The Guardian System: The strongest Summoner's quest to save his family-Chapter 340: Siegepaths and Killpaths (5)

The staircase of Ashwick's Skyscraper was a vertical killing field. It wasn't designed for defense, but the number of enemies turned the narrow ascent into a meat grinder.

Jake led the charge. The Greathelm of the Regenerating Head was a constant, dizzying feed of information.

"Incoming."

Three Paladins appeared from the corner.

Jake's blade moved in a brutal arc. The first Paladin took the blow on his shield, but the impact shattered it. The kid followed through with a bash, sending the man tumbling down the stairs.

Lena jumped over the railing and landed between the two guards. She stabbed the first guard in the throat, between his helmet and chest plate. Before the second could fully turn, she drove her other dagger into the weak spot under his arm. Both guards fell. Lena stood up, wiped her daggers clean, and kept moving down the corridor.

"Clear."

They continued up, and as they did, the resistance grew.

The Level 320 grunts, who had initially posed only a modest challenge, were gradually replaced by far more experienced Level 335 Zealots who had a better understanding of tactical combat and knew how to maintain a formation.

These fighters used the helpful high ground far better than the others, placing themselves strategically to rain down a barrage of crossbow bolts and devastating spells down the narrow stairwell shaft.

Jake raised his armored forearm just as a crossbow bolt slammed into it. The impact would have fractured bones and left a deep bruise on anyone else, but the helm's regeneration activated at once. In seconds, the pain faded, and the injury vanished entirely.

"This way," he said to Lena. He pivoted and drove a heavy kick into the door leading to the main corridor. As it burst open, he moved inside, glancing both ways before speaking again.

"We'll flank them through the corridor," he said. "We need to avoid the stairs. The height difference is making this impossible."

Lena agreed.

The stairwell's narrow space severely limited their strength in the fight. Although Lena was level 367 and Jake level 352, the tight quarters lessened their individual advantages.

With enemies positioned above and below, they could attack from multiple levels at once. Lena and Jake could only face two or three foes directly, while crossbow bolts and spells struck down at hard angles. They were forced to advance slowly.

The cramped area also hindered their combat styles. Lena had no room to dodge or use her agility. Jake's powerful attacks were restricted by the low ceiling and close walls.

Their weaker opponents had used the structure of the stairwell to gain the upper hand.

So, Lena and Jake went into the hallway, bypassing what would have been an ambush. The corridors that stretched out before them were lined on both sides with offices that had been abandoned in haste, and papers were strewn randomly across the carpets that no one had bothered to clean or maintain in the apocalypse's chaos and even later when the church conquered the place.

"How long until we are at the top floor?" Jake asked, glancing at the elevator indicators, which were dead.

"Five more flights," Lena said. "We are almost there. Don't get impatient."

They ran. A squad of Zealots burst from a room.

"Don't let them get close!" Lena said.

Jake punched the floor, which started rippling. The zealots stumbled, their concentration broke, and their spells disappeared.

Lena threw a brace of knives, pinning the lead zealot to the wall before he could do whatever he was thinking of doing.

The others hesitated, and that was enough. Jake closed the distance and silenced them.

In the end, and after many more floors, they reached the War Room's floor.

"They're all inside," Jake said. He looked at Lena. "Ready?"

"Open it."

Jake kicked the doors. The lock shattered, and the heavy wood swung inward.

The room was vast, dominated by a circular table covered in maps. Standing around it were the remnants of Ashwick's command structure. Halloway was there, sweating. Garcìa stood with his sword drawn. Eight other high-ranking officers—all around Levels 335 to 345—were there.

"Kill them!" García said.

The sound of rushing boots and the glint of weapons filled the room first. Only then did the officers surge forward, looking desperate and cornered.

Heat radiated from a blade wreathed in fire before Garcìa moved into the center of the room. A flash of flame went high, then low, followed by the heavy thud of the strike hitting Jake's armor. Relying on his armor defenses and the S.H.I.E.L.D. attribute, Jake swung his head forward.

A loud crunch echoed as the reptilian faceplate hit Garcìa's nose. The man staggered back, his eyes watering and his movements jerky from the pain, giving Jake enough time to drive his sword through his chest plate.

A blur of movement passed through the casters as Lena began to move. The air hummed as Halloway tried to cast a barrier, but Lena was already under his guard, followed by the sound of a blade cutting his hamstring. The sharp smell of ozone filled the room when a lightning bolt shot from a battle mage, but it hit Halloway instead as Lena used him for cover.

Silence fell over the room two minutes later. The smell of copper rose from the carpet where the ten officers lay dead or dying.

A wet sliding sound followed as Jake pulled his blade from García's corpse. "We did it," he said.

Lena wiped her daggers. "Yeah. Now we just need to—"

Mara appeared behind Jake, and Lena stopped. One second Lena was standing over Halloway's body, and the next, Mara was standing right behind her. A shimmering distortion appeared in the air first, and only then did Jake's face fill with disbelief as he saw Mara materialize behind the woman.

Jake shouted, "Lena!"

But it was too late. Mara's fist connected with devastating force against the back of Lena's head.

Jake watched in shock as Lena's body went limp and she collapsed onto the carpet. He saw her eyes roll back as she lost consciousness, leaving her defenseless on the blood-stained floor. He looked up at Mara and felt a cold knot of dread in his chest. Mara stood over her with a face so twisted by rage that she looked like a monster.

"It's funny now that the roles are reversed, uh?" Mara paused. "I wonder if you felt this sense of superiority back then!"

She raised her boot, aiming to crush Lena's throat.

Jake slammed into Mara just as her boot came down, tackling her away from Lena. They crashed into walls and ended up in the adjacent room.

Mara rolled backward and stood back on her feet with impossible grace. Jake scrambled up from the floor where he had landed, his movements less elegant but as fast as hers, placing himself between the dangerous woman and Lena's unconscious body.

—[Mara Icro—Level 362]—

Mara looked at Jake, then at the crippled Lena.

"You're out of your depth, boy," Mara said. "Surrender, and I'll make it quick."

Jake raised his blade. He was at Level 352. Ten levels lower. But he had the helmet and his trait. He had the rage.

"Come and get it!"

Mara's eyes narrowed into dangerous slits as she processed his challenge. Then, in the blink of an eye, she vanished completely from sight.