Scorching Ascension - [Progression Litrpg Apocalypse]

Marc POV

Marc stood silently at the front of the squad, hands behind his back as he watched and listened, very much aware of the rift behind them. They intended on delving into it as soon as this whole situation was resolved.

Up ahead, between the destroyed pews and what was left of the nave, a small team of high-level individuals was facing them, the sun of a new day at their backs. They were all in a church whose roof had been sheared-off, and coincidentally, the rift portal stood a few steps past the altar. Or where the altar would have been, if the church hadn't fallen apart.

When the vanguard had called in the skirmish, having failed to secure the rift, Marc had expected to find a larger team. But that wasn't the case. Not even close. To think that five of their best had just been pushed back by just two individuals was worrying, but it also meant that this was a new group. A new pylon they could take over.

Gavin had said incorporating other groups was their highest priority, so their course of action was clear. Dwayne didn't waste any time and moved in with force, bringing their whole unit to both secure the rift and assimilate this new group.

Of course, while their own people had come back with reinforcement, so did the strangers. And while there were less than expected, Marc was happy to see Dwayne wasn't underestimating them.

There weren't that many of them. Eight, in fact. But every one of them was high level, with the lowest at 58, and the highest at 66, while their own squad averaged 55. Only Dwayne, their squad leader, was level 62, and he was the strongest of their whole group.

It made the squad nervous, but they had the number, and in the tutorial, they'd held their fortress against even higher levels. Hell, they held up against a tier-2 assault and they had fifty people here. They could take them. If they had to, they could neutralize them.

Marc swallowed. His eyes roamed over the eight individuals, trying to devine their specialties and how to counter them before stopping on the woman facing them. She had dyed blond hair, though dark roots had begun showing, and she was seated on her own chair that she had summoned out of thin air. As he watched her easy smile, Marc wondered; Why was she so… unbothered? While he could do some guessing at the other's specialties, he had no clue what she could do. Aside from negotiation, that is.

Of the lot, she seemed the most comfortable in this sort of tense situation.

"So you had to hold a fortress for a whole week? That's a bit different from our own experience. And it most certainly explains the exquisite teamwork and your defensive capabilities," said Amanda, a notebook on her lap as adjusted her dark-rimmed glasses, which Marc knew for a fact they weren't needed.

He had been nearsighted himself his whole life, and he hadn't needed his glasses within a few stat points in Toughness.

His eyes swiveled back to Amanda's allies. A few were showing signs of frustration, specifically the teleporting healer who had clashed with their vanguard, but everyone else seemed to be content to wait. A few were oddly interested in Amanda herself, as if they were evaluating her performance. Specifically, a middle-aged man wearing silver chest-plate and bracers, and a woman sporting a black scales as an enhancer-spellform, with a tower shield under her arm. As for the strange Ignisra, it was asleep on the shoulders of the crossbow-wielder who wasn't even paying attention to them, staring into the horizon.

Is she a monster tamer?

Marc didn't know. They haven't spoken much aside from the few initial barbs. He didn't know their names. Things had only mellowed when Amanda had shown up and when asked about handing over control of their pylon, she had only said they can negotiate when the pylon administrator showed up.

She'd said it won't take long.

Dwayne smiled. "I appreciate the compliment, miss Daniels. And I appreciate us… talking instead of turning to violence. As you have said yourself, the pylon system incentivizes growth. We will be safer and stronger once you join us, and I can promise you right now that your people will be treated well. You will have your own voice, and you will keep your own settlement and handle it as you see fit, so long as you submit to our rules and regulations. Together we can grow stronger, and we'll be better equipped to handle what comes next."

Marc's eyes flitted to the captain. He was a large man and now that they had gotten back to their world, he'd gotten himself a fresh pair of overalls that seemed too tight to his frame. His own shield sat on his back, and he towered over the strangers. But that wasn't really intimidating anyone.

In response to his words, Amanda only gave him a polite smile at that and didn't comment before she asked another question. "Have you made contact with other groups? Mister Williams?"

"Dwayne is fine," the man answered. "We did, in fact. Though last I heard, negotiations were still ongoing. That group doesn't seem too amenable to cooperation. Some… ex-military, I believe. With some unfortunate practices, we have learned. We could definitely use your strengths to pacify them."

Marc gave Dwayne a sidelong glance, but said nothing. He must know they weren't intent on folding, right? He was a good man and often focused on keeping his people alive, from what he had heard. Marc hadn't worked with the man much in the tutorial, but he'd only heard good things. He heard he had a good head on his shoulders and nothing yet had told Marc otherwise, but was he aware of what was happening? Did he have a mind for politics? Because Amanda Daniels definitely looked like she did.

Stolen story; please report.

He must be thinking that if push came to shove, we can just win with our numbers.

Marc didn't necessarily disagree, but these eight were too comfortable to his liking. Maybe the man wanted to resolve this without creating any bad blood? After all, they could just go to the pylon and claim it by force. None of them were squeamish, having had to take their fair share of difficult decisions, but such methods would draw too much enmity. They'd forever have to watch their backs.

Dwayne didn't strike him as someone who'd go to such length for orders. On the other hand, the world was at stake, and they needed power, lest they'd end up under the thumb of those psychos to the west.

Marc would rather not have their settlement fight two battles on two different fronts and he was sure Dwayne thought the same.

Amanda nodded empathetically. "That does sound like a difficult situation to handle. We'll definitely address it."

Dwayne stared at the women, brow slightly furrowed, and Marc felt relief. Dwayne definitely knew it wasn't a done deal. Still, he kept the smile on his face. "You won't need to worry about it. We'll have it under—"

"He's coming," said the crossbow-wielder, speaking for the first time and cutting off Dwayne. Marc saw the large man's shoulder tense, and he could feel the mood shift. Both anger and anxiety, mixing in the ranks. Some looked around for this stranger, while others glaring daggers at the woman with the crossbow in hand.

The cat yawned in response to the rising tension of the room, moments before opening her half-lidded eyes and staring at them.

Amanda rose from her chair, then took a step to the side, putting a hand on the wooden chair's back. "Ah, I apologize for the interruption, Mister Williams," she said, placidly looking at the horizon, past Marc and the forty men and women facing the little group. Marc looked back, then up. "Our Administrator is here, and I believe our wait is over," he heard her say, and then he saw it. What looked initially like a black bird, growing larger in seconds, until the black wings and bronze-scales could not be mistaken for anything but a person.

[Human (II) - Level 72]

Marc shouted for order as the apparition seemed to have caused the squad to jitter, but he couldn't help but feel a cold bead of sweat crawl down his back.

This was the first tier-2 human Marc had ever seen and without a word, he summoned his own shield. He counted at least four spellforms, and they painted a pretty alarming picture. While their own group focused on teamwork and defense, this group focused on individual strengths and personal might. And it seemed like the administrator was no exception.

Dwayne looked paler, and his eyes flicked to Amanda who just smiled at him, right as the sound of snapping wings sounded above them.

The man's body was covered with bronze-scales, the light of dawn reflecting form his shoulders. Two black horns with red ridges swept back, while his hair rippled along with the morning breeze. The man dismissed the wings and landed nimbly in front of his own people, unconcerned with Dwayne and fifty people behind him.

Marc found his eyes drawn to the monstrous hands, and to the 8-inch long, thick talons, as the man silently took in the scene, dwelling for a second on the blood-stained shirt of the healer.

The heavy silence was finally broken when Amanda spoke up once more, and Marc realized he hadn't been breathing.

"Thank you for joining us, Mister Voss. Please, have a seat. Once you're settled, we can begin discussing terms with these good folks," she said, flashing a smile up at Dwayne and his squad—like a praying mantis might smile at a cluster of ants.

***

"And what would those terms be about, Miss Daniels? I thought we were having an understanding. I would prefer to resolve this amicably, and while I admire the individual strengths of your people, individuals are not enough to weather what is to come," said the man, voice slowly growing louder. This Dwayne guy was big, Ethan thought. Probably could put up a decent fight, but while he seemed to be trying to be intimidating, it didn't seem like he really wanted things to come to blows. Though Ethan couldn't say the same about his people. Ever since he'd shown up, the little squad they had brought up seemed to have gotten intense. Some had gotten nervous, but mostly, they seemed ready. Weapon drawn, shields up. A couple had even summoned armoring spellforms under–or over–their salvaged clothes. They were prepared. Their faces set. Ethan liked the look in their eyes.

And at least they're organized, I'll give them that.

Amanda turned away from Ethan and gave the tall man a cold smile that made him feel nervous as she started pacing in the space separating the two factions, like an attorney appealing to a jury. "Well, you seemed to be under the impression that we would accept to join your growing faction without much of a fuss. I did not correct your assumptions, though I did mean it when I said we would be discussing terms. Now that the leader of our faction is here, we can cut to the chase. First, mister Williams, you invaded our territory with an armed force. Second, you used force against our people while they were in the midst of claiming what we authorized they could take and I'll reiterate. Within. Our. Territory. Thirdly, with this show of force, you presumed you'd walk in and take over our settlement. We find that… insulting. And now that I listed our grievances, we can start discussing reparations and tribute, and possibly," Amanda's eyes flicked to Ethan, "your faction joining ours and working with and under us."

You could hear a pin drop in the quiet, roofless church, only disturbed by Ember, who nimbly jumped up and came to a rest above his horns. It was odd, hearing Amanda speak and behave like so, but clearly, she was pretty damn comfortable and seeing that the others had let her take the initiative, Ethan let her do her thing. He didn't look forward to assimilating more settlements and groups, considering he had no idea who they might bring in, but there was no denying that whomever did so would accrue the most power. At the end of the day, they needed their own pylon to be empowered and upgraded, and with taxation, that just meant they'd need more people. More territory. More rifts. Individual power was about beating monsters and conquering rifts, but the strength of a faction was going to be about expansion. About pylons and territories and powerful individuals contributing.

They had to expand. There was no way around it.

"So. Mister Williams," Amanda said, hands behind her back as she stood to Ethan's right. "Let us discuss the terms of your surrender."