The ground rumbled beneath them.
The warehouse district was no longer silent.
From every direction, the undead poured in—a flood of horrors, drawn by the Howler's final, dying shriek.
Hundreds. Thousands.
Walkers staggered forward in a wave of decay, their dead eyes locked onto the living.
Stalkers skittered across rooftops, darting through the shadows, preparing to pounce.
And at the center of it all—
A new Devourer.
The massive creature lumbered toward them, its monstrous body twisting, bones snapping unnaturally as it grew new reinforcements of muscle in real-time.
It was bigger than the last two they had fought.
Stronger.
Faster.
The entire district had become a death trap.
Carter stood at the center of the chaos, his mind racing.
They were outnumbered.
They were surrounded.
And the only chance of survival was to run.
"HOLD THE LINE!"
Carter's voice cut through the chaos.
"FORM DEFENSIVE POSITIONS! GET THE VEHICLES MOVING!"
The Medjay warriors reacted instantly, forming tight shield walls around the convoy.
Archers fired from the chariot platforms and the truck roofs, their arrows striking true, bringing down the first wave of Walkers before they could even reach the warriors.
Meanwhile, the volunteer survivors and engineers scrambled into trucks and SUVs, revving the engines, preparing for a mad dash back to the safe zone.
"We've got everything we can carry!" Marcus yelled over the gunfire.
"We need to leave—NOW!"
But they couldn't all escape.
Someone had to hold the horde back.
Atem met Carter's gaze.
A silent understanding passed between them.
The Medjay warriors knew their role.
They would be the sacrifice.
Atem turned to his men.
"MEDJAY!"
he roared, raising his khopesh.
"WE STAND! WE DIE SO THE PHARAOH MAY LIVE!"
The warriors pounded their shields, shouting in unison:
"FOR THE PHARAOH!"
Carter felt a lump in his throat.
But there was no time to argue.
They had to make it count.
He turned back to the convoy.
"FLOOR IT!"
Engines roared in life.
Tires screeched against asphalt.
The semi-truck, packed to the brim with food, led the charge, plowing through the first wave of undead like a battering ram.
Leaving behind the circled up chariot wall, as the rearguard Medjay archers fired into the horde keeing their focus on the meal in front of them, thinning their numbers as much as they could while they were at it.
Marcus leaned out the window of one of the SUVs, blasting Walkers apart with his shotgun, clearing the way.
Carter fired from his position atop a flatbed truck, taking precise burst shots at Stalkers attempting to leap onto the vehicles, those that broke from the horde to follow.
For a brief moment, it seemed like they were breaking free—
Then—
The Devourer charged.
It moved with terrifying speed, barreling toward the convoy, smashing through abandoned vehicles, crushing everything in its path.
The Medjay tried to slow it down, to bring it's focus back on them—hurling spears and arrows, slashing at its legs as it ran aware from them—
But it wasn't stopping.
And it was getting too close.
Carter gritted his teeth, switching tactics.
"AIM FOR THE KNEES!"
he shouted.
Thesurvivors adjusted immediately, targeting the creature's leg joints, forgoing the fatal neck shot.
A volley of gunfire struck its kneecaps, piercing tendons, slowing its momentum.
Then—
A truck rammed into its side at full speed.
BOOM!
The impact toppled the beast, sending it crashing into a warehouse wall, momentarily stunned.
That was their chance, the driver of the truck was collected into another convoy vehicle.
"FASTER! GET US OUT OF HERE!"
Carter screamed with all his might,
The convoy accelerated, finally breaking free from the industrial district.
They were almost home.
Carter looked back—
Just in time to see the last stand of his loyal warriors.
He could not actually see the fight but.
The remaining Medjay, outnumbered and surrounded, continued to fight to the last man, their khopesh blades flashing, their shields dented and broken, but never faltering.
All the while he could watch the number of his summons dropped one by one through the system menu.
Out of sight but not out of range, even from their distance away they learned the horrible truth
The Devourer rose again, roaring in fury as it's voice echoed enough to reach their ears.
Their fate was sealed.
Carter clenched his fists as even now going back would not be enough to save those poor men and women.
He had never felt more powerless.
But if he hesitated now—if he turned back—their sacrifice would be for nothing.
Gritting his teeth, he turned away.
They would be remembered.
The convoy sped through deserted streets, retracing their path back to the fortress-like condo complex.
The city was eerily silent once more.
No pursuing horde.
No Devourer.
They had escaped.
But at what cost?
Only the survivors had made it back safely, and even then not all of them at that.
As the gates of the safe zone came into view, Carter finally exhaled, his grip on his rifle loosening.
They had made it.
They had the food.
They had survived.
And now—
They had to keep surviving.
And better yet, thanks to the heroic sacrifice of his Mejay force, he was better prepared to fight on.
📢 System Notification 📢
Level Up!
🆙 Carter has reached Level 10!
💰 New Balance: 4,127,000 Dollars
🆙 [Scientific Military System has reach rank 3]
Thanks to their sacrifice he had obtained the experience points required to level up once more, and this level up was important in a different way because he hit the 2nd milestone.
He'd reached level 10, just like when he first reached level 5 the system had increased in rank.
The newest addition to his troop, vehicle, and building selections was Aetus Romana, based off the current offerings and the naming of this new one, though requiring translation would be an era of time Carter knew fairly well thanks to a fascination with the rise and fall of Rome during his childhood.
And with that came just the tiniest bit of comprehension of Latin, the newest unlocked section was.
The Roman Age
If the Ancient Egyptian era he'd just come from would be a followup progression of Stone Age to Bronze Age, then next he would be entering the Iron Age.