Derek, Leroy, and a very nervous John bailed out of the trucks, landing in the narrow driveway. They quickly took up defensive positions as the frontline of the horde slammed into them. Holding their shields high, they stabbed forward with their swords, trying to repel the advancing horde.
“Shields!” Janet bellowed from the roof of the truck as she shot arrow after arrow into the horde.
Carson and Adam stood below her with the mages as the three melee took the brunt of the attacks. The mages focused their power, while the healers cast magical shields on the melee fighters. The shields constantly formed and broke under the barrage of enemy attacks, unable to cover everywhere at once.
The mages pulled together an immense amount of power, led by James in a combined spell. The air popped with static electricity from the energy radiating off them.
“Firebomb!” James bellowed, warning the fighters.
A huge orb of fire so thick it might as well be plasma dropped a hundred feet into the horde. The explosion shook the ground with the amount of force it exerted. Flames washed over the fighters, putting their magical shields under stress.
Before the firebomb had even dissipated, James shouted, “Fortress!”
A stone fortress rose between the frontline fighters and the rest of the group. Everyone could take a moment to breathe, except for John, who was borderline panicking, being stuck between a horde of carnivorous monsters and a wall of stone. Those inside the wall raced up the ramp to the top of the twelve-foot-tall wall. Meanwhile, Phil moved to the back of the truck, his voice flowing with magic as he sang to empower his allies.
“♪Through the land of the ice and snow, the resilience of the north only knows. Our hearts are cold, but our spirits burn…♪” Phil’s voice was drowned out by the clamor of the horde, but he didn’t stop, his magic still flowing across the battlefield.
Confidence swelled as Phil’s magic wrapped around everyone. Even John was able to calm down. Janet fired arrow after arrow from the top of the wall, while gunshots rang out as Jenny, Michele, Olivia, and Michael lit into the horde without aiming. Carson and Adam were sweating as they struggled to maintain translucent shields over Leroy and John, who held the frontline. Derek unleashed his aura of bloodlust, causing the horde to freeze for a single instant.
Seizing the moment, James shouted, “Column of stone!” and released the spell he had been building with his sister Candace.
A stone column lifted the three fighters from the melee, swiftly cutting down the few monsters that clung to them. Adam and Carson immediately began healing the dozens of wounds the frontline had sustained. The pair of mages switched from defensive to offensive spells, joining the shooters by unleashing tremendous explosions. Their wide-area spells turned the horde into a bloody mess.
As soon as the healing was complete, Leroy leaped from the wall with his two-handed sword, his landing crushed a goblin under his feet and activated his class abilities. His muscles grew under his armor, and he bellowed out a warcry. Using every ounce of his training, he carved vast gaps in the horde with each swing of the oversized blade. Three kids, not even teenagers, were slaughtering hundreds of monsters outperforming their parents by miles.
John was back into the fight too as he leaped from the wall to keep the horde off the wall. Their fighting styles were vastly different. Leroy held nothing back. Every swing was heedless of personal safety and concern. However, Leroy always hovered around John, always taking the brunt of the horde’s attacks. John was only level five, and Leroy took that into consideration as he focused.
John’s style was the opposite of Leroy’s, preferring defense over damage. Every strike was precise and considered. Derek watched as Janet dumped arrow after arrow on the edges of the horde that tried to move around the fortress walls. Following her instructions, the gunners did the same. Adam and Carson’s shields had changed from constant recasting to a channeled affect, each focusing on one of the warriors.
There was a vast difference between how James and Candace used their magic, each using their own personal style of slaughter. Leroy cast complex multilayered spell arrangements that created death traps in the horde. A first layer of the spell killed everything in the area. The second layer created a formation of magic that fed on blood to create a blood storm, and the third layer pulled blood into the area where it was added to the second layer as a fuel source. Candace, the War Mage Adventurer, was all single layered spells that were relatively simple in design but massively affective. Spells of brute force, like chain lightning and fireball with enough mana for seven or more single castings, turned monsters into crisps.
Derek, pleased with the destruction, watched as dozens of monsters died every second and the cries of pain and dying from monsters would have driven them mad with the sheer volume if it wasn’t for the earplugs.
Derek drew his two-handed sword from his storage ring and leaped into the horde. The team, knowing their spells wouldn’t harm him significantly, didn’t worry about his safety while casting. Neither Adam nor Carson considered healing him. He dropped into the horde with an explosion of power. An elemental storm formed around him as every element started swirling around him.
He landed in a crouch, and as he stood, a ring of stone spikes spun around him. Shards of stone penetrated into trolls and goblins around him, then shot out of them in bloody sprays. A ring of ice formed outside of the stone layer, spinning in the same direction as ice shards turned monsters into porcupines. A circular stream of electricity filled in the gaps covering both layers. A ring of fire was the outermost ring roasting and burning the enemies at the edge of his storm.
Derek rushed through the horde, slaughtering dozens as he laughed with blood covering his face. His sword spun and cut through several at a time. The trolls lived through the magical onslaught to stab him with their wooden spears. But even the pain was passing as his Stone Skin skill prevented glancing blows. Derek pushed toward the back of the horde, slaughtering hundreds to maneuver the horde into a pincer attack.
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Goblins saw that they were dying by the hundreds and started to flee, but between Derek and Janet, not many managed to escape. Everyone had grown since the first minotaur and not even their impressive strength saved them from the household.
Slowly, the horde dwindled to nothing, unable to withstand the immense spell power from the makeshift wall. Derek, a bit disappointed, looked around for dying monsters to finish off. He hadn’t even needed to use his Ravager skill.
Derek glanced at the blood-covered warriors and up at the exhausted casters on the wall. “Status,”
A round of “Green” came back from everyone.
“Janet?” Derek asked.
“All clear. We had a few dozen goblins escape.”
“Good, get cleaned up and let’s get out of here.”
Derek used some water to wash himself. The blood and gore that had stuck to his armor were washed away, leaving his armor beaten and worn. He opened his interface while everyone rested.
Congratulations:
You have killed 67 goblins, 19 hobgoblins, 57 orcs, 16 trolls, 2 ogres and 1 minotaur and have assisted in killing 374 goblins, 12 goblin warriors, 8 goblin mages, 73 hobgoblins, 9 hobgoblin warriors, 232 orcs, 15 orc warriors, 3 orc shamans, 82 trolls, 56 ogres, 1 ogre warrior, and 28 minotaur.
Rewards:
23,432 experience
49,917 credits
Ouch, he lost half the experience and would have level if he had gotten full experience. He knew it would happen and was still disappointed. He had barely gotten wound up in the battle before it ended, leaving him wanting. Of course, the others needed the experience, but he wanted the combat. Seeing those reward windows after every battle was like a surge of dopamine that justified all the violence.
The household was exhausted. They all sat pretty much where they were. Leroy and John sat on dead orcs resting on their bodies. James and Candace were meditating on top of the fortress wall, working on restoring their mana. The only two that weren’t completely exhausted were him and Janet. She looked tired, but not as exhausted as the rest.
“That was fun.” Leroy smiled.
“Derek, you turned my son into a bloodthirsty monster.” Carson said from somewhere up on the wall.
“Nonsense.” Derek smiled while patting Leroy on the steel plated shoulder. “Did everyone get to level 15 or do we have to do this again?”
“Level 19!” Leroy grinned with a blood-covered smile.
Derek sent a splash of water over Leroy and John, causing them to squeal a little from the unexpected cold water. He threw them a towel and let them wipe the blood from their faces and battered armor.
John sighed heavily in obvious relief. “Level 17.”
“Level 17, here as well.” Adam stated.
“Level 19.” Janet reported.
“19 for me too.” Candace reported.
With that, they were ready to go. Adam and Michael were the two lowest levels and if they were at level fifteen, then they would be good for their evolution. It was no wonder they were so exhausted. That battle at level 4 would have been impossible if not for James and Leroy.
“James, send the fortress back into the ground. Everyone, get cleaned up. I hear there’s a stew waiting for us at home!”
That brought some smiles. Everyone loved a good hearty stew after a hard battle in the cold, wet air.
Derek turned back to the horde and looked over their dead.
“We got incoming. Looks like humans.” Janet called from the top of the wall.
He looked at her to check the direction, then followed her gaze, but couldn’t find them. A moment later, they came into view. Her vision must have improved from her class.
“Carson, I need you and Adam on PR duty,” Derek said. “Everyone else, prepare for combat.”
Carson and Adam hopped down off the wall, caught by Derek and Leroy before they could injure themselves. Unlike Leroy and John, they couldn’t make the twelve-foot jump safely.
James hurried everyone off the wall and sank the fortress back into the ground. The trucks were still running. Derek waited, watching Carson and Adam play diplomats. After a few minutes of conversation, Carson waved Derek over.
“What’s up?” Derek asked after taking off his helmet.
“Got a bunch of civilians who are holed up in various buildings.” Carson explained.
“So, what’s that have to do with us?” Derek asked.
“They were holding out for a hero.” Carson explained with a smirk.
“Sorry, guys, all you got was a bunch of assholes and kids.” Derek explained, waving his hand to indicate the three kids standing around their trucks.
One of said kids was a six-foot giant wearing armor and had a sword nearly his height hanging from his back on a harness.
Carson rolled his eyes. “Be serious.”
“Okay, what do you need from us?” Derek asked, looking the six men in the eye.
“Most of the monsters are gone, but it’s not safe here. Can we go back to the city with you?” One of them asked.
“I’m not going to tell you no, but we don’t have space for you. We can take you to the military base.”
“That works for me.” Another one said, which seemed to seal the deal for the rest of them.
“Get your stuff. I hope you have your own wheels. We don’t have room.” Derek instructed, without so much as empathy.
It took the townsfolk quite a while for them to get their stuff together. At that time, Derek told the crew to use their stat points up to thirty, but not to evolve. Several lost consciousness for a few minutes as their bodies tore themselves apart and put themselves back together. They went from level 4, with probably a maximum of 16 points in any one category, to thirty. Anything more than ten points at a time knocked people on their ass.
Before they departed, Leroy kept challenging John to arm wrestling matches. With similar strength levels, Leroy’s stronger body gave him a decisive advantage, winning each time. Having an opponent that he could actually beat, the winning spurred Leroy on until John relented after the tenth attempt. Both of them resembled professional athletes: muscular and lean. Indeed, Leroy might’ve been the most muscular nine-year-old in existence. Carson and Adam remained mostly quiet, seemingly lost in thought. The three mages, too, appeared contemplative, but instead of pondering the universe, they were immersed in magical experiments. Janet spent her time with Derek. Her body was athletically toned, suggesting she had reached her physical potential. However, she didn’t possess the bulkiness that the other two displayed.
To make use of the time, Derek sent everyone out on patrol to clean up lingering monsters. As hours passed, the townspeople reclaimed their homes from the monsters and packed their belongings. Five hours later, in mid-afternoon, Derek decided he had enough waiting, and they started heading out. They blew a long note with the airhorn then piled up in the truck and started rolling down the road.
Some of them started following, some were taking much longer than the limit Derek had given them. Derek didn’t care, as his empathy was practically non-existent. Carson hesitated, but Derek reminded him that they had been waiting for two hours longer than agreed.
Clearing the path for the convoy, they encountered a few lingering goblins. Michael took them out, practicing a spell James had taught him. They drove to the base, moving as fast as the terrain would allow. Since the path straight to the military base was cleared, they had no interference. The mages took out the monsters as they drove through downtown.
The trucks turned off the road, heading toward the military checkpoint and giving the people from the abandoned town a clear path to the gate. After a brief conversation with the shift leader to explain the situation, they returned home to a warm meal.