She frowned. “Then how–”
“Second rule.” I raised another finger. “We’ll each wear a sash around our waists. The first who steals the other’s sash wins.”
Her expression became serious, and she nodded. Tika hurried over and tied a piece of cloth around each of us.
“Third and final rule.” I gave Lirian a toothy grin. “Anything else goes.”
***
Lirian leaped at me. She was incredibly athletic, far more than what her level would justify. She had changed directions while charging, trying to come at me from an angle. I calmly remained standing in place, only turning to face her. After several seconds, Lirian realized she wasn’t going to flank me that way. She jumped onto a supporting column, kicked off it and sailed over me, doing a backflip that would bring her standing right behind me.
I allowed her to flank me. I waited for the instant her feet touched the floor, smiled, and froze the little minx just as her fingers were a hairbreadth from my sash.
I turned to the frozen goblinette. Despite her unexplained abilities, she was not immune to my Dark Mana and was frozen solid. I sighed. “I expected more of you, daughter.”
Lirian’s pupils dilated in panic as I reached for her sash. Before my fingers could close around the fabric, there was a rush of shadows and she disappeared.
I smiled in satisfaction. It was good she was quick enough to realize her innate magic still worked. Most spells required a gesture to cast, but Shadow Teleport wasn’t one of them.
Opening my mind, I let the clan’s ambient information fill me. I chuckled to myself. Lirian had teleported outside the house, and she was still frozen. I teleported outside as well, appearing several meters away from the wily goblinette.
“Nice try,” I said pleasantly. “But your old man–”
I stopped talking when I saw Lirian’s fingers tremble. She was fighting my control.
“How can you–” I started but stopped myself. I concentrated deeper, investing more mana into the paralysis.
Lirian’s fingers stopped moving. I took one step toward her, and she burst out of the magical hold like popping an overblown balloon. Before I could recover from my surprise, she teleported again, appearing right beside me. She might have actually succeeded with the sudden maneuver, but my mind was still wide open, and I instantly knew what her intended location was when the shadows rose over her. I dived into a roll an instant before her body materialized, effectively trading places with her.
But it was just a ruse.
Two shadow mastiffs had just finished rising from the spot Lirian had teleported from, and I rolled straight into them. The little minx had laid a trap for me.
The mastiffs jumped on me, trying to bury me under their combined dense mass of darkness. It actually worked for a split second, before I took hold of the situation and commanded their shadowy substance to disperse.
I rose, facing the crafty child with a grin. “That was a pretty good attempt. But it’ll take more than that to beat me.”
I drew out my staff. Lirian’s eyes widened as I swung it hard toward her, channeling mana along the runic-enhanced weapon. A wave of dense darkness burst from the ground along the trajectory of the swing. It impacted my daughter, sending her flying high and far. She flailed her arms futilely, trying to control her descent. Eyes narrowed, I tracked her path, then teleported to the point where she was about to hit, next to the market. I commanded the shadows around me to rise into a thick cushion of darkness and waited for her landing.
Lirian teleported again, timing the spell to the edge of its range, and reappeared directly over the market’s tentlike roof. Her forward momentum transformed into a horizontal slide at incredible speed along the flap covering. She came down rolling to slow down and launched a duo of drilling arrows my way.
My own eyes widened when I saw the two dangerous projectiles hurtling toward me. Using my armor set’s full ability, I cast Mana Shield around me twice. The two arrows drilled through the first layer, and although they lost most of their power, they still made it through and would have injured me if I hadn’t raised the second shield, stopping them completely.
Then, Lirian did something I didn’t expect. She teleported directly into my bubble shield and managed to tug at my sash before I sensed her presence and teleported away.
“You attacked me for real,” I said accusingly, turning to face her.
She smiled at me. “I knew you’d stop the arrows. I almost had you with that distraction.”
“Not bad,” I admitted, smiling at the audacious young girl. “But you know, all I had to do was not shield myself, and you’d have lost.”
She shook her head. “The chief, my father, would never fall for such a paltry trick.”
It warmed my heart that she thought so highly of me. “We’re not done yet. Ready for another round?”
She nodded.
We started teleporting around each other in rapid succession, trying to outmaneuver one another. After a few moments, it became clear it wouldn’t work. We were too evenly matched; my superior range was offset by her incredible instincts and precision.
I decided to stop playing around and show her what I could do. Forsaking teleportation, I cast Mana Shield – tightly wrapped around my body this time – while simultaneously casting an overcharged Shadow Hound spell.
Lirian could only watch helplessly as eight, hob-sized mastiffs rose around her. The mastiffs crouched and, at my command, charged as one. Lirian teleported out of the circle and appeared at the edge of her range 20 meters away, toward the direction of the cave.
My mastiffs pursued.
The goblinette ran, dodging and rolling, evading repeated pouncing attacks, occasionally teleporting to keep ahead. But she was fighting an uphill battle, and she knew it. Soon she’d either be too tired to run or would exhaust her mana. Then my hounds would dogpile her, literally, and I’d claim her sash.
I walked calmly behind the skirmish as the hounds shepherded Lirian toward the valley’s walls. When she got close to the cave, I teleported to the entrance, making sure she wouldn’t try to escape inside. Then I simply waited and watched.
Lirian, followed by the pack of mastiffs, was 30 meters away and running in my direction. The young goblinette already looked exhausted and spent from the prolonged battle. She looked up and saw me, smiling and waiting for her. She veered left to avoid me, heading directly into the blob of darkness I’d positioned there so many days ago.
I felt as if a cold hand gripped tightly around my heart as my daughter dove into a mass of darkness so dense even a Shadow-Touched creature couldn’t see through it. I abandoned my post and ran after her, calling my hounds to break off.
But it was too late, Lirian was already soaring through the air, along with four of the dogs, and they couldn’t turn back.
All five plunged directly into the mass of darkness and disappeared.
Hounds snarled then whimpered as a loud rumble ran through the valley. Green lightning struck down from the sky, impacting the bubble with a blinding light.
I rubbed the afterimage from my eyes and gaped at what I saw.
Lirian stood at the center of what used to be a blob of darkness. The bodies of four quickly dissipating mastiffs lay at her feet, and in her hands, she held the still blazing sword of the Outrider.
I nearly staggered back as feelings of relief, awe, and surprise surged through me.
I stared at the sword. Darkness started spreading from my daughter’s hands, slowly covering the glowing weapon. A few seconds later, Lirian was still holding the Outrider’s sword, only now it shone with glossy blackness.
She looked at me. And smiled.
I didn’t know what to think.
Looking at the defeated hounds around her with satisfaction, Lirian brought the sword to her back, and it seamlessly fit into the jeweled scabbard she’d taken from the kobold chief.
“What the hell just happened?” I muttered, still shellshocked.
You don’t have to be so disrespectful, I said reproachfully.
“Father,” Lirian said with a grin. “I’ve beaten your dogs, and your freeze won’t work on me again. What else do you want to try?”
“Let me take a look at that sword,” I said.
Lirian held up her new weapon.
Fate Stealer [Greatsword]
Description: An Outrider sword tainted by darkness and fate.
Type: Two-handed
Rank: ???
Durability: Indestructible
Damage: ??? [scaled by level]
Effect: ???
Prerequisite: Can only be wielded by a Child of Fate.
Despite not being able to discern its full powers, I could tell the sword was immensely powerful. The prerequisite parts were especially baffling, as it indicated Lirian was the only person in the game world who could wield it. It was both alarming and awe-inspiring.
“Father?” Lirian said. “Shall we resume our match?”
I shook my head. “No. We’re done.”
She tilted her head. “But none of us won the other’s sash.”
I shook my head again. “There’s no need. You can join the raid.”
Her return smile was radiant.
“Let’s call for the army.”
***
My forces streamed through the settlement. Troops marched, workers carried equipment, and war machines rolled through the cobbled streets, concentrating at the open space around the pond.
The most numerous were the hobs. Four hundred and twenty warriors, lieutenants, adepts, and bosses stood in orderly rows with 23 goblin healers sprinkled between them. Twenty players stood at the front of their respective squads. Behind the force stood 18 Ogres, menacing in their thick oxsaurian armor and enormous spiked maces. Aidanriel was standing restlessly among them, ecstatically leaping from leg to leg … to leg.
Standing separately from the rest was a large group of kobolds who had answered my call for arms. A glance at the interface showed they had brought 120 low-level warriors as well as a dozen kobold assassins that were around level 10. The LiceNest goblins were absent per my orders, as the forces they could rally were insignificant.
Four small catapults were rolled into place by teams of goblins. They were the size of dining tables and probably weighed around 200 kilos. Each catapult also had a harness attached to it so an Ogre would be able to carry it on their back.
My clan was nearly drained of food ingredients, but the Breeder’s Den was bursting at the seams with a huge amount of prepared food, ready to summon new troops.
It was time to call in the rest of the army, but I had to be smart about it, using the rare food types first to summon the strongest units possible and working my way down from there.
Including me, Goblin’s Gorge supported a total of nine bosses: Rhyno, Kuzai, Yulli, Bob, Kilpi, Tenragan, and the new Ogre Mages; Flamebreath and Skullscorch. As a town-level settlement, my clan could support up to 14 bosses: eight tier 1, four tier 2, and two tier 3. That meant I had some promotions to hand out.
There was a single slot available for another tier 3 boss beside me. I scanned the throng of warriors to see who was the most worthy. My eyes rested on my daughter. Lirian was leaning idly against one of the Infernal Ogres, and the brute was absentmindedly patting her head. I opened the ‘Boss’ tab from the settlement’s population interface and focused on her, but nothing happened.
Why can’t I grant her boss status? I asked mentally.
I could feel Vic rolling his eyes at me.
I got the hint. My daughter wasn’t a viable candidate for bosshood. I wasn’t surprised.
My eyes fell on Bob. In the past, I had to be stringent with my energy allowance, so I opted to promote individuals who most benefited my clan in terms of pure strength. But my trusted lieutenant who commanded my army had more than earned this promotion. Without stopping to second-guess myself, I selected Bob and upgraded his boss tier twice, paying the total amount of 25,000 EP without batting an eyelash.
Bob’s eyes widened in shock, and he stumbled forward to the ground. His legs and arms grew, becoming thicker and longer. He grew by a full head, and the vines around his arms and torso slithered like snakes, fitting in around his entire body, forming into a second layer of protection under his glassteel armor. A moment later, the former lieutenant stood up. Vines and grass sprouted from the ground around his feet as he walked.
There was too much going on to pore over his upgraded character, but from the whiff of information coming out of him, I knew Bob was now officially a boss commander who could control vegetation to both protect himself and attack his enemies.
Bob bowed to me as he resumed his place in front of the soldiers. “Thank you, Chief.” His voice was thicker than before.
I nodded. “You deserve it … General.”
Rhyno’s eyes narrowed as he studied the hob that was now stronger than him, but a single glance from his new commander sent him standing at attention.
I needed two more tier 2 bosses on top of Rhyno and Kuzai. It was an easy decision. Both Yulli and Kilpi had been with me from my early days as a lowly tier 1 chief. With a flick of my mind, I paid the required 5,000 EP for each of them. The two visibly grew, becoming more powerful than before.
That left me with three tier 1 bosses – Tenragan and the two Ogre Mages – and I had room for five more. I studied my soldiers and smiled as I counted exactly five veteran warriors I recognized by sight: Ashlazaria the scout (and Zuban’s mate), Zia the tank trainer, Kroakar and Ryker (who were among our highest-level warriors), and Blemtoff, the twin axe-wielding fighter. I selected all five and approved the cost of 1,000 EP each.
The boss-promotion expenditure of 40,000 EP in total barely made a dent in the over 550,000 I still had at my disposal.
With the settlement’s free boss slots filled, it was time for some experimentation. I accessed the Breeder’s Den Interface and tried to summon an Ogre Mage. The building erupted in shrieks as usual, and after a short moment, an Ogre came out. I cheered inwardly at the sight of the brute. He was a fully-fledged level 13 boss named Fingersnap. With the test successful, it was time to engage in some serious mass summoning.
I checked the amount of food available in the Breeder’s Den.
Breeder’s Den
Basic food available: 59,850
Advanced food available: 34,000
Exquisite food available: 465
“Holy crap,” I murmured to myself. Gandork had outdone himself, evidently having pushed the inn’s kitchen to its maximum capacity.
I opened the clan’s military equipment screen next.
Goblin’s Gorge Inventory [Weapons & Armor]
● Willow bows: 503
● Arrows: 12,500
● Hob leather armor: 490
● Hob steel brigandine: 106
● Weapons (assorted): 288
● Hob shield: 27
● Ogre leather armor: 26
● Ogre spiked mace: 10
My top priority was to add spellcasters to my army. I had enough gear to fully equip 10 Ogres and enough exquisite food for nine Ogre Mages. I placed the order in the Breeder’s Den Interface, strengthening my army by nine more bosses.
That left 15 units of exquisite food, which wasn’t enough to summon any other type of caster, so I moved down the priority list: kobold assassins. With the amount of food at my disposal, I was expecting my army to reach over a thousand warriors. Five squads of 20 infiltrators each sounded reasonable. I queued in 100 kobold assassins, paying the hefty price of 8,000 basic and 4,000 advanced food.
I glanced toward the screeching building. The nine
hulking Ogre Mages were already moving to take their position among the army, and the first of the kobolds was emerging. A quick glimpse at their information showed they were level 8, meaning their base level before receiving the clan’s bonus was 5. It was a nice boon which also explained their relatively high summoning cost.
I checked the remaining food at my disposal.
Breeder’s Den
Basic food available: 53,500
Advanced food available: 29,100
Exquisite food available: 15
It was still a huge amount. The only viable recruitment options were simple hob soldiers, hob lieutenants, and Ogres.
I had much more advanced food than the standard ratio to basic food required, and since lieutenants were the only option that required it, I decided on the spot to create squads consisting solely of lieutenants. They were better fighters than standard soldiers anyway, and as an extra bonus, they came into being already named. It spared me the need to stretch my creativity and effectively made them immune from the risk of the naming ceremony.
Cracking my fingers, I queued in 700 lieutenants – the maximum amount I could arm with the remaining gear. I set 500 of them to become bow specialists, 106 as steel-wearing heavy fighters, and 94 light skirmishers in leather armor. The process drained the Breeder’s Den of 49,000 basic and 21,000 advanced food.
A stream of warriors started pouring out of the Breeder’s Den, swelling our ranks.
“Holy shit,” I heard one of the players whisper in amazement. “I’m glad this guy is on our side.”
I smirked. I wasn’t done yet. I took another glance at the remaining food.
Breeder’s Den
Basic food available: 4,500
Advanced food available: 8,100
Exquisite food available: 15
Life Reset: Human Resource (New Era Online Book 4) Page 38
