Battle with the Wither King

by Mark Cheverton

  "It's a trap!" Karkan screamed. "Get back!"

  But it was too late. Just as the NPC soldiers emerged from the thick brush, the pile of TNT that was hidden under the gold blocks detonated. A massive ball of fire blossomed around the pile of shining metal, enveloping the withers within it's explosive petals and tearing their HP from their already charred bodies, destroying the entire horde and leaving behind a massive crater, sparkling nether stars falling to the ground like crystal rain. Slowly, water filled in the hole.

  "NOOOOOO!" Karkan screamed as he descended to look for any survivors.

  Just then, the warriors charged forward, hoping to catch the monster unaware. Unfortunately, they all felt it necessary to yell and scream some kind of impressive-sounding battle cry. But all it did was warn the wither king of their attack.

  The monster fired its flaming skulls at the attacking warriors, the projectiles taking a terrible toll. NPCs yelled out in pain as the wither effect overtook them, making it impossible to tell how much health they still had. A blue flaming skull exploded nearby and Watcher’s vision went fuzzy for a moment. He had no sense of feeling to his body, as if it had all gone numb, but he was still able to move. Unable to tell how much HP he’d lost in the attack, Watcher moved to a clump of shrubs and drew his bow. He glanced around the leafy block. Warriors were swinging their swords at the monster, jumping into the air in an attempt to hit the monster, but none could hit him. Karkan rose just high enough to be beyond their blade’s reach.

  Notching an arrow, he fired it at the floating monster, then instantly started to run. A skull wreathed in black flames crashed down where he had been standing, but he was already long gone. Quickly, the wither effect faded, and Watcher could tell he’d just taken a glancing blow; his heath was OK, for now.

  The jungle had become a scene of chaotic destruction as flaming skulls from Karkan flew in all directions. Across the river, Watcher stared in horror as two black skulls, then a blue one smashed into Carver, striking him directly in the chest. It knocked him to the bank of the river, his HP nearly exhausted. For the first time in his life, he saw fear fill the big NPC’s eyes. Carver was afraid he was going to perish in the jungle, no not afraid . . . terrified.

  Here was an enemy slowly floating toward Carver, and none of the stocky NPC’s booming insults, nor bullying, nor muscles, nor anything could intimidate the king of the withers. It was clear, Carver was terrified beyond thought, and all he could do was crawl behind a bush and hide.

  Suddenly, realization dawned on Watcher; he and Carver were alike. They both knew what it was like to be afraid, but they also knew what it meant to care for those around him. Watcher knew the big NPC was scared not just for himself, but also for the villagers that were relying on him, and if he were destroyed, then he couldn’t protect everyone.

  If Carver could be afraid, like me, Watcher thought, then maybe I can be strong and brave, like him.

  Waving his bow in the air, he signaled to the other Invisibles.

  “Everyone together,” he yelled.

  Quickly he ran as a flaming skull descended on his position.

  “Now.”

  He drew his arrow, aimed and fired. Pulling another arrow out of his inventory, Watcher fired again and again, then ran as the other Signifs fired and sprinted as well. Fifteen arrows streaked toward Karkan. The first wave hit him. And, as expected, he tried to rise upward, away from the ground. But Watcher and his friends had anticipated that. Their second shot was aimed a little higher, and the third even higher. The king of the withers moved into their maelstrom of pointed shafts, roaring in frustration as he flashed red, taking damage.

  Watcher ran through the jungle, jumping from bush to bush. When there was an opening toward the wither, he fired three quick shots. The rest of the Signifs were doing the same, running and firing. All of them knew if they stood still, they didn’t have a chance.

  Quickly, he moved through the jungle, trying to get closer to Carver. He paused to shoot, then sprinted. Skulls smashed into the undergrowth, not where he’d been but a little ahead. It was clear the monster had figured out their strategy of run and shoot and was trying to guess where the villagers would be, but Karkan always underestimated the speed of the Signifs. With the bright-green, lightweight leather armor, they were impossible to see. And as the NPCs were especially light themselves, they were also fast, much faster than a fully armored villager.

  Roars of pain erupted from the falls, followed by an explosion as a flaming skull smashed into the jungle to his left. One of the Signifs had landed a critical shot, their arrow taking HP from the ashen beast.

  Watcher spotted a tall tree near the falls. He knew the wither king would be trying to get even higher in the air, so it could escape, but Watcher wasn’t going to allow that.

  “Signifs, to the trees!” the lanky boy yelled, then sprinted to the huge junglewood.

  Grabbing hold of the vines, he started to climb, moving quickly up the trunk as if he were part spider. Watcher knew they had to destroy Karkan or he’d come back again and again until he destroyed their village. He wasn’t sure how many warriors were still alive down there on the jungle floor, but they were still at risk. They had to end this . . . fast.

  I hope Carver and the others are alright, Watcher thought as he climbed the tree. But with the onslaught of skulls at the jungle floor, he couldn’t imagine how they could have survived.

  Something made a sound below him, but the lanky youth couldn’t stop to look. If one of the other withers that had survived the blast of TNT and was now stalking him, there was nothing he could do. If he pulled out his bow to shoot at the creature, he’d fall and likely not survive. There was nothing he could do right now other than climb and stop Karkan.

  He climbed higher and higher until he reached the leafy canopy. Holding onto a limb, he pulled out an axe and began hacking away at the leaves, creating a small tunnel through which he could climb. He inched up slowly, the sound beneath him getting closer and closer.

  Chopping as fast as he could, Watcher finally made it to the top of the junglewood tree. When he stood up, he could see all the other Signifs poking their heads upon their trees, bows in their hands, arrows notched. But when he turned to face the king of the withers, he found Karkan facing him, all three skulls staring straight at Watcher.

  He had nowhere to run and no place to hide. The young boy was completely exposed. Slowly, he reached for his bow, but when Karkan saw the movement, all three heads fired their flaming skulls.

  Fear exploded within Watcher, igniting every nerve with flame. Terror and dread paralyzed him as the three skulls plummeted toward him, seemingly in slow motion. He noticed the center skull was a grayish-blue compared to the other, darker ones. That was a strange thing to notice right before one’s death. The sound of leaves crunching met his ears, but he did not bother to turn. His life was about to end, and he’d given up. Watcher’s moment of bravery was gone, only to be replaced by destruction.

  All he could do was stand there and watch the flaming skulls approach. . . and wait.

  Chapter 10 – Iron

  Suddenly, a flash of iron shot past Watcher as Carver sprinted across the treetop and stood before the young boy. He lifted his large rectangular shield and held it before him. Reaching out with his other arm, Carver grabbed Watcher by the collar and pulled him close.

  Just then, the flaming skulls smashed into the shield, pushing his backward just a little. Carver dug his iron boots into the leaves and held his ground. Cracks formed on the shield as the projectile damage tore into the metallic rectangle, but the shield held.

  Karkan roared in frustration, his hollow, mournful wail echoing across the jungle and making the surface of the Overworld quake in fear.

  “Now! Do your archer thing,” Carver said as he pushed Watcher forward.

  The lanky NPC was confused.

  I’m alive! I’m ALIVE! And Carver saved me.

  “Quick, fire that bow before it’s too late!”

/>   His brain was working again.

  “Significants,” Watcher yelled “OPEN FIRE!”

  Watcher notched an arrow and fired at the monster. At the same time his four friends emerged from their hiding places in the treetops. They all stood, confident and proud, and added their pointed shafts to the assault.

  A wave of arrows flew through the air and struck the monster. Before it could launch another deadly attack, they fired again and again. Karkan, realizing he was taking damage, did what all withers do. But the monster had already taken damage and was getting weak. He tried to rise, but found his strength faltering.

  “YEAH!” Carver shouted. “Keep firing! Let him have it.”

  Their arrows streaked up into the air, many striking the monster.

  “Watcher, I’m running out,” Farmer yelled.

  “M-m-me too.” Saddler added.

  “We almost have him destroyed,” Watcher said to Carver. “But if we run out of arrows before we finish off his HP, we’re doomed.”

  “Let me see if I can take a bug chunk out of him,” Carver said.

  “What?”

  But the big NPC didn’t answer. Instead, he lifted his iron sword over his head, holding the handle with two hands. He then leaned back and threw the razor sharp blade directly at the wither king. The shining blade tumbled end over end like a spinning silver meteor. It then struck the dark monster in the chest, carving a huge chunk of HP from the monster.

  “FINISH HIM OFF!” Carver shouted.

  The Signifs fired at the beast. The wither king yelled in frustration as he flashed red over and over again. And then, with a final, hollow wail, the monster disappeared with a pop, his Crown of Skulls and a gigantic nether star falling to the ground.

  “We d-d-did it!” Saddle yelled from her tree.

  “I knew we could do it!” Farmer shouted.

  “Yes,” Watcher said.

  He turned to look at his friends. They all stood strong and proud on their trees, bows held high over their heads in victory. Watcher then looked up at Carver.

  “It seems you dropped your sword,” he said to the big NPC.

  Carver looked down at Watcher, his face stoic and emotionless. But then something happened that the young villager had never seen in his life. A grin slowly formed on the big NPC’s face. Reaching out, he enveloped Watcher in his big arms and hugged him tight.

  “Sometimes, warriors don’t use swords or wear big, heavy armor,” Carver said. “Sometimes, they use bows, and they use their brain; that’s something another warrior taught me recently.” His smile grew bigger. “Maybe a soldier shouldn’t be measured with blades and metal and muscles, but with courage and the size of their heart.”

  Watcher was about to speak when Carver continued.

  “And maybe a real warrior would rather be who they are, instead of changing to just be accepted. I was wrong to mistreat you and your friends.” He released the lanky boy and stepped back. “I learned something important today, and I hope you did too.”

  “Me . . . what should I have learned?”

  “That you shouldn’t change who you are just to fit in. Watcher needs to be the best Watcher he can be,” he turned and faced the other Signifs, “and Farmer should be Farmer, and Saddler, and Weaver, and Harvester. You should all be who you were meant to be, regardless of what anyone else thinks.”

  “Hey . . . he knew our names!” Weaver shouted.

  “Yes, I knew them all along,” Carver confessed. “I just called you Insigs because . . . because . . .”

  “Because you were afraid?” Watcher asked.

  “Maybe.”

  “Well, you aren’t gonna call us Insigs anymore!” Watcher demanded.

  “Of course not,” Carver replied.

  “Because it’s not our name anymore!” Weaver shouted in a strong, clear voice.

  “It’s not? Then what is your name?”

  “Let’s all tell him,” Watcher said with a smile.

  “WE’RE THE SIGNIFICANTS!” they all shouted together.

  “That’s the best name ever!” Carver replied. “I want to be one too.”

  “Well . . . we need to see if you’re worthy first,” Watcher said with a smile. “You’ll have to prove yourself by doing a few things.”

  “Like what?” Carver asked.

  “Like this.”

  Watcher move to the edge of the treetop, then jumped off the edge. They were impossibly high, and no one could survive that fall.

  “WATCHER!” Carver screamed as he moved to the edge, worry creasing his boxy face.

  A splash sounded below as the young boy landed in the river that snaked its way through the jungle. The other Signifs laughed, then jumped off their trees, landing in the water far below. Carver moved cautiously to the edge of the tree and saw the water far below.

  “Come on!” Watcher yelled. “We do it all the time.”

  “But if I miss and hit the ground, I won’t survive,” Carver called back.

  “Then d-d-d-don’t m-m-miss,” Saddler yelled back with a smile.

  “You said you wanted to be a Significant,” Watcher said. “You gotta learn to face your fear, ‘cause we’re afraid of a lot.”

  Carver sighed. Then with a smile on his face, the big NPC jumped, laughing aloud as he fell.

  The End?

  If you liked this story, go to www.gameknight999.com and check for more short stories about Gameknight999 and his friends. Please feel free to distribute this story to your friends, or students, or colleagues, or anyone you think might enjoy it. As long as you are not trying to make money with this story, I’m happy that you give it out to anyone and everyone.

  Also, go to www.markcheverton.com to see information about all my other novels. They are available everywhere. My books have also been published in 23 countries, translated into 13 languages across the world and there are over a million copies in print.

  MCphoenix99 made the fantastic cover for this story. Check out his YouTube channel for some of his incredible speed art videos.

  Keep reading and watch out for creepers.

  Mark

  Gameknight999 Minecraft Network

  Below is an image from the building server on the Gameknight999 Minecraft Network. This is a public Minecraft server made for kids and readers of my books. We don’t tolerate bullying, cussing, stealing, griefing, or anything that hurts the community. As a result, people help each other, just as Watcher, Farmer, Weaver, Saddler, and Harvester would expect.

  This server was setup by our server/plugin/Minecraft ninja, quadbamber. Check out his YouTube channel; it’s called LBEGaming. He is a wizard with all things Minecraft and this server would not be possible without his hard work!

  There is a Survival server, Creative server, KitPvP server, Survival Games server, Paintball server, as well as others coming soon (TNT Defense maybe returning soon). Hopefully, by the time you read this story, we’ll have the Elytra Flying Server server up and running.

  The IP address for the Gameknight999 Minecraft server is: mc.gameknight999.com