“Yes, Father.”
“I’ll see you later then.” I closed my eyes and concentrated.
Don’t interrupt, I’m trying to teleport to the new shrines, but I’ve never teleported to a place I’ve never visited before.
Don’t interrupt, I’m almost there. In my mind’s eye, I located a faraway point at the edge of Nihilator’s zone of influence and teleported to it.
I appeared out of the shadows next to a simple pillar of dark stones that served as the local shrine and took a look around. There were several basic wooden houses and what appeared to be a muddy amphitheater.
“Welcome to Claytown,” a familiar voice said. “Home of mud and more mud.”
I turned to the speaker. “Hey, Sullivan. Any problems conquering this place?”
He shook his head. “The hamlet surrendered almost as soon as the fighting started. I had to act quickly to stop the soldiers from massacring the entire town.”
“You shouldn’t have,” a gruff voice said. A tall and muscular female player approached. She wore skimpy and stereotypical ‘bikini armor,’ showing her developed abs, legs, and a generous amount of cleavage. “We should have slaughtered them all,” she declared.
Sullivan sighed. “Oren, meet Panda. Panda, this is Oren, our clan chief and future liberator of players everywhere.”
“Panda?” I stared at the towering woman.
“Ha!” she barked. “The name’s Pandamonium, but some of the more squeamish players …” she gave Sullivan a meaningful look, “… prefer to just call me Panda.”
“Panda was the one we rescued from Novenguard’s prison,” Sullivan added with a pained expression.
“Why did they arrest you?” I asked.
She snorted. “Some NPC came to me with an offer to do research for him. I smashed a chair over his head and kicked him until I broke every one of his ribs.”
I blinked. “You did what?”
“No one tells Pandamonium to sit down and do homework!” she declared. “I do what I want and I take what I want.”
The conversation wasn’t going very well. “If you’re going to join us, you’ll need to be able to carry out orders.”
“Ha! I don’t take orders – I take targets! Just point me at whatever needs a good killing, and I’ll make post haste with delivering the pain.”
I looked the woman up and down. She was level 30, an impressive achievement considering how difficult gaining levels through combat had become. “I think we can work with that.”
“I bet you can.” She grinned at me. “I never thought I’d be answering to a goblin, but your hobs are good fighters, fun to brawl against. I think I’ll challenge one of the Ogres next.”
For once, I was in full agreement with my companion.
Malkyr approached us. “Hey, Chief.”
“Hey, where’s your sister?” I asked.
“She joined the attack force on the other hamlet.” He looked appreciatively at the barely clad woman. “It had something to do with feminism, I think.”
I raised an eyebrow but decided against pursuing the issue further. I looked at Sullivan. “So what’s our next move?”
He gestured at a group of hobs that were hauling tree logs. “We’re fortifying the settlement. The clay pits around us make this location the only passable area for kilometers. We’re doing the same for the other hamlet. It’s located between a dense forest and a mountain range; any sizable force that wants to come at Novenguard will have to pass through one of them. I also sent for the rest of the army to join us here. I think we should sit tight for a few days, see how our enemies react.”
I frowned. “I don’t want us to get bogged down. We need to keep going, keep up the momentum. I don’t want them having enough time to amass an army and catch us with our pants down.”
“That’s what scouting parties are for,” Sullivan said. “We’re going to send out several player-led squads to snoop around and maybe do some sabotage, preparing the road for the army.”
It made sense. “So what do you need me to do?”
“I still need you to appoint a new general,” he reminded me. “And keep sending in reinforcements from Goblin’s Gorge. We need all the soldiers we can get. I also need you to be ready to appear at a moment’s notice. You are my quick-response team to counter surprises and higher-level foes.”
“That’s it? You want me to play logistics manager and just wait for a call to fight? You don’t think I should lead the army?”
Sullivan coughed. “Oren … don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re a bit of a loose cannon out there.”
I narrowed my eyes, feeling my blood start to boil. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
He chuckled. “Just that. Look at yourself; angry people don’t make the best decisions. From what I’ve seen, you tend to …”
“Run amok?”
“Lose objectivity,” he clarified. “A military commander needs focus and to maintain a view of the larger picture. You let your emotions get the better of you, and that leads to bad judgment calls.”
“Are you telling me you’re kicking me out of commanding my own army?”
“Of course not. It’s your clan and your army. But you appointed me as your strategic advisor, and as such, I’m telling you , that you bring the most value to the army by playing the role of our ‘big cannon.’ I also need you to look into ways to counter really high-level enemies. A single, level 300 NPC or a couple of 200s could wipe out our entire force. You can’t handle that and direct the army.”
That made sense. I felt myself calming down. “I understand. Any specific target you need me to handle?”
“Not right now. Once the scouting parties return, we’ll know more about what we’re facing.”
“Alright, so apart from that, what’s next?”
The player seemed to breathe easier as we moved away from the subject of my dethroning. “There are two major settlements between us and the capital: Whitebanner and Storg. Both are larger than Novenguard, and though their soldiers aren’t as high-level, there’s a lot more of them. They’re also close enough to assist each other in case of an attack, which will have us fighting on two fronts. We’ll need to take over both to cement our hold on the area before moving on Everance. But we still have some way to go before that. We’ll need at least another thousand soldiers before I feel confident about our chances.”
“Another thousand?” At the rate my clan was producing food, it would take a month to summon so many troops.
“At least ,” he clarified. “I’d feel even better with 2,000.”
“That might take a while.”
He nodded. “We’re managing a campaign to take over a capital city and all outlying settlements. This is the sort of thing that takes months to accomplish.”
“I see,” I said slowly. “In that case, I’d better get back to the valley to start working toward that end. I’ll enchant the local shrine with a portal before I leave, and I’ll do the same for the other hamlet as well.”
“Good idea.”
I gathered a couple of Ogre Mages and several goblin adepts to help me complete the enchantment. With their help, channeling the required 7,200 mana was over in under a minute. Once the new portal opened, I teleported to the other hamlet to repeat the process.
The small settlement was surrounded by a low wooden fence that seemed to be aimed more at keeping wild animals away then fending off attacks. They had a sawmill building that looked functional, though much older than our own.
Dozens of hobs were working to improve the fence, transforming it into a robust wooden rampart. I gathere
d several spellcasters, and in no time at all, a new portal appeared next to the small shrine. With a mental flick, I directed the portal to Novenguard and stepped through.
I exited the portal, finding myself in the small church I’d snatched away from the ‘God of Light’ and converted to Nihilator. Stepping outside, I saw the majority of my army camped out in the spacious town square. It was time to fulfill my first assignment.
“Listen up,” I said. Hundreds of hobs and dozens of Ogres instantly jumped to attention. “I’m looking for a new general. Anyone who thinks they’ve got what it takes – step forward. Not you, Rhyno.”
The hulking gladiator scoffed and sat back down.
The soldiers looked at each other, and after a few moments, a dozen hob lieutenants stepped forward. I recognized Dwax along with a few others among them. “Good, now each of you select five soldiers. Not Ogres.”
The lieutenants quickly obeyed, beckoning their fellow hobs to join them.
I pointed to a group of about 20 Ogre Mages. “Spread out. Defend yourselves.” The giant brutes obeyed my command, dispersing over the open plaza. I looked back at the 12 squads. “The test is simple; the person who manages to drop an Ogre the fastest, with the least amount of casualties, wins. Begin.”
The lieutenants jumped into action, arranging their squads in various attack formations. The Ogres grinned maniacally, some even licking their lips in anticipation of the coming violence.
The squads closed in carefully. The Ogres readied themselves, setting their weapons aflame and activating mana shields. Then one of them dropped to the ground. A single small goblin in a purple cape stood next to him, looking apprehensive as everyone’s gaze turned to him.
“Stop,” I commanded. The squads halted their attack. I approached the small goblin. It was Savol, Lirian’s admirer and the only survivor of the foblin force I had brought along to attack Novenguard. “What just happened?”
“Ahem,” the goblin began haltingly. “Savol wants to become big general. Savol do the test.”
I frowned at him. As far as I could tell, the Ogre was uninjured, which was unsurprising as the goblin was only level 5. “How did you drop the Ogre?”
The goblin looked at me in confusion. “Savol asks. Skullscorch agrees. Savol … wins?”
Vic chuckled in my mind.
I studied the small goblin more closely. He looked pretty pathetic; thin, wearing only a loincloth and some purple rags as a cape. Yet there was something to him beyond what his character sheet showed – intelligence, intensity, and a genuine wish to prove himself and grow stronger. It was all somehow tied to his status as a sole survivor.
“We have a winner,” I declared.
“It can’t be,” one of the hob lieutenants, an especially pudgy one, protested. “That’s just a goblin. Goblins can’t be–”
He stopped talking when I gave him a piercing stare. “You were saying?”
“Nothing, Chief!”
“That’s what I thought.”
I opened the Settlement Interface and played around with the controls.
Promote: Savol, Level 5, to: Boss [Tier 3], Cost: 26,000 EP. Yes/No
I had over 350,000 energy points at my disposal, so the upgrade cost meant little to me. Yes.
Please select boss type:
Swashbuckler – an agile-based combatant with a penchant for quip.
Boss bonus skills: Taunt, Lightning stab, Overwhelming Personality
Lonewolf – a fighter that becomes more deadly when operating alone.
Boss bonus skills: Reverse Odds, Survivor, Behind the Lines
General – a cunning tactician capable of leading large forces into battle.
Boss bonus skills: Hold the Line, Second Wind
The first two options seemed tailor-made to the goblin’s persona, but they weren’t what I needed. I selected the third one.
Savol swelled in size. His figure filled, becoming stronger. The purple rag around his shoulders shimmered, turning into a magnificent purple cape with a bronze pin. The goblin stared down at himself in amazement. “Savol big. Strong. Me am happy to serve the chief.” He bowed before me.
I looked him over critically. The transformation had also jacked up his level to 10, not nearly enough for the person I expected to lead my army.
I accessed the interface’s population tab, located the goblin’s name, and hit the plus sign next to his level several times.
Savol, increase level to 20? (Cost: 18,000 EP). Yes/No
Yes.
The information tendrils around the goblin twisted like snakes, becoming thicker as his level rose.
Lady Luck has smiled on your clan!
Boss type has been upgraded to a Survivalist General.
Lucky Bastard skill level increased to 53.
It’d been a while since I saw that message. The benefits were always appetizing .
Savol, Survivalist General [Boss, Tier 3]
Level: 20
HP: 892
MP: 513
Attributes: P:30, M:3, S:2
Skills: Hold the Line 1, Second Wind 1, Cape Master 1
Traits: Sole Survivor, Shadow-Touched, Boss Boon III (30 HP & 15 MP per level; +9P, +3M, +3S, Revival)
Resistances: Armor 20, Magic 20%
Description: As a sole survivor out of a force of thousands, Savol’s lust for life and need to prove himself has only grown. Found worthy by his chief, Savol was promoted to the rank of General. His Sole Survivor trait has synergized with the promotion, granting an increased bonus to his skills the more casualties his forces suffer.
I was a little surprised by the description, but it was a welcome surprise. As underleveled monsters, our strength was in our ability to bring back our dead. Becoming stronger when suffering casualties synergized well with that approach.
I glanced over the metadata behind my new general’s abilities. ‘Hold the Line’ allowed him to affect a large force, preventing it from breaking under a powerful assault. ‘Second Wind’ was a large-scale buff that momentarily increased soldiers’ combat prowess. Both skills affected more soldiers and became more powerful the higher-level they got. ‘Cape Master’ was a weird one, allowing Savol to stash weapons in his cape, use it to parry attacks, and make long, sweeping counterattacks. He also got a unique boss power called ‘Revival.’ It was a resurrection ability that enabled him to instantly bring a certain amount of slain soldiers back into the fight.
His skill levels were still much too low for my taste. “General,” I said. Savol looked around as if to make sure I was talking to him. “Yes, you. I want you to start training, which for you means commanding the soldiers. Run mock battles, and have them practice attack formations to raise your skills.”
“Me am do as you say, Chief,” Savol said. “Savol will be best goblin general you see.”
The increase to his attributes had improved his speech, but not his tendency to avoid using ‘I.’
“Excellent,” I said. “I’ll see about supplying you with more soldiers.”
“Yes, Chief.”
I went to the portal, changing its destination point to Goblin’s Gorge, and stepped through. It seemed I had some free time on my hands, and I knew just how to use it.
***
Instead of burdening myself with summoning troops via the Breeder’s Den, arranging for enough gear to equip them, and looking after their training, I delegated that responsibility to my seneschal. Kaedric had an uncanny ability to accurately judge the amount of food, equipment, and upkeep my clan could sustain to make the most sensible logistical decisions. As a result, the ranks of my army had swelled by another 115 hob lieutenants and 8 goblin adepts. It came at a price, though. The Breeder’s Den had consumed nearly our entire stock of food.
With that responsibility taken off my shoulders, I had the time to finally sit down and study. I made my way to the clan’s tallest building in the northern end of the valley: t
he Warlock Tower.
The tower’s main hall was mostly empty. A staircase on the far side led to the lower and upper floors. I crossed the hall, passing by the bare walls of black obsidian, and headed toward the only other door on the floor. I’d found the library.
The place was far from the common notion of what a library should look like. Several stone pedestals stood along the room’s walls, holding stone plates with writing etched to it. I moved closer to study one of the plates. It was written in some arcane language I couldn’t read, but the metadata behind it indicated that studying it in depth would slowly raise the reader’s various magical skills. It was meant more for low-level casters to increase their magical strength in a safe environment. It was an interesting feature, but it wasn’t for me. I was way past that point now.
On top of that feature, the entire library imparted a small bonus for skill progression when studying in it, which suited my purpose just fine.
I sat in one of the few chairs – this one, luckily, not made of stone – and took out the Runecraft skill book.
The book I’d looted from Akzar’s head shaman was complex. It contained dozens of obscure schemas without any sort of guidelines. To understand what a specific schema did, I had to completely deconstruct it; not an easy feat since most of the runes used were unknown to me.
The process was tediously slow. In the past, I’d managed to glean two new runes from studying the book, but it seemed that was the extent of the low-hanging fruit. I had to pour in substantially more time and effort to learn anything new. Other than the time it consumed, I didn’t mind. The learning process was a refreshingly relaxing experience.
Several hours later, I put the book down and stood up to stretch. I’d discovered interesting new methods of combining runes, but I hadn’t discovered any new runes.
I needed a little break.
This was a good opportunity to take a closer look at my Dark Mana spells. Thanks to my adventure with the giant scorpions, my governing skill had reached the Expert rank. With the new spell consolidation system Shiva had implemented, that had meant all spells under it were now considered Expert-ranked and therefore stronger.
Life Reset: Conquest (New Era Online Book 5) Page 10
