The air above the Camelback Mountains was a frantic mess of rotors and buzzing microphones, the military and media choppers circling like vultures. Below, the chaotic strip of the Beast Zone pulsed with aggressive, ancient beast vein flora, a kilometer-long vein of life on the rocky slope. The remaining Silver Flea horde, shaken but not destroyed by the initial Rhizomorphic Spear strike, had paused their advance, confused by the sudden emergence of this predatory terrain.
But I was too busy feeling the overwhelming power of my new HP and orgone pools. I looked from the intrusive choppers to the approaching flea threat. "Herja, patch my comms to the team, secure channel. And give me a tactical assessment of the remaining enemy mass."
"Initiating tactical assessment" Came Herjas's voice. "Ash, approximately 800 Silver Fleas remain. Their morale is fragmented due to the Beast Zone ambush, but they are preparing a second charge. They will be on us within sixty seconds. The choppers are also broadcasting live footage of our position."
My mind, sharper than ever with the Intelligence boost, cut through the noise. I knew I couldn't engage the human element right now—the priority was the immediate, monstrous lunar threat. That's when I got an idea, I sent out an orgone enhanced whistle, "Atlas!" The colossal silver bio-steel hand wiggled its tail the umbilical spur and came rushing over to me, running on three digits. Its colossal form slid to a halt as it came sliding up, churning up rocks and earth as sparks flew from its Bio-steel skin.
"All Aboard, we're going to run and gun it!"
Marla, Mothman, Felicity, and Koba needed no second invitation. They were battle-hardened and instantly grasped the wild, audacious logic of the plan. The colossal hand laid down flat, and we all scrambled aboard its massive surface.
Once the team was secure, I sent a beast command to the Hand—a clear, visual picture of my idea.
Atlas began to respond almost instantly. The surface in-between its knuckles, right where my team was standing, began to meta morph. Bio-steel plates shifted and extruded, forming a heavily reinforced swing arm that locked into a rotating mount.
I sent another surge of psychic intent into my Satchel Ring, drawing forth the ultimate weapon. The Sex Pistol—the massive siege cannon—materialized from thin air and slammed into the attachment point, locking itself securely onto the now-operational swing arm. The terrifying siege cannon was now a fixed turret, I now had my mobile weapon platform, and my team had the ultimate armored chariot.
"Giddy-up Atlas!" I commanded, sending the psychic equivalent of a swift kick to its metaphorical flank.
The colossal Hand lurched forward, immediately accelerating into a thundering run on its digits, tearing across the mountain terrain directly toward the paralyzed Silver Flea Horde. We were now a heavily armed, high-speed cavalry charge, ready to execute an unprecedented display for the entire world to witness.
The massive gallop of Atlas was deafening, its metallic frame thundering down the mountain slope, kicking up plumes of dust and earth. I and the team, mounted precariously on top of Atlas gripped at hand holds as we felt the wind rush past us. In seconds, the colossal Hand slid to a dramatic, earth-shaking stop right where the 800 Silver Fleas were clustered— just then Herja delivered a system message; "Battle Encounter, Battle Start!"
The turn meters snapped to life. Mothman's turn meter practically filled instantly—a benefit of his high base speed and affinity type. He didn't hesitate, seizing the tactical advantage of the initiative. "Heavenly Wheel Shift!" he shouted, his voice a sharp frequency. I and the whole team felt the instantaneous "Quickening" effect as our turn bars surged 25%, and a 10% Speed Buff icon flashed over each of our heads. Mothman immediately received the Extra Turn Heavenly Wheel shift granted.
Mothman used his extra turn to launch a rapid, debilitating attack "Tarnish Aura!" Mothman shouted as a pervasive wave of corrosive energy washed over the massive Silver Flea horde. A 15% Defense Down buff icon snapped into being over the mob, making the enemies soft targets.
Marla's turn bar, freshly boosted by the quickening, instantly filled. She was a living weapon, and now it was time for the Nuke. She shot straight up into the air above the battlefield, her movement a graceful spiral that ended with her suspended over the vast, immobilized mob. Her vipers' eyes were alive with seething green Orgone.
"Serpent Flash!" she yelled, her voice echoing off the mountain.
All twelve vipers on her head—each a distinct, bio-mechanical cannon—launched jagged, crackling green arcs of Orgone. This was her signature AoE, designed to chew through mass targets, and it was about to hit 750 paralyzed and Defense-Downed targets.
The air rippled with the immense energy discharge. Yellow damage numbers lit up in my HUD! I read them aloud in a gasp-"Total damage 870,000 thousand!" My Siege breaker limit bar lit up! It was Felicity's turn next. The diminutive but deadly engineer, perched securely atop Atlas, ignored the sudden silence.
Her combat phase was automated and instantaneous. She opened with her signature command: "Fierce Felicity Troika! "The air around the party shimmered as her Bloodlust Aura—a passive team buff—slammed into effect. A 15% Crit Damage Buff icon appeared instantly beside everyone's name in my HUD, filling the team with aggressive fervor. Immediately following, Felicity unleashed the tactical payload of the Troika: two devastating debuffs flashed over the dwindling silver flea mob.
Just as Felicity's actions finalized, I felt a familiar wave of psychic power ripple out from my core—the auto-trigger of my powerful passive ability. My 'Aura of Submission' passive activated before my turn, sending out a wave of fear debuffs over the silver horde in front of me.
The wave was redundant, as the horde was already destroyed, but the psychic field saturated the entire area, broadcasting FEAR to any other Lunar beasts within a significant radius, ensuring the cleanup was total.
Herja carried a system message, "Passive: Aura of Submission Activated. Fear Debuff Applied to Battle Zone. Ash's Turn. "I stood atop Atlas, the Sex Pistol mounted and ready on the swing arm, the entire mountain watching. I squeezed the trigger and fired the Sex Pistol, instantly the odd-looking air-sac nodes expanded tripling in size as the weapons gravitational vacuum formed at the muzzle! All 800 severally damaged silver fleas were pulled inside of the Sex-Pistol, the remaining biomass was condensed, purified, and metabolized.
The processed material was then funneled directly into the Rhizomorphic Ordnance Core, powering the next kilometer-long terraforming Rhizomorphic Spear. The internal counter on the cannon reset, indicating a fresh, fully charged Siege Weapon Limit Break was ready to launch. The entire process took less than three seconds. The battlefield went from carnage and metallic fragments to unnaturally pristine ground.
The field of engagement was clear, the threat neutralized, and my team was buffed, debuffed, and ready for the next phase. I looked up at the hovering media and military choppers; a glint of primal rage mixed with showmanship in my eyes. "We just cleared the trash," I said, a smile pulling at my lips. I turned my attention to phoenix city 8 miles away, a hop, skip and a jump really, on Atlas. I had a charged shot saved up in the Sex Pistol and I needed to use it on more mobs of Lunar Beasts for another easy level up.
"Herja, plot a route to Phoenix City. Identify the densest remaining lunar beast infestation zones, Atlas, full speed. Let's clean up the streets."
The massive hand 'Atlas' began its thundering run off the mountain. We gripped the hand holds tight as the ultimate battle chariot headed toward the urban sprawl, a loaded siege cannon pointed toward the city lights.
As Atlas raced over the jagged red terrain of phoenix a new target zone came into view; it was a large, quarantined section of Downtown Phoenix, where the lunar beasts had taken root. Herja updated the tactical assessment: "New Target Identified: Downtown Phoenix, Lunar Infestation. Target Mob: Lunar Worms (L-Worms). Preliminary Count: 650 Units. These units possess high physical defense and burrowing capacity. Commander, the Sex Pistol is fully charged with one Rhizomorphic Spear. Recommend use to anchor a beast zone, preventing further spread, before engagement."The L-Worms represent a different threat—tougher, fewer, and defensive. Your charged Rhizomorphic Spear is the perfect answer but deploying it here means using your big gun before battle.
With the Sex Pistol fully charged and my momentum high, I decided the smartest move was to hit the L-Worms hard and secure the area with my terraforming power. I stood atop Atlas, the city lights of Phoenix rushing closer. The $8.2 miles dissolved quickly beneath the Hand's pounding digits. The Downtown district was sickly, blanketed in fibrous lunar corruption, a perfect target for an immediate power play.
"Herja, we're not waiting for a boss," I declared. "The goal is to stop the spread and clear the board for the next level-up mob. Atlas, stop! "The colossal Hand slid to a halt just outside the quarantined zone, the noise of its stop echoing off the buildings. The air here was heavy and humid, thick with the alien musk of the Lunar Worms. I swung the fully charged Sex Pistol siege cannon, aiming it directly into the center of the infested downtown district, right where the highest concentration of 650 L-Worms was estimated. I squeezed the trigger.
The Sex Pistol roared, not with a vacuum, but with the launch of the massive Rhizomorphic Spear. The spike streaked through the air—and unfurled into a kilometer long white strip of twisted bio-metal flesh and pulsing Orgone—it slammed into the heart of the L-Worm infestation with the force of a tactical missile.