The sight of the Gobzkin horde from the roof of the factory shelter would cause blood to freeze, whether it was human or Alfari. While the shelter was properly barricaded from many fronts, with many roadblocks and choke points throughout the surrounding streets, it would all be for nothing against the encroaching tide of green savages.
"Goddamn monsters! They have come in droves." Elena stepped forward, surveying the scene that terrified nearly all defenders.
"I…" At the other side of the roof, Lord Kaimu watched with obvious concern, "I am to blame for this. They must have sensed my presence."
"Your presence?" Adam turned to him, anger visible on his face, "The hell does this mean?"
"My Serai…" Lord Kaimu said and pointed back, toward his UFO, "… it must have been spotted."
"For fuck's sake!" Adam turned around, holding his forehead and resisting the urge to curse to the best of his ability.
"Justiciar, Sage, I assure the two of you that I took my precautions." Lord Kaimu said, trying to act composed, "Samara is my best agent; she scouted the place for two days for Gobzkin or anything that may endanger this meeting."
"Samara?" Adam asked, looking between the Alfari.
"My sister." Kahori stepped forward, "She is still on scouting duty."
"Can you reach her?" Lord Kaimu asked, urging Kahori to act immediately.
She pressed against the stone beads around her neck, and the active rune flickered. Its translation ability was gone, yet with the same rune, Kahori started speaking in her native tongue, still pressing it.
Adam and the others may not have contacted her, but as she kept saying "Muji!" with her tone gradually turning from calm to panicking, it all indicated one thing: Samara wasn't on the other end.
"That's… alarming!" Lord Kaimu stepped forward, holding Kahori's back as she started crumbling into full panic mode. He then turned to them, "She's one of my best."
"Fuck!"
Adam couldn't contain his anger, but he knew that this was not the time to be angry at the aliens and their incompetent actions; it was best to do something about this.
"Let's not fight among ourselves." Megan stepped forward, "We need a strategy." She looked between Adam, Professor Hendrick, and Lord Kaimu, "From the looks of it, confrontation can't be avoided, but these numbers…"
She turned west, north, and south; wherever she looked, Gobzkins were moving in waves, mostly small Gobs and occasional Hobgobs, but there were a few Groks (Brutes) appearing here and there. Additionally, Grolls (Skulkers) would also emerge from their hiding spots.
"Gather everyone; we'll need to mount a defense." Adam said and looked between the Professor and the Lord, "Can I assume leadership? I won't order anyone around, just for coordination."
The Professor showed hesitation, but unlike him, the Elden Lord showed immediate resolve.
"I'll put my life in your hands, Justiciar. Just treat us as you treat your men." He said without hesitation, before giving a signal for the Serai, his UFO, to rise into the air, with just a two-finger gesture.
Adam turned to the Professor, who was at a loss for words, but then nodded immediately:
"I'll ask the kids to coordinate." He said.
"Good." Adam turned to his people, "Elena, the aliens are on our side in this battle."
"Ugh!" She grunted.
"What was that?" He asked.
"Nothing, sir. We follow your orders." She said, saluted him, but her eyes still glared at the aliens.
"Kave." Adam then called for his friend, "What do you think?"
"The streets are barricaded, and the buildings are too dangerous for them to navigate. They will circle us with a large force, then scale the barricades with smaller forces to flank us. That's what I would do." He gave his insight, speaking as Adam's strategic, albeit unhinged, advisor.
"Yes, the worst-case scenario it is." Adam nodded his head, thinking fast before turning to Stone, "Corporal, get everything in the van and the squad car to the roof; take the students with you. Tell Hammerhead and Officer Reeves to stay at the squad car with the LMG."
"Sir." Stone said and moved right away, asking Raj and his group to follow.
Adam then turned to Buzz:
"Buzz, we need eyes in the sky."
"Heh!" A grin appeared on Buzz's face, "I thought you'd never ask."
Unlike before, Adam came with more than just light weaponry this time. He had his team equipped with the best toys he could summon from Wartopia's miniatures. Aside from the medium weaponry Stone was bringing, one of the most useful items was with Buzz.
A Solarium Man-at-Arms Radio Operator may have been one of the most archaic unit types in the game, but in the recent additions, some bold choices were added to radio operators, one of which was the removal of the word "radio" from their names and sticking to "operator." These operators received all sorts of utility toys added to their gear, and the most instrumental was…
Whir-whir-whir-Bzzzzzzzzzz
… the Recon Drone.
Buzz, kneeling, opened a compartment at the back of his oversized radio pack, and the drone shot up to the sky. He immediately lowered some goggles from his helmet, which appeared like normal goggles until a second ago, when they started glowing green.
"Reconnaissance Drone deployed!" Buzz recited the generic line from Wartopia's RTS and then turned to Adam, seemingly able to see through his goggles, "I've got eyes, sir."
"Do your job, Buzz. Give me hostile count, danger rates, and enemy movement." Adam ordered with a voice of authority.
"On it, sir." Buzz replied.
Adam then redirected his attention to the students.
"I assume you all know your battle stations." He said, and they faced him, nodding, "Let's not leave any opening to be flanked. I'll get the artillery onto the roof; I want a team positioned here to cover it. If all defensive points are lost, we'll fight at the factory's main gate and clear an escape route for the people through the horde."
The students didn't complain much, and they understood their positions.
"How much ammunition do you have?" Adam asked Ivan.
"Enough… but it won't be enough even if we survive this." Ivan replied.
"Do you have any melee weapons?"
"Some tools and knives. To be honest, I wouldn't recommend them."
Seeing as Ivan wasn't considering a melee confrontation, Adam tried to look around for the best fighting spot to concentrate his defense.
"Justiciar Clay, I have enough weapons to arm 60 warriors." But like the sweetest musical harp of heaven, Lord Kaimu's voice played to Adam's heartstrings.
"60?" Adam turned to him with imploring eyes, "Please."
"You don't have to ask; I'll lend them all to those of the Warrior Way." He said and looked more determined, "If we survive, I'll give away the ones without runes even."
Adam looked at the Elden Lord, and the little suspicion he had of him in his heart lessened.
"What about your troops?" Adam asked.
"I have 10 House Guards and 20 Servants. My House Guards are all of the Champion Way, same as I, so we will fight. As for the 20 Servants, they will be in the Serai providing us with ranged fire, though their powers are not impressive." The Elden Lord added.
"More than enough. And your prowess, can you give me an estimation?" Adam asked once again to find out the best location to position them.
"The shield wall of the spear warriors is unbreakable, Justiciar. You shall witness it." Lord Kaimu replied, a hint of pride in his voice.
"I shall." Adam nodded but had one final question, "About your… Serai. Does it have weapon systems?"
"We usually don't arm them in the same sense you arm your houses. This is a Manor-style Serai. There are others in the styles of a Tower or a Fortress, but we only fight from their battlements." He said and shook his head.
Adam's brows furrowed as he really hoped that this UFO called a Serai would have some sort of Rune Beam Cannon or something, but it seemed that the strategies of the Alfari weren't as ranged-inclined as human strategies. They preferred the Warrior Way and rarely incorporated ranged combat, which would make them useful in covering some of the human weaknesses against the Gobzkin.
Adam and Lord Kaimu finalized their strategy as soon as Buzz reported the headcount and the movements of the enemy to them. Lord Kaimu and his House Guard would take the eastern front, where the Gobzkin were trying to flow in from, and would establish a shield wall. While 10 Alfari warriors seemed insufficient, once they stood apart and aimed their shields in one direction, some sort of light barrier started to extend between each shield; their spears were charged with light energy at their tips and remained ready.
The students split into four teams, taking various defensive positions around the square perimeter of the factory, and soon started gunning down all the Gobzkin that were trying to move through.
Adam's group split into two groups; Buzz, Elena, and Sharp all gathered around one large military crate that Stone carried up to the roof. Megan, Kave, Patch, and Stone went downstairs to join Hammerhead and Officer Reeves around the squad car as a mobile force.
Before this split was finalized, 20 servants of Lord Kaimu all came from the Serai, carrying various blades and spears, laying them down before the human students, whose expressions turned from nervousness to awe as they held the weapons that gleamed like gold.
Kave was especially happy to find a curved blade, but its handle was far too big, similar to the one Lord Kaimu carries. Kave still clung to it, reimagining it as some sort of a nodachi. As for Adam, he realized that his class wouldn't do well in melee, so he humbly chose to stay at the back with a blazer rifle as a ranged weapon, and he would use his runic staff when the need arose.
Yet, beside him, Lord Kaimu seemed to have seen through Adam's nervousness and asked:
"Are you not fluent in rune combat?"
"Not in a direct way. I'm not as fast as I hope." Adam shook his head, "Would you share a shortcut with me?"
Adam was eager to learn, even mid-battle. So he didn't hesitate to ask. As for Lord Kaimu, he wasn't stingy enough to withhold such information before a fateful fight.
"I am both a Warrior and a Runesmith. My bond with the runes is unique. They listen to me in different ways." He said, but his tone got even flatter, "But even to me, there is a limit to my growth."
"So, no faster… or modular way to grow?" Adam asked.
"Usually, there are none, but there is a sure way to correct your growth: to have a proper artifact." Lord Kaimu stated.
"Not the Gobzkin stick, you mean?"
"Certainly!" Lord Kaimu smiled and turned to Kahori, "Envoy, would you please hand me your left bracer. I promise to compensate you."
"Lord!"
Kahori bowed her head and stepped back before pulling her sleeve, revealing a copper-colored cuff under it. He pressed its sides, and it came loose, as strange straps opened up, allowing it to come off. She immediately handed it over to Lord Kaimu, who turned and presented it to Adam.
"It is a piece of armor I make for those I consider friends. I'll hand it over to you, Justiciar, as a token of apology for causing this situation, and furthermore, I'll move the dying rune from that Gobzkin stick to the bracer. It will become stronger, more alive, and active…"
"But?"
"But we may as well lose it." He said with a heavy tone, "It is a risk, but the odds aren't bad."
Adam put his blazer aside and took the Gobzkin Club before deciding:
"Let's do it."
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