Shock and Awe V

Meanwhile

Having a drink with Marin eased Alfred's nerves as they got a chance to watch the rest of the city calm down. They were safe, fed, with roofs over their heads and didn't need to worry about another volley of trebuchet stones flying through the air. As he headed back to his new home, an adventurer party came out after him from the tavern. "Mayor Dalonas?" Dina asked. He turned around, his mustache well-trimmed as he raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, miss?"

"Um, my name is Dina, Dina Elden. Uh… I've been meaning to ask a few questions about… well, involving the adventurer's guild and my party."

"Mhm, go ahead, it's not too late right now." The Mayor looked at Marin for a moment as she simply stood there waiting for the adventurer to explain.

"Ok. I wanted to ask, what's going to happen to the guild now that it's a part of the Clockwork Empire?" Alfred rubbed the top of his lip and twisted the right edge of his whiskers.

"At the moment, from what I've been told, the adventurer's guild is still going to be operational, though in a bit more limited capacity. Our empress has decided to keep it more as an assistant position to the police force now operating here. This should allow minor issues to be dealt with by your party, with larger problems being dealt with by the military."

"I… I see. So, is there, um, is there going to be any way for us to increase in our ranks? My teammates are all silver right now and… we're worried we won't be able to rise up. We'd be stuck."

"Mmm, that is an issue that I believe was addressed as well. From what I know, her majesty's soldiers cannot be everywhere, so the adventurers would be still needed for more difficult tasks that the police cannot deal with effectively. Whether that means inside towns and cities or out in the field, I cannot say for certain. It already appears as if she keeps her… what are they… automatons, I believe… outside the city boundaries." Dina looked hopeful, though still apprehensive. Mayor Dalonas chuckled at her. "Don't worry; this is a far cry from problematic. All of this is still new, and if there are complaints to somehow keep the adventurer's guild going, I'm sure the empress will find a solution. She seems very much intent on helping us towards a better future."

"I hope so. I… I just remember when I first saw her…"

"When she arrived with her military?"

"No. She… she called herself Ilana. I… I think she was hiding amongst us. This was before the siege even started. She acted as a mercenary captain, though her orders were to help with some sort of plan for minor nobles. Now that I think about it, it was all probably fake." Alfred looked at the sky as it began to get very dark in puzzlement. Their ruler might not have even shown up as he knew it to speak with the two leaders of the wizard's academy.

"You may have met her when she was trying to understand how troublesome our government was becoming. Our gods supposedly come down with avatars, hiding in plain sight to help or hinder." The ranger seemed to perk up a little at hearing that.

"You… do you think she showed up to help my team? Most of them were… um… at the time, they were dead. She also helped rescue Elesia's Abbey to the north, to save Ezra Rikter."

"We may never know. A deity works in mysterious ways, knows things we will never understand." Dina looked up at the flashes of light coming over the few hills to the east, the battle taking place between demon and machine. "We just have to have faith."

Five Hours Later, 11 pm

"So that's it then." Selene sat back against the chair and hung her head over the crown of it, staring up at the ceiling. They hadn't just talked about dealing with the hell gates, that was just the main issue they were dealing with.

"With all options ma'am, sadly yes. At the moment, unless we can find a way to deal with the respawn capabilities, we'll eventually reach a stalemate as they try to drown us in bodies. Their levels can't do anything unless they outnumber us by an exorbitant amount or they bring out something the equivalent of a raid boss. That may very well happen," Nikola told her. Production of spare soldiers began immediately as a twitch response, the fabrication units in her inventory kicking into gear.

There were contingencies created during the seven-hour meeting, all of which seemed to end with one thing in mind… destruction of Aureos. The dev was attempting to stop that; the thought of incinerating over 1.5 million people churned her stomach a little, and not because of the elixir she finally got a chance to drink. It was meant for skill points, not attributes, as she had been neglecting those for a little while. Given that she had 400 previously unused points still sitting around, they were now sorely needed.

With the amount she now had with the elixir having taken effect, getting her up to 411 points to spend in total until tomorrow, it was simple to add in what she felt was the most useful at that moment. Bringing Gathering up to 500%, up from 200, was going to help keep materials flowing freely due to the special ability {Renewable Resources}. Steampunk Electrical Engineering was boosted to 500, up from 300; this was to make miniaturization for most of their special equipment seamless and recharge almost instantly, allowing better adaptability in combat and mobility. In her eyes, miniaturizing the special features and improvements her troops had would help significantly if they started to lose ground through some means, falling back to defensive lines. Steampunk Mechanical Engineering was next after she drank another the next day. Surprisingly, each skill went dark grey once she had reached 500%, worrying her that there was no going above that. "Alright, go through every plan in summary."

"The first option is to launch an orbital strike upon the city. That would destroy the entire location, along with the artifact. The second option is to fire a volley of cruise missiles towards the palace to hit the throne room and destroy the artifact, though in the aftermath there may be casualties from employees still stuck inside along with the outer perimeter, and some of the strikes might be taken out midair by hitting random flying demonic passersby. The third option is to bring forth the classified projects under the Clockwork Castle. This would, frankly, cause more damage than the orbital strike and, as an aside, potentially cause panic in our citizens as they are brought out and travel to the required destinations. They are walking and driving weapons of mass destruction, after all.

The fourth option is to send in a wet team via orbital insertion directly into the palace to reach the throne room to use [Shatter Artifact] spells and carrying expendable legendary quality tier equipment. This would cause the least casualties… though it increases the risk of losing members of the team sent as they breach and clear deep behind enemy lines. A fifth option might be viable, though it would require some patience and might alert the king to an attack, with multiple snipers attempting to break the artifact with long-range anti-material rifle volleys using variable weapon types. The issue with this one is we don't yet know how strong the material of Ember of Damned Soulsis. This seems to be the least effective plan to work with, as multiple shots may be needed with a potentially mobile and panicked king." The empress just flopped forward and leaned her forehead on her arms as they were crossed on the table. Her dinner was picked at as they all reviewed the pages recovered.

No way I'm sending Bronze Team in solo. If we go that route, I'm sending every fireteam in a single cohesive unit. Though I shouldn't really smirk at the thought of it, the king running around screaming in his palace as wagon wheel sized holes pockmark the walls behind him is amusing.

Unfortunately for her, not one mention was made of what the fault was in the artifact, other than it required a sacrifice of a level 100 creature, or greater, to power it. It was possible the king had somehow caught a dragon for the fuel source or gained some sort of energy from Xaxara. The newly translated sheets stated that the number of demons released would be dependent on the strength of the sacrifice, not how to turn it off. The last page had some mention of a critical threshold that could be met, though none of them were sure what that meant. The possibility of it being where raid boss demons erupt from the portals was a theory that worried her, or that the World Class Item could somehow evolve into something much more dangerous.

"We have three days to decide, correct?" she asked as her blue eyes just stared at the small fake fireplace in the corner, there simply to act as a soothing decoration.

"We do ma'am. Afterward, it's your choice of how we go forward." Dominic was especially open to orbital strike or releasing the advanced projects, one of which had donned the callsign Colossus 1-1. She sighed. The death of over a million citizens were seen in his eyes as acceptable collateral damage to stop this threat. The safety of the empire was one of his top priorities given his position.

"Whichever direction we go, bar the fifth, people will die inside. The best options seem to be the 2nd and 4th, least casualties. Hopefully the teams can hold themselves back enough to not wildly shoot at the help cowering in the corners" Gala commented.

"We resent that" Jorge interjected. "We don't just shoot at everything that moves."

"There's no guarantee the cruise strike will destroy the WCI either. It could technically be lumped with the 5th. It could just bury the artifact, increasing the difficulty to stop it," Dominic told her.

"Do we know why he hasn't unleashed the storm upon his imperial city? Just about everyone else was getting slaughtered before we showed up" Will questioned, with Selene not knowing Grey was standing next to him back at the castle.

"He's clinically insane. His reasoning is beyond even our comprehension as his sense of logic and morals are completely skewed in multiple directions. Being a sociopath means he's beyond saving, especially with all of his crimes. It's possible he's keeping them as pets until everything else is destroyed, to show them the rest of the world is his in one giant boast of his power, witnesses to the new world order. He may want them to see his grand design so that they know how insignificant they are to him," Grey responded. The dev hid her eyes in the crook of her arms.

"What time is it…" she mumbled out as she located her clock in her Hud. It was getting late, with each day passing with four to six hours of sleep just to keep up with all of the reports. "I could decide tomorrow, maybe. We've already secured everything we could get to in time."

"We can't use nuclear ordinance, can we?" Felix asked.

"You want to turn Aureos into a nuclear wasteland? Not a good idea if we want to expand there later on," Gala reprimanded him.

"Not if it's similar in capability to what our creator used in the bunker or what we've been using inside the gateways. I know about the fallout from dirty bombs, it would cause too much damage due to jet streams, mutations in food sources, and so much ecological destruction it's normally unfeasible. I'm not asking for her to agree to use those types and, besides, for all we know, some of the demons are immune to radiation poisoning. Maybe Fuel Air Explosives?"

"A clean drop has just as much chance of being intercepted mid-air by a random flyer. It would cause damage, that much is certain, just not enough to guarantee an end to the artifact. Chances go down the higher the explosion would be, too risky. Might as well use an orbital strike instead," Dominic explained.

"Is it possible to make an aggressive push forward?" Gala asked.

"Not unless we want to increase the chances of losing soldiers, regardless of her majesty's abilities. They're strong, really strong, but the enemy has the numbers right now. The increased production and release of reserves is helping a little, but the facts all point to three days regardless of how many bodies we put down there. It's not the boots on the ground; it's the real estate we need to put them on that is limited" Dominic grumbled a little after telling her that. He was all for gaining a stronger military, except there had to be a good reason for it. There were too many other contingencies that were faster and easier.

"We still haven't figured out how to have two forms of matter exist in the same space, have we" Gala chuckled out.

"Not just yet. That might be an improvement our empress figures out for us, or we have to invest time into. If that happens, she really will be a deity in just about everyone's eyes," Robert replied.

"Let's stay focused." While Selene did get annoyed with being treated as a deity by the people, her own cabinet was thinking it might be useful for her to play the part, building up her image so that the citizens of the empire felt at ease. The dev, on the other hand, didn't like the idea. Gala had suggested entirely doing away with the golden armor she was wearing and instead resort to a dress. This would build the look of a kind and less threatening ruler for the newcomers now added to the empire. While hearts and minds were being won inside the cities, a smackdown was being laid on the infernal minions of the mad king.

"Do we know if the demons will even stick around after the artifact is destroyed?"

"We believe once Ember of Damned Souls has become inert through any means, that the gateways will close completely. That's what the journal pages seem to say, and that is how most WCIs are supposed to work. Beyond that, I… we… don't have that answer yet. The minions still on this plane might still be around, needing to be dealt with," Robert explained.

"Your experiments with teleportation pads didn't pan out to stop all of this?" Will questioned him.

"Sadly, different fields and particles. An implosion can't be caused, at least for a considerable effect like we were hoping. Once the portal would seal, causing violent distortions to the immediate surroundings, a secondary tear would be created similar to an hourglass pouring all of its sand into the bottom. It hasn't gone anywhere, just shifted to another nearby, albeit randomized, position" the science leader informed.

"There's still time to decide. Ma'am, get some rest on this; there may be ways to extend the timeframe," Will said quietly.

"Yeah. I'll do my best. Three days doesn't mean the end of the world; it just tells us we won't be continuing forward anymore. Currently we're just above the main route to Garrington, could move forward with the air fleet, except ground forces would still be held back."

"Could bring 4th fleet in, would help provide some relief" Grey offered.

"That would only give us another day or so before a stalemate, push a little closer to Aureos. We'd need ten times the fleets we have now," Dominic told him with a sigh. "We are sort of making a mountain out of a… well, it still is a mountain, just not as imposing."

"That's a hill, except this one has jagged edges that can kill civilians if we aren't careful" Gala chastised.

"I know that. What we are looking at within a few days is slow trench warfare that doesn't get anywhere. They aren't going to be able to push through without getting an order of magnitude more support, which would be in the form of raid bosses appearing. Constantly. In groups."

"If that happens, the empress can just release her own toys," Will replied.

"And destroy an entire city… yeah… sure…" Selene grumbled out.

That place isn't exactly Sodom or Gomorrah. Could use a bit of a clean up with the corruption, but it doesn't really deserve total destruction.

"No reason in arguing one direction or another. Give the empress some time to mull it over," Jorge told them sternly. The meeting was adjourned as Selene got up and flopped on her bed.

There is no choice really. Did I cause this? We just ignored the artifact for so long, thinking it couldn't have created such a force. Hell, I didn't think anything like that could be crafted. This person, this A is… well, he has issues he needs to work out if he's willing to make something like this. Of course, it is defective… I wish we could figure out what kind of defect it is as it just looks like a supercharged WCI…

"Goodnight ma'am" Adesha said as she bowed and closed the door to her bedroom. The dev didn't even move from her position, just worried she was at fault for this whole event. On one side, she knew that she wasn't omniscient and fully capable of making mistakes. On the other, there were multiple advanced warning signs that told her the king was playing with something he shouldn't have, with the empress able to remove it from his possession at those times.

"I don't know what is so good about it." Before getting some shuteye, she set the alarm to wake her up in six hours, an eternity in her eyes after the past few days. The extra two hours the dev would get were sorely needed. Her only wish was that it wasn't wrought with nightmares.

Meanwhile

A teenage girl ran as fast as she could with her younger brother holding onto her hand, as far away from the ravenous creatures chasing after her. There were a few refugees just sprinting for their lives, two of which had fallen to the ground dead from exhaustion ahead of them over an hour ago. They couldn't stop moving or what happened to their parents back in the hamlet of Recenit would happen to them. She could hear the clacking of claws on rocks and ripping up chunks of dirt as they bounded after her, the red eyes locked onto their next plaything before she and her brother would meet their cruel end.

The only thing they could do was head towards the odd flying creatures in the skies, the unknown force waging an incredible assault against the demons pouring forth from the gateways near Aureos. She stumbled as she lost her footing at the edge of a deep trench, falling in with her brother collapsing on top of her. "Ouch! Agh!" she screamed as they fell in, dropping onto a metal grate lining the ground and knocking the wind out of her. What they didn't know was the trench was a giant trap with tracking systems to detect a demonic presence, gas emitters lining the walls and hardened spikes able to launch up from the grating.

One of the ravagers leapt down a good distance from them, losing its next victims in the smoke as rapid-fire weapons were heard in the distance as its brother seemed to walk along the edge. A flare was launched just above them, lighting the entire area up… and showing their forms on the ground. "Move! MOVE JACOB!" They both got up and ran, the ravager screeching and letting the rest of its pack know where to go. As they charged after the two young humans, two cannons fired from above, disintegrating half of the slobbering piles of gnashing teeth. The one inside the trench was quickly impaled on a square of spikes launching up.

As the brother of the first hellion launched itself into the air and nearly fell upon its prey, another shot rang out and blew it into chunks, but there was no sight of the defender. One of the claws flew right past the girl's arm, implanting itself in the ground ahead of them. The children ran through the trench, weaving and dodging through the curves and turns as they saw the war going on above their heads, automatons charging forward over bridges with rifles firing as they escorted a tank advancing to a new location, then a Heavy being pushed back into the trench for a moment before it shifted its weight and threw some horrid molten golem-like creature to the side and fired, charging back into the main battle line. They screamed multiple times as they stopped, waiting for a massive metal construct to walk past on eight legs, a salvo of missiles arcing through the air.

Multiple times they had to fall on the ground as a stray shot landed nearby, blowing a chunk out of the trench and sending dirt cascading over them. The two children couldn't figure out if the army that was fighting back against the demons was even there to save their lives, as multiple times their own weapons nearly ended their lives with deflection of rounds from hardened hide ricocheted off to fly nearby and bury into the ground just above their heads.

This wasn't an army they had ever seen fighting from any lands nearby; this was something entirely different from the swords and shields Artinian guards used. A Light infantryman colored a jet black was knocked into the trench with some furred beast-like creature trying to smash it into the ground. The infantryman twisted its body in an inhuman way to grapple the arm and snap the bone, then rip the arm from the socket, causing the demon to roar in pain. Two pods popped from the back on shoulder mounts, firing directly into the creature's face, blowing the head clean off as blood sprayed backward. Once the small skirmish was over, the metal soldier picked up its rifle and looked at them with two red glowing optics, scaring the life out of both of them. "No… no no no…"

(Recommended Song: Two Steps From Hell – Freedom Fighters)

Before they could start running, the man's eyes swapped to an ethereal light blue. "Miss, you need to leave this area, it isn't safe. Let's get you out of here; follow me." Marked on the upper chest plate on the left was the name, Ethan.

"He… hel… help us… please…" she managed to just eek out as her arms were wrapped around her young brother.

"Deacon, need fire support on my location, escorting two civilians to a DZ. It might be a long night." The teenager and young boy were helped out of the trench, only to lay their eyes on just how big the mechanical army was that defended the main road to Garrington. There were tens of thousands of them standing their ground against the hellish onslaught. They weren't falling back, not even once. While she had seen soldiers try and fight, then die, against the infernal creatures coming for their flesh, these were mowing through the lines… only for more of the demons to come up to refill the ranks. Neither seemed to be gaining any ground.

"My… god…" she whispered as multiple HRVs rolled up, skidding to a halt as Ethan pushed the two children into a waiting door. An auto doc was waiting along with a small escort team inside.

"You'll be safe where they take you." The door slammed shut as he pounded twice to let it know to get moving. The convoy charged back away from the frontlines as he looked up and saw a squadron of fighters fly overhead, recently rearmed for the next strike. "Good hunting boys. There's plenty of them out there." Two more monsters were seen on the opposite side of where he had just climbed. It was going to be a long night, indeed.

"Stop pissing around with the locals, let the protection detail take care of that," Deacon replied. He racked in a new cell for his rail sniper rifle and ratcheted another magazine of darts for ammo. Ethan shook his head slowly as he charged back into the action alongside a medium tank.

Morning, 12th, December

"Ma'am, your majesty." Selene woke up groggily as she looked at the clock in her Hud. Adesha was waking her up early, very early.

"Wha, what? Where? The…" the dev stopped speaking and checked the alarm. It hadn't gone off yet, two hours left. The time was 3 am. "What's going on? What happened?" she asked, a little frustrated she wouldn't get a little extra shut eye today.

"There's a speech going on from outside. It's coming from the king and somehow being broadcasted across the land. He's preparing something."

Well, shit.