Too Stubborn to Die

Even before they arrived, dozens had gathered to welcome their reinforcements from the north. Hours prior, scouts from Dober had come to warn of their approach, as they had stopped there first, after hearing word of the battle.

Still, none around camp knew much about the World Alliance. It was odd that amongst the entourage of warriors who came to reinforce them, politicians were in tow. Though none were complaining when they spotted Ernest alongside.

Everyone had taken a look or two at the leaderboard, and they were familiar with Ernest, at least by name, and were more than eager to welcome another top ranker to their numbers.

At the head of the welcoming party were Bucky Hall, the former Marine, and Kirill Azovsky, his Spetsnaz partner overlooking the command of the defense.

“Good to meet you,” Bucky said, making sure to shake each of their hands, while Kirill was a little more standoffish.

“Well, ain’t this an operation,” Ernest whistled as he looked around at all the commotion. People rushed around nonstop, and there appeared to be work to do everywhere.

A lot had changed around the Oasis once Dober’s might started to pour into the settlement. Prior to their arrival, there had been little more than a few makeshift patches of corrugated steel plastering between the gaps of trailers surrounding the settlement, as some kind of wall. Now, however, stone walls surrounded everything, and countless turrets dotted them. Checkpoints had gone up everywhere, and barracks filled with reserve forces were spread out across the settlement, ready to reinforce wherever necessary.

There was also a layered shield system. Shield generators within shields required any attackers who made it past the first lines of defense to exert massive amounts of energy to bash their way through.

Still, it was all rather crude and rushed. But it had come a long way.

The councilors and Ernest couldn’t help but spot the Desert Pythons amongst the defenders. They tended to stick out like a sore thumb, and had a slightly more relaxed work ethic. But with all the reinforcements rushing in, they had become a minority in their own settlement.

“Looks like you have quite a bit of work to do around here,” said a prune-lipped councilwoman, gasping as she almost tripped over an exposed pipe. “Someone could break an ankle.”

“It wouldn’t fly in our city, that’s for sure,” another nodded along as the commanders led them to the central command tent.

“It’s a pity Aaron couldn’t be here to greet you,” Bucky said. “The timing of your arrival could have been better. We just sent him off to deal with a beast problem.”

“Should we postpone?” A councilman suggested.

“I don’t think our enemy will wait for such things,” Kirill said, looking like he was fighting back harsher words.

“In here, please,” Buck said, pulling back a tent curtain. “Take a seat anywhere you please.”

Waiting for them to all find a seat, he continued.

“As you can see, we’ve been busy fortifying this place against attackers. Resources and manpower have been pouring in, as this settlement sits directly atop the World Core. But it takes time to build a base.”

“Well, you’ve done what you could, I suppose.”

“This is fine, really,” another councillor said, as he wiggled in his seat. “Though the chairs leave a little to be desired.”

“So, are you telling us that this base is what our world is relying upon to defend its greatest treasure against those who would misuse it? Look, I don’t want to sound harsh, but I had higher expectations,” another said.

“Agreed with the councilwoman! Perhaps the World Alliance should take over operations, with all due respect. You’ve… tried. But we need to take this seriously.”

“Indeed! I shall put forth a funding bill during our next senate hearing! I will seek a million System Credits to help the defense of this settlement!”

“Bucky,” Kirill hissed through gritted teeth. “Perhaps you should speak.”

Bucky nodded. “Look, we’re in charge here. That’s not negotiable. But we’re open to any assistance you can provide. But the enemy isn’t going to sit around and wait.”

“Are you sure? It kind of looks like they are.”

Bucky cleared his throat. “Right. There are some unusual aspects of the enemy gathering. We don’t have time for you to head back to your city and pass legislation. The enemy could attack from multiple directions at any time. We need to be prepared for that.”

“Well, it is your base. We can’t force you to operate in a more civilized fashion,” the pruned-lipped woman said. “But we have regulations in the World Alliance. We can’t simply hand out credits to anybody who comes asking. Accountability is important.”

“I knew this would be a waste of time,” Kirill groaned. “Look, we’ve got more important things to do. Bucky,” he nodded, got up from his chair, and left, and Ernest quickly joined him.

“How rude!”

“Thank you for coming, everyone,” Bucky said. “But perhaps we should halt this discussion for now. I’ll have some of my people show you around. Now, as for your troops—”

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“Not so fast, commander,” one of the councilors interrupted. “We will have them join your forces to aid where necessary, but only if we’re satisfied with how this operation is run. And I might need a little convincing after what I’ve seen so far.”

“Aye, aye!”

“Right,” Bucky gritted his teeth.

Outside, he found Ernest and Kirill chatting not far from the command tent.

“Enjoy your time in there, colonel?”

“God help me,” Bucky sighed. “How on earth do you put up with them?”

“It hasn’t been easy,” Ernest said.

“You don’t have another one of those cigars, do you?”

“Help yourself,” Ernest said, offering one. “One thing the Alliance does have is plenty of skilled crafters. Cigars included.”

“This is good.”

“I’ve been talking to Kirill here. Sounds like you two are a little concerned about the enemy’s plans.”

“Yeah. They don’t make a lot of sense. Darius has sent our strongest fighter, Aaron Dober, and a bunch of rankers on some cat-and-mouse game a few days back. And now his forces poke and prod, but don’t commit to anything. It feels like he is buying time for something. But what?”

“And it doesn’t help that we have the beast army to worry about,” Kirill added. “If it was just Darius, we could send Aaron after him. But we can’t send away our strongest fighters while we are trying to defend the World Core.”

“Got it. Well, it sounds like we’re in for a show,” Ernest puffed. “Oh well, I just hope that necromancer finally shows his face. I’ve got a present for him,” he added, thumbing a bullet that looked to be as thick as a shot glass, and twice as long.

“That is one big bullet. I can’t lie, I like your thinking. You see up there? There’s a nest up in that tower with a vantage over the entire area,” Bucky said, pointing to the lookout tower. “If you want to make yourself at home, feel free.”

“I was hoping you’d say that,” Ernest said. “I’ll make good use of it. And let me know if you figure out what Darius has planned.”

Aaron

Aaron and Zero shot through the air, flying over hundreds of beasts in the process.

It wasn’t hard to bypass the dumb ones. The stampeding horde barely even took notice of him or Zero, and the few that did couldn’t keep up or fly.

And within moments, they had made their way across the battlefield, bypassing many scattered encampments, and were quickly approaching the source of the mindless beasts.

There were a few flying beast patrols who came out to stop them, but they didn’t stand much of a chance. And after the first few were slaughtered in one-way fights, the others kept their distance.

Up ahead, they could see where the stampede was coming from. There were several beasts who appeared to be intelligent, ushering the dumb ones into paths, and there were thousands of them.

A literal sea of beasts huffing and puffing that stretched out to the horizon. Some of the intelligent ones even had some kind of cattle prodders to keep the beasts from veering off track or getting lost.

Based on the sheer numbers they possessed, Aaron had a feeling they could keep the waves going against them for days.

It also made a lot more sense that they were using the dumb beasts first. The intelligent ones seemed to struggle to control them, and fighting side-by-side would no doubt turn into a chaotic mess quickly. This way, they could use them to drain their resources and energy, and then launch an attack without having to worry about them.

Zero and Aaron descended, quickly taking out a few of the intelligent beasts, and watching as some of the horde lost their way and charged off in different directions.

Some minor reinforcements arrived, but while they were intelligent, that didn’t necessarily mean they were powerful, at least not compared to Aaron and Zero. In fact, they were more like military police hanging around to keep the lower beasts in order, and they were beaten down and killed.

However, just beyond, they sensed more powerful energy signals and went to investigate.

The powerful energy signal led them to who must have been some kind of beast lieutenant. It was a giant, oddly charismatic lobster. The thing was huge, about the size of a truck, and it was standing atop a podium overlooking the dumb beasts, and it was talking nonstop to the infatuated crowd.

“Hear me, fellow beasts! Give me your energy, so that I can help you reach our god! Yes, that’s it! I feel it. Can you? Our lord says give on to the horde, and you shall be rewarded!” The lobster sang, dancing around the podium and raising its pincers into the air. “Oh holy beast! We shall do as you command! He who steps forth and valiantly follows your word shall be rewarded! Who of you will do as the great beast commands?”

As the lobster sang to the crowd, the beasts were happily marching off to join the stampede. It was an endless line of them, and they were eating up everything that came out of the lobster’s mouth.

“Yes, that’s the way! I see faithful brothers and sisters! Go on, charge toward the humanoids! Show your fellow beasts what it means to be blessed by his holiness, the God of Beasts!”

Aaron was watching with intrigue and a salivating mouth.

“Master, is something wrong?”

“No,” Aaron shook his head. “It’s just been a while since I had lobster, that’s all. And sometimes this ogre belly has a mind of its own.”

“I see. Well, master, do you have a plan?”

“Well, he seems to be the one in charge. We might as well deal with him, and see what happens.”

In a flash, Aaron was atop the podium, and with a single swipe of his hand, the lobster was dead. Salivating, Aaron greedily stuffed the giant crustacean into his storage as thousands of dimwitted beasts looked on in horror.

“Oh, right. Was this guy some kind of holy man to you? Well, I’m not sure what to tell you. If you go that way, we’re just going to kill you. Then again, that would provide me more meat to cook,” Aaron murmured as his thoughts drifted off topic.

“Master!” Zero said, appearing at his side. “They don’t appear too happy.”

One of the beasts holding a cattle prodder pointed up at them and screamed, “Seize him! He’s going to cook the Blue Prophet!!”

There might have been tens of thousands of enraged beasts glaring at him, but Aaron and Zero had taken out a good deal of the intelligent beasts commanding them, and when they charged in fury, they busted out of their enclosure, stampeding in every which direction.

“I think this mission is accomplished?” Aaron said. “Wait, hang on a moment!”

“What is it, master?”

“Where am I going to source dairy for butter?”

Chaos had completely gripped the surrounding area as the beasts charged out and around. But Aaron could also sense several stronger energy sources deeper in their camp, and knew they had to be cautious.

Dozens of beasts were already charging out from all around, alerted as cries filled the air.

For a moment, they attempted to push deeper, fighting the various squads as they charged them, and probing to see if they could attack deeper into the camp, or maybe lure out some of the other beast commanders. But more and more beasts were pouring out as the chaos erupted, and they sensed more beast commanders ahead. Could they defeat whatever opposed them? Probably, but it was a slippery slope toward getting dragged into something they hadn’t planned for.

Even as Aaron considered their next moves, several more beasts flew toward them, looking for revenge.

“There are too many. We can’t get sucked into a longer fight right now,” Aaron said. “We had better go back to base.”

“Right,” Zero nodded. “Defending the World Core comes first.”