DEATH'S REVENGE
(Venus Online Book 5)
A LitRPG Sci-Fi Harem Adventure
By Jeremy Zenith
ALSO BY JEREMY ZENITH
Venus Online (Books 1 and 2)
Treasure Chest (Venus Online 3)
Mine Shaft (Venus Online 4)
Blood of the Wolf (A Beast Clan Short)
Death's Revenge by Jeremy Zenith
Published by Jeremy Zenith
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Cover illustration by Patricio Gandara (@pgandara)
Cover design by Pixelstudio
Copyright © 2018 Jeremy Zenith
CONTENTS
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
From the Author
Chapter 1
BYRON JONES and his crew watched as the starship Icarus flew into the belly of the Necralia Empire battleship. There wasn't a door, so the Icarus had to pass through a glowing force field holding the atmosphere inside a hangar that looked as big as the Grand Canyon, but the size wasn't what made Chetaara gasp. Byron felt a little sick at the sight as well.
Hundreds of Death Wing fighters parked in rows all over the hangar while thousands of Death Troopers marched between the fighters in formation towards the Icarus.
"Holy fuck," Scarlett whispered. "You should be flattered, baby. They sent all this just to pick up your cute ass."
Chetaara wrapped her arms around his shoulders and squeezed him. Her pointed ears flattened against the top of her head as she whispered, "By the gods, surely Lady Necralia must know you are the Outsider."
Scarlett pulled her laser pistols out of the weapons locker. "So what's the plan, Captain? Suicide charge, guns blazing? Hide in here like the Millennium Falcon in A New Hope?"
Chetaara's forehead wrinkled. "What new hope?"
"Never mind, sweetie."
Byron shook his head. "No, we're gonna make them think we're giving up. Xana, you go invisible again."
Xana looked up at the others. "But what about--"
"We can take care of ourselves. It would help if one of us isn't caught. If you're invisible, you might see a chance to escape or help all of us escape."
She nodded while touching her necklace with her fingers. Her black leathery bodysuit flowed quickly into the necklace, leaving her naked.
Her perky boobs swung forward as she kissed Byron on the lips but before he could react, she faded away and disappeared.
"Wow," Scarlett murmured. "She knows how to make an exit."
Chetaara put her hands on each side of his face to pull him in and kiss him, and their lips parted for her tongue to flick at his before they came apart.
Scarlett ran up to them. "Hey, let me get some o' that."
She wrapped her arms around his neck to pull him into a kiss. Her tongue immediately pushed into Byron's mouth, and he could feel her urgency and passion.
When they finally parted, Scarlett turned to Chetaara and kissed her as well. Their hands wandered over each other's hips as they moaned softly.
Scarlett leaned back with a wink. "Now that's what I call a send-off."
"Okay." He took a deep breath and faced the airlock while one hand reached down to touch the pistol at his hip. "I guess this is it."
Chetaara brought up her hands and sparks flew from them while Scarlett raised her two pistols.
A fist hammered on the airlock.
The two girls looked at him.
He nodded.
Scarlett tapped the entry keypad.
The airlock slid open. A thick white smoke poured in from the other side that blocked the view outside. Byron raised his weapon as Scarlett pointed hers, and Chetaara drew her sparkling fingers back.
A deep voice called out from the other side. "Byron Jones, we have several hundred soldiers out here, all armed with more weapons than you have ever seen in your life. Surely even you must know that you will die if you step out of that ship with a weapon of any kind. So what say you do us all a favor and come out, unarmed?"
Byron thought about going out in a blaze of glory, but he didn't want Scarlett and Chetaara to die along with him. Part of him pointed out they were just computer programs, but he had grown to feel closer to them than most real human beings.
He also didn't want to die just yet. If he could free himself, he could kill Lady Necralia and release everyone else trapped in Venus Online. He just needed to survive. Lady Necralia wanted him alive. That gave him some time.
"All right." Byron lowered his pistol to the ground and nodded to the others. "We're coming out unarmed. Don't shoot."
Scarlett growled. "No fucking way."
Byron nodded. "We still have Chetaara's powers. And with all those guns out there, we might be able to grab one."
Scarlett clenched her jaw but lowered her pistols.
He whispered, "Stay close, Xana."
Her voice came from his left side. "Okay."
He set his pistol inside the weapons locker while Scarlett reluctantly put her guns inside it as well.
Text from the game appeared in front of him.
NEW MISSION: ESCAPE FROM DETH
REWARDS: 100,000 XP, 250,000 CREDITS
Easy for you to say, he thought.
Unarmed, he faced the airlock. He felt a hand slip into his, and it was Chetaara.
She smiled at him and gave his hand a squeeze. "I believe in you, Master."
Scarlett took his hand as well. "Yeah, you're the biggest motherfucking badass in this whole Galaxy."
"I seriously doubt that, but thanks." He took a deep breath and walked through the airlock, hand-in-hand.
As he walked through the smoke, a wall of cold air hit him. His skin prickled and his balls tightened immediately
"Holy shit," Byron whispered.
"They're from Necros," Scarlett whispered. "They like it cold."
He looked out at the hangar bay to see two rows of Death Troopers lined up as far as he could see. All of them had their rifles and pistols aimed at the Icarus as General Deth walked between the two columns of soldiers towards him.
Deth had skin, hair, and eyes as white as snow, just like all members of his race. He wore a black uniform with a cape draped over his shoulders. He looked taller than he seemed in the communications screen, and would have dwarfed Byron in his old body. In Byron's new body, they stood almost eye-to-eye.
Byron had felt a little more confident since he'd been boosted to a level twenty-five by the game's creator, Otis Accolade. Yet he saw all the Death Troopers were levels twenty and twenty-one, and they outnumbered him by at least a hundred to one.
He tapped his bracelet
to see the general's stats.
GENERAL DETH
ROGUE - LEVEL 50
STR: 48
DEX: 510
NRG: 0
HEALTH: 500/500
His heart sank. General Deth's stats far exceeded Byron's.
"Welcome to the NSS Vanquish." General Deth adjusted his gloves as he looked at Byron. "I must say, before I failed to see why Her Majesty wasted so many resources and man-hours for the likes of you. Now, after seeing you in combat, I understand."
Deth reached into his belt and drew a huge serrated knife to point at Byron. "There is something different about you. How did you defeat our Death Wings and Death Troopers?"
Byron shrugged again. "I guess they just weren't that good."
Deth barked out laughter. "I like your attitude. Unfortunately, you'll need more than attitude with me. You're not the first one I've seen who talked tough around Lady Necralia, and you'll end up begging for mercy just like the rest of them."
The general turned away while raising a hand. "Set course for Necros. Escort the prisoners to the brig."
Several of the Death Troopers broke out of the ranks to march up to Byron and his crew. The soldiers motioned with rifles to get them to follow.
General Deth paused for a moment. "Oh, and be sure to bring the Chamella with them."
Byron felt a deeper chill. "Wh-I don't know--"
Deth spun and hurled his knife. Byron thought the throw was aimed at him and missed until the knife stopped in mid-air past his left leg.
A cry rang out from it. Xana appeared next to him, naked and holding her leg with the knife sticking out of it. Byron grabbed her just as she collapsed.
General Deth shook his head. "Do you think so little of us that we would fall for such a simple trick? We've seen you fight before and knew you had an invisible partner from your attack on Sergeant Rott. We have an infrared sensor sweeping the hangar for her."
Byron had had enough of Deth's arrogance and cool cruelty. He wanted to tear the general apart with his bare hands. Yet the Death Troopers around him moved in, just as his fists clenched.
He knew they would kill him if Byron even flinched at Deth, so he looked up and snarled. "You'll pay for that."
Deth raised his eyebrows. "Oh, I'm disappointed at such an unoriginal threat. I would have said something like 'I'm going to cut your lips off your face so you'll never smile again.' Then again, I have more practice with delivering threats and even more with carrying them out."
General Deth's cape flowed around him as he turned and headed across the hangar again.
Byron looked back at Xana. Her leg still had the knife sticking out of it, and he didn't want to pull it out in case it held a major artery. "Lean on me. Don't try to walk."
Xana just nodded and wrapped her arms around his neck. He picked her up and carried her like a small child as he followed General Deth. Chetaara and Scarlett trailed closely behind him.
Scarlett pointed at a random soldier. "Just you wait. We're gonna fuck your boss up, bitch."
Byron shook his head. "Let's not make the people with guns mad."
"I'd rather be dead than let these guys fuck me over." She spat on another soldier. The soldier didn't even seem to notice, only marched alongside her at the same pace.
General Deth approached a doorway, but looked over at Scarlett with a smile. "How delightful! Your robot has such a defiant personality. Byron, did you know each guidance robot is tailored to the personality of its owner? I wonder why yours has such an abrasive attitude. I think I'll dismantle her to find the answer."
"You won't touch her." Byron reached out to take her hand and draw her closer.
Deth paused at the doorway with a broader smile. "Oh, I see. Have you formed some sort of personal attachment to it, pretended it was a real person? Have you had sex with that robot? Oh, that's hilarious. Lady Necralia will be quite amused to hear that."
He touched the doorway. It slid open, and Deth stepped through, followed by Byron with Xana in one arm and holding Scarlett's hand with the other. Chetaara followed even more closely at his left side.
They walked down several hallways with doors that slammed shut behind them. They came to a large open area with a desk running down the center, and a soldier pushed a button that opened a door into a hallway lined with prison cells with bars in front of them. Most seemed empty, but a few had a dark and beaten shape huddled in a corner. Screams or sobs came from the pitiful creatures.
"And," Deth continued as he led the way past the cells, "I see you've picked up another pet, the Nikora. Her fur has the serial number for our lost slave shipment, so it seems you took her as a souvenir."
Chetaara bared her sharp teeth. "The way you grovel at the feet of Lady Necralia, it's you who are the pet, not me. Master and I are equals, bonded forever."
Deth chuckled. "Such spirit. I've always had a fondness for the Nikora myself, although I had to cut the tongues out of the ones I fucked. They prattled on so much. And with the Chamella thief, Byron, you have gathered quite the motley crew. Seems almost a shame to break you apart."
He stopped at the end of the hallway, next to a cell with the door open in front of it. "Welcome to your accommodations for the remainder of the trip. The hyperspace jump to Necros will take about four hyper-hours, so we have plenty of time. I could just lock you up, but I thought we might have a little chat."
His smile vanished as he narrowed his eyes. "Our records tell us that you just entered known space less than five days ago. You were barely a level three. Yet you somehow managed to destroy three Death Wing fighters, and kill three Death Troopers. We take great pride in our military, so I am very curious how you managed to do that."
Byron shrugged. "I wish I could help you. Like I said, I just did it. Maybe your pilots and soldiers aren't as tough as they look."
The cold smile returned to Deth. "I'm in no mood for your games. Someone is helping you. No one can do what you've done, and certainly can't become a level twenty-five in less than a week. Someone has found a way to boost your power or you're more powerful than your stats show and your level has been faked. I want the answer right now."
Byron clenched his teeth and said nothing. Snce he was an NPC, Byron didn't think Deth would understand if he did feel like explaining about Accolade.
Deth shrugged and reached out to beckon with two fingers. "Very well. Let's have some fun."
Two Death Troopers wheeled in a large circular booth that looked like a huge Grecian pillar into the hallway to the general's side.
The general pulled a data tablet out of his pocket. "This is my Torment Tower. I'm guessing you've heard of it. In my humble opinion, it is the most efficient method of torture ever devised. It can work on a microscopic level to extract pain and suffering in ways you can't even dream of."
Byron shrugged again, trying to look cool even as fear made his stomach clench. "You can torture me all you want. I can't tell you anything."
Deth raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "Oh, I wouldn't dare to harm you. Lady Necralia wants to savor all your suffering, and wouldn't want it dulled with my crude instruments. But you seem to have an attachment to these females you've gathered, so they should work just as well to loosen your tongue."
He brought up a finger and moved it in circles. "Let's see, the robot is out. I could make some adjustments to my Torment Tower to work on machines, but it hardly seems worth the effort. The Nikora are known for their ferocity, so I think it would take a bit longer to break her than I'd like. The little Chamella, on the other hand, seems to be handling the knife very badly so she seems a good candidate. Take her."
"No!" Byron lunged at the Death Trooper who reached for Xana. "I won't let you touch her!"
Someone slammed a rifle butt into the back of his neck. He stumbled, but held Xana close to his leg. He could feel her naked body trembling against him, and fought the pain to lunge at the Death Trooper who pistol whipped him. His shoulder slammed into the soldier, knocking him down.
He heard Deth sigh, followed by Chetaara's scream. Deth had pulled the cat-woman by the arm with one hand and held a pistol to her side with his left.
"That's quite enough heroism, my boy," Deth snarled. "Either release the Chamella or your feline friend dies instead."
Xana pressed her hands to Byron's stomach. "Hey, it's okay. Better me than her."
Byron didn't respond, but squeezed her tighter. He didn't want to choose to let any of his crew suffer. Still, she had volunteered and he couldn't let Deth kill Chetaara.
He dropped his head and let the guards rip Xana from his arms. He could only watch as they opened a door on the Torment Tower. He expected the inside to have all sorts of sharp edges and blades, but it looked completely smooth, which filled him with even more dread as they threw her inside.
Once the door of the tower slammed shut, Deth smiled at Byron with gleaming white teeth. "Now, let's try that again. How did you beat my soldiers? How did you get to level twenty-five in a matter of days?"
Byron had a Death Trooper holding each arm, and he still pulled them off their feet as he lunged at Deth. "I'll never tell you. Let her out. Right now."
General Deth tapped the screen of his tablet. "Sorry, wrong answer."
The Torment Tower gave off a gentle hum that was quickly drowned out by screams. Xana's shrieks made Byron lunge forward, dragging the guards holding him to the floor. He spun to flip the Death Trooper on his right to the ground, and caught the other soldier in a headlock to snap his neck.
Freed, Byron hurled himself at the Torment Tower. His fingers dug into the seam of the door until he could pry it open a few centimeters. He caught a glimpse of Xana caught in a blood-red light before another rifle butt rammed into the back of his head again.
He woke up on the floor with Scarlett and Chetaara kneeling beside him, trying to lift him to his feet. The Torment Tower door hung open, and Xana lay on the floor, twitching. The knife had been pulled from her leg, but the blood oozed instead of gushed, so it didn't look like it would bleed out.
Death's Revenge: A LitRPG Sci-Fi Adventure (Venus Online 5) Page 1
