Early the next morning in Willowglen Village, Molly and Lucy took fifty team mbers and followed Alex back out to the underground granary, planning to bring more people to dig up the teorite.
Before leaving, the two girls looked fresh and spirited, cheeks flushed like brides on their wedding day. anwhile, Magnus still looked like he hadn’t had a good night’s sleep in days - those dark circles hadn’t faded. He gave them a few last words of advice before they left, and the two won grinned back at him saying, "Don’t miss us too much," leaving the rest of the squad blinking in surprise.
Alex wasn’t the actual village leader, so before heading out, he’d already handed off the task of hosting Magnus’s team to the real village chief - Ian. To these villagers, the young outsiders were like walking treasure chests. Naturally, Ian greeted them warmly and even rounded up a dozen decently able-bodied n to lead Magnus into the hills right away.
There was no teorite digging today. That had to wait until the day after tomorrow, once the main force arrived. With more people, they could work faster. Magnus had already figured it out: for the next two days, his hundred-plus crew just needed to clear out the monsters around the teorite.
Once the rest of the team got here, they’d throw everything into hollowing out that rock within half a month.
"Chief Ian," Magnus said with a friendly nod. "We’re not touching the teorite for now. We’ll focus on clearing out the monsters nearby first. No need for your folks to join in the fight. If you can just get the rice cooked for us, we’d be really grateful."
"Clear them out?" Ian Parker blinked, clearly taken aback. "Young fella, didn’t Alex tell you? There are giant rats around that thing - not the kind of pests you chase with a broom. You lot..."
If these folks could actually wipe out the monsters in the area, the villagers of Willowglen would be laughing in their sleep. Still, Ian was honest and didn’t want to see the young ones walk to their deaths, so he spoke up out of fairness.
"Alex already warned us," Magnus replied with a faint smile, then patted the rifle slung over his shoulder. "A couple of big rats? We can handle that."
He was starting to like these villagers - they were straightforward, none of the tricky gas city folks always played.
Ian tried persuading them a bit more, but realized these young people had made up their minds. He let out a sigh. "Alright then. I’ll go gather the wonfolk and have them cook up proper als. You lot... take care." With that, he turned and left.
Magnus was thankful for the good intentions, but duty ca first. Smiling at Ian’s back, he headed back into his room where four of his team mbers were already waiting.
gan, Amber, and two female spec-ops soldiers stood beside him - both mid-level commanders. Jessica Hall and Marissa Dubois were here too, squad leaders like the others. All of them were Awakened.
As soon as Magnus stepped inside, his face turned serious.
"Our job over these next two days is tough. There are two priorities..."
The four won stood at full attention, focused.
"First," he said, "we clear all post-apocalyptic beasts in a 500-ter radius around that teorite hill - every last one of them."
"Understood!" The four answered in unison.
"Second thing," Magnus’s tone dropped slightly, "I want all hundred of us to clear out the Endspawn - without guns. Anyone got a problem with that?"
"No guns?" gan hesitated. The other three won looked puzzled too. Amber asked, "Commander, why? Why can’t we use firearms?"
"We’re running low on bullets," Magnus sighed. "You all saw it on the way here - Alex managed to make it out of the mountains with just a kitchen knife. Took down centipedes and spiders like it was nothing. If he can do it, so can we. And let’s be real - we’re on our own out here. If trouble cos, we’ll need those bullets for real threats."
The four nodded slightly. Jessica asked, "What about the rat beasts?"
"If you see rat beasts, shoot. Sa goes for any ergency - pull the trigger. What I ant was, stay sharp. If it’s stuff we can handle easy, save the ammo. More bullets in your pouch, more peace of mind."
"Got it."
"We understand."
They all nodded, said a few more words, then turned to gear up.
At 8 a.m., the Ice Regint’s hundred won assembled, fully geared up - rifles slung across their backs. They held shovels, torches, or machetes like they were ready for war.
Magnus led them to the village edge. The teorite Mountain stood less than a hundred ters out, looming beyond the village. Past the gate, two paths split - left and right.
Reaching the split, Amber asked, "Commander, are we splitting up or sticking together?"
"Stay together," Magnus stared down both paths. "Alex ntioned how sotis three or four rat beasts band together. If we split, it’ll be dangerous."
"Understood. I’ll tighten the periter watches."
Amber took off. Magnus led the group down the right path, threading between the teorite Mountain and a smaller ridge.
"Keep sharp - if you run into rat beasts, fire to signal!"
Just like Alex said, the Endspawn were swarming near the teor. The deeper they went, the worse it got - crawlers coming down both hills, blocking the way, even slithering out from underground cracks. Thick as street crowds.
"gan! Amber!"
The centipedes and spiders ahead were piling up fast. The torches and machetes weren’t cutting it anymore. Magnus shouted over, "You two take lead! Let Marissa and Jessica cover the rear. I’m heading forward solo. One last thing - if you see centipedes or spiders with blue fire, don’t touch ’em. That fla will burn you alive."
"Understood!" The two answered in unison.
Magnus activated the Fire Crystal shield, raised his military blade, and charged forward a dozen ters. He stopped ahead of the formation, sheathed the blade, and summoned his Nature Crystal. A flick - and out ca a three-ter-long log, thick as a tree trunk.
He grabbed it with both arms and smashed into the Endspawn horde.
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