Chapter 26: Pressure and Power
Day 35 - September 20th
The General struck back with precision that made our guerrilla raids look amateurish.
Three coalition outposts hit simultaneously. Not random violence, surgical strikes targeting our weakest positions. Eighteen dead before we even knew we were under attack. Another dozen wounded, some critically.
I was in the training yard when the first distress call came through.
"Outpost Delta is under attack! Heavy casualties! Request immediate..." Static.
Then screaming. Then nothing.
By the time our response teams arrived, it was over. The outposts were smoking ruins. Bodies everywhere, our people, executed with military efficiency. The General's forces had vanished like ghosts.
They'd left a message spray-painted on one wall: "For every supply depot, an outpost. For every freed prisoner, ten deaths. Stop, or escalate. Your choice. -VC"
Viktor Cross. Making his position crystal clear.
The council convened within the hour, and the room was tense enough to snap.
"He's calling our bluff," one member said angrily. "Making us look weak."
"He's trying to provoke us into a fight he knows he'll win," Colonel Hayes countered. "Classic military tactics. Don't take the bait."
"We can't just let him kill our people without response!" Marcus slammed his fist on the table.
"We can't throw lives away on pride, either," Sarah shot back.
Lucas held up his hand for silence. When he spoke, his voice was controlled but I could hear the strain underneath. "Ethan. Your tactical assessment. What does the General want?"
All eyes turned to me. I'd been running scenarios in my head since the attacks started, using my Strategic Mind to analyze patterns and motivations.
"He wants us to do exactly what we're doing right now," I said. "Argue. Split our focus. Make emotional decisions. He's not trying to beat us militarily, he's trying to break our cohesion."
"Then what do we do?" Dr. Kim asked.
"We consolidate. Pull back everyone from vulnerable positions. Bring them here to Green Lake and the university base. Make ourselves a harder target while we build strength." I pulled up a map. "We can't match his offensive power right now. So we go defensive. Fortify. Train. Level up our fighters. And prepare for the inevitable assault."
"That gives up territory," Marcus protested.
"Territory doesn't matter if we're dead," I said bluntly. "Right now, we have two threats: the General and incoming Tier-6 signatures. We can't fight both. So we shore up defenses, get stronger, and hope one of those threats resolves before the other kills us."
The debate lasted another hour, but eventually my proposal won. 7-2 vote to consolidate and fortify.
We spent the next three days in organized chaos. Evacuating outposts, relocating supplies, expanding defenses at our main bases. Everyone worked around the clock.
I threw myself into training operations with nearly manic energy. Partially because it needed doing. Partially because staying busy meant not thinking about the eighteen dead.
Day 38 - September 23rd
My recruits graduated from practice dummies to real combat on Day 38.
I led them on a controlled zombie clearing operation, a small nest of fifteen Tier-1s and Tier-2s in a secured perimeter. Low risk, high value for gaining experience.
"Remember your training," I told them before we moved in. My Leadership Aura was active, giving them subtle stat boosts.
"Headshots only. Stay in formation. Watch each other's backs. Don't be heroes."
We cleared the nest in twenty minutes. Messy, loud, lots of wasted effort, but everyone survived and got their first kill experience.
[TRAINING SQUAD: 30 ZOMBIES ELIMINATED]
[ALL RECRUITS GAINED POINTS]
[5 RECRUITS LEVELED: 1 → 2]
Watching their faces after, the mix of exhilaration, horror, and pride, reminded me of my own first kills. It felt like a lifetime ago, but it had only been four weeks.
"You did good," I told them. "Not perfect. But good. Next run will be better."
One recruit, Maria, former teacher, hands still shaking from adrenaline, looked at me with something like awe. "You make it look easy."
"It's not easy," I said honestly. "It's practiced. You'll get there."
That evening, I pushed my own boundaries.
I found a Tier-3 nest alone—five zombies in an abandoned warehouse. Deliberately went in solo to test my capabilities.
Lightning Bolt took down the first one before it knew I was there. [Mana: 250/300]
The other four charged. I activated Battle Meditation, and the world seemed to slow as my mental processing accelerated. I could see optimal attack patterns, predict movements, calculate trajectories.
Stormbreaker flowed like water in my hands. Each strike was precise, efficient, beautiful in its lethality. The sword techniques I'd been practicing manifested naturally, I was dancing with death and winning.
Five Tier-3s dead in ninety seconds.
[TIER-3 ZOMBIES KILLED: 5]
[POINTS EARNED: 175]
I stood among the corpses, breathing hard but exhilarated. This was what power felt like. Real power. Not just surviving, dominating.
It was intoxicating.
It was also dangerous. That kind of confidence got people killed.
I forced myself to stay grounded, remember the eighteen dead, remember that every advantage could be stripped away by bad luck or worse enemies.
Day 40 - September 25th
The fortifications at Green Lake transformed the compound into a legitimate fortress.
Iron Battalion brought military engineering expertise. Trenches with overlapping fields of fire. Reinforced walls. Elevated shooting positions. Kill zones that forced attackers into bottlenecks.
But engineering only went so far. We needed firepower.
"We're short on heavy weapons," Colonel Hayes reported during the daily briefing. "Got enough rifles and ammunition, but nothing that can stop vehicles or large threats."
"What about that National Guard depot we raided?" Lucas asked.
"Already stripped. We got everything they had." Hayes pulled up an inventory. "What we need is high explosives, rocket launchers, maybe some crew-served weapons. But those are hard to find."
"What about the General?" I suggested. "He's got military-grade equipment. We've seen it.
"You're suggesting we raid his armory?" Sarah said incredulously.
"I'm suggesting that while we're playing defense, we still need offensive capabilities.
And the General has resources we need." I thought it through. "Small team. Night operation. In and out before he responds. We did it before with intelligence gathering. We can do it again."
Lucas considered. "Who would you take?"
"Maya. Rodriguez. Maybe two of Hayes's best scouts." I met his eyes. "I'll lead it."
"When?"
"Tonight. Before he expects us to move again."
The mission was approved with reluctance.
High risk, but necessary reward.
Night of Day 40
Four of us moved through the darkness: me, Maya, Rodriguez, and an Iron Battalion scout named Jackson who'd been a Ranger before the apocalypse.
The General's armory was a separate building from his main base, a calculated risk on his part, but it meant we could hit it without engaging his main force.
Security was predictably heavy. Guards, patrols, cameras powered by generators.
"I count six guards visible," Jackson whispered through our comms. "Probably more inside."
"Can we avoid them?" I asked.
"Not all of them. We'll have to neutralize at least two."
I hated the word "neutralize." It was sanitized. Professional. It meant killing human beings who were probably dominated against their will.
But we needed those weapons.
"Do it quiet," I said.
Jackson and Rodriguez moved like shadows. Two guards went down silently, not dead, just unconscious. We'd tried to be merciful where possible.
Inside the armory was a treasure trove. Rocket launchers. Grenades. High-caliber ammunition. Even some System-bought weapons I didn't recognize.
"Grab what you can carry," I said. "Prioritize heavy ordinance."
We loaded up quickly. Each of us could carry maybe sixty pounds with our enhanced Strength. We took rockets, explosives, advanced rifles.
Alarms started blaring as we exited.
"Plan B," Jackson said calmly. "Run."
We ran.
General's forces responded fast, vehicles, searchlights, gunfire. But we'd planned our escape route carefully. Through alleys they couldn't drive through. Over obstacles they couldn't clear as fast.
Maya's Superhuman Reflexes kept her ahead of pursuers. Rodriguez's military training showed in his efficient movement.
Jackson knew every trick for breaking line of sight.
I provided cover when needed, Lightning Bolt fired behind us, not to kill but to discourage pursuit. Mana Shield on anyone who got too close to enemy fire.
We made it out with our stolen goods and zero casualties.
Back at Green Lake, we delivered the weapons to a grateful Hayes.
"Rocket launchers," he said with satisfaction. "Now we can actually stop vehicle assaults. Good work, Commander."
But I felt hollow inside. We'd stolen from the General, which meant he'd retaliate harder. The escalation cycle continued.
How long until one of these raids ended with us dead instead of successful?
Day 41 - September 26th
I hit Level 9 that morning.
It happened during a routine zombie clearing operation. A Tier-4 had appeared in downtown, dangerous enough that Lucas asked me to handle it personally.
The fight was brutal. Tier-4s were smart, fast, and durable. This one had adapted specifically to fight humans, using cover, flanking, feinting attacks.
But I'd grown too. My magic and swordplay worked in harmony now. Lightning to create openings. Blade to exploit them. Shield to survive counters.
When the Tier-4 fell, the notification came:
[TIER-4 ZOMBIE KILLED]
[POINTS EARNED: 400]
[LEVEL UP! 8 → 9]
[ALL STATS INCREASED BY 2]
[HP: 340 → 390]
[STAMINA: 360 → 410]
[MANA: 300 → 350]
[3 FREE STAT POINTS AVAILABLE]
The power surge was immediate. My mana pool deepened. My body felt lighter, faster, more resilient. I was approaching the threshold where individual humans became force multipliers, where one person could matter in large-scale conflicts.
I allocated my free points strategically:
• +2 Intelligence (21 → 23)
• +1 Constitution (22 → 23)
More mana. More survivability. The build that would keep me and others alive.
When I returned to Green Lake, Maya was waiting with news.
"I hit Level 7," she said with a tired smile. "Killed a bunch of Tier-3s during perimeter defense. Finally."
"Congratulations. What'd you buy?"
"Whirlwind Strike upgrade. Now it can hit up to five enemies instead of three." She demonstrated, her bat blurred through the air in a circular strike pattern that would devastate any group. "Between this and my reflexes, I'm basically untouchable in melee range."
"Good. We need that."
Lisa had reached Level 5, her healing abilities now strong enough to close serious wounds in minutes instead of hours. Marcus hit Level 7, becoming our premiere heavy fighter after Lucas and the General.
The coalition was getting stronger. Fast.
But so was the General. And his head start meant even our accelerated growth might not be enough.
Day 42 - September 27th
The council meeting that day carried weight I could feel in the air.
Dr. Chen had called it. That alone was unusual—she typically deferred to Lucas or Hayes on strategic matters.
"I need to show you something," she said without preamble. She activated a holographic display, System energy readings across Washington state.
Three massive spikes. Seattle. Tacoma. Olympia.
"Tier-6 signatures," she announced. "They're forming faster than predicted. Best estimate: five days until full manifestation."
The room fell silent.
"Three Tier-6s," Lucas said slowly. "We barely survived one Tier-5 with massive casualties. Three Tier-6s..."
"Would be extinction-level," Colonel Hayes finished. "We can't fight three simultaneously."
"Neither can the General," I pointed out. "This affects him as much as us."
"You're suggesting alliance," General Cross's voice came through the radio link we'd established for emergencies. He'd been listening.
"I'm suggesting survival," I said. "We can kill each other after the Tier-6 threat is eliminated. But if we don't work together now, there won't be anyone left to fight."
Silence on the other end. Then: "I'll consider it."
The connection cut.
"That's not a no," Lucas observed.
"It's not a yes either," Sarah countered.
"But it's an opening," I said. "Which means we prepare for two scenarios: alliance or solo fight. Either way, we have five days."
Five days to get stronger. To finalize defenses. To make peace with the possibility that this might be the fight we don't walk away from.
I spent that evening with Maya and Lisa, sitting on Green Lake's walls watching the sunset.
"Do you think we'll survive this?" Lisa asked quietly.
"I don't know," I admitted. Honesty felt important. "Tier-6 is beyond anything we've faced. And if the General doesn't ally with us..."
"Then we die fighting," Maya finished. "Could be worse ways to go."
"Could be better ones too," I said.
We sat in silence, watching orange and purple paint the sky. It was beautiful. Strange how the apocalypse hadn't destroyed beauty, just made it rarer. More precious.
"I want to thank you both," I said suddenly.
"For sticking with me. For trusting me when I barely trusted myself. For becoming... family, I guess."
Lisa's eyes watered. "You gave me a purpose when I thought I'd lost everything. You turned grief into strength."
"You gave me someone worth fighting for,"
Maya added. "Fighting alone sucks. Fighting for people you care about? That's worth the risk."
We didn't say anything else. Just sat together, three survivors who'd found each other in hell and decided to make it mean something.
Whatever came in five days, we'd face it together.
That was enough.
[END OF CHAPTER 26]
Current Status:
• Ethan's Level: 9
• Ethan's Points: 175(from recent kills)
• Maya's Level: 7
• Lisa's Level: 5
• Coalition Status: Fortified, preparing for Tier-6
• Enemy Status: General Cross considering alliance
• Major Threat: 3 Tier-6s in 5 days
• Days Survived: 42
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