Sam let the cannon drop, his arms like pieces of rubber from the exertion. He had discovered that he could chain his armor skill usage to increase the time, but he was going to be hit with the full force within a few minutes. Sam braced himself, and when three minutes had passed, he was sent sprawling on the ground by a surge of electricity so strong that his hair melted around his scalp. Sam grunted and caught himself on one hand, pushing himself back up. He was lucky that he had his armor on, because he wouldn't have looked have been a pretty sight otherwise. Sam got to his feet, and stumbled towards the gate. That had been enough adventure for one day.

As the sun rose the next day, Sam walked down the stairs of his house and out onto the road. It was time to leave. He had packed all of the supplies from the Interweb the previous night, and was wearing his armor. Mjolnir was tucked into his belt, the hammer glistening in the sun. He was as ready as he would ever be to take on the Legion.

As he walked down the street, people saluted him, the ever present engine of gossip having informed them of his situation. As he reached the nearest gate, he spotted Lao and Eduardo waiting there. Both men were wearing suits of armor, Lao’s made out of chain mail and Eduardo’s out of thin metal plates. Lao was not strong enough to fight with full armor, but chain mail was doable.

His staff was tucked into his belt, and Lao looked quite the sight in the light of the rising sun, his white beard billowing in the wind. One might think that such a sight would be ridiculous, but somehow it was actually inspiring. When Sam reached them, the two men gave him matching smiles.

“Today’s as good a day as any to go to our deaths. The sun is bright, the sky is clear, and we have achieved much in our short lives,” Eduardo said, his voice solemn.

“Amen,” Sam replied, prompting Eduardo to give him a look. “You said long ago that any prayer is valid, if it is sincere. Mine is.”

“You actually remembered that. How impressive.”

“How about we stop procrastinating and actually leave? We have a tight deadline,” Lao interrupted. “If you both want to meet your deaths, then we need to go.”

Sam and Eduardo gave Lao sheepish grins, and as the gates opened, they marched out. Behind them, the citizens cheered. Sam waved at them as he walked between the doors, and did not look back. When Sam stepped out onto the grass, Sam pulled out the condensed ship, placing it down on the ground. As he entered his mana into it, the ship expanded outwards to its full size, where it lay on the ground. The ramp extended downwards, and the trio walked onboard.

The other captains stood on the top of the walls, watching them as they went. Ava skulked behind one of the battlements, watching them with an oddly hopeful look on her face. If anyone was going to get her sister back, it would be Sam.

There was no idle chatter during the trip, just stoic cultivation. At the halfway mark, Sam took a quick inventory of his supplies, dividing it up between the others. He took the most powerful of the bombs, as well as its storage case, as well as a third of the other supplies. The grenades were all miniature, the benefits of mana infused weaponry, and they fit comfortably within his pocket. The bandages were left in their rolls, and Sam was satisfied that they were ready. With a sigh, he went back to cultivation.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

A while later, he opened his eyes, feeling the ship rocking underneath him. Either they were landing, or something was attacking them. Seeing as it had only been a few hours, Sam doubted that it was the first option. Sam unbuckled his straps, and got to his feet, taking his hammer out of his belt loop. Eduardo and Lao got to their feet as well, preparing their weapons. There was something scratching on the bottom of the craft, something large. As the ship flew, Sam moved over to the middle of the floor, realizing that the noise was coming from underneath the hatch. He placed his ear against it, and recoiled as he heard the horrific noise of a claw screeching against metal.

“Shit. There’s something down there. Get ready,” Sam said.

The others opened their mouths to say something, but the ship rocked so severely that they were thrown to the side. Sam caught himself on the wall, jumping back down to the floor as the ship turned. A dent formed suddenly on the bottom of the ship, pressing inward through the hatch.

“Open it!” Sam shouted at the ship controller.

The simian creature nodded and the hatch slid open with a grinding noise, struggling against something beneath it. A vaguely reptilian creature was revealed, with a grotesque, skinless head. It roared as soon as the hatch opened, filling the cabin with its fetid breath. Sam gagged, before regaining his composure, heading towards the creature. Upon hearing the noise of vomiting behind him, he turned. Lao stumbled around, far more affected by the smell than Sam. Clearly, the strange creature was using some sort of poison. Sam whipped his head around as the thing behind him spoke in a raspy, hissing voice.

“You smellsss deliciousss. I likesss the tassste of human flesssh. Now, let me eat you!” The thing sounded like what a snake would if it had the ability to talk, and as it spoke, it revealed a forked tongue. This was clearly one of the next wave of monsters coming to plague the Earth.

Sam did not reply, instead raising his hammer above his head. As lightning played across its surface, the monster flinched. It roared at him, expelling a fine mist of green goo that hissed as it ate away at the metal around Sam. His armor began to tarnish slightly, but it held firm.

“What the hell are you?” He asked as he prepared to strike.

“I isss a servant of Gaea. The mother of thisss planet.”

Even though it was speaking, the thing was clearly not distracted as it dodged Sam’s next strike. It ducked down beneath the rim of the hatch, and Sam’s hammer struck the side of the opening. The monster reared up a moment later, and its jaws snapped shut in front of Sam. He had narrowly escaped it, the result of Eduardo grabbing him from behind. Eduardo had gotten over his affliction, and it seemed as if Lao was recovering somewhat as well.

Lao walked forwards, his hands and staff glowing with the blue light of his Dao. The next time that the creature opened its mouth to spew its foul acid on them, Lao was ready. He slammed the end of the staff down on the ground, and a shield of light expanded outwards from it, causing the liquid to splatter on his surface. The shield absorbed the liquid in a matter of seconds, before expelling a similar spray back at the monster. This liquid glowed bright blue rather than dull green, and where it struck, flesh peeled off of bone.

The monster roared in anger, and began to tear at the bottom of the ship in an insensate fury. All of its pretenses at civility and sapience were gone now, and it was just a primal beast that had been angered by its prey. Sam clutched his hammer in both hands and leaped for the monster, bringing it over his head. The creature looked up at him, a crazed look of anger on its face, but it was too out of it to respond in time.

Sam’s hammer collided with the monster’s head, sending bone and blood flying everywhere. It screamed in pain and withdrew its head from the ship, revealing a sight that made Sam’s heart sink. There were over a dozen other creatures flying in a circle around the ship. Sam got a quick look at where they were, noting that they were still over the sea. Far below, a volcano extended up from below the water, sending great pillars of steam hissing up into the atmosphere every time that its molten discharge struck the ocean. A cloud of monsters hovered around the top of the volcano, bathing in its heat.