“Well, this is the start of it all. The last seven months have been for this jump. These dungeons consistently have blue drops,” I said. There were different reactions to this. The veterans were unfazed but the dvaren had smiles and wide eyes. “See that look.” I pointed to the hungry eyes. “Yeah, we need blue orbs for about ten thousand soldiers.
“Ideally this is a stepping point. If we do this right, our arrival should go unnoticed and we can increase the army's levels, capabilities, and our funds at home will prosper. There is another reason I picked this planet. Bacru has an outpost that interests me.”
I pulled a small map out of the sleeve of my robes. It was passed around until it landed in Gemini’s hands. She shook her head with a smirk.
“What?” I asked while frowning at her frustrating gesture.
“I told Nicole to let me closer. This… No. Gryff, the Dastardly Masters get this guise that they are weak. And sure, since the Inquisitors have been sweeping the best planets on their offensive they’ve fallen from 24th to 36th. Don’t let that fool you on their prowess or ability. Awesome Adjective Annihilators is ranked in the billions in power. Yeah, the Master Universe is that big.
“What I’m getting at is, this target is a huge no go. The defenders will have fallback underground shelters, infinite traps, and local allies to help if they can. Which, since we're unaffiliated, they will. You set scouts, watch them head to farm, because this is a farming base for their low levels, and then crush them in the field.”
Her palm smacked into the table to further her emphasis on crush.
I saw merit in what she was saying. “Should we limit who we hit? Is this a don’t kill the little guys, that only helps the big players,” I asked.
Gemini twisted her face in thought and said, “Look, Bacru is an outer planet among millions. Any team, solo, or whatever on a combat planet realizes they are taking a huge risk just being on the surface. Sure, there is more worth in converting or enslaving and that gives a bit of a fallback to the risk. But killing random other guilds our size does nothing to the greater picture except increase our power.”
Zoey stepped up next to me to say, “So you think we should hit anything and everything?”
“I think there are times you Prox folks miss the scope of this universe,” Gemini said, rubbing her horn in frustration. “We are in a realm where the possibilities are almost limitless. Where you will learn that a single army means nothing against a washing tide of power. The Inquisitors had over a hundred thousand field operations going for their offensive.
“That doesn’t mean we crawl into a ball and submit, it just means you need to understand Bacru is perfect for us right now. It’s on the outer edge of the combat planets, its biggest guild is a Justicar ally, and we will stir an incredibly small reaction. My guess is the Dastardly Masters will send a force out to fight us directly if they can field one that would beat us. Which I will be surprised if they do.
“If they don't, we look for targets of opportunity. An irrationally aggressive general would say this pick is too passive. I like it for a lot of reasons. It becomes a playground for a decent sized army with fast moving capabilities like ours. We farm, kill with abandon, and when the big boys come through the main portal, or jump in themselves, we're already gone.”
That was basically my plan besides wanting to raid the outpost. If there would be little to gain with heavy losses then best stick to the field. I could get behind that. It also meant we’d be hitting the little guy.
My time in purgatory cleaned a touch of my darker side with renewed patience and calm. This was probably going to pull that darkness back to the forefront. I sighed looking at those around me. To some of them, they wanted to right an imbalance here. To the rest of us, this master verse could burn and roil from our destruction. All that mattered was getting home.
“I was thinking of splitting forces to start. I would handle the Scorpion Queen, try to get her to submit. While Gemini manages the Goddess of the Caves. If this outpost is no longer in play than we cycle fights to keep things fresh. We got a small physical airship in the hull waiting to be assembled so we can at least scout reliably,” I said tapping the table. “Thoughts?”
“Defeating the Scorpion Queen into an orb will be tricky. I know it seems odd but my studies say she will be harder than the Goddess to tame,” Kata said. I knew her sister was a book worm lover so this information was coming as a bit of surprise. “What legends in a book say and what happens in reality, are totally different. What I’m getting at, is that maybe we should stick together.”
“Because?” Zoey asked, folding her arms.
“Our forces will not go unnoticed. A portal opening, a divine blimp, and a large army tend to bring attention. Which means we could be seen as a target of opportunity. Plus making a dungeon submit is different. I agree,” Gemini said with a confident nod. “I say Queen, Goddess, Queen, fast runs without splitting. Then we hit some vulnerable party and go to a new planet of equivalent levels. Our greatest advantage is our low cooldown atmospheric portal orb.”
Harmony jolted realizing all eyes were on her. “Oh, since it was a short jump we can move again in a few hours.”
My tapping fingers came to a sudden halt. “Groz, assemble the scouting zeppelin,” I ordered and one of the adjuncts left to get the task completed. “Harmony, when we get over the target keep us high.”
“You're smiling like you have some evil plan or something,” Shala said in her serious tone.
I indeed was grinning from ear to ear. The next event was probably my favorite part of the whole plan and a fitting way to kick off this grand adventure on Bacru.
CHAPTER 3
“Ready!” I bellowed out.
Designated dvaren reverberated my call, spreading the warning. The chain reaction of my voice being carried out through the entirety of the airship was heard in an echo.
“Three!” I gave a few seconds pause so the word could get passed. “Two!” My stomach tightened and my eyes flared with excitement. “One!”
I waited a few extra seconds. Every soldier should be ready. With a simple thought, I returned my familiar air blimp into my core.
Wind whipped at my face as I went into freefall. I yelled out with abandon, loving the feeling of plummeting toward the planet. I nosed myself into a tucked dive to increase my descent. The target dungeon that was rapidly growing from the tiniest of dots.
We had done this in training a few dozen times and even a few tests on easier locations. Now it was the real deal on a combat planet. We decided to stagger our gliders openings into three groups to space ourselves out. I was in the last group so I raced for the target. The moment group two and three were far enough down from the air break group they deployed gliders in a spread-out pattern.
I watched the second group go from a dive to horizontal with limbs splayed out. They saw our group falling below them and deployed. I watched the savannah terrain as it twisted into a set of plateaus with canyon walls separating the towering rocky structures. A simple wide entrance, an opening arena of sorts, and then isolated areas dotted for each wave of the Scorpion Queens armies. The exit rested at the end of a simple maze if you wanted to leave a different way than you entered.
A glance over my shoulder told me it was time to start gliding. I aggressively yanked the cord dangling below my chest. There was a whooshing noise when the device flared to life. My stomach lurked when the wings caught the wind, halting my rapid descent. The tug on the straps were minimal and these magical type creations were worth every penny. We hadn’t had one fail on opening yet.
I glided casually in a loose circle. I was at least a few thousand feet off the ground with tons of space from Zoey and Kata. We drifted down at a leisurely pace, keeping enough airspeed to stay aloft and to also stay lower than those above us.
I saw some random animals on the terrain, there were a hybrid of elephants, gazelles that looked like zebras, and other savannah type creatures
. Definitely a few were something that we could hunt and eat. I’d brought enough basic rations for a few days but those would do nicely. Especially the herd of pig-looking animals clumped up by a nasty colored watering hole.
I frowned when I found the water source I wanted to use for cleaning after our fight. Unfortunately, my data said the river nearby would be full of rapid water that should be clear. Instead, it was slow and brown; upstream someone had created a dam with a lake. Probably established to hold water to set up fishing or something. Maybe a mill. Ah, who knew, at least we could make magical rain so it wasn’t too big of a deal.
I dropped the thought to swerve for the dungeon entrance area we had designated for landing. The short grassy terrain came up quickly until I flared my glider’s pitch. My feet adjusted for the slow speed and I walked the flight off across the hard ground dotted with yellow vegetation.
“Now that was exhilarating,” I said to myself, triggering the glider to head back into its home.
A dvaren landed next to me with too much speed. The soldier’s arms flailed and his little legs failed to keep up with his upper body. I watched as his face planted into the grass with a loud grunt and a wet smacking sound. That was a broken nose at least. Ouch.
I slammed the healing staff into the dirt, radiating a healing spell in a wide area. The new purple healing orb instantly shot up some levels due to actual injuries being repaired. We never lost a single glide trooper to a drop, but… we certainly had some poor landings.
My neck craned up to see the sky filled with gliders rotating as they descended for the landing area. The colorations of the material were all over the place with Ovaria buying us what she could. It wasn’t her fault she was on a tight budget. One day we’d look all spiffy in matching uniformity.
When the second tier of our gliders touched down I cast another wave of healing along with the numerous other healers in the area. Troops were vacating the landing zone to find their units, the clang of metal loud as they ran.
Battle lines were already forming. I saw flag poles being strapped together with unit banners flying in the wind. The majority of the army was now safely down. I watched as the troops marched for the entrance to give room for the last flight.
I walked to the head of the formations as they organized. From blimp to assembled formation in half an hour; that was the worst case scenario. Based on how fast we were forming up, I was guessing we’d make it in fifteen. Perfect, I smiled at the sight.
The bright single sun cast a reddish hue across the landscape. The once tiny plateaus were now giants looming on the horizon. Each step closer gave them a greater intimidating factor as if they were trying to deter those silly enough to enter this grand palace of the Scorpion Queen.
I was certainly silly and quite undeterred. We had a mighty army for this endeavor and I was confident the win would have been easy even with only half our forces. The plan to bring the full army was fine by me, better to be safe on this first trip. I reached the area at the head of the formation.
Zoey and Kata were the only two with me at this point. They loomed closely, my shadows that vigilantly protected my back.
“I love falling from the sky,” Zoey said, her hair a mess and her smile huge. She grabbed a hair tie to bind her locks into a ponytail. “How about you Kata?”
“Naga’s are fearless toward many things. Jumping out of blimps thousands of feet above the ground is not something I ever wish to repeat,” Kata said with a stretch of indifference. Her face may have been stoic, but it was clear her tone was aggravated. “Based on the look you two are giving, I feel this will be common. At least I can do it... with only a partial hissing of fear.”
I chuckled at this and said, “Hey, the weather is great! My report said the planet is in perfect alignment and keeps a steady temp all year round. Would be fantastic if it wasn’t a combat planet.”
“Right, living here would be stressful. Think about what we just did,” Zoey said as Groz and Gemini arrived.
“You mean appear above a planet. Arrive on your destination in twenty minutes and then drop in and assemble in fifteen. Super hard to react to unless you burrow with eighty million traps and fail safes,” Gemini said with a scoff.
“Troops need another ten minutes, Gryff,” Groz said, playing with his beard. “Was a good drop. Only a few shattered ankles, and no fatalities. The lads were wondering when another -”
I groaned, halting his talk. Everyone wanted more legendary healing staves. I knew this, Nicole who handled the finances knew this, and Ovaria who handled shopping was always looking. The problem was… cost. They just cost so much to craft, were so highly sought after, and were so rare. Frooska was nowhere close to being able to even craft rare. Yup, crafting gains were that slow.
“We all know I’m poor, as in the guild is. The two times we found a legendary healing staff at auction, our available funds were crushed in bids. We simply need more funds. I know Groz, it's frustrating, but… You and the lads are in a better position now than seven months ago,” I said slamming a meaty palm on his pauldron. “Now, go ensure the army is ready. I want to march inside five minutes ago.”
Dib flew over as Groz mumbled away. “Area is clear, requesting permission to do some hunting to get fresh -”
“Approved. Cycle troops into the fight at your discretion,” I said and the bearfrii flapped to a team of harpies, dragon hybrids, and other bearfrii.
I looked up to see the small blimp we had brought with us flying circles. Perfect. Everything was going as planned. Since it was a static drop against mobs, that was what I expected seven months of training to result in. Different story if there were defenders. I waved Barq and Shala into my group.
“What’s up boss?” Barq said, his sight fixated on the towering structures ahead of us.
“You want to mingle with the mages or fight with the boss?” I asked, giving the option many were not afforded.
Shala nudged Barq who seemed to have lost his voice. “We were wanting to join the vanguard line troops,” Barq finally said.
My eyebrows went up, my chin tucked in mild surprise. The vanguard was the action spot. I nodded in approval, watching them flee toward the forward unit. The vanguard opened a hole in its ranks so the duo could get swallowed into the center.
“Sorry I’m late,” an energetic voice cried out. One of the last dvaren to land was a younger energetic fellow with a big drum on his chest. He secured his glider and waddled over to me, a giant grin locked on his face.
Battlement flags flew at the ready even if there were a few stragglers dressing the ranks. The clank of armor shuffling and feet stomping in unison assaulted my ears. The smell of stinky troops in armor competed with the scent of the low grass as if it was a pollen season. The air felt thick, but the ground solid without a recent downpour. My spin said there was rain on the horizon, plenty of time to do a dungeon in.
I turned from my forces to gaze upon the dungeon entrance that lacked guards. No taxing here, you’d just kill the collectors. Unless you were some powerhouse taxing those weaker than you, and in that case, I’d still kill the collectors.
“Where’s Jason?” I asked looking around to see him on the edge of the mages chatting with some bearish girl in tight robes. She was blushing at his Texan forwardness. “Hey Jason! Get over here.”
“Yea boss, whatcha needin'?”
I rolled my eyes. Freaking Texans and their drawls. “Get into the dungeon and report back. On the double,” I commanded.
His unit parted from the lollygagging to rush into the dungeon. Axle was the drummer who waited patiently for me to give the signal.
“Axle,” I yipped and his back straightened.
“Yes Emperor,” Axle said.
“Half-time! MARCH!” I bellowed.
Wham, bam, wham, bam. The beat to the trotting rhythm was set.
The opening ahead was only wide enough for a single company abreast. I let the vanguard take point, my group
falling in behind them. We picked up into a slight jog, my legs enjoying the exercise. Something I’d never been remiss on during our downtime was maintaining my fitness. Of all the ways the gaming verse let you cheat around hard work, physical exercise was still a must.
The short grass was quickly trampled with the looming plateau walls forming a brief narrow canyon. The angled sun cast a long shadow over the opening and before I entered the dungeon Jason returned, jogging in step with me.
“The mummies are as expected. Spread out, vulnerable, and stirring from all da noise. Y'all will get there before they can form lines. We left them without provoking,” he reported.
“Great, take a flank position that gives you quick access to the rear. If we get company harassing the back I want you to counter harass with Dib,” I ordered.
He gave a two finger salute off his forehead before peeling off to join his troops. The sound of a brief skirmish could be heard as the vanguard ran over the first of the mobs. Three hundred heavily armored dvaren with mages in their midst were going to be a challenge for simple mummies to defeat.
Axle gave me a questioning gaze as he jogged with the beating drum. He wanted to know if I wanted to increase the tempo. Nope, we were an army on the move, not dogs in heat or berserkers baying for blood. The vanguard would hold their formation, that unit and the rearguard were the hardest one to get into. We swapped units around every battle to keep it fair. Those two had the most healers of any other unit. Plus, if they got into trouble, I was not far behind them.
The darkness from the shaded canyon walls led to the bright opening ahead. When we left the confined space we arrived in a massive arena shape. I saw four inflowing avenues for the Scorpion Queen’s army to assault us from. Ahead of me, the vanguard widened into a single shield wall, supporting troops arrayed behind the stiff line.
Mummies roared at our arrival, shaking sand off their rising bodies. When my group halted behind the vanguard, Axle still kept the beat. The dvaren were normally singers. Not this go around, I wanted the beat to be heard by the new recruits and others.
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