Gameknight looked up at his friend and could just barely make out her face in the darkening light of dusk. She was clearly shocked, staring out at the approaching mob.
“Stitcher, what is it?” Gameknight shouted. “What’s wrong?”
She looked down at her friend, her face almost white with fear.
“There are a lot of them,” she said. “I mean, A LOT! There must be hundreds of zombies and endermen, but also skeletons as far as the eye can see.”
“Skeletons?” Gameknight asked.
She nodded her head.
“Well, we can’t do anything about it now,” Gameknight said, then turned and looked at the villagers. “Stick to the plan and be ready to evacuate.”
Glancing about the village, Gameknight saw that the NPCs were all grimly determined, even if it looked somewhat forced. The NPCs were still scared inside, and the only thing holding that thin strand of courage together was Gameknight999.
The User-that-is-not-a-user forced a smile to his square face as he looked into their faces.
“These people have faith in you, son,” his father said next to him. “They believe in you even though they all know that nothing is guaranteed. What they do know is they have a chance as long as Gameknight999 is with them.”
“But what difference can one person make?”
What difference can one arrow make? Monet113 asked through the chat.
Gameknight smiled and nodded his head. In their battle with the spider queen, Shaikulud, he had said that very thing to his sister. And in the end, her one arrow had saved his life and destroyed that terrible monster.
“It isn’t your sword that will make the difference, son,” Monkeypants said. “It is your presence. Your tenacity and unwillingness to yield to this monstrous tide gives them hope and boosts their courage. Hope can be a powerful weapon.”
“But Dad, some of them might not survive,” Gameknight whispered, leaning close. “How do I keep them all safe?”
“It’s not your job to take responsibility for all their fates. It is your job to give them courage and a chance. They all know the danger before them, but they believe in their cause and are willing to take this risk. Your job is to respect the sacrifice they are all willing to make, to be brave and lead these people to victory.”
Be brave? What a joke. I’m terrified, he thought. Look at all those monsters out there.
Across the desert, the mob flowed over the far sand dune. The pale desert was slowly becoming colored black, green, and white as the endermen, zombies, and skeletons spread across the landscape like a virus, extending tendrils of hatred and spite to everything they touched. There must have been two hundred of them, if not more.
How am I supposed to stop that many?
Just then, a roar bellowed from behind the monsters . . . Herobrine. The NPCs all gasped as the dragon shot up into the air from behind the murderous horde. Beating his leathery wings, he climbed into the air and disappeared into the darkness.
“Everyone get ready!” Gameknight yelled as ripples of fear cascaded down his spine.
Every NPC drew their bows and aimed high into the air.
“NOW!” Gameknight screamed.
As one, the villagers fired into the darkness. Watching the enemy, Gameknight could see the monsters following the flight of arrows with their dark, lifeless eyes. He could tell that the horde was still out of range and that they had to get them closer to the walls.
At first the sight of the arrows made the monsters panic, but soon they realized the arrows were not going to hit them. In fact, they were not even aimed at them at all. Rather, the arrows were flying to the left and right of their positions, the pointed projectiles unable to reach their enemy.
The mobs started to laugh as the arrows flew to the side, landing harmlessly into the sand, but a few of them found their targets. Arrows landed on the many pressure plates hidden in the dunes, triggering redstone circuits. Suddenly, the grinding sound of pistons moving echoed across the desert. Individual square holes opened within the monster’s formation and TNT blocks popped up into the air and exploded. Skeletons and zombies were thrown into the air as endermen teleported to safety. Some of the endermen flashed red as they took damage, but did not become enraged because they had not been directly attacked.
Rather than cheering, the villagers laughed.
“Fire again!” Gameknight shouted.
Another volley of arrows soared through the air, these even farther to the sides of the battlefield. When they landed in the ground, more redstone circuits activated, triggering blocks of TNT at the rear of the enemy. Violent balls of fire erupted behind the enemy formation, driving them forward.
“Excellent,” Gameknight whispered.
Angry moans came from the zombies as they advanced, the clattering of the skeletons adding to the terrible battle sounds. The monsters had furious looks on their faces, their cold dead eyes all focused on their enemy, the User-that-is-not-a-user.
On top of the far dune, Gameknight could see the three generals—Feyd, Xa-Tul, and the new addition, Reaper, the skeleton king—all sitting atop their horrifying monster horses, watching the battle and shouting commands.
If only there were some TNT under them right now, Gameknight thought then grew angry. I should have thought of that!
The monster army surged forward, the skeletons starting to open fire on the defenders standing atop the fortified wall. Villagers ducked behind blocks of sandstone and cobblestone as arrows streaked past. Cries of pain sounded from the battlement as some of the enemy arrows reached their targets.
“Keep firing!” Gameknight shouted. “Drive them back.”
But the monsters continued forward. As they fired their deadly bows, the skeletons drew near Treebrin’s trees. Eventually, one of the monsters hit tripwires stretched across the battlefield. Attached to the tripwires were redstone circuits that drove dispensers hidden in the treetops. Streams of arrows fired from the dispensers, tearing a painful gash into the army.
“Hold your fire!” Gameknight shouted.
The archers on the walls stopped their assault as the monsters tried to move away from the lethal trees. They ran to the left, away from the dispensers and toward the next trap.
Gameknight smiled.
The creatures hit another series of tripwires and pressure plates. TNT erupted under the feet of the monsters, turning the desert into a world of fire and smoke. Great balls of flame blossomed under the monsters, making the creatures flash red as they disappeared, leaving behind glowing balls of XP. The huge explosion shook the world as if the massive fist from some mythical giant had hammered down upon the sandy ground.
Gameknight smiled again. The monster horde had probably been cut in half.
But then a screech sounded from the far dune. Glancing up, Gameknight could see Feyd, the king of the endermen, glaring at him, his white eyes filled with hatred. Motioning to something behind him, he slowly advanced, the other monster kings staying at his side. As the three mounted leaders moved forward, another massive collection of monsters flowed over the dunes.
“There’s more of them!” someone shouted.
“Oh no!”
“What do we do, what do we do?”
Their traps had been sprung. The bouncing TNT bombs were still going off, but the monsters wisely stayed far away. The dispensers in the trees had exhausted their ammunition and all that came from the dark chests were puffs of air.
“Archers, open fire!” Gameknight shouted.
But another army of skeletons flowed over the dune and fired upon the desert village. Two hundred arrows rained down upon the defenders, tearing HP from NPCs, causing many to disappear with a pop. Looking around at the village, Gameknight could see items begin to litter the ground as NPCs ceased to exist under the massive wave of enemy arrows.
The defenders fired down on the monsters as they advanced, but with the constant flow of arrows falling down on them, most had to stay hidden behind blocks for protection.
“They’ve reached the moat!” Hunter yelled from one of the archer towers.
“Don’t worry; they can’t cross it,” Gameknight yelled.
Suddenly, he saw a strange-looking figure emerge from the desert. He was clad in a dark midnight blue smock with a sky-blue stripe running down the center. In the darkness, it was difficult to see the creature’s face, but in the moonlight, Gameknight could see his hair was a light blue, the tips of his locks a frosty white.
The creature moved to the moat and placed his hands in the water. Instantly, the moat turned to ice, allowing the zombies to easily cross to the gates. The endermen, seeing the safe crossing, teleported to the moat and started to cross, as well.
“That looks like an NPC down there,” Stitcher yelled, pointing at the blue stranger. “What is he doing?”
The younger sister looked at her older sibling and pointed at the stranger.
“He turned the water to ice. How did he do that?” Stitcher asked.
“I don’t know and I don’t care,” Hunter yelled. “I’m putting a stop to it!”
She raised her bow and aimed at her target. But just before she could release the arrow, the stranger looked up at Hunter and smiled. Flashing an icy grin, he pulled his hands out of the ice. Instantly, the frozen moat turned to liquid again, causing the zombies and endermen to fall into the watery trap. The endermen flashed red as the water tore into their HP and the zombies quickly sank to the bottom.
More of the archers turned their bows to the newcomer, but Hunter stopped their attack.
“Wait, he’s a friend,” Hunter said as she nodded at the strange NPC.
Just then, the main skeleton force advanced, firing a nearly constant flow of arrows that drove the defenders from the fortified wall. Overhead, the dragon roared and swooped down on the battlefield. As it neared the desert floor, Herobrine spat a long stream of purple poison that hit the sandy ground in front of the village and instantly transformed it to End Stone. The purple transformation wave immediately spread, the sparkling purple distortion turning Treebrin’s trees to pale yellow stone with its horrific touch.
“Everyone, run for the minecarts!” Gameknight screamed.
Herobrine climbed high into the sky, then turned and streaked down, picking up speed as he plummeted. Turning sharply when he neared the ground, the flying monster headed straight for the village, his body enveloped with purple and pale yellow embers. He accelerated, then spread his leathery wings and glided toward his target. Archers tried to reach out with their arrows, but the dragon was moving too fast when he streaked over the fortified wall. Gameknight saw the monster’s eyes glow bright when he spat his deadly poison on a cluster of villagers, the yellow glow around him growing momentarily bright. The villagers held up their weapons, hoping to somehow deflect the attack, but their defenses were useless. They were instantly turned to End Stone, a look of surprise and fear permanently frozen on their stony faces. Firing again, he hit a group of archers atop one of the village buildings, their bodies now permanently fused to the transforming building with End Stone.
Herobrine flapped his wings and climbed as he flew out of the village, but turned quickly for another pass. Slicing through the air, the dark beast dropped his deadly poison again, catching NPCs as they ran for the safety of the watchtower. He was like an aerial dive-bomber, strafing the NPCs without remorse. Villager after villager screamed out in terror and were then cruelly silenced.
Gameknight watched the carnage unfold, his mind consumed with terror. Herobrine was destroying the NPCs, and every spit of his poison caused the transformation wave to spread faster through the village. Avenues of escape were being cut off, leaving many trapped with no other option but to wait to turn to End Stone. The doomed cries to loved ones could barely be heard over the din of battle.
Gameknight was horrified. Every scream from the condemned warriors hammered a nail of guilt into his soul.
“Come on, we have to go,” Monkeypants yelled. “It’s time to retreat.”
His father pushed the stunned Gameknight999 toward the cobblestone watchtower.
Shaking his head, Gameknight looked at all the NPCs who were losing their lives, and anger bubbled up within his soul. Herobrine had to be stopped, but it wasn’t going to happen here.
Gameknight ran for the tunnels that led to the crafting chamber. As planned, archers jumped from the high towers and landed with a splash in shallow pools of water. The last to leave, Hunter finally leapt from the tower and ran to his side.
Glancing over his shoulder, the User-that-is-not-a-user saw a tower of ice appear next to the village’s wall. The strange NPC in blue then appeared at the top of the frozen column. Leaping off the wall, he landed on the ground and ran toward the pair. When he drew near, Gameknight realized the stranger was another light-crafter.
As the stranger streaked by, the gates to the village burst open. Zombies and skeletons poured in, the bony white monsters firing a nearly constant flow of arrows. One of the projectiles hit Gameknight in the shoulder, making him cry out in pain. A fleeing villager, hearing the cry, turned and threw a splash potion of healing at him, but completely missed. The glass bottle flew past Gameknight999 and crashed into an approaching zombie. Crying out in pain, the zombie flashed red as the splash potion spread across his decaying body.
Running to the watchtower, the User-that-is-not-a-user watched over his shoulder as the healing potion continued to poison the zombie, finally taking the last of its HP. The monster disappeared with a pop, leaving behind three glowing balls of XP. That’s weird, Gameknight thought as he ran for the safety of the underground tunnels.
Near the watchtower, Gameknight could see the last of the surviving villagers jumping into holes and disappearing. When he reached the openings, he dropped into one, falling straight down and landing in a shallow pool of water. Realizing he was the last to leave the village, Gameknight quickly filled the water in with stone, stopping any monsters from following.
But this time, the zombies were prepared. One of them poured some water into the hole, creating a liquid stream through which they could descend.
“Oh no,” Gameknight said to the villagers heading to the crafting chamber. “They’re coming!” he shouted.
But the villagers couldn’t move any faster. There were so many of them pressed together and there was only the narrow passage through which to escape. Looking up, the User-that-is-not-a-user could see zombies falling down the watery column, one after another, and more climbing into the flowing liquid. Before Gameknight could draw his sword and get ready for battle, the ice light-crafter appeared at his side.
“It is good to f-f-f-finally meet the User-that-is-not-a-user,” the stranger said, flashing an icy smile.
When he plunged his white hands into the water, the liquid immediately froze, changing the waterfall to solid ice. The zombies trapped in the frozen stream flashed with damage, then disappeared as their HP expired. Moving to the other holes filling with water, the light-crafter sealed them all with ice, blocking the monsters from the underground passages.
“That sh-sh-should keep them for a while,” the light-crafter stuttered as if he were freezing. “By the way, my . . . my . . . my name is Icebrin.”
The pale blue light-crafter extended a white hand that looked as though it were made of snow. Gameknight reached out and took the hand and shook it. Chills ran up his arm as he touched Icebrin’s cold fingers.
“I’m grateful for your help,” Gameknight said. “But where did you come from?”
“The Oracle thought I might be of assistance in your struggle.”
“As always, she was right,” Gameknight999 answered.
Suddenly, the column of ice transformed to End Stone as the sparkling transformation wave flowed through the flesh of Minecraft.
“Come on, we need to get out of here!” Gameknight said to his new ally.
He ran down the tunnel, sprinting for the crafting chamber. When he reached the large cavern, he fo
und Monkeypants and Hunter waiting for him impatiently.
“You two have a nice little chat up there?” Hunter asked.
Gameknight looked at her and smiled. His friend’s eyes then darted to Icebrin and she reached for an arrow.
“He’s a friend sent by the Oracle,” the User-that-is-not-a-user explained.
“Perhaps we should get going,” Monkeypants said, pointing up to the chamber entrance.
All of them turned to see the transformation wave approaching.
“Come on, let’s go,” Gameknight said.
Monkeypants grabbed a minecart, as did Hunter, and then Icebrin. As Gameknight watched the wave approach, he looked at the sparkling transformation particles. The purple was like those of the endermen, but there was a pale yellow color to them as well, as though something else was driving the wave, something insipid and sickly. It tickled a memory at the back of his mind but he couldn’t quite see it.
“GAMEKNIGHT, HURRY!” a voice shouted from the tunnel.
He placed the metal cart on the tracks and then jumped in. Flipping the lever that activated the TNT, he disappeared into the tunnel as explosions rocketed through the minecart network. While he shot through the darkness, he thought about that strange yellow color he’d seen in the wave. For some reason, he knew it was an important clue . . . but to what?
CHAPTER 23
CRAFTING THE ENDERMEN
The monsters flowed through the desert village like a destructive hurricane. Zombies broke through doors and smashed through empty homes. Skeletons fired arrows at the villagers that had been turned to End Stone; their thirst for destruction making their bows hungry for targets.
One of the zombies knocked over a lit furnace that sat in a newly erected wooden home. Flames licked up the sides of the building and then spread to the ceiling. In seconds, the home was completely engulfed in flame. While searching the other homes not already turned to End Stone, the zombies and skeletons knocked over any furnace that was lit, which caused fire to race through the slowly transforming village, destroying everything wooden. In minutes, a tall column of smoke billowed up into the air; to the monsters, it was a beautiful sight.
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