Chapter 169: The First Wall

The wind blew hard over the hill. The team stopped for a second to look at the big building.

“No signs of life,” Seraph said, her voice low and tight. “No guards on the walls, no patrols.”

“That’s what worries me,” Draven grunted. “A place like this isn’t left unguarded. The guards are the walls themselves.”

“Jonah?” Seraph asked, turning to him.

Jonah’s eyes were closed, his mind connected to Trace. “The walls are covered in sensors. They can see magic, heat, and any movement. The whole fortress is a giant trap. There’s no way to get near it without them knowing.”

“Then we don’t try to be quiet,” Draven said, a tough smile on his face. “We knock.”

Seraph nodded. “Alright. We approach from the front. Draven, you’re the point. Vanessa, stay behind him. Jonah, you’re in the back with me. Command your Progeny, find a weakness. Let’s move.”

They started to go down the hill. Their boots slipped on the ashy ground. The closer they got, the bigger the fortress seemed.

They reached the land in front of the main gate.

They were about a few yards away when the everything seemed to pause.

A low, deep buzz vibrated up from the ground, a sound that Jonah felt in his teeth.

“Here we go,” Seraph said, her weapon snapping up into a ready position.

RUMBLE. GRIND. KLA-CHUNK.

A sound like twelve giant locks turning at once happened, and big, hidden doors at the bottom of the walls opened.

For a moment, there was only darkness inside. Then, the darkness began to move.

A lot of creatures rushed out. They were Chimeras, but bigger, angrier, and more terrifying than anything Jonah had seen before. There were wolf-like beasts with tiny legs that made clicking sounds. There were giant, bear-like monsters with hard shells and glowing red eyes. Every one was a horrible mix of animal and metal. They screamed and roared, and the sound was so loud it felt like it pushed the team.

But that was just the first surprise.

At the same time, the top of the fortress walls started to shift. A smooth, machine sound was made as lots of guns rose from hidden sections with glowing blue power at their tips.

“Contact!” Seraph yelled. “Both ground and air!”

FZZZZZZT! WHOOSH!

The guns opened fire. They shot bolts of crackling energy. The bolts made a loud noise as they flew, leaving hot trails behind them.

The team was instantly pinned down, caught in a deadly crossfire.

“Shield!” Draven roared. He slammed the base of his shield into the ground. A golden dome of energy appeared, covering them.

CLANG! CLANG! BOOM!

The energy bolts hit the shield with great force, each impact sending a shockwave through the air. The Chimeric beasts were charging across the land, their claws tearing up the ground.

“I can’t hold this for long!” Draven shouted, his feet sliding back under the force of the blasts. “The power behind these things is insane!”

“I’m on it!” Vanessa yelled. She brought her hands forward, and glowing force fields appeared on their left and right sides, just in time to block the first few beasts that tried to circle around them. A monster slammed into her shield with a horrible crunch and was thrown back, stunned.

“Jonah!” Seraph commanded, firing her gun over the top of Draven’s shield. The shots just bounced off the Chimeras’ armored hides. “We need a weakness! Now!”

Jonah was already doing his job. He was calm in the middle of the chaos, thinking very fast.

“Trace is already scouting,” he reported, his eyes closed as he processed the information from his Progeny. “Specter, Cipher, deploy!”

The Phantom Weaver and the metallic insect appeared in the air beside him.

“Specter, create a diversion. Draw their fire,” Jonah ordered. “Cipher, scan those turrets. Find me a control frequency, a power source, anything!”

Specter vanished into the shadows. A moment later, a huge, glowing illusion of a dragon appeared few yards to their left. It let out a roar. Just as Jonah had hoped, some of the charging beasts and a few of the turrets turned their attention to the new, bigger target, giving Draven a little breathing space.

But it wasn’t enough.

It’s not working!” Jonah said, sounding upset. Cipher was flying fast through the air, avoiding the energy blasts, but it couldn’t get near the guns. “They have shields! I can’t scan them”.

He used Trace’s eyes to see the whole battle in his mind. What he saw made him terrified. There was no weak point. There was no smart plan. Thorne had learned from his mistakes. He didn’t just build a wall. He had built a deathtrap. The Chimeras were strong, fast, and heavily armored. The turrets were powerful, shielded, and perfectly placed.

The illusion of the dragon flashed and died as too many energy blasts tore through it. Specter had done its job, but the full force of the enemy was now focused back on them.

Draven let out a pained grunt as a powerful blast slammed into his shield, making the golden energy crackle and fade. “Their power is increasing!”

Vanessa was sweating, her own force fields flashing under the constant assault of the charging beasts. “There are too many of them! I can’t block them all!”

They were outnumbered. And they were completely trapped.

Seraph looked back at him, her face serious. “Jonah! We need a breach in their lines, or we pull back! That’s an order!”

Jonah knew she was right. But he also knew that running away wasn’t really a choice. If they turned their backs on this army, they would be ripped apart before they got far.

They were in a kill box. Strategy wasn’t enough.

They needed something more.

He looked at the fortress, then at the unstoppable wave of monsters and energy blasts. He thought of the monster sleeping in his workshop.

He had wanted to save it, to use it as a last resort.

He saw the desperate look in Seraph’s eyes.

“I can make an opening,” Jonah said, his voice surprisingly calm in the middle of the chaos. “But it won’t be quiet.”

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