MarvinKnight
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Amazon Apocalypse 5: Chapter 36
🕑 Added 2025-03-05 16:00:17 +0000 UTCI felt more than a little relieved that the System backed me up on my accusation. It would have looked quite strange otherwise. Doing a few favors for the local System node really paid out. Though I wasn’t sure those favors would carry over to the node controlling Crownhill.
Everyone who heard my accusation and then received the System quest followed my pointed finger to Lady Velicia and then examined her. The information I received was suddenly different from last time, as though the System had broken whatever defensive measures she’d been using to conceal her prior identity.
Unknown Entity (Level 279)
Lady Velicia’s true power was well into B-Grade, comparable to some of her heretic friends who’d died under my watch. Originally, I’d thought her to be a charisma class user like Lisette, but given her current level, I suspected she was more like me. She likely had a class focused on disguised and espionage, with a few charisma-scaling abilities on the side to get in the good graces of people like Prince Herius.
The moment Lady Velicia’s identity was revealed, there was an explosion of movement from the legates. Many of them were B-Grades, and while Velicia’s true power was deep into B-Grade, she was surrounded.
Thaddeaus was the quickest to act. Perhaps he had a grudge against Lady Velicia himself, or, like me, disliked the influence she had over the prince. His spear appeared in his hands and thrust forward with all the might of his newly minted B-Grade power.
Lady Velicia grabbed the head of the spear, stopping it inches from her belly with little strain. Her reaction almost came a moment to late, and it was clear that she hadn't gotten the notification the rest of us had. To her, the sudden hostility must have come out of nowhere.
“Herius, your army is full of traitors! Do something!” Lady Velicia shouted in panic. But it was too late for that. A D-Grade like the kind she’d been pretending to be would never have been able to catch a B-Grade’s spear.
Maximus soon jumped to his feet as well and drew a short blade, which he tried to bring around and press against Lady Velicia’s neck while he trapped her in a headlock.
He succeeded in getting a grip on her, but Lady Velicia proved a bit too flexible for a human and wormed her way out of his grip anyway.
Lady Velicia jumped behind Prince Herius, who stood with brows furrowed and a look of shock on his face.
“Herius!” Velicia yelled.
Prince Herius shook his head, as though to clear a hazy fog that had settled over it. When his expression cleared, his eyes were sharper than I’d seen since the start of the campaign. Until now, I hadn’t realized how much she’d clouded his judgment.
He reached around and grabbed Velicia’s wrist, trapping her by his side. Then he raised his other hand.
“Everyone, stop! We’re going to get to the bottom of this. Velicia, like Legate Carter, I’m relieving you of command. If this is some sort of trick, you have nothing to fear. None of my people will harm you.” Herius turned his gaze to the rest of the legates, many of whom already had weapons drawn. One was missing.
“Ha, the class upgrade is mine!” Legate Abesa cackled as she drove a knife into Lady Velicia’s unprotected back. Then she gave it a twist for good measure.
The wound she dealt opened wide, and thick black fluid that looked like old motor oil flowed out of it. That wasn’t blood.
When Abesa twisted her blade again, I got a good look at metal and wires hidden beneath rubbery false skin. Apparently, Velicia had just as many mechanical components as the other heretics. She was just better at hiding them.
Prince Herius looked like he’d just spotted a snake in his underclothes, but he kept his grip on Velicia’s arm. Not that it helped.
Velicia took one look down at her punctured side and knew her cover was completely blown. She pulled on the arm in Prince Heriu’s firm grasp, and everything from the forearm down separated from her wrist. The hand Prince Herius held tight deflated like a popped balloon until he was only holding a clump of warm skin.
Without the skin, Lady Velicia’s arm was mostly mechanical. Dull gray metal stood out from grease-covered pistons. There were a few scraps of biological matter that had previously anchored her mechanical components to her skin.
Her first action upon freeing herself from Prince Herius was to grab the knife in her side. The thing previously known as Lady Velicia yanked the dagger free and jammed it into Legate Abesa’s throat. The move must have cleanly severed the legate’s spinal cord because she dropped like a rock and soon oozed copious amounts of blood.
Thaddeaus lunged at her again, but Velicia shoved the spear tip aside with her metal limb. The pointed tip of her arm hardened until it was like a spike, and she turned that spike on Thaddeaus.
In another half a second, that exchange would have turned bad for Thaddeaus, but Maximus was there to keep up the pressure on the other side. Velicia tried to disengage and break away, but I wasn’t about to let that happen. She jumped clear of us, and dark, jet-pack-like thrusters appeared on her back.
My dragon wings formed on mine, and taking a shortcut through the shadow realm, I caught her before she could slip her away. I pulled her into a tackle and sent her back to the ground.
By now, all the legates had a chance to react, and what followed was a frantic haze of stabbing and chopping as everyone pulled out weapons. I wasn’t a legate anymore, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t join in, which I did.
“W-wait! P-prince Herius!” Velicia cried as our comrades chopped her to pieces, revealing more mechanical components with every swing. Were class upgrade tokens truly that valuable? The System had given me half a dozen upgrade tokens of various sorts since the integration. But perhaps I was the exception.
For his part, Prince Herius looked down on Velicia with hard and clear eyes. His hammer-staff was in his hands now, and he waved the others aside.
“I recognize the disguise you wear. A flesh suit, as you heretics call it? Tell me, when did you kill and replace the original Velicia?” Herius asked.
Velicia hesitated a moment, likely trying to think of the response that would get her out of this situation. I recalled Herius mentioning an ability to tell truth from lies. No doubt she was thinking about that as well. While he waited for an answer, Herius tightened his grip on his hammer.
“The real Velicia could still be saved. Her flesh still lives, after all. But if you want to keep her alive, you need--“ she began, but Herius hesitated no longer. He brought his hammer down on her head.
The sound of crunching metal echoed through the manor’s garden. It was less like a cracking skull and more like a crumpling can.
And just like that, my last loose end had been cut clean off. Plans rarely came together this cleanly for me, so I planned to savor the moment.
"A lie, sadly," Prince Herius said as he wiped Velicia's blood and oil from his hammer. The quest reward appeared before him in a flash of light, and he grabbed it and stared at it with a complicated look before stuffing it in his pocket.
“You probably want to talk about how I knew she was a heretic in disguise, right?” I asked the prince. That was the obvious follow-up question to this situation, and I’d prepared several natural and truthful follow-up explanations.
Herius gave me a dull nod while he stared at the mess before him. Then, he turned to the smear on his hammer. “E-excuse me...” he said under his breath, then stepped out into the garden.
He took two turns behind some hedges, and I thought he intended to speak with me away from the others. His actual intent became clear a moment later when he bent over and vomited into the bushes.
“She was a flesh puppet machine thing... and I...” Prince Herius choked off his own words with more retching sounds.
The situation had suddenly turned awkward, but leaving now would be even more awkward, so I placed a comforting hand on Herius’ bent over back.
“I’m sure it was a very anatomically correct disguise. You couldn’t have known. She had some powerful charisma abilities, too. You were a victim in this. Don’t beat yourself up over it. I blame myself. I should have found a way to get rid of her sooner.”
Prince Herius vomited more in reply. Amidst all the puking, the answers I prepared proved completely unnecessary. He didn’t even ask how I knew Velicia was a heretic in disguise.
“I just hope the real Velicia was at peace. She was such a shy and tender girl...” Herius muttered.
“I’m sure...” I simply nodded along as Herius tried to convince himself that he’d been sleeping with the real Lady Velicia, and that the robot doppelganger hadn’t come in until later. I had to admit that I’d probably do the same thing if I was in his situation.
“The only thing I’m truly upset about is the insults toward Myrina and Cyra,” I said, and the prince nodded in agreement.
“Yes. I should have known that wasn’t the real Velicia the moment I heard that. I will ensure things are made right." The prince regained more of his composure as he grew increasingly convinced of his own words.
I gave Prince Herius a few minutes of camaraderie. Thankfully, the book I’d received from Ted, the strange homeless man on Glacia, covered a situation amazingly similar to this. As luck would have it, I’d just gone over that passage the previous day, so I had plenty of words of encouragement to share.
“Every ending is a new beginning. You’ll pull through this.”
Prince Herius rummaged around in his pocket and produced the class upgrade token he'd gained from killing Velicia.
He looked at it one last time, then looked at me.
"By way of apology for recent events, take this." Then he flicked the token in my direction.
I caught it in one hand and analyzed it.
Class Upgrade Token (Legendary)
Suitable for upgrading any class below legendary to the legendary rarity.
"Are you certain? Can't you use this?" I asked.
Herius shook his head. "By the grace of my father, the king, and considerable political jockeying on my end, I was granted a token just like that one. Had I known I'd find another here, I could have saved myself years of work. Alas, such is life. Take it. I do not wish to see it again."
I granted Herius' wish by taking the token and stuffing it in my pocket. I wasn't about to refuse him, though it made me feel bad about leaving him.
"Thank you. I should give you something in return..." I rummaged around in my things before coming across a set of Mark One power armor. I'd picked a few more up to finish while traveling, and I'd done so. Perhaps I could have handed them out already, but the moment never seemed right.
"Take this set of armor, from me. Your sister, Myrina, can teach you how to use it. I think a warrior-mage like you will find it useful. The boost to physical stats are considerable. They are currently quite popular in the Mucaria Pocket Realm.
Truthfully, the armor I was handing Prince Herius was less a Mark One and more like a Mark One-and-a-half. I'd been thinking about what kinds of upgrades I was going to make now that I was a Kindling Architect, and this was the suit I'd been experimenting on.
"I will certainly try it. Thank you for the gift, brother-in-law."
Prince Herius eventually recovered his princely decorum, and after righting himself, he returned to the gathering of legates with a demeanor that at least halfway resembled his usual confidence.
“The enemy has made a fool of me, and by extension, the entire crusade. I only had eyes for the cultivators, unaware of the other threats lurking in the shadows. This mistake will not happen again. I will be important specialty equipment meant for dealing with heretics and their usual strategies. We must be just on guard against them as we are against the cultivators. Together, we will drive them from this world and liberate its people!” Herius thrust a fist into the air. A few legates even cheered.
“Brothers and sisters in arms, let’s banish the disunity the enemy sought to sew in our ranks. They feared what we could do when we were united in purpose. Now let us show them why we were afraid!”
I clapped. It was a decent speech. Unfortunately, this was a rough crowd for it. Also, we had more practical concerns to address.
“You’ll need a new legate for the third legion since Abesa’s dead.” I nodded in the direction of Abesa’s corpse, which was sitting in a pool of her own blood. A few of the other legates had tried to save her, but the dagger she’d been stabbed with had some sort of poison on it. Lodged in her brain as it was, it had done more damage than anyone had been prepared to heal.
Someone might have been able to save her if a few of my wizards with healing magic had been summoned right away, but that had strangely slipped my mind with all the chaos. Funny how things like that happened.
“Any recommendations?” Herius asked.
“Roll them into Myrina’s regiment for now. They’re undertrained and under-strength. Myrina’s got control of the fifth and the eleventh. Merging the three legions under her will fix the latter problem, and she’s already doing drills with the other two legions to correct the former problem.”
“Done. And I’ll place you in charge of oversight,” Herius said.
“Actually, you’ll have to go to acting Legate Asimi for that. I’m not a legate anymore.” I shrugged, tilting my chin at the missing badge on my shirt collar.
“You’re still resigning? Even though...” Herius gestured to the mess on the ground between us, which was covered in Abesa’s blood and Velicia’s oil.
“Sorry. I’m clocked out. But between you and me, I think you guys will have an easier time clearing the rest of the planet than you think. There’s not much left to fight for at this point. Good luck!”
I’d come, arranged for a bunch of people to kill one another, consorted with the System to do who-knows-what, revealed someone as a secret robot, and ruined the prince’s relationship. If I wanted to leave without explanation, now was the time.
“Huh?” Herius frowned, but didn’t protest when I left to give out a few last gifts before taking off for home. Bridget deserved that magic frying pan, and I figured Sakura could make the best use of the job upgrade token I’d given to her, considering she had just picked up a new job and could benefit the most from boosting it.
“Thanks, Carter. I am pushing up against the limits of what a basic manager job can do,” Sakura said.
“And I will put this pan to good use!” Bridget said.
Next, I met with Cyra and Myrina.
"I'm also returning your Feisty Redhead armor to you, Myrina, but I've painted it green so people won't recognize you."
"Aww..." Myrina grumbled.
"It's probably for the best." Cyra smirked as she ruffled her little sister's hair.
"I have another set of armor for you. I just gave one to Prince Herius, so if you and he want to learn to use them, you'll have to get Myrina to teach you," I said as I handed Cyra one of my improved Mark One armor sets.
"Thank you, Carter. I'm still not really sure what's going on. Are you... going home?" Cyra asked.
"For a bit, yes. I have some things to take care of back in Crownhill, so this is a convenient time for me to leave. But don't worry, I don't think I'm done with this crusade yet." I shared a smile with both of them and a warm embrace.
After, I opened up my bag of holding to them and let them each pick a few swords from my recent raid. There were plenty of good ones to choose from after going through the private vaults of so many B-Grades.
The cultivators weren’t that good at enchantments, but they were very good at collecting powerful and exotic materials. I wouldn’t have thought dragon bone would make a good sword until Myrina sliced through a building with one.
“Can you make it so it shoots fire and roars like a dragon?” Myrina asked, batting pretty lashes at me.
“Sure.” I chuckled as I quickly visualized the enchantment pattern that would create her requested changes, then cast them onto the magic bones with Lightsculptor’s Brush and a few bright Mana Bolts.
After, I turned to Cyra. “It looks like I’m taking special orders. You want anything?”
Cyra looked embarrassed to even ask, but she mustered her courage.
“I could use a shield better suited to B-Grade attacks. Something that can really take a hit. And maybe repair itself, since you’ll be gone for a bit.”
I nodded along and spent about a minute figuring out what that would look like. I ended up taking a page from the Samhain family bloodline and tied an enchanted shield to a hidden extradimensional pocket realm. It would be full of extra metal and materials for the shield to repair itself, along with a few full replacements in the case of catastrophic damage. It wasn’t as fully self-repairing as I’d have liked, but I was proud of it for something I crafted so quickly.
Now, if I wanted real self-repairing items capable of rebuilding themselves an infinite number of times, I’d have to chase my magical nanobot idea a little more. But that was a project I’d have to sit down for, and this would do for now.
After giving away my gifts, I gave the lot of them temporary goodbyes, though I was pretty sure the System would call them back to Crownhill soon enough. Meanwhile, I hunted down Mimiko. Unlike the others, I’d need to get her home the hard way.
“Come on, Mimiko. I promised to take you somewhere your cultivator friends would never find you. Now I’ll make good on that,” I said.
“This one lives to serve.” Mimiko bowed low, then gathered her belongings and trailed behind me. She seemed more distant than she had when we raided the Black Beast Sect headquarters, and I was pretty sure my rejection was to blame. This scenario was what ‘Interpreting the Fairer Sex’ called the Cold Shoulder tactic.
I had a few ideas about how to warm her up. Alas, most of the book’s suggestions culminated in expanding your imperial harem, which was something I was trying not to do. No imperial harems for me. A regular-sized one would do just fine.
We arrived at the teleportation array and were soon teleported to Glacia. Mimiko had no paperwork at all, which meant getting her through took me flashing my jade medallion status with the Dragon Lodge, along with paying a few unexpected fees.
Thankfully, I was able to use the same trick of claiming she was a concubine, which got her through customs easily enough, just like it had for Bridget and Sakura. Mimiko had even held my hand to help sell the idea.
“You can let go now,” I said as we stepped onto the teleporter to Themyscira, where we’d meet up with Thulga, check out my workshops in Shadefall, and then take a trip home.
“You’re back. And I see you brought a new friend!” Thulga said when we reappeared. A quick look around told me we were in Valkyrie’s Watch. With Myrina and Cyra away, there was nothing for me to see here, so I opted to go straight for Shadefall.
“Mimiko, this is Thulga. Probably my oldest employee and the one who gets me and my goods from one place to another.”
“I see. So you’re a traveling merchant by profession, then?” Mimiko asked.
I realized then I’d never told her what I did. To be fair, what I did was a lot more complicated than a job title.
“A merchant, craftsman, wizard, and shardking. I do a lot these days,” I shrugged.
Thulga took us to Shadefall, where my enchanters had more several sets of Mark One armor done and ready for the final stage of enchanting. That was a good thing, considering I'd given away my current stock just before leaving. I completed the construction process and told Mimiko to try one on.
“Here, hop in and see how you like it,” I suggested.
She obediently stepped into the suit, which closed around her. She took a few unsteady steps but soon got the hang of the controls and moved with increasing smoothness.
“A strange armor design. It reminds me of the strange warriors from what your people call the heretic territories,” Mimiko said from inside the armor.
“Yeah? I guess it would be reminiscent of them. Though I like to think my handiwork is a bit cleaner.
We played around a bit, and I gave Mimiko a crash course on living in the System. She’d already changed her clothes to avoid standing out, but her mannerisms might also need changing. But eventually, my desire to return to Crownhill got the better of me, and I could delay our return no longer.
I stepped back on the teleportation array, and from there Thulga took us home.
<Note>
So yeah, we'll be spending a bit of time with Mimiko and Reluna while back on Crownhill.
Comments
Marvin
Hope you continue to enjoy it for the rest of the series!
Sye Olmstead
Maybe Mimiko could be the body that the jade goddess inhabits or something. Combining the characters into one with a combo of their personalities
jmundt33a
Also interesting in a Bond film. The pun was used in her introduction dossier.
NovaZero
Onatopp is a very interesting name when you make it anime.
NovaZero
Easier to say she'd almost lost her head
perfringens
Well, that escalated quickly ^^' The part of me that love empire building and was getting annoyed at the lack of crownhill is satiated by those conquest. The part of me that loves harem is kinda annoyed at the lack of character development over this crusade, though, unless the prince is considered as an addition :p (I mean, it would complete the trio xD) Part of me want to see gobgob a bit more, but we finally get to read about crownhill ... Unless gobgob had to go back to the farmstead because reasons ? Maybe hire gobs as technicians and engineers for their shop?
perfringens
Yep, and reluna also I'd say. She's kind of a squatter and a freeloader that helped once for now. Well, twice if the golems are erased and crownhill hasn't been flattened. Gobgob is the one that had some huge development. I'll presume mimiko is the reason she wasn't checked on while on glacia.
Tommy
I am not sure Carter needs to lead the planet. I think he should definitely be backup muscle, but aside from Earth being his home, I believe his adventures and responsibilities lay out in the broader realm. I really hope this goes on for a very long time as this series has grown to be one of my favorites with so much to do and so many opportunities.
Justin "Johnist" Johanson
What would be hilarious is if Mimiko dropped the act when they hit Crownhill and revealed she was really Jade.
Matt Geller
You talked of maybe using the current cover art to possibly be Mimiko and having more art done for the Jade Goddess, since Carter in actuality will be adding Reluna (who had the last cover) and Mimiko I think that would be great. Smiles leaving us another cover for the Goddess and of course we will need a cover for Eowyn, conveniently covering Carters Harem. lol unless he also adds thulga and Asimi for convenience sake.
Matt Geller
I was thrilled to see the “I got your back brother” moment between Carter and Herius, goes a long way to building the family bonds. It will allow Carter to return and be the reason of guidance for the legates in completing the crusade, there by also cementing the Samhain Clans position as leaders in the future. Only one current witch “Valy Vaust” left to be dealt with until he probably has to take on the Jade Goddess’s former cultivator group. Or whatever iteration of threats come to his shard on earth. Although if the system’s AI wants to be thankful she could bring all the earth shards together again and allow Carter and his Crownhill group be the leaders in reuniting the earth shards under Carter, making him the leader of the planet and increasing the acclaim of the Samhains.
Tommy
I can’t wait to see how Mimiko and Reluna interact, especially with both being foreign to Earth and its customs and people
jmundt33a
She’s the only Bond villainess trying to kill, fornicate, and climax at the same time. Makes her very memorable.
Tommy
Morin will fade to black most likely as they are now alone in the crusade now that Abesia is gone, no one to prop them up and have their back. It would be nice if they were to have a contest of wills with Myrina and get stomped.
jmundt33a
Yes, Basil. You are correct.
Marvin
It's being left behind in case any A-Grades show up to pick it over. He will grab it again later.
Marvin
Maybe someday. I haven't watched Goldeneye in ages, so I think the reference was going over my head.
Marvin
So Carter needs to showcase his ability to build chairs to impress Reluna. Got it.
Ding Bang Aw
Thanks for the chapter. I was laughing my ass off about the Prince puking in the garden because it reminded me of that scene in the movie kingpin after Woody Harrelson slept with his landlord. couple problems I noticed: caught her before she could slip her away. ^ remove the last her ^ I will be important specialty equipment meant for dealing with heretics and their usual strategies. ^ not sure what you meant here. I'm guessing "I will bring in specialty equipment" ^ Now let us show them why we were afraid!” ^ are not afraid or weren't afraid ^ Lodged in her brain as it was, ^this is just me being picky. but you said she was stabbed in the neck through the spinal cord not the brain ^
Marvin
Yeah, that. I totally thought of that, and you nailed the explanation that I thought of perfectly. Thanks.
Chris Stephan
A couple of things I noticed while reading: I will be important specialty equipment meant for dealing with heretics and their usual strategies. 'important' is the wrong word. 'importing' perhaps? Brothers and sisters in arms, let’s banish the disunity the enemy sought to sew in our ranks. 'sew' is the wrong word. 'sow' would be correct. Abesa dies to a knife to the throat that severs portions of the spine. Later you say she had a knife lodged in her brain.
Npd9913
Thanks for the chapter! Seems like Mimiko may be getting an arc? Nice. Sacrifice your cultivation for a harem ticket Mimi. FYI I was wondering whether the pocket realm was still with Carter.
jmundt33a
Also, have to say, if Herius had a special truth skill and she still scrambled him like the Sultan of Agraba, that’s an intense Charisma she had. Her true form does raise one question. Why is the entire investigative and retrieval team weaker than her? Was that so no one tried to appropriate credit the way BM tried to pressure Carter?
Adam
No, that was the job upgrade token.
Detectivetrap23
Some real “we knew she was a fembot all along, sadly” energy from Carter this chapter.
Corac
Mimiko and reluna time! I agree mimiko needs more time in friendzone to build her character more of she ever has a shot.
jmundt33a
Didn’t he pass it off to Sakura?
SiI3nt
Ok, jade goddess, mimiko and reluna.... Which one will it be for this book???? Hmmm🤔. I'm pretty sure since mimko has had a decent amount of appearing and interacting time, she will be the next one as she has actually showed some level of interest to Carter before he shoved his foot in his face. Reluna is a bit ways off imo, she seems more romanticly involved with that chair than anything else. Jade is probably a book or 2 off for any of that commitment stuff anyways, imo. Mimiko probably knows a lot, but was only give so little due to let whatever cultivator core word thing she has was so low in grade or tier... But I'm rooting #mimiko4haremifshedoesntturnouttobeadoubldoublagent
Adam
I’m looking forward to seeing Carter’s class upgrade
jmundt33a
Either made several sets or several more sets.
jmundt33a
Well…shoot. I hope for Xenia time someday with a worthy opponent Too bad about Velicia being a less sexy Vanessa Kensington fembot. But it does get Herius closer to his goal with the leadership of both factions eliminated and the cultivator fleet looted.
Chandler
Good chapter. Can't wait to see how the shard is doing, especially with the war on the golems. Needed fix: Thulga took us to Shadefall, where my enchanters had "more several sets" of Mark One armor done and ready for the final stage of enchanting.
ArbabSB
Now that was a satisfying chapter. Velicia dealt with. Carter gets a token to finally upgrade his class again (Herius really didn't deserve it. He'd still be dancing to Velicia's tune if not for Carter). Even legate Abesia is gone. That just leaves Morin. A nice set of gifts for the ladies. Looking forward to events on Crownhill. I wonder what Carter can do with the golem shard with his newfound knowledge, if there's anything left to salvage. Also interested to see the enemies for the next round of integration. Wonder how Reluna will react to Mimiko and vice versa.
jmundt33a
Should be paid off Should be disguise. Should be Herius’ grip Maybe frenzy instead of frantic haze. Should be looked down at The mess in front of him. Two before too close together.
