Azure: Gunner

A cyborg is defined as any creature, or person, with a combination of organic and mechanical parts. There is no fixed configuration or ratio – one might be 90% flesh and another 90% mechanical. Cyborgs vary in origin as well, with some having escaped a dungeon through a rupture or merge. Others were born purely organic and corrupted into their current form.

They come in an endless variety of shapes, sizes, and base species. Despite the many differences, they share a few common traits.

- Bonnie, Level 41 Beastmaster, Bonnie’s Bestiary

CRASH!

The cyberwarg in front of us slammed into one of the tanks, who activated a defensive Skill at the last moment. The Skill formed a glowing dome between them and the thousands of pounds of charging monster. It shattered on impact but slowed the beast enough for the tank to just barely stay on their feet. The axe-wielder and the other tank charged in, as the Arbalist unleashed another trio of bolts that shattered against the monster’s barrier.

<Keep the formation open! Take clean shots only and stay back, we can’t handle something this strong hand-to-hand! Don’t bunch up and give them a target!>

I put a couple shots over the head of the veterans into the chieftain, but its barrier held. Suddenly, the hob leapt from its mount, smashing its axe down on the nearest tank. He was flung from his feet, and instantly the hob had the full attention of the veteran Squad. The massive cyberwarg turned towards me, its eyes a fierce red.

<G’hala, drop back NOW and prepare to heal! Everyone else, give it everything you have!>

The deeper blasts from my shotgun blended with the continuous roar of Arlo’s rapid fire Skill. An overcharged Sonic Bolt slammed into the beast, rattling its skull and making it hesitate for a bare moment. Then the creature sprang forward, crashing directly into the Earth Wall that rose out of the ground in front of it.

The Tier 1 monster shattered the wall in a cloud of dust, but unlike Trite, Zaire’s Earth Wall at least gave the cyberwarg pause. My gun was empty, and I started grabbing slugs from my bandolier, my hand blurring as I shoved them into the loading port. Next to me, Arlo swapped pistols smoothly and ripped off another six shots as fast as he could pull the trigger. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the veteran Squad still fully occupied with the rider.

The giant creature snarled, then charged again, jumping agilely over Zaire’s next Earth Wall and landing right in front of H’ruk. The big orc dodged to the side, and the cyberwarg smoothly turned its huge, muscular shoulder. The light of a Skill flared around it as it crashed into H’ruk’s chest and launched him into the air. I heard the breath explode from him as his barrier shattered even before he left his feet, leaving a mist of blood behind.

<HEAL!> I screamed into the Comms, but G’hala was already activating her Skill.

“BALANCE!” she roared, and suddenly my chest erupted in pain. It felt like H’ruk had punched me in the chest, and I heard cries of shock from my team. It was the first time we’d needed G’hala to heal a serious wound, and the instant agony tore at my focus. I dropped one of my precious slugs as my hand spasmed. Cursing, I lifted my gun, barely needing to aim at the monster that was ten feet in front of me.

Tara and Raylan charged bravely from either side, weapons raised, and crashed into the creature’s flanks. Raylan had dismissed his dagger and had both hands on the hilt of his shortsword. In a flash, he used his Quick Step + Double Impact combination to good effect. His Skills sliced a deep cut into one of the monster’s front legs, staggering it. I dumped my magazine into the beast, aiming for the head, and saw at least one bloody crater appear, white bone visible for a moment.

Then its jaws clamped down on Tara’s shield and crushed the steel. I heard her scream in agony before something blurred past my face and buried itself in the monster’s shoulder. There was a muffled whump and the beast released Tara, staggering to the side and collapsing as its foreleg – the one on the opposite side of the creature from me – simply disintegrated in a spray of blood.

<Raylan, help Tara! Everyone else, don’t let up!>

I had two more slugs in my bandolier and put both of them into the Tier 1 monster’s head as it tried to stand on three legs. Earth Spikes erupted underneath it, Arlo’s pistol barked, and another Overcharged Sonic Blast hammered into its skull. The massive creature staggered, then collapsed, landing with a thump that shook the ground, as Raylan helped Tara away from the fight.

Behind the dying monster, the veteran Squad had managed to wear down the chieftain. The hob was now missing an arm, blood gushing from the stump. It managed several more vicious swings of its axe before it fell first to a knee, then toppled over as the Arbalist fired point-blank into its helm, the bolt piercing deep into its skull.

I gasped in relief, then winced as a stabbing pain shot through my ribcage. With my armor on, I couldn’t feel around to see if anything was broken, but I suspected my ribs were at least fractured. At least I wasn’t coughing up blood.

The sounds of fighting still raged around us as I struggled to breathe, but there wasn’t an immediate threat. I looked around, seeing H’ruk on his feet with his wand out, standing next to his sister. The hulking orcs would have looked comical with the relatively tiny wands in their hands, if not for the blood splashed over them and the fierce expressions on their faces.

Tara was leaning on Raylan, but still holding onto her warhammer. I assumed she was going to be fine with a little healing. Next to us, the middle of the three cyberwargs was still on its feet, darting in and out against the group of veteran melee fighters facing it. Its rider wasn’t visible until I saw a flash of its armor on the ground behind the warg, now fighting to defend its fallen master.

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Beyond that, Yuri’s Squad was engaging their opponent, the hob somehow still mounted despite huge gashes in its armor. I smirked as I saw the cyberwag spin and a hind paw lash out, smashing into one of the veterans. The Fighter went flying in an arc that took the armored figure straight into Clarice. The Fire Mage screamed as the armored fighter crushed her under him, but from the sound of it she was certainly still breathing.

The flanks of our formation had held relatively easily against the remaining regular goblins, and it wasn’t long before all that was left was the healing and the hunt for survivors among the piles of monster corpses. I managed to recover only five of my seven slugs, even with help from Zaire and Jayce. The other two must have been stomped on and pressed down into the bloody mud, the reeking goblin blood effectively deterring me from digging around for them. The pain in my chest didn’t help, either.

A few students cheered, but were quickly shouted down as Squads moved out, systematically checking the monsters and finishing off any of the wounded. My entire team was moving slowly with our aching ribs, but we did our part, executing four wounded goblins. Finally, at least ten minutes after the actual fighting had stopped, it was over.

I felt a huge wave of Essence hit me, the biggest I’d ever gotten – but it felt strangely hollow.