He opened his eyes sometime later.
“Better than waking on the damn floor,” Erik snorted. He was still wearing his armor and boots.
He opened his stat sheet.
==========
Name: Erik West
==========
Level: 65
Race: Human-?
==========
Titles:
From the Grave II
Blessed By Mana
Dungeon Master V
Reverse Alchemist
Poison Body
Fire Body
City Lord III
Earth Soul
Mana Reborn
Wandering Hero
Metal Mind, Metal Body
Mortal Grade Bloodline
==========
Strength: (Base 90) +51
1410
==========
Agility: (Base 83) +77
880
==========
Stamina: (Base 93) +35
1920
==========
Mana: (Base 37) +94
1310
==========
Mana Regeneration (Base 40) +61
61.60/s
==========
Stamina Regeneration: (Base 142) +59
41.20/s
==========
“Time to go train some people,” Erik grunted and got up. “A shower might be useful.”
20
Counterattack
Cai Bo walked into the planning room.
Marco Tolentino turned around from the detailed map model he was studying.
Her eyes drifted over it, taking in key and familiar features.
“Elder Cai Bo.” Marco bowed his head slightly.
“Vuzgal city, some call it the Gem of the North.” She indicated to the map, putting it to their side as Marco pursed his lips, eyes flickering over it.
“It is on the higher end of cities in the Fourth Realm. Though they made a key mistake thinking that their reputation would make up for their defenses. What do you make of these?” Marco pointed to a desk which showed a scaled model of Vuzgal, the Battle Arena, workshops, various towers, the inner walls, and the bunkers along the outside of the city.
“We couldn’t get any information on the boxy buildings. We know there are people inside, but that is it. They don’t allow people to get close, and strong formations protect them from any sensing spells.”
Marco leaned on the table, looking at the bunkers. “They are a blind spot. Do you think that your numbers on the Vuzgal Defence Force are accurate?”
“They all wear the same gear. There is no way to know their numbers.”
“Thirty thousand.” Marco didn’t look up. “That is the estimated number of Blood Demon Sect bodies that could have been recovered. If what they did to Elder Sho is true, then they have at least fifty thousand undead soldiers. They’re slower and weaker than humans. They consume a massive amount of power, though they’re extra support. How many people join the military every training cycle?”
“There are around three thousand joining every month. We do not know where the Tiger Battalion’s main strength is located. Many think that the tigers and the Dragons are the same regiment to make them appear bigger than they are.”
“What do you think?” Marco asked, looking at her sideways.
“I think that it would be an incredible smokescreen to hold up for so many years.”
Marco smiled slightly. “Yes, their city lords are fighters, though they don’t care about how they achieve victory. In the fighting with the Blood Demon Sect, they employed unknown whistling weapons, magical traps that couldn’t be traced, along with ambushes. There were reports that they used weapons similar to the Sha. But they have only shown the repeater weapons. They didn’t directly attack the enemy until they had no choice but to do so. They were tens of levels lower than their adversary, but they leveled up rapidly in the fighting. These square buildings, they have a purpose.” Marco pulled out a piece of paper. It was a drawing of a repeater.
“They are low to the ground,” he continued, “with thin slits that would be hard to attack through. Bows are great from up high; see the enemy, aim, then attack. Their repeaters are powerful. Plus, they shoot fast. They must have a massive stockpile by now. These squat buildings, they’re built with the repeaters in mind. They can attack more people rapidly. The ground here…” Marco pointed to the area in front of the buildings. “It is sloped, giving them a height advantage. It is slight and discrete. Most people would miss it. We won’t know where their people are in these buildings. We can’t see anything. Even if we attack them, there are no external entrances. We’d need to breach them and clear them out individually, and there’s no knowing what’s underneath.”
Marco stood up, holding his chin, looking over the model.
Cai Bo was interested. She felt she could work with someone like him. Seems his father may not have been boasting as much as I thought. “Just what do you think of Vuzgal?” she asked.
“It is best to fight an enemy you understand. Vuzgal has many mysteries.” His faraway look focused on Cai Bo. “I’m sorry, Elder. I was lost in my thoughts. What did you want to discuss?”
“We made contact with a local resource. He can get the city lords to the north and west of Vuzgal to let us use their totems. Guides toward Vuzgal, hidden in the woods. He can also create chaos with the traders under his control.”
Marco nodded. “Good. That should make it easier to launch our opening attack. They’ll know we’re coming because we have to warn the crafters and others to leave the city. We can crush the city, but if we piss off the powers behind the crafters, we’ll be worse off than when we started.”
“We still believe that the Adventurer’s Guild and Vuzgal are working together.” Cai Bo held her breath.
“It would be good to assume that they are the same force.”
Cai Bo was a little stunned, thinking that he would rebuff her idea.
“We have hidden forces. Why can’t other groups? It isn’t that strange. We underestimated the Guild, and now they are leading the war against our cities. They have even claimed several, breaching the walls and cutting paths into the city centers. They even tried tunneling and all manner of other ways.”
“What is your plan?”
“Siege. Under the pressure, their secrets will have to come out, one by one. Then, with the sects’ armies added to our own armies, we will take Vuzgal.”
“That could take weeks.”
“I have plans to shorten that. We must seize the initiative or else the Willful Institute will collapse.”
There was a knock at the door.
“Come in!” Marco looked over. The door opened to reveal five armed and armored men and women. Each of them was a powerful instructor of the Institute. In these times, they were the leaders of the different armies.
They came in, bowing ninety degrees to Cai Bo, then gave Marco a shorter bow.
“We have come as commanded,” said a woman with long green hair that clashed with her purple eyes. She wore gold and silver armor that showed off her figure. Her hand rested delicately on the sword at her hip.
Sword instructor Feng Dan.
Behind her was a tall man with a fine mustache wearing armored caster’s robes. Another shorter, well-muscled man, with a mohawk and a beard that started at the tops of his ears, stood next to the caster. At the rear was an unremarkable man wearing beast hide armor, with a bow on his back and daggers on his hips. His dull grey eyes took in the entire room. The last was another woman. She had whips on either hip. Her red hair was pulled back into a single braid that ran down her back; a blade had been tied to the end of it.
“Mobilize your units. In nine days, we will be attacking Vuzgal.”
“’Bout time we got to do something,” Onam, the mohawked, muscled man said.
Sergeant Bai Ping of the Dragon Regiment grunted as he sat on the broken wall. Adventurer’s Guild parties dotted the
courtyard. Squads were up in the buildings or on the roofs, watching for attackers.
Bai Ping surveyed his party. They’d cleaned their weapons. Some were napping while others were eating or drinking water.
He pulled off his helmet and set it to the side. He wished he could use his body armor. This Ten Realms armor is restricting as hell.
“What’s our next move?” Bradley, a man that had aged years in just weeks, asked Bai Ping.
“The Institute turned this place into a death trap. Spell traps all over the place. Got some tunnels we found as well. City is so damn big it's going to take time to clear it all.”
“House by house.” Bradley nodded in understanding.
“Fuck, that could take weeks!” Rana threw a rock she had been playing with at the wall.
“Slow and steady.” Bai Ping pulled out a canteen, drinking from it.
A man walked over to the group.
Bai Ping lowered his canteen with a smile. “Well, well, well! Look who the war dragged in. You testing out some new armor?” Bai Ping laughed, standing up.
“Heard you needed a hand.” Sergeant Bolton smiled as the two clasped arms and hugged.
“You been here long?”
“Two weeks or so,” Bolton said as Bai Ping indicated for them to move over to the side.
“How’re things back home?”
“Good. The old man is focusing on the defensive. There could be more action at Vuzgal. Other sects and groups see that the Associations aren’t with us and all that.”
“Do you think it’ll come to anything?”
“This is the Ten Realms, buddy. If someone thinks they can steal it from your cold corpse, they’ll have a blade in your back the next second.”
Bai shook his head.
“You got people there?” Bolton asked.
“Yeah, most of my family.”
“They staying?.”
“Vuzgal gave us everything. They aren’t going to leave unless someone’s battering the damn door down.”
“Shit.” Bolton’s words came off as praise.
“Yeah, we’re a stubborn bunch. What about you?”
“I ain’t got nothing waiting for me. Just feel sorry for leaving you sorry bastards behind. How’s it been up here for you?”
Bai Ping rubbed the back of his neck. “Shitty, and it’s gotten worse. Traps and ambushes all over the place. Institute members fighting to the very end. We might rag on them, but they’re good fighters. Now there is nowhere to go but to die. They’re vicious bastards. Had several detonate their cultivation just to take out more of my people. It's slowed us down.”
“What do you think is going to happen to Vuzgal? If it gets hit?” Bolton asked.
“I know one thing, if we have to pull back everything, the Institute is going to come out of their holes, add in more traps, and make it ten times harder to take these places. I wish we had just bombed the shit out of the place and fucked off.”
“That ain’t gonna happen, not while there are innocent people in the cities.”
“Yeah.”
“Do you think they would call us all back?”
“Nah, I don’t think they’ll call the Adventurer’s back.”
“Why?”
“They’re a formidable fighting force. They aren’t the Alvan military, but I’d trust them to watch my back. As time has gone on, there’re fewer Alvans in the command structure and more of the Adventurers. They’re pulling it together.”
“So, you think we’ll go back to defend, and the Guild would keep fighting?”
“I think that’s the way it has to be. If it isn’t, we’ll lose all the progress we’ve made.” Bai pulled out his canteen again.
“You think that we’ll be cleared for all weapons?”
“I ain’t a Colonel. I don’t know that.” Bai chuckled.
“Just wondering. Those railguns are a little terrifying.”
“You get issued one?”
“Yeah.” Bolton’s mouth spread in a smile. “Fresh out the factory, man. Sweet as fuck.”
“All right, get ready to move, we’ve got houses to clear and Institute fucks to kill!” a group leader said as he walked through the units, getting someone lower down the totem to pass the message on.
Soldiers complained and muttered, storing their gear and pulling on their armored helmets.
“Looks like we’re heading out.” Bai held out his hand. Bolton shook it.
“Catch you later, brother.” He headed off toward his own party in the courtyard.
Mistress Mercy looked outside the carriage as she arrived in Henghou city. The headquarters of the Willful Institute were filled with schools, academies, training squares. Crafters, fighters, and people from all over the realms wished to enter this city. She passed through the streets.
As she got closer to the Willful Institute, there was less traffic and more guards. She passed through several checkpoints before she reached her destination. Unwilling to wait, she opened her carriage door and jumped down. She walked as quickly as possible to the main entrance.
“Identity, purpose of visit.”
“Mercy Luo to see High Elder Cai Bo. Information gathering.” She pulled out a medallion. They checked it, then took a sample of her blood before letting her pass.
She stepped onto a rising platform. The formation powered up, accelerating it upward.
It wasn’t long before the platform slowed and the door opened. She walked through, passing another checkpoint, finally reaching Elder Cai Bo’s office. A guard announced her through his voice transmission device.
He listened for a few moments before opening the door.
Mercy’s pace faltered as she looked around the room. It had always been immaculate before, with only a few items inside. Now, there were three planning tables. A model of Vuzgal with flags of different colors spread across the city. There were also maps on the walls showing arrows and directions from surrounding cities toward Vuzgal.
Another wall showed the leadership of Vuzgal. There were rough images of two men wearing masks at the peak. Chonglu was underneath. Domonos was in parallel with rough information and people across the wall.
Cai Bo talked to a mustachioed man wearing casting robes.
Mercy closed her mouth as Cai Bo glanced over, continuing her conversation with the man. “These locations will need to be altered for passage. Once you have them, they will give the elevation to the siege weaponry to hit Vuzgal well outside their range.”
“They won’t have a chance to counterattack. We’ll have almost twice the range of our Journeyman siege weaponry. I have other things I need to attend to, High Elder.” He bowed to Cai Bo and turned to leave the room.
Mistress Mercy bowed to the man deeply.
He paid her no attention as he walked out of the room.
Mistress Mercy held out her cupped fists to Cai Bo.
“Stand up. What did you find out?”
“Chonglu used to be a city lord in the First Realm. The Silaz family has mostly disappeared. Only one family member remains. He is a big trader within a nearby rising kingdom.” It all spilled from Mercy’s lips.
“Clearly, something is happening down there.” Cai Bo frowned. “There are plenty of Institute members from the lower realms that can be put to use. The lower realms don’t get information from the higher realms. Get the kingdoms in the First Realm to join you. Use them as cover for our people. Attack this kingdom and bring me this remaining Silaz.”
“Yes, High Elder Cai Bo.” Mercy paused.
“What is it?”
“I feel there is something hiding in the Beast Mountain Range. I was only able to scratch the surface.”
“Are you scared?” Cai Bo’s eyes narrowed.
“No, High Elder!” Mercy bowed again with her clasped hands. “The more information I have found the more questions I have.”
“It is good to have questions, but it is also good to know when to follow orders. Go and destroy this kingdom. It will be a g
reat opportunity for you to gain standing within the Institute.”
“Yes, High Elder!”
21
A Change of State
“How are you feeling today?” Erik asked Kim Cheol who was sitting in a chair next to his bed, hooked up to an IV drip, looking out of the window at Alva.
“Stronger since last time, but just achy.”
Erik checked his charts. “You been sleeping well?”
“Off and on. The pain can wake me up in the middle of the night.”
“I’m hesitant to use sleep aids and painkillers. The body can become too reliant on them.” Erik flipped the papers back down and hooked the clipboard back up.
“Ah, I knew what I was doing when I did it. I made it through, which was more than I was expecting.”
“And you’ll be using that shield soon enough if I have anything to do with it.” Erik grabbed Kim Cheol’s wrist.
Scan.
Erik had hoped to heal Kim with the same pill that his teacher had created for Rugrat, but Kim’s mana system had been crippled. More than that, his bones were fractured. His entire body was a wreck. Instead of healing him, the pill would kill him. Painkillers and stamina drips sustained him. Too long without either, and he would quickly regress.
Anywhere else, they would have discarded him as a waste of resources and squandered talent. He was nearly impossible to heal and would take an astronomical amount of resources to do so. But this was Alva, and Erik took his oaths and promises seriously.
“How do I look, Doc?”
“You’re one of the few people that I would say your interior is scarier than your exterior. You could still crack a mirror with your smile.” Erik smiled, hiding his frustration and guilt. “Thankfully, we’ve been developing our techniques and understanding of a human’s body in the Ten Realms. Your body is a mess, but with time and concoctions, you will recover and be stronger than ever.”
“Good thing I was never much of a mage,” Kim grinned.
“Well, there’s no knowing if you won’t be able to use mana. Today, I’m going to remove your scar tissue and the blood clots that keep forming. With that out of the way, your body should heal faster. The concoctions will help you heal, followed by earth tempering to get your natural regeneration to peak. Your body will be stronger than ever. You will then naturally start to rebuild your mana channels.”
Seventh Realm Part 1: A LitRPG Fantasy series (The Ten Realms Book 8) Page 24