Karl pulled rubble away from the first of the safe rooms, and realized that these areas had previously been guarded by a Totem Rank barrier, the best that the Golden Dragon Nation could provide.
They were truly impressive bastions of security by local standards, but the aftermath of the battle had shattered all the barriers, except the final layer inside the bunkers themselves.
It had been just enough to keep them intact, so Karl opted not to force the door open. Instead, he simply tapped the rhythm of the national anthem on the door until the guard inside opened it.
The door opened, and Karl found himself facing Overlord Johann, a paladin from the GDN military who he had met more than once before, just not at the Academy.
"Overlord, it’s good to see you safe. The battle is over, but you will want to steel your stomach before seeing the aftermath." Karl greeted him quietly.
"How much survived?" The Paladin replied.
"At least some of the bunkers, and the trial tower. The Overlords who were on yard duty ran into the tower for safety at the end.
It got bad.
But if your people are alright, they can come outside. Or you can leave them there for safety and just unlock the door, so they don’t suffocate with the barriers down." Karl suggested.
The Paladin gave him a grim smile. "That final hit knocked out all the life support systems. They’re buried under the academy, but it’s possible that the blast blew out a transformer.
I have some skills in that department, so I will call for a replacement and check the situation. If we can get power back online, then they’re fine in the bunkers for weeks if needed."
Karl shook his head. "Come out and you’ll understand."
A replacement was called for, and the Paladin came out of the bunker to stand atop the pile of rubble that used to be a dorm building.
"Gods, what happened?" Johann gasped as he took in the scene.
He could see it, but it was not an easy thing to accept. However, saving students came first. He would worry about the rest of the details later.
"First, I will check the power relays. Perhaps the other bunkers still have power."
But when he began walking, his expression only got more concerned.
"This crater, it’s over the access tunnels for the backup generator. I can’t imagine that they survived that. Hopefully, the generator itself wasn’t hit."
Karl followed him through the rubble, then helped pull the remains of a small building off a metal hatch.
Inside, the generator room was scorched and blackened, but as the Paladin started flipping switches, he began to smile.
"The air feed and exhaust were crushed, so the diesel generator stalled. That’s the soot you see inside the room. If we clear the rubble, it should start again. It also looks like the attack blew every circuit breaker, but I’ve reset them again, and they’re not tripping, so the charge should be gone.
Do you know what sort of attack hit this area?" Johann asked.

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