Chapter 40: Man vs Castle

Chapter 40: Man vs Castle

They blew up the entrance as the opening salvo.

By the time the patrolling Apollyon drones noticed Rosemarine rushing across their bridge, she was already halfway through charging her Sunbeam attack. A ray of light poured out of her maw, crossed the causeway in the blink of an eye, and blasted a hole in the castles iron gates. Smoke rose into the skies and a horn sounded the alarm.

There was no subtlety in the Bohens assault, no declaration of war, no call to honorable combat by champions. They showed the bugs no more courtesy than they did during their own surprise raid.

Apollyons soldiers could only expect relentless fury today.

Riding on Rosemarines back with Kuikui and Orcine, Basil surveyed his troops positions. Bugsy followed Rosemarine on foot as she charged across the bridge with the Steamobile at her back. The causeway trembled under their weight, but held strong. Vasi flew high in the skies on her broomstick with Plato desperately hanging on to her back; the cat looked quite afraid of falling. As for Shellgirl and House Gardens vegetables, they occupied the Steamobiles sniper nests with a treasure trove of bombs to throw.

The Apollyon drones immediately moved to intercept the invaders with stingers and wind blasts. On the walls, dozens of bipedal wolf humanoids showed up with bows, crossbows, and even a few rifles.

Lycan WarriorLevel 14 [Beast/Humanoid]Faction: Apocalypse Force.

Raising his halberd with his right hand and his gun with his left, Basil shouted a war cry.

WRECK THEM!

He opened the hostilities by shooting down a drone in the head with an icy bullet.

Shellgirl followed suit with a bombardment of her own and House Gardens vegetables assisted her by throwing bug spray bombs. Clouds of poisonous fumes choked the Apollyon drones to death, their corpses falling into the lake. As for Vasi, she attacked the defenders on the walls with a fireball.

Still, Rosemarine soon entered the archers range. They immediately let loose a volley of arrows and quarrels at her from the walls.

Behind me! Orcine shouted, raising her fathers tower shield to protect Basil and Kuikui. Most projectiles bounced off it, but Basil sensed a bullet graze his shoulder enough to draw blood. Bugsy avoided the projectiles by burrowing into the ground.

Brave Howl! Kuikui buffed all his allies one after the other. Brave Howl!

Your Strength and Magic have been buffed for five minutes.

Rosemarine winced as a few bullets hit her precious scales, enraging Basil further.

Vasi, Plato! he shouted as loud as he could. Take down the gunners!

Vasi hovered above the walls, just low enough for Plato to jump off her back. The cat skewered a wolfmans face with his rapier before he even landed. Soon he massacred the archers in a whirlwind of claws and slashes.

The bombardment abated, allowing Rosemarine to heal herself.nove(l)bi(n.)com

Sunbath! Rosemarines leaf scales glowed brightly, her light bathing Basil and all their allies. He immediately felt his shoulder wound closing on its own.

You have recovered all your HP.

So the Cursed field effect didnt extend outside the walls. Excellent.

Rosemarine finally reached the open gates, with a squad of wolfmen with spears and swords at the ready. The tropidrake stomped them to death without even noticing their presence. However, Rosemarine was clearly too large to enter the dungeon, especially with the Steamobile at her back.

Mister, do I go inside? she asked, her voice barely covering the noise of Shellgirls artillery barrage. A new group of Apollyon drones emerged from the castles central tower to relieve the defenders.

No, you would bring down the dungeon on yourself, Basil replied. He, Orcine, and Kuikui climbed down from Rosemarines back, with Bugsy emerging from the ground. Stay outside, tear down the walls, and heal our allies when needed.

Hang them by their guts, Mister! Rosemarine advised cheerfully. She used the walls to support her forearms, her head rising to face the defenders. Fire Seed!

Rosemarine spat dog-sized seeds at the walls one after another. They immediately grew root legs and a crown of flame burst out of their tips. The newly born creatures screeched as they sowed flames across the fortifications. Their mother watched on with delight as she gathered energy for another Sunbeam attack.

Fire SeedLevel 2 [Plant]

Not as useful as a clone, but those dont fade away at least, Basil thought as he walked through the gates, trusting his team to clean up the trash outside and rejoin them inside the dungeon afterward. Not so funny when youre the ones being raided, uh?

Okay guys, ignore all the treasures you might find, Basil said. We must make a beeline to the Boss before they can teleport in reinforcements.

You got it, Boss, Bugsy said with determination. Kuikui leaped on his back and shrieked his support. Its our house now.

Ill clear the scarlet path, Orcine added, her heavy shield in one hand and her corrosive mace in the other. Just cover my ass and well be fine.

Basil nodded at his team and took the first step into Chteau Muloup.

An invisible pressure fell upon his shoulders the moment he crossed the threshold. A ghostly dark cloud swirled around Basils body and chilled him to the bone. All his teammates suffered similar treatment.

[Curse] ailment! You cannot recover HP/SP and your chances of suffering from critical hits are doubled.

Cant heal? Orcine scoffed. They would have to damage us first!

It was a good one, so Basil let her have it.

An entry corridor flanked by guard posts awaited the group beyond the threshold. The black stone walls showed dents, nicks, and other signs of damage; including a carved heart with the initials L+D inside. Purple fumes rose from the cracked floor and carried a terrible smell of rotting flesh.

A pack of ten suicidal wolfmen formed a spearwall in the partys path, protecting a closed set of wooden doors. Dont let them pass! one of them howled. The baron will have our heads otherwise!

Don't worry! Basil roared as he charged with his halberd. I will behead you myself!

A swing of his weapon broke the spears raised at him. Orcine and Bugsy smashed into the wolfmen, the first with her shield, the other with his mandibles. Kuikui supported both with thunderbolts.

Basil couldnt call what followed anything but a massacre. His halberd chopped heads left and right, Orcines mace smashed skulls hard enough to paint the walls with brain matter, and Bugsy incinerated the survivors with his fire breath. The fight lasted less than two minutes.

It felt good to be the one with the level advantage for once.

Strange we didnt receive a quest from it, Boss, Bugsy commented amidst the broken corpses of their enemies. We got one with the first dungeon, no?

Basil wondered as well. He wondered what parameters dictated when the System awarded quests; perhaps it only sent them to entice Players without a clear goal of their own, or a party could only accept a limited number of them. Basil had already three of them sitting in his logs.

It didnt matter. The party was slaughtering pro bono today.

Orcine smashed the next set of doors with her mace and shattered them into splinters. The group walked into the next room, an immense central hall large enough to put cathedrals to shame. A dark gray rug covered the floor, its texture tainted with dry blood. An intricate wolf motif relief dominated the ceiling.

Three sets of doors stood on both sides of the hall, all of them locked and topped by a burning skull. A central, Y-shaped stairway leading to the upper levels faced the group on the other end of the room. The sunlight pierced through a sinister stained glass window looming over it.

Paul-Octave MalherbeLevel 25 [Humanoid] (Mercenary 20/Knight 5)Faction: Apocalypse Force (Empire Lalande).Dominique GrardLevel 25 [Humanoid] (Bard 16/Gambler 9)Faction: Apocalypse Force (Empire Lalande).Dominiques [Bardic Song II] buffed his allies physical stats!Lucine LalandeLevel 25 [Humanoid] (Outlaw 12/Poisoner 13)Faction: Apocalypse Force (Empire Lalande).[Curse] ailment negated your [Lightning Rod] SP recovery!

You dont need it anyway, darling! Her bard ally shouted over his own music. Basil suddenly realized who the carved initials outside stood for. I believe in you!

Unwilling to fight an assassin in close combat, especially one with a Poisoner class, Basil opened fire at the woman with his handgun. Empowered by the bards song, the woman dodged the bullets. She rushed at Bugsy, grazing his exoskeleton with her blade and nearly beheading Kuikui with another swing.

Forget the monsters, Lucine! the knight shouted, his sword clashing against Orcines shield. Being higher on the stairway, he held the ground advantage over the orc and pushed her down. Crit the Tamer to death and theyll all perish with him!

Dont give me orders, jackass! The assassin ignored her teammates suggestion and slashed at Bugsys exoskeleton with her lightning sword. The blow drew blood, but the centimagma remained undeterred. That freak burned my cloak!

You stupid bitch, do as I tell you!

Dont you dare insult my girlfriend, you asshole! his bard teammate shouted back.

Theyre strong, but they dont get along, Basil realized. The enemy party exploited their class abilities to cover their mutual weaknesses, yet failed to coordinate effectively. If they had focused on Basil as the knight suggested, they might have won by now. They were a gang, not a tight-knit unit. We must pick them one after the other. Their formation will fall apart afterward.

But who should he start with? The knights defense was impenetrable, the bards music strengthened his allies from a safe distance, and the assassin moved too fast to hit.

And although the knight was clearly better at defending than attacking, he was slowly pushing the lower-leveled Orcine into a corner. Basil himself, with all of his Berserker power, had failed to get past his guard. Walter Tye had warned him that specialization offered better rewards than versatility, and this fight illustrated it well; the enemy party had Basil's own beaten in term of raw power.

But specialization meant an inability to adapt quickly. It could be a strength and a weakness.

Basil remembered what that man, Malherbe, had said earlier. Bodyguard: Dominique. Assuming the first was the Perk allowing the knight to teleport around to shield his teammates from danger, the fact he needed to specify the target meant that it only protected one ally at once.

Gang up on the rogue, long-range! Basil shouted, an idea crossing his mind. He dashed behind the assassin with his gun raised. Orcine, keep the knight occupied!

Bugsy and Kuikui followed his lead by attacking from multiple directions. Lucine Lalande dodged a stream of flames, avoided a bullet hitting the wall behind her, and saw her luck desert her on the third try. Kuikuis thunderbolt hit her in the chest.

The lightning sent the assassin tumbling back on the carpet, a shroud of darkness briefly surrounding her body.

I knew it! Basil rejoiced. They suffer from the castles curse too!

That explained the knights determination to take hits for his team. His armor and defenses mitigated the danger critical hits posed, allowing him to soak damage for his team. Perhaps he was the only one immune to the castles curse.

This is the end, Basil said. He pointed his guns barrel at the assassins head, right as Bugsy activated Agility Up to finish her in melee.

Lucine! her violinist boyfriend shouted in alarm. Paul-Oc, save her!

You stupid whore! the knight snarled in anger upon seeing the tide turn. Bodyguard: Lucine La

Basil turned his gun away at the last second.

lande!

Basil pulled the trigger right as the knight teleported in Bugsys way, stopping the centimagmas charge. His bullet crossed the room and hit the surprised bard in the chest. The violinist dropped his bow, the bullet in his body freezing his blood as it poured out of his wound. A shroud of darkness briefly formed around him.

Critical hit! You [poisoned] Dominique Grard!

The assassins eyes widened in panic. Dommy!

Nice shot, Boss! Bugsy cheered Basil, only to be pushed back by a thrust of the knights shield.

His bullet fucking poisoned me! the bard complained. He neglected to recover his bow to instead cover his wound with his hand. I need healing!

Dont you dare run away, you pussy! His knight teammate showed him no sympathy. He charged at Basil, but slower than before. His allies buffs only worked so long as the music carried them. Power through and keep singing!

The bard grit his teeth and moved to pick up his bow only for Orcine to crush it underfoot as she climbed up the stairs. The mans eyes widened in horror as he faced the orc without anyone to protect him.

Nope, Orcine said casually.

Then she bashed the bards skull with her mace.

It was a testament to his level that the blow didnt kill him instantly. Orcines mace shattered his jaw, sent his teeth flying, and hit him hard enough to throw him down the stairs. The bard laid at the bottom and didnt rise up, blood flowing from his mouth.

Dommy, hold on! His assassin girlfriend abandoned her knight ally to Kuikui and Bugsy, her expression one of utter panic. She rushed at the bard as soon as she could. Im coming!

She found Basil standing in her way.

You know what people I hate more than tax collectors? Having run out of bullets, Basil stored his handgun in his inventory and carried his halberd with both hands. Traitors. You didnt just betray your nation, you betrayed the entire human race!

Filth of their sort deserved no mercy.

Climb down from your horse, you filthy immigrant! The assassin snarled as she lunged at Basil with her sword. When the dust settles, well be alive and you shall be dead!

Basil brought down his halberd. The assassin dodged by rolling to the side, but he didnt give her any breathing room. He forced back with a flurry of swings, buying back Orcine time to climb down the stairs.

The assassin deflected one thrust with a well-placed strike, only for Basil to quickly follow with a swing. His joy turned to despair as the knight suddenly teleported in his way. Shield and halberd clashed, a crack appearing in the former.

What did I tell you, Lucine? The knight attempted to skewer Basil with his sword. Headshot the Tamer and you kill them all!

Basil blocked the blow, but this gave the assassin an opportunity to flank him.

Kui! Kuikui shrieked a warning. Kui!

The assassin threw her dagger at Basils skull.

The weapon moved at lightning speed, cutting through the air with a whirring sound. Basils eyes widened as a flash of steel crossed his gaze.

The dagger splattered blood all over the carpet.