Apocalypse: My Safe Zone Is Invincible

Chapter 8

Chapter 8: The First Group Attack

I stood on the watchtower next to Lirien, looking out at the three figures in the distance. My heart beat fast, but I tried to keep my breathing steady. The new perimeter wall felt solid, and the turret on top of the shelter had fresh energy. Still, three against two did not feel like good odds. The big man with the hammer had spoken clearly. They wanted my build power, and they were ready to take it by force.

The system showed their basic info after I focused on them.

[Group detected:

Garrick, Warrior Class, Level 6

Seline, Archer Class, Level 5

Vex, Shadow Assassin Class, Level 7 (hidden skills active)]

The one called Vex stayed mostly in the shadows, which made me nervous. I could barely see him clearly.

Lirien kept her voice low. “The archer will try to pick us off from range. The big one will smash the wall. The shadow one is the real danger. He will try to slip inside while we are busy.”

I nodded. “Then we make them pay for every step. I will handle the wall and turret. You take the fast ones.”

The big man, Garrick, shouted again, louder this time.

“Last chance, architect! Open the zone and work for us. We have food, weapons, and numbers. Join or die.”

I shouted back without hesitation.

“This zone is mine. I built it to protect people, not to serve bullies. If you want it, come and try to take it.”

Garrick laughed and raised his hammer. “Wrong choice.”

He charged forward with heavy steps. The ground shook a little with each one. Seline stayed back and lifted her bow. She fired the first arrow fast. It flew straight toward the watchtower. Lirien moved in a blur with her Shadow Step and knocked the arrow away with her spear before it could hit me.

“Good reflexes,” I said quickly.

The turret turned and fired a blue beam at Garrick. It hit his shoulder and made him grunt, but he kept coming. His hammer glowed with brown energy as he swung it at the new perimeter wall. The impact was loud and heavy. A big crack appeared in the section he hit. Durability of the wall dropped by thirty points right away.

I focused on repairs. The system let me use some of the fresh resources to patch the damage fast. Metal flowed back into place, but I knew I could not keep doing this forever. Resources would run out if the fight dragged on.

Lirien jumped down from the tower and darted toward Seline. She used her speed to close the distance while dodging arrows. One arrow grazed her leg, but she did not slow down. She reached the archer and started a fast fight with her spear. Seline dropped the bow and pulled out two short knives, moving quick to stay alive.

Meanwhile, Vex had disappeared completely. That worried me more than the others.

I stayed on the tower and directed the turret to fire at Garrick again. Two shots hit him in the chest and slowed his attacks on the wall. But he was tough. His warrior class made him hard to knock down.

“Keep hitting the wall!” he yelled to his teammates. “The architect cannot repair forever!”

Another heavy swing from his hammer. The wall durability fell to 65 percent. I used more metal and wood to fix it, but the cost was adding up.

That was when Vex struck.

He appeared suddenly inside the perimeter, right behind the shelter. His dagger glowed with dark energy as he slashed at the base of the turret tower. Sparks flew and the turret’s energy dropped fast. I jumped down from the watchtower and ran toward him, pipe raised.

“Not inside my zone!” I shouted.

Vex turned with a cold smile. He was fast and slippery. My first swing missed as he dodged to the side. His dagger cut across my side, leaving a burning line of pain. I gasped but swung again. This time the pipe caught his arm and made him hiss.

We fought close and messy. He was better at quick strikes, but my higher endurance from the levels let me take the hits and keep going. I managed to land two solid blows that knocked him back against the shelter wall.

Lirien was still busy with Seline. I heard the sound of metal clashing and a short cry from the archer. It sounded like Lirien was winning that fight, but I could not look away from Vex.

Garrick kept hammering the perimeter wall. Another big hit. Durability dropped to 40 percent. If the wall fell, they would flood in and overwhelm us.

The system gave a quest update.

[Defend the Growing Zone progress: 7 minutes passed. 13 minutes remaining. Hold strong.]

I needed to turn the fight around. While Vex recovered from my last hit, I used Resource Sense to find more materials nearby. A broken street lamp and some car parts glowed in my vision. I pulled them toward the shelter and converted them quickly into extra energy cores for the turret.

The turret powered up and fired at Vex point blank. The blue beam knocked him off his feet and burned his chest badly. He screamed and tried to roll away.

That gave me the opening I needed. I brought the pipe down hard on his head. He went still.

[Shadow Assassin defeated. Experience gained: 180 points.]

I felt the level up energy, but I pushed it aside for now. No time to check stats.

Lirien finished her fight at the same moment. Seline fell with a spear wound through her chest. Lirien looked tired but nodded at me.

“Two down,” she said.

Garrick saw his teammates fall and roared in anger. He swung his hammer even harder at the wall. The section finally broke. Pieces flew inward as a hole opened up.

“Now you die!” he shouted and charged through the gap straight at me.

I stood my ground with the pipe ready. Lirien moved to my side, spear dripping with blood. The turret turned and fired its last strong shot at Garrick’s legs, making him stumble. We both attacked together. My pipe hit his arm while Lirien stabbed at his side.

He was strong and took the hits, but he was alone now. His hammer swings grew slower as blood loss and damage added up. We wore him down step by step, dodging his heavy blows and landing our own.

Finally, Lirien used her Piercing Strike skill. Her spear went straight through his chest. Garrick dropped to his knees, eyes wide with shock. He fell forward and stopped moving.

[Warrior Class defeated. Experience shared. Host gains 250 experience points.]

The system announced clearly.

[Defend the Growing Zone quest completed!

Reward: Advanced Blueprint Pack unlocked. Safe zone expansion token granted.]

A warm rush filled me as I leveled up again.

[Level up! Host now Level 5.

Strength +4, Agility +4, Endurance +6.

New resources: 80 wood, 60 metal, 25 energy cores.]

I leaned against the repaired wall, breathing hard. The shelter was damaged again but still standing. Lirien wiped her spear and looked at the three bodies.

“We won this one,” she said quietly. “But the announcement said multiple groups. More will come.”

I nodded. The victory felt good, but it also showed the real struggle. Every fight made my zone stronger, but it also proved how many people wanted to take what I built instead of building their own. My mother and brother were still out there in the dangerous city, and I had to find them soon.

The system gave a new message right then.

[Safe zone expansion token available. Use now to increase claim radius by 50 meters and unlock basic living quarters blueprint?]

Before I could answer, Lirien pointed toward the distance.

“Look. More movement. At least four new signals coming from the north.”

The fight had ended, but the storm was not over. The hunt for architect bases had truly begun, and my small zone was now on the map. I had to grow faster, build smarter, and find my family before the next wave arrived.

I looked at Lirien and said, “We expand. Then we prepare. This is only the start.”

The weight of the new world pressed down on me. Building and protecting had become my fight, and I could not stop now.