The Herald's body burned on a pyre in the center of the yard. It was a warning to the Mist, and a morale booster for the troops. We had killed a Stage Four. We had bled, but we had won.
But the mood wasn't celebratory. It was somber.
We sat in the war room later that night. The Strategy board was covered in red markers.
"We can't sustain this," Marcus said, tapping the table. "That Herald took out three guards just by walking past them. If they come in waves, we lose."
"We need an edge," Liang agreed. "Something big."
I looked at the Spirit Stones. We had used half of them to reinforce the barrier. The rest sat in the charger.
"System," I said. "Is it possible to weaponize the Base Core directly?"
[QUERY: OFFENSIVE BARRIER PROJECTION]
[POSSIBILITY: YES]
[REQUIREMENT: BASE LEVEL LV.3]
[COST: 1000 SP + 5 SPIRIT STONES]
I checked my points. I had been saving. Hoarding. Between the core harvesting and the farming bonuses, I had just enough.
"Do it," I said.
I dumped the Spirit Stones into the slot. The room shook.
[BASE LEVEL UP: LV.3]
[NEW STRUCTURE UNLOCKED: TURRET NODE]
[NEW ABILITY: TERRITORY SUPPRESSION]
Outside, the ground rumbled. From the four corners of the valley, stone pillars rose—ancient, moss-covered monoliths that had been hidden beneath the soil. They hummed with blue light.
"The valley itself will fight for us now," I said. "If anything hostile crosses the inner perimeter, the turrets will target it. Not just zombies. Anything hostile."
"That includes human raiders," Alex noted.
"Good," I said, looking at the map, at the glowing dot of the Citadel. "If Claire tries her luck again, she'll find out exactly what we're made of."
I leaned back, exhaling slowly. We had teeth now. We had walls.
But deep down, I knew it wasn't enough. The Lord was still out there. And he was learning our language.