“Viktor!” Kade roared as we approached. The colonel flinched and rubbed his ears in disgust. He didn’t like me, and that wouldn’t change no matter what. But I didn’t care, so it wasn’t like it mattered.
“Are we ready, General?”
He nodded. “I’ve put together a strike squad. We’ll go in hard with five choppers, bomb the place, and attack the base and portal simultaneously. Herrion will attack the portal, and you will lead the attack on the base.”
“I… General, that won’t be smart. I can’t protect people in the rage of battle. If it was up to me, I’d keep Lana here until shit was over, but it’s not like she can die, so I worry less there.”
“You got that right!” She laughed.
Kade grinned and nodded his head at her. “Wish I had such a fine woman, Viktor. You should treasure her.”
“Oh, I… do treasure her, trust me. But what about you and your family?”
His eyebrows rose slightly as if not expecting me to ask about someone else’s family. “They’re downstairs on the seventh floor. Along with the families of many officers. That’s why we’re fighting. If anyone found out who our families were, they would target them out in the city.”
“The Greens?”
He nodded. “The Apocs are fighting the Greens over territory, but they aren’t engaging our military.”
“Sir, if I may?” Herrion interrupted. He nodded and the colonel approached us warily. “Mr. Viktor, I’m sorry for our rough start, but you have to understand that everyone is on edge. When someone appeared from the third rift and was… arrogant, I thought you’d be the same as the rest.”
“Are you trying to apologize, Colonel?” I asked, my face as neutral as I could manage.
He narrowed his eyes on mine and nodded slowly. “I am, Viktor Cerna. If you will have it.”
My eyebrows rose slightly, and I had to say that I was surprised. Very much so. “Colonel Herrion, good luck out there tonight. Maybe we can grab a drink if we survive?”
He nodded and saluted me, then turned about and left us standing there. Kade laughed when the colonel was out of sight and shook his head.
“That’s not something you see often, Viktor. Trust me. He’s as proud as they get, but you saved some of his men when you took on the Greens.”
“Don’t worry about it, General. So where do we go now? When do we leave?”
He looked down at the watch around his left wrist and muttered something unintelligible. “Seven minutes. Please go up to the roof, where the secretary will give you the final details.”
I offered the man my hand, and Lana waved before we strode off to the elevator. Lana punched my shoulder playfully and chuckled when the elevator door closed.
“Get a drink after the battle, huh? How cute. Will you guys bring your wives as well?”
“Oh, hell yes. Maybe I can get a—”
“Don’t you dare finish that sentence!” she hissed and pinched me as hard as she could. “I’m not having a third woman fight for… what was originally mine!”
“Oh, I didn’t mean to insinuate. I wanted to say that maybe we could find a nanny for the kid when it’s due, you know?”
“Pfft! I know you better than that, you ass.”
The door opened just then and we strolled out onto the roof. Five attack helicopters were ready and primed for takeoff. Linda sat on the side of the biggest one, a sleek black beast with multiple rocket launchers on the sides and two miniguns at the front.
“Shit, that thing looks mean,” I said as we approached.
Linda jumped off and tucked some loose hair behind her ears as she smiled at us.
“Glad to have you here!” she said and stopped at arm’s length. “The thing is as follows. Three of the helicopters will go to the base, and two to the portal. We have allied with the Association and expect their help as well after the initial wave of missiles hits their base. All of them will wear something red, either a headband, a wristband, or something else on their chest. You’ll be able to recognize them like that.”
“This wasn’t part of the deal, Linda.”
She shrugged. “I’m sorry, but that’s the information I just got from Kade. He said that the call came through just as the two of you entered the elevator.”
I narrowed my eyes on hers. “Listen up, and call Kade to tell him my exact words. If anyone tries anything, I’ll wipe this whole base out along with their families. Is that understood?”
She frowned but nodded slowly. “I don’t think—”
“You’re not paid to think, from what I gathered, Secretary. Do as you’re told. If anyone tries anything funny with Lana, the portal, or myself, you’ll pay the price.”
She sighed and shrugged her shoulders, putting up both hands in defense. “I’m just a secretary, nothing else. And to be honest, I don’t think we can afford to make an enemy out of you, Mr. Viktor.”
“Remains to be seen. I’ll trust your word this time, but don’t think you’ll be able to get away with anything funny.”
Linda nodded and bowed slightly. I pushed past her and climbed up into the helicopter. It was quite spacious, with room for six more besides us, and they were already seated. I couldn’t make out if they were male or female through all the layers of vests and helmets and whatnot. To me, they looked comical, but it didn’t matter.
“Scar, can you hear me?”
“What is it? I’m surprised you’re finally calling on me.”
“Oh? Why is that?”
“What do you mean? You haven’t even spoken to me since coming here!”
“And I had a good reason for it. You’re my hidden ace that’s worth far more if no one knows about it. When we get there, I want you to stay hidden and keep Lana safe.”
“Does she know?”
“No, she doesn’t, and she won’t if all goes well.”
“Yeah, yeah, fine. I owe you for not sensing that snake. I’ll do as you say.”
“I’ll treat you to whatever you want later.”
“But tell me, why would I watch her? She can’t die.”
“I don’t know. It might not be the same as with you, so better to be safe than sorry.”
I tuned out as we took to the air. The rotor blades concentrated all the Enma around in a single spot as they kept rotating and drawing it in. Now that was interesting. I closed my eyes and focused on all five of the highly concentrated sources, pushing strands of my own Enma their way and latching on to them. One snapped as a rotor blade cut through it. I sighed inwardly and made a broader arc of approach, then widened the rest. The damn process was annoying but worth it.
A minute in, the two helicopters veered off, and I had to cut off the siphoning process. Thirty seconds. Twenty. Ten.
Lana shook me slightly, but I was already aware. I flashed her a grin and sent a bit of the Enma her way. Her eyes went wide when she felt what I’d been doing the last few minutes.
“You ass! You could have given some more to me!”
“I’ll try to push you to open the next meridian when we’re done. Deal?”
“You’d better make it up to me!”
“Sir?” one of the soldiers said. “We’ll be in position any moment now. Are you ready?”
I nodded and put my hand on the lever, sliding the door open. Before I could even reply, one of the three helicopters exploded.
“We’re under attack!” The pilot’s voice rang out over the speakers. “Taking evasive maneuvers and delivering the load!”
The helicopter lurched slightly as four large missiles streaked from separate tubes and impacted the building below. Four more explosions rang out as the second payload was delivered. I didn’t wait for an RPG round to hit us, and jumped through the open door, activating my armor just before I dropped down.
My eyes roamed over the enormous place their base was. It was a building that spread over a whole city block, and there were hundreds, if not thousands of armed men and women spread all over, from the signatures I could feel
.
Secondary explosions rang out and were intermingled with numerous screams. Gunfire erupted all across the windows of the building, numerous slugs slamming into my shield while some dinged off my shield. Just before I was about to slam into the ground, I used my double-jump ability and launched myself toward the entrance.
“Can you clear the field?”
“On it,” Scar replied as he materialized and released a crazy discharge from his snout. A bolt of lightning struck the ground, centered on a large group of armed men. Every single one of them was armed with cold-steel weapons and some that even looked like they were from the rift. Now that was an interesting discovery. If they were already ahead with production, then the military would need a lot of time to catch up. Good gear was the difference that made a single man a one-man army.
Bodies exploded as lightning struck out in all directions. Others caught fire and burned to death as they tried to douse the flames but couldn’t.
“Remember! Protect her!”
Scar disappeared from sight and remained behind as I passed through the torched bodies of the Green Dragons. Gunfire was now prevalent on all sides, ringing out and almost deafening me. Even though they couldn’t fire quick bursts, if there were hundreds of the damn weapons, that meant hundreds of bullets every half a minute.
A deafening boom reverberated from inside the building. I threw myself to the side on instinct just as a high-caliber projectile came flying and strafed my shield, shattering the outer layer. I opened my stats, but it had barely dropped and was just above 700 points. Then I realized something. The shield protected the whole body, but when you caused enough damage on a single small area, it was prone to cracking.
Pushing my thoughts aside, I grabbed the hilt of my sword with both hands as I got to my feet from evading the projectile seconds before. I lunged and crashed through the front entrance, where more gunfire erupted and was joined by screams and shouting. Bullets ricocheted and struck the walls, the floor, the ceiling, but the idiots themselves as well. Still they kept firing at my sword.
“Ten seconds. Eleven. Twelve.”
I counted down between shots, making sure I wasn’t caught off guard, and looked around as I walked through the double sliding doors. Seven to the left, and ten to the right. Several were hidden on the far side, and one of them must be the shooter from just now.
I pushed further in and kept running straight toward the far wall. Three of the men scrambled up to run from my mad dash but were crushed between my sword and the far wall. The large-caliber gun lay there now, useless. I stomped it with my armored foot and cracked it in two pieces, then turned toward the others. Most of them were already retreating to either side of the entrance, but I wasn’t going to let that slide. I pulled back my sword and hurled it at the group, slicing through them and breaking their bodies as it slammed into the heap of flesh.
A second helicopter exploded overhead and dropped to the ground, sending debris and shards of metal flying in all directions. I watched Lana land right then as the third helicopter released a second barrage and pulled to get away from the building. A dozen black-clothed soldiers gathered around her as they moved toward the entrance.
“I’ll go ahead!” I yelled through the shattered window.
“We’ll bring up the rear!” she called back.
It was a strange thing that I only noticed just then. The front entrance was located on the left side of the building, but what about the rest? Was the Association going to storm that side?
I growled in frustration and ran over to my sword, picked it up, and turned toward the center. Barricades and obstacles were in the way as if they’d been expecting me, but I cut through them with ease.
Several stronger rounds flew my way, but they only dinged off the sword. A commotion from the door that led further in on the left end of the room drew my attention. Two men fumbled with a long pipe. I recognized it as the same thing that had hit me outside the government building, an RPG.
“Fucking hell,” I cursed as a plume of smoke came out from the hind part of the pipe, and a grenade flew right at me. I darted forward and jumped to the side, then jumped a second time in midair, launching myself at the door. The grenade exploded as it struck the wall where I’d been standing a moment ago just as I crushed the two men with my shoulder against the door frame, breaking their bones.
Hammers, swords, and spears dinged off my Enma shield, nibbling at its power, but it was nothing. Their attacks did as much as a cat could do to a dog. I swung my sword wide but at the last moment twisted it so the blunt side crashed into my assailants.
More footsteps resounded from all sides as dozens of Greens swarmed the foyer. No one spoke, no one cursed, and no one called me out. The bastards just rushed me as if there were no tomorrow. I swung my blade again, catching another handful of them, but then they launched themselves at me, tugging at my arm and my sword. Five, then eight, then twelve while more of the gangsters tugged at my left arm and my legs, immobilizing me.
“The fuck are you idiots doing?” I cursed, letting go of the sword.
It dropped and crushed several heads and limbs, sending more of them down with the blade. My head reached for the pouch, and I pulled the halberd out, swung it in a half-circle, and slashed through meat and bone alike. I felt as if someone had just gut-punched me when I stared at the gore and viscera, wanting to throw my own guts up, so I hurriedly looked away.
“Stop attacking and I’ll spare you! Attack and die!” I yelled, using all of my power to send them flying, but there were just so many of them. The damn bastards were like a swarm of locusts rushing into a flaming inferno, hoping to stop it with the tide of their bodies.
“Our families will die if we don’t stop you! So die, and all of us can go back to normal life!” a woman almost screamed in my ear.
I froze. Again. These Green Dragon bastards were at it again, using other people’s lives just as they pleased. Then I saw him. He stood there, leaning against the far wall with his hands crossed. The man was tall and broad in the shoulders. He wore armor made from something similar to the grazlitaurs we hunted. A spear hung from his back, only part of it visible, and from the look of it, similar to the Bone Halberd I’d had before my tyranitaur one.
I stopped struggling and took a deep breath. They weren’t doing much damage anyway, as my shield was going down only several points per second.
“Are you their leader?” I yelled, glaring daggers at him.
“No, why do you ask? You want to talk to him?”
I leaned down and picked the sword up, then stashed it away into my pouch. I looked back up to him as I grinned wolfishly. My arm moved behind me as I lunged at him, using the second jump in midair. I closed the distance in a single heartbeat, but he was fast enough to pull out his spear and deflect my blow. The thug skidded backward for several steps before his back hit the wall, stopping him from going any further.
I turned back toward the group of meat that acted as a shield for this guy and sighed, stabbed the ceiling with my halberd, and collapsed part of the wooden frame, then pushed over several tables and whatever there was to put up a barricade. I wasn’t interested in fighting or killing them. It made no sense to kill innocent people. Or mostly innocent anyway.
“You’re quite strong.” He laughed as his shoulders rose from the laughter, and he got up into a defensive stance, his right leg back and spear out in the front.
“Wish I could say the same about you,” I mocked, “but that would be a lie.”
He frowned, and his face turned into a sneer. “You’re in way over your head, Viktor.”
“Oh? You know my name?”
He nodded weakly as the sneer turned into a grin. His bald head glistened from sweat, and his eyes fluttered open and closed as droplets slid down his forehead and fell into his eyes.
“Sandro told us all about you. I reckon someone is already en route to take them out inside your rift.”
As if on cue, an enormous explosion shook
the very ground we stood on. My heart skipped a beat as I stood there, trying to keep my calm in front of the scum.
“What did you do?” I hissed through my teeth. “Did you bomb the portal?”
He nodded excitedly. “Yes! We filled a truck full of crystals and C-4! Shit! That thing must have been blown to kingdom come!”
“Moron! The portals can’t be destroyed!” I snapped at him. “You can only go through and try to kill them from within!”
I had no fucking idea if that was true or not, but neither did he.
“What? So we wasted all those crystals?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, and now all of you will die an even more horrible death for trying to hurt my woman. That was a big no-no.”
I lunged at the bastard, stabbing the tip of my halberd right at his chest. The spear in his hands snaked toward me, deflecting my halberd, and snapped its tip at me. My shield came to life and deflected the spear with ease as I pushed him back. I checked the shield quickly and grinned to myself. Only thirty points of damage? What a damn weakling!
I moved in again, brute-forcing my halberd through his shield. It cracked with the second blow and cut through his spear arm. The weapon dropped from his hands and clattered to the ground, then rolled off to the side.
“Fuuck!” the man screamed as he clutched the stump of his arm. “Don’t kill me, or you’ll regret it!”
“Told you not to fuck with me,” I hissed and pierced his left leg next, cutting cleanly through. Shit, this wasn’t even funny. I was so overpowered that whatever stats he had, and whatever the armor was, my attacks just went through with ease.
“Stop! Don’t kill me!” he cried and crumpled to the ground. “I’ll tell you what you want!”
I narrowed my eyes on his and bared my teeth. “Where are Sandro and your leader?”
His face fell. I must have asked the two things he didn’t know. Too bad for him, then.
“The boss, he’s in… the rift. Will never come out… from what I heard. Sandro is up with the… other subleaders.”
“What about any other plans? Will there be new bombings or?”
Crafting Death: A LitRPG Cultivation Series (Towers & Rifts Book 2) Page 17
