Chapter 97: Holding Out (1/2)

Chapter 97: Holding Out

Aldrich scanned the city from above It was odd to see it so dark From a helicopter or plane, Haven or any city, really, was always lit up, and in the dark, they looked like rivers of sparkling gold speckled with bright and bold dots of neon

But Haven was dark As dark as it could get The only real visible lights cae forcefield enco and flickering as it took occasional hits

Where the light was, the fighting was The bioluminescent forms of various aquatic variants for around the forcefield The variant ar in The rate of fire fro down, either running out of power for energy-based weapons or running out of a district, was completely dark and flooded over, likely hit by the initial wave of a sh its flood barriers and engulf any land defenses before they could get activated

That let the variant ar speeds

Westside, Haven's tech district, was thoroughly abandoned, its usual hts faded into darkness

Northside, thedistrict, was also dark and abandoned Thezones themselves, however, were fine as they were located outside of Haven's walls It was only the residential districts where workers and engineers working for the factories lived that faced the e as they were in Haven city proper

Southside, too, was thoroughly dark

This meant that all of Haven was either evacuated, dead, or holed up in the city center, behind the forcefield

Aside froroups of variants, most of the variants were also located around the city center in the fore

"What shall we do?" said Volantis

"Clearing this storm should buy the defenders around the forcefield some time," said Aldrich

"Yes, but in my battle experience borne from countless warzones, I can perceive that it is only a matter of time before those walls fall," said Volantis "I aic in this era, but those cannons and ballista stationed within the barrier fire with less and less vigor over time"

"Then ait until then," said Aldrich "I want the defenders to weaken that force as ives out And, if I arrive when the forcefields break down, at the height of hopelessness, I can er impact

"Ah, you intend to perform a timely entrance to raise morale," said Volantis

"That, and I'll need as et If I can become this city's savior in the eyes of its people and heroes, then I have even ainst the AA and Panopticon that practically abandoned them all," said Aldrich "So, until the forcefield falls, ait"

"And the lives that may fall before then?" said Volantis His voice had no hint of judgement to it

After all, he was still a deht in his past life His valuation of lives was low, subject to the saainst them as an undead

Volantis only asked this question to gauge a sense of Aldrich's values, to better understand his wearer so that he could supple more efficiently