Life Reset: Conquest (New Era Online Book 5)

by Kuznits, Shemer

  “I’ll go and give them the good-’ole red-carpet greeting,” Aidanriel said merrily.

  “No,” I said. “Stay close, I need your help.”

  I concentrated on the runes, pouring in a quarter of my mana, then reached with my mind to the golem’s core and poured its mana into the enchantment.

  “Hey!” Aidanriel protested, but it was already done. The golem’s core held 15,000 MP, more than double the required amount to power up the enchantment.

  The runic line on the ground glowed with unholy energy, and a portal shimmered into view next to the shrine.

  Sullivan. I relayed my thoughts through my magical earring directly to the player. The first portal is open, send in our forces.

  There was no reply. The earring only allowed me to send my thoughts to my war party, not to receive them. But a moment later, the first of our forces made its appearance.

  It was a foblin.

  The small, silly creature looked around, his eyes wide with bloodlust. He spotted the enemy forces converging on us, let out a shriek, and rushed at them. More foblins spilled out of the portal, running behind the first one. The approaching enemy soldiers halted their advance to intercept the attack, easily dispatching the level 1 foblins. But more kept coming, a dozen by the second. The flow wasn’t enough to overtake the higher-level soldiers, but it was more than enough to halt their progress.

  “Come on,” I shouted to my two companions. “We have to get to the other catapults.”

  I spent a few seconds summoning my shadow clone to help protect the portal, then led the way to the next destroyed catapult.

  Interlude: Sir Lanceington

  “What the hell?” Sir Lanceington paled as he watched the battle unfold from his command tent.

  Initially, the situation had looked dire but manageable. The monsters’ sneak attack to take down his siege engines had weakened his position, and as a result, hundreds of lives were lost charging the fortified forces. But despite that, his forces still outnumbered the enemy, and he had faith in the elite knights under his command.

  Then, a flash of magic appeared at his main force’s rear and a seemingly never-ending stream of goblins came gushing out of it. At first, the few squads of his reserve forces seemed to be handling the flow then a second flash of magic appeared, letting out yet another stream of goblins.

  The officers next to him hurriedly issued orders to the solitary forces to try to stem the onslaught, but yet another portal opened … and another a few moments later.

  Helplessly, the commander watched his army’s rear get overrun by small, shrieking goblins. There were hundreds of them now, and more kept pouring out of the four portals. They died by the dozens, but there seemed to be no end to them. The goblins swarmed over the isolated squads that tried to hold them back. Then, like a green wave, they splashed against the army’s rear, trapping them against the walls.

  “The dwarf was right,” the commander said through gritted teeth.

  At his force’s rear, where only ranged units were supposed to be, hundreds of shield-bearing warriors revealed themselves, forming a sturdy line in front of the charging green horde. The flood of goblins crashed against their shields and came to a stop. More goblins came rushing after them, covering the ground like a swarm of green ants, but despite their numbers, they couldn’t overwhelm the higher-level, well-equipped soldiers.

  “Sir, we’re holding,” an officer said, trying to sound optimistic.

  The commander stared at him. “We’ve been outmaneuvered into a two-front battle, and all you have to say is that we’re holding? This was supposed to be a swift victory!”

  “But the goblins can’t break our line,” the officer pointed out. “And we’ll soon be inside the walls.”

  “And we owe that to a traveler, no less.” The commander shook his head. “If I hadn’t heeded his warning, our rear would’ve been overwhelmed right now. Where is he, anyway?”

  “At the front line, sir,” another officer said, pointing at an individual who was battling two hobgoblins at once. In just a few seconds, the dwarf had disarmed one of his opponents with a flashy axe and shield combo then cleaved the other one down the middle.

  Sir Lanceington shook his head again. “He’s a proficient fighter, but it’s not enough. There’s no helping it. I’d hoped to save this for later, but it seems we can’t wait any longer.” He straightened up, took out his sword, and pointed it at the front of his army. “Army command: Unstoppable Charge!”

  The soldiers attacking the walls roared in unison as powerful energy flooded their veins. They charged the wooden palisade in front of them, hacking through the thick beams like they were mere toothpicks.

  A large section of the monsters’ wall fell under, and the swarm of attacking soldiers rushed in like a giant’s fist, killing any monster that met their attack. But the energy that guided them was spent in seconds, halting their approach. Still, they’d taken the walls.

  The enemy retaliated almost instantly. A sudden burst of movement from one side hurled soldiers in all directions while a second flurry from the other side seemed to shower the entire battlefield with blood.

  “What is going on down there?” the commander asked, his voice cracking for the first time.

  There was no need to respond. A pinkish, multi-limbed abomination appeared, charging headlong into the soldiers’ line while a weird contraption of wood and spinning blades rose above the soldiers’ heads, hacking them to bits.

  The commander’s eyes bulged. “Send in the knights!”

  13 - Admonishment

  I stood on a small rise next to the shrine, watching with savage glee as the battle unfolded below me.

  Sullivan had done it, catching our enemies between two sides. Sure, the enemy had taken care to guard its rear and put out a third of their melee fighters to stop the goblin swarm, but that meant a third of their forces weren’t occupied with attacking our main army.

  Then something changed. Somehow, a wave of energy ran through the front section of enemy soldiers, and they simply barreled through our palisade and started hacking apart our soldiers.

  Vic said suddenly.

  “Stay here and take cover,” I told Zuban, who nodded back at me. The area was swarming with foblins so it should be safe for him to remain behind.

  I teleported back into the hamlet, reappearing on top of one of the houses. From this vantage point, I could see the enemy soldiers pouring in through the large chunk of missing wall, howling and cutting apart hobs, Ogres, and kobolds. But their mad momentum was quickly spent, and my forces were able to regroup and retaliate. Hordes of trained hobs and roaring Ogres ran to meet the charge. Spheres of blue energy appeared amidst the battlefield as the Ogre Mages made a stand, raising their mana shields and bashing everyone who got near them with flaming maces.

  Then Swarm made his appearance. The golem abomination seemed to have rolled his spheres underneath the fighters’ legs, and they exploded upward as it took shape. Multiple limbs flailed in all directions, pummeling, grabbing, and squashing enemy soldiers ten at a time.

  From the far side of the battlefield, wooden partitions that hid another surprise were pushed back as the Meat Grinder made its appearance. The massive Ogre-operated war machine justified its name as spinning bladed wheels rolled into the melee, chopping apart enemy soldiers, splashing blood and viscera in all directions.

  I spotted several of our player-led squads cutting through the enemy lines and even made out Panda. The battle-crazed player stood alone, carving a bloody path with her gigantic axe through the enemy ranks, seemingly oblivious to the hits she received in return.

  I took a moment from observing the battle to fill my staff’s stores with three new Direballs.

  Sullivan ran toward me. “There you are.”

  “Things are looking good,” I said. “What’s the panic?”

  He rolled his eyes at me and pointed. “That’
s the panic.”

  A small force of enemies, their pristine armor shining in the darkness, were pushing their way through a group of Infernal Ogres, easily hacking apart the fearsome monsters.

  “They’re going after Swarm,” the strategist said. “And they’re cutting their way through our strongest soldiers. We have to stop them.”

  I grinned at him. “Time for the boss surprise?”

  He nodded grimly. “It is.”

  “Cool.”

  ***

  The leader of the knight forces swiped his enchanted sword at another hulking Ogre, his blade easily passing through the monster’s meat and bone, bringing it down. “To me, men!” His bellow seemed to have instilled new heart in the common soldiers surrounding him, and they fell with renewed vigor on the monsters around them.

  The rest of his fellow knights kept fighting, cutting a path toward the terrible metallic entity that was pulverizing their forces. This was what they were here for. To take out the worst of the monsters’ champions.

  The deep darkness around them rippled as a tall goblin stepped through, followed by two taller figures.

  ***

  “Boss surprise!” I cried out gleefully as I beckoned Broncar and Bonecruncher to handle the knights.

  The Ettin roared and rushed into the fight, his acid-dripping cleaver raised high, and his spiked-ball chain already drawn to strike. As a tier 3 boss, Akzar’s champion was more than a match for six or seven enemies of equal level or four of the level 150 knights. But that was why I brought two of them along.

  Broncar calmly studied the dozen armored knights as he slowly pulled out his spear. At level 120, he too was lower than the knights, but as a tier 4 boss – also known as a raid boss – he could easily handle at least fifteen enemies of his own level.

  I clapped the blue-skinned hob on the back. “You wanted a challenge, right?”

  His only response was a savage grin.

  This was going to be interesting. I stepped back and let the mini-battle commence.

  Bonecruncher’s chain swipe was blocked by a glowing tower shield, but then his giant cleaver punched through a sword raised to parry and rent open an enchanted breastplate, nearly splitting the poor knight’s torso apart.

  A couple of knights moved to surround the Ettin, and their glowing swords shaved off hundreds of points of damage with each strike, dropping the raging creature’s health to 80 percent.

  The other knights, seemingly sensing that Broncar was the more difficult opponent of the two, moved to surround him. One of them raised a glowing amulet with his free arm and uttered a short prayer. A beam of light shot out, impacting the blue-skinned hob, who instantly sidestepped the full force of the attack.

  Broncar looked at the offending knight and growled. “That tingled.”

  Akzar’s toughest warrior then transformed into a whirlwind of stabbing spears that pierced through the knight’s armor and shield like they weren’t even there.

  I watched in delight as my hard-won effort proved itself. Bonecruncher roared as more swords stabbed at him, and he swung his giant mace-chain, swiping the feet out from under two knights at once before moving in to finish them with his cleaver.

  Broncar had expertly impaled a knight and used him as a club to send three others flying.

  The fight was far from one-sided, though. Their enemies were higher-leveled and well-trained, and they covered each other, often mitigating finishing moves into glancing hits, and retaliating with impressive counterattacks. I watched as the two bosses’ health slowly dipped, nearly reaching half.

  I bit my lip in anticipation. Here we go …

  As soon as their HP hit 50 percent, the two bosses exploded into action. Having reached the threshold of their first special boss moves, they each activated their unique abilities.

  Bonecruncher shuddered as two more arms grew out of his body and snatched one of the knights. The arms brought the struggling soldier to one of the Ettin’s heads. His mouth snapped closed around his victim’s skull, and strong teeth chewed through the enchanted helmet. The headless knight dropped dead to the ground.

  Broncar’s ability was more elegant. He crouched slightly then jumped . He went high, hanging in the air for a few seconds. The spear he was holding disappeared from his hand and multiple copies of it appeared all around his hovering body before showering down in a deadly rain. Spears impacted every centimeter in a ten-meter radius, piercing through the knights’ armor and their hastily raised shields, dropping three more.

  The two bosses with their unique powers resumed fighting ‘normally’ with the remaining eight knights.

  There wasn’t much I could contribute to the bout. The knights’ higher levels and enchanted gear made my spells nearly ineffective against them, and I saw no need to waste time by slowly whittling down their health. I knew both bosses had at least one more – deadlier – surprise when their health dropped even lower. So instead, I cast two Heal Followers spells in rapid succession to help them out. The proximity to my source of power and the Eternal Darkness bolstered the spells, and the two bosses’ health pools rose back to 70 percent.

  Then I went looking for someone my own size to fight.

  ***

  I found what I was looking for a moment later. An isolated skirmish between higher-level groups from both sides was taking place. About fifty of our veteran soldiers and bosses, each around level 30-plus, as well as Novenguard’s twenty level 45 converted troops were fighting against about a hundred enemy soldiers from levels 30 to 50.

  Despite having several bosses on our side, including Rhynorn, Yulli, and Kilpi, who were all tier 2, the enemy still outnumbered them two to one, and their highest-level soldiers were able to stand against my own boss attacks.

  Excitement for the coming battle spread through me. I grasped my Demon Staff tightly and resummoned my clone.

  With my cloned body, I stood a little apart from the melee and started casting while teleporting my physical body into the middle of the skirmish.

  I appeared in the midst of roaring Ogres and whistling swords. A cloud of crackling electricity materialized above us, sending small bolts of lightning into my soldiers, shaving off their health and making them stagger. I was surrounded by enemies.

  I raised my mana shield and sent a wave of healing magic around me, bringing back wounded soldiers from the brink of death. We were outnumbered, and my forces were losing.

  It was exhilarating.

  I focused on three enemy fighters who charged at me, freezing two of them. My dagger flashed by and claimed their lives while the third one pounded my shield with a glowing yellow mace. The warrior flinched as some of the damage reflected onto him. My weapon had no trouble passing through my magical protection as I stabbed forward, impaling the man through the chest, nearly killing him with that single attack.

  I briefly considered discharging a Direball through the staff but decided against it. With so many of my forces around, there was no way not to hurt them. Instead, I launched a volley of drilling arrows, finishing off my opponent. Then I sent out a quick Mana Drain spell at a casting mage, causing his own spell to spiral out of control, the ensuing magical backlash exploding his body. The goblin in me chuckled with glee. Spellcasters who weren’t bosses were so deliciously squishy and easy to kill.

  Some more of my forces fell, but the bosses, as well Novenguard’s best, kept on fighting. Rhyno let out a Terrible Roar, stunning seven enemies, then proceeded to down one with vicious pounding. Yulli held back an entire shield-bearing squad with her unending stream of arrows. Warriors shouted, bosses activated unique skills, goblin adepts darted around everyone’s legs with healing magic and the occasional drilling arrow spell, while the enemy fought tooth and nail, ganging up on any monster they could. It was glorious chaos.

  Back at my cloned body, darkness amassed to new heights as I poured more mana into the spell, quadrupling its already powerful effect, and summoning 16 shadow mastiffs. The savage beasts advanced like a black
tide, easily covering the 20-meter distance to clash against the enemy forces, biting and clawing. Their insubstantial teeth and claws passed through unenchanted armor with ease, tearing and rending the flesh underneath.

  My appearance invigorated my troops, and they rallied back onto the offensive, taking down the enemies even as some of them staggered and fell. I spent a full turn casting Dark Protection, followed by another Heal Followers spell, and my forces quickly ate through the enemies’ superior numbers.

  I continued to freeze, sacrifice, and stab at every enemy in sight while my clone rained deadly magic arrows everywhere. In what seemed like a few short moments, the enemy’s force crumbled, and we found ourselves standing on a mound of their corpses, some of which were in the process of turning into black goo.

  The larger battle still roared all around us as thousands of other soldiers clashed against each other.

  To my far left, Swarm was chewing through the enemy ranks, throwing around bodies in heaping piles. To my right, the Meat Grinder seemed to have been destroyed by magic; the bulk of the machine was charred, and the corpses of the Ogres who operated it were visible within. Still, the contraption was surrounded by at least a hundred shredded enemies. It had done its job.

  I looked and found the place where my two uber bosses fought the knights. Over half of the armored enemies seemed to have been slain, along with the Ettin, but Broncar was still fighting. The blue hob’s eyes shone with fury as his health dropped even further, triggering his final special ability. His feet slammed the ground, sending out a spider web of cracks all around him, causing the nearby knights to stumble as their legs were caught in the freshly opened crevasses. Then the ground shuddered closed, trapping them inside. Almost lazily, Broncar dispatched the struggling knights one by one with a spear thrust to the head.