Exile cast his gaze over the orb generated by his runes. ‘There’s movement in the surrounding forest. What is Nar’Kozz up to?’ His brows furrowed as Deep Stalkers rushed the mountain on the far end from the path.
The orb zoomed in, allowing Exile to better understand what was happening. Exile cursed as he saw the Stalkers digging into the mountain. ‘They’re going to dig tunnels up through the mountain!’
“That was quicker than I expected,” Mikari said as he placed his hand on his brother’s shoulder. “They should have pushed our defences harder before resorting to this.”
“I’m glad you’re back.” Exile chuckled as he zoomed out to give Mikari a better picture of the happenings around the mountain. “How did the negotiations go?”
“They went as I expected. Parthus agreed to our terms. It’s the other one I’m worried about.” “Hm, she could be a tough one. We don’t know enough about her to leverage her.” “Look at you!” Mikari chuckled as he punched Exile’s shoulder. “There’s a brain in there, after all.”
“I resent that.” Exile snorted. Though, he knew he had the books Mikari had bought for him to thank for broadening his view. “Well, as long as you’re learning. I won’t always be there to solve your problems.” Mikari sighed and raised his hand at Exile’s worried expression. “The game is vast, and you’re the ruler of Ragnarok. We don’t know where I’ll be required to be in the future. You’ll need to be capable of holding the fort in large-scale matters when I’m not around.”
Exile nodded slowly at Mikari’s words. His brother had always been better at considering the larger picture. However, Exile himself excelled at bulldozing his way through his problems. “So, what do we do about that?” Exile jabbed a thumb at the image in the direction of the burrowing creatures. ƒгeeweɓn૦vel.com
“It’ll take them time to create a path through the mountain,” Mikari replied as his brows furrowed. “There’s no point in trying to seal them inside. We’ll have to attack them from behind once they get further in.”
Exile stroked his beard as he watched the Stalkers’ progress. ‘Makes sense. Saturate them with attacks in a confined area, making it difficult for them to escape.’ He nodded his head as he glanced sideways at Mikari.
“Any idea on who we should send as the assault team?”
“I have a few people in mind.” Mikari grinned. “But I think I’ll lead the team myself. I need to stretch and get used to my powers.”
Exile chuckled as he shook his head. ‘That’s true. Mikari hasn’t seen much action in the game yet. We’ve just power-levelled him with orbs. I really thought he would become the God of War rather than Clay. But his authority definitely suits him.’
Exile let out a long sigh as he thought about all the cogs in motion. ‘Everything is going to get more complicated from here on out.’
“Brother,” Mikari said with a grim expression. “They’re coming.”
Exile scanned the image in shock as thousands of holes appeared around the base of the mountain! ‘So, that’s why we couldn’t find their main force!’ He grimaced as a dark sea of Stalkers surfaced and rushed the mountain from all directions!
“That’s going to make it near impossible to stop their tunnelling! No ordinary players could make it through that!” Exile groaned as he sent runners to order the preparation for battle.
“It’s worse than that.” Mikari shook his head as Exile frowned at him. “Why didn’t they just tunnel straight through the mountain without revealing themselves?”
Exile’s eyes went wide as he pondered that question. The Stalkers would have had a greater advantage if they had done that. ‘So why didn’t they?’
“It’s because they already have.” Mikari sighed as he balled his hands into fists. Exile’s complexion paled at Mikari’s statement. “What do you mean?”
“I was blind. They took so long because they’d already created tunnels in the mountain. Those Stalkers are creating an entrance for them to funnel reinforcements behind our lines. A lot of, if not our whole, defence is compromised! Exile, put every station on alert!”
A few moments later, the Skardian players all over the mountain felt the ground rumble beneath their feet. Panic swept over them as they struggled to understand what was happening. Weapons were drawn, and spells cast as the rumbling stopped.
“What was that?” The players whispered among themselves at the first checkpoint as they anxiously stared at Clay, who was studying the ground with a frightening intensity. “Prepare for battle!” Clay roared, startling the players. “The enemy is coming through the ground! Look to your friends to guard your backs! Give them hell!”
As Clay’s voice carried in the air, large pits opened behind the defensive wall! ‘Stalkers charging the path. More behind our lines. This is a disaster!’ Clay gritted his teeth as he activated his Divine spell, Unyielding Bastion.
The ground rumbled yet again as the path beneath the players who hadn’t fallen into the pits rose up. Bridges formed between them along with battlements for their defence. Clay heaved deep breaths as the spell came to completion. A huge chunk of his DP was spent with that single spell.
Otherworldly screeches filled the air as the Stalkers burst from the pits as more slammed against the checkpoint wall. ‘We’re an island, attempting to survive the storm.’ Clay sighed as the players snapped out of their surprise and bombarded their enemies.
‘This is the best option now.’ Clay thought as his weapon transformed into a steel bow. ‘Armoury!’
A quiver, with exceptionally thick steel arrows, appeared on his back. With a fluid movement, he drew an arrow, nocked it, and let it loose. The projectile sang as it pierced the air before blowing holes through ten Stalkers!
Clay nodded as he confirmed the power of his weapon before lining up his next shot. ‘We could really use Mikari down here about now.’
The situation was much grimmer at the other checkpoints. Only the peak of the mountain remained undisturbed by the enemy invasion. Mikari watched as Exile grimaced at the massive casualties from the formation of the pits.
‘My brother is feeling these losses.’ Mikari sighed as he tore his gaze away from his older sibling. ‘He has to put personal feelings aside to truly succeed as a commander.’
Mikari’s eyes narrowed as he studied the image from Exile’s rune. ‘Clay can hold the first checkpoint, but if the second or third falls, the enemies will snowball down on them. We can’t let them regroup. We have to treat each checkpoint as a separate battlefield now. So where are we lacking talented commanders?’
Several plans rushed through Mikari’s mind at that moment. Each one was seemingly less plausible than the last. ‘There must be a path forward!’ Mikari’s knuckles popped as rage flowed through his mind. However, it was a calm fury. A fury born from being outdone by an NPC creature.
“Mikari. What are our options?” Exile hissed as he watched the casualty list grow with each second.
Mikari squinted at his brother for a moment. ‘He won’t opt for an evacuation of our best players.’ Mikari chuckled as he noticed the glint in Exile’s eyes. ‘No. He wants a total victory.’
“Send Noslin to this checkpoint,” Mikari replied as he pointed halfway up the mountain. “Her job is to be a dam. To prevent the Stalkers from flowing up or down the path like a tidal wave of death. They can still use their tunnels. But that should slow them down.”
“What about me?”
“You’ll stay here and provide support to any checkpoints in your range. Split up the other leaders and provide reinforcements to our weakest points. Then, fight as if your lives depend on it.”
“What will you do?” Exile asked as he conjured runes in the surrounding air.
Mikari shrugged as he turned to walk away. “I’m going to do what I do best.”
A sharp grin appeared on his face as he glanced over his shoulder. “Win.”
With those parting words, Mikari sprinted away. Exile froze for a moment before letting out a long chuckle. ‘Damn. I almost feel bad for the Stalkers now.’ Exile paused for a moment as he considered Mikari’s authority. ‘It’s no wonder he can say that with such confidence. It’s a rare power indeed, and I can’t think of anyone else more worthy of it.’
Exile shook his head as his spells came to completion. Golden orbs erupted into the sky, before arching to fall in numerous locations on the path. Protective domes with healing properties appeared all over the mountain. Which made the rocky giant appear as if it were a strange flower in bloom from a distance. ‘I don’t have to worry about Mikari. But I wonder what he’ll do. Clay shouldn’t need help for now. Noslin will take the midpoint, and I’ve got the peak. So what’s he up to?’
Deep frown lines appeared on his forehead as he began casting a long-range bombardment spell. ‘He wouldn’t. Right?’ Exile grew nervous as a thought sprung to his mind. The greatest thorn in their side from this attack was the tunnels. He suddenly grew fearful that Mikari was about to throw himself alone into that dangerous scenario to cut off the Stalkers’ movements.
However, the fear soon fled his mind. ‘If anyone can pull it off, it’s him.’ Exile firmly shook his head as he sent out targeting runes for his spell. ‘Besides, my brother’s authority is special. Must be nice to be the God of Victory.’