//17 MINUTES LATER//
The flight to the outer settlements took seventeen minutes that felt like hours. Through the transport's viewports, they could see the first signs of the approaching horde—smoke rising from the forest line, the occasional flash of energy weapons as advance scouts engaged the leading edge of the beast wave.
Noah's system was already pinging with threat assessments as they approached the combat zone:
[MULTIPLE HOSTILES DETECTED]
[CATEGORY 3-4 THREAT LEVELS CONFIRMED]
[ESTIMATED COUNT: 2,847 AND RISING]
[RECOMMENDATION: EXTREME CAUTION ADVISED]
'Just like Gigarose's trial,' Noah thought grimly, remembering the dimensional space where he'd fought endless waves of creatures. 'At least those were all the same type. These have varying abilities and threat levels.'
Their transport touched down at a forward command post that had been hastily established on a ridge overlooking the main approach to the settlements. Below them, the battle was already in full swing.
