The closer they got to the center of the city, the more the skies lit up. From their position, they could see mages fighting monsters, their bodies just specks for them. What was awesome to them was the fire, the water and lasers these mages employed. Their shields of rocks and stones that casted shadows on whole houses.

 

The monsters were equally horrific, with some reaching such a size that they crushed a whole building beneath their body when they landed. There were also the swarms, the vast black clouds of probably insects that kept hounding the mages.

 

All of this spectacle put a pit of disappointment into Alex, if he had magic he could be flying, destroying his enemies with snakes of fire and acid. But the only thing he had were swords and shields, the weapons of the unawakened.

 

He knew that magic was more powerful and flexible, and that physical weapons were not an equal even if enchanted. 

 

"Don't get sad Alex." One of his clones bumped him on his shoulder. "Why do we need magic when we can kill our enemies with one slash of a sword."

 

It was an encouragement that they all needed, and quickly they shrugged off the sadness of losing out on magic. Alex and his team had picked up clothes left behind in the wreckage of homes. He summoned two clones and gave them the clothes. They still had no weapons, but that would be fixed.

 

Also with no extra masks available - he should have bought far more masks from the old man - The clones had to tie clothes around their faces. It was rudimentary and was uncomfortably hot to the clones, yet it did the job of concealing their identity.

 

And for once Alex thanked Mercy for creating him with unremarkable eyes. 

 

With a total of 7 clones, Alex felt better about his chances of slaying monsters. There was one thing he was unsure about, and that was the strength of the monsters that would be spawning from the dungeon. Hopefully they weren’t all like the ones fighting in the sky.

 

His father was never a dedicated dungeon hunter, he was far more keen on doing easy jobs that would pay well rather than something that would earn him experience. 

 

Alex had no reference on what a bigger dungeon would entail. He just had to trust fate and hope there weren't that many strong monsters and hopefully weak ones that could be killed by a bronze team.

 

"Shit!" A clone in the front said, his head peeking around a corner of the street. 

 

"What?" Alex whispered. 

 

"The army is in the smiths district. They have a whole command tent over there." The clone then hurriedly pushed them away from the corner. "A patrol is coming this way, hide!"

 

Delving behind a trolley with hay, Alex listened carefully as the troops walked by. Their metal clad forms produce crackling and clicking. They were talking loudly and freely.

 

"Ah, your uncle is a saint. The inner districts are a blood bath." A high pitched man's voice was carried over. 

 

"Friend, if you are ever ordered to go fight in the combat zones, just call for my uncle and he should get you out." A deep voice said back and continued. "Still though, it's sure fun to see the nobles finally taking a beating."

 

The other parts of the conversation were unhearable as they got further away. Alex twitched his head to the clones, a signal for a meeting.

 

"I don't think the looting idea can be completed with patrols around." Alex whispered. "Nor can we get any weapons with that command tent."

 

"We can get weapons." A clone spoke up softly, and continued. "We just have to go to the battlefield. You guys head the soldier, the place is a bloodbath. I'm sure the soldiers and awakened there won't mind us taking their weapons from their dead hands."

 

"Good, let us go inwards and avoid any contact with soldiers." Alex said. "Although its war time, they might recognise us and try to capture or kill us for the masks we wear."

 

The smiths district was still standing, mainly due to its stone construction. And the more they went inward the less buildings they saw toppled. He thought it was going to be the reverse, with buildings closer to the impact sites being the most damaged. But the stronger construction material won over the strong earth wave thingy that happened on the collision. Maybe the earth wave had affected the whole city equally.

 

He didn't know the earth could become a wave before today, so he can't say shit about how it behaves.

 

The people of the inner districts didn't even need to leave their homes, and too many of their children and some adults were looking out of the windows to catch a glimpse of the soldiers passing by or the battle in the sky.

 

It made sneaking by the district a fucking nightmare, and at times he just sprinted between streets when they were too many eyes. His agony from the attention ended when he first heard sounds of fighting.

 

"Someone focus on that noise and give us a direction." Alex ordered.

 

One of his clones closed his eyes and pointed in a direction. Alex put his hands on the clone's shoulder to help him stand up, the over sensory stimulation from [Singular Focus] making him wobble.

 

They advanced in the direction, finding a bloody scene. The house walls nearby were painted with blood, and it all came from the bodies of the residents of the houses. 

 

Children, men and women were all made into minced meat, their faces barely recognisable. Alex held onto his gut and almost puked. Turning his attention away from the corpses, Alex saw two soldiers fighting five six legged black dogs.

 

Beside the soldiers' feet were what appeared to be Vanquishers, two guys and one girl who were clearly dead or dying. The soldiers weren't in a better state, their armor was dented and their movements were slow.

 

"FRET NOT MY BROTHERS! FOR WE ARE HERE." Alex shouted and raised his two swords into the air. 

 

"FRET NOT!" His whole group shouted in unison, and they charged.

 

[Skill Requirements Met. Battle Cry skill now available to insert.

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There are currently 7 advanced chapter on my Patreon.

and if you have any critics please send them to me, I would appreciate.

All the love for Mambell, the beta reader for this story.