The war - if you want to even call it that - between the Black Dragon, and our ragtag team of four went on for weeks.

The Black Dragon had numbers, more than I had ever thought possible. Every time we thought we cleared out the entrenched heavy weapons more would be rolled out and the battle would commence again.

We were hounded every time we landed, they even found our damn island sanctuary and pounded it to dust with long-range artillery. The fortress was a mess but it was holding together better than I could have hoped for.

The fortress floated toward downtown Chicago, listing a bit to the left where a portion of the levitator had been blown away. Both Ska and Martin had hairless heads, a blast of flame cooking their flesh before I healed them. The scars were gone but the hair would have to regrow on its own. I hoped Ska’s regrew fast, grimalkin did not look good furless. It was a mix between a naked molerat and a wrinkly testicle.

Our approach had been uncontested. That was mostly due to my fuck everything plan. A corridor of rubble lined our approach for two blocks in either direction. Burned out tanks and melted artillery poked out of more than one pile of rubble. A massive crater marked where we had landed a lucky hit on an ammunition depot. I didn’t know where they had gotten all these weapons and at this point, it didn’t matter.

I heard one of the cannons going off and a blast tore through a section of building still standing. There was no return fire. That was either a good thing or this was a trap. I wouldn’t put it past Randy to try and trap us. He almost succeeded a week ago. I had been all cocksure that we had cleared out the entrenched enemy when an IED exploded and nearly took out the fortress. That was the attack that damaged the levitator and cooked Martin and Ska.

Since then we were extra careful about approaching too low to the ground. We floated around the combat area, trying to determine the best approach. There were no easy ways into the taller buildings. There was always the option to level the entire area but that was the last resort. First of all, I didn’t think it would work and I didn’t want that cockroach escaping. Sending blasts toward the center, didn’t work either. He had some sort of shield in place that absorbed the attacks. It wasn’t all that surprising, considering his resources. I was also glad I had elected not to use nerve gas. The wind off of Lake Superior would have blown it south, killing who knows how many innocent people.

Wearing the shield down could take weeks, assuming we could pump enough damage into it quickly enough to take it down. From our few exploratory attacks, my guess was that wasn’t a possibility. I knew what needed to happen, but I was loathed to do it.

“Alright, I think this phase of the war is over, it's time to hit the ground and engage in close combat.”

“Won’t they be expecting that?” Martin asked.

“Yup, that’s why I’m going to stick the fortress on patrol mode.”

“Wait, it can do that?”

“Well, sorta. Mostly it’ll just fly a preprogrammed path. I could tell it to fly a random path but with the tall buildings, it would be more likely to fly into them.”

“They won’t fall for that for long, how are we getting through the shield?”

“The sewers, it’s the only way I can see to get through.”

“You know he will have them rigged or defended.”

“Yup, so we need to be quick and brutal, hopefully, they won’t expect it and we can get the drop on them.”

Ska hissed in a mix of disgust and delight. “I don’t like stinky sewers but I will put up with it if it means glorious battle.”

Martin just rolled his eyes, “let's just go kill this prick so I can get back to something worthwhile.”

Out of everyone, Fiona looked the most nervous. I gave her a reassuring smile and that seemed to help a bit.

***

When the fortress was out of sight, behind a building that wasn’t destroyed and was outside the combat area, we jumped. I carried Martin as he didn’t have any ability to absorb the landing. The fortress meandered away, the shield re-engaged as soon as the door shut.

We waited quietly, huddled in the alley until Fiona returned.

“Ok, I found a sewer entrance. It didn’t have any traps on it that I could see.”

“Alright, let's go.”

The setting sun was our ally as we quickly crossed the streets and made our way to the sewer. I lifted the heavy metal lid off with little effort, trying to do it as quietly as possible. Fiona was already below but Ska jumped down the hole without a sound. Martin was next as he eyed the dirty ladder with trepidation.

I was the last into the stinky hole as I closed the manhole cover above us. Darkness closed in, making it feel like we had stepped into dark oblivion. There were no words spoken as the echoes would carry in the tunnels. I heard a quiet pop as Martin drank his dark vision potion. I activated my tattoo, then decided against it as it gave off too much light. I pulled a similar portion from my ring and drank it. It would last for ten minutes. We each had three of the potions. Ska and Fiona didn’t need them.

Ska and Fiona ranged ahead by twenty feet. I didn’t want Fiona going too far ahead in case there was a trap specifically designed to capture or kill her.

The only thing that greeted us was rats. I would have considered these mutant rats prior to the System, but they were just very large rats. They scurried away as we approached. When we got to an intersection, Fiona would range ahead a short distance and then return.

It wasn’t the most effective way to get our bearings but it worked.

As we were moving down one corridor we heard a muffled blast followed by voices.

“I told you it was a bad idea to place mines in the tunnel, damn rats keep setting them off.”

“It’s better than spending all day down here in this stench.”

“Fuck this, let's go back to the barricade and get a drink. It’s not like we will see any action for some time. I hear that damn flying rock is still flying around the city waiting to shoot anything that pops its head out.”

“Yeah, just hope the boss man doesn’t catch us slacking off, you know how he gets.”

The other man chuckled. “Yeah, like he would dirty himself by coming down here.”

The voices moved farther away before they could no longer be clearly heard.

I looked toward Martin and mouthed Imp. A malicious smile crossed his face as he quietly cast his spell.

The dirty-green wart-covered creature crawled out of a black tar-like portal in the ground. Martin pointed down the tunnel and ordered the creature onward.

A minute later another explosion sounded, closer to us than the last time. Martin nodded and we continued down that tunnel.

***

“Fuckin hell, that’s the last of the mines. How many damn rats are down here,” Dylen wondered.

“Quiet… you hear that?” Rodney said, holding his hand up.

Dylen quieted down and he heard splashing.

The two looked at each other as the sound grew closer.

Dylen rushed over to the mounted machine gun and racked the slide. It wouldn’t stop a powerful foe but it would slow them down.

A small green creature stepped into the light and Dylen couldn’t help but laugh.

“Fuckin hell, got me all hot and bothered for a goblin. Should I even waste the bullets?”

“Don’t bother, I’ll cut it down with my sword.”

Rodney pulled his blade out and the two stepped out from behind the sandbag bunker. They were in one of the city's maintenance rooms, it was twenty feet wide with a stairway that led to the surface. It was also blessedly clear of sewage or water.

Rodney gave his sword a spin as he tromped over to gut the goblin. But he stopped as nearly a dozen more poured into the room, all rushing at him with murderous gazes all sharp teeth and claws. As they got closer, he realized they weren’t goblins at all.

He slashed two down with quick swipes of his blade but he was quickly overwhelmed as the creatures seemed to have no end in sight.

Dylen tossed a grenade into the pack of creatures that had already killed Rodney. He quickly realized his mistake. The explosion killed a dozen of the creatures when twenty-four spawned in their place.

He tried to fight them off using guns and magic but the more he killed the more that spawned. He was doing a fighting retreat when he tripped on the bottle of booze that had fallen to the floor in the chaos. He screamed as the creatures piled on top of him, tearing him apart.

A minute later four people walked into the room.

“Damn Martin, every time I see these little buggers, they impress me more. Any downside to them?”

“Yeah, every death reduces the uptime on this summon. They have about ten minutes left before they disappear.”

“Well, let's not waste any time.”

While our entrance didn’t go unnoticed, the volume of imps was enough to surprise the defenders. They cleared the first barrier and the second before winking out of existence. It allowed us to clear a path inside the building we had come out in. These were not the Black Dragon's A team, but they weren’t stupid. The fighting grew intense as magic and the sound of weapons filled the air.

Ska moved among the enemy like a wraith, critically wounding soldiers to take them out of the fight, even temporarily.

Fiona fought beside me, keeping three enemies occupied while I fought four. They didn’t last long when I activated Unstoppable Force and Blink Step. I simply used my staff as a ram, slamming into the surprised men like a locomotive. My momentum transferred into my targets, breaking bones and crushing organs.

One man thought he could stop me as he activated some skill that turned him into a walking pile of rocks. His fist slammed into my chest and his arm was turned into dust as I kept pushing forward, then I pushed through him. I think it was the sight of me covered in blood, after literally walking through someone, that caused the remaining enemies to decide this was far above their pay grade. The survivors tried to flee but Martin had covered the exit with his Breathe of Corruption spell. Anyone that survived that got hit by his whip, a Void Bolt, or his mana pistol.

While he hadn’t been adventuring in a month or so, he hadn’t let his skills deteriorate. None of the enemies had escaped and I quickly surveyed the room and checked on the location of our target.

“He’s not in this building, I can sense him a few buildings down.”

“They are going to be ready for us,” Martin added.

I smiled, “they aren’t going to be ready for this,” I said, raising my prosthetic hand.

***

Randy stood at a table, while his commanders rushed around issuing orders. Somehow that sneaky fuck had tricked them and gotten inside the shield. No matter, he knew it was always going to come down to a fight between him and this little pissant. He wasn’t afraid of the man, he had already easily bested him once. His forces might be depleted here in Chicago but once he dealt with this prick he would call in another group from New York. Everything there was stable so a skeleton crew could hold the city until he recruited more men. There were always people who yearned for power and he could give that to them.

The building shook and dust rained from the ceiling.

“Report!” he yelled.

“Sir, they have a portable mana cannon and have blown an entrance into the side of the building, bypassing the fortifications.”

“Goddammit, can’t those fuckers do anything right? Send a squad up to reinforce them. I'll be up in a minute.”

The man nodded and motioned for four men guarding the entrance to come with him. Randy strapped his sword and armor on, double-checking that he was set. He could hear screams from above as the building shook and the fighting raged on. He ran up the stairs with his last remaining members from the first attack on Paul Fuller. Over half had been killed in the escape from the city, and subsequent journey back to Chicago. Eventually, they had killed off all of the mole men that had been doggedly chasing them. But it hadn’t been without cost.

When Randy got to the top of the stairs, he surveyed the battlefield. There were dead everywhere but he still had ten men fighting against four and now he was joining with three more. Their damn flying fortress was out of the picture but he wasn’t about to underestimate his opponent.

“Two of you go keep that ghost bitch busy. The other come with me.”