by Alex Knight
The next ranks were the sword behind the shield. Power wardens were arrayed in fighting groups of fours and fives, hammers the size of engine blocks and arms loaded with enough strength to put them to terrifying use. Their Earth Shatters and Heroic Leaps when delivered en masse would rend even large groups of players asunder and their Gravity Sledges would wreak further havoc, sending players flying in all directions.
There were a few enhanced wardens sprinkled throughout as well, their forms lightning fast and glowing as they sped across the battlefield with ease. They would strike with pinpoint precision amongst the chaos created by the power wardens. Lightspeed. Enfeebling Strike. Onslaught. All would combine to devastating effect.
The blast wardens came last, hammer-guns at the ready. Like true DPS types they would already be soaking up charge, preparing to rain their most damaging attacks down upon their enemies in a storm of light and fire. Protected by the shielders, with opponents softened by the power wardens and information relayed by the roaming enhanced wardens, they would be the executioners. Their Improved Warden’s Bolts and Inferno Shots would be death itself as they dispensed indiscriminate ruin to all in their path.
This was what the Corps was designed for, each class working in perfect unison. The Warden Corps’ army was a machine built for war, designed that way, and ready to crush anything in its path. Kaiden now found himself and his army in that very path. It was terrifying.
“There are too many,” Thorne said, awe in her voice as the reinforced gate closed behind the last ranks of the enemy army. She shook her head in disbelief.
“It’s too late to worry about it now,” PlayaSlaya snarled. “We don’t have time to be distracted. No matter the number, all we need to do is punch a hole in that force, then another in that gate. They must have emptied out the bulk of their forces to put forth such a massive defense.”
“He’s right,” Kaiden said, trying to shake the ever-growing dread that’d been brought on by the sight of the marching calamity they were facing. He’d thought they’d brought enough troops, but it was becoming increasingly apparent they hadn’t.
What happened? We had a good idea what sort of resistance to expect, but this... this far exceeds even our contingency plans—
No.
He stopped the worrying right there.
“Analyze and adapt,” Zelda said, likely seeing the concern in his features. “We can do this.”
“Somehow,” he agreed. “But yeah, we can.” Kaiden clapped his hands together.
Okay, okay. What do we do?
The warden classes had basically been built to fight together in formation. Their abilities just went well together. Shielders in the front, blocking damage and using Shield Link to feed the blast wardens who’d be behind them, raining ranged damage down on the enemy. Then there were the power wardens, too adept at wreaking havoc in the enemy ranks. And the enhanced wardens, not to be forgotten, debuffing just about anyone they could reach which, considering their high dexterity stats and incredible speed, was pretty much everyone.
So how do we beat this?
The plan previously had been to take them straight on. Their army didn’t need to win; it just needed to buy time to get the bomb team into the AFBS control room. Except…
The more Kaiden thought about it, the more he realized that was still true. Right?
We don’t need to beat this force. We just need to break through it. Break through it and hold long enough to get the gate open.
Even as he concocted a plan, it seemed fate had deigned to grant him a bit of much-needed luck. One of Odditor’s freighters, no doubt loaded with landing troops, was coming in late. The raging fires burning in its engines and spreading through the rest of the ship were a good indication of why, and based on its approach speed and angle, its maneuvering thrusters weren’t exactly pulling their weight.
The front ranks of the warden army braced for impact as the freighter crashed to the ground. For a moment, Kaiden thought it was going to land on them, going to crush them flat and solve most of his problems in one fell swoop – but it missed. Came down just short and left a swath of rubble spread across the front ranks of the warden army.
And then that rubble started to move.
But it wasn’t the rubble that was moving; rather, what was in it. Voidspawn, Kaiden realized as his visor brought up info on the hissing, chittering shapes rising from the wreckage of the ship. Kaiden had no idea how many had initially been on the ship but apparently a good number of them had survived.
“Odditor!” Kaiden called through command comms. “Did you bring a landing ship full of voidspawn?”
“Oh! Is that where that went?” his reply came, cracking with static. “I’d been wondering. Hey, uh, try not to get too close. They’re not exactly tame.”
You think? Kaiden couldn’t help but think as the voidspawn charged the warden army. Some had noticed his own troops and were coming at them as well, but easily ninety percent of the creatures were bearing down on the front ranks of the wardens.
This could be our window! We’ll use the distraction to give us an edge in the attack!
Charge. A simple command in concept. A bit more complex in execution. Kaiden gave the command verbally and from all across the battlefield his forces sprang from their cover and rushed forward.
Kaiden joined them, but his focus was on the command module. He flew through it, giving specific orders as quickly as possible. He selected the free warden battlegroup, one hundred or so members strong, and plotted a course for them. It cut in toward the middle of the battleground so they could form up as the center of the charging force. He confirmed the route and sent it out.
Off to the right, where the free wardens were charging from, Kaiden knew their HUDs had just updated with the order and a route was being projected into their vision. They moved with the precision expected of wardens – a phalanx of shielders in front, power and enhanced wardens in the middle, and blasters bringing up the rear – as they cut a diagonal path across the battleground.
Kaiden stumbled over some unseen obstacle, near toppling over, but a steadying hand from Thorne kept him upright. Lasers were flying in all directions now, exploding against Titus and Eqokkhabone’s shields in the front, but he didn’t have time to focus on that. He was too busy giving orders via the command module.
He sent the vast majority of his army to form up on either flank of the centerline of free wardens. What had once been a blind charge was beginning to take shape into something approaching a coherent strategy.
Next, Kaiden split the Maximus battlegroup between both flanks of the centerline of free wardens. As he confirmed the changes, he couldn’t help but admire the efficiency of the PVP guilders. They didn’t move in a tightly controlled formation like the free wardens, but they all followed the order immediately, breaking into a sprint to reposition as quickly as possible.
Lastly came The Syndicate soldiers, players and NPCs of all different classes and skill sets. What they lacked in individual skill they no doubt made up for in sheer numbers. Kaiden gave them no specific orders except to cause as much chaos as possible. For the enthusiasm with which they advanced, it seemed they were happy to oblige.
Kaiden looked up from his command module in time to see the battle had been joined– but not because of his army. The voidspawn had reached the warden force. And they were being decimated.
The front row crashed against the shielders in a tsunami of tentacles and teeth. The warden ranks held, however, and then the blast wardens opened fire. Five or six hundred Improved Burst Arrows all at once. They skimmed just over the heads of the front row of shielders and tore into the voidspawn horde.
Improved Warden’s Bolts next, crackling and hissing in clouds of too-lethal electricity that jumped from one voidspawn to the next, frying them such that they screamed and burst into steaming puddles of molten ooze.
With the voidspawn thoroughly distracted, the shielders lashed out with Shield Slam. What was left of the vo
idspawn front rank was stunned motionless for two seconds. They weren’t given the time to recover, though, as the shield wardens followed up with Improved Shield Charge and took off like charging bulls, plowing through their stunned and weakened enemies.
And then the power wardens joined the fray. Seemingly hundreds of them launched into the air as one, leaping from among the middle of the army and soaring into the enemy ranks. They hit the ground, each an earthquake all to him or herself. Bits of soil and voidspawn flew through the air as the power wardens began swinging their hammers.
What had once been a hissing horde was rendered to nothing more than a screeching, fleeing mass of mostly dead voidspawn.
The remains of the retreating foe were cut down by enhanced wardens who looked nothing more than blurs as they attacked at lightspeed.
“Now!” Kaiden shouted, urging his army forward as if his words could grant them all a speed buff. But they couldn’t, and even as he spoke, the warden army moved with a practiced precision only possible in a military force. They pulled back together and reformed. Their pristine ranks were only sullied by splotches of voidspawn ooze on armor and the heads of hammers.
No matter. The voidspawn had been enough of a distraction. Now came the main event.
The two armies were only a few hundred paces from meeting as Kaiden finished sending out his last order.
Odditor’s battlegroup – mainly consisting of the menagerie – was among the bulk of the army, but that was a waste of their potential. Grachnids and dilopoads and most of the other beasts Odditor had brought were bigger and faster than humans, and considerably more frightening. Kaiden ordered them to lead the charge and hit the warden lines first. Roars and screeches rose up from all around as the orders went through and then the beasts began to pull away from the army, sprinting at full speed and charging down the shielders at the front of the warden army.
“That’s it,” Kaiden said, looking around him one last time. “It’s all in place. Now we just have to... do it. Just have to make it work.”
Chapter Fifty-Seven
“Here goes nothing, eh?” Titus replied from just ahead, shield held firmly in front of him. He and the free shield warden Eqokkhabone were leading their group. They’d moved to the middle of the army; the shaft of the spear, ready to plunge through the hole the front lines were supposed to blast through the warden ranks. While the attackers may have looked spread out, Kaiden had maneuvered the highest-level, most DPS-ready players to the tip of the spear. They didn’t need to defeat this force. All they needed was a gap.
Any moment now...
The Warden Corps shielders were locked together with Improved Shield Brother and standing ready for the collision that was moments away.
I’d have them using Improved Barrier, Kaiden couldn’t help but think. It’d absorb the most damage from this charge. Before he could think on it any further, the menagerie slammed into the warden force.
A handful of grachnids hit them first, plowing into the shield wardens in a crash of stabbing limbs and crushing bodies. Arcs of electricity lashed back at the attackers, Improved Volt Field doing its work. The massive insect-like aliens didn’t seem to notice. They trampled a section of shielders and broke straight through.
Or so Kaiden thought at first. As he looked again, though, he saw the shielders had just been driven back. They were still linked to those beside them. A section of the front line had been pushed back, but it’d held together. It appeared the shield wardens who were high enough level to have Intransigence were acting as anchor points throughout the front line.
The grachnids stabbed and stomped in the bulge they’d created. A few of the higher-level ones even sprayed acid, the hissing liquid coming down in a sizzling mist that ate away at the armor of those it touched. The combined damage from the attacks had to have been massive and Kaiden found himself wondering again why the shielders didn’t have their barriers up.
All across the front, more grachnids and dilopoads and even a baboulian manhunter slammed into the shield wardens. Some spots were driven back more than others, but everywhere, the line held. The charge ground to a stop. The warden line was still intact.
And then the wardens hit back.
The shielders lashed out first with a synced-up Shield of Rage attack. Their shields slammed into the ground almost in unison and concussions erupted all along their line, spreading outwards and dealing area-of-effect damage to the menagerie, which hissed and roared.
Then, all as one, the shield wardens turned off their shields and dropped to one knee. As they did, the blast wardens at the rear of the formation let loose a hail of fire. Improved Burst Arrows and Warden’s Bolts, even a Kinetic Grenade or two. The menagerie disappeared in a cloud of fire and electricity and lasers. More abilities were fired off than the blast wardens should have had charge for, and as he saw that, Kaiden realized why the shielders hadn’t used Improved Barrier.
A shield warden can’t build charge while using Improved Barrier, and the front lines were Shield Linked with the blast wardens behind them. They absorbed the hit from the menagerie and turned it into charge for the blast wardens to strike back with.
At the edge of his vision, Kaiden’s command module updated the status of the battlegroup to thirty percent.
Seventy percent of the menagerie gone in that counterattack!
The shield wardens flicked their shields back on and stood, then linked up with Improved Shield Brother again. Ready for the next attack.
What remained of the menagerie fought on.
That was the one in our one-two punch, Kaiden thought. We have to break through with the follow-up. But hitting the shield wardens head-on only strengthens the force overall.
“So we don’t hit them head-on,” Kaiden said aloud.
“What’s up?” Zelda asked, running beside him.
“Blast wardens!” Kaiden called, jumping into the comm channel for the free wardens battlegroup. “Aim above their front line with Improved Kinetic Grenade. Don’t hit the shielders; arc your attacks over them. Commanders, relay that to your ranged fighters as well. Anybody with arcing ranged attacks. We’re not hitting these guys head-on.”
He got the order off just before the bulk of the charge reached the warden front lines. A volley of grenades from the free blast wardens arched over and exploded among the ranks of power wardens and the few enhanced wardens. None died, but Kaiden could see waves form among them as they ducked away from the explosions.
Maximus’ gravity slingers opened up with their ranged attacks and rocks flew through the air, raining down on the warden army with concussive force.
Ability: Kinetic Velocity
A ranged attack that deals moderate damage.
Other attacks that looked magical in nature and even some good old-fashioned plasma grenades soared across the front line and into the enemy ranks. Return fire from the warden ranks came right back. Improved Kinetic Grenades first, then a wave of Improved Warden’s Bolts, and even a few Improved Paralyzing Shots. Lightning slammed into the front ranks, but then fizzled, finding only a few secondary targets. Kaiden had arranged his force in separated cells for just this reason, ensuring enough of a gap that the chain effect of Warden’s Bolt was less effective. One of their few advantages was space; while their opponents were clustered around the gate, their own attack formations could be much more fluid.
And then the two armies met.
Shielders slammed into shielders at the center, and on the flanks cybernetic knights and brawlers, gravity slingers and even a few classes Kaiden had yet to identify crashed into the warden force. It was like two great waves slamming into each other, only instead of water, they were made out of armor and bodies and explosions.
The command module began frantically updating battlegroup numbers as the first heavy casualties came in, mainly among the free wardens and Maximus elite. The flanks lit up as well, though, as the rest of The Syndicate force met the warden foe.
Abilities fired off on all si
des. The Maximus members seemed to know what they were doing as their gravity slingers lashed out.
Ability: Gravity Well
A crowd-control ability that creates a strong gravity field around an object within 40 feet.
Kaiden’s visor went wild trying to give details as a dozen Gravity Wells appeared in the air above the shielders. Many were sucked up toward them, leaving gaping holes in the line behind them. The power wardens and enhanced wardens directly behind the shielders were swept up too and sucked ten paces into the air by the swirling pinpoints of super density.
The warden formation broke in several spots, a large number of its soldiers suspended in the air amid swirling debris, discarded weapons, and the corpses of the menagerie. Then, all at once, the Gravity Wells dissipated and those caught in their grasp were dropped, slamming back to the ground and taking no small amount of fall damage.
The Maximus elite weren’t stopping there, though. Kaiden couldn’t help but admire their proficiency as the brawlers and cybernetic knights leapt into the air.
Ability: Launch
High dexterity launches the user high into the air.
Ability: Meteoric Launch
Player launches into the air. Landing deals AoE damage, and the next attack deals additional damage.
They vaulted over the shielders, then landed among the ranks of the warden army – the cybernetic knights with explosive landings – and attacked anyone near them. Flames exploded outward. Magma oozed on the ends of weapons. The ground shook with the impacts of attacks on shields, attacks on armor, and sometimes attacks on exposed flesh.
Ability: Fiery End
A high-damage attack. On a successful hit, the target is set on fire.
Ability: Melt
A powerful strike that bypasses armor and shields.
A flood of damage poured into the backs of the shielders and the fronts of the power and enhanced wardens that had stepped up to engage the trespassers. The Maximus elite had the advantage of not needing to build charge before attacking, though, so for the moment, they had the edge. Kaiden watched as they landed attack after attack, looking for any gaps that would allow them access to the gate. Move too soon and they would be trapped in the middle of the warden force. The Maximus players fought on, many laughing as they threw out their attacks.
