Towering figures stepped through the portals covering the horizon, the booms of their footsteps striking terror in the hearts of the humans. Their teeth clacked together from the shockwaves, and their eyes widened as they beheld the new enemies.

  They were titanic, ebony-skinned figures, broad-shouldered and packed with grotesque muscle. Their feet were three-toed and reptilian, claws digging into the ground and churning up dirt as they strode forward. The rest of their bodies were hominid, but their heads were large and draconic, with extended snouts that gleamed with exposed white fangs even with their mouths closed. Some sported four emerald eyes, while others possessed five eyes that glowed a bright ochre. The five-eyed monsters were even larger than their four-eyed compatriots, who already exceeded 30 meters in height. These Kharnidd could only be called one thing: “Behemoths.”

  Jordan mumbled the name under his breath as he watched the Kharnidd crash toward them. His mind worked rapidly as he tried to remember their abilities, before things clicked into place. He turned to yell at his father, “Dad, the bodies!”

  Markus Haraldson’s face twisted in recognition as he realized what his son was talking about. Dismissing his rifle, he thrust out his hands at the bodies of the Kharnidd at the edge of the barrier. A high wind kicked up as a wave of orange snowflakes blew forward and covered the stacks of corpses below. It spread in an unnatural arc, moving down the lines of the enemy’s front ranks and suffusing a wide swath of Kharnidd with a contained blizzard. Soon afterward, the Behemoths opened their mouths in harmony, eyes glowing as they let out earsplitting roars. The bodies on the ground shone in response. Then they exploded.

  In a clamor that cracked the earth and shook the sky, the bodies detonated in bright blasts of azure and violet light, kicking up massive waves of debris around the edge of the barrier. However, the bodies covered in Markus’s snow were suppressed, their explosions carving relatively small divots in the ground. Nevertheless, he only managed to deal with a portion of the wall, the defenses taking full-bore hits in other places. Fortunately, Pioneers had taken swift preventative action in other parts of the shield as well, limiting the damage further, but the emerald wall still shook with the force of the blows. Jordan realized with a thrill that the entire dome might have gone down if the Pioneers had been taken unawares.

  Corpse Explosion was an ability mostly unique to the Kharnidd Behemoths, its power proportionate to the bodies it was used on. The Drone and Thrall bodies couldn’t do much damage individually, but quantity had a quality of its own. While the Pioneers had been cutting down their opposition, they had been unwittingly placing more weapons in the hands of the enemy. Many had recognized that fact when they saw the Behemoths and destroyed or moved as many enemy corpses as possible, but one of the most effective responses had been taken by Markus. His Psionic Blizzard could suppress the power of enemy Psionic Capacities within its boundaries. Markus could deploy this Blizzard in a flexible way, and he’d done so successfully to diminish the Corpse Explosion. He hadn’t used this ability earlier against the Drones because of the fight dynamics at play.

  The Kharnidd had been keeping their elite in reserve, planning on sending them forward after the humans had already been worn down. If the human elites came forward and started attacking the Zeta class hordes, they made themselves vulnerable to counterattack from the Kharnidd elite after exhausting themselves on the dregs. With the approach of the Behemoths, that dynamic had now shifted.

  The Behemoths roared again as they trampled forward, their bodies glowing as the humans started shooting at them. Hardened Body would boost the creatures’ Constitution, allowing them to wade through streams of blaster fire. However, the turrets were smart enough to concentrate their fire on individual Behemoths, bringing some down, only to receive a nasty surprise. The downed Behemoths rose up again, skin growing even brighter and wounds healing at extraordinary speeds right before the humans’ eyes. Second Wind made it even harder to kill these massive freaks, picking them up from the edge of death and bringing them forward despite their wounds. It was an ability that couldn’t be used in rapid succession, but that was little comfort to the Imperials who watched with wide eyes as the dead marched again. To make matters worse, the Behemoths that were forced to use Second Wind often popped Enhancement spheres as well, making their ‘second phase’ even more terrifying than the first.

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  Some of the creatures were permanently killed when the human elites finally acted. Long-range Psionic Capacities buffeted the enemies, lances or constructs of viridian and amber light shooting out and destroying several of the G class Behemoths. The space lasers also contributed, blasting downward and annihilating some in a blaze of green fire, with even the Enhancement spheres not enough to protect them from the concentrated fire.

  The Kharnidd, unfortunately, were not idle as all this unfolded. Several Mentalists and Greater Mentalists hiding in the hills took the time to unleash their Annihilation Rays. They targeted the satellites specifically, with numerous beams of green and orange light shooting across the sky and cutting down the apparatuses in droves, producing a wave of fiery explosions in the sky that could be seen from the ground. Several human fighters flipped targets, taking aim at the unseen Kharnidd, yet that allowed the remaining Behemoths to get within range. They stopped moving a decent distance from the edge of the barrier, taking up boxer’s stances and striking out with flurries of punches. Their fists generated fist-shaped Psionic constructs that shot from the edges of their hands, striking the barrier before shattering into fragments of Psionic light. The strikes caused ripples of energy to undulate throughout the barrier, the cacophonous thundering sound deafening the defenders. Shadow Punch was one of the few offensive Capacities the Behemoths wielded, but they wielded it to significant effect. The barrier couldn’t take much more of that.

  The humans counterattacked in various ways. Smaller Psionic shields sprang up outside the barrier, intercepting the attacks as best they could. More durable Psionic constructs manifested and were swung against the incoming attacks, often in the form of flying swords, hammers, or extended limbs. Jordan saw a particularly notable set of amber hands shoot up into the sky from a building further to his left, the constructs swatting the enemies’ attacks and shattering them at lightning speed. Markus had also directed his blizzard upward, the ability heavily weakening the enemies’ attacks over a wide area.

  The Kharnidd response was as quick as the humans’. The Beta class Greater Behemoths glowed once more before unleashing their most powerful abilities. Each manifested a gargantuan creation of light before them, the constructs perfect copies of their creators that were even larger than the originals. They clomped forward, raising their fists to hammer at the human defenses. Jordan witnessed the Beta class human he’d seen before getting into a long-distance punching match with the Xenos. Psionic fist met Psionic fist as they crashed together with eye-popping force, but the rookie Pioneer saw small cracks appear on the human’s Psionic fists as the man was forced back. Not all Capacities were created equal.

  Another Beta class targeted his father’s blizzard, the construct wandering over and tearing away at the obstructing snow. The light in its fingers dimmed a bit as it did, but nowhere near enough to seriously damage the creature. Markus studied the attacker, then turned to look at his compatriots. The others had been contributing to the fight as best as they could, but they could do little against titans of this magnitude. The old man frowned as he barked out his orders, “Stay here and hold the line.”

  He turned back toward the enemy, but Jordan grabbed him on the arm. The younger man was clearly worried as he called out, “Wait! Let us go with you! We can keep the little ones off your back!”

  There were still Thralls and Drones running around on the ground, though many of them had scattered at the approach of the Behemoths. There was also a real possibility of Greater Thralls lurking or Greater Psykers flying in to interfere. While lesser fighters couldn’t do much in a battle between Beta classes, they could steal Markus’s attention for a second or two, which could be lethal. On the other hand…

  “There are too many of them for us to get close!” Peralta yelled at the younger man, consternation marring the vet’s face as he continued, “We just need to trust your father!”

  Jordan rounded on the older man, face contorted with anger and helplessness, but his father grabbed him on the shoulder before he could respond. Jordan turned to meet his father’s eyes, and his retort died in his throat. In those eyes, he saw stability, confidence, and absolute focus. The younger man’s mind flashed back to the earlier days of his childhood. Countless hours of hunting, climbing, and sparring with his father had taught Jordan an important lesson: In the moment of truth, Markus Haraldson wouldn’t waver.

  “Trust me.” His father’s voice came out cold and without hesitation. Jordan could only nod, and his father turned back to face the enemy.

  Looking up at the giant before him, Markus manifested his daggers and activated his Integrated Technology.

  ??

  Tired of suffering alone? Try demonic possession! Our inter-dimensional demons are standing by!

  (Results may vary, Purple wombat not included)

  ??

  Oblivion

  Progression Sci-fi GameLit Tower Ruling Class Dark but funny?

  Eighteen-year-old Aine was destined to live a quiet, miserable life. As an Ashand, her only job was to wade the flooded gardens, harvest the creepy flowers that grow out of corpses, and trust the teachings of the Sanctari.

  Who are the Sanctari? Just freakishly tall, mask-wearing priests who insist those flowers carry souls to the “Living Gods” in the shining city above. Totally normal. Nothing suspicious about that at all.

  Then she stole one of the flowers…

  That kicked off a particularly fucked up series of events resulting in her being forced to climb some kind of intergalactic death-tower.

  Hmm. Now that I type all this out, it does sound rather depressing… But at least she has me! This galaxy’s most dazzlingly brilliant...it's most outrageously fabulous, [REDACTED].

  The viewers are bloodthirsty, the elites are scheming, and I…may or may not be able to help, depending on what time it is.

  What? I’m not missing my soaps for this.

  What to expect:

  - Weak-to-strong progression combining cyberpunk elements with a unique "magic" system.

  - LitRPG mechanics grounded in reality and physics. (No all knowing system)

  - A comedic twist on an extremely grim universe.

  - An interdimensional invasion, consciousness harvesting, and human livestock.

  - Found family, class warfare, political scheming.

  - A sarcastic interdimensional entity and...a baby wombat.

  For fans of: Red Rising, Dungeon Crawler Carl, The Fifth Element