I fell silent, giving my guests time to digest what I’d said, then made a step toward the leader of the La-Varrez Faction:
“And now, Leng Sap-Po La-Varrez, I will ask you a question to which I expect an immediate response. Do you agree to become Coruler of Humanity under those conditions? Or shall I turn my eye to one of your other numerous relatives?”
The young mage didn’t respond right away, and in fact considered it. That made his old grandmother trample all over established norms and her grandson’s authority, walk up and give him a booming and insulting slap to the back of the head:
“Say yes, you moron! This kind of chance only comes once in a lifetime, and you’re lucky it came to you! Would you rather give up the throne to your sister?”
By all appearances, the young faction head experienced a very serious blow to his Authority because, a few seconds later, the man standing before me was no longer a Leng:
Gerd Sap-Po La-Varrez. Human. La-Varrez Faction. Level-104 Telekinetic Mage.
That hardly could have all been because of his grandma’s slap. By all appearances, the faction head’s indecision had irked many members of his retinue. Only after that rather unpleasant lesson did the Telekinetic Mage make up his mind and, getting down on one knee, pronounce distinctly and loudly:
“I pledge my allegiance to my Kung, Gnat La-Fin, both in the virtual game and the real world!”
Chapter Twenty-Seven. Ultimatum
THAT WAS BEYOND all doubt a grand political victory. I had successfully coaxed the La-Varrez dynasty of mage rulers onto my side. They were one of the most ancient and mighty houses and furthermore had previously had quite the unamicable opinion of the La-Fins. And although I could sense that the dynasty was now seriously diminished and depleted since its strongest members perished in the Palace of Rulers, their historic domain of the Fourth Directory remained one of the richest and most powerful states militarily. And while in the virtual world the main La-Varrez Faction had just fourteen thousand players, they had approximately ten thousand more scattered between smaller vassal factions.
I decided to build on my diplomatic success and take it to the level of in-game laws. After opening the faction management menu, I sent Gerd Sap-Po La-Varrez an offer to conclude an alliance. A few seconds later, I received a positive response:
ATTENTION!!! The leader of the La-Varrez Faction, Gerd Sap-Po La-Varrez has accepted your offer to conclude a military and political alliance. The leader of the alliance shall be Kung Gnat as the player with the highest Fame and Authority figures. Alliance members: 2 of a possible 8.
ATTENTION!!! Your alliance must have a name. Suggested options: “Gnat’s Alliance,” “Magocratic Alliance,” “First Earth Alliance,” “Army of Earth,” “RELICT Alliance.”
Pretty sparse offering from the game system... No, I was obviously not going to pick the pompous “Gnat’s Alliance.” Or “Magocratic Alliance,” because I was not planning to limit my alliance to the factions of the magocratic world. “RELICT Alliance?” I liked the name but I was afraid that the people of my planet would need too much explanation before they could understand what the Relicts even were, much less why a human alliance should bear the name of a different galactic race. Okay then, let’s call the alliance “Army of Earth.” Simple and to the point.
Authority increased to 107!
No one had any objections to that. After that, the La-Varrez Faction delegation bid us adieu and set off back home in their tiltrotors, leaving around eight hundred troops for the army of Earth at the training camp and promising to bring another four thousand five hundred in the next couple days in five or six batches. Right before leaving, the old Mage Diviner woman found an opportunity and told me something mysterious in private:
“Kung Gnat La-Fin, let me advise you right now that our understandings will remain in force even if the La-Varrez Faction changes leader.”
I didn’t pry and just nodded in confirmation. However, the old magess’ words could be taken in a few different ways. Either the internal struggle for the position of La-Varrez Faction head wasn’t yet concluded, and thus it would be possible for the faction to change leader in the game. Or the speech the current faction head had just given had been deemed unsatisfactory, and thus his disenchanted relatives were considering swapping him out.
Just after the important guests departed, leaving Viceroy of Earth Kosta Dykhsh with me at the training camp, the Geckho Diplomat pulled me aside and gave me an approving pat on the shoulder with his heavy furry paw:
“Well, Gnat my friend, congratulations on the promotion! I remember back when we first met, and you caught my attention. You had just plopped out of the Labyrinth next to my hut all bloodied, unarmed and barely clothed. Plenty of new Human players had done that before you, but still you stood out. Your gameplay is quite sophisticated, never sticking to established templates. Intense, reckless, with no regard for authority figures. Way back then, I said that was exactly how the game should be played. And look how right I was — you’re a Kung already! And now where are the ‘eminent and wise directors’ that were trying to teach you lessons and constantly trying to straighten you up? They are no more!”
I took a look around and, after making certain that no one was listening, I asked a question I had long been meaning to ask a representative of the suzerains:
“By the way, speaking of those old directors... Viceroy Kosta Dykhsh, that is already ancient history. The situation has changed drastically a hundred times, but nevertheless... Which director of the Human-3 Faction was secretly working for the Dark Faction? I am positive you know the answer to that question. Was it Ivan Lozovsky?”
The dark orange Geckho bristled out his thick fur and rumbled in dismay, boring into me with his big black eyes. I could sense distinctly just how much Kosta Dykhsh did not want to answer that question and rehash bygone times. But then the Viceroy suddenly made up his mind and offered:
“Okay, I’ll reply as a gesture of friendship. But Kung Gnat, you will also be obliged to do me a friendly little favor. Nothing criminal, nothing against the rules. Nothing that will reflect negatively on your reputation. Just a little help for a good friend. Does that work?”
I gave a cautious nod, agreeing to the fairly vague understandings.
“No, it was not Ivan. The traitor was actually Leng Radugin. I think he broke during the uncompromising confrontation with your powerful enemy when he couldn’t see any winning strategies. I was at the negotiations between them as an observer of the suzerains. Your then-leader begged Leng Thumor-Anhu for peace or at the very least mercy for the vanquished after what he expected to be the speedy conclusion of your military conflict. He wasn’t asking for his own sake so much as for the rest of the H3 Faction. It was at that very moment when he agreed to share classified information.”
Oh wow... The scattered pieces of the puzzle finally came together. Our imprisoned rank-and-file troopers hadn’t been recruited as spies at all! Every Human-3 Faction player who had been captured was scoured for signs of working for the enemy. But the faction head could have easily been conducting direct negotiations without arousing suspicion. Now I could understand the Dark Faction’s astonishing awareness of the goings on in our nodes. And I had an explanation for the nervous breakdown that led to Leng Radugin’s loss of authority and position as faction head. Meanwhile, his serious mental and physical health problems were considered grave enough to get him out of all kinds of tests including the lie detector.
“Ivan Lozovsky is not without sin, of course,” Kosta Dykhsh interrupted my contemplation. “Your Diplomat dealt in contraband, running his own little side hustle with space port management. He also promoted his own proteges to every important post, as all politicians do. At a certain point he tried pressuring you in various ways because he saw you as a serious competitor for power. But despite all his flaws, Ivan always remained loyal to the Human-3 Faction and bent over backwards to help them through very difficult times. Believe me Gnat my friend, I know
what I’m talking about. Ivan Lozovsky sometimes acted outside the rules, and often made important decisions without consulting the curators. But isn’t that exactly the way you acted?”
The big huge Geckho took a heavy sigh, fell silent thoughtfully and continued:
“Anyhow Kung Gnat, the favor I want to ask you just so happens to pertain to Ivan Lozovsky. I consider Ivan a friend, and so it pains me to see him all but barred from the game. For the last few days, Ivan has spent just half an ummi in the game, and he was under close observation by an assigned guard detail the whole time. The new H3 leadership is afraid that their former leader will escape to join one of the other Earth factions. Of course, I could simply take matters into my own hands and order that Ivan Lozovsky be given more time. I could also announce that my friend Ivan is officially invited to my and Uline Tar’s wedding as a guest of honor. By the way, the wedding is the day after tomorrow. And you’re also invited, Gnat my friend. Yes, Ivan would then be given more game time, and be allowed to attend my wedding. But your people would continue to think of him as a player who did something wrong. And so I ask you, as the Kung of humanity to have a talk with Leng Tarasov and his leaders. Find the right words to help Ivan Lozovsky out. I am certain that such a remarkable player and capable Diplomat will come in handy for you yet.”
Okay then, quite a reasonable request. I promised the Viceroy of Earth that I’d have a talk with the leadership of the Human-3 Faction and take a hand in the disgraced Diplomat’s fate. Kosta Dykhsh gave me another pat on the shoulder with his heavy paw and said:
“Today Kung Waid Shishish demanded I make a report on the state of the human player draft on Earth for his Third Strike Fleet. The commander is planning a big offensive and will require troops for a space landing operation and subsequent mop-up. Very many troops. I trust, Leng Gnat, that everything is going according to plan and the army will be mustered in good time.”
I started to assure the Viceroy that everything was fine, and the fifty thousand troops would be ready on schedule. But then, in full accordance with Murphy’s law, Tini ran up. After first apologizing for interrupting an important conversation with the Viceroy, the Miyelonian youth conveyed an urgent message from my Diplomat:
“Master Gnat, Leng Thomas asked me to bring you the Terrestrial Coalition’s response. The members of the Coalition are willing to provide troops for the burgeoning army of Earth, but only if the entire army can be led by their generals. If not, the Coalition refuses to contribute to the draft and will make their own arrangements with the Geckho. The Terrestrial Coalition expects a response to its ultimatum within one day.”
What horrible timing! Kosta Dykhsh shook his huge furry head in reproach as if to say, “it isn’t good to deceive a representative of your suzerains and try to hide your recruitment problems.”
Authority reduced to 106!
I had to assure the Viceroy that I predicted stunts like this from several Earth factions and we had accounted for them in our draft plans and would be able to get together plenty of troops even without the Terrestrial Coalition. Kosta Dykhsh looked at me doubtfully, then said strictly:
“Look here, Kung Gnat. We’re both going to get a serious talking to if Krong Daveyesh-Pir’s mission cannot be completed. And though the Terrestrial Coalition does have conditions, they are willing to provide troops, so I see no reason for the suzerains to impose punitive measures. The Geckho will not interfere in the interrelations of their vassals. Ancient law forbids it. You may do as you like, but the great Krong of my race has assigned you a mission and it must be completed! Either with the Terrestrial Coalition’s troops or without them, the fifty thousand soldiers have to be ready in time! I then will tell the commander of the Third Strike Fleet Kung Waid Shishish that everything is going according to plan and, in fourteen days, he can send ships to pick up your troops.”
I said farewell to the Viceroy, he flew off to his residence, then I went to look for my Chief Advisor in a none-too-enthusiastic mood. I recounted to Gerd Mac-Peu Un-Roi the contents of my talk with the Viceroy in general terms, as well as the Terrestrial Coalition’s ultimatum.
“What shall we do, Coruler?” the Mage Diviner enquired.
“Hmm, hmm... it isn’t really clear,” I muttered in dismay. “We’ll keep the low-level Chinese players because Fox can easily whip them into shape in two weeks’ time. And we’ll get all the troops we need from other loyal factions, so we won’t have to cater to the Coalition’s whims. Well and,” here I bared my teeth predatorily, “we’ll have to inform them that that is no way to treat the Kung of Earth. For starters we’ll impose a complete embargo on all space imports going to the Terrestrial Coalition, announce that members of its factions are barred from visiting the space port and limit their contact with the Geckho to a minimum. We can instruct the spaceport services to put a hold on the entire flow of shipments going to or from the Terrestrial Coalition as well. I will have a talk with a few Geckho, and I’m sure we’ll find mutual understanding easily. Same goes for the cargo ships. From now on, Geckho ships will only visit the Coalition to collect tribute, but any trade will be prohibited. And all the Coalition’s spacecraft, if they manage obtain such a thing, are to be shot down by our interceptors. The Terrestrial Coalition wanted to say with their ultimatum that they could deal with the Geckho without us? Splendid! Let them demonstrate that in practice and prove that they are capable of something greater than empty, totally unfounded words!”
BY EVENING, A COLUMN of La-Shin Faction troops was marching away from the space port, the whole four thousand two hundred they promised. I really wanted to speak with the new leaders of the dynasty, which was so influential in the magocratic world, but none of their ruling elite showed up. Too bad. I had to convey that wish through my officers. Sio-Mi-Dori antigravs also brought a second batch of troops from La-Varrez and their vassals. A group of Koreans arrived as well, fully equipped and ready to take part in landing operations right away if needed. They also brought fifty heavy walking combat robots and ten assault drones. The nascent army of Earth’s troop count was growing quickly and was already over twenty-one thousand.
My Diplomat Leng Thomas also returned from negotiations with the NPC Antiquity Faction. Leng Phylira the Centaur mare had essentially assented to us deploying twenty-three new Relict Faction outposts on the southern peninsula, but they had not yet been able to reach a final agreement on the total pay the NPC construction workers would receive for their labor. Apparently, I would have to speak with Phylira personally and placate the Centaur Matriarch with some extra special gift.
At that, some good news was brought by Beast Master Valeri-Urla after her talk with the NPC Harpies from the same Antiquity Faction. The winged brutes had finally promised not to attack cargo caravans passing through the Harpy Cliffs. That immediately simplified logistics, making it easier to reach the spaceport on the eastern shore of the bay. There was no longer any need to involve Geckho ferries, which were already booked out a month in advance. Though I couldn’t say exactly how much we could believe our untrustworthy winged allies — the harpies, as a rule, were just as liable to break an oath as they were to give one. In any case, time would tell. And if they made us, we’d have to force the winged brutes to make good on their promises — the harpies respected force. That I had known for a long time.
By nightfall, the training camp was full of light and deafeningly loud — troops from a number of units were working out various night assault tactics while their instructors looked on. Explosions, fire, camouflage smoke, the crackling of hundreds of automatic weapons and the bright lines of laser beams. The thundering was louder and the flickering brighter than the fireworks on New Year’s in Russia at midnight. At a certain point, I went up a tall observation tower with Fox and Gerd T’yu-Pan to watch the proceedings. The former commander of the largest private military company in the galaxy winced in disgust and nagged:
“Untrained rabble. Cannon fodder. Savages. No tactics. I mean, why are the Shocktroops, G
unfighters and Machinegunners all acting the same?! They have totally different class bonuses and different roles in the group! There are illumination flares in the air and every troop is carrying a decloaking light... in a real battle, all these people would be dead in one second!”
“Humans cannot see in the dark,” I reminded the Morphian, to which the experienced warrior snapped sharply:
“Okay, but can they also not think? Or do they just really enjoy respawning? There are more prudent ways of illuminating a battlefield. Those flares would give the Meleyephatian defenders more information than the attacking Humans. After all, you could deploy spotlight drones using parts of the light spectrum invisible to the Meleyephatian eye. Or at the end of the day you could launch light grenades at their positions. And on top of that, your troops could be using abilities like Eagle Eye, Sharp Hearing and Night Vision. It would be very easy to get by without all this light!”
Gerd T’yu-Pan, who was also up with us, was carefully taking down all these remarks in his tablet. I strongly suspected that the leader of Tamara the Paladin’s boarding team was planning not only to tell the instructors how to remedy those flaws, but also to fix the errors his boarding team was making.
Fox then clutched her head with her hands and commented on the coming of Engineers and Medics to the front lines. As well as the uselessness of the Snipers hunkered down in the distance and the conditional “defenders” that stayed out of the battle until all the forward squadrons were completely eliminated. In sharp terms, she noted an absence of sensible command and a complete lack of understanding among the commanders of every last unit of what was actually happening down on the front lines. Finally, the Morphian, unable to continue to bear the mayhem being wrought down below, shot a red firework into the night sky from a rocket launcher to signal the end of the assault.
Aces High (Reality Benders Book #6) LitRPG Series Page 25
