Shadow For Hire: Books 1-4 (A LitRPG Series)

by Adam Drake

  Trying not to get too annoyed with my noob status, I set up a queue that prioritized cavalry training, followed by footmen, then archers. As the required resources became available, the next unit in the queue would be trained. Each unit would then move quickly to the middle area.

  Now I placed all ten of my worker units at the gold mine. Without needing to construct more buildings or upgrade the keep, the need for stone was nil. And I had more than enough wood stockpiled for now.

  It was all about the gold, and how fast I could get it.

  With that taken care of, my attention could be moved to leading an army, rather than building one.

  As if on cue, enemy units started to move. All four cavalry units were withdrawing and moving back northwards.

  What the heck? There was nowhere else to go but back to their base, and the middle was where the fight was going to be.

  Regardless, I had to get up there. With a final look around my base to ensure the lone footman and archer units still guarded my banner's altar, I summoned Smoke and headed out.

  Speeding north, my attention remained glued to the map.

  Now all four enemy cavalry units stopped a short distance from the rear of the formations. The two to the northwest then turned around, facing southward, one lined up behind the other. The cavalry units in the northeast did the same.

  As I passed the halfway point to the middle, four more enemy cavalry units appeared. Two for each approach. These lined up behind the others.

  Now there were two lines of four cavalry units all facing the middle.

  This could not be good.

  Coming around the final bend to the middle, I passed several of my own units, en route. But I didn't give them any mind, so focused on the strange behavior of the enemy cavalry.

  What was Amara up to? And was she commanding her units from her base? Her icon was nowhere on the map and my scout in the northeast was not in any position yet to see her.

  I arrived at the platform, a little relieved that nothing else had changed since the strange enemy movements. My gut instinct told me I needed to do something with my formation now while I still had a chance.

  Whether this would be a mistake or not, only time would tell.

  Quickly, I moved my units forward. By splitting them in two, one group to face each enemy formation, I hoped to counter being hit by one massive army.

  I set my footmen in the front, three units side by side, followed by archers and cavalry to the northwest. A similar group went northeast.

  The idea was not to engage the enemy, but block them from joining up with the other group.

  Thankfully, (or maybe worriedly) none of the enemy units reacted to this sudden shift of my forces. Either Amara wasn't paying attention, or she was laughing at my folly.

  Regardless, in less than a minute I now had both approaches blocked with footmen units spread out from the river all the way to the trees to the north.

  In the small space between these blocking formations I placed most of my remaining units. I still had more coming from the base, and a grumbling Grax standing next to the altar.

  Not quite certain what to do at this point, I let Amara make the next move.

  She did not disappoint.

  As one, both enemy formations suddenly moved. But instead of forward, they shifted to the sides, forming a large gap down their middle. At the back end of this gap was the first unit of each cavalry line.

  Uh-oh, I thought.

  The cavalry from both approaches launched into a charge and moved as a line down the gap between units, straight at my waiting defensive wall of footmen.

  I reacted the only way I could, by ordering all archer units to fire at will.

  By the time they let loose their volley, the first enemy cavalry unit had already raced past their forward line, and into the space which separated the armies.

  Arrows found their marks, sending trolls and horses spilling to the ground. But this did not blunt their charge one iota.

  On both sides, the cavalry slammed into my waiting footmen units. As each cavalry unit emerged from their army's gap, they altered their trajectory slightly to pass the engaged cavalry to slam into the next unit of footmen.

  It took less than tens seconds for all this to transpire, and now each enemy cavalry unit was stomping and fighting their way through my forward lines.

  The footmen to the northwest started to buckle under the assault.

  Enemy archers moved forward and began firing volley's in the rear of the footmen's formations.

  In turn, my own archers fired back and soon the sky was filled with zinging clouds of arrows flying back and forth.

  I looked from the frontlines to my assembled forces around the platform. There were so many now, they practically filled the space south of the platform down to the trees. More were arriving every few minutes and even started to form a line from either approach.

  As both sides took losses, they would be replaced. Back and forth it would go, for how long was anyone's guess. Maybe Amara would finally gain control of the platform, but I'd fight to get it back.

  This entire situation was one big meat grinder, and Amara and I were simply feeding into it.

  I shook my head. With so many units at our disposal and the gold flowing continuously, this fight could go on forever.

  Something was needed to tip the balance.

  Suddenly, there was a deafening shriek from above.

  I looked up, shielding my eyes from the sunlight.

  High above was a bird, flying from the north over the trees. And it wasn't any old bird, it was huge.

  Atop the bird sat a rider, and her gray garb with blue highlights made her identifiable even from such a height.

  Amara.

  She was coming to attack the platform.

  I pulled up the giant bird's stats.

  Name: Yuinnick

  Race: Great Eagle

  Rank: Champion

  Hit Points: 500

  Speed: 60 (flight)

  Y'godda's Aerial mount.

  This was not good. Amara had used the Battle points she gained from killing me to hire that thing.

  Why can't I have a dang aerial mount?

  Getting over my initial surprise, I shouted orders for the units at the platform to tighten up and for the archers to be ready.

  If Amara wanted to make a suicidal run at the platform, I'd be happy to oblige her.

  But instead of descending, the bird kept flying, its massive shadow passing over me.

  As it kept going, a cold realization grabbed me.

  She wasn't coming to the platform at all. She was flying south.

  To my banner.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Oh, crap.

  For several moments, I simply gaped at Amara and her new champion mount as they sailed out of view over the southern trees.

  Had I known a flying champion mount was on the Battlefield I would have made a point of locating it. And if I couldn't hire it, I'd set a guard to keep it from Amara.

  But there was no point lamenting what was a moot point.

  Amara was on the way to my base, and she had to be stopped. But how?

  Quickly, I rode Smoke through the dense throng of units cramming the platform area. My mind was no longer on the battles raging nearby, just the fluttering red banner at my base.

  “Out of the way!” I shouted with frustration. Since I was the idiot who jammed them all together, I was now the idiot who had to get past them.

  “Commander coming through!” soldiers shouted as they jostled each other to make room.

  I navigated my way through the units until I emerged past the densest part of the formation. With a kick at Smoke, I headed down the southwest curve.

  Enemy spotted!

  It was one of the Lookouts at the Keep. Amara's icon appeared above the trees due north of their position.

  Analyzing my map, I was alarmed to see that all buildings had each just started training units. Previous units had
already moved on and were halfway to the middle. All of those were slow moving footmen save for one cavalry unit.

  Grumbling curses, I selected the cavalry unit and ordered it back to base at top speed.

  The only other defenders present at the base were the lookouts as well as one archer and one footmen unit. The latter two having been assigned to guard the banner.

  For some reason I didn't think this would give Amara much cause for concern. If she felt she didn't have a chance to get the banner, this attack wouldn't be attempted.

  I passed footmen units as I raced southward, and each one cheered in kind. I didn't feel celebratory. This had taken me completely by surprise, something Amara was good at. I needed to be the one full of surprises, for a change.

  Halfway there, I got the footmen's leader onto a chat screen.

  “You see her coming?” I asked, rhetorically. Of course he did. They all did. I just needed to hear him say so.

  “Yes, Commander!” the footmen leader said. “And we are ready for her!”

  I wished that were true.

  “Let me see what she's doing,” I said. By now, Amara's icon was slowing down as it sidled up next to the Keep.

  The leader turned around giving me a view of the base.

  The great eagle was hovering high above, with Amara peering downward, assessing the situation.

  The Lookouts atop the Keep fired their crossbows, but their bolts came up short. I noticed with dread that reloading these weapons took the Lookouts forever.

  My archer unit stood nearby, bows at the ready. They didn't even attempt to fire since Amara was well out of their range.

  The footmen were assembled around the altar, eyes on the aerial invader.

  What was she going to do?

  I was still too far. Less than two minutes out.

  The eagle adjusted its height and came in closer to the top of the Keep. The Lookouts were still loading their crossbows as quick as they could.

  It wouldn't be fast enough.

  The eagle reared its head back then opened its massive beak. Thrusting forward it let out a terrifying shriek.

  It was using an ability.

  The shriek emanating from the eagle was like a physical attack. The air in front of it shimmered like a heatwave. The Lookouts were enveloped in a torrent of deafening sound.

  The Lookouts were knocked back and sent flying over the battlements. They tumbled screaming down the vast height of the Keep to the ground.

  With this problem eliminated, Amara brought the eagle around the Keep and landed.

  The archers moved close and loosened their bows.

  But as the arrows zinged toward their mark, the eagle stood tall and flapped its mighty wings creating an incredible wind.

  The arrows were knocked out of mid-flight as the wind intensified. In seconds, the eagle generated hurricane-force winds.

  The archers tried to stand against this, but were sent flying to the ground, or tumbling into the trees.

  While the great eagle maintained the attack with its wings, Amara jumped off its back.

  The moment before she touched the ground she vanished.

  Shadow Form.

  My footmen, shocked by the attack on the archers, but still rooted to the spot I commanded them not to leave, looked about in confusion.

  Oh, for the love of...

  “Watch out!” I shouted at the footmen leader. “She's in Shadow Form!”

  I rounded the final bend, and the Keep was in sight, but I was a good thirty seconds away.

  The footmen looked about, apprehensive. They knew an enemy was nearby, but had no idea where.

  Yuinnick continued its attack, buffeting the archers with the horrific wind. When one archer managed to get purchase and stand, he was immediately sent sprawling to the ground.

  Your Banner Has Been Taken!

  No, no, no, I thought. This cannot be happening. Not again!

  Amara had snuck by the footmen in Shadow Form, but the moment she grabbed the banner she became visible. Crouched on the altar itself, banner grasped tightly in one hand, she killed the nearest surprised footman with a sword swing.

  The other eleven footmen reacted, whirling to confront her.

  The great eagle immediately stopped flapping its wings and charged forward at the footmen formation, shrieking loudly.

  As some footmen engaged Amara, others turned to face the frightening champion moving in to attack.

  I was ten seconds away.

  Amara's sword was a blur of motion parrying sword swings from her perch on the skeletal altar. Surrounded and outnumbered, she appeared in a desperate fight to keep them at bay.

  This attempt at the banner had been a tremendous risk to take. But fortune favors the bold, especially on the Battle Field.

  Yuinnick snapped at a footman with its beak, slicing him in two. Then it crushed another with its massive talons while flapping its wings to keep balance. The great eagle moved in closer, forcing the footmen to scramble out of the way.

  Amara noticed me galloping toward her and grinned while slicing the head off a footman.

  “I'm coming for you!” I found myself shouting. My heart raced as the distance between us shrank.

  Then Amara moved. She dodged a footman's sword swing, then rolled under another's attack.

  Yuinnick brushed three footmen away with a giant wing, as if they were toys, and squatted down.

  “No!” I yelled, changing my direction toward the great eagle.

  Amara jumped and stepping off a fallen footman's back, leapt up and into Yuinnick's saddle.

  The huge bird flapped its wings and launched up from the ground.

  Unperturbed, I took Smoke directly under the eagle, its massive form blocking out the sky. Wings beat around me and the wind threatened to knock me to the grass.

  But as Yuinnick ascended, I still had a chance at one desperate attempt to stop them.

  I shifted from my saddle to my feet, and using my Leap ability, jumped straight up from Smoke's back.

  The next second, I found myself clinging to a leathery leg of the eagle as it ascended northward into the sky.

  Below, I saw Smoke running about in confusion. The remaining footman looked up at me in amazement.

  For a few moments I could only marvel at my own folly. What had been the point of this?

  It didn't appear that Yuinnick noticed my presence, so large was the creature.

  We sped northward, and the dense forest below moved past at an alarming speed. Did Amara intend to go to the center altar?

  A quick look showed that my forces still firmly controlled the platform and the area immediately north of it. But her own army was pressing forward. They were closer than before.

  Not waiting to give her any more satisfaction at snatching my banner, again, I decided to try something really stupid. There were few options for me, anyway.

  My legs and arms were wrapped around the thick leg of the eagle. I released my grip with one hand and summoned my sword. Then I stabbed upwards.

  Yuinnick shrieked with pain and its flapping wings lurched in surprise.

  As if in answer to my attack, the eagle started to descend. I stabbed again and blood flowed from the wound under its huge feathers.

  Now Yuinnick tried to use the talons on its other leg to swipe at me, but it couldn't reach.

  When I stabbed again, I felt us falling faster.

  I looked down just in time to see us fly into the tops of the trees.

  The branches smashed into me at horrific speed. I tried to hide behind the eagle's thick leg but it appeared to be willing to take more damage if it meant I would be knocked off.

  It worked.

  I couldn't hold on while being attacked by speeding trees, and I was smacked hard again, losing my grip.

  I had one last glance of the eagle's mammoth form flapping away, a gold beam of light shooting upwards from its back where my banner was being carried away.

  Crypt, here I come, I thought morbidly.<
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  Then I plummeted through the forest canopy.