Chương 223: (218) 3.83. Not Like the Last Time

Seven days before the supposed arrival time for the fourth wave, it began. Vin was in the middle of eating lunch with Lumel when the deep, powerful gong of the warning bell rang out over the town. Witherson had had the bright idea to add a giant bell to the clock tower in order to notify people when the hour changed, but it could also be used as a general warning.

It had taken a handful of their smiths quite some time to get the piece fashioned, and a hell of a lot of combat classes working in unison to carry it up the tower with their enhanced strength and a little assistance from Vin's newly learned Redirect Gravity, but it was worth it. The sound of the bell meant they had at most twenty to thirty seconds before the monsters started arriving.

"Let's go!" Vin shouted, tossing his food aside and grabbing his staff. Lumel didn't need to be told twice, yanking on her black gloves and pulling her hood down as she grabbed his arm and cast. Just like they'd practiced, the world seemed to pressurize and shift around them, before they suddenly found themselves standing on the town wall.

The quiet, calm of their apartment had immediately been replaced by shrieking sqerrets and people shouting orders at one another as everyone frantically prepared for the incoming wave of monsters. About one in three of the combat classes manning the walls had trained sqerrets perched on their shoulders, all of which were currently screeching at the top of their lungs.

Their hair was sticking up like a cat's, and they were all staring out toward the open meadow around town as their animal senses picked up on fluctuations in the mana far too delicate for most people to even notice. While Vin still had yet to actually meet the fabled Tamer he'd heard so much about, Devin had personally trained these sqerrets to react in such a manner to give the Earthers an early warning system for the inevitable monsters.

Thirty seconds wasn't exactly a whole lot of time, but it was certainly better than nothing. Not to mention, they'd trained for this. Barely a second after they'd appeared on the wall, Lumel vanished in another flash of purple, off to pick up her next passenger. Once they'd hit the ten day mark before the wave's supposed arrival, Spur had ordered the leaders of the camp to spend the majority of their downtime in specific locations, to allow Lumel to better carry out her role of repositioning everyone around camp.

Sure enough, only a few seconds later there was another flash of purple, and Lumel was on the wall once more, now with a fully armored Phil standing beside her.

"You know the drill!" Phil roared, taking command as Lumel vanished yet again.

"So long as you draw breath, not a single monster breaches this wall! Focus on protecting the Bands while they retreat!" While Phil screamed orders and warrior after warrior rushed up onto the walls, their bows, crossbows, and other ranged weaponry at the ready, Vin looked out at the offshoot settlement where the former prisoners called home. Despite their improved skills and large number of crafters, their smaller settlement didn't have so much as a garden wall surrounding it.

The former prisoners, or the Bands, as the Earthers had come to call them due to the thick black bracelets on all their wrists, had refused to build a wall for the same reason they'd refused to live within Terra in the first place. After escaping their horrific prison, they never wanted to feel trapped again. That said, there was a big difference between living within a giant enclosed wall twenty-four-seven and spending a few hours there in order to survive.

Waltz, who had become something like the functional mayor of the Bands, had agreed to help shepherd his people into Terra when it was finally time for the monsters to arrive. Even now, Vin could see the beastkin shouting at his people, encouraging them to drop whatever it was they were doing and rush toward Terra for its protection.

They'd actually drilled for this a handful of times over the past few days, so the few hundred former prisoners managed to do exactly what was asked of them with shocking speed and efficiency. As a prestiged Scout, Waltz was probably the only person on the entire fragment faster at getting around than Vin was, and Vin blinked as the beastkin picked one of the slower members and seemed to blur his way over to Terra, before blurring back and grabbing another one.

Vin's attention was yanked from the evacuating Bands as Lumel flashed back onto the wall again, depositing an excited looking Spur with his sword already drawn.

"I've been looking forward to this wave for longer than you can imagine," Spur growled, grinning at him.

"For the first time, Vin, we're ready. Let's show these monsters what it means to mess with Terra!" Spur's shout was answered by hundreds of cheers all across town as people continued flooding up onto the wall, getting into positions that had been drilled into them and preparing for combat.

While there were still a good number of support and crafter classes up on the wall, filling in the empty spaces and preparing for battle, for the first time since arriving on Edregon, they actually had people not directly participating in the battle to come. At this point, they had a little over a thousand combat classes to work with, all of whom had been training and preparing for this very day under Phil, Shredder, and Reonelli's tutelage.

The walls were pretty much packed to the brim, and they needed to ensure they still had space for runners to move around and replenish ammunition stockpiles during the battle. Those who weren't participating were currently holed up within their apartments, having barred the doors and windows until they heard the all clear. A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

Vin saw the distant purple flash on the far wall opposite them indicate that Lumel had deposited Myers into position along the back wall. A few seconds later, another flash along the side and a wave of her staff confirmed that Shia was in position. As the seconds ticked down and Vin started to detect the distant fluctuations in the mana himself, indicating that the monsters would be here any moment, Lumel appeared beside him once more.

"Everyone's in position," she panted, uncorking one of the bottles tied to her new belt and downing the blue potion she'd been given, courtesy of Bill.

"Bleh… I see he still hasn't fixed the taste issue for mana potions."

"Let's just be happy they work," Vin grinned as he checked his own potions secured to his person, all the while practically vibrating with nervous energy as the fluctuations in the meadow grew stronger and more wild. The sensation wasn't quite the same as it had been for the battle for wave two, it almost felt like there was so much mana churning and bubbling in the surrounding area that it was building to a crescendo.

It meant they had a little bit more time to prepare than they'd expected, but Vin couldn't help but grow concerned that when the dam finally did break, it was going to be ugly. Weaving together a quick runic formation, Vin cast Whispering Wind to notify Spur of his findings without freaking out the rest of the defenders. The colonel had already moved on to a different part of the wall, busy clapping people on the back and boosting morale wherever he went.

"The fluctuations are more varied and powerful than they were for the battle of wave two. We have a bit more than the thirty seconds we thought we would, but when they finally hit, they're going to hit hard and fast."

"Remember the drills, you know what to do," was Spur's quiet response, and Vin nodded as he cancelled the spell.

"Be careful," Lumel said, taking his hand and giving it a quick squeeze.

"Don't get reckless just because you have your boon to bail you out. I can feel those fluctuations too, and I don't like what's coming."

"Don't worry, it'll take more than a monster or two to put me down," Vin reassured her, pulling her in for a quick hug and hoping she couldn't feel just how badly he was shaking. Despite all the drills, despite all the preparation, despite all the power they'd amassed since the last wave, try as he might, Vin couldn't shake the mental image of sprinting back home only to find himself standing in a field of hundreds of dead Earthers.

A small part of him screamed that death was approaching and everybody needed to run, but he did his best to silence that thought as he took a deep breath.

"I know you want to help, but please don't do anything too risky," he told her, giving her a quick kiss despite all the people around them. For once, he wasn't actually the center of attention, as all eyes were either on getting weapons prepped and ready, or were already staring out across the empty meadow, waiting for the first sign of monsters to attack.

"Find me if you need help."

"Stay safe," she said, giving him one last smile before vanishing with a flash of purple. Vin wasn't exactly a huge fan of the role Lumel had been given, but even if she wasn't much of a combatant, she'd been determined to do her part. Lumel would be warping around town, not only carrying out messages and delivering orders, but occasionally warping onto the battlefield itself to rescue high-value Earthers who got themselves in danger.

Naturally, that would end up putting her right in the thick of things, which was less than ideal. Vin had already lent her his ring of barkskin to help bolster her defenses a bit, but he still didn't like the idea of the fragile pulmon rushing out onto the monster-infested battlefield, even if she could warp away in the blink of an eye. Still, it wasn't his decision to make, and he was proud of her for wanting to help out her new home.

"Yo, beanstalk!" he heard from below him, the callout tearing his eyes from the field that felt like it would erupt with monsters at any moment. Just outside the town, unsurprisingly at the very front of the mass of combat classes that were forming ranks and preparing for battle, was Alka and her squad of former-trainees. The seven Slayers stood before everyone, acting as the tip of the spear and first line of defense against the impending monster horde.

The six Earthers-turned-Slayers each wore dyed black leathers, matching Alka's own darthsteel frame and looking like quite the intimidating force as they stood behind their leader, ready to do what they did best. Raising her gleaming blue-black sword high over her head, Alka's strange, magical voice that seemed to emanate from somewhere around her head boomed out over the nervous crowd, louder than Vin had ever heard it before.

"Just leave the big ones to us!" Alka roared, her six Slayers raising their own preferred weapons high and shouting right alongside her. It was as though a wave of current had been sent through the gathered defenders, as hundreds of cheers and matching roars of excitement rang out across the crowd. Even Vin himself couldn't help but raise his staff high with his golem arm, letting the arm flash a bright electric blue for the briefest of moments in response to Alka's declaration.

To his shock, the cheering of the crowd nearly doubled, and he almost flinched as a practical wall of sound slammed into him from both behind and in front. Lowering his arm, Vin silently stared at the hundreds of faces literally looking up to him up on the wall, as he heard a chuckle to his side.

"You do realize you're not just some random Explorer anymore, don't you?" Golrim asked, pulling out the modified crossbow he'd been given and loading one of Myers' explosive bolts into it.

"You're a symbol, Vin. An icon to your people, even if you don't want to be. You weren't here for the last wave, and look what happened. To these people, your very presence means things will be different this time around."

"Talk about no pressure," Vin muttered, getting a laugh out of Golrim as the former advisor grinned at him.

"Seeing as you're not just fighting for your people anymore, but mine as well, I certainly hope you're feeling just a little bit of pressure," Golrim said, taking a deep breath himself as he cracked his neck.

"Just do what you do best."

"What exactly is it that you think I do best?" Vin couldn't help but ask.

"I thought that would be obvious by now," Golrim smiled, his grin looking positively feral as hundreds of monsters began popping into existence one after another all around Terra and letting out a myriad of horrific noises. Glancing at Vin one last time, the former advisor winked.

"Whatever is needed."