The Base Core chamber was vibrating. The energy required to sustain the barrier under such an assault was bleeding into the floor, making the stone hum under my boots.
I slammed my hand onto the interface.
"System! Initiate World Anchor! Destination: World 7-Beta!"
[INITIATING WORLD ANCHOR]
[TARGET: WORLD 7-BETA (TECH-DOMINANT)]
[WARNING: BI-DIRECTIONAL PORTAL DURATION: 10 MINUTES]
[WARNING: ENERGY DRAIN CRITICAL]
The air in the center of the room tore open.
Unlike the quiet shimmer of a trade portal, this was a violent wound in reality. A swirling vortex of blue lightning and static noise roared into existence.
I stepped up to the edge. I could see the other side—a dirty, rain-slicked alleyway between massive chrome skyscrapers. Neon signs buzzed in a language I didn't know.
I pulled out the Spirit Stones and crushed them in my hand, feeding the raw energy into the portal to stabilize it.
"I need firepower!" I screamed into the void. "I have high-grade biological samples! Rare earth minerals! I need guns!"
For a second, nothing happened. The sound of the battle outside was deafening—explosions, screams, the grinding of metal.
Then, a shadow moved in the alleyway.
A figure stepped out. He was wearing black tactical armor that looked like a second skin, covered in pouches and ammo belts. A helmet with a glowing red visor obscured his face. He held a massive rotary cannon in his hands, the barrels spinning slowly.
Behind him, four more figures emerged.
"You the one paging the Milk Run?" the leader asked, his voice synthesized and metallic.
"I'm the Founder of Last Light Valley," I said, pointing to the chaos audible through the walls. "I have a war outside. I need a squad. I pay in pure, unrefined Spirit Stone dust and Titan bone."
The mercenary tilted his head. "Titan bone? That's heavy currency." He looked past me at the portal's stability field. "Ten minutes?"
"Ten minutes."
"We're the Iron Dogs," he said, revving the cannon. "Price is steep. But for ten minutes? We'll clear your yard."
He stepped through. Then the others. They materialized in my basement like demons from a chrome hell.
They didn't ask questions. They didn't gawk.
"Where's the kill zone?" the leader asked.
"Follow me," I said.
We ran back up the stairs. The mercenary tactics were brutal. They didn't take cover. They advanced.
We burst out onto the wall walk.
The scene was chaos. The northern gate was splintering. Zombies were pouring through a breach, Ryan's fire turning the ground into a sea of ash, but they were being overwhelmed.
"Dog 1, clear the north," the leader barked.
The mercenary with the rotary cannon stepped up to the edge of the wall. He didn't aim. He just held the trigger.
BRRRRRRRRRT.
A stream of tracer fire tore through the night. It wasn't just bullets; it was explosive-tipped rounds. The horde in front of the gate disintegrated. The noise was deafening, a chainsaw sound that drowned out the zombies.
"Drones up," the leader ordered.
Two of the mercenaries launched small, buzzing drones from their backpacks. They zipped into the air, disappearing into the Mist.
"Targets painted," a voice said over their comms. "Airstrike option available, Founder. You want the big boom?"
I looked at the Titans. They were regrouping, preparing to charge the weakened gate.
"Blow the middle one," I said. "Take its legs."
"Copy. Missile away."
A streak of white smoke launched from a tube on the mercenary's shoulder. It arced over the battlefield and slammed into the Titan's knee.
KA-BOOM.
The explosion shook the valley. The Titan's leg vaporized. The massive creature toppled sideways, crushing hundreds of zombies under its falling bulk.
"Who are these guys?" Alex gasped, running up beside me, reloading his rifle.
"Expensive friends," I said, wiping blood from my lip.
We had bought ten minutes of breathing room.
But I could see the Lord standing on the distant ridge, watching. He wasn't attacking. He was waiting for my miracle to end.