Chef in the Apocalypse

Jayce cleared his throat, getting the attention of everyone in the central square. He felt a little bit of nostalgia, since he had been in a similar scenario all those months back in the nightclub that they used as a shelter.

However, things were different now. No longer were they weak and unaware of the dangers of the new world. Each and every person in his faction had grown stronger and faced the monsters of this place, gathering experience step by step.

"Hell’s Kitchen..." He began, addressing everyone in the square. "My brothers, sister’s and family. As I’m sure most of you are aware by now, our new home is at risk from a great threat."

"There is an army of monsters outside of these gates that will descend upon us in the next couple of days, trying to eliminate us." He gazed around the familiar faces before continuing, "We must unite and face this threat head on, otherwise we will all perish."

At these words, a few members nodded while others remained silent and attentive. Jayce was satisfied with the reaction, choosing to continue, "Although we are all a part of Bastion, We fight better when we are together. I will not let others take charge of my family, while I am still capable."

"Our main objective will be to reinforce the city wall. We will all be standing on the ramparts, either reigning down arrows and spells, or becoming the first line of defense for monsters that scale the walls." 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"No one should be further than 100 meters away from me, so that you can all benefit from my buff’s." Jayce paused, "Are there any questions?"

Silence stretched out for a moment, before Daniel walked forward, "How many monsters are in their army?" he asked seriously.

"At least ten thousand." Jayce responded, causing a few murmurs to circulate.

"Out of that ten thousand, how many are boss monsters?" This time, it was Ben who asked.

"I don’t know the exact number, but I can tell you that there are at least 5." The murmurs got louder, threatening to take over the meeting. The main party, which had actually felled 3 boss monsters in total, felt their hearts grow cold.

Every one of the boss fights they had participated in had been brutal, especially the most recent Bloodfang Alpha wolf which had almost cost Colin his life. Amber spoke up next, her voice quivering a little, "Will there be spiders?"

Jayce didn’t know whether to laugh or cry, remembering the last time Amber had come across the spider monsters and almost torched the whole forest. "Yes, I did see some spiders within the Beast Tide when we scouted it before."

Amber’s face fell and she mouthed a curse, in response Ben came over to comfort her. "It’s okay, you can just raze them to the ground like you did before."

She shook her head, "I went overboard and almost used all my mana. There’s no way I can sustain that kind of power output in a prolonged fight."

Jayce nodded, happy that she understood their predicament. "We have plenty of health potions, I need everyone to carry at least 3 in your inventory. If you don’t have 3, come to me and I will give you some. Unfortunately, mana potions are in short supply, so if you are not a mage I will need you to turn any in."

Surprisingly there was no outcry at these words, proving that the group had fully accepted Jayce and understood the gravity of the Beast Tide. "Before we move out, does anyone know of people that want to join our faction within Bastion?" Jayce asked offhandedly.

A few acknowledgements came in the next moment, causing Jayce’s smile to widen. "Very good. Have them join us when the siege begins and I will send an invite when it’s possible."

Jayce was planning on completing the prerequisites to level up his faction while defending Bastion. It made perfect sense, almost as if killing three birds with one stone. Not only would he be defending Bastion, he would be increasing his faction size, plus also finally unlocking his new class upgrade.

"For now, everyone should continue to help with the rebuilding of the city walls. Just make sure you get enough rest before the siege begins." Like a concerned father, Jayce added some warnings and such at the end of the speech, making some of those who knew him well enough, to laugh in response.

"Don’t worry Leader, we won’t let you down." Daniel, who seemed to be rather chatty today, walked over to Jayce and stuck out his fist in a guarantee.

Colin who had been close by came over and rubbed the kids head fondly, "Damn right we won’t. Go take your girlfriend on a nice date, us adults need to have a chat." He said cheekily, causing Daniel’s cheeks to redden in response.

With that, most of the group dispersed, leaving only the main party with the addition of Macie and Heath. It was not discussed beforehand, but all of them instinctively knew to hang back afterwards.

Jayce turned to Colin and asked, "What’s the situation like out there?"

It had been an hour or so since Colin had told him that monsters had started appearing in the plains outside of Bastion, so he hoped they were still at a low enough number.

Colin paused for a moment seemingly doing math in his head, "Last I checked there were around 300 monsters so far, but they keep on trailing in. If this keeps up, they might be fully mobilized by tonight."

Jayce frowned, if possible he would not want the siege to begin at night. Unlike before the Apocalypse began, there were no flood lights they could utilize, meaning they would be at the whim of the moonlight and whatever torches they would be able to keep lit.

"You better pray that the siege doesn’t happen tonight." Jayce retorted, feeling a little worried.

Colin nodded feeling grave. "The traps I laid should give us some good visibility though" He said mysteriously.

Heath also nodded in response, his face donning a slight grin "It’s going to be lit."

Jayce raised his eyebrow in question, as did a few of the others. Colin, on the other hand, threw his head back with uproarious laughter. "HA HAHA, you bet your ass it will be."