Reborn in the Apocalypse :The son In-law's revenge

Chapter 10: The First Wave

The sky cracked open at dawn.

Leo was standing at the front of his army when it happened. A sound like glass shattering echoed across the entire city. Then the red sky split, and monsters began to fall.

They dropped from the clouds like rain. Thousands of them. Goblins, Flesh-Hounds, Bone Stalkers—and things Leo had never seen before. Massive winged creatures. Armored beasts with glowing eyes. And behind them all, descending slowly like a god from heaven, a creature the system labeled only as:

[S-Class Boss: The Harbinger. Level 25.]

"Positions!" Leo roared.

His army moved. Marcus led the defense squads to the barricades. Natasha took the front line with Bruiser and Kevin. Lily's healing light flared as the first wave hit.

Leo charged into the horde.

[Rally Activated. All allies gain +15 Strength and +15 Vitality.]

His glaive carved through monsters like paper. Every kill fed the system. Every death made him stronger.

[Devour Successful. +2 Strength.]

[Devour Successful. +3 Vitality.]

[Devour Successful. +1 Agility.]

The notifications flooded his vision, but he ignored them. There was no time to read. Only to kill.

---

The battle raged for an hour.

Leo's army held the line, but barely. Three fighters were dead. A dozen wounded. The Harbinger hadn't even landed yet.

"It's toying with us!" Natasha shouted, crushing a Stalker's skull. "It's waiting for us to get tired!"

She was right. The Harbinger hovered above the battlefield, watching. Waiting.

Leo made a decision.

"Elara!" he shouted. "Get the civilians into the Institute! Now!"

Elara nodded and ran. The non-combatants streamed toward the maintenance tunnel Mia had mapped out. The path was clear.

Leo turned to Mia. "With me."

She didn't ask where. She simply followed.

They sprinted toward the Meridian Institute's main entrance. The automated turrets spun toward them. Leo didn't slow down. He activated Power Strike and drove the Hive Reaper into the first turret. It exploded. Mia took out the second with a thrown blade.

The front doors were sealed with a bio-lock. Leo slammed both keycards into the reader.

The doors hissed open.

---

The Institute's interior was a cathedral of technology.

Holographic displays lined the walls. Server towers hummed in the darkness. And in the center of it all, a massive pillar of blue light rose from the floor to the ceiling. The system's central hub.

[System Alert: Central Hub detected. Effect: Mass Level Boost available. Requires 500 System Points per person.]

Leo had zero points. But he had something better.

He drove the Hive Reaper into the hub.

The pillar of light exploded outward. A wave of blue energy washed over the entire city—over every survivor, every fighter, every civilian.

[Global Effect: All members of Faction 'Apex' gain +5 Levels.]

[You have reached Level 20.]

[Lily Chen has reached Level 15.]

[Natasha Volkov has reached Level 17.]

[Elara Vance has reached Level 14.]

[Mia has reached Level 16.]

Outside, the tide of battle turned.

---

The Harbinger finally descended.

It landed in the parking lot, crushing a dozen monsters beneath its feet. It was forty feet tall, with wings of bone and eyes like burning coals. It looked at Leo and smiled.

"The designed one," it said. "We have been waiting for you."

Leo stepped out of the Institute, glaive in hand.

"Then you should have run."

The Harbinger lunged.

Leo activated Rally. He activated Power Strike. He activated everything he had.

The glaive met the Harbinger's claw. The shockwave shattered every window within a mile. Leo was thrown back, but he landed on his feet.

[Critical Hit! HP: 40/200.]

Lily's healing light washed over him. His HP climbed back to 120.

Natasha appeared beside him, her warhammer raised. Mia materialized behind the Harbinger, her blade flashing. Elara's voice crackled through a comm device—"Its left wing is the weak point. Hit the joint."

Leo charged.

He dodged under the Harbinger's claw. He rolled past its tail. He leaped onto its back and drove the Hive Reaper into the joint of its left wing.

The Harbinger screamed.

[Devour Successful. +30 Strength, +20 Agility, +20 Vitality.]

[Plunder Available: Target 'The Harbinger' has S-Rank Skill: 'Tyrant's Roar'. Do you wish to Plunder?]

Leo didn't hesitate.

[Plunder Successful. Gained Skill: Tyrant's Roar (S-Rank). Effect: Paralyze all enemies within 100 meters for 10 seconds.]

He activated it.

The Harbinger froze. Every monster on the battlefield froze. Ten seconds of absolute stillness.

Ten seconds was all Leo needed.

He drove the glaive into the Harbinger's skull. The creature convulsed once, then dissolved into black mist.

[Global Announcement: The First Wave has been cleared. Survivors: 1,247. Safe zones restored. Congratulations.]

The battlefield went silent. Then the cheering began.

---

The 3 Trophies (Rule 9)

Trophy 1 — Immediate Use:

The Harbinger's core. Leo absorbed it, instantly reaching Level 22.

Trophy 2 — Future Plot:

A third keycard, fused to the Harbinger's heart. It pulsed in sync with the other two. Together, they revealed coordinates—not to Meridian, but to somewhere far beyond the city.

Trophy 3 — Give Away:

The Harbinger's wings. Leo ordered them harvested and crafted into armor for his team. He gave the first set to Lily. She wore it without complaint.

---

The Resolution

Leo stood on the rooftop as the sun rose. For the first time in a week, the sky was blue.

His army was alive. His team was alive. The First Wave was over.

Lily walked up beside him. "We did it."

"We survived," Leo corrected. "That's different."

She looked at him. "What now?"

Leo opened his status screen.

[Name: Leo Vance]

[Class: Apex Plunder (SSS-Rank)]

[Level: 22]

[Faction: Apex — Members: 1,247]

He looked at the coordinates on the three keycards.

[Location: Unknown. Distance: 1,200 miles. Origin: The Architect.]

"We go further," Leo said. "The people who did this to us are still out there. The Architects. They're watching. And they think we're just a test."

He closed his fist around the keycards.

"They're wrong."