For the first time in Chad's relatively short career, not as an arm wrestling champion but a defender of his town, he wished he had put more points into his legs.
His grandma was still several steps away, standing in the middle of the kitchen. She had turned around to face the mole-man emerging behind her, her rheumy eyes widening in surprise. But rather than run, she placed a hand on her hip and raised the other to sternly rebuke the thing.
Chad dashed forward helplessly, hoping against hope that he'd make it in time. All of her newfound constitution wasn't going to help her against those vicious claws. Worse, he couldn't even throw anything for fear of hitting Gram Gram, Curveball or not.
As his brain spun madly in that split second, coming up empty, something blurred past his right shoulder. A streak of orange and white.
A hissing tabby cat appeared on the mole's face. It cried out in surprise and pain, claws reaching up to rip the attacking feline off. Another seemed to descend from above, a calico that landed on the back of the mole and left bright pink slashes across the back of its neck.
The calico yowled as its forelegs scratched in a flurry of fur and talons. The sheer speed made it look like a Sunday morning cartoon, except for the grisly details. The repeated strikes exposed the bone of the mole's neck. It screeched, reeling around and trying to get at the cat. But the calico was already gone. In its place swarmed even more, tearing at its ankles and arms and every other exposed part they could find.
Chad swept Gram Gram off her feet, cradling her against his chest in a princess carry and pulling her away from the carnage. By the time the mole collapsed lifelessly to the ground, no fewer than seven cats had joined the fray. But even as the one fell, more climbed out of the new tunnel to take its place.
"Chadwick?!" Gram Gram blinked in surprise. "What on earth--?!"
"Stay close to me, Gram Gram!" He held her close, shifting the elderly woman to carry her in his left arm. Even though it was significantly weaker than the ol' tournament winner, it was still strong enough to bear her weight, as small as she was. Chad whipped around to evaluate the situation, ready to flick or smash anyone who dared to get close.
Everywhere he looked, more enemies were popping out of the floorboards. Not just the mole either, but other creatures as well. insect-like things and snakelike forms and others besides. Major Geoffries and his men had pulled their pistols to fire at the things as they appeared, putting down a good number of them, but they were quickly getting overwhelmed. The only reason they hadn't been was the cats.
The level disparity wasn't a small one. They were still only level five or so at maximum, and Chad didn't see a single mole under seven. But with four or five cats on each attacker, it was quickly becoming apparent that the odds weren't as poor as he'd expected. The felines were able to hold their own.
He saw one bite into the shoulder of a mole and leave a green dripping venom behind as the thing screamed, while another one gnawed at its heel. More were leaping around the room and slashing with their claws like acrobatic tornadoes. One was legitimately glaring lasers. Actual lasers. Chad gaped as they burned into the back of one of the creatures as it tried to dive behind the couch, the beams singeing its fabric.
"Squawk! I gotta get Gram Gram outta here!" He called over his shoulder at the parrot as he ran for the front door.
"We're surrounded!" The parrot called back from somewhere he couldn't see. "There's more outside, and they don't look friendly!"
Chad glanced out the kitchen window. Sure enough, enemies swarmed around the house. The front lawn was a mess of holes as well, more of them than inside the house. More of the Major's soldiers had formed a perimeter around the house, laying down rifle fire and forcing the enemy to hide or be careful about their advance. But outside was no safer than in here.
"Fuck!" Chad swore and turned back toward the interior. It spoke volumes about the situation that his grandmother didn't even chastise him for his language.
Chad gritted his teeth. Gram Gram's old coffee table had already been overturned for cover, its surface riddled with bullet holes and deep gouges. Glassware and plates shattered as bullets pinged around the room.
I can't fight in here. I'll blow a damn hole in the wall, not to mention everything else. I can't destroy her house like this.
The damage to the furniture and everything else already pained him. But Chad knew just how much more he could potentially do. Letting loose in an enclosed space like this was a quick way to send the whole building down on their heads. And even if he avoided that, then he was sure Gram Gram would never be able to get the stains out of her carpets or walls. If there were any left, that was.
He looked around for someplace safe to put his grandmother down, but there was nothing. He couldn't just set her on the ground, either. Not without risking another tunnel opening up right beneath her.
Annie appeared in the doorway of the guest room, pistol drawn and tugging Jerry along behind her. The Musician clutched his violin case desperately to his chest as he looked around in panic. She shot a pair of giant ants in the head as they ran for the stairs to the second floor.
"Chad! Up here!"
The woman shoved Jerry up the stairs ahead of her, covering his retreat. Chad charged after them, doing his best to exercise restraint as he flicked and shoved enemies out of the way. He had some moderate success.
"Behind you!"
He instinctively whipped his arm around and curled around Gram Gram, wrapping her in a protective embrace. Claws scraped off of his shoulder and tore through his shirt. Whipping a hand out, Chad chopped the attacker in half with his hand.
He dashed upstairs after Annie and Jerry, the pair panting. Annie fired down from the landing as Chad set Gram Gram behind him and turned to punch their pursuers. One by one, they turned to red mist, painting the corridor. Jerry began playing his violin, haltingly at first, but with more confidence as he continued. Like before, it disoriented the enemies coming up the stairs, slowing them down and making them easier to hit.
It hurt Chad's soul to make a mess of the house like this. But it would hurt more to see Gram Gram injured.
Squawkers appeared above their heads, flapping in panic. "Chad, you gotta collapse the tunnels!"
"Little busy here, buddy," Chad grunted as he misted another mole coming up the stairs. Gunfire echoed up and down the narrow space.
"They're not gonna stop coming - you gotta deal with the source!" The parrot insisted. "Those guys outside are gonna get steamrolled otherwise!"
They heard a loud crunch from outside. It sounded like it came from the front of the house. Squawkers's eyes flashed with blue light for a moment before he cawed in alarm. "They're bringing animals through the tunnels! The boars just took out the army's car!"
Chad swore again and scowled. "I can't close the tunnels."
"What do you mean?! Of course you--"
"That'll bring the whole damn house down." He gritted his teeth. "My Paw Paw built this house, Squawk!"
The bird gestured emphatically with one wing. "Uh, Chad?! Hate to break it to you, but it's already gonna be a wreck! The big difference is whether we survive this damn attack!"
Chad looked around. The number of holes had rendered the hardwood flooring completely unrecognizable, and the banisters were barely hanging on. As much as it rankled, he had to agree.
"The cats and the soldiers are getting tired," Squawker continued. "If we're gonna make it outta this, you gotta do something now!"
He gritted his teeth, then nodded. As much as he cared about the house, he cared about everyone's lives more.
"Fine. We gotta get everyone out." He raised his voice. "Everyone get outta the house! It's gonna come down!"
More moles swarmed up the stairs, followed by snakes and giant ants. Throwing a handful of rocks at the crowd, Chad turned toward the upstairs bedroom. "C'mon! We're jumping!"
"Grab the mattress!" Squawkers suggested. "Throw it down!"
Chad obliged, grabbing the entire bed and shoving it through the wall in a shower of wood. It slid down the roof and onto the ground below, flattening a group of ants below.
"C'mon!" He scooped up Gram Gram and slid down the roof, landing on the mattress. It didn't entirely cushion the fall, but it was good enough. As soon as he landed, he let fly with several rocks from his pouch in an arc around him, buying some space for Annie to land with Jerry.
Looking around, he saw a swarm of oversized wildlife encircling a group of soldiers, their rifles doing their best to hold off the crowd. But as many as they downed, more simply surged up from below. Worse, he spotted a group of long-eared humanoids clad in leaves and green cloaks near the edge of the group. They gestured with long wooden staves, seeming to direct the other creatures at will.
Ealdric Druid (Lvl 12)
"Annie, Squawk, protect Gram Gram." At the top of his lungs, Chad yelled a final warning. "Earthquake incoming!"
Hopefully the other men had made it out of the house. If not... well, then an earthquake would be better to handle than a swarm of enemies.
He waited a second before activating Ultra Instinct. As the surge of energy poured into his arm, he slammed his fist down into the ground with as much force as he could possibly manage.
Last time he'd done this, it had been with the intent to knock a guy off his feet. That was all. But now that Chad knew what he was capable of... well, if Squawk wanted an earthquake, he was going to get one.
The dust around his fist instantly vaporized. The ground cracked and compressed beneath him, a crater forming from the shockwave. He watched it ripple out from the point of impact, once again causing the earth to roil.
His face and body were peppered with rock shards that sprayed everywhere, but the shaking in the ground still tossed him off of his feet. All around, others also struggled to maintain their footing or collapsed to their knees.
The house groaned and wobbled dangerously as more figures fled its interior. With a final decisive crack, the roof began to collapse. The building fell inwards in a crumpled heap.
You have displayed rudimentary knowledge of how to turn countless man-hours of hard work into a pile of useless rubble. Demolition (E) proficiency earned!
When the shaking finally subsided, Chad pushed himself up. The crater he'd found himself in was a few feet deep this time, meaning he had to pull himself out of it. All around, he saw the fallen figures of soldiers and creatures alike beginning to pick themselves up. But more importantly, every hole he could see was now collapsed.
That should do it. Now we gotta deal with stragglers.
Chad also looked behind him and saw the few humanoids also getting to their feet. Grabbing the lip of the crater, he hauled himself out and dashed towards the fallen enemies as they scrambled to stand. He launched into them with a tackle, smashing his arm through two of them at once.
Suddenly, the attacking creatures stopped being nearly as coordinated and started to scatter. Without the influence of the humanoids forcing them to attack, they evidently weren't too keen on heading into waves of bullets or a tornado of feline death.
Chad turned to his next opponents, readying himself to launch toward them. One of the druids met his gaze, narrowing her eyes and thrusting her staff forward in challenge.
At that moment, a sound cut through the air. The deep, resonant call of a horn.
For the first time in Chad's relatively short career, not as an arm wrestling champion but a defender of his town, he wished he had put more points into his legs.
His grandma was still several steps away, standing in the middle of the kitchen. She had turned around to face the mole-man emerging behind her, her rheumy eyes widening in surprise. But rather than run, she placed a hand on her hip and raised the other to sternly rebuke the thing.
Chad dashed forward helplessly, hoping against hope that he'd make it in time. All of her newfound constitution wasn't going to help her against those vicious claws. Worse, he couldn't even throw anything for fear of hitting Gram Gram, Curveball or not.
As his brain spun madly in that split second, coming up empty, something blurred past his right shoulder. A streak of orange and white.
A hissing tabby cat appeared on the mole's face. It cried out in surprise and pain, claws reaching up to rip the attacking feline off. Another seemed to descend from above, a calico that landed on the back of the mole and left bright pink slashes across the back of its neck.
The calico yowled as its forelegs scratched in a flurry of fur and talons. The sheer speed made it look like a Sunday morning cartoon, except for the grisly details. The repeated strikes exposed the bone of the mole's neck. It screeched, reeling around and trying to get at the cat. But the calico was already gone. In its place swarmed even more, tearing at its ankles and arms and every other exposed part they could find.
Chad swept Gram Gram off her feet, cradling her against his chest in a princess carry and pulling her away from the carnage. By the time the mole collapsed lifelessly to the ground, no fewer than seven cats had joined the fray. But even as the one fell, more climbed out of the new tunnel to take its place.
"Chadwick?!" Gram Gram blinked in surprise. "What on earth--?!"
"Stay close to me, Gram Gram!" He held her close, shifting the elderly woman to carry her in his left arm. Even though it was significantly weaker than the ol' tournament winner, it was still strong enough to bear her weight, as small as she was. Chad whipped around to evaluate the situation, ready to flick or smash anyone who dared to get close.
Everywhere he looked, more enemies were popping out of the floorboards. Not just the mole either, but other creatures as well. insect-like things and snakelike forms and others besides. Major Geoffries and his men had pulled their pistols to fire at the things as they appeared, putting down a good number of them, but they were quickly getting overwhelmed. The only reason they hadn't been was the cats.
The level disparity wasn't a small one. They were still only level five or so at maximum, and Chad didn't see a single mole under seven. But with four or five cats on each attacker, it was quickly becoming apparent that the odds weren't as poor as he'd expected. The felines were able to hold their own.
He saw one bite into the shoulder of a mole and leave a green dripping venom behind as the thing screamed, while another one gnawed at its heel. More were leaping around the room and slashing with their claws like acrobatic tornadoes. One was legitimately glaring lasers. Actual lasers. Chad gaped as they burned into the back of one of the creatures as it tried to dive behind the couch, the beams singeing its fabric.
"Squawk! I gotta get Gram Gram outta here!" He called over his shoulder at the parrot as he ran for the front door.
"We're surrounded!" The parrot called back from somewhere he couldn't see. "There's more outside, and they don't look friendly!"
Chad glanced out the kitchen window. Sure enough, enemies swarmed around the house. The front lawn was a mess of holes as well, more of them than inside the house. More of the Major's soldiers had formed a perimeter around the house, laying down rifle fire and forcing the enemy to hide or be careful about their advance. But outside was no safer than in here.
"Fuck!" Chad swore and turned back toward the interior. It spoke volumes about the situation that his grandmother didn't even chastise him for his language.
Chad gritted his teeth. Gram Gram's old coffee table had already been overturned for cover, its surface riddled with bullet holes and deep gouges. Glassware and plates shattered as bullets pinged around the room.
I can't fight in here. I'll blow a damn hole in the wall, not to mention everything else. I can't destroy her house like this.
The damage to the furniture and everything else already pained him. But Chad knew just how much more he could potentially do. Letting loose in an enclosed space like this was a quick way to send the whole building down on their heads. And even if he avoided that, then he was sure Gram Gram would never be able to get the stains out of her carpets or walls. If there were any left, that was.
He looked around for someplace safe to put his grandmother down, but there was nothing. He couldn't just set her on the ground, either. Not without risking another tunnel opening up right beneath her.
Annie appeared in the doorway of the guest room, pistol drawn and tugging Jerry along behind her. The Musician clutched his violin case desperately to his chest as he looked around in panic. She shot a pair of giant ants in the head as they ran for the stairs to the second floor.
"Chad! Up here!"
The woman shoved Jerry up the stairs ahead of her, covering his retreat. Chad charged after them, doing his best to exercise restraint as he flicked and shoved enemies out of the way. He had some moderate success.
"Behind you!"
He instinctively whipped his arm around and curled around Gram Gram, wrapping her in a protective embrace. Claws scraped off of his shoulder and tore through his shirt. Whipping a hand out, Chad chopped the attacker in half with his hand.
He dashed upstairs after Annie and Jerry, the pair panting. Annie fired down from the landing as Chad set Gram Gram behind him and turned to punch their pursuers. One by one, they turned to red mist, painting the corridor. Jerry began playing his violin, haltingly at first, but with more confidence as he continued. Like before, it disoriented the enemies coming up the stairs, slowing them down and making them easier to hit.
It hurt Chad's soul to make a mess of the house like this. But it would hurt more to see Gram Gram injured.
Squawkers appeared above their heads, flapping in panic. "Chad, you gotta collapse the tunnels!"
"Little busy here, buddy," Chad grunted as he misted another mole coming up the stairs. Gunfire echoed up and down the narrow space.
"They're not gonna stop coming - you gotta deal with the source!" The parrot insisted. "Those guys outside are gonna get steamrolled otherwise!"
They heard a loud crunch from outside. It sounded like it came from the front of the house. Squawkers's eyes flashed with blue light for a moment before he cawed in alarm. "They're bringing animals through the tunnels! The boars just took out the army's car!"
Chad swore again and scowled. "I can't close the tunnels."
"What do you mean?! Of course you--"
"That'll bring the whole damn house down." He gritted his teeth. "My Paw Paw built this house, Squawk!"
The bird gestured emphatically with one wing. "Uh, Chad?! Hate to break it to you, but it's already gonna be a wreck! The big difference is whether we survive this damn attack!"
Chad looked around. The number of holes had rendered the hardwood flooring completely unrecognizable, and the banisters were barely hanging on. As much as it rankled, he had to agree.
"The cats and the soldiers are getting tired," Squawker continued. "If we're gonna make it outta this, you gotta do something now!"
He gritted his teeth, then nodded. As much as he cared about the house, he cared about everyone's lives more.
"Fine. We gotta get everyone out." He raised his voice. "Everyone get outta the house! It's gonna come down!"
More moles swarmed up the stairs, followed by snakes and giant ants. Throwing a handful of rocks at the crowd, Chad turned toward the upstairs bedroom. "C'mon! We're jumping!"
"Grab the mattress!" Squawkers suggested. "Throw it down!"
Chad obliged, grabbing the entire bed and shoving it through the wall in a shower of wood. It slid down the roof and onto the ground below, flattening a group of ants below.
"C'mon!" He scooped up Gram Gram and slid down the roof, landing on the mattress. It didn't entirely cushion the fall, but it was good enough. As soon as he landed, he let fly with several rocks from his pouch in an arc around him, buying some space for Annie to land with Jerry.
Looking around, he saw a swarm of oversized wildlife encircling a group of soldiers, their rifles doing their best to hold off the crowd. But as many as they downed, more simply surged up from below. Worse, he spotted a group of long-eared humanoids clad in leaves and green cloaks near the edge of the group. They gestured with long wooden staves, seeming to direct the other creatures at will.
Ealdric Druid (Lvl 12)
"Annie, Squawk, protect Gram Gram." At the top of his lungs, Chad yelled a final warning. "Earthquake incoming!"
Hopefully the other men had made it out of the house. If not... well, then an earthquake would be better to handle than a swarm of enemies.
He waited a second before activating Ultra Instinct. As the surge of energy poured into his arm, he slammed his fist down into the ground with as much force as he could possibly manage.
Last time he'd done this, it had been with the intent to knock a guy off his feet. That was all. But now that Chad knew what he was capable of... well, if Squawk wanted an earthquake, he was going to get one.
The dust around his fist instantly vaporized. The ground cracked and compressed beneath him, a crater forming from the shockwave. He watched it ripple out from the point of impact, once again causing the earth to roil.
His face and body were peppered with rock shards that sprayed everywhere, but the shaking in the ground still tossed him off of his feet. All around, others also struggled to maintain their footing or collapsed to their knees.
The house groaned and wobbled dangerously as more figures fled its interior. With a final decisive crack, the roof began to collapse. The building fell inwards in a crumpled heap.
You have displayed rudimentary knowledge of how to turn countless man-hours of hard work into a pile of useless rubble. Demolition (E) proficiency earned!
When the shaking finally subsided, Chad pushed himself up. The crater he'd found himself in was a few feet deep this time, meaning he had to pull himself out of it. All around, he saw the fallen figures of soldiers and creatures alike beginning to pick themselves up. But more importantly, every hole he could see was now collapsed.
That should do it. Now we gotta deal with stragglers.
Chad also looked behind him and saw the few humanoids also getting to their feet. Grabbing the lip of the crater, he hauled himself out and dashed towards the fallen enemies as they scrambled to stand. He launched into them with a tackle, smashing his arm through two of them at once.
Suddenly, the attacking creatures stopped being nearly as coordinated and started to scatter. Without the influence of the humanoids forcing them to attack, they evidently weren't too keen on heading into waves of bullets or a tornado of feline death.
Chad turned to his next opponents, readying himself to launch toward them. One of the druids met his gaze, narrowing her eyes and thrusting her staff forward in challenge.
At that moment, a sound cut through the air. The deep, resonant call of a horn.
