Two minutes later, Bastion and a larger group of soldiers came rushing over. I recognized Mirna, Jason, and Samantha, the specialists I had taken under my wing. Unable to hold it in, I snorted. Damn traitorous bastards.
“So you decided to show up after all, huh? After your betrayal, I thought you’d hide as far away as you could.”
They weren’t rattled by my words, no, not even in the least. Fine. I could up it a notch.
“You should go back to your rift, Viktor,” Bastion yelled from behind his shield.
“What? You little piece of shit! I made you into what you are! All of you!”
I was overdoing it, but a little bit of drama never hurt anyone.
“Viktor! You have caused the death of General Kade and his wife, Linda! What else is there to talk about? Unless we play by your rules, you will keep doing whatever you want to us, right?”
“I didn’t kill them. It was their stupidity for trusting deities who are directly opposing me in the rift! If anything, they should be branded as traitors!”
He shrugged and lowered his shield slightly. “The media has already blasted what the people need to believe.”
I felt a red and hot fury rise from deep below and words getting stuck in my throat. Was this what would await me with Edge? Would they also turn on me? I suddenly felt bad for the greenies. At least they had been straightforward and scum from start to finish.
“Bastion and Pelos, I’m giving you a chance. A single chance to tuck your tail between your legs and move to the Apocs’ rift and stay there until the end of your days. Right now. There won’t be another chance.”
“Then we’ll have to show you what we came up with, Viktor. Good luck trying to get what’s ours!”
Gunfire erupted from all around us. The choppers took to the air, and several RPGs came flying right at us. Bassy coiled up around us, protecting our bodies with his own. I brought his stats up and found he had barely lost any shielding. The huge armor really played a big role in saving us.
“Mel, hit one of the four if you can,” I said as our eyes met for a brief moment. She nocked an arrow as I reloaded my crossbow. “Bass, we need an opening to shoot from.”
The snake uncoiled slightly, opening a slit where scales met. Melina’s arrow flew straight and slammed into Bastion’s shield, knocking him back several steps. Mirna released an arrow of her own, but it bounced off snek’s armored body and exploded in the air. Explosive payload, huh? Interesting. They must have combined tech and skills with the weapons. Not that it mattered.
I stuck my hand out and released bolts one after the other into the group of four. Several struck their shields and forced them to scatter, but once the initial blows were over, they came right at us.
Chapter Forty-One
Explosions rang out all around us. Most of them a mere six feet away as shells and grenades slammed into Bassy’s side. I was taken aback by what they had managed to deploy in the quarter of an hour I’d been there, but it was time for it to end. How, though? If Bassy attacked them, we’d be easy targets.
“Mel, I’ll use my shield, and you use your fan. Target groups of soldiers or those wielding RPGs, rocket launchers, or high-caliber sniper rifles.”
“Sure thing, love,” she replied, sounding even less worried than I was. Her voice didn’t betray anything, as it had remained neutral throughout our arrival.
“Bas, wreck them all. Understood?”
The snake hissed and nodded its head before bursting outward, surprising the specialists. They hadn’t thought that I’d be brazen enough to take their punishment head-on; no, they thought I’d cower and retreat.
I covered Melina with the shield and my body as she sent several gusts of Enma-infused-wind toward the enemy, but Bass was so quick that we really didn’t have much to do. The four finally engaged him, though, and it escalated into a full-on brawl. Pelos, Kang, and a large group of Apocs joined in. I even recognized Gary in there, but I didn’t bother trying to talk to him. Or Kang. Or anyone. They had decided, so now it was time to sleep in the beds that they’d made.
A pang of guilt did hit me when I remembered my first days after I had been reborn and Kang’s group, how loyal they were, but that almost felt like it had happened in a different lifetime. I had given them a chance after sacrificing all my rewards to revive them, then again later during the battle with the greenies, and yet again earlier when I saw Kang. My conscience was clear.
A sudden rush passed through me, and I felt my Bura go wild as it absorbed a good chunk of my Enma, almost leaving me light-headed as if I’d lost half of my blood. A pain so intense shot up my arm and ended in my hand, then coursed through to what was missing of my fingers. The stumps grew larger and finally ended in nails that looked as if they’d been polished. Cute.
I put away the shield and grabbed my halberd just as Melina hissed, “Don’t! You’ll regret it, Viktor!”
But I wouldn’t regret it. The only regret I would ever have was that I’d trusted people so easily and invested in them, both with my knowledge and time. Before I knew what was going on, I felt my feet thundering against the stone bridge. Bassy coiled up, probably feeling my anger, and then slammed back down against Bastion’s shield, knocking the man over.
Jason stabbed his spear several times at snek’s head, but the spear just went flying every time. It was too late when he turned around and saw me standing there with a murderous glint in my eye and halberd by my side.
“Goodbye,” I said, my expression as neutral as could be. “Shockwave.”
Ripples appeared in the air around my halberd as it started to hum and vibrate. I had a feeling as if it lasted for minutes, but in truth, the charge lasted for a single second. The halberd moved on its own, and there was no stopping it even if I wanted to.
Jason’s shield cracked as the halberd’s massive blade dug into his body. Blood sprayed from the wound in his chest, and he dropped to his knees. The tyranitaur spear fell from his hands as he stared at me in utter horror and disbelief, and then at his wife, Samantha.
A wave of Enma erupted from his back and slammed into Mirna. Her side exploded as the wave passed through her and then flew toward Bastion. He deflected it with his shield but saw too late that he’d redirected it toward Samantha. She dropped her umbrella and closed her eyes, knowing there was no way she could survive something the others hadn’t. And she was right. Her body dropped next to Jason’s as the wave passed through her and dissipated when it ran out of targets.
“Bassy! Kill Pelos and retreat! Don’t kill the other two!”
The snake hissed and let out a strange, screech-like sound before it slithered toward Kang and Gary, who were trying to get Pelos to safety. Coming face-to-face with a bus-sized basilisk, both Kang and Gary let go of their leader, not wanting to die if they could help it.
“What are you doing?” Bastion yelled. “Viktor! Are you so power hungry that you can’t see right from wrong anymore?”
I snapped my head around and charged into him. Slamming my shoulder into his shield, I knocked him over. He stumbled along the rocky ground and hit his head against a large piece of stone. His shield was still up, so it didn’t do anything but rock his world.
“Bastion, I need you to call the media out. Right now. Once you’ve done so, I’ll send you after your wife and your friends. There’s nothing else I will say.”
He stared at me with a fearful expression. It was obvious they had underestimated me yet again. And I hadn’t even used my new passive or any hard-hitting skills. Poor idiots. Yes, it was they who made me do this. I didn’t even need to try to come up with a lie that would make me feel better; no, it had been their fault. I’d given them everything, yet they’d tried to kill me and my family. That was inexcusable.
Bastion smiled and nodded suddenly. His demeanor shifted as he pulled out a phone, then dialed a number. Good. At least one thing was going according to plan.
“Bastion here. Secret code CQBB3391. Acknowledge.”
Someone spoke to him on the other end of the line, and it only made him look even more smug. I frowned. That wasn’t the TV station or any station for that matter. No one but someone working for him. Feeling my anxiety and fear, Bassy slithered toward me at an incredible pace just as a high-pitched sound came from the distance. It was closing quickly and—shit!
“Mel! Tower! Now! Go!”
To her benefit, she didn’t say anything and just turned around, pressed her hand against the portal, and disappeared as the first shell dropped from overhead. It slammed into the ground some five paces to my left and exploded, rocking my shield and showering me in incredibly hot flames.
I could feel my shield start to give after just a single explosion, but just then another shell came flying, and another, and another. The second went wide, but the third hit me straight in the chest, knocking all the air out of my lungs and causing incredible damage.
Damage Notification:
You have received 4,412 damage from Battleship.
You have received Burn debuff for 15 seconds.
You have received 311 damage from Battleship.
I knew the sea was nearby, but I had no idea the Sylmar Defense Force had battleships. Bassy tensed his body and coiled around me, pressing in just hard enough that he had a good grip on my body, and then lunged for the portal, slithering and rolling as more shells dropped all around us. The snake shuddered as the bombs struck its body, but it wasn’t stopping. When I brought up its stats, it was still way over twenty thousand points.
I looked over my shoulder and caught a glance at the area surrounding the tower. Flames rose into the sky, tearing at whatever they could reach. But we were safe thanks to Bassy. Saved by the snek.
I unsummoned Bassy and touched the portal, feeling nausea wash over me. Something was wrong, and I knew that I’d overdone it. But what? And how? A second later I found myself standing in the tower’s first floor. I checked my body, but everything was alright. I wasn’t hurt anywhere, and I still had all my gear. Good.
I let out a deep sigh as a pair of arms grabbed me from behind. It was Melina.
“You fool! What the hell was that clusterfuck just now?”
I peeled her hands off my chest and turned around. Hundreds of pairs of eyes caught sight of us, and most of them recognized the two top rankers at first glance.
“Battleship shells, love. One struck me in the chest and almost gutted my shield,” I whispered. “I’m good, don’t worry. Snek saved me.”
“You and your damn snake!”
“Shh,” I said, pressing my index finger against her lips. “It’s alright. We made it out alive and now know what they have in store for us when we go out next time.”
“As if I care!” she hissed again. I pushed her off me and pulled her toward the portal.
“Want to clear a few floors? Or do we go back?”
“I want to go back,” she murmured. “Just in case, to see if more people betray us.”
“You don’t know until it happens,” I said calmly. “If it happens, we’ll deal with it. If it doesn’t, then we’re good. Now get the hell out of here. People are staring.”
She didn’t say anything and instead stormed the remaining distance and teleported out. I let out a sigh and followed her, not caring for the looks people gave us. Some probably pitied me, others would worship us, while another group would be jealous and hateful. Whatever. I just needed to finish off the Zanoxian, and then I’d show them all.
I appeared next to Melina, who had been waiting for me. Nothing had changed in the meanwhile, which was good. I noticed Edge first and raised my hand for him to come over. He did as I asked and ran the distance.
“Boss? What is it?”
“I need you to run another check on everyone present. Pelos and some old friends turned on me, even the four specialists who trained here for weeks.”
“Oh? What happened?”
I shrugged and slumped down on a bench, tired and grumpy. How did the bastards dare betray me like that? Especially after I took them in like family!
“They’re all dead,” I replied, my tone cold. “Anyone who opposes me will die from today on, Edge. Anyone.”
He just nodded his head slowly and looked away. A drop of sweat appeared on his brow within seconds as we stood there, but I put my hand on his shoulder and squeezed just a little bit.
“It’s good to see that you’re safe, boss. I mean it,” he said calmly despite his voice wavering slightly. “People are greedy and think that if they have some power, they can take anything they want. It’s good that you showed them otherwise.”
I couldn’t help but snort.
“You’re right, Edge, but that doesn’t change the gravity of the situation. I made an enemy out of them and even killed a handful of their strongest, but even I can’t go against a damn battleship.”
“Not yet.” He chuckled. “It’s all a matter of moving fast enough that they can’t hit you, right?”
I nodded slowly and then grinned as it dawned on me. Snek could move pretty quickly, and given some diversion, we could be at the shore pretty quickly. And I doubted they would shell the whole city while trying to get me.
“Vik, what now?” Melina asked.
She had stayed quiet for the last minute, but it was a valid question. Looking up at the counter, I only had a little over a week left until my battle with the big bad Zanoxian, but I really had no idea about what to do next. All I could do was play inside the tower, absorb crystals, or gain levels. None of those things would change the outcome.
“We need some time off, Mel. If we survive this ordeal, great; if not, I want to spend the last few days together with you.”
A smile crept up her lips, and if I didn’t know better, I’d say she was glowing like a light bulb. Only then did I notice that most of the corpses were already gone. Edge noticed me looking around, and his expression changed from one of fear to one of pride rather quickly.
“We’re almost done, boss. What do you want us to do next?”
I thought for a moment, but I couldn’t come up with anything that needed immediate attention. It was good for morale if they had some time off, so that was what I was going with.
“Speak to the hunters and have a volunteer group stick around just in case. The rest can get a shower, eat, and go be with their loved ones for the rest of the day. At midnight I want a second group here so the volunteers can get a rest. From there on you’ll need to put them in twelve-hour shifts.”
“I already know that most will volunteer,” Edge muttered under his breath.
“Then have them draw lots and provide the chosen ones with some food, drinks, and crystals. Everyone else who wants to cultivate can get their weekly share ahead of time.”
His face lit up, and I knew that he would take me up on the offer. He cultivated whenever he could, after all.
“Are we done?” Melina asked. “If there’s nothing else, we should get clean first as well.”
Chapter Forty-Two
Days passed with me doing whatever quests I could for several hours a day, just to make sure that my stats went up as much as they could. Melina was with me for every hour of the day, which was more than enough. The problem arose when snekky was around. For some odd reason, I could feel him stir, and he’d never give up until I summoned him.
We hunted several days for cores and slept out in the open during the night, enjoying our time off. We even wasted a single day trying to get another elemental for my third tower, but nothing came of it. I didn’t know if it was because my nerves had flared up and I was feeling like throwing up, or that we were in the wrong place, but the day passed fruitlessly. Deciding on changing that, I did the only thing I still could think of to become stronger: finish with tempering our bones.
It was the worst night of my recent life. Using pure Enma and Bura, I made short work of both Melina and myself. Before I attempted it, I made two circles and laid out enough crystals to draw from, so the pain wasn’t as bad.
When the dawn approached and our bones had been reforged, we just lay there and stared up at the still-dark sky. The stars shimmered overhead, and we even saw a shooting star. Or falling comet. Whatever the case, we made a wish.
“You know, if anyone had told me I’d appreciate someone breaking my bones, I would have stabbed him,” Melina said, her voice rough from screaming through the night.
“Tell me about it,” I whispered but kept staring at the sky. “Was it worth it? What do you think?”
“It sure was. In comparison with six months ago, I’m many times stronger, maybe even as much as ten times.”
“Oh? What’s your level and rank at?”
“I’m at level seventy-seven, second realm, and twelfth rank. I’m a beast.”
“You’re a beast for sure,” I joked, and she turned to slap my shoulder, but I grabbed her hand and pulled her in closer. “Joking aside, we’re not far off in levels and ranks.”
I pulled my own stats up and checked them for the last time. The battle would be tomorrow, and I had no way to affect them in any case. At least not unless I got something incredibly potent.
STATUS
NAME: Viktor
AGE: 31, LEVEL: 86
ENMA REALM: 2, RANK: 12
BURA REALM: 1, RANK: 7
HEALTH: 15,999
ENMA: 3,999
BURA: 1,999
SPEED: 3.5
PHYSICAL ATTACK: 9,999
ENMA ATTACK: 7,999
Crossroads: A LitRPG Cultivation Series (Towers & Rifts Book 3) Page 31
