Nagant Wars: A LitRPG Novel (Nagant Wars Series Book 1)
Page 13
“Of course. Good luck. Should the other groups join you?”
“Not yet. Let me make sure that this isn’t a dead end, then I’ll advise you on whether to storm the castle from outside or if the other teams should join us here.”
“Got it.”
Dale and the rest of the soldiers, including Private Patel, continued without incident for another three hundred meters. Then they came to a wooden door. It appeared to have a typical door handle with a keyhole below it. He reached for the knob, but he had a funny feeling in his gut, so he pulled back his hand.
He took his sword and touched the knob with it. An ugly brown spider leaped out and landed on the sword, Dale swung it to the ground and smashed the spider. A green mist rose from the dead spider and a silver coin appeared.
“Be on guard,” Dale said.
Spiders dropped from the ceiling. They were everywhere. Soldiers screamed and stomped spiders into the floor with their feet. They hacked at them with swords, and burned them with their torches.
“Don’t panic,” Dale screamed. It was too late. A torch was dropped, a soldier missed a spider and struck another soldier, and someone started screaming in pain. Dale killed three more spiders and moved against a wall so he could keep the remaining spiders in front of him. More torches were brought to the front, and Private Patel was able to get his team to calm down. All of the spiders were eventually killed, but everyone was panicked and on edge.
“Be on the lookout for a queen spider,” Dale said.
One soldier was on his back on the ground screaming in pain. “I’ve been bit, I’ve been bit. It burns. Oh, my god! Help me…” The soldier twisted, and his face contorted in agony.
“Patel,” Dale said, “Don’t you guys have a healer?”
“I’m as new as you,” Patel said.
Erin, can you send out a group message. Ask if anyone has any healing skill.
Done.
Well?
Be patient, humans don’t read as fast as computers.
Okay, now?
Alright, someone from Team Kim is on the way.
Make an internal note that I should have asked this question at the start. Hell.
...........................
The healer arrived, but it was too late to save the soldier who died crying out in pain.
“Hell,” Dale said. He questioned his leading skills.
I should have regrouped and had healers on hand.
This is what training is for, Dale. You’re doing well.
“What now?” Patel asked.
“We move on. Once we find the castle entrance, assuming we do, I’ll have the other teams join us. Or maybe have them attack from the outside. I’m not sure.” Dale went back the door and tapped the handle with his sword. Nothing happened this time. He risked turning the knob. It turned, but the door wouldn’t open, it was still locked.
“Everyone, look for treasure or clues dropped by the spiders,” Dale said.
“I found a silver coin,” someone said.
“I found a piece of metal,” someone else said.
Soon they had ten pieces of metal and a silver coin.
“Okay, it’s a puzzle,” Dale said.
“How do you know?” someone said.
“Oh, an old Rhith World. Scorpion Island. A pirate game. They had pieces that looked like this, and they would form a key. The challenge was figuring out how they went together. It seems easy, but it’s not. Put them on the floor and hold up a couple of torches.”
The pieces were placed on the floor, and Dale began trying to match them, like a three-dimensional jigsaw puzzle. Private Patel and one other soldier realized what he was attempting to figure out. They helped him.
“I got one,” Patel said.
“Here,” the other soldier said, “try this one on there—”
“It fits.”
Dale matched two pieces and handed them to Patel who was able to add them to the existing matches. When they finished with the loose metal, they noticed that one end had a notched opening.
“Try the coin,” Dale said. It fit.
They had a key.
...........................
The key worked.
They swung the door open after unlocking it. Two guards were sitting at a table playing a game that looked like chess. They seemed surprised.
Dale rushed in and shouted for Patel to take the one on the right.
“Alive if you can!”
The first guard to rise pulled out a sword and swung at Dale. He defended the blow and returned one of his own. The second soldier reached for his weapon but Private Patel kicked him to the floor before he could reach it. Two of his team swarmed the guard and pinned him to the ground.
Dale nearly tripped over the guard on the floor while he fought against the first one.
“Dale, we’ve got this one alive,” Patel shouted.
Dale feigned an attack to the left, skipped right, and struck the guard through the neck. The wounded solider screamed; he dropped his sword, grabbed his neck, and blood spewed. He looked Dale in the eyes as he fell to the ground.
Dale watched him for a moment. The dying enemy didn’t move. Blood poured out onto the floor. He reminded himself that the blood wasn’t real. It sure seemed real, however, and the pain was real regardless of whether the injury was actual or not.
There’s no time for that kind of worry, Dale.
Okay. It’s just so… You wouldn’t understand. Do we still have com with Private Smith?
Yes. It’s routing through the soldiers you’ve posted, however, so messages will not be private.
That’s okay.
“Smith?” he asked into his com.
“Yes, still here. Guarding a tree.”
“We made first contact. One guard dead. One guard alive, we’re going to interrogate him. I’ll let you know soon if we should re-route the other teams through the tunnel.”
“Roger. Got it. All’s well here. The tree is safe.”
“Out.” Dale wasn’t in the mood for joking, there was blood all over his boots, and he wasn’t sure how they were going to interrogate this guard. He took a knee and put his face next to the guard’s face, who was being held down and pressed to the floor. Patel and three of his men held him in place.
Dale decided that he’d start with a simple interrogation. “Talk,” he said.
“Urgggg,” the guard said. He spat.
“Patel, send a couple of those soldiers down the hall to make sure we aren’t surprised or ambushed in here,” Dale said.
While Patel was arranging to send scouts down the hall, Dale considered his options with the captured guard.
Erin, are there any rules about this?
None. This is war. The only rules are ones you can’t break, like the weapons you’re allowed. Nothing about interrogation techniques or torture. Sorry.
“Kill him quickly,” Dale said.
“What?”
“There is nothing he’ll give up. Even if he did tell us anything, we couldn’t trust it. I’m not going to stand here while someone tortures this guy, and I’m not going to do it either. And bottom line, we don’t have the time. Kill him swiftly and let’s move out. I have a new order; kill all enemies, take no prisoners, and let’s find the princess and get the fuck out of here.”
Dale moved out and ignored the final scream of the guard.
“Let’s move.”
He and two scouts snuck down a hallway and up a set of stairs. They crept to the top of the stairwell, which opened into a great interior courtyard, and peaked over a stone wall. A dozen soldiers were wandering around, and another six were positioned at archer windows located in the outer walls.
“Private Smith?”
“I’m still here.”
“Okay, have your two teams move into an attacking position. I want them to be cautious, but they need to draw fire from inside the castle. I need a diversion.”
“You got it.”
Dale passed a
long his plan to Private Patel.
“I have nine soldiers left with me, the others are still posted along the passageway,” Patel said.
Dale, I can reach Smith directly from here.
“Call them in, Patel. I have com with Smith from here. We could use every hand up here with us.”
...........................
System Message
Health level: 97%
Status: Training Quest, Castle Dallergon Day One, 14:18
Orders: Continue mission, locate Princess
Supplies: Water 92%, Food 91%,
Equipment: All Weapons and survival gear: 100%
Team stats: 98.5% health average
Losses: 1 soldier dead
Objects & Treasure collected: 1 silver coin key
Current weather: Mild. No warnings are pending.
Known enemies in region: Visual: 18, Hidden: unknown, Dead: 2
Percentage of current quest completed: Unknown
...........................
Dale waited until the soldiers in the castle began shouting and moving around like ants. Then he yelled out to the soldiers behind him to charge. They entered the courtyard and began a melee battle with those closest to them. They attacked those who had been at the archer’s windows firing arrows at the advancing forces. They were caught off guard, being attacked from behind, and were all killed quickly.
Using coordinated formations they destroyed the troops in the courtyard in a short amount of time with only minimal losses.
“Smith?”
“I’m here.”
“Any contact out there?”
“We have two soldiers down, one minor, one serious, from arrows.”
“Okay, proceed cautiously to the front, we’ll drop the draw bridge for you.”
“Roger.”
Dale grabbed a couple of soldiers, and they helped him lower the bridge.
Once they regrouped, they assessed the situation.
Teams Pat and Kim had lost one soldier, death by arrow, and had one soldier unable to continue. That left them with a force of forty-five soldiers. It seemed like a lot of people for this mission.
Then the portcullis dropped.
A trap.
The doors opened on the upper floor, and a swarm of swordsmen began to flood down into the courtyard. A massive melee battle began. There was no time for communication between leaders. The attack started so quickly they couldn’t form into an organized formation. There was no time for order. Massive chaos ensued.
People screamed.
Blood splattered everywhere.
Swords flew.
Dale began a fight with a taller enemy who was skilled with a sword. Everything Dale tried against him was blocked. He tried to feign right, but the swordsman moved back to the left. Dale tried to move straight forward using brute force, but the swordsman was too strong for him.
He tried to reach one of this throwing knives but lost his balance and almost dropped his sword.
He began to tire.
Just as he thought he was going to lose and have to face a tortuous and painful death again, Private Smith spun behind Dale’s attacker and lopped off his head. “Quit goofing around, Dale, we’ve got to find the princess. Follow me.”
Smith shouted at the group that was finishing off the battle in the courtyard. “We need some ranged support, and a healer, follow us!”
Dale followed Smith up a set of stairs and across a hallway. As they started up a set of stairs inside a column, they heard a loud crashing sound. Behind them a massive troll with a club had broken through a wall and separated them from their support.
“Hell,” Smith said.
Dale put the negative out of his mind, and he followed Smith up a second set of stairs.
“How do you know where you’re going?” Dale asked.
“I’ve been in this castle before.”
“Really?”
“Well, maybe not this exact one, but the same designer. It’s not a Rhith Systems construct, but something I used to play about five years ago. They must have contracted with the government and used some of the same blueprints. Just follow me.”
Dale followed Smith up another flight of stairs and down a long hallway.
“Okay, that’s the door.”
“What’s behind it?” Dale didn’t have any warm fuzzy feelings towards strange doors.
“Oh, nothing much. Just a two-headed ogre with a club. A level 5 boss in the game I mentioned. Grey Arrow. Fun game, I played it a lot. Of course, just because they re-used the castle doesn’t mean they re-used the boss.”
“Any weaknesses?”
“Not really. He’s slow, but defensively, he’s skilled. To kill him, you’ve got to get both heads.”
“Okay. Ready?”
“Sure.”
...........................
The ogre was there. Dale entered the room first and moved to the right.
Smith followed and moved to the left.
The ogre followed them both; he had one head for each of them. Behind the ogre, the princess was locked in a cage.
The beast rushed Smith first. Dale tried to flank him, but after the giant beast had swung at Smith, he spun his whole body and nearly took Dale’s head off with his club.
Dale ducked, rolled, and came up behind the ogre. He was trying to get on the opposite side of the enemy as Private Smith, figuring they’d have the best chance if they could attack from two different directions.
Dale lashed out, the beast swung his club and blocked the slice; however Smith’s attack struck home, and the ogre screamed. He went after Smith in full berserker mode, smash, smash, smash, the club flew so fast Dale could barely see it. Smith was only partially successful in blocking the club, and Dale could see he was weakening.
Using the ogre’s attack on Smith as a chance to get behind him, Dale flew towards the monstrous beast with a vicious blow aimed at one of its heads. He was successful.
The ogre jumped, screamed, and turned towards Dale. Blood spewed out of its severed neck while it launched another assault. The club flew. Dale jumped out of its path. He felt wood splinters fly off the floor and hit him in the legs. The ogre picked up its severed head. First it swung its club at Dale, then it turned and threw its disembodied head at Smith.
The head caught Smith off guard. It hit him in the leg, and he screamed out in pain. Smith couldn’t pry the head off of his thigh; apparently, even without a body, the jaws of the ogre could clamp down tightly. Smith fell to the ground and moaned in pain.
Dale lunged forward and struck the ogre with his sword, he drove the sword all the way to the hilt, straight into the beast’s chest.
The ogre batted Dale away. He felt his body fly like an out of control drone across the room. He struck the cage that held the Princess.
“Thank you for trying,” the Princess said.
“I’m not done,” Dale said.
“You have no sword. Your companion is down, and you’ve missed the ogre’s heart. Its heart is lower, by the way. Look out! Here he comes.”
Dale got to his feet.
The ogre rushed him. The beast swung his club to the ceiling and then brought it down with all its strength. Dale jumped. The club smashed into the cage, splintering the bars apart, and Dale moved to his left.
Smith yelled, “Catch!”
As he looked up, he saw a sword flying through the air.
Dale caught the weapon and without losing any momentum, he sliced off the ogre’s second head.
He sighed with relief.
“Look out!” the Princess said.
The ogre had picked up its head and had its arm back like he was going to pitch a baseball.
With Smith crying out in pain, the Princess screaming with fear, and a head with chomping jaws flying through the air at Dale, he ducked and brought Smith’s sword up in a front guard.
The flying head stuck to the sword.
Dale looked at the face; it was cleaved on the sword and
both eyes glared at Dale. The monster smelled like a dead, bloated, rotten rat. Dale brought the sword down to the floor with all his might and the head split in half.
The exposed brain was the size of a walnut, which explained a lot. The rest of the skull cavity was filled with fat, blood, and a sizable diamond.
“He’s not dead yet!” the Princess shouted.
The headless beast stepped towards Dale, swinging its club wildly and blindly.
Dale moved out of its way. The headless beast continued randomly smashing the floor with powerful swings of its club. Blood spewed from its wounds painting everyone with red goo.
“The heart, it’s below the sword you’ve stuck into its chest,” the Princess said.
Dale leaped in front of the ogre between swings and plunged Smith’s sword into the monster, aiming below his own sword, which had remained sticking out of the beast’s chest. More red goo gushed and poured out of the dying ogre, and it finally landed on floor, dead.
Ten thousand gold bars were released and two diamonds as big as apples.
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System Message
Completion: Castle Dallergon Quest
Victory Bonus: 1000 gold bars
Experience:
Castle storming: +6
Killing boss/leader: +14
Leadership: +8
Skill:
Sword: +12
Defensive: +4
Teamwork: +17
Rewards:
Diamonds: 2800 Carats, auto-exchanged for gold bars for distribution per agreement 56.32b
Gold: 60,000 total gold bars for distribution per agreement 56.32b
Alliance:
Saving Princess: Alliance/treaties not available in training mode
Enemies:
Killing ogre: Enmity/revenge not available in training mode
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System Message
Health level: 68%
Status: Castle Dallergon Training Quest Completed
Orders: Report back to base.
Supplies: Water 82%, Food 87%,
Equipment: All Weapons and survival gear: 82%
Team stats: 62.5% health average of remaining troops
Losses: 32 soldiers dead, 12 mortally wounded
Objects & Treasure collected: 1 silver coin key, 2 1400 carat diamonds