Some people listened. Others didn't.

  A group of six fighters had pushed past the perimeter, chasing the retreating goblins. Jonah could see them weaving between corpses, weapons drawn, hunting stragglers.

  "Get back here! The battle isn't—"

  Green light bloomed from the retreating goblin formation.

  The shamans weren't running. They'd pulled back just far enough to get clear sight lines.

  Three bolts streaked toward the pursuing fighters: acid, curse fog, and something that looked like concentrated rot.

  The screaming started.

  Two fighters dissolved where they stood, acid eating through armor and flesh in seconds. Another three collapsed into the curse fog, convulsing. The sixth tried to run, made it maybe ten steps before the rot bolt caught him. He fell, and Jonah watched his body age decades in seconds, skin withering, muscles atrophying, and then bones turning into ash.

  All six dead.

  Dead because they'd chased glory and greed instead of maintaining discipline.

  "Everyone back into the lines now!"

  This time, his voice carried something that hadn't been there before: authority backed by horror. The celebration died. Fighters scrambled back to positions, faces pale.

  But the looters near the eastern barrier hadn't heard, or hadn't listened. Four people crouched over goblin corpses, pulling weapons and pouches.

  Another shaman bolt screamed in the air. This one from a different angle, yet they seemed blind to it.

  Jonah tried to shout a warning. It was too late.

  The curse fog rolled over them. Three went down immediately, magical despair crushing their will to live. The fourth tried to run, made it five steps before a goblin ax caught her in the head. Ten arrows slammed into her body a second later.

  The goblins left shooters behind, covering the retreat, punishing exactly this kind of stupidity.

  Ten dead. Ten people who'd survived the actual battle, dead because they couldn't control themselves for five more minutes.

  "Medical teams hold position! No one approaches the bodies until I give the clear!"

  Jonah strode toward Derek's debris pile, fury building with each step. The man had stopped grandstanding, but the damage was done. His celebration had given people permission to break discipline. His confidence had become their arrogance.

  "Everyone!" Jonah's voice carried across the entire defensive perimeter. "Listen carefully, because I'm only saying this once."

  The crowd went quiet. Even Derek, sensing the change in atmosphere, stayed silent.

  "Ten people just died, not in battle, not fighting for their lives. They died because they thought the victory was complete, because they broke formation, because they celebrated before the job was done."

  He let that sink in.

  "That was a raid party—four hundred, maybe five hundred goblins. We lost ten people to stupidity after the fighting was over." Jonah pointed toward the corrupted buildings where the goblins had retreated. "The next wave isn't a raid party. It's an army: thousands of goblins, war beasts, shaman circles instead of individual casters, hobgoblin commanders who've broken mightier defenders before."

  "How do you know—" someone started.

  "Because I know! I've been right about everything so far. I told you what the first wave would bring. I told you what the second wave would be. I built defenses that worked exactly as I said they would. Now I'm telling you what comes next. And if you don't believe me, look at those bodies. Look at what happened to people who thought they knew better."

  Silence met him.

  "No celebrating until we can move. No leaving your lane. No looting until I give the signal. No more bullshit that gets people killed!" Jonah swept his gaze across the crowd. "Anyone who breaks those rules, anyone who decides their judgment is better than mine, will join those ten. Either the goblins will kill you, or I'll do it myself."

  The threat hung in the air.

  Jonah didn't know if he meant it. But it didn't matter.

  The crowd believed he meant it.

  "But we won!" The voice came from Derek's faction. A young man, barely twenty, face flushed with the aftermath of victory. "We beat them! We can—"

  "You can what?" A new voice cut through. Alexa stepped forward, spear still dark with goblin blood, face twisted with something beyond anger. "You can celebrate? You can act like this is a game? Do you still think this is some fucking game?"

  The young man stepped back. "I didn't mean—"

  "My brother died yesterday. Right there, in the first wave. I held him in my fucking hands while he stopped breathing. I stared into his eyes as they lost light. And you're smiling. You're cheering like this is some kind of victory."

  The young man opened his mouth but found no words to speak.

  Alexa's spear trembled in their grip. "This isn't victory. This is survival. And ten more people just proved how easy it is to stop surviving." The teenager turned, addressed the wider crowd. "Some of you lost people too. Family. Friends. People you'd known for years. That you cared for. They're dead. And these idiots want to celebrate because we killed some goblins?"

  No one spoke.

  "Stop smiling. Just... stop smiling," she whispered.

  The teenager walked away.

  Liam followed, staying close, ready to catch Alexa if the grief became too heavy.

  Jonah let the moment settle. The combination of his threat and Alexa's raw emotion had accomplished what either alone might not have. The arrogance that had been blooming moments ago withered under the weight of reality.

  "Defensive positions. Maintain rotation. Get food and water to everyone who needs it. Medical teams, treat the wounded. We have work to do," he said.

  People moved. Quietly.

  The celebration's energy redirected into productive motion.

  Martinez appeared at his elbow. "That was harsh."

  "It was necessary." Jonah watched the crowd disperse. "Arrogance kills more people than enemies do. They needed to understand that."

  I learned that harsh lesson in the end. We were so fucking arrogant to have moved up to the 34th floor without being prepared.

  "Some of them will hate you for it."

  "Let them. As long as they're alive to hate me, I've done my job."

  The next fifteen hours became a blur of preparation.

  Jonah drove them harder than before. There was too much to accomplish in too little time. The second wave had been a test. The third wave would be an execution if they weren't ready.

  "Fortifications need to be taller. I want barriers high enough that goblins have to climb on top of each other to get over them. Every second they spend climbing is a second our ranged units have to kill them."

  Work crews stripped more materials from corrupted buildings. Metal beams were repositioned, angled to force attackers upward. Debris was piled against existing barriers, creating walls that reached twelve feet high.

  "No one fights on ground level during the initial charge. I want every combat-capable person on elevated positions or behind high cover. Let the goblins bunch up at the base of our walls. Let them climb over each other. Then we kill them."

  The defensive doctrine shifted. Kill zones became death pits. Positions that had been optimized for shield-wall defense were rebuilt as elevated platforms. Fighters who'd trained for melee combat learned to thrust spears downward instead of forward.

  "Ranged weapons. Anything that can be thrown, dropped, or poured. I want options for every person on those platforms."

  Scavenging teams fanned out through the corrupted buildings. They came back with rocks, heavy enough to crack skulls when dropped from height. Broken glass, wrapped in cloth for safe handling until thrown. Metal scraps sharpened into crude spikes.

  And from the only convenience store in the area, still mostly intact despite System integration: motor oil, windshield washer fluid, lighter fluid—anything that would burn.

  "Container stations every twenty meters along the line. Water boiled and ready. Oil prepared for ignition. When they bunch up at our walls, we turn those bunches into bonfires."

  Rebecca protested. "Hot water? We could use that for—"

  "We could use it to kill goblins trying to climb our walls. Boiling water poured from height causes burns that take fighters out of combat. Goblins have thick skin, but even they will feel it."

  The medical teams focused on stockpiling bandages, healing supplies, anything that could be used to patch wounds. Water and preserved food were moved to central locations, protected and rationed.

  "If this takes longer than expected, we need reserves. Three days of supplies, minimum. I don't care if people complain about the portions. They can complain while alive."

  Jonah coordinated it all, moving between work crews, adjusting plans, solving problems. His Tactical Assessment skill ran constantly, feeding him information about defensive gaps and optimization opportunities.

  But he couldn't be everywhere.

  Derek found him near the western section, where fortification work was progressing slowly. The man had brought his remaining lieutenants, fewer now than before the second wave, along with Garrett and Chen Wei.

  "We need to talk," Derek said.

  Jonah didn't stop working. "Talk."

  "About command structure—the final wave." Derek's voice was different, less aggressive, more... calculating. "You've been right about everything: the fortifications, the wave sizes, the goblin tactics, even the resource caches. We're not stupid. We can see you know things we don't."

  "And?"

  "And we're willing to follow your lead. For the final wave." Derek spread his hands. "United command. One voice directing the defense. You."

  Jonah finally stopped. Turned to face the three leaders.

  Derek's expression was cooperative and earnest.

  Support creative writers by reading their stories on Royal Road, not stolen versions.

  What is he planning?

  Forty-nine years of reading people screamed a warning. Derek didn't surrender. Didn't accept subordinate positions gracefully. The man's entire personality was built around dominance and control. This sudden cooperation was a mask hiding something else.

  "What changed?" Jonah asked.

  "Reality." Garrett was the one who answered. "You told us about thousands. We saw what four hundred did to us. If you're right about the army, we either work together, or we all die."

  Chen Wei nodded. "My people follow your plans already. Might as well make it official."

  It was... all too logical and reasonable. This was exactly what Jonah would want to hear.

  It was all wrong and ringing warning sirens in his mind.

  Derek was watching him with those predator's eyes. The same look he'd had when coordinating the flanking attack on their first confrontation.

  He's planning something. Something that requires me to trust him.

  Jonah couldn't prove it. He couldn't point to specific evidence, but his Danger Sense was pinging, that passive trait from Regressor's Instinct, that warned of threats before they materialized.

  "Fine," he said. "United command. My orders, followed without question."

  "Agreed."

  Derek agreed too easily.

  The three leaders left with smiles and nods. Derek gave him one final look before he vanished to finish all of the preparations they needed to complete before the fight.

  "Sarah!" Jonah called.

  The Skirmisher appeared from the elevated platform she'd been helping construct.

  "Walk with me." He led her away from the leaders, pitched his voice low. "I need you watching my back during the final wave."

  "You think Derek will try something?"

  "I think Derek doesn't surrender without a reason. He's planning something. Probably waiting until the fighting is most desperate, when everyone's too busy surviving to notice what he's doing."

  Sarah absorbed that. "What do you want me to do?"

  "Stay close. Watch for his people positioning near me. If things get chaotic and you see an opportunity for 'friendly fire' developing, intervene."

  "You want me to protect you from assassination."

  "I want you to prevent it if possible. If not, I want you to make sure everyone knows who was responsible." Jonah met her eyes. "Derek dying in the battle would be convenient for everyone. Derek dying while trying to kill me sends a message about what happens to people who prioritize politics over survival."

  "Yes, Sir."

  "Derek's dangerous, but he's useful. His people fight well, and we need every fighter we have. I'd rather keep him alive and contained than dead and martyred." Jonah paused. "But if he forces the issue, I need someone reliable watching for it."

  Sarah nodded slowly. "I can do that."

  "Good. Now get back to work. We've got hours, not days."

  It took Jonah several hours before he found a place to rest.

  Not true rest, though. The adrenaline still coursed through his veins, the memories of the second wave still fresh. But his body demanded some recovery, and fifteen hours of preparation had pushed him to limits that even System enhancement couldn't entirely ignore.

  He found a corner of the medical station, away from the bustle of healers treating wounded and workers preparing supplies, sat with his back against a corrupted wall, the stone warm with ambient mana, and finally allowed himself to process.

  His System interface materialized with a thought.

  The notifications cascaded, delayed acknowledgments of everything he'd earned during the second wave's fighting and the hours of work that followed.

  [Combat Victory - Second Wave]

  [Goblin Raid Repelled]

  [Personal Kills: 31]

  [Assist Kills: 47]

  [Leadership Bonus Applied]

  [Experience Gained: 1,247]

  [Level Up: Level 3 → Level 5]

  [Attribute Points Available: 8]

  [Skill Points Available: 6]

  Level 5. Two levels from a single engagement, plus the leadership bonuses from commanding the defense. Not bad for what amounted to a skirmish by Tower standards.

  The achievement notifications followed.

  [Achievement Unlocked: Defensive Architect]

  Design fortifications that significantly reduce friendly casualties

  Reward: +2% Defense Rating for constructed positions, Engineering Knowledge (Basic)

  [Achievement Unlocked: Wave Breaker]

  Repel 2+ organized assault waves in a single engagement period

  Reward: +3% Experience from defensive victories, Morale Aura (Minor)

  [Achievement Unlocked: Last Line]

  Personally reinforce a collapsing defensive position

  Reward: +1 Constitution, Emergency Response (Passive)

  Three more achievements. The bonuses were minor individually, but they compounded. Every percentage point mattered when facing armies.

  His skill advancement list was longer.

  [Skill Advancement: Mana Blade (Intermediate) → Mana Blade (Advanced)]

  Significantly extended duration, major mana efficiency improvement, variable edge configurations

  [Skill Advancement: Mana Circulation (Intermediate) → Mana Circulation (Advanced)]

  Enhanced pathway development, improved mana retention, passive regeneration boost

  [Skill Advancement: Tactical Assessment (Advanced) → Tactical Assessment (Expert)]

  Extended threat prediction, formation analysis, strategic pattern recognition

  [Skill Advancement: Leadership: Small Unit (Basic) → Leadership: Small Unit (Intermediate)]

  Improved coordination bonuses, expanded effective range, morale stabilization

  [Skill Advancement: Sword: Short Blade (Basic) → Sword: Short Blade (Intermediate)]

  Enhanced technique library, improved stamina efficiency, counter-attack patterns

  [Skill Advancement: Combat Meditation (Basic) → Combat Meditation (Intermediate)]

  Faster mental recovery, combat-applicable focus states, stress resistance

  [Skill Advancement: Footwork: Evasive (Novice) → Footwork: Evasive (Basic)]

  Improved dodge patterns, terrain adaptation, momentum conservation

  [Skill Advancement: Footwork: Aggressive (Novice) → Footwork: Aggressive (Basic)]

  Enhanced closing speed, attack positioning, pressure maintenance

  Jonah stared at the mana skill advancements. Mana Blade to Advanced. Mana Circulation to Advanced. Both in a single day of combat and preparation.

  That's... faster than it should be.

  In his first life, reaching Advanced rank in any mana skill had taken weeks—months for some of the more complex techniques. The combination of his Regressor's Instinct trait and the Tutorial Prodigy achievement was accelerating his progression dramatically.

  But it was more than just the bonuses. He understood the underlying principles now. When he practiced mana circulation, he wasn't fumbling through trial and error; he was executing techniques he'd refined over decades, applying knowledge that let him skip the mistakes most people had to make.

  The foundation built in the old timeline carries forward. Not the power, but the understanding.

  New skills had unlocked as well.

  [New Skill Unlocked: Formation Command (Novice)]

  Coordinate multiple units in defensive formations.

  Effect: Minor efficiency bonus to allied defensive actions within command range.

  [New Skill Unlocked: Fortification Assessment (Basic)]

  Evaluate and optimize defensive structures.

  Effect: Identify structural weaknesses, estimate defensive capacity.

  [New Skill Unlocked: Mana Sense (Basic) → Mana Sense (Intermediate)]

  Enhanced perception of ambient and channeled mana.

  Effect: Detect magical threats at greater range, identify spell types.

  The Formation Command skill was new territory. He'd had leadership skills in his first life, but nothing specifically focused on coordinated defense. The Tower was recognizing his approach, granting capabilities that matched his chosen methodology.

  Jonah allocated his attribute points with careful consideration.

  Intelligence: +3 (Total: 21)

  Dexterity: +2 (Total: 17)

  Constitution: +2 (Total: 17)

  Wisdom: +1 (Total: 14)

  Intelligence remained his priority. Every point expanded his mana capacity, improved his spell processing, and enhanced his ability to manage complex magical techniques. The gap between his current power and what he'd once wielded was still enormous, but every point closed it slightly.

  Dexterity and Constitution received balanced investment. He couldn't afford to be a glass cannon again. The lesson of his death was burned into his mind: magical power meant nothing if an enemy could simply close distance and tear him apart.

  Skill points went to Mana Circulation and Mana Manipulation, pushing both toward the threshold of the next rank. The foundational skills mattered more than flashy abilities; build the base correctly, and everything else followed.

  He pulled up his full status page, organizing the information into a coherent picture of what he'd become.

  [Status: Jonah Kaipe]

  Level: 5

  Class: Spellsword (Tier 1)

  Class Focus: Blade + magic integration, versatile engagement

  Class Evolution: Available at Level 10

  [Attributes]

  Strength (STR): 11

  Dexterity (DEX): 17

  Constitution (CON): 17

  Intelligence (INT): 21

  Wisdom (WIS): 14

  Perception (PER): 12

  [Traits]

  Regressor's Instinct

  Your knowledge extends beyond normal bounds.

  Effect: Pattern Recognition +25%, Danger Sense (Passive), Knowledge Skills rank faster.

  [Achievements]

  Prepared Mind

  Unlock 10+ skills before Class Selection.

  Reward: +2 to all mental attributes, Skill Acquisition Rate +15%

  Tutorial Prodigy

  Unlock Expert-rank knowledge skill during Tutorial Phase.

  Reward: +5% Experience Gain (Permanent), Skill Rank Progression +10%

  Unorthodox Foundation

  Unlock combat and magic skills simultaneously before Class Selection.

  Reward: Hybrid Class Options Unlocked, Attribute Flexibility +1

  First Blood

  Survive first major combat engagement post-Tutorial.

  Reward: +1 Constitution, Combat Experience Gain +5%

  Officer Hunter

  Kill 5+ enemy officers in single engagement.

  Reward: +2% Damage vs. Leadership Targets, Enemy Morale Penalty (Passive)

  Shaman Slayer

  Kill 3+ enemy casters in single engagement.

  Reward: +1 Intelligence, Magic Resistance +3%

  Defensive Architect

  Design fortifications that significantly reduce friendly casualties

  Reward: +2% Defense Rating for constructed positions, Engineering Knowledge (Basic)

  Wave Breaker

  Repel 2+ organized assault waves in a single engagement period

  Reward: +3% Experience from defensive victories, Morale Aura (Minor)

  Last Line

  Personally reinforce a collapsing defensive position

  Reward: +1 Constitution, Emergency Response (Passive)

  [Skills]

  Mana Skills:

  Combat Skills:

  Leadership Skills:

  Knowledge Skills:

  Jonah studied the compiled information. Level 5 with a foundation that most people wouldn't achieve until Level 15 or higher. His skills were advancing at a pace that would have been impossible without his accumulated knowledge. The achievements provided compounding bonuses that would only become more significant as he progressed.

  But it still wasn't enough.

  Four thousand goblins. Dozens of War beasts and more.

  Against that, he had about a thousand survivors, crude fortifications, and knowledge that might not be enough to bridge the gap.

  His mana skills were rising faster than he remembered. That was expected. He knew far more this time around. Every technique, every pattern, every optimization that had taken years to discover in his first life was already present in his mind. The System recognized that understanding and accelerated his progression accordingly.

  But understanding and power were different things. He understood how to cast ninth-tier spells. He understood the principles of dimensional magic and temporal manipulation. Understanding meant nothing when his mana core could barely sustain Advanced-rank techniques.

  Build the foundation. Trust the process. Survive today.

  Jonah closed his status screen and leaned his head back against the wall.

  Outside, he could hear the sounds of preparation continuing. Hammering as final fortifications were completed. Voices calling out supply counts. The distant rumble of the goblin army massing for their final assault.

  His people—and they were his people now, whether he'd wanted that responsibility or not—were doing everything they could, following his instructions, building defenses, and preparing for the worst.

  I brought them this far. Now I have to bring them through.

  The preparations continued through the night and into the morning.

  Jonah caught sleep in fragments: thirty minutes here, an hour there. Never enough to truly rest, but enough to keep functioning.

  The defensive perimeter transformed. Walls rose where open ground had been. Platforms elevated fighters above the killing fields. Stockpiles of ammunition, rocks, glass, oil, boiling water, and more waited at strategic points.

  The funnel system from the second wave was incorporated but evolved. Instead of channeling goblins into kill lanes, the fortifications now channeled them into death pits. Walls high enough that attackers would bunch at the base, climbing over each other, creating perfect targets for anything dropped from above.

  "It looks like a medieval castle," Martinez observed as dawn broke over the completed defenses.

  "Castles worked for a reason: height advantage, controlled access points, concentrated defense. The principles don't change just because the enemies are goblins instead of knights."

  "Think it'll hold?"

  "It'll hold or it won't. We've done everything possible with the time and resources we had. Now we wait and see if it's enough."

  The horn sounded three hours after dawn.

  Then a second...

  Then the very structure they were on vibrated due to how many horns bellowed into the void around them.

  Jonah climbed to his command platform and looked north.

  The goblin army emerged from the corrupted buildings in a tide of green flesh and crude iron.

  Not hundreds, but thousands.

  They filled the streets, spilled between buildings, spread across every approach to the park, and scrambled above buildings too. Wave after wave emerged—more goblins than Jonah could count, more than anyone could count.

  And behind them, visible over the smaller creatures' heads, were massive shapes: war beasts, four-legged things the size of wagons with too many teeth; hobgoblin formations in actual armor, carrying actual weapons; and shaman circles, groups of robed figures already beginning to channel coordinated magic.

  The System notification appeared for everyone simultaneously.

  [Final Wave Approaching]

  [Goblin Invasion Force Detected]

  [Estimated Enemy Strength: 4,000+]

  [Survival Objective: Defeat the Goblin Horde Army and find the Settlement Stone]

  [Survival Reward: Settlement Establishment, Territory Claim, Significant Experience, System Rewards, Loot]

  [Failure Penalty: Death]

  Jonah looked at the army, then at the people who would have to hold the defenses.

  "Everyone to positions! This is it! Everything we've built, everything we've prepared—it all comes down to the next four hours!" Jonah shouted.

  People moved, frightened but determined.

  They climbed to elevated positions, took up weapons, stilled the shaking of their hands, took deep breaths to calm their chests, and prepared to face the end of the world.

  Jonah drew his sword and felt his mana core pulse with power that was still far too weak for what was coming.

  The goblin army began its advance.