“So, what’s the plan?” Mel asked when the crew stopped to catch their breath.

  Sasha was having a hard time maintaining the intense pace, since everyone else was stage two and had superior physical attributes. They decided to hold a brief strategy session while she recovered.

  “It depends on which group we run into first,” Edge replied. “We will reinforce Trapper’s team if we arrive on their side of the battlefield. If we find the Claws first, we’ll have to play it by ear. We can’t afford to take their strike force head-on—especially their elites—but every prisoner we pick off will shift the odds in our favor. We can also hit their supplies and support personnel. I doubt the jailbirds will place them under heavy guard while launching their assault.”

  “Long story short,” Lilly added, “we need to make the most of the element of surprise without waiting so long it costs our side lives—a tricky balance given our lack of information. If we arrive while both sides are still feeling each other out, we should plan our ambush carefully—really make the jailbirds bleed. If we come across Trapper’s group first, we need to warn them about the impending attack if they don’t know already, although I assume the person who contacted you can update them too.”

  “I think she can reach Tessa the same way,” Edge said, “but the Claws are using magic to block communication and remote viewing in their vicinity. So, warning our people is a good idea no matter what. As far as hitting them hard goes, I have something I picked up in the dungeon that might make a big difference. I mentioned it before, but I think now is the right time to use it.”

  He pulled out the device containing the portable monster and held it up as he continued.

  “This will summon a peak stage-two monster with two Rare skills and an Uncommon skill of my choice. I’ve been trying to decide which Uncommon I wanted to steal before using it, but now I’m thinking I should give the monster Regeneration, then freeze it solid and leave it near the Claws. When it thaws, it should be able to fight at full strength thanks to Regeneration, and it’s going to be pissed. A rapidly regenerating monster armed with Rare skills should be a nightmare to fight in these tunnels—especially if the convicts’ forces are divided and we launch an assault at the same time.”

  “That’s the strangest quest reward I’ve ever heard of,” Sasha chimed in, having recovered from the lengthy run. “But you’re right. You should see if any of its Rare skills are worth stealing after you freeze it, then we can leave it behind enemy lines, wait for its attack, and use the distraction to make our move.”

  “That sounds perfect.” Mel broke into a broad grin. “We’ll hit them from two sides at once, then retreat to Trapper’s position during the confusion. It might buy our people enough time to launch a counterattack and really make those bastards pay.”

  “Sasha, we need you to be in fighting shape when we arrive,” Edge said. “Why don’t you climb onto my back for a while?” She nodded her agreement—too focused on the looming conflict to be embarrassed about the matter.

  “All right.” Lilly nodded. “Now that we have a plan, let’s keep moving. None of this is going to matter if we arrive after the battle is over.”

  Everyone took a final drink of water, then Sasha wrapped her arms around Edge’s shoulders, and they started running again—eager to rejoin their friends and put an end to the prolonged siege.

  ***

  Trapper wound a bandage around her forearm, wincing as she pulled it tight.

  She wiped the blood she had spilled off the map and called for fresh updates, skewering a centipede that was hiding under the table when it lunged for her legs. After fighting Roth’s summons for twenty hours and counting, the expedition had become intimately familiar with the creatures’ capabilities and learned to predict where they would appear.

  She had originally thought their arrival meant the Claws’ attack was imminent, but that had proven not to be the case. Instead, the summoner had kept the bugs coming as relentlessly as the rising tide, wearing down the defenders’ health, morale, and attention spans while the convicts moved into the tunnels at their leisure.

  Dealing with the toxic insects, which could climb the walls of the enclosure and squeeze through the narrowest of openings, had been a nightmare. As Trapper had feared, the Claws hadn’t been idle during their weeks-long siege of the expeditionary force. While they were searching for the hunters’ base, they had also been combing the jungle for mana seeds.

  Their efforts had provided Roth with a vast supply of magicytes, letting her create thousands of venomous centipedes. Dozens of people had been wounded by the invading insects, and though there had been only two deaths, the assault had cost the defenders a great deal of mana along with their remaining medical supplies.

  Right now, most of the convicts were in a staging area they had set up halfway between the surface and the expedition’s base, staying in top form while their enemies grew weaker by the hour. But it was only a matter of time before the Claws decided their prey had been softened up enough and went in for the kill.

  It wasn’t in the jailbirds’ nature to be patient—to let time and stress wear their opponents down. They would be eager to shed blood with their own hands, at which point the hunters had some surprises of their own in store.

  In addition to the bugs attacking the base camp, more summons were surging through the tunnels, setting off traps along the way. That was actually a good thing. Most of the devices had been set by Trapper herself, and thanks to her core’s ultimate ability, they would only trigger on the condition of her choosing—programmed to trip when a convict crossed them.

  Many more were primed but had no target set, which meant they wouldn’t activate until she changed their setting or manually detonated them. The handful that was going off now was intended to lull the Claws into a false sense of security, making them think the way was clear and underestimate the extent of the hunters’ defenses.

  Sure enough, not long after, Riller came running over to report what he was seeing through his Scout Drone. “The jailbirds are leaving their staging area and heading this way. It’s everyone except their support staff, including Ella, Ripper, and Roth.”

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “They’re finally ready to attack our position.” Able sighed, crushing a bug with his hammer and then leaning against the shaft. “One way or another, it’s time to end this.”

  “Do you think we have a chance?” Melchior asked, rubbing at the black rings under his eyes before quaffing a stimulant potion to keep himself awake.

  “Yes,” Trapper replied. “I won’t lie to you. This is a bad situation, and the odds are against us. But we’ve done an amazing job preparing our defenses and our plan is solid. The Claws will eventually breach the wall, and when they do, a lot of us are going to die. But I believe we can kill enough of them to get some of our people out while the rest buy time.”

  “If we get lucky and take out their elites,” Jumo added, “most of us might manage to escape.”

  Trapper didn’t think it was likely that her devices would kill one of the Claws’ strike leaders, let alone all three. However, Jumo’s words were boosting morale, and they desperately needed a reason to keep hope alive, so she didn’t contradict him. At least Tiburón never entered the tunnels. I doubt it will make a difference, but at least this shitshow has a silver lining. She rubbed her temples and then turned to address the expedition’s leaders.

  “Momo, put what the drone is seeing up on the wall so everyone can watch.” The perky young guardswoman went running to obey Trapper’s command, stopping beside Riller and igniting her core. Momo had an unusual variant of Sense Link that could project what someone else was seeing like an old-Earth movie, letting everyone observe what was happening in the tunnels in real time.

  The defenders stopped what they were doing, watching the Claws’ vanguard advance down the tunnel network—followed by their heavy hitters, ranged units, and support personnel.

  “That’s definitely all of them,” Able said. “We should be able to proceed with the plan. Let’s pray it eliminates enough of them.” After that, everyone waited in silence as the jailbirds’ kill teams progressed deeper in the passageways—spearheaded by a fresh wave of Roth’s summons.

  Trapper’s heart pounded as adrenaline flooded her bloodstream. This was a critical moment. If the convicts noticed her traps and adjusted their formation to counter, only a few would fall before reaching the wall, and the expedition was going to be wiped out completely.

  “Wait for it. Just a little longer.” She didn’t need Able’s commentary to play her role, but it didn’t bother her either. She knew it was just an outlet for the deputy’s nervous energy, and it helped everyone who was watching deal with the incredible tension that was rising by the heartbeat.

  Several of her dummy devices detonated as the Claws stepped on them, and more were taken out with ranged attacks and Disruption surges. They produced a loud bang and a bit of flame but didn’t do any damage to the core-wielding warriors—although one unlucky scout had his hair set ablaze, much to the amusement of the other convicts.

  “Good,” Alice spoke for the first time in hours. “They’re getting cocky. The plan is working. Now they will underestimate us and be less likely to notice the hidden devices.”

  By now, the thickest press of jailbirds was a little over halfway through the trap field—at a junction where the earth shapers had created a warren of false tunnels that only led to dead ends and more traps. Some of the prisoners went down them, while the rest followed the main passage.

  “Arming the field in thirty seconds,” Trapper said. “Assault teams, get ready to launch a surprise attack. Support team, be ready to open the gate when they get back. We’re only going to get one shot to bleed the bastards before they reach the wall and we need to make it count. Hit them hard, then pull back the moment they start returning fire.”

  While she spoke, she watched the feed from Riller’s drone—tension so thick she could have cut it with a blade. “Once the traps are armed, friendlies won’t set them off while my link is active. Be careful of getting caught in the crossfire if an enemy draws near your position, and don’t forget that once they Disrupt the triggers, my devices will trip if you touch them. Make sure to withdraw before that happens.”

  Trapper watched an enemy crew step inside the radius of her poison-gas traps, then sent out a pulse of mana that armed every device she had placed within the tunnel network.

  “Assault team, go!” Able yelled as the battle began and all hell broke loose.

  Everyone watched through Riller’s drone as explosions rang out, while jets of flame and clouds of gas surged into the air. It was only a fraction of her traps—triggered by the jailbirds already standing in their radius—but over a dozen convicts died before they knew what hit them.

  As the hunters had planned, the Claws began running, trying to get out of range of the deadly devices… which took many of them straight into the kill zone of another. The expedition let out a cheer as their enemies died, although far too many were still standing.

  While the convicts were lazy and disorganized, they weren’t stupid. No one who could survive in their brutal society was weak or dumb. They were well-versed in life-and-death combat, and their leaders had anticipated the presence of traps and prepared counter-strategies ahead of time.

  Thus, although their initial reaction was panic and over twenty Claws died during the ensuing chaos, their crew leaders eventually got them under control, reminding everyone that they couldn’t set off more traps if they didn’t move.

  By this point, their strike force was strung out along the main approach and afraid to reposition, but the hunters and deputies were under no such constraint. The assault team led by Able and Jumo reached the closest enemies a few seconds later, overwhelming them with superior numbers and their most powerful attacks. They took some ranged fire in return, but with the Claws unwilling to advance, they couldn’t form an adequate defense.

  When Riller spotted the strike leaders racing down the tunnel, Trapper gave the order and the lookouts on the walls fired flares signaling Able’s team to return. After finishing off a final crew, they ran back toward the wall. Several of her people were wounded but no one was dead. Another ten jailbirds down, seventy-five to go.

  When the convicts realized there were far more traps than they’d thought, they decided to pull back while they decided what to do about it.

  They must have realized Trapper could manually detonate them, because they walked single file twenty feet apart, letting out a Disruption surge every so often. When the magical triggers were erased, the devices activated the next time something touched them. Most were cleared by Roth’s summons, although a few unlucky gang members hit them, claiming another three lives in the process. As the last Claw rounded the corner and left the battlefield, the defenders let out a cheer.

  Trapper was surrounded by a ring of smiling faces. Everyone was thrilled to have killed so many enemies without losing anyone in exchange. But Able and the other experienced warriors wore grim expressions. They understood that the easy part was over, and there were still far too many enemies standing. The jailbirds would be back soon, and the remaining traps would only eliminate a few more at most. Soon, the fighting would reach the wall, and it would be the expedition’s turn to bleed and die.

  Most of the ones who perished were stage one. The rest are stage-two. While we’ve culled a quarter of their numbers, we’ve only reduced their fighting strength by a slim fraction.

  On a more promising note, the Claws had withdrawn to their staging area, nursing their wounds while deciding how they wanted to proceed. It gave the expedition a final chance to rest and prepare. Roth had stopped sending summons, which meant she was saving her mana for the main assault.

  At Melchior’s instance, Trapper lay down to get what little rest she could, letting the support staff stand watch until the decisive battle began.

  She would never have believed that she could fall asleep in the middle of a warzone. But she had underestimated the extent of her exhaustion and was out like a light the moment her eyes closed.