Battleforged
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Chapter 408 - Treasure Hunt X
🕑 Added 2024-03-29 03:59:00 +0000 UTC
Eric couldn’t help but grin at the looks of wonder and jubilation in his friends' eyes, a look that was near identical when Myl, Naje, and Svena all alternated through the portal. Though they always kept to delving best practices, with at least one if not two members forever outside, anchoring their place in this pocket realm on the off chance that it might reset, transform dramatically, or abruptly close, forcing a one-way confrontation with the final guardian before any can leave at all. Even as Elly, far more experienced than Eric was, filled him in on the fascinating varieties of delves that she had encountered in her day, she assured him that most of the time, dungeons were just as stable as the land they originated from with spacetime just as one would expect.
“But this is a first clear of an alien delve showcasing artifacts of a quality and nature none of us have ever seen before!” Elly said breathlessly. “So best we play it safe.”
“You got that right!” Myl said enthusiastically, so ecstatic to be able to claim both power armor and blaster rifle of his own that regenerating limbs and other injuries did nothing to slow his exhilaration. “Two mana points and I’ve just locked in a hundred million bonus. Fucking awesome, captain!” Myl flashed Eric a positively giddy smile. “Boy am I glad we hooked up with you, kid. You necromancers are alright in my book, and I’ll say that to anyone’s face who dares imply otherwise!”
Eric laughed off the awkward, almost apologetic looks several other party members given, fully understanding the spirit in which Myl’s praise was given.
“Thanks, Myl. You’re not so bad yourself! Hell, if you guys decide that retirement isn’t your thing, there’s no telling how far we can go, delving as a crew with you all in Delve-ready power armor!”
“And what a fucking contradiction in terms that is,” Bennett said with a hard twinkle in his eyes, gently supporting a still seriously injured Naje. “Alright, lock in your prizes, boys, and let’s get my girl her own set of custom perfection.”
He then gave Eric a meaning-filled look. “How are we?”
Eric grinned, hearing the distant roars and shouts, louder than ever.
“Both orc and gnoll companies are coming this way. I figure we got a minute, give or take.”
Eric gazed with a certain amount of satisfaction at the writhing forest of fiery vines and stately flame-oaks absolutely filling the boulevard for a good hundred yards and choking half a dozen side streets and alleyways. Sure, it was transforming the entire area into a smoldering blaze, but seeing as how he now had a clean air enchantment over both himself and the entire entrance, it wasn’t hindering him or Bennett’s crew in the least. But the distant coughs, squeals and angry grunts made it clear that the denizens of this doomed pocket realm weren’t enjoying it in the least.
So too, he allowed himself a certain smile of grim satisfaction as the hell-vines told him everything he needed to know about the reds pushing through, and those keeping back that were blinking on his interface, even as he caught sight of a surprised-looking Svena, instinctively flinching to hear the roars, see the flaming ruins, and curl in on herself as an injured woman not wishing to be exposed to more peril, before her tension turned to cheerful awe when the man she adored presented her with a brand-spanking new set of Power Armor Eric had gotten very good at claiming with hardly any damage to the chassis or helmet at all.
“Fucking hell, love. Is that what I think it is?” Svena whispered with a certain amount of awe, her one fully intact limb trembling only slightly when she reached out to clasp the T-3 Sniper Rifle, the same model Eric had listed for a hundred million, before shuddering as a single mana point bound it forevermore to her soul.
Her eyes welled up in tears. “This is everything!” She whispered, not hesitating to bind the power armor suit that, much to Eric’s bemusement, could be adjusted to fit a number of sizes and frames, using nodules and a complex array of shifting plates, bearings, and fluid capacitors that made absolutely no sense when Lone tried to explain why it was tech, not portal magic, that had their mecha suits fitting them like gloves.
Svena then turned her gaze to meet Eric’s own, mouthing words that filled Eric with warmth and brought a lump to his throat, showing such naked gratitude to someone she had known for barely more than a day, just another assignment, before he found himself fighting so fiercely for their lives and wellbeing.
Only in that moment realizing what a complete and utter FOOL he was being.
They weren’t fighting in some Terran dungeon where mad evolution encapsulated by dream and nightmare gave rise to mindless abominations or even creatures echoing life over the last hundred and fifty million or so years.
No. This rift, with its impossibly precise artifacts mirroring magitech marvels so well, was an echo of a past that had almost happened… HAD, in fact, happened, save for a twist of fate and a Silver-tier Talisman fueled on the dying blood and tiers of an innocent child who’s heart pounded with the blood of angels and demons both before she had finally been freed of nightmare, carried by the mother they both shared to a heaven Eric knew he would never be worthy of.
But at least he could be worthy of his friends.
At least he could use common fucking sense!
Svena had just bonded with a priceless sniper rifle that Eric had claimed off an overconfident mech warrior making his way through back roads and debris, not expecting a calculated counter strike via opposing mechs and a speedster from what was effectively an alternate reality to these people that he was increasingly certain were very self-aware and, to their own minds at least, just as real as Eric and his friends.
But just because they had tagged one fool didn’t mean that there weren’t other snipers in the works even now gaining elevation and scoping down vulnerable targets. One, maybe even half a dozen Bronze tier power armored snipers now eager to take a cocky, overconfident Eric and his friends down in one deadly—
DANGER!
When he felt a sudden flair of warning washed over him, Eric’s thoughts were already in overdrive and he was raising TOWARDS, not away from the sense of threat, leaping right on top of the most vulnerable member of their crew. Svena, who had time only to widen her eyes before the air filled with deadly hyperion radiation that blasted into and completely ruptured Eric’s warding shield spell before searing flesh and scattered off his mithril mail.
You have been struck by Sniping Blow with T-3 Hyperion Deathblaze!
3 Triple Slaughter Perks have been mitigated! - You have taken the shot meant to eliminate another!
Hyperion Blazer Title gives EXTREME RESILIENCE to FATAL Hyperion Radiation!
(You’ve clearly danced this dance before!)
Mithril mail Scatters Deathstrike!
Your party has successfully saved versus Stunning Blows!
Your party has taken 4 Medium Wounds!
You have saved versus Catastrophic Injury!
You have taken 2436 Damage!
Adrenaline keeps you on your feet!
“AMBUSH!” Eric screamed with his mind. “Get everyone through the portal. Now! Now!”
***
Svena allowed herself a moment of pure happiness when the power armor closed around her far more snuggly than any cybermancer’s mechanized toy. Because this truly was a magical artifact, caressing her form just as well as the soul-bound artifacts that had served her well for so many decades before she had dared the Crucible of Bronze, forging herself in so many unexpected ways, so hungry she had been to ascend.
But she had never forgotten her mystic arts, or the feel of priceless treasures that had served her so well in taking out so many foul abominations that had once plagued her ancient home. And not one of those prizes could compare to the massive boons and buffs granted by her prized mecha gear that had required such exquisite care in shaping her final node to allow her to walk a Mech Warrior’s path. Yet here and now, she found her injured body so comfortably embraced by an arcane prize that anchored onto her memories and mana pool alone, with full access to the perks of her class, without even needing to access her final node at all.
She swallowed the painful lump in her throat. For the wonders of an ascending world were truly priceless, and the boon she had been gifted, a boon that would now allow her and her closest friends to dare the depths of countless rifts and ascend like mystical phoenix ascending to the heavens, was a prize beyond compare. All thanks to the too realistic ruins that so closely mirrored nightmares she was all too happy to wake up from. All thanks to a boy who had embraced rituals of unlife so impossibly foul that the entire faction of Witch Hunters would have cried out for his head, no matter how many treaties had to be shattered to make that edict come to pass.
Yet even now, her instincts were screaming. Even now she could taste the bitter poison lacing the sweetest fruit of her dreams.
In desperation she raised her weapon, even knowing that her doom was all but certain, her life a notch in a soulless monster’s belt. Yet the instant before her eyes could burn out when flashing with the pinkish golden light of Hyperion radiation, none other than the same insane would-be hero of a necromancer had gathered her up in his powerful arms and thrown her through the gate, even as she caught a glimpse of his body lighting up with radiation that should have disintegrated him in a heartbeat.
And then she was through.
Head throbbing, heart pounding as the shrieking sands howled overhead, yet somehow she was safe in the shelter of the massive World Eater of a wyrm calmly surrounding them in a Spike Ball-sized arena of space, Lone even now racing toward her. She could sense him, but not see him clearly, still blinking away dazzling after images, her eyes at least protected by arcane power armor that by no right should exist yet would function just as well in a Red Zone as in a deadly rift, holding a mirror of the weapon that she feared had just killed the most noble child she had ever met.
A Necromancer King, whose secrets she would keep with her to the grave.
“Svena! What happened? Messages are fucking blaring… the captain’s taken damage!” Lone’s voice rung with panic. “Fuck, I have to go in—”
“No! We’re being targeted by a sniper. An X-class T-III Hyperion Blaster is in play! You go in, you’re just another target!” Svena sobbed. “They already shot Ernest. The stupid kid guarded me with his body. Took a shot meant for me—”
Her words cut off when the gate shimmered. Heart in throat, she watched one friend after another, stumble through the gate. Myl and Naje, beautiful Elly, who crumpled into a ball and sobbed.
Her heart was pounding, not daring to say a word or even look at her party link, the dazzle in her eyes replaced by frustrated tears that she was so injured, so near fucking helpless even with the prizes she had bound which she would give up in a heartbeat if only…
The gate flared once more.
Svena let loose a sob when her beloved stumbled through, armor pockmarked with the telltale sign of hyperion radiation holes, but at least he was alive. Her beloved was alive!”
Lone was rushing over to Bennett’s side, helping to take off his helmet, clearly in a panic.
“Captain! I got the extra med-stims from the ATV!”
The man flashed a smile, and Svena’s heart twisted when blood began pooling in her fiance’s eyes.
“Good,” he wheezed. “Come on. Help me get inside. Hell, let’s all get in side. I could use a break from the bone chairs. The seats are fine, even if they’re clawed up, and at least we know the med unit’s still viable, even if the chassis is cracked and we don’t dare try to drive it.”
A pale-faced Elly popped open her face plate and rubbed away her tears. “Alright, Captain. I can seal up the cracks with plas-foam. The emergency generator and air filters still work, even if the engine’s shot. It will at least shelter us from the winds kicking up. I’ll fold out all the seats into beds.”
The captain gave a curt nod before collapsing with a groan, Lone darting around to support the captain and help him toward the towering Titan Wyrm that somehow knew to lower itself and allow them all access to their ATV. The group forewent the bone seats that Ernest had gone to such trouble to make for them, though Lone did manage to unlatch a couple of the more comfortable-looking ones from their bone mounts, as soon as he helped Bennett sit back down. Fortunately, the damaged vehicle Elly managed to plas-foam in record time could still serve as excellent shelter and a good place to rest, now free of all dust and grit with cool fresh air already circulating inside.
“Bennett!”
He smiled reassuringly at Svena’s panicked countenance. “Don’t worry, babe. I’m fine. That crazy kid took most of the heat. I was just the bait for the time it took me to jump through.” He gave a bitter chuckle “Damned sniper that pinned us was clearly Adept tier, and at least a Rank 50 Bronze. I don’t know what the hell Ernest thinks he can do, but considering that he saved at least a few of our lives, throwing us through with his damned useful air resistance canceling perks… I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if he actually pulls off a miracle.”
Lone froze after adjusting the bone recliners with their seat cushions and actually making surprisingly comfortable-looking beds. “Wait! That kid was hit? And he’s still in there alone with a fucking elite sniper?”
Bennett’s features hardened. “We were in a killbox and we didn’t even realize it until Ernest was already on top of Svena, blocking a shot that I’ll never forgive myself for not seeing coming.”
He gave Svena a look that sent her cheeks blazing like a girl of twenty.
“It’s alright. You can make it up to me. Later. When you’re in one piece,” she said with a hungry look that earned a low chuckle.
“Damn right I will, love. When we’re both in one piece.” He turned back to Lone. “And yes. The kid insisted on playing the fucking hero. He made sure we all got out and made it damned clear that he’s going to stay until he gets whatever the hell he really came here for. Says he can’t risk a reset, that he thinks he has just one chance to claim his prize.”
Bennett sighed, slumping over as Lone tisked and handed him both cold brew and one of the sandwiches Elly had made for them all, her still perfectly functional Professional magic keeping it as fresh and delicious as he could hope for.
“Not that you need me to tell you that. It’s all in the group chat logs. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to make full use of the—”
“Captain!” Naje’s voice was in a panic. “Reds are coming this way!”
“Details!” Bennett snapped, nearly shattering the bottle in his hand.
“Oh fuck… Raven company. And I recognize the veli riding alongside their ATVs! It’s the same one those three murderous assholes were riding!”
Svena’s jaw clenched. “Fuck. Raven Company’s working for the goblins now?”
“Alright, look alive, people!” Bennett snapped. “Everyone get in position! Shit, we need this wyrm to…”
His words broke off when the massive wyrm their ATV was perched upon sank the rest of the way into the ground. Both massive behemoth and even their bone recliners slipped underneath the surface as if the sand covered rock was water.
“Oh no. Now we’re fucked, Captain!” Lone said, before giving a mirthless chuckle. “Would you believe I actually hoped Ernest’s creations could help us… but that was stupid. They’re undead. Not sapient, and their master’s some kid who has no idea what the fuck’s going on!”
Svena cursed softly under her breath, flashing a concerned-looking Elly a warm smile. “Take the Sniper Rifle. We both know you’re a better shot than I.”
Elly smirked. “Bullshit. But yes, I will. Let’s pray those assholes see common sense.”
Svena gave a raspy chuckle before wincing with pain. “Would you believe for half a second I was hoping that thing would be enough to scare Raven Company off?”
“No doubt the titan wyrm’s under self-preservation commands,” Elly noted. “And Eric doesn’t know what’s happening out here.”
“Shit, the raptors! They’re not submerged, so maybe they’ll be able to…” Lone’s words died off when the velociraptors raced and hid within a nearby crevice so fast it was as if they were following orders. “Fuck. It look’s like we’re on our own, then.”
Elly’s jaw clenched as the dots they could only make out with their weapon scopes soon came into view sufficient for 300 Perception to make out each of the half dozen vehicles racing across the flatlands. “Fuck. We’re in trouble, Bennett.”
“Details, Elly!”
The elf sighed, cursing softly under her breath. “It isn’t just a spotter squad. They’re bringing everyone. I count at least eight elites, and shit! All of them are armed with T-IIIs! How’d that fucker pull that off? And another four ATVs stuffed with newbloods carting T-1 and T-2 sniper rifles. No fucking doubt about it, they’re planning on breaking in their new recruits with this mission.”
Long’s jaw clenched. “So the rumors are true. Fuck!”
“What rumors? Myl asked with a painful groan. “Fuck, help me prop myself by the gun port. I can still use a mini gun, even if my foot’s still a fucking mess.”
“Word back in the hub was that they bind their new recruits with black contracts. Once they’re marked with the titles those deeds will earn, no change of heart will save them. Raven company and similar block-ops are the only ones that will take them, and most of those operations have a shockingly low 5-year survival rate,” Long whispered, an instant before the air rang with the tinny sounds of a voice echoing across the barren lands with the help of an odd looking megaphone.
“Bennett! You still alive out there?”
“Fucking hell,” Bennett cursed, forcing himself to rise to a seated position as Long wordlessly handed him their own mana powered microphone, sticking it out a gun port to respond without giving anything unnecessary away.
“Hakan! Fancing meeting you out here! You escorting your new friends for an archaeological expedition like we are? No harm in it, but you know how those claim-jumping accords are. I wouldn’t want anyone to get the wrong idea as to your intentions. No need to get black marks on your corporate green card this early in the game, wouldn’t you say?”
Bennett flashed a hard smile when the air rang with laughter. “Aww, Bennett! Come on, old friend. Claim jumping? Archaeological expeditions? Really? That’s the story you’re going with?” The man’s exaggerated shake of the head could be seen even from the good mile distance still between their parties. “Come on, Bennett. You and I both know that’s not what this is about.”
“Really? Fact is, I have a contract stating exactly that. I’m here to escort our client on an archaeological find. You’ll find a duplicate of our copy in Freetown’s Blue Corp records, contract branch. Feel free to shoot city hall a message if you doubt me.”
The mercenary captain known as Hakan gave a pitying chuckle. “I think we both know that this has nothing to do with any archaeological bullshit and everything to do with forbidden arts outlawed by the counsel.”
Bennett mimed blinking and looking around. “And what forbidden arts would those be?”
“Necromancy, as you know damn well, you filthy human!” Screeched on of the goblins, pulling out a microphone of his own. “And by the powers vested in me, I demand that you sur—”
Bennett, however, had calmly plugged his ears with his fingers as his companions turned off the comms in their helms, smiling coolly as the goblin blustered and screamed, throwing down black papers that did nothing but flash with green flame from such a distance, his words ignored by Bennett’s entire crew.
Hakan glared at the incensed goblin, waving him down, before raising his megaphone once more. “Sorry about that, but my high strung client does have a point. You’re treading in dangerous waters, my friend. Very, very dangerous waters. Necromancy, as you no doubt know, has been formally censured by the local branch of the Terran Counsel, and all those practicing it or even daring to voice support for it are in deep, deep shit. Automatically declared outlaws, to have all their assets seized and to be hunted and executed on sight.”
The mercenary flashed a wicked grin while waving off his own words with a chuckle. “Fortunately for you, you’re a mercenary! Guilty of nothing more than upholding your contract. Which means that you get a penalty free fresh start! Even better, old friend, you now have the perfect out on your contract! Since your contractor, one Ernest ‘Edgelord’ Slaughter, has been censured as a wanted criminal, you’re allowed to sidestep your papers without being obligated to pay any penalty fees or deal with any stain to your spotless record whatsoever!”
Lone’s eyes widened, the younger mercenary radiating an odd mixture of hope and shame.
“Captain…”
Bennett raised his clenched fist, instantly silencing a flushing Lone before he could so much as whisper another word, though his eyes were locked on a still distant Hakan and Hakan alone.
“Now that might be true, old friend, but that’s only when one can make a good-faith ‘clean break.’”
Hakan snorted “Well then, there should be no fucking problem, Bennett. Because I assure you that the Council’s censure was up front and above-board. Even the System acknowledged it.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about, Hakan. Fact of the matter is, if I know that my client’s acted in good faith and I feel that it’s politics, not ethics, that’s driving a warrant for his arrest and extermination, then I am most definitely compelled by my contractual duties to defend my client’s life at all costs.”
Hakan chuckled coldly as he stood atop his ATV, his band refusing to halt, the pressure between the groups mounting as the vehicles slowly bridged the gap between them.
One mile.
Three quarters of a mile.
“Shit!” Elly hissed.
Half a mile.
And all the while, Bennett did nothing.
Elly and Lone exchanged anxious looks, before locking gazes with Bennett.
“Captain…”
“Silence! I think we’re selling the kid short.”
Lone furrowed his brow at that.
Elly paled. “Wait, you don’t think…”
Bennett snorted. “It sure as fuck caught us off guard.”
“But if you’re wrong, Captain…” Lone said.
Bennett sighed, rubbing his temples. “Yeah. If I’m wrong… we’re in for a world of hurt.”
Svena chuckled softly. “By which you mean we’re dead.”
Only when the distance had been reduced to a third of a mile did Hakan speak once more.
“I’ll give you credit for loyalty, like an old hound pining after a long dead master, but there’s loyalty, and there’s stupid. And I know damn well that you’re the farthest thing from stupid. You’re working for a necromancer, Bennett! There. I said it as a third party. Now you’re free to jump ship and join the winning team. It’s an offer I’m making for old-time’s sake. You did me a solid on Centura-IV, so consider this returning the favor.”
Bennett laughed coldly. “I pulled your ass out of a clusterfuck beyond all reckoning, and you know it. If you want to do me a ‘solid,’ then consider this. You say I’m working for a necromancer?” Bennett raised his arms, deliberately empty, masterfully hiding his injuries with the angle of his positioning by the gun port. “Well then, where the fuck are these so called undead?”
His lips curved ever so slightly at the looks of consternation they all saw, not just on Hakan’s face but on the newbloods as well, though Hakan’s core crew just gazed on hard and focused, over half a dozen T-3 miniguns aimed for center mass on Bennett’s armor.
Hakan frowned.
“That’s right, Hakan. There aren’t any. You know why? Because my client’s not an outlaw practicing forbidden arts. Farthest thing from it! But we’re in a hot red that could blow up to Black-tier status at any moment, and we all know it. What we needed wasn’t an attention-getting bloodbath, but to put the fear of god into these creatures. And for that fear, we needed access to a Contender’s arts and odd powers that you won’t find anywhere else but on an ascending world.”
“He raised the dead,” Hakan snapped. “No matter what name he has for it, or the System has for it, a cardinal transgression was made. An accord breached! You know the consequences for that as well as anyone, Bennett!”
Bennett coolly shook his head. “I’m assuming your referring to that giant wyrm? So massive it managed to scare away pretty much every other bad boy in the area?”
“Yes!” the goblin Barrister chortled triumphantly. “You acknowledged it, therefore you are bound by that acknowledgment!” He then pulled out another twisted globule of darkness and frozen screams in the shape of a playing card, sneering coldly as he prepared to flick it Bennett’s way. “Therefore, by the honor and majesty of Bloodtear Syndicate, I—”
“Will do absolutely NOTHING! Because you fools are chasing at shadows! Illusions, Hakan. Do you get it? The reason why you see no wyrm here is because there’s no wyrm to see!”
Bennett glared into the silence. Because even if he knew of half a dozen inconsistencies with his bold declaration, it didn’t mean that his opponents knew squat.
The goblins’ eyes bulged. “No. Impossible! We saw the World Eater. All of us saw it!” The goblin Shaman hissed.
Bennett’s smile widened, recalling a few key details that the kid, his client, had let slip. Details that might make all the difference. Because one thing that Essence of Impermeability and master illusions actually had in common were their limitations... which in certain circumstances could also be their strengths.
“You say you saw it. Of course you did. It was a masterwork. My question is this: Did it pick up or ping as anything on your interface? Because if it didn’t… then how could it be anything but an illusion?”
The shaman’s eyes bulged, eyes glancing everywhere frantically while the assassin seated beside him glared coldly at the shaman, cursing under its breath. “No. Impossible! I saw it. I know I did!”
“You sure about that, buddy? Mindless monsters don’t have access to any System maps or interfaces of any sort. They aren’t Contenders with internal System-sanctioned conquest maps echoing inside their skulls. They have no electromana hardware that ping with threat displays of any sort. They have nothing but weak psyches and hyper-acute senses that are so very easy to fool. Kind of like a goblin’s senses, perhaps. But surely you all weren’t fooled so easily, right?”
The goblins began hissing and screeching amongst themselves. Yet despite the uncertain looks between the trio of goblins, Hakan’s stare didn’t waver. His warm, bonhomie expression turned hard and cold.
“Last chance, Bennett. Quit playing the fool and join us. If you actually help us take this kid out, I’ll give you a double share.” Hakan then flashed a bonhomie grin that radiated nothing but sincerity and goodwill. “Now that’s a trade you can get behind! We’re talking a good five million for each of your surviving crew! Now how about that?”
Bennett sighed, slowly shaking his head. “I can’t do that, Hakan. I formally assert Via Contract and System that ritual magics that have nothing to do with Necromancy and everything to do with either enticing or scaring off wild beasts, have been in play since before your goblin friends first started keeping tabs on us in the desert. If you strike now, you’re striking out at a crew who have committed no proven sanctionable crimes. A crew you acknowledged a blood debt to, just minutes ago.”
Bennett’s gaze hardened. “That’s a double black mark, my friend. Not a good look, whether we’re in an ascending world or not. And the more educated our clients become, the more that will burn you as the years tick by. Now the kid did me a solid. A real fucking solid. If I fuck him over now, my foundation will crack just as bad as these lands. So let’s just put a stop to this bullshit and come to an accord. If your treasure-hunting friends want in on the action? I’m sure we can come to a reasonable compromise.”
He took a deep breath, steeling a quick glance as a dismayed looking Elly, and a wryly smiling Svena. They at least understood. Even if Ernest would be furious, their job was to keep him alive.
“What do you say to a fifty-fifty split?”
Hakan gazed at Bennett coldly for long seconds. “You sure you want to do this?”
Lone’s hopeful gaze turned to a look of dismay. “Oh, fuck. Captain...”
“Fifty-fifty’s a more than fair deal to make for your old buddy on Centura-IV, and you know it!” Bennett shouted.
“You’re right,” Hakan said with an audible sigh, even from that distance. “Unfortunately, my new employer doesn’t do splits. You got ten seconds to come out with your hands up, old friend. Best I can do.”
“You’re new employer isn’t worth two black marks and bottleneck you’ll find hard as hell to break through,” Bennett warned in a too anxious voice as time seemed to slow, Ellen and Svena exchanging looks as they gazed through the primitive silver mirror angled to reveal so much while remaining under cover. As did lone and everyone else.
Only Bennett, their fastest, strongest, most socially savvy member kept himself visible, parlaying words with a man he really didn’t want to have to fight.
“Ten… Nine…Eight…”
“How about a duel then, old friend?” Bennett gamely cried. “A fight of honor. Everything on the line. That supersedes all contractual issues right there! You want to make a clean claim right here, right now, no marks against you, no compromise permitted? Well alright then! We duel, vibro blade and force shield, the way our ancestors have for a thousand years! Because if there’s anything that will break us through our bottlenecks… you know damn well that fight will push one of us through!”
Bennett flashed his best smile. “You can feel it, can’t you, old friend? Here and now? On this world, in this territory about to erupt with too damned much pressure as Terra’s ascension unfolds? Tell me you can’t feel it! I dare you!”
Bennett blinked, clearly having expected his old friend’s eyes to light up. His smile to curve into a knowing smirk, to give the slightest of nods… but Hakan’s stony glare didn’t waver.
Not even for a second.
“Captain…”
Bennett glared at Lone and angrily shook his head.
The choice had been made, the dice had been cast. What happened now depended upon—
Duck!
A blare of warning instinct as Bennett dove for the ATV floor as the air flared a bright actinic blue.
Elly barely had time to inhale for a scream when the entire side of the ATV began to glow with sudden awful heat, Hakan’s cold words and the sudden storm of firepower it brought to bear making it damn clear what their ultimate fate was to be.
“… One. Kill them,” Hakan coldly said.
Only in that moment did Bennett’s eyes widen with genuine dismay, as if only realizing right then that he had overplayed his hand.
Whether or not he had expected having literally saved his opposite’s life to have carried more weight, or even simply brought them more time, or even offer an Oath of Capture instead of slaughter which would have had no black marks or experience penalty whatsoever... none of that even mattered.
His former ally hadn’t even argued for a 70/30 split or any other middle ground.
Bennett had misjudged the board and now they would pay the ultimate price.
His heart hammered with dismay, finally accepting just how utterly outmatched he and his injured friends truly were. This wouldn’t be a contest between equals. His hope for a duel that he had been all but counting on proved itself to be nothing more than a desperate dream.
No romantic duel of idealism, honor, or desperate breakthroughs were to be found here… just the ruthless extermination of pests while in pursuit of the ultimate prize.
Yet before Bennett could even finish inhaling to roar final orders as he prepared to scoop Svena and Naje and dart for the rift, death trap that it too was, having made sure to angle himself so that he would have the doomed ATV as cover for those perilous seconds… everything changed.
As the earth began to shake and vibrate, everything changed.
As sneers, cold laughter and the shouts and cheers of newbloods and old vets alike turned to a dull roar… everything changed.
Elly screamed.
“Fuck!” Myl sobbed, all their instincts screaming as the supposedly near indestructible ATV armor began to warp and melt, even the Altoplaz gun-windows Bennett had desperately slammed shut began to overheat and crack, Bennett’s mind screaming that they had no time, that it was too late, that they were already DEAD when he felt hot plasma sear right through his armored calf and he stumbled, desperate to protect his screaming beloved for their final moments… when everything changed.
“Oh shit!” Lone’s awe filled voice as the world shuddered and exploded.
All of them were thrown back when the earth erupted with the force of a bunker-buster bomb, or a newly emerging volcano exploding through Earth’s mantel.
But it wasn’t any of those things Bennett saw as he curled up, spinning around and holding his beloved and friends protectively close while gazing over the white-hot heap of warped and half-melted metal that their ATV had been reduced to in a shockingly short period of time, and how the hell Hakan had managed to get that much firepower on a White-tier band of native recruits who hadn’t even hit 40th level in addition to his own elites was a question that would never be answered because Hakan was, at that very moment, frantically looking about with horrified disbelief as the world seemed to rise all around him in the form of a massive triple jawed World Eater bursting through the mantel like a Goliath Tigerfish bursting out of a lake to devour the foolish hunters daring to invade its territory.
The desperate look Hakan flashed Bennett brought a wince, even if the man had been trying to kill him just seconds ago. And the veteran mercenary was no fool, even now struggling to reach the lip of those triple jaws and leap free with a jet pack that didn’t do shit as the massive World Eater burst from the earth with such furious force that Hakan was knocked flat as his doom rose high into the air.
“Bennet! I yie—”
Panicked words cut off when the monster abruptly snapped it’s fifty yard wide maw shut.
Bennett hissed, lurching back even as he was flooded by sudden potency, unwanted potency, as the air filled with panicked screams when the near five dozen lightning fast velociraptors gifted with vorpal sharp talons and teeth, truly a monstrous mutation that didn’t belong in any red zone and had nearly killed Bennett and his crew, poured forth from the crevice they had hid so well in, racing across the territory at lightning speed to wash over the ATVs filled with young innocent recruits and naive fools who had had absolutely no idea what they were signing up for when they were overrun by monsters.
“We surrender, we surrender!” The open channel they all had access to filled with desperate screams and shouts of panicked men and women and, Bennett was horrified to realize, kids that couldn’t be any older than Ernest.
“Oh fuck, oh fuck!” Naje sobbed. “Captain! Those fools are innocent!”
Bennett’s pained glance said it all as the channel and air filled with desperate shrieks, as what had been well-coordinated and multi-perk enhanced gunfire just seconds ago became the panicked scattered blasterfire of kids in way over their head, before the plasma bursts and the screams were abruptly cut off..
“Please, I yield!”
“Mercy!”
“I want to go ho—”
“Tech Support!”
...one by one.
Until there was nothing left. Nothing save for a trio of desperately staring goblins and four velimobiles swarmed by ravenous raptors and bodies being shredded, torn up and devoured in literal seconds before the birds darted back en masse for the rift from which they came.
“Jeezus…” Lone whispered as the bright day turned dark with shadows. “We couldn’t do anything.” He swallowed desperately. “Not a damned thing.”
Elly sobbed, shaking he head. “There were children amongst them. We could here their cries!”
Bennett gave a sad shake of his head. “No children, Elly. Not even Goblins could force contracts with them.”
“Sixteen isn’t a child?!?” She screamed.
Bennett rubbed his eyes even as his ears rang with a dull thrumm that could only mean one thing. Though he didn’t bother looking up, merely hunching over.
“You will pay for this!!” Shrieked the goblin shaman. “We have recorded everything. All your transgressions and crimes will be known the minute we report them. And we will, human fools. Yes we will!”
It shook it’s fists as their velimobile darted away.
“Why. Why the fuck didn’t they take out those fucking goblins?” Lone asked despairingly.
Bennett flashed a bitter smile. “Look up, Lone.”
Lone furrowed his brow and did just that, just in time to see the awesome sight of the massive Titan Wyrm that had launched itself up through the mantel that had parted like liquid fast enough and with enough G-force to claim over a half dozen Bronze elites inside its maw before snapping it shut had done so at the cost of gaining major altitude. Like a round shot into orbit. Or at least one that had gotten so much momentum as to allow for a thirty fucking second hang time before the massive multiple football stadium-sized abomination to crash right back down to earth.
Now aiming right for the velimobile darting away at top speed.
“Holy FUCK!” Lone’s voice was a bare whisper of awe, and Bennett would have liked to think that all three goblins had had a moment to glance up and appreciate just how fucked they were… before the World Eater crashed down upon them with so much kinetic force that it should have equaled a low yield atomic at the very least. Yet by some miracle, it didn’t hit with a shockwave of force that would doom Bennett and his entire party. Instead, it entered the earth with just the barest ripple, even if the fifty yard wide patch of land containing the goblin’s veli had been utterly consumed.
Bennett and his crew gazed at the absolute ruins of an assault force that could so easily have been their grave as well. Yet nothing was left, save for a few vehicles that had been warped and shredded by impossibly sharp claws, and a single desperately grasping arm, still holding its T-1 blaster, even now being covered by the sands whipping about once more.
Elly was utterly silent, gazing at the battle-sight with tears glistening down her cheeks. “They didn’t even have a chance. Doomed from the moment they woke up, and they didn’t even know it.”
“That could have been us, Elly,” Lone reminded her with a raspy voice. “We came so close to… and that fucker wouldn’t compromise. Wouldn’t even duel the captain!”
“I know.”
“It’s not like we had a choice.”
Elly gave a bitter laugh. “You’re right. We had no choice at all. There was absolutely nothing we could have done to stop that slaughter… even if we had been foolish enough to try.”
Svena nodded, her armored form held so protectively by her captain. “We’re just pawns in a twisted game between tyrants and Necromancer Kings, Elly. No more than that.”
“Yet one of those parties is our employer, and the other party would have happily killed us,” Bennett gently reminded.
Svena flashed a weary smile, even as the sands began to whip and howl furiously. “Fuck. I think our employer’s attempt to calm the desert’s spirits has just expired with that slaughter.” Yet even as she said the words, the massive World Eater made its presence known once more.
Svena whimpered, she couldn’t help it, as the impossibly massive creature slowly emerged from the ground like a sea serpent popping up from the water, reemerging all around them, leaving them in the center of a hundred yard shelter as the creature began to curl about itself, effectively forming a massive dome with a single opening on top.
The bright glaring light was cut down to a gentle gloom as the party was suddenly free of the wild-mana infused sands whipping into their armor and exposed flesh.
Elly’s eyes widened with a mixture of awe and despair. “Even now that thing shelters us.” She choked back a sob. “It was protecting us! Ernest’s fucking Underlord… it had orders not to attack, except in self defense.”
Naje gave a cold chuckle. “And it was fucking smart enough to hide. So those fools might be overconfident enough to attack.”
Lone blinked, before shaking his head with a rueful chuckle. “Our World Eater was baiting them! It was actually smart enough to goad those idiots into signing their own death warrants!”
Bennett gave a cold nod. “It’s a creature that’s nothing at all like us, yet it’s savvy enough to feel out it’s own bindings… to work out how it could feed itself without violating Ernest’s orders.”
Svena paled. “Shit. You’re saying it was using us as bait! As… as a fucking lure?”
Bennett groaned, rubbing his temples. “Either that, or it was just doing exactly as Ernest intended. Either way, it saved our lives. And Hakan was given every fucking chance in the world to leave. He didn’t take it. So he paid the ultimate price.”
“What now, Captain?” Myl asked.
Bennett flashed a hard smile. “Now we do the only thing we can do. We wait, and hope like hell that Ernest makes it out of that kill box alive.”
“Because if he doesn’t…”
“We’re worm food,” Svena said with a tight smile. “And what we thought was our nice guardian monstrosity that’s now protecting us so carefully will turn out to be our captor keeping its lunch nice and secure.”
Lone groaned. “You just had to say it, didn’t you, Svena?”
She chuckled bitterly. “I was a Witch-Hunter for over half a century. I know revenants and I know exactly how this will play out. The only wildcard I didn’t account for was a boy both so powerful and so idealistic that he could summon this monstrosity… and not use it to take over the world.”
Elly flashed a wry smile. “Who says he won’t do just that?”
Lone snorted. “Wouldn’t that be something?” He turned to Bennett. “What do you think, boss? If our idealist decides to go the blood and fire route… do we back him?”
Bennett flashed his old friend a hard smile. “You’ve been at this game as long as I have, Lone. You know damn well what the answer to that question is.”
His friend nodded. “Damn right I do, boss. When a fanatic idealist with the power to tear apart the world is recruiting... you say yes, and you do it right damn quick. Get on the winning team and get in good with the VIP players. Because by the end of it all, we’ll either be title-holding lords, or no better than the sorry fucks filling the gullets of those raptors my sensors still can’t fucking pick up.”
Chapter 409 - Treasure Hunt XI
Comments
FeelingsandFoibles
You used veli instead of levi in this chapter, and a few ones previous as well
Goldfish2
Get a new under lord that’s a step from silver as well.
Chad Rapoza
Agreed!
