Goblin queen, p.10
Goblin Queen, page 10
True to form, Braxus has erected a tent for himself with all the amenities––comfort in the middle of combat. What a joke. A small platoon of elite guards surrounds him as he lounges in a plush throne that’s elevated on a dais, giving him a panoramic view of the entire battlefield. Just the sight of his smug face irritates me, but I need to remember that this isn’t the true him.
But I need to make him think that I’m desperate enough to believe that it is.
To make one last desperate attack.
And it’s not far from the truth. I am desperate now. We have maybe fifteen minutes before the walls fall and Brookrun, along with over a hundred people, including my friends, all perish.
I rebuff my Shadow Cloak spell and buff my blades to head in for the kill. I purposely go for one of the guards instead of directly for him, even though I could probably manage it. I get about halfway to my target when a lance of crystal shoots up from out of the ground. Were I at full stats, I probably could have avoided it, or maybe even detected the trap before it sprang, but the crystal shoots straight through my leg, impaling me with white-hot pain as it lances through my thigh.
I cry out as I become visible and the guards turn in unison to face me.
Damn it!
They’re all just about to attack when Braxus turns to me with a mixture of surprise and elation on his face.
“Ah, about time you showed up,” he says with a laugh. “I was thinking maybe you were just going to die like a dog with the rest of your trash friends. But true to form, and predictable as always… you come trying to win a whole war with your own two fists. Well done, try-hard. Well done.”
Finally, I think as I breathe a sigh of relief inwardly.
It’s the moment I had hoped for: a chance for us to dialogue while he basks in his own superiority. I was worried he’d become too paranoid or too vengeful to enter any kind of conversation with me, but it seems he was simply expecting an attack of some kind first and had even set up the battlefield to his advantage. Traps and all. My lack of HP makes an excellent addition to the authenticity of my desperation. I’m down to 50% Health from that trap alone.
Now all I need to do is sell this with all my heart. To make him believe he’s beat me and then lure him out of his cage back in Stormwall. I glare at him with what I hope is a mixture of pain and resentment. And it’s not far from the truth.
“Look, you’ve won okay,” I say with a wince for extra effect. “We’re no longer a threat to you. The town is yours. Just stop attacking us.”
“Town?” he says incredulously. “You think I want that pathetic excuse for a domain? I own whole regions, Reece. I have no interest in your stupid little village other than seeing it burn to the ground.”
At least that much was confirmed. Braxus has no regard for Brookrun or how much it means to us whatsoever. “Please…I’ll do anything. Just withdraw your troops. I don’t want all my friends to die.”
“You think I’m stupid?” he says. “Think I’m just waiting for you to pull some more of your hax ninja crap again? What the hell was that move anyway? I can’t even find it in the archives.” His eyes then flick to the side as if regretting what he just said. “No matter. You wouldn’t beat me if you used it again anyway. Not this time.” He then grins in a way that makes my stomach uneasy. “You tried calling me out. Wanted me to show up in person? Well, be careful what you wish for, idiot. Because I’m a whole lot more dangerous when my abilities aren’t split four ways.”
Four ways? Then it hits me like a ton of bricks. Had I not used the Imposter ability myself, and known its limitations, his statement probably wouldn’t have meant anything to me. But now it strikes me with far too much clarity.
This isn’t an imposter. This is his true form.
And he’s four times as powerful as he used to be.
I examine him and his stats appear on my HUD.
Name: Braxus
Race: Human
Class: Ruler
Level: 99
Guild: Era of Empire
Holy crap! Level 99??How did he level so fast?
“You know,” he says. “We could have all been friends. I could have provided an easy life for you all. But you had to go and stab me in the back. I guess it’s true what they say. The weak and stupid always envy the intelligent and strong.”
“I envy nothing of you,” I spit back at him. “And the only weak one here is you.”
“That’s right. Keep thinking you’re superior, Reece.” Braxus then raises his hand and lightning crackles from an abruptly darkening sky. “Allow me to demonstrate to you…just how weak I am.”
Braxus uses Stormfront!
Abilities of minions are increased by 20% while enemies suffer -10% debuff to all attacks!
Rain and hail pour from the sky in an instant. The troops behind me howl with renewed vigor as they charge towards Brookrun and on my HUD I see the walls lose another 2% Health.
“It’s over for you now, Reece,” Braxus says with a murderous glint in his eye. “And I’m not going to go all flashy like you. And neither am I going to drag this out for sport. Not this time.” He stops for a little chuckle. “Even though I’d love to make you suffer, I’m not about to take that risk. You’ve revealed yourself to be far too dangerous for that. This is going to be quick and decisive. I’ll save the torture for your little girlfriend and your meathead brother. Rest in peace knowing they’ll be suffering double for what I’m about to skip on you.”
My heart thunders as all my cool evaporates and I’m suddenly reminded why I truly hate this guy. “You sick prick! You’ll die before you ever lay a hand on any of them.”
“Ah that’s the spirit,” he says with a smirk. “That’s what I’m looking for. Show me that undying hero angst.”
I grit my teeth and pop an escape, breaking out of the trap with a Backflip.
I leap forward again with Charge Strike, but it’s nowhere near as fast as I’m used to.
Braxus holds his hand towards me and shouts with a voice like thunder.
“DIE!”
Braxus uses Power Word: Kill!
You fail to resist!
My body suddenly freezes like I’m being controlled by the green clothes again. But it’s ten times worse this time. I can’t move. Can’t breathe. Panic spikes my blood as I think my heart stops.
Literally.
The last thing I see is my HP immediately fall to zero before the world goes dark.
* * *
I come to with a gasp for air, my consciousness violently thrown back into my true body.
Aiko looks towards me, startled. “Hey, are you okay?”
It takes me a moment to respond to her, my senses still stabilizing amongst my new surroundings. We’re still in Braxus’s bed chamber, just outside the magically locked vault door to his inner sanctum.
“No,” I say finally, shaking my head. “No, I’m not okay.”
“What happened?”
“Braxus just killed me.”
“Oh good!” Aiko says. “That means he should be coming out of there soon, right?”
“No. He’s not in there.”
“What?”
The reality of the last few moments replay in my mind and I realize I’ve just underestimated Braxus terribly.
“He came, Aiko. He actually came himself. And he’s more powerful than I ever knew he could become.”
The elf looks at me with a confused stare. “What?”
“We need to get back to Brookrun somehow,” I say as I struggle to my feet. “Like right now!”
Chapter 13: Spree
I’m about to rush out of the royal bedchamber, when Aiko suddenly catches me by the sleeve.
“Reece, wait!”
“There’s no time. We need to find a way back to Brookrun!”
My mind is aflutter with the impossibility of traveling there in an instant. Gilly is back there and there’s no way for us to communicate with her to come and bring us back. But we’re days away. My hopes evaporate into frustration. There were only minutes left. Brookrun is going to fall.
“They’re all going to die,” I say vacantly. “I messed up, Aiko. I should have never brought us here. Braxus is storming the town and there’s no way we can get back in time.”
“Will you snap out of it,” Aiko says. “Of course there’s a way.”
I look up at her. “How?”
She rolls her eyes. “Seriously? Just because I choose to play a few select classes doesn’t mean I don’t have all of them leveled. I keep telling you guys this. I’ve been here for 10 years, remember?”
“You have Teleport?” I ask.
“Duh,” she says and my heart lifts so high I could almost kiss her again.
“Come on then!” I say. “Change and then get us home quick! We need to try and stop him.”
“Wait,” Aiko says. “Didn’t you say he was more powerful now?”
“Yes. Very. He’s Level 99 already and on top of that he’s four times as powerful as we thought him to be.” I spend a few moments to recount in detail what had happened. “He killed me with a word, Aiko. A word.”
“That sounds like a new ultimate ability or something. How the heck are we supposed to defend against that?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know. Maybe it’s a death save involved or something. My log did register I had failed to resist. But I was at half stats too, so who knows.”
Aiko taps her chin as she looks up at the chandelier. “Look, we’re no worse off. We got the outcome we were shooting for anyway, right? We got Braxus out in the open in his true form. Now we just need to kill him.”
“I don’t think that’s going to be as easy as we thought. He can super power his whole army now as well.”
“I think I have an idea,” Aiko says. “But we’ll need to take a little detour before teleporting home.”
“A detour? We don’t have time for that!”
“Trust me,” Aiko says. “If I know Braxus, I think this will be worth it.”
* * *
I count the seconds in my head as we shoot across the city via rooftop. It becomes apparent where we are headed and I get a tremendous sense of deja vu.
“We’re going back to the jail?” I say.
“Not the jail,” she says. “The Garrison and Braxus’ loot stash. If he’s already Level 99 and has been leveling like I think he has, he’s bound to have come across rare items that we can probably use.”
“What do you mean?”
“His class doesn’t make use of many combat abilities. He instead uses his army to kill for him. That probably explains how he leveled to 99 so fast too. While we were killing single monsters he was probably taking out whole dungeons. Which means there’s a good chance he came across some pretty good items that he won’t ever use.”
My ears perk up at that.
“Most times,” she continues. “When he’d find weapons and armor and such, he just hoards them in his stash. All his power comes from his army so the rare items and relics he gets, he simply treats like trophies. The same he does the people he collects too. The sick freak.”
“So you’re saying he might have a bunch of rare, high-level items in there from grinding dungeons to level 99?”
Aiko looks over her shoulder and grins at me. “Only one way to find out.”
We descend into the garrison and mow through the handful of guards posted outside the gate like they were level one goblins. I don’t even see their faces as they release their death cries. It’s a strange returning to the beginning for me. When I was here last, I was a soft-hearted kid that couldn’t bring himself to end a life. That softness had led to me sparing Braxus and sparking this entire mess. But this world has hardened me now and the men before me are simply obstacles to my greater objective. Still, I’m not a complete monster like Braxus.
“If you all don’t want to die like your comrades,” I shout to the remaining guards within the garrison, “then clear the hell out of here. Right now!”
Skill up!
Your Oratory skill increases by 0.4!
I don’t have to speak twice. The guards scramble out of out the garrison like it’s on fire and then Aiko and I make our way into the sealed treasure trove deep within the main vault. Aiko expertly picks the lock and when I walk through the doors I can’t believe what I’m seeing. It looks like a department store from back in New London. There are shelves and racks filled with armor and weapons, magic items, accessories.
Aiko is already rummaging through the stuff. “Grab what you can. Get stuff for everyone else too if you can find it.”
We have mere minutes to get back and save everyone. I pop a haste spell and go on the biggest shopping spree of my life.
Chapter 14: Long Live the King
I materialize back at the Wayfaring Stone in Brookrun and immediately check my equipment loadout. My gear hasn’t changed all that much, but what I did manage to change has increased my stats substantially. Not surprisingly, finding Ninja gear was a bit of a long shot, being a rare class and all, but the one piece I did find fills me with confidence as it scrolls onto my HUD.
Hatori’s Scarf: +150 AGL +20% Crit Chance +10% Assassinate Chance
[Set Bonus (3 pieces): Activate Assassinate at target 30% health or less]
Although it’s only a single item, it’s level 95 and has stats that can replace at least two of my level 75 armor pieces easily. The set bonus makes me eager to try and find the entire Hatori set one day, but for now it fills me with enough confidence to take on whatever Braxus has to offer.
Aiko materializes next to me, wearing a full set of level 90 Black Mage gear. It’s still hard to get used to seeing her dressed more like her sister, sporting a spiked black crown and long witch’s robes, but her black lipstick and makeup complete the look, making her look like a goth queen.
I check the condition of Brookrun and see the wall has already fallen. “We need to hurry!”
We dash to the wall and I stop short when I see Braxus already there. All of my friends are on their knees and surrounded by a platoon of soldiers. I spot General Lyons with them along with Lord Xavier, who looks to have now been freed from his green garments. My brother is out front, kneeling before Braxus.
The mad king suddenly gives my brother a ringing backslap across the face. “Where is he? I know a damn imposter when I see one.”
It’s enough to make my blood boil, but I know I have to be smart about this. He’s even figured out he hadn’t killed the real me already. I look to Aiko. “What’s the most powerful AOE spell you have access to now?”
The elf’s eyes light up with her HUD. “Great Cataclysm. Does a unique damage with no defense, but has a 10-minute cooldown.”
“10 minutes? Hot damn. It must be good, then. Ready it up.”
“Wait,” she says, catching my arm. “I can’t cast it down there. I’ll hit all of our guys with it too.”
“Don’t worry about that,” I say as I buff myself. “I’ve got a plan. Just cast it when I say so.”
I throw on Shadow Wall and dash off before she even responds. My heart is going a mile a minute as I Sprint towards the platoon of high-level soldiers surrounding my friends. I shout with a War Cry to draw their attention and then activate Cyclone Shadow, emerging from my stealth in a tornado of death. The world spins as I curve in an arc, pulling the platoon of soldiers with me and away from my friends. The soldiers along with Braxus and Lord Xavier cry out in shock and confusion as they tumble behind. My ability runs out and I land about fifty feet from where I started. The soldiers caught in my wake fall to the ground behind me all in a cluttered heap.
“Now, Aiko!” I scream through the chat and the Elf turned witch emerges from her own invisibility spell a short distance away, surrounded by a crackle of black lightning.
Aiko casts Great Cataclysm!
Lord Xavier takes 1500 Judgment Damage!
King Braxus takes 1500 Judgment Damage!
General Lyons takes 1500 Judgment Damage!
Royal Elite Guard takes 1500 Judgment Damage!
Royal Elite Guard takes 1500 Judgment Damage!
Royal Elite Guard takes 1500 Judgment Damage!
Royal Elite Mage takes 1500 Judgment Damage!
The spam on my HUD continues in a steady stream as every soldier in the platoon takes the same amount of unmitigated damage. At their level, it’s not enough to kill them outright, but it’s enough to take them all down to 50% or less.
“Hit them with an AOE CC and then regroup,” I say through the chat. Aiko follows my commands without hesitation and casts Ice Prison, encapsulating the enemy troops in layers of frost. It doesn’t last long however as the soldiers begin to pop their own CC countermeasures, shedding the ice while the mages within their ranks begin to cast healing spells to restore their depleted health bars. But the setback is enough time for Aiko and I to fall back and regroup with our friends.
We reach them and the look of both shock and elation on their faces is a welcome sight.
“Where’d you guys come from?” my brother asks, but I have no time to reply. I rush to Gilly instead.
“Quick! Trade with me,” I say and open up a trade request with her.
She still looks stunned and dumbfounded by what just happened, but there’s no time for explanation. She seems to understand that and her eyes focus with resolve as she quickly nods and accepts the trade request. “Okay!”
Gilly accepts your trade request.
You trade a Celestial Crown to Gilly.
You trade a Celestial Robe to Gilly.
You trade a Celestial Leggings to Gilly.
