Chapter 22: Chapter 22

The Goliath went down after another minute or two of constant firing, surprising Jerik. He’d expected more out of the monster if he were being honest. Still, he wasn’t one to complain about a victory, however suspicious it seemed at the time. When it fell, they were able to explore the den more properly. The loot was about as expected, mostly some Superior-Class materials. To his surprise, they found a Legendary Gem among the rubble, which stirred up a lot of interest.

“I don’t need it yet,” he said, as it was offered to him. “Nick, you use it.”

The young man looked surprised, but accepted the gem graciously, absorbing it into his hand. At once, he was upgraded to Legendary-Class, which meant that his point max was now seven hundred and fifty thousand. Just one more, and he could go for the million-point goal. That left him and Jerik even. “Alright, everyone. Help the Toads load this all up, and we’ll make our way back to the wagons.”

It took them perhaps a half hour to unload the loot and refill. Much faster than the average raid group. Once again Jerik couldn’t help feeling a surge of pride at how well the platoon operated. After resupplying, they made their way further into the raid zone. Monsters appeared more frequently now, either lying in wait or ambushing the platoon out of secret spots. Many of these surprise attacks weren’t surprising at all, thanks to the warnings of the scouts.

Jerik began to feel more comfortable the further they went. Something about the monsters that lived inside the actual raid zone had prevented the new and mutated monsters outside from coming in and making it home. That was probably because the monsters in here were organized, he thought. Unlike wild monsters, they followed the orders of whatever boss was currently ruling the raid dungeon. It was unfortunate that the result of this was actual strategies on behalf of the monsters. Six hours into the raid zone, they encountered the first evidence of an organized movement against them.

“We’ve got a challenger,” Pike reported, his breath coming quickly. “They have scouts of their own, and I was spotted. Returning now.”

Challengers were rare monsters who only moved in response to player actions. Eventually, as you progressed through a raid zone, the boss would become aware of your presence and would move to take you out. Jerik quickly rearranged their formation, pulling the Toads back. “Prepare for defensive action, everyone. We’ll make it a siege.”

Siege was their safest option. Simply put, they were going to stop moving, and wait for the challenger monster to approach. They were just in time, too. A mere half minute after Pike returned and took up his position, four monsters appeared at the mouth of the tunnel the challenger was in and launched themselves at the battalion. They tore down two of the temporary barricades before they were destroyed. They hurried to replace them.

“Morgan, switch to offense,” he called. “Benji, I want you to join the front squadron. Katrina, switch to explosive, and target the back.”

The next wave, consisting of five monsters, went more smoothly. The change in tactics wasn’t expected. The third wave, with just two, went even better. After that, there was a lengthy pause. Taking stock, he thought. That meant that the challenger was a smart monster. Probably Magik type, he thought. All that was left to learn was its class.  He rearranged the platoon back to a defensive strategy. “He’ll probably try to bombard us next.”

He was right, not only about the tactic but about the challenger’s type. The next attack to hit them was a magical one. Rocks flew out of the tunnel entrance, smashing into the front squad and knocking them back into their comrades. Morgan was quick to layer healing and bolstering spells on them, guarding them against the rest of the attacks. Minutes later, one small goblin peeked its head out of the tunnel entrance, surveying them in silence. Just as it turned to leave, Jerik killed it with a single shot.

“Come on,” he said, his voice a low hiss. He was starting to grow impatient, but he kept himself calm with a deep breath. “You can’t scout us anymore. You’ll have to come yourself.”

Sure enough, the next monster sighting was the challenger itself, accompanied by four Superior-Class moles. It was a tall humanoid being, Jerik noticed. Bright green skin and yellow, glowing eyes. A Menoran. There were some Menorans who allied themselves with the monsters, he knew. Their bloodlust and evil nature changed the color of their skin from green to blue, and they were fierce enemies. Strangely, they didn’t attack right as they appeared. Instead, the Menoran took a moment to survey the scene, holding a white flag up in temporary entreaty.

The Menoran was dressed in elaborate sweeping robes, dark green in color. His long fingers were adorned with many golden rings, and he held a wand between his fingers. It let off a silver trail of light as he waved it casually through the air. It was almost hypnotizing, Jerik thought, watching him closely through the scope of Paragon. He didn’t dare attack. Ironically, white flags were powerful artifacts. If you harmed someone who was holding one, you took incredible amounts of damage. The same was true for the person holding the flag.

“Which of you leads this force?” The Menoran asked. His voice was high and thin, with just a hint of sibilance. It sounded as though a snake had been given the ability to speak English. “I wish to discuss terms of peace.”

That surprised Jerik. Of all the challengers he’d met on raids, not a single one of them lobbied for peace. Then again, it could be a trap. Probably was, he assured himself. He kept silent, refusing to identify himself to the enemy. He knew that none of the others would point him out, as he’d trained them not to. The entire platoon stood silently, weapons leveled, ready for action. The Menoran gave no sign of emotion as he spoke again.

“I will repeat my question,” he said. “I am Jan-Mannis. Who is your leader?”

Jerik glanced out of the corner of his eye at Morgan, wondering what she thought of the situation. Their eyes met, and she slowly shook her head from side to side. Don’t speak, the gesture said. He nodded his head a fraction or two. Aiming his rifle an inch to the right of the Menoran, he fired once. Despite his poise and grace, the man jumped in fright as he heard the bullet crack against the floor by his feet. He looked for the source of the shot, but the dim lighting defeated his eyes.

“I think that’s your signal to get out of our way,” Nicholas said. Jerik couldn’t see his face, but he was standing tall as he took several steps forward to meet the Menoran face to face. He was about a foot shorter than the figure, but his stiff spine more than made up for the height difference. “Before your flag stops being effective. Take the chance to flee, if you must, or meet us in battle. We don’t care which choice you make.”

“Is it you, then?” The Menoran sneered, looking down at Nick with haughty contempt. After a second, he answered himself. “No, I think not. You are a cunning lad, but you don’t have the experience.”

Nicholas said nothing, continuing to hold the enemy’s gaze. After a few seconds of tense silence, the Menoran let out a long sigh, shaking his head. “You will come to regret refusing my request for parley. There remains much distance between here and your goal. I will eradicate your force.”

With a swish of dark green robes, the Menoran turned away and returned to the tunnel entrance. He paused at the threshold and added, without turning, “Tell your fellows that the Advent is close. You cannot resist the growth of monsters. You may progress, but we will meet again.”

Then he was gone. Jerik let out a long sigh and relaxed his posture. He knew the Menoran meant what he said. It was impossible to lie in the presence of a white flag. You could choose to withhold information but never direct dishonestly. Flying down from the ledge, he landed lightly beside Morgan. “Well, that’s a first for me.”

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“The fact that he asked for peace?” She asked. He nodded, and she shook her head in mild confusion. “I’ve never seen that either. I’ve never heard of it. Usually, they’re hell-bent on either destroying the raiders or making them flee.”

“Not only that, but that’s the first time that a challenger has retreated,” he said. “Each time I’ve been in a raid the fight went on until they were dead.”

“It’s rare, but it does happen,” She replied. “Only Menorans pick that option, though. Green Menorans aren’t immortal like the Blues. Perhaps he’s more interested in his survival.”

“If that’s the case, the boss of the raid might not like that.”

She shrugged, the gesture saying that it was pointless to waste time trying to figure that out. He agreed, though he too remained silent. Motive didn’t matter in this situation. All that mattered was completing the raid. “Well, we might as well push on. Nick, get those barricades up! We’ll take a short rest here.”

Nick waved to indicate that he’d heard and understood, then started to direct his squadron to remove the barriers. After that, he assigned sentries to keep watch during the break. The rest of the platoon retrieved their food supplies and began cooking up a basic meal where they sat. Halfway through the break, the Toads went off to the wagons to resupply, talking quietly amongst themselves. They seemed unperturbed.

“Nerves of steel, those two have,” he commented to Benji as he sat down for his meal. He tucked into the basic rations enthusiastically, even though they were rather bland. Just fighting was exhausting enough without the extra burden of leading and making critical decisions.

She smiled at him, idly tearing half a loaf of bread to pieces and eating them. “Toads have to be tough. Not only do they carry very heavy loads, but they also have to abandon most equipment. If they’re not tough, they can’t cut it.”

“I suppose that’s true.”

They ate together in silence, a little way apart from the rest of the platoon. It had become their custom of late, as they’d grown more comfortable in each other’s presence. He glanced at her now, wondering what was going through her mind. What was she thinking and feeling? He could tell that she was relaxed and well-rested. In excellent shape. But beyond the physical, he was hopeless. He considered asking her, but that was probably too direct a question. She might even find it strange. So instead, he changed the topic.

“What do you think about that challenger?”

She pursed her lips thoughtfully, taking a few seconds before she answered. “I think he’s a coward just like any other.”

“What makes you say that?” He asked, sitting up a little straighter. “He just fought us for nearly half an hour, and he seemed perfectly cool.”

She shook her head. “I don’t mean in battle. Anyone can fight. He’s a coward for deserting his people.”

His confusion must have shown itself on his face because she explained further. “Well, they turn because they think the monsters are going to win, right?”

He nodded slowly, and she continued. “Well, I think that makes them cowards. If they can’t stand with their people and fight, that says more about them than if they were killed.”

“But Menorans are immortal.”

“Only against players,” she corrected him. “Not many know it, but it’s true.”

“So if the monsters get bad enough, they could all be wiped out.”

“Exactly. That’s why we’re here, because the monsters can’t really kill us.”

 

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