Gamer Reborn-Chapter 496

The guards were waiting with baited breath as they finished their preparations. All of them had taken part in repelling the salamander beast wave years ago and they had only grown since then but there were now much fewer people manning some much smaller and less secure walls. Most importantly however was the fact that they were missing the higher up of the guard, there were no Commanders and no Warden to lead from the front. All they had was prince Xavier acting as long range support from behind and Ajax overlooking everything.

“Don’t try to be a marty.” the higher ups repeated themselves as they waited for the beasts to attack. “Our job is to delay as much as we can and to kill as many as we can. Duke Hearthbound will take over once we can’t handle it any more.”

The landscape was favorable. The crafters had cleared all of the trees from the surrounding areas and with the mountain and closed off caves at their back they only needed to worry about one direction. It was just a shame the creatures that made this dungeon floor their home were not as favorable a match up as the salamanders had been.

“Focus on keeping the bears away from the cement sections for as long as you can.” Leadership was reinforcing the core of their strategy, they knew any deep planning wouldn’t survive contact with the enemy. “The spiders will be able to climb this wall anyway but make sure you burn the webs before they build a ramp for the bears.”

“Archers and Janice keep an eye on the sky.” Janice was the sole combat mage and one of the three people who could use magic but weren’t retainers of House Hearthbound, the other two being the healers from the Healing Union that had joined for the delve. “The number of falcons may be few but they can show up at any time. Falcons usually hunt alone but with the obelisk activated they might be working together, I don’t want a repeat of the first floor.”

While the guards were getting ready to fight Ajax entered the cave that housed the activated obelisk. Inside were all twenty three crafters. “Great job, all of you.” Ajax praised them. “I’m sure you’ve all made at least some progress, I’m now here to offer you the last chance to reach for more. Would any of you want to take part in the fighting?”

It was easy to see how shocked some people were to hear the proposition. All of them people who had joined House Hearthbound in the last few weeks and months. Those who had come with the from the capital knew what Ajax was referring to, a few even stood and took him up on his offer.

“Why would they fight?” some of the crafters asked after breathing a sigh of relief when Ajax left only with the people who had volunteered.

“Because they want to become true dungeon crafters.” one of the older crafters who had come from the capital explained and everyone gathered closer to hear.

“Isn’t this what dungeon crafters do?” another asked as he waved at all of them.

“This only works at the lower levels.” The old crafter explained. “There are plenty of people, even in a new House like House Hearthbound who can guarantee our protection in such a low floor. But as our skill, Skills and level increase and we start delving higher floors true dungeon crafters become more involved in combat.”

“Only combat Skill I have is [Hammers], I won’t do them any good out there.” another crafter chuckled as he imagined him going out there and swinging his carpenter’s hammer.

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“You won’t be out there swinging a hammer.” the old crafter laughed. “You’re not a fighter that picked up a crafting profession. Combat crafters are more of a support in combat. Alchemists throwing all manner of vials into the frey, builders using Skills like [Reinforce]. Tailors are particularly favored if they have access to their mana and the Skill [Threads of Mana], their traps are some of the best as they can let allies pass through while still entangling the enemy.”

“That still sounds risky.” That was the general mood of those who remained in the cave.

“It is risky, it’s why the smart long term move is to stay here like I am doing.” The old crafter laughed. “Those who pull it off however progress much faster as the risk and combat experience not only pushes their level further but their Skills also grow much quicker. All you younglings should give it a go now while we have someone as capable as the Duke looking out for us. There is practically no risk, once the House becomes more established the escort role will be carried out by people who can't wait until the last moment to step in.”

Outside the cave the battle had started in earnest. Ajax and Xavier both winced as they looked upon the guards who were now trying to place the handful of crafters who had decided to help into their formation and everything was starting to fall apart. Ajax made a mental note to talk to Grievous about that, his commanders should be able to incorporate unexpected extra resources without collapsing their structure. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm

“How long do you think they’ll last?” Ajax asked Xaiver.

“An hour before they breach the first wall.” Xavier said. “They’ll maybe make it another twenty minutes after that in a slow retreat before you’ll have to step in and handle it.”

“That bad?” Ajax’s eyebrows rose in surprise at his friend's assessment.

“Their plan with the weak spots in the wall was good but once they have to abandon the walls the spiders will just climb over them.” Xavier explained his reasoning. “Once that happens the choke points won’t help much and they’ll be quickly pushed back.”

“Focus on the sky then please.” Ajax asked his friend. “I don’t want to have to enter the fray too quickly because they overlooked a falcon.”

Ajax’s deal with the guards was that once he was forced to act he would move in earnest to clear the floor. “Here they come!” Loud calls started as the first beasts started to break from the treeline and run towards the walls. 𝘙ÄɴỐ฿ƐS

“Focus on the spiders!” The call came clear. “Keep the bears away from the cemented sections and slowly bleed them.”

The first few monsters never even made it all the way to the wall. These were the few stragglers that had survived the patrolls from around their camp and they were the first to make it here. The small trickle coming was quickly turning into a flood as more and more monsters appeared, all rushing towards the small fort.

“Janice, leave the falcons to the archers.” the leader said. “I need you to burn the corpses here, give us a wall of flames, we need to get rid of the corpses before they form a ramp.”

The battle continued, getting more and more hecting as the minutes ticked by. With Xavier focused on the falcons overhead the guards had managed to hold the beasts at the first wall for almost an hour and a half. By now all the crafters that had come to help were on their last legs, their stamina depleted by their [Reinforce] Skill.

That was when the first bear rammed through pushing its body through the soft cement and coming out the other side of the wall with a sticky grey cover over its fur and gravel tangled in its hide.

“Crafters fall back to the cave. Everyone else, start your controlled retreat.”

The orders had been getting much simpler as the battlefield became more and more chaotic, injuries were becoming commonplace but it was nothing more serious than a scratch or bite on a limb. Ajax had made sure none of the spiders were venomous so there was no rush, pain was a good teacher and he didn’t want to deprive them of their lesson.

While Xavier may have underestimated the guards ability to hold the wall he had overestimated their skills with a controlled retreat. Barely ten minutes after they had abandoned the wall Ajax was forced to make his move as two guards had gotten surrounded and separated from the rest.

Ajax didn’t even have to go all out. He was only maintaining [Mana Syphon] from the ambient Mana in the dungeon yet he moved like a whirlwind of destruction through the beasts. Duel wielding an axe and a hammer Ajax left carnage in his wake.

Both the axe and the hammer were weapons of strength, with how much power Ajax was putting behind each swing and how weak the beasts were in comparison none of the corpses were intact after he passed through. The swing of his axe would leave a clean cut separating anything it touched whereas the hammer had enough momentum behind it that the corpses he left behind looked like they had been killed in an explosion rather than being hit by a blunt weapon.

The beasts kept coming for almost three more hours as even the furthest creature made its way across the floor but after the first ten minutes the guards had regained the first wall where they stood and watched as Ajax decimated anything that came in moments.