After our words, Gil went and walked over to Levi and Behemoth. Since both of them as our tanks would be handling the brunt of our defenses, Gil would want to hash out the tiny details with them. I left him to his strategizing and went to talk with the rest of the team.
I didn’t want to risk any one of my friend’s lives if I could help it. That made talking to Adam and Markos priority one. Since Markos was back at the castle, I went to find Adam. He was standing with Evelyn, talking amongst themselves.
“Adam,” I said as I walked over to him, realizing that I’d inadvertently interrupted whatever Evelyn had been telling him. “Sorry, Evelyn,” I said quickly as anger crossed her eyes, but it faded, and she inclined her head, letting me know I was forgiven.
“What do you need?” Adam asked.
“You have any tricks up your sleeves?” I asked. “I don’t want to take any risks here.”
Adam was quiet for a moment, staring off into space before turning and giving me a small smile.
“Oh, yeah, I have a new creation that I just made and have been dying to test out. Also have a few smaller beasts that I caught recently,” Adam said with a wild look in his golden eyes. He was lost in thinking about his babies.
As similar as the pair looked, Adam was different to his sister in nearly every capacity, kind and funny where Evelyn was cold and calculating. I considered Adam a steadfast friend. Though they’re both batshit crazy in their own twisted way, at least Adam doesn’t leave my ribs broken.
As our unofficial engineer, summoner, and beast tamer, if it could be crafted, hatched, summoned, or tamed, Adam was master of them all.
I left Evelyn to her own devices since she didn’t need any input on how to kick ass. Besides, as my still-sore ribs could attest, anything other than the most basic of conversations with her tended to go south quickly.
Need to talk to Mark. Pulling up my interface and selecting the map, Markos’s name appeared at the castle gates. He was making his way toward us, and I decided to meet him halfway, jogging up the hill as he came into view.
“Ah, how kind of fate to ordain this chance encounter, Duran,” Markos spoke, slightly out of breath from his run. “I needed to speak with you when I arrived at the field of battle.”
“Wouldn’t want to inconvenience fate any further,” I said, letting him catch his breath before speaking again.
“Makenna wanted me to pass these along,” he said, pulling out several small vials of dark liquid.
I picked one up carefully before inspecting it. Knowing Makenna, she could have brewed any manner of potent poisons. Reading the description told me the contents—crater snake venom—I shuddered. I don’t even want to know how she obtained this.
“I’m guessing she picked these up on her recent outing to the ruins of Machine City?”
“More than likely, though she is far braver than I to tempt the fates so,” Markos said, eyeing the brackish liquid sloshing in the vials.
Harvesting the venom from them was incredibly dangerous, though knowing Makenna, she’d probably had a blast doing it. I also wouldn’t put it past her to have kept a few of the snakes as pets in her room. I’ll need to talk to her about that.
“Remind me to give her my thanks, though I’m guessing she’s sitting this one out?”
“Ah, yes. Yes, she is. Her talents, like mine, are not suited for open combat.”
“Figured,” I said. Damn, that puts us even more outnumbered, but what was I expecting? “Anyway, stay out of the fight and focus on healing, got it?”
He nodded, though I didn’t know how much registered past the constant funhouse party in his head. I bid farewell to the quirky mage and went to where Yumiko was setting up. She seemed to be deciding on what bow to use for the coming fight, having several laid out in neat rows. I tapped her on the shoulder, and she jumped, stifling a squeak before she whirled around to glare at me.
“Godsdamnit, D, you scared the hell out of me!” she said.
Usually soft-spoken, Yumiko could have a mouth dirtier than any sailor when she was frightened or angry.
Her small stature was also in complete contrast to her mouth. She was petite with gorgeous olive skin that had paled sharply recently, and she had a cute, oval face with lips the color of cherry blossoms. Yumiko kept her long black hair tied back into a ponytail to stay out of her face while in battle, which showcased her newest feature: her bright crimson eyes.
“What do you want, you sneaky bastard?” she grumbled.
“Hey, now, don’t be like that. Especially since I’ve come bearing gifts.”
I tossed her the bottle of venom. She caught it one-handed, not even glancing at it before glaring at me.
“The fuck is this?”
“Well, if you would stop cursing me and read it, maybe you’d find out.”
She harrumphed and looked down at the little glass bottle for a moment. I knew she’d found out what it was when she visibly paled, quite a trick for her. “Wh-what the hell? Where the fuck did you get this? And why the hell are you just tossing it around so casually, you clumsy shit?” she yelled her questions in rapid succession.
“Consider it a gift from Makenna.”
Her stare could wilt flowers from fifty paces. “Well, no shit, it’s from her. Who the fuck else would be willing to get close to those creepy-ass things? What I want to know is what the fuck do you expect me to do withgo, I get it,” she said. Her eyes lit up as she comprehended my plan. The glint in her eye turned diabolical. “An arrow poisoned with crater venom, that’ll ruin someone’s day, all right.”
I smiled, tossing her the last couple of vials. “Several somebodies, I’m hoping. You have fun with those.”
I walked off, leaving her to her preparations, and glanced at the incoming guild. They were close. Maybe two minutes out now. It was time to get in position.
We had nine of us against thirteen since Markos and Makenna would be sitting out of the actual fighting. Which left us outnumbered in terms of sheer numbers. Our abilities and levels, however, would bridge the gap and even the playing field quite nicely, especially since we wouldn’t be fighting fair in the slightest.
I received a ping on my interface. It was Harper, letting me know he had reached his flanking position. With that, we were as ready as we could have been. All that was left was our skill in battle and a little luck.
I smiled at my friends, my family, as we stood side by side and went to war.
Chapter 7 - War Is The Answer
The enemy advanced quickly, pushing their mounts hard. Multiple hues of brown to gray told me that the horses were regular mounts: no rainbow unicorns or the four horses of the apocalypse heading our way.
When they were within the range of Yumiko’s arrows, she pinged me, and I sent back two pings in rapid succession, letting her know to hold off. The enemy didn’t seem to be reaching for their weapons just yet, so I let them approach. Suits me just fine if they want to talk first. Gives me time to better prepare our ambush.
As the thirteen players arrived, they slowed to a stop a few dozen yards from us and dismounted their horses, fanning out in an attack formation not unlike our own. From their weapons and armor, they held a decent mix of roles. I counted four warrior types and two archers, though one wielded a crossbow, which was unusual.
They also had two tanks, two rogues, and two mages, but I couldn’t tell what elemental aptitude they’d chosen. That left one guild member who I couldn’t place. He seemed to be the leader, and he bore the appearance of a king, with heavy golden armor that bore a familiar crest.
The Order of the Dawn.
I sighed. Of course, it would be them. Our paths had never officially crossed, but they held a reputation nearly as famous as ours was infamous.
Their leader walked out in front of the formation. His name was Richard, and he was as pompous as they came. Sporting blond hair that draped down his shoulders, it matched his armor almost too well. His ice-blue eyes held both contempt and superiority in th
em, and his high cheeks and pointed chin gave his face the resemblance of an arrowhead. Richard’s smile held a bitterness that matched his eyes perfectly.
He stood half a dozen yards from us and looked each one of us up and down before speaking, “Ah, the renowned Gloom Knights. I would say it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance, but why sully my mouth with a lie." His smile twisting with cruelty.
While everyone else focused on the bastard’s face, I watched his hands. His fingers twitched as he looked over at us, counting. I could easily tell what he was thinking. He was going to be overconfident since he outnumbered us.
“Seems you are missing a few of your retinue...what, they see us coming and run off?” Richard asked with a loud, forced laugh that caused the rest of his guild to chuckle meekly in response.
I smiled darkly at his ridiculous performance. ”They had other, more pressing matters to handle and couldn’t be bothered.”
His grin grew wider. “Ah, truly, that is a shame. I had hoped to round you all up at once and look at what you’re doing. Making us work extra hard to catch you, wicked deviants.”
Are they here bounty hunting? That didn't make sense. The Alliance didn’t hire mercenaries, preferring to rely on their soldiers, and they especially didn’t contract bounties to player guilds. The Compass Kingdom left such work to the Adventurers Guild.
If the Alliance was attempting to take our castle from us, having the Order arrive at the same time as the troops didn’t fit. The Order shouldn’t even be in the same company as the Alliance. Something else is going on here.
“Who the fuck hired you to bring us in?”
“My, my. The mouth on this one. Poor Durandahl. You don’t need to worry your head about these things; you’ll soon be parting with it,” Richard said.
I scowled as he said my full name. “Why don’t you and your friends ride on out of here, and we all forget this misunderstanding ever happened?”
Richard’s grin deepened. “Why would I do that when I have you right where I want you?” His gaze shifted, becoming something malicious and cruel. “Now, why don’t we dispense with these trivialities and get down to business?”
He spoke to all of us next.
“You can all surrender quietly, or I can kill most of you. I was only hired to bring back two of you alive. Every one of you has kill orders placed on your heads, so we get paid regardless if you’re dead or alive. It doesn’t matter to me.”
It was my turn to laugh. ”You think we would ever surrender to the likes of you? Think again, jackass.”
He shook his head, clearly displeased with my answer. I sent a mental ping to both Harper and Yumiko. It was time.
“I’ll admit, Durandahl. That was the answer I expected of you. Too stupid to take my most generous offer. I’m going to enjoy killing you, but I’d have spared your friends' lives if you had cooperated.”
“You and your guild can go to hell!” I yelled at him. “Gloom Knights, to war!”
Several things happened at once. Gil activated a couple of his abilities to start the fight off on a literal high note. His thundering War Cry rang out as if emphasizing my own battle cry, followed closely by a higher-pitched scream. Gil’s Stun Shout.
The members of the Dawn took on the appearance of statues frozen in motion. Both rogues were unaffected by the shout and disappeared in a puff of smoke. I figured they would be able to break the stun lock, and tried to keep track of them, but lost them in the thick cloud.
Harper and Yumiko, as soon as they heard my call to war, leapt out of their respective hiding spots and fired into the now frozen crowd. The smoke and tightly massed bodies made scoring head shots nearly impossible, so they didn’t even try for them, going for the easier body shots.
Yumiko used her venom-coated arrows to take out a few key targets, putting one in each of the mages. While not instantly fatal, the toxins would soon get to work, wreaking havoc on their organs. She tried to take out one of the rogues, but the arrow buried itself into the grass by the startled rogue’s feet.
Harper activated Black Sun Arrow. An ominous black glow pulsed off his bow as he raised it skyward. He released his arrow with a satisfying twang. As the shaft reached a certain height, it lost all its momentum and hung in the sky for the briefest second before changing course and flying back towards the earth. Just before the arrow hit the ground, it burst into hundreds of smaller arrows to pepper the helpless guild.
The small razor-sharp flechettes formed a cloud of hornets and indiscriminately pierced flesh and armor as they descended. Still afflicted by Gil’s shouts, the players couldn’t even cry out in pain. A hundred minuscule rivers of blood flowed from torn flesh to pool into a small lake at the feet of the guild.
Harper's attack landed with brutal efficiency. Bleeding will raise their fatigue, hopefully enough to stop them from using a few abilities.
By the time Harper and Yumiko finished their opening move, the effects of Stun Shout wore off, and the Dawn shook off our opening sneak attack. We’d surprised and panicked them, but they were professionals and quickly recovered, attempting to regroup in a defensive formation. We didn’t give them the chance.
Having used up the poison arrows, Yumiko followed Harper's lead. She took the gloves off and chained Tempest Shot with Multiply.
The salty scent of the ocean filled the air as she drew back her bow and released her arrow. It took on a pale blue ethereal light as it flew through the air, ice forming in its wake. When it reached the halfway point between us and the Dawn, Multiply took hold, and six identical copies of Tempest Shot struck home with the fury of Poseidon.
Ice rose in great sheets to tear into the guild. The jagged icicles ripped through the mages’ cloth and the light leather armor of the archers with ease. The ice steamed as warm blood poured down it like an ocean adding to the rapidly growing lake of blood.
While painful, the attack wasn’t as debilitating as I’d hoped. Tempest Shot, if you got lucky, could spear through weaker armored players with ease, but we hadn’t managed a lucky kill.
The added blood loss only helped, though, and it was time for the frontline to go to work. Our archers gave us an opening, and by the nine kings of Hell, we were going to take it.
I rushed forward across the field, blades of grass trampled underfoot as we charged ahead. Gil and Evelyn nipped at my heels. I was faster than Gil by far, but Evelyn could outpace me at every turn. With her watching me, I let my pride cloud my judgment and decided to make a big splash for my opening move.
I activated Dance of the Immortal.
Immediately, the world came to a standstill. My vision was awash with a score of every hue of gray. Everyone froze in place, it seemed, but not exactly—their movements were painfully slow. So slow that I could barely tell they’d moved at all.
I leapt into action. Leaving my comrades frozen behind me. As I reached the forefront of the Dawn’s formation, I had two of the warriors and an archer to deal with.
My sword slid into the heart of my first foe with ease. The warrior was a dark skinned, well-built man with long dreadlocks, his handsome face set in a scowl as he bared his teeth at the rest of my frozen guild. My blade sliced through his leather armor and pierced his heart. With Dance active, he couldn’t even cry out as my sword slid through his chest.
When I withdrew my blade, a shock of crimson followed. It was the only drop of color in the gray world. He would bleed out quickly when Dance ended, so I turned my attention to the others.
My next opponent was the second warrior in the group. A heavily muscled man with a shaved head, except for a braided ponytail that stretched down his back. His wide-set eyes lit up with delight, a man whose purpose was on the battlefield. He wore heavy plate mail, but it looked worn from use and not well maintained. Dozens of tiny nicks and dents marred the surface.
I didn’t waste time trying to pierce through his dense metal plating. I slid my blade through his neck. Too-bright blood welled as I cut through his flesh, scoring a h
eavy, bloody gash.
Only the archer was left. As I got close, I found a thin girl underneath the leather hood. Her hair had come loose from her ponytail, drifting about in wind that no longer blew. I slit her throat and plunged my sword through her heart.
Having dealt with the forefront of the formation, I ran over to the next closest member.
It was one of their tanks; the man was clad in dark steel plate mail, in sharp contrast to the leader’s glittering gold armor. His entire head was covered in a jagged helmet, revealing nothing more than a pair of deep recessed eyes. In his hands, he hefted a giant shield and looked to be mid-charge, one of his legs hovering just off the ground. I was half a second from plunging my sword through the large man’s armpit, the only exposed flesh I could find, when the gray world stuttered and flashed.
The world changed back to color for a split second as a warning. Damn it, I’m out of time. At this point, I did the stupidest thing I could’ve and got greedy. My sword was raised mid-thrust when Dance of the Immortal wore off.
The three players I’d killed dropped to the ground, lifeless, blood bursting like a geyser to pour over the earth. My battle fatigue nearly maxed, and I stumbled as exhaustion set in. My sword was hundred pounds heavier in my hand, and I tripped over my feet and stumbled to the ground. Get up! I thought and rose to my feet, directly into the massive fist of the man I’d been about to kill.
I looked up at the exact wrong moment, as a giant, plated fist slammed into my face, shattering my nose and jaw. It broke and unhinged from my skull along with several of my teeth, which rattled around my ruined mouth. Blood poured from a thousand cuts in my mouth and ran through my torn lips, pouring like a faucet from my nose. My conscious waned, but I didn’t pass out. Even if I wished I had.
The tank lifted me off the ground. I half stared through my swollen eyes at the man in the dark plated armor—the man who would be my executioner. My sword slipped from my unresponsive fingers. My mind was muddled, incoherent thoughts swirled around, and I forgot where I was.
Hive Knight: A Dark Fantasy LitRPG (Trinity of the Hive Book 1) Page 9