by Vowron Prime
“Right. That’s where things get interesting. Not a single trace of the last one. Nothing on our vidcams, either. The attack was perfectly staged. The EMP took the base offline, pretty much guaranteeing we wouldn’t be able to find out what went down in there.”
“Except, the missing body is a huge clue,” MC replied.
“Exactly. My theory? The Legatus put one of his own people in the pod, made them look exactly like Nova’s family. Then, when we brought them here, they deployed the EMP, killed everyone in the medbay, subdued Nova, and escaped while everyone was blinded.”
“Maybe, but getting out of Sanctuary undetected? For someone who’s never been in here before? Downright impossible, even if they had a stealth field. The base was on lockdown. No one in or out.”
“That’s what puzzles me. I… no, it’s nothing.”
MC smiled wryly. “C’mon, princess. You should know better than to keep secrets from me. You think there was an insider, don’t you?”
“I dunno. I don’t want to believe it, but I just don’t see how anyone could’ve gotten out unless they had help. It’d explain how effective the attack was, too.”
“Well, that’s some pretty terrible news to wake up to. We’ll have to keep our eyes peeled, but until we have some leads, there’s not a whole lot we can do about that for now.”
“Assuming my idea’s even right,” Nina replied. “We could be totally off the mark. Nova could be…”
“I refuse to believe that, Nina.”
“Right. Sorry. Oh, by the way,” she said, trying to change the topic, “you’re a hero now! I mean, you were before, but now? Even the Dyn think of you like a god, and the Zevan? Jesus Magnus, you should listen to them. They’re worshipping you, just like they do with the Dyn. Maybe even more. They think you’re some kind of dark patron deity, come to deliver them from the evil clutches of the Dyn.”
“Shit… Just what I need. A crazy-ass cult following me around.”
“Actually, that would be so great,” Nina giggled. “I’d pay to see you react as they smother you with praise. ‘Oh, Great Magnus, won’t you please sign my basketball?’”
“Nina. That’s not funny. That’s not even funny,” he said, barely managing to hide a smile.
“Uh, yeah? It totally is. But anyway, there’s a shit-ton of work for you to get back to, though you really do need to rest. And thank poor Sarek. He literally didn’t sleep the past few days trying to patch you up.”
“Sarek? Are we talking about the same guy?” MC asked incredulously.
“He’s not so bad. Well, he is kind of an ass, but he helps out when shit hits the fan.”
“Well, no point in delaying the inevitable. What are our most pressing crises? Y’know, apart from my home being invaded?”
“Well, a good chunk of the crater wall was reduced to rubble by the Tensa’s crash, but the good news is that the hordes haven’t been able to make it through yet. The bad news is that they haven’t given up either. But the Legatus hasn’t sent any more ships, at least. I think between the battle for Nova’s family and the attack on Sanctuary, he’s really taken some significant losses.”
“Nova’s family… fuck.” MC swore under his breath, but Nina gripped his shoulders, locking eyes with him.
“You cannot blame yourself for that, Magnus. You understand? You brought them safe and sound back to Sanctuary, just like you promised. This wasn’t your mistake. If we’re pointing fingers, the Resistance should’ve known that the Legatus would have done something like this. They’ve been fighting him for a lot longer than you and I have. And we even checked the pods for this exact thing. So if they couldn’t see through it, there’s no way you could’ve, Magnus.”
He shook his head. “That doesn’t change anything, does it? Nova’s family is still dead, and she herself is god-knows-where. How am I supposed to look her in the eye when we find her? If we find her.”
Nina squeezed his hand. “Magnus, we didn’t have much when we lost our fam, but at least we had each other. Just make sure Nova has us too, when we find her. Okay?”
MC stared off into the distance.
“And hey, it’s not all bad. Krar and the others have been overseeing the reconstruction efforts, and they have plans for making Sanctuary a helluva lot more badass than it was. Something about an opportunity in disguise,” she smirked.
“You’re damn right. We’ll rebuild. Better than ever before.”
“You bet! But… you know that Tensa that crashed down outside the crater? Well, it never exploded, and a lot of the crew is still in there. We’ve all been wondering what to do about them. No one on our side is looking for another fight right now, and I’m guessing that’s the case for them too, but then, they are the enemy. We can’t exactly leave them there, but can’t really hold them captive, with the hordes and all. It’s been an awkward stalemate this entire time.”
MC went silent for a second before replying. “I’ll deal with them myself.”
Nina narrowed her eyes. “Whatever you do, it can wait until you’ve recovered.”
“No, it really can’t,” he said as he teleported out of the room, leaving Nina behind.
“That’s so unfair!”
“You have five minutes to assemble before me, or I will do to the rest of your ship what I did just now,” MC shouted over the X42’s loudspeakers after having freshly relocated the entire bridge of the broken Tensa high into the air. The structure crashed to the ground moments later with a bloodcurdling screech as the metal sheared and warped.
His threat worked. Soon, several hundred Zevan, Dyn, and a handful of Ultimators stood before him.
“I want you closer to each other. If you have Zevan mages among you, don’t even think about activating your barriers.”
The confused crew ambled together until they were standing shoulder to shoulder, packed into an area as if they were inside an insufficiently-sized party venue. The only difference was, no one was smiling.
“Hands on your heads. Do it, people! I don’t have all day.”
Eiga flared his wings and screeched from behind him, nearly rupturing their eardrums with his battle cry. Apparently, the combination of an epic dragon and a demigod of destruction was enough to get them to do what he wanted.
“You invaded my home. You killed troops, you murdered my girl’s family, and now she’s disappeared too. Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t just end all of you right now.”
Several voices clamored to speak up.
“We were just following orders!”
“Please, you must spare us! We have no choice under the Legatus!”
“I just want to return to my family…”
“Yeah, bud,” Magnus said. “Me too. Except she’s gone now, thanks to all of you.”
MC opened up a private line to Nina and Krar at Sanctuary. “Nina, can we use them as hostages? If the Legatus does have Nova, it might be good to keep them alive as bargaining chips.”
“I agr—” she started, but was cut off by Krar.
“That will not work, Magnus. The Dyn do not suffer hostages. The Legatus will treat every one of them as members of the Resistance. They are as good as dead to him now.”
“Makes sense, I guess. I’ll say this now, but I don’t trust them to join us,” MC replied. “I wouldn’t be surprised if there were good people among them, but there are bound to be those who are going to try to return to the Legatus’s side. Knowing that bastard, he’ll welcome them with open arms, mine them for intel, then kill them without a second thought.”
“So, what are you going to do?” Nina asked.
“The only thing I can.”
Exactly one second later, every single Zevan-type was missing their head, having been relocated into a pile nearby. Each fell to the ground like marionettes with their strings cut, their heads geysering blood—green and red, depending on their type. It all made for a very Christmassy tapestry of gore.
It was the quickest death he could give them. Too risky to
keep alive, and too useless as a political card, their fate had been sealed the moment the Tensa crashed.
He then fused the Ultimators’ bodies together before disassembling them into several parts and fusing those into the ground below. One could never be too careful disposing of those things, with their liquid metal healing abilities and all.
As for the freshly decapitated heads, he had a plan for those.
“Sir, our cloaked scouts are making another pass around the enemy’s base. Shall we engage?”
“No,” the Legatus replied. “As we have seen, Hastas are no match for their defenses. Not against him.”
The Legatus frowned, leaning closer to the projection. “Magnify this area,” he said, pointing to a location near the crashed Tensa.
It appeared to be text of some sort, but as the optics magnified, the truth was revealed.
“We should have activated his kill switch long ago!” the operator spat, his face flushing in fury.
The Legatus erupted in laughter. “And lose the best weapon the Dyn have created in our centuries of conquering worlds? Just look at him! He is perfection. A living weapon incomparable to any normal Ultimator, and we need only dominate his mind! No, let the parasite work. Soon, he will be ours. Soon, he will join us as a pawn. A delightfully beautiful, helpless, all-powerful pawn.”
He continued to laugh as he gazed upon the holographic projection. On it were the words YOU ARE NEXT, written with the decapitated heads of the Tensa’s crew.
Decapitated heads that were currently being devoured by a swarm of hungry werebeasts.
Thank you for reading Executor Rising
We hope you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. We just wanted to take a moment to encourage you to review the book. Follow this link: Executor Rising to be directed to the book’s Amazon product page to leave your review.
Every review helps further the author’s reach and, ultimately, helps them continue writing fantastic books for us all to enjoy.
Want to discuss our books with other readers and even the authors like Shirtaloon, Zogarth, Cale Plamann, Noret Flood (Puddles4263) and so many more?
Join our Discord server today and be a part of the Aethon community.
Facebook
Instagram
Twitter
Website
You can also join our non-spam mailing list by visiting www.subscribepage.com/AethonReadersGroup and never miss out on future releases. You'll also receive three full books completely Free as our thanks to you.
ALSO IN SERIES
MAGNUS
TERRA NOVA
EXECUTOR RISING
PRIME WAR
Looking for more great LitRPG?
Jeff Driscoll becomes the only active Game Master for the VRMMORPG Infinite Worlds after a rogue patch turns the game into a buggy, dangerous mess. Can he fix it on his own and save the players?
GET MANUFACTURING MAGIC NOW!
When Hall is trapped inside of Sky Realms Online, he loses everything. His level, his stats, his real world life. Even worse, nobody knows the new rules. What's next, permadeath?
GET GRAYHOLD TODAY!
When lifelong gamer Dave is portaled into a game-world called Eloria with no way out, he thinks all his dreams have come true. However, in none of those dreams did his wife and daughter ever accompany him. Can he keep them safe in this strange new world?
GET WATCHER’S TEST NOW!
When there's no way to win, cheat, and cheat BIG. Howard, desperate to save his friends and countless innocents, hatches a plan to fix things. Using his deep knowledge of game mechanics, he’ll start again as a level 0 necromancer and exploit his way to power.
GET UNDERPOWERED HOWARD NOW!
Experience an isekai culture clash as a laid-back Australian finds himself in a very serious world. See him gain suspiciously evil powers through a unique progression system combining cultivation and traditional LitRPG elements. Enjoy a weak-to-strong story with a main character who earns his power without overshadowing everyone around him, with plenty of loot, adventurers, gods and magic. Rich characters and world-building offer humor, political intrigue and slice-of-life elements alongside lots of monster fighting and adventure.
For all our LitRPG books, visit our website.
Glossary
Cast of Characters
Magnus Cromwell: The MC. Goes by MC. Known to some as Opie Emsy.
A battle-hardened ex-military veteran mercenary of the late 22nd century. Magnus lost his entire family at a young age, apart from his sister Nina, whom he cherishes more than his own self. The years of war and killing didn’t do anything to help him heal those early wounds, turning him into a ruthless, highly competent killing machine. This has unfortunately had a destructive impact on his psyche, warping him into a broken individual devoid of most human emotions, garnering him the call-sign Machine. The sole exception is his deep and pure love for Nina, whom he greatly admires out of filial love.
When not on a contract mission—a rarity—he lives a hermit’s life at his converted military bunker, listening to classic electronic music, reading literature, and restoring ancient weapons and vehicles in his free time.
Nina Cromwell: Magnus’s youngest sister. She lost her family at an age when she was barely able to comprehend such concepts as war and terrorism, but that is perhaps why she was less affected by their passing than Magnus was at the time. Where Magnus decided to improve the world by killing off its most vile scum, Nina took the opposite approach of attempting to better it via established mechanisms—namely diplomacy. It is her hope that through masterful diplomacy, she can avoid war and other tragedies before they happen. She has only begun walking down this path, however, and feels insecure about how much she has accomplished, especially in relation to her brother.
Nina adores and idolizes Magnus, who took care of her during her childhood, joining the military to pay for her schooling and sacrificing a portion of his humanity in the process. To her he can do no wrong, something Magnus is acutely aware of, a point that causes him no end of worry.
The Black Fangs: Jarsh: Known as “The Tactician” and the brains behind the Black Fangs’ recent rise to power, Jarsh possesses an intellectual mind, and experience born from dozens of battles. He keeps a calm, collected demeanor and is an expert at handling the Fangs’ overbearing leader. Unfortunately, his expertise was not enough to prevent his demise at the hands of Magnus at Hobogon Village.
The Black Fangs: Yeestren: Hero-Leader of the notorious Zevan bandit group that has terrorized southern Sorath recently. Their rise to fame can largely be attributed to this single Zevan, working in conjunction with his Tactician. A giant bear of a Zevan that wields a two-handed greatsword with one hand, he has been known for cleaving an entire Zevan in two with a single strike. These stories are likely exaggerations, but his berserker-like combat potential cannot be underestimated. He met his doom at the hands of Magnus at the battle of Hobogon Village. As is common with Sorathean naming convention, commoners such as Yeestren are known only by a single given name.
Dervegen City: Baron Zeikon Enol: The resident lord of Dervegen City. He has an ongoing feud with Empress Xikanika, who stripped him of most of his territory in her rise to power. Zeikon barely made it out of her purge of corrupt nobility alive, and he harbors great resentment against her. Not content to curse his fate, he concocts a grand plan with some questionable allies to overthrow her rule. A strong yet morally questionable ruler, to Zeikon, the ends do justify the means.
Hobogon Village: Ansala: Ensar’s little sister. It is thanks to his efforts that she is able to escape the Fangs and return to her hideout inside her house. A spirited girl, she accompanies Magnus after he eradicates the Fangs. They travel together to Dervegen, eventually parting ways. We likely haven’t seen the last of her, though!
Hobogon Village: Ensar: A young Zevan boy who lost his parents to the Black Fangs. With dreams of becoming a Hero, he attempts to escape Hobogon Village with his little siste
r, Ansala. Unfortunately, the children are captured by the Fangs, and Ensar gave his life to protect little Ansie. He died, unable to ascertain her safety.
Sorath Empire: Empress Xikanika Valtis Nomenstroya: The presiding monarch of Sorath. Her rise to power was brutal and swift, building up a power base in secret, only to slay large swaths of the existing corrupt nobility. By replacing them with nobles who supported her cause, she slayed the emperor and took the throne for herself in a surprisingly bloodless coup—excepting the key nobles she ordered killed. It remains to be seen whether she will be a better monarch. While she holds ideals such as justice, honor, and egality close to her heart, her questionable decision of moving the capital to a frozen, inhospitable wasteland has left many wondering about her sanity.
Sorath Empire: Knight Captain Thargold Brunshir: Leader of the Fifth Royal Knight Cavalry’s Third Platoon, consisting of fifty elite soldiers that report directly to Empress Xikanika herself. A grizzled veteran of many decades, Brunshir is Empress Xikanika’s unlikely confidante, a loyal subject she can bounce ideas off and expect a straightforward, honest response. Brunshir is always thinking of the empire’s best interests. It is tragic then that Magnus slew him in a misunderstanding caused by slave trader Vistuth Garbiden.
The Dyn: DM-320423-β::Legatus: The appointed Legatus of planet IV-3259, the Legatus is a devout follower of the Dyn code. Focused on furthering the Dyn's agenda, he shows no mercy to those he considers his enemy. The Legatus firmly believes that both humans and zevan are inferior lifeforms. Cattle to be harvested.
The Dyn: XZ-768421-α (Nova): The Lead Artificer on planet IV-3259(Kelruhn) for centuries. She rebelled against the Dyn by attempting to turn Magnus' parasite into a symbiotic lifeform during his surgery. She was caught and her changes were reversed. She is the foremost expert on Qephyx parasite technology on Kelruhn. Her treason led to her imprisonment by the Legatus.
