114 Tide 2

The Tide steamrolled Craggy Falls and Rocky Ravine in short order. The Sky Fortress couldn't stop them, couldn't even slow them.

Less than an hour after it began, the ground was shaking at South Black Depths Lakeside as the last of the evacuations took place. People scrambled to get on board the airship as the signals from the south became increasingly urgent. Some of the less important cargo even got abandoned.

Deepsilver watched them go, considering to herself what she should do in this situation. Should she try to help the humans? Defend her turf from the onslaught? Or should she be on the other side, helping the Wilds eradicate the Destroyers from the land?

While she went on musing, the Beast Tide arrived and directly smashed everything man-made they encountered. They tore the settlement apart, trampled every construct into the ground, broke everything in reach, including floors, roads and wind.

But as for Deepsilver, they did not attack her. They did not enter the lake. Except for the noise and the stench, they didn't bother her at all.

Wrinkling her nose at the smells and feeling a sort of queer amusement, Deepsilver watched them pass her by as they went on to trample North Lakeside Camp as well. Then she shrugged and dove back into the deep, deep waters of her lake.

***

The Tide reached Rocky Ford without skipping a beat, completely disregarding the pitiful obstacles, traps and firepower they threw in its way.

"Everybody get out of the PIT! Get to shelter, NOW!" Aren dashed around barking orders.

They scrambled for the mines, for the airships, for the road north. The wolfcats especially took the northern road, but did not stay on it for long; they soon diverted course and headed for the farms.

The lynxmice were the last to leave. They scurried out of the pit on their own sharp little claws, darted into the mines, then stood by inside, watching to see if any Wild would fall into their beautiful pit, several of them rubbing their paws together in eager anticipation.

"Here they come!" someone yelled.

The Sky Barges above Kara-Goth opened fire. They didn't have the sort of weaponry the Sky Fortress currently had with all those gunships attached, but they carried Adventurers, and they carried heavy crossbows. Had there been more time, they could have been outfitted better, but the Beast Tide had been rushed; whoever controlled them definitely knew that the defenders were preparing for their assault.

On board Sky Barge 2, Remian's mother was using the opportunity to teach her students. "Now remember, children! Calculate velocity and speed…"

On board Sky Barge 3, Remian's dad had a whole different approach. "Here they come! Rain hell on them!"

Consequently, one group of teenage adventurers were whooping into the fight and the other was frowning in tense silence, careful to double check every calculation before taking a single shot…

"Open fire!" Aren shouted and the defenders at Kara-Goth streamed bolts and arrows at the incoming Wilds.

They didn't care. They swarmed all over the Pit, crowding the narrow ledges to the left and right of its gaping maw. Within just ten minutes, two hundred scrambled over the right side in a narrow formation, three hundred on the left, and six hundred more challenged the walls on the other side of Goth protecting the Encles settlement.

"This is disaster… disaster!" Remian's mom said, face pale. "It's a total failure! All our defenses couldn't hold them off for even a minute!"

Meanwhile, Remian's dad was whooping. "Get them! Spare no ammo! Unleash all fury upon their heads!! For a dark sky today and a new dawn tomorrow!!"

Six guys on Remian's dad's side broke into cheers. Two went berserk in firing rapidly. Three more took to physically throwing the heavy bolts down by hand, trusting to gravity to give them piercing power rather than take the time to load the slower Ballistae.

On the other airship, two girls broke down in tears.

They weren't the only ones crying. Down in Kara-Goth, a lot of people were wishing they could do the same but except for the very young, they still gritted their teeth and fought on.

Maybe it was useless. Kara-Goth was already overrun. The FDF were fighting Wilds at the two main entrances and all side entrances had been heavily barricaded. People were discussing about evacuation via rooftop access, using the cargo elevators to escape to the Sky Barges above if the main entrances were overrun.

But the Beast Tide did not seem overly concerned with Kara-Goth. The majority of the Wilds simply pressed on, leaving just a few dozen interested stragglers to claw and snarl and bite at the FDF guarding the mine entrances. They snarled and stabbed spears right back, pouncing, dodging, screening and leaping with the Wilds in a deadly dance.

"Don't give up! We can still win this!" In spite of the odds, Aren tried his best to keep his chin up.

As if in response, the ground shook, and at last, the missing piece that everyone expected to see in the Beast Tide finally showed up at the worst possible moment, in the worst possible way, and it was in the worst possible form.

With a bone-chilling shriek, a monstrous Land Wyrm burst out into the pit.

It was similar to the Sand Wyrms of the desert, but not the kind of pests that Salim's people so often cleared out. It was more like the ones in the Deep Desert, towering over all men and beasts, scaled as if in Dark Iron, large enough to engulf entire airships in a single bite, large enough to squash Carrie and Buff together without skipping a beat, large enough to swallow even Jujar and Spike if it stretched its triangular mouth large enough…

The Beast Tide had, indeed, brought in a Tier 6 and it was not in the least bothered about falling into the Pit. It was a tunneler, a dweller of the underground, and it tunneled right into and out of the Pit without even a pause.

"Scrap." Aren had only one word for it. He took off his helmet and threw it into the wall in frustration.

Whoever commanded this Tide really, really knew what defenses they had been preparing to face it. Choosing a Wild like this... rendering the Pit completely useless… even Aren wanted to give up at this point.

All their resistance, all their defenses were practically useless! How were they going to stop a Tier 6 like this?! They had no method, no weapon, no trap capable of even scratching the Land Wyrm. They had nothing!

"This is the end of Frontier Town." Zana said sadly.

She was right.

The end.

…

No, no, just kidding.

Well, not entirely.

Suffice to say that the town, in its current form, was indeed done for.

The Tide shattered it like the waves upon a sandcastle. It looked almost identical to previous recordings of Beast Tides destroying previous settlements and colonies. In came the beasts; down went the structures. The only difference was this time, there was a Land Wyrm bursting out of the ground and tunneling beneath it and entire rows of buildings went crumbling down wherever it tunneled.

Andros, clambering up to a half-built Foresight Gunship (which was missing its weaponry, but still able to fly) for dear life, threw his wrench down on the floor. "What's the point? What is the POINT?!" he yelled at the overwhelming onslaught.

"They stopped at the Desert Edge." Asda noted, standing next to him. "That means they won't move into the desert."

"So what?" Andros grumbled.

"So, we're going home." Asda's mom said tightly. "At least in Fal'Herim, we could build and prosper in peace. Here… there's just no point."

Andros gazed at the wreckage of his forge mournfully. "I think I'll join you."

***

At that time, there was perhaps only three humans who felt at east, only one who was really happy.

"Begone, humans!" the dark figure roared in a voice that thundered. "Take to your airships and leave! Bespoil this place no more!"

"Is that… a man?" Mindy blinked. She turned to Remian. "Am I seeing things?"

"If you're seeing things, I must be, too." Remian rubbed his eyes. "But I think he's real. He looks half-wild himself, but do you think, maybe… it's him?"

"Do I think he's the guy controlling the Beast Tide, yes, I do." Mindy said, and immediately gave an order. "Target that guy with all weapons! Fire on my mark!"

"No, wait!" Remian yelped. "What if he could be reasoned with?"

"Later! AFTER we shoot him!"

"Belay that order! Hold your fire!" Remian barked. "Everybody, cease fire!"

"Aww." Mindy scowled, lowered her head, and kicked the deck of her airship in disappointment.

"Bring me down in the Tug." Remian requested. "I need to talk to him."

"You realize while you're talking, his Beast Tide is destroying everything you've worked to build here?" Mindy pointed out.

"It's all done for, already. But maybe, if we could make friends with this guy…" Remian nudged her. "Think about it. All the Wildlands would be open for us."

"Wouldn't we have that same result if we just shot him?" Mindy muttered.

"No. If we kill him here, the Beast Tides might never end. We could lose our one chance at living in the Wildlands peacefully."