“And the morning and the evening were the sixth day.” The complex feelings in me seemed to call for that kind of language.

“Tower Master?” Carousel looked over at me from under her enormous hat.

“I’ve been here six days. And I think I have… changed. Six very long days.”

I didn’t have the time to change the layout of the battlefield too radically. That would happen tonight, after the wave. I decided that a good first-day job for Rikka would be to pick off a wave straggler and keep them alive for the exploit. I suppose that’s animal cruelty, but since the monsters existed to cause genocide in the most painful and horrific ways possible, I was okay with it. Like pouring gasoline into a hornet’s nest. Coexistence, like peace, was never an option.

No, a radical reshaping was impossible, but two new Judiths, a heap of resource packs and a scepter that improved efficiency meant I was able to make some tasty improvements. My personal favorite? We extended the… I’m going to call it the Redoubt. I have too many walls. “Big, concrete covered, dirt and rubble filled wall with triangular bastions sticking out of it for cross fire from ranged units,” is a real pain to try to say concisely.

Anyway, we built the sucker an in-law’s suite, in the form of a little arrowhead shaped island about forty paces from the center of the Redoubt. It wasn’t particularly big, but what it was, was a thirty foot high platform with crenelations to hide behind. We got the dirt for it by digging even more dirt out of the forest floor, making the dry moat in front of the Redoubt even deeper and wider. Then, just to prevent any little accidents or enthusiastic climbing, the Judiths wrapped the whole thing in concrete.

I decided to call it the Bastion. Which was also confusing given the bastions on the Redoubt, but I was running out of names for things, and it made sense to me.

It was beautiful. Access was by ladders, and we removed the ladders after we got the troops installed. For our trial run, I stuck Kim to draw aggro and buff, the Blue Roses to buff Carousel and debuff, Carousel for DPS and control, Maria in case of accident or emergency, and Rakim for DPS and to keep any sneaky murder baboons off my summons. A job she was ably supported in by my lovely ninja sniper, Miyuki.

It… didn’t feel great sticking so many people out where I fully intended them to get surrounded by monsters. I still had the instinct to keep everyone where I could reach them, as though somehow I could save them if they got into trouble. Which was nonsense, of course. In battle I was a liability, not an asset. My job was to give orders, not fight. Which led to the final innovation, and the one I wanted least.

My new balconies counted as part of my Throne Room. Which meant that I could now stand up on the balcony and give orders ‘from the Throne Room,’ and therefore enjoy the efficiency buff from my new scepter. Oddly enough, none of my summons, including my Six Star summons, could walk out onto the balcony. They quite literally bounced off an invisible wall. So much for a seriously elevated snipers nest. But you do what you can.

Logically, I should stand in the safest place and give orders. Logically, this was the safest place to give orders from. Logically, if my scepter gave an efficiency buff to people obeying my orders (and watching the Judiths sling dirt around like they were fanning smoke, it was a chunky buff) then I should stand where I could use it. But I hated it. It felt cowardly. It felt like running away but not to anywhere safe.

Sometimes logic is just garbage.

“Alright, drop the last stakes and let’s get to it.” We didn’t have time for any big modifications to the looping murder track, but I did have the watch towers moved around to the back of the Tower, out of harm's way. As for the looping path itself, we actually shortened it a bit, removing a few loops to make more room for the new bastion.

The logic was pretty straightforward- Carousel. Since day one, “Slow them down, shoot them up.” has been the plan. Well, Final Revel couldn’t be cast very often, but when it was? It slowed every affected monster down to a crawl, debuffed them, and would eventually kill them. Better still, it made them go around in circles, and sometimes even attack each other.

Sticking Carousel where she could affect a maximum number of monsters just made sense. And, of course, the bastion was within easy reach of the Redoubt’s walls and Pomoroi’s cannons. The Mikas would be shooting disoriented fish in a barrel.

Still, it would be silly to neglect all the existing earthworks. They would slow down and kettle up our uninvited guests. And they would give Versai lots of room to work. Her speed-hack exploit was the stuff of Vitamix dreams. Just had to make sure there was plenty in the chute being fed to her, and nothing sneaking in behind.

Did this arrangement mean limiting my firing arcs for Pomoroi? Yes, somewhat. She would have a hard time reaching into some parts of the murder track the monsters would be running. Still, I think the tradeoff was more than worth it.

Time to find out if I was right. The last of the stakes was hammered home in the moat, hopefully slowing down the monsters even more.

The sun set like it was running away. The bright, full moon rose, ready to shine down on slaughter. Ours, or theirs. Either way, it was coming. Now.

“Rache, Rikka. Find them, and mark them for the Artillery.”

“Chromed Lightning!”

“They’ll never see me coming.”

I nodded, watching them head out. Rache ripped away on her ghost horse/motorcycle, and Rikka… just kind of vanished. I don’t really know how to describe it. I was looking straight at her, then she passed under a tree branch and wasn’t there any more. No little optical shimmer, no melding into the shadows. Just gone.

“Not Four Stars for nothing. A lot slower than Rache, but a lot faster than… basically everyone else who isn’t using an exploit. Nifty.” I shook my head and refocused. “Artillery, engage targets as soon as they are in range. All Ranged attackers, fire at will. Kim, Blue Roses, keep ‘em buffed. Medics, keep them healthy. Versai, hit ‘em as soon as they enter the track. Try to pile up as many as you can, before staging a fighting retreat. Carousel, use Glass Arrow as much as you can, but DO NOT use Final Revel until ordered.”

I got a chorus of replies, which I mostly ignored. Eyes on the forest now. Time to see if I was successful in turning that loot into combat effectiveness.

There were a few minutes of stillness. Then out of the dark forest, a plume of silvery smoke rose.

“That’s Rache. Must be a couple kilometers out.”

“Radz raining death.”

I nodded. Outside of Pomoroi’s range in just a few minutes? Definitely Rache. There was a chunk noise, then a woosh. A few seconds later, a BOOM rattled the forest. The sound still made me flinch, even after hearing it so many times. Then two more silvery threads rose from the woods. Still a long way out, but closing fast.

I frowned. The forest was as dark and dense as always. I had seen the trees being scythed down by artillery many times, but somehow, the forest didn’t look ragged or pockmarked by the explosions. Now… just why was that? Did the wood regrow unless it had been harvested by workers or something? If so, it was hundreds of years worth of growth in hours. Which would be… actually not weird for this place.

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The Pomorois started firing. The effect of the Steelheart Uniform was immediately obvious- they were shooting a bit faster than normal, and I swear the boom were louder. Still too early to see the effectiveness myself, but… I sighed and shook my head. I swept my eyes around the battlefield, trying to see if I was missing anything. So far, the answer was no. The battle was still out in the woods.

Was there… I squinted hard, over by one of the long walls that was meant to keep enemies in the murder track. They were just rammed earth, not meant to hold off a bombardment. Really, it was about using the monsters “Always take the shortest unimpeded path to the Tower Master” instincts against them. So long as there was a recognizable barrier and a clear path, they would take the path and avoid the barrier. But did the wall look a little… torn up, about half way along on the right?

“LIGHT THE STEALTH DETECTORS!” I roared.

Those resource packs did have blue magnesium in them. But not a lot of it. Worst of all, the detectors were consumables, and once lit, couldn’t be switched off.

Along the Redoubt and the Bastion, black iron lanterns were lit. Blue light pierced the darkness. Highlighting the dozens of murderous creatures boiling in from over the wall. They were coming from behind and to the side of the Bastion. They literally caught Miyuki looking the wrong way.

“I see the snake hidden in the grass!”

A little late, Miyuki!

I lost count of how many there were. They knew they had been spotted, rushing towards the Redoubt, some diverting to try and climb the high walls of the Bastion.

Good luck with that- I had the Judiths smooth out the concrete extra special. Say ‘Hi’ to your cousins in Hell for me.

“Carousel, Final Revel! Pomorois, target the closest enemies!”

“Yes, My Lord!”

“Pomoroi, by Imperial Decree!”

The horrible things were boiling in, mutilated faces and stumpy bodies that moved far faster than I wanted to believe was possible. Worst of all, I knew that I wasn’t seeing all of them. My detectors couldn’t be everywhere. Final Revel took time to be cast, and it didn’t last forever. I wanted to set it off at just the right moment to maximize the effect. So much for that idea.

“Never fear, Mika is here!” The snap of crossbows rang out, as Corporal Mika got her squad in action. Cold eyes peeked out from under floppy white berets, pulling triggers and dropping bodies. The blue lights made the murder baboons really pop against the darkness. At this range, the Mikas could hardly miss. One, maybe two bolts, and you had a dead monster.

They had plenty of time to aim. Kim was stealing the show.

The black suit glittered in the moonlight, hidden crystals in the fabric bouncing the white and blue around the clearing in brilliant sequins of color. Her magician's wand spun and flashed, anointing the attacks of her comrades with fire. She lit up the whole damn clearing.

I had wondered how a suit could increase the aggro range. Now I knew. I understood why the buffs generated more aggro too- you couldn’t help seeing the little flame-sparks falling down onto Miyuki’s bow or Rakim’s gun. She was drawing aggro like a champ.

Can’t say it was just like I planned. I’d happily settle for ‘close.’ Things got a little hairy for a moment, but ultimately, the monsters couldn’t climb the smooth, vertical surface in the little time they had. Pomoroi was a damn surgeon with her cannon. At this range, her ‘balls’ left smeared murder baboons on the dirt. They were so densely clustered together, six dead were a minimum, and a dozen was average.

Oh Great God Pachinko, please bless us with a cannon upgrade pack that includes grapeshot and canister. If you do, I will collect a thousand pebbles to throw down the staircase in your honor. Amen.

The Blue Roses spun and danced, singing their wailing spell as Carousel chanted her own magic. The two sounds blending together and seeming to fog the air around them. Filling it with their own glittering, dreamlike filaments of magic.

The narcotic cloud dulled the eyes of the monsters so completely, I could see it from my balcony. Their muscles slowly relaxed. Their eyelids lowered. They began dancing and jerking around, sometimes smashing into each other or tearing at each other to try and snap out of it. None of them managed it. Little sparkles of four-colored light began collecting on their fur like pollen. The debuffs from the Blue Roses turned sneaky monsters into garish monsters.

The rest of my summons turned them into dead monsters. A noise yanked my attention to the other side of the battlefield. The main body of the force- the armored monsters and the ordinary kind, had arrived. And only Versai was there to stop them.

“Radz! Stop firing into the woods and focus fire on groups that reach the clearing! Aim for the biggest clumps first!”

“Radz raining death!”

Slow! Too damned slow. Radz’s rate of fire had improved with time, but my store-brand Wehrmacht mortar operator was still crushingly slow in the heat of combat.

Fortunately, Versai was fast. Very fast. And thanks to the unnatural magic behind our bodies, she never got tired. Two days ago, she might be looking at this wave of monsters and expecting to meet her new boss shortly. Now? Now she just saw a target rich environment.

Versai led with a straight downward chop on a drooling, fang sprouting face. The wide, too human hands came up, trying to block the sword or maybe grab her, but it was for nothing. The attack sped up mid swing. Versai was suddenly at the monster’s chest, as the sword bit into its skull. She smashed her shield into its chest, knocking it back into the next monster, then a laser fast thrust found a gap in the limbs and an unguarded throat to tear open.

It wasn’t going exactly to plan, but the plan was working. My aces were in position, the various buffs and debuffs were taking effect, and the new Bastion was working fantastic.

My chronic shortage of direct damage was still a problem, but the aggro drawing power of Kim stacked leathally well with Carousel’s Final Revel. If I can’t get more shots off in a minute, I would have to give my people more minutes to shoot. Slow them down, shoot them up. Version 6.

Versai was falling back, as she should be. The monsters were piling into the track, armored variants mixed in with the ordinary monsters. Making nice big clumps for Radz to obliterate.

There was an explosion next to the Bastion. I didn’t see what happened, but something blew up enough that it sent roughly half a Murder baboon up high enough to knock out one of my stealth breaking lights.

“Damn!” They were consumables, and wouldn’t have lasted for the whole battle regardless, but… there were a hell of a lot of murder baboons on the field right now, and it was insane to expect Miyuki to kill them all. I needed those lights!

“I’ll have to protect them somehow. Iron cages or something, I don’t know.” My attention was wrenched back to Versai. She was falling back faster now, as the monsters were starting to crowd up the walls and claw at her from every angle. She could keep ahead of the attacks, but she didn’t want to force them over the wall and let them get behind her. It was a tricky balance.

I heard the wailing, eerie song of the Final Revel wind down. They could only keep it going for so long. How long until they could use it again? I couldn’t remember. Longer than I would like, no doubt. “Carousel, use Final Revel again as soon as you can!”

“Yes, My Lord!”

The surviving monsters around the base of the Bastion were badly wounded by the spell. They must have been at the edges or come in late, as the rest were already reduced to piles of gore. Kim was keeping their attention nailed down, as the Mikas and the Pomorois were ripping through the masses. Miyuki was picking off monsters with authoritative ease, while Rakim was focused on sweeping the top of the Bastion. No monsters had made it up, and she aimed to keep it that way.

Two more explosions went off next to the Bastion. Fire, and sprays of rotted meat went flying. Were there more explosive murder baboons in the mix? We had seen them in Gradden March. It would make an awful sort of sense to be seeing them here, now. Well, they didn’t really change anything, except maybe for Versai. They were quite free to blow themselves up as much as they liked. Just so long as they did it far away from my troops.

Hmm. Better warn her. “VERSAI! MURDER BABOONS ARE AT THE BASTION, AND SOME OF THEM EXPLODE! DO NOT ENGAGE WITH THEM IF POSSIBLE!”

“YES, TOWER MASTER!”

I kept my eyes moving. The detectors were starting to gutter a bit. They wouldn’t last much longer. The murder-baboon horde looked like it was thinning out, but that’s not really reassuring when you are dealing with stealth units. Nothing coming from the other direction, though, so that was good.

When we got this breach under control, I’d remind Miyuki to focus on the other side. It was really not ideal to have used the detection lights at the very start of the wave, but needs must.

No idea what I would do for the next wave, but that’s Future Me’s problem.

“KIM!” I heard a scream and my head whipped back to the Bastion. Two of the baboons had made their way up and were on Kim. Clawing at her. Ripping her apart. The suit shredded into rags, then nothing. Rakim spun and let her rifle rip. The fireball was blinding in the night.