Last Gun Alchemist

Veda slowly raised his hand, his eyes fixed ahead as the Ground Apes drew closer to the first marked line. The mark had been carved into the earth earlier by Ezra himself, a signal point. The moment the beasts crossed it; the first attack would begin.

The wind carried a faint tremor through the ground. It wasn’t loud, but it was there... like something heavy was coming, step by step, pressing against the earth. Closer, closer and closer.

Veda’s fingers tightened slightly. His arm stayed raised for a second longer, as if weighing the exact moment.

Then...

”FIRE!!!”

His voice tore through the air, the response was instant.

Huge boulders were launched forward with force. The mechanisms groaned as tension released, and the stones shot upward, spinning through the sky before descending like falling fragments of a broken mountain.

The air whistled as the boulders fell.

The first boulder slammed into a Lesser Ground Ape. The sound was heavy, like something breaking apart from the inside. Its body collapsed under the weight, bones cracking as the rock shattered into fragments that scattered across the battlefield.

Sharp pieces of stone flew outward, some struck nearby apes, some dug into the dirt. While some hit nothing at all.

The formation of the charging beasts wavered slightly, but only slightly.

As already explained, the Ground Apes were not a single uniform species. From the moment they were born to the point they reached their peak; they grew into different stages.

The smallest were called Lesser Ground Apes. These were still in their early growth stage—not quite babies anymore, but far from mature. Even so, they stood between six to twelve meters tall, their bodies rough and heavy, their movements aggressive and wild.

Behind them were the Large Ground Apes, their teenage stage. These ones were bigger, stronger, and more controlled. Their height ranged from fifteen to thirty meters, and they moved with a slower, more deliberate pace as if waiting to see what would occur to the rushing Lesser Ground Apes.

Then came the Giant Ground Apes, fully grown adults. Their bodies were massive, towering between thirty-five and sixty meters. Their presence alone carried weight, and even from a distance, one could feel it.

And finally... the rarest.

The Colossal Ground Apes. Seventy meters... sometimes over a hundred, creatures like that were disasters on legs.

Luckily...or maybe not yet...none had appeared, which sent a reliving wave to the group.

For now.

The Lesser Ground Apes dominated the front lines. Their numbers were overwhelming. They rushed forward without hesitation, their feet slamming against the ground in uneven rhythm, shaking loose dust and pebbles.

Behind them, the Larger and Giant ones followed, not rushing just watching, almost like they were waiting to see how the battle unfolds first.

Another boulder fell, then another.

Some apes tried to dodge. A few twisted their bodies at the last moment, barely escaping, but others weren’t fast enough. One got clipped on the shoulder and spun sideways, crashing into another. Both fell, rolling over the ground as more boulders came down around them.

Still...They kept coming.

”The Lesser Ground Apes have passed the first line!”

The boy holding the binoculars shouted, his voice tight, almost cracking.

Veda glanced at him and gave a short thumbs up. ”Alright...”

A small smile formed on his face, though his eyes didn’t soften.

”Now let’s see what Ezra prepared.”

The first of the Lesser Apes crossed fully into the marked zone.

One of them took another step forward...And suddenly...The ground beneath it gave way.

Its body dropped sharply.

”SKREEE! SKREEE! KRAAAH!”

A loud, tearing scream burst out as wooden stakes shot up from below, piercing straight through its body. The spikes drove in from multiple angles; chest, limbs, side...locking it in place.

Blood sprayed to the air then the ground.

The other apes behind it didn’t stop. No, they couldn’t.

One crashed into another, another stumbled. The momentum forced them forward, and soon multiple bodies tumbled into the pit together.

”SKREEE! SKREEE! KRAAAH!”

”SKREEE! SKREEE! KRAAAH!”

The cries overlapped, echoing across the battlefield.

Some apes tried to leap over the pit. One actually made it across...its body stretching forward mid-air, but the moment it landed...The ground beneath it collapsed again.

Another pit and the wooden spikes greeted it with open arms, blood splashed without control, like a fountain of water.

The battlefield began to fill with noise and smell.

A metallic scent spread through the air.

From above, it looked like the traps were working perfectly. One after another, the Lesser Ground Apes fell, pierced, crushed, or trapped, the whole group started pleased, but then...More appeared, from the far end, Lesser Ground Apes rushed past the waiting Larger and Giant Ground Apes, running aggressively, their number even more than before.

”My God...” Linda whispered, her hand trembling slightly as she held onto the edge of the wall. ”What is with this number...?”

”It’s way more than the first wave...” Tracy added, her eyes wide, barely blinking.

***

In the control and watch room of the Trial base, Silva sat quietly on her chair, one leg crossed over the other. The room was wide, guards roaming around holding documents and folders. Soft light from the six hologram screens flickered across her face, shifting with every movement on the battlefield being displayed.

Behind her, two female guards stood straight, their backs firm, their faces calm and empty as if nothing in the world could move them.

Silva lifted her cup slowly and took a small sip of coffee. The faint clink of porcelain sounded as she placed it back down on the table in front of her.

”They seem to be doing well,” she said.

Her eyes didn’t move from the six hologram screens floating in front of her. Each one showed a different battlefield, different groups, different strategies, different struggles. From above, the castles looked small compared to the swarm of Ground Apes pushing forward.

”They are proving to be promising leaders,” Freya added from the side.

She stood to Silva’s left, her hands loosely placed behind her back, her gaze fixed on one of the screens. A faint smile rested on her lips, calm but observant.

Silva let out a small breath through her nose.

”That bi... sorry.”

She paused, then smiled lightly, as if correcting herself amused her.

”That weird little sister of mine managed to get first place in the first wave... and it’s looking like she might get it again.”

Her lips curved, but for a very brief moment, her brows tightened.

It was small, so small that no one could have noticed what was something behind that smile.

The three chief guards standing around the room didn’t speak. They exchanged quick glances before looking forward again, their silence stretching just a bit longer than normal.

”I believe this time Young Master Veda will be able to get first place,” Raymond finally said, breaking the silence. ”With the way he set up his strategy... and the teamwork of his group.”

Silva’s eyes shifted slightly toward him. ”You think so?”

Her voice was light, almost playful, but it didn’t feel careless.

”But it won’t be easy.”

She picked up her cup again, turning it slightly in her fingers before taking another sip.

”Right now, the number of Ground Apes will keep increasing.”

She looked back at the screens.

On one of them, a group was already being pushed back. Their formation had broken, they started making mistakes and started panicking.

”They’ll start to wear down soon.”

A small smile returned to her face.

She watched quietly as some factions struggled under the pressure, their movements getting slower, less precise.

Raymond followed her gaze before speaking again.

”Then... what do you think they would need to defeat this wave?”

Silva didn’t answer immediately, she first set her cup down gently, then Her fingers tapped once against the surface of the table.

”It’s simple...”

She tilted her head slightly.

”But not simple at the same time.”

Her eyes narrowed just a little, focusing deeper on the battlefield.

”What they need now... is an MVP.”

Her smile widened.

”Someone...or a few people...who can actually stand their ground.”

Her voice lowered slightly.

”People who won’t slow down... who can fight better than the rest, even when everyone else starts to break.”

On one of the screens, a candidate was forced back, barely blocking an incoming attack.

Silva watched without blinking.

”Those kinds of people...”

She leaned her head against her hand, her elbow resting on the arm of the chair, her legs still crossed.

”...are the ones who will pass this Trial of Steel as the highest rankers.”

The room fell quiet again, only the faint hum of the holograms remained.

Then...

Silva spoke once more, her voice softer, but sharper.

”Now then...” Her eyes fixed forward. ”Children of Ashenlocke...”

A small pause.

”Show me your worth.”

***

The group stood watching as numerous Lesser Ground Apes fell straight into the pits filled with wooden stakes. From above, it looked like the traps were working perfectly, bodies dropping, spikes piercing through flesh, blood spreading across the dirt, but it didn’t last.

Because of their overwhelming numbers, the remaining Lesser Ground Apes didn’t stop advancing.

The ones behind kept pushing forward, their feet slamming hard against the ground as they ran. The pits that were once deadly traps quickly began to fill up. Bodies piled on top of each other, twisted limbs, crushed torsos, broken heads.

Soon, the pits weren’t traps anymore.

They became bridges. Bridges made of meshed bodies of dead Ground Apes.

The next wave of Lesser Ground Apes stepped onto the bodies of their own kind without hesitation. Their heavy feet pressed down hard, forcing the trapped ones deeper into the spikes.

Crack, crunch.

Some of the fallen apes were still alive, but they couldn’t move due to the spikes hooking them from moving, they could only scream.

”SKREEE...!”

The sound didn’t last long, another foot came down, then another.

The constant stomping crushed them completely, ending whatever was left.

That sight...It was too much, too gruesome to the watching eyes.

Some of the group members turned their faces away. Others froze where they stood, their hands trembling slightly.

One boy covered his mouth, another swallowed hard, a few felt something rise in their throat, but they forced it back down.

They didn’t have the luxury to react. Not here, not now.

”The Lesser Apes have made it into the second line!”

The boy on watch shouted, his voice strained as he lowered the binoculars slightly, then raised them again quickly as if afraid to miss anything.

Veda nodded once.

He didn’t waste time raising his hand, he gave a signal toward the Ak-47 squad.

The group moved almost at the same time, some adjusted their stance, some tightened their grip, others took slow, deep breaths, steadying their hands as they aimed forward.

The Lesser Ground Apes rushed ahead as they made their way into the second marked line, their movements were wild, uneven, aggressive.

Then...

Their feet stepped on something. Thin ropes, almost invisible.

Snap.

The sound was soft, but what followed wasn’t.

Hidden man-made mechanisms buried within the forest suddenly activated. Gears turned with a rough grinding sound, wood creaked under pressure, and then...A burst of arrows shot out.

From within the trees at the ground apes left side.

The air filled with sharp whistling sounds as wooden arrows flew toward the charging apes.

Some hit, but they didn’t do much.

The arrows struck their stone-like skin and either bounced off, broke in half or lodged shallowly without real damage.

Still...The real function of the trap was working

The front line of apes hesitated, some apes slowed, a few instinctively grabbed nearby Lesser Apes and dragged them in front, using them as shields.

The arrows kept coming. Relentless.

Some managed to find their targets.

An arrow pierced straight into the eye of one ape.

It let out a sharp, broken scream.

”SKREEE...!”

Its arms swung wildly, smashing into anything nearby. It struck another ape, sending it stumbling sideways, crashing into two more.

Another arrow slipped through the gap between bodies and buried itself into the chest of a shielded ape.

Then another, then another.

The ones being used as shields started to collapse under the constant hits.

The wayward formation broke further.

Veda watched everything. Carefully.

He already knew the arrows weren’t meant to kill, they were meant to break rhythm, to create the openings the shooting squad needed.

His eyes sharpened; his raised hand came down sharply.

”FIRE!!!”

His voice cut through everything.

BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG! BANG!

The gunfire erupted instantly, the recoil hit shoulders hard, muzzles flashed, empty casings dropped rapidly, hitting the ground with light metallic sounds.

The bullets tore through the air at high speed.

They struck. Again, and again.

It didn’t matter if an ape hid behind another, the continuous hit of the bullets moving with that much force, pierced through the bodies till it hit the apes hiding behind the other.

They pushed forward, tearing through flesh layer by layer. Each hit weakened them, forcing their bodies back slightly before the next bullet struck.

One ape staggered, another dropped to its knees.

Then...It fell.

More followed, their screams grew louder, more chaotic, echoing across the battlefield as they collapsed one after another.

Bodies hit the ground, dust rose, blood spread.

For a moment...It looked like they were winning, but more came, just as many.

No...

Even more.

The ones in front kept dying, but the ones behind didn’t slow down. They ran forward without hesitation, stepping over the fallen, ignoring the bullets tearing into them.

Like they didn’t feel fear, like they didn’t care.

The first line of traps had already been turned into a path of crushed bodies, the second line of arrows was ending and still...Their number hadn’t dropped.

Behind them, the Larger and Giant Ground Apes began to move, slowly. Each step heavier than the last.

”This isn’t looking good...” Veda muttered under his breath.

His eyes scanned the battlefield quickly.

They were killing them, but not fast enough.

There were too many of them moving in different angles and their numbers weren’t enough to cover everything properly.

”Tsk.”

He clicked his tongue and turned sharply.

”You two!”

The assigned messengers immediately stepped forward.

”Go and relay this message to Ezra,” Veda said quickly. ”Tell him to try and round things up from his side.”

He didn’t pause.

”Then head downstairs and inform the others. Ammunition needs to be ready for delivery...now.”

The two nodded without hesitation.

They turned and ran immediately, their footsteps quick and uneven against the ground as they disappeared into the lower levels.

”Veda!”

Nickolas ran up beside him, slightly out of breath.

”Should we start using the machine gun?” he asked, his voice tense.

Veda didn’t answer right away, his eyes remained locked on the battlefield ahead.

”No...Not yet” His voice was firm. ”We have to wait.”

His grip tightened slightly.

”That’s our major trump card.”

He narrowed his eyes.

”And honestly...”

His expression darkened.

”I don’t think the Larger and Giant Ground Apes are the only ones in this wave.”

Far, far in the distance... a large container which was the space the ground apes were coming out from, Something bigger shifted inside.