“Unleash everything!” Clay roared as the second wave of Stalkers crashed against the wall.
Spells rained down on the horde from all sides as the higher checkpoints joined the battle. Stalkers scurried to climb the wall, resulting in more than one becoming impaled on its spikes! Clay was a fearsome sight as he charged along the wall, helping the players to beat back the onslaught. With the help of his spells, Clay’s hammers morphed between different weapons. One moment they were dual hammers, the next they became a Spear and shield. After that, they changed into a two-handed axe!
Clay grunted as he used Warpath. The spell allowed him to temporarily change the stats of his weapons and equipment to what he wanted them to be. ‘Take five points from Strength and move them to Authority. Three points from Speed to Endurance.’
Clay chuckled as he adjusted his strengths and weaknesses to better suit the battle. ‘Crimson Tide!’ Clay roared in his mind as a giant divine circle encompassed all the players present. The spell raised all of the players’ stats by five points as Clay hacked the head off of a Stalker!
Gaffa shook his head as he watched Clay’s performance in awe. ‘This guy is a force of nature!’ He thought as he hacked at the Stalker attacking him. ‘What else is Ragnarok hiding?’
Clay’s Crimson Tide gave the players the much-needed advantage as wave upon wave of Stalkers died at their hands. Clay glanced along the wall as he transformed his weapon back into a pair of one-handed hammers. ‘They’re getting tired.’ Clay groaned as he smashed the knee joint of a Stalker before caving its skull in.
He stomped his foot with a grunt as three rocky spikes launched into the air before exploding. ‘Ten minutes. That’s all they need to last for.’ Clay grimaced as he shoulder-bashed another Stalker before a player ran it through with a spear.
Noslin’s eyes narrowed as she saw Clay’s signal. ‘Shit! Already?’ She conjured a small bird made of ice before sending it to the second checkpoint. “Any movement in the forest yet?” Noslin shouted as she glanced at the lookouts.
“Nothing yet Ma’am! There’s no sign of the main army!”
‘Fuck! What the hell is going on? Mikari was certain this is their Vanguard. There should be thousands of them still out there!’ Noslin frowned as she started to tap her foot. ‘Something isn’t right. Why did he even choose this strategy? If we used all the Tier 2 players, it would be easier. What is Exile hiding from me?’
“Focus fire on the Stalkers we can see!” Noslin commanded as she paced around the edge of the peak. “We’re just wasting DP firing into the forest. It seems like we’ve already cleared out whatever was hiding there. It’s time to ease the burden on the first checkpoint!”
‘Where did Mikari go? Why did he even leave us right now?’ Noslin grumbled as she looked at the other leaders wearing grim expressions. ‘Ragnarok is up to something again.’ She sighed as she shook her head. ‘All we can do is trust them. They won’t want to lose Himinbjörg. The real question is where Nar’Kozz is.’ Noslin’s frown grew deeper as she scanned the battlefield, looking for an answer. ‘Is he keeping the rest of his horde outside of our range? Is he just testing us?’
Noslin felt uneasy as the battle continued to rage down below. ‘I don’t like waiting here. There has to be something I can do, other than making sure Mikari’s plan continues smoothly.’ Meanwhile, Clay warily eyed the next wave before reaching a decision. ‘Entrenched!’ The ground in front of the wall split open in an elaborate maze designed to slow down the enemy. Spells and arrows flew over the wall, and from the mountain, aiming to kill as many Stalkers as possible.
“Everyone! Retreat to the second checkpoint!” Clay roared as he helped clean up the few mobs still atop the wall. “That’s an order!”
LoBall glanced at Clay like he was crazy before he realised how exhausted he was. ‘Shit! I’ve been so focused on the fight I didn’t realise!’ It took him a moment to conclude that Clay’s order was perfectly timed. At that moment, the clatter of armour and weapons could be heard as the players held in reserve at the second checkpoint arrived. ‘I see.’ Gaffa thought as he looked at those players. The second checkpoint can’t attack the Stalkers, so they’re fresh. We’ll rest at second and switch back when they get tired.’
His gaze wandered to Clay who continued to beat back the Stalkers who had reached the wall. ‘What’s he doing? Why isn’t he retreating?’ Gaffa frowned as he joined the crowd in their march. It was then that he realised that Clay had no intention of falling back.
“God damn, that guy’s a monster!” Gaffa groaned as the replacements took their spots on the wall. “You’d think he’d be out of DP by now,” LoBall replied with a shrug as he glanced over his shoulder at Clay’s figure. “Even if he was, the guy is unstoppable in close combat.”
“Say, what do you think will happen if we win this?” Gaffa suddenly asked with a solemn expression.
“We’ll return to Valheim, right?” LoBall replied as he cocked his eyebrow.
“No, I mean, most of the equipment we’re all using comes from Ragnarok’s armoury.” Gaffa scratched his chin as he looked at his friend. “So, do you think the higher-ups will return it? I know they’ve purchased a lot, but they don’t own everything.”
“You’re thinking they’ll turn on Ragnarok rather than give up the equipment they’ve loaned to us? I guess that makes sense.” LoBall frowned as he checked to make sure nobody was listening to them. “Ragnarok already has this base and insanely powerful players. This equipment closes the gap a bit. But if we return it, there’s no way we could stand up to their power.”
“Right,” Gaffa nodded. “But how would you feel going up against that guy, even with your equipment?”
LoBall glanced back at Clay and gulped. “Yeah, I’d rather not.”
“Exactly,” Gaffa shook his head as he looked down. “Maybe we should prepare ourselves for shit to go sideways.”
“What do you mean?” “I think we need to have a talk with other strong players in other Pantheons. If the leaders turn on Ragnarok, I think we should be ready to support them.”
“Hold on! You’re talking about betraying your team!” LoBall hissed. “It’s better than Ragnarok kicking us out of the game.” Gaffa shrugged as the sounds of battle rang out from behind them. “If the captains want to sink their ships, then they can go down with them. But I’d rather have a lifeboat ready.”
Meanwhile, in a port city in Skardia, Mikari and Midas waited on the docks. A small ship had just anchored itself as an envoy walked down the boarding plank. “Where do I set it up?” Randa asked as he bowed to the two gods.
“Outside the city,” Mikari replied with a smile. “It’s best if the Skardians are unaware. For now, anyway.”
Randa chuckled as he eyed the two gods. “I still don’t understand why we didn’t do this before we left Skardia.”
“It’s because our people were on a witch hunt for any Sommerdans or traces of you. They feel secure now, so they’re unlikely to find it.” Mikari snorted.
“Did you bring the goods?” Midas asked as he watched the dock workers unload chests from the ship.
“Naturally, it’s good to trade, so you don’t have to worry. Everything is of the finest quality. I’ll leave it in your esteemed hands.” Randa replied with a bow.
“Follow me then,” Mikari sighed. “Midas, catch up with us when you’re done. Let’s go, Randa.”
Mikari motioned for the Sommerdan hero to follow him as he led him to the city gates. The guards wore apprehensive looks when a priest from the temple came to tell them the Sommerdan hero was allowed to exit the city. On one hand, they felt it threatened the security of the city. On the other, they worried about angering their gods.
‘It’s always so difficult when they don’t believe.’ Mikari sighed when the guards finally relented. He led Randa down the road for a bit, before going off into the wilderness. They walked for half an hour until the ground became rocky.
“Ok, Randa, set up your shrine here. Nobody should find it.” Mikari said as he scanned the area.
“Why are you going to these lengths to keep anyone from finding out?” Randa asked with a curious expression as he removed some silk cloth and metal symbols from his pack. “Exile already sealed a deal for an alliance. I don’t get why he requested for us to set up a shrine here in secret with the first trade.”
“It’s to make communication between us gods easier.” Mikari chuckled as he studied the hero. “The other Pantheons would never allow this, so we had to set it up in secret. Besides, there’s something I need to discuss with Parthus that could benefit both of our people.”
“I should’ve known,” Randa clicked his tongue as he glanced at Mikari with a disapproving expression. “You already want to leverage the alliance to gain something.”
“Of course I do,” Mikari chuckled as he watched Randa place the last pieces of the small shrine. “But, I guarantee you’ll gain something from it.”
“Hm, and what god are you anyway? I need to tell Parthus who wants to speak to him.”
“Tell him that it’s the God he really fought against during the invasion…”