by Aaron Oster
“Let’s go,” he said, allowing his supermage shield, glowing red, blue, violet, and gold to spring up around him like a suit of armor.
He turned then and dashed towards the entrance, making sure the others could keep pace and that he didn’t accidentally outstrip them. The whole point of fighting in a group was to lend support to each other. This mission had no room for heroics or glory-seekers, so his usual fighting style of charging in headfirst would need to be tempered. They all knew what was at stake, and everyone was taking their roles seriously.
That was why, when they hit the wall of monsters blocking up the entrance, they bowled straight through, slaughtering them before they could even react. Their group, though never having worked together, was efficient and clean. No flashy skills, to need to waste CP or MP. In fact, the mages didn’t fight at all, allowing the supers to tear through the forces by hand so they could retain all their mana for the big fight ahead.
In less than a minute, they’d slaughtered the thousand-odd monsters guarding the entrance, leaving the massive crack in the glacier unguarded. This time, Morgan didn’t hesitate, moving swiftly forward. With sure steps, he entered the glacier.
***
Octagon the Bitter sat upon his throne of ice, eyes closed and claws digging into the armrests as he forced the storm to grow ever-stronger. Before he could advance upon the rest of the world, his nature demanded he conquer the North, and to do that, he had to completely crush any who remained in his way. There was just a single city between him and total conquest, which was why he’d fielded such a large force, leaving his home relatively unguarded. There were still a few thousand of his mindless monsters, as well as half a dozen powerful beasts left to guard the place, but he was confident they would be more than enough to stop anyone foolish enough to come back.
In his mind, though it was a possibility, the only one who could pose a challenge would be the Beast King, Morgan. However, from their last encounter, it was clear that he was still far inferior to him as a fighter. Perhaps in time, the Beast King could rise to the glory he was meant to achieve, but Octagon would have awoken his siblings by then, and together, they’d be more than a match for him.
For now, his focus needed to remain on the battlefield outside City Eleven. Arnold, Fiona, and his other top commanders were there. They were the most powerful monsters he’d created, those who’d tamed the beast and forced it to obey them, rather than the other way around.
What he was doing right now took an immense amount of focus, which was why when a few of his monsters suddenly died, he didn’t even notice. However, when they began dying in droves, and over a thousand were dead in under a minute, that finally got his attention. Switching his focus to the monsters who’d died, it took him a few moments to realize which ones they’d been.
The ones stationed outside as guards, Octagon thought, his eyes narrowing.
It seemed the Beast King had come, and judging by the speed in which he’d killed his forces, he’d brought friends.
No matter, Octagon thought. They can’t beat me, no matter how many come. So let them try!
***
Katherine stood atop the western-facing wall, standing tall with her arms clasped behind her back, even as snow whipped around her, tossing her long golden locks out behind her and causing her cloak to billow and snap in the driving winds. Below her, the mass of white and gray charged the walls, their roars shaking the air with their fury.
Beside her stood Fuza, the one chosen to be her personal guard during the fight, as well as the commander of the forces on this front. They were fighting off a two-fronted assault, and though they were at a massive disadvantage, they had two things going for them. The first were their walls, the massive fortifications built to withstand almost anything. And second, were their additional forces.
They’d been extremely careful when bringing in the reinforcements from the other Kingdoms, and both Le’vine and Herald had assured her that they had not been spotted. So, while the monsters under the Pinnacle King charged with reckless abandon, they were doing so at their own peril. A part of sitting on a certain piece of land also allowed people to prepare for contingencies, and while she hadn’t thought it likely they’d break through here, Katherine always liked to be prepared.
Now, her hand went up, signaling her forces with the triggers to the explosives she’d had planted all along the perimeter of the wall. She’d dotted the area with as much firepower as she could spare, and it was going to make one hell of a bang.
Le’vine crouched beneath the parapet next to her, bundled in a heavy cloak and shivering violently as the wind gusted around her. Strong as the Queen of the East was, she wasn’t used to this bitter cold, though Hilda, her aide, seemed to be doing just fine.
“G-g-get on with it a-a-already!” Le’vine hissed. “I’m f-f-freezing my ass off here!”
“Not like you were working with much anyway,” Katherine muttered.
“What was that?” Le’vine demanded.
“I said, I’m waiting for a signal from Herald,” Katherine said.
That wasn’t what she’d said, obviously, but she was waiting for Herald’s signal. He was currently on the opposite wall with Bell and his commanders. This attack had to be coordinated, as they wanted to take advantage of the explosion. Though nothing was set up on the eastern front, the massive fireball should be enough of a distraction to give Herald and his men a chance to do some serious damage of their own.
Katherine was starting to grow nervous, when the first line of charging monsters made it past the last line of explosives. She began to wonder if Herald had already sent the signal and she’d missed it somehow, but just a second after the thought crossed her mind, a bright flash of light became visible through the whirling snow.
Without hesitation, Katherine brought her arm down, giving the signal to start their counterattack. The Pinnacle King might have numbers on his side, but they had something the King of Winter didn’t have, and that was firepower.
46
Morgan and his group charged silently down the twisting tunnels, taking directions from Sarah whenever they reached a branching fork or open room with multiple options. It seemed the Pinnacle King really had committed nearly all his forces as the resistance was minimal. They’d run into just two groups thus far, consisting of maybe a hundred monster each. Suffice it to say that they didn’t stand a chance, Morgan’s group simply trampling them underfoot before moving on.
The going was fairly easy, if a bit nerve-wracking. All of them could feel the weight of the glacier above them increasing the deeper into the glacier they went. The low sound of Galig’s murmuring, followed by Sarah’s affirmative, seemed to be putting them all on edge. The loud cracks and booms that followed each step reminded them of how unstable this glacier was becoming, and that the likelihood of potentially burying themselves along with the Pinnacle King was growing stronger by the minute.
Still, they moved on without complaint, staying focused on the task at hand. They didn’t really face a challenge until about thirty minutes into their run when they emerged into a large ice cave. Here, three beasts lay, all the same, and all quite ferocious-looking.
They were apes, though not the type of apes one might look at and think of as majestic. Rather, they were the types of apes that one looked at, then ran the other way. Their fur was a stark white, leaving their chests bare and black, much like the Pinnacle King himself. However, their lower halves were like those of horses, albeit mutant ones. This gave them four legs instead of the usual two while leaving a massive pair of oversized fists to swing free.
Name: Giantfist-Chimera
Rank - 50
Ability Type - Super
“They’re all at 50,” Morgan called out. “Sarah, Solveig, and Chesterson, you take them. Galig, stay back and give them some cover. No one take any risky moves. Remember, we need to stay fresh for the Pinnacle King!”
They moved seamlessly forward, not questioning his orders. Each m
oved to face one of the beasts, all of which looked meaner than any he’d yet to see. Still, after seeing the majesty of Lumia, the cobalt-mithril drake, these beasts seemed to be lacking somehow. They didn’t have her refinement, her wild beauty, nor did they elicit the same sense of danger.
These beasts are nothing. Just oversized, multi-legged gorillas that are in our way.
Morgan had to follow his own advice and stay back from the fighting. He, more than anyone, needed to stay fresh, so he had to stay out of any serious battles before the big boss. Still, he was interested to see how the groups would handle them. This was the way beast zones were meant to be tackled, after all, with teams of five. Morgan had only ever fought with Sarah backing him up, so he was curious to see how a team would handle a beast like this.
Solveig’s team moved in first, the woman drawing a massive war hammer from her belt and swinging it down at the ground before her. The chimera, which had been charging while pounding its chest, suddenly found its front two legs caught in the crack that had opened right before its feet. It let out a pained roar as it pitched forward, the power of its momentum sending an audible crack ringing through the open cavern as its legs shattered.
Another super stepped forward, even as the creature was airborne, and extended his arm, a steel spike firing from his outstretched palm and slamming into its chest. The spike penetrated deep. It then sprouted into multiple spikes, tearing huge holes in the beast’s insides. At the same time, one of the mages pointed, her finger glowing a bright green before a gout of liquid shot from the fault where its legs were trapped.
For a moment, Morgan wasn’t really sure what it was, but when the beast’s flesh started melting and its howls of pain intensified, he realized it was acid. One more member swept out with a kick, which somehow impacted the center of the chimera’s back, snapping the spine with a horrible crunch and, as the beast’s head neared the ground, Solveig’s hammer connected with its head, splattering its brains across the floor.
Morgan had to admit he was impressed with the group’s efficiency and speed. In just under five seconds, they’d killed a beast that would have taken him well over three minutes. Sure, he could have started with a big attack and won in the first few seconds, but where was the fun in that? He could see the draw of being in such a group. Individually, they were all weaker than the rank 50 chimera. Together, they posed a far greater threat.
He briefly wondered if they’d be able to take him down, then immediately dismissed it. As smart as Advanced beasts were, they still didn’t have the same level of intelligence as a human. And, seeing as how he had a wealth of experience, as well as a slew of massively powerful skills, he put his chances of defeating the entire group, all nineteen of them, at about the same as the Pinnacle King.
They might be able to hold him for a while, maybe even inflict some injury, but in the end, he’d come out on top, and none the worse for wear.
Sarah’s group handled things a bit differently, taking the beast down from a distance without even coming near it, and Chesterson’s defeated the beast by first trapping, then decapitating it.
“Cores go to those who landed the killing blow,” Morgan said, to stop any argument. “If we run into any more, cores will be handed down by seniority.”
He made a point of saying this so there’d be no glory hogs or greed getting the way of teamwork. This compromise seemed to work for everyone, and those who’d landed the killing attacks moved in to claim the cores. This was only the work of a few minutes and soon they were off once more, jogging down the long tunnels and heading toward their inevitable goal, the Pinnacle King.
***
A massive explosion rocked the ground before Arnold, throwing him back as a superheated blast of air billowed outward in an arch. The explosion sent a ball of fire billowing up into the sky, melting any snow in the area before it could even hit the ground. Arnold tried to land on his feet, but the violence of the blast had been so unexpected and immediate, that he hit the ground hard, slamming his back against the hard-packed ice and skidded several feet before coming to a halt.
His Constitution was more than high enough that he wasn’t actually hurt, nor did the explosion really do anything to him. The same could not be said of his forces, though. Where once there had been a bare open stretch of ground, a roiling fire now burned, consuming the corpses of the undead monsters by the thousands. Monsters ran screaming, Octagon’s control broken by the sheer panic of their bestial instincts.
Growling, Arnold forced himself back to his feet, marching forward and drawing his sword. The explosion may have taken him off-guard and even killed a few thousand of his troops, but they were just a drop in the bucket. The fire was already dying down, leaving the way clear once more. This time, there’d be nothing to stop him.
“Charge!” he roared, whipping his blade back and slashing outward.
A ripple of freezing wind blasted out of the sword, quenching the flames and freezing the smoldering corpses beneath. He did his best to ignore the random limbs, smoking heads, and chunks of bodies littered literally everywhere. Instead, he used his own force of will to make the panicking monsters obey, forcing them forward towards the wall.
There were probably a few more traps, but their forces were expendable. They could always be replenished by killing the enemy. The North’s forces could not. The monsters began to move forward once more under Arnold’s command. Now that the fires were out and the explosions finished, they could safely approach and begin scaling the walls once more. At least, that was what they’d thought.
A small light glittered on the wall above, forcing Arnold to squint through the storm. Good as his eyesight was, his visibility was somewhat limited during these storms. He normally didn’t mind, but now he found it extremely annoying. That annoyance turned to outright anger when the flaming boulder came hurtling into view, slamming into the ground and carving a furrow out of his tightly-packed forces.
“Shit!” Arnold cursed, watching the wall above come alive with dozens of small pinpricks, likely all the same weapons.
Where in the hell did the North get these? These are Eastern weapons designed to attack ships out on the water!
“Commanders! Take those boulders out of the sky!” Arnold roared as the enemy launched their first volley.
Arnold crouched, feeling his powerful muscles coiling, then jumped into the air, slashing out with his blade and slicing one of the boulders in half. It was only after he did that and the individual pieces fell to cause even more damage than the last that he realized it was a bad idea. All around him, flaming stones rained and he realized that in order to take the walls, they’d need to destroy the launchers first.
Right now, their numbers were working against them. Packed into a tight space like this and with so many troops, it was impossible for the North to miss. And while their forces might be substantial, he doubted they’d run out of rocks or fire anytime soon. Katherine could simply sit up there and rain down fire and destruction from above, and before long, their forces would be wiped out.
“Barm, Quack, Grigg, and Mush, with me! The rest of you, stay down here and try to mitigate the damage! We’re going after those launchers!”
The monsters in question all moved forward without question, running towards the wall. Each angled to take a different section. Arnold, as the commander, ran straight down the middle, ignoring the flaming boulders and concentrating on moving as quickly as possible. His sword was shoved back in its sheath as he took a running leap and landed more than halfway up the wall.
While it may have been incredible to some to see someone jump over eighty feet, Arnold was less than impressed. Had he had the space to build up some more speed, he could have cleared the wall in a single jump. Instead, he was forced to dig in his fingers, the sharp nails cracking the stone and ice as he landed upon its surface. Then, he began to climb, dragging himself up at an astonishing speed.
With ten seconds, he was at the top of the wall and vaulting over, only
to come face to face with a polished black boot. The kick was powerful enough to hurl him over a hundred yards out, cracking his cheekbone, before sending him plunging back down to the ground below.
Arnold let out a bellow of rage as he plowed into his troops, turning his body into a makeshift projectile and tearing his forces to shreds. So, by the time he stopped, he’d killed some four dozen of his own monsters and was now drenched in their blood.
“Who the hell did that?” he roared, leaping back to his feet and feeling the throbbing pain in his jaw.
He was just in time to see similar missiles being made of his other commanders, their bodies being thrown from the wall top to hurl into their own forces. He couldn’t make out who was up there thanks to the snow, but he knew that there were very few people who could move across the wall that quickly and hit so hard.
“Katherine,” Arnold cursed, feeling his hands balling into fists.
He would get to the top of that wall no matter what it took, and when he got up there, he would tear that bitch limb from limb!
47
Katherine felt a small sense of satisfaction as she sent Arnold hurling out into empty space. Of course, killing all those monsters with that massive explosion had been far more satisfying, however, she’d take the small wins where she could. The old Katherine may have allowed Arnold up on the wall so she could take down the commander and defeat him quickly.
This Katherine had a plan, and it involved Arnold and his troops remaining ignorant of their reinforcements for as long as possible. So, when he’d tried to come up, likely to destroy the catapults that Le’vine had brought along with her, she’d sent him right back to square one. Knowing Arnold, he’d likely spend the next fifteen minutes throwing himself at the wall, before realizing there was a better way.