Except that fortunately, or unfortunately—Runner wasn’t sure yet—Thana and Katarina had sent most of the army home after clearing Dover. They’d remained in the city with only a token force.
Runner could only guess they had assumed after Dover had been claimed and cleared that’d be the end of it.
Which meant they had fewer troops in Dover, both to lose, and defend. Rike’s plan would already fail simply because there was no army to catch and crush.
It just means Kitten and Lady Death are more likely to get killed outright. That’s all.
Runner gestured to Faye, who sat across from him. He, Faye, and Sophia had gathered to discuss the plan and what they could do.
Hannah still refused to speak to any of them. She kept her distance from everyone and went to great pains to remain that way.
“Take Lady Hannah, Lady Sophia, and Norwood’s Own and head north,” Faye said, tracing the route with her finger. “Take all the tanks, too. Rather than the whole army, request all of Queen Helen’s fast movers, casters, cavalry, or otherwise. Anyone who can keep up with a third speed tank.”
Faye paused and walked her fingers across the map as if calculating time and distances.
“Load as much heavy infantry into the tanks as you can. Do the same for Vasilios. Then swing south and meet me in Faren. You should arrive either as I do, or a day after. It’s the best I can come up with, Alpha.”
Faye moved the pieces into position for the first phase of the plan. Runner’s piece sat halfway between Bren and Kastell.
“I can’t say I much care for this. It’s the best plan we have and I’d never be able to think of anything better. I mean, it’s a great plan. It is. It solves all the problems and delivers the optimal result,” Runner said, his fingers toying with the map marker that denoted himself.
Faye looked confused when Runner glanced up at her.
“I’m sure the general will miss you too, lord husband.” Sophia stood up and dipped her head to Faye. “I’ll leave the details to you. I need to go prepare my forces for the march north.”
Faye grunted and cocked an eyebrow at Runner.
“She reminds me of Lady Thana and Lady Hannah in equal measure, at times. Brilliant and blunt in the same sentence. Without the mind games and angst of either.” Faye’s voice fell off as she leaned forward over the map. “You’ll miss me, huh?”
“Obviously. That goes without saying. Why wouldn’t I miss my faithful, tactical, direct, innocent, and confident Were. In retrospect, I’m glad we had last night.” Runner sighed and set his marker down. After a few seconds he admitted privately to himself there was no better option. Reaching out, he then moved it north towards Helen’s territory.
“As am I. Thank you for… ah…” Faye shook herself and let out a soft growl as if to force herself along. “I’m glad we discussed children and used Lady Srit’s option. Getting pregnant during this campaign would be hard if it’s a drawn-out war.”
Runner smiled and held up his hands as if in surrender. “My wife told me her needs, I did as she instructed. Hannah has made it clear she doesn’t want any part of us as a whole. And our beloved Grace gifted us a little bit of time to ourselves. Any thoughts on what we could do to entertain ourselves before I depart?”
Faye stood up immediately and stared at him.
“Yes. Yes I do have a thought about that.”
6:29 pm Sovereign Earth time
5/23/44
As the sun dipped towards the horizon, Runner pinged a change of pace to his raid leaders. They’d of course communicate it to the rest of the raid squad leaders.
Shifting Boxy into second, he waited ten seconds for everyone else to safely do the same. Another shift and he was moving at the slowest speed available.
Turning off the side of the road and going no further, he stopped. They’d truthfully be safer staying close to the road.
Faye had warned him that they could very well be the target of an ambush or attack. Rike’s forces had been in country for quite a while. Thus they could be anywhere.
Runner got up and performed an unsatisfying stretch. He knew it didn’t do anything for him. He couldn’t break the habit even knowing that. Same reason he still took the time to wash his face each morning or dunk himself in a pool of water.
It didn’t do anything other than give him a sense of normalcy.
“Right, then. Grace, see to the troops. I’m going to stretch the legs a bit.” The only other occupant in Boxy was Sophia.
He’d spent quite a bit of time building up a massive number of tanks in the five-month lull.
Most of Norwood’s Own had been issued a horse. Using this to their advantage, it meant that nearly every tank was empty of passengers. They’d be able to fit quite a number of heavy troops in them. Heavy troops they’d need to either hold the line or break a siege.
Runner flipped open his raid window to the last page. Thana and Katarina were safe and sound for the minute. As was the rest of his little group.
The fact that the e-mail system for the ship was still down had gone from annoying to mind numbingly horrible.
Either someone had been paying attention or Fate decided to nut punch him when they’d agreed to upgrade the servers with Srit months ago.
“Of course. Give me a minute so I can round up your guard, please,” Sophia said, unlocking the rear door.
“Grace, I don’t—”
“Please, lord husband,” Sophia asked again, piercing him with her gaze.
“Yes, Grace. I’m sorry. I just… I start feeling a little claustrophobic with people so close all the time.”
“I know, but it’s for the safety of us all. Can you imagine what would happen if we lost you at this point?” Her voice was quiet but firm. He knew she’d deliberately kept Boxy empty to give him space.
She watched him for another second before stepping off the ramp and into the grass. She slid out of his view as she moved off, calling out to her subordinates.
Stepping free of the tank, he went a few paces before looking around.
The area looked like a lot of the lands they’d already passed through. Not quite hospitable, open, a touch barren, a little craggy.
Barbarians, remember?
Looking over his shoulder, Runner couldn’t help it when his gaze was drawn to the large cannon he’d strapped to Boxy.
The previous one had been a test. This one was more of an artillery piece. Spanning the length and width of the vehicle, it could be elevated from zero degrees to forty-five. The Splatterhouse round it fired was the size of Milicent.
“You there! Halt! Identify yourself!” Runner flinched at the stern voice as a squad of his guards sprinted to him.
Looking to where they had directed their command, Runner saw only a young woman. She wasn’t terribly attractive but she wasn’t plain either. Short brown hair with brown eyes, she could fit in anywhere.
Decked out in muted colors and plate mail, it was obvious she was a bruiser of a fighter.
He checked the nameplate, and it came back as “Heilwig.” Level fifty-two. She was definitely a threat.
“That’s a mouthful of a name,” Runner muttered. Taking a few steps back from the approaching woman, he double-checked his active gear and found it to be his turret configuration.
Paranoia rocketed his situational awareness to maximum. Runner opened up his left hand and started preparing a Brainwash cast while his right hand started amping up a Seduction.
“Can I help you, my lady? It would be best if you advanced no further. I’m afraid my people may attack you outright if you don’t. If I don’t do it first,” Runner called out to her when she got within twenty feet.
Targeting her, he began ramping up his spells by feeding them more and more mana.
As if sensing his decision to attack, she finally stopped.
Paranoia didn’t stop that easily. It only built. Like a runaway boulder bouncing down a hill.
Runner kept dumping more and more mana into his
spells.
His Seduction spell had become a whirling vortex of angry hate sex and the Brainwash had grown into a weekend-long bender. Though instead of a boiling, swishing noise like Seduction had, Brainwash sounded more like brain melting static.
“I stopped,” Heilwig said.
“Believe I told you to stop earlier. Back up a bit. Or I hit you with these big balls o’fun and we figure out the color of your panties. Then when I’m done, I’ll hand you over to Minxy to play with. Eternally,” Runner said, his paranoia unceasingly driving him forward.
Shocked at his words, the woman took several large steps back quickly.
Runner tilted his head sideways, eying her intensely.
Around him his guard fell into position, drawing weapons and standing at the ready.
Snorting, Runner settled on taking the high road, bringing his hands together with an audible crack of his palms. The two spells exploded as they were canceled into each other.
Debris blew outwards from the ground around him. Heilwig’s hair fluttered behind her under the force of the blast.
“You have ten seconds. Make them count.” Runner pulled up a stopwatch and hit the activate button. “Go.”
“Lord Runner, I…” the woman started.
Runner, counting down with his fingers, didn’t reply.
“I challenge you, in the name of Rike and as her champion, to a trial by combat. I would have preferred to talk, but you’ve effectively removed that from the table,” she said heavily.
“You have my interest. Me versus you? I’ll accept that in a heartbeat. Let’s begin then,” Runner replied immediately. Drawing his hands back out to his sides, he set to kicking the thing off right.
“Not between you and I, God-Emperor, but your champion and I,” the woman said, holding up a hand. “I know very well your temper and powers. I’d sooner spit in my divine’s eye.”
Don’t like this. Something isn’t right. Find out the conditions, goals, objectives, and results.
Challenges like this always have a pit.
“I have questions. And I’ll not agree to anything like that until they’re suitably answered. First, what rules do you propose?” Runner pulled on his link with Sophia gently. She’d probably already be on her way, but it didn’t hurt to reinforce it.
“No rules. Anything goes so long as there is no outside influence.”
“Define outside influence. That’s a pretty damned vague term.”
“Nothing that isn’t available to a champion if they were found alone in a hostile plane.”
“Kinda vague there on that one as well. My definition is as follows: should any effect, damage, or ailment be used that isn’t directly caused by one or the other party, the challenge is forfeited and lost.”
“That’s not—” Rike’s champion began.
“I don’t care. Take it, or leave it. And let’s say I’m being generous here. You’re a fool. You think I’ll accept a challenge because you laid it on me? Hardly. Suck it up, buttercup. Welcome to reality.”
Heilwig looked upwards to the sky much as if she were in communication with someone. “Alright. I accept that limitation.”
“Conditions for winning?” Runner prompted the next point.
“Kill the other, force them to surrender, render them unable to fight.”
“Vague on the unable to fight bit. Try again.”
“If they can no longer continue the fight. It’s pretty straightforward.” Frustration was evident on her face. She hadn’t counted on Runner interrogating her.
Fool.
“Not really, no. I could have both my arms and legs chopped off but I could still bite at your kneecaps. I accept death and surrender as viable endings. Is there a time limit?”
“No. No time limit.”
“Range limit? If my champion decided to burrow under the ground this would be acceptable.”
“No range limit.”
“Limitations on consumables?”
“None.”
“No, that’s not right either. All consumables will be disallowed. Can’t have you wiping out some magical god elixir of head smashing.”
The champion ground her teeth at his constant badgering and negotiations.
“Fine.”
“And what of victory? What happens if you or my champion wins?”
“What?” she replied.
“Obvious question. What do I get if my champion wins? Do I get you? Cause I’m a married man and honestly, you’re kinda subpar to… well, everybody I’m with. My personal guard is more attractive than you. By a wide margin. I mean, look at this.” Runner turned and reached up to the woman on his left’s helmet.
“Stop, shut up. I don’t care. If you win? Rike would wager me, half her power pool, and a personal audience. Should she win, she would ask for the same of you.”
She’ll summon me to a faraway place on the mainland. This is to separate me from my people. I can make this go both ways though.
“I’ll add an addendum to that. If my champion wins, my audience with Rike will be in person, and she will be nowhere else. I’ll have her full attention.”
“I can’t b—”
“Don’t you get it? I don’t care! Yes or no, Buttercup. Get permission if you have to, but there it is.” Runner gently patted the shoulder of the guard on his left. “Sorry about that. You lot really are rather pretty though. Makes your company better and worse at the same time.”
He could hear the snickers and soft laughter of every guard around him.
“Buttercup?” asked the champion.
“You, you’re Buttercup. Hurry the hell up before I tire of this. Maybe I’ll take you personally as my footstool if you can’t unfuck your head fast enough to answer me. Are you as slow as you are plain to look at? You’re the god damn living embodiment of mediocrity.”
Behind him he felt Sophia’s hand press into his back. “I can take her.”
Runner felt the cold feeling in his heart harden. It was all fun and games until he agreed to this death battle.
“Yes, fine! Done. I’ll cut your champion’s head from her shoulders and use it as a handbag!”
And there it was. Runner got everything he wanted out of the fight. Except the part where he had to forfeit Sophia’s life if she failed.
Sending her into a situation where death was a promised possibility.
What if it was one of my guards? Or some random person I have no relation to at all? Everything is in my benefit to win this. My champion is confident.
Is it a betrayal of her trust to not agree to this?
“Challenge accepted.” Runner threw up a giant sphere of divine power that stretched out two hundred feet in every direction. He’d had enough of Rike’s little tricks.
“What have you done?” Heilwig asked, looking around her.
“I blocked everyone out. I’m a god, remember, Buttercup? After you’re mine, I’m going to have to seriously clean your ears out. Alright, Grace, body bag this fool so we can get moving. Keep her alive if possible. I could use her, but don’t beat yourself up over it if you can’t. You’re blood’s more important than her life.”
Runner stepped aside, throwing a casual thumb in Heilwig’s direction.
Needing no further direction, Sophia bolted from her position. Her wings snapped behind her as she dove forward to cross the distance between the champions in a heartbeat.
“Sure hope she read the champion for dummies thing Angel gave me. Probably should have read it myself. Does that make me less than a dummy since I didn’t read it?”
“It’s simple, lovey. She gets all your own powers so long as they apply to the portfolio. She also gets one half of all your stats,” Amelia said, popping into existence. She was sitting on the grass at his feet.
“Neat. Also hi? Don’t remember summoning you but good to see you. So she can use Brainwash and Seduction and all that?” Runner looked back to the fight. Sophia was level forty-nine, yet didn’t have her promoted class. She’d be
at a disadvantage. He hoped it wasn’t a large one.
Sophia’s first attack scored a heavy blow as she skewered Heilwig with her lance. To Runner it had looked like his Thrust ability.
Snapping a wing and hopping to one side, Sophia dodged to the left as the woman summoned a heavy two-handed sword and whipped it around.
It caught nothing but air as Sophia, ever graceful, slipped away.
“Yeah, all that stuff. Hey, maybe you can take me into Boxy and take me? Grace’ll have this wrapped up easily enough. We’ll have a few minutes to make use of. Be gentle with me, I’m delicate,” Amelia whispered, looking up at him through her eyelashes.
“Idiot,” Runner said with a grin, gently rapping Amelia on the head with his knuckles. Then he rested his hands on her shoulders. “Not leaving Grace here alone.”
Sophia flapped her wings twice and gained a bit of distance and held up her left hand. She pointed her palm at her foe and started up a spell.
Splatterhouse broke free of her hand and buzzed through the air.
It detonated with tremendous force as it slammed into Heilwig’s chest plate. Heilwig charged free of the smoke and triggered an ability that made her sword blur as it sped to Sophia.
Ducking low under the blade, Sophia landed flat on her stomach. As the blade sped past, she gave her wings a flap, then stood up quickly and danced forwards to clear the space between her and her enemy.
As she passed Heilwig, Sophia spun her lance across her hips, the blade cleaving through flesh and muscle alike, effectively using the Hamstring ability and crippling her opponent.
“She’s like a dancer. When you named her Grace, you were dead on. She’s being more fair than I would be though. I think I’d use those pretty wings and float above her head. Hit her with spells over and over.”
“She’s fighting for my honor and hers. Look around you, silly thing. She’s surrounded by people she handpicked to guard me. She could have ended this a long time ago with Brainwash.”
A jarring impact exploded on the sphere he’d put up around the area. The shield held, though Runner felt his teeth reverberate with the attack.
It was followed by a flurry of blows as if to overwhelm him with the strength of it.
Otherlife Awakening: The Selfless Hero Trilogy Page 33
