The Pilot of Wrath

Chapter 60 – Creepy Crawlies

Matt was waiting patiently. Well, patiently might be a slight stretching of the truth. Franklin had called the next wave early, but it hadn’t come instantly, instead giving a new 5-minute countdown. Matt was eager to get to the next wave, hoping for a better enemy or at least a more entertaining one.

The System message counted down and the pillar of light, now yellow, pulsed again as the timer reached zero. He waited for the spotters atop the wall to radio in what was coming through this time. He daydreamed a little as he waited. Maybe flesh and blood monsters? Oh, more corrupted ones would be interesting. Maybe it will… His thought was cut off as a spotter called out over the radio.

“I see something, looks like… Insects?” She sounded a little confused but then confirmed what she was seeing. “Yes, insects. Some flying and some on the ground.”

‘You have got to be fucking kidding me.” Matt swore to nobody in particular. He shoved his helmet on and sealed up the hatch of his mech. “Van, what do you have?”

“Looks like they have limited flight capability.” The core rumbled. “There is a decent amount of large ones and a whole host of smaller variety.”

Matt was about to call Rohm when he heard his voice over the command frequency. “All classers withdrawal to the interior. Pilots, keep the big ones out as best you can.” And that was it. All the classers on the short wall began running off to the main gates where they were redirected to new defensive positions.

The air was now filled with the most disgusting noises that he had heard. Skittering, clacking and buzzing wormed its way through the speakers and external microphones to reach Matts ears. A haze of dirt and dust wafted up from the approaching swarm. A moment later, the first of the bugs came into sight.

Combustion beetle. Level 28

Bang. Once again being the first to engage at extreme range, Matt fired a shot. The inert round flew out and hit the 3-meter-tall beetle square in the thorax. A fraction of a second later, it burst in a spray of green tinted mucus with such force the ant looking monster near it broke apart.

Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang, BOOM. Matt fired single shots at every one of the combustion beetles, each of which bursting apart with tremendous force. On a whim, he imbued one of the bullets and found the bursting reaction to be much more explosive that previously. This left a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

“Put down the Combustion Beetles before they get close. They are explosive in nature.” He spoke calmly and clearly into the radio and transmitted on the open command net. He didn’t have time to route this through Rohm, the gunners needed this info sooner than later. These bugs were closing much faster than the wood beasts and came in much greater numbers.

A few more pilots came trotting out of the gate behind Matt as he fired a line of unstable rounds into the advancing swarm. They added their firepower, solid rounds arcing out into the swarm and blasting through multiple bodies at a time. The swarm had begun to split and encircle the city, a line of them moving to the left and right while Matt and the 6 other pilots hammered the center.

All around Matt was the sound of gunfire as the mid wall positions also began engaging the multitude of creepy crawlies. The 12.7 guns were slowly chugging along while the smaller 6 mil guns were adjusted to fire at a much higher rate. He was just changing to a new magazine when a cone of gore appeared in the wall of chitin. This first cone of death was followed rapidly by a second from the opposite point of the star shaped wall.

The actual big guns had been brought into play and it was one of Matts personal favorites. Cannister shot was an incredibly niche loading for any cannon, especially with the modern offerings, being mostly used for mine clearing or defoliation. Tobias had insisted that they make a version for the 90 mil guns that had been put in the walls and it looked like that was paying off.

Another cannister round was fired allowing Matt to see the nearly 1200 steel ball bearings tear into the swarm. Bugs were shredded by the giant shotguns, limbs and shells flying everywhere with some just turning into a mushy paste. A massive gap was formed everywhere one of these rounds hit, allowing them to see deeper into the swarm. Matt looked into one of these gaps and saw a very large bug that dwarfed the ones they had see so far.

Bulwark Crusher Beetle. Level 35

“That’s odd.” Matt said as he repositioned. “That big one is way higher level than all the others.”

Van seemed to be in agreement. “Perhaps another boss monster or challenge?”

“Maybe.” Said Matt as he switched frequency to the private channel reserved for him and the commandos to talk to Rohm. “Rohm, we got an oddity. There is a giant beetle thing that’s level 35 coming to my position.”

“Can you take it?” Rohm asked back, barely a second later.

“Probably. Lets direct the 90’s to take a few shots and see how they do before I go hogging all the levels.”

“Understood. I will direct the guns near your gate to engage it.” Rohm said, going silent on that frequency for a few moments then coming back. “Guns 8, 9 and 10 say they can see it and will engage.”

Not 10 seconds later 3 shots rang out. Matt couldn’t see the giant bug through the swarm, but the big guns mounted higher on the wall seemed to be able to. He heard the report of 3 high explosive rounds a fraction of a second later followed by a hissing that seemed to penetrate deep into his brain despite the sound dampening of the mech.

The guns fired again, and the hissing stopped immediately. Rohm came back on the radio and told them that the giant had been killed but it took 5 rounds. Matt wondered how 3 times 2 equaled 5 but just assumed that one missed and didn’t bother asking. He was back to firing into the endless mass of bugs that had now crept to within 200 meters of the short wall.

To his left and right, the other pilots fired their smaller versions of cannister shot into the swarm while the machineguns kept up a constant stream of fire, barely taking a moment between bursts. It wasn’t long before the next issue popped up.

“Shit, they fly!” one of the pilots to Matts right shouted. Matt looked up from his latest magazine change and saw a few grasshopper looking things take to the air.

Matt fired a burst at them using his rapid-fire skill and managed to take 2 of the dozen or so out of the air. The rest of his pilot friends also fired at them which was a mistake. As soon as they had lifted their muzzles upward, the swarm surged forward toward their line.

“You take the flyers I have these.” Matt shouted over his external speaker. The others had been caught trying to decide which to focus on and he had to take charge. He let loose a long burst of unstable rounds into the front ranks of the swarm and saw the explosive results begin to push the bugs back. Above him, the heavy machineguns in the walls also chewed their way into the ranks of bugs.

Smaller guns and the defenders atop the wall were left to deal with the flyers that had apparently popped up at nearly every gate. The flyers had launched themselves from the insect back line once they got in range. They probably hoped to clear the wall to get inside but found a little surprise once they crested the battlements. The machineguns atop the walls had their gas ports wide open and spat armor piercing rounds into the flyers at 1200 rounds per minute, ripping them to shreds.

On the ground, Matt was having another issue as the line had gotten close enough for some of the bugs to start their long-range attacks. Acidic spit flew from something that resembled a termite and a noxious boiling jet flew from another thing that looked like a giant caterpillar.

Matt brought up the shield projector on his left arm and was able to catch most of the attacks but still suffered some over spray. The hissing pop of acid reacting to the mech’s paint was not promising of a good time. With most of the ranged attack negated, Matt hip fired into the advancing swarm.

Bug bodies exploded as he pumped a full magazine of non-imbued rounds into the front ranks. Several of the beetles burst apart as the 25-millimeter rounds exploded within their carapace, spraying acid over their neighbors. More bug bodies melted than were torn apart by gunfire in those frantic moments and still, they pressed on.

100 meters off the wall. The front ranks had been compressed by the natural V-shape of the walls. They were now so thick that the pilots couldn’t miss unless they fired well over the crowd. Matt was getting frustrated, fighting in tight confines and having to mind dozens of sectors of fire was beginning to stir something in his core.

“Fuck this.” Matt muttered to himself before jumping on the channel set aside for the gun crews. “Gun crews on west gate, this is commando 5. I am advancing, shift fire. Say again, shift fire.” He gave the command they had drilled to shift their fire up and to the sides to allow for the constructs to advance under it.

Matt took 2 long steps, clearing the short wall that had acted as their line in the sand. He pushed out his aura and flexed his domain, filling the air with his presence and his mana. Heat radiated off his mech in waves visible to the naked eye. The grass underfoot turned to ash, not even smoking as he passed. The entire time he advanced toward the swarm, he fired imbued rounds into their ranks, piercing multiple bodies deep.

Finally, he arrived within 25 meters of the clacking jaws and scything limbs, seeing the shells of the enemy bugs burning from his domain alone. He summoned a mana blast in a wide arc and shoved it into the mass of bodies. He then summoned another, and another, followed by 5 more mana blasts. Each wave made up of super-heated plasma that the insects were unable to handle, screeching as they burned and burst in their shells before turning to ash.

Matt was filled with a fury that he felt was beyond justified as he pushed into the swarm. The pilots he had been defending with followed in his wake, firing solid rounds through his domain and into the mass of bugs. Each of their rounds able to pierce a few bodies at a time. Their blood pumped and adrenalin flowed as they followed Matt, overcome by his aura and filled with the urge to destroy their enemy.

Using his domain and the still active shield on his left arm, Matt was able the insects and their attacks at bay. He kept up a near constant stream of cannon fire as they advanced, mindful to focus on the tougher enemies to prevent them from dashing through the bubble that was his domain. Despite the progress, he could feel his control over his domain beginning to slip.

“Command, 5. We need to get some indirect fire out. Drop….” Matt began but was cut off as 4 black streaks plummeted toward the ground and impacted the back line of the swarm. “Disregard then.” He said and began to slowly back up. He made sure to send a few arcs of plasma into the mangled ranks of bugs as his domain began to fade and the heat was no longer holding them at bay.

Step by step Matt and his supporting pilots began backing away, increasing the distance between them and the swarm. The bugs seemed to be thinning or at least hesitating in closing back into the area outside the gate. He was thankful for the little extra breathing room as he was beginning to feel exhausted after pushing his domain and having fired so many rounds.

As they retreated behind the short wall, the machine gunners within the wall resumed their fire on the front ranks of the bugs. Matt watched as tracers arced out from the wall and falling mortar round lifted plumes of dirt and bodies into the air. He began a slow and methodical fire rate as he checked his reserves of mana and stamina, seeing they were very low.

“Van, take over. I need to down a potion.” He said, breaking the seal on his helmet and removing it to drink a mana potion. He briefly thought that there must be a better way and wondered if he could get a tube run within his suit to do the job or if he would need an injector of some kind.

Replacing his helmet, Matt looked out to see the swarm had thinned enough to see light through the press of bodies. He was comforted to know that there at least was an end to them. Taking a few liberties with having Van running the show, he pulled up his System messages that had been trying to get his attention. He ignored the overly long list of kill notifications and noticed that he had picked up a few levels. He would have to deal with everything later, not wanting to take his attention off the fight for too long.

He took back control of the mech from Van, continuing the steady rate of fire without a hitch. Slowly but surely, the insect swarm was thinned to the point that there were only a few clumps of them roaming about on the field outside the walls. Their blood and ichor turning the landscape a green-brown. He stepped back to take a break, signaling for the other pilots to cover for him. There were no longer enough of the insects coming to warrant having all of them firing.

“Command, this is 5.” Matt said, having not heard from Rohm in quiet some time.

“Go ahead 5.” Came a voice that was clearly not Rohm’s.

Deciding to just roll with it, Matt cut to the chase. “We are running out of targets over here. Has there been any sighting of a boss monster for this group?”

There was a slight pause before the voice came back over the radio. “Negative. We had 5 large monsters at the level 35 mark instead.” A brief pause as the guy probably was juggling a few channels at once. “There is one remaining, but the gunnery teams are using it for target practice at the moment.”

“Understood. We will hold for now. 5, out.” Matt said, letting the poor guy get back to his job. He informed the other pilots what the situation was, and they set a rotation so they could rest a little. Matt took the opportunity to review his System messages that he had only glanced at previously with the soothing background noise of machinegun fire and light artillery.

Class: Pilot – Gunfighter is now level 50.

Stat points awarded.

Skill Selection available.

Please select from the following skills.

Positive Influence (Uncommon)

Subtly influence those arounds you with your intent and desires. Influence others to support your cause and follow you.

Meat Shield (Uncommon)

You body acts as the perfect barrier to protect others. All allies shielded by your physical body gain increased resistance to damage.

Adamantine Bulwark (Rare)

Be the barrier that they break upon. Generate a field of encumbrance to slow enemies and blunt attacks when standing in defense of others. Gain bonus to defensive devices and skills when in the front ranks of a defense.

Long Strider (Rare)

Distance matters little to those with the longest stride. Cross long distances much faster when traveling on foot. Reduces stamina expenditure for movement skills. Can be used when piloting a construct.

Raging Rebuttal (Rare)

Those that dare strike, shall not do so again. For every attack that lands upon you, your next attack will deal extra damage based on the strength of the previous attack. Effect negated when enemies fail to deal damage.

Ok, that’s a lot of flavor text and a little disturbing. Matt thought as he read the options. He had long noticed the descriptions were longer for the higher rarity skills but now they had little proverbs attached to them. He wasn’t sure the cause of it but noticed he had more instinctual knowledge about the skills even before picking them.

He discarded the first 2 since he already could do one and didn’t plan on being a physical shield for others. He also kicked back the raging rebuttal since Tori had warned him about abilities related to the concept of rage being a little too close to his primary emotion of wrath.

Looking at the last 2, he honestly was torn between them. Both skills would be very useful, and one more so right now than the other. Still, he considered the options carefully before finally choosing the Long Stride skill.

He liked the bulwark and knew it was offered because of his relationship with Tori but it would only be useful in very specific scenarios. The movement skill could supplement his teleport and also help with strategic objectives. If he had to go reinforce a distant position, he could cross the distance much faster and possibly change the tide of a battle.

While Matt digested the skill and the information settled into his mind, he stepped forward to take over watching the line. The fight was now winding down and the constant gunfire was beginning to taper off to the tell-tale single shots that marked the end of a battle.

*****

The System was analyzing its data. To be fair, it was always analyzing data since that’s how it viewed the multiverse. The data it had flagged and kept collating in a constant refresh was what was coming from a city that the residents had called Vil’ Krad. It had previously upped the difficulty of their event, betting that they would be a good outlet for some surplus energy.

Indeed, it was turning out to be a rather successful gamble and its predictive model was already proven inadequate. The event was going very well for the city with only a few injuries in the second wave. Normally the System saw injuries on the first with deaths on the following for the city defense events.

Looking at the data, it would seem that the city was performing so well do to the input from those extra-system beings, Matt and Tobias. It briefly ran a cost/benefit analysis of bringing that entire planet into its system. The conclusion was… inconclusive.

While the System was debating the pros and cons of abducting another universe again, it was also watching the other cities and planets in this initiation, tracking their relatively normal progress. It was looking at a few outliers, flagging them for greater observation and predictive modeling. several of those outliers were on the same planet as the Earthlings.

Working off of the variances and outliers from its predictions, it wondered briefly at the mutations and evolutions that had happened while it was growing these worlds. So far, the Deep Dwellers that had evolved on Matt’s planet seemed to be rather helpful and productive little creatures. It was briefly wondering about generating them in the lower planes when it stopped, analyzing internal dialogue.

When and why had the System began thinking of planet 19TE- 6345 as “Matts’ Planet”? Curious, it began the process of summoning an avatar. It would seem the System needed to “talk” with some people after this event.