Chapter 280. The Apocalypse Begins.

The last day was ticking down before the final stage. While the consortium was a bust with its price gouging, my marketplace came through for me with a few more offerings. Even better, I unlocked a new feature based on my performance.

Your faction has taken the route of trade over brutal conquest. In response to your benevolent rule, both factions in your confederation will offer limited access to their markets so that you may hire additional forces for the coming apocalypse.

It was nice to get some kind of bonus right before the end. I looked up my marketplace and those of the elves and humans to see what was offered. It seemed that a big fight was in store, as the only things offered were more mercenary contracts.

Marketplace Mercenary Contracts. Other kobold empires offer the use of their forces for a fee. Once hired, these mercenaries will remain for the entire duration of the challenge or until destroyed. Due to the dire nature of the threat that you are about to face, these forces are offered at a substantial discount.

1. Disciples of the Dragon Lord. A squad of 10 kobold fanatics, dedicated to the protection of your home cavern. These kobolds are armed with explosives that will detonate automatically when near a foe. The explosive will kill the disciple holding it, but it will also unleash a small cloud of deadly gas. This cloud will harm any living beings that it touches.

2. Prison Fodder (4). Led by cruel overseers, this mob of kobold prisoners has agreed to fight instead of rotting away in a cell for the rest of their short lives. Poorly armed and trained, these kobolds are only a threat in mass numbers.

3. Kobold Sniper Team. A highly trained team of 5 snipers from an advanced kobold empire. Armed with magically enhanced crossbows, these kobolds are experts at stealth, and can fire upon most foes without revealing their presence.

4. Barrier Lizard. Specially bred by the same advanced civilization that offers the sniper team, this massive lizard will greatly enhance your defensive forces. Heavily armored, capable of breathing fire, and mounting several weapons platforms, this reptilian engine of destruction is ready to serve.

Village of Millstone, mercenary offerings.

1. Warband (1). This squad of human mercenaries are Tier 0, Rank 5 and equipped with a variety of weapons and armor.

2. Ballista team (1). A powerful ballista with a crew of five human warriors to man it. This weapon and its team are considered Tier 0, Rank 7.

Zalbairn Forest Elves, mercenary offerings.

1. Archer Squad (1). A squad 10 elvish archers that are Tier 1, Rank 0.

2. Elvish Mage. An elvish mage of Tier 1, Rank 5 that has a variety of powerful forest magics at her disposal.

There was quite a bit to choose from, but oddly enough, the offerings from my own marketplace didn’t seem to be rated by the system as far as tier and rank. The system did disclose the tier and rank for my allies and while they weren’t super powerful, they were all good enough to help in a large battle.

With all the caravans flowing into my marketplace, and the hefty discount the system was offering me, I was able to purchase everything my marketplace had in inventory. Sadly, once I made the purchase, the tab for mercenary contracts greyed out, and when I tried to select it again, the system said the coming apocalypse was going to prevent any additional purchases.

The kobold prison fodder was a familiar pick, and though they weren’t exactly a deadly foe, having four additional squads of them really bolstered my numbers. The disciple fanatics were exactly as described, kobolds with a crazed look in their eyes that hugged large, spherical bombs to their chest. I’d have to be really careful where I chose to deploy them.

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My new kobold sniper team held themselves like an elite force. They wielded oversized crossbows that looked like they should be too big for them to use, but the kobolds handled them with ease. Each wore dark leather armor, and as long as they were not moving, they disappeared from view, and I could only track them through the headquarters interface.

For the barrier lizard, it didn’t physically arrive, and instead, I could summon it when needed. I was pretty much a fixed defensive position, and I was informed that I should have troops nearby to man the weapons on it if I wanted the full benefit of the beast. Much like the watchtowers, the barrier lizard could only be summoned at certain points in my empire. Mainly, I could summon it outside any friendly village, either of the two cavern entrances, at most crossroads, or even outside my headquarters.

Paying for all my kobold marketplace offerings tapped out most of my funds, but the mercenaries my confederates had in their marketplaces were much more affordable than the consortium. I had a good feeling that the funds would be here to purchase everything the humans and elves offered before the apocalypse kicked off.

My own forces weren’t idle while the apocalypse approached. More and more workers were filing through the barracks for militia training, and we were able to get all the warrior squads fully equipped and trained up to the rank five barracks standard. When all was said and done, I had 20 kobold warrior squads at my command and most, if not all, of my workers would be able to answer the call to battle as militia.

The town of Shoremarch has completed its evacuation. Not all its people were able to escape by sea, and they request permission for the remainder to make their way overland, through your territory. Do you wish to grant the remaining population of Shoremarch free travel through your territory? Y/N.

I was a little bit surprised by the system prompt, and I couldn’t see any reason to deny their refugees’ free passage. Hearing from the town reminded me to check on the supplies they’d gifted to us. A quick check showed that the wagons of supplies that they had left for me earlier were almost to the cavern, which given the size of the wagons, should grant me enough resources to finish purchasing all the remaining human and elf mercenaries.

In response to your history of fair trade, and your generous offer to allow safe passage, the leaders of Shoremarch have gifted their city to the Kobold Empire. A small remnant of people has refused to leave the city and will continue to work there for you. Protect them from hostile forces and you will be granted a small stream of revenue from the city.

With that announcement, I now had vision over the entire city of Shoremarch. It was at least five times larger than my cavern, and with almost all the population gone, it looked like a ghost town. Only a few people moved through the streets, and most of those looked terrified, yet determined.

A small flashing light on the headquarters interface directed my attention to a mountainous area at the far end of the map. A portal appeared there, showing me where the refugees had to travel to reach safety. The poor refugees were going to have to traverse pretty much the entire length of the zone to escape.

Turning my attention back to the nearly abandoned city, I had some decisions to make. While I didn’t have the forces to properly garrison such a large place, I couldn’t leave it completely undefended. I decided to organize a small force to occupy the city and keep its resources flowing into my silos.

I sent a squad of the human mercenaries, a squad of my kobold warriors, and two of the prison fodder squads to defend Shoremarch. In addition, I sent my last case of goblin mines, and a team of workers to lay them with the reinforcements. I still wasn’t sure where the final minefield would go but having them on the other side of the map would allow me the chance to deploy them where needed.

Time ticked down as the reinforcements began their march, aided by the improved roads I’d created. The final supply wagons from Shoremarch that my kobold workers had hauled also reached my cavern. The supplies they carried granted me enough resources to finalize the purchase of the elf and human mercenaries.

The human mercenaries were another squad identical to the ones I’d purchased from the consortium, nothing special, but a solid unit compared to the threats I’d faced previously. Their ballista team was just as described, and for now, I assigned them to the main entrance of the cavern, supplementing the defenders on the wall there.

My new elf archers were also well equipped and looked like they could handle themselves in a melee brawl as well. Each wore a well-crafted suit of leather armor and had a thin-bladed sword at their side as a backup to their longbows. The elf mage I chose to attach to my elite dragonkin.

The mercenary squad of dragonkin were my most powerful force, other than the actual dragon. Having a mage added to ranks would help protect them and make the best use of any healing magic the elf mage might have at her disposal. My newly hired mercenaries left from the respective villages I’d purchased them from and began to march toward my cavern.

When the countdown to the apocalypse ended, the system announced what form my doom would take.

The final phase of the arena challenge has begun. Waves of enemies will spawn in various locations to assail you. Their final goal is the destruction of your headquarters which will trigger the end of your arena challenge. Your ranking will be based on how long you survive compared to your fellow challengers. A rank tracker can now be accessed in your interface.

Stand ready, an ancient, long forgotten threat has awoken and is hungry to consume all life on the world above.