Respawn: Blade of the Ancients (Respawn LitRPG series Book 5)

by Arthur Stone

  Beautiful.

  Cheater’s smile was widening into a predatory grin.

  The door blew open. Both pistols in Cheater’s hands started firing, driving bullet after bullet into his enemies. They weren’t coming empty handed. Someone’s protective shield reflected the damage back. Another player shot back. Some sort of combat fire magic flashed and flew towards Cheater, scattering into myriads of sparks the moment it touched his invincible flesh.

  A few seconds later, and the threshold was covered in dead and wounded soldiers.

  Cheater discarded the pistols, then hastily turned and kicked the bars from the window. Then, he tossed himself through. He clipped the top lip of the small window with his head, sending him spinning—but did not get hurt. Landing sideways on the concrete, he bounced off it like a rubber ball. Without needing to so much as shake his head, he rose to his feet and rushed off towards the nearest tower guarding the inner fortress. There were only two—the highest towers, placed on either side of all the military equipment. Floodlights illuminated everything, and sentries with heavy weaponry stood ready to destroy any invaders.

  The tower was a steel mast, build on reinforced concrete. A round platform covered with a conical weather-screen roof sat at the top. The only way up was an iron ladder with a hatch at the top.

  The sentinel, to his misfortune, decided to play hero. He opened the hatch and began shooting at Cheater with his machine gun. The fact that his first volley did nothing to deter the prisoner charging up the ladder must have come as a shock. Cheater drew his revolver and fired without bothering to aim. As usual, he hit the enemy square between the eyes.

  The guard dropped the assault rifle. Nimbly catching it as it fell, Cheater turned and emptied its ammunition on the Black Shirts running towards the tower. His Accuracy would take care of itself, and the number of corpses was not the main issue at hand.

  Time was what mattered.

  The only obstacle in Cheater’s path was the necessity to move as quickly as possible. Everything had to be done in this three minutes. Thankfully, his magic sword helped. He didn’t have it at the moment, but the powerful buff from the Unnamed One heightened his senses. And his Speed. He had to make good use of his Speed.

  Bullet!

  Bullet!

  Bullet!

  Bullet!

  Bullet!

  ...

  The blinking warning was getting on his nerves, and he had no idea how to disable it.

  Grasping the edge of the hatch, Cheater used his other hand to pull the sentry's body by his hair, throwing him down below. Leaping up onto the platform, he ignored the streams of incoming bullets. They ricocheted from his body now and then, or even flattened up against it. Thankfully, he could hardly feel the impact. The tiny sensation he did receive was the System informing him of the hits, all the while striving to prevent even the slightest negative effect from them.

  He had to spend several valuable seconds going through the weapons upstairs. A massive emplacement in the center held a swiveling machine gun. But how it swiveled, Cheater did not know. In its current position, the weapon was useless. It pointed outward, and there were no enemies on the outside. Yet.

  At last, he found a lock preventing the control lever from moving. He pulled the machine gun back along its guide rails and spun it.

  Now, Cheater could shoot up the entire courtyard, from the vehicles and equipment down to the parade grounds, where numerous black figures were leaping out of their barracks doors.

  Glancing down, Cheater grinned ominously. That’s a lot of ammo.

  The weapon would overheat before he ran out; even then, there were spare barrels at the ready.

  Cheater rained death down on the parade ground. It was an immense, open area, and quickly turned into a shooting gallery. The players were not even trying to zigzag, but were taking the shortest possible routes.

  It was a slaughter. Accuracy was not even required in this instance. Each 14.5 millimeter round was a death sentence. One hit to a limb, if it didn’t kill you instantly, would at least cripple you. Hit the enemy anywhere, and they’re out of the fight.

  After seven seconds of fire, the fortress garrison was a few dozen fighters weaker. The survivors attempted to hide among the vehicles or retreat to the barracks. After a little more shooting, Cheater swiveled the sight to the right. Something like an administrative complex sat by the wall. Several two-story buildings, huddled together, one of which had been his prison. In front of them, a tiny parking lot with a pair of armored SUVs. Most likely, this was the local Führer’s personal transportation.

  These windows were the source of the bulk of the incoming bullets. Only light weapons were involved, including handguns. But the line of sight was clear. After being so assaulted, the platform looking more like a sieve. Several times, the gun had been hit, and soon it would be disabled. So Cheater decided to take these heroes out.

  First, he activated Flash of Omniscience, highlighting everything that stood out. Now, the muzzle flashes no longer obscured the forms of the players behind them. Not all of the buildings were as thickly-walled as the prison. The builders had always built the second floor more economically, too. The machine gun could easily butcher the place. As long as he didn’t hit Clown.

  One of the bright colorful figures was his comrade, after all. He kept his location in mind—and hoped that no ricochet would affect him.

  As soon as he got to work, the world shook like it was hit with an industrial pulverizer. The other tower’s sentry had finally decided to wake up.

  Cheater turned to face him and silenced him. He saw a flash from the direction of the barracks. A grenade exploded overhead, damaging the metal roof severely.

  That earned the barracks a few more seconds of fire. They would hide or die. If they were allowed free rein, they would still be unable to kill Cheater, but they might blow up both the machine gun and the platform. It would be a pity to waste all of this ammo.

  He wanted to get back to the administrative complex, but then some sizable tracer rounds came in from the vehicles. Some inexperienced shooter had mounted an outdated self-propelled anti-aircraft gun and fired up all four of its guns. Their caliber was tiny, but it could damage the tower.

  Cheater turned the machine gun towards this new target and returned fire. Steel-core bullets were quite effective against light armored vehicles. They shredded the guns. Then, they shredded a group of Black Shirts running between the vehicles. Five were mown down, and the gas tank of a nearby truck was shot full of holes. It didn’t explode, as it would in the movies, but it let out a satisfying plume of fire.

  Then, something serious blinked at the edge of the square, and the world disappeared.

  Cheater was lost in space. There was no machine gun, no platform, and no rushing figures. Just chaotic, blurry lines on all sides. He was falling.

  He bounced off the concrete, still invulnerable, and saw that only the mast and portions of the ladder were left of his tower. At last realizing what was happening, he stood up without effort. He couldn’t believe it.

  For a man who had just been shot at from a tank at point blank range, Cheater was doing great. There was not a scratch on him. His clothing was damaged, but not too badly. It should have been torn off of him by now, by bullets and shrapnel and blast waves, but it only sported a few holes. Everything pressed against his skin seemed protected—only wrinkles and other free-flying pieces of his wardrobe could be damaged.

  A Black Shirt jumped him and fired point blank from his machine gun. To no avail, of course. The man’s face twisted in amazement. Cheater grabbed for his side, but the submachine gun taken from the quasi wasn’t there. But in his belt, he found the revolver, which had miraculously survived.

  Snatching it out, he killed the shooter, along with three more jumping out of the barracks. Rushing past a dead quasi, he picked up a light machine gun without slowing down, and started firing on the run. At the same time, he activated Flash of Omniscience, investigating a
very interesting building. It was there that the VIP vehicles had been parked.

  Just what I need.

  Cheater’s ammo ran out when he burst through the door. Switching back to his revolver, he ascended the stairs, emptying it, too. But he managed to claim a new submachine gun from a downed soldier, and used it to take out the rest of the guards, who foolishly thought they could shoot him to death.

  On the second floor, he took out a serious of locking bolts illuminated by Flash of Omniscience. Then, he kicked the door open.

  Shots rang out. Bugle clutched his pistol with both hands and fired bullet after bullet, standing in front of a wall decorated with some sort of dramatic emblem.

  Cheater grinned and shot the bastard in the knees, intent on making him suffer. The Devils’ leader did not even move.

  Cheater shot another volley at his groin. Nothing. The bullets damaged his pants a bit, and ricocheted around to damage the office, but he was unharmed.

  Bugle grinned and stopped firing.

  “I love these Shards of Invulnerability you gave us. I just used one. A little after you, I’m afraid.”

  The Führer’s smile stretched wider. “Gave you?” That’s not the word I’d use. Of course the man was smiling. If his shard activated later, it would expire later.

  Cheater checked his timer. In 25 seconds, his 3 minutes would be up. But when he had barged in, Bugle was already invulnerable. He had only 30 seconds, of course, having used the shard without the benefit of the buff.

  Cheater turned and destroyed a couple of black shirts running up the stairs, then turned back to Bugle. “I’ll wait, then.”

  The dictator held his pistol at the ready and nodded. “Me too.”

  They counted the seconds. Cheater activated Omniscience and, when he saw no one else was coming up, he used the pause to warn Clown.

  He hurriedly scribbled off a message.

  Cheater:

  In the unlikely event that you’re getting bored, try building a little house out of the heads. Things are about to get much more fun.

  He doubted his friend was watching the chat, but he might as well take the opportunity to warn him.

  Of course, the only appropriate warning would have been to build a little house out of concrete, not out of rotten heads.

  If that would even help.

  The timer counted down. Shortly, Bugle would be defenseless. If Cheater’s calculations were right, he would have about 6 seconds. He would finish the enemy off right away. Forget the suffering part—there was no time. Bullying had never been his forte, anyway.

  Just surviving, and killing.

  He shot. The man’s defense held.

  He was about to shoot again when the chaos returned. Rotating through the air, surrounded by boulders and debris, he marveled that the garrison had dared to fire at its own leader’s home.

  Was it a tank shot again? Or perhaps the self-propelled artillery gun was online?

  Coming to rest on a pile of debris, Cheater immediately jumped up. Reflexively. He could not allow himself to be buried—that would end his rampage.

  Shards of Invulnerability were powerful, but they did not make you omnipotent. He would never be able to move a mountain of rubble.

  The world began different, somehow. Louder. More painful to his ears. The colors became brighter. Even without his timer, Cheater knew—this was it.

  He was a vulnerable mortal once again.

  The smoke and dust began to clear, and Cheater saw Bugle a few steps away, buried in debris. He was still invulnerable when the rubble had covered him. But his protection had expired, then, and everything went to hell. A heavy beam crushed his chest. The Devil’s eyes were popping out of his face—and that was hardly exaggeration.

  Cheater had lost his submachine gun in the blast, but he didn’t mind. There was no need for a final shot to the dictator’s face.

  Another rumble came from somewhere very close, pushing his eardrums into his skull. The pile of debris began to shift and sway underfoot, like a raging ocean.

  Through gaps in the walls, Cheater saw something fast and mysterious flickering among the wisps of smoke.

  Realizing what was happened, he reached into his pocket. It was gone. But the desire to retrieve an object was what mattered to the System. He felt in his palm the item he sought.

  A ball woven, as it were, of hard threads.

  Note: Challenge Token activated. Consumable. In approximately 60 seconds, a duel zone will appear around you, and a group of feral tribal Shgrazqu will appear. Prepare to battle!

  Cheater bent over and began climbing out of the ruins. His invulnerability was gone, and there was a long cooldown before he could activate it again. He seemed to have no chance at survival. Two serious forces would attack him, and each knew very well how to kill him. In addition, the fortress garrison was only wounded; there were plenty of soldiers, still, and all were furious at their prisoner.

  Somewhere near the door, he looked for two bodies.

  The two guards he had shot when he burst in. He needed their weapons. He would take as many as he could with him.

  The Nold would have limited time to cut through the mess and saw off his arm, or whatever else the freak intended. Otherwise, Cheater would turn to dust.

  He failed to reach the bodies whose weapons he intended to loot. Something flashed in the smoky sky, and a huge, invisible being slammed into his cheat, throwing him back several yards and slamming him into the wrecked wall. His vision went black.

  Chapter 33

  Life Nine. Clash of the Giants

  Death had decided to wait. The blow didn’t even cripple him. It simply threw him against the wall and then rushed about in the skies once more, flashing brightly now and then. Each flash was followed by a new explosion, throwing up generous portions of smoke into the sky and making the earth shudder.

  Cheater slid down heavily onto the splintered floorboards. He lay on the floor, staring upwards. The blow had him stunned, but he knew he had to regain his senses.

  It was like getting knocked out in a heavyweight fight.

  Something elusively quick flashed past a gap again. A dark, elongated object enclosed in a soap bubble shimmering with all the colors of the rainbow. Tracers from the square chased the UFO, hitting it now and then. This anti-aircraft gun was obviously operated by a pro, not by the cross-eyed brat who had attempted to destroy Cheater’s tower.

  But no pro could defeat the Elite Nold. Cheater saw the shells explode against the surface of the bubble, and the object continued as if nothing had happened. Then, a bright flash and another explosion, and the tracers stopped.

  Something collapsed nearby, spraying Cheater with dust and small debris. It jerked him into pulling himself together. Rising to his feet with great difficulty, he walked.

  One step. Two. Three.

  About thirty steps in, Cheater realized that this wall was abnormally long. It must be the fortress wall itself, not the wall of the destroyed building.

  He used Flash of Omniscience twice to verify his assumption. The first time, he highlighted people. The second, objects standing out. The overall picture was complex, but generally comprehensible. He smiled to see a familiar object, not so far away. It was one of the very first things that Flash of Omniscience had revealed to him.

  Cheater also saw a man heading straight for him. Someone else from the fortress garrison, heading along the wall.

  There was nowhere for this man to go—behind Cheater there was only a dead end, littered with debris. Thankfully, the body of an armed guard was a couple of steps ahead. Cheater crouched down, seized the machine gun, and without rising shot the Black Shirt, who still could not be seen with his normal vision. He immediately coughed as a sharp gust of wind drove a plume of especially acrid smoke straight into his face.

  The same wind, however, cleared the wall area quickly. A fire among the equipment was causing havoc with the local air patterns. Flames whirled and danced. They gave light to the scene of the
battlefield.

  Cheater turned and shot another Black Shirt who had climbed out of the debris and was taking aim. Then, another appeared.

  And Cheater’s gun only clicked. Either it misfired, or he was empty, and either way, he was done. He prepared Tranquility—but then, something unexpected happened.

  The world began to sway behind his enemy, as though the fabric of spacetime were coming apart at the seams. A moment later, a figure with backwards legs stepped out of the void. The sound of gunfire and the swing of a halberd came at the same moment. Cheater jerked as he caught a bullet in the thigh, and the Black Shirt screamed as he was cut in half. The massive blade severed his spine in a single sweep.

  The gray creature jumped from the pile of debris, walked past Cheater as if past an object of no importance, then hissed and rushed on with inhumanly powerful jumps, brandishing its monstrous weapon.

  Note: Duel zone activated. The tribe will cleanse the zone of strangers.

  Really? That was an interesting tidbit. Despite the wound he had just received, Cheater could not resist another grin. The grays would kill all of the extraneous spectators. He had planned that the creatures’ appearance would lead to new losses, but he had not imagined they would be so extensive.

  A nice bonus.

  As he rose, though, he nearly howled in pain. Favoring his shot leg, he moved towards the bisected body that had shot him and searching for ammunition.

  Where is it? Had the man shot Cheater with his last bullet? He had no spares?

  Look upwards, Cheater heard a strange sound. Something long and angular, pursued by tracers, landed along the far edge of the fortress courtyard. The behavior of the anti-aircraft gunner was the same as before. Perhaps the retaliatory strike had not killed him, but only silenced him for a time.

  Now, he was about to get it for real. Yet the Nold was having some kind of trouble with its magical soap bubble. It seemed that the defenses were weakening, and the barrage of shells was punching through to the creature’s physical body. Seeing them kill the Nold would be nice, but Cheater never thought that would happen. He recalled the words Watershed had uttered, and the man’s unshakable confidence that such an enemy could not be defeated.