Chapter 39 – Jitters

Matt relaxed in the chair next to the fire, listening to Rohm tell Tobias about his world’s music. He was enjoying his time, just sitting back and watching the camp. The commandos had quite the shock when they arrived at the layup point for the assault on the mines.

Matts team had finished up the towers early in the afternoon and decided to hustle to the rendezvous, so they had some extra down time before they started the planning to assault the mine area. They had some friendly races over the distance, seeing who was fastest. To everyone’s surprise, it wasn’t Matt. Echo had really shown some proper speed over short distances. The drake didn’t have much in the longevity department but over a kilometer or so, he easily beat Matt’s best speed.

When they arrived, the commandos had found more than just commander Rohm and his detachment. They found nearly an entire battalion set up at the foot of the hills. Another half dozen constructs and couple hundred classers and crafters. All of them came out for various reasons it seemed. The crafters made the trip to look for materials in the safety of large numbers while the classers had come to get a piece of the action, hoping for some extra levels while acting as a cordon.

Upon reaching the camp, Tobias came out to greet them and catch them up on the goings on around the camp. He thankfully only had one task for the commandos or more specifically, Matt. They needed an update on the maps and disposition of the mines and the guardian.

Matt had wrapped that up almost immediately, noticing that while the number of bugs had grown, it wasn’t by much. The other good news is that their levels had remained mostly stagnant. He completed a full circle around the area, trying to get a full picture of what they had in store and noticed that the extra traffic had another side effect.

The area had been almost completely stripped of shrubs and small vegetation, leaving only the largest of trees standing. The ground had also been reformed, hills and valleys flattened from the foot traffic moving all over them. The few areas around the guardian had also been mostly leveled, removing most of the cover that the amalgamation had.

Slipping back very carefully under the full cover of his viper hood, Matt returned to camp to give the updates. Rohm looked genuinely impressed at the mess the bugs had made in such a short time but then paled when Tobias gave his estimate of numbers.

Tobias had reviewed the footage and came to the conclusion that there were around 1000 total insectoid beasts with only 100 of those over level 20. The big boss was still level 40, which everyone agreed would be Matts problem. Matt really didn’t like the idea and jokingly insisted that he sit this one out. He did not get his way.

It was with much grumbling and some cursing that all the classers gathered for a planning session. Most of that grumbling was from Matt having to essentially walk everyone through sand tabled but he quickly found a way to get out of it.

“Hey, Rohm. Your class benefits from planning and conducting operations, right?” Matt called.

The commander looked at him for a moment before responding. “Yes. Why doe…. Oh, damn it.” His ears flattened and he gave Matt a look that would make most people avert their gaze.

Matt just smiled back. “Gotta get those levels, buddy.”

Rohm ended up leading the planning phase of the operation, organizing teams and setting some simple objectives. Matt was rather impressed with is work, even if one of those objectives was to ‘not die’. Although, he did get some revenge and confirmed that Matt would be the only person to fight the guardian.

With all the planning and organizing done, they broke for the night. The assault would happen in the morning which allowed the classers to relax for a while and make any last-minute preparations. Matt and his team found a nice quiet spot to set up for the night and try to get some rest.

“What’s the matter Lisk?” Matt asked. He had watched the demon fidgeting with his equipment for the past 2 hours, never letting it be for more than a couple minutes.

“Huh?” The demon asked in return then looked at what he was doing. “Oh, I guess I just… I don’t know what to do with myself.”

“Nervous?” Matt asked, pressing the issue. He got a nod from Lisk and saw some of the others looking their way too. “Yeah, me too.” Matt admitted, not failing to notice the looks on the commandos faces.

Matt decided now was a good time for reassuring them. He took out the bottle that he had gotten from Venri earlier. The dwarf was now almost constantly lurking around him, never too far for long. He took a pull and passed it to Lisk. “Look, other than a couple of them, there aren’t many much stronger than those mutants we fought the other night. We have a plan for those above twenty and by my count there are only six in E grade.”

Matt paused while he watched the vodka make its way around the commandos. “If you want power you will have to push yourselves. Don’t be stupid and try to take on something you shouldn’t but stack the deck when you do.” He noticed that he had drawn the full group, including Rohm and Tobias.

“I am sure we will have injuries tomorrow, maybe even a few dead but it’s nothing we wouldn’t have if we just sat within the walls. We can either go out on our terms or wait for something bigger and stronger to come along.” Once more pausing, he decided to try some gallows humor and looked to the pilots standing in a huddle. “Look on the bright side. When a pilot dies, we at least have a chance of crushing the monster with our construct.“

A few chuckles from the pilot group. “We have people with healing abilities, we have potions, we have an absolutely stupid amount of firepower. There isn’t much more we can do to make this any easier for us.”

Lisk was looking better, weather that was from the vodka or the talk, Matt wasn’t sure. “Thanks, I guess there isn’t anything to do but go do it.” He commented.

“Bet you can’t drop ten with a single shot.” Matt said, smiling a little. “Only one barrel though, using both at once is cheating.”

After that it was a free for all of bets and wagers among the commandos. Matt even saw a couple notebooks come out and actual bets placed. I wonder if there is a bookie class Matt thought to himself. He wasn’t worried about his group, but he did wonder what price the rest of the classers would pay.

Matt watched the rabbit go. He had to give it to the wolfen woman, she was fast, like really fast. He assumed she had put most of her free points into dexterity and endurance or had a special ability. The horde of bugs couldn’t even get close as she sprinted for the top of the ridge. It would seem that she had done a particularly good job of pissing off the insects.

When they had come up with the plan, Rohm had been the one to suggest getting someone to lure them and she volunteered. Then came the hard part of how they would aggro a whole bunch at once. That’s where Matt came in, well some of his equipment.

He offered up a grenade and the wolfen girl had been suspicious at first but quickly agreed after Matt gave a demonstration. She asked how many she could have which turned out to be 2. When Matt tried to generate more, they didn’t last, the oldest one fading away after a few seconds. Still, she held them reverently, like a gift from the gods. Matt had a suspicion that she would have some interesting class options at E grade.

The plan had called for the classers and some crafters to set up a defensive line at the top of a ridge uphill of the mines. The area had been picked because there was a steep ridge on 2 sides forming an almost 90-degree angle to each other with the center being extremely steep. While the majority of the classers had set up on one ridge, Matt and most of the pilots had the other, acting as the heavy support element. The only ones missing were Jess and Lisk who were close support for the classers incase something big focused on them. Also, the massive shotgun was just too effective to not be used.

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Sure enough, the woman made it to the line, sliding into a trench line a hundred meters ahead of the fastest of the bugs. Just as the first of them made the base of the ridge, the entire trench stood and opened fire. A hail of large bore rounds streaked down into the mass of insects, wreaking havoc amongst them.

The bugs were not to be out classed, and a group leapt into the air, attempting to fly up and into the line. The problem was, none of them had the momentum to reach high enough and were quickly blasted out of the sky by a single shot from a very large shotgun.

“Damnit, looks like I lost that bet.” Matt muttered to himself. The rest of his commandos opened up with their weapons, picking choice targets among the masses. The machineguns were especially effective and chewed through the tough chitin of the larger bugs with anything in the crossfire being shredded by default.

Of all the bugs that came swarming after the rabbit, none were above level 20. There were still a lot of them, but the vast majority were under level 15, meaning that the higher leveled ones would be sitting on the objective. Matt didn’t see any particularly large ones in the swarm and decided to just let the classers handle them for now. They could use the levels more than the pilots at this moment.

Venri had also dismounted to join the others which freed Matt of his new hanger on. He was glad to be rid of her for the time being. While she never outwardly said anything, he could feel the changes in her aura when they were moving, and it distracted him. He needed to be focused for the next part.

After a short 10-minute slaughter, all the bugs that had been lured into the ambush had been killed. Teams were walking the field to put down any that were wounded or just faking it. The occasional shot confirmed that there were at least some. Matt moved down to talk with Rohm about the next phase.

Rohm had his front hatch open and was talking to Jess when Matt approached with the rest of the pilots. “Matt. The first half was flawless.” He paused before adding. “Well, nearly. It would have been better if we got more of the heavies lured out.”

“No kidding but we took down around three quarters of them?” Matt estimated, looking at the shredded piles of chitin and ichor. “The second part is going to be much more dangerous for the classers.”

“Well, its all-volunteer from here.” Rohm looked at the gathered classers. “Anyone that doesn’t want to take on the heavies, move to the outer cordon position.” He called out to the mass of people. Around half of them began moving away, headed toward their assigned patrol paths.

The remaining classers were all above level 20 with a couple being in E grade. Naturally every one of the commandos was present. It made Matt somewhat proud to see them still eager to fight after seeing what was in store. Even Venri was taking part for some reason.

“Lets move then. We don’t have all day and I am sure they know we are here.” Matt said, closing his hatch.

Matt stared out at the huddled mass of insects. There were all sorts gathered tightly around the guardian. He made out giant beetles, mantis, centipedes and more. All of them gathered around one central figure that Matt would see slaughtered before the day was out.

“Let the crusade begin. In the emperor’s name, let none survive” Matt muttered.

“What emperor?” Van asked.

“Huh? Oh, its nothing, just from some fiction from earth.” Matt told him. He then looked over to Rohm’s construct and gave the signal. The signal was him leveling his autocannon at the group of insectoid monsters.

Rohm and his contingent of pilots all moved off to the flank. Taking the higher ground to the south while Matt and his commandos stayed on the west side of the mine. He had his classers plan on following after the constructs, setting up a skirmish line once they made it within range. He wasn’t concerned about them accidently shooting him or the other pilots due to the armor but also because they would draw their own attention.

The plan for this part was for Rohm and crew to initiate from the high ground, using the slope as a defensive position. Once they had drawn some of the bugs away, the commandos would advance into the broken formation. Matt wanted the group to spread out toward Rohm and thin their ranks for his team to attack.

Matt was planning on taking on the guardian by himself and had told the others to not interfere and to focus on their targets first. He would of course take out any targets of opportunity along the way but that was just happy coincidence. Echo was going to act as a chaser for any that tried to run and, even now, was prowling farther down the slope in case any came his way.

A few moments later, Matt heard Rohm on the radio. “Recon this is Bulwark. We are in position. Break.” Rohm paused a moment, probably looking up and down his line to be sure his team was ready. “Beginning barrage in five, four, three.” He dropped the call and matt finished the count in his head.

“Recon, on me.” Matt said over his private team channel. Just as he finished, the first round hit the mass of insects. It was inert, but the heavy iron bullet punched through several bugs regardless before it impacted dirt. The bugs barely had time to turn before the second one hit. They began to move as the third shell struck.

Rohm was having his squad stagger shots, getting one down range every second. It was a good strategy for a consistent barrage when he only had 6 pilots. Matt held his ground as the swarm began to move toward Rohm. The nearly 300 insectoid monsters started clambering up the slope but had hundreds of meters to go before getting to their goal.

Matt watched the bugs begin moving, only a few had been completely killed. Most of the insects had decently high defense and constitution, thus able to survive the initial impacts. As the slower of the beasts began making their way up the hill, the mass began to thin. Once a long line had been formed and Matt could see the guardian, they moved.

Matt began advancing, the auto cannon tucked under the arm of the mech. His other pilots advanced alongside, forming a shallow chevron. Directly behind that formation was the classers, led by the commandos. They advanced a few hundred meters at a walking pace, so they wouldn’t draw so much attention. Once they closed to within a few hundred meters of the outer parts of the swarm, the assault began in earnest.

“Bulwark, this is recon. Lift fires. Lift fires.” Matt said over the radio and watched the impacts of the incoming rounds move to the front of the swarm that approached Rohm’s group. With the way clear and not having to worry about a 2-kilo chunk of steel hitting him, he fired.

The opening salvo from the pilots was devastating. Massive 50-millimeter rounds, giant iron ball bearings and 25-millimeter explosive rounds all impacted the flank of the swarm. Carapace cracked, bugs burst, and streams of ichor went in every direction. Matt fired his first magazine of standard rounds, letting them pierce before exploding. The pilots opened with the solid shot except for Lisk, who used the larger variant of his shot shells.

They had begun engaging from nearly 300 meters away, advancing at a steady pace into the confused mass of insects. The moment Matts first magazine ran dry, he switched tactics and loaded a magazine of his new ammunition but with a twist. He used unstable imbuement on every round in the magazine and fired what amounted to high velocity fragmentation grenades, devastating the smaller insects and stunning many of the largest ones.

Matt dropping his first magazine had been the signal for the classers to set up a defensive line and fire on targets of opportunity. He heard the staccato bursts mixed in with the distinct boom of the single shot rifles. From his rear facing camera, he saw all 4 of the machineguns set up on the far edges of the gunline and watched their rounds arc out and stitch lines on the swarm.

The combination of large bore cannon fire and the classers opening up with everything they had left the swarm in tatters. Every part of the bug formation was hit, and the vast majority were put down in the opening salvo. Only the largest and highest-level ones managed to survive besides a few on the opposite side of the attack. The pilots were within 200 meters and began to switch tactics.

“Cannister. Cannister. Cannister.” Matt called over the radio. He repeated the command over the radio since the constructs had little to no sound proofing and the gunfire was deafening. He switched to his normal ammunition as he focused on the guardian. In return the monster seemed to zero in on him, ignoring the small arms fire from the classers as it closed.

Amalgamated Insectoid Guardian. Level 40

The creature was indeed an amalgamation. It had the carapace of a beetle, shiny and iridescent in the sunlight with a large horn on its head. There were mandibles like on soldier ants sticking out of its armored face, snapping as it came closer to Matt. The legs of the monster were the most unsettling part. Each of its 8 legs ended in many long feelers that gripped and grabbed at the ground as it scuttled forward.

Matt put a long burst into the creature face, every round imbued with his plasma. His goal wasn’t to kill it out right, since he doubted it would be possible, but to create an opening, literally. The rounds flashed across the distance and struck true, smashing their way into the soft interior but otherwise doing little damage. Thankfully Matt had a plan.

The next dozen rounds were not imbued, instead relying on their natural armor piercing and explosive capability. A feature that worked rather well as blueish purple ichor began splashing out with every impact. The guardian hissed and let out a screech that vibrated the air with such intensity, tree limbs shattered under the assault. Matt could see in his rear camera that the classers had begun to fall back, leaving the fight to the pilots.

Matt changed magazines as the guardian stopped its sonic attack and charged, lowering its horn at him. He let it close and once it was within 25 meters, he teleported, leaving a searing line of plasma in his wake. The guardian ran right into the arc of plasma which burned deeply in the joints of its carapace but failed to do much more.

“Bummer.” Matt muttered.

“Indeed, it would seem the shell is harder to crack than we first thought.” Van added.