CH618 (Patreon)

In the same way as the first wave, demons flooded out the open portal, their mad rush for blood hiding any of the supposed sapience they’d be coming with as they poured out from all angles to inflict death and destruction upon the world, setting off the various traps that had been placed and overwhelming them with sheer mass, with the ones at the front having no choice but to accept it when the only alternative was to be crushed by the horde behind them.

And as they rushed outwards, groups of warriors moved forward to meet them, facing the charge with the powers they’d been refining to strike back with all they had as the two forces clashed, the difference in bodies meaning it should have been a bloodbath if the demons didn’t have a different goal on top of killing everyone around. Spreading outward.

For even if they killed every combatant who was waiting for them, they still sought to go out farther and find more, meaning those who had come were just a blip in comparison to the entire planet before them, something to get through or past as they gave rise to their pandemonium and inflicted it on the planet as the clash began.

Compared to them though, the various warriors across the world’s armies had the benefits that came with structure and planning, using their formations to keep from collapsing against all that came as they slayed everything they could, piling up corpses around them while the cloudy sky above began to move.

Along with everything attacking on the surface, the sky was also filling up with the winged demons and other flyers that made their way out, with the gods finally showing some worth as there and across the world, lightning rained down, striking everything it could reach as bodies fell from the sky, giving Ben no choice but to acknowledge that the ones they were giving their faith were in fact putting in some work of their own amidst it all while Thera started to act.

The demons were still too far out for most mages, but not her as she used her unaffinitied power to create constructs of mana to fire out into the swarm, not needing to aim beyond making sure she shot past the warriors and being guaranteed to hit something given the sheer scale of it all as the corpsed she’d created were trampled over without a second thought, being crushed by their brethren in their urge to move.

Seconds after she started, the range had shrunk enough that others there could attack too, Ben included as he casually viewed the battlefield and opened his hand, firing off the dozens of bullets he held into the crowd, his mental structure taking in everything he saw and letting his pick the path each shot would follow as he downed hundreds of demons, each shot passing through multiple bodies after he predicted how the horde before him would need to move.

Which is what I was looking for, this sort of destruction has to be applicable to my current job given its name and combined with the fact the demons are going to give me experience I should have it done before the month ends, but I made a pretty obvious mistake. He thought with a sigh. Why was I being thrifty with my void stone? I should have turned every single piece of it into rings and bracelets and filled it all up with bullets the moment I discovered how to use it and either reclaimed more later or else just made Jake help me make more. A stupid mistake, if I’d just done that I could have had enough to last me a good chunk of the month. As things are I won’t even have enough for the day. If I live I’m going to have to try and not do anything that dumb again.

As he was chastising himself he was already pulling more bullets from his ring and firing them off, shooting them by the handful each time as he trusted his observations to properly judge where to hit, being rewarded with untold levels of death with each of his attacks.

It was like that the battle went on as the hours passed, piling up bodies around and still seeing no end to their work for the effort, even as the effects on their own side were beginning to show amongst the minds he was closest to.

Fear, panic, stress, and despair of all sorts were already building up from it all as everyone felt the strain. This was going to be an unending attack lasting weeks, creating a mountain of bodies while still ending with an uncountable volume of monsters making it into the world, making it clear why so few worlds ever made it to the third wave.

There was nothing that could be done but to continue fighting, but as it went on, Ben did what he could to ease the burdens on those around him, taking those nearby into his head for fractions of a second but letting it feel like an hour as they at first panicked about the mind effect until eventually accepting the peace for what it was; a needed break.

It did nothing for the strain on their bodies but it gave them a brief respite, putting them all into a better position to keep going by the time he eventually did the same for Thera, seeing her blink in surprise for a second before her mental form slumped over.

“I’m not going to collapse to the ground while we do this, right?”

“Not for the length of time I’ll have you in here. At worst you’ll feel slightly unsteady by the time I let you go.”

“Good because I needed the break. When we’re going to sleep for whatever rest we can get I think I’m going to ask you to make one of these circlets with just the thought speed aspect. Even if I can’t actually rest that long, it would be nice to feel like I’m getting a bit more than I am.”

“You got it. And how’s your mana holding up?”

“Fine, even with all of this I barely feel it, I think the potion’s helping a lot. Just as important, how are you handling all of this? You don’t really get to escape.”

Unlike the people he was pulling into his head, Ben was only devoting a fraction of his focus to them. Everything else was still observing the battle. Even as they spoke, he was midway through firing his next attack to reap what devastation he could.

“I’m managing fine,” He said with a shrug. Despite it all, he really was, having no issue with keeping up, at least for the time. The way he thought made this just one thing among many he could be doing. “The only real issue is that I’m going to need to replenish my bullets soon, but- Hold on, looks like I’ll have a solution to that which doesn't involve stealing your mana in a second.”

She gave him a look and he explained exactly what he had in mind, still having perceived minutes to spare between the two of them before he released her from his thoughts, leaving her perfectly appraised to what was about to happen as one of the demons with access to a decent level of air magic chose to throw itself up the wall instead of going around like so many others, having made the mistake of choosing to go directly in front of the two of them to do it.

In that same second, Thera had captured it with her magic, smashing it against the fort’s edge and destroying its brain in a way that couldn’t be undone no matter what other magics or skills it held, letting Ben get his hands on it as he applied his newest skill, extraction the corpse’s moisture at once and leaving a shriveled husk in exchange.

<EXTRACTION ENHANCEMENT LEVEL INCREASED>

After the level came the next part of fixing his supply of shots as Ben pulsed his mana through the dried-out husk, reducing to nothing but pebbles that he shaped into spheres and brought into his ring, ready to be used for his future attacks.

They won’t be as good as some metal bullets, but they’ll do for the time being, and instead of stealing any of Thera’s power for myself, just gonna distribute it.

He transferred what he could to the people around them from there, doing his best to make the experience as comfortable as possible amidst everything else to let them carry on their own attacks without needing as many breaks to recuperate, all while Ben continued on his flurry, using that one demon to kill thousands as the day wore on.