Countdown_LitRPG Series

by Michael Atamanov

  There were obviously not enough vehicles and we needed a lot of things on the front other than manpower. I saw technicians dragging endless boxes of rounds and explosives into huge heavy trucks armored with steel sheets. Some of the trucks had long-barreled antitank cannons on trailers. Escort vehicles mounted with flak machineguns were waiting off to the side.

  All this fuss was fully justified though. I could hear the cannonade all the way from here, just around eight miles away. The whole eastern horizon was shrouded in heavy black smoke from the burning oil derricks and refinery, which had been torched. I heard rumors our faction was behind it. It was hot in the Eastern Swamp both literally and figuratively.

  But what should I do? Stand in line for a better weapon? There were lots of people waiting in front of the warehouse already, and I only saw unfamiliar faces. They were all in a rush, trying to cut ahead and looking tense. What was more, they were shipping out in platoons. But I had never been trained in a group and, to my great shame, didn’t know which platoon I was assigned to, or if I was assigned to one at all. Honestly, I was worried and didn’t know what to do.

  Fortunately, I saw a familiar face just then. From out of nowhere, right in the middle of the square, I saw the leader of the First Legion Gerd Igor Tarasov. I hurried to greet him.

  “Ah, Gnat! I'm glad you’re back!” the level-90 Sniper recognized me and held out his hand for me to shake.

  Someone in the group asked about the situation, and Igor Tarasov's answer was short and packed with meaning: “Total shit.” Many heard that, and the conversations went quiet. The leader of the First Legion hurried to give a more detailed answer:

  “What’s to hide? It's a bad situation. Border Post Ten fell fifteen minutes ago. I was its last defender. It’s a miracle Border Post Twelve is still holding out. The Eastern Swamp garrison is encircled, and we cannot say how long they’ll last. If the base is taken, we will lose the node, and all our oil production along with it. But it's too early to give up. There are more than forty capable soldiers in that garrison, and defense is being led by our veterans Shoot_To_Kill and Headquarters Pen_Pusher. They are both from the army special forces and have been stationed in a number of real-world hotspots, so there is hope. And the scientists from the chemical laboratories mostly managed to take shelter in the fort. They're giving support to the defenders, though it isn’t much...”

  Gerd Tarasov sharply went silent midsentence, because Shoot_To_Kill had just respawned ten steps away. Seemingly, the situation was much more serious than the leader of the First Legion had led us to believe. The high-level players exchanged a couple quick phrases and headed determinedly past the crowd toward the warehouse. Our allies respectfully parted ways before the famed soldiers. I hurried to take advantage of this and went after them before the crowd closed ranks.

  “I'm with them!” I stated and was also let through.

  I couldn’t hear what the First Legion soldiers were whispering about. I just made out a fragment of something Shoot_to_Kill said:

  “... both more or less decent roads to the base in the Eastern Swamp are cut off by the enemy... getting to the fort... will be difficult.”

  Next to the First Legion soldiers at the weapon counter, I set out three laser pistols, two chameleon cloaks and a scaled thermoregulating Dark Faction suit for Vasiliadi:

  “Here is my take from my last game session. And I need a replacement for both of my guns. My Rifles skill is now level thirty-seven.” With these words, I set out my shotgun and the Angel Dust PCP-rifle before him together with the remaining rounds and two unopened packs of bullets.

  “Well, this is a CTA and weapons are only being issued to...” the stock keeper hadn’t finished his phrase before Gerd Tarasov sharply cut him off:

  “Give Gnat everything he asks for! The faction needs him at his best! And send that Dark Faction stuff over to the First Legion. I’ve got recon guys who've been waiting a long time for camo.”

  Vasiliadi didn’t argue with the respected Gerd, and set a gun out before me, still new without a single scratch and glimmering with fragrant gun grease. Beside it, he set two boxes of rounds and four RGD-5 fragmentation grenades to replace the ones I'd used. At that, the huge hirsute stock keeper spread his arms apologetically:

  “There are very few nonautomatic weapons in the warehouse. This is the best I have. After this, you’ll either have to order something from the real world or buy it in the Geckho store for crystals. And although it is a hunting rifle and not for combat, it packs a punch. It’s twice as powerful as that air rifle. Sure, it probably won’t go through a kevlar jacket, but it’ll take down a Centaur or Dark Faction Mage in one shot!”

  9-mm semiautomatic hunting carbine KCO-9 Krechet

  Range: 500 feet.

  Damage to unarmored targets: +74%

  Chance of dealing critical damage: +2%

  Damage to armored targets: -36%

  Clip capacity: 10 rounds.

  Statistic requirements: Agility 15, Strength 12.

  Skill requirements: Rifles 35, Marksman 12.

  Attention! You are the first owner of this carbine and may give it a name.

  “And also, Gnat, there are two packages waiting for you. One is from Gerd Ustinov, and the other is from Gerd Tamara.”

  He handed me two cardboard boxes. Plagued by curiosity, I ripped them both open. The first predictably had my light space suit. To my immense relief, it was undamaged. The package from the leader of the Second Legion, meanwhile, contained a quality high-powered radio with lots of settings and two long antennas — geological analyzers for my scanner.

  I had to leave right away, because the crowd was pushing me. In a calmer place, I put the carbine into my main weapons lot. I decided not to bust my brains over a name, and just called it Krechet. The object's stats immediately changed slightly:

  Chance of losing weapon in case of death reduced by 40%.

  Oh! But they said changing the name did nothing! It actually did quite a bit! I placed the Dark Faction paralyzer in my free secondary weapon slot. There was no point putting the Annihilator there, it was out of batteries!

  I looked around for Anya and Imran but didn’t see my friends in the crowd. I did notice something else though: Dmitry Zheltov’s starship flying onto the central square at high speed. My pilot buddy was bringing two green newbies to the Capital. Just then, I hatched a plan. It was a bit undercooked, but I hurried over to the starship pilot.

  “Zheltov, didn’t you hear about the CTA? Why aren’t you helping the fight?” I threw myself at him just after he’d let his passengers out.

  “Well, Gnat... I was ordered to pick up newbies after they passed the Labyrinth and bring them to the base. I’ve been doing it since early this morning. A group of thirty people was supposed to come through today. No one ever ordered me to do anything else.”

  “Well, lots has changed since then! The Dark Faction is attacking! The Eastern Swamp node is under siege, and the Second Legion is encircled. I’m not surprised you didn’t get any more orders. They probably forgot about you. But we could use you for the fight! Let the newbies walk. It’s just over a mile to base, and there’s nothing too dangerous.”

  Zheltov removed his old motorcycle helmet and thoughtfully wiped off the mud-streaked face shield.

  “Gnat, do you have any ideas?” the pilot enquired, and I nodded:

  “As a matter of fact I do! Do the words SMS Emden mean anything to you?”

  He broke down laughing:

  “Gnat, are you kidding?! I went to a military academy. Of course I know the story of the most famous raider of the First World War. The German light cruiser SMS Emden harried trade routes on the Indian and Pacific oceans for five whole months, capturing and destroying more than thirty Allied ships! It was fast, so it could evade heavier ships and it always appeared unexpectedly and left just as quickly. Five whole countries had their whole fleets hunting the elusive light cruiser, which weakened the main lines... Uh... wait...” Dmitry Zhelto
v turned toward his starship. “Am I understanding you correctly, Gnat?”

  “Yes, I think you get the idea! Despite its power, the Dark Faction is not elastic. Thousands of their best soldiers are now sieging our base in the Eastern Swamp, and another large division is in Karelia encircling the Second Legion. Those are extremely important missions and I think it’s safe to assume all the best Dark Faction soldiers were sent there. There are probably very few defenders left in their territory. The borders are probably being defended by day-two newbies and, deeper in their territory, there’s probably nobody. If we make a break past the border and get behind enemy lines, we’ll probably only find people who can’t even hold a weapon. Then, we can we can make like a biblical plague, burning fields, destroying infrastructure, blowing up warehouses and laboratories. Our enemy will have no choice but to call fighters off the front! That way, we can help the Second Legion and the defenders of the Eastern Swamp!”

  “That’s true, Gnat. But as soon as they notice what we’re doing, they’ll reinforce the border and run us off the road. We’ll never be able to get back home. And my antigrav will run out of power eventually. In the end, we’ll be captured and taken prisoner...”

  “Here!” I extended a fragmentation grenade to the pilot. “So you can always return home.”

  Zheltov walked up to his racing buggy, got down on one knee and lovingly led a hand over the ornate sparkling word “Starship,” inlaid with small pearls on the front spoiler.

  “I decided to write it myself so the others would stop scratching it in and messing up my beaut’. I did this just yesterday... Who knew that tonight would be its grand finale.... My girl will show everyone what a starship she really is! Then I’ll blow myself up together with her and keep her out of enemy hands... I agree, Gnat! This is a lot better than working as a virtual taxi driver. I’m a space-combat pilot for God’s sake! Where are we headed?”

  “Wait a bit... We might have two more companions. Ah, there they are!” I finally saw my friends and waved a hand, drawing their attention.

  Well, well. Recently, the Gladiator had leveled to 18, and the Medic to 17. Not bad, not bad at all. My friends, looked at my level 32 with respect, but I saw a certain despondency on their faces. I told my friends my plans. The Gladiator’s face immediately lit up:

  “Gnat, I was just about to complain that Anna and I weren’t being taken to the front. They said: ‘your level isn’t high enough, you’ll just get in the way.’ And because all our vehicles are already in use, they're sending us on foot eight and a half miles to the Jungles node to reinforce a border post. Gnat, take me with you! I swear on my mother’s life I won’t let you down!”

  I pointed the Gladiator to one of the back seats, and he hurried to take it before I'd changed my mind. Anya spent some time shaking her head doubtfully:

  “It really gets my goat. There’s a big battle, but they think I'm useless! But this could land me a smack on the head. Although... I was also ordered to stay by your side, Gnat, so technically I’m following orders. I'm with you!”

  The Medic took the last free seat, and the pilot sharply started off, quickly increasing the speed of his starship.

  * * *

  I suggested we go through the neutral Poppy Fields node to reach Dark Faction territory. I figured their border there would have somewhat less defense than where our lands met. That line was probably rife with barbed wire, lasers, concrete fences and bunkers. Zheltov didn’t argue, just noted that the closest enemy node to us was named Graveyard, while the one we were going to was called Golden Plain after its vast fields. After that, he gunned it and took off to the northwest.

  Our border post flickered by. I saw two soldiers up on it looking befuddled. A few seconds later, the driver’s radio flickered on:

  “This is post three. Zheltov, come in! No one told us you were coming. Do you have a pass to neutral territory?”

  The driver was too busy steering between bushes and trees to answer, so I unclipped the radio from his belt and answered for him:

  “This is Gnat, number fourteen seventy. We’re on a secret mission. You can have the details after completion.”

  That answer did not satisfy the border guards, and Zheltov’s radio, and soon Imran’s and Anya’s as well started spewing forth angry shouts, orders to return at once and promises of frightful punishment.

  Fame increased to 30.

  Just then, Anya said in surprise:

  “Gnat, I just got a message about fame! Is that supposed to happen?”

  “Me too,” Imran confirmed. “Fame increased to one.”

  “Well, my fame just went up to three,” our driver boasted. “That means you’re doing something outside the norm. The game likes it a lot.”

  I didn’t add anything or brag about my own Fame. I was too occupied with a different question. Why wasn’t there any sound coming from my radio?! I had turned in my old one, and the new one from Gerd Tamara just wasn’t working. Flying at high speed in the antigrav, it was hard to monkey with the complicated settings. We were changing direction unpredictably and constantly taking sharp turns. But I needed to figure it out right now, because I had to be able to coordinate with the faction.

  Finally, I managed to remove the lid and check the battery. Bingo! There was a little piece of paper between the battery and contacts. I removed the obstacle, and my radio came to life.

  Electronics skill increased to level twenty-four!

  I nearly threw the worthless bit of folded paper away, but I spotted some writing and unfolded it. It was a note from the leader of the Second Legion:

  “Gnat, I didn’t say anything out loud because all conversations under the Dome and at the capital base are recorded, but I am absolutely convinced that someone from the very top of our faction is working for the enemy. Either Leng Radugin himself, or one of his deputies. Always remember that and never share your true plans with them, because they will very quickly reach the Dark Faction.

  Not a word to anyone about this note. Please burn it immediately. Tamara.”

  Hmm... What a mess... Tamara's message completely confirmed it. Our greatest enemy must have infiltrated our faction at the highest level. They probably knew in advance that the whole Second Legion would be sent to Karelia, for example. That was if I didn’t assume the worst. After all, the Dark Faction may have even arranged for them to be there so the two hundred experienced soldiers would be as far from the Eastern Swamp node as possible during their attack.

  I thoughtfully hid the letter in my inventory. I was not going to burn this note. After all, it served as an excuse for my actions. If the leadership got upset with me, which seemed quite likely, I could play this trump card and explain why I hadn’t let the faction leader know about our raid behind enemy lines.

  Cartography skill increased to level thirty-eight!

  Oh, I was finally in unfamiliar territory! I advised Zheltov not to go near the Dark Faction border yet and head further northwest. We crossed the small field of bright red poppies at immense speed, trying to hold our breath to avoid their intoxicating fumes.

  After that, the overloaded starship had to climb a steep hill with a slippery clay surface. It was stalling... and we all gasped in unison. A field of bright red flowers stretched out before us to the very horizon. It would be useless to try and cross it without gas masks. Sure, I could put on my spacesuit and sidestep the pernicious effects of the sleep-inducing poppies, but my companions would all fall asleep. Zheltov stopped the starship, waiting for my instructions.

  Cartography skill increased to level thirty-nine!

  Mineralogy skill increased to level thirteen!

  Eagle Eye skill increased to level thirty-eight!

  I noticed a well-trodden road far in the distance through the grass and poppies. It led from the tops of the hills somewhere to the east. That road was far from our territories and clearly could not have been made by our faction. Most likely, the Dark Faction built it to extract clay from this region. Perhaps they
needed it for pottery or building materials, or maybe even aluminum extraction.

  “Head for that road! We’ll take it to the east at maximum speed! Zheltov, push this beaut’ for all she’s worth. This is her time to shine!” The pilot adjusted his goggles, aimed the antigrav at the road, then gunned it to full speed.

  Yikes! Yowee! The speeds and G-forces of my past trips with Zheltov were nothing in comparison with this. I was being tossed about like a rag doll and pressed back into my seat. At every turn, the only thing holding me inside the starship was the seatbelt. With huge effort, I turned my head to the left and looked at the speedometer. I should not have done that! The arrow was tittering at the edge of the scale, 250 mph. We must have been going faster than that.

  “Anya fainted!” Imran’s said in fear, but I ordered the pilot not to slow down, because we were near the border.

  Danger Sense skill increased to level eleven!

  Suddenly, we saw a border post after a sharp turn. Massive barriers blocked the road.

  “Turn left off the road hard!” I shouted, and Zheltov miraculously managed to react.

  Our racing buggy went off the road and, using a hillock as a jump, flew over a wide water-filled ditch. I saw the amazed gaping faces of Dark Faction soldiers from the air.

  “Don’t stop!”

  We raced through the enemy territory. It was actually quite inhabited and developed. The roads were great, and there were endless fields of grain and incomprehensible signage.

  “Let’s torch the fields!” I shouted. Zheltov slowed down and came to a complete stop.

  While Imran brought the pretty medic back to her senses, the pilot and I fashioned a couple torches from sappy branches and lit them with a signal flare. We tied the flare behind the antigrav on a long cord, then drove at low speed through the fields, throwing the torches and leaving a trail of smoke and burning crops behind us.

  We came upon a group of terrified Dark Faction farmers. We didn’t touch them or even take the radio helmet from their senior member. We wanted them to alert our enemies.