Chapter 318: Brace yourselves. [1/2]
{Fates} were incredibly personal. It gave insight into what a person regretted the most. Along with that regret came a power that could change one's destiny.
Of the few {fates} I knew, they were extremely varied. My girls along with the 2nd Amendment all had unique reasons. Terence was a blacksmith who wanted to double his strength. While Van was a scholar who wanted to hear the voices of the past.
I already had an idea of what they would want for such {Fates}. If {Mind Trace} was like listening to memory recordings, it would be incredibly useful. Especially if you wanted to investigate past events.
On the other hand, {Twice the Strength} might seem pathetic now, but if it was given to someone as powerful as David Thomas, the effect of doubling his arm strength would be insane.
Add to that the fact that none of them wanted to run when we shot them all, these bastards were way above the norm. I didn't know what to do with them, so I called for someone who would.
"Honey?"
"Yes, Mr. Code?"
"Please give them jobs."
Bella nodded before issuing instructions. "Okay. Van Micron, you and your group will join the 8th Squad of the 2nd Amendment. Phillip, Will and Tildi as well. The 8th Squad, much like Vela's wolves, will be my personal unit. You will address me as Minerva."
Phillip and the clerks had dark expressions when the monocled bastard asked in uncertainty.
"Lady Minerva, do you realize what you are asking? We are directly under David Thomas."
"I am, and it will only be until we are here. My unit will be known as Minerva's Wizards. They will serve as oversight for the LLG. Do you all accept?"
Van and his people all prostrated themselves before my South American honey and thanked her in gratitude.
"THANK YOU, LADY MINERVA! WE WILL NOT WASTE THIS OPPORTUNITY!"
I wasn't sure what Bella meant by oversight, as long as she got what she wanted, it was fine. With the eggheads taken care of, the next question was what to do with the strong men.
Before I could ask Bella, I felt large, powerful arms gently wrap around my neck. A pleasant weight pressed against the back of my head along with a soothing voice.
"My love. Can you please grant these men to me? Their physiques are suitable to form a shielder battalion."
Both the eastern and western parts of the world developed shields as defensive weapons. Along with these ideas came formations and tactics that took the art of defense to the next level.
The ancient Greek phalanx, the Anglo-Saxon shield wall, the Roman testudo, and the Scottish schiltron. As opposed to mixed weapon formations like the Mandarin duck squad, many armies throughout history have seen the utility of having a fully defensive army.
'You could even think of it as a moving wall. So to speak. Even today, modern militaries use squad-operated bulletproof shields to clear areas. '
Considering that Vela started the trend of creating personal squads, Liv would probably turn these strongmen into shielders. And if Liv and Robyn combined their {Fates} on a Shielder unit, it would work exceptionally well.
"Do as you please, my love, all I have is yours."
"Thank you, love," my Northerner replied affectionately. Liv planted a kiss on my cheek and then walked over to the Fortification guys. Her impressive height naturally accentuated her well-toned physique.
I am glad that Liv is not like the muscle girls who look like men. While her entire body is extremely fit, her muscle definition, skin tone, and curves remain extremely feminine.
I didn't want to bash anyone's preferences, but there was a huge difference between muscular girls with abs and a fit body and the female bodybuilders who look like beefcake with boobs.
As I thanked the galaxy that Liv was the former, she began to address the strongmen.
"I am a Kindred of Limitless. My name is Freyja. You will all be allowed to continue your work as blacksmiths. But in addition to taking care of our defenses, your bodies will also be among the walls to protect my beloved. From this day forward, your name shall be Freyja's Bulwark. What say you?"
"THANK YOU FOR THIS OPPORTUNITY, LADY FREYJA! WE WILL NOT LET YOU DOWN."
It was only now that I noticed the shield Liv was carrying. If she was going to put herself in harm's way, I wanted to make sure she felt as little pain as possible.
I reached out and removed Liv's shield. Like an understanding wife, she made no effort to stop me and released her grip on her protective equipment.
"Love, is this shield important to you? Can I get you a new one?"
"It is one of the products of the Ivaldi smiths in the north. It is quite cheap, my {Fate} is the only reason it has lasted so long. I would never say no to anything you give me, my love," she replied.
"I see." I then turned to Terence and the newly created Freyja's Bulwark.
"Before I will allow any of you to work for my kindred. You must create a Shied worthy of her."
"My lord! We have some shields ready, some of our best work! All present your shields!" Terence shouted.
'If you bastards had shields, why didn't you use them before? Or did Terence tell you not to?'
About twenty Fortification Reapers stepped forward. They were probably all waiting to see how I would test them.
"All of you, brace yourselves. [Inventory] Ebony, Ivory."
In the old days, shields were made of hard wood, animal hides, or sheets of metal. While these were good enough to stop sword slashes, they were usually pierced by arrows.
In modern times, bulletproof armor wouldn't stop knives, but bulletproof shields would.
I then used the USP Matches guns akimbo and started shooting at the shields one by one. Two were pierced immediately. When the third stopped the .45 ACP, I let go of my guns and called for another.
"[Inventory] Raging hunter."
When I fired a .500 Magnum into the same shield, nothing happened. Impressed, I decided to step it up a bit.
"[Inventory] M1014."
Summoning the Benelli shotgun, I continued to unload shells into the shields. Due to the impressive power of the 12 gauge 00 buck, five more shields were destroyed in quick succession. The eighth shield of the twenty that came forward was still okay after a 12-gauge round.
"[Inventory] F90."
Trading the shotgun for a bullpup assault rifle, I fired 5.56 NATO into the untested shields. Six more shields were destroyed before I found one that could tank the Thales F90.
"[Inventory] HCAR."
At nearly 50% more mass in both size and weight, if any of these shields could stop a .30.06, that would be enough for me. The warriors behind the shields all gulped nervously as I pulled the charging handle.
Unfortunately, similar to my earlier tests, the rounds penetrated the shields or tore them to shreds. From flat to angled to beveled, each shield had some idea of how to dissipate or redirect momentum, but in the face of overwhelming force, nothing mattered.
Of the five remaining shields, only one could withstand a volley of .30.06 rounds. That kind of resilience was already beyond level 3A ballistic protection. However, I still wanted to see what this last shield could do, so I called up my largest caliber.
"[Inventory] BLR 81."
I cocked the lever on my hunting rifle and fired a 7mm Remington Magnum into the shield. Unable to withstand the force, it was ripped apart without mercy.
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