

“Clark! Catch me up. What’s happening!” I called out, receiving strange glances from the bystanders around me.

Clark turned, and grinned when he saw me. “Finally, Jarek! What took you so long!” As Clark grinned, I saw blood staining his teeth. Then, he bellowed, “Ryker! Get over here!”

Not missing a beat, Clark continued, “It’s hordes of giant insects. Giant wasps, tunneling worms, and those roly-poly bugs, but the size of a sofa. There’s thousands of them. And there’s a level 65 creature leading them, called a Centiscythe. It looks like—”

“Jarek!” I felt a powerful aura press down on me, and, turning, I saw Ryker coming my way.

I tensed, unsure of what kind of welcome I would receive.

Ryker slung his massive battle axe over his shoulder, and strode towards me. I could feel the ground tremble under the weight of each step. Standing seven feet tall, he wore a full suit of medieval looking plate armor, complete with a custom-made helmet that had a hole in the back of the head, for his man-bun.

I can’t believe he did that.

As he grew closer, I resigned myself to not fight back.

Ryker grabbed me in a headlock, made a fist, and rubbed his gauntleted knuckles on my head. “You little fucker,” he said, in what I hoped was a playful tone. “That’s for kidnapping me and helping brainwash me.”

I felt like he was going to turn me bald, as his gauntlet rubbed against my scalp.

Clark coughed, and Ryker released me. “Who are your friends?”

“You already know Uman,” I said. “This is Uman’s wife Ezma, and this is my brother Justin and his boyfriend, Feng.”

“Another Novak,” Ryker said, feigning horror. “God help us if he’s half as tricksy as you are.”

Clark cleared his throat.

“Right,” Ryker said. “Things aren’t looking good. Between the cost of transporting the refugees, and the cost to maintaining our City’s shield, we’re basically broke. I don’t suppose…”

I stuck out my hand, and when Ryker shook it, I transferred him ten million coins. “Sorry about everything,” I said. “What can I do?”

“With this, I can buy a new power source for our shield. That can resist the weaker attacks for long enough. But a solid hit from the Centiscythe’s body could overwhelm the shield’s maximum capacity. It’s not the smartest creature, so we’ve been able to distract it, but it’s just a matter of time before it destroys our shields. Clark, take Jarek to the battlefield. I’ve got some shopping to do.”

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Clark led me and a gathering group of soldiers towards the city’s wall.

The closer we got to the wall, the fewer refugees we saw, and the more soldiers we encountered.

There were hundreds of soldiers on the battlements of the city wall, and as we approached, I could see thousands of flying creatures dive-bombing the city’s shield.

It almost felt as though I had stepped onto the stage of a fantasy movie, where soldiers were defending a city’s wall against a swarm of monsters.

But the cries of pain were too anguished to be fake, and the scent of blood was thick in the air.

It didn’t feel real, though. This was my city, but I felt no connection to it. I didn’t know anybody on the ramparts above me—Clark and Ryker were the only faces I had recognized after seeing hundreds of people around.

“Shift swap!” Clark called, shaking me out of my daze, leading his team of soldiers up to the battlements. I followed, watching as the soldiers who stood on the battlements—mainly rangers, archers, and magicians—stepped down, and the new contingent that had followed Clark stepped forward to do battle.

Standing in the battlements, at first glance it seemed like the soldiers were easily gaining experience. There were tens of thousands of easy, brainless targets in front of me. The wasps and insects were directly dive-bombing the City’s shield. As long as the shield lasted, then the people in the battlements wouldn’t be in any danger.

But at a second glance, that couldn’t be the case. Numerous soldiers who were descending from the battlements looked wounded, or had large, raised welts on their hands and face.

“How are the bugs getting through?” I asked, confused. The shield was still holding.

Clark pointed to a group of flying bugs heading our direction. It was a swarm of white beetles with red specks, about the size of a refrigerator.

“Watch carefully,” he said.

About twelve of the white beetles dove down towards one section of the shield. I could hear the soldiers in the battlements yelling, chanting, and I heard the telltale whistle of arrows.

As the arrows and spells landed, suddenly, one of the beetles exploded.

A second beetle exploded, then a third.

Judging from the flurry of attacks, the magicians and archers were furiously trying to stop each of the beetles from reaching the Mana Shield.

Five beetles reached the Mana Shield at the same time, exploding the moment they touched the shield. I saw the mana in the air tremble.

“Those are literal dive-bombers,” Clark explained. “They explode on impact, and the surge of power required to hold the explosion back leaves the shield open in other places.”

All around me, I could see that soldiers were cursing and slapping at themselves.

Wasps and mosquitos the size of my fist had used the gap in the shield to slip into the battlements, and they were now zipping to and fro.

“Nobody has died from the smaller bugs yet,” Clark said. “But they’re a huge inconvenience, and with each bombing attack, there are more to deal with.

On the ground, on the outside of the wall, I could see a few squads of brave melee soldiers who were fighting off the land-based insects.

Taking everything in, I realized something was missing. “What’s a Centiscythe? What does that look like?”

“It’s like a centipede, but it has limbs all over its body—top, bottom, and sides. Most of the limbs seem to move reflexively, slashing at movement. Oh, and it’s about 100 yards long, and twenty yards tall.”

I just never get a break, do I.

I tried to process what Samantha was saying. Does this mean that there will be another potential Zone Lord, too?

Samantha coughed.

Of course Samantha would think that having to fight two Zone Lords was better than fighting one… that was such a Samantha thought.

Samantha said.

I was shaken from my distracted thoughts by my combat shadow’s movement. I threw two knives in rapid succession, with some added Dexterity, easily killing two dive-bombing bugs that were flying towards me.

Thinking back to the Centiscythe, I realized there had been something bothering me in the back of my mind, this whole time. “If Ryker is here… who is dealing with the Centiscythe?”

Clark didn’t bother turning. “He’s ex-Crucible, just like you. He was a bit resentful he didn’t make the A-team, you know. You guys have a lot in common, actually…"