by Matthew Peed
Chapter 5
Regan
Watching my forces gathered on the Deadlands side of the portal, I was impressed to say the least at the seemingly unending army marching through the portal to stand at the ready. I hoped it curled the toes of any of my would-be watchers from the necromancer side. They did possess a significant army of their own, but unlike mine, theirs required dead bodies to create.
According to Julie and Wrakras and what we’d learned in the labs, the undead were pretty fragile without a necromancer actively feeding them unholy mana. They could generate it on their own, but it was less pure than a necromancer’s. That was why the undead near the edge of the north were so degraded. They had gone too long without pure unholy mana and were feeding off the ambient unholy mana.
The Treants pulled their mana from the dryad, which acted more like a giant necromancer. Some of my stationed forces already reported that the few Treants that had survived and also somehow avoided the call were rotting even faster than the undead could take them. They were quite large, after all, and required something like a dryad to maintain their form. I wondered if that was due to the dryad’s original formation as a nature mana creature.
I shook my head to clear my thoughts and looked back to the field in front of me. Two of the harvester ships had emptied their bays, with the third well on its way. That gave me six thousand units that were ready to march full force on the north, and the number was still increasing. Unlike mortals my forces didn’t get tired, didn’t need food, and thanks to the Anubis filter they used to “breathe” in mana, they wouldn’t get corrupted by the ambient unholy mana.
I really needed to thank the labs for that one. They’d taken Anubis’s metal and hit the ground running with it. They’d created weapons, armor, the filters, and a manner of other devices to counter the unholy mana, mostly all thanks to Jarvis.
When I’d moved Jarvis to the Zeta, I fully intended for him to treat it like a battleship, as that was how it was designed. Shortly after he took command of it, he quickly converted the thing to a very heavily armed research ship. He took some of the bottom turrets and converted them to tractor beams so that he could literally snatch samples up without having to send out his crew. Those would then be sent to the labs on Alpha or his own personal labs, which he’d added to the ship.
The third harvester’s forces started to come through the portal. These were the big toys. Hover tanks, large mechs of all shapes and sizes, and the generator vehicles approached and started lining up along the other forces. When the third harvester was empty and its forces all on our side, I started splitting the forces into battalions.
There was a command automaton assigned to each battalion that would control the units. It was linked back to the command center in Alpha so I could control them at a moment’s notice. You have to love satellite uplinks. They took a little tinkering, but I managed to get the signal through the ambient mana that acted like a barrier for the planet, as well as through the unholy mana that corrupted everything it touched.
There was still a bit of time as the army organized itself, so I decided to check on Ren since her duties as the corrupted beastkin leader were quickly reaching levels I wasn’t sure she was prepared for. There were nearly a thousand down there now, and the group was slowly growing. Every time the fleet moved even a kilometer, we would find some more holed up in caves or rudimentary tree houses.
I teleported to her island after I mentally looked for her and found her in the village leader’s hut or building, whichever you wanted to call it. The other beastkin had built it for her out of . . . respect, I think. She was devoted, though, and used it. The only thing out of place were the large obelisks that lined the mud streets.
These were similar to the ones up on the surface in the town, only without most of the rules. Designed to filter the unholy mana from their bodies ever so slowly, if they were at a hundred, then it pulled a point from them a day. Many would take nearly a year to recover completely, but I wasn’t sure at which point would they regain more control over their mental faculties.
A few were so far gone that it would take them over two years to recover. I had wondered if it might be easier to just put those down, but Ren said that she would take responsibility for them until all were recovered. I couldn’t exactly ignore the girl’s determination.
“Ren! Are you busy?” I called from the entrance to her hut.
The other beastkin had learned last time I visited not to test me. Most were shrinking away in fear when they saw me. I noticed a few of the new ones eyeing me, but they wisely took in the others’ reactions and backed away as well. You had to love pack societies.
“Master Regan. What can I do for you?” Ren asked as she appeared from inside the hut. She was fully armed and armored, and from what I saw she stayed like that almost every hour of the day. She never knew when she was going to get a challenge, after all. When she slept, she activated the sigil I’d installed in her room to create a barrier around her house. Echo also guarded the hut at night.
It looked like leadership suited her. She stood up straighter than when she’d first come to me. There was an energy that permeated the air around her. I wasn’t sure if it was the removal of the unholy mana in the air she breathed or if she was a natural leader, but it was working for her. I wished for a few more like her, but none of the other beastkin from the north had come anywhere near her level of mental facility.
“I wanted to check on you. We’re about to restart the invasion and I wanted to make sure you were ready for some more . . . citizens.” I smiled.
“Oh yes. We can handle quite a few more. The fields created on the island are growing like wildfire, and many of the corrupted are more than content when they have a full belly. From what I have learned so far, they really only live based on instinct. Some of the ones that are young, less than five years, have already started showing signs of recovery since you erected those pillars,” Ren said in a ramble, clearly excited.
“So, you were able to get them to farm?” I asked.
“Yes. It took a day or two, but when I made a small garden that created enough food for five people overnight the rest quickly caught on,” Ren said as she started pulling me toward the fields. “Especially the older ones, I feel like their memory is still there, just clouded.”
I smiled at the teenager, acting like a, well, teenager. I was glad she was able to let go of her time in the north a little and was currently embracing her new life. Not only did she lose her parents at a young age, but she was forced to survive on her own in a monster- and undead-infested land. I had to give her credit.
“That’s good news. Honestly, better news than I was expecting,” I said as we emerged from a tree line into a cleared field.
It was literally growing before my eyes. The dungeon mana was being converted to nature mana as the plants were pulling it in like sunlight. The nutrients in the soil were also being refreshed as they were pulled out. The plants didn’t have their usual restrictions that they usually would have on the surface.
“Echo did a lot of the work. Without him this field would be half its size,” Ren said, turning a sweet girlish smile toward the large robot, which was tilling a stretch of land at the moment.
“This is right up his alley. Easier really,” I said, laughing at the mining robot being used to till a field. But it was just one and they weren’t too busy right now anyway. Most of his brothers were digging what could be called ant trails through the mountain looking for materials or resources, or hell, even ruins. A race like the Arcarins would have had a large presence on the planet before leaving, and mountains are a good place to look since they are more consistent over the years than other types of landmasses.
Ren was looking at me with wide eyes. “I really can’t thank you enough for letting him work with me.”
“Trust me, without you these people would most likely be sitting in large cells. You’re worth your weight in gold,” I said, patting her head. “In fact, I wan
t to reward you. Is there anything you want?”
Her wide eyes grew wider for a moment, then she put her chin in her hand in a thinking pose. I gazed around as she thought. I could tell some of the beastkin were doing better than others. There were those that walked around boldly, while there were also those that looked like frightened animals, jumping at the tiniest of sounds. I really hoped these people would recover in the future.
“I would like Echo to be able to talk,” Ren said finally.
“Echo to talk, huh,” I replied.
It wasn’t outside what I expected but posed one of the harder options. It’s one thing to install something like a voice box, but then his systems had to be able to use it. I would just have to try to see what happened. I sent a command to Echo to come over. He stopped pulling his hand along the ground and walked toward us.
“Echo! Master Regan is going to make it where you can talk,” Ren said quickly when he reached us.
“Is that ok?” I asked him. I got a nod in response.
I nodded back, then had him sit down so I could reach his head and neck area. Being careful not to damage anything, I pulled the plate covering his neck off and went to work. Echo was built to mine and all his parts were bulky and robust so that he could survive a cave-in or other accidents that might happen in a fantasy world with monsters.
I created a voice synthesizer. It would sound weird for a while until his mental magic script adjusted and learned how to use it properly. I would guess that if he broke through soon, he would gain much better control over his voice. Gray had gained speech when he’d broken through thanks to his connection with Anna. So, desire went a long way to controlling what happened when you broke through. I carefully added the Speech magic script to his brain, then reattached the metal plate to his head and neck, then I patted his giant back.
“Alright. Try to say something.”
“REENNNN!!!” A screeching sound emerged from him that had Ren and all the other beastkins holding their ears in pain. I quickly snapped my fingers to kill the sound before it could travel farther.
“You have to take volume into account. You should know how to do this if you concentrate a bit. After that calmly and carefully think about what you want to say,” I explained.
“R . . . E . . . E . . . N . . .” Echo said again, still loudly, but at a shout level rather than an attack level.
“Yes? Echo?” Ren asked, still rubbing her ears.
“I HELP?” Echo asked, the volume going down some more.
“Of course! I couldn’t do this without you,” Ren said. She climbed up his back and moved to sit on his shoulder. “We’re partners!”
“PART-ners,” Echo said, finally reaching conversational levels.
“I’m also happy with you here rather than out in the tunnels,” I added.
Echo looked at me, then just nodded before turning back to Ren. I shook my head. These robots were going to be the death of me. At least the locals were taking to them. It was also fascinating to actively watch rather than sit in a tower all day as you knew the world was going to crap around you.
“Creator said it good I here,” Echo said to Ren.
“I know, I heard him,” Ren said, giggling at his speech.
“Alright. I’m sure you two have some heart-to-heart to do, so the old man will get out of the way. Ren, Echo, keep up the good work. Echo, make sure to keep her safe,” I said with a smile.
“No one touch Ren! No one hurt Ren!” Echo shouted.
“Good.” I moved back to the forces staging area.
The command automata were standing at attention when I finished teleporting. I looked over the arranged forces and nodded. The necromancers were going to regret ever being alive. I switched mental gears and stood tall.
With a grand gesture, I shouted, “MOVE OUT!”
The command automata saluted and teleported to their command mechs, large eight-legged constructions that were armored enough to survive a nuke on Earth, and big enough to house nearly a hundred other automata. The biggest thing was the massive generator inside that would keep their battalion powered.
I grinned evilly as my forces bulldozed a path through the forest. There were four battalions. Only two dryads remained on the path to Alara. The rest surrounded her in a sort of protective barrier. I was already working on how I was going to launch a coordinated attack on them. I would most likely need to do something to drain Alara in case they were able to link her mana reserves to the dryads in a giant network. Well, they could adapt to me, they better be ready for me to adapt to them.
Chapter 6
Izora
After the goblin Alphonso was scolded by his superior, we made our way into the city, led by the goblin squad. The city was amazing. Technology completely different from the gnomes’ but on a level that was equal to or even higher than ours infused the city at every turn. Goblins that reminded me more of humans by the way they carried themselves could be seen everywhere. This was truly a goblin city.
I couldn’t yet tell the size of the floor, but it had to be at least a kilometer if not more. I supposed that Lord Regan could create the food to feed such a city from mana, but I doubted he would allow the boosted properties of dungeon soil to go to waste. In fact, I knew he already made use of it for his restaurant, so a few large fields should have been able to feed a city of this size.
The buildings were all of a material that looked easy to build with but wasn’t just straight terra magic molded into the shape of a building. Magic allowed buildings to be created quickly, but they tended to lack a certain character. These all looked like they were created by someone who took several months working on them. The road we were on could easily allow six or so carriages to pass each other and still have room for pedestrians.
I got a report that a man found blueprints for a large building in the fort town on the ninth floor and wondered if I could acquire anything like that here. Just the large-scale use of glass was amazing. Every building possessed some, and one building that took up part of the view in the distance almost looked to be made completely of glass.
“Is there going to be an escort for every party that reaches this level?” I asked as we walked.
“No. We’re assigned to escort the first few parties so that any adventurers that reach this floor don’t start outright killing the civilian goblins,” the lead goblin explained with a weird accent.
“So, this is a safe zone?” I asked excitedly.
“Hmm, as safe as free-willed beings can be around one another.”
He looked like he was about to say something else when a large metal leg crashed down on the street from around the corner of the building we were passing. Soon three more metal legs joined the first, and a large metal construct moved completely into view. The image of the mechs that Lord Regan used in the north flashed through my mind.
I could tell this one was a bit cruder than his, but it was still formidable. It was a four-legged machine that reminded me of a spider, and at a glance several weapons were visible. I was more surprised that it appeared to have seen combat, as it had jagged scars and places that had been patched roughly. Part of me was excited about learning about the mechs. I really hoped that Lord Regan made it so that people who earned it could learn from the goblins.
“OH! Cruz! We finally get some guests?!” a voice called from the mech as it came to a stop in front of us. I was glad it did, giving me a chance to take in more of its construction. I always regretted that I couldn’t devote more time to tinker, having to study statecraft instead.
“Ah! Trenno! Yeah, they just came through. They aren’t giving us trouble, but want to escort us?” Cruz, the goblin leader, shouted back.
“Sure thing! The people need to know that goblin tech is back and will soon be stronger than ever!” The mech pilot Trenno laughed.
“Lord Regan really managed to fix your race, then?!” I asked excitedly once we got back underway.
Cruz eyed me for a moment, then said, “I can s
ee you’re a Selected. Yes, he was able to fix us partially. The world curse on us still very much affects us, but it can’t reach us here. If you take a moment, you would be able to realize that there is no ambient mana here.”
I took a deep breath while trying to pull mana in, and sure enough there was a completely different . . . taste from usual. I knew this taste though. It was Lord Regan’s. I had channeled it enough to remember it. Some of the others tried as well, and most started to cough like they’d pulled in a mouthful of dry air.
“Tsuzuki, how is it?” I asked when he reacted the least.
“Very . . . interesting to say the least. I felt I could cultivate mana with it, but it would take a while to adjust my body to it. It would be hard to leave and come back often,” he answered.
“I like it! Reminds me of home,” Sasori said, taking another deep breath. “Especially near the generator rooms.”
“Interesting. Now that you mention it.” Tsuzuki pulled in another deep breath.
Cruz interrupted us. “You have plenty of time to worry about that later. You’re about to meet the godfather. I recommend being polite.”
He pointed at a grand building. It looked like a mansion that had been magnified a few hundred times and covered such a large amount of space that I couldn’t take the whole thing in with one glance. Large gates opened for us as we approached, and two goblin . . . butlers bowed as they held the gate for us.
The grounds were amazing as well. For a moment, I completely forgot that we were underground and in the middle of a city. Neatly manicured gardens, trees, gravel paths, and stone sculptures decorated the yards as we walked to the entrance of the grand building. I had to close my mouth several times at the magnificent sight.
As we approached, two lines of goblins met us, a line of butlers and the other of maids. Even as goblins they had a beauty that would be hard to top even on the surface. They reminded me of elves but with green skin. They bowed as we passed, and the two at the end of each line moved to open the giant wooden doors. I had to shake my head when I noticed pulsing green lines that etched out runes. Surely it wasn’t mithril.