Earth Tactics Advance: Volume 1

by Scottie Futch

  Another unfortunate goblin fell to the ground clutching at his wounds after being riddled with bullets. However, one was left and it was now his turn.

  The goblin left behind was the one that had turned to notice Rosa. He whipped his spear up and ran forward in an obvious attempt to skewer her, but she was too far away. His turn ended three steps from her position. Two bullets slammed into him knocking his health down by a large margin. One hit him in the head and he was temporarily stunned, not that it mattered at this point.

  Scott's turn came, and with the swiftness of a man possessed, he rushed over and leapt into the air before slamming his burning blade down atop the unfortunate beast. He sheared through the goblin's ear, tore a chunk of its cheek free from his face, and blasted through the meat of his shoulder before crushing his clavicle.

  The goblin caught fire just before Scott's boot slammed into its back. He used the momentum to pull his blade free and the beast fell forward, defeated. It had been a total slaughter due to their surprise attack.

  “We did it,” said Rosa, surprised by their own success.

  The goblins dropped a few copper coins, a silver coin, a ring, and bloodstone gem. It was a fairly nice haul, all things considered. A little too nice. Scott wondered about it for a moment. When he hunted alone, he rarely got much from monsters like this. Did it have to do with their levels? That bore investigating in the future.

  “We should head back to the house and see how you girls did,” said Scott.

  They returned to the house and got cleaned up. During their clean-up, notifications popped up for the ladies that all three of them considered to be welcome news. The girls increased their levels to five during that short hunt. Scott was absurdly impressed.

  Hunting higher level monsters in a group seemed to be far better than hunting alone. It had taken much longer to reach level five for him due to constantly being near death when fighting swarms of low-level monsters. However, even with that wonderful news, he was still annoyed that he was stuck at level ten. He could not be that far from his next level, could he?

  Scott explained the situation to Rosa once more after he heard her giddily talking about going out to hunt again. She was sad to hear that she should still wait to level up further, but glad to know that she could become even stronger in the future if she received a profession and trained her stats.

  Harley revealed to Scott on their road trip earlier that her stats automatically increased with each level in accordance to various factors. She had no skill tree, but would awaken new abilities at pre-set intervals that she did not know. In short, she operated like a monster.

  It was mid-afternoon now, and Scott was exhausted. He needed to sleep for at least an hour or so before scouting the bridge. He would hate to venture out at night, but with Harley they might be able to arrive at his house well before dark. Either way, a short nap was in order.

  Chapter 13

  Training was complete for the day, and as such it was time for a little rest before the next great adventure. Harley took up a guard position outside. She did not require rest in the same way that a human might. Rosa relaxed in the living room for the first time in what seemed like forever to her. Mid-afternoon slowly became late afternoon before Scott was awakened.

  “Huh?” he asked intelligently. His body was stiff, and his thoughts sluggish. Rest had not come easy to him of late.

  “It’s been three hours, Scott,” said the girl. She brushed a bit of hair back behind her ear and offered a slight smile.

  “Thanks Rosa. Did anything happen?” he asked, his voice slightly slurred. He felt a lot better than before, but he was still tired. Improved vitality and regenerative ability helped a lot, but his body had seen hell throughout recent days.

  “Yes, Harley said that she detected life forms approaching. They’re human.” She acquired a thoughtful look then lightly ran her fingers along the stock of her loot master. A lot changed for her compared to the last few days. Her new weapon helped her cope.

  Scott rolled out of bed and yawned. Many of his bruises, and even a few of his minor cuts, had disappeared entirely. But he still winced when he moved. His body was a little stiffer than he would have liked, but he was starting to feel better. The problem was that there was just too damned much to do before he could truly rest.

  They arrived outside just in time to see nine people walk up to the gate, only one of them had a police uniform on. Scott recognized Frank even from that distance.

  “Hey, where’s everyone else?” asked Scott after both parties reached the gate.

  Frank shook his head. “They refused to come. There were a few of them who had those salvation crystals. They thought it would be better to stay in town closer to supplies and that shopping center.”

  “That… What’s wrong with those idiots? Those crystals only work for one day each, and don't drop that often,” said Scott. He shook his head.

  "Salvation crystals?" asked Rosa, curious about the name

  Scott looked to her. "Yeah, they're these little crystals that can make a safe zone to keep out monsters. Great for emergencies, but if they use them constantly like that, they'll be defenseless at night after a few days."

  "Do you have any?" she asked Scott suddenly.

  "Yeah, a handful for emergencies. They're rare monster drops or mission stuff," he admitted.

  Scott and Rosa discussed such things for a brief moment. He explained what missions were, something that the small group that had come with Frank wanted to hear more about as well, and then looked back to the large police officer. "If they think that using those crystals to stay in town long term is an option, they're going to be in serious trouble soon."

  “That’s what I said. I figured you had it right.” Frank nodded slowly then sighed. "We needed to all leave town, while we could."

  “Why didn’t Daniel come?" asked Scott, "His family is going to be here by the morning."

  “Hell if I know,” said Frank. He then looked at the handful of people who had come with him for a moment before he turned back to Scott. “Can we come in?”

  Scott glanced to Rosa. She nodded slightly, and then went to open the gate. The tired and bloodied people walked into the gate and then it was shut tight once more. Leaving it open was not an option in this brave new world.

  Several of the people with Frank were easily recognized by Scott. They were members of the group who had sided with him in the first place, plus a few new faces.

  “Did you lose anyone on the way?” asked Scott as the group was led toward the house.

  “No, some psycho killed half the town before we came along,” said Frank while giving Scott a wry smile.

  “Saw that did you?” asked Scott lightly.

  “Bodies everywhere man. We should have just gone with you in the first place. We had to fight those long-nosed things with the spears, and the ghouls a few times.” Frank glanced back at a Hispanic man who favored his right leg. “Hector got jumped by a big ass rat that hopped out of a dumpster. We were fine, otherwise.”

  Scott shook his head. “Hell, I’m surprised I made it through. I don’t know how much fighting you had to do, but I ran across things that were just fucking insane.”

  “Like what?” asked Frank.

  Scott related his fights to Frank and the others, and made sure they knew to look out for Raider Scum in the future since they seemed human but were counted as monsters. Frank was particularly troubled by the demented killer Bartleby.

  "Clowns man, killer clowns," said Frank. He shook his head then took a slow breath.

  "Afraid of clowns?" asked Rosa softly.

  "Nah. Not since I was a kid. I wouldn't have wanted to meet something like that, though," said big Frank.

  Frank was excited by the prospect of working vehicles, however. “You think there are really working cars there?”

  “Probably. These letters seem legit so far,” said Scott.

  Harley walked over to Scott and said, “Master, I detect lifeforms app
roaching.”

  “Master?” asked Frank suspiciously. He eyed the young girl then glanced askance at Scott.

  “What’s coming Harley?” asked Scott, not bothering to explain anything to Frank.

  The robo-loli said, “Twenty-four goblins, average level seven. Direction vectors indicate they are taking the same path as those who have just arrived.”

  “Shit! Harley, Rosa! Get ready!” snapped Scott.

  “Affirmative, master.” said Harley.

  Rosa gripped her Loot Master tight then nodded. “Right!”

  “The hell! We can’t fight that many!” cried a girl in the back.

  “Sure we can. We have walls and weapons. Everyone without a ranged weapon, or who is below level seven should go in the house and get ready in case we can’t stop them,” said Frank.

  Scott nodded to the man then whirled his kaiser blade around. “Let’s loot these assholes.”

  “You’re crazy!” exclaimed the same girl.

  “Damn straight,” said Scott. He looked to Harley. "Do you know how to use a salvation crystal?"

  "Yes, master," said Harley simply.

  He fished one out of one of his pockets then tossed it to her. "If things start to go bad, use that. Alright?"

  "Affirmative," she said.

  Scott looked to the others then nodded before he ran off toward the gate. Harley and Rosa followed after.

  Frank spent a moment checking over his people then turned and went after the other three. The middle-aged man from earlier that day joined in, he had daughters to look after. Frank only had an axe, but the older man had a rifle.

  Scott and Frank went through the gate after they spent a brief moment discussing the plan with the others. A few healing potions were passed around, and then everyone moved to take their places.

  Unfortunately, the likelihood that the ranged weapons would be able to bring down the goblins before they found a way in was low. They were not extremely intelligent, but they were far more intelligent than the average ghoul. They knew how to use weapons and how to work as a team. The only effective tactic Scott and company could come up with on the fly, was to send the two melee badasses out to do battle, while the ranged fire support stayed inside the compound and remained partially protected by the tower and walls. They were the last hope if the wall was breached.

  The fire support team climbed up into the short tower near the gate. Rosa’s father was a security firm owner. He also preferred his home to be secure. The supposed deer stand was far sturdier than one might think a typical deer stand needed to be. It resembled something out of a fortified compound or a prison yard, more than a place to hang out and wait for a deer to stroll by.

  The goblins arrived on the scene a few minutes later. They raced in, crude spears upraised. The goblin in the lead was bigger than the rest and bright red from head to toe.

  “Meat! Get the meat!” snarled the red-skinned goblin. Scott checked his status when he came close enough and fought back a cringe. A level ten hobgoblin.

  [Arrkle Smash Mouth]

  Race: Hobgoblin (Male)

  Level: 10

  Species: Goblinkin

  Profession: Mid-Boss

  [--]

  “Shit! Frank, I’ll have to try and take the leader out. Can you keep some of those other bastards off of me?”

  Frank gripped his axe and said, “Let’s do it.”

  The moment the hobgoblin ran into range a jet black field of energy washed over the area. The entire compound and all of its occupants were engulfed in that field. "Mr. Badass and Associates VS Arrkle's Roughnecks! Fight-O!"

  The typical high-energy heavy metal sound track did not play this time. Instead, the banging of drums and the rumbling of footsteps echoed through the air. Brass instruments played a bright tune fit for the glories of war. It was then that the guitar track began, accompanied by an epic classical instrumental background ensemble.

  "The one who beats, gets the meats!" snarled Arrkle. The brutish looking hobgoblin was as tall as Scott, and half again as stout. His facial features were squished slightly, like those of a pug, but he had the typical long nose of his lesser goblin brethren. In short, he was the sort of creature who probably would not be able to get laid in a women's prison if he walked in with a handful of pardons.

  Arrkle took stock of the battle then made a few hand gestures before he rushed toward the biggest threat, Scott. He cleared the distance almost completely in a single turn. Scott's eyes widened in realization of just how much movement and speed the bastard had to have in order to move so far, so fast, in a single turn.

  The arcane slayer began the battle as was his custom, by using his burning soul ability. He followed that up by rushing around to the backside of his opponent.

  Despite the perfect back attack, Scott was horrified to hear the word, "Counter!" echo through the air as the hobgoblin whirled around at the last possible instant and avoided the strike. His weapon of choice, a broken greatsword with duct tape wrapped around the hilt, came racing up to slash at Scott with deadly force.

  Scott's abilities were barely enough to counter the monster's counter. Their weapons clashed with great ferocity. Scott was forced back half-a-step. The hobgoblin was clearly stronger than him in a head-on battle. A fearsome smile grew large upon Arrkle's thin lips. He could sense the power of his prey, and whether excited or dismissive, it was hard to say.

  The slayer moved quickly to the beast's side and then started another series of strikes and counter strikes. He received several minor injuries in the process, but just before his turn would end, he unleashed a potent lightning bolt strike that proved to be far more capable of damaging his opponent. Scott's kaiser blade clashed heavily against the blocking greatsword, only to deliver raw lightning along the heavy metal blade. The damage was minimal due to the fact that the strike had been blocked, but the result was worth the expended mana.

  Crying out in agonized surprise, Arrkle took damage for the first time in the fight. His predatory smile shifted slightly, and he revealed a wary gaze.

  Three goblins, slightly larger than the rest, all raced toward the only other melee defender. They stopped short of his position, something the big man corrected in the next moment as his turn came up.

  Unfortunately, the moment he struck out at the nearest goblin, something happened. The beast hopped to the side and one of his friends leapt in with a hard lunge.

  "Team assist counter!" cried the announcer.

  Frank whirled his axe around in a circle in an attempt to keep the goblin from striking him. He managed to knock the spear to the side, but felt a glancing blow to his left shoulder. The goblin he had originally attacked, had returned to the fight! The bastards were double-teaming him on his turn.

  The big man was much stronger than the creatures he fought, but they were more agile than he was. They slipped around his primary strikes, and only took damage after a series of counters. Even while attacking, he was forced to guard his back and flanks from an inopportune backstab or side attack. Their choice of weapon made it all the more difficult. They had the reach advantage on him, and could use their agility to perform counter moves quite easily.

  Several more goblins poured into the battle arena. A small army of the long nosed monsters were soon involved in the fight.

  The gunners stationed in the tower began their assault by firing at the closest goblins. A rifle round pinged off of the head of the hobgoblin, and the red-skinned monster unleashed a mocking smile despite being unable to move otherwise.

  Scott heard the older guy in the tower shout an obscenity and he nodded. Shit indeed. The aim was dead-on, but the damage was non-existent.

  The gunman focused on a different target then, followed by the rest of the fire-support team. Several goblins fell bleeding to the earth before the first turn of the battle ended. Four goblins in total were claimed by the bullets of the compound defenders.

  Many of the goblins had yet to actually take their turns. Strangely, all but the
four goblins fighting Scott and Frank continued forward toward the wall. It was not until the six goblins, each of which strangely wore a large sack slung over their shoulders, in the lead stopped a certain distance from the wall that things got weird.

  "Goblin Siege Tactic Number Five: Up and Over!" cried the announcer voice as the six goblins removed their sacks in unison. Each took out a massive crossbow from their sack, all of which were much too large to have fit into the sack in the first place, and fired up and over the wall. They were knocked onto their collective asses, and little yellow birds appeared above their heads. The weird little birds flew around in circles and tweeted comically while the goblins swayed from side-to-side.

  The crossbow bolts, more like thick arm length spears, flew into the air and crossed the lengthy distance, perfectly clearing the top of the wall. Each of them stuck in the ground a short distance beyond.

  While the first group of goblins watched the pretty birds, another six covered the distance to their position. These goblins wore little pointy hats. They moved in unison upon arrival and each of them touched a thin string that had been left behind when the spears flew. The string crossed the entire distance to the wall from their current position.

  Green energy flowed from the hands of each of those goblins, and then ran along the individual lines. Soon clinging vines began to spiral up along the path that the lines had made for them. As the moved, those vines began to tighten into a rope-like structure.

  The rest of the goblins had already moved and ended their turns by this point, but the damage had been done. Soon, they would be able to go over the wall with ease.

  The next round began with the sudden movement of the hobgoblin. Arrkle lunged forward with a heavy series of overwhelming strikes that were nearly impossible for Scott to block properly. Each one drove him back half a step or more, and he nearly lost hold of his weapon twice. His body armor was gouged during the clash, and blood began to leak from a fresh flesh wound.