by Mars Dorian
We entered the first floor of the garrison. Thanks to the distraction at the township’s main gate, few soldiers remained inside—by few I mean a couple of dozen. I watched my surroundings and looked for any danger. Even though my heart thumped hard enough to break through my VR suit back in Sparrow’s room, my movements were controlled. I had trained and leveled up for this mission.
Wu moved ahead of me in stealth mode. He maneuvered around the stationary guards like a breeze of wind. To a co-player like me, he looked like a blurry silhouette with a green frame, but to every NPC, he must have been invisible. I flirted with the idea of trying out the Stalker class myself one day.
Wu group-whispered his progress to us. “Entering the second floor now. I’m counting five soldiers. They’re busy applying their armor plates.”
We looked around and pretended to adjust our gear. Thankfully, most soldiers were too busy getting ready to go outside, but some of them shot suspicious glances at us.
“Hurry up, Wu,” Rokkit said via group-whisper mode.
“There’s an armory on the second floor. Seven soldiers are naked and setting up armor plates. Wait.”
Every second counted. Three more soldiers ran passed us toward the main door. They blasted across the plaza with another squad. Wu pinged us again. Thank tech no NPC could hear him.
“I see the digital placeholder for the remote mine next to the main locker of the armory.”
I looked at L’ocean and Rokkit standing with their hands ready to engage.
A Sunbleeder captain spotted us and marched in calculated steps. “Hey, you.”
He pointed at me like the strict teacher in school. “What regiment are you from?”
For some reason, I spoke up. “We’re backup from the capital.”
The captain wore medium armor and a multi-tool belt with smokers and explodas. His right hand hovered near his thigh holster, ready to engage. We treaded in hot water here.
“I haven’t been informed about any additional dispatch from the capital. On whose orders were you sent?”
“Commander… Rykan,” I said.
Both L’ocean and Rokkit looked at me with bewildered glances. Truth to be told, I just made that name up, but maybe the Syndicate hierarchy was so complex you could get away with fake name-calling.
“Never heard of him,” the captain said with rising annoyance.
The few soldiers around us stopped in their tracks and perked their ears. The air thickened like molasses.
“You should,” I said, “He’s a pretty decent guy.”
The captain pointed his index finger at us and yelled. “Guards, arrest these intruders.”
The quest updated in my HUD.
Warning! You’ve been spotted.
Sunbleeder soldier disguised dropped.
My camouflage dropped to zero in an instant. So much for the tactical stealth mission. All three of us dropped the disguise from our inventory and switched back to our gear.
“Close the door,” I said to the Rokkit. “Don’t let anyone in or out.”
To my surprise, he listened. He dashed toward the gate and barricaded it with an iron-coated wooden block while I distracted the soldiers marching toward us. With the captain in charge, the few soldiers around us acted in a squad assault formation.
Enemy: Guardsmen
HP: 445-475
Armor: Medium plating (+4)
Weakness: Sharp weaponry
Drops: Engine Blade, mech-shield
I snatched the smoker from my multi-tool belt and threw it on the ground. The cloud wafted out and engulfed the floor. The confused icon hovered over the enemy soldiers, but my team and I would still recognize the enemy based on their red silhouettes and target pointers. “Let’s take out the captain first to break their formation.”
I targeted my harpoon gun at the captain’s chest plate and pulled the sucker toward me. Thanks to all of my inventory, my weight surpassed his, so he flew to me like a puppet. I welcomed his close-body contact with my charged gunblade and pierced his armor. His health bar dropped like the Dow Jones in 2008. Still not powerful enough to cause break or stagger, so he pushed me back and unleashed his tactical blade.
A heavy melee broad swoosh impacted with his back gear and pushed him over. His armor shattered.
Rokkit’s deep voice roared through the smoke. “Gotta love pushback damage.”
The confused status of the surrounding soldiers vanished. I quickly attacked the nearest guard and sliced his weak armor. While I waited for the cooldown of my Chainlinking skill to subside, I sliced and diced with my gunblade. L’ocean went full support mode and buffed our actions.
Rokkit unleashed a charge attack into three adjacent soldiers and took out two. “Worry about the charges, Boltzmann. Backup’s on the way.”
I placed the charge on the designated spot on the wall. Voices and vibrations roared from the main door. The outside soldiers must have noticed about the trouble inside but were unable to pass the barricaded door. For now.
“Decent job,” Rokkit said. “Let’s head to the second floor.”
We dashed up the stairways and found corpses littering the floor. Wu posed in the middle of the soldier pile, checking his inventory.
“About time you showed up.”
“You killed them all single-handedly?”
“All naked and no armor makes for a poisoned blade carnage. Backstabbing included.”
“Remind me to never challenge you to a PvP duel.”
“Hah. I’m not interested in PvPs any time soon.”
“Stop chatting and place those damn charges.” Rokkit said as he watched the staircase for incoming soldiers.
Thanks to the designated digital frame, I knew exactly where to dispatch my charges. Another message hovered in my HUD.
Update: 2 of 3 charges placed.
“One more on the top floor.”
Again, we used to the stairway to reach the top floor. We counted five stationary guards with their medium-armor on. The trusted smoke and slice ‘em tactic applied again. I rolled a smoker across the floor and Rokkit stormed in with his shield raised and unleashed carnage onto the confused soldiers. He needed no buff from L’ocean or Stalker’s backstabbing ability to wipe the floor clean.
“Someone’s playing solo-player again,” I said.
“You need to keep up with my speed, Boltzmann, I’m not waiting for anyone.”
“Actually you are.”
I maneuvered around the corpses and placed the final charge on what looked to be a giant safe placed on the pillar. A new message appeared on the HUD:
All three charges set. Escape the garrison, establish a twenty-five meter distance, and remote-detonate.
Too easy.
We plundered the items of the fallen soldiers and grabbed the money. A few potions, antidotes, and about 3450 credits for all of us. The armor and blades weren’t good enough for me, but I could sell them for a decent profit. Still, the ease of the operation befuddled me.
“This is supposed to be a major quest? It’s easier than the field mission.”
“Stay vigilant, Dash. This is far from over.”
L’ocean’s serious statement halted my enthusiasm. Maybe she knew something about the mission that I didn’t. Back on the first floor, the front door shook as if an army of elephants pushed against it. Dust particles blew from the bar.
Wu, L’ocean, and I stayed combat-ready while Rokkit pulled back the bolt.
“Ready for some melee?”
The second Rokkit kicked open the door, he activated his shield bash and stormed into the soldier mob the outside. He ran over at least five units with a single attack and caused terrific damage, halving their HPs from the impact.
All three of us joined him outside where at least twenty soldiers with various weapons and armor awaited us. Four sentries turned their mechanized crossbows at us while orders and war cries echoed across the plaza.
The world was officially on fire.
61
Wu’s stealth ability had cooled down again for yet another use. He turned into a blurry shadow and sliced through the ranks.
“Focus on the captains first,” Rokkit said to him. “We need to break their squad formations.”
Easier said than done, because the standard soldiers surrounded us in swarms while the captains barked commands safely from the last rows. L’ocean used her crowd control skills to break up the enemy squad formations. She had learned how to splice Reepo particles which released bursts of energy. This skill, called the Reepulse Blast, sent a short-ranged shockwave across the battlefield. The area effect caused little damage but knocked soldiers over with a temporary stun. Gaps in the enemy lines appeared, and Wu used them as a direct stealth path to reach the captains. He positioned himself behind one, unleashed his cross blade, and caused 175% damage, not to mention his insane critical hit bonuses.
His character was a single damage emperor.
One captain down, too many to go.
In the middle of the skirmish, I downed a health potion and tried to keep my health above 50%. My armor mitigated some of the soldier attacks, but I was certainly no tank like Rokkit.
I mean, the guy acted like an armored beast unleashing his shield dash and his splash damage attacks. His war cry stunned nearby enemies, leaving them vulnerable for the melee attack. When he swung his mighty hammer, armor plates cracked like glass. I tried to keep my enemies at mid-range and threw an acid exploda, engulfing the soldiers in a green cloud and eating away their armor. With the armor stats down, my gunblade caused full HP damage.
“Watch out for the turrets,” Rokkit said.
With half of the attackers taken care of, the sentries opened fire.
Rokkit killed another soldier then ordered us to swarm out while he neared the closest turret with his shield raised. Two turrets concentrated fire on him, but their darts bounced off his upgraded shield, their long reloading times allowing him time to sidestep their effective range.
Rokkit ordered me to focus on the soldiers, while Wu disposed of the captains and L’ocean either buffed our characters or used crowd control skills to weaken the group attacks.
We worked like an elite squad.
Wu killed yet another captain from behind. In the distance, I saw his earthy-green blade piercing the man’s front plate like a chest buster.
Cruel, but effective.
Once we had fought our way to the center of the plaza and left a thirty meter distance to the garrison, I activated the remote-charges and watched the Sunbleeder garrison collapse to the ground. The final floor tumbled and spat a dust tornado into the air. The updates flooded my HUD.
Quest update: You’ve successfully detonated all three charges.
The Sunblood Garrison has fallen.
Clear the remaining resistance to liberate Varmegarden.
My heart wanted to scream.
“We freaking did it! Li-be-ra-tion.”
With all the captains either dead or fleeing, the group mechanics of the soldiers broke apart.
Even L’ocean and Rokkit allowed themselves to smile. For a whole five seconds, until an ear-shattering siren ripped the air apart.
Our heads simultaneously turned toward the central plaza. Sentries burned and spat smoke into the air, corpses littered the ground. No single soldier stood around to take up the fight. And yet, no update. We either hadn’t killed all the soldiers yet or something else was amiss. The siren ceased and creepy silence drowned the vast plaza, swallowing all sounds. A low whooshing noise echoed in the back of my ear. I stared at all the entrances of the plaza and couldn’t spot the enemy, but the sound grew louder. My arms twitched.
“I’ve got a bad feeling about this.”
62
Our team craned their heads toward the sky where an airship sliced the clouds. The troop transporter hovered dozens of meters above the rooftops and rang a klaxon. Its curvy, metallic design reminded me of a starship merged with a classic sea frigate. Wonderful to look at, but the last thing I wanted to see during this mission.
“Don’t tell me we have to fight that thing.”
Even Rokkit forgot to unleash a witty one-liner as his eyes stayed glued to the sky.
The airship hovered high above the other side of the plaza. Instead of firing at us, the ship released four, heavy, iron ropes attached to a mechanized knight. The humanoid object dropped to the ground with a clonk and moved its mighty limbs. The metallic figure stomped across the plaza and targeted our location. It was massively built, easily twice as big as Rokkit, and three times as armored. My analyzer circled around the incoming target and revealed information I did not want to know.
Enemy: Sunblood Mech-knight Captain
Type: Mechanized/Humanoid
HP: 5500 base + 7500 armor/Armor: Composite full-armor plating (+6)
> Reduces up 55% of melee damage,
> Reduces up to 75% of projectile damage
>>(Weight: 456 kg)
Drops: Mid-rare weapon, 4500-6400 credits
Of course we had to face a boss fight before our escape. Of course the game wouldn’t just let us blow up a garrison and get away. I had fallen victim to my naivety again. Based on every encounter I had during the game, I could already tell this battle would be the toughest yet. A dozen meters before us, the boss stopped his heavy armor and stretched his plated legs. A distorted and muffled voice spoke through the face shield.
“I am Captain Odin, leader of the 33rd Regiment of the Sunbleeder Occupation Force.”
He pointed his massive polearm toward us. It tripled my blade in terms of size and coolness. “Filthy rebels, you have trespassed onto Sunblood territory, violated Sunblood property rights, and committed physical assault against Sunblood troopers. In the name of the Sunblood Syndicate, I hereby fulfill my duty as judge, jury, and executioner. Prepare to die.”
He sounded like a mocking version of ancient TV judges.
“Judge, jury, and executioner? How convenient. I bet the Syndicate’s judicial process doesn’t suffer from petty problems such as due diligence and fair hearings.”
Captain Odin pointed at me.
“Shut your mouth, you cretin. You speak when I tell you to.”
This guy had even more attitude than Rokkit, which was a miracle in itself.
“Who are you working for? What’s your mission?”
Should I tell him about the Blue Flame? No, that would probably compromise their hideout in the mountains.
“It’s none of your business, you metal shithead,” Rokkit said.
The giant mech knight opened his visor. A young man with model looks, apart from the scar running across his hawkish nose, glared at us. It looked like the captain was a regular unit embedded into the armor suit. “What do you hope to accomplish by attacking our facilities? You can’t build a future on rubble and ashes.”
Since Rokkit, Wu, and L’ocean were busy preparing for the fight and exchanging items with each other, I acted as the official distraction. “Well, I think a lot of people are pissed that you’re mining Reepo crystals and causing lots of damage to people and the environment. I mean, mutating animals and humans intro Creepos with crystallized skin? Not cool.”
I sounded like some self-righteous eco-warrior, but at least it kept the boss busy. His face contorted like he couldn’t understand a single word coming out of my mouth.
“Reepo-mining is the essence of Fourlando’s progress, fool. Without it, no machinery, no airship, no craft could be powered. Soon, the Syndicate will unite all four landmasses and create a whole nation. The Reepo will help us enter a new era of wealth and advancements. We will not fall back to the dark ages of the Empire ever again.”
The captain sounded like he was the actual hero of the story, which was odd; I expected a far more evil response. A quick glance to my co-players revealed they were ready for the fight.
“Let me ask you one last question, fools. Were you involved in the terrorist attack of Montobay?”
I exchang
ed a confused glance with my team. Apparently, the game mechanics allowed NPCs to remember events from older quests. Impressive.
“We liberated it,” L’ocean said.
“Stop talking to this freak show,” Rokkit said.
He swung his broadsword and raised his shield.
Wu and L’ocean positioned themselves behind him.
“Remember your character-specific roles. We’ll learn the enemy’s attack pattern and look for weak spots. No crazy experiments though—remember the permadeath.”
Always.
I moved to Rokkit’s left side and activated my gunblade’s ranged modus. Captain Odin closed his face shield and stomped toward us.
63
Four words summarized this battle.
Hardest. Boss. Fight. Ever.
The giant, mechanized knight used his polearm to keep us at bay. Its length almost counted as a short-ranged gun and made it impossible for melee fighters like Rokkit and Wu to enter the close-combat zone. And despite Captain’s Odin heavy armor and slow reaction time, his 180 degree polearm swipes almost killed us. I kept a secure distance and tried to anticipate the boss’ behavior, looking for an opening. Since this mech-knight counted as an exoskeleton, it had to be powered by some kind of energy source. And only one kind sprang to mind. When Rokkit used his taunt skill on the boss, I managed to catch a peek at his back without having to get too close. The weak point revealed itself to me. A mobile tank containing two rows of canister, filled with refined Reepo, were placed on his massive back. It was similar to the Thornbasher I had fought and killed at the Cloister quest. I quickly updated my team then targeted Captain Odin’s left leg with my harpoon gun and tried to bring him down. Given his heavy weight, the captain didn’t flip over or pull toward my direction. I merely slowed down his movement by 20-25%, allowing the others to attack his rear. Rokkit unleashed a forward broad slash with chipped away his armor, but the captain had deluxe HP and armor. Worse, he pulled at my chain which was still attached to his left leg. With his gloved hands, he swung the chain and tossed me over the plaza.
