Doomsday Pillars

Upon entering the grand lobby of Venetian Casino, the teams were welcomed by the chaotic sight of the once glorious entrance hall. Shattered glass crunched under their boots, Tables, and sofas that were flipped over while scratches and dried blood stains painted the wall and floor. 

"Listen up boys! Like usual, we will spread into three squads." 

"Alpha squad, you are the front team and you will be clearing and securing the second and third floor.

"Right away, sir!"  said Dan and Chris among the ten men Alpha squad as they hurried up to the nearest stairs.

"Gordie, you and the Bravo squad will guard this spot!" Lieutenant Erick indicated the front door with his hand. "Barricade the windows with tables and broken furniture. The rest of you are with me! Let's pick up the General."

The Bravo squad led by Gordie Grogs proceeded to fortify their defense by piling tables, chairs and other broken furniture scattered across the lobby.

It was impossible for the normal human to lift broken furniture, let alone piling it up as a defense perimeter. But for these men who most of them had reached mid-stage sky realm, the task was merely like a child's play of building blocks. 

In no time, the wreckage was piled into a makeshift fortress that reached the lobby ceiling. Three men then pushed four cars into the entrance hall as additional cover.

Now that the barricade was ready, the Bravo squad didn't just relax and go idle. They still maintained their vigilance and even raised it as they understood their task was extremely important, not only for any threat from the front gate but also if the other team needed their assistance. 

In the meantime, the Alpha squad moved swiftly through several flights of stairs. All of them were trying their best not to grumble and complain about the malfunctioning elevators that made them climb the stairs. 

Nevertheless, they needed to check upstairs to access any threat from above and check for any sign of survivors. Although judging the current situation, it was highly unlikely that any normal human would still be alive. 

The Alpha squad led by Dan Grogs quickly arrived at the second floor and then third floor. The once luxurious entertainment center was now nothing more than a wrecked space of destruction. Several giant poker tables and slot machines piled in one corner seemingly were set to defend something while thousands of colorful chips scattered all over the floor. 

As they entered the room, Chris suddenly raised his fist up. The soldiers behind him immediately stopped in their steps because this was a sign to stop for the group as danger was near.

"Threat sighted, it's the undead," Chris whispered to the men behind him. 

"I can see at least fifty red and three black," Dan confirmed after consulting the scope mounted on his rifle.

The team looked at each other as they were at loss as to what to make of the situation. They found it weird that these numbers of zombies were still up and about after the tribulation day. They figured, the hordes of hellhounds and gargoyles should have chewed them out by this time.

"Let's take them down silently," Chris took out an elongated metallic ball, an artifact he got from the pillars. It was as clear as day that he was itching for some action.

"Weapons at the ready! At the count of three." A few took out their artifact while the rest activated their rod. The beam emanated a soft bluish glow. Silent hums filled their ranks. Middle-ranged weapon was indeed the most suitable to deal with multiple opponents.

The team waited for the command with bated breath. Sweat pouring down their temple. Their hands itched to try the new toys. 

"Go! go! go!!"

[Windwalk] a spell that was casted by Dan as he shot toward one of the black zombies. He moved in a zigzag pattern to avoid the red zombies in the path and quickly maneuvered his way toward the nearest black zombies. 

Upon reaching the unsuspecting black zombies, he crouched and tackled it. He then stabbed the rod in hand and the black zombie quickly found itself electrocuted, stunned for a second before it dropped to the ground which Dan quickly took advantage of by stabbing its head with his tier 2 dagger.

His brother, Chris shot his metal ball toward the second closest black zombies. He too jumped just as fast as the ball and in no time was able to grab it. Armed with the ball, he pounded the black zombie right in the head.

The two brothers didn't have any particular fighting style or martial art. They solely relied on their superb power and agile moves honed from their years of experience in their sport.

The rest of the team quickly snapped out of their stupor and reacted just as swiftly. Two of them even ran through the crowd of red zombies and blocked the black zombie that was about to pounce on Chris. 

Felt left out because they ran out of black zombies to deal with, the rest of Alpha squad began activating their own rods and put down the nearest zombies. Their rod buzzed with energy and with each stab it would take a zombie down.

Dan knew that he had to deal with this black undead quickly. After all, it would be unwise to drag the battle out for too long. With the [Stone Skin] spell covering the entirety of his arm, he crushed the abomination's maw with his right hand and crushed the undead's head to finish it.

The Alpha squad led by Dan and Chris Grogs hacked and slashed the zombies. and in no time, the room that previously was full of undead less than ten minutes ago was now clear of any standing undead. 

The team managed to clear the third floor with no casualty. However, they quickly once again stopped when they checked the fourth floor. With a quick peek, Dan noticed that there were dozens undead still on the fourth floor. Hence, to make sure the mission ran smoothly, they decided to barricade the path to the fourth floor and reported this matter.

"This is the Alpha team. The third floor has been cleared."

"Affirmative, Alpha squad. You may now return to the main lobby."

Before they left the floor, they hastily took all the spirit stones from the zombies. Now the platoon only had to wait for the success of the main squad that headed toward the basement.

----------------------------------

Written and Directed by Avans, Published by W.e.b.n.o.v..e.l,