Chapter 177: Back To The Third
That night, everyone turned in early, even those who weren’t really expecting to fight.
Only a small group of locals, ones who had not gained the level 0 status to take on quests, remained awake to watch for trouble, and to alert the sleeping heroes if the timer was wrong and monsters started to appear early.
They did not, the System was honest that way.
However, the substitute System Admin was back.
{ Welcome back to the Third Trial, Marimgar!
٩(＾◡＾)۶
Since you’re all so totally awesome, and you’re crushing this Epic Grade Trial, I’ve decided to save you some time.
Isn’t that sweet of me? You can praise me as much as you want.
Waves three and four will come all together, just in case you want to do extras before the timer runs out!
SURPRISE!
You’ve got two minutes left to prepare, don’t forget to use the potty before you start.
( ๑‾̀◡‾́)σ"
Now, FIGHT! }
"You know, the alternate message is actually quite motivational." Sergeant Sanchez began. "The monsters haven’t even spawned yet, and I’m in the mood to kill something."
Kalli nodded. "I am with you on that one. I don’t know if that was the intention, but I definitely want to stab something right now. But you’ve got two minutes to be on the lines, what are you still doing in my office?"
Sanchez laughed, "I’m on gunner duty in my lovely new armoured personnel carrier. It takes less than that to get to the wall. But I came to grab a few extra cases of ammunition, since we will be locked in an armoured vehicle.
It’s got energy weapons, but I’d like some spare ammo, just in case we need to exit and assert ourselves when we’re out of mana."
Kalli handed him six unassigned ammunition crates, then patted him on the back and sent him on his way. The vehicle he got as a reward had four laser turrets, plus a Pulse Cannon, and it was armoured. If that thing couldn’t take care of itself, they were all in trouble.
Moments later, the fields filled with monsters, and the skies began to light up with pale green silhouettes.
The creatures in the sky looked like birds, but their bodies were almost human in proportions, as if they were intended to stand upright. From this distance, and in the dark, it was hard to be certain, but they were everywhere.
{Quests Automatically Renewed} Quests will be in effect for the next 24 hours
{Bonus Quest issued} Survive the assault. Epic Difficulty.
{Survive the assault by the monsters chosen for the Third Trial. Elimination of 80 percent of the enemy force or clearance of a 50-kilometre radius around the base will result in a victory.}
{Charge the defence turrets} Nightmare Difficulty. Keep a laser defence turret charged for 12 hours.
{Hold the wall} Nightmare Difficulty. Prevent the outer wall of Fort Marimgar from being breached for 12 hours.
{Hero of Marimgar} Nightmare Difficulty. Score 1,000 or more kills in the next 12 hours.
"Crap, time for another anti-air battery. Two was enough for the first waves, but a third one for safety is better," Kalli muttered to herself as she ran out the door.
While her concern was for the air defence, the ground defence teams were not any more pleased with the state of affairs.
The number of Magma Corrupted monsters had increased a thousandfold, and there were now hordes of hyena headed humanoid monsters with them, all holding short swords and wearing crude leather armour.
That suggested much more intelligence than the first waves, and the numbers were so high that the combined force came at them like a tidal wave.
"Like shooting fish in a barrel," Sanchez laughed as he parked atop the hill next to the turrets beside the door.
The APC was parked sideways, which only allowed two of the four lasers to fire, but the team was going to be focused on keeping mana flowing to the Pulse Cannon.
The System said that the maximum range was 2500 metres, but the closest enemies had started a mere kilometre from the base’s walls. So, when the Pulse Cannon began to fire, the plasma bursts tore through the wall of monsters, unable to miss.
The front row of monsters was gunned down in seconds as the heavy weapons swept their ranks, but the monsters were charging now, and the rest of the ranged heroes were joining in the battle.
Atop the shopping centre, Kalli placed another {Air Defence Battery} and sent a message to let the heroes know that it would need a support crew.
Their Mana regeneration didn’t need to be high, but a few mages would be best, as they had the most mana storage, so they were able to shoot for longer before they had to be swapped out for another gunner.
A five-person team from the newly arrived heroes came running, bringing three mages and a healer with them.
That was not quite what she had intended, but for today, it would have to do. They hadn’t rearranged all their teams yet, to integrate the new arrivals, but this one did have enough mana, and they weren’t as short on healers as they had been.
In fact, the other two teams had also recruited a healer, just in case they were attacked, and the bandages were not enough.
The guns were far from the lines, and they had to be self-reliant as they dealt with the flying threats.
Plasma fire burst in the air, tearing into the attackers, and Kalli retreated to her office, though she remained outside with a set of turret camera displays brought up on a tablet, so she could watch every angle around the city.
Interestingly, the area around the temple was unoccupied.
There had been monsters there, she could see the corpses. But the moment that they set foot in the protected area around the temple, they simply died, and the plant life was already beginning to absorb their corpses.
But that was a problem for later.
The new heavy weapons trucks were working wonders for the first wave of attackers, as the density was so high that the monsters were simply being cut down like bamboo. The gunfire swept across them and they fell. Then it swept back, and the next wave fell.
However, it was still not fast enough to stop the advance.
A notice caught Kalli’s attention. { If you work as a team to feed the Pulse Cannon, you all get a share of the credit for the kills. }
It was sent by one of the warriors, who was likely driving the truck, or sitting in the driver’s seat, anyhow. Keeping the vehicle stable was the best way to start the battle, as the enemies were on every side, and there was no particularly dense area that needed attention.
After the first waves, the heroes had adjusted their positions, so that the area defence mages were better spread to deal with the sides of the base that would face the most immediate threats, while the longer ranged heroes were on the sides where the enemy would struggle to cross the river.
The balance seemed just right, and the enemy forces were quickly learning that the heroes of Marimgar were not to be trifled with.