Paladin hunter 3 a litrp.., p.21
Paladin Hunter 3: A LitRPG Adventure, page 21
“Stay inside!” A hunter from the Association ran past, waving his arms at a handful of the farmers in the area. “Get back into your homes! We’ll handle this!”
Behind that hunter came more. Some of them were in ranks by guild, some of them simply ran for the portal. Police cars flashed their lights and did their best to drive around the hunters, with limited success. A helicopter flashed overhead, shining down brilliant spotlights even in the middle of the day. This was something else, something he’d never seen before. Frankly, it reminded him of the day that Juniper fell, all those years ago. Instead of heading back inside, drawn by morbid curiosity, he walked down and leaned against his fence, staring out across the fields.
As the portal took on form, a blackness spread out across the hills, rippling over the fields. Plants withered and collapsed into dust, animals atrophied and became skeletons in the blink of an eye. Out on the road, the soldiers didn’t slow… Until the blight swept underneath their own feet. They screamed, and a few of them collapsed, withering into nothingness and dust just like the animals. Within seconds, piles of bones and armor littered the ground. Most of the hunters were able to hold themselves against the attack, though.
The police cars, for that matter, fared no better. Their wheels popped, and rust spread across their chassis. Fluids spilled out as hoses broke, and one of them exploded violently. The other car screeched to a stop, with the policemen diving out before anything could go wrong. Thankfully, with that wreck, the car simply collapsed into rust and ruin without properly exploding.
Samuel looked down at the ground, and suddenly realized that the blight was sweeping straight toward him. He took a step back, then gasped and turned to run. He knew he couldn’t outrun it, of course, but it seemed to him that if he just sat there and waited for the blight to sweep over him, it would be no better than allowing himself to die. He flew past his house as the grass began to wither, and pelted pell-mell for his driveway, for the small gap in the fence that marked the edge of his property.
Whoosh.
The blight shot past the opening of the gate just as he reached it. The grass outside the gate withered, several warriors stumbled and began fighting against the blight, and a nearby cow groaned and toppled over. Samuel froze and closed his eyes… Then, slowly, opened them again.
He wasn’t dead.
No, he was perfectly fine. In fact, as he looked around, he found that his garden was in perfect order, the fallen flower was still blooming (albeit a bit more horizontally than it should have been), and… In fact, everything inside his fence was still green. It was the only patch of green he could see, as the blight swept onward to the edge of the district.
Suddenly, a sparkle in the grass caught his eye, and he noticed the small mana stones that had been placed there ages ago, back when they had first set up the border to keep the blight from spreading further than his garden. He paused as he looked down at them, then slowly took a step back. He didn’t have a clue if the stones were being consumed by the act of holding back the blight, but he did know that he wasn’t going to do anything that might cause them to deactivate.
“Samuel, right?”
Samuel looked up as a woman dressed in shining silver armor came racing up. He nodded wordlessly, then recognized her. “You came to the farm back with Josiah and Clara, right? Well, after the fact?”
“Yes. My name is Joan.” She nodded and stepped across the border, then held out her hand. He shook it, and she slowly bent down to look at the mana stones. “Fascinating. I had no idea we hadn’t picked these up after the fact. I’m glad now that we left them be.”
“You and me, both.” Samuel mused. He slowly looked up at the portal, and an idea came into his head. “Do you think you could do something similar with that portal? You’d need some large mana stones, but… Could it be done?”
“I don’t know, and that’s completely honest.” Joan stroked her chin in thought. “That said, it’s not a bad idea. I could gather up the supplies from the Order of St. George headquarters. I’m sure Josiah would have more than enough, but if I had to wager a guess, he’s headed straight into the heart of that thing.”
“Do you know what’s going on, ma’am?”
“No, but I dearly wish that I did.” Joan thought for a moment, then glanced at the hunters on the road. A few of them were eyeing Samuel rather warily, as if they distrusted the fact that his farm had survived the sudden influx of blight. “Here’s the one Blessed Mana Stone that I have. Keep it on your person. That way, if any of these stones are compromised, you should still be fine. Hide yourself away, escape if you can. I’ll ask some other members of the order to come guard you, but I can’t guarantee that they’ll make it before some of the other hunters get curious.”
“Thank you, ma’am.” Samuel nodded, and turned back to the house.
“No, thank you.” Joan smiled warmly after him. “If not for you, well… This may just hold the key to saving the entire district.”
Chapter twenty-seven
Lake
Josiah reached the end of the tunnel—or at least what was now the end of the tunnel, and gazed up at the crackling dome of the portal. It was even bigger than the one they had just closed down, which, in his mind, didn’t add up. Above, the stone had collapsed down inside the portal, creating a vast pit much like the portal in Pine had done.
“It felt so much smaller than the other one.” He murmured, trying to make sense of it in his head. “How could—”
“Mathers!”
Josiah turned to look up at the top of the pit. Standing there were several hunters, along with a few police officers. One of them cast a rope down, and rappelled into the abyss. Josiah nodded as the policeman reached the bottom, then rubbed his jaw.
“I don’t know what you’ve got going here, but I suggest you get in there, and fast.” The officer muttered. “The blight out here is spreading faster than I’ve ever seen. All of Juniper has withered away.”
“It’s sucking in all the life energy around, everything it can get ahold of.” Josiah realized. “That’s how it’s growing so big, so fast.” He paused, then gave a nod. “I’ll deal with this, don’t you worry.”
“Good. Right now, the blight seems to be holding at the border, but who knows if it’ll break through.” The officer started to climb back up the rope. “I’ll hold the hounds off your scent as long as I can, so to speak.”
“I appreciate it.” Josiah murmured, then nodded to Clara and Mitchell. “Well, you heard the man. We’ve got to get in here, now.”
“Do you think all the brainworms have gotten inside?” Clara asked. “If they haven’t—”
“We’re just going to have to risk it.” Josiah shrugged. “In any case, as long as we can take out Howard, even if there are a few others out in the city, I’ll be able to find them. Howard made them difficult to catch by wiping their minds, but once he’s gone, no one else will be able to do so.”
“Got it.” Clara slowly reached up and pulled her swords out. “Then let’s get at it.”
Josiah nodded, drew Purity and Faith’s Edge, and with that, the three of them charged into the portal.
Dark energy crackled around them as they leapt through the barrier. As their feet hit the ground, they rushed out into brilliant sunlight, and Josiah was forced to pause to blink spots out of his eyes.
For a moment, he stood there, in shock, staring dumbfounded at his surroundings. He was used to the nitty-gritty dungeon crawl, the dark and decrepit corners of caves and wastelands and broken-down castles. Here, though, was something entirely different. He stood on the edge of what seemed to be a mountain, made out of a dark granite stone, looking out over a vast and immense jungle. Trees rose high, filled with birds and flowers and brightly-colored fruit. A rainbow sparkled off in the distance, over what appeared to be a waterfall tumbling down from a cliff that rose opposite to the mountain. A single trail led down from the little ledge where the portal opened, vanishing into the thick jungle growth.
“I can honestly say that in all the rifts I’ve ever entered or studied, I’ve never seen something quite like this.” Clara murmured. “It almost looks pleasant.”
“Do keep in mind that the worms were, at least as near as we can tell, growing this thing for the purpose of another home.” Josiah slowly started walking down the path, though he kept his guard raised. “It likely will look pleasant, but don’t allow brilliance and color to fool you. Even the devil himself sometimes appears as an angel of light, distracting men and leading them into ruin.”
A low thump shook the ground, so subtle that he doubted that Clara or Mitchell had noticed, unless Mitchell’s computerized gear managed it. He stretched out with his aura, trying to feel out the area, but suddenly realized something.
The extraordinary amount of life, the insects and plants and birds and animals and worms and fungi and all manners of other things… It served as a perfect form of camouflage from his aura. He could tell one thing from another, sure, but there were so many things to look through that it became disorienting. He pulled his aura back after a moment, then set his jaw.
Well, if that was going to be the order of things, he’d just have to do things like he had done in the past. With the sweat of his brow and the might of his arms.
The thud echoed again, then again. Something cracked in the distance, maybe a tree branch, and Josiah waved at Clara and Mitchell. The path was just reaching the edge of the jungle, and he hurried them along into the growth and ducked under a large palm frond. They both looked at him in confusion, but he simply held up a hand.
“Wait.”
They nodded, then froze. The noises were getting louder now, and with a resounding crash, a massive creature pushed through the trees just next to them. It was too close and too large to really get a proper view, but Josiah glimpsed a leathery sort of skin, with small, wiry hair poking from knots here and there. It almost looked wargish, but he couldn’t really tell what sort of creature might have been infected with the wargish disease[QS3].
“Josiah. I can smell you.” The words were deep and thick, and undoubtably came from whatever creature the Howard-worm had managed to infect. “You are close. You seek to hide, but you cannot.”
Josiah held a finger to his lips, then slowly rose and crept out from underneath the palm frond. The monster was standing at the edge of the jungle, looking up at the portal. It almost looked like an elephant, now that he had a slightly better view, but… Why an elephant, of all things?
“Come out, come out, wherever you are.” The great thing turned, and Josiah slipped back behind the tree trunk. Looking upward, he started to climb it, hoping to get a better look that way. Suddenly, though, he caught sight of a large sort of monkey. It was almost the same size as a human, and looked almost like a baboon. Of course, as soon as Josiah saw it, it saw him, and immediately let out a hoot.
Ooh-hoo!!! Ooh-hoo!!! Ooh-hoo!!!
The cry of the monkey rang out. It snatched a large piece of fruit off a nearby branch, and, before Josiah could move, the creature hurled it at Josiah’s face. It hit him smack between the eyes, and… well… That hurt. He lost his grip on the tree and was thrown down to the ground, where he bounced several times upon landing. As he climbed back to his feet, the great monster spun and started crashing through the trees in front of him… While at the same time, something moved behind him.
Gulp.
A massive flower, far larger than his body, quite suddenly leaned over and gobbled him up. He was slurped down into the base of the flower, while the petals closed tightly around him. A thick, painful acid began to bubble up around him, and he gritted his teeth against the pain. As he started to kick, though, the ground rumbled once more.
“Josiah! Come out! You’re not usually a coward.”
Josiah froze. Taking a bit of damage from the acid was preferable to being blindsided by an angry worm-monster. He could always heal, and—
Snap!
The monster plant let out a scream as something ripped it clean out of the ground. Josiah felt the world spinning around himself as he was suddenly slung back into the dirt. The flower burst open, and he came tumbling out, rolling across the muddy jungle floor. He had only rolled a few feet, though, before a massive, grey snake-like appendage wrapped around his legs and lifted him up into the air.
With that, he found himself staring at Howard, or at least the worm he was going to call by the name of Howard. It was, indeed, inhabiting the body of an elephant, albeit one with four tusks, two on each side, that stood a good ten or twenty feet taller than your average terrestrial elephant. The monster snarled, then spoke once more.
“And now I have you, Josiah. How do you plead?”
“Depending on the charges, probably guilty.” Josiah raised Purity and fired through the beast’s trunk, hitting the elephant in the forehead. The bullet didn’t do a thing against the monster’s thick skull, of course, but the trunk of the elephant was just as tender as he might have hoped. It roared in pain, then suddenly spun, throwing Josiah with all its might.
At least, Josiah hoped that the attack was done with all its might, because otherwise, the battle was going to be rough.
He slammed into a nearby tree trunk with enough force to drop his health down to a measly 50%. There were few attacks that could deal so much damage to him, to be certain. He fell, unable to control his descent, back to the ground. As he landed with a thud, the elephant healed, then charged toward him
Bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam-bam!!!
Mitchell emerged from the palm fronds, gun blazing. White-hot bullets flashed up through the jungle growth and stung at the monster’s face and ears, making it recoil and draw back in pain. Josiah took a deep breath, then pushed himself back to his feet.
“Paladin’s Grace.”
His healing energies flickered around his body, raising his health, and he charged back into action. As he did so, the elephant started to charge toward Mitchell, only to trumpet in pain as Clara leapt out from a tree just behind it.
“Hi-ya!”
Both swords carved through the thick flesh of the pachyderm, and the bloodied sword certainly lived up to its name. Great gouts of blood exploded from a single touch of the weapon, and Howard stumbled. She struck at his chest, then, as he began trying to stomp her underfoot, she dove underneath of him, inflicting more than a few cuts across his exposed and squishy belly. Blood poured down like rain, and she quickly scampered out behind him and into the bush once more.
“I will find you all!” Howard roared swinging around and around. “I will—”
Bzzzzzzzzzt!
Mitchell fired a blast of lightning mana into the elephant’s side, seemingly making the back left leg go numb. The creature slipped and fell, and with that, Josiah struck once more. Targeting the weak section, he holstered Purity and struck with Faith’s Edge, stabbing deep into the flesh with the weapon.
“And here’s for that!” He struck as deep as he could, drawing a great deal of blood, then stepped back and hit once more. “And there! Heal from that, if you ca—”
Whack!
Another piece of fruit, a mango, was fired out of nowhere. It hit him in the side and knocked him asunder, almost making him stagger underneath the great, crushing feet of the elephant. He spun out of the way of the foot at the last moment, then spun to look up. The monkey, possibly the same one as before, was leaping through the trees, a small bag of fruit hanging from one of its arms. Mitchell was hiding behind a tree, and suddenly stepped out to resume his attack.
“Mitchell! Watch—”
Wham!
A large mango hit Mitchell squarely in the chest, blasting him backward into the ground. The officer groaned and slowly started to sit up, but seemed to have bruised his ribs. He winced, but still gritted his teeth and forced his way upward. The elephant, sensing blood in the water, rushed forward and wrapped his trunk around the officer.
“You, I can kill.” The elephant snarled.
“Don’t… Count… On it.” Mitchell muttered. He raised his rifle and fired, point-blank, into the elephant’s face.
Josiah wasn’t sure what level of mana stone Mitchell used to fire the shot, but it wasn’t a small one. The great blast of energy hit the monster square in the face, knocking it to its knees. Mitchell dropped back to the ground, groaning as he landed, and began frantically trying to crawl away. Healing energies pulsed around Howard’s head as he tried to heal the damage done, and Josiah ran forward. He could see bone… He could see a lot of bone, actually. The shot had punched a hole in the front portion of the skull, exposing nasal passages and even some brain matter. He raised Purity, but before he could get off a shot, a great flash of energy grew the bone back in place, though not yet the skin.
Howard snarled, then reached out and grabbed Mitchell once more. Before it could do anything, Clara leapt from the trees and brought both her swords down on the elephant’s trunk, chopping it clean through. Mitchell fell back to the ground, while Howard screamed and stumbled backward. Josiah fired Purity several times at the beast, then ran forward to press the issue.
“Minions! Seize the two lessers!”
A great hail of fruit suddenly erupted from the trees, and a dozen baboons came leaping and swinging down. Josiah was hit several times and knocked down, but Clara and Mitchell were pummeled underneath the barrage. As they slowly staggered back to their feet, the great monkeys leapt down, snatched them up, and tied them up with long jungle vines. The movements were so quick that it almost seemed to happen instantly, and then they were gone, racing off through the thick jungle. Howard spun and raced off as well, crashing through trees and fronds. There was no word about what would be done to the two, but Josiah wasn’t stupid. He bolted after them, forcing his aching legs along.
