The tides had turned, but they were about to turn again.
Chapter 20
The angels managed to get our guardian back up to 90%, and their power was so great that the Doom Lords couldn’t kill me or my guildmates. We steadily attacked the red guardian, draining him all the way down to 20% by the time the Stone of Angelic Power wore off. Not only were we burning down the enemy guardian at a steady clip, but we had killed at least 30 of the Doom Lords as they cycled back into battle.
It seemed that victory was ours.
But then a few minutes after the Stone of Angelic Power had worn off and the angels had disappeared, a Doom Lord Warlock summoned something out of a nightmare. I warned my guildmates to get out of the way when I saw the portal open behind them, but I was too late. My warning cries were drowned out by the horrific screech of a hundred humanoid demons. They exploded out of the portal on wings of oily black. Their chiseled bodies reminded me of my gilded sons, but these demons had skin that looked as hard as dragon scales. They carried long swords that glowed blue to match the light in their eyes, and the little armor that they wore emanated the same haunting light.
Trinity, Kit, and Ember were killed instantly as the flock of demons were belched out of the portal, and I soon found myself ducking behind my Fire Shield. The demons blocked out the afternoon light, smothering me with darkness and stabbing me repeatedly as they passed overhead.
You are dead!
“What the hell is that?” Trinity’s ghost asked when I opened my eyes behind the veil.
“One hell of a spell,” I said as I hopelessly watched the mass of black wings descend upon our guardian from across the arena.
“That’s not any spell that the warlock cast,” said Nanaya. “Nobody can summon so many demons at once, especially not a level 60 warlock. He’s got some friends in low places, that’s for sure.”
“They’re killing him!” Trinity growled as we watched from behind the veil.
It was true, our guardian was already down to 30%, and if we didn’t do something soon, it would be game over.
“What are we going to do?” Kit asked as we stepped out of the veil.
I remembered Megulla’s pleading voice in my head. The children were dying, they needed the sun, they needed to be summoned to the surface world…
I clutched the pendent that Megulla had given me.
“Sam!” Trinity yelled, jerking me out of my trance.
“What’s the plan?” Kit asked.
Behind her, the rest of my guild mates appeared behind the veil in ghost form.
“There’s only one way,” I said as I turned back to look at our guardian’s health.
9%
8%
7%
Kit stared at me questioningly, then her eyes slowly widened.
“You’re not thinking what I think you’re thinking…” Trinity asked.
“It’s the only way,” I said again. Then I turned from my guild mates, tore the trinket off my neck, held it in the air, and bellowed the incantation that Megulla had told me.
“Sam!” Anna yelled from the veil, but it was too late.
Brilliant, golden light exploded from my fist that soon grew into an elliptical portal of pulsating light. My demonic children flew out of the portal by the hundreds. Their skin was ashen, and their bodies sickly, and I felt a pang of guilt for not having believed their mother. But when they flew high into the sky and spread their wings in the sunlight, their skin changed to the brilliant gold that I remembered. They let out a collective roar as they bathed in the sunshine.
“Come to me, my children!” I bellowed.
As one they swooped down, one-thousand in all, and blotted out the sun.
“That red crystal guardian is my enemy, kill him, kill them all!” I ordered my gilded sons.
I didn’t know if they would listen to me, and for a moment none of them moved. But then the one closest to me bowed and said, “Yes, father.”
“Hurry up you golden hotties!” Kit screamed.
I looked across the battlefield and saw why. Our guardian was down to 2%.
The entire crowd seemed to be holding their collective breath, and I found myself joining them as all eyes turned to my golden children. The Doom Lords fired everything they had at the gold demons, and the black demons that served them flew to intercept. To my surprise, my 1,000 sons unleashed 1,000 Fireballs. The explosion that ensued engulfed the entire battlefield, only contained by the spell shield that surrounded the arena and kept spectators safe from runaway spells.
The flames didn’t hurt our guardian or the rest of us, but it completely obliterated the enemy. Once the smoke settled, all that could be seen of the red guardian was a pile of crystal rubble.
“Holy shit!” the wizardly announcer’s voice echoed through the coliseum.
“What he means to say!” said the elf woman, “Is that we have a winner. Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you the first winner of the Guild Wars, and the Lords of Ozara, Heavy Metal Thunder!”
The crowd erupted in applause and stomped their feet, and my guild mates raced over to me and tackled me to the sand.
“We did it!” I yelled, hardly able to believe it. “We really did it!”
“Oh Big Daddy!” Kit cried into my chest. “Is it really real?”
Trinity planted a big kiss on my lips, and the rest of the girls showered me with kisses as well, even Tweak.
After a few minutes of incoherent celebration, we finally untangled ourselves and rose to our feet to raise triumphant fists at the crowd. But the crowd had stopped cheering. My gilded sons hovered in the air in a wide circle, pounding on the spell shield surrounding the arena.
“Stop that!” I warned, but they did no such thing.
One of them hit the shield with a magic bolt, then about 500 of his brothers did the same. The dome shaped spell shield held back the magic, but it shimmered and rippled as though it were being weakened.
Holy shit they were strong.
“I command you back to the Underworld!” I bellowed, and the game masters must have turned up my voice, because it boomed like a god and echoed through the halls of Aeorock.
The golden demons turned from the energy dome as one and stared at me and the trinket that I held in my hand. The portal had re-opened, and it crackled and sparked as it awaited them.
To my dismay, my sons turned their backs on me and attacked the energy shield with renewed vigor. I tried to command them to stop, but they weren’t listening. Then the shield completely failed, and my gilded sons began to fly toward the open air above the coliseum.
“Wait!” I cried desperately as the horns of Aeorock blared. “Your mother needs you!”
That proclamation stopped them in mid-air, and they all turned on wings of gold to regard me.
“You must return to the Underworld. Your mother is being attacked by a powerful demon, and if you don’t stop him, she is going to die!”
One of my sons floated down to the ground and stood before me. He scrutinized me with eyes like little suns and cocked his head to the side.
“Mother is in danger?”
“Yes,” I said, and for reasons I still don’t understand, I placed a hand on his shoulder. “You must help her, do you understand? You must defend your mother.”
He glanced at my hand and slowly place one of his own on top of it, then he looked back to me. The smallest of smiles turned up the corner of his mouth, and he offered me a small bow. His brothers began flying into the portal then, and I maintained contact with my son until he was the last one left.
“We will see you again?” he asked.
“Of course,” I said with a smile.
He nodded and turned toward the portal, then he eyed the crowd one last time and the freedom of the blue skies above and flew into the portal.
I Stuffed the trinket in my pocket and let out a pent-up sigh of relief.
The silent crowd once again broke into cheers, and I smiled at my guild mates. Somehow, we had d
one it, and we were now the lords of a beautiful new kingdom.
“This is bullshit!” I heard one of the Doom Lords complain from the other side of the coliseum. The leader of the guild reigned in his friend as Doctor Marks and the wizard walked out onto the sand.
“Congratulations!” the doctor said to us and shook all our hands.
I could see us all up on the looking glasses, and I knew the world was watching.
“How’s it feel to be the first real world king of Rebirth Online?” the wizard asked.
“Fucking great!” Tweak yelled from behind the crowded girls.
We all shared a laugh.
“What he said!” I told the wizard.
“That last spell,” said the elf. “Who were those golden demons?”
The crowd grew silent, and I laughed nervously as I scanned the curious crowd. “Uh, let’s just say that I’ve got friends in low places.”
The crowd didn’t seem to think it was very funny, and even the elf announcer shifted awkwardly away from us.
“There you have it!” said Doctor Marks affably, and he quickly changed the subject to begin asking us about highlights as they played on the looking glass.
I could tell that the Doom Lords were none too pleased by the defeat, but we hadn’t done anything illegal, so they simply shook our hands and left the arena to the applause of their many fans.
“What are you going to do with your new kingdom first?” the wizard asked.
I glanced around at my guild mates, who were absolutely beaming.
“We’re going to throw the biggest party that Rebirth Online has ever seen!” I yelled into the crystal microphone.
Chapter 21
“You have pleased me greatly,” said Megulla.
I hadn’t been in Cecilia’s pub for more than two minutes when I suddenly found myself in Megulla’s throne room.
“I assume that you were victorious against Baal?” I said, glancing around and expecting to find my parents somewhere.
“Yes, thanks to you and the children. You have saved their lives, Samson, and you have secured my throne. I hear that you are now a king as well.”
She strode down from the lavish throne and stood before me in a see-through purple teddy.
“Yeah, you kinda pulled me out of the celebration. I’d like to get back there. Where are my parents?”
She pouted. “Can’t your reunion wait? I’ve been very anxious to give you your reward,” she said pressing her body against mine and grabbing my cock.
I couldn’t help but laugh as I gently peeled her off me.
“You kidnapped my parents, and now you want some ass?”
She shrugged and grinned devilishly.
I shook my head. “Just give me my parents and send me back to the surface. I’m gonna need some time to forgive you.”
“Alright, Samson. I understand,” she said as she hung her head low. She snapped her fingers, and my parents appeared at my side.
“Mom, Dad, are you guys alright?” I asked, noticing the look of confusion on their faces.
“Sam!” my mother yelled when she saw me. She threw the cake in her hand and wrapped her arms around me.
My father hugged me too and laughed happily. “It’s about time you joined us down here. Why, you can eat an entire banquet all by yourself and not gain a pound. It’s a miracle of the modern age I tell you!”
“I’ve come to take you back to the surface,” I told them.
“Oh we saw your battle today on the big looking glass in our tower,” said my mother.
“Your tower?” I glanced at Megulla, who shrugged.
“Did you think I had them in a dungeon?” she asked, looking hurt.
“You saved the children,” said my mother. “I’m very proud of you Sam.”
“Thanks mom.” I turned to Megulla. “We’re ready.”
“I’ll see you soon, my love,” she said, then with a wave of her hand I was back at the pub with my parents at my side.
“Yay, Sam’s parents!” Kit sang as she raised her umbrella-topped drink.
“I was wondering where you went off to,” said Anna. “Hello Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan.”
“Hello, young elf,” said my father in a stoic voice.
“What’s your poison, Mrs. S?” Tweak asked as he put his arm around my mother.
“Oh my,” she said as she looked up at the big purple monkey’s smiling face. “Um, do they have white wine?”
“The finest white wine coming up!” he sang.
“So where’s this kingdom that you won?” my father asked over the boisterous crowd.
“It’s near the Zion Jungle,” I told him. “One-million acres of forest, clear streams, and mountain ranges.”
He choked on his drink and looked at me wide-eyed. “Jesus, Sam, that is almost as big as Delaware!”
I grinned and nodded. “Wanna see it?”
“Does Orm have an assicle?” he asked with a laugh, and the reference to one of our favorite old shows cracked me up.
My father could be funny as hell sometimes.
“Who else wants to see Ozara?” I asked my guild mates, and in response they went absolutely ape shit, especially Tweak.
After the post victory bullshit, the wizard had finally presented me with a golden, glowing key. I’d thought about using it right then and there to open a portal to my new kingdom, but it didn’t seem like the right time.
My guild mates and my parents gathered around as I presented the key, and they watched with eager eyes as I held it out in front of me. When I did, a golden keyhole suddenly appeared. With one last look at my friends and family, I inserted the key into the lock and gave it a twist. To my mother’s delight, a door opened before us, and beyond we could see clear running streams, white-topped mountains, rolling hills, lush forests, and bright sunshine reflected off large lakes.
“Welcome to Ozara,” I told them all, then I stepped through the door.
Book 4 coming Soon!
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Dear Reader,
Thank you for reading Rebirth Online 3. I’d love to hear what you thought of the story. Did you love it? Do you want more? Leave a review and let me know.
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Thanks for reading, I hope to have more for you from Sam and the ladies very soon.
Until then, happy grinding!!!
Best,
Michael James Ploof
Other Books by Michael James Ploof
Rebirth Online
Rebirth Online 2
Rebirth Online 3
(Legends of Agora Novels)
Whill of Agora
A Quest of Kings
A Song of Swords
A Crown of War
Kingdoms in Chaos
Champions of the Gods
The Mantle of Darkness
Dark Echoes of Light
The Warcrown Legacy
Talon
Sea Queen
Exodus
Blackthorn Rising
(Orion Rezner Chronicles)
Afterworld
(Epic Fallacy Novels)
Champions of the Dragon
Beyond the Wide Wall
The Legend of Drak’Noir
The Mother of Zuul
(The Dragon Throne War)
A Dream of Fire
(Doomsday Sheriff)
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Visit Michael’s Amazon Author page for links
Special Thanks
A big thanks to my Traveling Bard Proofreaders: Beverly Leonard, Ken Howell, Elaine Smith, Scott Gale, and Michael Perks.
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