“Bolts at the ready!”
Dozens of screens flared to life along the steel wall, casting the night in harsh neon blue. The glow pulsed across the wall, lighting up the sky while the swarm surged below. Even from atop thousands of tons of steel and concrete, Gustav felt the ground tremble. This was The Fall, a scare tactic used by parents to discipline unruly children, an end promised by drill sergeants over generations... and he was in the middle of it, squeezed between the monstrous hordes and a dying city.
“Set to Explosive Shots!” Maximilian barked.
Gustav watched icons scroll across the interface until they locked on the one marked by red impact symbols. Explosive Shot, a heavy artillery skill.
[Skill selected: Explosive Shot level 1]
Damage: 200
Type: Fire/physical
Special: Armor penetration
Accuracy: 60%
Cooldown: 2 minutes
Maximilian’s armor flared to life, erupting into a pillar of bright white light that cut through the night sky. White pixels spun around him, accelerating with each cycle until they formed a vortex. It pulsed outward until it covered the entire walkway. It washed over the gathered soldiers, drowning each in a rising sea of icons.
[Skill activated: Commanding Presence, level 5]
Type: Buff / Passive
Accuracy increased: +50%
Damage increased: +50%
Range increased: +150%
Morale increased: +25
Duration: 15 minutes
“Fire!” Maximilian roared.
A dozen ropes snapped, loosing their payloads into the dark. Mid-flight, the bolts ignited, each streaking downward like a meteor, trailing fire through the sky. The larger bugs halted, mesmerized by the descending blaze, their bloated bodies forming barricades against the tide behind them. Trapped, the smaller bugs hissed and stabbed, tearing into flesh and carapace in a frenzy to break free. A quiet flash followed as the bolts found their targets. For the trapped bugs, it was a moment of impossible stillness. Every instinct screamed, every exit gone. Then the impact came.
The initial shockwave tore through the heavy bugs, expanding outward as it crashed into the earth. Those closest to the blast were torn apart instantly, their remains scattered across the battlefield. Spiked limbs and sharp teeth rained from the sky in a crescendo of blades, finding their marks among the charging insects. Rocks flew upward like bullets as the shockwave struck, carving a crater into the earth. Those caught within the radius were shredded from below, their muscles and bones obliterated as the earth itself turned into a weapon. Explosions thundered across the battlefield, timed to force the swarm into narrow gaps, tunneling them straight into electrically charged ballista bolts.
Lightning surged from their steel bodies as the bolts struck the ground. The electricity spread like wild roots, latching onto the nearest bugs. Ensnared in the net of glowing white energy, the bugs twitched and jerked as smoke rose from their bodies. A few burst into flame as their acidic blood boiled from within. In heartbeats, fire spread across the front lines, forcing the swarm back.
“Eyes on the cooldown!” The commander’s voice boomed. “Switch to Rapid Fire in the meantime. Shoot any bug dumb enough to cross the flames.”
The tempest rumbled defiantly. Green light pulsed from deep within, flashing at irregular intervals, like lightning through thunderclouds. Each strike revealed more bugs rushing from within the storm, pincers and claws raised in a murderous frenzy. They charged forward, shoving their own into the flames as the tide advanced. Sacrifices in the name of the hive. Bolts screamed through the air at breakneck speed, mowing down the front rows. Gustav watched as ranks of The Fall closed in, unfazed by the death raining from above. The heavies were now within a hundred meters, their massive horn tearing through the air like a drill. Explosive Shot was still on cooldown with little over two minutes left. Left unchallenged, the heavies would breach the wall. The Fall would swarm the city in seconds.
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Something huge moved to his right, its arrival marked by the groan of steel beams and plates bending beneath its weight. Gustav swore he heard stone crack as the figure climbed one of the tall stone barricades which rose from the wall like teeth. Others joined it, standing perfectly still as they awaited the order to jump. The Argonauts, humanity’s heavy infantry, named after the demigods of ancient epics, long before the Age of Collapse. Encased in reinforced steel, these colossi lived up to the name given to them. Each wielded an oversized two-handed sword with jagged edges, built to tear through carapace with ease. Their faces were hidden behind closed helmets, but Gustav imagined that fear had failed to take hold in their features.
Out of curiosity, he scanned one of them, inspecting for buffs.
Name: [REDACTED]
Class: Soldier level 10, Juggernaut level 5
Strength: 20, Dexterity: 16, Vitality: 16, Intelligence: 10
Active skills:
For Humanity (Morale buff +10)
Iron Skin (20% damage reduction while toggled on)
Unbending Will (Immunity to fear while toggled on)
Unstoppable (Ignores all movement reduction effects while toggled on)
The rest had their descriptions redacted. The House of War employed measures in case some of the insects could read interfaces. Confidence was a luxury they couldn’t afford today.
One of the heavy bugs, locked in its charge, looked up at the hulking forms dropping from the wall. They struck like hammers, cracking the very earth as it rippled outward. The bugs caught in the shockwave stumbled and fell, crushed beneath a stampede of segmented limbs. The Argonauts wasted no time, surging for the nearest horned heavies, swords raised like banners. Black chitin cracked under their violent descent. One bug lost an eye in a spray of acidic green, its skull crushed beneath reinforced boots. Another drove its horn into an Argonaut’s side, piercing the side of his armor. The armored titan wrapped his arms around the horns and dug his heels, sliding backward across the dirt. Sparks showered the two combatants locked in a death grip. The massive insect writhed as the Argonaut found his footing, grinding the charge to a halt. Ramming a boot into the bug’s jaw, he tightened his grip and bent backward. Were it not for the boot lodged in its jaw, the bug would be screaming as its legs thrashed through the dirt. A sickening crack followed, loud enough to reach the ears of those looking down from the top of the wall in silent reverence. The bug stopped moving as the Argonaut pulled the horn from its body in an explosion of guts and acidic slime. Without pause, he charged another heavy, the horn gripped in his arms like a lance. Gustav watched in disbelief as the twenty Argonauts held the line, buying seconds in blood.
The cooldown for Explosive Shot was still up. Less than a minute remained.
Gustav caught it first, sudden movement coming from above. He lunged forward, slamming into Maximilian and knocking them both to the ground just as a black pincer snapped overhead. Alarmed cries erupted as soldiers scrambled to shield their commander from the massive bug that had just landed between them. Gustav’s eyes widened as he saw more rain from the sky, dropping into the city below. Since when can they fly?
Across all of their previous engagements, the insects never displayed the ability to fly. They would ram the wall instead, or attempt to climb it, but never flew. Autopsies showed their wings had atrophied, useless remnants from centuries spent living underground. Rolling off to the side, Gustav instinctively scanned the bug, aware that it was pointless.
[ERROR, unknown skill detected:…with wings as eagles… ]
Duration: 3 hours and 50 minutes
His heart sank. Gustav didn’t notice hands wrapping around his shoulders, pulling his limp body up. He couldn’t tell what they were yelling, just a high-pitched screech ringing in his skull. Unknown skill detected…with wings as eagles…and an icon of a red tie floating behind the text. What in...
The force of the impact sent his head snapping to the side. Blood rushed out the hole in his gums as a tooth flew out, dislodged by the slap. Panicked shouts poured into his ears as the pitch stopped, pulling him back into the fray. He didn’t know the name of the soldier, a bald, broad-shouldered man with a crooked nose and a split lip. He didn’t have time to thank him before he ran off to rejoin his comrades at the ballista tower.
“Someone is buffing them!” He ran up to Maximilian, whose armor was glowing again. “Commander, someone is...''
“I can bloody tell!” Maximilian snapped, unleashing another wave of buffs.
His shoulders dropped as the icons flashed into place. The white pillar dissipated. “My apologies, captain. I was wrong to lose my temper. Please, proceed.”
“We are in hell, commander.” Gustav shook his head. “If anything, I’m expecting you to scream and curse us into obedience.”
“We don’t need further chaos.”
“Agreed.” Gustav nodded. “Someone is buffing the bugs. That shouldn’t be possible.”
“With wings as eagles…” Maximilian whispered.
“Familiar, commander?”
“It is from an old religious text, before the Age of Collapse.” Maximilian cleared his throat. “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles.”
“The bugs were… buffed by god?” Gustav half-joked, hoping Maximilian would correct him at any moment. His only response was silence. “That can’t be true, right? The House of God says…”
“The House of God,” Maximilian interrupted him, “says many things. None you should burden yourself with. Not now, Gustav.”
The world blurred as he turned inward, deaf to the battle around him.
“You’re cheating.”
No answer came from the void of his mind, but he could feel a presence watching… witnessing the collapse. As suddenly as they came, the flying bugs stopped raining down, their wings clipped.
“Captain, I need you in the city.” Gustav saluted, brows tight with confusion. “Root out the bugs and assist the evacuation effort. Go!”
Maximilian watched him disappear down the long staircase, relieved to have him out of harm's way. Sword glowing white with power, he turned and faced a bloated green bug, stuck between the stone barricades. Lost in a fighting trance, amidst the sea of blades and buffs, Maximilian didn’t notice time fly by until a red number 3 appeared in the sky.
3 hours remained.
