Player Reached the Top. LitRPG Series. Book IV Page 24

  As Will played the details of his plan in his mind, he got a sudden idea. He could kill two birds with one stone: achieve his goal and collect useful information on the way. It could be worth the risk.

  ***

  Dazzzak, of Kartas line, was lucky to be one of the Queen’s direct sons. Kartas was his father, and the First King. He wasn’t the Queen’s first husband, but he was the first in terms of his rank.

  The First King was in charge of the Swarm’s entire military power, who were ready to die for the Queen at his command. The Second King controlled the Swarm’s intelligence, while the Third King managed the Empire’s government, appointing all the officials.

  The Swarm’s society consisted of two classes: the upper class, which was formed by those born to the Queen herself, and the lower class, which was made up of her children’s’ children. The upper class members’ main privilege was that only they could become kings, replacing the past king after four years of his service, or (as it happened not so long ago with the second king) after his death.

  This prospect was the very reason why Dazzzak, an ambitious son, had created this camp. He wanted to catch his father’s murderer, then get promoted to king, and father the sons of his Queen.

  Dazzzak was a first-rank commander, one of the highest military ranks. Collaborating with the ‘Holies’ and building a joint camp was his initiative, which had been approved by the supreme body.

  It was already dark. Dazzzak had just heard a report from the north gate sentinels. And he was now expecting a report from Wazzzar, an executor, who was late for some unknown reason.

  “He’s trying my patience.” Moving his mandibles in annoyance, the officer poured himself another portion of an invigorating drink from a bespoke jug. He had to stay up all night, checking all the patrols. It wasn’t a difficult task but falling asleep on duty would get him executed, despite his high rank.

  As he was filling in the forms, Dazzzak heard a tapping sound on the door.

  “Wazzzar?” he asked without looking up. “Where in the human hell have you been? I’m waiting for your report. I’ll make a record of your being late. I will not tolerate such behavior from anyone in my command.”

  The door didn’t open, but the tapping sound came again.

  “Wazzzar?” Putting his quill aside, the officer stared at the door and waited but…

  …he only heard more tapping.

  That was weird. His subordinates would never think to try and provoke him like this. Such a joker would soon be begging for death.

  Having activated Gut Feeling, he looked through the door. The visitor that was standing there knocked again. Gut Feeling allowed Dazzzak to see the body shape only, which didn’t tell him very much about this visitor. The only thing that made it clear was that they were deliberately provoking him.

  Staying silent, the Latian took the axe he had been awarded for combat, moved toward the door and opened it. The stranger was already gone, leaving a sucking feeling of anxiety. Whoever they were, they apparently knew what they were doing.

  Two minutes later, the camp received a first-level alert directing all patrols to report to their executor every two minutes and to be doubly vigilant.

  The part that confused Dazzzak the most was: why would any enemy penetrating the camp attract his attention in such an obvious way? He decided to do a lap of the camp to try and find out.

  “You. Where are Daisssy, Kansss, and Dosssar?” he asked one soldier on the fly. “According to the patrol list, they should be standing their duty here.”

  “I don’t know, Sir Commander! It’s our group’s duty, but they left ten minutes ago. One by one. Kansss first, then Daisssy, then Dosssar. He only left three minutes ago.”

  “Where did he go?”

  “To patrol Section 12.”

  “The Holies’ territory.” Landing on the ground, the commander shot a glance in that direction and asked, “Which areas were Kansss and Daisssy going to patrol?”

  The soldier swallowed upon realizing that all three of his comrades had gone missing while patrolling the allies’ area of the camp.

  “Get Squad 3 and 4 here. Now!”

  “Yes, Sir.” As the soldier dashed off, Dazzzak squinted at the territory of those whom he had considered allies… up until now, that is.

  Two minutes later, both squads, each including ten soldiers, stood before him ready for battle and waiting for further orders while apparently confused at being summoned during their rest time.

  “Follow me.” Giving no explanations, Dazzzak flew towards Section 12, which was two hundred yards away from his, but stopped abruptly upon seeing a screaming human figure fall from one of the towers.

  On top of that tower stood Wazzzar, the green gleam of the gem in his ring visible in the torchlight even from the ground.

  “Wazzzar?” the commander hissed as he flew up to the dead body. “What the hell have you done?”

  The dead man was one of the allies, a bearer of the Spiritual Knight title, one of the highest in the Holy Empire. His body had multiple stab wounds; there was no way to tell if he had resisted the attack.

  “He was trying to kill me after I discovered the several dead bodies of our soldiers in one of their tents.”

  “Our soldiers? Was it Kansss, Dosssar, and Daisssy?”

  “Yes. And a few more.”

  “Come down here and explain. Now!”

  Wazzzar started climbing down the tower.

  “Idiot. Did you forget how to use your wings?”

  “I got one injured.”

  This was a really weird situation. The stranger. The murdered soldiers of the Swarm, and the evidence that pointed at the Holy Empire. Dazzzak had to get to the bottom of it.

  Once the executor had reached the ground, Dazzzak had him lead the way to the bodies – and he soon saw his disemboweled soldiers, who had been placed around a pentagram. Their opened bellies were stuffed with the Holies’ coins, which were easily recognizable from the portrait of Castell Farabul, the Holy Empire’s patriarch founder. Imperial gold was filling the dead soldiers’ eye sockets and mouths, and the Holies’ emblem was carved into their foreheads.

  The commander’s eyes filled with blood. An overwhelming fury took over his mind, bringing up an urge to rip the offenders to pieces. He would not stop to think it over: why was had this abomination been performed in their own camp, for them to discover easily?

  Dazzzak’s lips opened, letting out a cold, bloodthirsty voice, “Kill. Them. All. No one should escape!”

  “Yes, Sir,” his soldiers replied in the same rage-containing whispers.

  The commander turned to Wazzzar. “You. You’re wounded. Send a soldier to report the betrayal. Take this rune. It contains a recording of what I’ve just seen. You’ll pay with your life for losing it. Now go.”

  “Yes…Sir.” Taking the rune, Wazzzar hurried off but, once out of sight, his body vanished into a puff of black smoke. After casting off his disguise, Will watched the fire starting in the camp from a distance, and listened to the sounds of the massacre.

  “To every man according to his deeds.” Tossing the rune up, Will glanced around and, hiding the item into his inventory, pressed Exit.

  ***

  The next morning Raven was welcomed back to Ascension with the smoke rising from the burning viscous matter, and a wind that smelled of blood. Activating the belt, he strolled towards the ruins. If there were any survivors, they would already have escaped back to their empires. Now the Latians and the Holies would be sorting out which of them had actually betrayed the other rather than attacking Adamarona.

  As he rounded a large rock, Will heard a rasping voice. Looking around, he saw a Swarm soldier whose legs were crushed under the rocks, which had probably been thrown out by a magic explosion. With blood pouring over his eyes, the soldier was struggling to lift the heavy stones and get out.

  “Need help?” Squatting by the enemy’s side, Will smiled at him.

  “Sir…Waz…zar? You
…alive?”

  “Yeah. My good luck. I will help, but first tell me: where is the Monarch’s Door?”

  “Do…or…he…re…”

  “Here?” Will looked around in confusion. “Where exactly?”

  “He…re…”

  Piercing the Latian’s throat with his dagger and getting XP for taking his life, Will went looking for others who could help him – and be helped. Two half-dead soldiers from the Holy Empire couldn’t answer his question either. After finishing them off, Raven received a message:

  Title awarded: A Friend of My Enemy Is Good as Dead

  Description: You have framed up both your enemies, setting them upon one another and breaking their alliance.

  +4 Intelligence

  +1 Luck

  Splendid. Now will anyone tell me the way to that fucking Monarch’s Door? Will had no idea what the door looked like. Even the word door in its name could be a metaphor of some sort.

  However, this problem resolved itself when, passing between two stone pillars identical to lots of others that were scattered about this place, he received a system message:

  Attention! You have discovered a hidden location: The Monarch’s Door.

  Enter it?

  Yes/No

  Chapter 234. Take Two

  W ill rejected the invitation and was immediately cast out. He tried passing between those same pillars again, but he received no message. The entrance point had either disappeared or shifted to another spot, presenting him with the irksome task of searching this whole area for an invisible door.

  There were no more dead enemies around. All the bodies, except those three that Will had finished off, had dissolved long before his arrival, so the rogue had no idea whether the military leaders of the Swarm and the Holy Empire were alive. The best-case scenario was that they were both dead, but Will realized this was hugely unlikely: the soldiers had probably stopped their commanders before they could fall victim to a fit of rage.

  Leaving this problem for his future self to handle, Raven ran his eyes around the destroyed and burned camp and nodded with satisfaction. Time to go back.

  It wouldn’t take his enemies much time to figure out who really had killed their soldiers. Betting on his actions having triggered an unknown game event, Will was ready to start on the third stage of his plan: baiting the Swarm to focus on the Empire and forget about anything else.

  He needed more time to prepare his country for war, which could open to him a way to efficiently destroy everyone who stood between him and his goal of conquering the whole floor.

  “Emin!” The rogue strode into the office without knocking, but the captain wasn’t there. And this was the first time in a long while that Will needed him at his desk and nowhere else! Damn you, man.

  Having intercepted a passing maid, Will learned that his friend was having a military council with his officers. Raven preferred not disrupt a meeting like that. He told the sentinel at the meeting hall door to let Emin know the king was waiting to see him immediately after the meeting, before Will heading for his own office to wait there.

  Half an hour later, Emin joined him. “My king. Please forgive me for making you wait so long.”

  “It’s all right, Emin. We still have time, but we’d better start right away.”

  “I am ready to listen.” The captain took a seat across from him. Will was glad he hadn’t asked for permission to do such small things.

  “I paid a visit to our friends who’ve been out camping at the Monarch’s Door.”

  “You did… what?” The captain held his breath, but remembered that his king was a messenger and said with relief, “What should we expect now?”

  “By following the plan, we can win more time for war preparations.”

  “I’m all ears.”

  “For a start, tell me, do we have any spies in the Holy Empire?”

  “Of course, we have. How would I know about their forces moving around if not from them?”

  “Oh, I see. Then give them a new task…”

  ***

  Will’s plan was a simple. It relied on the assumption that the Latian queen would rather not take to the field immediately after hearing rumors about a blue-glowing crystal subduing everyone within reach of being spotted at various locations across the Holy Empire… and that this crystal was about to be auctioned off in the Holies’ capital city.

  Sure, the Latian queen would also take an interest in the news about Adamarona’s queen having gone missing again, after having said nothing to her royal husband and supposedly heading north, accompanied by a force of either twenty of one hundred and twenty soldiers.

  It wasn’t the best bait, that’s for sure. Just in case this didn’t work out as planned, Will reached out to Mollie and asked her for the best AoE spells she could get. The RD leader protested at first but agreed to help once Will reminded her about the Ifrit. Her face was anything but friendly when she saw this message.

  “Mollie?” Katharine asked, noticing a change in her girlfriend’s mood.

  “Never mind.” Heaving a sigh, she promised the spells to Raven and cursed, “Damn you, Raven! Can I ever have an upper hand when negotiating with you?”

  ***

  Raven spent the next few days waiting for reports while hunting in the Taargada forest, which already felt like his second home. Having found a forum about healing undead creatures, Will tried the strategy of feeding mob limbs to his Ogre servant – and it worked.

  As his character was neither undead nor necromancer, Will could not use any spells or rites designed for this purpose. The mob limbs restored the Ogre’s health slowly, but that was the only feasible option. What a weird squad I have, Will thought as he watched Shimiraz help himself to full health. That’s two on a diet of dead bodies.

  Some good news found him three days later. Soldiers, spies, and other Latians posing as refugees had started to invade the Holy Empire in great numbers. It looked like the mother queen was not going to let the crystal slip away, even if this news was just idle talk. But if it was true… she would never forgive herself for missing it.

  Closing his eyes, Will leaned back on the pillow, sprawling out on Nanel’s bed.

  “How long do I have to stay in the palace this time? I hate it here.” Crossing her arms, the young queen stared at her husband.

  “A month would be perfect, but that’s probably too much to ask. But I have one idea to brighten up your wait.”

  “An idea? What is it?” Sounding curious, she sat down by his side.

  Will reached out a hand with the blue-glowing Obedience Crystal sitting in his palm.

  “Is that… is that what I think it is?” Nanel swallowed, peering at this scary item that was so close at hand. “Do you think I’m ready?”

  “I remember we were going to do it after the door. But you’ve become much stronger recently. We can give it a try, if you like.”

  After staring at the beautifully faceted gem for another minute, Nanel sprung up and paced up and down the room. As it did not really help her collect her thoughts, she took a practice rapier. Lunging at the air and piercing at the dummy for a while, she got rid of her excess tension, before turning to Will and nodding.

  “I… I agree. I really want to meet my true self.”

  “I will be here to stop it once I see you’ve had enough. Okay?”

  “Yes. But… are we doing it right here?”

  “No. Our palace has a better place. More spacious.”

  “Let’s go there, then.”

  ***

  The empty cellar inside the palace foundations met them with complete silence, surrounded them with thick stone walls, and wrapped them in air that smelled of mold. Sitting down on an empty keg, Will watched Nanel, who seemed to be getting nervous again. Having no weapon with her, she picked up a rotten plank of wood to wave it, but this plan literally cracked in half.

  “Hey, what’s wrong? I know I want it. I’m sure I do, but… I’m so scared. Why am I so scared? Why?” S
he stopped and stared at Raven, expecting an answer, but he just stared back at her, before doing something quite surprising. Crossing the distance between them, he pulled her in for a soft kiss. This totally stunned her, even though this wasn’t her first kiss; she had been kissed before while travelling in the company of male adventurers.

  After they had locked lips for several heartbeats, Will pulled away slightly and looked in her eyes. “Are you still worried?”

  “I… yeah. But now I’m worried about something else,” she said, running her fingertips over her lips.

  “You’re welcome.” Will smirked. “Can we start, or do you still need comforting?”

  “Eh? Let’s do it.” Smiling, she took a deep breath and gave him a hand.

  Attention! Your relationship with Nanel has been transformed.

  Current relationship status:

  Romance: 10/200

  Looking at Nanel’s determined face and closing the message, Will took out the crystal. He placed it into her white palm and watched her screw up tightly, anticipating agonizing pain. But all that came to her was a moderately unpleasant burning sensation.

  The crystal seemed to melt on her palm, soaking into her skin. Once it had disappeared, Nanel’s body glowed and filled with mental energy. For a while this light was so bright Will could see her blood vessels through the fully transparent skin on her hands and face, as if she were a giant, human-shaped crystal.

  “How are you?” he asked. No system messages appeared this time.

  “It burns, but I can endure it. Now what?” she asked, looking down at her hands.

  “Wait a moment. I’ll see if anything has changed.” He sighed with relief at the fact that she was apparently having to go through far less pain than both of them had expected.

  Emperor’s Obedience Crystal